Advantages: Pure unadulterated luxury and great service
Disadvantages: erm... nope can't think of any

...I like doing really daft spontaneous things. That's why I told my partner we were going out for dinner at the Hotel Du Vin in our nearby town of Tunbridge Wells, but secretly booked us into a luxury double room upstairs too. Now seeing as Tunbridge Wells is only a few miles away, it was a tiny bit of a decadent gesture but hey, let's go mad once in a while. I nearly managed to blow the whole surprise when in the bar for an aperitif I told him the glass of wine had already gone to my head! 'How are we going to drive home then?' he said worriedly. He then preceded to spend the whole evening weighing up the options of trying to catch the last train home, or splashing out on a cab and collecting the car the next day. Knowing our bags were already upstairs from when I'd checked in that afternoon I smiled to myself. Luckily the food... Read review

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Advantages: They ask you to take the `freebies` away !
Disadvantages: Gets very busy and may need to book well in advance.

...History : Many years ago when I was a young under age alcohol drinking teenager living in a small village outside Winchester, Hampshire my friends and I would go to what was then called the `Southgate Hotel` to sneak inside the stale smelling bar to pretend we were 18 and sip martini and cinzanos believing we were the height of chic...................... In 1994 some one had the good heart to transform my illegal drinking den into the first Hotel Du Vin, a hotel built on its reputation of quality and turn it into something so chic, smooth and luxurious that I had to pinch myself the first time I revisited it. This is now one of several Hotel Du Vins and has been an adult retreat for me for 3 times now - I like to think that both myself and the hotel have improved with age ! Location: The Hotel Du Vin... Read review

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Advantages: Great location, even greater wine cellar
Disadvantages: Breakfast was not quite to the standard I was expecting.

...Hotel du Vin are an exclusive brand of boutique style restaurants beginning with their first Hotel in Winchester back in 1994 this popular brand have spread across the UK at a rate of knots. With Hotels in Harrogate, Henley On Thames, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, and Tunbridge Wells. The next 12 months are going to be one of the most exciting in HdV’s history with Hotels opening in Cheltenham, Cambridge, York, Poole and Newcastle. HdV offer the hotel guest an exclusive experience far different from any other hotel chain in the UK with the exception of course of Malmaison its sister company. Each hotel offers individual qualities or facilities but all contain certain specific requirements in order to make them part of the HdV ethos. HdV Harrogate appears to be one of the more written about hotels in the chain, but I guess... Read review

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Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

...I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side of the canal to where the two lovers, played by Annabella and Jean-Pierre Aumont, settle against one another on a bench, despairing and apparently doomed I simply didn't look back. I couldn't. Since that Sunday afternoon I have always had something of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir... Read review

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Advantages: Good service
Disadvantages: none

...A first time traveller to Kota Kinabalu need not be afraid of not finding good accomodation. Kota Kinabalu has a very good range of suitable hotels for both the tourist and business traveller. The Shangri-la Tanjung Aru has long been established as a popular beach front resort hotel which is located approximately 20 minutes from the centre of the city. It has a nice relaxed atmosphere and a very good buffet breakfast spread which even includes japanese noodles and sushi. Prices are relatively high but promotional offers during non peak seasons can be very good. A newer and undoubtably my favourite hotel is the Sutera Harbour Hotel, located next to Magellan and the Royal Yacht Club. The rooms have very big windows which afford stunning views of the sunset on the clear waters or if you opt for the left wing, then a view of the 18... Read review

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Advantages: excellent service, location
Disadvantages: none

...This is a great 4 star hotel in the centre of interlaken, close to all public transport including the 2 rail stations. Rail and bus travel is cheap in Switzerland. It is close to the centre of interlaken and has amazing views of the Jungfrau. It has a great restaurant and bar in the hotel as well as lovely gardens. This is a family friendly hotel with good disabled facilities. The staff offer excellent customer service and they speak french, english and german so helpful to all visitors. The hotel is central to tourist attractions in the area including the Jungfrau where you have to get a train too as well as the area where there is edelweiss flowers close by. The town has excellent facilities eg swimming. I would recommend this hotel and a visit to Interlaken.... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap
Disadvantages: Very harsh, has a acidity taste

...Marks & Spencers the day before. The wine in question wss the Vin de Pays du Gers and the culprit for my purchasing this wine was none other than our "In-House Wine Connoisseur" Miss Blurbubble. A bit about the wine before I start bubbling (intended mention) about the wine itselft. Vin de Pays du Gers is basically the second most produced wine in France. 1,800,000 Hl of the wine is produced yearly and produced in an area referred to as the "Gers" in France. Marks & Spencers, like other makers such as Tesco etc, have joined in the band wagon of having their names attached to economically viable and economically priced wines, by linking up with French companies that provide and produce the respective labels of wine. Unforunately the wine in question is absolutely horrible. It was lucky that I was already "happy" after my... Read review

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Advantages: Pleasant, easy drinking, cheap wine
Disadvantages: Sometimes Aldi run out

...We have all been beefing about being reduced to writing ops in the new Food & Drink category, then it hit me – an excuse to drink more wine! Where I used to go to the cinema with a notebook, to write film reviews, now I can sit at home, slurp and try to write something coherent. Great. I thought of attempting to write a proper wine review, of a really good bottle, then thought I’d be honest and tell you what I normally drink. Baron Saint Jean Vin de Pays du Gard is sold exclusively (as far as I can tell) by Aldi. They sell is at an unbelievable £2.09 a bottle. A proper, 75cl bottle! I can’t remember why I first took a chance and bought a bottle – either extreme woolyheadedness or a week when I was totally skint. But I was very glad that I did. It’s alright! Now I usually like a full, well-rounded red... Read review

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Advantages: Absolute bargain basement!!
Disadvantages: Sharp acidic taste, not good if your a recovering Alcoholic

...first choice was two cases of Chalis Premier Cru (1999) at £12.99 a bottle. This is one of my all time favourite wines and is perfect for any occasion. (Goes very well with wild salmon canapés) and of course I also purchased the obligatory case of Moet and Chandon. Since having a sense of humour, this dictated that I should to get them all pissed on good wine (as one does!) and then pull out the ‘battery acid’ and see if they noticed…well to cut a long story short they didn’t, although it could have had something to do with them all being as drunk as lords!! On to the Wine! Vin de pays du Gers (2001), at what can only be described at the amazingly low price of £2.99. I surprisingly liked this wine, described as being a ‘full of palate-tingling sharp apples, lemons and limes’ Vin de pays d Gers is a popularly produced wine in France... Read review

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Advantages: Distinct flavour
Disadvantages: Can be pricey, bit too sour

...OH gawd! I’m at it again! Another alcohol opinion – seems I can only go one or two opinions without writing one but the food categories – well, let’s just say that I don’t eat a lot! Today’s subject – Marks and Spencer Vin De Pays du Gers – a French white table wine, though what the “du Gers” bit means I couldn’t tell you. I bought two bottles of this just before Christmas and took one bottle over to the parents for Christmas dinner and kept the other in my fridge. We polished off the first bottle over the turkey and I have just hauled the other bottle out of the fridge and finished it off myself. The description on the bottle made us all laugh -“ refreshing and vivacious” – VIVACIOUS?! How so with a wine? It didn’t dance around the table or tell us jokes or anything! Although it certainly was refreshing and unusually tangy – I... Read review

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