UK August- October 2013- The Swan at Hay Hotel in Hay-On-Wye

We arrived for a night stop in the picturesque town of Hay-On-Wye in Wales without securing a hotel reservation. Luckily, after a quick Expedia search, we found accommodations at The Swan at Hay Hotel. We really were lucky, because it turns out that this small town is tourist hot-spot. We very easily could have been out of luck with finding a room and it would have been a shame to have missed out on such a lovely town.

The Swan at Hay Hotel is located just a short walk from the town center, which is filled with pubs, shops and more bookstores than you can imagine.

The Swan at Hay Hotel was our first encounter with an old country inn on our trip. The two story hotel has a small amount of rooms and staff. In fact, the person working at the reception desk often had to pull double duty by making drinks at the bar or running housekeeping linens. It's fairly small and intimate operation. As such, we often had very personal service, but everything took a little bit longer. I felt that it was a fair trade-off.

We were escorted to our room at the very end of the hall on the second floor and given an old-fashioned key. I love hotels that still use real keys. It's a novelty!

Our room was roomy with a very comfortable bed and a giant Narnia wardrobe!

My favorite part of the room was the beautiful view of the back garden. We tried to go out into the garden, but we only lasted about five minutes, as the place over-run with wasps enjoying the flowers. Wasps were out in force during our entire UK trip.

The first floor had several lounge areas with wi-fi access, a restaurant, a bar and a big, sunny room where the morning breakfast was held. I spent several hours reading in the lounge adjacent to the garden, while Dan napped. I really enjoyed the quiet reading spots and both of us found the time spent at the hotel to be a relaxing break after so much travel.

I experienced my first pear cider at the hotel bar and it was love at first sip! Dessert in a glass!

Our stay set us back, 120 pounds, which included a cooked breakfast. In addition to the made-to-order menu, our breakfast included a table with chilled dairy, cereals, fruit and breads. We each ordered scrambled eggs on toast and nibbled on buffet items. We got a kick out of the foreign packaging on a single-serve box of Rice Krispies.

A special mention must be made of the best yogurt that I've ever eaten...Ann Forshaws Farmhouse Yogurt. We tried two flavors, Damson & Plum and Clemons Oranges & Lemons. If you're in the UK and like yogurt, you must seek out this brand. It was so creamy and delicious.

Ann Forshaw Farmhouse Yogurt = Eat This!!!!

If you're looking for a place to stay in Hay-On-Wye, I highly recommend considering The Swan at Hay Hotel. Check out their official website for current availability and pricing.

The Swan at Hay Hotel Official Site

UK August- October 2013- Hilton Newport Wales

Our first Hilton of our trip and first stop in Wales!

We learned a valuable lesson on our UK trip...

Not all Hiltons are created equal.

Most Hiltons look nice from the outside, but inside you might be met with scummy rooms and rude staff or you may be treated to a first rate hotel experience. The price you're paying doesn't seem to be the deciding factor. We stayed at a lot of Hiltons and it was a mixed experience.

The Hilton Newport in Wales was middle of the road.

We arrived late at night and the employee working the front desk was very friendly and chatty. Initially, we had a very positive impression of the hotel, even after getting lost trying to find it. There is a maddening traffic circle that you must navigate and if you take the wrong turn-off, you will drive miles in the wrong direction. Beware.

The lobby was nice and although Costa Coffee was closed, the hotel bar (not seen) was in full swing.

We walked down a long hallway to our room.

The room was large, but in desperate need of a refurbishment. A refurbishment does not mean a flat screen TV, although that was appreciated. The decor reminded me of my grandparent's house. It was musty and dingy. The worst part of the room was the bed. The mattress was thin and springy. We did not get a good nights sleep.

Like the room, the bathroom was spacious. The lighting level was really low, making it difficult to see while getting ready in the morning. They also had a funny old-fashioned hairdryer still mounted to the wall, even though it was in disuse.

Despite my complaints, this was far from the worst hotel (or worst Hilton) that we encountered on our trip. In fact, some of the hotels made me long for our stay at Hilton Newport!

Driving around Wales, near our hotel, I took some pictures of the Welsh road signs. This was my first time encountering the Welsh language.

And lastly

UK August-October 2013- Strand Palace Hotel

Our first hotel of the trip (and there have been many) was the Strand Palace in London. The Strand Palace is a hotel that Dan's parents like when they visit London and they very generously treated us to four nights in the hotel to kick off our trip.

The Strand Palace is a grand building that was erected in 1909. It has many art deco decor touches, but is completely modern in the rooms. I'm so used to visiting Las Vegas, where a hotel is outdated after ten years and knocked down within twenty, that it has been amazing to stay in so many old hotels and inns during this trip.

Here are a few pictures of the reception, which had several large fish tanks.

Since the Strand Palace is an older hotel and has been modernized to include en-suite bathrooms, the space in the rooms is a bit tight. It felt like being in an Ikea store mock-up, where the functionality of the space was a top priority. The rooms do not have closets, but they do have several shelves and plenty of drawers.

The color scheme and decor were very tasteful and most important, the bed was comfortable. I've had a real lesson in hotel beds during this trip and I have learned the importance of not only a good mattress, but quality linens. The linens make such a huge difference to getting a good nights sleep. The Strand Palace nailed it.

The bathroom was nice with a big, deep bathtub. The only complaint regarding the bathroom was the lack of storage. As well thought out as the bedroom was with regard to storage space, it was the opposite story in the bathroom. They need to add a shelf for toiletry storage.

Normally I'm not too bothered by the complimentary toiletries, but I need to give a special mention to the Brazilian Nut Body Lotion provided by the hotel. It smelled fabulous and I even took the leftovers with me. It was good enough to track down the supplier and buy some for home. The fragrance reminded me of a beach vacation.

The best thing about The Strand Palace Hotel is its location. We were a short walk from Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Station, The London Eye, Big Ben, et... The fantastic accessibility makes this hotel a great home base for exploring the city.

I highly recommend The Strand Palace for your next visit to London.