Advantages: Lovely surroundings, (mainly) delicious tea. Disadvantages: Poor service
An enjoyable, but disappointing for the cost, afternoon tea at The Savoy.
The location is ideal, on the Strand adjacent to Covent Garden, an easy walk from several tube stations and on several bus routes.
The facade of the hotel and the lobby are beautiful, as is the lounge area where tea is taken. During tea, a pianist plays, which is a lovely accompaniment, although some of the songs seemed a bit modern given the setting!
Unfortunately the service was not what you would expect. We waited quite a long time for various things and staff could be seen chatting in the corners while people waited etc.
There was an excellent choice of tea and the option to try as many as you wished. The Savoy blend which we chose was delicious, apart from our last pot, which didn't seem to have been brewed freshly and came out grey ...
Advantages: Free minibar, nice room and bathroom, tram stop right outisde Disadvantages: Too pricey for me, not so central, not so special
romantic enough to go with my boyfriend in the winter.
Next step was booking the hotel. I must say, I don?t normally mind about accommodation, I feel comfortable nearly anywhere, but this time, I wanted to treat myself. Unfortunately, I soon found out that Amsterdam is a really pricey place when it comes to hotel stays, and I was going to have to spend a lot of money to keep away from a shabby room in the red light district. I was going to settle for a basic double room in the centre for 105 Euros a night (breakfast not included) when I came across the SavoyHotel Amsterdam. The price was only al little bit more, and included a lot of extras. I decided to book us in for the week end. Unfortunately, as I booked our double room and changed the number of guests to 2, the price went up to 294 Euros for 2 nights. More than I wanted to pay, but it ...
Advantages: lovely historic city Disadvantages: may be limiting if you want a big city scene
Earlier this year, we were searching for somewhere new to go for our annual 2 week holiday. In previous years we have mostly stayed in Dorset (UK) and France, and I have travelled a lot elsewhere in Europe. My son goes to football practice every Saturday and one of the other Dads suggested Switzerland.
Immediately I could think of many reasons not to go there - its too upmarket, too expensive and surely its not going to be as hot as say the Mediterranean or the Costas?
However I got a guide book and it seemed Switzerland had got a lot to offer - the Alps obviously, cycling and walking countryside, loads of Lakes (where the weather looked promising), culture, shops, historic cities and loads of scenic railway routes which would appeal to my son.
We booked a self-catering chalet about 10 miles from Bern, and decided to take the car ...
