Giraffe Manor Kenya

The Giraffe Manor in Kenya



Ever wanted to have breakfast with a giraffe ?
At the Giraffe manor in Kenya you can. They really do pop their heads through the window to see what's going on. You can also learn more about Giraffe's at the on site Giraffe centre.



The bed and breakfast is near to Nairobi and has an "English" feel. This accomodation isn't luxurious in the Deluxe sense of the word but does offer charm, friendliness and certainly a once in a lifetime experience.

Nice little video below :

TRI hospitality figures show 20% fall in profit

Comparing year on year, latest figures from TRI Hospitality Consulting show the profitability of UK hotels declined by almost 20% for November.

Income before fixed charges (IBFC) per available room fell to £43.57 last month from £53.88 in November 2007.

TRI blamed the decline on a ‘significant reduction’ in the volume of corporate and conference lets as businesses reined in their expenses. In addition, payroll costs as a proportion of total revenue rose by 1.6 percentage points to 28% last month, while revenue per available room dropped 8.8% to £66.94.

The revPAR fall followed a 4.3pp decline in occupancy to 73.4% and a 3.4% decline in average daily room rate to £91.16.

In London, IBFC per available room decreased by 14.6% year-on-year to £69.79, driven by a 2.7pp increase in payroll costs proportion to 24.6% and an 11% decline in revPAR to £95.52.

Occupancy in the capital was down 5.4pp from November 2007 at 79.9%, while average room rate dropped 5% to £119.58.

Meanwhile, provincial hotels reported IBFC per available room decreased by 24% to £29.60. Payroll costs proportion was 0.6pp higher at 30.5%, with revPAR declining in 6.5% to £51.71.

Regional occupancy dropped 3.7pp to 70%, although rates held up better, falling just 1.5% to £73.88.

The only major provincial cities to report increased profitability last month were Glasgow and Aberdeen. Glasgow benefited from the Celtic vs Man United UEFA Champions League match, the Scotland vs Argentina friendly, a UNICEF conference and there major medical conferences.

In Aberdeen, a combination of strong demand from the oil and gas industries and the limited supply of branded international hotels helped increase occupancy, rates and profits.

‘The overall picture is unfortunately of falling revenue and profit,’ said TRI managing director, Jonathan Langston.

But he added: ‘What is encouraging, however, is that hoteliers are maintaining their efforts to promote their businesses. Our survey shows that sales and marketing, a cost that is often the first to be cut, has not been reduced.’

TRI’s statistics are based on figures from 109 hotels in London and 398 in the regions.

Discount Code for hotels.co.uk

Hotels.com also known as Hotels.co.uk are running their January sale already and have upto 40% off. On top of that hoteljungle.co.uk is also lucky enough to have a 10% discount code for an even bigger saving.

Here is the discount code : HB5eA3tXSave10p



Terms & Conditions for the hotels.co.uk discount code
*Discount Code Terms & Conditions:
1. This discount code (or coupon) may be used to book prepaid a Low Price Guarantee hotel (excluding bookings for any Harrah's, MGM, Starwood, Intercontinental or Marriott hotels), with Hotels.com.
2. The coupon entitles you to 10% discount off your total reservation cost (exclusive of any taxes, fees or VAT).
3. Valid for hotel bookings between 00:01 a.m. on 22nd Dec 2008 and 23:59 p.m. on 4th Jan 2009, for stay dates between 22nd Dec 2008 and 31st Dec 2009.
4. Coupon use is subject to further terms and conditions. See www.hotels.co.uk for details

Woodlyn Park New Zealand

At Woodlyn Park Motels, New Zealand, you can sleep like a hobbit:
The Hobbit Motel resembles an authentic hobbit hole built into the side of the mountain. They have 2 self contained units each sleeping upto 6 people.













An alternative to the hobbit motel, at the same location, on offer is a train carriage or a fighter plane restored and converted to self catering units.

Which countries are EU members

Confused about which countries are in the EU? I was, so in the below article I have had a look into which countries are members of the European Union, which countries might become members in the future and along the way i have noted some other interesting facts about the EU too.

The European Union is composed of twenty seven independent sovereign countries which are known as member states :

They are listed below in alphabetical order :

Austria,

Belgium,

Bulgaria,

Cyprus,

Czech Republic,

Denmark,

Estonia,

Finland,

France,

Germany,

Greece,

Hungary,

Ireland,

Italy,

Latvia,

Lithuania,

Luxembourg,

Malta,

The Netherlands,

Poland,

Portugal,

Romania,

Slovakia,

Slovenia,

Spain,

Sweden,

The United Kingdom.

Ever Wondered which countries might be next to join the EU ?

There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey. The western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates and Kosovo has been granted similar status. Iceland could possibly be fastracked given the recent ecomomic and currency crisis they have been dealing with.

More information about the European Union (E.U)

The EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community.

The fiftreen EU member states that use the Euro € as their official currency are : Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain.

Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia all have their own currency pegged to the Euro.

Total EU population : 491,018,683 (July 2008 est.)

Total EU land : total: 4,324,782 sq km ( which is still not even half the size of the United States of America )

Highest mountain in the EU : Mont Blanc in France (border with Italy) at 4800 metres high.

Average life expectancy for whole EU : 77 years of age , 80 for ladies, 74 for gents.

English is the most widely spoken language in the EU (just under 50% of the EU opoulation can speak it).German is the language with highest percentage of the EU population having it as their mother tongue at around 20% as it is also spoken by Austrians.

The other official langauges of the EU are : Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish

Major Sale - UK hotel rooms for £10

Just had a tip off about this big sale at lastminute.com . . . .

• What ? 700 hotel rooms in the UK for £10
• Where ? London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Bolton, Heathrow, Glasgow, Inverness, Hull, Norwich, Nottingham, Swansea and various other smaller locations.
• How ? - Dedicated When it's gone it's gone page at lastminute.com
• When ? - Thursday 27th November 10:00 UK time

Good Luck.

Jet2 launches city breaks

News from the North . . .

jet2 Holidays has followed their beach package holidays with the launch of City Break Holidays to their city destinations. Customers can fly from 5 Northern Airports to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Prague, Palma, Venice, Nice, Barcelona. The dynamic packages also offer a car-hire in the booking flow.


Jet2 Route information:
Paris (CDG) Flies from LBA in the winter 7 days a week, flies from LBA 7 days a week in the summer.

Amsterdam (AMS) flies from LBA, 6 days a week twice a day in winter, flies from LBA, 6 days a week twice a day in Summer.

Rome (FCO) Flies from MAN 4 days a week mid-Feb - mid-Nov, flies from LBA 4 days a week in Summer.

Prague (PRG) flies from LBA 3 days a week in the winter, flies from LBA 4 days a week in the Summer, flies from EDI 3 days a week in the winter, flies from EDI 5 days a week in the summer.

Palma (PMI) no winter schedule, flies from BFS 4 days a week in the summer, flies from BLK 5 days a week in the summer, flies from LBA 7 days a week in the summer (some days twice a day), flies from MAN 5 days a week in the summer.

Venice (VCE) flies from EDI 2 days a week in the summer, flies from LBA 4 days a week in the summer.

Nice (NCE) flies from LBA 7 days a week in the summer, flies from MAN 7 days a week in the summer.

Barcelona (BCN) flies from LBA 3 days a week in the winter, flies from LBA 7 days a week in the summer.

Flexibility is the key to villa sales success

Flexible stays key to overseas villa stays - that's according to Hoseasons

Hoseasons claims to have seen agent bookings rise by 35% for winter European villa holidays year over year so far.


Hottest villa destinations
Lanzarote, Tenerife, Cyprus, Gozo and the Costa del Sol have all contributed to the increase.


The operator’s villa holidays are priced as accommodation-only, allowing agents to put together bespoke travel packages and cover more than 700 properties.

Business development director Pali Badwal said:

“It is clear that people want to get away from all the doom and gloom at home, and will still book a winter break – providing the product and price are right. The key is flexibility and value: holidaymakers are looking for accommodation with flexible start days and holiday durations, so that their travel agent can source the flights from their local airports which suit their budget and schedule. "

“We are finding that our properties which are priced by the night, rather than by the week, are doing well, as they not only enable the travel agent to demonstrate value, but also to sell the exact holiday dates which suit their customers. "

Last month Hoseasons reported their UK apartments programme was going well.

Villa Owner ? : Get 15 months for the price of 12 with leading villa rental site.

British Travel Tastes Survey

UK travel consumers decisons are driven by price and more will plan a UK holiday as a consequence of the so called credit crisis.

A poll of more than 2,100 respondents by travelsupermarket.com showed that for most people (77%)price was the most important factor.

Other influences on travel decisions included location and familiarity, according to travelsupermarket, which said 59% have enjoyed a holiday destination so much that they have returned.


And a survey of 2,000+ people by Towergate Bakers Insurance revealed almost half (49%) of British parents are planning to take their children on a British seaside holiday.

It said a desire for nostalgic holidays as well as the credit crunch and environmental concerns were driving the trend.

Just over a quarter (27%) were planning a caravan holiday and nearly a third (29%) were looking to book a country cottage holiday, said Towergate Bakers. A fifth (20%) said they would go camping.

Competition to win £3500 Expedia voucher

Edit : 23rd November, Comp now closed.

Fancy winning a £3500 Expedia voucher in time for Christmas ?

In this simple to enter competition you could be one of two lucky winners of a £3500 Expedia.co.uk gift voucher. When questioned the hotel jungle team reckoned they would like to take a trip to the hotel with the biggest pool in the world!

Good Luck . . .


The Prize must be redeemed in a single transaction by 30th April 2009 and travel must be completed within 6 months of the booking date. Usual booking terms and conditions apply.

QE2 leaves for final voyage today

The QE2 cruise liner is sailing off to a new life as a floating hotel in Dubai this evening.

The QE2 was launched by the Queen on the Clyde in Scotland in 1967. Since then she has sailed more than 5.5 million nautical miles - more than any other ship and the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back 13 times.

She has carried more than 2.5 million passengers and completed 25 world cruises.
She has crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and after four decades in service she is still the most powerful and fastest merchant ship - able to go faster backwards than most cruise ships can go forwards.

Permanent Resident

An 89 year old lady who sold her home and lived on the QE2 for 14 years, Beatrice Muller, is actually losing her home today. She is the QE2's only permanent resident.

Some years ago she sold her property in the US to live on the liner full time.
"I have been on this wonderful ship off and on for 14 years. This is now my only home,"
she told BBC News.

In 1999 Mrs Muller's husband of 57 years died on the QE2 as the ship sailed out of Bombay.
Nine months later she moved into a cabin on the legendary 67,000-tonne liner. She pays about £3,500 a month and says she prefers it to any retirement home. With elegant surroundings, lavish meals, cocktails and dancing every night it is easy to see why Mrs Muller fell in love with the ship.

She said:
"We're spoiled to death, we get to see the whole world and meet the most incredible people."

Once the liner reaches Dubai, Mrs Muller, known as Bea to the crew, will be without a home, although she has no plans to return to dry land.
"I'll keep on staying at sea, I don't want to go back to housekeeping," she said.

Get your travel plans right first time

Mr and Mrs Smith is all about getting your travel plans right the first time. We’ve personally visited and hand-picked the best boutique and luxury hotels around the world to make sure our customers get only the best experience, as opposed to other travel sites that are just portals for any hotel willing to pay a joining fee. In addition, we sell products which make great gifts for all budgets: from critically acclaimed guidebooks, to innovative gift certificates for hotel stays and memberships to our travel club which give users access to added perks at Smith hotels. Mr & Mrs Smith picked up on the boutique travel trend five years ago in the UK, and we are now seeing the same opportunity in the US.





What's in the name ? Mr & Mrs Smith is a classic British pseudonym for a sexy escape with your partner.

Tours and activities on your holiday

Isango Discount Code





isango is one of the leading online suppliers of destination tours and experiences.

They have got 24 / 7 customer support, a wide range of hand picked tours and activities and have flexible policies on cancellation or date change. We also love isango because they guarantee you the lowest cost, even in the resort. If you find the same product cheaper within 3 days of booking you can get double the difference.

check out their website for inspiration and if you see something you like use this discount code for isango at the checkout: AFKJFOC which gets you 10% off

Stolen beach in Jamaica

Police in Jamaica are investigating the suspected theft of hundreds of tons of sand from a beach on the island's north coast.

It was discovered in July that 500 truck-loads had been removed outside a planned resort at Coral Spring beach. Detectives on the island say people in the tourism sector could be suspects, because a good beach is seen as a valuable asset to hotels on the Caribbean island.

But a lack of arrests made since July have led to criticism of the police.

'Complex investigation'

The beach at Coral Springs, in Jamaica's northern parish of Trelawny, was 400 metres (1,300ft) of white sand. The 0.5-hectare strand was to form part a resort complex costing US$108m, but the theft of its most important feature has led to its developers putting their plans on hold.

Illegal sand mining is a problem in Jamaica; the tradition of people building their own homes here means there is a huge demand for the construction material. However, the large volume and the type of sand taken made suspicion point towards the hotel industry.

The disappearance was deemed so important that the Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, also took an interest in the theft and ordered a report into how 500 truckloads of sand was stolen, transported and presumably sold.

Three months on, and with no arrests or charges in the case, the main opposition People's National Party have suggested that some people now think there has been a cover up.

But the deputy commissioner for crime at the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Mark Shields, insisted this was not an open-and-shut case.

"It's a very complex investigation because it involves so many aspects," he told the BBC. "You've got the receivers of the stolen sand, or what we believe to be the sand. The trucks themselves, the organisers and, of course, there is some suspicion that some police were in collusion with the movers of the sand."

Police said they were carrying out forensic tests on beaches along the coast to see if any of it matches the stolen sand.

£1 hotel sale in London

It's back . . .

Good news for bargain hunters, the Hoxton Hotel £1 sale is back !
The Hoxton Hotel is in Shoreditch, close to Old Street (Northern line) tube station.

When ? 31st October at 12:00 (UK time)
What ? 500 rooms for £1, 500 more for £29
Stay ? 1st November 2008 – 31st January 2009

Warning : During their sale in April, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 19 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book so you'll need to be quick.

Hotel Jungle Tips:

• Use their html page not the flash page

• Do a dummy booking first to check if they have a room and so you are familiar with the booking process

• Make sure you have a few back-up dates and you know exactly when you can and can't visit the big smoke.

Here is the Hoxton Hotel guide to their £1 sale

Euro Disney in profit

Euro Disney has moved into profit, with record visitor numbers and hotel occupancy rates, thanks to new attractions drawing more Brits.


The theme park operator reported a net profit of €1.7m (£1.36m) for the year to the end of 30 September, compared to a net loss of €41.6m (£33m) for the prior-year period.

DisneyLand Paris saw record attendance figures of 15.3m (up from 14.5m in 2007) and hotel occupancy rates of 91%, up from 89%.

Increased visitor numbers from the UK, France and the Netherlands helped it reach this level, said chief executive Philippe Gas.

‘The popularity of Disneyland Resort Paris, Europe's number one tourist destination, continued to grow as guests discovered our new attractions including the iconic Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Cars Race Rally, Crush's Coaster, the interactive experience Stitch Live! and the High School Musical shows inspired by the popular Disney franchise,’ he said.

Theme parks revenues increased 9% to €715.8m (£572m), and there was a 3% increase in average spending per guest to €46.3 (£37).

Hotels and Disney Village revenues increased 7% to €515.6m (£412m), and the increase in hotel occupancy can be attributed to more leisure guests from the UK and Spain.

Hoseasons city apartments going well

More evidence that UK domestic tourism is having a resurgence . . .
Hoseasons' City Breaks Apartments programme is set to expand, less than two months after its launch. The domestic operator is adding more accommodation to its 19-city offering to meet demand from a combination of families, couples and larger groups.

Demand for domestic tourism to surge

Britain’s seaside resorts will see a boost from domestic tourism in summer 2009 as cash-strapped families spurn overseas holidays.


A survey by insurance specialists Towergate Bakers shows that an estimated 65% of Britons will opt for a cheap UK holiday over the next 12 months to beat the credit crunch.

Paul Havenhand, Towergate Bakers Insurance marketing director, said: ‘We have noticed a return to popularity of traditional UK holidays. Young parents often have nostalgic memories of their own childhood holidays and this combined with the economic downturn will create a boom in UK holidays in the year ahead.'

The survey quizzed more than 2,000 UK adults about their holiday plans for the coming year.

It found that the most popular UK holiday choices were cottage holidays (26% of respondents); UK seaside town break (23%); caravan/caravan park (20%); and camping (17%).

Caravan holidays are the top choice of UK break for couples or parents in their 30s. For the under-25 ‘festival generation’ camping is the top budget holiday, while seaside towns are most popular among 20- and 30-somethings.

People in the Midlands, ie those furthest away from the coast, are the most likely to opt for a UK seaside break.

Strong Summer for easy Hotel London

Occupancy at easyHotel’s three London properties increased to 95% in July/August 2008 from 73% in the corresponding months of last year.

The improved occupancy helped the three hotels – in Victoria, South Kensington and Earl’s Court – to lift revenue per available room by 33% year-on-year to £37.07 from £27.93.

Lawrence Alexander, easyHotel chief executive, commented: ‘We have seen a strong performance in the capital over July and August, which traditionally is a challenging period.

‘Our hotels have benefited from an aggressive marketing programme in the key booking period and improved brand awareness as we open in new locations.

‘There is also increasing evidence that consumers are turning towards budget accommodation during the current tough economic climate. Against this background, we are looking forward to the opening of the easyHotel Paddington during September.’

The 47-room Paddington property opens on 19 September with a special introductory rate of £25 per room per night. ‘In keeping with the easyHotel value for money concept’, TV, wireless internet access and extra towels will be available for an additional charge to guests who require them.

Bad news for airlines

A lot of bad news from the airline news website this week :

• Zoom airlines goes bust, leaving thousands stranded

• Centralwings ceases scheduled operations

• XL ceases Caribbean flights
  

Seems the credit crunch is really hitting airlines who are struggling with higher costs and weaker demand now the summer peak is over. Although the oil price has fallen from highs of $145 to around $120, the dollar has strengthened and demand has weakened as consumers brace themselves for further weakness in the economy as well as rising food prices.
This will of course hit the hotel and travel industry hard as airlines cut capacity and business travel too as companies cut out all but necessary costs.

Stockholm Jumbo Jet Hostel

Visitors to Stockholm could soon have a new option for cheap airport accommodation – a Boeing 747 at Arlanda airport. Plans have been approved to open up a Jumbo hostel which may open as early as December this year.



Stockholm could then have a really good range of hostels including a boat and a prison

Uppsala businessman Oscar Diös has been given permission by airport owner LFV and the Swedish National Roads Administration to open a youth hostel in a Jumbo Jet parked by the airport entrance.

Diös plans to rip out the plane’s 500 seats and instead install 80 beds. The cockpit will be made into a suite, and some of the equipment will be preserved.

”The challenge is that nobody has done this before, so there’s no precedent. But essentially it’s like fitting out any kind of metal barracks,” Diös told newspaper UNT.

The plane (pictured above) being used by Diös was previously owned by Swedish charter company Transjet. It has been grounded since the company had its license revoked in 2002. It has since then stood by the airport’s third runway but has now been moved to it's new location nearer the terminal.

Until it's ready we recommend hostelbookers for bookings hostels in Stockholm

Let out your holiday home

Update : This offer is no longer being offered to anyone, instead Holiday Lettings are offering a rental guarantee - this is based on a certain number of rental enquiries being delivered to you when you sign up for their 12 month plan. Check out www.holidaylettings.co.uk/why-us
for more information.

holidaylettings.co.uk - 15 months for the price of 12!

Why they are a great choice:

• Most visited website: Over 1.5 million holidaymakers visit the site each month

• Best value for money: Up to 20 photos, availability calendar, free SMS text alerts all included.

• Personal touch: Dedicated customer support and expert advice just a phone call away

• Market leader: Award-winning company established in 1999 and now part of Rightmove, a FTSE250 company

• Unrivalled marketing: Huge investments in online and offline marketing and PR initiatives

Holiday Lettings offers effective and affordable online advertising for owners of holiday homes and apartments wishing to rent out their property. They provide detailed photographs, descriptions and availability for thousands of holiday properties all over the world. Click on the link or quote our Introducer ID number: 48059 when you contact them, enter your property details into their user-friendly system, select the annual fee option of £219+vat and enjoy 15 months promotion in your first year with Holiday Lettings.

Thomas Cook growing Turkey & Egypt

Thomas Cook, Europe's number two travel company after TUI travel, has reported strong trading as consumers continued to book leisure travel despite an economic slowdown stretching household budgets.

Thomas Cook Chief Executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa told reporters the group has so far seen no evidence of consumers cutting back on holidays or trading down.

"The main holiday is a 'must have' item for consumers. In our experience, people will cut back on all sorts of other things before they cut back on their holiday," he said.

The group, created last year from the tie-up of Arcandor's travel unit and Britain's MyTravel, said trading in the 2008 summer season is strong in all markets and early indications show bookings to be ahead of last year for winter 2008/9 and summer 2009.



Thomas Cook said it is on track to meet its expectations for the current financial year.

The group said it has taken steps to increase flexibility for summer 2009 in capacity, accommodation, cost base, and fuel hedging. Fuel has been 92 percent hedged for 2008/9.

Thomas Cook and rival TUI Travel have been cutting capacity, stripping out unprofitable or less profitable routes, leaving them with fewer packages to sell and enabling them to avoid deep discounting on late bookings.

They have also been adapting their product offering to sell fewer packages to expensive euro-denominated countries such as Spain and Portugal and more in non-Euro countries such as Egypt and Turkey, which are rapidly growing in popularity. As reported here last month, Turkey is now in pole position as Britons favourite holiday destination.

For the Thomas Cook group Winter bookings to Egypt are 20 percent up year-on-year, with Turkey bookings up 13 percent.

Hotel Jungle Comment : One thing that hasn't been mentioned so much is that people tend to book their summer holidays very far in advance so to a certain extent, holiday companies won't have felt the full force of the economic downturn yet. Charter companies also tend to hedge their fuel and currency requirements far in advance so they have also been shielded more than most scheduled airlines by the raise in fuel cost and also the weakening pound. In a similar way, all-inclusive properties will book well in the future as consumers will be keen to set their holiday budget from the outset.

Last month, German carrier Air Berlin scrapped its takeover of Thomas Cook's charter airline Condor, putting the brake on attempts to create a rival network to Lufthansa. On this matter, Thomas Cook PLC has said, while talks are continuing with Air Berlin about the feasibility of an alternative transaction, it is pursuing other options for Condor. Sources familiar with the situation said last month that these could include a three-way merger with fellow charter airline TUI Fly and Lufthansa unit Germanwings.

British In Trouble Overseas

A total of 2,032 Britons were arrested in Spain between April 2006 and March 2007, a rise of 32% on 2005/06. The number of arrests in France over the same period rose by 42% to 153.

But based on the number of Britons travelling to a particular country, the likeliest destination to be arrested was Cyprus, followed by the US and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Foreign Office said that many of the arrests abroad were due to "behaviour caused by excessive drinking". A number of UAE arrests were due to the area's zero-tolerance policy on drugs which affected Britons transiting the UAE on the way elsewhere.

The country in which British travellers are most likely to end up in hospital is Thailand, with many hospital stays being the result of motorbike accidents.

In a separate survey, two thirds of British holidaymakers said they would be spending less on their foreign holiday preparations this year due to the credit crunch, leading to concerns that people will opt out of comprehensive travel insurance.

"This report highlights what can go wrong on holiday," said Foreign Office minister Meg Munn. "It is a reminder to all that taking out comprehensive travel insurance is a crucial part of your holiday planning and not something that should be sacrificed in order to save a few pounds. "Helping British nationals in distress overseas is one of our most important tasks but many of the problems faced by holidaymakers are preventable.

"By carrying out some simple research on the laws, customs and health requirements of a country in advance, many people could prevent their holidays being ruined."

Hotel Fox Copenhagen

Hotel Fox, Copenhagen

This Hotel is "ultra modern" and "ultra chic" and all rooms were decorated by 21 artists. In the lobby a "feather chandelier" greets the guests and the lift is "graffiti-decorated". You can choose your room and stay in "kitsch", "magical", "the sultry" or have a good night in "sleep well". Some rooms are a little bit "extreme", but the bathrooms are "utterly white tiled". The lobby-cafe is "very cool" and has arts "extended" on the walls. Right in front of the hotel you will find shops and cafes.

The hotel rents out bikes and ipods.

Here is a short video of hotel fox in Copenhagen.

Review : Rio Park Hotel Benidorm

Thanks to a recent travel agency fam trip to Benidorm staying at the Rio Park, this post has been updated and moved to a new home here :

Rio Park Benidorm holiday review

Quick summary : Great location, good value hotel punching above it's weight considering it's a 2 star.

Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca hotel

New Hilton in Mallorca

The newest Hilton in Spain is the "Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca Hotel" It opened in June 2008 and is just 15 minutes from Palma airport. Central Palma with its impressive Cathedral, pleasant harbour and great shopping is 20miles away.



Set in the Spanish countryside, the contemporary Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca hotel, reconstructed from a traditional farmhouse mansion built around an impressive 14th Century tower, the hotel comes with a choice of 3 swimming pools, 24 hour fitness centre, spa and 2 floodlit tennis courts

It's a quiet area of Mallorca (Majorca?!) and inland so good for a relaxing holiday away from the crowds, golfing holiday or a luxurious base from which to access Palma and Mallorca's other highlights.

Room

There are 90 guestrooms at Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca hotel so a lot more "boutique" than many Hilton hotels. All rooms feature air-conditioning, internet access and flat TV, hair dryer, iron & ironing board
There are 3 main room categories:
Hilton Room - 34 square metres,
Deluxe Room - 40 square metres and garden views
Junior Suite - 55 square metres, separate seating area with sofa

Check in at Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca is 14:00, standard check out is 12:00. if you have a late flight tell the staff as soon as possible you would like to keep the room and they will try and accommodate you.

General hotel amenities

3 pools, 1 indoor with the spa, 1 shaded and supervised pool for kids, 1 main outdoor pool.
2 tennis courts open until 22:00 and floodlit at night.
The spa at Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca is open 09:00 until 20:00 every day.
The gym is available 24 hours a day and is free of charge.

Food & Beverages

24 hour room service
1 poolside bar until 19:00 and "Sa Clastra" bar open until midnight
50 seat evening restaurant "Santacilia"
120 seat all day restaurant "Arxiduc"

Location and surroundings

Location Map of Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca
There was an excellent beach about 15 minutes drive away.
20 miles / 30 km to Palma.
14 miles / 22km to Palma airport (PMI)

Family Holiday Checklist

Family-friendly holiday checklist
Booking a holiday soon? With so much choice on the market, how do you make sure that your holiday destination is going to be fun for everyone? adults and children alike? You need our handy checklist! . . .

Child-safety features
You're not going to relax if you don't feel your holiday venue ticks all the basic safety boxes. Check for locks on the windows, no balconies with low railings, and a child-proof kitchen and enclosed garden if you're going self-catering. Reputable holiday companies like Thomson take care to check all the hotels and apartments meet safety requirements but of course some are still safer than others.

Convenient travel
It's hard work ferrying children and all their gear around. If you are flying, look for a short flight time and a quick transfer from the airport. Consider also the departure and arrival flight times. And in the resort you'll want a working lift or better still, a ground-floor room.

Shops and medical facilities
Easy access to a supermarket, a pharmacy and a health centre will all add to your holiday peace of mind.

Stuff for the older kids
Make sure there's plenty for them too! lots of sports facilities, discos, space to do their own thing and the chance to meet other kids their age?

Sensible sleeping arrangements
If you're bringing a travel cot with you, check it'll actually fit in the room you want to put it. And if possible, look for a layout that allows you to stay up and enjoy yourselves without cramping your style or disturbing the little ones' sleep.

Worry-free water
Your kids are bound to spend lots of time around the pool. Look for a place with separate pools, one shallow enough for the little ones and preferably heated (especially if you're holidaying in the UK). And make sure there's some shade: you don't want to have to spend all your time chasing your kids with the suncream!

Space for the adults
Baby-sitting services, kids' clubs and monitors all give you the freedom to enjoy yourselves and know your kids are being looked after safely.

Entertainment everyone can enjoy
Hula competitions, karaoke, Starlight Express recreated? look for a place that offers a wide range of age-appropriate entertainment that everyone can enjoy. A place where you can be having a drink at the bar while your kids are up on stage strutting their stuff.

Buffet-style food
Ordering off the menu can be hard work with kids. Kids love buffet-style meals - they can go up and choose what they want, mix and match, have a bit of everything ? and if they don't finish one thing, they can always try something else. Some hotels even have dedicated kids buffets at the right height for little ones - cute!.

English-language TV
A must for when only some quality screen time will do to calm those fractious moods.

Quick and easy travel insurance
Your own travel insurance is essential, even if you have an EHIC card. It's your peace of mind in case your luggage gets lost, or someone in your family becomes ill.

Get a travel insurance quote now

UK Ski industry Trends

Austria enjoyed a significant increase in ski bookings last year, as wintersports customers turned their back on Andorra and Italy according to the annual ski industry report by Crystal Holidays.

Crystal’s annual ski industry report revealed that Austria’s market share of UK ski bookings in the 2007-08 season rose by 2.8 per cent over the previous year to 21.8 per cent, while Italy’s share fell by 1.8 per cent to 12 per cent and Andorra’s share slumped 4.1 per cent to 7 per cent.

France remained the most popular destination for British wintersports fans, with a market share of 37.5 per cent, up 0.4 per cent on the 2006-07 season.

Crystal managing director Mathew Prior said Italy had suffered from a poor snow record, but Andorra had bigger problems.

“Andorra has been really suffering, partly because of its uncertain snow record, but the biggest issue is that it has tried to change its mix of clientèle, moving away from cheap holidays, but has priced itself out of the market,” he said.

“Budget skiers have switched to Austria because it is offering good quality accommodation at good prices.”

The report was compiled from Civil Aviation Authority statistics and feedback from tour operators, and showed a three per cent increase in bookings to 1.23million in the season 2007-08.

Mr Prior said early bookings for December and January last year were slow because of the previous year’s poor snow, but soon picked up following snowfalls in October. There was also a five per cent increase in ski bookings from the schools market last year, due to there being two half term holiday weeks last season and an early Easter.

Villa price drop caused by all inclusive popularity

Cosmos ("Monarch holidays") has re-priced the majority of villas remaining unsold during the peak school holiday period to stimulate late booking demand.

Prices now start in Menorca at £298 per person, down from £469, based on eight sharing the Villa La Roca in Son Bou departing Gatwick on August 29.

Majorca prices lead in at £489 per person, down from £569, based on 10 sharing the Villa C’an Corro in Puerto Pollensa departing Birmingham on 26 July 26 for seven nights.

The Algarve starts at £475 per person, down from £535, based on eight sharing the Villa Casa dos Cipestres departing Gatwick on August 21. Prices include the villa, flights and car hire.

Villas are also available in the Costa del Sol, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Corfu, Crete, Zante, Cyprus, Turkey and Gozo.

Mike Tyerman, head of Cosmos Villas with Pools, said: “There’s no doubt that some customers who would normally book villa accommodation have this year chosen to opt for all inclusive hotel arrangements so that they can pay everything upfront before departure and not have to budget whilst away on account of the current poor exchange rate.

“As a result, we’ve been able to go back to our suppliers in areas such as Majorca, Menorca and the Algarve where demand has been less and renegotiate rates in order to be able to put much lower priced villa deals into the lates market.”

Hotel Jungle Comment : A significant factor could also be the large number of Brits with homes abroad and the rise of the low cost airline meaning people are making their own arrangements for villa holidays.

Turkey Topples Spain

Spain may have been crowned European Football Champions this summer but it seems they are losing their crown as Britains favourite summer holiday destination.. . .

Turkey has toppled Spain as the most popular destination for those looking for a bargain break in the sun, according to a report by The Cooperative Travel Group. The group says the high cost of the euro and reduced capacity to Spain following the merger of the big travel names is the cause of the shift.

Spain has held the number one spot for the bucket and spade brigade since the birth of the package holiday. The report says sales to Turkey are up 30% this summer compared to the same period last year while bookings to Majorca, previously the British holidaymaker's favourite, are down 13%.

It adds that the mergers of Thomas Cook and MyTravel and Thomson and First Choice has prompted rationalisation in capacity with operators reducing supply to short haul Mediterranean resorts. The report reminds that at the start of the summer TUI announced 12% cuts and Thomas Cook reduced Mytravel’s programme by 23%

Head of The Co-operative Travel’s Director of Retail Distribution Trevor Davis said: "Bookings from people looking for cheap summer sun have traditionally ensured that Spain was the leading holiday destination. However this year they are finding the high euro and a shortage of availability means the normal late deals aren’t available.

"Turkey has benefited most from this trend and we’re seeing 30% growth in bookings for holidays across all parts of the country." The company says that the average selling price of a holiday to Turkey is up to £108 cheaper than to Majorca (£357 compared to £465).

£1 hotel room in London

Good news for bargain hunters, the Hoxton Hotel £1 sale is back !
The Hoxton Hotel is in Shoreditch, close to Old Street (Northern line) tube station.

When ? 3rd July at 13:00 (UK time)
What ? 500 rooms for £1, 500 more for £29

Warning : During the last sale in April, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 19 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book so you'll need to be quick.

Hotel Jungle Tips:
Use their html page not the flash page

Do a dummy booking first to check if they have a room and so you are familiar with the booking process

Make sure you have a few back-up dates and you know exactly when you can and can't visit the big smoke.

Here is the Hoxton Hotel guide to their £1 sale

Which are the EU member states

Confused about which countries are in the EU ?

The European Union is composed of 27 independent sovereign countries which are known as member states. They are:

Austria,
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
Cyprus,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Estonia,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Hungary,
Ireland,
Italy,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Netherlands,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Sweden,
United Kingdom.

Which countries might be next to join the EU ?
There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey. The western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates and Kosovo has been granted similar status.

First 100% Green hotel

InterContinental Hotels Group is creating a hotel that it claims will be the world’s first 100% ecologically-friendly hotel. It is still virtual at this stage though!

IHG with owns or operates almost 4000 hotels worldwide says the hotel's 'green' credentials will set the benchmark for hoteliers around the world. The futuristic, solar-powered 'Innovation Hotel' uses the latest technology in energy and water conservation and recycling.

Among the 'green' features of the futuristic hotel:

• The forwarding of all unused non-perishable food to charities or food banks

• Solar panels on the roof to heat water

• A rainwater harvesting system to supply water to toilets

• A roof garden rich in shrubbery to provide extra insulation

• Windpower to generate electricity for the hotel

• Recycled glass windows

• Furniture and fittings made entirely from recycled materials

• Recycled household waste to provide heat and power

IHG says they are also considering installing LCD Tvs in all its hotels as they use a third less energy than Plasma TVs. In the bedroom all furniture and fittings including towels are made from recycled materials, mattresses consist of natural fibre such as horsehair, as will carpets. Bathrooms feature low-flow showerheads and dual flush toilets.

Have a look at the virtual innovation hotel & please let us know what you think by clicking the comments button below.

Review : Fiesta Jungla Apartments Magaluf

Fiesta Jungla Aparthotel, Magaluf, Majorca,

Overview

Part of the Fiesta Group of hotels, the 3 star Aparthotel Fiesta Jungla is in central Magaluf.
One important thing to note is that your holiday experience will very greatly depending what time of year you stay at the Fiesta Jungla aparthotel. Particuarly in the high season June-September this hotel will be full of "young and lively" types intent of having a good time and not much sleep. Outside of the high summer months it will be a bit more laidback.

Book Fiesta Jungla Magaluf at:

Room

Clean and tidy but basic. Ceiling fan, no air conditioning.
Basic cooking facilities, most importantly for most guests there is a fridge for keeping drinks cool. Some apartments have bigger balconies than others.

General hotel amenities

Huge pool, sunbeds to use on the pool terrace. Other leisure facilities include a multi-sports activity area for five-a-side football along with both table tennis and pool tables.

Food & Beverages

Pizzeria/snack bar and both lounge and pool bars. Due to the locaction in "downtown" Magaluf there is a wide choice of bars and restaurants in the vicinity. Most of these cater for British clientelle. You know the sort of thing, full English breakfast and a pint of Carling.

Location and surroundings

Fiesta Jungla is situated around 300 metres from the beach in the lively resort of Magaluf on the south west coast of Majorca. More specifically, right next to the infamous BCM nightclub in Magaluf.

Viva Las Vegas

"Upto" 40% off hotels at Expedia

• Book by 16th May.

• Stay until 25th December (some exceptions)

• Blackout periods may apply and a minimum hotel stay may be required

Hotel Jungle Tips

• Combine the trip to Vegas with a visit to the Grand Canyon
• The Vegas convention schedule has a major effect on hotel prices and availability.
• Expedia offers flight+hotel deals or check Virgin Atlantic
  

Location of Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca

Map showing location of Llucmajor on Mallorca where Hilton have a new 90 room hotel called the Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca. The hotel will open in June 2008.


View Larger Map

Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca Official Page
Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca Review

Cashback when you book hotels

Would you like cashback with your hotel, Madam ?

Selection of current offers
6% cashback at Hotelopia
6% cashback at Ramada Jarvis
3% cashback at Best Western
2.5% cashback at Hilton
2% cashback at Marriot
2% cashback at Travelodge
£5 cashback at hotels.com


How it works

Some hotel companies offer rewards to websites for referring people to them. Cashback sites like Rpoints share this with their users

What's the catch

Well you don't pay anymore for the bookings, but you do have to wait a couple of months for the cashback to be available to you, and you do have to reach a minimum cashback balance before you can redeem your points.

E111 - European Health Insurance Card

The European Health Insurance Card has replaced Form E111

If you are a UK resident, you are entitled to medical treatment that becomes necessary when temporarily visiting any European Union (EU) country, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Only treatment provided under the state scheme is covered, and will be at a reduced cost or sometimes free. To obtain treatment you will need to take a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with you.

The EHIC has replaced the E111 form, which is now invalid. The new card is free. Application details, and full coverage details are available from:

http://www.ehic.org.uk

The EHIC and holiday insurance are complementary and you should consider having both. Some insurance companies require you to have an EHIC and some companies will waive the excess charge if an EHIC has been used.

Top Ten Hotel Websites

The Top Ten most visited websites for 2007 in the accommodation / destinations category have been released :

1 www.laterooms.co.uk
2 www.travelodge.co.uk
3 www.tripadvisor.co.uk
4 www.ichotelsgroup.com
5 www.activehotels.com
6 www.superbreak.com
7 www.information-britain.co.uk
8 www.premierinn.com
9 www.hotels.co.uk
10 www.hotelclub.com

£1 room in London

Hoxton Hotel in Shoreditch, London has done a great job of "doing a Ryanair" and getting plenty of free publicity in exchange for its £1 room sales.

The next sale is the 11th April at 12pm ( UK Time).
They will have 1,000 bedrooms up for grabs on their own website: 500 at £1 and 500 at £29, for dates between the 1st May – 31st July 2008.

Warning : During the last sale in January, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 29 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book so you'll need to be quick.

Hotel Jungle Tips:
Use their html page not the flash page

Do a dummy booking first to check if they have a room and so you are familiar with the booking process

Make sure you have a few back-up dates and you know exactly when you can and can't visit the big smoke.

Here is the Hoxton Hotel guide to their £1 sale

Good Luck - Remember, it's a Jungle out there.

What annoys you most about hotel websites

Following on from this article about annoying airline websites,
we would like to know what our readers find annoying about hotel websites or more generally the hotel booking experience. Please jump in and use the comments form at the bottom of this post to leave your thoughts.

Video below for a bit of inspiration!

Here's a few comments to get us started. We will add your comments as they come in.

• You look for more information on a hotel by going to various other websites but find they all offer the same 2 generic small, generic photos.

• You look on a hotel review site but all you can find is one over enthusiastic review which must be from the owner and one from a Peruvian shepherd complaining that the hotel didn't have the Peru V Chile match on in the bar.

• You do a hotel price comparison search for a specific hotel and find all the prices are suspiciously similar.

• Hotel websites offering prices on large banners but you can't find them when you click the links.

• Lack of information about suitability of hotel for elderly / infirm.

• pop-up boxes

• "Over choice" of room types without adequate explanation of difference

• Having to register as a "member" just to do a booking
  

Review : Radisson SAS Oslo Plaza

Overview of Radisson SAS Oslo Plaza

Having stayed at quite a few Radisson SAS hotels I had high expectations and this one came a little under with the minor disappointment of the cot we had asked for not being in the room when we arrived late with a tired baby. The hotel overall (superb) is better than the room itself (good).

Room

Lovely bed, it was a twin bed not a double which disappointed my partner somewhat.
We were on the sixth floor of 34 and that seemed pretty high.
No flat screen TV but a normal one which is about the only thing "lacking" compared to other highly rated hotels. The other thing to note was that is one of these highly air conditioned rooms, can't remember if the window could open or not.
We had a no smoking room and that was lucky as we hadn't considered that or requested it so I would recommend you do that if you book.

General hotel amenities

Lifts were fast and never queues which can sometimes be a problem in these tall hotels. Good hotel for business thanks to the free wireless broadband.
Sauna is rather special - 34th floor with a window out to nice views to the bay / fjord.
There is also a long, slim pool adequate for doing a few lengths and 4 exercise machines.
One tip would be to seek out the glass elevator on the side of the hotel and go up to or down from the top floor, great views and a bit of a thrill going all that way.
The lobby / lounge is very nice, very comfortable furniture.
Check in / Check out was fast and easy but one disappointment was that the requested baby cot was not in the room so I had to dial down for them to bring it up. The front desk staff were kind enough to sort out the heating of some baby milk though so overall they were OK.

Food & Beverages

The scores I have given are only for the breakfast as we didn't have lunch or dinner here.
Massive choice including lots of organic produce.
A Norwegian speciality is the brown goats cheese. The mackerel was also nice!
I love breakfast buffets and they are especially useful in Oslo as it's not cheap so you can really fill up at Breakfast time

Location and surroundings

Could hardly be better for connection from airport bus or train. Very close to both.
Short walk to main shopping areas and port but not the nicest situation as a bit of a concrete jungle.
Noise was not a problem with it being such a tall hotel.

Funny hotel signs

Bit of fun from Expedia below....
It's their collection of humorous English translated hotel signs found across the World.
Love the lounge music.

Review : Artemis Amsterdam Hotel

Overview of Hotel Artemis Amsterdam

An arty hotel in an out of town location. Offers good value for money for those that put amenities ahead of location.

Room

Nice bed and well furnished. Everything fairly new. There are 256 rooms on 8 floors.
Door to bathroom was opaque glass which might be a pit off putting depending how well you know your travel companion. Good facilities for the businessman, TV was a bit too technical for me with complicated menus. One minus was that the wi-fi internet that was in theory free didn't work.

General hotel amenities

Good gym. Nice lifts, The spacious public areas filled with contemporary art gives the hotel a unique look.

Food & Beverages

Breakfast featured a good range of products including doughnuts and waffles for the Americans,

Location and surroundings

Fine in the sense it is roughly half way between airport and city and good in the sense it is a very quite area but not great if you want to be in the thick of it. Overall though I think it's a good choice if you like a higher standard hotel and can get this hotel cheaper than one of the higher quality city centre hotels.

Review : Radisson SAS, Malmo

Overview of Radisson SAS Malmoe

Nothing to complain about, I am used to staying in 4 star hotels and have stayed in 3 other Radisson SAS (now known as Radisson blu) hotels and this one exceeded my expectations mostly because of the large rooms.
Malmo is a nice large town in Southern Sweden. More info on Malmoe

Room

The rooms are massive which I have been told is due to the fact that the building used to be residential studios. This means you get loads of space including a kind of separate work or lounge area with table / desk and chairs. The bed was very comfortable. Be aware that it is usual in Scandinavia to have two separate duvets (ie one for each sleeper) and often two separate beds so if you really want a double make sure you request it. Bathroom was lovely, I love hotel bathrooms - all that marble. All the amenities you would expect were there including a kettle with tea and biscuits. I didn't use it but there was free wireless internet.

General hotel amenities

Small fitness area, no pool.
Ice machines,
Garden area on one of the upper floors,
Free newspapers.
Free wi-fi
Staff were efficient and check-in / out was swift.

Food & Beverages

I am only talking about (buffet) breakfast because we didn't have dinner at the hotel.
The breakfast was superb, great choice and lots of healthy options including a lot of organic stuff. There was also Swedish delicacies too - e.g. herring, meatballs, other fish!
I can't imagine anyone complaining about the brekkie here as there was so much choice and the quality was good. Didn't use the bar (or the mini-bar) so can't comment on that.

Location and surroundings

Short walk from Malmo Central station (where trains from Copenhaghen or bus from Malmo airport will take you), close to the main shopping streets and squares.
No noise from the streets at night. Lovely cafe opposite where we had a simple lunch.
Sterling Cimber airlines has now started daily flights from Gatwick to Copenhagen airport from where you can take a short train ride to Malmö

Booking
Direct at Radisson blu website

4 nights in Turkey, 2 people, under a fiver !

What can you get for under a fiver these days ?


















* About 60% of the London congestion charge - 1 car, 1 day.











* 2 pints of Stella in an average boozer.












* 1 studio at the Kaan apartments in Dalaman, (fly to Dalaman, DLM).
It's got a pool, darts board, snack bar and is about 500 metres from the beach.
Total price for 24 May - 28 May, booked at sunshine.co.uk, £4.87. (!)




Now if only we could find some cheap flights to Dalaman to go with it . . .

Review : Radisson SAS, Biarritz

Overview of Radisson SAS, Biarritz.
Lovely food (well it is France) in a very nice resort. Would recommend this hotel for a short break.

Room
We had a ground floor room with no view but that was OK as we had a baby and stroller so ground floor was sensible. We pre-ordered a cot (free) which was in the room and was lovely. Lovely bed as in all the Radisson SAS hotels I have tried. They get the important things right (Breakfast, Bed & Service?)



General hotel amenities
There was a good spa that tempted me but in the end I didn't have any treatments. The pool was small but was very inviting and there was a good towel service and guests went up in the dressing gowns from the rooms. Architecture of the hotel is nothing special but the views from the roof are excellent and sunsets make it very memorable.

Tip: Compare prices at multiple sites using Kelkoo hotel

Food & Beverages
1 restaurant at the hotel and 1 cafe on the rooftop, rather unusually for me I tried them both and can heartily recommend the restaurant for excellent food, presentation and service. The cafe is OK food but the location / view makes it a winner too. Breakfast was very nice, good selection from the buffet, all the usual plus very wide range of teas.

Location and surroundings
On a hill just outside the centre, driving is a bit tricky due to a lot of one way streets. Walking to town is no problem but lots of hills and small pavements so a bit tougher with suitcase / pram. Good thing about the hill though is fantastic ocean views and lovely sunsets.
No noise problems from our room. One of the great things about Biarritz as a short break destination is the fact that the airport is so close to the town. A short bus ride for a couple of Euro in fact. You can see the runway in the satelite photo of Biarritz below.



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Review : RIU Palace Riviera Maya

A wonderful Cancun Holiday



The Hotel Riu Palace Riviera Maya is one of the latest addition to the Riu family in Playa del Carmen. The hotel is located in the Yucatan peninsula that is 2.8 km / 1.8 miles from Playa del Carmen.



Official website : RIU Palace Riviera Maya, Mexico

Also available to book RIU hotels at Thomsons online :

















General hotel amenities

The hotel is very grand but also modern, there are some very impressive features - massive ceilings, lots of marble, nice chandeliers for example. The pools are superb. There is one that is like a raised infinity pool and then there is a large pool linked to that by a waterfall. There are swim up bars of course. The gym was nice, all brand new equipment and good air-con. Lots of American and Canadian guests when we visited.

Room

We were on the highest floor, with a sea view.
Cleaning was excellent with different "sculptures" made out of the towels each day.
I think this is a RIU trademark - there was optics in the room!

Food & Beverages

While a lot of people are now familiar with the all inclusive service concept, RIU All inclsuive is a class above, even more so in Mexico and The Caribbean. The all inclusive facilities are available 24 hours a day.

We tried all 4 la carte restaurants and weren't disappointed at all. In a way I preferred the buffets just because of the massive choice but the service was very good in the a la carte restaurants.

You could eat and drink 24hours a day because the sports bar was always open and apart from the bar had a bit of self service food - fruit, sandwiches and nachos.
Did the buffet for breakfast which was superb and catered for all lifestyles /nationalities, you could go healthy with lovely fresh fruit, yoghurt etc or pig out on fresh doughnuts or pancakes.

Location and surroundings

Nice beach, a little bit slim ( I think a hurricane a few months before had "taken" a lot of it away!), lovely blue sea, but we spent most of the time by the pool as there was more shade there. There were some nice hammocks on the beach. The resort of Playa Del Carmen is just about walking distance if you are fit and is very nice, a lot more laid back than Cancun.

Largest Pool in the World

Surprising it's not in Dubai. Check out the pictures and video of the world's largest swimming pool. The lagoon in San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, Chile measures 1,013 metres in length, covers an area of eight hectares (20 acres), contains 250,000 cubic meters of water and is navigable in small boats - You will have to swim around 2km to complete a single lap.

The pool is salt water which started us thinking, as it's next to the ocean, what's the point?! Well, it must be cleaner, warmer, and a bit safer than the ocean. Anyone know where the largest freshwater pool is ?





Here is a satellite image of the worlds largest swimming pool :


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And some more photos:

Location of Rio Park Benidorm

Rio Park Hotel, Benidorm, Costa Blanca



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Satelite image or Rio Park, Benidorm