One of the smaller rooms in the Funkey Hotel – still bright and airy.
The Funkey Hotel has just opened in Brussels, and it ticks all of our boxes for a great hotel stay: affordability, comfort, location, style and fun. Read on for your chance to win a free night!
The Hotel Chateau Cléry is a gorgeous place to stay in the Boulogne region of France. With its expansive parkland and delicious restaurant, it makes a lovely rural retreat, just minutes from bustling Boulogne-Sur-Mer.
The cosy, quirky interior of Au Vieil Aubel
On the second day of our weekend in Belgium’s Eastern Cantons, we were driving north, almost to the Dutch border, to the village of Hombourg (Homburg). We were headed for our second B&B in Belgium and another gastronomic experience. (Don’t forget to read part 1 of our Weekend in the Eastern Cantons of Belgium.)
One of the light, airy upstairs bedrooms at Julevi
Although most people think of Belgium as a bi-lingual country with French and Flemish spoken, there is actually a third official language – and no, we don’t mean English.
Like most inhabitants of Belgium, Andrew and I knew very little about the Eastern Cantons; the 11 municipalities that are home to the country’s German-speaking community. Last weekend, we decided it was high time we educated ourselves about this under-promoted corner of Belgium.
Adare Manor Hotel, County Limerick, Ireland
While castles are a pretty common sight across the continent, many of us non-Europeans still dream of staying in one. Adare Manor, in county Limerick, Ireland, is the perfect place to play out your Lord and Lady of the Manor fantasies.
Nirvana – The Taj Kumarakom
Our luxury experience at the Taj Kumarakom Hotel in Kerala, India was a resort stay we’ll never forget.
Candolim Beach, Goa, India
For many, Goa, India still conjures up images of hippies, all-night raves, drugs and drunken debauchery. This side of Goa still exists, or so I’m told, but it’s certainly not the Goa we experienced. For us, Goa was a place of laid-back relaxation, fresh seafood and drinks on endless sandy beaches. In a word, Goa was restorative, but not without its own lessons on surrendering to India.
Is this a great hotel room?
Andrew and I have been travelling quite a bit recently and that means spending our nights in hotels. We’ve been fortunate to stay in a few really fantastic hotels over the years; Castles, beach resorts, incredible cottages, even a church. But normally when we travel, the hotel itself is not as important as the destination. We just want a clean, affordable place to lay our heads at night.
Martin’s Patershof Hotel in a former Church
This year for Valentine’s Day, Andrew surprised me with a romantic getaway. It wasn’t to a spa. Nor was it to a cosy cottage in the countryside. For Valentine’s Day this year, we went to Mechelen and stayed overnight in a church.
You’re probably thinking, sleeping in a church doesn’t sound very romantic it all. That was my first thought when Andrew sprung his surprise on me. The church in question is, these days, known as the Martin’s Patershof Hotel. And I assure you, it was a very romantic getaway indeed.