checking out n hotel accommodation
Rooms with a
wow
focus: unusual hotels
n Enjoy falconry at Dalhousie Castle
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Desert Cave Hotel
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Coober Pedy cave room
convent Across the Channel, France has a number of chateaux which have become hotels, while Spain has its parador hotels and Portugal its pousada hotels, many of them former palaces. Spain’s Parador de Granada (www.paradores-spain.com) is a luxury hotel set in a former 15th century convent which is part of
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n Where's the key, honey? I'm getting wet out here
Jules Undersea Lodge
taying in a hotel need not mean putting up with a homogeneous mega-chain urban slab with identikit rooms and little character. There are many extraordinary hotels that started life in a very different guise but now offer an accommodation experience with a twist. Castles, forts, palaces, factories, convents, ships and caves – all have been transformed into hotels. You can find them throughout the world, but you don’t have to travel far to enjoy a stay guaranteed to wow you. Fancy yourself as lord of the manor? You can live the high life and be king of the castle, at least for a few days, in several historic piles in Britain. Dalhousie Castle (www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk), near Edinburgh, is a grand, 13th century fortress that has been turned into a luxury castle hotel complete with dining room in the vaulted dungeon. Guests can try the royal sport of falconry to complete their regal fantasy. Built over 100 years ago, Bovey Castle (www.boveycastle.com) is now a five-star golf and spa resort set within Dartmoor National Park in Devon. Why not get family or friends together and take over a Napoleonic fort? Spitbank Fort, a mile off Portsmouth Harbour, has just completed a multimillion pound transformation to become a private, luxury destination with eight en-suite bedrooms, three private dining rooms and bars, a wine cellar, rooftop hot pool, sauna and sun decks. Guests have Champagne and canapés in Royal Clarence Marina prior to their private boat transfer. The fort can be booked from £8,000 per night for exclusive use through Clarenco (www.clarenco.com). Ireland has its own castles and stately homes now run as hotels. Among them are County Clare’s Dromoland Castle (www.dromoland.ie) and Adare Manor Castle Hotel (www.adaremanor.com), in County Limerick.
the famous Alhambra Palace overlooking the city of Granada in Andalucia. Italy, too, has some grand former palaces now welcoming paying guests. If those don’t float your boat, why not opt for a grand home from home that once plied the oceans? Stockholm’s Malardrottningen Hotel (http://malardrottningen.se) was the world’s largest diesel-powered yacht when it was built in 1924. Given to Woolworth heiress and socialite Barbara Hutton on her 18th birthday by her father, it welcomed royalty, movie stars and the world’s movers and shakers and is now a 60-room hotel moored near the city centre, its rich mahogany and brass decor preserved for today’s guests. For true nostalgia, nothing beats a stay onboard former transatlantic liner, the Hotel Queen Mary (www.queenmary.com), permanently docked off Long Beach. Step back to the glory days of the multiple holder of the blue riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing in one of 314 first-class staterooms featuring rich wood panelling, Art Deco fixtures and portholes. You can stay below the waves, too. Jules Undersea Lodge (www.jul.com) is a former underwater research laboratory that sits 30 feet underwater in a mangrove lagoon at Key Largo, in Florida. Operated for 25 years as a hotel, guests dive down to enter via a “moon pool” at the bottom. It has two double bedrooms, a galley with microwave and fridge and a dining area/lounge with TV where guests can watch fish swim by through the large
Spring 2012
checking out n hotel accommodation
HOTEL NEWS
Clarenco
Dalhousie Castle
n Spitbank Fort, in the Solent
Hotel Queen Mary
n Former liner, the Hotel Queen Mary
porthole window, before venturing out to explore the lagoon on a dive.
Spring 2012
Historic Scottish castle Ackergill Tower opens as a luxury hotel on May 1. The 15th century Highland bastion has previously only been available for private hire. It offers 28 en-suite bedrooms, many of them in original buildings on the estate. Half-board rates start from £300, while a Detox Weekend on May 11-13 costs £550 per person and includes fitness classes with a personal trainer, a massage and special menus. www.clarenco.com/ackergilltower A one-night Royal Jubilee Celebration stay at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on June 2 costs £315 and includes tickets to A Gala for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at the Royal Albert Hall, starring Russell Watson and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as accommodation in a King Room. It is also offering a Diamond Jubilee Afternoon Tea in its Park Terrace Lounge from May 28-June 5 for £22, or £32 with Champagne. www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk
Hotel de Glace
cave hotels There are even hotels underground. The Desert Cave Hotel (www.desertcave.com.au) is located in the Australian Outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy, where residents live below ground to escape the heat. Of the 50 suites, 19 are underground. All have TV and internet access. Hotel facilities include shops, restaurants and bars, and guests can buy opals direct from the local mines. Turkey’s Cappadocia region has several cave hotels built into its honeycombed volcanic rocks, including the boutique Cappadocia Cave Suites Hotel (www.cappadociacavesuites.com). They may have melted now, but if you’re already thinking of somewhere different to stay next winter, a really cool option is to stay in an ice hotel. The largest is Sweden’s Icehotel (www.icehotel.com), and you can also snuggle up inside Quebec’s Hotel de Glace (www.hoteldeglace-canada.com) and the Ice Hotel Romania (www.icehotelromania.com). But if you can’t do without your morning cuppa, book yourself into the Tea Factory Hotel (www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory) – a converted tea factory high up in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya tea-growing region.
The Athenaeum Hotel in Mayfair has won the Tea Guild’s 2012 award for Top London Afternoon Tea. Another 21 capital hotels were given Awards of Excellence, including the Savoy, the Ritz, the Dorchester, Claridge’s and Brown’s Hotel. Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa in Surrey won the Top City and Country Hotel award. Judges praised its smart and elegant surroundings, service and tasty sandwiches, cakes and scones, as well as the choice of teas and quality of tea served. www.athenaeumhotel.com, www.pennyhillpark.co.uk
n Ice bed in the Hotel de Glace
Holidaymakers need to be quick off the mark to book a London airport hotel during the Olympics, accommodation broker HolidayExtras.com has warned. It highlights the fact that 320,000 international visitors are expected during the Games, with eight million people having tickets for events. While average Olympics London room-only hotel rates are £213 – up 102% on last year – the company has overnights at Gatwick’s three-star Days Hotel and eight days’ on-airport parking, from £111. www.holidayextras.com
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Centre stage ost modern hotels are so bland they are instantly forgettable once you leave. Guests at the new, £60 million Radisson Edwardian Guildford have no such worry. Tucked off Guildford’s historic high street, the striking glass façade makes a bold statement. But inside is where award-winning designer Rabih Hage really has fun. Walk under the huge chandelier in the atrium lobby and it feels like you are on an Alice in Wonderland film set. A two-storey, free-standing kiosk houses information pamphlets, plush seating and a TV displaying a roaring fire, with a roof-top business centre
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factbox Radisson Edwardian Guildford 3 Alexandra Terrace, High Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3DA Tel: 01483 792300 www.radissonedwardian.com/guildford Double room from £99 B&B best for l Sense of fun l Exquisite food l Spa breaks n Restful
you can look down on from the balcony walkway leading to your room. The soaring back wall comprises floor-to-ceiling library shelves and attached crooked, white ladders, up which you half expect to see the Mad Hatter. Stage lights complete the illusion. Relish, one of two eateries, is equally theatrical; murals and nets printed with sumptuous palace interior scenes are set off by more chandeliers. The wonderfully-inventive, and very tasty, food is only upstaged by the friendly, efficient staff. But why skimp on the napkins at breakfast to use paper serviettes? The daily Queen of Hearts Afternoon Tea
could do better l Paper napkins? No…
includes tarts and a Madhatter Milkshake, besides teas. Guest rooms are comfortable and a restful chocolate-brown. The bedside iPod dock is a nice touch. Shame the immovable hairdryer in the wardrobe isn’t closer to the looking glass. It costs £10 to use the superb spa’s facilities (sauna, steam room, small pool, relaxation room, five treatment rooms). But indulge yourself with a massage. It will have you grinning like a Cheshire Cat, as will your stay. Peter Ellegard
n Rhinefield House Hotel and pond
factbox
Hand Picked Hotels
Rhinefield House Hotel Rhinefield Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7QB Tel: 0845 072 7516 www.handpickedhotels.co.uk Double room from £135 B&B best for l Forest escapes l Romantic breaks l Weddings
To die for
could do better l Warm rads, please
Hand Picked Hotels
n Lounge
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Approaching Rhinefield House Hotel on the wooded driveway in the heart of the New Forest, the first view you get of this magnificent edifice, framed by soaring redwood trees, is to die for. Which was fitting, as I was staying there for a murder mystery weekend. The grand Gothic and Tudor exterior, creaking oak front door
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rooms
Radisson Edwardian Hotels
n Relish restaurant
Radisson Edwardian Hotels/Marcus Peel
n Theatrical lobby
Radisson Edwardian Hotels/Marcus Peel
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and maze of corridors and stairs added perfectly to the occasion. As did the baronial-style, chandeliered public rooms with their lofty leaded windows and ornamental gardens beyond. Hercules Poirot and Sherlock Holmes would be in their element in this magnificent country house hotel, part of the Hand Picked Hotels group and offering 50
bedrooms, outdoor pool and leisure centre in 40 acres of woodland. But with friendly staff and four-star comforts, it felt very homely even to a lesser sleuth like me. Some rooms are in the new section, which is used as a conference and wedding venue. Mine was in the old part, with a stone-mullioned window, but was very cosy. I particularly liked the toy New Forest pony left on the bed, which you put outside the room if you don’t want to be disturbed. Unfortunately, the bathroom radiator did not work, making for a quick dash for warmth after showering. With two AA Rosette fine dining in a stately restaurant boasting a carved Armada frieze above the fireplace, the food is first rate, although my murder mystery companions and I ate in the glorious Grand Hall. What a pity not all of them stayed around to enjoy the whole weekend. Peter Ellegard
Spring 2012
Lansdowne Place Hotel & Spa
BRIGHTON & HOVE
“The best of Brighton & Hove”
• Luxury 4 hotel just steps away from Hove seafront • Stunning bedrooms • Function rooms up to 250 delegates • Cocktail bar and Restaurant • ESPA • Friendly staff at your disposal 24h a day
“We make your stay the best experience”
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