Holiday Inn Express London Luton Airport

Address: 2 Percival Way, Luton Airport, London, United Kingdom

We arrived in Heathrow Airport in the evening and took the airport transfer to Luton Airport. We had to stay overnight in London as we would be flying to Amsterdam the next morning. Although the hotel is right besides the runway, the room was quiet and we had a good rest. The hotel is about 10 minutes walk to Luton Airport which is a good walking distance. On our first night, we took a taxi as it was dark and too cold. Their breakfast has a good variety. This is the perfect hotel for an early morning flight.

Double Tree by Hilton London Hyde Park Hotel

Address: 150 Bayswater Road, Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom
Nearest Metro: Queensway (Central Line) and "walkable" distance to Notting Hill and Bayswater Station (Circle and District Line)

 

I like the location of Double Tree; just minutes to the Queensway Station (Central Line) or 10 minutes' walk to Bayswater Station and Notting Hill Station (Circle and District Line). Hyde Park is just opposite the hotel and we could enjoy a morning's stroll.

 

Upon check in, the reception gave us two warm chocolate cookies which made a really nice welcome gift. The room is clean and the décor is modern. They have my favourite brand, Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries They also have a coffee machine in the room. The Wifi speed is reasonable but you need a pass code to access. This pass code was only valid for 24 hours and we had to obtain a new code from the reception daily.

 

We stayed on the first floor and unfortunately it was facing the back of the hotel. It started to get really noisy very early in the morning when the workers went about doing their jobs. There were still some minor renovations going on and it was very disturbing. There were some days when we left the hotel early for some guided tours and we needed to take a nap in the afternoon before continuing the rest of the day. We requested for a change of rooms as we did not want to be woken up so early everyday but the reception cited "hotel is full". Later we went online and saw that they were still accepting reservations for the day.

 

This hotel has a great location and it will be a pity to write it off. I will suggest this hotel to travellers on business trips or short weekend getaways and try to request for higher floors at the time of reservation.

 

 

 

 

Hotel Bel Air, Paris

Address: 6 rue de la Voute, 12. Bercy - Gare de Lyon, Paris, France
Nearest Metro Station: Porte de Vincennes (Yellow Line)

We have read good reviews of the location of this hotel and decided to choose this for our 3 nights stay in Paris. Although the hotel is about 5 minutes walk to the nearest Metro, it is located in a quiet side street and may not be easy to find on the first visit. We were glad that we have downloaded the offline map and Paris metro on the ipad prior to arriving in Paris so we did not have much trouble finding the hotel. There are also supermarkets, cafes and restaurants nearby. We decided to opt out for the breakfast.

 

The passage way leading to the rooms is narrow. We stayed at Room 1 on the ground floor. There are two steps in front of our room and we had to be cautious not to trip. It is not usual to have steps in front of the room and we also noticed that the other rooms on the some floor do not have it.

The room is small but clean. Wifi speed is reasonable. There is a heater in the bathroom. 

 

Our only grouse is that we did not have a good sleep! The rooms are not sound proof; we can hear people talking next door. We were woken up several times as we could hear people returning very late and talking. It was a disturbance to us.

Apps - Paris Metro

From Orly Aeroport, we took the metro to Porte de Vincennes Station (Metro Line 1)

 

 

The main road is at where the man in orange is standing. Go down this flight of steps, turn right, walk about 3 minutes and Hotel Bel Air is on the left (opposite the road).

Dem Guesthouse, Rome

Address: Via Filippo Turati 48 (M. Fanti Room)
Nearest Train Station: Roma Termini

As the name says it all, Dem Guesthouse is not your typical hotel. I felt like I was staying in a hostel. There were no prominent signs and we had some difficulty locating it (we initially went to the no. 38 guesthouse). It was actually inside a residence building. It was also my first time using this kind of semi-manual elevator.

 

On our first day, the reception lady handled 3 keys to us - the building door, the apartment and our room. Check out was simple; we only needed to leave these keys on the table. There were a total of 3 rooms in the apartment. Breakfast was cold croissants which were left on the table for us to share.  There is a coffee machine in the common area (capsule kind). They also provided us with biscuits and fruit juices in the room. If you prefer hot breakfast, there are also restaurants, cafes and McDonalds just round the corner.

 

Although Dem is only 2 blocks from the Train Station (nearest Metro - Termini), we did not feel safe as the streets were dimly lit at night and there were people loitering around. It was also a hassle to carry 3 keys. I will not suggest this place to ladies who are travelling alone. However if you are looking for convenience, then this is it!

 

Plus points - Dem provided maps for its guests. The WiFi speed was fast! It was only few minutes walk to the Train Station (but do take note that Dem has 2 other locations elsewhere. We went to the wrong location initially).

 

 

 

 

Hotel Leonardo Da Vinci, Florence

Read my review on tripadvisor here

Updated - we arrived on 12 Sep, Florence time.

Address: Via Guido Monaco 12, Centro Storico, Florence, Italy
 

 

Novotel Venezia Mestre Castellana Hotel, Venice

Address: Via Ceccherini 21, Mestre, Venice, Italy

 

We arrived in Venice by KLM Royal Dutch Airline. Novotel Venezia Mestre is 10KM from the Venice Marco Polo Airport. The taxi ride from the airport was EUR45.

 

We requested for a twin room but we received a double bed and sofa bed instead. The sofa bed is not even a proper bed. The reception could not speak good English. The breakfast has a good variety. We had our dinner in the hotel on our first night but the service was bad and there were few choices. It was not worth the price we paid.

 

I will not recommend this hotel for travellers with young children. This hotel is not located within the City and we need to take a 20 minutes bus ride. The bus stop is about 10 minutes walk from the hotel and there are no proper pavement at some parts of the road.

 

Buses that are labelled "Venizia" will take you directly to the City. The hotel had kindly gave us a copy of the bus schedule but we noticed that it is not accurate! It was a long wait for the bus and I was badly stung by the mosquitoes.

 

There is a supermarket at the bus stop where you can get some snacks or drinks.

 

 

Inntel Hotel Zaandam

We stayed 4 nights at Inntel Hotel Zaandam. This hotel is conveniently located besides Zaandam train station and 10 minutes train ride to Centraal Amsterdam. From Zaandam station, it takes us directly to Schiphol Airport which took approximately 20 minutes. Zaanse Schans which is famous for its windmills is only 4 km away. There is also a shopping street and cafes. The location is simply awesome!

Inntel Hotels Zaandam

 

 

Zaandam train station

 

The exterior of the hotel is unique and colourful. Our room package did not include breakfast; we had purposely decided to opt out of it.  Guests can enjoy complimentary access to the wellness club, gym and indoor pool. But unfortunately we did not have the time to utilise it. The rooms are tastefully decorated in three themes – Taste, Craft and Factory. The room is clean and spacious and there is complimentary WiFi in the room. The speed was reasonable. Do take note that a tax of EUR2.20 is imposed by the city at per person per night.

Our room with the Verkade Biscuits theme

The Bathroom

 

 

View from our room (spot Primark!)

The only glitch that we encountered was during checkout. The receptionist informed us that someone has used our room number to sign for breakfast and he wanted to charge us for that. We definitely did not do that. We had left the hotel very early on that day as we have pre-booked a day tour (to visit Volendam, Marken and Windmills). We had our breakfast at Mcdonald's which was nearby the meeting point. In the end, the receptionist did not insist. I almost wanted to tell him to go and check the video surveillance tapes for the culprits. Other than this, the stay was fantastic.

 

Ayana Resort and Spa Bali

We stayed one night at Ayana Resort and Spa during April 2013. In my opinion, this place is ideal for weddings and honeymooners! Ash's colleague who is an Indonesian has strongly recommended this hotel to Ash and she kept it from me as a surprise. I have no idea what to expect as I only found out where we are heading to when in the taxi!

 

If you are a guest at Ayana, do visit the Rock Bar during sunset. Moreover hotel guests do not need to join the queue > Sunset at Rock Bar . There are many activities within Ayana. You can have a game of tennis, table tennis, go for a swim, spa or take in the view of the flora and fauna in the garden. Or you can also visit the library and loan some DVDs, books or magazines. If you are travelling with children, there is a big playground. You can be like me too, spending the time photographing the beautiful Ayana.

 

The rates for Ayana are more expensive comparing with most hotels in Bali but do consider Ayana if you will like to pamper yourself! 

 

 

Some pictures of the actual room that we stayed in.

The bed is so comfortable!

This place is huge! 77 hectares!!

 

Many guests came to hold their weddings or attend weddings at Ayana.

The staff told us this glass chapel is fully booked with 3 weddings daily!

Wayan Bliss Hotel

Ash and I stayed at Wayan Bliss Hotel deluxe room for one night during April 2013. This is not the usual Balinese theme; I like the colorful surfing concept for a change. This is also a modern hotel with touch-screen lift buttons. The room is clean and tidy and the beds are comfortable. They also provide Wi-Fi in the room. Bonus point!

Wayan Bliss Hotel is about 15 minutes’ walk to Legian beach and the major shopping places (turn left when you step out of the hotel). We also explored the right side of the hotel. There were much fewer restaurants. The road towards the beach is definitely more happening! But do pay attention to the sidewalks as the pavement is uneven and some parts of it are broken.

We like the location of the hotel as it is quiet but still within walking distance to the tourist area. The hotel also provides complimentary one way bus service twice  thrice daily but we did not have the chance to utilize it.

There was a joke between my friend and me – “they surf, we also surf”. Except that we surf the Internet. We knew there was going to be Wi-Fi in the room and brought along our netbook. The hotel has also thoughtfully provided 2 Macs at the lobby for guest's use.

We tried the spa at the hotel - Wave Senses Spa and Reflexology. We paid RP 100,000 for a 60 minutes Balinese massage. The spa room is spacious and clean. The friendly staff at the reception helped us made the reservations.

It's worth the money paid!

Some snaps of the hotel and room

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The last photo was randomly taken when we strolled to Legian Beach. How apt for this post, isn't it?