Hilton Rose Hall, Jamaica

Another Trip Advisor review copied and pasted - this time with added videos if you scroll to the end!

I’m a bit late with this review, as I stayed with my husband and two children (five and eight) in February, but we had an amazing time, and I really couldn’t fault anything!

The staff were all brilliant. With the exception of one lady at reception, everyone was friendly, chatty and helpful. Contrary to what I’ve read in other reviews, we never felt under pressure to tip. We usually did tip anyway (I’d advise non-Americans to change up a bunch of $1 and $2 notes before you visit, for this purpose) but didn’t feel that the service was any different on those occasions when we didn’t.

The room was great. Fairly standard for a Hilton, and not very ‘Jamaican’ but it was clean and comfortable, with toiletries, TV, safe and iPod player. It had a fridge, which was replenished everyday with bottles of still mineral water. We had a decent-sized balcony with beautiful views over the pool and the sea. It was a ‘partial-sea view’ room, and it certainly wouldn’t be worth paying for the full view, as ours was just fine! No lights on the balcony if you want to sit outside at night, but we used one of the lights from the room and could see perfectly. I’ve read lots of reviews complaining about the noise from the entertainment, but I really didn’t see the problem. It was fairly loud if you were on the balcony or had the door open, but if you were inside with the door shut, it was quiet (and the children were able to sleep through it). We went to bed fairly early (never quite got over the jet lag!) and it was always finished before we went to bed.

  

The cleaning was of a good standard throughout. Our lovely maid Jacinta made towel sculptures every day and left us little notes. Everywhere was clean, and you often saw staff walking around collecting litter. Yes, you occasionally saw cups around the pool that hadn’t been collected because they’d been left in stupid places – this reflects more on the guests than the hotel.

The food was delicious! We ate almost exclusively in Fresh, the buffet – the food was so good, we kept coming back, there was lots of choice, and I like the way a buffet gives you the chance to try different foods (especially good for children!). There was a theme every night, and there was always plenty to choose from, including Jamaican specialities and a kids’ buffet. There were lots of fresh tropical fruit available, and a good selection of juices and non-alcoholic drinks as well as alcoholic. The breakfasts were amazing – as well as the usual cooked and continental breakfast fare, there were omelettes, pancakes, waffles and French toast cooked to order, as well as a variety of fresh smoothies and some traditional Jamaican breakfast dishes. We didn’t eat at either of the a la carte restaurants (Luna Di Mare – Italian – and Three Palms – Jamaican) – we did make reservations but we couldn’t get them until 9pm, and we soon realised this was too late for the children (and us – jet lag again!) so we cancelled. If you would like to eat at these restaurants, it’s worth booking as soon as you arrive. We didn’t eat at the Seaside Grill either (just didn’t get around to it), but we had some lighter lunches at Mangoes a couple of times, which were very nice. They also had an al-fresco barbecue restaurant set up near the beach/pool while we were there.

The pool was great. There’s a traditional rectangular pool in front of the main building, where aqua-aerobics and other activities take place, and then there is also the waterpark. This makes it sound grander than it is, but there was enough to keep us happy – one big slide, on which you need to go down on an inner tube, and three shorter slides (no tube needed), joined together with little pools. There were height limits, but these didn’t seem to be implemented on the smaller slides, although the lifeguards were always very attentive. There is also the lazy river to float around on a tube, as well as a swim-up bar (the smoothies/slushies are to die for). It wasn’t always easy to find a free tube, but we always managed it if we looked hard enough! Same story with sunbeds – there were the usual reservation issues but we usually managed to find sunbeds somewhere, and the staff were good at helping with this.

 

As other people have mentioned, the beach isn’t the best in Jamaica, but it’s okay. There is an adults-only beach towards the left, which was always very quiet, and the right end is more crowded. Again – we always managed to find a sunbed in the end! The sea was lovely and warm, and there’s an area roped off for safe swimming, but it was too sandy to be able to snorkel. We did sign up for a snorkelling trip, but the sea was too rough for that or the glass-bottomed boat, which was a real pity. We did have a go at kayaking, though, which was fun and free! There was also the opportunity to go sailing (also free), but we didn’t try it.

 

Other activities included tennis, paddle board (like table tennis), corn toss and giant chess. There were various things organised by the animation team too, for adults and families, like dance lessons. There were books and board games to borrow from the towel hut. There was a children’s play area and a kids’ club, which our boys went to on several occasions. They had a great time, and did all sorts of things. This was also free, but there was a small charge for some of the craft activities where they got to take something home. The evening entertainment was relatively samey – a band and/or singer, usually playing/singing reggae – but it was enjoyable and laid-back and helped you feel you were in Jamaica and not somewhere else in the Caribbean. They had occasional other acts and activities too, like the hermit crab racing, which was good fun. There is an area near reception where you can get free WiFi, although you have to re-register every day and it is quite slow. There is a golf course on one side of the hotel, which is nice for a walk around even if you don’t play golf. We didn’t leave the hotel except for a visit to the nearby Rose Hall Great House, which is worth a trip – the hotel has a free shuttle bus that takes you there. The bus also takes you to a nearby shopping centre, but I can’t comment on this!

 

 

 

The thing that really made my holiday special was the extras. It was my birthday at the beginning of the holiday, and our maid obviously saw my birthday cards, as she made me a beautiful towel heart on the bed with a happy birthday note. My husband also mentioned it when he made our restaurant reservations – they then brought me out a special pudding at lunchtime with candles and my name, and sang happy birthday. When we returned to the room later, they had sent up a bottle of champagne and a personalised card – these little touches really made the holiday for me.

All in all, we had an amazing time, the only downside being that we only had a week and it wasn’t nearly long enough!

For a tour of the hotel and grounds, have a look at my YouTube videos below. You can visit my YouTube channel (Holiday obsessive) for more holiday-related videos (with more to be uploaded soon...).

Review of Champneys Henlow

To save me writing things twice, here's my Trip Advisor review of Champneys at Henlow Grange, where I recently spent a one-night break. Highly recommend if you'd like a bit of pampering!

This was my second visit to Champneys Henlow, after a break of nine years. I was wondering what to expect, after the reviews seemed to suggest that the standards had dropped. Well, I've come to the conclusion that maybe I'm just not that fussy, or perhaps I have different priorities to other people. For me, the most important things are having friendly staff, nice food and good facilities, and in this respect I had no complaints. Life is too short to worry about a slightly worn carpet or a bit of peeling paint. When we arrived, we were greeted straightaway and shown to a drawing room with our welcome pack to complete our details. They obviously do need to work on their admin, as they still had my old address and had not got us down for the correct treatments, despite my having emailed them. However, it was easily sorted after a quick trip to the spa reception - in fact, we were able to arrange more convenient times, so it actually worked in our favour! We also received a complementary upgrade to a superior room, due to the renovation work that everyone keeps mentioning. While we saw a little bit of scaffolding, it in no way affected our stay. Our room was very nice - we had a little table and chairs on a patio outside, overlooking the weir. Yes, we had some mosquitoes, but if you leave the windows open in the summer, what do you expect? There was a warning notice in the room about this - I'm not sure what else Champneys can do!

We had a flat screen TV, DVD player, tea and coffee facilities, hairdryer, Champneys toiletries, a rain mac, a robe and flip-flops (which you can take home). The beds were comfy and the room was clean. If I was trying to be picky, the carpet was a bit old and one of the curtain rods (for closing them) was missing - were we bothered?! The food was delicious and healthy to boot, and we had no problems being seated or brought our drinks - the staff were efficient and friendly. The spa facilities were good; there were a few broken lockers, but we never had problems finding empty ones, and there were plenty of towels. There is a laconium, a steam room, a sauna and a 25m pool (which could have done with being a bit warmer). There are only 5 showers and 2 changing rooms but, again, we never had to wait for these. Despite it being a weekend, we had no problems booking in for classes, of which there were loads to choose from. You have to pay £3 to book in advance, but they are free if you book on the day. We had two treatments each, which were lovely, and a thalassotherapy session, which was good fun. There are plenty of sun beds around the pool, sun loungers outside and some lovely relaxing areas inside, so there are plenty of places to go if you'd just like to chill out for a while. The grounds are beautiful and huge, and there is a nature walk you can do at one end of the grounds. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly, and really couldn't do enough for you. We were given a personal tour of the facilities and, when we were seen carrying bags, everybody offered to help, from cleaners to fitness staff and waiters! We had another small problem on checking out, where we were charged for a bottle of wine instead of a glass - again, this was easily fixed, and we ended up getting the glass free! Overall, the only problem we had was that there simply wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted - next time, I'd like at least a week, please!

So many holidays, so little time...

When I started this blog, I was worried I wouldn't have enough to say. Okay, so I go away pretty much every school holiday, but would that really give me enough to write about? I could write a review of the hotel, tell a funny holiday story... but what about the time in between holidays? I clearly needn't have worried. I never finished writing about Benidorm, and I barely started on Jamaica - and I've been away again since then! I still have a whole bunch of videos to add to YouTube and a review to do on Trip Advisor - and I have another holiday to go on in just over a week...! Clearly, regardless of the amount of material I have to write about, the amount of time I have to write it is the bigger issue. Much as I love holidays, writing and combining the two, life gets in the way. School runs, cleaning, washing, cooking, after-school clubs, not to mention work - blogging doesn't get much of a look in! Even when there's a break in the almost never-ending list of things I 'should be doing', I almost feel too guilty to blog, 'cos there's probably something else more 'important' that I 'should be doing' instead. But that is exactly why I like holidays so much! Holidays are the one time that I don't feel guilty for doing something 'unimportant'. On holiday, I don't have to cook, clean, load the dishwasher or tidy up. Childcare is shared between me and my husband - and it's so much easier because we don't have the stresses and pressure of the usual time schedules. We don't have to think about bills, work, appointments and all those other things that shouldn't in theory take that long to take care of but still seem to occupy so much time in your head. We don't have to be anywhere at a certain time - unless you count getting to the restaurant in time for dinner or making sure we don't lie in long enough to waste the day! At home, if I have time off work, I can't relax - if I'm not actually doing chores, I'm thinking about doing them, or thinking about something else I should be doing instead. But on holiday, it's different - I physically can't do anything about work or the house, so I don't think about it. We're all so much happier and more relaxed. I may well come back from a holiday physically exhausted, but mentally I've had a break, and I feel so much better!

Anyway, I'll make it my mission to at least catch up on my last holidays before I go away this summer. With five weeks in Australia to write about when I get back, I'm going to have to make sure I'm up to date first. And all those 'important' things I 'should be doing' may just have to wait!

Near miss

Sat stuck in traffic for an hour on the M25 the other day took me back to an almost-holiday-disaster the first time we went to Jamaica, about ten years ago. We had lunchtime or early afternoon flights - can't remember which but, either way, they were late enough that we didn't think it was worth getting an overnight hotel package. However, airport parking for two weeks was expensive, and not such good value without a hotel, so when friends offered us a lift to the airport, it was the perfect solution. They were already heading in that direction to visit family who lived near Heathrow - we just needed to get the train home. We left plenty of time - they normally advise you to check in three hours ahead of a long-haul flight, and we'd given ourselves more than enough time (or so we thought) for the under-two-hour drive to Heathrow. But then we came to a standstill. It wasn't the crawling kind of jam you get when there's roadworks or just due to the sheer weight of traffic - this was the not-moving-anywhere kind of jam that you know is down to an accident. We later found out that someone had jumped off a bridge - horrible. All we knew at this point, though, was that we had flights to catch, we weren't moving, and I was starting to need the loo. The worst thing about those kind of jams is that you really have no idea how long you're going to be stuck. At least with roadworks, you know you'll get through eventually. With this, on the other hand, we didn't know what had happened, when it had happened or how long before the road was cleared. I remember sitting for a couple of hours on a dual carriageway more recently, when eventually we all had to do U-turns and drive the wrong way to the nearest exit. And I've only just heard about the jam on the M26 last week, when the road was closed for four hours, and people were walking their dogs on the motorway. In the meantime, there we were, not knowing what was happening, panicking about our flights and needing the toilet more and more each second. Of course, this was in the days before iPhones and mobile internet, so we didn't have any way of finding out any information. If I'd known how long we were going to be stuck, I'd have got out of the car and gone for a wee by the side of the road, but the thought of the car driving off while I stood on the hard shoulder with my knickers round my ankles was enough to stop me...! After a while, we started to realise there was a very good chance of us missing our flights. I was reading through all our insurance details, trying to find out if we'd be covered - it didn't look like it. And what would we do? Could we reschedule our holiday? Could we get later flights? Would it be worth it? Just how much money were we going to lose? And how much longer could I last before wetting myself or taking the plunge with the hard shoulder? I could probably have lasted hours if there'd been a toilet nearby but the very fact that I couldn't go made me want it all the more...

I don't know how long we sat there in the end. My distorted memory says at least two hours, but it was probably nowhere near that. Suffice to say, though, that it was too long, and had us convinced we'd missed our flights. We started moving eventually, of course, and when we pulled up at Heathrow, we dragged our cases out of the car and ran, barely having time to say goodbye and thank you (nor thinking about how we'd get home if we had missed the flights). We couldn't fault the airport staff, at least - we weren't familiar with Heathrow, and had no idea where to go to check in, but a nice man saw us panicking and directed us to the right check-in desk. It had to be the first (and only) time we've got to the desk and there's been no queue. But the lovely lady there reassured us that we hadn't missed the flight, and that loads of people had been delayed due to the traffic jam, so we didn't need to worry. Phew! I was nearly in tears by this point, mostly due to my excruciating need for the toilet. I think my bobbing up and down must have given me away, because the check-in lady pointed out the toilets for me and refused to check us in until I'd been!

I can't remember much about the queue for security, once we'd finally checked in. But I do remember the sheer panic when we got through to the departure lounge and the screen told us to proceed immediately to the gate. Unimpeded by our cases, we ran along the moving walkways for the full ten minutes it took us to get to the furthest gate possible. We arrived at the gate to find it was empty. More panic - was everyone on the plane already? Would we have to face the embarrassment of walking through the plane to find our seats while everyone else sits there tutting and looking at their watches? Would we even be allowed to board? Just as we were looking around for someone to ask, another couple walked into the departure gate  - phew, at least we weren't the only ones late. Then another couple, then a family, then more people. Soon, the departure lounge was full up. Basically, we'd got to the departure lounge just as the screen had shown the gate number. We'd probably been the first to see it - add this to our mad run to the departure gate, and we beat everyone else to it. We were actually EARLY.

So what did we learn? Mostly that an airport hotel is always a good idea. Even if the flight isn't until lunchtime or later, driving up the night before takes away any panic about traffic delays. At least if you get stuck in a jam, you have all night to get there!

Those without a strong stomach, look away now

All was looking good. We had a ten-hour flight ahead of us the next day, so we’d booked into the Premier Inn at the airport. For once, we didn’t have an early flight – it was leaving around lunchtime – but the plan was to have a bit of a lie-in to give us the energy to get through the next day. The kids had their own beds, so there was to be no wriggling and kicking me in the back in bed (unless Lee had a strange night…), and they’d both fallen asleep quickly and easily. After the obligatory game of cards in the bathroom, Lee and I opted for an early night, hoping to wake no earlier than 8 o’clock, feeling refreshed. Ha!

It started going wrong when Finn (my seven-year-old) decided it was the perfect night to practise talking (and shouting) in his sleep. While hubby slept through (of course), I barely managed more than an hour of uninterrupted sleep before I was awoken to yet more unintelligible ramblings and the occasional yell. And at 6 o’clock, my ‘sleep’ finally came to an end when Dylan (my four-year-old) called plaintively from the bathroom that he had a tummy ache. We assumed, as you do, that it was wind or he needed a poo, and we sat with him patiently, eyes barely open, waiting for it to go away. Then he said he felt sick. Now he hadn’t been sick since around the time of his first birthday (and that’s yet another holiday tale to tell), and he’s never been one to complain. Lee and I looked at one another with undisguised panic. It was early, he was tired and hungry and excited – surely that’s all it was? We all get that feeling when we haven’t eaten – that gnawing in your stomach that feels like nausea. Add that to the butterflies feeling ahead of an exciting holiday. He wasn’t really ill, was he? Then he was sick.

It could have been worse. It was in the toilet. It didn’t get on his clothes (and thereby lies yet another holiday story). And it was barely more than a trickle. The sort of sick you do when you’re not really ill but trying anyway. Me being me, I’m straight on Facebook asking everyone what to do. We have a ten-hour flight ahead of us for goodness’ sake! But then I look at Dylan – he looks fine and he tells us he feels much better now. Maybe he’s okay – just a one-off? Maybe all he needs is some food in his empty stomach to take away the nausea? Lee and I quickly decide that we don’t want to risk going downstairs to sample the hotel breakfast in the restaurant just in case, so Lee is quickly dispatched to buy some food and bring it back to the room. My fear quietly subsides while he’s gone, as I watch the boys chatting and messing around without a care in the world. Dylan’s fine, nothing to worry about. Lee soon comes back with some panettone (interesting breakfast choice). Dylan eats some slowly, as instructed. Meanwhile, I’m feeling pretty sick myself with all the worry (or so I thought) and barely pick at my panettone. Then Dylan throws up again – plenty this time. There’s no escaping the fact that he’s ill…

At this point, all hell broke loose. What should we do? How ill was he? How would he (we) survive the flight? Would he still be ill when we got to Jamaica? Did he need a doctor? Should we cancel? And was that sicky feeling in my tummy stress or something more? Thank goodness for 3G – I was instantly on my phone looking at flights, insurance details, airline rules, etc. etc. Could we postpone and get the next available flight? Er, no. The next flight was three days away, which would give us precisely three full days in Jamaica before we had to fly home again – not really an option. That’s not even accounting for the fact that the flight was likely to be full anyway. Could we cancel? Well, yes, of course we could. But would we get our money back? Unlikely. There was no notice. It was hardly the sort of life or death situation that would convince an insurance company to pay out for. And how disappointed would the kids be? And, let’s be honest, me? Money aside, we’d been looking forward to the holiday for ages. I’d spent hours reading reviews on Trip Advisor and watching videos of the resort on YouTube. And, after a pretty tough year, I was really looking forward to a break from it all. Sun instead of the constant rain that the UK was still battling. All-inclusive food and drink instead of cooking, washing and cleaning. Days spent on sun loungers, in the pool, on the beach, in the sea, reading, relaxing. No stress, no worries, mon. Could I give all that up? If Dylan was properly ill, it was a no-brainer. We didn’t want to be somewhere without a doctor or put him at risk; plus it wouldn’t be a relaxing holiday anyway if he was ill. But what if it was just a one-off? Imagine if we cancelled the holiday, drove sadly home and Dylan was completely fine all week and never threw up again. We’d faced a similar-ish decision when Dylan was one (the other story) and both boys had been suffering from rotavirus – should we cancel our holiday to Lanzarote? Thank goodness we didn’t, because Finn threw up for the last time just before we left, and both boys were fine all week. Aaaaaaggghhhh, decisions, decisions!

Eventually, after watching Dylan for an hour or so and noting that he seemed fine in himself and didn’t have a temperature, we decided to bite the bullet and go for it. More decisions now, of course – did we tell the airline staff before the flight and ask their advice? Or would they refuse to let us fly in case we needed a doctor or passed the tummy bug to all the other passengers? If he was sick on the plane, could we pass it off as travel sickness? Could we feign surprise and act like he’d only just come down with something, or would Dylan argue and tell them it was the third (at least) time he’d been sick that day? What if he was sick in the check-in queue or security or at the boarding gate? Would they let us board? Would we sound convincing if we told them he always gets sick when he’s excited? Were we doing the right thing? And what were the chances of me getting to Jamaica without being sick myself? I’d already had to rush to the bathroom five times that morning, and it wasn’t looking quite so much like stress anymore…

In the end, we just had to go for it. Luckily, we hadn’t checked our cases in the night before as we usually do, so we were able to take out a change of clothes to put in the hand luggage (back to that other story again). Armed with wet wipes and sick bags (I collect them from planes, thank goodness!), we nervously packed our overnight things and made our way over to the airport. There was a long check-in queue, but we made it through unscathed. Security would have been quick if Finn hadn’t beeped when he went through the scanner and they hadn’t decided my bag was a good choice for searching. We made it through to the (revamped) departure lounge and quickly popped into Boots to buy some water (and those handy free plastic bags, just in case). All was fine. Dylan picked at the panettone and kept it down. It was just me who was rushing to the toilet every five minutes. Finally, we made it onto the plane.

It wasn’t exactly a relaxing journey. Somehow I found myself sat next to Dylan (I don’t think it was an accident, was it, Lee?). Ten hours sat next to a child who might puke at any second. I had several sick bags ready and kept thrusting one in front of Dylan’s face whenever his expression was anything but a smile. We simultaneously encouraged him to eat food in the hope that it would build his strength up and prove he was better, and panicked that he was eating too much and it would set him off again. Meanwhile, thank goodness it wasn’t turbulent, as I might as well have taken a sleeping bag into the delightful aeroplane toilet.

We made it to Jamaica without incident, thank goodness. We got through passport control quickly, our cases were some of the first off the carousel, and the transfer to the hotel was short and, mercifully, not too bumpy. We checked in and made it down to dinner – although it was now past midnight UK time, it was only early evening in Jamaica. Of course, Dylan and I just picked at our food, me all the while worrying that it would set him (or me) off. But it was fine. We went to bed pretty much straight afterwards, exhausted, although it took me a while to get to sleep with all the worry. We’d made it here but was that the end of it? I wasn’t feeling good, but I hadn’t been sick – would it kick off for me the next day? And would Finn and Lee catch it? Would we be able to enjoy our holiday or would it be ruined?

At six o’clock the next morning (my birthday, I might add), we were woken by Dylan calling from the bathroom again. Déjà vu. On the plus side, he hadn’t been sick. On the negative side, he had done something else, and he hadn’t quite made it out of bed before it started. Bleary-eyed (again), we cleaned him up, stripped the bed and threw everything into the bath. Clearly he wasn’t quite right yet. It didn’t bode well. Then, mindful of not waking Finn, we decided to go out onto the balcony. Of course, it had been dark when we’d arrived, so we hadn’t been able to see anything. But the view at 6.30am on my birthday kind of made up for the rude awakening. Maybe things would be okay after all. And if we had to be ill, what a place to be ill in.

 

Our Premier choice from now on

A little while ago, I wrote a piece on airport hotels. As far as I knew at that point, the only hotels at Gatwick where you could walk from your room to the airport itself were the Hilton and the Sofitel. If you look on any of the airport parking/hotel websites (we always use Holiday Extras), you'll see there is an abundance of hotels offering airport parking packages. The problem with these hotels is that they're all five to ten minutes away at least, and you need to get a shuttle bus to take you to the airport in the morning. This is a major problem if you have a particularly early flight, as most shuttles don't start until 4am at the earliest. That aside, the last thing you want to do when you've got two kids, four cases and eyebags the size of hand luggage from being up so early is try and squeeze everyone and everything onto a tiny, packed minibus. Those twenty minutes or so would be far better spent fast asleep than rushing, waiting around, hefting cases and trying to balance on the journey to the airport. Hence we've always opted for the on-site hotels for pure convenience. There are two main problems with the Hilton and the Sofitel, though. The first is the extortionate price. The second is fitting us all in the one room. We splashed out on a family room at the Hilton last time, which was lovely (see Airport hotel - heaven or hell?) but really expensive. Our usual option saw us sneaking one child in and squishing them into our bed with us - not a great recipe for a good night's sleep for anyone. The other option would be adjoining rooms - even more extortionate. Now I'm pretty tight with money when it comes to anything except holidays, but I still think it's worth spending out to make the start of your holiday smooth rather than stressful. However, it's hard to get the thought out of the back of my mind that the money we've just spent on convenience could have got us several meals out, with ice creams to boot. So imagine how excited I was when, on our way back from the airport in October, I noticed a Premier Inn. How long had it been there? I'd never noticed it before, but there it was, standing tall and proud, just next to the North Terminal. It looked like an easy walk from there to the airport itself - not under cover, maybe, but that was a minor issue. So, next time we were due to head to Gatwick, after balking at the usual prices of the Hilton and Sofitel, I decided to check out the Premier Inn - best decision ever. It was around half the price of what we usually paid (and that's forgetting the extra expense of a family room at the Hilton), and we managed to get a valet parking deal included that meant we only had to walk to the on-airport short-stay car park, rather than the usual shuttle bus to one of the long-stay parking areas. As with all Premier Inns, the room slept four, so we didn't have to worry about sneaking in a child, or everyone squishing into one bed. It was hard to find when we got there - we came out of the car park and had no idea which way to go. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong direction and walked for a fair old way before deciding to turn back. Once we'd found it, however, it really was only a very short walk between the hotel and the airport or car park, and it's probably no further away than either the Hilton or the Sofitel. The rooms themselves were typical Premier Inn - not quite as 'posh' as the H or S, but clean and comfortable, with everything you need. The check-in was a little odd, as it was done through a computer, but it was pretty straightforward - it simply printed your keys out for you. I can't comment on the food - the restaurant was packed in the evening, but it was easy enough just to walk into the airport and eat there instead. So, all in all, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer - all of the convenience for half the price. It will be Premier Inn all the way for us now - I just wish I'd noticed it sooner!

Christmas (no) holidays...

Okay, so I haven't blogged in ages. I blame Christmas. We were barely home from Benidorm when I was plunged into a world of Christmas preparation - present-buying, card-writing, house-tidying, list-writing, arrangement-making, decoration-putting-up... Of course, this all increases ten-fold when you have children. You haven't simply got to buy for them - you also have to let everyone else know what they want to avoid duplication ('Thanks, Grandma, I'll put it with the other fifteen...'). And don't get me started about helping them choose presents for other people ('That's lovely, Dylan, but do you really think Daddy wants Lego for Christmas?' 'Yes, Finn, Dylan does like Beast Quest books, but who are you really buying it for?)... Then there's the cards. As well as your own, you have to get them to write (or write for them, in the case of my youngest) cards to everyone in their class. Can they remember all their names? You can't leave anyone out. And how on earth do you spell that one?! Presents for teachers - contribute to a joint effort from the parents? Make something, for that personal touch? Buy chocolates and be done with it? Cards - Poundland, Paperchase or home-made? It's a minefield. For the record, I opted for a compromise - home-baked presents for the teachers, and cheap-as-chips Poundland cards. But just thinking about it all stole vital hours from a time-short day. And what exactly are we doing for Christmas - are we at home or somewhere else? Who's coming to us? Who's staying with us? Better start food shopping - are there any turkeys left? Then there's all the other Christmas arrangements to make, for us and the kids - parties, meals, discos, pantomimes. The list is endless. All this, of course, on top of the usual work, school runs, household chores and other organisation that inevitably takes up a large portion of life. Hence blogging went somewhere on the backburner.

So, what's all this got to do with holidays then? Nothing - and that's kind of the point. I am obsessed with holidays, and usually take every opportunity to go away - which generally means every school holiday and the occasional weekend too. But the one time I shy away from all that is Christmas. Stress and organisation aside (when would I actually have time to go on holiday?!), I think Christmas is a time for staying at home, for family, for enjoying spending time with each other, for catching up with friends and other family members. Somehow, despite the horrible weather and the admittedly tempting offer of a holiday in the sun, I prefer to stay at home for Christmas. So that's one school holiday you'll find me at home in my snuggly PJs, drinking hot chocolate - and only occasionally wishing it was a bikini and a Pina Colada.

And before you think I've gone soft, we're off to Jamaica in two days - see you when I get back!