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Marriott Towne Place Suites Elgin / West Dundee (Illinois, USA)
by catsholiday Marriott Towne Place Suites, Elgin/West Dundee This hotel we booked as we wanted somewhere pretty close to Chicago but on our way towards the Great River road journey we had planned. We knew we would be landing in Chicago after a reasonably long flight and so a very long day so we needed to have somewhere not too long a drive ... away. We are members of Marriott rewards and had enough points for a free night so this hotel fulfilled all our needs on this first night in the USA this holiday. I booked this before we left the UK so we knew we had a decent place to stop and recover before starting our driving trip. We found the place very easily and it was only about an hour from O' Hare Airport which was lucky as we had had a longer flight than expected with two hours of it on the runway at Heathrow in a baking hot plane. The lady in reception had our booking and welcomed me. I had only to leave a credit card swipe for accidental damage and everything else was done as all my details are on my Marriott rewards account. The lobby was quite small but modern and had a coffee station in the corner with hot drinks available 24 hours a day. As we were pretty tired we made our way to our room. It turned out to be a suit with king sized bed and a sofa bed had we wanted to use it. We had a huge room with a window overlooking an empty garden, just grass and trees and then a high wall but better than ugly roofs and buildings any day. The room was decorated in creams and golds. The walls were plain and cream. The carpet a dark green with sort of gold spots and the curtains and bed runner were gold. The bed was made with quality cotton sheets and the pillows felt like clouds after being sat in the plane for about nine hours. In fact the bed felt like lying on a cloud too, I can't tell you how nice it is to lie horizontal after being squashed in an airplane seat for a long flight. Beside each side of the bed was a bedside table and light and on my side was a clock radio alarm. We had no great need to set the alarm but it was nice to wake and be able to see what time it was as you do wake quite often when you have been on a long flight and this carries on until you get over the jetlag. There was a coffee table and a comfortable chair as well as the sofa bed but I can't say we used any of these during our stay. The flat screen TV was fixed onto another table and could be turned so you could watch from the sofa and chair or the bed but once again we really didn't feel the need to watch TV after our journey. There was also a desk and storage unit. The desk part pulled out if you wanted to make it bigger to work on. A small cupboard and a couple of large drawers were on one side and then book shelf sort of storage above. By the door on the right as we came in was wardrobe I could have slept in it was so large. Inside was an iron and ironing board and plenty of hanging space but not much else just a really big space. In the kitchen we had a huge American style fridge, cooker and dishwasher, microwave and coffee maker. It was in fact a fully equipped kitchen bigger than some my children have had in their rented houses and flats and certainly better equipped. We had a welcome pack for coffee and tea but nothing else. We dug out our travel kettle as we fancied a nice English cup of tea and I will not make tea in a coffee maker. The bathroom was really a good size and sparklingly clean with a bath and shower over the bath, a basin and long work space around the basin. I wanted a good long soak in the bath and took advantage of the toiletries provided, soap, shower gel and shampoo. We arrived here at about 10pm and we were up again making a cup of tea and enjoying a muesli bar by 5.30am. We sorted our cases into what we would not need till we got to Onamia or even Chicago so that at each place we stopped over night we would only have to carry in the one bag. After this we were ready to be on our way. We headed down to the lobby and found the 'breakfast to go' set out so we grabbed a bagel each, had a coffee and then took a bottle of fruit juice, a banana and an apple each to be on our way. The breakfast was designed to be taken back to your room and little carrier bags were there. The choice was limited to Muffins, bagels, cereals in pre packed bowls as well as the bottle of juice, fruit and coffee and other hot drinks. It suited us perfectly as we took stuff to eat on our way. You could have sat on a bench in the lobby to eat it which we did do with our bagels as we toasted them; we also had our hot drinks there but we very happy to take the fruit and drinks too. I really have no idea what is in Elgin/West Dundee as we only used this as a stop over point to set us up for our road trip. This would NOT be somewhere to stay if you wanted to visit Chicago as it is way out of the city. It is however a great place to stay after a flight into O' Hare Airport if you are driving westwards as it is only about an hour away from the airport and a pretty straightforward drive too. You can usually rely on the Marriott for a good quality night's stay and this was no exception. The breakfast was a bit odd but it was designed as a take away and you should have taken it back to your suite but we were ready to be on our way so we ate it in the lobby and took the rest away in our car. We were not disappointed in this as the room was all we needed and the bed was wonderfully comfortable. This was all the better for being a freebie in that we used our Marriott points to pay for it. Thanks for reading. This review may be posted on other sites under my same user name. ©Catsholiday Read the complete review |
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Sandos Papagayo Arena Hotel Lanzarote (Spain)
by grahamt When we were researching resorts to visit for a Spring break, the one thing that was certain was that it would have to be somewhere where the weather was reliable. In March, even the Med can be a tad chilly. We didn't want to go long-haul so, out of what was left, The Canaries seemed the best choice. Some years ago we had enjoyed a ... break on Fuertaventura so we looked at the other islands. My brother-in-law swears by Lanzarote and goes there with his family every year so, we thought, why not? Playa Blanca seemed a good choice of resort on the island, being on the south coast and getting decent reviews on Dooyoo. Thomas Cook offered a number of hotels there and the one that attracted our attention was Sandos Papagayo Arena. Thomas Cook offered an all-inclusive deal for the two of us for around £1,300. No reviews of the hotel on Dooyoo (no category then) but Tripadvisor had several and none seemed to suggest that we would find any issues serious enough to put us off. As the name suggests, the Sandos Papagayo Arena hotel is to be found in the Papagayo district of Playa Blanca, which is at the most easterly end of the resort. The hotel is, in fact, the very final hotel; beyond it are only private homes, apartments, villas and wilderness. The hotel does offer a free shuttle into Playa Blanca and back several times a day so, although it is a good half hour walk along the coast promenade into town, you can take the easy option if you wish. The Marina is only around 15 minutes away and deserves a visit, if only for the great selection of restaurants and shops and for the weekly street market. The Hotel ~~~~~~ All-inclusive guests, and most seemed to be, are indicated as such for the duration of the stay with the usual obligatory coloured wrist band. Checking in was no problem and we were provided with two card-keys for the room. What we didn't realise at the time was that the safe in the room required a key to enable it to be activated, for which a deposit against return was required. Also, although pool towels are provided, in order to get yours you have to obtain a voucher from reception to present to the attendant in the sports facility in order to obtain them. On returning the towels at the end of your stay, these vouchers must be obtained, to hand back to Reception, otherwise you'll be in trouble! Be aware though, that the hotel will not accept any charges to your room. They claim that this is because they have had too many "runners". This is a hazard all hotels experience but I don't think that the inconvenience of having to carry credit cards around with you to pay for chargeable extras warrants this policy by the management. The rooms are in several blocks around the complex. The lower rooms rise from beach level, sloping backwards up the cliff against which they are built. You can't actually see the patio outside each lower room because of the amount by which each level is set back from the one below, so privacy is assured. The sun decks and pools are actually on Level 7 so you have the strange situation that if you are in one of these rooms with a sea view you go up to the rest of the hotel, not down! Sun, sea and sand ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The hotel overlooks a small bay but, if you're looking for a nice, enclosed beach, forget it; below the hotel the beach, such as it is, is all stones at the top of the beach and a small expanse of grey/black sand, exposed only when the tide goes out. The beach is much more notable for the array of messages of love spelled out in stones, facing towards the hotel, undoubtedly the work of those seeking a holiday romance! Fear not though, a short walk of around 10 to 15 minutes over the headland from just outside the hotel entrance will bring you to some of the best sand on the island. The Playa Papagayo beaches are huge expanses of golden sands bordering clear seas, though too chilly for me at this time of year. Be aware though that there are no facilities here at all so, if you decide to go and spread out in the sun, you'll have to take everything you need with you. If you decide you don't need the exercise then the hotel has a number of pools for it's guests and all seem well-maintained, clean and safe. Around these pools are extensive areas for those who just want to take the sun and sun-loungers are provided for guests. The pool areas are not protected from the wind from the direction of the sea, which is the prevailing direction, because all of the accommodation blocks in that direction are lower than the pool decks. The pool and sun decks are surrounded by low walls of either concrete or glass but these do little to inhibit the wind if you are any distance at all from them. In the height of summer a little breeze would be welcome; in March it was a pain. Sun-shades are not found everywhere though and those that there are are bolted to the ground and unmoveable because of the almost constant wind. Also, many of these sun-shades are broken and in need of repair or replacement. The sun-loungers are in a reasonable state but I wouldn't call them comfortable: it isn't possible to put the back in an almost upright position when you want to read! There is one main bar for the sun decks and, nearby, an all-day café for snacks as and when you want them. All drinks around the pools are served in unbreakable containers, as you would expect. Cruzcampo beer is available on tap plus a whole range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There is also an ice cream booth. Around the middle pool, entertainments take place at various times of the day so, if you don't want to be disturbed it would be best to choose somewhere else to plonk yourself down. It can get a bit noisy and the noise does tend to leak out into other areas but, I must admit, it didn't disturb me. The main hotel complex, where all the facilities are to be found, is the top-most block. The main hotel is centred around a large, round atrium that rises through all the floors. The bars and restaurants all lead off from this atrium, as does the access to the rooms. The Reception is on the highest floor and this is the entry level from the street. The Rooms ~~~~~~~ Our room was in the lower block, overlooking the bay. We were on Floor 5, just one floor down from the pools and sundecks. The room was large, as was the bed, which was quite comfortable. However, it was nothing more than two single beds side-by-side, with nothing to keep them together, so you had to be careful not to fall down the gap! As well as our own patio beyond sliding glass doors, between the sleeping area and the patio was a lounge area, with a sofa and armchairs. The bathroom was also large. The bath also had a shower. There were two separate basins, "his" and "hers", a toilet and a bidet. There was a bin by the toilet although there were no instructions about disposing of toilet paper in the bin rather than flushing it down the loo but, as you are expected to do so in most holiday resorts of this kind, we did. The room had a minibar although we just used it for drinking water and milk. There were no facilities for making tea or coffee but we had brought a travel kettle with us. Otherwise, there was only a TV and that with just one English language station, CNN News. However, the TV did have an auxiliary input, of which I used the sound sockets to connect my mobile phone with a lead I had brought with me, so I could use the music player to play CDs I had converted to MP3s; it worked very well. All in all the room was very comfortable and perfectly acceptable or our holiday. Food and drink ~~~~~~~~~ The hotel has four restaurants: two restaurants are for general use and operate on a buffet basis, nominally International and Italian in style; two have to be pre-booked, one French and one "Oriental". There is no additional charge for the Oriental restaurant; you need to book because of the limited space. There is an additional charge for some dishes in the French restaurant though. The food quality is reasonable in both the buffet restaurants and a fair variety of dishes is maintained on a day-to-day basis although there are the regulars as well. I was surprised that rice wasn't available almost at all. The Italian dishes were, to mind, better although there was an emphasis on pizza. Drinks available consist of fruit juices, soft drinks, beer and wine. The wine is all dispensed from fonts: red, white and rosé are available. I have to say that I found all of the wine, especially the rosé, (which I am yet to be persuaded isn't simply the white and red mixed together!) almost undrinkable; the red was the best of the worst. The beer was OK though. The fruit juice was very weak and tasted watered down. We ate one night in the French restaurant. The experience was reasonably enjoyable. The atmosphere was very subdued, perhaps as a result of only half the tables being occupied! Service was good but the food was nothing special. We also ate one night in the Oriental restaurant. Here the food is buffet service although some meats are carved and served to you. We did find the dishes somewhat odd: it was difficult to define exactly what part of the Orient they were intended to represent. Once again, the food was reasonable but nothing more. There are various bars around the hotel, on various levels but the one which we chose to visit after our evening meal tended to be the Green Bar. This is the one in which there is regular entertainment. Spirits are best value here and measures are generous. In a climate such as you are likely to find, at least during the summer months, your consumption of water will probably rise. Water, like all other drinks, at least those classified as "local" in origin (i.e. Spanish) are free in an all-inclusive package. A bottle of mineral water is provided in your room when you arrive but the hotel does not make it easy to renew supplies. Bottled water is available, at a cost, from various machines dotted around the complex. However, there is only one place to refill your bottles for free and this is from two dispensers at the end of one bar on a floor below Reception, and often we found the containers empty with no staff making any efforts to replace them! Conclusions ~~~~~~~~ We enjoyed our stay but felt that it could have been so much better. I suppose that with the World economy as it is, it us difficult but we felt that economies had been made which somewhat spoilt the overall enjoyment: the food was mediocre; the equipment around the pools had clearly seen better days; the refusal to accept room charges; the difficulty in getting drinking water. The hotel itself is a long way out of Playa Blanca and it does require determination to get out of the hotel to see the town and, indeed, the rest of the island. There is a dedicated car hire desk in the Reception lobby and we did use them and found them reasonable and reliable. However, it was clear from our exploration of the area that there are far better hotels in the area. I doubt we would return to Sandos Papagayo Arena if we were to return to Playa Blanca, however that would not be because the hotel has anything objectionable about it, only that you could undoubtedly get better value, though maybe at a bit higher cost. Abridged version of review posted on TripAdvisor. 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Hotel Kubrat Berlin Mitte (Berlin, Germany)
by grahamt Our recent short break in Berlin gave us an opportunity to discover a city we had not previously visited. Consequently we had no idea where would be a good place to base ourselves. Our visit was originally intended to have been combined with a training course my wife was running in nearby Potsdam but, as it turned out, our German hosts ... screwed up the arrangements and so our short break turned out to be all play and no work. Our hosts had, however, recommended us a suitable hotel and, checking it out on Tripadvisor, it seemed that it would be a not unpleasant experience. At a discount rate of Euro87.50 a night plus Euro7.50 for breakfast, it would not be an expensive one, for a city centre hotel. But how would it rate otherwise? Hotel Kubrat Berlin Mitte, to give it its full name is located, as the "Mitte" bit of the name suggests, pretty much in the centre of Berlin. In fact it is located close to the junction of Leipziger Strasse and Freidrichstrasse, and just around the corner from the world-famous site of Checkpoint Charlie. This part of Berlin was in East Berlin, before the Berlin Wall came down, back in 1989. Leipziger Strasse runs East/West, parallel to Unter den Linden, which is just 1km North, up Freidrichstrasse, an easy walk of about 10/15 minutes. The Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building can be easily reached on foot in 30 minutes or in around 10 minutes on Berlin's excellent train system. The Gendarmenmarkt, famous for its restaurants, is just across the road. For location, the hotel could hardly be much better. The hotel is unspectacular from the outside, victim, undoubtedly, to the unimaginative building style imposed on East Berlin by its Russian masters when Berlin was reconstructed from the devastation of WWII. The addition of a conservatory style extension on the front, extending to the edge of the pavement, is the only distinguishing feature. This houses the hotel's restaurant in which you take breakfast. Alongside is an open-air patio for those who have not yet given up the weed. The hotel is no-smoking. We were made to feel most welcome; all of the staff with whom we dealt spoke good English. Our room (204) was on the first floor and overlooked the central courtyard, enclosed on all sides by the hotel and other buildings. Here, there was no traffic noise from the busy roads indeed, little noise at all, even with the windows open. The courtyard does contain car parking spaces for those arriving by car. Our first impressions of our room were mixed. The room was more a suite than a room: the entrance lobby was divided from the sleeping area by another door and where was to be found all of the storage; the bathroom opened off this lobby as well; yet another, a shower room, also opens off of the lobby. This latter is strange: the space is actually larger than the bathroom but contains nothing more than a standard sized shower in the far corner, plus a table for toiletries, and a footstool! Opening up the clothes storage, a very limited number of hangers were provided and, stranger even than this, most of the shelves were missing! However, there were adequate drawers. On entering the sleeping area, an unpleasant stale sweat smell was evident. It gave the impression that the room had not been aired for some time. However, after a few hours with the windows open whilst we went out to explore Berlin, the smell had dissipated, not to return during our stay. Our room was a twin rather than the double, with a large unit between the beds, preventing them being brought together. All of the furniture, save for a sofa, was made from white finished chipboard, even the bed bases, which had clearly seen better days. However, the whole suite was very clean so the issue was really just one of appearance. There was also a free-standing fan though no air-conditioning. Heating was by way of substantial cast-iron radiators with thermostatic valves, but the one in the bathroom didn't work! In the shower room there was just an electric wall heater. Entertainment was provided by the usual TV but no English language channels were available, not even the ubiquitous CNN! Fortunately we didn't have to rely upon this as the weather, whilst cold, did not prevent us getting out in to Berlin during our stay. Breakfast is provided in the conservatory at the front of the hotel and consists of the usual continental fare, cereals, cold meats, cheese and salads. Bread consists only of rolls so, no opportunity to have toast. However, you can tear the rolls up and have them with butter, margarine and jams. Fruit juices are available, as well as coffee and tea. So, how did we enjoy our stay? Well, first of all, let's confirm that for a city-centre hotel, value for money cannot be questioned. The hotel itself was comfortable and the staff could not have been more welcoming or helpful. However, let's be honest, the atmosphere does seem to reflect its location in what was the former East Berlin. It gives the impression that it is struggling to throw off the influences of the former Russian masters of this part of Germany but has yet to entirely succeed. Having said that, were we to return to Berlin, and that is entirely possible, I would have no qualms about staying here again. Read the complete review |
Europe Hotel International |
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