Waiting for your flight may just have become more bareable

There is nothing easy about trying to grab a few hours’ sleep between connecting flights on those uncomfortable airport chairs, where plastic armrests and wafer thin foam pads hinder any chance of comfort. Combined with the drone of security and boarding announcement, excited children and stressed parents (not to mention the sounds and smells coming from the person next to you) it’s usually a long, trying and uncomfortable wait before you are able to board your flight for yet more insufficient rest.
While some airport terminals do have connecting hotels where you can gather a few hours of contented rest (probably the only time most of us would consider paying for a hotel by the hour), the rates are usually too steep for most to consider this an option.

An affordable solution is on the horizon however and may be coming to an airport (or even train or bus station) near you.

The Sleep Box is a budget friendly, compact hotel room featuring a modest 4sq meters of space, with single bed and a lockable door so weary travelers are able to grab a little rest in peace and security.

There are no en suite facilities and with just a plug needed to connect the rooms’ electricity, units are entirely mobile (think small garden shed with a bed inside) and can be installed in any space, without the need for extensive renovations or remodeling, making this new innovation not only practical but very affordable.

They are gradually being seen in hotels, hostels and even offices (for overworked employees) around Europe with plans to introduce these to the USA in 2012.

Prices range depending on location but are typically around $50 per night or $15 an hour for those in airport terminals.

Photo Credit: SleepBox

Hotel Opera in Paris, France

Travelling close to the holiday season can often put a strain on your budget, but the Concorde Hotels and Resort group is offering the chance to make your money go further.

Stay in any Concorde Hotel in Europe between now and March 31st and your Euros will go further with the Night Bonus Offer; guest will receive a daily voucher of €30 or €50 which can be put to use in the hotel’s restaurant or bars.

Plus, if you’re travelling in a group you can also combine the offer with the Friends and Family package: when you book two or more rooms you receive a complimentary breakfast and a 50% discount on the second room.

The Concorde Group have hotels in nine countries and 20 cities around the world including: Prague, Boston, Tokyo, Geneva, Barcelona, Cairo, and Berlin. Concorde hotels can also be found in eight French cities (Cannes, Lyon, Marseilles, Nice, Nimes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, and Paris). 

All the hotels offer a luxurious stay with modern rooms and top class facilities, traditional and international cuisine is also available in any of the hotels highly rated restaurants.

For more information or to book call reservations at
1-800-888-4747 or visit the  Concorde Hotels website.

Photo Credit: Concorde Hotels and Resorts

Cromwell Crown Hotel, courtesy of TripAdvisor

The hotels, B&Bs, and inns of England have a dark side. At the budget level especially, that dark side often comes in the form of dirt and mold.

Have you stayed in a disgusting hotel in the UK? If so, Darren Cronian of the TravelRants blog wants your photos. He’s on a crusade to clean up British inns and he’s compiling a fame and shame photo collection that will be plotted on a map.

He’s had his own bad experiences and has heard plenty more from readers. “As a consumer who travels on a budget I have often stayed in hotels around Britain that are dirty beyond words. It does not matter how much you have spent on a hotel room, the minimum you should expect is a clean room.” With the Olympics coming to London in 2012, Cronian believes the country’s reputation is at stake.

This is not a campaign based on just his own bad experiences. When TripAdvisor ran its list of the world’s dirtiest hotels, England showed up in force in the European section, taking spots 3, 4, 5, and 8.

In the pre-internet days, if a hotel was poorly maintained and unclean, they could get away with it for quite a while. The place had to be called out in a guidebook or through word of mouth. Most magazines and newspapers just ignore the bad spots, preferring to always stay focused on the positive.

Now, of course, everyone has a megaphone, so bad hotels and inns can’t hide under the dirty carpet. Former guests leave comments on TripAdvisor like “It is the most disgusting, dirty, grotty hotel I have ever ever stayed in” and “The staff were rude, the rooms were unclean, I got bit by bed bugs!” (Both of those comments on the Cromwell Crown Hotel in London.)

British budget hotels have long been dogged by reports of uncleanliness, with alarming reports regularly showing up in newspapers like The Guardian, The Sun, and the Daily Mail.

But hey, maybe Travelrant’s campaign is hitting when things are already on the upswing. In 2010, the UK had 8 of the 10 dirtiest hotels on the TripAdvisor list. Now they’re down to 4, with the former #1 Grosvenor Hotel managing to fall off the list completely. (Though it’s still rated #675 of 755 B&Bs/Inns in Blackpool, England.

To upload your dirty hotels photos, follow this link.

To avoid all those and end up somewhere better, see Uptake’s section on Top Hotels in London and others throughout England.

Story by Tim Leffel, author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations and editor of Perceptive Travel webzine, featuring the best travel stories from wandering book authors. He has managed to avoid staying in any of the hotels mentioned in this story…

Saskawa Lodge at Singita Grumeti Reserves

Travel + Leisure, one of the industry’s leading consumer magazines, has released its annual list of the world’s best in travel, as decided by its readers.

In the hotels category, it lists the top 100 over-all hotels, and then breaks down the lists by geographic regions.

In the Top 100 category, I found it interesting that of the top 10, six were in Africa and several of those were luxury camps – glamping, I believe they call it. Only one North American resort cracked the top 10, the Triple Creek Ranch in Montana.

Here’s the top 10 of the Top 100 list, as determined by Travel + Leisure readers:

1. Singita Grumeti Reserves (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
2. Singita Sabi Sand (Sabi Sand Wildtuin, South Africa)
3. Royal Malewane (Kruger area, South Africa)
4. Ol Donyo Lodge (Kenya Game Parks)
5. Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur, India)
6. Triple Creek Ranch (Darby, Montana, USA)
7. Madarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
8. Oberoi Rajvilas (Jaipur, India)
9. Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
10. Serengeti Migration Camp (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)

A View from the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, Illinois

Looking at the winners by region, here are the top picks by the magazine’s readers:

Continental U.S. and Canada:

• Top Resort – Blackberry Farm (Walland, TN)
• Top Large City Hotel – The Peninsula (Chicago, IL)
• Top Small City Hotel – Eliot Hotel (Boston, MA – though I’m not sure I’d call Boston a “small” city)
• Top Inn – Triple Creek Ranch (Darby, MT)

Hawaii:

• Top Resort – Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Hawaii – the Big Island)

The Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas:

• Top Resort – Nisbet Plantation Beach Club (Nevis, Bahamas)

Central and South America:

• Top Resort – Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)
• Top City Hotel – Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Mexico:

• Top Resort – One&Only Palmilla (Los Cabos)
• Top City Hotel – Four Seasons Hotel México, D.F. (Mexico City)

Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Lodge at Kauri Cliffs (Matauri Bay, New Zealand)
• Top City Hotel – The Langham (Melbourne, Australia)

Europe:

• Top Resort – Hotel Caruso (Ravello, Italy)
• Top Large City Hotel – Stafford London by Kempinski (London, England)
• Top Small City Hotel – Milestone Hotel (London, England)
• Top Inn/Small Country Hotel – Hotel Villa Cipriani (Asolo, Italy)

Asia:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur, India)
• Top City Hotel – Mandarin Oriental (Bangkok, Thailand)

Africa and the Middle East:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Singita Grumeti Reserves (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
• Top City Hotel – Cape Grace Hotel (Cape Town, South Africa)

All winners were chosen by readers who voted based on five criteria: rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, and value.

The full list of “best of” picks can be found online at the Travel + Leisure website.

[Photos courtesy Singita Game Reserves and The Peninsula Chicago]