48 Hours at the Aria Hotel Prague

Our party was divided into two groups. One stayed at the new and ultra chic Emblem Hotel, while we decided to stay at the more casual and more luxurious Aria Hotel. Never did we regret this simply amazing choice. Upon arrival we were greeted with a smile and a welcoming "Welcome to the Aria Prague!". I wouldn't say that probably this is the most personal front desk staff if I hadn't stayed at so many luxury hotels. Honestly this is the secret formula for a successful hotel - a place where also I will return many times. 

Our rooms were situated on the fourth floor meaning that our rooms are designed in the Classical colour scheme - well, the rooms are not as chic as at the Emblem, but they definitely are twice as comfortable and welcoming with lots of warm colours. The bathroom was large and the tub was huge as well. I also loved the huge shower head - honestly it reminded me of The Savoy in London, probably because the toiletries are from London, by Molton Brown!

The Apple TV is really really cool and we could even connect our iPads to the TV and could hear our Music through the excellent loundspeakers! There is also a turn-down service with chocolate, which was done normally between 4 and 5 pm - guess it could be a bit too early for some people! In contrary to the Emblem, the do not have boxspring beds, but therefore enormous King beds with a size of approximately 2m x 2 m. A very nice gesture when we arrived: a bottle of red wine and a fruit plate!

One of the nicest touches at this musical themed hotel is the afternoon tea, held daily between 4 and 5pm - fully complimentary for hotel guests. With sweets, finger food, hot tea and wine (during christmas time), we were completely in the mood for the christmas markets at the Prague castle, Venceslas Square and Old Town Square - the most wonderful I have seen in Prague!

After all these excellent reviews on Tripadvsior (and of course because we were extremely tired of our 5 hours drive ;-) ) we decided to eat at the Coda Restaurant. Again, an excellent choice! Our menu consisted of three courses and an accompanying house wine, which was incredible! Beginning this excellent evening with an Amuse Bouche, a slice of tuna, followed by Foie Gras - it was truly magificent. I was quite insecure if it is a good idea to take the "Papardelle with Truffle" in December. As you might guess, all my believes were incorrect! These papardelle were simply extraordinary - never had such excellent truffle dish outside the Piedmont or Italy before! For dessert we had the famous Valhrona chocolate cake, another fabulous choice! Honestly all our expectations were exceeded on all ways! Congratulations to the chef David!

Of course we discovered some of Pragues best cocktail bars before we headed back to our worldclass accomodation. At breakfast we were greeted with a smile once again and started the day with some scrambled eggs and omlettes, together with a real Capuccino!

Finally I can just assure that you won't regret to forget the Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental and head therefore to this picturesque Boutique Hotel in the real heart of one of our Top favourite cities in the world. If you are looking for something really special, then book one of the few Suites overlooking the Vrtbovska Garden - one of the most wonderful baroque gardens in the world, accessible free of charge from the hotel. 

A special thanks to the team of the Aria for being so welcoming and kind!

Our stay at the Aria Hotel Prague was sponsored by Mr. Vostiar and we were guests of the hotel throughout the weekend. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

My Trip to Paris - Part 2

A CULINARY TOUR THROUGH PARIS

Lunch at Café de Flore in Saint Germain des Prés 

Lunch at Café de Flore in Saint Germain des Prés

Sometimes it's the best to stroll in a typical "Boulangerie"
Their Eclair was far better than the one at Ladurée! :-)

Of course, Galeries Lafayette - and they still had Winter Sale!

How can you leave Paris without even walking along the
Champs-Élysées at night?

The Tenderloin Steak at Jean George Vongerichten's Market Restaurant

An excellent Burger at Jean George Vongerichten's Market Restaurant

A Quartett of Crème Brûlée (!!)  at Vongerichten's Market Restaurant :-))

A very cool and fashionable atmosphere at the Market Restaurant

Walk-in kitchen at Vongerichten's Market Restaurant

Hotel Check - Kitzbühel Part I

Just returned back from a very relaxing stay at the Arosa Grand-Spa Kitzbühel.  The weather outside was perfect for a pre-Christmas getaway, lots of snow and a picture-perfect scenery. The arrival at the Arosa is more than stunning, driving through a tunnel until you arrive at the main entrance.

We were greeted very friendly with a hot welcome drink, before we were accompanied to our perfectly situated room.  Located on the 6^th floor of the “Mountain Wing”, our room boasted beautiful views over the resort to the city centre and the world-famous “Hahnenkamm”.

The room was clean and bright with a warming atmosphere. A very nice touch were the welcome amenities, which included homemade Christmas pastries, macarons and complimentary bottled water.

Behind the generous wardrobes, we found ourselves in a sleek bathroom with no-named toiletries, a separate toilet and large shower with three different kinds of shower experiences.  In general, the room came up to our expectations and we were really surprised by the beautiful welcome amenities.

The main reason for staying at the Arosa Kitzbühel is the Spa area, which boasts two floors of pure relaxation. I really loved the enormous indoor pool from which you could swim outside to the outdoor pool without leaving the pool. You can feel snowflakes falling into your face while swimming in hot water and exploring the beauty of the Austrian Alps and the surrounded winter wonderland scenery.

All staff members were very friendly and helpful and they even brought us drinks to the lounge bed on the pool.

We had the opportunity to have dinner at “Monte e Mare”, the restaurant on the hotel’s own golf course. This was a great possibility to have the best duck I’ve ever had.

A perfect day always starts with a heavenly breakfast! The buffet was varied and large, while the choice of bread was simply enormous. The service at breakfast was good and personal, too.

In total I was very satisfied with the service, the design and the provided facilities. 

Hotel-Check: Aqua Dome Spa Resort Part 3

The night was very peaceful and we had a great sleep! Before breakfast I went to the public spa pool and it was amazing. At 8.30 am, I was the only one swimming in the large pool, which is open for public every day from 9 am till 10 pm. 

I then took a shower with the shower gel from the dispenser and went to the breakfast room or "hall"! The buffet war larger than my expectations were, so I was impressed. The service at breakfast was very nice although the cook was not able to prepare me some scrambled eggs, instead she advised me to take some cold scrambled eggs of the buffet. If I want freshly cooked scrambled eggs with ham I only want to get them and not to discuss with a not native speaking employee! Nevertheless  the buffet with the orange machine was excellent by 4-star standards!

The check-out was at 11 am, but we wanted to leave at 10 am so we did not have to wait in the typical queue. As a present, we got a nice cake, which is home-made. 

All in all this hotel/resort is not that perfect retreat for us! We think there is a large group of guests which love to stay at such spa resorts and to move around without any textiles as well as to lie to each other without any privacy! 

If you look for a luxurious wellness hotel in Western Austria, then check-in at the Grand Tirolia or the Kempinski Das Tirol in the area of Kitzbühel, where everyone seeks for privacy!

In my opinion, 380,00 Euros per night for the old Classic Room is more than impolite for the offered facilities!

Hotel-Check: Aqua Dome Spa Resort Part 2

Sorry for being offline the whole day, but it was more stressful than it should have been. 

 1 hour after my last blog, I wanted to pick up the keys for the reserved Alpine Room. Of course they tried to give me the standard room in the old wing! So I went the whole way to the room and then back to the reception to claim about the room. They did not apology and immediately called the housekeeping to prepare a new room. After 15 minutes waiting on the reception without offering a drink or a seat, they gave me the keys without any comment. 

The new room is nice, the smell is fresh, the balconies and bathrooms are modern and new, too! Although the bed sheets are dirty and used! YES - All-over Shampoo comes out of a dispenser - very exclusive :-(( ! They are not even branded ones!

Back to the Spa, some tyrolean citizens tried to get our loungers as they were not able to got some by theirselfs! We shouted at them and they left us alone - horrible if you're paying 380.00 Euros for that one night in the low season!

We went to a local restaurant as we are disappointed of the overall service at this property! This was probably the best decision we did the whole day - the Pizza was absolutely great!

To be honest, everything I wanted is to sleep, but this was impossible as the materess felt extremely cheap and unconfortable, a bit like in a youth hostel or in a boarding house!

After replacing the mattress protector, the beds felt more comfortable and sleeping was no longer a problem. :-)

We will see what tommorrow brings, we will for sure no longer stay the afternoon at this chaotic place! Sorry but this is a true hotel-fail for this price!

Hotel-Check: Aqua Dome Spa Resort Part 1

I am just sitting in the newly reopened "Spa 3000" in the Austrian town of Längenfeld, which looks more beautiful on the website than it is in real. The check in was okay but nothing more! The room was not ready at 11.00 and so we went to the Spa 3000. All in all there is no real pool, just one indoor Jacuzzi and 4 small whirlpools for up to 2 persons each! As the hotel is fully booked, the spa gets more crowded and the best loungers are occupied. We were lucky and got some at the window facing the town. Unfortunately, our loungers are more than uncomfortable. 

Personal opinion: The service is kind and does fit perfectly to their guests. 

                                                         
To be honest, this is not the type of guests which is found in the top-notch properties, so I feel a bit uncomfortable in here. Nearly all of them love to be naked and to lie next to each other. Privacy does not exist! 

First impression is not very impressive!

Time to escape the winter blues!

The weather in Austria could not be worse. Heavy rain, cold wind and temperatures of at least +8.00 celsius!

As I do not want to stay at home and enjoy the bedside, I decided to stay the bank holiday tommorrow at the Hotel of the Aqua Dome thermal bath in the Austrian valley of Ötztal. 

I also checked everything in advance, but they were not yet very flexible with early check-in and upgrade as I got a deal for up to 70% off the nightly room rate! 

To be said in advance, I do not expect a perfect service and a exceptional hotel. Nevertheless I am very looking fowrard to some relaxing days within one hour driving distance!

Have a great day!