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Alexandra Hotel (London)
by milly234
This hotel is located near to Paddington train station in london and lancaster gate tube (on the cntral line). I would say it as about 7 minutes walk from both stations (if that). It is located in Paddington and it is very very close to Hyde Park. We stayed there on a Saturday night and paid £70 (i think) for both of us for a night and ... that ot us a twin room and breakast.
The breakfast was a buffet arrangement consisting of cereals (cornflakes and rice crispies) and toast, a selection of meats and cheese and jams, and yoghurts. You could just help yourself and have whatever you anted so this was ok. If I couldd have not paid for this though, woudn't have because I would have rather picked something up somewhere else like at the station. The breakfast tables were clean, there were lots of them and it was generally fine.
The room was a bit weird. Normally twin rooms have beds which can b pushed together but these were arranged end to end in a very small narrow room. The room had a little wardrobe with hangers, a desk and a TV and tea and coffee making facilities.
The beds were fine and comfortable, but they didt have duvets, just blankets and I always think that is a turnoff in a hotel room for me. There were also not enough pillows but I am sure that if we asked we could have got more.
We didn't bookk through the hotel website, we booked through Totalstay.com and printed a voucher which we had to hand in. There were no problems with this at all which was good, although we could have easily booked directly though the hotel.
The hotel we had to give the key in when we went out, and then ask for it on the way back in. We didnt have to give any id or anythig though which I thought was a bit disconcerting, all we had to do was give th room number.
In our room as well the TV was broken as in the bracket holding it to the wall meant you couldn't watch it from bed (until wedged it using a coat hanger). You could watch it from the toilet though!
Tha bathroom was tiny, it had a mini shower, a toilet and a sink and it as more like a wet room - you could have had a shower and a wee and brushed your teeth at the same time. This was a bit uncomfortable, but it was ok and you could put up with it.
Check out was easy and everything was fine! The staff were ok too but they could have been nicer. One bad thing was how we had to get to our room. it was a case of up to floor 3 then round the bend, down the corridor, up a flight of stairs and then down the corridor. Bit tricky. Also the lift nearly ate me when I tried to get into it - you know how the doors usually reopen when someone comes in - they didnt, it just closed on me and I was really frightened.
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Hanover Hotel (Edinburgh)
by masterreviewer
I stayed in this Hotel in July 2 years ago during my first visit to this fantastic City.
We travelled by train from London to Waverly and then walked to the hotel. It was only about 20 mins on foot. Hotels can be very expensive near the centre, especially this time of year but I booked via justonehotel.com and got a ... really good deal. I think it was £450 for 4 nights including breakfast (for 2). That was a fair bit off of all other quotes so I was a little concerned about what the hotel would be like!
I was plesently suprised. It was fairly modern, very clean, friendly foreign staff who spoke perfect English so there were no problems wich communication. Our room was really nice and the bed was really comfy. There was a fridge and inside we found 2 little plastic boxes containing our continental breakfast! Each on contained a box of cereal, a carton of milk, a carton of juice, a bread roll, jam and cheese. The room also had tea/coffee making facilities so really all that you need to start off the day!
Situated on Rose Street which is one of the best streets for bars and pubs. Infact, there is a lively bar right next door to the hotel which stayes open to the early hours and with the smoking ban in place means large rowdy crowds form outside. However, noise was never an issue, even if it was really noisy outside.
We never had to use public transport. You can walk to the Royal Mile and the 'old town' in about 30 mins to see all of the best attractions (don't miss Mary Kings close, it's fantastic) and if you want to stay in the 'new town' it's right on your doorstep so location is ideal.
There are pleny of bars and restaraunts litterally minutes away and plenty to keep you occupied from the moment you leave in the morning, till you come back late at night so you will only be spending minimal time in your room and it's perfect for doing just that. If you found yourself staying in though, each room has a TV so you wont be bored!
When you come back to your room after a long day, it's been cleaned, beds made and fridge re-stocked with tomorrows breakfast!
I'd love to go back to Edinburgh and would definately stay in this Hotel again.
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Redwood Lodge Regal Hotel (Bristol)
by cpj1987
I made my visit to the Redwood Lodge Hotel in Bristol just before Christmas last year (2009).
Along a long, quiet country lane, the hotel was surprisingly easy to find. However, whilst I expected a quality country lodge in spacious surroundings, based on what I'd read elsewhere, I was greeted by a building that looked ... decidedly like my old state secondary school from the outside; square and uninteresting.
Parking was free, so my boyfriend and I pulled up close to the door and went inside, where we were met by a friendly member of staff at a reception desk to our left. The process of signing in was left to my boyfriend, but appeared decidedly easy, and we then decided to head straight to our room. Maybe 'straight' isn't the right word - the trip there was much like a marathon in itself as we'd been assigned a room at the very back end of the building. The corridors may have been well signposted, but they did seem to go on forever, they still looked like school corridors, and there were extremely noticeable changes in temperature throughout the journey which made me extremely grateful that by the time we reached our room, we were in a warm spot.
The room itself couldn't be complained about. The decor may have been a bit old-fashioned, but the bed was comfortable, there was a chair and a desk (and a cot, for some reason, since we'd not requested one!), and a working television. The en-suite bathroom was well-decorated and modern, usual toiletries were provided, and there was plenty of storage space including an in-room safe. Simple, all in all, but everything we could need was there. I'll say now that we'd paid £60 for the standard double room through LateRooms.com. Prices can go as high as £160 for the same, according to their website.
Then, we remembered that we'd left something in the car. Cue another ten minute walk back to the car park (to the point that, on return to the building, my boyfriend had to buy an overpriced glass of Coke from the bar near the door to gear himself up for a return to our room).
The hotel apparently boasts sport facilities including a swimming pool, but my boyfriend and I saw no sign of these, and can only assume that they were in the other direction (maybe twenty minutes from our room?), and rather than go searching the rest of the hotel we opted to stay in our room for the night and order room service. We ordered two pizzas (his a margherita, mine a spicy), and a portion of chips, and awaited the delivery. When our food arrived, the order was wrong and contained two pizzas neither of us wanted to try. We called again to 'complain', and received replacements with a friendly apology just over 15 minutes later - not bad!
The next morning, I got to experience the joys of the shower - a powerful, refreshing device that really woke me up. No complaints there!
We then packed our bags (not wanting to make the effort of returning to our room again), and took them to breakfast with us (this was included in the price).
Breakfast was excellent, if a little awkward. The large breakfast room had a few lost-looking members of staff milling around, and a few guests at various tables. At 22 and 23 respectively, my boyfriend and I were easily the youngest in the room by at least 30 years, but the mood was quiet and civilised though I couldn't help feeling that I was being watched whilst I ate due to the lack of conversation and the silence around. Food was high quality, and included cereals, various juices, and an excellent hot breakfast buffet selection including hash browns (yum!), sausages, high quality bacon, beans (not my thing!) and various bread and toast products. Staff left us alone, but did strike up conversation with other diners which was in equal measures appreciated and treated with contempt.
Saying our farewells and checking out, meanwhile, was an easy process after breakfast, and we left with aching muscles but with a good night's sleep behind us.
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