All Posts by Jimmy Lacross

The Best Luxury Hotels Europe Has To Offer:

Europe is such a huge place, filled with many different cultures, languages, customs, cuisines and fascinating architecture. Spread over 10 million kilometers (America is just over 9 million by way of comparison), you could visit every single country in Europe (there are currently 51) and still not see everything that this amazing place has to offer.

And of course, across all those countries, there are an amazing array of luxury hotels for you to choose from. These are the very best that Europe has to offer:

The Dolder Grand, Zurich, Switzerland:

Upon first laying eyes on this fine establishment, one could be forgiven for mistaking this hotel as a fine museum. Featuring fine art and exhibition pieces from the likes of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, this is a sight to behold.

In addition, the spa is spread over 43,000 square foot for the ultimate in relaxation. For the foodies, an 8 course meal is available, prepared by Michelin starred chef, Heiko Nieder.

Canaves Oia Santorini, Greece: 

Looking as if it was ripped straight out of a James Bond movie, this hotel has 41 rooms, and is in high demand. Build into a cliff side, with panoramic balconies and infinity pools for guests to enjoy, the Canaves Oia Santorini is a truly unique setting.

Eccleston Square Hotel, London, England:

London is literally packed with luxury hotels, so it can be hard to choose between them. However, the Eccleston Square differs from what a lot of others have to offer.

The focus of this family run establishment is technology – each room comes with a specialized iPad, enabling guests to do everything from making dinner reservations to even ordering a new toothbrush, should the need arise. The best room to request is one with a balcony, overlooking the gardens.

The Lodge, Ashford Castle, Mayo, Ireland:

Many people traveling to Europe for the first time hope to travel to Ireland at some point, even if just to see what all the fuss is about. If traveling to this Island, why not stay in the very best hotel you can while there? The Lodge at Ashford Castle, set on 350 acres overlooks Lough Corrib, and is truly an unforgettable setting.

While here, ensure to have dinner reservations at Wildes at the Lodge, named in honor of William Wilde, a very well known surgeon who lived in the area. Oh, and he was also father to a guy named Oscar something or other!

Waterford Castle, Waterford, Ireland:

Finishing with Ireland, Waterford Castle in County Waterford is really a unique place. Built on a private island, the hotel is a restored 16^th century castle.

The restaurant, the Munster Room, is fantastic, and has been awarded with the Michelin star. You can try Irish classic cuisines such as smoked haddock with caviar, before finishing your banquet with fresh Irish Cheeses.

The choice for luxury accommodation in Europe is vast, but hopefully this piece has been of some assistance to you in making a decision.

Choosing The Right Luxury Hotel

When you are browsing the internet or through brochures for your hotel to stay in while on holidays (or other travel plans), it can become pretty easy to get bogged down in the sheer amount of choice there is available. Of course, this will depend on your holiday destination of choice, but often times, there will be a choice between at least 2 places to stay.

And when it comes to luxury hotels, while there may be fewer of them to choose between, it can be hard to choose just one. That is why it is worthwhile having a checklist of sorts that you can revert to, in order to make the choice easier for you. Here are some ideas you can use for your checklist:

Food Choices:

While you may choose to eat out on many of the nights that you are on holiday, you may prefer to have an early night on at least one of your nights staying in a hotel. Therefore, having a great choice of food is pretty important.

Consider what types of food you would like to experience while staying in the hotel and ensure the one you choose matches your desire.

Additional Benefits:

Does one hotel offer additional benefits that outweigh those of another you are considering.

Things such as free breakfast every morning, perhaps a free dinner on some of the nights you are staying, air conditioning in room and television channel choice could all be deciding factors for you. Add these to your list also!

On Site Laundry Service:

Some hotels offer on site laundry service. Now, you may never need to avail of this service, but anything can happen while out in the wilds on your travels, so it is at least beneficial to have this as an option.

And indeed, many travelers like to wash their clothing before packing and heading home, leaving one less job to do when they arrive back in their home destination. IS this something that you would consider important to you? If so, add It to your list!

Location:

This may be one of the greater deciding factors in choosing your ideal hotel. Depending on where that hotel is located can mean the difference between walking easily to everywhere you wish to visit while on your holiday, or having the expense and bother of using public transport to get about.

If you have a choice of 2 hotels however and you find they are both a little off the beaten track, do not dismiss them, as there may be shuttle services available. And these hotels will have chosen their location to build wisely, so there may be some astounding scenery that you could be potentially missing out on, some historical monument or building that you have overlooked or other.

If in doubt, contact the hotel directly (many hotels offer free contact services via their webpage), in order to obtain a little more information.

Good luck in choosing your luxury hotel – enjoy!

Why a Luxury Hotel Beats Out A Mediocre One Every Time

The time is fast approaching, where people all over the world decide it is time to book their holidays, in order to unwind, relax and cast off life’s stresses, if even for a little time.

For many out there, this is the one or two week period they look forward to most all year, so should it not make sense to try and ensure that the accommodation you choose while on that holiday is amongst the best possible?

Here are some reasons why a luxury hotel will beat out a mediocre one, every single time.

Services:

Some 3 or 4 star hotels are perfectly fine, decorated to high standard and quite comfortable. But often, there is something missing. Be it laundry service, room service options or the ability to get food at any time day or night, you will often find that lesser hotels are not exactly everything your heart desires.

You will often find that you need to make compromises to get the experience you really desire. Not so with a luxury hotel, who will usually do everything that a guest asks, to ensure that their experience is the very best possible.

The Comfort Factor:

It is safe to say that pretty much everybody reading this will have experienced 3 or 4 star hotels at least once while on their travels. Perhaps many of you have never experienced luxury hotels however. Comfort levels are night and day between the two.

While 3 and 4 star accommodation may seem comfortable at the time, once you have experienced the level of comfort offered in luxury hotels, you will find it next to impossible to ever revert back to booking 3 and 4 star hotels ever again.

Food Choices:

Again, 3 & 4 star hotels are perfectly fine when it comes to food offerings, that is if you are pretty easy going, and choice is not an issue for you. And indeed, many great chefs work in these hotels.

However, with that being said, luxury hotels will often have many different offerings, in many different settings (they may have different restaurants for different styles of cuisine, such as Italian or Asian).

Another issue you will often find, especially if you are vegan or a vegetarian is that, while your needs are catered to somewhat in 3 or 4 star hotels, there often is only just one choice on the menu for you – it does not take to long to get sick of seeing “”Nut Roast” on every single hotel menu you see!

Overall Experience:

The overall experiences between luxury and lesser hotels is totally different. While many in 3 or 4 star hotels simply return there in the evening, maybe have something to eat, and head for bed, repeating the next morning, those in luxury hotels find it hard to leave their surroundings – at all! You really need to experience the differences for yourself!