If I were to pick a single hotel in Sydney as a favourite (taking cost into account) The Grace Hotel would be it. Continue reading “The Grace Hotel – Great Location”
Amnokgang Hotel: “Clean and Comfortable”
Until mid 2013 Sinuiju was off limits to western tourists and those who exited North Korea by train only stopped in the train station for customs and immigration formalities which took place on the train, as they still do for those proceeding into China. Visitors from China could only enter on a day trip with no overnight options.
Since mid 2013 it has been possible to stop-over in Sinuiju. At present there is only one hotel at which foreign visitors can stay – the Amnokgang Hotel. Continue reading “Amnokgang Hotel: “Clean and Comfortable””
SamaraH Hotel Metropole – Riga
On arrival into Riga following our over night ferry trip of Stockholm the first thing we did was check into our hotel in the Old City.
The SamaraH Hotel Metropole turned out to be the best hotel we stayed in on our six week trip to Scandinavia and the Baltics in 2015. I say ‘turned out’ as that’s not how it started. Continue reading “SamaraH Hotel Metropole – Riga”
Sleeping, Eating and Coffee from Heaven
We were given a choice of two hotels for out overnight stop in the Mt Myohyang area. The first was the luxury Hyangsan Hotel, tucked away at the base of Mt Myohyang. A couple of our group, wisely, chose to stay here so we did get a look around – see below. Continue reading “Sleeping, Eating and Coffee from Heaven”
Ryonggang Hot Spring House
We had been up since around 6am so when we arrived at our hotel, the Ryonggang Hot Spring House, at around 8pm we well and truly needed a rest. But no, before we were given our room keys we had to eat dinner first. Such is the life of a tourist in North Korea. Continue reading “Ryonggang Hot Spring House”
Kaesong Folk Custom Hotel: ‘Traditional Korean Hotel’
There are very few places where visitors are permitted to stay in Kaesong and you, like me, will most likely stay at the traditional Korean style Folk Custom Hotel, opened in 1989 and situated on the periphery of Kaesong old town. This is a good thing as long as you are aware that it is a traditional Korean hotel so you will sleep on a padded floor mat and eat sitting on the floor. Continue reading “Kaesong Folk Custom Hotel: ‘Traditional Korean Hotel’”
Days Inn, Forbidden City
When I book accommodation, after basic cleanliness, my number one criteria is location which in most cases has to be traded off against cost. Whether the front desk staff are friendly and can speak English or otherwise is of secondary importance as I am very self sufficient when travelling. Indeed I am becoming fond of check-in and check-out machines which are becoming increasingly common in countries like Japan.
I digress, back to Days Inn Forbidden City. Continue reading “Days Inn, Forbidden City”
Ladder Hill Fort – Soon to be Hotel
This is one of seven former fortifications on the Island and is located above Jamestown on Ladder Hill and accessed by a winding road up the valley side or, more interestingly, via Jacob’s Ladder. The picture below, which I love, is a rather stylised picture of the road to the Fort, painted in 1821 by James Walten – a rather famous British traveller and artist of the time. The cliffs are not quite that sheer – as you can see from photos in my Jacob’s Ladder review. Continue reading “Ladder Hill Fort – Soon to be Hotel”
The Rambling Wombat 