By Adam Raphael New Year, new beginnings but also a very sad ending. To make your fame and fortune in hospitality, you need more than talent, taste and grinding hard work. Take the saga of the Salutation in Sandwich, Kent, a Lutyens-designed seaside hotel with a glorious garden. Eighteen months ago, it won one of… Read more
Getting ahead of the competition as a small or independent hotel The UK’s hotel industry is highly competitive. It is estimated that travellers have around 60,000 hotels nationwide to choose from, and PWC predicts that the industry will continue to grow, despite a challenging economic environment . For hotel chains, the answer to attracting customers… Read more
By Adam Raphael Never mind Brexit, there is nothing like duvets for dividing the nation. Over the past half-century, they have taken over bedrooms mainly because they are cheap and low maintenance. But why should anyone be forced to sweat for hours under a million mite-ridden duck feathers? A request for blankets and sheets at… Read more
‘Thank you for striking a blow at the duvet partisans. Last year my wife and I spent 2 nights at The Douglas Hotel on Arran prior to a longer holiday around the Inner Hebrides. On requesting that they replace our duvet with sheets and blankets, the receptionist replied “what’s a blanket?”. ‘I thought that your comments… Read more
By Adam Raphael This week an email landed on my desk complaining about ‘screechy’ pop music in a hotel’s dining room. According to the Guide’s reader, when he complained that his ears were being assaulted, the reaction was ‘one of surprise that he didn’t like it.’ The curse of canned music strikes again. Sadly, many… Read more
By Annabelle Thorpe The big six-oh! Whether it’s a shock to the system, or a cause for celebration, landmark birthdays can’t be avoided. You might want to party with friends and family, escape to an island idyll, or challenge yourself to a truly unforgettable experience. Here, the experts at 101 Holidays select the best holidays… Read more
By Adam Raphael The Good Hotel Guide’s 2020 edition, published on Monday, has 830 entries from great-value B&Bs and gastro pubs to country houses and gourmet city hotels. Tomorrow, a Guide article in the Daily Mail will exclusively reveal the winners of this year’s César awards. The Oscars of the hotel industry include a yachtie… Read more
‘Just how ubiquitous is cheating on TripAdvisor?’ This question was asked last week by the consumer body Which? Unfortunately, there is no answer to how many of the hotel reviews appearing on TA’s website are bogus. TripAdvisor doesn’t have a clue. It makes only cursory attempts to weed out the cheats and it discloses only… Read more
By Adam Raphael Two Devon seaside hotels less than five miles apart as the crow flies. Both overlook great beaches and have idyllic views. The first has been owned and personally run by the same family for more than four decades. The second is a hotel which has been given a stylish revamp by its… Read more