24 Hours at the Hotel Cervosa

The first hotel of our first and only "Ski Week" indeed exceeded all our expectations. In the real center of Serfaus - one of the loveliest ski towns I have ever seen - a bit up on a small hill, there is a true wellness and gourmet temple: The Hotel Cervosa Serfaus. Owned and managed by the welcoming Westreicher Family - Mr. Hugo Westreicher takes care of the guests by himself when he walks through the restaurant every evening during the dinner. Mrs. Westreicher, the friendly and welcoming soul of the house welcomed us with a glass of sparkling wine. 

Upon entering our wonderfully designed and very spacious "Junior Suite de Luxe", we were really surprised to find a bottle of sparkling wine and a nice welcome plate with apples and chocolate donuts. I really liked the layout of our suite - the bathroom was kind of open plan with access from the bedroom and the hallway. A very nice touch was the Nespresso coffee machine, the warm colors of the room as well as the balcony on the south side overlooking the wonderfully snowed town and the new spa building. 

I would describe the atmosphere of the room as very comfortable and welcoming, simply perfect for a ski hotel like the Cervosa. Our huge bathroom offers a bath tub, walk-in shower and a separated toilet with bidet. The toiletries were by Bulgari and therefore as luxurious as the complete experience we had during these two days. In addition to the furniture, I experienced the bed sheets and the mattress as very heavenly. 

One of the most important parts of this hotel is the vast wellness and spa area which boasts more than 3.000 square meters of pure tranquility and relaxation over three floors. The entry level is equipped with a large indoor pool, two jacuzzis and a separated area for treatments. Furthermore there is a huge thermal area, a large and wonderful steam bath, an aromatic sauna as well as a jacuzzi, hot loungers and water beds on the first basement. A recently added spa building can be accessed through a tunnel. In this spa building there is a small bar for tea and drinks, two wonderful relaxation rooms, a breath-taking panoramic sauna as well as a heated outdoor pool with fire places and views over the snow capped mountains and house roofs of Serfaus.

After the relaxing spa break, we headed down to the hotel's own restaurant. Fortunately we arrived on Sunday and were therefore invited to be part of the Gala evening with an amazing Gala Dinner, including six courses. The first course was a sashimi of tuna, followed by a creamy cocos-curry soup, a breast of quail and a sorbet of mango with lots of champagne. The main course was an excellent fillet of veal with potato gratin and vegetables - sounds not as good as it tasted. The grand final was a wonderful chocolate cake with a gorgeous mock ice cream. Finally we were treated with excellent cheese from the Tyrol.

On Monday we had the possibility to discover the slopes of the enormous ski resort "Serfaus Fiss Ladis". Unfortunately the weather was not the best and therefore not that good for a lovely ski day. During our ski day we discovered that the resort attracts a lot of families and beginners. If you want to live your ski dreams as a professional skier, you need to hide away to the black, more extreme slopes. All in all, there are some really goof food outlets, such as the Lassida Restaurant, the Fine Dine at Masner and the new Seealm Hög. 

A very special thanks to the Westreicher Family for the generous invitation to the overnight stay with half board. Our ski day has been sponsored by the tourism region "Serfaus Fiss Ladis".

48 Hours at the Terre Blanche Resort, Provence

To be honest, I was a bit scared that the resort is no longer managed by Four Seasons (I also had bad experience with it in Budapest). Luckily I could recognize that this was just a bad illusion of me. When we arrived everyone from the bellmen greeted us friendly, took care of the luggage and the car and accompanied us to the Lobby where we were welcomed by Claire and her colleague (which name I do not know, sorry for this!). Check-in was excellent and also the welcome tour was informative and smooth.

Afterwards we were driven to our Suite (1812), a Deluxe Suite with terrace, living room, separate bedroom, bathroom ensuite and walk-in wardrobe. I was so lucky that I received a Suite with amazing views of Fayence and its landscape. The whole suite was flooded by daylight, even the bathroom was overlooking the countryside. I love the toiletries which are especially created by Fragonard for the Terre Blanche Resort. The beds were amazingly comfortble (of course it was still the Four Seasons Bed) and also the Housekeeping and Turndown Service was perfect as it should be for a hotel of this caliber. Our terrace was already bedded and offered two sunbeds with two chairs and a dining table beside. Also, the televisions were quite qood and I much appreciated the Bose iPhone Docking Station.

As we wanted to discover the countryside we decided to have dinner in a restaurant outside the hotel. Unfortunately I forgot that it was Saturday and all nearby restaurants were fully booked, but the amazing Concierge Eladia was so kind and organized a table for us in an excellent restaurant (Le Catellaras) 15 minutes away. It was a truly magnificent experience and fully met our expectations concerning the French Haute Cuisine. At the second evening she recommended the Nearby Restaurant Table d'Yves, which was more casual and therefore perfect again!

At breakfast we had the pleasure to be served by Emelie, who was truly kind and always made us welcome every morning. When the day starts in such an excellent way, there is no possibility to end in a bad way. She even remembered which coffee we want and what kind of eggs. This was truly amazing, so we always tried to sit in the area where Emelie was working to receive such an excellent service every day. 

The Spa is situated a bit hidden on the half way from the entrance gate, which is controlled like a G8-peak meeting, and the main building where the lobby and the front desk is situated. The indoor pool is very huge and there is also a very warm vitality pool in the middle of a typical Provencial garden. Beside the pool there is also a Spa Restaurant, a small fitness centre, an area with sauna, steam bath and relaxation room as well as lots of treatment rooms and impressive Spa Suites on the first floor of the Spa building. By the way, the spa is accessible by walking from the main building within 5 minutes or by Golf Cart, that's also how you can access your suites all day.

Unfortunately all dreams have an end, so I had to leave to go to Avignon. I won't forget this luxurious resort and will try to come back soon. A very special thanks to Mrs. Ripoll for the informative and nice tour around the resort and the Management of the Terre Blanche Resort, as well as all the staff members for being so friendly and helpful.

The Terre Blanche Resort provided us a special rate, due to the fact it was high season. All extra expenses were charged as full. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

24 hours at the Hotel Hermitage in Monte-Carlo

Alright, to be honest, the start of my stay was not the best and I would describe it as chaotic amyhow! When we arrived we were greeted by the whole bellmen team and directly accompanied to the front desk by a young trainee who was shouting with one bellman in front of us! Then she checked-us-in and immediately informed us that the room is too small for 3 guests! She told something from Junior Suite and then anything from Superior Room again and 130 Euros. After this chaos - we did not know what happened - she continued with filling out the passport information, gave us invalid Cercle cards and informed us that the room will be ready at 3.00 pm (it was 1:00 pm). In fact we wanted to go to the beach but this wish was gone immediately! Then she told us to leave a number, she will call us. Of course nobody did!

At 2:00 pm I went back to the hotel and I was told by Mrs. Olga, one of the very efficient staff members, the room will be ready within 15 minutes. It was indeed and we finally could refresh ourselfs and went to the beach!

The resorts own shuttle brought us to the famous Monte Carlo Beach within 15 minutes and we just enjoyed the nice weather and the amazing view of Monte Carlo until 6 pm when every guest was kicked out in a friendly way - they just closed the access to the sea!

Back to the hotel, our room, which was upgraded, was really luxurious and smelled very good! The bathroom was very generous with seperate shower and tub, Bulgari toiletries and double basins as well as seperate bidet and toilet! The beds are really good and we got some Laduree macarons and bottled water as a welcome gift!

Breakfast is served in the Mezzanine floor overlooking the courtyards and Gustav Eiffel's winter garden. The service at breakfat was excellent and the buffet large, the products excellent and very fresh! They have a live cooking and the employees serve your breakast choice directly to the table!

At check-out they gave me a bill with the accommodation including breakfast and anther 90 euros for two additional breakfasts. Upon asking why they charged me for breakfast the front desk employee told me that I invited some guests and she has to charge me know. I got really angry at this point and asked for the Front Desk Manager. When she arrived they seemed to be very rude and finally cancelled my breakfast bill. What a shame for this hotel and a Leading Hotels of the World member???

I will give the so "famous" SBM Monte Carlo Company (they own the world famous Casino, Hotel de Paris, Cafe de Paris, Monte Carlo Beach as well as the Hermitage) a second chance by a future stay at their Hotel de Paris, but the Hermitage is definitely not my kind of hotel since they seem to only employ cheap (trainees) at the most important part of a hotel: The front desk.

Next time I will also try to test the Hotel Metropole, to see if this is a common happening in the small country or if it was a unique issue. 

The "Société des Bains de Mer" provided us a very special rate at the Hotel Hermitage, but we did not feel welcomed throughout our stay. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.