After settling in we popped down to the Spa to check out the facilities. There was a lot to it. The Spa consisted of lots of different rooms each with a different spa option. There’s a steam room, Sauna and a brilliant round pool as you enter. The round pool felt like being in a cave. There is also a fairly big pool with some seats in it complete with jets and showers. Access to the Spa on its own can be bought for £30. A bit pricey but I’d say it’s worth it.

We decided to go out for dinner so we didn’t try the hotel restaurant. We did try the drinks though. We had a couple of cocktails in the bar in the evening sitting in the red booths that are in the lobby which I’d heartily reccommend. If I can remember right I think teh cocktails were pretty good expensive as you would imagine.

In the morning after another visit to the Spa we also checked out the sunlight room. This is basically a room decked out like a beach with strong UV lighting to recreate sunlight. With my eyes closed it did feel like I was getting some much needed sun but I wouldn’t rush back to do it again.

After a spot of sun we went to breakfast. I had a bit of a hangover so I was delighted when I saw the breakfast table. It had a range of cold meats, cereals, breads, bagels, fruit and all of the ingredients for a bloody mary including some Grey Goose Vodka. I helped myself of course. When in Glasgow. The highlight of the breakfast was some muesli that had cream mixed into it. I could have eaten that all day. It was so tasty. As soon as I’d finished a plate full of food the waitress arrived to ask if were ready to order our cooked breakfast. I was happy to be getting a cooked breakfast but it would have been good to have been told that when we sat down as by that time I was pretty full. Other than that one small problem it was a great stay in a fantastic hotel.

We took an early train from Glasgow at about 4 in the morning and we expected to have to hang around in a cafe for a while before we could check in. So we were delighted when we turned up at the Hoxton Hotel just after 10am and our room was good to go. That made it so much easier to get ready for the wedding. Within half an hour of being in the room I lost my shoes so I had to go out and try and buy some new ones. The staff at the Hoxton hotel were very helpful with directions to a shoe shop. The shop was closed but they couldn’t have known that. My shoes turned up under the bed anyway so the drama was all for nothing. It woke me up though. The staff were also really helpful printing us off directions to a diner we had seen on their website and handing out london maps and the like.

The room itself was excellent. It was a very comfortable and stylish looking room with an adjustable plasma on the wall, big bed and “couch thing” which Jo tells me is called a shez lounge. The bathroom had a fantastic power shower.

A fun feature they have is a Pret breakfast hung on your door in the morning. The night before you need to select what you want and hang it outside the room. The breakfast showed up around 7-8 am and had a bottle of orange juice, a banana and pot of granola. It’s not a big meal but surprisingly filling for a first breakfast. Depending on how much you’ve payed for your room (the price varies dramatically) the Pret breakfast is either a great bonus or a bit of a con. We payed £120 for the first night and £68 for the second. For what we paid I thought it was excellent. Another handy extra was the computer area in the lobby which had a couple of giant Macs and some Ipads.

We never actually tried out the Grill restaurant but on the Sunday night we tried out some of the cocktails at the bar. I had a Jerry’s Tea cocktail (made with Sailor Jerrys rum) and Jo had a Mojito. These were some of the most delicious cocktails I have ever had. High praise indeed for a great hotel.

I’m also floating the idea around of going on a two week trip to the West Coast of America next year with a few friends. This to me sounds like an awesome idea. We would probably fly into San Francisco and drive down through Los Angeles and then finish up in Las Vegas. I’ve only been to America for a few days in New York and a couple of days in Santa Monica so I would love to go back for longer and see more of it. A roadtrip across part of America is something I’ve always wanted to do so it’s a heavy contender.  That’s probably going to be next summer though if that’s the one I choose.

I would also like to get a bit of sun now that i’ve learned to put on sun tan lotion and stick to the shadows. Cheap package holidays could be an option for a no nonsense bit of fun but what I think would be even better is a week in Greece. My wife has been before and ever since has been talking about how great the food and the people are.  Not to mention the great scenery. This would be instead fo the America trip and not as well as.

In the meantime we’re taking a weekend trip to London and we’re going to be staying in the Shoreditch area. Stay tuned for a new hotel review.

As you can see it’s been a while since I stayed at the Point hotel in Edinburgh. I had such a great stay there though that I thought I would add a review. Bear in mind that it may have changed since I visited.

The Point Hotel is located behind Edinburgh Castle and it is only a short walk to the Royal Mile from there. When we visited the Point it was one of the first times I’d been to Edinburgh.  It was a great way to be introduced to the capital city. When we arrived we were told that we were being upgraded to a room with a hot tub. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The room was the same size as the flat I was living in at the time. It had an open plan lounge area and a bedroom separated by a partition. The bathroom was a thing of beauty.  It was massive with a huge walk in shower and a hot tub with spa powers. The bathroom was worth the price alone.  The Point Hotel has an excellent  bar on the ground floor where we got some cocktails.  After then spending the night out in Edinburgh we tried out the spa which was fantastic.  A word of warning though, drinks plus spa equals snoozey.

The room we stayed in was excellent. The bed as comfy as could be and the plush room had a big tv with dvd player. Top notch. Breakfast is something I can’t recall anything about so I think I’ll have to visit again.

I just had a look on Trip Advisor and it seems that the hotel changed hands from Mercure hotels to Accor hotels so read other  reviews as well as this one to get a more accurate idea of what the place is like.

Le Monde is located on the busy George street in Edinburgh so it’s very central and only a fifteen minute walk from Edinburgh train station.

We checked in around 3 and were giving the Paris suite. Perfect for a romantic stay. The room itself was nicely done. Very modern with a big Parisian style bed, plasma tv, and a bathroom which you could see into from the bedroom through via a window. It was a very cool looking room but as all of the rooms were different It made me want to check them all out all too.

We had booked a table in the restaurant for dinner and it started pretty well. A very nice restaurant, the menu was interesting and delicious and the staff were friendly. What the website doesn’t tell you is that the place becomes party central on Saturday night so half way through the meal the it was quite hard to hear each other talk.

Then when we got back to our room we were watching a film on tv and some numbers kept coming up in the middle of the screen making it pretty much unwatchable. I called the front desk to ask about it and they said they had no clue what it was and didnt offer to help fix it. Next we decided to get some room service. I called the front desk again and got no answer. I had t go all the way down to the front desk in person to order room service. Kind of defeats the point doesn’t it. Then the room service food got delivered to our room. We had ordered some Thai fish cakes and they were pretty nasty, like rubber. So the room service wasn’t that hot.

Breakfast on the other hand was great. Other than the waitress having to be asked three times for sauce. But hey, that’s an easy thing to forget when there’s only two or three tables to wait on.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention the sleeps. Because the hotel has a club in the basement we could hear banging music for most of the evening. Not great. If you’re going out clubbing and you don’t like room service i’d give it 4/5 but as it is i’m giving it 2/5.

I had a joint stag and hen do to go in Edinburgh a few months ago. Trying to get a hotel in Edinburgh in May is not the easiest if left until the last minute like I did. So we went to Lastminute.com and used their secret hotel service.  This is how it works. You tell them what your budget is and what kind of area the hotel needs to be in and then they pick the hotel for you from what’s available.  It’s a fun way to book a hotel if you aren’t too fussed about what you get.

The Macdonald hotel chain  is pretty big as they’ve  got around 40 hotels all over the UK.  So when I heard it was one of their hotels we were getting I knew it would be decent. And that’s pretty much what it was. Nothing fancy but a nice hotel with good friendly staff.

We got to the hotel around 3pm and I was a bit dissapointed by the room. It was nice enough but not particularly modern. The telly was particularly small and the bathroom leaked a bit.

So that’s the bad. The good includes the staff, the swimming pool and breakfast. All of the staff we encountered were very friendly and eager to assist whether it was showing us where to go when we got lost or calling us taxis.

The pool was pretty good and deserted. There was also a steam room and sauna. There was a gym but we didn’t use it. Breakfast was excellent. We were paticularly hung over so breakfast was a necessity. It was one of those big buffet affairs with cereals, fruit juices and all sorts. We tucked in then had a couple of full cooked breakfasts.

The actual sleeps were excellent so i’ll give it 3/5.

It was a hillbilly party

Lounging

I had wanted to visit the Witchery for years. Ever since finding out about it.  The Witchery is a hotel on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh right next to the castle. A room for a night at the Witchery is not cheap at around £250. Is it worth it? Absolutely. My wife and I finally got a chance to go when we were given a nights stay as a joint wedding present.

The rooms of the hotel are spread across both sides of the street. As it’s Edinburgh there was a dark narrow lane leading down to our room although it was more of a flat than a room. Our “room” had a hallway, living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom with a four poster bed. The stay also came with a complimentary bottle of champagne which suited the surroundings perfectly.  The rooms were very gothic and definitely the kind of place that will impress your other half.

Across the road from our room was the Witchery restaurant where we went for tea. The restaurant was fantastic and quite reasonably priced for the quality of food. The menu was full of great Scottish produce from fish to venison.  I would recommend the restaurant whether you’re staying at the hotel or not.

The hotel is in the perfect place for having fun in Edinburgh. From next to the castle it’s a quick walk to the pubs on the Royal Mile and only about 15  mins walk over to the new town part of Edinburgh.

The breakfast was another great feature of our stay. In the morning the maid came in with breakfast which she set up in the lounge of our suite.  A great touch.  I would love to visit this hotel again and again but with the expense that comes with it’s going to be saved for special occassions. I’m giving it 5/5.

Mmmm, Breakfast