Tuesday, May 11, 2010

A good travel website

I've been impressed by the travel website: www.TripAdvisor.com and used it to plan B&B locations during my travels last month. I was aware of the site, as I'd been receiving their updates for awhile. However, as a result of a chat with another attendee at Stitches West in February (thanks Patricia), I gained a better opinion of the standards of the site. (I receive a number of travel newsletters and usually read them with a somewhat suspicious view--I'm never quite sure of what is a realistic assessment and what is a veiled advertisement.)

I can heartily recommend two B & B's in Britain: the White House in Canterbury (www.whitehousecanterbury.co.uk) and 40 York Road in Royal Tunbridge Wells (www.yorkroad.co.uk) Both properties lived up to their descriptions and rankings in every aspect--they were clean, comfortable, and centrally located with helpful, congenial hosts. Patricia at 40 York Road (another Patricia) told me that the reviewers at TripAdvisor were absolutely "incorruptible" and conducted a thorough investigation before granting an inclusion on the site.

Another property I like in the U.K. is the hotel chain, Premier Inn, www.premierinn.com. I've stayed at the location on Bath Road, near Heathrow Airport several times. It is good value. I first became aware of the hotels when I was researching a hotel near Heathrow when I travelled with my family nearly two years ago. It suited us well as the hotel allowed three in a room and there was a play area in the lobby for the children. (A good outlet for youthful energies.) The shuttle service between the hotel and the airport operates twice an hour and charges 4.00 GBP per adult per trip, but free for children. The chain has expanded to a number of locations--I think sometime I'll try one of their properties in central London.

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