UK August-October 2013 - London Gluttony R.S. Hispaniola

Just a few hours after we arrived in London, Dan's parents took us out to dinner on the R.S. Hispaniola, a boat docked on the Thames River. My jet lag and travel exhaustion melted away as we walked from the Strand Palace Hotel to the R.S. Hispaniola and I soaked in my first sights of London.

The boat has two decks and as the bottom deck was closed off for a private event, we sat on the top. One of the biggest reasons that you should dine on the R.S. Hispaniola, is the unparalleled views of London. We were directly across from the London Eye.

The menu was filled with a variety of options and with my mind on London overload, I found it hard to decide.

I finally settled on the Goat Cheese and Walnut salad for a starter with the Risotto Primavera for my main. Dan's mom also had the same starter and main.

Dan started with the Scallops on Asparagus and had the Welsh Lamb Chops for his main. Dan's father also had the lamb, but had the pigeon for his starter.

Dinner was delicious and we ended with some equally amazing desserts. I was curious about the Traditional Summer Pudding, so Dan ordered it for me to try, while I stuck with the safe bet of the Icebox Chocolate Parfait. The Traditional Summer Pudding is a mix summer berries cooked in their own sauces with bread to hold it together. It was okay, but I'm glad that I ordered the parfait! Dan's parents had a cobbler and a lemon based cream dessert.

Here is a shot of our group at dinner. A big thank you to Dan's parents for starting off our UK trip in style!

A few more pictures of the boat.

If you're looking for a special place for a meal in London, I highly recommend the R.S. Hispaniola. Stay tuned as I have many more UK restaurant reviews coming soon, including the best pub meal ever!

Movie Review- Kick-Ass 2 at the Odeon Lounge

We splashed out and had a big treat a few weeks ago in London, when we went to the Odeon Lounge for a showing of Kick-Ass 2.

We have the lounge movie experiences in Los Angeles, but for as much as Dan and I go to the movies, we have never tried one. After a long day of sightseeing, we needed to have a relaxing night out and decided to give it a shot.

The lounge area is separate from the rest of the cinema. We were greeted at the lounge entrance by an employee who was our server both in the lounge and in the screening room. We had already picked our seats when we purchased our tickets and he instructed us to enjoy the lounge and told us that he would personally escort us to our seats about ten minute prior to the start of the film.

The lounge is beautifully done, with plush seats and low level, romantic lighting. We were there on a work night and there were only a handful of people in the lounge and in our showing. I imagine that on a busy night, it would feel like being at a nightclub and it would almost seem a shame to leave the bar to head into a movie. I'm saying this as a huge movie fan!

I ordered an espresso martini and Dan had a Dark & Stormy to drink as we lounged in the bar. It was too early in the evening to have dinner in the cinema, so we did a reverse and had dessert first. We each had a massive serving of profiteroles with ice cream that we were served in the cinema during the previews.

The seats in the theater are clustered into small rows, that feel intimate. Unless you're a very small party and the the theater is packed, you are likely to only be sitting with your personal group. The seats to the side fully recline and seem to be the preferred spots. It's small enough that every seat has a great view.

Although a very lovely theater with great staff, I'm not sold on the experience. It was very distracting. We had a call button in our seats in case we wished to place additional orders during the film. I can't imagine doing this, but other people did. Although the server was as discreet as possible, it was hard to tune out the talking and noise associated with order taking and delivery. It was horrible.

The checks arrived in the last fifteen minutes of the film, during the climax. I have no idea why this couldn't have been handled immediately after the movie, as it was a huge distraction.

I think this experience would be okay, if the food/drink service was done outside of the theater. I would have loved to have enjoyed a meal in the lounge prior to the movie and just had cocktails (preordered) during the film. It was too fussy and distracting of an environment to really enjoy a movie.

On the flip side, the experience was okay, because Kick-Ass 2, was not a very good film. I had not seen the original Kick-Ass, but had heard great things about it. The second one was such a mediocre film, that it left me with zero desire to watch the original, despite the positive reviews and urging of friends. Kick-Ass 2 was extremely silly with forgettable, cardboard characters and a stereotypical villain. i couldn't help but think that I was missing something from not having seen the first movie and that impacted my interest in the movie.

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.