Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair MQ74+H7V, Corbyns Cove Rd, South Point, Shadipur, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744106, India Sinclairs Bayview is a beach-front hotel in Port Blair only 2.5 km from Cellular Jail (biggest attraction in the island). The hotel does not have a beach but more than makes up with the amazing you get from quite a few of the rooms. The hotel has a nice on-property restaurant “The Bayview” where we had both dinner and a huge buffet breakfast. There are not any dining options nearby other than the on-property restaurant “The Bayview”. We had a …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Seashell Samssara, Neil
Seashell Samssara, Neil Neil Island, Beach, opposite Helipad, Lakshmanpur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744104, India Seashell is probably the most renowned chain in the Andaman Islands. They have properties in Port Blair, Havelock Island and Neil Island. In Neil Island they have 2 properties, Seashell Neil and Seashell Samssara Neil. Based on photos and reviews, I had picked the latter and was quite pleased with the choice. The hotel has its own private beach but its a bit rocky and not at all suitable for swimming. Our rate included complimentary breakfast for all guests but since the dining options were …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Tilar Siro, Andamans – CGH Earth
Tilar Siro, Andamans – CGH Earth Beach No. 5, Vijay Nagar Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands) 744211, India Havelock Island is probably the most picturesque of all the Andaman Islands and has the most number of resorts. I wanted to splurge on this stay and after careful consideration chose Tilar Siro. This property is located closer to Vijay Nagar Beach on the east side of Havelock Island (renamed as Swaraj Dweep). The property has its own semi-private beach and another much larger beach next to it. Lush green scenery, amazing service, and well maintained property are just …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair
Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair Opposite Airport Exit Gate, Lamba Line, Junglee Ghat, Port Blair – 744103, India Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair is located right next to Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair, Andaman Islands. The hotel provides transportation to and from the airport (not hard to do when you are right outside the airport gate). I stayed for 1 night at the hotel on arrival at Port Blair. Cash rate was USD $100/night. Since I booked the room for 3 travelers (me and my parents), the hotel provided a complimentary roll-away bed for the additional guest. In …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Hennan Prime Beach Resort, Boracay
Hennan Prime Beach Resort Station 1 Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines Hennan Prime Beach Resort located in Station 1 of Boracay White Beach belongs to the Hennan Chain of resorts that have several other properties in Boracay. The hotel is divided into 2 wings – the beach wing that is on one side of the road and the East Wing that is on the other side of the road away from the beach. We stayed in a double room in the Beach wing. One big difference between the wings is that the East Wing has a much nicer and spacious …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Ambassador In Paradise Resort, Boracay
Ambassador In Paradise Resort Station 1 Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines Ambassador in Paradise is a non-chain hotel property located towards the northern end of Station 1 at White Beach in Boracay. The resort features a decent size pool right on the beach with an adjacent restaurant where you can dine with toes on sand. We stayed 4 nights at the resort making up the bulk of our stay in Boracay. The hotel provides transfer option for bus + ferry from the airport but we had opted for a different company. Check-in was quick and easy however one thing to …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Alii Kane Cottages
Alii Kane Cottages 11-2932 Alii Kane St, Volcano, HI 96785 Alii Kane Cottages is a collection of cottages located about 6 miles from Hawaii Volcano National Park. This property is located off of Highway 11, nestled amongst lots of trees. We stayed 1 night after booking a cottage from booking.com @ 160$/night. The owners are very responsive and they emailed me a couple of times before the stay, informing me on how to get there and providing additional information regarding the stay. When we checked in late evening, the owner came by and explained various amenities in the property. This …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major ChainHotel Review – Le Duc De Praslin, Praslin, Seychelles
Le Duc De Praslin MPPR+CW5, Cap Samy, Seychelles Le Duc De Praslin is located right next to the gorgeous Cote d’Or beach, about 6 miles from the inter-island boat ferry terminal on Praslin Island. It has 2 different properties, one older and one newer. We stayed at the older property (with bungalows) for 3 nights. Check-in was fairly quick. Additionally we met with the actual owner of the property who introduced himself to us. We also saw the owner couple of times during the stay so you know that you are staying at a property where the owner is not …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Hotel Fanis, Naxos, Greece
Hotel Fanis, Naxos Agia Anna Beach, Naxos Island, Cyclades, Greece For our 2 night stay in Naxos, we chose Hotel Fanis by Agia Anna Beach. The hotel is right across from the beach. We arrived at the Naxos port from Santorini in the afternoon. The hotel provides complimentary pickup and drop-off service from the airport and Naxos port. The hotel manager (Katerina) and her husband were at the port to pick us up in their van. We got Room #1 which faces the Agia Anna Beach. When we opened the doors to the patio, you could hear the waves from …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Avant Garde Suites, Santorini
Avant Garde Suites, Santorini Akrotiri [Caldera], Thira 847 00, Greece Avant Garde Suites is located in the quiet town of Akrotiri on south-west part of Santorini. Most tourists who want the caldera view in Santorini usually go for towns like Oia and Fira. We found this hotel on Booking.com and after visiting the hotel’s website we fell in love with it. The hotel is located about 11 km from Santorini Airport which didn’t take long as we were renting a car for our stay in Santorini. We were the very first and only guests during our stay since reopening of …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Earl’s Regent Hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Earl’s Regent Hotel, Kandy 40/1 Deveni Rajasinghe Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka Earl’s Regent Hotel is located by Mahaweli river in the outskirts of city of Kandy. Located away from the hustle and bustle of Kandy, this hotel is ideal for tourists seeking calm and quiet surroundings with great views. Check-in was fairly quick and I was glad to find out that the hotel provided complimentary accommodation for drivers. I had booked half-board rate (includes dinner & breakfast). However, we arrived late afternoon and were hungry so went for lunch at the on-property restaurant named The Flavors. The pricing was reasonable …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Ruvidee Villa, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
Ruvidee Villa No. 3/6 Glenfall Rd, Nuwara Eliya 22200, Sri Lanka Ruvidee Villa is a small hotel located close to Grand Hotel in the center of Nuwara Eliya. I was quite late in searching for hotels in Nuwara Eliya and by the time I was looking to book a lot of the options were either gone or charging high prices. I basically booked this hotel mainly for the price. The room was quite small and there was not much space to move around. The bathroom was very cold during our stay. The hotel did not provide any toiletries. The hotel …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Shangri-Lanka Villa, Bentota, Sri Lanka
Shangri-Lanka Villa #23, De Alwis Road, Horanduwa, Bentota – 80500, Sri Lanka Shangri-Lanka Villa is a very highly rated home-stay property located in Bentota, Sri Lanka. Surrounded by lush greenery, this property highlights individual villas and a swimming pool. I loved the bathroom the most in this property. The water pressure was really good and was nice to take a shower after all the travel. I had booked at a rate that included breakfast and the caretaker took our order the night before. We opted for Western Breakfast instead of traditional Sri Lankan breakfast. Thumbs up: Room had 3 beds …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Artiem Madrid
Artiem Madrid Calle Juan Perez Zuñiga, 20, 28027 Madrid, Spain While researching for various hotel options in Madrid on Tripadvisor, I came across Artiem Madrid hotel. It had a good cash rate (about $120 USD per night after taxes per room per night) along with a high rating on Tripadvisor (#3 as of booking the hotel). I went ahead and booked 2 rooms for 2 nights at this hotel. We showed up at the hotel from the airport at around 10 AM. The hotel is in a residential neighborhood and about 10 minutes walk to nearest metro stop Barrio de …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Petra Guest House
Petra Guest House Hotel P.O. Box 30 Petra, Wadi Musa, Jordan Petra Guest House Hotel is located just a few steps away from the visitor’s entrance of the ancient city of Petra. It is supposedly run by Crowne Plaza Petra management however it does not appear to be bookable at IHG site. We booked 1 night at this hotel at Booking.com site. I had booked Breakfast rate and we arrived at the restaurant early right after it opened at 6:30 AM. There was a huge selection of items along with omelette station. We were planning on sightseeing Petra till 1 …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Niranta Airport Transit Hotel & Lounge (Landside), Mumbai
Niranta Airport Transit Hotel & Lounge (Landside) Terminal 2, Mumbai International Airport, Navpada, Vile Parle East, Vile Parle, Mumbai Niranta Airport Transit Hotel is located at Terminal 2 of Mumbai International Airport in the airport premises. There are actually 2 hotels here and its important to know the distinction so as not to make a mistake during booking. The “Landside” or “Arrivals” hotel is before immigration procedures where as the “Airside” hotel is after immigration. If you are checking-in in Mumbai then remember that regardless of for how long you make the booking, you are not allowed to check-in till 4 …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review – Hermanus Dorpshuys Guesthouse
Hermanus Dorpshuys 20 Hill Street | Eastcliff, Hermanus, Overstrand 7200, South Africa Hermanus Dorpshuys is a independently owned B&B in Hermanus located not far from the town center. We stayed only 1 night here during our visit to Hermanus to see the whales. We stayed here during end of September and pricing was around $100 USD/night. HallwayWe checked in late in the afternoon and it was very quick. The guesthouse has 8 or so rooms and we got assigned opposite rooms down the hallway. Cecelia and Koos, the owners of this place were very courteous, friendly and helpful. They advised us about …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Lower Sabie Rest Camp, Kruger National Park
Lower Sabie Rest Camp, Kruger National Park Skukuza – Lower Sabie Rd, Mpumalanga, 1350, South Africa Lower Sabie Rest Camp is located in southern Kruger in an area with perhaps one of the highest concentration of leopards in the wild. It is only about 35 km from Crocodile Bridge Camp Gate. The accommodations range from Campsites to Huts, Safari Tents, Bungalows, Family Bungalows to the luxurious Guest Houses. Pricing varies from USD $25/night for Campsite to USD $425/night for Guest House. Even though I booked the accommodations about 11 months out, due to availability issues we had to book 2 …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park
Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park Kruger National Park, Satara Rd, South Africa Satara Rest Camp is located in central Kruger about 90 km from Orpen Gate. This camp houses a range of accommodations from basic Camp Sites (about $20USD/night) to Bungalows to luxurious Guest Houses ($525 USD/night). We had booked a couple of Bungalows ($110 USD per night) for 3 nights with this description – BD2V (BUNGALOW): 2 single beds, Air-conditioned, Fridge, Hotplate, No smoking, Perimeter, Sink, Utensils, WC and shower. These bungalows were marketed as “perimeter bungalows” meaning they were close to the fence. All that separated you from safety …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major Chain ReviewsHotel Review: Skukuza Rest Camp, Kruger National Park
Skukuza Rest Camp, Kruger National Park Kruger National Park, Skukuza, 1350, South Africa Skukuza Rest camp is the largest of the Kruger National Park rest camps. It is located about 12km (30 minutes drive ) from Paul Kruger Gate, located in a very game rich area. There are a variety of accommodation options – from campsites to bungalows to guest cottages to the luxurious Guest Houses. The prices run from as low as $20 USD/night to $500 USD/night We had booked 2 bungalows for 3 nights at a rate of $100 USD/night. The official description of the bungalows on Sanparks …