Malmaison 4*, Aberdeen Scotland

April 2009, 6 days.

This hotel was surprisingly good!

The check-in went smooth and the receptionist was very friendly and nice. She asked us about the trip etc...

Our room was in the old building, with no elevator. If you have problems with that, you can ask for a room at the newer part where they have an elevator. We had a superior room with shower and bath-tub. The room was big, so was the bath-room. And the shower? The BEST I have ever had. The only thing I could have wished for here was heated floor at the bath-room. The toiletries were full-size bottles and of their own brand.


There were only shampoo, conditioner and soap. I wished there were body-lotion and some bath-salt as there were a nice bath-tub. However I didn't fancy the smell or the feeling of the toiletries, smelled like cheap stuff...

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have pictures from the hotel. The pictures at the hotels web-site are good.

The breakfast cost about 14 for full *Scottish* (very important!), 12 for continental and 6 for a bacon-roll and coffee. The breakfast was ok, not the best, but ok. Some of the last days I found that the "Olive-tree" (don't remember the exact name, but you will find it if going there, it's close to the roundabout) opens at 06.30 and they have coffee to take away and sandwiches.

The spa was fantastic! Oh-la-la! I tried to book an appointment, but they were fully booked! However they have a "relaxing-zone" with 4 massage-chairs. Massage-chairs are not as good as a real massage, but it's better than nothing and it was free!

We had dinner at the brasserie twice. Very good and a nice place to have dinner!

The bar was also very nice. It was always busy, but not too busy. I like when the hotel-bars are busy, it makes a better atmosphere.

The location is not the best, as it is a 15-20 min. walk to the city-center. On the other hand, there are buses going right outside the hotel, every 15 min.

What I really liked with this hotel was that it looked like everybody enjoyed working there. Everybody was VERY friendly, always. At Saturday evening we decided to have a rental car for the Sunday. The people in the reception called the rental-company and helped us a lot.

If I ever go to Aberdeen again, I will stay at this hotel.

The Liner 3*, Liverpool, UK

April 2009, 3 days.

I NEVER choose this hotel! The problem with Liverpool is that they don't have 5* hotels and the best 4* are in the outskirt of the city-center.

Checking in was efficient and the receptionist was friendly. When entering the room we could hear some noise, it was like a generator or a fan. We went straight down and asked for another room. The receptionist knew about the noise, as she said she could move us to another room, at a lower floor, but not before the day after, as the hotel was fully booked. After reading some reviews it looks like all the rooms at the sixth floor have this incredible, disturbing noise. The worst thing was that it went on and off every 5 minutes, all night through. I didn't sleep much that night as I woke up every time the noise came on.

When we got a new room, we still heard the dreaded noise. We asked the concierge, who brought our luggage, to listen, if he heard it. And yes, he did. He said he would check it out and come back to us. He never came back. The good thing was that the noise was on the whole day, and went off about 11 in the night.

However, the room was ok, so was the bathroom. I didn't care about the toiletries. I knew how they were, so I brought my own Molton Brown (that I got at The Goring...:-)). At least I could PRETEND to stay at a good hotel when showering! :-D

The breakfast was surprisingly good. Egg, bacon, sausages etc...

Next time in Liverpool I will stay at another hotel.... This must be a... true 3*....:-D

Steigenberger Park hotel 5*, Dusseldorf, Germany

March 2009, 3 days.

THIS was a TRUE 5*!

I got the true 5* feeling at once entering the hotel. In fact, I got the feeling before I went in! :)

The check-in was efficient and the receptionist small-talked and was very friendly. Why don't the other hotels understand the importance of the small-talk?

The room was nice, with fruit and bottled water.



The bathroom was... oooooh, very nice.... And the toiletries? Mmmmm... Although they were their own brand it felt very luxurious. You got everything from toothbrush to soap to bath-salt to "high-shine" nail-files. And everything packed in luxurious packages. Heaven for a "toiletries-freak"!





The breakfast was not the best I have had, but it was nice and quite and you could get sparkling wine.

Everybody at the hotel always smiled and were very friendly. THIS is how a tr






The location of this hotel is one of the best. It's close to the fine shopping and it's close to the metro. I never tried the sauna/wet-room, but it looked very nice. I wished they had a spa at this hotel!

The Goring 5*, London, UK

March 2009, 4 days.

I booked this hotel through Expedia and got a fantastic offer. I payed about 120 Gbp./night in a single room without breakfast. I think the rack-rate is about 330!

I have read several good reviews from this hotel. Since it's also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, I was sure this would be good.

The hotel is situated about 5 min. walking from the Victoria station. The check-in was efficient and quick and I got my room. When arriving at my room there were fruit and a bottle of water waiting for me. Nice!






The bathroom was nice and with Molton Brown toiletries. My favorite!







I never tried the breakfast, as it was not included. However there is a "breakfast/lunch-bar" down the road where I bought my breakfast and coffee every morning. I don't remember the name, but it was around the corner and through a small alley and then to the left. I recommend it highly instead of paying 23 (or similar) for the breakfast at the hotel. It may be very good, but so was the breakfast for 6 Gbp. too! :)

What I didn't like with this hotel was.... There were a Fitness and a spa connected to the hotel, but you have to walk for 5 min. to get there. I didn't use the spa because I don't like to walk outdoor after a spa-session. The internet was expensive, 20 Gbp. (I don't remember exactly) for 24 hours!

I would have thought this hotel to be like a true 5*. Everything was very nice, but it was lacking some of the personal touch. I felt more connected to the place where I had my breakfast than to the hotel!

Radisson SAS Plaza 5*, Oslo, Norway

February 2009.

I stayed at this hotel mainly because I was going to a show at "Oslo Spektrum", which is connected to Radisson SAS. This hotel is supposed to be a 5*. As usual, when staying at Radissons, I wonder why they don't rate it as a 4*, then nobody would be disappointed. I don't see any difference from a 4* Radisson to a 5*, it's mainly the same.



The bathroom was standard Radisson, so was the toiletries. No surprises here! And to be honest, that is what I like with the Radisson. Where ever you are, you know what you get, a decent 4* hotel.





Breakfast was ok, nothing special which could indicate this as a 5* either.

Don't go to this hotel if you want a real 5*!

Hotel H10 Meloneras 5*, Grand Canaria

January 2009, 2 weeks, full board.

When we arrived the receptionist looked like we bothered her. This was not a very nice first impression of the hotel. We arrived late in en evening, we didn't expect to get any food, so we were happy when we were told that there were food for us in the restaurant. Well, it was food, but not very delicate. It was very clear that this was "leftovers" from the buffet.

The breakfast was very nice. There were even Champagne and caviar! However I found it strange that there were no cappuccino or espresso for breakfast! When my husband asked to get a cappuccino for me he was told: "You're not in Italy now!" I am sure it was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't...

I didn't take pictures of the room, simply because there were nothing that impressed me. The pictures you can find at the internet will tell you mostly how it was. The room was run down and could need some upgrades. There were no slippers or no bathrobes and the toiletries were not at all 5* Another thing I also found strange with this hotel was that there were no coffee or tea making facilities in the room. You had to pay 4 Euro a day to get this! With that said, I have to tell that you can pay 28 Euro/person/day to get something they call "privilege service". You then get to eat breakfast in another restaurant, you get tea/coffee tray in your room, turn down service etc... All what I would expect to get at a true 5* hotel.




The cleaning was not the best I have seen either.

What I liked with this hotel was the exterior/garden/pool-area. FANTASTIC! There were two pools, one heated and one with sea-water. There were lots of space and I can imagine it would have been great to have small children there.









We had breakfast, lunch and dinner included in our rate. As told, the breakfast was very nice, so was the lunch. The dinner COULD have been nice if they had made some effort on changing the menu every now and then. It was nothing wrong with the food, it was just very boring to get the same day after day for 14 days! The food could also have been prepared a little more delicate.

My son, at 14, really enjoyed the daytime activities, which were also great for the grown ups.

We had a rented car for two days. We got packed lunch both the days. It was ok and we ordered it since we already had payed for it, but I wouldn't bother paying for it.

The spa? Seriously, DON'T PAY TO GET IN! It costed 20 Euro for two hours and it was dirty and not at all worth a 5* hotel. I asked if you had to pay the 20 Euro if you had a treatment, and yes, you have! We didn't pay 20 Euro as they open up for children some hours a day and at that time they charge 5 Euro/person. Do that if you want to try the spa, it's not worth more.

All in all I would say this is a good 4* hotel, but never a 5*. With that said, this is a cheap 5*, I guess you get what you pay for!