Hotel, Guesthouse and B&B Reviews

These are my personal notes on some of the places I have stayed on my travels. I have chosen to only comment on those places that I was generally satisfied with; I see no point on this website in describing accommodation that I would not recommend to anyone else. For the same reason, I have not attempted to rank or score the places. However, where I have particularly liked somewhere, I believe that the tone and content of my review will make that obvious. The opinions below are my own and are just that – opinions formed on the occasion of my visit. For this reason, I have given the date of my visit at the bottom of each comment; things may have changed since.

Portugal: Algarve

Hotel Lagosmar, Lagos. I was very happy with the value for money. The hotel is clean and comfortable. It is well situated and I had a good night's sleep. The breakfast was slightly disappointing but I do not think I could have expected more for the price I paid (some fresher, less synthetic orange juice perhaps?).

Date of stay: 17 June 2010

Hotel Residencial, Salema. I was very relieved to find this hotel in Salema as I had walked 7 hours from Lagos without having anything booked in advance. It is a very good hotel and I was happy with everything, especially the breakfast, which was very nice. I paid more than I did elsewhere in the Algarve and it struck me as a bit pricey. But maybe that is because there is not much competition in Salema, compared to, say, Lagos or Sagres?

Date of stay: 18 June 2010

Aparthotel Navigator, Sagres. The first hotel I tried in Sagres looked lovely but the price was 170 euros a night! So I went on to the Navigator where I was charged a much more reasonable amount. I was perfectly happy with this hotel and have no complaints. The rooms were clean and comfortable, I had a good night's sleep, and the breakfast was adequate. The rooms (or apartments) are rather dated. It must have been a 1970s idea to have a small cooking area in a hotel room! It is not my cup of tea. The pool was lovely; the water was freezing but that was just what I needed after my long walk. The location of the hotel is slightly away from the town centre and this is a minor irritation when that famous Sagres wind is blowing, you have to go out and find dinner, and you did not bring a jacket to save weight...

Date of stay: 19 June 2010

Hotel Ibis, Faro. Overall, I was happy with this hotel. The price was reasonable and the rooms were clean and adequate in every way. The main problems were with the restaurant and bar, where I thought the food was poor and the prices high. In the evening, the place was run by three young women but only one of them seemed to do any work. Despite assurances from reception when I checked in, I found it very difficult to get a taxi to the airport in the morning.

Date of stay: 20 June 2010

Bulgaria

Hotel of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia. The local name for this place seems to be "Dom na Ucheniya" but I prefer the more old-fashioned one! The hotel is clean and spacious. The reception staff were friendly and helpful. The hotel is quite close to the airport (but that does not stop the taxi drivers from over-charging) and within walking distance (1 mile?) of Bus Station South (for Samokov and Borovets). The breakfast was poor, perhaps because I did not arrive until 9.15 am. I was served a stone cold coffee and then not asked if I wanted a second one.

Date of stay: 20 September 2017

Hotel Ela, Borovets. This was excellent value for money. I had a very clean, spacious modern room. There was a good breakfast as long as you do not leave it too late. The coffee could have been better at breakfast; hotter for a start. The staff were lovely, especially the small, dark lady on reception.

Date of stay: 21 September 2017 and 23 September 2017

Hotel Grand, Samokov. The hotel was new and modern and my room was very spacious, clean and comfortable. The value for money was superb! I had trouble locating the receptionist whenever I wanted to ask him something. The breakfast was simple, which was fine considering the low price I paid, but it was a great pity that my coffee was served cold – coffee should be hot!

Date of stay: 22 September 2017

Ice Angels Hotel, Borovets. This was a very modern, clean hotel; quite “swish” I would say! The hotel fronts onto the ski piste – but in summer this is not very convenient! The breakfast was disappointing for a supposedly luxury hotel. The quality of the reception staffing was very variable.

Date of stay: 24 September 2017

Hotel Mini, Plovdiv. My room was at the top of a very narrow staircase: "mini" by name and "mini" by nature! But the location was great for the old town of Plovdiv. My room was clean and spacious. The furnishings were good. I particularly liked the engraving of the Battle of Trafalgar! It was good to have a nice balcony (but it was a great pity about the weather during my visit).

Date of stay: 25-26 September 2017

Malta

Osborne Hotel, Valletta. I considered the price I paid to be very, very good value (even for January). The location of the hotel is perfect. The breakfast was excellent. My room was very nice and I have only the mildest of negatives to report. These were: (1) the bathroom was tiny; (2) I requested (arbitrarily – I was on my own, so who cares?) a "double" but got a "twin"; (3) although acceptably clean, the room was not sparklingly clean, with a few fingerprints left lying around, for example; and (4) I was awoken each night at 12 or 1 am by nearby guests letting their doors slam. Overall, I was very happy with my choice of hotel but the only regret is that, with a bit of effort and TLC, this could so easily be a perfect little hotel.

Date of stay: 8-10 January 2015

Morocco: Marrakech

Hotel Akabar, Marrakech. I stayed here for one night at the start of my two-week walking trip in the High Atlas. My trek was an organised one but, because I arrived in Marrakech a day early, I arranged my own accommodation for the first night and, conveniently, the Akabar was next door to the hotel where my tour commenced. I found the hotel to be adequate and decent value for money (£24 + £3.50 for breakfast). My room was fairly clean (although the bathroom could do with a deep clean), air-conditioned and the breakfast was filling, if not particularly exciting. On the whole, I thought it a better hotel than the one next door. It has a bar that serves alcohol. The hotel is located outside the Medina/Old City and this is an important factor to consider. Inside the "madness of the Medina", one will find many 5* riads/guesthouses/B&Bs that are much better value for money than this hotel (or the one next door), but one would be a brave traveller to opt on the first night for one of these if new to Marrakech.

Date of stay: 21 May 2016

Riad Al Nour, Marrakech. This is a very nice property run by a lovely family. I visited for two nights at the end of my High Atlas walking holiday. Their cat is friendly too – it looked into my room in the morning but was too shy to enter. My room was very stylish, clean and comfortable. The breakfast was excellent. Although I did not in any way feel unsafe, the riad is accessed from a street and alleyway that are a little intimidating – Kiplingesque, would be a good description.

Date of stay: 5-6 June 2016

Slovenia

Hotel Center, Bohinjsko Jezero (Lake Bohinj). I was at the hotel at 10 am on Saturday morning and asked if I could leave some stuff there for the day while I went walking – but, to my surprise, they let me have my room 3 hours before check-in time. The lady who worked on reception in the mornings was very nice. I did my walk – in pouring rain – and then dried out in the hotel. I had a nice dinner in the evening – a mixed grill, with some local red wine. Overall, I think this is a very good hotel.

Date of stay: 9 June 2012

Czech Republic: Prague

Hostel Modrá, Prague. Cheap, clean and very near the airport – at the unused Terminal 3, in fact. It is a communist era building and certainly not fancy, new, shiny, modern... but for one night, allowing a change of planes, I thought it was perfect.

Date of stay: 29 March 2019

Hotel Peko, Prague. The hotel was very clean, inexpensive, and generally well run. It was further from the city centre (3 km?) than I imagined but it was easy and cheap to get there using the nearby trams, nos. 11 and 14. The only problem I had was on the first evening when I got to the hotel at the disgustingly late hour of 10.15 pm, found the place all shut up, and had to phone them to let me inside.

Date of stay: 6-8 April 2019

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