The best hotels and most unusual on Tripadvisor

Some wonderful hotels worldwide. My favourite, from looking at the pictures and descriptions, include a wine hotel in Portugal, and some underground and cave hotels in Turkey.

 I used to consider the most unusual and therefore desirable places on my must visit one day list were the pop up ice hotels in Montreal, Canada, and Scandinavia in Europe were the greatest novelty. Plus the ice festival city in China. And hotels overlooking Niagara in Canada.

What about places you could actually visit, just going to reception to enquire, and use the ground floor toilet, or book a restaurant meal, if you can't afford to stay the night? 

Accessible Hotels To Visit

UK

There's one in Covent Garden. However, one new hotel I noticed had a locked glass sliding door, so you could not even enter the hallway unless you had a booking to stay, eat, or see the staff. 

Britain's Best Bargains & Bed & Breakfast

Bed ad breakfast in the UK is known for short as B & B. In the UK a boutique hotel is like a cute or quaint hotel. 

Unlike the USA where a boutique hotel is often historic and extremely expensive, much more so than a mere hotel or motel. 

You might have read in the News about

The Toulson Court, Scarborough, England.

Flag of Belize.

Central America

In Belize, where the President of Singapore Internatioanl Toastmasters International speakers' club lives, has the Hamanasi Adventure and Dive resort. It is on the coast, south of Belize City. A seaside hotel with a circular pool, a pier, colourful bedrooms with canopy beds and honeymoon packages.

Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa

I honeymooned in Morocco, at the Manounia, where Churchill stayed. The Tripadvisor award in Marrakesh goes to a hotel called La Maison Arabe, French for the Arabic House.

As for Destinations, in Croatia, Dubrovnik has a Game of Thrones trail, and Split has waterfall and wine trail. 

What I really want are

Best central/easy to find

Best luxury

Best birthday

If all this is too expensive, just admire them online, or pop in for a meal, if they are open to non-residents. 

 Useful Websites

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Hotels

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10785669/Winners-2022-Tripadvisor-Travellers-Choice-Best-Best-Awards-Hotels.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed_article&ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed

https://www.hamanasi.com/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297989-d4090921-Reviews-Kayakapi_Premium_Caves_Cappadocia-Urgup_Cappadocia.html

Where to Celebrate A Birthday in London: Birthday at Petersham Restaurant, near the Elephant in Covent Garden, Londo

 

Petersham Restaurant. Covent Garden. London. England. Birthday dinner. Photos from the Sharot family. 

Elephant Outside

Useful Websites

https://www.coventgarden.london/brand-directory/the-petersham/

Where To See The Whiskey Barrel Tree and Jack Daniels and Music City

In December 2014 i saw the barrel tree on a poster on Oxford Circus underground station in London. Jack Daniels Whiskey build a whiskey barrel tree at their HQ in Tennesse, USA.

The company have been sending barrels to Britain for some time. They used to send their used barrels to Scotland.

But in recent times they have been sending barrels to London, England, for decorative purposes to build a tree which is displayed from November through the Christmas period. The company is also involved in promoting music in the UK. See their website.

If you get to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery in the USA, here's what you might see in Lynchburg and Tennessee.

Statue of Jack Daniels. (Photo from Wikipedia article.)

Jack Daniels in the USA runs tours all year. 

The outdoor tour takes about one hour ten minutes and includes steps so you will need outdoor walking shoes and clothes. 

Another tour includes a tasting, for which a charge is made.

More information from http://www.jackdaniels.com/visit

If, like me, you are armchair travelling today, take a look at whiskey barrel furniture. You can have furniture made from barrels turned into tables, barrel drinks cabinets, and trugs - trays with upright handles, or chairs.

http://www.oakbarrel-furniture.co.uk

Barrels can also be used for gardens, as rain barrels, water features containing miniature lily ponds, containers for three level three size stepped fountains, and full size or half barrel troughs for plants.

A barrel tree was built in Covent Garden last year (2013) using white oak barrels, covered in lights and topped with a seasonal star. 

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, author, blogger and speaker.

What to see in Borough Market, London

View of Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, and The Thames river from The Shard. Book at least a day in advance to save £5, bringing the charge per person down from about £30 to about £25.

Opposite The Shard is Borough Market

Notice the tromp l'oeil window in The Market Porter pub on the corner.

A quick coffee at Monmouth Coffee Company shop.

We stopped for a free taste of cheese at Neal's Yard Dairy.

A sign described their paid tasting sessions.

I also saw the sign of Vinopolis which is on my wish list.

The Shard

Monmouth Coffee Conpany Ltd, monmouthcoffee.co.uk Shop 2 Park Street, Borough Market, London SE1 9AB. (Also 27 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9EU)

Neal's Yard Dairy, 6 Park Street, (Borough Market), London SE1 9AB

www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/shops_borough.html‎

 Tel+44 (0)20 7367 0799. F+44 (0)20 7367 0798. Eboroughshop@nealsyarddairy.co.uk