Haven Hotel, Sandbanks – Great Views

Ellie & I went on a climbing trip last weekend with a friend of ours, Gilles. Well, I went with a friend of ours, and my wife tagged along. It was because of her, that I picked the Haven Hotel, Sandbanks, for her and me to stay at. (Our friend stayed at an Air B&B nearby.) The lady wished for some distractions and a bigger town. She was not eager on bunk beds in a hostel at our climbing location, the Isle of Portland, an hour’s drive away. 1920s BEACH RESORT GRANDEUR To make up for the fact that I was going to do ‘my thing’ this weekend, I booked the only affordable four-star hotel available. It was built in 1926 and retains its rustic, heavy art deco grandeur both inside and outside. There are elements of the Victorian era designs and furniture of its two predecessor buildings and a […]

Continue Reading

You may also like

Cotswold House Hotel & Spa Cottage Stay, Chipping Campden

Through our blog, Ellie & I had previously done various collaborations with the company that owns Cotswold House, Chipping Campden. When we recently booked ourselves in again, this time as paying customers, we got upgraded from a basic double room to a luxury cottage. (The pictures in this post are not aligned with the text.) BASIC DOUBLE ROOMS VS. COTTAGE STAY AT COTSWOLD HOUSE, CHIPPING CAMPDEN The basic double rooms are usually between £100 and £235 per night. On quite another level, the luxurious cottages, called ‘suites’ at Cotswold House Hotel & Spa, start from £375 and go up to about £550. Unless you manage to get your hands on one of the discounts or cash rewards (usually 10 to 20%) advertised every now and then on their website.     1st & 3rd pic: front of CHH&S, middle: our cottage BEST PRICE MATCH AT COTSWOLD HOUSE, CHIPPING CAMPDEN Very […]

Continue Reading

You may also like

Staying in Sydney with Style (and Beach): QT Bondi

We’ve just returned from our visit to Sydney, where we spent two nights at QT Bondi, an upmarket boutique apartment hotel, just one minute’s walk off Bondi Beach. If your room points towards aptly-named Beach Road, like ours did, then you can spot a glimpse of the beach. All you need to do is stick your head out from the tiny balcony and look hard right down the road.      QT BONDI HAS THE PERFECT LOCATION On the photo above, with the beach and the famous Icebergs swimming pools in the front, you can see two taller buildings in the back. One on the very left-hand side, then another, tower-like one, slightly further to the right. QT Bondi is located in the building complex directly to the right of the latter one, right next to the beach. The beach-facing part of the building is owned by another company, which […]

Continue Reading

You may also like

Noel Arms Hotel, Chipping Campden, Our Review

We had previously stayed at the Noel Arms on more than one occasion and always enjoyed ourselves. We also recently did a sponsored review of the sister hotel just across the street, the Cotswold House Hotel & Spa and their upmarket restaurant, the Fig. Chipping Campden is one of our favourite destinations in the Cotswolds and we try to come for an extended weekend several times a year. This time around, we visited with my wife, Ms B’s, parents, who are currently visiting from Sydney. Upon arrival, the friendly and professional receptionist at this lovely 3-star inn on the Cotswolds Way quickly checked us in and showed us to our room. Our last-minute request to change my wife’s elderly parents’ room so that it is more comfortable and quicker for them to reach from the entrance, was met with a smile and a ‘no problem’. A few minutes later we […]

Continue Reading

You may also like

Cotswold House Hotel and Spa, Chipping Campden – our Review

We love the Cotswolds and had previously stayed at the Cotswold House Hotel and Spa’s sister hotel, the Noel Arms, just across the street (would also recommend!) and at least a dozen other places in the area. As a basecamp location for hiking tours, walks, or visits to the pretty gardens and other picturesque villages nearby, there is – in our view – no better place than Chipping Campden. And what could be better than staying at a fancy boutique hotel in a beautifully renovated grade-listed Regency building that used to house the Guild of Handicraft when the arts & crafts movement relocated to Campden some 200 years ago. Modern fittings and appliances have been added without any disturbance to the grandeur of the place. The splendid spiralling staircase features in many wedding photos.    The hotel stretches over a number of buildings, including an adjacent one directly on the […]

Continue Reading

You may also like