How Your Views Of Hotels Can Change - My Hotel Review of Rila Hotel in Borovets, Bulgaria

I am glad I did not write a review of our hotel on the first night because by day two my impressions of the hotel had completely changed.

Borovets is a ski resort south of Sofia, Bulgaria's capital. From the city you can see the mountains, the Balkans, the Rila mountains. Borovets means pine (tree forest) in Bulgarian. The hotel is the Rila hotel.

Both the Rila hotel, named after the mountain it backs onto, and its neighbour, the Samokovo hotel, named after the nearby town, were built in the same era, the 1980s, according to the friendly and helpful man, Antonio, in the Rila hotel spa.

My first impression of the hotel was not brilliant. The lifts were out of sight of the reception. At the end of the corridor.

Lifts?
To get from reception to the restaurant you climb a spiral staircase. This is a ski resport. Heaven help you if you brought granny to babysit (there is a childrens playroom so they expect kids. Or a skier could have a sports injury and want to go upstairs without hobbling back and forward from the lifts to reception and the restaurant. When we checking out, I discovered they have lifts in the hall but these were being renovated. If I had seen a sign explaining that the lifts were being refurbished, I would have understood and been understanding.

Views?
 I did not like the room beside the noisy service room nor the small bacony and view over the car park, so I popped across to the room opposite and phoned down to ask reception if I could switch rooms. They said the charged another 10 leva (Bulgarian coins) a day for the better view.

We gladly paid to switch to the better view. The big balcony had two chairs - one of which we used so that both of us could sit at the desk typing on the internet.

After switching rooms, we were a lot happier. The room was too hot, and unaccountably the air con did not work because we were told the whole hotel oeprates the air con which is turned off if they deem fit. However, the balcony room door when opened cooled down the room.

Once settled in to a better room with a good view, I was in a better mood to appreciate the colourful red carpet and the knee high shower attachment beside the toilet which turns the toilet into a bidet, the same style as in Singapore and Malaysia.

Downstairs, we met up with our group. Another member of the group had also changed rooms to get away from a room next to the noisy service room.

No - Not Nuggets!
Supper the first evening was a buffet which included only rice, no potatoes, except dried up fries. The meat was dried up beef and dry chicken nuggets.

However, on night two the buffet included super saute potatoes and moist chicken in gravy.

Air Con Cars and Parking At Airports

Problem
It's so hot in London. That's bad and good.

Answer
In Madeira, we opened both doors before driving off, to cool the interior.

Air Con Cars In the UK
Cars have air conditioning. In Madeira lots of small white Clios were hired out by companies at the airport and in Funchal. Remember to note your car number plate.

My UK Clio had air conditioning and I never noticed for years because I never needed it and didn't realise I had it. As everybody says: READ THE MANUAL!

Look for the fan sign. Ask for the demo when hiring the car.

Collecting A Car From Gatwick Airpot
When we collected our car from Gatwick airport, we found a sign saying that in order to move our car, they had probably adjusted the seat and mirrors and turned on the aircon to de-mist. Thank you for your understanding.

Valet Parking At Airports
That printed notice was very good. Otherwise, you would be puzzled. That was reassuring. The notice was a helpful reminder to adjust your seats and mirrors before driving off.

Useful Website
https://www.gatwickparking.com/our-car-parks/parking-options/summer-special/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Your Car's Secrets - A Renault Clio and a travel checklist

Problem
My car is full of mystery knobs and buttons and signs. What else can I do in the car?

Answers
My car has air conditioning. I never knew!

You can set cruise control in most cars on motorways. Mine is between the seats. I also discovered that you can operate the sound of the radio from the driving wheel. No need to rely on the passenger.

I discovered my 'five door' hatch back has back seats which fold down and a parcel shelf which lifts off creating more room for two large boxes than a big car such as a Jaguar.

Find the place for

Before a journey it is worth checking:
1 Put your destination and home address in the sat nav as favourites.
2 Practise using the satnav. It's amazing how quickly you forget, especially if you have been driving another vehicle.
3 Pack a sandwich or fruit for lunch.
4 Pack an emergency toilet device.
5 Check if you have a cruise control, where it is, practice using it. (Renault Clio on a rocker switch.)
6 Check you have a first aid kit.
7 Check how to increase and decrease radio volume. Most cars have a built in regulator so that you can still hear the radio when the engine noise increases. Classical music tends to go louder and softer. You might prefer to switch to a station which has news on the hour and conversation.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Mystery Noises Night and Day In Hotels, Homes, Buildings At Home, On Holiday, On Business

Problem
What's that noise?
Should I check or stay safe in bed or my chair?
Does it need attention?

Answers
Mobile Phones
Incoming calls on what's up or mails can trigger sounds or even vibrations which wake you. Solutions: Turn off sound to vibrate, leave mobile phone on the breakfast table. Leave phone on the laptop. Keep in room for emergency but on the other side of the room.
Fax machines can print out long messages, orders from China sent to wrong numbers, during their working day which could be at night where you are.
Wear ear plugs.
Set clock alarm and leave phone in another room.
Set clock alarm and have bedside landline for emergencies.
Ask family and fiends not to send texts or messages to landlines - especially when travelling to foreign time zones.


Animals and birds, domestic or wildlife:
Cats, dogs, squirrels running along a fence, birds, pigeons, foxes mating at night (screaching in your garden or the road outside), spiders cockroaches, insects in a plastic bag left on the floor, insects in a chocolate wrapper. Monkeys on the loose can climb up to higher floors of apartment blocks, onto balconies, into flats if windows and doors are left open.
Bears foraging fro food in bins or smelling sandwiches and food wrappers left in cars outside house or in the garage.

Birds such as kids in New Zealand jump all over cars in car parks by and eat the windscreen wipers.
Crickets.
Bird calls.
Birds hopping along balconies, perched on railings, perched on a plant singing or calling to other birds, sitting on a fridge on the balcony. (Singapore.)
Dawn chorus of birds.
Pigeon or sea gull perching on windowsill of hotel. (Fishguard, Wales.)
Dogs barking in distance.
Cows outside window in rural areas.
Cocks crowing.

Weather
Rain on windows and rooftops.
Thunder - you were woken by the lightning despite curtains being closed.
Dustbin lids and loose items being blown about.
Hailstones on roof.

Electrical and Mechanical
Door opens and shuts in the wind caused by draughts from open windows in bathroom.
Fridge door left ajar makes a beep.
Oven timer accidentally set beeps when the hour or 24 hours is up.
Timer on phone not cancelled.
Watch in bedside drawer bleeps every hour, not normally heard, but heard if drawer is open or contents are moved.
Air conditioning turns on and off with temperature changes at intervals throughout the night.
Lights in hall activated by late night or early morning neighbours or cleaners.

Cars, Vehicles, Accidents
Cars starting up nearby.
Car doors slamming as diners from restaurants go home at midnight or 1 am after you've gone to bed; then half an hour later, staff having locked up the restaurant will pick up their cars from side streets where they can park all day for free.
Electrical whine from milk floats doing dawn deliveries before rush hour.
Grinding noise from trucks / lorries collecting wheelie bins, lifting bins, shouts from the man at the back to the driver.
Bang of cards colliding at traffic lights.
Bang of moving car hitting stationery car.
Repeated bangs of aggrieved spouse damaging car of spouse or rival.

Story
Bumps In The Night
Floor shaking from earthquake - over my bed int he UK. I woke thinking it was a burglar. Nobody there. Decided it must be underground or overground trains. Read in the newspaper next day that there had been a minor earthquake tremor felt in London, England.

Plumbing
Noise when somebody else in building uses shower, toilet, or even washes hands during the night. Caused by air lock?
Nose from people throwing rubbish down internal chutes on back balconies. (Singapore condo.)

Tapping, Banging and Booms
Tapping - could be dripping tap.
Dripping from blocked gutter during or after rain. (Check gutter in daylight with ladder and torch and get it fixed.)
Window open causes curtain to blow about so that the curtain puller, a metal or wood or porcelain pull cord handle strikes wall or glass.

Thunder.
Overhead passenger planes.
Military planes on an air force or army exercise. (Singapore.)
Helicopters seeking criminals.
Planes spraying crops, detecting haze, routine patrols.

Sirens
Fire alarm.
Emergency.
Exercise for emergency.

Voices on Loudspeakers
Emergency.
Call to prayer during the night and at dawn in Muslim areas and Arabic countries (woke us during our honeymoon in Morocco.)

Reflected Noise
Sounds of people in gardens or garages next door or street outside sound as if they are in your home.
Noise on staircase outside your bedroom in hotel, or alongside your flat.
Noise of lift on your floor in hotel.
Clattering of staff serving early morning breakfasts in hotel.
Slamming of nearby hotel bedroom doors of guests leaving early for work to beat rush hour or for early flights.
Doors linking bedrooms in hotels although locked shut can give the impression that people talking next door or playing TVs are in the same room or your sitting room area.

Tips - Phone A Friend
When I was living alone, before going to investigate a noise I would alert somebody else. In the daytime I would call a neighbour or family member, or carry my mobile speaking to them as I walked.

At night I would leave a message on their answering machine asking them to call me back next day to check I was OK. I had one friend who also lived alone and told me: "If ever you are in trouble, call me any time, day or night."

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Travel - learning about air conditioning from hot countries

What you learn from travelling and living overseas is how different styles of building cope with different weather conditions.

AIR CON IN SUMMER
UK
Velux window blinds with heat reflecting surface.

FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, SINGAPORE
Reflective or UV filtering film stuck on inside? of window.

Window blinds, Venetian blinds.
Shutters outside and windows opening inwards. I thought shutters would be great, then discovered I can't use them in England because windows open outwards.

Tiled or marble floors are cool underfoot.
Advantages:
Clean - quick to clean with wet mop. Easy and quick to sweep or wipe crumbs.
Cool - Feels cool. Looks cool. You may want indoor slippers. Watch that your slippers aren't slippery.
Looks expensive.
No expensive carpet to clean or replace.
Allergy friendly. No carpet beetles nor fluff. (But you might have rugs.)

Disadvantages:
Slippery - when wet. Hard surfaces break bones if you fall.
Breakages - Crockery and Denbyware cutlery with porcelain handles breaks on impact which is costly. Glass and porcelain which breaks when dropped leave dangerous bit of glass and crockery underfoot.
Noisy - like an Italian restaurant. Your answering machine conversations played back in your hall echo all around the public hallway to your neighbours or workers waiting on your doorstep.
Tiles can crack if heavy objects are dropped.

BALCONY SAFETY
SINGAPORE
Balconies in Singapore / Asia are increasingly built with bars to prevent children and cleaners and drunks and potential suicides falling. When I was looking at property I would not live in a building with public areas or private balconies with waist high balconies you could lean over and long drops. In an estate of 1000 balconies it's depressing to hear that a child has fallen or a maid or resident has jumped.

Years ago, in the 1960s, Habitat in Canada had residential buildings designed like step pyramids. The roof of one provided a garden for the one above. To escape in a fire, you had only one storey to descend.

CLOTHES
You can wear a small or large piece of wet clothing, Anything from a commercially produced cooling neckband to a wet towel. Be aware that it is said that wearing a wet swimsuit or wet outfit for a long time can cause rheumatism.

HUMIDITY
You can buy a dehumidifying machine, which helps in winter when your windows are closed. This runs on electricity and the water collects in the tray underneath which must be emptied.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3155640/Crazy-eco-rules-turning-modern-homes-ovens-Experts-warn-drive-green-homes-poses-potentially-lethal-risk.html

Angela Lansbury, author, travel writer, photographer, speaker.