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Showing posts from March, 2020

Afternoon Tea, Gravetye Manor

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On Saturday 29th Feb, we spent our leap day having afternoon tea at Gravetye Manor. The afternoon tea was held in a beautiful wooden clad room and had the most incredible fireplace, which was lit when we went in. The room was so cosy and had a very chilled vibe as there are only a handful of tables per sitting. We could have quite happily sat in there all afternoon drinking tea and keeping warm by the fire. (Source :  https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk/the-manor/photo-gallery/#tab_the-manor )  As a group of 4, we were a fussy bunch in terms of food and out of the 4 of us, 3 had special food requirements. Even though we let know before we arrived, I was extremely impressed with how each person was catered on the day. Two of us upgraded to the Champagne Afternoon Tea for an extra £15 which meant we also had a glass of Taittinger with our tea. Standard Afternoon Tea is £30 per head and you can also opt for the 'Ridgeview Afternoon Tea' which is £42 per head and includes a

Prix fixe menu, Hotel Du Vin, Winchester

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At the beginning of March my mum and I visited Hotel du Vin, Winchester for a spot of dinner before heading to the Everyman cinema. We started the evening with a glass or two of wine in the bar before moving through to the restaurant around 6.30pm as we were planning on eating from the prix fixe menu (which is available until 7pm on Friday and Saturday nights). You have the option to do 2 courses for £19.95 or 3 courses for £24.95, which I think is a really good price, especially on a Friday or Saturday night. Starters When my starter first arrived, the pigeon was a little bit blue for me. It did feel warm, but I sent it back and asked them to cook it a little bit more, which they did and it was then cooked perfectly for me. The lentil du puy was so full of flavour, it was a really warming way to start the meal.  The trout was also delicious, I really liked the way it was presented and the flavours were very summery and I think this would be a beautiful dish to sit in the

Cocktails and Japanese cherry blossom, HarBAR on 6th, Southampton

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I had the most exciting PR trip this week. If you are a regular on our blog, you will already know that I’m a huge fan of the Harbour Hotel chain and I especially love the HarBAR on 6 th in Southampton. HarBAR have teamed up with The Suntory Family to bring you 5 new cocktails in celebration of Japan’s cherry blossom season (Sakura). They have created the most beautiful installation, which can be seen below and we were lucky enough to be invited to try the cocktail menu as part of the Soton Bloggers. This was gifted by HarBAR but all comments are my own and have not been influenced by them As you can see from the Blossom Drinks List blow, each of the 5 cocktails has been created using spirits from The Suntory Family brand which includes Haku Vodka, Roku Gin and Toki Whisky. Above the Clouds   Haku vodka, ginger syrup, lime, bitter lemon tonic  I’m torn as to if this or the Pleasant thyme was my favourite cocktail, which is interesting as they are both vodk

Disney Hotel and Frozen Afternoon Tea, Disneyland, Hong Kong

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Yes, you did read that title right, a Frozen Afternoon Tea at Disneyland! At the end of November 2019, we were at Disneyland in Hong Kong for a wedding and were lucky enough to spend the night in the Frozen Suite. As you entered the suite, you had a guest toilet and storage and then walked through into the main living space. The decor was incredible, I was blown away by it as an adult so I can only imagine how it would feel to stay in that room as a child. The TV was on playing Frozen music and flipping between images from the film and the sofa was actually a slay! Check it out below. There was also a little play area which had a life-sized Olaf  stuffed toy (well, life-sized if you are round 5 or 6 years old!) and a load of other Frozen toys and books. They were all for sale if you wanted to purchase them, but holy moly they were crazy expensive.  On to the bedroom, and there are two double beds, one with Anna at the head and one with Elsa at the head. The ceiling

Crowna Plaza Festival City, Dubai

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At the end of January, I headed over to Dubai on a work trip and was lucky enough to stay at the Crowne Plaza Festival City for the second time. The Festival City complex has shops, restaurants and hotels and is a short taxi ride from Dubai International Airport. The hotel looks over Dubai Creek and has beautiful views of downtown Dubai, including the Burj Khalifa. We flew in on an overnight flight which meant arriving early on a Sunday morning. Even though check in wasn't due to be for a few hours, the staff were more than happy to see if we could access our rooms early, which luckily, we were able to. If this hadn't been possible, we would have been welcome to use the gym / swimming pool showers to freshen up. It's small things like this which make a big difference, especially if you are travelling for work and need to get to an early meeting. The rooms are very spacious with good wardrobe space, a must when you are staying away for more than 2 or 3 nights. They