win a stay in a 5 star hotel in Dubai!

HotelConnect are giving away yes GIVING away a 2 night stay at the luxurious 5 star Habtoor Grand Hotel in Dubai! This hotel is set on the stunning sands of Jumeirah Beach, it has a fantastic spa, tennis courts, gym and swimming pools.

There is also a great selection of different restaurants to choose from with a choice of international dishes, to italian, or even lebanese. Win yourself a stay here by entering our very simple competition here!

http://www.hotelconnect.co.uk/destination/dubai/hotels?twhoc=blog

New York New York!

We've just been visiting some of the Kimpton hotels in New York and wow do we love them! The first one we stayed at was the Muse - right in the heart of Times Square. You are welcomed at reception by Ginger - the 4 legged friend of one of the staff who has apparently been there for years welcoming guests! This hotel is a little pet mad - they have yappy hour dedicated to all pets who are all welcome to stay in the hotel (there are certain rooms set aside which are used for those with pets). This is a contemporary and chic property.

The next Kimpton hotel we visited was 70 Park Avenue. This introverted sanctuary is a relaxing space where you can really escape the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. The lobby has a comfortable seating area with a welcoming fireplace. All the rooms are particularly spacious (especially for New York) and you can even get a great view of the Empire State Building.

We also love the fact that many of the Kimpton hotels offer a free guppy to keep you company in your room! These hotels are so special - many have restaurants with celebrity chefs who also run the room service dishes. Wine hour takes place pretty much every afternoon and as you can imagine is very popular with guests! Another little touch is the fact that if you forget anything whilst staying at a Kimpton hotel, you most likely can borrow whatever it is - they cleverly have a list of the top 20 things you are most likely to forget - and they have them just waiting for you! Ingenious. Each property is unique and as they say - they're less of a chain and more a charm bracelet.

bangkok and hong kong!

From the moment we arrived in Bangkok, we realised quite how friendly and helpful everyone is - no wonder they call it the land of smiles!

We stayed at the Bel Aire Princess hotel , which has fantastically large rooms and they are lovely and cool which was much appreciated when the temperature outside was 35 degrees! The rooftop pool is a great added extra and superb for chilling out in after a day of sightseeing and shopping. A lovely hotel in a unique destination.

On the same trip, we managed to get some time in Hong-Kong too - what an adventure! One of the highlights was visiting Lantau Island - witnessing the world's largest seated Buddha! The cable car ride down the mountain offered beautiful panoramic views of the sea and south China countryside. In the evenings we headed out to Lan Kwai Fong - there is a huge choice of wine bars and restaurants here with almost every cuisine from around the world on offer!

We stayed at the Harbour Grand Kowloon, situated right on the waterfront.

The staff were incredibly friendly, and the breakfast options were never-ending! Try the Southern Chinese breakfast - the spices will be sure to wake you up!

It also currently has a great offer of a free upgrade from courtyard room to harbour view room when you book 2 nights or more (just book before 31 May).

Sardinia - relax and enjoy the jazz!

One of the hotels we love visiting the most is the La Playa Hotel in Sardinia. We just turn up and feel totally relaxed - mainly because of the warm welcome from the staff at this family run hotel. You can sit in the restaurant and be lulled by the jazz music (the owner Salvatore is a huge fan!), sitting by the softly lit pool and gazing out to the sunset. Sounds good doesn't it?!

We all need a bit of a chill sometimes and this is the perfect place to get it!

This hotel also has some great discounts on depending how many nights you want to book. One of the best is a 7 nights for the price of 6 deal from £249pp. Highly recommended!

UK weekend breaks

Would you rather...

• Go trout fishing in Glasgow?
• A night on the tiles in Manchester?
• Or a picnic in Jersey?

Whichever you fancy, we have the perfect hotel for your weekend break!

Why not enjoy a tranquil break in the Lake District or take a short stay in Stratford-upon-Avon where you can relax in the old world charm and be inspired by a performance from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Enjoy a relaxing spa break at the sumptuous Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh or a luxurious stay at the Goring in London. HotelConnect has handpicked hotels in all the top UK destinations and some great ideas on how to relax and unwind on your UK break.

Budapest!

Forget your soul-less stainless steel and pinewood “Superior” hotels! The Astoria Hotel in Budapest is a seriously “Grand” hotel whichever way you look at it. From the moment that you step out of its Metro station (how many hotels have a station named after them?) until you finally roll down the shutters and retire to your king sized bed you will be glad you chose this hotel.
Situated at a major crossroads with the historic centre of Budapest just a short walk away and with trams to all parts right outside (if you don’t care to use the Metro) this is an ideal location for a city-break hotel.
The Empire style reception and profusion of Art-work may have olden days charm and romantic associations but, make no mistake, the appointments of your air-conditioned Bedroom will not disappoint you. All the recently refurbished Deluxe Rooms have been finished with the most meticulous attention to detail with superbly fitted bathrooms and large beds with individual duvets.

Buffet breakfast is served in the Mirror Restaurant and provides an interesting and unusually diverse selection of hot and cold treats to fortify you for your day exploring the amazing contrasts of old and new that Budapest (and indeed this hotel itself) provides. The Mirror Coffee shop (on the street) and the Mirror Restaurant (tucked away to the rear) both individually make the “top-ten in Budapest” in the guide book. Don’t be surprised that they are so popular with the denizens of Budapest as well as visitors – just look at the cake stand on the way out, they constantly change the selections so you will want to go back into the café and start again!
The General Manager of the hotel Gabor Maraczi and his staff will do their utmost to make sure you have a wonderful and memorable stay. As they say, their motto is “Tradition and style…” which is exactly what you will find if you are lucky enough to stay here.

15% off hotels this Easter!

We have handpicked some great hotels, for the perfect easter break. Take full advantage of the lovely long weekend off over Easter (2nd-5th April) and treat yourself.

Weather you fancy a bargain city break hotel or a relaxing spa hotel, we have something to tickle your fancy and with 15% off you'll have some money to spare for sightseeing or treats.

we've just got back from LA!

We've just got back from LA (or Ian, our Commercial Director did) - and boy what a trip it was! It just so happened to be the same night as the Grammies - we didn't get all glammed up like Pink or Lady Gaga though - we went straight to Santa Monica to hang out at the Shangri-La hotel - far far cooler. We only had 2 nights but we'd recommend going for at least a week - there is so much to do and see and we are just going to have to go back there!

We hung out in Santa Monica and a bit of West Hollywood (or WeHo). We fell in love with Santa Monica totally - you may not get the people of Rodeo Drive but you do get to see the ocean and in our opinion that's far prettier!

Ian stayed at the very brilliant Shangri-La Hotel. From the moment Eric welcomed us at the desk we knew this was our sort of place! The 30's art-deco, the amazing ocean views and the penthouse bar right at the top are all fabulous . Look out for the shiny silver balls floating in the pool, the open fireplace in the open-air bar, and if you're a fan of US TV, the venue where they recently shot an episode of The Bachelor! One tip - the kitchens in the rooms are brand new and excellent, but make sure you order crockery from reception - we got confused on that one!

We can't wait to go back!

Win a trip to Paris!

Yes it's true. What with Valentine's day coming up and talk of flowers, romantic dinners and slushy declarations of love, we thought that maybe giving away not one but two hotel stays in Paris would be appropriate.
What's more with the January blues kind of hitting HC headquarters a little, we thought we could do with a bit of a giggle. So...in order to enter our competition, you need to come up with a funny caption for our romantic Paris image. Remember - keep it clean and make us laugh! You could win two nights in the exclusive 5 star Murano hotel including Eurostar or as runner up you'd win a two night stay at the 4 star K&K Cayre. To enter click here.
If you're looking for a romantic hotel to whisk someone away to - or perhaps you just want to escape the gooey eyed couples - then why not take off for a city break?
We've chosen a brilliant selection of really cosy, warm, hand-holding hotels which won't break the bank. Check them all out here.
Or if you just want to escape and visit a unique city, visit our city breaks hub here.

2010 holidays!

Are you still thinking about where to go on holiday this year? Beach vs city break or shopping vs spa.... We understand your dilemma. We have it regularly and we find it too hard to decide so usually end up booking all of our annual leave for the whole year all up at once on about 4 different breaks. We like to be organised!

With our January Sale in full swing, we're finding it very hard to decide where to go. There are free upgrades on offer up until end April on so many hotels we just can't decide where to venture to.

We love the WestCord Art hotel in Amsterdam which is currently offering free upgrades to superior rooms. An artistic theme runs throughout the hotel - the lobby acts as a gallery and each room has a different famous painting in it (copies not real ones!).
Another one we're really tempted by is the Murano in Paris which has free upgrades to the next room type on offer. This is a really special hotel - you don't have a key for a room - you use your fingerprint! We feel all MI5 going to stay there. You can also choose what colour you would like the ambiance in the room to be! Plus, you're likely to rub shoulders with the rich and famous in the bar that transforms into a nightclub late at night. It's a very unique and must-see hotel so we're thinking this might be one of our favourites!

We're also very tempted by the K&K Opera in Budapest. There's an upgrade on offer from executive room to classic and a 4 nights for the price of 3 also to benefit from - so you can grab a real deal! With prices from £155pp for 4 nights - this is one we think we might have to go to too.

Can you see our dilemma? We're not very good at making decisions with all these great deals!