Casa Il Cedro, Cortona

Advantages: A five-star stay…
Disadvantages: …with just three-star facilities

...simplicity often trumps ritzy ostentation. Attentive service matters, but nothing is nastier than the kind of smarmy obsequiousness that always seems to mask a sneer. And so on. Maybe it's simply down to that indefinable essence known as character or personality. These inconsequential musings are prompted by my trying to pinpoint what it was about the Casa San Blas at Cusco that I liked so much. The hotel is certainly not without its limitations and even its failings, but it's a nevertheless a charming and delightful place to stay. Let's try to summarise what it has to offer. * Location * The Casa San Blas is situated just a few minutes' walk from Cusco's Plaza de Armas (central square), and is therefore convenient for all the main sights of the ancient Inca capital, such as the Qorikancha (Sun Temple), the Cathedral... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: One of the best examples of Catalan Modernism
Disadvantages: Very expensive

...My husband has a job, which more often than not requires him to work on Christmas day and through most of the Christmas period. Whilst this is the perfect reason to turn down all invitations to spend Christmas with family, it's not the greatest way to celebrate the big day with a 14 hour shift. So last Christmas I decided that we'd have our very own Christmas but just a few days before the rest of the world. And so I booked a long weekend in Barcelona. Our hotel - The Gallery (review already posted many moons ago) was just off the Passeig de Gracia, one of Barcelona's key boulevards where you can find my favourite of the buildings designed by Antonio Gaudi - the almost impossible to pronounce, Casa Batllo. Earlier in the year I had attended a big industry conference in Barcelona and we'd had the conference 'gala' dinner in the Casa... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: OTTIMO
Disadvantages: NULLI

...Tempo fa scattai alcune foto della mia famiglia a Trieste con sullo sfondo il castello di Miramare. Chissà quanti lettori di CIAO COM avranno fatto altrettanto; foto ricordo del genere vengono scattate in continuazione in molti luoghi così anche in questo splendido parco, meta di migliaia di turisti ogni anno. Io, personalmente, però, mancavo di qualcosa: portavo a casa le immagini impresse sulla pellicola, ma senza conoscere alcun cenno storico di questo bel luogo vicino Trieste. In seguito ho scoperto che il castello di Miramare fu costruito su progetto di Carl Junke tra il 1855 e il 1860 su comissione dell'arciduca di Austria Massimiliano d'Asburgo che, nel 1850 a 18 anni voleva farsi "una casa" con giardino nei pressi di Schonbrun, ma poi, cambiando idea, acquistò il promontorio nei pressi della baia di Grignano (TS). All... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average not helpful