That’s a fare drop
Walking in to one of London’s most iconic hotels, this very grand entrance feels like you are on a glamorous film set. The inside is as impressive as the outside. Staff at checkin were friendly and efficient.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
With a base in London’s famous theatre land you are surrounded by glitz and history. Nearby is the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. With such extensive transport links, anywhere in the city is easy to get to.
THE ROOM
There are 298 guest rooms, including 19 suites. Our double room was full of character with a mixture of deco and modern fixtures and fittings. The bathroom was large including 2 sinks and a bath/shower. Dinner was fabulous, served in the pretty Homage restaurant. Surrounded by Edwardian columns and sparkling chandeliers hanging overhead, our meal was just perfect. We then had cocktails in Good Godfrey’s Bar and Lounge right near the lobby. There are plenty of great pubs a few minutes’ walk away too. If you don’t want to go out and about you can also enjoy afternoon tea at the Waldorf with a pianist and harpist setting the mood. Breakfast was served in the Homage restaurant with choices from a full English to continental and other breakfast favourites on the menu.
THE SERVICE
Even though this is a big hotel, the service felt personal and the staff are on hand to help with anything you need.
THE SCENE
The grandeur is just breathtaking. There is a reason why this hotel is so celebrated.
LOVED
The Edwardian building, glamour, beauty and the sense of history.
HATED
That we only stayed one night.
VERDICT
Just perfect.
BOTTOM LINE
Rooms start from £299.
CHECK IT OUT
waldorf.hilton.com.
THE FOOD
WANT to know where air fares for this summer have fallen the most from last year? Kayak.co.uk has done the hard work for you – showing that Reykjavik in Iceland is the biggest bargain, with flight prices down 38 per cent on last summer. Air fares to Barcelona and Ljubljana have dropped 22 per cent while Ottawa,Newark and Nashville are more than 20 per cent less. WILL the world be your oyster this year – or will it be a staycation under canvas? Whether your budget’s £70 or £5,000, let’s see how far your pound will go. The cheapest getaway is always going to be camping. A pitch on a UK campsite will cost around £10 a night, or £70 a week, but you could upgrade by choosing a ready-to-sleep mobile home or static caravan. Immediately the price jumps to around £250 for a unit that sleeps four. Lots of choice on pitchup.com.
Head across the Channel under your own steam and you are instantly in higher-spending territory. But sites like Brittany’s Les Ormes, lesormes.com, have all kinds of on-site attractions – water park, golf, horse riding... So a week’s camping pitch here in June will cost you upwards of £200, to which must be added your cross-Channel ferry.
Alternatively trust in a camping specialist to make all arrangements and provide the tents and mobile homes – expect to pay from £300 for a home that sleeps six, on a site in the northern half of France. You’ll pay more if you want to venture south. See venueholidays.com.
For families on a budget, these big European sites allow a lot of freedom, and there’s often a sense of community with other British families. If you prefer your privacy and your own front door, the huge cottage rental industry can also be inexpensive, with a June week in a pretty cottage in Northumberland, sleeping four, selling for around £400 depending on location. See sykescottages.co.uk.
If you are ready for a bit more of an adventure you can save money by crossing the Channel. Gites de France – en.gites-de-france. com – has a massive listing of properties. A June week in northern France can be as little as £300 – no different to a campsite.
As with the camping, if you head further south and want to include a pool the price will more than double – villasdumonde.com. But it can still be good value for a family group. For many, a holiday is not a holiday without early morning queues at the airport. And the Mediterranean – Spain, France, Italy, Turkey – is invariably the go-to place for summer sun.
But have you considered the beaches of Bulgaria? Resorts such as Sunny Beach and Golden Sands offer some of the cheapest package weeks around, at around £300 per person in June with flights, hotel and breakfast. See balkanholidays.co.uk.
If you’d rather stick to more mainstream destinations a week on a Greek Island such as Crete in a self-catering apartment, is around £400pp. See olympicholidays.com. Move across to the popular Spanish mainland – to places such as the Costa del Sol – and the price quickly goes up again to around £450pp for a week in June. See tui.co.uk. Biking and hiking come in various guises. In its cheapest manifestation, cycle hostelling and hiker camping will cost little if you do your own planning and provide your own equipment.
If you want to get a specialist walking operator involved and go with a group of like-minded people, then a week in somewhere spectacular like Austria, half board, with flights, will cost you around Many M people rent a vehicle overseas, but bu the ultimate road-tripping destinations de are the US and Canada.
A fly-drive expedition down Florida, ta taking you from Orlando to the Fl Florida Keys on an itinerary combining be beaches and theme parks, will cost fr from around £700 a week per person.
That includes flights, the vehicle,