THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT

Whether your flight is early in the morning, or reaches Stansted late in the evening, the Radisson Blu hotel London Stansted Airport is ideal to forget about a place to sleep. It takes you more or less the same to catch a bus, a train or to go to the hotel. It is that close to the air terminal. But don't think that being so close to the airport will mean it is noisy. All the contrary. My room overlooked the boarding area of Ryanair... and no noise.

Receptionist were really helpful, nice and polite... And fast. check in was done really fast, and that is something good after a long day travelling.
The hall is impressive, and so is the wine Tower, with the acrobatic show to get the bottle. Gobsmacking!!!

The rooms may differ from visit to visit as they have 6 different styles. So far, I have tried the Urban and Ocean style, being the latter better (picture below). The Urban style is a bit... dull.
One of the things I really liked was that the room had european plugs as well as the British ones. So I could charge my mobile and my laptop. Also, as with all Radisson Hotels, I believe, Internet is free of charge, so it is another positive point.

I asked for a big bed, if possible, and it was. It was massive! And comfortable. The bathroom was nothing special. I would have preferred a shower... but... a Bath is still ok for having a shower.

I didn't get breakfast, as I tend to go for ready made Airport stuff... Still expensive, but less than whatever the hotel offers.

THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT
Waltham Close
London Stansted Airport
Essex
CM24 1PP

Tel: +44 (0) 1279 66 1012
Fax: +44 (0) 1279 66 1013
Email

RAMADA ENCORE DONCASTER

When you find a relatively new hotel, you are likely to get a better experience than in an old one. Well, that is, of course, depending on each other’s experience.

Getting there is a Tom-Tom experience. I had my map, but the roads were closed due to works, so... in the end, I got there. It is nowhere near the city centre. It is, in fact, an airport hotel. Just over the road, you can find Robin Hood Airport.

The Ramada Encore is a new hotel. Hence, no old furniture, smelly rooms... Well, to a point. When checking in, I was helped by a young lady who started with a nice smile that kept throughout the time I was there... and I was there for some time. It smelled like a "Fish & Chips" shop. I guess some of the guests had asked for it and the smoke and smell had gone out of the kitchen to invade the Reception air. It is true that the living/eating room was there next to the Reception, so maybe the Fish & Chips were already in the restaurant.

Lighting in the reception and the restaurant was really poor. A massive use of LEDs lamps were, of course, saving lots of electricity, but the lighting was extremely poor. Nice luminaires though.

I got a room on the first floor, but asked for a big bed, so in the end, I got transferred to the second floor. As the hotel is sooooo far away from the centre, and the roads were closed, the young lady sketched a map, that was not that precise in terms of drawing evaluation, but... it was crystal clear, so, without any problem, got to my destination. When returning back to the hotel, I thanked the young lady for her help, and she still remembered me.

The hotel was... basic. Nothing exciting. Negative point. Not free Internet. The heating system got me some time trying to figure it out... but eventually, I wan. The room was big enough, bed comfortable and overall clean.

Breakfast was... basic too, with some little surprises, like a loaf of fruits of the forest bread to cut and toast. Muffins were good too, but croissants just put you back. They didn't look fresh at all. Scrambled eggs were... not that exciting either. Coffee was out of a coffee dispenser, so hardly any good... but in the end, a little bit here, a little bit there, had something to eat first thing in the morning. It could have been better.

The hotel offered free of charge car-park; you needed a token to get out of the hotel.

Staff was extremely helpful.

RAMADA ENCORE DONCASTER Opposite Robin Hood Airport
First Avenue
Auckley
Doncaster
DN9 3GP,
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 1302 718 520
Fax:+44 1302 772 045

THE BRITANNIA ADELPHI HOTEL IN LIVERPOOL

It may be one of those buildings you cannot miss in Liverpool. The Adelphi Hotel is very well situated, next to the railway station and the buzzing shopping district. Public transport (buses and underground) are also quite at hand. The reception staff were not that interested in the guests, who, of course, had to wait for them to come out, while conversations and laughs about their private lifes were taking place behind the mirror wall.

The building it self shows the splendour the city once had... It has 402 bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms. According to the hotel, they are beautifully presented in Edwardian style with plenty of character. In my opinion, I got the impression of being in a huge Russian Hotel... I felt it was quite bare in decoration, poorly lit, and quite basic. I had been told that the hotel seemed as though it had been important a long time back, but since that time, little renovation had taken place... and the comments were not exaggerate. I must say that I felt a bit let down by the hotel. Rooms are big but extremely basic. The furniture and door frames had undergone several layers of paint throughout the years. The bathroom was big, and it had a Jacuzzi bath tub... but little extras there.

Like any bed and breakfast, the room had its TV on a really cheap and nasty wheeled table, Telephone, and Tea & Coffee making facilities (also hot chocolate). This hotel also features 2 great restaurants, 2 bars and a pizzeria. You can also find a gymnasium. Additionally, there is also a Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and solarium in addition to the beautiful heated marble swimming pool.

If you are travelling by car, it has a car park, but they charge you for the space... They still do it the old way. You take the car, then they park it for you until the car park is full... and I mean full. They even park cars in the corridors to maximise spaces.

Breakfast... Well, what can I say about breakfast...? Very sad. You feel like being inside a local cafe, rather than in a Hotel. The Continental breakfast offers you a rather "cheap" looking variety of products. Personally, I didn't go for English breakfast, although, other guests seemed to like it extremely. Shockingly enough, there were people who just came in the Hotel to have "breakky".

Summarising my stay, I can say that the hotel was clean, handy for visiting the city, but far away from a decently stylish hotel. Breakfast needs to improve considerable; so does the decoration. There is nothing wrong with old style decoration... But one thing is old... another, the "abandoned" state the hotel is...

I am sure that if the hotel was taken to 21st century standards, it would be a reference hotel. For now, I have to say, it is a poor choice, and will think twice before checking in again.


BRITANNIA ADELPHI HOTEL - LIVERPOOL
Ranelagh Place, Liverpool L3 5UL United Kingdom
Tel: +44 0871 222 0029
Fax: +44 0871 222 7009
Email : res700@britanniahotels.com

NH KENSINGTON - LONDON

London is a huge city... Thousands of hotels to chose from... They could be good, but if you don't know the place, you are taking too many chances. If you are just one night, then you could be ok anywhere, on condition the place is clean... but there are many factors to take into consideration.

I have to say that I am in love with the NH Hotels. It is a safe choice, true... so there is very little where to explore... I have to say that the NH Kensington is a bit far off the centre... However, it is situated in the exclusive Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, and Earls Court Underground station is only 5 minutes walk away.

I arrive on New Year's Eve, and at reception, I showed my voucher, and they told me that the double room I had booked was not available, but a suite was. I would not be charged extra for it... So of course, we accepted... (see picture below... would you have refused?)

The room was a bit small, but comfy. It was a two floor room, with even two bathrooms and a living room on the top floor. Flat TVs on both floors...

There was a little detail I didn't like about it. Normally, you get soap, shampoo and other bathroom accessories as standard. The bathroom was bare... Just soap and shampoo. Of course, I had to complain. The excuse was the exchange rate and the ecological issue of trying to save chemicals thrown to the sewers... What does a comb (to say something) have to do with it? I thought, that after the cost of the room, specially, with it being a suite, I would have expected a better service.

Breakfast, buffet, of course. Cereals, yogurts, fruit, nutella (extra point for me) bread, veggies, scrambled eggs, meats, biscuits, tarts... you name it... there was. It is true that if you were expecting a Full English Breakfast, it was not the right place... but after all, I believe the hotel is focused for Spaniards (at the end of the chain is Spanish) or other European. While I was there, there were also many Italians.

Bus 94 stopped right outside the hotel, taking you straight into Harrod's, Harvey Nickols... It also has a night bus, if you want to have the night bus experience. As I said earlier, it is withn short walking distance from Earl's Court Underground station. There are other buses nearby that will take you somewhere, although, I didn't check where.

Staff was friendly and helpful...

As I always say... you are not deceived with an NH Hotel. Of course, it is not the cheapest, but... cheaper are not that far away in price, but yet again, what you get in exchange, is considerably less. NH is a bit pricy, but worth paying for.

REFERENCE:

NH Kensington
Address: Cromwell Road 202-220,

SW5 0SW LONDON,

United Kingdom

Contact details:
E-mail: nhkensington@nh-hotels.com

Tel.: +44 207 2441 441

Fax: +44 207 244 1442

Category: 4 Stars