Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Antequera Golf Hotel
Friendly, competent reception staff. Large,clean well appointed room overlooking terrace with swimming pool.(Spa & indoor pool available, but not tried - seemed popular, though). Buffet style restaurant may not be everyone's idea of 4 * hotel, but we found the food, both breakfast and dinner to be good quality with plenty of choice of Spanish, european and English dishes. Staff were friendly and courteous but were obviously under pressure at peak times - lack of planning by Management, for these periods perhaps? Location was a 10 - 15 mins walk to town centre, 25 mins uphill to old town.[source]
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Bloc, Birmingham - Hotels Review
Some might argue that Birmingham's new capsule hotel doesn't really offer penthouse luxury, but few could quibble with its rock-bottom prices
The Bloc Hotel Birmingham is located in Birmingham, United Kingdom
Fundamental to the idea is eliminating unnecessary space (so that rooms can be more densely packed into the site). Research showing that hotel guests rarely unpack an overnight bag (that puts me in a minority, then) has resulted in "space hungry" wardrobes being replaced by something called an "integrated bag storage area".
Bloc hotel claims to have arrived at "the perfect combination of luxury and price", which includes use of "significant" sound insulation, luxurious cotton sheets, Italian ambient lighting and aircon set at an environment-sensitive 18-20C and 40% humidity.
The taxi driver at Birmingham New Street station isn't exactly sure where the hotel is – so we go for a spin round an unexpectedly lovely Georgian square, St Paul's, with a handsome church in the middle, until we spot a grey, modern cube. Bloc it says, in tall (small) letters.
This is the kind of urban location I love – the developers are moving in but a tattily beautiful Victorian and Georgian legacy remains. Hello, the builders are still here, polishing the floor. Lobby seating is so low it cannot be negotiated with decency in a dress, and surely someone has forgotten to put legs on the coffee tables? A Nespresso machine, MTV on a large screen and Hannah, the cheery receptionist at a white desk, complete the look.
bloc bedroom
I take myself and a cup of tea (there are also cold drinks and snacks from vending machines) up to the second floor. A bed, the exact width of the room (or maybe the room is the exact width of the bed) has been slotted between a padded wall and a large sealed window. The shower room is a cubicle behind smoked glass with a monsoon showerhead set into the ceiling, plus a loo and tiny basin. It's so neat I try the basin immediately. A little shower water splashes on to the loo roll but miraculously not on to the shelf with my toiletries. Bathroom lighting may be Italian but it's rubbish for doing make-up.
My bag stows beneath the bed. The wardrobe substitute is three shallow pegs on the wall but not a single hanger. I've got a black-tie do to go to tonight – what am I supposed to do with my frock?
Laptop, camera and my rapidly cooling cup of tea fit on the (single) bedside table (seating is a padded cube). There are plenty of sockets, free Wi-Fi (good show) and a blackout rollerblind at the window.
This is what I call a sensory-deprivation hotel. No fresh air, no art or colourful textiles, no armchair and just enough space (it would be snug with two people).
The bed is surprisingly comfy, I'm pleased to report, though I wouldn't describe the sheet as luxurious. Morning tea necessitates a trip to the lobby, and breakfast a long wait (nothing opens till 10am). The point is, you won't come here to luxuriate; you'll come because it is cheap – and who can argue with clean comfort in a big city for as little as 30 quid?
Bloc hotel pretty much does what it says it will but the real bonus is the staff – Hannah and her friendly, efficient Brummie colleagues. They know the area, they give Bloc a sense of place and they inject some much-needed character. [source]
Exterior and lobby of Bloc, Birmingham
- 200 meters from St. Paul's Church
- 1.2 kilometers from Birmingham
- 12 kilometers from Birmingham Intl. Airport (BHX)
- 1.2 kilometers from Birmingham New Street Station
- 300 meters from Red Palace
- 400 meters from Birmingham Telecom Tower (Post Office Tower)
- 600 meters from Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
- 600 meters from St Chad's Cathedral
Fundamental to the idea is eliminating unnecessary space (so that rooms can be more densely packed into the site). Research showing that hotel guests rarely unpack an overnight bag (that puts me in a minority, then) has resulted in "space hungry" wardrobes being replaced by something called an "integrated bag storage area".
Bloc hotel claims to have arrived at "the perfect combination of luxury and price", which includes use of "significant" sound insulation, luxurious cotton sheets, Italian ambient lighting and aircon set at an environment-sensitive 18-20C and 40% humidity.
The taxi driver at Birmingham New Street station isn't exactly sure where the hotel is – so we go for a spin round an unexpectedly lovely Georgian square, St Paul's, with a handsome church in the middle, until we spot a grey, modern cube. Bloc it says, in tall (small) letters.
This is the kind of urban location I love – the developers are moving in but a tattily beautiful Victorian and Georgian legacy remains. Hello, the builders are still here, polishing the floor. Lobby seating is so low it cannot be negotiated with decency in a dress, and surely someone has forgotten to put legs on the coffee tables? A Nespresso machine, MTV on a large screen and Hannah, the cheery receptionist at a white desk, complete the look.
bloc bedroom
I take myself and a cup of tea (there are also cold drinks and snacks from vending machines) up to the second floor. A bed, the exact width of the room (or maybe the room is the exact width of the bed) has been slotted between a padded wall and a large sealed window. The shower room is a cubicle behind smoked glass with a monsoon showerhead set into the ceiling, plus a loo and tiny basin. It's so neat I try the basin immediately. A little shower water splashes on to the loo roll but miraculously not on to the shelf with my toiletries. Bathroom lighting may be Italian but it's rubbish for doing make-up.
My bag stows beneath the bed. The wardrobe substitute is three shallow pegs on the wall but not a single hanger. I've got a black-tie do to go to tonight – what am I supposed to do with my frock?
Laptop, camera and my rapidly cooling cup of tea fit on the (single) bedside table (seating is a padded cube). There are plenty of sockets, free Wi-Fi (good show) and a blackout rollerblind at the window.
This is what I call a sensory-deprivation hotel. No fresh air, no art or colourful textiles, no armchair and just enough space (it would be snug with two people).
The bed is surprisingly comfy, I'm pleased to report, though I wouldn't describe the sheet as luxurious. Morning tea necessitates a trip to the lobby, and breakfast a long wait (nothing opens till 10am). The point is, you won't come here to luxuriate; you'll come because it is cheap – and who can argue with clean comfort in a big city for as little as 30 quid?
Bloc hotel pretty much does what it says it will but the real bonus is the staff – Hannah and her friendly, efficient Brummie colleagues. They know the area, they give Bloc a sense of place and they inject some much-needed character. [source]
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, King's Cross, London
From the Hogwartsian Booking Office restaurant to the beautiful cantilevered staircase and soaring gothic windows, England's finest railway hotel is on the right track
The tinkle of distant dropped cutlery echoes around an expanse of brick and glass. We are eating in the Booking Office. Yes – the old booking hall of St Pancras station, now reconfigured as hotel restaurant and cocktail bar.
More than £150m has been spent reinventing the ticket office as bar, forecourt as lofty reception (currently filled with clouds of cherry blossom) and, most importantly, breathing new life into England's finest railway hotel.
As a student, I remember passing the former Midland Grand, its pointy towers and arched windows part fairytale, part schlock-horror set. A collision of fantasy and function on the Euston Road. The hotel closed almost 80 years ago and decades later only narrowly avoided demolition.
Thank God it's still here, Tania and I agree, settling back against black leather, as self-satisfied as cigar-puffing grandees in a gentlemen's club. The Hogwartsian space is cleverly divided and lit just right, so we are aware only of the undulating beauty of oak linenfold panelling and heavy glass lamps in our own "bit", not overwhelmed by the soaring gothic windows, or the sheer distance from the far end of the room.
"You can have a glass of Bolly for £13," says Tania. "And that's a good white." She points at La Croix Vermentino sauvignon blanc, £5.25 a glass. "Pity they only have whites from Castello Banfi, though."
Then, "Proper peasanty," she says, scooping coarse duck terrine on to sourdough toast while I spoon up pea and ham soup. We follow with roast fillet of seabass and a little fricassee of peppers and mushrooms. "Simple, subtle, but delicious," she says.
The public areas of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Victorian masterpiece are simply mesmerising. The stone cantilevered staircase, curved hallways of Minton tiles and unexpectedly decorative, jewel-coloured pattern and illustration on walls, cornices and ceilings all carefully, lovingly restored.
There are 38 suites in the original building and a further 207 rooms in a new annexe, Barlow House. Those rooms are not a bad size, if unexciting (and I'd advise an upper floor). At this scale, though, it is impossible to avoid creeping corporateness – even in the suites. Mine is comfortable for sure, with a marble bathroom (REN products in a glass-lidded box), office area, heavy sunburst mirror, easy chairs positioned for gazing across the giant Olympic symbol to Platform 9 and Eurostar. Wi-Fi is free (but only in the suites) and marks for not being too snobbish to provide tea- and coffee-making things, too. Just because I have the services of a butler doesn't mean I want to rack up room service bills.
I am less keen on being woken at 7am by a platform announcement (not sure it would be any quieter facing Euston Road – especially as double glazing isn't allowed for the listed windows) but, hey, it's fun watching everyone scurrying about below. Even though, since my stay, Marcus Wareing has opened his Gilbert Scott Brasserie, designed by David Collins, in the former hotel entrance hall and coffee room, and stolen all the thunder, I urge you to make time for coffee, if nothing else, in the Booking Office. It is surely the most inspiring new public space in London. [source]
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel
Euston Road, King's Cross,
London
NW1 2AR
020-7841 3540
From £300 room-only
The tinkle of distant dropped cutlery echoes around an expanse of brick and glass. We are eating in the Booking Office. Yes – the old booking hall of St Pancras station, now reconfigured as hotel restaurant and cocktail bar.
More than £150m has been spent reinventing the ticket office as bar, forecourt as lofty reception (currently filled with clouds of cherry blossom) and, most importantly, breathing new life into England's finest railway hotel.
As a student, I remember passing the former Midland Grand, its pointy towers and arched windows part fairytale, part schlock-horror set. A collision of fantasy and function on the Euston Road. The hotel closed almost 80 years ago and decades later only narrowly avoided demolition.
Thank God it's still here, Tania and I agree, settling back against black leather, as self-satisfied as cigar-puffing grandees in a gentlemen's club. The Hogwartsian space is cleverly divided and lit just right, so we are aware only of the undulating beauty of oak linenfold panelling and heavy glass lamps in our own "bit", not overwhelmed by the soaring gothic windows, or the sheer distance from the far end of the room.
"You can have a glass of Bolly for £13," says Tania. "And that's a good white." She points at La Croix Vermentino sauvignon blanc, £5.25 a glass. "Pity they only have whites from Castello Banfi, though."
Then, "Proper peasanty," she says, scooping coarse duck terrine on to sourdough toast while I spoon up pea and ham soup. We follow with roast fillet of seabass and a little fricassee of peppers and mushrooms. "Simple, subtle, but delicious," she says.
The public areas of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Victorian masterpiece are simply mesmerising. The stone cantilevered staircase, curved hallways of Minton tiles and unexpectedly decorative, jewel-coloured pattern and illustration on walls, cornices and ceilings all carefully, lovingly restored.
There are 38 suites in the original building and a further 207 rooms in a new annexe, Barlow House. Those rooms are not a bad size, if unexciting (and I'd advise an upper floor). At this scale, though, it is impossible to avoid creeping corporateness – even in the suites. Mine is comfortable for sure, with a marble bathroom (REN products in a glass-lidded box), office area, heavy sunburst mirror, easy chairs positioned for gazing across the giant Olympic symbol to Platform 9 and Eurostar. Wi-Fi is free (but only in the suites) and marks for not being too snobbish to provide tea- and coffee-making things, too. Just because I have the services of a butler doesn't mean I want to rack up room service bills.
I am less keen on being woken at 7am by a platform announcement (not sure it would be any quieter facing Euston Road – especially as double glazing isn't allowed for the listed windows) but, hey, it's fun watching everyone scurrying about below. Even though, since my stay, Marcus Wareing has opened his Gilbert Scott Brasserie, designed by David Collins, in the former hotel entrance hall and coffee room, and stolen all the thunder, I urge you to make time for coffee, if nothing else, in the Booking Office. It is surely the most inspiring new public space in London. [source]
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