The freebie king

A pathetic w....r?

When an opponent resorts to vulgar abuse, you know you have won. I was therefore not unhappy when I read the Daily Mail recently to find myself described by Michael Winner as 'a pathetic wanker'.

My offence was to question the journalistic ethics of Winner's acceptance of hospitality and free helicopter rides around the country in his weekly tour of Von Essen hotels for the Sunday Times.

His assistant sent me this explanation: “It is highly impertiinent of you to suggest that Mr Winner takes freebies...If, as happens on some occasions, PremiAir has a helicopter going in that direction they have sometimes dropped Mr Winner off at one of their [Von Essen] hotels. That is nothing to do with his reviews of the hotels all of which have included considerable criticism.' Considerable criticism?

“Sharrow Bay is fantastic. The food is historic.The views of the lake are breathtaking. All the staff are delightful.The manager is exemplary."

' Andrew Davis specialises in country house hotels [Lewtrenchard Manor]. Each has real welcoming character and an individual atmosphere. In an hour we had six triumphant courses.'

'I had an incredible-quality breakfast last week at the new Verta Hotel; scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted muffin were historic; coffee, jams, service, topnotch.'

“Cliveden has gone from disaster to triumph. On my recent visit, it was immaculate…a large beautifully furnished room with a grand terrace and sweeping views of the stunningly kept grounds…I have been to a number of Andrew Davis’s hotels. The staff love him. He knows all their names. He’s a detail man; he genuinely wants his guests to be looked after.'

Why is Winner so besotted with Andrew Davis? There are many fine country house hotels in the Good Hotel Guide. Only one of our selected hotels is owned by Von Essen. The other 28 Von Essen hotels are not thought to be good enough by our readers and inspectors. Have we got it wrong? Or is Winner doing a disservice to his Sunday Times readers? He is too rich to bribe. The only explanation I have been able to come up with is that he and Von Essen's owner are two of a kind.

Adam Raphael

Special offers

Winter breaks

An old Victorian parsonage, Ffynnon,  in Dogellau, Wales, is offering a great-value February weekend for £250, a saving  of £150 on its normal price for two people sharing, regardless of which room you choose.  Guests are offered afternoon tea on arrival, and it is only a short walk to the town centre.   Children are welcomed with high tea  and baby listening. Offer available to Feb 18th.

Fancy a break by the Thames? The Trout at Tadpole Bridge, Buckland Marsh has a mid-week offer of £140 per night for a two night stay including room, three-course dinner and full English breakfast.  Valid from Monday to Thursday.  The 'warm atmosphere and outstanding food' were enjoyed by inspectors this year. The Trout has a 'cracking position'. by a narrow bridge over the Thames. Lawns run down to riverside moorings; boating visitors are encouraged.

The Lake at Llangammarch Wells has a special offer of garden rooms for £500 for two people for two nights, or a suite from £560.  This mock-Tudor hotel has 'a fabulous setting' in 'magnificent' grounds with lawns that slope down to the River Irfon. 'Good food, friendly, efficient staff and comfortable rooms,' says a fan in 2010.

Trigony House in Dumfries has a winter offer of £70 per person per night. A former shooting lodge, it is run as a country hotel with a friendly relaxed atmosphere.

More special offers are below, and there are many more are on our Special Offers page.

Hotels, inns and B&Bs with a special offer (click and see)

Send in a Review

Win a free night!

Another prize is on offer this month, a free night, dinner and breakfast for two plus a bottle of bubbly at the César-winning Combe House, Gittisham. A Grade 1 llisted Elizabethan manor house, it is much loved by Guide readers. The gardens supply nearly half of the produce for the chef's modern cooking.

All you have to do to win this superb prize is to submit a review which catches the eye of our editorial team for its wit and insight. The winner of last month's prize, a free night, dinner and breakfast at Ty Mawr, Brechfa is Annie Lade from Stroud. She wrote a number of helpful reviews of West Country hotels.

Hotel Tales

Basil Fawlty

1. 'Our bed was extremely uncomfortable, hard and with obvious springs. The pillows were thin and unsupportive. I woke often during the night, and ended up at 06.30 sitting in a not very comfortable armchair. When we checked out, the receptionist asked if we had enjoyed our stay. On hearing that the bed was uncomfortable, she said that they knew about that and it was due to be replaced in the near future. In response to our complaint about the pillows, she said that she always took her own when she stayed away. No apology was forthcoming and no discount in the outrageous price of £189 D,B&B for two for what they laughable described as a ‘luxury’ room.'

2. 'One is not surprised to be served by Eastern European staff these days, even in such far flung locations as Yorkshire,  but is some rudimentary command of the English language too much to expect? We had no idea what some of the staff here were talking about. After a couple of attempts (not quite the Manuel of Fawlty Towers 'Que?' but almost) we just gave up. The sommelier was over-pally. I was addressed inappropriately by him as if he were chatting to his buddy in a bar. It reminded me of the time I was addressed by a steward on a BA flight as 'mate'. The Polish waiter was pleasant but had outgrown his suit which bore the remnants of breakfasts and dinners past.'

3. 'We booked this because of the reviews in many guide books. The hotel was reached down a precarious, steep hill which, together with the railway line right outside the hotel and at window level, is not mentioned anywhere in any of the reviews. Although there are not too many trains, there are enough first thing in the morning to wake you far too early for a holiday.'
   
   
4. 'We found the hotel to be rather soulless. The bar area was cramped and gloomy, and the sound-proofing of the bedrooms was appalling. We booked for three nights but after a sleepless second night because of the couple in the room beneath us snoring all night long and then putting their TV on at 7 am, we decided to check out.  However we were threatened with their cancellation policy and initially told we would have to pay for the third night even though we were leaving because of the state of the hotel.  In the end they did not charge us for the third night, but we lost our discounted rate and it ended up costing us only £30 less than if we had stayed the final night.'

   
   

BUY tHE gUIDE

The 2011 Guide

The 2011 edition of the Good Hotel Guide to Great Britain and Ireland makes a great present. Discount vouchers worth a total of £150 are included with each copy. They enable a 25% saving off the normal B&B price at participating hotels. A copy of the Guide costs £18 (including £3 p&p), compared to a retail price of £20. If you wish to buy a copy, click here or write to: The Good Hotel Guide, 50 Addison Avenue, London W11 4QP.

The new Good Hotel Guide gift voucher, just launched, is attracting lots of interest. For details, write to: editor@goodhotelguide.com.

The GHG Iphone app is also available from Apple's Itune store. It costs £2.99 in the UK, $4.99 in the USA.

The Good Hotel Guide, founded 32 years ago, is totally independent. It receives no payments, no hospitality and no advertising from hotels selected for an entry in the printed edition. Hotels pay to be on the GHG website, but only those hotels which have an entry in the printed Guide are eligible. Selected hotels are recommended by readers, backed where necessary by an anonymous inspection. The British edition of the Guide is published each autumn. Adam and Caroline Raphael, who edit the Guide, are award-winning journalists. Caroline, a former BBC researcher and a travel writer, is editor-in-chief. She has worked on the Guide for more than 30 years. Adam, who previously worked for the Guardian, the Observer, the BBC and the Economist, is the Guide's marketing director. Desmond Balmer, formerly travel editor of the Observer, is editor of the British guide. The Guide specialises in small owner-managed hotels, inns and B&Bs in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and Ireland. It includes budget B&Bs, good value hotels as well as grand country houses and chic city hotels, all offering value for money in their price.range.