Last night's hotel: Marriott Huntingdon

Pretty ok if you have a car.  On an industrial esrate so hard to go anywhere if you dont.  Food good, wifi good.  Typical Marriott.

This week's hotel: Hotel Kraka, Unna, Germany

Little German town withsome old walls and god restaurants.  Typucal German business hotel.  Towels not luxurious, bath/shower, good breakfast, connected to bar. Wifi good apart from my room where it was not existent.  So it goes.  Happy to return.  75 € per night b&b

Today's hotel: Jurys Inn, Birmingham

Reliably good.

Last weeks hotel: Travelodge Royal Scot, Kings Cross Road, London

Well this is not where Imthought.  It is not one of the two opposite KiNgs Cross station but 5 or more minutes walk away.  It has clearly seen better days, and apparently a £12m upgrade is due this year.  I stayed two nights which cost £139 and £74 respectively, without breakfast (thought they threw one in when my room key did not work twice.

At the lower rice it is reasonabke - at the higher I would have been disappointed.

Wifi ok if £3/day.  Shower a bit anemic

Area interesting

Last night's hotel: Travelodge Bethnal Green

So, ok.  A Travelodge.  i thought Berhnal Green was going up market.  I didnt see much sign apart from the house prices.  

Its ok. Wifi pay for £3 is ok.  Shower a bit weak.  But quite affordable and only 3 mins from tube station.  Would stay again

The other night's hotel: Premier Inn, Borough Market, London

Very pleased with this place.  Not cheap at £190, but I'm not paying.  Its a pretty much standard Premier Inn, but the location is brilliant - just off the Thames.  The breakfast room (in neighbouring pub) looks t onto the Thames and St Pauls.  The Glove is three minutes away.  And the Golden Hynde.  Really interesting area too, which is gentrifying but still looks like yer actual London.

Shower good apart from being an on the wall dispenser.  Wifi ok

Last night's hotel: Park Inn by Radisson, Telford

Very good and very reasonable.  Good shower (lovely bathroom), comfy, good wifimthat it was easy to log on to.  Breakfast   Fine but a bit dry.

Tonight's hotel: IBIS Blackfriars, London

Its ok.  Wifi good.  Bathroom is one of those pod things which I'm not fond of.  Very quiet given the location.  Bar restaurant rather funky, if narrow

It's ok.

Last night's hotel: Hampton by Hilton, Birmingham

No food in evening, but next to a Domino pizza.  Breakfast rather dry, and not in the best part of town.  But good wifi, good plug points and very convenient for the tram.  So, fine

Tonight's hotel: Jury's Inn, Watford

Tonight's hotel; room 614 Novotel, Birmingham

Excellent wifi, cold though, shower not quite enough headroom, breakfast ok to good

Last nights hotel : Pentahotel, Birmngham

Achingly funky, awful wifi.

Golden Jubille Conference Hotel Glasgow

This is a weird one.  For a start it is a hospital.  Yes a hospital.  The hotel is round the back.  Second it doesn't have TVs, it has Macs.  Yes a Mac with freeview.

Only thing to object to is that the bedroom is too dark.  Like many other hotels it just does not have enough ambient light in the room.  Lots of lamps, but that it just a pain.

But very good overall.

Last nights hotel : Pentahotel, Birmngham

Achingly funky, awful wifi.

Tonight's room

Secret location

Crown plaza Gerrards Cross room 307

As last week

Malmaison Birmingham

Very nice.  Excellent continental breakfast - not worth the extra for a full english.  Good free wifi.  Achingly cool, which means dark.  No car park so add on an extra £20.  Part of the Mailbox along with Harvey Nicks.

Holiday Inn Express, Exeter

Ok.  Tricky to get to though close to motorway.  Puzza ok.  Wifi free but poor.

Last nights hotel: Crowne Plaza Gerrard's Cross

Very comfortable, good free wifi, nice restaurant, gym if I had time to use it, but oddly cold (temperature not atmosphere).  Some free water, kit kat, soft drinks in minibar.  Which is nice.

Mercure Swindon

This week's hotel: Jury's Inn, Swindon

Gosh the Magic Roundabout is frightening!  No car park but one about 5 mins (actually across the road but the entrance us on the wrong side).  Cheap but breakfast not included.  Breakfast rather dried. Bit noisy.  Thin walls?  Shower curtain and wall mounted shampoo.  Variable water strength and temperature. The comped Internet is blisteringly fast. Its fine enough.  Travelodge next door.  No gym

Hotel 53 in York

Never stayed there but had many successful events there.  Sorry to hear they have been flooded.  Lovely people, lovely venue

A forgotten hotel: Jameirah Creekside hotel, Dubai

One I missed out. Two,stop,over . It was lovely.  Inevitably it was not actuallly Beside the Creek.  But you could see it from there. Probably.

Tonights hotel: doubletree by Hilton, Cambridge

Great view, great balcony

Tonight's hotel: Carlton al Moaibed hotel, Damman

Last night's hotel: Mariott al Jaddaf, Dubai

Lovely, if not doubt expensive.  Rather in an island in a sea if desert at the moment.  Nothing around it but a petrol station.  No doubt that will change.  Stonking wifi (free), great plumbing, hightly trained staff, great attention to detail.  Free shuttle to Dubai Mall.  Just wish I want under the weather and could enjoy it more.

Tonight's hotel: Premier Inn Dumfries

Perfectly servicable

Last nights hotel London Continental Hotel

Back to an old haunt, now surpringly expensive

This week's hotel: The Platinum hotel, Muscat, Oman

First the good news: lovely staff, good location, great city, amazing view from rooftop pool, fantastic country.  Then the intermediate news: the decor tries hard but the finish is not top notch.  Finally the bad news: intermittant (but free and sometimes good) wifi, cafe not great shakes, plumbing a bit random (which way is cold for the sink?).  Not the end of the world, is it?

Last night's hotel: the Wharfhouse, Canal Basin, Gloucester

Rather lovely.  Imagine it would fantastic in summer.  Lovely room with bicvies, super breakfast.  Only problems are that is is in the middle of nowhere

This week's hotel: La Fermee, Rimboval, France

Last nights hotel London Continental Hotel

Back to an old haunt, now surpringly expensive

Last night's hotel: De Vere Devonport hotel, Greenwich

A favourite

Last Friday's hotel: Radisson Edwardian, London

Lastnight's hotel: Premier Inn, Pacific Quay, Glasgow

Nice food, very comfy, but a bit slow for food - better book.

Yesterday's hotel room: The Carlton Hotel, Rugby

Very nice people ans very convenient for IChemE and the station.  But cold and noisy.

Quaint wifi password, ok shower, ok full English.  Work-a-day.

Tnight's hotel room: Room 103, Sudbury House, Farringdon

So far so good.  Looks lovely, restaurant and bar look far too nice for the likes of me.  Should be here next week so will explore more then

Last night's hotel: room 510, Jurys Inn, Broad Street, Birmingham

Have I completed the Broad Street set yet?

Tonight's hotel: Jury's Inn Southampton

No parking, but next to a very nice park. Rather expensive, but I'm not paying.  In something of an uncertain area I think.  Wifi is pay, but I got comped.   Restaurant ok

Last night's hotel: travelodge central Bristol

Be careful which Travelodge Central Bristol you go to.  I went to the wrong one first.  This one is Anchor road

Last week's hotel: One Fort Hill, Hertford

More of a B&B.  Just three rooms.  Lovely position on the edge of Hertford town centre, great wifi, lovely home cooked breakfast.  Only minor whinge is that the shower coulld have more pressure.

Not to everyon's taste I am sure - particularly if you like the minimalist approach.  But it was a lovely change from the identikit hotel chains.

This week's hotel: Thistle, Newcastle

A turret room, 505.  Which may have been an upgrade from the booking, but either way the hotel was full.  Directly across the road from Central Station, and I mean about 10m, but no noise from the station.  The same was not true of Newcastle's vibrant nightlife - the hotel provided ear plugs by default.  It didnt bother me anyway. Good shower, great free wifi. Full English contributed to my expanding waistline, but coffee took a time.  I would be happy to go back.  I might even pay.

It was the longest day in a Northern city, so I went for a late walk and reminded myself of its strikingly grand architecture.  Pubs seem to be transitioning into clubs, and the Bigg market looks like it is heading downhill (which of course it literally does).  High Bridge seems to be losing shops for restaurants and hotels.  Wish I had more time to explore.

Last week's hotel: IBIS City Centre Coventry

Well it's not cheap, for what it is.    Parking and Breakfast, which is not great, are extra.  But at least the wifi was free and ok.  I am not fond of their bathroom pods which have a shower and sink and toilet, but it was ok (at least until I slipped trying to get out of it).  I was not paying the bill, and I think that I was generous last time in saying it was cheap.  I get rooms in London for less, which is my benchmark.  Admittedly not nice rooms.

The major good thing about this hotel is that it is 5 minutes walk from the station, and also 5 minutes from where I was working (and these were not opposite directions!).

I was in a bad mood when I got there because the Birmingham-Coventry line was closed because of a fatality, and I had to take a taxi from Birmingham New Street.  and when I did get there the key did not work first time.  Again.  But it does the job. And things could have been worse.

Breakfast is a sort of small scale buffet featuring limited choice and dried up eggs for about £8.  Not good enough to be enthused, not bad enough to be angry.

Birmingham City Centre

Dodgy keys, reasonble wifi, no parking, strong shower but very low.  Bit dated and worn, but ok.

Last week's hotel: Enclave suites, Orlando, Florida

Well, I really like it.  Ok it is clearly getting a bit worn and used, but it is literally 5 minutes drive from Universal Studios.  By which I mean 5 minutes after finally getting in your car in the Universal car park, you are pulling into the Enclave Suites car park.

The staff are pleasant enough if not exactly world leaders in customer service, the pool(s) are clean, the showers are good, the cleaner's really do clean, and it is really rather affordable.  For a family on any kind of a budget it was great.  My one real gripe is that the card keys were just as unreliable as anywhere, which meant a couple of trips to reception.  Oh, and though they were willing to let us have a mail order delivery they could not quite get with the programme about telling the mail order company that we were guests.  Perhaps I should have tipped more.

It is quite likely we shall return.

Tonight's hotel: the varsity hotel and spa, Cambridge

Lovely, if pricey - £165/night.  Mind you it is graduation week, so the hotels are full.  Shame I am

not going to have time to take advantage of the great location, the spa etc.

Room is huge, and the bathroom has a balcony.  The tv is bigger than at home.  Only negative is that water pressure is not great.

Star Wars Day

May the 4th be with you

monday's hotel: room G06 Hyde Park Boutique hotel

Just behind reception, so could have been noisy but not a problem for me.  Bumped up from a single, which was nice.

As usual good wifi, shower, clean, roomy, comfortable.... If it was closer to the office it would be perfect as opposed to just very good.

Yesterday's hotel: room 211 Hilton Doubletree Cambridge

You don't really get the size of the bed from the picture.  Vast.  Very nice location, great breakfast, good shower.  Wifi free to Hilton Honours members otherwise a ridiculous £15/day - and though ok it was a bit patchy.  Lovely location on the Cam.  I am sure it is reassuringly expensive, but I didn't see the bill. Only nit to pick was the pillows were a bit soft, and one of the lifts wasn't working - small stuff.