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 Augustine Hotel Prague

As the newest high-end five-star hotel addition to Prague, I really felt in best mood when arriving. The check-in was smooth and we got a welcome drink, what I found a nice touch. Afterwards we got a tour through the public areas, followed by an inspection of the room. We were lucky and got a parking space in their courtyard, otherwise when you prefer parking in a garage, they park your car in the garage of the nearby Aria Hotel.

The room itself was spacious, the bathroom on the other side not – with a bath-tub-combination (I normally hate this most in a hotel). As the toiletries were upscale ones and filled up every day, I was not that discerning. Just to let you know: they do have rooms in the standard category with larger bathrooms and even separate showers as well. The bed was very comfortable as the whole room. Unfortunately we did not have a view over the Castle Hill, but therefore we overlooked a church and a courtyard. One afternoon there was a wedding going on in this courtyard but happily for the hotel they finished in the early evening. Otherwise it could have ended like at the Grand Hotel Stockholm – see previous blog posts.

Breakfast Buffet was on the small side, although everything can be ordered from your table and will be prepared in the kitchen at your disposal. The scrambled eggs were really good and in my opinion everything else was of good quality, too. The service was perfect and very attentive, we felt very welcomed.

The bar is also a nice place to relax in the afternoon, as the Augustine Spa is: A small spa indeed with a sauna, hamam, steam bath and relaxation room with experience showers. The products were really good – Kerstin Florian, Ila and Ex Voto are predicted to be world-class.

All in all, I like this hotel because of the generous layout combined with the chic italian style, the location and the wonderful ambience of staying in an old monastery.

Where Romeo meets Julia in a hip way!

Welcome to the Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista!

My travel advice for an extended summer holiday: Spend some hip days in Verona and find some bargains in North Italy's factory outlets. 

The Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista is an old Villa with hip and modern furnitures and a lot of art and design, everywhere you look. To be sure in advance - this is not a place for children! The paintings of naked woman and men will not be everyone's taste, but if you do not mind for an extra portion of art, then the Villa Amista is the perfect place to keep your mind in peace with you.

The rooms are not that small, although we got uprgaded to a Deluxe Room. The Deluxe room was located in the Garden wing, and therefore we had a really nice ceiling with lots of paintings. The room itself was really tastefully designed, while the bathroom reminded me of a normal 5-star property in Italy - no design or anything modern! 

The bathroom toiletries were terrible, not only the fact that they were no-name ones, also the smell was more like chemical as relaxing. When you take a look, it says they were made in Spain, so not even an Italian Product. 

The Lobby is one of the most beautiful places in the house and is also the meeting point for everyone. From here you can go to the rooms, to the reception, to the outdoor pool, or you can have a drink at the bar.

The spa on the Basement was used to be managed by Henri Chenot a few years ago, and today it is a kind of city spa - nothing special and really small. They use Byblos Products and the jacuzzi looks very crowded if there are more than 4 people in it. The sauna and steam bath en-suite are also nice and the fitness center is situated in a private pavillon, which looks really cool, although it is not large, too.

The Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista is a nice place to stay during a city trip in Verona or Touring the Outlets of Northern Italy! Rooms are available from 200 Euros per night and room including a lavish buffet breakfast!

http://www.byblosarthotel.com/

Insider's Guide - "Upgrade your travel style"

You know the feeling when you would like to stay at the best hotel in city, but you are not able or willing to pay the high prices?

Then you should try the new hotel platform "EASYNEST". This is definitifely the best way to stay at any of the world's best hotels at the half price! 

Do you still stay in a Classic Room? 
For example, I just found The Dorchester Hotel in London for 200 Euros per night instead of 400! This rate is not even for a Classic room - it's the luxurious Executive Suite.
This hotel does never have any kind of special offers, however now it's affordable! 

Another example is the Four Seasons in New York and in Hongkong where your stay will cost under 300 USD.

The terms and risks:
The only term is that you have to be in the city and in the hotel, at that date, the "Easynester" booked. Of course you can also start an enquiry and Easynest will help you finding a roommate. 

The risk you have is that you do not know your travel partner personally, but as the website was just born, there are only 5-10 users online. So in my opinion there is no high risk yet!

Just try it and start staying at the world's most luxurious hotels for a bargain!

http://www.easynest.com/