The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘bath’

It was time for our two cats, Sooty and Tia to pay a visit to the vets for the annual check up and vaccinations.  As I got the cat baskets ready this morning they could sense something was up.  I know this because Tia made a dash for the cat flap to escape the house when she saw me put my coat on.  Luckily I was one step ahead of her and had locked it, preventing her escape to the fields outside.

Packed up and looking none too pleased, the cats were on the back seat of the car for the short drive to Stamford Bridge.  No problems so far.

Sooty was the first out the basket and was immediately weighed by the vet.  Oh dear.  Lets just say she takes after both her owners and is now on a prescription diet.  Under orders to return in six weeks, if she hasn’t lost weight, she will be enrolled in Fat Cat Class!

Tia was next up and wasn’t too keen to leave the basket.  The force of gravity eventually got her out and again after being weighed was also put on a restricted prescription diet.  The same Fat Cat Class beckons if she too, hasn’t lost weight in six weeks.

So £200 quid lighter myself and with a car full of special food, we set of home.   Sooty was crying quite a bit, but I didn’t think much of it, until I pulled into our drive way and a strange odour filled my car.  Lifting the baskets out and opening them so Sooty and Tia could leave respectively, I noted Sootys basket was wet.  She had been caught short and peed herself in my car. …..   Thankfully the basket is waterproof and nothing escaped or I might have just turned around and made a return trip to the vets!

Wandering into the kitchen like they do, I could still smell a little something.  Approaching Sooty, I could she was wet and had clearly rolled into her own pee.   Bath time beckoned and with much crying, twisting and shaking (that was me) she was clean again.

The joy of motherhood……

This week had me staying a couple of nights at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Reading.  Sitting on the River Thames, it was easy to reach by car as I came into town from the general direction of Oxford.

I immediately thought this hotel was going to be nice as I pulled up.  Not only did I find a car parking space right in front of the hotel; it looked modern stylish and well kept as I headed into the reception area.  I was immediately greeted by a friendly chap who had all the paperwork prepared and having simply applied one signature I was on my way to the room.  The lift door was a little slow in closing, I thought the floor button wasn’t working but apart from that it was smooth and importantly clean.  Entering my room, I was again very happy.  It was large, had a view of the river and included a seating area along with a desk and reclining chair to work at with full internet connectivity available.  The bathroom although small was well appointed and sparkling clean.  The complimentary toiletries were of reasonable quality and the towels soft and fluffy.  Even the loo roll was more your Andrex, than your Aldi variety, which is a nice touch.. literally!

Anyway after I’d unpacked my case and hung the suit up I decided to try the Spa.  The pool as you can see was very good indeed. Not your usual mis-shaped hotel pool, but properly square and 17 metres long, which allowed for a decent stroke.  The Spa also included a very nice gym with a good range of equipment, although I only saw it through the window as I relaxed in the Whirlpool.  Heading out, I passed a steam room, sauna and a number of treatment rooms.  With nice chill out music playing in the background I could easily have forgot I was in Reading and might have imagined I was back in Cyprus.

With all this exercise behind me I decided to order up room service.  Again I was delighted.  The quality of the food really surprised me.  None of the usual thrown together affair usual to hotels, but a well cooked meal.  My rib-eye steak was cooked medium rare as requested and came with chunky chips cooked in Goose fat.  (Note to Paul) They were cooked so well, they were not greasy at all.  Nice, light and very tasty.  A lovely meal all in all.

A good nights sleep lay ahead after I turned the air conditioning down to 18 degrees and waking up the next day I felt refreshed and ready to face the world.  Before that breakfast in the restaurant lay ahead.  A good breakfast was available with healthy choices all round.  I went for cereal with added sunflower seeds which were to the side with other nuts and optional extras (a nice touch).  I skipped the fry up, more out of will power than anything else, because it looked great.  The coffee brought to my table was  also very good.  Smooth, full flavoured and freshly made.

The rest of my stay continued in the same veign.  The service was excellent and because this is not one of the biggest Crowne Plaza hotels you come across it always had a nice local warm welcoming feel about it.  I look forward to going back next week.

Pryordurkin rating.  5 stars.

Hotel Reservations: 0871 423 4896

Hotel Front Desk: 44-1189-259988

Having worked very late last night I had a great lie in this morning.  With us spending the weekend in London, the only thing I needed to do was check out of one hotel and check into the other.  I arrived at the Crowne Plaza on Buckingham Gate around 2pm and after a spot of coffee in the lounge was shown to our room by Philippe. (nice warm smile).  I was very pleased to discover we had been upgraded to a suite and with the bags unpacked, a warm bath ahead and a soft fluffy bathrobe to lie around in, the only thing missing is Paul who gets into London around 6pm.  I’ll just have to take in a movie and perhaps crack open a bottle of wine to unwind with.  The reason we are spending the weekend in London is that we are off to see Monkey:Journey to the West at a specially built theatre next door to the O2 arena.  We’d followed a documentary about the making of this new Chinese Opera written by Damon Albarn and just have to see.  We’ll post a review after the event.

It’s very unusual for me to be in London on a Thursday evening, but here I am all alone and coming down with Man Flu.  I’m not normally one to complain or make a fuss as many of you who know me, will no doubt confirm.  However the hot bath I had when I got back to my hotel room this evening has only brought on the full effects of my illness and I now need looking after with gentle care and full time attention.  Comforting myself (being alone), I ordered up a bowl of hot soup from room service and to be fair to ‘The Bin’ (a nickname given to this hotel), it was actually just what I needed; hot, spicy and served up with fresh crusty bread.  All I need now is my t’other half beside me (because I’m alone), mopping down with a damp sponge, my poor aching brow.

I wonder if the mini bar has any brandy….

We spent our honeymoon at the 5 Star Intercontinental Resort Hotel in Paphos Cyprus (and returned again this year because we enjoyed it so much). Arriving in the early hours we were greeted with complimentary champagne to enjoy during the check in process and were then whisked by Golf Buggy, to our hotel rooms to settle down for a good nights sleep.

Waking early we started to take in the surrounding facilities and were delighted to discover they were very nice indeed. Two infinity pools formed the central point for the hotel surrounded by great accommodation. Our room had an excellent sea view where we could sit on our balcony watching the sun set over the Mediterranean while downing the complimentary wine left our for us on arrival. A massive bathroom and queen sized bed with very good air conditioning had us set up for a thoroughly enjoyable week.

The hotel has a number of restaurants and bars and throughout the week we tried them all. Our favourite though was the sunset bar on the roof where we would generally end our days with a decent brandy, while listening to gentle live music.

The hotel staff are very friendly and nothing is too much trouble. A big credit to the Intercontinental brand!

Sitting within the Aphrodite Hills resort, the hotel is sited near a fantastic Spa (The Retreat) which we sampled a couple of times during our stay. Firstly opting for the Full Hammam, followed by a facial and then ending the week with, for me, a therapeutic massage and for Dusty, a Thai Massage (She stands on your neck apparently!), we could see why it had won one of the Best Spa’s in the world awards.

All in all it was a great hotel, with great food, great staff and a great relaxing atmosphere.

Score: 5 Stars. Last visited October 2008

We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza at Gatwick-Crawley both before we flew out to Cyprus and after we returned.  We paid around £79 per night and for this had an excellent room.  Recent renovations have made this hotel very stylish and modern indeed.  Our room was clean, crisp and very comfortable with a good sized bathroom and flat screen TV.  The hotel has recently returned to the Holiday Inn family having previously been a Crest Hotel and Quality Hotel.  The lobby, restaurant and leisure centre have all had a makeover to great effect.  The only thing we worried about were the steps from the men’s changing room to the swimming pool.  They were steep, sharp and when wet, very slippy.  Despite the warning notice telling you to take care, we fully expect someone to come a cropper on those stairs.

The food served up in their restaurant named Cube, was adequate.  Breakfast was fine and with the two ‘experienced’ ladies working during the morning, it had an air of a comfortable friendly B&B.  We really enjoyed it.

If Gatwick airport itself was not so god damn awful, we would not hesitate to stay at this hotel again, especially with their little extra touches like fresh coffee served up early morning for people travelling to catch flights and the variety of complimentary newspapers and friendly service from happy staff.

Pryordurkin Rating. 4 Stars.

Checking in was fairly straight forward but there was no warmth or ‘make you feel at home’ welcome from the trainee staff on reception. The much heralded Priority Club loyalty scheme was not much in evidence either. Being a platinum member doesn’t account for much it seems. A complimentary newspaper was never offered let alone a sniff of the room upgrade they constantly promote in the priority club literature.

I headed off to my room in the concrete square that is the Holiday Inn Regents-Park. The room was OK and looked like any other Holiday Inn room. Closing the curtains on the building site outside, you could be almost anywhere in the UK.

The TV worked and the air conditioning chugged away. The selection of pillows was plentiful and the room was functional and clean although it amazed me just how small one bathroom can be while still being functional.

Ordering room service I recalled the quality of the food served at the Radisson Edwardian Grafton Hotel and hoped this would be of a similar nature. Within half an hour I was to be disappointed. The food was crap.  What I don’t understand is on top of the inflated meal prices they also add a ‘Tray Charge’ of £2.50 onto your bill.  The room service waiter was friendly enough though and I felt a momentary pang of guilt as I said goodnight without tipping.

The bed is comfortable and I hope a reasonable night sleep lies ahead.

I’m not holding out much for breakfast though as it will no doubt be the same quality as my room served food.

Score: 3 Stars.

We’d had a long day touring Bath with Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa and were ready for a good evening meal that didn’t require too much walking back into town from the hotel we were staying at.  The Bombay Nights Nepalese and Indian Restaurant was on Lower Bristol Road, opposite our hotel, so seemed the perfect choice.  Our only slight concern was whether Jessica and Marissa who had never eaten this type of food before would be up for trying something new.

We arrived at around 8pm and were quickly seated by the smart and cheerful staff.  We went for a variety of traditional Indian dishes between us and for the kids, ordered up a mild korma which proved to be very popular indeed.  Without any problem, the kids wolfed it back with the plain boiled rice the accompanied it.  Drinks wise, Dusty , Graham and Christine went for Cobra, while I opted for a french house red, which was very drinkable indeed.  The only noticeable issue we had at the restaurant was the fire alarm kept going off at the start of the meal.  We were assured this was because of some over excited cooking that caused the smoke detectors to activate, but this was quickly resolved and never effected a very pleasant evening which was had by all.

The food was very well cooked with good attention to detail.  Good ingredients had clearly been used and the sauces were not too overpowering as to hide the meat or vegetable dishes served.  The window of this restaurant proudly displays a number of awards it has won and we agreed at the end of the night, that they were justified.

A great Indian restaurant with happy, friendly and professional staff.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 2008

After having spent a couple of hours with Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa exploring the old Roman Baths, we stopped at the Pump Room Restaurant for afternoon tea.  The place was busy with tourists taking advantage of this splendid setting to rest their weary feet.  We ordered up afternoon tea of scones, jam, clotted cream and tea all of which was freshly served up by friendly attentive staff in crisp old fashioned waiting uniforms.  A very enjoyable hour quickly passed as we tucked into the extra (free) tea and scones they provided because we had a small wait at the beginning, while listening to the live orchestral music playing in the background. 

Score: 4 Stars. Visited May 2008

Telephone Number +44 (0) 1225 444477
Opening
Open 7 days a week: Winter (Oct 1st – March 31st) 09.30 – 16.30 Summer (April 1st – September 30th) 09.30 – 17.30 Times may vary

The Sodehotel La Woluwe was to be my home on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  I arrived to find them putting up an enourmous Christmas Tree Arch around the main entrance which showed a touch of class.  Checkin was quick and I dropped my bags off in my room before heading of to meet my colleagues.  The room was large, but had a ’smokey’ feel to it.  The bathroom although clean was small and the shower operated at reduced pressure.

The food at the hotel was very good indeed and the service both during our meetings and dining, was well delivered.  The hotel reception was large airy and contemporary.  Free internet enabled PC’s were available to use  in the main reception area and the hotel had free WIFI access on every floor.

A nice hotel to stay at for both business and pleasure.  (The receptionist was cute as well which always helps in my book)

Score: 3 Stars. Visited December 2007