Friday January 12, 2007

Hotels - the best

For our fortieth birthdays we went to two special hotels in the UK as well as other treats. For my wife's birthday we went to Cliveden which as well as being a National Trust property is also a running hotel. It has two restaurants one that looks over the Thames Valley. I had a VW Passat at the time and I remember parking it in front of the hotel with other cars. As soon as our luggage was removed the car was moved to the back car park out of sight of everyone. Posh cars like Ferraris' were left in front of the hotel however.. The rooms were ok but if you want something special with a view over the Thames Valley you are going to have to spend a lot of money. When we went we ate in its second restaurant the first night and it was very informal and great. The second night we ate in the Posh restaurant with the excellent view and it was very formal - which I did not mind but what irked me was it was hot and I took my jacket off. I was asked soon afterwards to put the jacket back on.

For my birthday we went a little further afield and stayed at Raymond Blanc's place called Manoir . This was a very special place - even a modestly priced room was full of lovely furniture and a bottle of sherry for a pre dinner drink. We only stayed one night but the meal was great. Everyone there was celebrating something as we were unlike Cliveden where a lot of people were going there because they could afford to go somewhere wereas ordinary folks could not visit on a regular basis... The highlight for my wife was meeting and saying hello to the man himself and it was a really nice stay.

Over the years we have stayed at other hotels we have thought were good and one was Fairy Hill . It was a lovely hotel formal but very friendly. I remember the grounds were also great to walk around in. There were all sorts of personal touches to the rooms that made you feel like you were staying in a very special place.

Another hotel we enjoyed was Percy's Hotel. A small establishment and in a nice quiet spot. The people who run it moved out of a city and clearly enjoy the stress free environment where they are. I think they also breed horses. The owners wife cooked the food and she was an excellent cook. He was a very good friendly host and it was a nice place to stay.

These hotels have some real competition nowadays from Pubs. There are two that come to mind as being good places to stay. The first is the Howard Arms which has been a no smoking pub for a while now, has mega friendly staff and of course excellent food. It only has a few rooms so you have to book in early. The second pub is the Inn at Whitewell which in the Good pub guide has a star rating for everything rooms, wine, beer etc... But the rooms are a dream, the bathrooms spectacular. The only problem is there are not many walks in the area but perhaps with the new right to roam law this has changed. Many other pubs we have visited also deserve a mention but these ones are special.