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The Pan Pacific Singapore is conveniently located at on 7, Raffles Boulevard at Marina Square, minutes away from Suntec City; and the Promenade and Esplanade MRT stations.

It is a large hotel with a stunning atrium featuring glass lifts. The Pan Pacific Singapore is famous for its dining outlets which are equally busy with locals and visitors alike. (The Edge, (Local, Regional and International), Rang Mahal (Indian Cuisine), Keyaki (Japanese Restaurant), Hai Tien Lo (Chinese Restaurant), Atrium (longest bar in town) and Pacific Marketplace (Sandwiches and more in the lobby).

The rooms at the Pan Pacific are generously sized and are fitted out with modern decor. The bathrooms offer a large shower with electric shower curtains which can be closed to be totally separated from the bedroom. The large bed is very comfortable and the room offers plenty of electric outlets, a minibar and coffee/tea kettle. There is a day and a night curtain on the floor to ceiling window which can be operated fully automatically and offers complete darkness. 

The hotel offers a gym and a swimming pool (which is surely not Asia’s most beautiful) good enough for a refreshing swim or a few rays of sun.

The service at the Pan Pacific is impeccable, always super-efficient and professional.

The Pan Pacific offers competitive rates when booked online on the hotel website. I always like to stay at this hotel and have never been disappointed.

https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-marina.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImvehvYOu4AIVAuh3Ch0bAg_NEAAYASAAEgL7C_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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I arrived late night at Geneva Airport and was picked up by the hotel’s own shuttle bus service. This shuttle bus runs conveniently around every 20 minutes. Check-in was done within minutes.

This hotel is a classic airport hotel with spacious rooms, a modern bathroom and all amenities that you need. The bathroom is on the smaller side, but functional and eco-friendly soap and shower gel/shampoo dispensers are provided. A scale is also available which most hotels do not offer these days.

The bed is large and comfortable and noise-insulated windows guarantee a noise-free sleep.

Sky-Gym is on the top floor and offers all the usual hotel-gym equipment. As it is located on the top floor it has a nice view over the entire airport which is quite entertaining while you work out. 

The hotel offers a lobby bar, a Japanese restaurant downstairs and the main Mövenpick Restaurant.

I had breakfast at the Mövenpick Restaurant and was not impressed. While the food on offer was of good standard fare, there is only 1 coffee machine available and this leads to long queues and people having to wait in line. There was another coffee machine available behind the bar but the staff were not flexible to help out or in any way willing to assist or accommodate. As the coffee maker is in the middle of the breakfast area people block the way for those who are getting their food.

But the real downside of the place was that half of the restaurant was closed off and blocked by barriers. There were lots of people eating breakfast at the time but the staff were not willing to open up another section but let everybody sit in a cramped area. This situation was annoying and angered some people but the staff did not care which made this a place where you don’t want to come back to and pay a lot of money for your breakfast.

Overall, the hotel is an OK option for an overnight stay at Geneva Airport. However, I think the food and beverage managers need some training in the area of basic hospitality management. 

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https://www.movenpick.com/en/europe/switzerland/geneva/hotel-geneva/overview/

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Balanced like an eagle’s nest atop a forested reserve, 500 metres above  Lake Lucerne, the 60-hectare Bürgenstock Resort presides over glass-like vistas, cow-filled meadows and serrated Alpine horizons. There’s road access and a car park, but the best way to arrive is by high-speed catamaran  from Lucerne, then funicular train up to the resort. The high-speed catamaran cuts the journey time from Lucerne to only 30 minutes.

From its origins in 1873 to the Fifties and Sixties, when Hollywood stars such as Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn lived here, the Bürgenstock Resort has quite a long and deep heritage. Its image following a nine-year, 500 million Swiss Francs renovation is fittingly spectacular. An architectural collage of four hotels melds 19th-century grandeur with ultra-modern design.

The 10-storey cube-shaped Bürgenstock Hotel cuts a striking contrast beside the Belle Époque Palace Hotel – although the two share a polished lobby with colossal windows. More discreet properties are the larch lattice-clad Waldhotel and chalet-style Taverne 1879. A network of broad panoramic terraces gives the impression the resort is suspended in mid-air.

The resort’s 8 restaurants, lounges and bars, open year-round, encompass Asian specialities, hearty Swiss offerings and ‘clean’ menus free from animal fats and salt. Enjoy French fine dining at RitzCoffier, which has Renaissance-style marbleised pillars and features 3 Michelin Stars. Also worth a taste is Oriental restaurant Sharq, located in a cube clinging to the mountainside. Not to forget the beautiful “Lakeview Lounge” overlooking the stunning alpine view, the lake and the city of Lucerne. Finally, there’s Spices restaurant, a Pan-Asian venue with grand-views and the Oak Grill which has a classy steakhouse atmosphere. All meals during my stay were delicious; and were cooked with the freshest ingredients.

I stayed at the Palace Hotel and my room was spacious, offering the newest state-of-the-art fittings in a contemporary design. There was a Nespresso coffeemaker, a kettle, free soft drinks and beer in the minibar and many other amenities. The bathroom offered a spacious shower, a separate toilet with closomat, Bulgari amenities and a towel heater. 

The hotel also features the 15,000 sq.m. Alpine Spa which is a an attraction in its own right. A large variety of treatment programs are available and both the indoor and outdoor pools offer above-the-clouds views. The Alpine Spa is simply beautiful and complementary access is included in most room rates. (Attention: not all room rates include complementary access to the Spa, check the website carefully not to get any bad surprises. The Spa alone charges about 90 CHF for day-use access.)

The Bürgenstock Resort was voted as Switzerland’s Number 1 hotel in 2018 and I truly enjoyed my stay. I was there during December and there was so much to see and to do. Be sure to allow enough time for a visit. All the hotel staff I met were super courteous and helpful. Everyone was professional, friendly and always open for a chat. 

https://www.buergenstock.ch/en

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The Axel Hotel Madrid is a “hetero-friendly” gay hotel where all adults are welcome. Several Axel hotels are located in various cities in Europe. 

The hotel is located on the busy Atocha Street on the edge of the literary quarter. This neighbourhood, around the Plaza de Santa Ana, is where Madrid’s first theatres sprang up in the 16th century but now the narrow streets are lined with bars, restaurants and independent shops. It is one of the most popular areas in Madrid for a tapas tasting.

Axel hotels are renowned for taking good care of their guests and making sure everyone is having a good time. The rooftop pool, with a sundeck with loungers and a bar, is where the party is at in the warmer half of the year. There is a well-equipped gym on the top floor with big windows so you can gaze across the rooftops. The gym also has a steam room and sensual treatment rooms. 

The Axel has 88 rooms and suites. The hotel offers two room categories – City and Premium. –  The Premium rooms are bigger and have a balcony or a terrace. Design is dramatic, not to mention erotic, with moody blue walls with neon slogans, black-and-white tiled headboards, wooden floors and black lace curtains. It is all glamour in the bathrooms with gold mosaic tiles in the shower. All rooms have bathrobes and slippers, a kettle, safe and minibar.

A bar and a restaurant are located on street level where breakfast is also served. I had a very good nights sleep and I enjoyed my stay at the Axel Hotel very much. I would particularly like to highlight the staff who were super charming and adorable.

 

 

Gym:

Club Lounge:

 

I booked a suite at the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights through one of the big online booking platforms. The choice of hotels and rooms in Dubai is countless and special offers are always available. I have done a couple of reviews in Dubai already and with the recent opening of the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights at Dubai Healthcare City, I wanted to add another hotel of the Hyatt Group.

The hotel is located mid-way between the city and the airport near the Dubai Creek and offers a hotel and a residence building and accommodations. The World-of-Hyatt priority counter was unoccupied so I checked-in at the regular reception desk. It was done quickly, although no upgrade or lounge level was offered.

The suite was large 69 sq m. with a separate living room, a guest toilet, a large bedroom with walk-in closet, and a large bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub. The window shade in the bathroom was broken and I could not open it. I requested it to be fixed two times during my 3 nights stay but they were not able to fix it for some reason. (I never actually saw anybody working on it or trying to fix it)

I found the service at the Hyatt Regency to be below average. There was no welcome greeting card, no welcome fruit or anything. There were a couple of free soft drinks in the minibar which were complimentary as well as a coffee maker but the capsules were not refilled on two days without requesting it from housekeeping. Housekeeping in general was held to a minimum. There was no daily turn down service and the bathroom amenities such as bottle water or shaver were never refilled during my stay. This is not the usual service that I expect at a Hyatt Regency hotel.

There are 3 food outlets in the hotel. A Mexican restaurant, a local/international mixed restaurant and a Deli plus a small ice cream shop in the lobby. I ordered a room service meal on the first night which was promptly delivered and tasted OK.

There is a huge gym which offers lots of good equipment including a separate fitness room for body building. There is a beauty parlour and a Spa available as well. Taxi and Uber Taxi are available 24 hours so it is easy to move about.

If traveling to Dubai there are endless possibilities where to stay and I would not recommend this hotel and not return to it. The hotel needs substantial service improvement and the touch of Hyatt Regency is totally missing.

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/united-arab-emirates/hyatt-regency-dubai-creek-heights/dxbhc

 

I stayed in at the Sunborn London Yacht Hotel because I liked the idea of trying something different to the usual city hotels. London offers a great variety of hotels and accommodation so I found this a welcome change and was happy to try something new.

The Sunborn London Yacht Hotel has been stationed in the new London Docklands area since 2014 and has been operating as a hotel since then. It is frequently booked for weddings, anniversaries and other events. The Sunborn has its own bar and a restaurant.

I stayed in an Executive Suite with river view. It was a large hotel suite with a small balcony which had enough space for 2 chairs. The suite had a flatscreen TV, an espresso maker, kettle, a refrigerator with free mineral water, and all amenities a luxury room would normally offer. The bathroom was small but had a good layout and a heater for towels. The decoration of the suite was elegant with a lot of warm wood tones and I really appreciated the small balcony to let some fresh air in during the night. The bed was comfortable with plenty of pillows and I slept very well.

I had a drink at the upper deck bar and it was nice to sit there and see people move by and taking pictures. The restaurant made a good impression, it was nicely set up and small but good choice of food was available.

The entire Yacht is nicely decorated  and my pictures show images from the suite, the restaurant and the hotel bar as well as the upper deck bar.

What I was not impressed about was the staff working there. They seemed to be more interested in chatting among themselves than taking care of their guests or giving information about the area or restaurants nearby. I also sent 2 e-mails with different inquiries to the hotel prior to my stay, but both of them were left unanswered. I find this behaviour very unprofessional and it does not give the guest a positive impression from the staff and management. Overall, it was a good stay but leaves lots of room for improvement to make their guests feel truly welcome.

 

https://www.sunbornhotels.com/london/

Villa Orsula – Grand Villa Argentina – Hotel Argentina – Villa Glavic

 

 

Villa Orsula

 

Grand Villa Argentina

 

 

 Hotel Argentina

 

Fitness and indoor pool

The Villa Argentina Estate in Dubrovnik consists of four buildings which are interconnected. The mainbuildings are the Grand Villa Argentina and the hotel Argentina and the Villa Orsula. Across the street is the Villa Glavic which is a separate building but guests can use all the facilities of the Hotel Argentina.

The Grand Villa Argentina was built in the early 1920’s and became a luxury hotel a few years later. Its unique location makes this hotel a fantastic place to stay. Rooms and Suites offer a superb view of the Adriatic sea, the small island of Lokrum and the medieval city of Dubrovnik with its small harbour. The entrance to the old town is only 10 min walking distance away which makes it a wonderful place to stay, go and back to town whenever one feels like doing so.

The Villa Argentina has a magnificent garden which offers many relaxing spaces to sit down, read a book, or just simply watch the beautiful  Adriatic sea. A small swimming pool, a gym, a barber shop and a beauty spa are available. The hotel has a large bar, an indoor restaurant and an outdoor restaurant. I had breakfast and a dinner at the hotel’s restaurant and food tasted delicious and was plentiful.

There is also Villa Orsola which is no doubt one of the most luxurious places to stay in Dubrovnik. It consists of only 14 suites, all with a contemporary design. The Villa Orsula has been completely renovated and offers the highest luxury standards.  There is also a separate gourmet restaurant, a luxury bar and a lounge area. Guests at the Villa Orsula have a separate entrance with a small reception where a staff member is available 24 hours.

Dubrovnik offers many small hotels and accommodation. Those located in the old town might be a bit difficult to access as there are many steep stairs and small alleys and the old town tends to be very crowded if not overcrowded when the large cruise ships arrive and flood the town with their passengers.

I would highly recommend one of the Adriatic Luxury Hotels (14) as they are professionally managed and their staff are well trained, friendly, and helpful at all times.

 

 

https://www.adriaticluxuryhotels.com/en

 

 

Inle Lake is the second largest lake in Myanmar and offers some of Asia’s most fascinating markets, pagodas and a remarkable collection of 1,000 ruined stupas at Inhein Village that date back to the 13th century. Fresh fruit and vegetables and are grown near and on the lake and some local garment manufacturers can be visited.

I arrived at the Sanctum Inle Lake Resort from Taunguyi by boat to the hotel’s own boat jetty which made it quite a unique experience. I stayed in a cloister deluxe room which had a wonderful view over the hotel gardens and Inle Lake.

At Sanctum Inle Resort arches and cloisters reference the monastic life. The hotel has integrated all of the modern comforts, from plush beds and air-conditioning, cable-televisons, minibars and Wifi. The bathrooms are large and feature a separate bathtub and a rain shower. (However the water pressure was very low and the hot/cold water regulation was a bit of a challenge. Unfortunately, this could not be fixed during our stay.

The hotel’s Cloister Bar is partly a bar, partly a lounge and offers everything from cocktails to wines and beer as well as the entire menu of The Refectory restaurant. The Refectory Restaurant offers Shan State culinary delights such as noodles, soups and salads from the hotel’s own gardens. There are international dishes available as well.

The hotel has a beautiful infinity pool which offers a stunning view of the sunset over Inle Lake. The hotel has a gym and bicycles are available to explore the surrounding area.

I tried a massage at the hotel’s Sanctuary Spa. The massage  was aromatherapy style and my request to do it on the softer side was very much adhered to by the therapist. (She did however not let me choose the oil as offered in their Spa-menu).

The hotel caters to individual guests as well as smaller and larger groups of travellers. The hotel promises a place of inner peace and calm and serenity in their brochure. This is kind of conflicting with selling their rooms to larger groups. While seeking peace and relaxation one could be disturbed by the arrival of forty to fifty people in a group invading the pool area or the breakfast room at the same time.

I had a pleasant stay at this new hotel in Inle Lake and all staff members I met were friendly and helpful. The food that I tasted was delicious and nicely presented.

If staying at Inle Lake, I would most certainly stay at the Sanctum Inle Lake Resort again and would add two or three days more to the stay for relaxation and unwinding.

http://sanctum-inle-resort.com/