Category: HOTELS

Pullman Hotel, Roissy Airport

The Pullman Hotel at Roissy airport is located right next to Roissypole station, between Terminals 1 and 2. It’s literally about two minutes on foot from the station to the lobby.

Since my last visit, the hotel has resumed full operations. Back in the spring there were still Covid restictions in place. This means that the pool and the gym are now back in service and open to hotel guests.

The lobby and bar area have windows all around, which gives the space a nice, bright appearance. Strangely though, whenever I visit this hotel, it feels a bit like a ghost town.

Opposite the bar there’s a small, open business centre.

During my stay, I’m upgraded to a king suite, which is spacious and nicely designed. The suites take up the space in the rounded tip of the building. In any case, there is a sitting room area with a good size working desk.

The bedroom is large and very comfortable. It’s a slightly odd shape though, owing to the rounded facade of the hotel.

There’s also an Illy espresso machine and complimentary soft drinks and beer in the fridge.

The bathroom is spacious and has a separate shower and bath.

The cosmetics are by Bigelow’s.

In addition, every room has its unique QR code that guests can use to order room service. If your rate includes breakfast, this also means that you can order breakfast to be served in your room at no extra charge. It is also possible to order breakfast for the same day, and there are multiple options for breakfast available, which allow for a lot of customization.

Seetel Hotel Atlantik, Heringsdorf-Bansin

When I decided to take this trip to Usedom, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. And that made finding a hotel a bit difficult. Moreover, if you’re looking for the big hotel chains here, you’re out of luck.

Eventually I settled on the Hotel Atlantik because I figured it offered the best mix of proximity to the beach, accessability with public transport and food.

I’m in room 10, which is on the first floor and has a balcony overlooking the promenade and the dunes behind it. The room is small but obviously well maintained and looks new. There are no tea of coffee making facilities. Only a bottle of sparkling water is provided.

The food at the hotel’s restaurant is very good. There is a three- or four course set menu every evening and the standard à la carte menu. However, the staff are great, and you can mix and change as you like.

An extended à la carte menu and a vegan menu are also available, but dishes from those menus need to be ordered in advance, at the latest by 16:00.

On one evening, the meal started with an amuse bouche of Mediterranean crêpe.

Then to start home made gnocchi with sweet potato, tomato and gorgonzola espuma from the set menu.

And then a Thai fish curry with rice for the main course, which was also from the set menu.

And then for dessert the divine Apfel Tarte, which was an interesting mix between a tarte Tatin and an apple pie. This was not part of the set menu, but I could change without any hassle at all.

The Thai curry was unusual. It tasted authentic, although the lemon rice was more like risotto than anything you’re likely to get in Thailand. The breakfast spread is also excellent and very extensive.

The hotel is small enough to be familiar, but big enough to have all the amenities you’d expect. And the breeze, sitting out on the balcony in the evenings is priceless!

RIU Hotel Plaza de España, Madrid

The RIU Hotel Plaza de España takes its name from the square in the heart of Madrid that it overlooks. It is situated in walking distance to the Palacio Real, the Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Sol.

The building has had turbulent history. Construction of the Edificio España, as the building is officially known, started in 1948 and finished in 1953. Since then it has been sold, threatened with demolition, sold again and then immediately re-sold…

Today the property belongs to the RIU group of hotels, who have invested a lot of time and money in doing it up. As you can see in the photos, the hotel is enormous. As such, it’s impossible for it to be intimate. Nonetheless, I think they’ve done a really good job with it, and part of that is certainly due to the exceptional staff they have at the hotel. They’re proactive in handling guests and crowds, so that even when it’s busy, you never have to wait for long to be seen to.

I booked a suite on the tenth floor, with a balcony overlooking the Plaza de España. The rooms is very comfortable, and despite the fact that it overlooks a busy square in the centre of Madrid, the noise from the traffic below cannot be heard inside the room.

The view from the tenth floor is brilliant, and in the evenings when the temperature cools down, you can just spend hours out there, watching the world go by…

… or watching the city awaken in the early morning. Although, this being Madrid, up until seven in the morning the impression is that the city is only just starting to go to bed from the night before!

Oh yes, and the breakfast is something to behold, because it’s enormous and serves an excellent array of local Spanish dishes as well as anything else you might just have a hankering for. The hotel is also excellent for public transport, there’s an entrance to the metro just a few metres away from the hotel.

I really enjoyed my stay at the hotel, because it was just very relaxing, and the view from the balcony was just so cool. Having said that, if you’re going to stay at this hotel, I would really recommend that you pay a little extra for a room looking out over the square.

The St Pancras Hotel, London

Seeing as I arrived by train at St Pancras station from Paris, I figured I might as well save myself the hassle and stay at the Rennaissance St Pancras, which is part of what used to be the old station building. The St Pancras is a Marriot Bonvoy property.

The location of the hotel is excellent. The British museum is in walking distance and there is a tube station literally just down the road.

There are two wings to the hotel. The Chambers wing is in the old building. The centrepiece of which is a very grand old staircase that doesn’t look unlike the oppulent staircases I’ve seen at Fontainebleau or Versailles.

So, of course I’ve decided to stay in the old Chambers wing. My room is very spacious. Even though it’s not what I booked, I’ve been given a wheelchair accessible room. So I’m not sure if this is the standard size of a room in the Chambers wing, or if I just got lucky.

The design of the furniture is nice, and the room feels comfortable. But I think that gradually it’s starting to show its age. The bathroom is large and spacious. Of course, being an accessible room there is no bath. But that suits me just fine.

As in probably most hotels in London and the UK, there are tea and coffee making facilities in the room. What I do find a bit odd though, and not just a bit cheap, is that there is a Nespresso coffee machine and even a Nespresso coffee box next to it. But the capsules inside it are not Nespresso, but some other brand. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a coffee snob, I’m not even particularly fond of Nespresso. But I do think it’s more than just a bit shabby of the hotel to “pretend” they’re offering Nespresso to their guests in the rooms, when in fact it’s clearly not. I’m also not sure what Nespresso would have to say about this either.

Other than that, the staff at the hotel seemed a bit disoriented and were obviously not very well trained. For example, I only found out by accident after I checked in that my rate gave me access to the member’s lounge, which the guy at reception was oblivious to.

Access to the lounge is through the restaurant, The Booking Office. Funny thing is though, when I wanted to get a drink from the lounge before I headed out, the young lady at the restaurant’s reception had no idea about the lounge and wouln’t let me in.

All in all, the St Pancras wasn’t a bad place to stay. I don’t think it was so overwhelming though that I’d definitely stay here again in future.

Hotel de L’Aigle Noir MGallery, Fontainebleau

L’Hotel de L’Aigle Noir is an MGallery property in Fontainebleau. It’s located literally across the road from the side entrance to le Château de Fontainebleau and just a short distance away from the park.

The hotel is quite busy when I arrive with a large group of scandinavians staying at the hotel for a meeting. As a result, and owing to my status with Accor, I’ve been upgraded to the Napoléon Bonaparte Suite.

And the suite is enormous! Behind the main door is a long corridor that runs the length of the room.

The first right is the toilet and bathroom, with a separate bath and shower – and copious amounts of towels.

Then there is a large sitting room with a sofa, coffee table and desk.

Also, there’s a Nespresso machine and water boiler.

And then comes the bedroom, overlooking the square. The bedroom has four sets of French windows, which give it a bright, airy feel.

Incidentally, the queen bee motif on the curtains, carpets, wallpaper and cushions harks back to Fontainebleau’s royal history. At the French court it was customary to have the queen bee motif embroidered on the royal’s garments or bed clothes as a symbol of their authority.

The furniture in the bedroom is by Ligne Roset, and includes an elegant desk and chair. Which is where I sit and work on my PhD during my stay, when it’s too hot to be out in the midday sun anyway.

As a welcome gift, I’m given a box of chocolates in the shape of Napoléon the third’s iconic hat, which I find rather funny…

The Aigle Noir is what is referred to in France as a garni hotel, which means that it serves breakfast but not lunch or dinner. The breakfast is extensive and features a variety of hot and cold dishes that varies from day to day. There’s no need to worry about them not serving lunch an dinner though, because there are many very good restaurants in easy walking distance to the hotel.

I rather like this hotel. It’s a great place to use as a base to explore Fontainebleau and the surrounding area. The staff are friendly and very knowledgeable about the château.

Hotel Bathazar MGallery, Rennes

The Balthazar is an MGallery property of the Accor group of hotels. It is conveniently located mid-way between the Rennes railway station and the centre of town, with both in easy walking distance.

I suspect the interior designer of the hotel took their inspiration from the CitizenM hotels, and there are even individual pieces of decoration that I recognise.

In the middle of the lobby is the stairwell, built of solid brick. The seating area is spread out around it. And here too there are a few pieces of Vitra furniture that I recognise.

The staff at the hotel are friendly and helpful. When I arrived on Saturday, I inquired about reserving a table at the restaurant. The poor woman at reception seemed distraught to have to tell me that it was fully booked.

My room is on the first floor, overlooking a small courtyard. There are a few tables in the courtyard where guests can sit & have a drink or a light meal, but it never gets noisy and they close off the outside area fairly early in the evenings, so there’s really no bother with the noise.

The room is very comfortable and spacious. There are tea and coffee making facilities and the minibar is complimentary, although that may have something to do with by status with Accor.

The bathroom features the usual set of amenities you might expect, including bath robes and slippers.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor, and this is also where breakfast is served. For breakfast they have a very nice buffet. In addition, warm dishes including eggs and pancakes can be ordered from the kitchen.

I very much enjoyed my stay in Rennes at the Balthazar hotel. The location is great, the rooms feel comfortable and the staff are friendly and helpful.

The Kempinski Corvinus, Budapest

The Kempinski Corvinus is ideally located in the centre of Budapest, close to the Confiserie Gerbeaud (if you’re feeling peckish…), the bank of the Danube and the Chain Bridge.

The hotel is very well managed and the staff have obviously been well trained. They’re friendly and helpful. Moreover, they all speak very good English and interact pleasantly with guests.

I don’t take any pictures of the restaurant so as not to pester the other guests. However, it is worth mentioning that their breakfast spread is truly amazing and very extensive. There are two main restaurant: ES is the main restaurant, which is a kind of steakhouse and serves everything a meat lover’s heart desires. This is also where breakfast is served in the mornings. Then there is Nobu – a Japanese restaurant, as well as a deli, the Living Room Lounge and the Blue Fox Bar.

The facility is very well maintained. However, the rooms are starting to look a bit old fashioned. It’s not that they’re in bad shape, quite the contrary. It’s actually quite difficult tp put a finger on it. I think it’s just that the rooms are in a fairly opulent style, whereas more modern hotels tend to be in a somewhat austere or functional style. But perhaps that’s just because that’s the type of hotel I usually go for.

The bathroom features a separate bathroom and shower. Bathrobes and slippers are also provided in his and her sizes.

The amenities are by Ferragano.

All in all, the Kempinski Corvinus is a comfortable place to stay if you’re visiting Budapest. Of course, the location may not be as spectacular as that of the Hilton up on castle hill, but it’s certainly a lot more convenient and central, with many of the sights, shops and a lot of good restaurants in close proximity.

The Post 1898 Hotel, Ghent

Introduction

The Hotel Post 1898 gets its name from the fact that the building was originally constructed as the main post office for the city of Ghent in 1898. It’s ideally located right in the heart of the historic centre and on the canal that runs through the city.

The hotel has plenty of character. For example, on the second floor there is the honesty bar, which gets its name because it is not attended. Therfore, the management relies on their guests’ honesty to write down any alcoholic drinks they take from the bar.

The hotel doesn’t have a restaurant in the traditional sense. However, snacks and small dishes can be had at The Cobbler bar, which also serves as the breakfast room. The also do some very nice cakes in the afternoons.

I can highly recommend the chocolate cake and the frangipani tarte.

The room

I’m staying in a room type referred to by the hotel as The Postcard. It’s on the second floor and looks out over the main square. The room is on two levels, with the bedroom, working area and toilet on the lower level, and the shower on the higher level.

The attention to detail in the room is quite amazing. There are little knick-knacks everywhere and give the place a lovely, cosy feel.

The room has a fully stocked minibar, water kettle and Nespresso machine. A bottle of still water is standing next to the bed.

Conclusion

I very much enjoy my stay at the hotel. It’s not just that it’s very nicely finished. The whole place just somehow feels welcoming. The staff are friendly and very helpful. Nothing you ask them for ever seems to be too much. And the room is just very comfortable. Perhaps the only criticism, or let’s say the only word of caution, is that there are a lot of steps in this hotel. Sure, there are lifts. but most of the time taking the lift is cumbersome. So perhaps this is not the place for somebody not quite so stable on the feet.

The Pullman Hotel at Bruxelles Midi

Introduction

The Pullman Hotel Bruxelles Midi belongs to the Accor group of hotels. It is located inside the railway station building at Bruxelles Midi. There is a direct access to the hotel from the railway station.

Reception

The reception area is kept in white and cream, which makes it seem very bright. During my stay two of the reception desks are permanently attended and the staff are friendly and very efficient. That is one of the things I really like about the Accor hotels. The check-in is always very efficient. Sometimes, you get to a hotel and it takes them an eternity to check you in, even though you’ve supposedly already given them all your data at the time of booking.

Of course, it also helps that with my status I can pretty much count on an upgrade everytime I stay at one of the Accor hotels.

Superior room with city view

I’ve been upgraded to a superior room with city view, which is slightly larger than the standard room. The white and cream colours continue in the room, which is quite daring. I’m guessing it must take a lot of work to keep it looking clean. But they pull it off. The room is clean and looks well maintained.

The main difference to a classic room is that there is a larger sitting area – which I promptly take advantage of to spread my mess…

Amenities

The room is equipped with an electric water kettle and a Nespresso machine with four capsules. Cream and sugar are also provided. In addition, there is a bottle of complimentary still and sparkling water in the fridge.

Welcome gift

On the small club table there’s also a small box with hand sanitizer and santizing towels and a box with four Belgian chocolates. Basically, it’s a ginger cookie with a white cream piled up on top of it and then smothered in chocolate. They’re good, but very rich.

Lavatory & shower

The lavatory and shower are separate. There’s no bath, but a nice walk-in shower with good pressure and reliable temperature control. And, you don’t end up flooding the whole room trying to have a shower. The amenities are by Biggleow’s.

Bed

The king bed is large and comfortable. I prefer a firm matress to support my back, which is not something you get very often in a hotel. This one is adequate though.

Bar & restaurant

A bar and restaurant are located on the first floor, which is also where breakfast is served. The breakfast is a buffet with hot and cold dishes, but there is also the option to have hot dishes made to order. The breakfast is fine, but nothing to write home about.

The Cambrian Hotel, Adelboden

The Cambrian Hotel is located in the heart of the village of Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland. By public transport Adelboden is only accessible by bus from a town called Frutigen, there is no train.

I enjoyed my stay at The Cambrian very much. From the specutacular vistas from the balcony of my room to the excellent and very friendly staff, I can highly recommend staying here.

Rooms at The Cambrian either look out over the valley and the mountains beyond, or onto the main street in front of the bus terminus. From what I could tell from the floor plan, there are only standard rooms facing the street.

The room

I stayed in The Cambrian Suite, which was spacious and well appointed. The living room had a comfortable armchair and sofa, as well as a dining area and a bar with a fully stocked fridge, a Nespresso machine and electric tea kettle.

The bedroom

The bedroom was completely separate from the living room. It had plenty of storage space. The bed was large and the mattress was reasonably hard and certainly supportive for my slipped disc.

The bathroom

The Cambrian Suite had an en suite bathroom with a bath and a separate walk-in shower. In addition, there was also a separate toilet next to the entrance to the suite. The amenities were by the Grown Alchemist.

The view

Of course it helped that the weather over Easter was stunning here in Switzerland. Even so, I really cannot say enough about the views from the hotel. Being a corner room, the suite had three balconies on two sides. All of them offered spectacular views of the valley. I could have spent all day sitting out there just watching the world go by!

The restaurant

The restaurant was on the lower level, given that the hotel is built on a slope. The chef is a Welshman by the name of Bryant Williams. I woldn’t say that the menu offered any unusual or extraodinary choices, but the food was well prepared and nicely presented. For breakfast there was a large buffet with a wide selection of hot and cold dishes.

When I first arrived, it was still a bit cold in the mornings to sit outside. However, by Easter Sunday the temeprature had risen sufficiently to be able to enjoy breakfast outside.

The hotel grounds

The hotel had a large spa area which proved very popular with the Japanese tourists, who clearly used it as their onsen. The outdoor pool was heated. From what I understand, there was an indoor pool too.

The lobby was nice and cosy. I can only imagine that it must be lovely in the winter, to be able to sit there watching the snow, preferably with a mug of hot chocolate by the open fireplace.

The staff

The Cambrian Hotel gave the impression of being a very well maintained and professionally run establishment, and this also showed in their staff. Everybody I met at this hotel was really just so nice. At breakfast, it was nearly as though the waiting staff had a sixth sense: every time I was about to finish my coffee, one of them would appear by my side out of nowhere and ask me if I’d like a refill. At dinner too, the service was efficient, friendly and completely unpretentious. Just perfect!

Adelboden

Adelboden is clearly geared towards winter sports. There are many good slopes in close proximity to the village. Even so, it’s also very nice to visit in the summer, be it for relaxation or for hiking. The long Easter weekend is an excellent time to visit too, because that’s when the village is between seasons. During my stay many hotels had already closed down until the start of the summer season in June. As a result, it was very quiet and not at all crowded.

Conclusion

I enjoyed my say at The Cambrian in Adelboden so much. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had such a relaxing stay anywhere. Adelboden is lovely and the hotel made it all the more enjoyable. Granted, staying at The Cambrian Hotel was not exactly cheap. But that is not something that is unique to this hotel, but something you have to accept when visiting any one of the Swiss ski resorts – even in the off season.