Von Essen

Going, going, gone

The disappearance into the hands of the receiver of Andrew Davis’s collection of luxury hotels means uncertainty for hundreds of employees, and serious loss for many small suppliers. But for those not directly involved, and for the hotel industry as a whole, the administration is good news.

Mr Davis’s inflated reputation, puffed up by lavish PR, allowed him to snap up many of the finest country house hotels in Britain. The trouble was that he was no good at running them, despite accolades from Michael Winner that he was ‘a brilliant businessman…owner of 29 of the greatest hotels in the world.’

Even if he had been an inspired hotelier, running highly individual properties, such as Cliveden and Sharrow Bay, as a group was not a sensible business model. Andrew Davis liked to boast that he was a property man at heart and that the value of his properties more than outweighed any loans on them: ‘I’m a real-estate boy. We don’t do goodwill.’ I doubt whether this claim has any substance, which is why his two principal backers, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays, are now seriously exposed. Why anyone, let alone a High Street bank, was willing to risk hundreds of millions of pounds on such a dubious proposition amazes me. I understand that the banks finally decided to cut loose when Davis turned down bail-out offers. Admittedly I am out of my depth in this world of high finance. But it would not have taken much research to find out that Davis was not rated highly by his peers in the industry. One fellow hotelier memorably dubbed him “Uriah Heap in a helicopter.”

What happens now is of concern. Many of the Von Essen properties are potentially wonderful hotels, but they need a steady financial hand and good management. I sincerely hope they are not bought en masse by a hotel chain because that would merely repeat the mistakes of the past. But whatever happens, be thankful for two small mercies. You won’t have to endure me obsessively speculating about Von Essen’s finances in the future. Even better, you won’t have to read Michael Winner lavishing praise week by week on his 'brilliant' pal. Chutzpah describes someone who is beyond shame. But that doesn’t quite do justice to Winner's performance in his weekly Sunday Times hotel column as he helicoptered around the country praising one Von Essen hotel after another. All I would say to him now is: keep calm dear! Please remember, I am only writing this to help you become a decent journalist.

Adam Raphael

Special offers

Buckets & Spades

There is nothing that I (or my grandchildren) enjoy more than a bucket and spade holiday, particularly with weather as glorious as it has been over the past few weeks. Trefeddian, run by three generations of the Cave family, is a traditional family hotel with views across Cardigan Bay. It is offering a five night- break in June from £66 per night including dinner and bed and breakfast. No spades included but wonderful value. When you are tired of digging and making castles, you can stroll along the beach and discover the charms of nearby Aberdovey.

Another get-away-from-it all place, The Colonsay, the only hotel on an idyllic Hebridean island, is offering two nights for the price of one throughout May including a full breakfast, and three nights for the price of two in June plus a free pass to Colonsay’s 30-acre rhododendron and woodland garden. Owned by the Laird and his wife, the bedrooms are simply furnished but spotless. Harbour views, log fires, and lots of games.

The Seaview on the Isle of  Wight, a family favourite for many years on a quiet part of the  Solent, is offering 15% off all its bed and breakfast rates until June 15th, apart from  Bank Holiday weekends. It is a great place not only for the beach, but also for dinghy sailing and exploring.

If your fancy turns inland, the Redesdale Arms in Moreton-in-Marsh, an old Cotswold market town, has a dinner, bed and breakfast package with rooms from £105 to £180 per night. You can save up to £16 per night plus a complimentary bottle of house wine with dinner..

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

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This month's prize is a free night dinner and breakfast at Farlam Hall, an elegant Victorian house with ornamental lake. It has been run with humour and style by the Quinion family for the past 35 years. Excellent food with a daily-changing menu of 'English country house dishes, such as pheasant breast with herb mousse, smoked bacon mashed potatoes, red wine sauce.

All you have to do to win this splendid 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 and breakfast at the César B&B of the year, Millgate House, Richmond, is Michael Bourdeaux from Oxford..

Hotel Tales

Basil Fawlty

1. 'We were shown to our bedroom by an assistant. When we asked if we could have blankets and sheets rather than a duvet on the bed, it seemed as if he didn’t understand the question. He found a blanket but it was clear that no sheets were available. The room’s single window overlooked another building at the rear. The shutters on the blind didn’t fully close, and there seemed to be no way of holding it in place if it was raised. Curtains did not meet across the window. A large flat-screen TV and DVD-player were on a wooden table as was a lamp (it didn’t work). To the left of the table, on the floor, was a jumble of wires, cables and sockets (this was where guests were supposed to plug in the kettle). Lighting was very poor. Downstairs in the bar and dining area, muzak played all day; the assistant looked surprised when we asked for it to be turned off.'
   
   
   
2. 'In a Glasgow suburb for a meeting I booked this hotel only on the basis of physical proximity to the venue. On the phone I had agreed £70 for b&b.The room was sparsely furnished with curtains that didn’t meet in the middle. The lighting was really bizarre. It didn’t work at all. Those fittings that had a bulb were all cracked or broken. I called reception. The assistant manager came to the room. A precise replica of Basil Fawlty in every respect, but around twenty years younger. Hopping from side to side and waving his arms wildly in all directions he explained that all the lighting had been installed six months ago and had never worked. The manager had instructed his lawyers and in the meantime would not authorize replacement of the defective system. He supplied a desk lamp which I plugged into the mains to test, it worked. So in the bathroom I had to rely on the little light from the bedroom. Ah the bathroom! The shower was 700mm. square. Alright for a thin person. It was accessed by a sliding door which opened half the width of the shower. So I squeezed in and out , scratching myself on the way. The toilet! Did not flush. At all. The basin! Was blocked and contained someone else’s dirty water. To which I added. And the noise! It was a quiet location but there was a wedding party in the evening with dancing till midnight,  followed by the celebrants cavorting outside my room till just after 2 am. I called reception. No answer. I opened my door and was verbally abused. When I came to pay in the morning I suggested the hotel should waive the charge. They offered a free weekend on my next trip. No thanks. Basil eventually agreed £40. I left as fast as I could.'

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The 2011 Guide

The 2011 print 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 scheme, an ideal birthday or wedding present, is attracting lots of interest. For more 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. An E-book version of the Guide is available on Kindle price at £8 in the Uk or $13 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.