New Year, New Blog - 2018

Hello viewers,

It is a new year and with that comes a different type of blog. This time I have decided not only in telling you what I am working on but also commenting on the locations I visit with work, the hotels I stay in and the hire vehicles and companies I use.

So, January was a quiet month and relaxing back home in the Isle of Man. However, coming to February the work started. Starting with my favourite, House Hunters International with Leopard USA. This time I will be traveling to Abingdon, near Oxford.

The crew and I will be staying in the De Vere Thames Oxford Hotel which is of the Principal Hotel Company Ltd. I visited this hotel on the 13th February and was staying for 7 nights. Upon arriving the hotel looked amazing and the reception staff couldn’t have offered a better service (as long as you don’t wish for a smile).

Up to the room and it was a Superior Room with a double bed, desk, mini fridge and large TV.

With a nice décor the only thing to do was to test out the bed. Comfortable with plenty of support and various different cushions depending on your sleeping pattern. The rooms were cleaned daily and to a high quality. Fresh milk was provided in little cartons rather than the normal UHT shots. Rooms came also with a safe.

So, you’re probably wondering what could possibly be wrong with this hotel after all nothing is perfect these days. Well, there was an issue. First night with the crew we decided to order some food in the bar/lounge area and trust me you need to be lounging around if you’re going to wait for the food. It took an hour and fifteen minutes for a couple of salads, and a couple of burgers to come out. When staff decided to come clear the plates away and ask how things were, we mentioned the time wait and was told the record was 45 minutes. Later the staff member did apologise for being abrupt with us and his service was perfect for the rest of our visit. However, the food was never quick for bar food and this was put down to a Valentine’s Day Package that meant the hotel was fully booked with A Le Carte menu being served to 180 guests taking the 5 chefs away from making simple food for us not celebrating the day.

I did raise this with the General Manager via email who informed me that she was new to the company and accepted the criticism and also that she would deal with this personally. She also asked me to book directly with her for a re-visit and hopefully better food.

De Vere Thames Oxford Hotel gets a 3.5 stars from me and I hope that one day I can go back and give them the 4 stars that the tourism board has given them.

During my visit I was driving a VW Transporter 9 seater rented from Hertz at Gatwick. I approached the North Terminal as that is who I flew into and thought great, no need to travel to South Terminal like normal. BIG MISTAKE!! The Hertz staff member was quite abrupt, rude to everyone and took far too long to just hand me some keys. This was booked and paid for on a corporate account and at the South Terminal has never been an issue. This lady, tried to charge me the amount and deposit for the vehicle and demanded her colleagues at the South Terminal to bring the vehicle to me. When I asked if it was easier for me to go to South Terminal she said “No, she will sort it” and made me wait 45 minutes for a car. When I finally get the car, it was a standard eco transporter. I have used these many times and in the industry they are very good.

After my visit, I travelled back to Gatwick to drop of the transporter and pick up a private hire car to have some me time for a few days. I was given a Vauxhall ADAM and managed to clock up a thousand miles. But at a cost, of £160 which I thought was slightly un-economical. The car also sported several issues; a cup holder situated in near the back seats which creates a pain for having a brew whilst driving. The car was sluggish and as I said above, drank fuel when sitting at 70mph on the motorway. It was also not comfortable and suffered from every pothole and bump out there.

Highly recommend you stay away from the Vauxhall ADAM but this was hired from Enterprise at Gatwick South Terminal and I use these a lot. Perfect service again.