In Search of a Summer...

Is anyone else fed up with the four-seasons-per-day weather we seem to be having recently? I take pride in my suave appearance, and it can be difficult to maintain when a walk to the shop results in Albert-Einstein style hair thanks to an unexpected torrential downpour!

So I'm thinking I might escape for a long weekend. I just can't make up my mind at the moment. It's got to be somewhere really hot - hot weather, sizzling hotel and something scorchingly fab to do on those balmy evenings.

Lisbon's caught my eye... The Delta-Tejo Music Festival is on, and promises to be masses of fun, for a start. The weather is getting warmer by the day. And there's a great little boutique hotel that I've not yet been to (yes, I know, a hotel I haven't checked out yet, don't fall off your chair!). I have it on good authority from 'Super' (Andrew, I've mentioned him a few times before, we're good pals), that this little place is a gem.

A short, inexpensive taxi ride from the airport (not that I need it with my NASA-designed teleporter - thanks Jeff!) the Lisboa Tejo Hotel Lisbon (3 star superior from £44pppn) is slap bang in the heart of the Baixa district. Andrew told me it oozed old world poetry mixed with modern fizz. I looked at him strangely. He shut up. But showed me the pictures of the stunning lobby and the spacious, modern rooms and I have to say I was pretty much sold...

Until Sarah (our resident expert on all things Spanish) piped up with another suggestion... "Why not Barcelona?". The H10 Montcada Hotel Barcelona (4 star from £57pppn). Also fantastically located, by the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter, near Las Ramblas - famed for its street performers which vary from the sublime to the ridiculous. Also on next weekend is the Summercase festival featuring Maximo Park, The Verve, The Kooks and the Kings of Leon.

It's a blissful 25 degrees (80 degrees in old money!) as I write this too. Anyway, back to the hotel... rooms are great - elegant and relaxing, the public areas are all modern and fresh. There is a treatment room for massages - to iron out those knots! But all this is window-dressing to me when I heard about...

... the rooftop jacuzzi. That swung it for me.

I'm booked up for next weekend!

click here for all special offers in Lisbon

or

click here for all special offers in Barcelona

or just

click here for all special offers

... then you can make your own mind up - I can't do everything, I'm very busy and important, you know!

Want a free night in a hotel?

We prove that there's no better way to get a free night in a hotel....




To celebrate the launch of HotelConnect's fabulous Summer of Free Nights I went along to the Ambassadors Bloomsbury hotel to see if it was possible to sneak into a hotel to get a free night's stay. I took along my friend Michelle from our sales department, and Natalie and Sarah - our mates from Flight Centre - to see if they were able to spot me.

First of all I tried hiding in a laundry basket. I have to confess it's not the first time I've tried this, but that's a different story that's best told over a drink or three. However, our intrepid seekers, Natalie and Sarah were holding no prisoners, and soon sniffed me out - might have been my socks, which, on reflection, should have stayed in that laundry basket.

Next was the failsafe-behind-the-bed-looking-sheepish technique, which again, failed miserably as Natalie, Sarah and Michelle all found me within minutes. It was quite cosy sandwiched between 3 lovely ladies, but I digress....

By that point I was exhausted, but had scientifically* proven that the best way of getting a free night in a great hotel in top destinations is to visit HotelConnect's ...

There are great free night offers in destinations such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan, Dublin, Berlin, Bruges, Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice... There are bargain breaks and city breaks. Oodles of bargains to be snapped up. You can stay in a gorgeous 4* hotel in the beautiful city of Ghent for 3 nights just £96pp!

click here for more





Many thanks to Carolin and the great staff at the Ambassadors Bloomsbury hotel for letting us run amok in their gorgeous establishment. We had a look around the rooms, which are lovely, and the triple glazing is like some magical sound-stopper - the busy street below is completely blocked out. I for one was very impressed. I like gadgets. But please, no more kitchen gadgets for Christmas - that avocado slicer almost took my fingers off!

And for all my loyal fans out there, here's a quick peek at me in the shower at the Ambassadors Bloomsbury! Naughty!







*ish!

I’m not one for gossip normally, as you know, but I had to give you the inside information on the HotelConnect Annual Quiz Night. I went as an impartial observer and photographer - that's why you can't see me in any of the shots... I can tell you that the HotelConnect gang are a pretty knowledgeable bunch. They took it upon themselves to dress up for the occasion!!

General knowledge, mental agility, and the ability to set off a party popper in lieu of a buzzer all came in handy on the night. The HotelConnect gang were on top rowdy, jovial form! The winning team was Japan, who won a lot of points in the round that involved gambling. I must take them with me to Monte Carlo next time I go. They could be handy in the casino!

What an Easter I’ve had! You may not know this, but a while ago I borrowed Jeff Goldblum’s teleporter (don’t ask me why he has one, but it’s on permanent loan to me as I do more good with it) to ensure I can get round the world as quickly as possible to track down bargains for you. It’s a little bit like that new film, Jumper, but with a bit more machinery involved, and, unfortunately, the delightful Rachel Bilson doesn’t always accompany me... well actually she never does, but the offer’s there!

Anyway, my travels took me far and wide: I went to Barcelona to see the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions, to Stockholm for egg rolling, I decorated an egg tree in Munich, I read a crime thriller in Oslo - it's an Easter tradition over there I learnt, and it certainly whiled away a few hours before I sped off to Canada to see the world’s largest Easter Egg, at 31 feet tall. Of course I came back to dear old London for an Easter Egg Hunt and a big turkey roast.

I hardly had any time to sleep, what with packing in all these activities, which was a real shame as we at HotelConnect have got some great hotels at all these locations. I wish I’d had time to pop into the 4* Avenida Palace in Barcelona for instance, you can stay there for 4 nights for the price of 3 for just £183 per person.

Easter reminded me of my travels with my parents, who were both intrepid explorers and part-time Red Cross volunteers. We would go from place to place (not as quickly as with a teleporter, I can tell you!), soaking up the local cultures. I remember the first time we went to Australia, my father asked one of the aborigines what the strange bouncing creature with the long tail was... He replied "kangaroo", so that's what we called them. It was only later that we found out that meant "I don't know"!!! Ah, wonderful times. Actually, come to think of it, that wasn't us, that was Captain James Cook... Oh well!