48 Hours at the Urban Villa London

After being luxury travel bloggers since not even a full year of operating, we were really excited when we received the invitation to be part of one of the craziest and coolest hotel openings in 2015. This was one of our first hotel openings and therefore we were really excited to review such a new and not-yet-official-opened hotel. 

After a long journey with probably the worst taxi driver I have ever met - it took us nearly 2.5 hours since our landing at Stanstead Airport -  we finally went through the doors of Urban Villa. At least, the cabin crew at our EasyJet flight was alright.

So of course we came to the hotel in the middle of the opening party and therefore were not able to go to the room immediately. We were having cool cocktails, prosecco, white wine and finally one of the best burgers we have ever had - AND: the best french fries, with truffle and parmesan cheese - we just loved them.When we were queuing for the burger, Mr. Hussain (the Director of the hotel group) provided us with the keys. While we got a huge Master Villa (in fact a suite with a separate bedroom, living room, bathroom, and a winter garden), Mr. Beverage Executive received an airy Studio overlooking the main square of the newly built areal called GWQ (Great Western Quarter). It was nice to see the two different room types - so we also had a better overview of the main style and the layout.

The beds were extremely heavenly - we could have slept more than just the 10 hours. One small problem emerged when we were all looking for a minibar. Once we found the fridge we had to experience that it was completely empty. After the first night we found the water dispensers on the front desk. Nevertheless a filled minibar would have been a lovely touch. 

Inside our Suite, we had an issue with the telephone, which did not work yet. After that I would like to mention that the hotel represent the concept "affable luxury" and therefore is more casual with the amenities provided. There are no usual luxury hotel amenities yet, such as body lotion, bath robes, slippers, bath mats, nor a fully equipped kitchen. Some amenities will be changed and added this year, so keep updated. A great plus were the quality of the sheets, towels and toiletries by Malin+Goetz. 

At the next morning we were ready to discover London - naming itself "The biggest city in the world". The breakfast is catered by an outside company and therefore not included. The croissants were good, the juice too and the prices were moderate for a hotel bar, charging two Pounds for a croissant. So there is no bad surprise like in the big luxury hotels in Central London, e.g. at the Wellesley where a small San Pellegrino costs you nearly 17 Pounds. We believe that the Urban Villa will be a cool and chic business styled all-suite hotel once everything is in right oder.

Last but not least - we would like to express that we are glad that we have stayed at so many luxury hotels all around the world and therefore are really experienced in this sector. We came to the conclusion that the Urban Villa is a cool all-suite hotel at moderate prices and proximate distance to Heathrow airport. The design is casual and very stylish - spreading a really urban feeling, so that we sometimes felt transformed to a residence in New York City. 

All in all we had a pleasant weekend in London but we are definitely the sort of people who love to be in the center and might choose another hotel for that reason next time. 

Nevertheless, we think the Urban Villa is perfect for every business traveler needing to stay an overnight due to a connecting flight at Heathrow or young travelers like us, who want to experience London in one week and don't ming taking the tube every day!

A very special thanks to the Urban Villa and NoHo Hotels for the generous invitation for the whole weekend stay and transport to and from the airports.

Restaurant Check - Innsbruck - Part III

Today me and my colleague tested one of Innsbrucks finest restaurants high above the city, more exately on the top floor of the town hall, which also accommodates a high-class shopping center. 

In general, the atmosphere is a kind of sophisticated and the interior stylish with great views of the Tyrolean capital. For such a high-price restaurant, the servers are not dressed adequate - they wear sport sneakers and a black shirt.

The first course was a soup of chestnut with a lot of foam and orange zests on top. All in all the soup was quite good at a reasonable price of 4,50 euro. The bread served with the soup was a bit dry and there was no butter on-site.

For main course we choose chicken breast with mushroom risotto and green salad with beef filet. The chicken was very good, spicy with a nice sauce and a risotto which was cooked perfectly. The salad and the beef filets were very good, too.

For 38 euro for two, this is an expensive venue for lunch in Innsbruck, but in my opinion it was worth the money for such atmosphere and quality of food. It really has to be a special occassion if you want to go there for dinner, because the prices can be twice compared to the set lunch menu.

Restaurant Lichtblick
Maria-Theresien-Straße 18, 6020 Innsbruck
T: 0043 (0) 512 566550
http://www.restaurant-lichtblick.at/

Travel Diary: My Summer holidays Part 5

Day 3 at San Domenico Palace! Just one night left and the hotel turned out to be a rip-off! Although the staff is very nice, kind and attentive, they seem to act a bit unprofessional. At first sight, this hotel looks realy great, but if you take a deeper look inside my room, you immediately feel that this hotel has had it's best days, a long time ago!

Everywhere you look, you see used furniture and even the walls look used and dirty. The carpet floor was maybe not refurbished the last 5 years, so here it is really hard work to seek and find a Leading Hotel of the world!

The floors smell bad like a church, the room is dark, old and used, breakfast terrace has a beautiful view to the sea, but the feeling of relaxing is completely destroyed by a plague of bees and mosquitos. Furthermore the pool is old fashioned and uninviting and the worst of all: 

The use of the business center/computer costs 0,35€ per minute and printing ONE piece of paper costs another 0,35€!! HAHA it is just amusing!

Okay, they want to serve the 19th century but guests expect the services of the 21st century! 

There is also no free water at the turndown service, which is not the standard of a Leading Hotel! 

This hotel and especially the room turns me off! I never want to become manager of this old-fashioned hotel, which is just expensive and no way worth the price! There needs a lot of money to be invested in San Domenico Palace Hotel.

Yesterday I went to Syracusa, Modica, Noto and Ragusa. The most beautiful part was Syracusa (picture above), with the peninsula Ortigia. There is an excellent restaurant called Regina Lucia, directly on the main square, which should not be missed when in Ortigia. 

Today I am want to go to the Mount Etna, as well as to Catania, lets see if the weather gets better than now. Otherwise I will enjoy Taormina with all its beauty.