Hotel review : The Grand by Thistle

December 31, 2011 admin No comments

The Grand by Thistle is Bristol’s oldest hotel as it dates back to the late 18th century and its situated right in the city centre of town on Broad Street just a short walk from all the main tourist attractions. In terms of price this hotel is also great value with double rooms in January going for between £60 – £70 and this close to the centre that is a bargain.

One of the main reasons I picked this hotel is that like my last review of Mercure Bristol Holland House it also has an attached spa and leisure complex so I thought it would be fun to compare the two. Also both hotels are very similar in price and they are both 4 star AA rated, so it couldn’t get any closer really (just goes to show how many great deals there are in Bristol).

One point the Thistle may win on is its own bar and restaurant. Tyrells restaurant is known to be one of the best in Bristol and their in house bar “Marlows” is actually situated underground which just adds to the whole experience. I know some travellers don’t like to spend too much time at the hotel bar when there’s a whole city out there to explore but when it’s a quality place like this you can’t help but spend a few hours “un-winding”.

Another point the Thistle may win on is that they have their own pool which I know will appeal to many people much more than the gym! Yes I know we all need to keep fit but do you really want to be doing that on your holiday, probably not. The pool and Jacuzzi however is another thing altogether and I’ve been known to float around happily for hours!

The hotel also has good wheelchair access throughout and if you’re driving they have onsite car parking available at £8 per day which is quite reasonable. The number of rooms available is a little less than the Mercure at 180 but you shouldn’t have a problem getting a room off-peak (that’s when the best deals are anyway). Actually that point holds true for both hotels, to make real savings here you really have to book when everyone else isn’t so it’s a must to avoid public and school holidays.

So maybe this shows it is possible to relax and unwind in Bristol after all! Just don’t be one of those people who never leaves the hotel, there’s too much to see!

 

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Hotel review : Mercure Bristol

December 31, 2011 admin No comments

Time for another review here on the blog and this time it’s the Mercure Bristol Holland House which is situated on Redcliffe Hill (about half a mile from the city centre). As I have mentioned before I’m going to try and focus this blog around hotels in the city centre of Bristol as I believe that there are some great deals available right in the heart of things, there’s no need to travel outside the city every day.

What first attracted me to this hotel was the price as with rooms available at the weekend for as low as £60 per night, since this is a 4 star hotel that represents great value for money. What you do have to keep in mind though is that prices to vary with rooms going for up to £100 at peak times (school holidays), it pays to plan ahead.

The hotel itself is a modern building with over 270 air conditioned rooms with satellite TV and WIFI throughout. As mentioned the location is also one of the main reasons I’m reviewing this place as you’re within a short walk of great shops like Harvey Nichols and House of Fraser, actually there’s lots of great restaurants and bars in this area too so you’re going to save quite a bit on Taxis (which is nice).

The other main selling point of this hotel is that it’s also one of the best Spa resorts in Bristol that I’ve seen. They have 14 fully functioning treatment rooms and a team of specialists on hand should you need it. I suppose when most people think of a spa break they imagine a secluded country residence but to me this sounds quite boring, I’d rather be in the city and relax by day and party by night!

I also like the fact that this hotel is rated at 4 star by the AA and not self certified which can be a bit dubious. I suppose its fine for a 3 star place to choose their own rating but when you get to 4 stars you really one someone independent to verify that this is a hotel of quality, especially when you’re paying a lot of money.

I think that will do it for this hotel review, hopefully it goes to show that there’s lots of different types of accommodation available here in Bristol and its possible to have a relaxing spa break in one of Englands busiest cities. I’m not sure what hotel to review next, hopefully something completely different again!

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Hotel review : Ibis Bristol city centre

December 30, 2011 admin No comments

So it’s about time I made a hotel review for the blog, after all it’s what this blogs really about. It’s not easy deciding on a hotel though with so many different options in Bristol to choose from, but since the theme of this blog is going to be cheap Bristol hotels located in the city centre I decided to review the Ibis hotel on Explore lane.

The first thing I need to explain is that this hotel doesn’t have an “official” rating as they simply classify themselves as a “budget hotel”. Don’t let this put you off though as they have some great facilities and service, it’s just that they’re aiming at the discount end of the market.

Rates per night are really reasonable at £60 year round which is really good value. It’s important to remember that this hotel is right in the centre of Bolton as lots of the main attractions like Bolton Cathedral and the university are just a short walk away. Also it’s quite a big hotel with over 180 rooms so availability shouldn’t be a problem, I know this is an issue with many other smaller Bolton hotels, many people have the Ibis as their backup lol.

If your a driver car parking is off-site and charged at £12 per day so you may want to factor this into the overall cost of the trip before you book (lots of people forget). Also for facilities you have WIFI throughout and a 24 hour reception which is handy if you’re doing some late night drinking! I’m also told that this place is very wheelchair friendly with lifts + ramps throughout, worth bearing in mind if you have this requirement.

That’s about it for this review, hopefully I’ve covered all the basics here in the post. I suppose the main thing I can do is list all of the important factors of the hotel like location, price and facilities and leave people to make up their own mind. After all I guarantee that on any of those big hotel review sites like tripadvisor you will always find a negative review on even the top rated hotels. But the goal with BristolsHotels.co.uk is to provide my personal opinion too which hopefully people will come to trust over the coming posts. So check back soon as I plan on doing another hotel review very soon, not sure which one yet – any suggestions?

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Welcome to Bristol hotels

December 29, 2011 admin No comments

Hello and welcome to my new blog BristolsHotels which as you can probably guess is all about Bristol hotels and how to find them cheaply. One thing I hope to do quite a lot of is posting reviews about different hotels around the city. While I know that the idea of a hotel review may not in itself be that revolutionary but what I plan to do is focus on one specific type of hotel, cheap (under £100 a night) and based right in the city centre.

Another idea I had for this blog was to give out some general travel advice as well as hotel reviews, i.e. I’m hoping to come up with some travel tips that work for people in any city in the world and not just Bristol. It’s always difficult to know your audience they say but I’m hoping that everyone will appreciate advice on how to save money.

One problem that could crop up is what my idea of “cheap” is and how it compares to what other people view as “budget travel”. But I feel that by only reviewing Bristol hotels which are under £100 a night I should be on the right track for everyone. There are so many great deals out there that people don’t know about and I hope to highlight them here.

I also what to point out several of the things that I think people are doing wrong when they book a hotel. For example booking a hotel with lots of facilities you don’t need is guaranteed to increase the price, yes those extras like gym/spa may be labelled as free but they always have them factored into the final price. Also I want to explain why I always go for city centre hotels and how it saves me money on travel costs. Also I might also do a post later on cheap things to do in Bristol as I feel it’s a city that tourists don’t really know about, hopefully a list of budget activities will help!

That about wraps it up for this introduction post, hopefully I’ve managed to give a brief outline of what’s in the pipeline for this new blog. Also once I get that contact form working you guys will be able to mail me with any suggestions of things you would like me to write about or hotels you would like me to review (I need all the advice I can get lol).  So until next time, check back soon there’s lots more to come!

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