Royal York Hotel - Brighton - Oct 2013

We decided to go to Brighton again and picked the best weather for it, with bright sunshine, t'shirt weather in October!

We found a good deal for the Royal York which is very central, practially opposite the pier, behind the lanes. We booked a supurior room, although we weren't expecting such a luxury room from the slightly delapidated sight of the outside.

The room was massive and beautiful though, with original fireplace, bay window, modern wallpaper, and Kingsize bed. The bathroom was very modern with a shower over bath and complementary toiletries.

Our night was unfortunately interuppted by a freshers night happening nearby, the original single glazed windows not being thick enough to keep out the sounds of drunk, screaming students!

We got enough sleep though before breakfast downstairs, which was a continental buffet breakfast. The room seemed incongrously small for the size of hotel but we got a table straightaway and helped ourselves to croissants while the waitress got us hot drinks.

The staff here were very helpful and friendly, we were able to leave our bags before and after check-in/check-out and even got a discount on the NCP! Would come back next time we're visiting Brighton.

The Union Inn - Old Windsor - March 2013

We stayed here to travel to Legoland Windsor which was really close by. The Union Inn is a pub in the middle of the Berkshire countryside, with views over fields to the front. We were shown to our room which was more modern than we were expecting, with a shower room ensuite.

The best thing about this place was the breakfast in the morning. We went for full english and it was all scrumptous, especially the homemade bread/toast. We also enjoyed dinner the night before which was also very good quality.

Malmaison Oxford Hotel - Oxford - Jan 2013

This was a christmas present from my wonderful hubby! We stayed here on New Years Eve December 2012 so that we could see Gary Barlow in concert in the Oxford Theatre. The Malmaison is a former 18th century prison, with the original cells and heavy cell doors used as rooms. We were in a seperate building however, a more modern building in the courtyard area at the back.

We booked the valet service to park our car which we had to pay £28.50 for, the car park is located underground. Quite expensive but fair for a city centre location. We pulled up to the hotel, unloaded our belongings and passed the keys over. Check in was quite quick, the foyer has a very warm cosy feel to it.

Our room in the other block was very nice and modern, pretty compact but with a nice bathroom and plenty of storage. The bath was lovely and big and the complementary Arran Aromatics products smelt gorgeous! The bed we found very comfortable, however the temperature in the room was very hot and no amount of altering the dial helped so we didn't get a good nights sleep unfortunately, you don't expect to be overheated in January!

We didn't get breakfast in with our rate so we can't review that, we chose to eat nearby as there are plenty of cafes and eateries to choose from much cheaper.

The location of the hotel was perfect for us as it was just a short walk to the Oxford Theatre, and we had a fabulous evening being entertained by Mr Gary Barlow, a great start to the year!

Goodwood Hotel - Chichester - Sept 2012

We stayed at the Goodwood Hotel for the last night of our honeymoon road-trip. The Goodwood Estate is home of Lord March and hosts the Festival of Speed, the Goodwood Revival and Glorious Goodwood. None of these events were on while we were there though!

The staff were very efficient and friendly and we were checked in straight away. There was some refurbishment going on while we were there, but nothing that disturbed us. Our room was beautifully furnished, very classy and comfortable. The sheets were very soft and the bed very comfy.

We ate in the Bar & Grill in the evening which had a good choice of food and cocktails. Our meals were delicious and the service very attentive.

Breakfast the next morning was a bit more of a hassle. The breakfast room was full with guests from a wedding the day before and the room was very noisy. The buffet selection was a big meagre, but hot food was available to order which is what we did. The staff seemed a bit rushed of their feet, but all were helpful and pleasant and the food was tasty.

We had a very comfortable stay at the Goodwood Hotel and would recommend it to anyone.

The Scarlet - Mawgan Porth - Sept 2012

This was the next part of our road-trip honeymoon in Cornwall. The Scarlett is a luxury hotel in Cornwall which has won many awards, and was very expensive but we treated ourselves for our honeymoon.

It was easy enough to find with our sat nav, although the winding Cornish roads were a bit of a nightmare! It is located on a cliff overlooking the bay of Mawgan Porth. The car park didn't seem to have many spaces and you have to block people in and leave your keys with reception.

On arriving, we found there was no reception! We hung around the entrance hall and someone came out to greet us and sat us down and checked us in. We found out that they don't have a reception because they 'want you to feel like you're staying at a friends house' although it is actually quite a big hotel, so if you needed the staff you just had the do the waiting around the hall bit for someone to come out. We got the keys to our room and went to have a look.

The room was very nice and luxurious, modern with designer fittings. There was an ensuite toilet with wet-room shower, and then the bath and sink were part of the main room with a half wall behind the bed. There was a balcony overlooking the courtyard garden and the beach. The sheets and towels were very soft and sumptuous.

We found the staff helpfull and efficient although not very 'warm'. I think after the first class service we experienced at Ragdale Hall, we found it all a bit sterile.

The food in the restaurant for dinner and breakfast was very tasty. We had a three course meal on one of the nights and the food was delicious and fairly priced. Breakfast service was very relaxed and the view of the bay was very calming.

We found nearby Padstow very pretentous and it was this same feeling that we got at The Scarlett. Although it is an eco, ethical hotel, we found the sheer scale of the hotel and the expensive furniture and fittings jarred a bit with this ethos.

Overall we didn't really enjoy The Scarlett or Cornwall, I can't really fault the staff or the hotel, it was just a general feeling we had that meant we didn't enjoy it. It was a big expense for our honeymoon and we'd rather have stayed at Ragdale Hall, but at least we've now tried a posh Mr & Mrs Smith hotel which I've wanted to try for ages!

Ragdale Hall - Melton Mowbray - Sept 2012

Our honeymoon! For the first part of our honeymoon, we returned to the Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour hotel in London, reviewed previously, for a few nights in London and fabulous food at Gordon Ramsay's at Claridges and Rhodes W1.

Then it was on to Ragdale Hall spa hotel in Leicestershire. We stayed for 7 nights here which included one treatment each per day and breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Ragdale Hall in an idependantly owned health spa which has won many awards. We discovered that most people staying there were returning guests which just goes to show how good it is. They don't seem to advertise much as they must get so much repeat business!

As soon as we arrived, the porters helped us with our luggage and parked our car for us. Check-in was very smooth running with lots of staff on hand for the many guests arriving. We were taken through to the garden room to fill in our health forms for the spa, and we were given our timetable detailing all our spa treatments and lunch and dinner times. We were then given a tour of the ground floor, the staff are all very friendly and welcoming. We were given our room key, and the porters delivered our luggage up for us. We were advised to change straight into our towelling robes and to start relaxing!

We had booked a superior room and we were not dissapointed with the turret room overlooking the pool to the rear. It is a good sized room, with a superking size bed and a beautful modern ensuite bathroom.

We changed into our robes (slippers not provided), and went downstairs to decide what to do. There is the garden room cafe in the centre, with a conservatory overlooking the outdoor pool. There are lots of relaxing lounge areas, including a quiet lounge at the front of the house, where you will find Rags the friendly resident cat! There is the swimming area, with a main pool, an exercise pool where all the aqua classes take place, and a jacuzzi. Then you have the steam area with 6 different steam and sauna rooms to choose from with different temperatures, lighting and fragrance. There is also a candle pool which is like an underground pool, and also the pool that leads outside. There are a fair amount of sunloungers and chairs around these areas, although you do find the usual trouble of people reserving them all day with their towels!

The beauty area is at the other side of the building with, I would guess, near on a hundred treatment rooms! The waiting area has plenty of magazines to choose from, you never have long to wait though as the treatment times are very well devised. There is a seperate nail bar, and also a new Beauty Express room with no appointment needed treatments. The reception staff and all the therapists are really great, friendly and helpful. All the treatments I tried were amazing, especially the Reflexology.

There is also a gym and two fitness class rooms with a very thorough programme of classes. We only tried the gym though as we were on a relaxing honeymoon!

On to the food. As I said, you get a timetable with your mealtimes on which ensures the dining room never gets too busy, we found we had a lot of early dinners scheduled, but staff are happy to change times if you ask. Lunch is a choice of 2 starters served to your table, followed by a buffet lunch and then a choice of puddings. The menu's are labelled with a score of 3 regarding how calorific each option is, 1 being the low calorie option, 3 being the highest. Dinner is all served at your table with a bigger choice of usually 3 starters, 5 mains and 4 desserts. Breakfast we didn't find quite as enjoyable as it is served in your room from 7.45am, so no lay ins! Also there is no choice of a cooked breakfast, there is an extensive menu, see pic attached, and we tried many options, but a nice rack of hot toast would have been marvelous! I can understand why they do it like this as hot food would go cold with so many rooms to deliver to.

We cannot rate the staff highly enough, everyone we encountered was happy, helpful and proffesional. When you check-out at the end of your stay there is an optional service charge which you can make and we were very happy to do that for the exceptional service we recieved. The check-out process is just as smooth running as the check-in, with the porters collecting our luggage for us and loading it into our car. There is the option to stay on in the spa area until later in the day if you so wish, even though check-out is at 11am.

We would recommend Ragdale Hall to anyone. It is the perfect relaxing break in the UK where weather is not a factor as you can sit by the pool and pretend you are by the mediterranean! Every need is catered for so you don't need to lift a finger. You can spend all day in your robes if you wish, even for dinner so you don't even need to do much packing! Just to prove how good it is, we have already returned once and are going back again for our wedding anniversary!

Greenwoods Hotel and Spa - Stock - Sept 2012

Our wedding venue! We stayed overnight after our wedding here and I also stayed the night before with my bridesmaids.

Greenwoods is a lovely old manor house in the village of Stock in Essex, with a spa attached. The staff are all really lovely and helpful and our wedding went very smoothly and was the most wonderful day, lucky with the weather too!

As far as the hotel is concerned, we had the honeymoon suite in the old part of the building which overlooked the gardens at the rear. It is a lovely large room, quite traditional in decor with dark wood furniture and a victorian ensuite bathroom.

Breakfast is in the restaurant downstairs and includes a buffet and the option of a hot breakfast to order. The service in the restaurant does tend to be slow, but the food is lovely and there are plenty of juices and drinks to help yourselves to. On our wedding morning we had breakfast in our room which was much better!

The price you pay to stay here includes the use of the spa, so it is quite good value for money if you do intend to use it and get your money's worth out of the spa! There is a heated indoor pool and jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. The treatments are quite expensive although on a par with most spas. The spa area is very nice and relaxing, you get your complementary robes and slippers and use of the changing rooms. All the staff are very good and very friendly.

All in all, we had the most wonderful wedding at Greenwoods and cannot thank the staff enough, especially Amy for making it the day it was!