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Princes Gate Hotel Rotorua (New Zealand)
by jade17
From the outside this is a beautiful colonial style building, very photogenic for holiday snaps. It also has a great location. It is situated in the town centre, next to the beautiful government gardens and Museum. The convention centre and I-site are a stroll across the road.
There are a few free parking spaces outside the ... hotel which we were lucky to grab but I understand the hotel does offer valet parking.
The interior of the hotel is old 1920s style and reception was welcoming. I have seen other reviews that thought the old-fashioned singer sewing machines and other paraphernalia was tacky but remember this a young country with a recent history . Personally I thought the downstairs was lovely.
Each room is individually styled. For those used to more modern hotels it might seem just dated. A nice touch is that each room is named after a famous Rotorua person (which includes the Elizabeth room named after the current owners daughter, Elizabeth Marvelly, singer). Our room contained a brief history of the hotel which was relocated to its present position. Yes, they can move whole buildings in New Zealand!
As it is an old building, the tea-coffee facilities were squeezed into spaces where possible. Ours was at an odd angle to the wardrobe but manageable. While the sheets and bedding was clean I did notice a few cobwebs hanging off the high ceiling.
The most disappointing aspect of our stay was that breakfast was not included in the price. On the particular morning we stayed there was only a choice of buffet style cooked breakfast and continental breakfast, neither of which had much appetizing variety. The hotel also offers dinner and show packages which did look to be good value however.
The hotel has a small thermally heated pool inside the quadrangle of the building which some of the rooms overlook.
For those with a bigger budget, desiring colonial charm and a central location it's a good choice. If you are looking more at value for money I would look amongst the large choice of motels instead.
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Tsokkos Holiday Apartments (Ayia Napa, Cyprus)
by missfwells
- Tsokkos Holiday Apartments -
I stayed here with my boyfriend in June 2012 for 8 days. It was 'the place to be' because it had pool parties every day in June and July 2012, it also was a great location to the 'Ayia Napa Square' which is where all the clubs/bars/late night food was.
- Swimming Pools ... -
Although the pool was cleaned every morning, unless you jump in it straight after they've cleaned it the pool is filthy. As you can tell from the picture the pool is very stylish, there are 3 pools. One of the pools is more separate to the others and plays more relaxing music, this is where I preferred to be (probably because I was more interested in relaxing and tanning than playing drinking games and partying around the pool with a load of topless girls/boys).
- Apartments -
The apartments were large and quite modern.
- Location -
It was not a good location for the beach however the bus was only 1 euro to Nissi Beach. Tsokkos was a good location for the night-life.
- Food -
I paid for half-board, we had to eat at a different Tsokkos hotel which was a short walk and was a 4 star hotel, my boyfriend and I really enjoyed the buffet there.
- Reply to Questions -
The pools got filthy so quick because they were full of drunk teenagers that had no respect! When I stayed at Napa Plaza in Ayia Napa you were not allowed anywhere near the pool with cigarettes whereas at Tsokkos everyone was smoking in and around the pool. It is a party hotel, perfect for the holidaymakers that want to completely let loose.
The apartments were not clean, I actually took a cloth from one of the cleaners got on my hands and knees and cleaned the place properly (I had a lot of spare time waiting for my boyfriend to get back from work). That's another thing - they do not like workers there, if you are a worker and considering booking a hotel, don't book this one or you will be approached by a scary security guard at almost every chance they have to ask for proof you're staying there and not selling there!
We had a bath not a shower but there were showers outside by the pool.
And the place is not where you want to go for a quiet nights sleep, it is very close to bars and there's always someone awake and still trying to party in the peak-season (that includes people being sexual in the swimming pool).
Thanks for reading!
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Holiday Inn & Suites (Florida, USA)
by annie47
I was fortunate enough to have just spent 10 days at Clearwater Beach, Tampa, Florida, with my daughter. I must say I spent absolutely ages researching hotels! I certainly didn't want to stay in a Motel, but on the other hand I knew I could not afford really expensive hotels! There are certainly some great Hotels in this location and ... for some reason I hadn't noticed this Holiday Inn & Suites during my initial research.
I quite like our Holiday Inns over here in the UK so when I discovered this one I thought it would be a good choice, The Hotel is situated right in front of the Gulf Of Mexico sea with its wonderful warm waters. It has rooms and suites (we had a 2 room Gulf Front view suite) . This meant we looked out onto the ocean; it was a lovely view. We were on the 9th floor and I would say the higher up, probably the better.
Its not that large of a hotel which suited us; I'm not keen on the larger hotels; Our suite was very spacious and in the bedroom we had 2 large double beds, a big flat screen TV , and a modern bathroom with Toilet, Shower/Bath. There is a coffee maker in the bedroom too and a quite large balcony. In the other connecting room, there is a sofa bed and chairs, a table and chairs for 4 persons, another large flat screen TV, a small kitchenette type area with a Microwave, Fridge and Sink. The Fridge is quite large, but there is no freezer compartment. In the other room there is also another separate bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. Both bathrooms are very modern and you also get free bathroom toiletries. There are plenty of towels in the bathrooms too. There is also a hairdryer, iron and ironing board in the rooms. Also the range of Television channels is pretty good, USA News channels, a whole channel dedicated to the Weather, a film channel, sports channels, and another few USA TV channels; you can pay for movies too and there's also a Nintendo 64 controller so you can play games for a charge.
The Air conditioner works well and you will certainly be grateful of it! As it can be very humid over there . The only negative about the Air con was that it was a bit noisy (though we still slept well) and the outer part of the Units went out onto the balcony, so hot air as blown onto the balcony. This was a bit annoying, but not a major problem.
The Hotel has an outdoor pool and a small paddling pool. It also has a good Tiki Hut bar by the pool. There are plenty of Sun Loungers both around the pool and just a few feet away, in a more quieter location directly in front of the sea. This is where me and my daughter occasionally did our sunbathing at! There were plenty of Pool towels available too. The pool closes at 11pm sharp.
The Hotel was not noisy at all during our stay and seems to be very family oriented; there was a whole mixture of people staying; families, couples, young and older people. The only noise we really heard was sometimes, I think at the weekends mainly, the hotel would have music playing/a singer outside of Jimmy's Fish House & Iguana bar (which is within the Hotel) . This only went on until 11pm and was actually quite pleasant There is also a coffee shop located within the hotel. I cannot really comment on either of these facilities as I didn't really use them, although Jimmy's Fish House seemed quite popular.
The Hotel also has a good Gym with some great facilities; a few running machines and other exercise machines, with TV's to watch as you are exercising; me and my daughter tried out the running machines! They are very good and expensive ones I am sure. The only piece of equipment missing was an exercise bike. I would have liked there to have been a couple of them available.
There are 2 Computers available to use, one in the Lobby and one in the Coffee shop, free of charge. Wi-Fi in the rooms is free of charge also.
Downstairs on the ground floor, there is a small shop and also a small arcade area which is good for the kids. There is a also a Hairdresser and Nail salon on the premises.
Parking is not free; the charge is $12 per day. I think the Hotel also allows people not staying at the Hotel to park for a $20 charge; I have read many reviews where people complain about this; it wasn't a problem in our case as I do not drive! There is a good Trolley bus service just outside the Hotel which takes you to various locations; this was very welcome and we used it often.
Whilst the Hotel is not on the Beach, it is directly facing the Sea and the beach is only a 2 block walk away (about 5 minutes) and what a beach it is!!! Beautiful powdery White sand.
Regarding cleanliness; this Hotel is kept extremely clean; I was constantly seeing people cleaning all the areas, cleaning the pool, picking up any litter etc etc. The Maids did come and clean the rooms at inconvenient times sometimes; however, this wasn't a big problem and only once, I went to reception as our room had not been cleaned and this was immediately taken care of.
The Hotel staff were very polite and helpful. I had asked prior to my stay if someone could get me in some soft drinks, Water and Milk and this was waiting for us in our fridge upon our arrival. I requested this due to our late arrival at the hotel.
Whilst there are no safes in the rooms/suites the Hotel does have safety deposit boxes at Reception; this is what I used to keep safe certain belongings, passports, money, cards etc. I certainly recommend people make use of this facility.
You may be lucky and spot some Dolphins too in the water!
Costs; Prices will vary depending on the room/suite you have and where it is located in the Hotel; also depending on the time of year; we paid around £120 per night. That's probably more expensive than Holiday Inn in the UK, but well worth it for the location and view!
Official star rating is 3 ½ stars. My Dooyoo star rating is 4 !
For more information go to this website http://clearwaterbeachhi.com/clearwater-hotels.aspx
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