Hotel Review: Hotel Dvorak, Karlovy Vary

I arrived at the famous Karlovy Vary/Karlsbad spa city at the end of the season, at the beginning of November, but the life in the city was nothing but quiet. Tourists from all over the world, but especially from Russia and its former Soviet Republics were everywhere, checking the late evening offers from the expensive shops. Thus, is was not a big challenge to find my way to the Dvorak Hotel, who kindly accepted to host me during my stay here. Walking is the longest way to reach the hotel, besides the direct bus connection and the taxi, but it offers me the first encounter with the city lights, and also to experience of getting the right help for reaching my destination. English and German are easily spoken, so no risk of getting lost in translation. Half an hour after arrival - 20 minutes of walk and fast 10 minutes of checking, I am ready to go to my room, crossing a classical hall with red doors and modern photography snapshots.

The same classical Art Nouveau style is waiting me in my room. Big bad with red-wine bed covers bordered with gold, minimalistic furniture, just enough place to rest and take your time before heading to the spa. Named after the famous local composer Antonin Dvorak and part of the Vienna International Hotels, it has 126 rooms, out of each 15 apartments, 60 standard rooms, 48 type comfort as well as 3 accessible rooms, with available services round the year. The hotel is family and generally children friendly, proof being the many kids running around the breakfast hall early in the morning. Pets are also accepted, in exchange of some extra charges.

A welcoming note on the big TV screen, near the desk where I will keep working for a couple of hours every day, enjoying the efficient wifi services, brought me back to the practical reality. While I do my hard work, I can get updates of news from around the world, either from BBC or from CNN. Everything is quiet and early in the morning, a sunny view of the center of Karlovy Vary and the yellowish autumn hills around are an invitation to be as fast as possible for enjoying the short days outside. The many leaflets and guides I received on my desk help me to make my stay easier, but with so many choices, it's a bit difficult to keep being organized. Every room is also provided with a direct dial telephone.

Coffee and tea are available to fill my time but I am too excited to finally be in Karlovy Vary for spending too much time in the room. Maybe I would have like more coffee for my long writing hours, but for now, it is just enough. My room is also provided with a minibar, with drinks and beverages, including the fanous local Becherova but also peanuts and different snacks.

Only the elegant bath tube can offer me an alternative to the long walks around the hotel. My room is also provided with separate bathroom, and different practical amenities, among which a functioning hair dryer.

The ambiance in the room is elegant enough to make my stay pleasant, although I travel alone this time. The small Art Nouveau details are exactly what I need to relax before going out in town. A small notebook and a pen will keep me punctilious company and will help me to record my discoveries, while enjoying the lights and shadows of my stylish Art Nouveau lamp.

A big package with shower and bath products made of wine, a local speciality, are the complimentary offer of the hotel. The other branded products offered are also based on natural products and confirm the reputation of spa hotel of Dvorak. Home shoes and white clear bathrobe are ready just in case I am planning to visit the spa any time soon.

The morning breakfast is a pleasant surprise and gives enough energy for being able to keep walking for long hours. It takes place in a big hall with classical paintings on the wall and another sample of Art Nouveau decorations. Besides the classical French pastry and cheeses, plus the tasty coffee, kindly brought at the table by the careful team, there are a lot of regional specialities, aiming to accommodate probably the culinary tastes of the guests: red beet juice, herring, porridges. The selection of breads is also great and I hardly say good bye to all the delicious temptations, but the travel work is calling me loudly.

The small lobby near the dinner hall, with its green leather decorations, keeps inviting me for more laziness, but I'm decided to keep my schedule for the time being. In the evening, I am enjoying some fresh drinks in the lobby bar. As there was no concert there, I just have some quiet time, eventually reading something, but usually the hotel guests can also enjoy some live music concerts, besides their cocktails. The smooth background music is very inviting, and the cakes are also delicious. There is only one problem: too many active smokers around.

When needed, the hotel can also book a dedicated guide, in English, German or Russian. My experience with the guide provided was excellent, after almost two hours of walking, being introduced to a lot of well kept secrets of the city.

But most part of the tourists are actually here to enjoy the diversity of spa treatments offered. From relaxation and aqua aerobics, to the very complex F.X. Mayr Treatment, everything is ready to make the guests feel better. With so many extensive packages around, there is a bit hard to make the offer interesting, but at Dvorak things are quite easy, it seems. For instance, they are the only ones in town offering the F.X.Mayr Treatment, removing toxic substances from the body. The program of choice also includes: oxygen therapy, various treatments for the locomotive system, treatment of rachialgia or relaxation therapy, aimed to help the workaholics to get rid of the pressure accumulated after long hours of work and too much deadlines' stress. There is an indoor pool, sauna, steam bath and a fitness studio too, and the complex treatment is made under the close supervision of the hotel's physician assisted by a team of therapists.

My stay in Karlovy Vary ended too soon, and unfortunately, the check-out is as faster as the check-in. Now, that I finally my dream of visiting Karlovy Vary was made true, it's time to plan a new return to this classical spa resort, most probably for enjoying a longer spa season the next year.

Disclaimer: I was offered two nights at Hotel Dvorak, but the opinions are, as usual, my own. 

For more images from Hotel Dvorak, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/hotel-dvorak-karlovy-vary/

Hotel review: Three Wells Hotel, Llandrindod Wells

Imagine that you are realizing suddenly that you are no more in a crazy busy world but in the middle of a oasis of quietness. You wake up with a beautiful view outside the window - and you are not in Switzerland - , after each meal you can walk around a pond without being bothered by cars and too many people, and when you want to do nothing, you go on a hill and do nothing. Maybe you can find a way to horseback ride for a while. This is the feeling I had during my entire stay at the Three Wells Hotel, my headquarters during the trip to Llandrindod Wells, in Wales.

It is an old farm redesigned, with old style lobby and stairs and with a welcoming personnel. It is relatively far away from the train station, but with a cab worth around 11£ you are there. If you want to walk in town and not keen to wait the bus that stops almost every 2 hours, in almost 30 minutes you are there. A beautiful walk on street with small houses with gardens and colourful flowers.

The double room, even it does not have a coherent decoration style and the pieces of furniture is rather mismatching, is welcoming, with good-mood wallpapers. The cleaning is made daily and the Internet in the room is free and fast.

It is provided with a bath tube and shower, with Scottish products offered from the house. Everything is clean and well kept. The bathroom is quite big, not the usual small boxes that one may find in an average London hotel.

The visitor is welcomed with a box full of Welsh products, salty and sweets and some local variants of coffee plus milk. You can prepare your coffee and your tea in the room. No fridge though, but in case you have brought some food for your alternative breakfast - otherwise the hotel also offers breakfast, included in the price of the room, with among others, delicious coffee and fruits, as well as natural juices and corn flakes - one can ask to use the hotel's fridge. Most probably, the request will be accepted immediately.

The Welsh spring water is a complimentary gift from the part of the hotel. The reserves are daily refuelled. It has a fresh and healthy taste.

For the long evenings of the autumn and winter - the hotel has open the booking season for the winter holidays season, including the New Year's Eve - the lobby offers a good refuge for social exchange. Board games are available, and the bar - as the reception - is open till 10pm. If you rather want to use your free time to learn something, you will find a couple of books in English on diverse topics, from romance to complicated tomes about the plants and birds in Wales.

For the summer time, eating outside and enjoying the gorgeous view, with the sound of birds and sheep in the background is the best recommendation. There may be some rebellious bees around during your meal time, but this happens especially in August/September, when the little insects realize desperately that the winter season is getting closer. After eating, a short walk around the pond or a little bit of reading on a bank near the lake is a good relaxation option.

After three full days spent here, I left the Three Wells Hotel with a shade of regret. The stay at this welcoming hotel had a 50% contribution to my promise to return soon to Llandrindod. The next time I will like to spend more time and get the full feeling of a relaxing holiday.

For more pictures from Llandrindod Wells, check my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/llandrindod-wells-wales/

Hotel Review: Villa im Park, Düsseldorf

Working as hard as I can at my Project '100 Places to See in Germany' I got charmed by the passion of booking as many country trips as possible and as spontaneous as possible (nothing new about me). When I discovered a good offer for a night in Düsseldorf at a 4-star villa I did not think twice and did the booking. Before arrival, I did not know anything about Villa im Park, except the good communication with the hotel representatives via e-mail, in a good and fast English.

Reaching the hotel was not as simple as my GPS phone app showed. On the map, there may be 15-20 minutes of walk from the airport, but in fact there it is a highway you cannot overpass otherwise than by car, in our case, taxi. The easiest way, recommended by the hotel representatives was to go to the city, to the Central Station and to take a local train till Lohausen station followed by a little walk. We tried this variant later in the day and lasted around 30 minutes. But for the beginning, we wanted to arrive as fast as possible to the hotel for starting the adventure of discovering the town and thus, we preferred to take a cab. 15 minutes later and 20 Euro less in our budget we were at our Villa situated in a very middle class peaceful neighbourhood with art galleries and schools and also some restaurants very close from the villa.

During the Sunday, it was no one at the reception desk, but we saw a letter glued on the door with our name on it with instructions about how to find our key, to enter the house and our room. Very easy and efficient method.

It was a quiet ambiance, without any other sound than the big airplanes coming and going till late in the evening. When I fell asleep around 23.00, the noise was still there and it is was the noise that I noticed the first thing in the morning, around 7am. Note to self: never book a hotel near an airport, whatever fancy it may look.

During our first 10 minutes spent in the room, I admired the nice balcony where later I will do some little work using the advantage of free Internet. In the front of my eyes, I had a little lake with a flamingo statue and some cows in the neighbourhood. The room has TV and a mini bar with some drinks and chips and some sweets, a bath tube and a closet and a little lobby with a green table to put your luggage on.

There were some instructions in English and German left on the desk about the main facilities, the Internet password together with a couple of leaflets about the city, including a map of the subway. Anything was fine at this level and time of the day.

More than 10 hours after, we returned to our temporary home and had more time to test the facilities of the hotel. It was still empty, and we took a little tour of the garden, we stopped in the library, with many German books for all tastes. We arrived too late for the sauna, open only between 10am and 8pm. I was in the mood for some spa feeling but more dear to me was the passion for trips so luxury travel will be a next time and preferably in Berlin where I do not need to rush too much to see as much as I can in so little time.

There was a smell of old furniture and humidity in the lobby that I did not like it. Back in the room, I discovered some traces of lack of cleanliness in the bathroom, especially in the bath tube that did not please me. The villa is quoted with 4-star and such negligences are much below my expectations. From outside, the villa does not look well kept and was a bit surprised when I saw it first. There it is parking space in the front of the building.

The next morning, in the breakfast room, I discovered some of the faces of the hotel, a nice personnel and ready to help, in English and German. We were not alone in the hotel, as a group of Japanese tourists and a German couple joined us in the breakfast room. The breakfast is included in the price of the room. For the sauna and swimming pool one need to pay an additional 10 Euro fee.

Overall we enjoy our stay, but only because we paid a Groupon price and did not plan a long stay. I did not like the permanent noise of the air planes and the bathroom modest standards of cleanliness. Thus, the next time I will visit the lovely city Düsseldorf - watch this space for more updates - I will prefer to try a different accommodation option.

The garden is big and simple. More flowers will bring more life to the residence, probably.

You can also have breakfast outside, but the tables did not look too clean. Inside was warm and pleasant, with some background music.

The balcony is big and will technical facilities to charge your computer. I loved working outside, except the frequent moments when an airplane was disturbing my concentration.

The bamboo in the corner is a nice choice. The metal vase was looking quite rotten though.

The hotel has a library with a bar and German books. During the autumn and winter it can be a pleasant space for socializing.

The couch from the lobby. In the rooms and in the lobby there are many reproductions of modern painters.

The villa does not have many rooms, but has a certain air of intimacy that can attract the visitor to stay a day more.

The morning coffee served in elegant recipients. The menu has a lot of healthy meals: yoghurt, fruits, cheeses and teas.

Hotel Review: Quality Hotel & Suites Nantes Atlantique

Assuming that I am the smartest and IT-literate person in the house always getting the best prices for accommodation, I am always in charge with the reservation for the next stay. Sometimes I use booking.com system that offers comparative views in terms of price and conditions, sometimes I follow various online or offline recommendations. From time to time, except the good price, there it is not too much to say positively about my choices.

For instance, two years ago, I booked an amazing hotel - according to the web descriptions - in Corsica. One hour of taxi ride from the Bastia airport later, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with nice goats and some lezards and the view of the sea 20 km. of mountain hike away. No restaurant to spend our nice evening and nothing to do except to look at the sky and listen to the bells (not my cup of morning tea). 

Back in France, this time alone, I did another brave reservations of mine. On booking.com I've found the tempting: Quality Hotel & Suites Nantes Atlantique. Most probably attracted by the pleasant resonance of the name 'Atlantique' I continued with the process and booked a room for 2 nights, for around 90 Euro. I am not sure right now where I saw the description according to which the hotel is 'around 10 minutes away from the center' and insisted that this is the truth, even after I was told by 3-4 local people in the sweet French language I grew up with that it is not and most probably it is out of town if the street where the hotel is located did exist though.

When you at the end of over 20 hours of non-stop travel and outside is raining cats and dogs it is the last thing you want to hear. Over a glass of red wine and a galette, trying to do not fell asleep automatically, I was thinking that either I better find a nice hotel in the center and enjoy the pleasures - and take the risk of paying some extra for the bad first choice of hotel - or I assume the risk of my stupid decision and go finding the hotel. At the end of the meal, I had enough energy to go on the second bet. A busy taxi driver mentioned a tram station where I should go before changing for a bus and continuing by foot. I took that tram, but at the Gare de Nantes station I decided that I better take a cab. End of the problems: the cab drove me in exchange of 25 Euro to the hotel.

In the morning light, I've found out that it is not such a big pain to arrive to the hotel, unless you are not very tired and not afraid to walk in the dark in a semi-industrial area, with no soul around for a couple of minutes. There are some fast foods and even a Leon restaurant close to it. By tram, it takes around 15-20 minutes to go to the center and there it is not that kind of hotel you will like to stay for a Romantic vacation.

Let's visit the hotel

When I arrived at the hotel, closely to midnight and a bit nervous, I was welcomed by someone smiling at the reception desk and thus, all my unhappiness - no one by me was guilty for such a choice, of course - went away. I was offered the electronic key to my apartment and wished 'good night'. The next day, there were two persons at the reception, all smiling that guided me to the right way to the tram station. I needed to trust the words of my guide, as there were no maps or tourist materials at the entrance. 

The payment is done at the end of the stay. Those interested in having breakfast, will need to pay an extra 10 Euro. I was not interested and thus did not check the dinning room. There it is a city local tax of 0.85 Euro paid at any hotel in France that it is added to the original price.

The lobby was looking busy, with group tourists being hosted here, or other French tourists arriving by car or some Eastern European families. 

The room cleaning is not done daily, unless you want to pay some extra for this too, but there it is a special room dedicated to massage or cosmetic treatments. Did not feel the need to do so or to visit another hotel room so preferred to wait to be back in Berlin for a visit to my beloved Ahava. 

Another surprised I offered myself was the room: a family apartment, with kitchen and other facilities that I did not need. There were a lot of plastic and glass plates and pans and some glasses too, plus a clean sink and a microwave. In case that you want to do some special cooking, you don't have a proper table to do so, and thus the only choice is to heat some ready made food in the microwave. There it is a fridge  - but not a minibar - as well, where to keep your goodies. 

The rooms have air condition, but the weather was not that hot for fully using it. And me, who was missing so much to play with the air conditioning remote control...

As I am a full freelancer, I need to have a good corner to set up my computer and a proper Internet connection. If possible, a proper lightening too. I had them all, plus a TV - never used it - and landline phone. The Internet connection is made via the phone cable, not always speedy, but offered me the right conditions to finish some work. 

The bed is big and the sheets were white clean. There were same art on the walls, a bit sad looking abstract wooden composition, that I will not like to have it at home. The view out of the window was not happier either, with a parking in the middle of some construction site. I decided to better focus on my work and have everything done in time for enjoying the time outside the hotel as much as possible.

Those interested in the ecological hotels will love maybe to stay here. In line with Nantes' local policies - the city is the EU Green European Capital this year - the visitors are advised to separate the garbage - but there are no separate containers for plastic or paper though, trusting maybe our clear ecological mind - and to take care of limiting as much as possible the energy consumption. The hotel is no(anti) smoking. 

There are two different spaces for bathroom, respectively the toilet and I really appreciated this. But there it is any source of clean air in both of them. The bathroom looks elegant, and clean, with simple design of the furniture and some fresh shampoos and soap, but there was a persistent unpleasant smell of humidity that intensified during my 48 hours of stay, that I did not like it at all. (Who would like it, anyway?)

All said, I will recommend the hotel only for families on the road, eventually travelling by car and looking for an affordable accommodation. Otherwise, I bet there are many interesting options, even with 2 stars, in historical buildings for instance, that may offer something much better. 

Hotel review: Carlton Hotel, Luxembourg

When one week before the end of the year you want to go to Luxembourg without any previous reservation, don't expect too find easily a good accommodation. This is what I kept telling myself while trying to find a place for two nights in one of the cities with the highest income in the world. Lucky as usual, I was able to secure relatively fast a very good reservation, at an incredible price for that time of the year, at Hotel Carlton.

The news of my success was welcomed with a slight comment: "Maybe it is too much luxury?". I don't have usually such concerns, and the result was more than satisfactory for everyone. Most importantly, the hotel is situated minutes distance from the Central Station and 20 minutes of walk from the central area, with the main shops, restaurants and cultural attractions. The street looked safe and very quiet, even in the most busiest night of the year.

Arrived late in the evening of the last day of 2013, we were welcomed on the sound of the classical music and a glass of orange juice. The respectable gentlemen at the reception, speaking French, German, English and Italian, gave us the keys and some short directions for our late night trip.

Compared to the lobby and the stairs area, designed following the art deco style, the rooms looks standard, without any specific personality or style. Everything new, clean, with all the amenities needed by the modern traveller.

 

It was enough space to move freely, even though we didn't spend too much in the room. I, the only one interested to stay a bit longer indoors, was able to do my job fast, enjoying the advantages of the high speed free Internet. I only was a bit disappointed that there was no coffee offered, only tea bags and a lot of sugar.

The bathroom looked decent, very clean and with a blue stylish sink, plus a shower.

We arrived back early in the morning of 1st of January, and the door was closed. We were shortly let in though and noticed that the breakfast starts at 5am. As we left quite early the morning of the 2nd, we were pleased to see that we will not miss the morning meal.

The breakfast room is big, with a big wooden classical closet, that makes you feel you are in an old museum. The morning choice is relatively limited (some breads, pastry, croissants, jams, yoghurts, cheese, meat, cornflakes), but the coffee is good and the service excellent and always welcoming.

Although probably I was expecting a little bit more from a hotel branded as Carlton, the charming customer service might convince me to return, especially if during my next visit I will be, again, (as usual) out of time.

For more insights about Luxembourg, visit my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/luxembourg/

Hotel review: Hotel Palazzo Zichy, the Italian palace in the heart of Budapest

After a long journey from Berlin to Budapest, with a short stop in the lovely city of Prague, arriving at Hotel Palazzo Zichy, our residence for the next days of adventures in the city was the classical one: taking a cab from the international bus station. If I would have prepared better my travel homework I have discovered that there is a metro connection which takes around 15 minutes. In a way, it was not such a bad decision, as I had enough time to get in touch with a city I haven't visited in ten years. Although situated in an area that is getting only now more interest for tourists and local developers, the streets around Lorincz pap ter are leading to the main attractions in the city: the National Museum is within minutes of walk, and so is the Jewish quarter. The metro connections are also efficient.

Once I closed the door entrance to the hotel, a new world was ahead of me, introduced by the cozy game of lights: quietness and discretion, fresh air and mystery, smiling faces and efficient friendliness as the check-in procedures were faster than a beautiful dream. The next step was the entrance into our room bubble, designed simply yet with elegant taste.

When you know you will be on the road for weeks, changing cities and currencies, memorizing directions and addresses and trading languages every other day and note sure any more where your home is exactly, nothing makes you feel better than a personalized note welcoming you. Nearby, a plate with fresh fruits, plus some small squares of chocolate made in Italy: enough energy supplies to keep fit and refreshed till tomorrow. The hotel does not have a restaurant of its own, but for late arrivals, there is a big range of restaurants on the streets around serving Italian, Russian or Asian dishes till late in the evening.

Home slippers were waiting in the wooden closets, discretely hidden behind the sliding doors. I started the air condition - in Central Europe the summers are original trademark, with heat and hot temperature all round the day - and started to do a little bit of work. Fortunately, the Internet connection, complimentary gift for the guests, was very fast and I was able to finish all my work within one hour. On my desk, a detailed directory with information in English, French, Italian and German about various practical tips you need to make the best of your stay in Budapest.

The bathroom has branded products, pleasantly smelling the  jasmine. Everything looks elegant yet with a lot of modernist touch. In a plain translation: quality Italian design fit to answer the basic needs of the various visitors of this 4-star boutique hotel.

Take, for instance, the bathroom. Wall papers reminding of silk bad covers from the modern palaces and a wooden floor in the shower space. At the first sight, it gives a certain feeling of frugality, but visiting such a great city, with so many sightseeing requests a Spartan time management.

The rooms are also provided with a mini bar - a bit disappointing at the first sight, but you can survive this feeling - with some basic products that will help you to survive the high hydration emergencies. There are also some Made in Hungary products, such as the classical Unicum.

While we were heading to the breakfast room the next day, we noticed the mysterious discretion of the hall, with what seem to be the typical wallpapers in a very chic black variant. The numbers of the rooms are situated on the upper left side of the entrance. At the beginning, you can get a bit lost, especially if you have a predisposition for that - as I do - but after a while one can get used with the right directions around the simple maze from each floor.

The breakfast space is situated at the ground level, in the cubicle bordered by glass that delineate the middle of the lobby. A transparent glass square outlines some old stones from the original building creating the feeling of surprise and unexpected adventure. As the hotel has only 80 rooms, the space is relatively small, and if you go to eat after 8.30, there is a bit of hustle around and an entire Babel of languages. But there is a reason to rush for: the diversity of breads and cheese, a troubling selection of pastry, the fresh salads and the fish, as well as the delicious coffee - the lucky heritage of the Turkish presence in the area.

During my stay, I made a fixation for the jams: silky, fresh and natural, work of decades of traditional art, fit to match the black breads and other simple mouthwatering pastries. The customer service is not only friendly, but ready to help, as I notice often in the case of families with children trying to find the best chairs for their very small ones or when hot milk was especially prepared for them. There are a couple of rooms - including with connection that can turn them into parts of a bigger appartment -  that suit the needs of family with children and a child under 12 years can be hosted free of charge.

The guests arriving at the hotel are either on vacation or on a short visit for checking the local business opportunities. In the lobby, one can find small discrete places where you can start a warm-up discussion and the offer of Internet free of charge is also available here. The busiest time for the hotel is between May and September, with most guests originally from Italy, Germany, Austria and the UK. The personal was always helpful, giving me the right insights for finding my way through the city or helping me with other basic requests.

Coffee and tea are available free of charge in the lobby till 17 o'clock every day. There is also a small wellness area for those keen to keep up with their physical training during the holiday time, that can also be used free of charge by the guests. For the massage room, there is necessary an appointment in advance.

One of the first boutique hotels in Budapest, Hotel Palazzo Zichy was built in the 19th century, and used to be the residence of Nandor Zichy, an educated local noble. Going through serious renovation under the Italian management, it succeeded to harmonize the classical style of the Hungarian architecture to the boldness of the Italian elegance.

The feeling of home was added by the care to add to every cold corner of the building into a personalized element that invites you to comfort and relaxation.

Especially if you stay there for more than one day, this feeling will conquer you easily and when we were in the rush to leave for new travel adventures, we felt the nostalgia of saying 'good bye' to a new friend. Maybe we should be ready to drop a 'hello' soon!

For more images from this 4-star boutique hotel, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/hotel-palazzo-zichy-budapest/

Disclaimer: I was offered a free stayed at Hotel Palazzo Zichy during my visit to Budapest, but the opinions are, as usual, my own.