Category: International Accommodation

As a part of my Business trip, I had visited Lund multiple times during 2023/2024. Being near to my client location, most of the times I stayed at Best Western Plus Park City Lund.  Please note that this property was managed by Radisson group and was known as ‘Radisson Blu Hotel Lund’ earlier. Best Western took it over during the end of 2023. Even in February 2024, the sign boards have still not changed.

If you are in Lund for any work with Tetra Pak (multinational food packaging and processing company), this would be the ideal stay option for you. Tetra Pak main office is just 3-5 minutes walk from this hotel.

I personally did not see much difference between the 2 managements (Radisson and Best Western) except the fact that the checkin time has increased with Best Western taking over. Also, with Best Western, breakfast is a default option.

This hotel is less than 10 minutes drive from Lund Central Rail Station. There are plenty of taxis available near Lund Station. Approximate charge will be between 225-250 Swedish Kronas.

There are around 192 rooms an d 7 conference rooms.

Pros:

1. Well maintained property.

2. Rooms are modern, fairly new and comfortable.

3. Gym and sauna facility is available.

4. Decent spread of breakfast items.

5. They start serving breakfast from 6:30 AM onwards.

6. They have a clock room facility in case if you want to store your luggage.

7. Staff (especially at the restaurant) were very helpful.

8. Pet Friendly property.

9. Once I took food from subway. The reception staff helped me in warming it up using the microwave near the bar counter (we don’t have individual microwaves in the room).

10. Seems like bicycles can be borrowed free of charge at the hotel.

11. You can request the reception to arrange a taxi if you are looking for one. Please note that there is a lead time of 15-30 Minutes for the taxi to arrive.

Cons:

1. If you are coming from a different country, ensure to bring your own travel adapter (to plug into the socket for charging and so on)  as the hotel doesn’t provide that. Believe me, you wont find such adapters even in the main super markets in Lund like Coop , Lidl and so on. Local electronics shops might have.

2. Choice of channels on the TV is very very less.

3. This is more in a industrial area. So nothing fancy near by. Not even a restaurant. You might have to go to the city center for restaurants and so on.

5. Still water (2 bottles of carbonated water was available) and dental kit was not provided in the room, But was arranged when I called the reception.

6. No intercom facility to connect with reception or restaurant.

We stayed in this hotel for 4 nights in November 2021.

This is a 4 star hotel (around 19 floors) conveniently located, 10-15 minutes’ drive from Dubai International Airport and Downtown.

More Details:

Check in Time: 3 PM

Check out Time: 12 PM

Minimum Check in Age: 21 Years

Address: InterContinental Hotels, Dubai Festival City

Dubai Festival City, PO Box 45777, Dubai, UAE

T: +971 (0)4 701 1111    F: +971 (0)4 701 2223

E: reservation.dfc@ihg.com

For meetings and events: 

E: imeet@ihg.com

Key notes:

Mainly there are 4 dining options available here –> Sirocco, Zeste, Joes Backyard, Z Garden.

Guests can also benefit from free internet access in all areas.

Holiday Inn & Suites Dubai Festival City offers free parking.

All 496 rooms boast comforts, such as 24-hour room service, in addition to perks, such as air conditioning and dressing gowns.

Pets are not allowed at Dubai Festival City.

This hotel has 6 meeting rooms over 2 floors (325 is the maximum capacity in the largest room).

The breakfast buffet has so many selections.

Each member of the staff was helpful, courteous, and attentive.

The bar at 19th floor is excellent.

Concierge team was very helpful in arranging the taxis.

What’s nearby

• Zabeel Park 6.2 km
• BurJuman Mall 6.6 km
• Emirates Towers 7.6 km
• Dubai Museum 7.6 km
• Grand Mosque 7.7 km
• Gold Souq 8.1 km
• Dubai Mall 8.3 km
• Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo 8.5 km
• The Dubai Fountain 8.7 km
• Burj Khalifa 8.9 km
• Jumerah Mosque 9.4 km
• Al Mamzar Park 11.1 km
• Ikea 500metres

Service & facilities

• Hotel-owned car park
• Marked disabled parking space
• Outdoor swimming pool (8AM-8PM) / Indoor pool
• Fitness centre (8AM-10PM)
• Concierge Services

Room facilities

• WLAN with Internet access in rooms
• Wheelchair-friendly rooms in accordance with DIN 18024, 18025
• Satellite TV
• Desk
• Room safe
• Mini-bar
• Fridge
• Coffee machine/tea-maker
• Ironing machine for pants
• Iron + ironing board
• Temperature controls
• Hairdryer
• Bathrobes
• Emergency Cord/Button in Bedroom

In-house services

• Air conditioning in public areas
• ATM
• Classic concierge service
• Business center (24 hours)          
• Printer
• Copying
• Scanner
• Sightseeing tours
• Laundry service
• Store/mini supermarket

Kids Stay and Eat Free!

Kids aged 12 and under stay for free when sharing their parents’ room. Up to 2 kids ages 12 and under eat free per adult ordering from the main menu in any Holiday Inn on-site restaurant. Up to 4 kids per dining party.

Entry to Festival City Mall

There is a direct access from this hotel to Festival City Mall, offering over 500 stores.

The mall has everything you need supermarket, bank, dinning and shops like IKEA, Carrefour, Lulu Hypermarket, MAX and so on.

Slight Concern:

There are not enough staff at the reception area for such a big hotel, which makes check in or check out a bit delayed.

We stayed at ‘The Ritz-Carlton’ Resort Abu Dhabi for a night in November 2021.

Set against the backdrop of the Grand Mosque, this resort is spread across 57 acres and is located around 20 Kms (around 20 Minutes) from Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The hotel’s position is on the right side of the canal and most of the rooms on the pool/canal side have a good view of the same.

Guest Room Features & Amenities

• Separate shower and Bathtub
• Separate WC 
• High-speed wired and wireless Internet access 
• 42-inch LCD TV with local and international channels 
• Safety Locker
• 24-hour in-room dining 
• Laundry services
• Spacious wardrobe 
• Balcony with a good view of the pool/private beach

Property Features & Amenities

• Five Star Property
• 447 rooms and suites and 85 private villas.
• Private beach
• 1,600-square-meter outdoor pool (one of the city’s largest outdoor pools)
• 24-hour fitness centre
• Dedicated prayer rooms for ladies and gentlemen
• 24-hour currency exchange and ATM
• 8 Restaurants (Note: We didn’t have any food from the restaurants in this resort , so cannot comment much on the food quality/rates)
• Very near to Grand Mosque
• 15 minutes to City Centre
• This resort is 16 kms from Al Wahda Mall and 16.3 km from Abu Dhabi Mall.

Hotel Policies:

• Check In Time: 3 PM
• Check Out Time: 12 Noon
• Pets are not allowed
• Valid passport/Emirates ID required at check-in for each guest

Different Room Types:

• Junior Suite
• Executive Suite
• Club Executive Suite
• Garden Suite
• Garden House
• The Ritz – Carlton Suite
• Royal Suite

More details in official website : https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/uae/abu-dhabi/

Address: Al Maqta, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Pros:

Large room with balcony

Excellent / Friendly Staff

A short walk from the main building is Venetian Village, which offers additional waterfront dining outlets.

Housekeeping and check-in staff were very supportive.

Staff at the pool was hard working and very attentive. 

Being a very large property, it’s very interesting to explore around.

If you are looking for Taxis, Concierge team will arrange the same.

Check-in Process was very smooth (even during late night)

Good sound insulation in the rooms

Cons:

Bathroom fittings were slightly outdated

The Pool Noise levels were slightly on higher side

There are no much restaurants/shops nearby.

Summary:

The Ritz-Carlton is a large, well-designed hotel surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and with an enormous pool sitting in the centre. Definitely Recommended.

I am a Platinum holder of IHG Rewards Club. I stayed with my Family for one night at ‘Holiday Inn Pattaya’ in March 2015 and its indeed one of the best Holiday Inn Hotels that I have stayed in.

The kids pool and the bigger pool near the Restaurant area is really awesome.

The hotel also had a kids play room with different activities.

Its in the other end of the walking street and hence its in a less noisy area compared to other hotels.

The staff’s were very helpful.

Tiffany show theatre is just 10 minute’s walk from the hotel.

We got a Beach facing room and the view from the balcony was excellent.

There are a couple of Indian Restaurants nearby but we didn’t try food from there since we had a feeling like Indian Restaurants are costly in Thailand.

They will help you to get some good deals for Pattaya city tours.

More details in https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/pattaya/pyxpa/hoteldetail

Novotel Phuket Resort is nestled on a hillside overlooking Patong Bay on eight acres of tropical landscaped gardens, near to Patong Beach. The hotel features 217 contemporary rooms plus three-tiered pool facing to the Sea. We stayed in this hotel in March 2015.

Pros:
This is a beautiful resort near to the Patong Beach.
The staff is excellent, always willing to take care of every need with a smile.
On request, they had provided an excellent Beach/Sea facing room. The room was very large with multiple beds.
There are 3 pools with comfortable water temperature. Pools here are really nice and well maintained.
Walking around the hotel is interesting and curious. Lots of great photo spots.

Cons:
This is little far from the main city center. However, resort provides back And forth shuttle service. Do check with the resort for the timings.
Note : The last shuttle is at 7pm and the return is at 7.15pm, so if you are planning to go for dinner to the centre of Patong, you must come back using some other transportation options (Ex: Taxi, Bike Taxi)

The resort is on a hillside. Normally they arrange an electric vehicle for the travel from the main road to the reception area; else, you will have to climb slope/staircases.

Stayed with my family at ‘iCheck inn, Sukhumvit, Soi 2’ during March 2015.

I booked this hotel through my Country Club India membership.

Country Club has mixed type of properties, some are really good and some very bad. But this hotel at Bangkok was really a nice one.

(Special Note to country club, India members: I am quite sure that you might think twice before booking a country club property, may be due to some personal experience or due to some bad reviews read on Internet. But I can guarantee you that this is one of the good hotels, that you can book through country club. I have stayed here with my wife and kid for around 3 days)

Highlights:

– Situated near the Busy Sukhumvit street.
– Not a very big property but its clean and neat.
– Staff is friendly.
– They don’t have a full course of breakfast and have a limited menu. Food rates are on the higher side.
– They arrange Tuk-Tuk (regular) service from and to the main street.
– There is a metro station near by (you can take the Tuk-Tuk from the hotel).
– They have a good locker facility.
– Rate is very much affordable.
– Car parking seems to be limited, but not sure.
– Staff @ front office spoke English very well, which was very helpful.
– They arranged a private taxi for us to have a one day tour, It was quite safe and reasonable.
– There is a 7/11 shop , and a supermarket available at a walkable distance.

More details in : https://icheck-inn-sukhumvit-soi-2-bangkok.booked.net/

One Line Summary: Basic , Neat and affordable hotel in Sukhumvit street, Bangkok

I had stayed in ‘TM Land Hotel’ in March 2015.

There are 2 categories in the same campus : TM Land Hotel and TM Land Apartment.

TM Land Hotel has around 158 guest rooms.

TM Land Apartment offers service appartments on a monthly basis.

PROS:

• For one night stay, this would be a good option as rate is affordable.
• Breakfast was decent.
• Budget Stay; Value for money.
• The staff were extremely nice and friendly.
• Bathrooms are very clean.

CONS:

• I couldn’t find a single person in the Front office who understands English. We will find it very difficult to interact with them.
• Don’t have the basic gadgets like Pin connectors/adapters to charge the laptop and phone (for International tourists, it might be challenging).

More details in http://TM Land Serviced Hotel, Ayutthaya, Thailand

I stayed here at ‘Villa Cassandra’ with my family for a day in December 2016.

Pros:

• This Villa is a large house with 3 rooms located in a very quiet part of town.
• Very modern interior with top class fittings and much more comfortable than a traditional bungalow.
• The rooms were huge and neat and well maintained, we couldn’t think of any suggestions for improvement.
• Budget Stay; Value for money.
• The staff were extremely nice and friendly.
• Bathrooms were very clean.

Cons:

• The Location might initially confuse you a little, with lot of lefts and rights.
• Very limited menu for breakfast (western style).. Lunch and Dinner is not available.. but lot of dining options available nearby.

One Line Summary: Excellent and Calm place to stay within Nuwara Eliya and all the rooms are well maintained.

I have stayed here in Earl’s Regent hotel, with my family in December 2016.

Cons:

Little far from City Center

WiFi was slow

Our room was in the building which is on left side of the main reception.

That building didn’t have an escalator. During checkout, we had to use the steps to bring down the heavy luggage. So if you have any old people in the group, please request for a room in the new building.

More details on : https://www.aitkenspencehotels.com/regentkandy/

One Line Summary: Good and decent hotel within the outskirts of Kandy City Center.

“The journey not the arrival matters.”

T.S. Eliot

I stayed in Flora Parc Barcelona along with my Family in March 2019.

Key Points to Note:

This hotel is around 10-11 Kms from Airport.

You can take Bus L99 from Terminal 1. The bus journey will take around 30+ Minutes. Bus stop is opposite to this hotel.

Please note that there is an Airport Free Shuttle bus service between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at the El Prat Airport. So, you can use this service to travel between the terminals (as they are far from each other)

The First bus from this hotel side to Airport is only at 5 AM. So, if you have an early flight, you might have to spend around 30-35 Euros for a cab.

Positives:

We had an early morning flight and the person in the front office arranged a taxi, on request.

The bus stop is near to the hotel. So, you can easily use the public transportation.

Have not tried the restaurant food, but you have lot of street food options in a walk-able distance.

Decent price for a Barcelona hotel.

Wifi connectivity was available in the room.

Negatives:

Very basic hotel with small rooms.

Seems it is a little old hotel.

Basic stuff like Dental kit was not available in the room. When checked with the reception, even they didn’t have one.

We cannot consider this as a typical ‘transit/layover’ type of hotel, as it is little far from the El Prat airport.

Basic stuff like drinking water bottles was not available (not sure if it’s common in Barcelona hotels)

More details can be found at https://floraparc.com/en/