Best Western New Hotel Crystal, Pokhara

Advantages: Cheap, right by Times Square, friendly staff
Disadvantages: Rooms may be too small for some fussy travellers!

...When I was booking a holiday for my partner and I to go to New York, I did a lot of research about hotels, locations, sight-seeing spots etc and then tried to find the best one out of a huge list I made. I didn't want to pay a lot for the hotel because I knew we wouldn't be in it much, and when I saw the Best Western name, I thought it would be a good idea to stick with what I know! So I booked 4 nights in this hotel in December 2005, my second trip to the fantastic NYC. We easily got a transfer from the airport, and gave the driver the address which I had printed out before we left the UK. We speedily set off into the manic NYC traffic in our little yellow cab, and were there within about 1 hour, not bad considering the traffic! The hotel had a nice frontage, it was all gold, had loads of Christmas lights and little Christmas trees... Read review

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Advantages: Spectacular scenery and a wealth of opportunities for outdoor pursuits.
Disadvantages: Not great if you are not into outdoor pursuits. Leeches.

...into that category or not. There's also three major trekking routes in and around Annapurna for the more enterprising souls; not being a hardcore mountaineer myself, I can't tell you as much as a good guidebook. However, the basic routes run to Jomsom Muktinath, Annapurna Base Camp, or via a circuit of the Annapurna range itself. Many short treks run in the surrounding area as well; you can get information on these from any good book or from the various information centres in the area (although you can be sure that they will try and sell you something to go with it). As far as I am aware, most of the neighbouring area is relatively easily accessible and not too physically demanding, offering spectacular views of the mountains and plenty of hotels (of course). Closer to Pokhara, the sights are a little more thin on the ground; there's some shops... Read review

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Advantages: Independently Owned & operated Good Quality
Disadvantages: Very Few

...Best Western Hotels are among the world’s largest hotel brands but is actually somewhat unusual. This international hotel chain is made-up of individually owned and operated hotels and inns around the globe. However, reputedly it is not easy to qualify for membership of Best Western – prospective members must meet some very exacting standards and each hotel in UK is independently inspected on an annual basis by the AA. Globally there are around 4,000 hotels in the group whilst there are several hundred in the UK. Some are bustling city centres hotels, others are nicely converted Elizabethan lodges and some are plush Georgian style country manor houses. Among Best Western hotels in London are the Delmere Hotel, Hyde Park, the John Howard Hotel, Kensington, the Mornington Hotel, Lancester Gate, Raglan Hall... Read review

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