Ashford International Hotel - Ashford - Jan 2011

 Ashford International is run by Q Hotels with an emphasis on the spa clients. It's a very large modern hotel surrounded by main roads, literally a stones throw from the M20. Inside is a large atrium and reception, with lots of lounge seating, all decorated in a modern way. The rooms are very modern too, and clean and comfortable, quite a bit larger than your usual hotel room with a lounge seating area. The bathroom is very spa like, with complimentary toiletries, a shower over bath, a heated mirror which doesn't steam up, heated towel rail and towelling robes.

 

The bed is quite comfortable but unfortunately we had a troubled nights sleep with noise from the upstairs neighbour. The restaurant is lovely though, very nice food and fine dining atmosphere. Breakfast is a buffet though, because it's such a large hotel I think it has to be. The cooked breakfast was fine though, and the service was good.

The spa is the real attraction though, there is a wide choice of Decleor treatments and the relaxation room is a great place to sit in the warm and read while you're waiting. The therapists that I had were really professional, and very good at the treatments and making you feel relaxed and pampered.

We've already been back again to stay in September, the spa is the best I've been to, if only the rooms had more soundproofing as again we had a lot of noise in the night with doors slamming and even heard the neighbour snoring!

Hotel Felix - Cambridge - September 2010

We came to Cambridge for our 2 year anniversary, it's a city I've always wanted to visit as I'm interested in architecture. Our room was located in the modern extension which has a very corporate golf hotel feel to it, although the rooms were well furnished and comfortable. The bathroom had a separate bath and shower cubicle with a lovely rainfall shower head. Our only complaint was that we found our pillows far too thin and flimsy!

The staff were very helpful here and the Graffiti restaurant was actually superior to the ones we tried in town. Breakfast was very nice with the standard choice of a continental buffet or a cooked breakfast.

The Hotel Felix is located quite a way out of town, parking in the city centre is limited and so we chose to get the bus into town most days which was ok during the day, but not so much fun dressed up for dinner in the evenings! We enjoyed the Fitzwilliam museum which is a large art gallery with free entry. There are lots of photo opportunities around Cambridge with all the grand university buildings. Also worth a visit is the Harriet Kelsall jewellers and the Grafton shopping centre has many stores under one roof just a short walk out of town.

www.hotelfelix.co.uk

River Haven lodge - Stratford-upon-Avon - July 2010

We stayed in the beautiful River Haven lodge just outside of Stratford on avon in summer this year. This really is luxury first class accommodation. The lodge has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, one double room with lots of storage, and an ensuite with shower cubicle. The other room is a twin room and the main bathroom has a bath, both bathrooms have beautiful contemporary fittings. The lodge has everything one would need for a self-catering holiday including towels and sheets, but also all cooking utensils, fridge, oven, microwave and dishwasher.

The decking area has lovely modern patio furniture including a dinner table for 6 and a sofa seating area. There is a car parking space next to the lodge and the actual park is very quiet, mostly made up of permanent residents.

Irene the owner is very accommodating and keeps the place spotlessly clean. We had welcome cakes, wine and flowers, this was better than home!

Stratford itself is a little too far to walk, although there is a car park up the road allowing you to park halfway, and walk the rest along the canal which is a lovely walk. There is also a riverboat taxi that you can get from just across the river leaving the opposite caravan park. There is lots to see and do in Stratford, the restaurant we liked best and returned to more than once was The Vintner, which served delicious moderately priced meals. The other nearby attraction which we would recommend is Warwick Castle, we went on a rainy day and there was plenty to see and do, admission is pricey but well worth it.

We have already returned in March 2011!

www.luxurylifestylelodges.co.uk

Marlin Queen street apartments - London - May 2010

We stayed in the heart of the city for a friend's wedding. This was the nearest place to stay to the venue, and was also competitively priced. We've never stayed in an apartment before and we found having the kitchen and living areas a great asset, although it would be of more use to a family, or someone staying more than two nights to really benefit from self-catering. All the kitchen utensils you would need are supplied. The bedroom was extremely small, the bathroom was adequate with a shower over bath. You can hear the tube trains running underneath but they don't run through the night so it's not really a problem. The concierge was friendly, but you're pretty much left to your own devices here. The area is well lit and feels safe at night.

The city as always, is dead at the weekends, so there's not much open nearby, but the Sunday service in St Paul's is magical, definitely worth a special trip. I'd recommend walking across the river to the Southbank area for breakfast, there's an Eat right on the river.

www.marlinapartments.com

Seaspray hotel - Brighton - Mar 2010

We stayed in the Moroccan themed room in this B&B on a lovely sea front square in Brighton. The location is great, out of the way enough to be quiet at night, but easily walkable into town. Parking is on the street so it's down to luck how near you can get but the actual square it is on is much more expensive to park than the surrounding roads.

The moroccan room is on the loft level at the back of the property so there are no sea views. The decor looks much better in the pics than in real life, the soft furnishings are a bit tatty and cheap looking. The bed is very low and small and the worst thing was the heating. Perhaps because it's the loft room it got very hot, we had to use the supplied fan in the night to get some sleep - and this was in March! The ensuite also got very hot but is immaculately furnished with a modern shower and sink.

The owners and staff were lovely though, the heat was much better the second night. Breakfast was full english, or whatever hot items you choose to order. Kemps brasserie which was recommended to us a few roads away was exceptional, we went back twice!

www.seaspraybrighton.co.uk

Barnham Broom - Norwich - Jan 2010

Barnham Broom is a golf/spa hotel set in the countryside outside of Norwich. On first impressions it's a non-descript modern conference type hotel building. The things that really stood out to us though, were the superb Flints restaurant, and the spa. The golf course was the main reason most were there and the hotel is focussed towards this area, although it wasn't the weather for my fair-weather golfing partner!
Breakfast was great with a continental buffet and order your own cooked breakfast. The service was perfect. Dinner in the restaurant was first class, with an interesting and varied menu.

The spa was up to the high standards of many spa hotels with prices to match! Definitely need to book in advance here.

Our only gripe was the bed in our room which was very soft and lumpy and incredibly uncomfortable. We may have just been unlucky with the room we had, though we wished we had noticed this earlier in the day, rather than in the middle of the night, so we could have asked for another room. We only stayed one night here.

www.barnham-broom.co.uk

Smiths at Gretna Green - Scotland - Oct 2009

We stayed at Gretna for my Dad's wedding, which was all booked in secret from his fiance! There's a great video somewhere of my step-mum's face when she realised she was in Gretna and all her family were there to see her get married! We arrived late and were greeted by the very kindly night-porter who made checking in a smooth process. Smiths is directly opposite the Old Blacksmiths where the marriage took place.

The hotel itself looks like a conference centre from the outside, not very romantic, but it's furnished in a modern luxury way inside. Our room had a lovely modern ensuite with shower over bath and a heated towel rail. The bedroom had a very comfortable bed, and nice seating area and dressing table, with all the extras we needed like kettle, iron and hairdryer. The restaurant for the wedding meal was divine, beautiful food the quality of a michelin star restaurant. Breakfast was a hot and cold buffet which was fine with plenty there and very tasty.

www.smithsgretnagreen.com