Archive for December, 2008
The famous Temple Bar in Dublin is known for its medieval, cobbled streets and lively nightlife. It’s a magnet for tourists and, as with all popular tourist destinations, it’s always worth having a recommendation for a good place to eat.
One of the booksellers in the market opposite recommended The Quays Irish Restaurant for lunch. We were right in the heart of Temple Bar and were not disappointed with his recommendation.
The Christmas Lunch menu had a varied selection and the Slow-cooked Steak & Guinness Stew was absolute heaven after a very early start from London that morning.
The others in my group had similar good comments about their choices - fish and chips, bangers and mash and lamb shank.
The atmosphere was warm, cosy and friendly - perfect on a winter’s day in Dublin.
Filed under: Destinations, Places to Eat, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations, UK & Ireland | The Quays Irish Restaurant|No Comments
Maldron Hotel Parnell Square is a 3 star hotel, just off Parnell Square, north of the Dublin’s main shopping and entertainment areas.
I was there for just a 1 night stay last weekend and thought I would write a review for Your Travel Planner readers.
The hotel is conveniently situated, although I preferred areas south of the centre and the River Liffey, such as St Stephen’s Green. However, O’Connell Street, Dublin’s main thoroughfare, is a 5 minute walk and the main shopping and entertainment areas, such as Temple Bar, Grafton and Henry Street are within a 10-15 minute walk.
We requested the quieter rooms at the back of the hotel and these were nicely appointed, with a stylish and contemporary feel. The beds are very comfortable and extra pillows were provided in the room. The air-conditioning seemed to work fine and windows could be opened if needed. There was a flat screen TV in the room, tea and coffee making facilities and a small iron and ironing board (which, though useful, would be more effective if it was bigger!).
The bathrooms are simple but fine. However, the only bathroom product was a soap dispenser (Dove) by the sink and in the shower.
Buffet breakfast was included in our rate and there was a good choice of continental and English. One big positive was that it was served from 8am to 11am on weekends, great for those late Saturday nights in Dublin!
The front of house staff were friendly and the hotel was very accommodating when we had to leave our bags before check-in on Saturday and after check-out on Sunday.
Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the bar, as it was never open when we would have liked to have a drink (late Saturday evening and mid-afternoon on Sunday).
However, overall, I think Maldron Hotel Parnell Square offers great value for money and is a good choice for a weekend stay.
Filed under: Destinations, Hotels, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations, UK & Ireland | Review Maldron Hotel Parnell Square, weekend stay Dublin, Your Travel Planner|No Comments
I guess the ultimate in making travel savings is to sightsee the virtual way.
Take a walk down Oriental Parade in Wellington, see the sights of Kyoto, explore the streets of Seville…all with a few clicks of your mouse.
Google Street View is a fun feature of Google Maps and Google Earth. It gives users street-level views of selected places around the world, meaning that you can take a virtual stroll along their streets.
When it was launched in May 2007, only five American cities were included, but now there are street-level images in thousands of locations in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Of course, exploring New York for real is better than seeing it online, but it’s still fun to be able to do it in your lunch break, or when the children have gone to bed. And it does have its uses when you are going somewhere because it’s a fantastic way to research your destination before you go.
You may also like to try www.everyscape.com. It includes tours of Beijing’s section of the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. However, Beijing is one of only two cities outside the US on the site (the other is Krakow).
Filed under: Fun Travel Sites | everyscape, Google street level views, take a street level virtual tour|No Comments
With the credit crunch in our news every day, many people will be looking at ways to save money on next year’s holiday.
Unfortunately the pound is not so good against the euro, so bookings for British holidays look certain to rise in 2009 and taking a UK cottage holiday will be an option for many families.
The UK weather this summer was summed up by many people as disastrous and I did hear of people coming home early because they were too wet! My advice to combat similar weather in 2009 would be to look for a cottage with an indoor pool and indoor activities such as a games room.
For example, Heart of the Lakes are one of the few self catering accommodation agents in the Lake District to offer the benefit of FREE Leisure Club Membership with all holiday home bookings. Or search for a cottage with shared facilities.
If you want to stay in popular areas such as Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, I suggest you do BOOK EARLY and, as ridiculous as it sounds, BEFORE CHRISTMAS is not too early. This way, you can be sure of decent accommodation, with a good choice of areas and good facilities.
Some places are already booked up for the school summer holidays; all family accommodation at Red Doors Farm in Devon is booked, although they still have availability for their couples accommodation. A quick check on Heart of the Lakes this morning shows good availability so start searching!
Want some help with finding a UK cottage for summer? Then get in touch and we can arrange a FREE initial consultation.
www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, UK & Ireland | cottage with shared facilities, heartofthelakes, luxury cottage games room, luxury cottage indoor pool, luxury cottages in devon, luxury cottages in lake district, reddoorsfarm, self catering accommodation lake district, UK cottage|No Comments
Looking for a stress-free Christmas? Then staying in a family friendly hotel in the UK could be the answer.
Christmas is a time of celebration with our loved ones, but I’m sure most parents would agree that it can also be VERY stressful.
Recently, I’ve been doing some holiday research into an alternative way to make Christmas a special time that you and your family will remember, even though you’re away from home.
Many UK hotels have special Christmas and New Year events and breaks. The family friendly hotels offer parents a chance for someone else to do Christmas…and still make it extra special.
The luxury hotel, Clivedon, is a grand stately home set in the heart of the Berkshire countryside. As well as Christmas Day lunch, there’s plenty for the family to enjoy - a Boxing Day treasure hunt, indoor heated pool, indoor tennis, snooker room and children’s rooms with Nintendo Wii games, DVDs on 42″ screens and traditional games.
The Grove Hotel is an 18th century, luxury country estate in Hertfordshire that offers a mix of traditional and contemporary. They’re offering a whole programme of entertainment for guests staying over Christmas through to New Year, including Santa’s Grotto, a pantomime, Scaletrix and family Christmas games. The Grove also has an indoor pool as well as bicycles for families to explore the grounds.
These are just two of a number of hotels where families could escape to experience a different, but equally special Christmas. As you would expect, prices are higher during Christmas and New Year. Some hotels (like The Grove) are running their Christmas activities throughout the week, so you could still take advantage of the festivities in between Christmas and New Year, when the prices are lower.
If you’re taking a hotel break at Christmas, let us know where you’re going or post a review when you get back!
Filed under: Hotels, UK & Ireland | family friendly travel, family travel ideas, holiday in UK, holiday research, luxury hotel, resort hotel|No Comments
Well here I go. It’s really exciting starting this travel blog and I’m looking forward to sharing travel tips, holiday ideas, reviews and personal travel experiences.
Topics for this travel blog will include family holidays, where to go when, travel tips, travel news and reviews.
Your Travel Planner is about sharing travel ideas with all our readers, so please do comment and interact. To start off, what would you like to see included in Your Travel Planner’s topics?
Filed under: Uncategorized | travel blog, Your Travel Planner|No Comments
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