Ferry me across the water By Janine Pulford
With the Port of Poole now welcoming luxury cruise liners, the thought of a trip across the Channel becomes more alluring. But you don’t need the expense of a liner to get you to new destinations. Dorset is fortunate to have its own ferry service that will transport you within a few hours and for a reasonable cost, to the beautiful islands of Guernsey or Jersey. I was recently fortunate to take a 4-night break with Condor Ferries to Jersey and it is surprising what you can fit into a short break.
MONDAY: Day 1 – a relaxing way to travel Our trip, with the car, started at the port of Poole. Once boarded, and after sailing through the harbour, a solitary dolphin joined Condor Liberation to see us off across the Channel. We relaxed in the Horizon Lounge with a coffee, admiring the view. Later, we chose dinner from the Casquettes self-service restaurant, and tucked into vegetarian chilli with chips. The passage was calm and the ferry offered everything we needed including newspapers and duty free. It only took four hours to reach Guernsey, where some passengers got off and others embarked. An hour later, we arrived in Jersey and checked into Hotel de France in Saint Helier. We cannot speak highly enough of this hotel. It offers decent parking, a health club, Ayush Wellness Spa, hair salon and immaculate gardens. The hotel has two restaurants: the reasonably priced Garden Restaurant, and Saffrons for fine dining with an Indian accent. Breakfast is served in the Orangery. Our room was extremely spacious and luxurious affording stunning views across the capital
Our room
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4DORSET August 2019
Hotel de France spa pool
and out to sea. It also had a private balcony. We took a swim in a warm, blue-lit spa pool before indulging in an evening meal in the Garden Restaurant. Our mains of risotto primavera and spaghetti Bolognese were tasty and filling. With eight menus to choose from, including an all day menu until 6pm, and dinner from 6pm9.30pm, there are many healthy options as well as a high calorie ones such as afternoon tea with scones, jam and delicious clotted cream.
Garden Restaurant
READER OFFER
Condor Ferries has teamed up with MAGS4DORSET to offer readers a special discount this summer. Book a return trip with your car to Jersey or Guernsey on any Condor sailing from Poole or Portsmouth and receive a 10% reduction off published fares. The offer applies to all bookings made between 1 and 21 August for travel up to 30 September 2019. Simply log onto www.condorferries.co.uk and enter promotion code M4DOFFER in the ‘Your details’ section when booking to receive the discount.
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