Cash-conscious tourists in the UK have flocked to visitor attractions with free entry, according to figures just released.
Britons staying at home for their vacations, and overseas tourists attracted by the weak pound helped Britain’s leading attractions welcome 10.9 per cent more visitors in 2009 than the previous year.
The British Museum topped the list with 5.57 million visits, followed by the National Gallery (4.78 million) and Tate Modern (4.74 million). All these have free entrance except for major exhibitions.
Of the attractions charging, Blenheim Palace enjoyed a surge in visitors, welcoming more than half a million – 43.6 per cent more than in 2008. Blenheim, where Winston Churchill was born, is a unique example of English baroque architecture, set in 2,000 acres of Oxfordshire parkland landscaped by Capability Brown.
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions has said there’s a feeling of optimism in the tourism industry about the immediate future, but it’s called for more government funding to promote Britain to potential tourists abroad.
by Andy Moreton
If you’re coming to the UK this year, Luxique can guide you to the perfect accommodation, with a wide selection of luxury hotels in London. We can also help you book luxury hotels in many other parts of the UK, including the university city of Oxford, close to Blenheim Palace.
We all love those hotels that go the extra mile for their guests, but here’s one free service you might think you can do without.
The Holiday Inn chain in the UK is to pilot a scheme in Manchester whereby someone sleeps in your bed to warm it up before you get in. Sleep experts say a cold bed inhibits sleep – the ideal temperature is 20–24 degrees Celsius (68–75 Fahrenheit).
The human electric blanket will be dressed in an all-in-one sleeper suit and spend five minutes under the duvet.
Holiday Inn spokeswoman, Jane Bednall, said:
“People want to leave the cold outside and climb into a warm bed. The service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed, warming it up before guests climb in to give them a great night’s sleep away from the cold. Of course they jump out before you jump in.”
Of course. But it could take some explaining if you forgot to tell your partner you’d booked the service …
by Andy Moreton
Forgive me, British readers, while I briefly explain the traditions of November 5th to our overseas friends.
Every year, on that date, bonfires are lit and fireworks set off to mark the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 when Guy Fawkes and his associates planned to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.
It’s known as Guy Fawkes’ Night or Bonfire Night and part of the modern jolly celebrations involve making a Guy Fawkes effigy and burning it on the bonfire.
It would be true to say, then, that if your real name is Guy Fawkes, you come in for a fair bit of ridicule and abuse around this time of the year. So … and you’ll be pleased to hear I’m finally coming to the point of this story …
… the Future Inns hotel chain in the UK has promised a free night’s stay between November 5th and 11th to any Guy Fawkes who can prove that he really does legally bear that name. The offer – for a stay in Cardiff, Plymouth or Bristol – is also open to anyone named Catherine Wheel (a popular and colourful firework that’s fixed to a tree or post and spins wildly when lit).
Future Inns’ Managing Director, Del Brett, said:
“We hope our offer will provide some respite for the namesakes of Guy Fawkes. All our rooms are sound-proofed so anyone who wants to escape fireworks celebrations will be able to enjoy a restful night.”
A quick search of Facebook produced 500 people purporting to be called Guy Fawkes, but how many of them have the birth certificate to prove it …?
by Andy Moreton
We’re burning to tell you all about Luxique’s spectacular selection of luxury hotels in London and many other cities in the UK.
There are ambitious multi-million pound plans to transform Northern Ireland’s oldest prison into a four-star hotel.
Armagh jail, which is a listed building, has stood on a prime site in Armagh city for 230 years, during which time it hosted numerous executions. It closed as a prison in 1986.
It was one of the key detention centres for women prisoners during the sectarian unrest (‘The Troubles’) that blighted Northern Ireland for more than thirty years.
Bernadette Devlin, who was jailed there for six months for her part in riots in 1969, commented: “I just hope the food is better there now.” The former Republican MP, who now works with a community group, added: “My main concern would be ensuring that such a beautiful building is maintained and that the money from the sale is put back into improving prison conditions.”
A spokesman for Armagh City Council, which owns the site, said it had chosen the developer who had converted Oxford jail into the award-winning Malmaison Hotel. The council liked the sympathetic way it had treated that project.
by Andy Moreton
With The Troubles now in the past, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has been extolling the delights of a visit there. Luxique offers the most competitive rates at three luxury hotels in Belfast.
I’ve just been re-visiting an old haunt – the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of England.
Coincidentally, I see it’s one of the Great British Getaways for 2009 recommended by our friends at the magazine, Condé Nast Traveller.
Brighton became popular towards the end of the 18th century through the patronage of the Prince Regent. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and had the Royal Pavilion constructed. The Victorian era saw the building of many other attractions, including the Grand Hotel and the Palace Pier.
These days, Brighton is a vibrant town with attractive architecture, plenty of shops of all kinds - especially antiques and clothing - and restaurants. And it’s all neatly contained within a small area. With a big student population, it has a young feel.
Brighton is only about an hour’s train ride from London and there are some really chic boutique hotels to enjoy. We agree with Condé Nast that two of the coolest are Drakes, which is set in two Regency townhouses with great sea views, and Myhotel Brighton, where cutting-edge design meets feng shui.
by Andy Moreton
The chairman of VisitBritain, the UK’s tourist authority, has said grumpy staff and poor value for money at hotels are in danger of deterring overseas visitors when the economy needs them most.
Christopher Rodrigues said that at some hotels, tourists had to put up with a failure to provide basics, while others were blighted by Basil Fawlty-type characters who were bad-tempered and rude.
“We’re now in an environment where you have to do quality. Poor value for money and poor service cost jobs and will cost more jobs in a recession,” said Rodrigues.
The decline in the value of the British pound against the Euro and the US dollar should make holidays in the UK attractive to tourists and VisitBritain is launching a ‘value campaign’ that aims to change Britain’s reputation abroad for being expensive.
Rodrigues reckons earnings could fall by up to £4 billion ($6 billion) leading to the loss of up to 50,000 jobs this year unless standards are raised.
“We need to improve service levels and attention,” said Rodrigues. “When you ask people what’s memorable it doesn’t have to be five-star. A really nice English breakfast served with a smile and a comfortable bed, where there’s a clean bar of soap and the towels are fluffy – that can be all it takes.”
Just as a footnote, I heard this the other day: “The recession’s got so bad, hotels have started stealing the guests’ towels.”
by Andy Moreton
Take advantage of the weak pound with a trip to the UK. We can promise (fingers crossed here) service with a smile at any number of luxury and boutique UK hotels.
Work on a £2.3 million ($3.5 million) hotel project at Suffolk in eastern England has been held up because a colony of rare great crested newts was found in a pond at the site.
Heavy machinery was removed while the environmental watchdog, Natural England, and the local Wildlife Trust relocated the newts.
The great crested newt population in the UK has been dwindling because of over-development near their habitats. It’s an endangered species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, making it an offence to kill, harm or disturb them.
The 47-room budget Travelodge at Lowestoft had been due to open by Christmas, but because of the four-month delay, it will now be ready in April.
by Andy Moreton
For something a little bit more upscale, Luxique has several wonderful luxury hotels in East Anglia, including the charming Hintlesham Hall, a country house hotel with gourmet dining.
Our friends at the excellent Conde Nast Traveller magazine have just announced the results of their readers’ survey on the world’s best holidays and hotels.
Voted the most popular leisure hotel in Europe was La Residencia in Majorca, which was lovingly and luxuriously fashioned from two 17th Century farmhouses. It was where Lord (Andrew) Lloyd Webber put up the guests for his glittering 60th birthday party earlier this year.
For the Middle East and Africa, the Chedi Muscat in Oman came out on top. Clearly its guests share the hotel’s claim that it’s ‘an oasis of mysticism and luxury.’
In the UK, The Grove in Hertfordshire on the outskirts of London was the most popular choice. It scored highly not only for its leisure facilities (it boasts one of the finest new golf courses in Europe) but also for its value for money.
In the Overseas Business Hotel category, five of the top 20 were in Dubai. But out in front was the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai, described in Luxique’s guide as simply ‘The Grand Dame of India.’
And the island that consistently tops luxury holiday polls for its beaches and facilities is the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Luxique offers a choice of ten fabulous luxury hotels in Maldives.
by Andy Moreton
What sort of aroma on your hotel pillowcase and sheets would transport you into the most comforting sleep?
That’s the question the UK budget hotel chain, Travelodge, recently asked some of its clients and it’s now smell-testing a few. Four of its hotels are offering a choice of:
• The sea (the most popular)
• Freshly-cut grass (‘a reminder of summer’)
• Baby powder (‘the ideal comforter for doting parents’)
• Home-baked apple pie (‘to bring back memories of childhood’) and
• Chocolate.
And clients can even take the sheets home with them.
Travelodge sleep director (no, really), Leigh McCarron, said: “Interestingly the top scents that would help Brits to drop off to sleep easily are those associated with partners, children, home and holidays rather than the traditional lavender and vanilla.”
There were a few less appealing, not to say gross, replies to the Travelodge survey such as vapour rub, curry, the scent of a pet and a partner’s natural body odour.
by Andy Moreton
There’s talk of building an upmarket hotel on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco, the site of one of the world’s most notorious prisons.
‘The Rock,’ is the city’s second most popular tourist attraction after the cable cars, and the US National Park Service is eager to offer visitors the chance to spend a night there.
Guests wouldn’t sleep in the cell blocks that once housed notorious criminals such as Al Capone, George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly or Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz). Instead, the hotel would be housed in another part of the famous penitentiary: Building 64 - the guards’ quarters, which boast impressive views across the San Francisco Bay.
Not everyone agrees with the idea, so the plan will have to be approved by city residents. Concern has also been expressed by San Francisco firefighters, who would have to race over to the island in the case of a fire or another emergency overnight.
So the hotel idea seems a long way off yet. But if you have a particular fascination for staying in hotels that were once prisons, try the Four Seasons in Istanbul, Turkey or the Malmaison in Oxford, UK.
by Andy Moreton
