Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone from Secret Agent (eating lots of turkey and drinking rather too much in Barcelona ...hic!). Cheers!

1 week and counting!

Christmas cards written? check!

Turkey ordered? check!

Christmas presents bought? check!

I am so organised this year. I'm cooking for my family, and have been watching Delia, Nigella, Gordon, the Hairy Bikers, and Jeremy Clarkson to make sure that I'm ready to cook the Christmas feast!

Okay, the Jeremy Clarkson bit is just because I like Top Gear (maybe I am The Stig? have you thought about that?), but the rest has got me fine tuned for some quality Christmas time.

I was given an early Christmas present this year from my friend Harriet - a trip to Barcelona! I am so excited... strolling down the Ramblas, lots and lots (and lots) of Tapas - I'll definitely be heading to Cal Pep! And of course, don't forget the Cava.

We're staying at the H10 Universitat Hotel which is right near Plaza Catalunya and the Ramblas itself.

The outside of the building is all 19th Century, but the inside has been refurbished in a modern style. It's really elegant and the bedrooms furniture is quite beautiful.

The bar and the restaurant at the H10 Universitat are really funky, so I'm sure a decent amount of time will be spent there too - just discussing and researching which piece of Catalan architecture is first on the list.

Harriet loves architecture. If she could change her name to Gaudí she would!


Right, off to find some Nigella style outfits and practice my Gordon dialogue.

Laters

Secret Agent

Jersey's a-callin'

I have a confession to make... even a superhero-hotel-finder like me sometimes needs a rest. Last week was jolly busy, and Rosie has so much energy that I found myself somewhat lacking in my usual get-up-and-go (it had got up, gone and made a cup of tea, failed to ask me if I wanted one, then left the building!). So I needed to find somewhere I could go and sit and just 'be' for a while. It didn't take long to think of somewhere cosy, relaxed, close to home and away from it all... The famous 4 star Pomme D'Or (that means Golden Apple, yes I did concentrate in French lessons!) in Jersey.


When I checked in I learnt from the friendly staff that they've spent £3million on their bedrooms over the last 5 years. I'm sure you can understand, dear reader, how keen I was to get up and try out the bed for some well deserved ZZZZs! But there was more... the Pomme D'Or has fantastic restaurants. The Harbour Room (yes, with views over the marina) serves buffet meals, including traditional 4-course Sunday lunches - my mouth was watering at this point, it wasn't a particularly pretty sight, but I think the staff were used to that reaction as they went on to tell me about La Petite Pomme restaurant. This award-winning restaurant uses local produce, and is really popular with the locals. As they described the current menu I drifted off into a culinary daydream, where I sat in the middle of a big table of their delicious dishes and ate my way out!

I woke up when they asked if I wanted some help with my luggage. I declined, as I hadn't taken much with me! Upstairs I wasn't disappointed. The rooms are classically designed, with warm, tonal colours and... oh dear I sound like Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Suffice to say, when I sat on the bed, I melted into a lovely, well-earned snooze.

The air-conditioned rooms, with 24-hour room service, have free wi-fi and broadband. Which would be great for anyone on a business trip, but I just used it to watch silly people falling over on youtube (well, it's an hour wasted relaxing and laughing at other people's self-induced misfortune, eh!).

I decided to check out the 'Aquadome' leisure club at the Pomme D'Or's sister hotel, the Merton. Very well equipped! Sauna, steam room, spa pools and waterslides (nope, I'm not too old!). The Flowrider standing wave, I've still no idea how it works, but it enables you to surf without the annoyance of having to bother leaving the spa! Bliss when you're in a lazy mood like I was!

If you were feeling more adventurous, there are so many lovely things to do on the isle of Jersey. We wrote about it - not a song or a poem, but a little something about the wonders of Jersey... see it here.

All this, and there's a great offer on at the moment. Get 3 nights for the price of 2 at the 4 star Pomme D'Or hotel Jersey from £126pp.

a visit to south west london with Rosie!

Well I've been ever so busy out on the road with one of our Business Development Managers - Rosie. We went out to South West London - Kingston, Shepperton, Twickenham - all kinds of places I've never been before - there's a lovely train that took me all the way from Waterloo and as I got further out, it got greener and greener and we even went over the river a couple of times. It was nice to get away from the office for a little while and meet the people that talk to our customers on a daily basis and to get some top tips from them.


Once Rosie had picked me up from the station and I'd got over the shock of her car alarm which tends to go off sporadically - she calmed me down by feeding me percy pigs - they're very good in case you've never tried them. We programmed the sat-nav (I still don't understand those things) and it told us where our next stop was without managing to take us into too many dead ends on the way.

We spent most of the day training agents on the website - showing off all the fabulous features it has. Everyone was very friendly - and after we'd had a little chit chat about x-factor and such like important things - Rosie began the training by showing them the maps and how interactive they are. I think they were expecting the training to be a little bit dull - but when we got into this bit their ears pricked up and they started to get quite interested. You can do this thing where you click on the hotel and it just zooms around all on its own and takes you to the hotel's exact location - it also fabulously marks on the local points of interest - so if you wanted to be close to say the Eiffel Tower you could find the nearest hotels really quickly - even while the customer is on the phone and you're chatting away to them.

Rosie then moved on to the section of the site that allows you to hold rooms - pretty impressive I must say - really handy for those customers that want to go off and book a flight and then come back to confirm the hotel. It stores all their information, allows you to email the customer with all the hotel details, and then when they come back to you you just confirm it with one click of the mouse. uh huh it really was that easy.

After all the oohing and aahing from the people that Rosie was training up - quite a few others in the agency started wondering what on earth it was we were looking at on the screen. Some of them kept getting up and pretending to make a cup of tea, going the long way round so they could peer round our desk. Pretty soon there was a decent sized crowd all appearing out of the corners of the agency.


Here is Rosie:
At this point Rosie decided to show them the piece de resistance - the live help. This is like a msn messenger chat - so we logged in, and within literally 2 seconds Sandra from our Reservations team over in North London had said hello! There were a few gasps at this point and those who were pretending to make tea just ran over not caring about subtely walking over any more - they just wanted to know what the h**l was going on. So off Rosie went with her one finger typing skills and had a little chat with Sandra.

It's such a handy little part of the site - while you're on the phone to a
customer, you could chat away to one of our res team online and come up with the answer while your customer is still there! So any small amends, or any questions you have regarding availability, hotel locations - anything really - even the weather in North London - answered within seconds!

Everyone went back to their desks - and I reckon they were all just waiting for the first call so they had an excuse to chat to our team.
I was exhausted and also pretty desperate to try all these tools out for myself - I actually went home and played around on the site some more and even missed the repeat of the x-factor that I'd missed on saturday....

I'd, sob, like to, sniff, thank...

For some people winning a coveted award is a once in a lifetime achievement (see Martin so-many-brilliant-films-he-didn't-get-an-Oscar-for Scorsese), but for HotelConnect they just keep coming. And we never get bored of it.

We think we're pretty tip-top, and so does my mum, but it's just so nice to be told we're great by other people. People who didn't give birth to us, or work with us, or want to get in our good books - but real people, who are in the industry.

In the last fortnight we've won two more awards - Best Travel Trade Website at the Northern Ireland Annual Travel Awards, and Best Hotel Booking Agency at the Scottish Passenger Agents' Assocation Awards. Kudos in both instances have to go to the entire HotelConnect team, their parents, their goldfish, their hairdressers - for making them look so fabulous (we're a great looking team too, you know!).

It takes two things to get awards like these - a great team and great people who recognise genius when they see it. Seriously though, a big thank you to the team and those who voted for us in these recent awards. It gives us a warm fuzzy feeling and makes us work even harder to bring you the best deals, the best advice and the best service.

Speaking of which, I thought I'd just do a quick reminder here about upcoming events that you'll probably need hotels for - nice, handpicked hotels that come recommended by us.

First up is Christmas Markets. A great way of stocking up on unique stocking fillers and lovely Christmassy food and drink (and a nice little mini-break for you - it's what your nearest and dearest would want for you). Personally, I really like shopping at Christmas Markets, there's more of a festive spirit than Oxford Street at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve. That's, frankly, dangerous.

Budapest is a really authentic, traditional market, and we've got some great offers at lovely hotels that we've picked especially for the occasion! I'd stock up on some hand-made folk art for the relatives (and, as you know dear reader, they're a hard-to-please bunch!). I'd take in one of the puppet shows, feast on honey cakes, strudel and mulled wine before settling in at the cosy chalet-style Normafa Hotel for the night. They even have a steam room and sauna to really warm up in! At just £50pp for 3 nights (I know - 3 nights!!) this is a real contender...

Check out all our other special Christmas Market offers... it's not too late... yet!

Plus... The party of the year - New Year's Eve is coming up (31st December I believe) and what better way to see in the New Year than in a top European city for surprisingly good prices! I'll probably be heading to Prague - where a 2 night stay at the 3 star superior Vysehard Hotel is just £88pp. I'll start off with a nice dinner cruise and at midnight I'll be watching the fireworks from the Charles Bridge. Maybe I'll see you there?

Me and Barack? We've got a lot in common...

Not only are we powerful people who are loved by many.... not only do we tend to pose in a similar way for photos... we are winners!

Mr Obama won the presidency, and I, as you would have seen from my next blog post, won another award. He got a call from Gordon Brown, I got a call from another very powerful individual (thanks mum).

America is a buzzing place at the moment that's for sure. I nipped over to Chicago to see if I could blag/gatecrash talk my way into the Obama Party. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that I didn't have a ticket, they could tell that I wasn't American (I thought my accent was pretty good y'hear!), or simply that they were worried that I was going to overshadow the big O, but I didn't get in.

I did however manage to catch the vibe at the Fairmont Hotel in the heart of Chicago.

We partied at the Aria Bar and Sushi Club within the Hotel itself. I honestly was not interested in the fact that it was voted the best dating spot in Chicago by AOL.

Nor were the many women I tried to talk to.

Never mind that - what a glorious hotel! It's had a $50 million refit. Wow indeed - it's rooms are beautiful rooms with flatscreens and even Ipod docking stations.

Luckily for me the Fairmont Hotel is also nice and close to the Magnificent Mile so I could buy an Ipod!

Back to chilly London for me and my welcoming party!

Laters,

Secret Agent

dracula costumes, dublin & great auntie beryl's teeth

Halloween! We're feeling all spoooooky, there are a surprising number of pumpkins dotted around the place and I have a fear of dracula capes that keep appearing out of nowhere.
Great auntie Beryl keeps sending me text messages saying Great uncle Harold has appeared to her in a vision and cousin Hamish is updating his facebook status every five minutes with comments about his Halloween fancy dress party later on.

However, I will not let this distract me from my extremely important job of visiting hotels, checking they're comfy enough for our customers and reporting back to you.
This week, despite the cold, I headed off to Dublin.

The first hotel I visited was the Gresham Hotel Dublin - Ireland's oldest hotel - it dates back to 1817. What a lovely hotel. It's based in O'Connell Street - which is just a short walk from all Dublin's major attraction - so central & great for the spot of Christmas shopping I managed to squeeze in (I know, FAR too early for Christmas shopping but I just like to be organised...). The rooms in this hotel are as you would expect from one of Dublin's best 4 stars - comfortable, and have all the luxuries you would expect.

The thing I loved about this hotel was the writer's bar - spacious & classic, it houses tinted mirrors, and fine art and I sank into the sofas following my little shopping trip - and it was so comfortable - one of those deep sofas you just disappear into - as I watched the world go by outside through the windows.

Another great hotel in Dublin - particularly good if you have a flight at a funny time of the morning - is the Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport - located as you may have guessed - just 5 mins from the airport. The facilities here are fantastic - with a rooftop restaurant, and an air conditioned fitness suite (yes yes I do sometimes like a work out). The rooms are comfortable and furnished in a contemporary design - and the towels & bathrobes I did note were particularly fluffy! There was also a satellite TV with on demand films - nice. This hotel is not only for those who need to be close to the airport - it's only 20 mins from the city centre and close to the picturesque maritime village, Malahide - it's well worth a stroll along the beachfront there.

I am now back in chilly London although I am loving the blue skies & crisp mornings - I'd prefer the snow kept away from Golders Green however. If you're thinking of getting away - seriously Dublin is a fantastic city - and not far to get to which means you don't even need to take days off work to get away! To view all our hotels in Dublin - click here - or if you're looking for a saving or two we have some great offers on hotels there - see here for our special offers in Dublin.

Right I'm off to go and put together my outfit for Hamish's party.....perhaps borrow auntie's teeth and steal one of those dracula capes....I'm sure to win top prize!

It's all about the service...

We like top ten lists here at HotelConnect. Top ten feel good films, top ten ideal dinner guests, top ten sugary snacks... serious hunger here at HotelConnect Towers - must be the onset of Winter, but we're not preparing to hibernate just yet! There's far too much to tell you each week. But I digress... Anyway, top ten lists...

High on my personal Top Ten List of Top Ten Lists would be the HotelConnect Best Service Hotels. When people come back from staying in one of our hotels we ask them to fill in a little questionnaire. It's a very easy one. There aren't many questions, and they're multiple choice, and as its your own opinion, you can't get a question wrong. Why can't all tests be like that?

So, without further ado, and with much applause, drum rolling and general over-excitement, here are the Top Ten Hotels for Service, as voted for by HotelConnect customers:


1 venice - A La Commedia 5/5

2 paris - Sofitel Arc de Triomphe 5/5

3 hong kong - Langham Place (Kowloon) 5/5

4 venice - Colombina 5/5

5 munich - Kings Hotel First Class 5/5

6 cork - Maryborough 5/5

7 algarve - Globo (Portimao) 5/5

8 paris - K&K Cayre 5/5

9 berlin - Ku'Damm 101 5/5

10 budapest - Orion 5/5

Click here, or or any of the hotels above to learn more about them.

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Right, where was I? Well, as you know I've been jetting off around the world recently, planning and researching. And do you know what I did at the weekend? Well, I'll tell you! I had a little break of my own. How could I resist when the lovely Accademia Hotel Verona had a 5 nights for the price of 4 offer?!

And yes, I did take along a special person. And no, I'm not going to tell you who. Suffice to say she's someone who loves travel as much as I do. We dined at the hotel restaurant, Ristorante Accademia, which was as sparkling and elegant as my guest - pumpkin risotto... mmmmm! The traditional, cosy and spacious rooms were lovely to come back to after wandering the pretty streets and lanes. The museum at the castle is packed full of old masters - Tintoretto, Pisanello and Veronese.

Planning a romantic getaway? Head to the city of the greatest lovers ever (that would be Romeo and Juliet) and enjoy the atmosphere... No need to let on to your loved one how much of a bargain it was!

Accademia Hotel Verona 4 star from £204pp for 5 nights.

it's like a hole in the tooth...

...this 'credit crunch' thing. It's there, it's annoying and you just can't ignore it. You have to deal with it.

(whenever I hear the words 'credit crunch' it does make me think of cereal. 'Mmmm... yummy credit crunch with milk first thing in the morning - make a great start to your day')

And deal with it I will! I shall try my best not to snigger at the fact that whenever the credit crunch is mentioned, so is someone called 'Darling'. Any BlackAdder fan would have to agree, it is definitely snigger-worth material! I mean, it's the credit crunch Darling (hereby known as the CCD)...

The first way I'm going to deal with the CCD is to learn by heart these top 10 ways to save money on a hotel. Oh yes, I am the new money saving expert - Martin Lewis... eat your heart out!

There's lots of ways here to save money, and don't worry, the answer is NOT about spending your evenings cramped in a hostel with 20 sweaty unwashed travellers. Been there. Done that. Still catch up once a year.

One of my favourites tips to save money from the top 10 list is to only pay for half of your hotel stay. Legally. For example you can stay in the Roma Park hotel in Rome - A 4 star hotel, for just £40 for 2 nights, as HotelConnect are giving you one night for free. Bargain or what?

It's a sophisticated hotel on the south side of the city - near the Park of Caffarella, for all you archaeology buffs!

And for those of you who are desperately seeking some sunshine that includes some warmth - the other favourite that i've picked out to beat the CCD is the 4 star Baia Cristal in the Algarve.

You'd better sit down for this price - 2 nights for £16. That is amazing. Oooh just look at that pool. It's in tucked away in the hillside in the pretty village of Carvoeiro. It'd certainly make a nice winter sun break.

The other CCD beater and buster that I like from the list are EBDs - Early Booking Discounts. If you know that you're going to a certain destination next year - you can book now and save up to 25%. That IS incentive to get organised!!

There's a list of them here. My favourite is 25% off a 4 star in Toronto. I say 'hell yeah!' to 'going cookie in tronno!'. I *might* need to scrub up on my canadian slang before I go though.

I'm off to paste on some Darling-esque eyebrows...now that is the result of the Credit Crunch Darling!

laters

Secret Agent

Millionaires and Pancakes in Amsterdam

Everyone keeps talking about something or other "Crunch" - must be a new breakfast cereal?! No idea what they mean, I'm a strictly Weetabix man myself*. Anyway, people have also been talking about tightening their belts and saving money. Well, I'm all for saving money, which is why I've been looking into living the luxury life for as little money as possible!

My greatest discovery so far has been Amsterdam. They have a Millionaire's Fair "Miljonair" - http://www.millionairefair.com/ - where, for just 35-75 Euros, you can experience true luxury lifestyle. With exhibitors in this world tour of exhibits including: Cartier, Maybach, Bentley, Chopard, Remy Martin and Bang & Olufsen, you can tell that this is going to be how the other half live!


My recommendation - enter EVERY competition there is! Imagine what you could win! And sample all the delicious treats on offer!


I've always firmly believed that with a little careful consideration, you can lead a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget. Why miss out on those little treats? Life's too short!


Whether you go to the Millionaire's Fair or not, Amsterdam has built a reputation as a perfect weekend/short break. Being close to home, it takes just 1.5 hours by plane or 5 hours in the comfort of Eurostar to the centre of Amsterdam. There are all the usual touristy yet satisfying things that you should do if this is your first time in the city: river cruises are a nice way to get acquainted with the city; bike riding; the Van Gogh Museum; Anne Frank's House. Not to mention pancakes... mmmm!

For something a little bit different, try out the flower auction - it is said that almost every cut flower sold in the world (from the sublime, to those garage forecourt ones) come through this enormous auction house at some point. It's an early start, but the sheer number of flowers and the excitement of the bidding is worth it. http://www.vba.nl/

We've got great deals on popular Amsterdam hotels this December, and as usual, all these hotels have been personally inspected by me and the team to make sure that they are what we say they are. Not many do this, but we do, because it makes sense.


Family owned, the 3 star Citadel Hotel Amsterdam's location in the centre of the city (just 8 minutes from the Central Station) make it highly popular. The hotel has simple, clean, comfortable rooms. With a cosy bar and lounge and yummy Dutch breakfast, this hotel is a great budget option. Friendly staff and atmosphere.



The Citadel Hotel Amsterdam has a nice choice for all bargain hunters - 4 nights for the price of 3 £141pp or 3 nights for the price of 2 £94pp throughout November and December.



The 3 star Avenue Hotel Amsterdam consists of 9 buildings, some parts dating back to the 17th century. There is a nice personalised service here. The rooms are pretty much all unique in decor. A lovely little touch is the activities ideas that the staff leave for you at breakfast. Great location for sightseeing and for local restaurants and bars.

Get a night free at the Avenue Hotel Amsterdam throughout November and December. 3 nights for the price of 2 from £94pp.




Leidse Square Hotel Amsterdam is perfectly located for Amsterdam nightlife, but is conveniently tucked away in a peaceful little street. The 'Museumplein', with Holland's most renowned museums, is just down the road and music venues such as the 'Melkweg' and 'Paradiso' are located around the corner from the hotel. Rooms are of a good size and nice and cosy - great for a winter break.




You can get 3 nights for the price of 2 at the Leidse Square Hotel Amsterdam in December, from £98pp.



*other breakfast cereals are available

Christmas Markets - the new way to Christmas shop!

Christmas???? What???? I can't believe we're using that word already but how time flies when you're having fun and boy have I been having fun. Following my little Irish trip where I must admit I did indulge a little too much in my favourite tipple Guiness, I have now set my mind to the up and coming yearly excitement of Christmas Markets!

Now you know when people say that it's just as rewarding buying the presents as receiving them - well I always thought that was absolute tittle tattle. I always much preferred getting those lovely knitted wonders from Great Auntie Beryl than seeing her sour face when I gave her her traditional pair of socks (I thought she liked socks). Anyway I soon learnt last year that actually when I visited a Christmas Market in Prague, and gave her something a little different - a hand made necklace - her whole face changed and I was suddenly her favourite great nephew. Plus old cousin Hamish was pretty grateful for the slivovice plum brandy - a Czech deliciously warming tipple - I bought him. Got me in the good books I must say and actually I did feel all warm inside watching them open them and getting such a surprise.

So, that all goes to show - Christmas Markets really are a fantastic treat - treat for you and for your friends and family - you get to go on a little trip, all to find your loved ones that original festive giflt and hopefully have a pretty good holiday while you're there. Often the prices at the markets mean you save a whole load on Christmas shopping too - it's a great place to find some bargains.

Last year, as I mentioned, I went to Prague. There are two - one at the Old Town Square and one at Wenceslas Square. You'll need to take a warm coat and a scarf, but that all adds to the Christmas atmosphere and I honestly felt like Father Christmas was just around the corner. Lots of brightly coloured stalls with oodles of ideas for you. And while you're there you can warm yourself up with hot food & drinks from the stalls there too. Prague Christmas Markets start on 29th November and we have plenty of cosy hotels for you to relax in after all that shopping! The Residence Mala Strana Prague - a 3 star superior - a great base to discover all the attractions of Prague - all rooms are tastefully decorated and all have a kitchenette - although the hotel also has a breakfast room. There is a special offer on during the Christmas Markets too - 3 nights for the price of 2 from £56pp. Valid from 1 nov - 25 nov. Pretty good!
Another good value for money hotel is the Kavalir hotel Prague - with trams just outside you can get to the centre of Prague in just 15 mins. From £16pppn.

The Duo hotel Prague is an excellent option - it's well known in Prague for it's low prices and amazing facilities - with a swimming pool, bowling alley, hairdressers, shop, internet desks & lobby bar. From £18pppn this is a real find.

Honestly I recommend these Christmas Markets - they're fab and they have so many lovely hotels in these cities they are really worth a visit! Choose from antwerp, berlin, bratislava, bruges, brussels, budapest, copenhagen, dusseldorf, frankfurt, stockholm or even london and manchester plus loads more. See here for more details.

Happy shopping!!!

Kicking up the leaves in Ireland

You know how I'm always planning ahead? Well I've been thinking about a nice Autumnal break in Ireland. The leaves are starting to turn, there's a certain nip in the air and I'd just like to get out into the country and kick leaves around - I like it because it's a little destructive but people you're with will just think you're a big kid at heart. Little do they know that really you've got a thing against those pesky leaves...

Anyway, enough of my irrational hatred of leaves... At the moment the other guys in the office are looking at best kept secret hotels, and this got me thinking. Where are some of the best little gems (and don't say in Sainsbury's with the other lettuces, it's not funny) in Dublin and Belfast? I'm after great value weekends away. Fab little bases from which to explore the glorious Emerald Isle. And I did pretty well (did you expect anything less dear reader??).

From 2nd - 5th October in Belfast Botanical Gardens are putting on "Enchanted Evenings" - performance artists, puppeteers, lights, and music. Think I'll wrap up warm and see if I can get a hot chocolate at that one! Anyone in need of a laugh should head down to the Empire Music Hall in November, this long-running comedy club has a host of comedians. And the Giant's Causeway is a spectacular natural feature of the area. So where to stay in Belfast....?

The 3 star Days Hotel Belfast is extremely popular with guests for its great value and . It is modern, has a nice historical element - you can see one of the wall murals that Belfast is famous for. Great hospitality and a nice hearty breakfast to set you up for the day ahead. Sounds good to me!

The Days Hotel Belfast also has a special offer in November - 3 nights for the price of 2 from £78pp. Bargain!

The 4 star Europa Hotel is also well recommended - if it's good enough for Bill Clinton...! Very good standard of rooms and places to sit and 'be' (a very nice pastime!) - the lobby bar, Piano restaurant and the brasserie. Located right in the centre of Belfast, all the major sights are within walking distance. Very stylish rooms too - with Ralph Lauren fabrics.... oooh!

Europa Hotel Belfast from £53pppn

And if, like me, you sometimes want lots of luxury and peace and quiet, the 4 star Slieve Donard Hotel County Down will fit the bill. This imposing red brick Victorian hotel effortlessly mixes old and new. The lobby, reception and restaurant are traditional, while the spa, bar and breakfast room are strikingly modern. The rooms are a happy blend of both. Venture outside and be overwhelmed by the breathtaking beauty of the County Down countryside.

Slieve Donard Hotel County Down from £70pppn

You're probably more than aware that Dublin is the 'home' of Guiness, so pop into the Guiness Storehouse, which will tell you everything you need to know (and don't) about Guimess! Or soak up the atmosphere at the nightly performance of Irish music, song and dance, with optional dinner! Sounds like a nice way to spend an evening, that doesn't involve Guiness (don't worry, you can have some with your meal!).

Above all, get out in the fresh air and do a tour of the Dublin Castle and Bay to work off all those calories from all the Guiness you'll have quaffed. I like Guiness. Can you tell?

Lots of bargains to be had at Dublin hotels too. My pick of the best are (cue Top of the Pops style intro music):

Cassidy's Hotel Dublin is a 3 star superior, family-run establishment housed in 3 traditional red brick townhouses. Inside the decor is that lovely mix of contemporary and classic. Bedrooms feature flat screen TVs (so cool!) and really comfy beds. I love the bar here - very classical styling with wood panelling. Very chic.

Cassidy's Hotel Dublin 4 nights for the price of 3 (from £165pp) in October, and in November you can get 3 nights for the price of 2 (from £94pp)

If you're looking for a longer break - there are plenty of things to do in the area, so I can promise you won't get bored - try The Morgan Hotel. A boutique hotel in a central position. A very sophisticated hotel. The bar's really trendy, which I like. Great if you're after a bit of nightlife as well as country walks.

The Morgan Hotel Dublin 7 nights for the price of 6 from £534pp

And as a wildcard, check out the exotic reception at the Trinity Capital Hotel. I think the designers had obviously been on a time travel world-tour - colonial meets eastern with safari inspired furnishings and spicy colours. A real feast for the eyes. Rooms are more toned down (thank goodness!) with a very high standard of furniture - walnut and leather desks anyone? Plasma screen and a welcome tray of goodies. I don't think I'd want to leave the room!

Trinity Capital Hotel Dublin from £60pppn

Tennis ball biceps inspire a trip to NYC!

Glued to the set I was last night.

Andy Murray.

Muzza.

A-Mu.

The Scotsman with the tennis balls in his biceps...

is in the final of the US Open.

He beat Rafa Nadal - who in comparison has rugby league sports equipment for biceps. But see where that gets you huh? Oh yes, us chaps with the slim physiques know that it's not just all about muscle it's also about technique.... sorry, I digress....

I was watching the game, on the edge of my seat, swiping at every ball for Murray, pumping my fists and cheering, and I, it must be said, got a real hankering for New York.

Why? Well, I'm sure it's a mixture of a few things. Jealousy of my cousin Hamish going over there... Hamish said he was going to hit a few balls with a friend of his as a favour... and also just seeing Flushing Meadows on television has reminded me what a great city New York is.

So, on a whim, I'm nipping over there for a few days. I'm booked to stay in the New Yorker Hotel.

It's a great three star, at a great price.

I'm all for 5 star hotel stays, but there's no need when the New Yorker is on offer.

It's just across the road from Madison Square Gardens - central central location!! And the building itself is a local landmark. It has 40 stories of classic art deco architecture and gives guests (me!!) fabulous view across the city.

You can book it here - with a 5% discount if you book online.

Bring it on. And hopefully with a nice British victory to go with it.

Not that I am one to who likes to brag, but I may have to get onto the courts myself to show those New Yorkers that we Brits can play tennis with the best of them!!

Laters

Secret Agent