Category Archives: Hotels

Hilton Garden Inn, Stuttgart, Germany

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in Hotels

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

Our stay at this Hilton was so we could visit the nearby Porsche Museum, Mercedes Museum and Ludwigsburg Palace. I can’t imagine that people stay here for any other reason except to attend matches at the Mercedes Benz Arena – home to German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. The hotel is directly next to the arena and so this is the view you’ll see from your window.

We were able to park directly outside, although had to move the car to the street afterwards – hotel parking is  €16.

Check in was smooth, although there was no mention of an upgrade for our two room bookings; one Diamond, one Gold HHhonors. We were also informed that the hotel restaurant was closed for refurbishment and so we’d need to go elsewhere for dinner.

On arrival at my room, it was clear this was the lowest level room. And I might have accepted that had the bed wasn’t so small.

The bathroom was okay.

I returned to reception and asked if they had any better rooms – it looked like the hotel was completely full. After several minutes, they decided to offer me an accessible room – that was fine with me. This room was much better, with an entry hall, large bed and more windows.

The bathroom was accessible – I quite like the large walk-in shower.

Breakfast was okay – what you’d expect from a Garden Inn.

If you’re planning to visit the car museums, Ludwigsburg Palace or attend a football match then the Hilton Garden Inn will suffice. Apart from that I can’t see any reason for anyone to stay here.

Hilton Garden Inn
Mercedesstrasse 75,
70372, Stuttgart
Germany

TEL: +49-711-900550

http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/baden-wurttemberg/hilton-garden-inn-stuttgart-neckarpark-STRPKGI/index.html

Hilton Hotel, Berlin, Germany

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Hotels

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

The Hilton Berlin was the start point for our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

The hotel isn’t that expensive, but is a proper five-star Hilton – it’s on a quiet street directly opposite the Cathedral.

I checked in two rooms, one as a Diamond (me) and one as a Gold HHonors Member – oddly the Gold was upgraded to a corner suite on the second floor and Diamond to a king room on the executive floor. I sneakily swapped room keys and took the suite. the suite was huge with a large lounge area, separate bedroom, bathroom and toilet. The bedroom felt a little small, but only because it was just a bedroom. The bathroom was also a standard size – all the space was given to the lounge area. But I’m not complaining.

The view from the window was pretty good.

The Executive Lounge was large, nicely decorated and had a good selection of drinks and hot/cold snacks.

As my Son wouldn’t arrive until 22:30, I went for a swim (spa is free for Diamond members) – I was able to wear my room bathrobe and slippers and take a dedicated elevator to the spa. The pool was pretty good and mostly empty at 21:00.

My Son arrived and ordered a burger from the lounge bar – it was quite expesnive at around 25 Euros, but was a good burger.

Breakfast in the first floor restaurant was excellent – sparkling wine included.

We really enjoyed our two night stay and would certainly stay again.

Hilton Berlin
MOHRENSTRASSE 30,
10117, BERLIN
GERMANY

TEL: +49-30-202300

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/berlin/hilton-berlin-BERHITW/index.html

German Road Trip

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Hotels, Insects/Bugs, Restaurants and Bars, Sightseeing, Train & Bus Travel, Travel News & Tips

≈ 11 Comments

We took a road trip around Germany, starting in Berlin, ending in Berchtesgaden. Rental car from Avis was a Mercedes E Class. Below is a series of links, or what will become links, of the hotels, restaurants and places visited.

Hilton Berlin

Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) Tour Berlin

German Museum of Technology (Berlin)

Das Meisterstück Restaurant (Berlin)

Dark Worlds Bunker Tour (Berlin)

Templehof (unused) Airport (Berlin)

Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart

Porsche Museum (Stuttgart)

Ludwigsberg Palace Tour (Stuttgart)

Palm Beach Bar and Restaurant (Stuttgart)

Mercedes Benz Museum (Stuttgart)

Hotel AlpinaRos – Demming (Berchtesgaden)

Mount Everest Indian Restaurant (Berchtesgaden)

Hidden Tunnels Tour (Berchtesgaden)

Eagle’s Nest (Berchtesgaden)

Lake Königssee (Berchtesgaden)

Hilton Hotel Nuremberg

Valzner Weiher Restaurant (Nuremberg)

Rally Grounds (Nuremberg)

Documentation Centre (Nuremberg)

Annaberg-Bucholtz

Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa, Inveraray, Argyll, Scotland

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Hotels, Restaurants and Bars

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

We booked a standard room for two nights at the Loch Fyne Hotel (Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd July). Once past Glasgow, the road becomes a winding scenic single carriageway – so plan extra time for the slower roads and inevitable stops for photographs.

Inveraray is a small picturesque town ruined by a gaudy fairground attraction sitting on the green by the Loch. The hotel is just a few minutes drive away – far enough that the fairground isn’t visible.

The entrance hall had a classic Scottish manor house feel.

We checked in and climbed the stairs to our room.

We were delighted to find that we’d been upgraded to the Lagavulin Suite – all the suites are named after famous whiskies. Strangely, the receptionist hadn’t mentioned our upgrade, but we soon realised that we had probably the best room in the hotel.

The bed was a good size. Behind the bed were some steps up to small seat where you could sit and look out upon the Loch.

There was a sofa and table with complimentary fruit and water. I think a nice touch, especially for those who actually booked a suite, would be to leave a small Lagavulin, or whatever whisky the room was named after.

The bathroom was nicely appointed (separate bath and shower), although there were minimal toiletries and no box of tissues. I also found that the cold tap produced hot water until it was run for several minutes – pipes too close together. This also meant the shower was scolding hot unless the cold tap had been left to run cold.

There was a safe in the room, sadly too small for a laptop. The set up method was more complicated than the usual ‘reset, enter new code, lock’ and meant that I accidentally locked the safe without a code set – the receptionist came and unlocked the safe with a key.

There was a trouser press in the room. I’d love to meet the salesman from Corby who managed to convince so many hotels to purchase such a useless item.

We were on a bed and breakfast rate and had made dinner reservations on check in.

The restaurant was quite spacious. The taster menu was included and had most of the food we would have chosen anyway – well except scallops for which we paid £5 per person extra.

We chose a bottle of 2015 ‘Killerman’s Run’ Australian Shiraz for £43 (shop price £17). I must admit to not paying attention when a bottle of South African Meerlust Rubicon 2014 arrived – it was a lovely wine and it was only when I came to write this review that I discovered that it was one above our choice on the wine list and was listed at £75 a bottle (shop price £27 so quite a hefty mark-up). We were only charged £43 and so it looks like the staff, who apart from the maître d’ were all pretty amateur, had mistakenly upgraded us.

Dishes were presented without any announcement – they were just plonked in front of us by one of the waiting staff, who immediately walked away. This wouldn’t have been such an issue, except that our bread and butter pudding was delivered as the second course, just after the scallops. We had to wave someone down and the pudding disappeared back to the kitchen. It looked good and was when we finally got another chance to eat it later that evening.

I don’t seem to have any pictures of the other courses, but everything was delicious. They obviously have a good chef, just need to work on their waiting staff.

Breakfast was excellent; cold pastries, meats and fruits and cooked to order breakfast. I chose my favourite – Eggs Royale with a side of black pudding. It looked so good that I cut into it before remembering to take a picture.

Dinner the following evening was slightly less impressive. We’d eaten our amuse-bouche and starter before the wine arrived – correct bottle this time. The food was still good, although our crème brûlée wasn’t set and the top hadn’t been caramelised. The waitress did offer to replace it, but we were tired, full and didn’t bother.

We discovered that check out was 11am. I really don’t approve of hotels setting a check out time earlier than noon. As it was we were granted a ‘late’ check out and left at noon.

We enjoyed our stay and I’d certainly recommend this hotel despite the few shortcomings that they need to work on; bathroom amenities, cold water plumbing, restaurant staff training, noon checkout as standard.

I’ve posted pictures of the surrounding area at the end of this review.

Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa
Inveraray
Argyll
Scotland
PA32 8XT

https://www.crerarhotels.com/loch-fyne-hotel-spa

01499 302980

 

 

 

Hampton by Hilton Hotel, Gatwick Airport North Terminal, England

04 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Air Travel, Hotels, Travel News & Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

We stayed here in June to catch an early morning flight departing from the North Terminal. This was our first stay as we’ve previously stayed at the Hilton South Terminal. The Hampton North beats Hilton South hands down!

The Hampton entrance is directly from the North Terminal and you’re at the reception desk and room in minutes. Contrast this with the Hilton South, a long walk from the terminal and another long walk from reception to your room.

Check in was friendly and they were also able to print a document we emailed them without any issues nor cost. As Hilton Diamond, we were upgraded and also offered a choice of snacks from the snack bar.

The room was clean and functional and had a king-size bed.

The bathroom had a walk in shower.

The view from the room was interesting.

There isn’t an executive lounge, but the Hilton South lounge isn’t much to write home about.

My partner left early for her flight – the EasyJet check in is steps from the hotel entrance.

I had the decent buffet breakfast, which I think is free for all guests – I wasn’t asked for my room number. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people waiting for their flight in the North Terminal sneaked in for a free breakfast! The Hilton South charges for breakfast unless you book a breakfast included rate or have Hilton Gold or Diamond status.

I’d booked a taxi to collect me from the hotel. There’s a short corridor that leads to the hotel car park and taxis can pick up there – 15 minutes free parking.

I’d definitely recommend this hotel if you are flying in/out of Gatwick North. In fact, I’d almost be tempted to choose it if I was flying in/out of Gatwick South as the walking distance is about the same.

Hampton by Hilton
Longbridge House North Terminal,
Horley, RH6 0PJ, United Kingdom

TEL: +44-1293-579999

http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hampton-by-hilton-london-gatwick-airport-LONGNHX/index.html

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, England

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Hotels

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is quite new to Kingston. We decided to stay there one Saturday night in June 2018 as we were meeting friends in nearby Surbiton.

The hotel was in the news recently as the extended family of Meghan Markle stayed there during the Royal Wedding – they weren’t invited to the wedding. Apparently Meghan’s nephew Tyler Dooley, 25, admitted to the doorman at the nearby Bacchus nightclub that he had a knife and tried to hand it over. He was with his girlfriend, brother TJ and his mother Tracey. The UK newspapers loved the story and chased the family into a cleaner’s cupboard at the hotel.

Check in was friendly. We were upgraded as Hilton Diamond members plus given a voucher for two free drinks at the bar. We were also given two delicious cookies.

The room was pretty good.

As was the bathroom.

The view from the window.

The hotel is just a minutes walk, via a small tunnel, to the Bentall Shopping Centre. Then less than ten minutes to the river, with plenty of riverside restaurants and bars to choose from.

As Diamond members, the breakfast was included – I think it was around £14. The buffet was pretty good, although I was disappointed to see that premium items, such as eggs benedict were chargeable – if I had paid for breakfast then I’d be pretty upset about that.

It was a hot day and so the restaurant windows had been opened – and that’s never a good idea when there is a buffet and flies can then get in.

We were given a late checkout (1.30pm).

We enjoyed our one-night stay and would definitely consider returning.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
1 Skerne Road,
Kingston upon Thames
KT2 5FJ,
United Kingdom

TEL: +44-203-0960099

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-london-kingston-upon-thames-LONKTDI/index.html

Pestana Columbos Hotel, Porto Santo Island

24 Thursday May 2018

Posted by in Hotels, Restaurants and Bars

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

The Pestana Colombos is located on the Island of Porto Santo, on the archipelago of Madeira. The hotel is effectively on a sandy beach which stretches for 9km. The hotel is named after Christopher Columbus who lived on Porto Santo for a short time.

We spent a week at the excellent Vidamar Hotel in Madeira and decided to extend our holiday with four days at the Columbos – Friday to Tuesday in May. The Columbos is an all-inclusive hotel – four nights booked direct on the Pestana website cost 885.40 EUR.

There are two routes from Funchal, Madeira to Porto Santo; an almost daily Porto Santo Line ferry which leaves at either 08:00 or 19:00, takes 2 hours and 15 minutes and costs 58 EUR return or a 10 minute flight with SevenAir Aero VIP for which we paid 83 EUR return. The ferry appears  to be ridiculously overpriced.

It was just 10 minutes by taxi to the hotel, which has automated high gates, not just a barrier, that allow access before you reach the entrance. We arrived about 13.15.

The reception was empty – not surprising as no other flights had landed.

Check in was quick and we were allocated a standard room (the class we’d booked) despite the hotel being at low occupancy. The title ‘standard’ doesn’t do the room justice as it was exceedingly well appointed; heavy wood, card-operated, entrance door, marble floors, large designer bath, bathrobes, slippers, Bang & Olufsen TV, good free Wi-Fi, mini bar pre-stocked with complimentary drinks and a large terrace.

Only thing missing were tea/coffee making facilities – we found the same missing in the Pestana Casino Park in Madeira.

We quickly left to walk around to the Sister Hotel – Pestana Porto Santo – for lunch. There is only a snack bar open in the Columbos at lunchtime. That may change when occupancy is high.

We were disappointed to find a queue for the restaurant.

We later discovered that the hotel shuttle bus to the main town, returns passengers at around 13.40 and that causes a last minute rush for the restaurant.

The restaurant was a bit of a zoo, crowded, not enough space between tables, not enough space around the buffet, noisy, plenty of children – we found that tables outside on the terrace were much better. The food was okay, but nothing amazing. Bottled water and wine were served at our table. The wine was good quality. All the staff were really friendly, although rushed off their feet.

It is also possible to skip the restaurant lunch and just pick up hot and cold snacks from around the bar areas of each hotel.

After lunch, we had some time to look at the Porto Santo Hotel.

The pools were too cold to swim in. We had a look at the adults-only spa, which looked beautiful.

The water was a little cold, but the weather outside wasn’t that warm and I believe they rely on the Sun to heat rooftop radiators.

On our walk back to the Columbos, we stopped by guest services, where they can book dinner at one of three table service restaurants; Mediterranean, Madeirian and Japanese. Imagine our disappointment when we were told that as guests for four nights, we could only choose to eat one night in the table service restaurants. TUI package guests staying seven nights can choose three. Our disappointment was further compounded when we discovered that only one restaurant per night was open, none on Mondays and all were booked. Our preference was for Koi, the Japanese Restaurant on Sunday night, but the guest services lady offered to also try and get us a table in the Maderian on Saturday.

On Saturday we received a reservation for 21.30 which was too late for us. We re-visited guest services and explained that time was unsuitable and we’d like to try for Koi on Sunday – sadly we were never offered a reservation there. I visited the front desk to complain and after explaining the issue to a number of different employees, I finally met the Hotel Manager, Angela Quintal, who apologised and we agreed a small reduction to our final bill.

We checked out the Columbos indoor swimming pool. Sadly it was nowhere near as opulent as the Porto Santo version – but was much warmer. This also meant that it was full of families and excited children.

The beach is accessed via a number of attractive bridges.

Halfway across the bridge, I could see hotel sun loungers. Although these don’t have a view to the Sea, they are free and also sheltered from the wind.

The beach is beautiful.

Sadly the Sea was very cold and the beach very windy. The sunbeds are chargeable, which I thought was pretty cheeky.

There is a free shuttle to the town of Porto Santo. This turned out to be a coach. The driver took us to a parking lot, where we swapped the coach for an open-deck version. He then went back to the Porto Santo Hotel and picked up passengers from there. The town was quaint, but there wasn’t really much to see. We took the coach back to arrive at 13.40 and so faced queues again at the lunch buffet.

The Columbos opened its buffet restaurant for the evening. This was so much nicer than the Porto Santo, with plenty of space and better quality food. All the staff were really friendly.

The downsides were:

  • Restaurant opens at 18.30 and closes the doors to new diners at 19.30. It then re-opens at 20.30. I can almost understand this two-sittings rule when the hotel is full, but the dining room was always half empty when we were there.
  • Tables are very close together and we were heavily dissuaded from sitting at tables laid for four.

Bottled water and wine were served at our table. The wine was good quality.The staff were really friendly.

Following dinner, we headed to the Columbos Bar. The staff were friendly and service was quick. The spirits/liquor were unknown brands, not top-shelf and while these are fine for making cocktails, you would be disappointed with a straight whiskey. There was a great singer.

Breakfast in the Coumbos restaurant was pretty good, with an egg/omelette station. The downside was that tea and coffee weren’t served at the table and guests had to queue for an automatic Nescafe machine. Good Barista-style coffee was available from the Columbos day and evening bars – not sure about the Porto Santo bars.

The Columbos rooms are arranged in a quadrangle. The central atrium is a comfortable sun trap, chairs with plenty of cushions and not windy.

We asked to view the superior rooms. The Sea view rooms were the same as ours, faced the pool area and the Sea in the distance. This was the view.

So I wouldn’t bother paying extra for a Sea-view room.

The suites occupy the four corners of the hotel quadrangle. They have two bedrooms and a separate lounge. They would be ideal for families.

Again, not really worth the extra expense for a couple, but of course accept a free upgrade!

We visited the Porto Santo entertainment area. The animation staff were all very keen and the children loved all the dancing that was encouraged. But the whole place felt a bit more like a British holiday camp – the Columbos Bar was much better, but I guess it depends what you are looking for.

During my conversation with Angela, the Hotel Manager, I raised the following:

  • I couldn’t see how the hotel could make money, only open half the year, with so much spent on room furnishings. Angela explained that the original builders had gone bankrupt and Pestana were renting the property from the bank, who had foreclosed.
  • That the Columbos should be an adults-only hotel. Angela advised that a third hotel was under construction and that when complete, the Columbos could be made adults only.
  • That the two hotel spas were the wrong way around – although there isn’t much that can be done about that.

Bug Report May 2018: Just like Madeira, I wasn’t bothered by any insects at all. No wasps, flies, cockroaches, mosquitoes – nothing 🙂

Would we return? We mostly enjoyed our stay, but probably not. There are plenty of high-end, all inclusive resorts that offer better value, more dine-around choices, top-shelf spirits and also a warm, calm Sea. For example, you would be better paying a little more for a week at the Barceló Dominican Republic.

Pestana Columbos Hotel
Estrada Regional 171,
Sitio do Campo de Baixo , 9400-242 ,
Porto Santo

+351291144050

https://www.pestana.com/uk/hotel/pestana-colombos

WOW Air Travel Guide Competition – enter before May 14th 2018

26 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Air Travel, Hotels, Sightseeing, Travel News & Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

WOW Air is an Icelandic low-cost carrier. The airline is headquartered in Reykjavík and based at Keflavík International Airport. They fly to over 30 destinations in Europe, the USA, Canada and Israel.

WOW are currently running a competition to be a travel guide. Those chosen will need to move to Iceland, with a friend of their choice, for 10 weeks during the summer of 2018 and then visit numerous WOW air destinations. All expenses are paid, including accommodation in Iceland – they also mention that you are paid, but that doesn’t appear in the terms and conditions:

What will WOW Travel Guides get?

Weeks of travel with flights, hotels, activities and travel allowance all paid for by WOW air. Travel Guides will also gain social media exposure and hopefully some priceless memories. 

Accommodation in Iceland: Travel Guides will stay at a furnished apartment in downtown Reykjavík, while in Iceland.

Hotels: WOW air will be taking care of choosing, booking and paying for Travel Guide hotels or other overnight accommodations when they are travelling on behalf of WOW air in connection with the Travel Guide project.

Flights: Flights will be provided by WOW air from and to WOW air’s destinations of the summer of 2018. If the Travel Guide’s domicile isn’t in one of WOW air’s destination cities the then Travel Guide is responsible for all travel expenses for the journey to the nearest WOW air’s destination. 

Travel allowance: Payments made in accordance with regulations of Iceland.

Travel Guides will take 8 trips to random WOW air destinations from Iceland. Each trip will last for 2-4 days. Travel Guides will also take at least 4 domestic trips in Iceland. All trips will be taken over the course of 10 weeks during the summer of 2018.

To apply, you will need to create and upload a short video travel guide (max 2 min) of your hometown. The WOW site explains the process:

They also have a video:

It looks like anyone worldwide can enter, although the winners must fund their own trip to the nearest WOW destination, plus speak good English.

If you have ten weeks to spare this summer then this seems like a great way to spend the time.

https://travelguide.wowair.com/

Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel, Venice, Italy

28 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Hotels

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

For our two-night trip to Venice we chose the Hilton on Giudecca Island – just across the canal from the main city of Venice. The reasons for our choice:

  • Giudecca Island looked like a peaceful haven, away from the busy tourist area and with some good restaurants.
  • The additional benefits offered to HHonors Platinum card holders; upgraded room, lounge access, breakfast.

We landed at Venice Marco Polo airport and had pre-paid for return boat tickets (25 EUR per person) to Giudecca as part of the Venice Unica City Pass: https://www.veneziaunica.it/en/e-commerce/services

The walk from the airport to the quay is short and there are moving walkways.

There was a queue waiting to board our (Alilaguna Blue Line) boat. Boarding completed leaving several people still in front of us. So we had to wait maybe 20 minutes for the next boat. When you board the boat, you need to go down steps into the front or rear compartment – it would be difficult for anyone infirm or disabled to board. The boat left, still with many seats free, but with people left behind on the quayside.

The trip to Giudecca takes 1 hour and 40 minutes, stopping at several places along the way. We started to think about a private taxi for our return.

We were the only passengers left when the boat arrived at Giudecca – as close to the Hilton entrance as you can get.

There was a queue for check in and no priority line for HHonors members. The receptionist was really friendly, spoke to us in English and advised that we’d been upgraded to an Executive Room with view.

Our room was nicely appointed and had a great view.

There wasn’t the usual two complimentary bottles of water – although these were left the next morning. I would have preferred a dedicated shower rather than a bath with shower.

The Executive Lounge ‘Happy Hour’ was 5-7pm – quite an early start and finish compared to other Hiltons. The lounge is on the ground floor of the hotel and is a effectively a narrow corridor, separated from the bar area, with tables squeezed either side.

The food and drink selection was the worst I’ve ever experienced in a Hilton lounge; no strong alcohol like Whisky, Cognac, Vodka, a really poor food selection, the single hot choice was inedible fried mozzarella balls. The red wine was poor quality. The only positive thing was a small table with prosecco, soda water and Aperol where you could make yourself an Aperol Spritz cocktail.

Later, we decided to take a walk along the promenade (turn right as you leave the hotel entrance). The hotel looked majestic and beautifully illuminated.

Giudecca is a lovely peaceful island and we found an excellent restaurant called Majer.

The following day we headed to the Il Molino Restaurant for breakfast. The receptionist advised that breakfast wasn’t included until I explained that I was a Diamond member. We were seated, ordered coffee and went to the buffet. On our return, another couple had taken our table – our coffee was just arriving and there was some confusion until the couple decided to move.

The buffet was very good, although there wasn’t an omelette station.

In a corridor, just outside of the buffet room, I found two lonely mini-buffets; Arabic and Chinese. It was clear that nobody knew these existed.

I was initially excited until I found that there wasn’t anything of interest – the Chinese wasn’t dim sum, just fried rice.

We took the hotel shuttle boat to the main island – the hotel adds 7.50 EUR per person, per stay, for unlimited use of the shuttle. We were lucky to make it on board as there were more passengers waiting than could be accommodated (max. 39). I would have been pretty cross had we not been able to board, with a 40 minute wait for the next boat. The trip to San Marco took 15 minutes.

We had a wonderful day in Venice (review shortly) and returned on the 5pm shuttle – which we lucky to board as it was almost full.

One additional HHonors Diamond benefit was 2 hours access to the Spa. The hotel is huge and it was quite a walk through a labyrinth of corridors and stairs (in hotel slippers and bathrobes!) before we found the Spa. We really shouldn’t have bothered. There was a small Jacuzzi, a mixed wet steam sauna plus men- and women-only saunas. There was also a relaxation room with a few beds with water and tea available. I didn’t check on the gym.

We visited the Skyline Rooftop Bar. The rooftop pool was closed for maintenance work. The bar had two open-air terraces with good views.

On our second breakfast visit, the waitress asked if I would like an omelette or poached eggs – I asked if I could have Eggs Benedict and was delighted to find that I could. What arrived wasn’t a bad attempt, but couldn’t really be described as Eggs Benedict.

Checkout time was 11am – I hadn’t even realised and checked out just before noon. There was a queue for checkout.

We had decided to use our return Alilaguna tickets, rather than pay the 130 EUR private taxi quoted by the hotel concierge. The return trip was still 1 hour and 40 minutes, but the time went quicker than on the outbound.

The airport security was fast and we were soon in the excellent Marco Polo lounge – open to Lounge/Priority Pass holders.

Pros:
I love the Giudecca Island location and the views from the room.
The breakfast was pretty good.
The hotel is spotless and looks great illuminated at night.

Cons:
The Executive Lounge: The biggest improvement the hotel could make would be relocate the executive lounge to a larger area on a higher floor and provide a better selection of food and drinks over a longer ‘Happy Hour’. I’m sure that all Hilton hotels hate to provide free food and drinks, but that is part of the deal – a deal that this hotel is not honouring.
Check-in: Needs more staff and a dedicated HHonors desk.
Spa: Needs at least a hydrotherapy pool, otherwise it’s just a Jacuzzi and a sauna.

I would be happy to stay at this hotel again if the price was right.

HILTON MOLINO STUCKY VENICE
GIUDECCA 810, VENICE, 30133, ITALY

TEL: +39-041-2723311

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/italy/hilton-molino-stucky-venice-VCEHIHI/index.html

How secure is the safe in your hotel room?

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Hotels, Security

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

I’ve seen a number of stories over the years regarding the security of hotel safes. These are the keypad operated safes that you find in most hotel rooms – you press reset, enter your own code, close the safe and press close. Obviously the hotel has a secret code that can also open the safe – otherwise the safe would be unusable if you forgot your code. That means someone in the hotel can open your room safe, although we hope that the secret code is kept secret.

The safes tend to be stand alone and battery operated. That’s probably a good idea as otherwise your valuables would be inaccessible during a power outage. Equally this means they aren’t connected to a centralised system, where each safe can have it’s own secret code. My guess is that the same secret code is used for all the room safes – can you imagine a hotel bothering to keep a log of secret codes, different for every safe?

But imagine if the hotel didn’t bother setting the secret code for every safe that was installed. What if they left the default code set by the manufacturer? The video below is by a YouTube user called ‘LockPickingLawyer’:

I’ve no idea if pressing # twice followed by a series of 0s, 123456 or (Hitler’s Password) 999999 will actually work, although I intend to try next time I’m in a hotel room with a safe. If you decide to experiment with your hotel room safe, don’t store your valuables, nor a bottle of Lagavulin – just in case there is some security lock out and you can’t get back in.

Even if the hotel has changed the default to their own secret code, your room safe is only as secure as the security procedures within the hotel.

Obviously any potential thief also has to gain access to your room, but that includes cleaners, maintenance and turn down service. In the past you could leave ‘do not disturb’ on the door handle, but following the gun attack from a hotel room in Las Vegas, hotels have stated that they can ignore those signs if the room is reported inaccessible for over a day.

The good news is that in all my hotel stays across the world, I’ve never had anyone steal anything from a room safe.