A Luxury Travel Blog

The winners of the AA B&B Awards 2008-2009 will be revelealed at the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park in London this evening. Shortlisted for the award of London B&B of the Year are The New Linden in Notting Hill, San Domenico House in Chelsea and The St. George in Langham Place. There is also a category for the funkiest B&B which has been shortlisted to Bangors Organic in Bude, Enchanted Manor on the Isle of Wight, and Moss Grove Organic in Grasmere.  The AA Centenary Awards, attended by the cream of the hospitality world, will be held at Grosvenor House, London, on 2nd September 2008.

In case it passed you by, yesterday was St. George’s Day. And I’m sure it was no co-incidence that the presentation of the Enjoy England for Excellence 2008 awards was celebrated on the same day. For the first time, the event was held outside London, with the organisers preferring to opt for the European Capital of Culture, Liverpool. Fittingly, it was held at St. George’s Hall. Here’s a round-up of the winners:

Gold Awards

Large Hotel of the Year
Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire

Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Mill Granary Cottage, Lower Teesdale
Stone Cottage, Lake District

Tourism Website of the Year
Philharmonic Hall, London

Small Hotel of the Year
Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Yorkshire Dales

Meet England Business Tourism Award
Emirates Stadium, London

Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Poston Mill Park, Herefordshire

Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Salty Monk Restaurant with Rooms, Devon

Sustainable Tourism Award
Cottage Lodge, New Forest
Strattons Hotel, Norfolk

Taste of England Award
Fifteen Cornwall

Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Liverpool 08 Place

Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Sunderland International Airshow

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinhamshire

Outstanding Customer Service Award
David Pollard of Falmouth Ambassador Ltd.

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Consumer Voted Award - Best Day Out
Whitby, North Yorkshire

Silver Awards

Large Hotel of the Year
Radisson Edwardian Manchester
The Dorchester, London

Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Compton Pool Farm, Devon

Tourism Website of the Year
Pennywell Farm, Devon

Small Hotel of the Year
Combe House Hotel, Somerset
Hillbark Hotel, Wirral

Meet England Business Tourism Award
Manchester Central
Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire

Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Seafield Caravan Park, Northumberland
Sunset Park, Near Blackpool

Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Boltongate Old Rectory, Lake District
The Old Manse, Northumberland
Clow Beck House, County Durham

Sustainable Tourism Award
Fern Cottage Bed and Breakfast, Gloucestershire

Taste of England Award
The Old Bakery, Lincoln

Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Nottingham Tourism Centre
Brighton Visitor Centre

Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival
Castle Howard, York

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire
Forde Abbey and Gardens, Somerset

Outstanding Customer Service Award
Mick Logg of Xscape, West Yorkshire
The Executive Team at the London Marriott West India Quay

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Tullie House Museum, Carlisle

Richard Hammond (I assume the one of Top Gear fame?) has a piece in today’s Guardian newspaper on the winners of the sustainability awards.

Have you ever stayed somewhere, experienced something (however big or small), and thought to yourself “I must have one!”?  Whether it be a mattress or some bedding, a bathrobe or some soap, or something else, we want to hear your recommendations! Recently I purchased a room fragrance from Linari, which I first became aware of on a stay at the fabulous Haagsche Suites.  Please tell us what you’ve bought by posting a comment below.

I’ve mentioned underwater hotels on A Luxury Travel Blog before, but I think - until now - Jules Undersea Lodge has escaped the radar. It’s an underwater research base which has opened itself to the public. Featured in ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’, a stay here will set you back $475 per person per night, including gourmet dinner and breakfast.  What’s rather unique about the property is that you have to scuba dive to get there!

I recently read a newspaper article about The New White Lion at Llandovery in Wales and thought I would check them out with a view to a short stay with my family later this month.  The first thing that strikes me is that there’s an air of quality about the site, a nice choice of colours and font… but then I find myself waiting… and waiting… I’m sitting in front of a Flash intro and there’s no means to skip it.  That’s more than half a minute of my time wasted every time I choose to visit the site - that’s not right, I think to myself.  Anyway… moving on… I decide to click on the Rooms page.  It tells me that there’s a family room… great.  But hang on… which one of the six rooms is the family room - it doesn’t say! I click on the ‘door’ to each room, but all I get is a single picture (often a close-up of something like a lamp in the room) and no text.  That doesn’t help me.  OK, so how much does this place cost anyhow…?  Oh, no… there’s no tariff anywhere to be found.  I email them and say that the site looks beautiful but politely point out that it’s very poor from a usability point of view, and could they please tell me which room is the family room and what the rates are.  I get a fairly prompt reply saying that I can call them on the telephone to discuss if I wish.  I would have sooner just been told the information I was after, but I ‘phone anyway.  And guess what… I get an answering machine!  I left my details so they could call back but that was now over 4 hours ago…

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Helicopter rides in the Canaries from Blue Canarias
• Cosy Kenyan homestay courtesy of Ngong House
• Dine at Peter Goossens’ Hof van Cleve in Belgium
• Where one great experience leads to another: Dubai

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Get your hands on some Luxe City Guides
• Chill out in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, at Amuleto
• Find seclusion at Missouri River Breaks Lodge, ND
• Check out the latest yachts from Hakvoort

I’m pleased to learn that a vessel that I did voluntary work on back in my school days has received the award for the UK’s best large tourist attraction.  Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain in Bristol picked up the accolade at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. The full list of Gold Award winners from the event are as follows:

• Bed & Breakfast of the Year: Number One, Blackpool (Lancashire)
• Small Hotel of the Year: Stanley House, Mellor (Lancashire)
• Large Hotel of the Year: The Chester Grosvenor and Spa, Chester (Cheshire)
• Caravan Holiday Park of the Year: Skelwith Fold Caravan Park, Ambleside (Cumbria)
• Self-Catering Holiday of the Year: Higher Wiscombe, Southleigh (Devon) and Ashwall House, Bulmer (North Yorkshire)
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year: The RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, near Norwick (Norfolk)
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year: Alnwick Castle, Alnwick (Northumberland) and SS Great Britain, Bristol (Somerset)
• Taste of England Award: The Star Inn & Perns of Helmsley, Helmsley (North Yorkshire)
• Business Tourism Award: Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate (North Yorkshire)
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year: Once Brewed Visitor Centre, Hexham (Northumberland) and Towncentric TIC, Gravesend (Kent)
• Tourism Website of the Year: Barbican Centre, London
• Outstanding Customer Service Award: Graham Worton of Dudley Museum & Art Gallery, Dudley (West Midlands)

Arizona’s luxury guest ranch, Hidden Meadow Ranch, was ranked the #3 romantic getaway in the United States by Sunset Magazine last month, garnering national recognition for its incredible beauty, cuisine and accommodations. In addition, it was also recently featured in the New York Times; it’s perhaps no surprise that it’s receiving national attention as this mountain getaway is in a hidden oasis dotted with 50 reflective mountain lakes, 500 miles of cool streams, dense conifer forests, clear blue skies and a temperate climate.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott have opened Chateau La Rue, a bed and breakfast about 45 minutes north of San Diego, in Fallbrook, CA.  The accommodation consists of just four bedrooms in an 8-acre retreat. If opening the property to the public wasn’t enough, they’ve also just had a baby boy and are about to start filming a reality TV programme for an Oxygen network show.

A former tax lawyer, Guido van den Elshout is owner of the luxurious Haagsche Suites (click here for last year’s special feature on A Luxury Travel Blog) in The Hague.  He is also a contributor to two travel blogs.

What is it that you do exactly?

I’m a 58 years young sort of Jack of all Trades:

1) I started my working life as an international tax lawyer and practiced as such for over 25 years and traveled extensively; in 1996 my Dad asked me to take the rudder of the family company here in the Hague and consequently I moved after living more than 25 years elsewhere to The Hague where I was born and raised. I moved into a town house that is located back to back with the company’s office: hurray, no more commuting! The company is engaged in renting out residential property, mainly apartments, the majority of which the company has built itself in a time span of over 110 years. I am the proud 4th generation of the company. The tenant record is a person who lived in one of our apartments for over 75 years! Under my reign the company renovated many properties. While working for the company i phased out and finally terminated my tax practice.

2) In 2000, we were able to buy a townhouse next to our home and extensively renovated it into something new, something between a luxurious B&B and the suite floor of a luxurious hotel, or a hotel without cheap rooms. We called it Haagsche Suites (ie. Suites of The Hague). My wife, a friend of hers and I have operated Haagsche Suites next to the family business since the fall of 2002.
 
3) A friend of mine had set up a website dedicated to listing and independently reviewing B&Bs and the smaller independent hotels in the Netherlands and Belgium. Upon his request I participate in the Dutch language blog forming part of the site. After suggesting to him to enhance the international reach of his site we decided in good harmony that I would start up an English language blog of my own. That became Happy Hotelier.
 
Summarizing:  I am the doorman, bellman, concierge, front desk agent, technology engineer, limo driver, valet parking attendant, city guide, Sargent at Arms and photographer at wedding ceremonies, cleaning boy, gardener, pond- and central heating technician, personal assistant, butler, waiter, web administrator of our websites,  cook, designer, developer and owner of a small and very luxurious hotel, and I blog from time to time about what interests me or what is useful.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Seeing our guests (including your good self) frequently being genuinely and pleasantly surprised when we surpass their expectations.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

A difficult question to answer. I am inclined to shameless self promotion, but I’ll give you some of my best experiences.

Recently we stayed in the Radisson SAS Style Hotel, Vienna. Apart from some glitches, the service is excellent, the location is excellent for a Viennese shopping tour in the very center of Vienna and directly opposite one of the best old fashioned coffee houses of Vienna (Central). This is really a stylish and very well appointed hotel that has avoided the usual pitfalls of the average design or boutique hotel: its rooms are spacey, it has a very good feel despite the design, it has some very clever design details, it has free WiFi, and above all: location, location and… location.

In summer we usually stay at the Babenberger Hof in Mödling outside of Vienna, Austria. Mödling was the seat of the Babenbergers long before the Habsburgers took the reigns of Austria. It is a small old town about 20 km south west from Vienna. It is in the wine area. In the relatively warm summers the temperature is always a bit lower than the temperature in Vienna itself. The rooms in