Tag: Travelblog

Our stay at Regnum Aparthotel & Spa in Bansko, Bulgaria

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A few weeks ago, I was in Bulgaria with my husband to resolve some issues with my parent’s holiday home. We spent a few days in Bansko and a couple of days in Sofia. I love travelling to Bulgaria and today I would like to tell you about our stay at the Regnum Apart hotel & Spa in Bansko.

Location:

Regnum Apart hotel & Spa is based in the popular town of Bansko at the foot of the Pirin Mountains, in southwest Bulgaria. It is only a few minutes’ walk from town’s high street on which you can find many nice restaurants, clubs and a gondola. The hotels location is perfect – no matter whether you are in Bansko for skiing, hiking or just passing by.

Atmosphere:

Regnum Apart hotel & Spa has a classic and sophisticated décor. Its guests can enjoy many common areas such as an outdoor swimming pool, spa, bar, reading room and a large lounging area. All staff members we spoke with were helpful and accommodating.

Room:

We stayed in an Executive deluxe suite which consisted of two rooms, bathroom and a balcony with stunning mountain views. We enjoyed relaxing in our spacious living room with kitchenette which was fully equipped with a kettle all plates, cutlery, mini-fridge, safe box, and oven. We didn’t cook whilst we were there, but it would be handy for anyone who fancy preparing their meals whilst away from home. Our bedroom had a stylish décor and a comfortable with king size bed and a flat-screen TV.
Our bathroom had both shower cabin and bathtub and again was finished to a high standard. A selection of complimentary toiletries was also provided.


My favourite space in the apartment was our balcony – the view was simply stunning and as we were in Bansko in June it was perfect to lounging on with a drink after hiking all day.

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Overall experience:
We enjoyed our stay in Regnum Apart hotel & Spa and I would recommend it to anyone travelling to Bansko. In addition, the hotel has recently opened its own thermal SPA in a picturesque village of Banya. Regnum Banya Thermal features an outdoor swimming pool with mineral water which is complimentary to use for all hotel guests and can be easily reachable in 10min by a free hotel’s shuttle bus. The SPA has great facilities including a steam room, sauna and if you fancy you can have one of beauty treatments or a massage whilst in there.


The only let down was hotel’s buffet which we decided to try on one of the nights. All food was bland and overpriced for Bulgaria as it was around 20euros per person. It was a canteen quality food which I would not expect in a 5-star hotel.

Website:

For more information and to book visit:
https://www.regnum.bg/en/

Hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: York, UK

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A couple of weeks ago after work, we drove to York with my husband to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

York is located in North Yorkshire in England. It is a historic city that has a rich heritage and was part of major political events in England throughout the history of UK. It is also a popular tourist destination for millions and, nowadays, tourism is an important element of the local economy.

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The city was founded by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major trading centre and became the capital of the northern province of the Church of England. In the 19th century, York became a known hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre.

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The city offers a wealth of historic attractions and I would definitely recommend a visit to:

  1. York Castle Museum
  2. The Shambles
  3. York City Walls
  4. York Minster Cathedral
  5. Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens
  6. Jorvik Viking Centre

During our stay we had some great meals but I will review them in another post.

If you consider visiting York then Booking.com has a range of great properties where you can relax and unwind after a day of sightseeing. In addition, if you book your accommodation via this referral link, you’ll get £20 in cash.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline

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Our dinner at Informal Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain

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As you are probably aware, I love travelling and I am a massive foodie. During my recent trip to Barcelona, I visited lots of local restaurant and bars but only 2 of them really stood out from the rest. Today, I would like to tell you about my experience at Informal Restaurant in Barcelona.

Location:

The Informal Restaurant is located in the Serras Hotel in Barcelona. It is situated in a famous Bari Gotic area, just a few minutes away from Barceloneta station. It is a 7 minute walk from Las Ramblas.

Atmosphere:
The whole hotel has a minimalist, modern decor with its linen fabrics, neutral colors and use of materials like iron and wood that connect it to the surrounding marina. As soon as we entered the restaurant we were welcome by a friendly hostess and introduced to Rodrigo who was our waiter throughout the evening. There was a relaxing music playing at the background. In the middle of the restaurant there was an open kitchen and grill which was great as you could admire your food being made.

The menu:

The menu at Informal Restaurant is developed by Michelin Star Chef Marc Gascons who focuses or Catalan and Mediterranean specialties. He aims to provide its dinners with a delicious selection of dishes made using locally sourced products from land and sea.

The restaurant offers a nice selection of dishes but we decided to order from ‘Menu Experience: Picasso’.

To start with, we ordered a few tapas dishes to share:

  • some homemade toasted flat bread with tomato and extra virgin olive oil;

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  • salted anchovies from L’Escala with olive oil and pepper;

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  • mixed salad of green beans, green peas, Iberian ham and black truffle;
  • steamed artichokes, bulgur, celeriac, orange vinaigrette and black truffle;

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  • patatas bravas;
  • free-range chicken roast croquettes.

For my main I decided to have a roasted monkfish with peas, squid and chicken juice. It was mouth watering!

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My husband had some succulent veal with potato parmentier and some seasonal mushrooms. His meal was simply amazing and he thought that it was the best veal he’s ever eaten which is a big statement to make as we eat out at least twice a week.

I love desserts and I was looking forward to trying some of Informal Restaurant’s roast apple dessert with puff pasty, pine nuts and lemon cream. It was delicious!

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My husband ordered some chocolate ice cream and gnache with olive oil and salt. It was a perfect combination of sweet and salty experiences in one dessert.

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Overall experience:
We both enjoyed our dinner at Informal Restaurant. Chef Marc Gascons offers its diners a great selection of some of the best best local food with a modern twist. Throughout our meal the service was friendly and attentive. They made us feel relaxed and welcomed. The restaurant is also very conveniently located so I would definitely visit it again next time I am in Barcelona.

Website:
For more information and to book visit:

https://hoteltheserrasbarcelona.com/en/informal.html

Address:

Carrer de la Plata, 4,

08002 Barcelona, Spain

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

De Vere Wokefield Estate, UK

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I travel on business a lot and a couple of weeks ago, I stayed at De Vere Wokefield Estate.

Location:

De Vere Wokefield Estate is located 25 minutes drive from the Reading train station or 40 minutes drive from Heathrow Airport. It is set inside of a golf course in 250 acres of Berkshire parkland.

DE VERE WOKEFIELD ESTATE entrance

Facilities:

De Vere Wokefield Estate has a 24-hours reception and a Business Centre.

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Wi-Fi is available at no extra charge. The hotel caters for both business and personal events from weddings to meetings and team-building exercises. The hotel has a restaurant, bar and a room service.

The restaurant serves a nice selection of buffet items for breakfast and dinner. The bar offers a nice selection of gourmet food but I wouldn’t advise to eat in there. Firstly, the service was extremely slow-I was waiting for my steak for 2 hours… Secondly, I was disappointed with the bar staff as they should have at least warned me and my colleague about the waiting time before we ordered. Food was reasonably priced but my steak was really solid and I ended up only having half of it.

In addition, if you like playing golf then De Vere Wokefield Estate is surrounded by an 18-hole championship golf course with 9 lakes. You can also buy some professional golf merchandise on-site.

Room:

De Vere Wokefield Estate offers rooms in either the sleek Executive Centre or in the elegant Mansion House. I stayed at the Executive Centre. My room had a  modern, stylish decor. My king-size bed was comfortable and room also had a study desk and a large TV.

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The bathroom had a simple décor – bath, shower, hairdryer and toiletries were available.

Overall:

De Vere Wokefield Estate is a great place to unwind after a day of work or during the weekend. If you travel to Reading on business then I would definitely recommend it as it is much nicer then most hotels based in the city centre. 

Address:

Goodboys Lane, Reading
RG7 3AE

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Bristol, UK

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Last month, my mum came to stay with me for a few days and we decided to go to Bristol for a couple of days. We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn Bristol City Centre.

Location:

Hilton Garden Inn Bristol hotel is located 15 minutes walk from the Bristol train station in a quiet business area. In addition, it is only 5 minutes from Temple Meads Station and 10-minutes train ride from Bath Spa. The shopping centre is located barely 5 min away so if you are planning a bit of retail therapy then look no further. 

Facilities:

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel has a 24-hours reception, baggage storage room, restaurant and a room service. Wi-Fi is available at no extra charge. The fitness center is open 24 hours a day. The Races reception serves a nice breakfast to start your day with. During the evening you can choose from a range of International and British dishes but I wasn’t impressed with their quality.

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The hotel has 2 meeting rooms that can host a conference or private event for up to 60 guests and if you wish to make your stay extra special then you can request to stay in one of the rooms with a picturesque view of Temple Gardens.

Room:

We stayed in a Queen Guest Room had a nice, contemporary décor.

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Our room had a mini-fridge, work desk and a chair. I addition, there was a large 32-inch LCD TV. The bed which was comfortable and easy to fell asleep in.

The bathroom was small and had some basic toiletries were provided.

Overall:

Hilton Garden Inn Bristol hotel has simple yet comfortable facilities in addition to great location. I would recommend it to anyone who travels to Bristol on business or for pleasure.

Address:

Temple Way, Bristol, BS1 6BF, United Kingdom

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Argostoli town Kafalonia, Greece

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I recently visited Argostoli with my fiancée. As we were there only for a day we decided to take a prearranged coach tour to see the most sought after attractions on this Island.

Argistoli is a town on a Greek island of Kafalonia. Our coach left the port of Argostoli and drove around stunning coastline to reach the Robola winery. When we arrived at the winery we had a guided tour around it and listened about the process of elaboration of Robola wines from the grapes to the bottle. In addition, our guide described the history of the area and took us around the different rooms where the wine is produced. Our experience ended with some wine tasting. Honestly, their sweet dessert wine was to die for and even though I am not much of a drinker I had a couple of glasses. The interesting fact that we learnt during the tour was that Robola winery donates all unsold wine from the previous year to the residents of the island for their August bank holidays celebrations. Would like to check it our someday!

After our visit to the Robola, we took a short coach journey to our next stop – Fragata village and the Monastery of St. Gerasimos. This part of the island is a destination for pilgrims especially during festival celebrations when it can attract hundreds, even thousands, of pilgrims. The Monastery of St. Gerasimos (patron saint of Kefalonia) is built on the side of the older church which wasn’t suitable to host thousands of worshipers thus a larger monastery was constructed next to it. It is a definitely a go to place if you are Christian and happen to visit this Island.

Once, we completed our spiritual experience, we took a trip to the Melissani lake in the village of Karavomilos. It was my favourite part of our trip to the Island. Melissani lake is known to be one of the most beautiful underground lakes in the world. After a short walk through a tunnel we reached the lake and climbed aboard a wooden boat. We were sailing slowly around the lake for around five minutes and admired the surrounding caves. The sun was getting into the caves from one of the sides which gave rise to changes in shades of water. We were admiring thousands of shades of blue. It was truly magnificent.

Following on from our trip to the lake, we took a tour around the island where we were able to appreciate all it has to offer.

To conclude, I think that anyone who is considering visiting Kafalonia should go there at least for 2-3 days as 1 day is definitely not enough to discover its full potential. I would love to return here in the future.

I hope that you enjoyed reading my review!

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