So I first came to Dublin about in 2006 time I love the city and it's with lots of great bars clubs and a fantastic friendly population. The Beacon Hotel isn't in the city centre but is outside of the city in the area of Sandyford. I first visited here in about 2018 and since then the hotel has undergone some refurbishment and refresh, having said that, in it's previous incarnation it wasn't exactly poor! I arrived late at night (hence the dark room photos)but I had a very warm welcome from the front desk. Upon entering the room the first thing to strike you as the size of the both the room and bathroom. This isn't a small box room, it's a large spacious room with large bed, lots…
For the last 10 years or so I've wanted to get a Tag Heuer watch. I grew up in the 1980's following Motorsport and watching the great Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost battling - always featuring on the McLarens at the time and of course now more associated with the Red Bull team. But since those early formative dates the Tag Heuer has been something to aspire to... It's a status, a badge of merit, a understanding and a self knowledge that you have done well. This show's nothing more than in the world of sales where things like the watch you wear IS your badge and credibility to open doors.... I've known for a while what watch that I wanted. I wanted to go with something with the Formula…
So a year ago I bagged myself a Golf. You can read about my first thoughts here. However now 30,000 miles in what has it been like to own, drive and run? Am I still saying it's 4.5*... Well read on my fellow petrol heads!
I've always liked Bath as a city, it's probably because I spent a load of my childhood growing up and living in Cambridge that I've always found the city to be a great place to visit. The mixture of the old stone work, the historical buildings, the narrow streets, and all the charm that this brings always makes for a nice trip to Bath. Due to the lack of choice of Hotels, I had a bit of an upgrade to a standard that I wouldn't usually go for on my recent stay here. The M Gallery Francis Hotel sits high up in the Accor range of hotels. This is no Ibis! Recently renovated it describes itself as "an exemplary ensemble of Georgian townhouses on Bath's original classic square". Quite frankly…
In the last year or so I've become a bit of a convert to the IHG chain of hotels. A number of reasons really - but I find them to be good value and a bit more consistent than my previous chain of choice with Accor. Due to location of meetings though I stepped away from the usual Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn express and stayed in the Crowne Plaza in Basingstoke. The hotel is situated just off a main road quite close to the city centre. As always I arrived quite late in the evening - so didn't really have time to explore the neighbourhood around the hotel. Parking was ample for the car and was free (which makes a change from a few of my recent stays!) On…
