Here's my itinerary and honest review of a one-night break in Snowdonia staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia. If you’re looking for the absolute perfection of a one-night break in Snowdonia then here it is. I’ve lived in North Wales all my life so I know the area really well (although there’s always more …
Hotel review
Are you looking for a relaxing spa weekend in the Lake District? In today’s blog I’m sharing the details from my recent spa break to the Lakes. It was perfect and included a gorgeous spa hotel on Lake Windermere, amazing food, country pubs, pretty villages and an easy but adventurous hike nearby. I’m not going …
Mollie’s Motel Bristol Review & Summary: Mollie’s Motel is a gorgeous, stylish and affordable motel just off the M5. It’s perfect for an overnight break from driving and it’s WAY better than your standard motorway hotel! My stay at Mollie's was a complimentary press stay in exchange for an honest review. Mollie’s Motel is a …
As much as I love to travel abroad you really can’t beat a staycation, particularly when you have gorgeous weather like we did this weekend. On Friday evening my boyfriend and I travelled from our home in Chester to Penmaenuchaf Hall Hotel. I know what you’re thinking as you phonetically sound out that strange assortment …
Barcelona is full of hotels, so it makes sense to go for one that’s going to give you a memorable experience. And that’s where Barceló Raval comes into play. It’s a four-star hotel with unique décor, a rooftop bar and pool, and techie extras. Yep, this place is worth a visit for something out of …
We’ve just returned from a 4-night stay at Barcelo Nura in Biniancollet on the south coast of Menorca so I thought I’d share a quick review and some helpful tips for anyone thinking of visiting. Barcelo Nura is a new hotel in a quiet and beautiful area of Menorca. It's perfect for an adult getaway, …
As I slipped between the crisp white sheets of my king sized bed I couldn’t help but think, ‘This is the kind of place I’d like to live’. I’m setting my standards pretty high here, I know, but I’m all about aiming high. Reach for the stars and all that. Cannizaro House in Wimbledon is …
“Relax in barefoot luxury on Dominica, the ‘Nature Island’ of the Caribbean” Jungle Bay is a place where grown-up dreams come true. It was a place that captured my heart and my imagination like no other place has for years and it’s a place that I’m 100% sure I’ll be going back to. I rarely …
Two weeks into the New Year and my resolution to get fit and healthy was already waning. Why do we set ourselves resolutions at the hardest time of the year? Throughout December my body had been holding on to all those Christmas puds as though we were going into hibernation, so it was more than …
When staying in a city for more than a few days I like to have my own space. I like to set up a temporary home where I can laze around and not worry about making a mess. I also like to make myself snacks and stock up my fridge with booze and local produce. …
Elle and I spent three days at Watergate Bay Hotel on the north coast of Cornwall. We enjoyed their Taste of the Bay package which allowed us to dine at Zacry's restaurant, The Beach Hut and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall. We also had an incredible surf lesson, yoga session, spa treatments and plenty of time …
My favourite thing about staying at Lazure Marina and Hotel was going down to breakfast each morning. I'd sweep down the staircase and head towards the breakfast room where two enormous double doors would be propped open to let in the morning sunshine. Through the doors I could see the marina where the water was …
On Sunday I flew out of Heathrow at 8am for my big trip to New York and the night before I opted to stay at YOTEL at Heathrow Airport, a cabin hotel at Heathrow Airport. This meant I was able to skip the 3am journey to the airport and get a good night’s sleep before …
When stepping inside a luxury hotel it’s always the smell that I notice first. Fresh, clean and perfumed scents wash over me as the automatic doors swing open into a brightly lit lobby. A breeze sweeps through the hotel from the ocean and mingles with the flowers and expensive perfume that lingers in the air. …
Sea-Escape Fountain Court, Falmouth We arrived in Falmouth in Cornwall just before midnight on a Friday. It had been a five-hour drive from London which included a frustrating crawl along the M25, stale sandwiches and lukewarm coffee bought at an overpriced garage and a radio that wouldn’t tune in so we were left with one Elbow CD for …
If you’ve read any of my blog posts from Dominica you will have noticed I fell head over heals in love with this beautiful Caribbean island. It isn’t your typical white sand, all-inclusive, pina colada on the beach kind of island, it’s so much more. Dominica is an island for nature lovers. It’s for adventurous …
If you love weekend breaks in the UK then Bath definitely needs to be on your weekend wish list. This beautiful city with its grand, honey-coloured buildings and quaint charm is where weekend break dreams are made. As soon as I arrived in Bath I had the feeling I should have come here a long …
I’ve stayed in London hotels countless times and, if I’m honest, not many of those experiences were very memorable – well, not for the right reasons anyway! Hotels in London are usually small, cramped, bland and boring and even the worst ones will leave a little dent in your wallet. But there is one hotel …
How many times have you read a blogger’s review of a hotel and seen that they get special treatment - macarons on arrival, or champagne in the room? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing - I love those little touches that make me feel welcomed. But have you ever thought ‘that’s nice for you, …
My video and Living Room Tree House review from an incredible weekend staying in a tree house in Powys, Wales. This weekend I had the chance to make a childhood dream come true and stay in a real tree house! You may be picturing a rickety shack in the trees but Living Room tree …
They say you should never judge a book by its cover (although I admit to being guilty of that many times before). I think anyone who works in travel should update that saying, to ‘never judge a hotel by its exterior’. There are some hotels that are grand from the moment you lay eyes on …
Have you ever stayed at a hotel that you wished you could live in forever? Not just because of the luxury - the crisp sheets, the welcoming smiles, the epic breakfast - although that’s something I could do with forever. But because it just feels like home. I experienced this feeling recently when I visited …
I’m always on the lookout for nice but affordable places to stay in London. Now, there’s two words that don’t go together so well in the Big Smoke. Nice + affordable is difficult to find in London so today I’d like to introduce you to FG Properties. FG Properties offers short-term apartment rental in …
EWEN, Cirencester – Even from the car park it’s not hard to see why The Wild Duck near Cirencester attracts the sort of names you’d expect at a Royal Wedding. For a start, the 16th century pub is barely visible underneath its ever-creeping overcoat of ivy and its surrounding cloak of trees and shrubs. If …
The problem with luxury hotels is that old-fashioned, stuffy air they often have. They can be formal and uncomfortable with outdated routines and overly complicated menus. The décor might be fancy but it looks a hundred years old and I feel like I can’t relax. Why can’t luxury hotels be young and stylish? Why …
There is a level of tranquillity in a hotel that you can never achieve in your own home. At home there is always washing to be done, projects to work on, food to be cooked, a dog to be walked and rooms to be cleaned. But in a hotel you have none of that. Hotels …
The Hotel Du Vin is one of those places where you instantly feel at home…and seriously wish it was your home. According to Wikipedia (aka, the font of all knowledge), ‘This is where the stars stay when in Brighton’, so it has an understandable air of subtle exclusivity without being too flashy. It’s grand, elegant …
It's not often you find somewhere quiet in a city as loud and brash as Bangkok, but stepping behind the grassy wall to the Maduzi Hotel, you could be forgiven for forgetting that you're in the second largest metropolis in Southeast Asia. But here I am after a 22 hour stretch from my door in West …
I had just spent 5 weeks at a fitness camp in Phuket, Thailand. My body was aching and I was in dire need of a rest, so I booked myself in for a few days of R&R at Layana Resort & Spa, Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta is one of the last remaining quiet spots in the Andaman …
So you're looking for somewhere to stay for your next holiday. Do you: a) Opt for a standard budget hotel that is as generic as a Primark cardigan. You know the type; they’re boring, they’re unmemorable, they’re beige and they all look the same as soon as you’ve closed your room door. The overall experience …
Style and hostels aren’t normally two things I’d put together but over the past few years a new breed of hostel has been born. You’ll find cool hostels popping up in most cities as the demand for stylish, sociable and affordable accommodation is rising. It’s thanks to a combination of people travelling more but also …
The more hotels I stay in, the more I appreciate quirky, unusual and exciting places to stay. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a luxurious 5* hotel but it’s the cool and quirky places I’ll remember for years to come. Here in the UK we have a lot of unusual glamping options – here …
If you’re looking for a perfectly located and budget friendly hotel in London then you can’t go wrong with Mercure London Bridge. It’s stylish, friendly, clean and comfortable and most of the rooms have been recently refurbished so they’re modern and sleek. This isn’t a ‘blow your socks off’ boutique hotel, but it’s the kind …
We flew into Denpassar, Bali's international airport on a late flight from Sydney. Because it was a late flight we didn't bother with public transport and jumped straight in a taxi to Sanur. Denpassar airport is really well set up for taxis. There is an office with a fixed price to certain destinations and you …
“What time is it?” I instinctively glanced down at my watch yet again while my boyfriend grinned from ear to ear. Got me again. Yes, we were staying in a hotel room with possibly the biggest clock in the world and I was still using my little wrist watch to tell the time. The hotel …
“You can be whoever you want to be for the price of a hotel room.” I heard these words spoken by Annie Fitzsimmons, an Urban Insider Columnist for National Geographic. As soon as she said them it made me smile because I couldn’t agree more. The anonymity that comes with hotel stays means you can …
If there’s one thing that stresses me out about travelling it’s getting to the airport on time. Anyone that knows me may find this hard to believe because I’m pretty much one of the most relaxed people in the world. But when I’m sat on the train at 5am, biting my nails nervously and imagining …
I am one of the few travel bloggers who will not claim to ‘love’ budget travel. I know it's the sensible option if you want to travel long term but if I had the money I would be lapping up the 5* luxury everywhere I went.