Jan 21
š5ļøā£ I stayed in 62 hotels last year. 62. I havenāt worked out the number of nights because it might be debilitating. Many of these hotels represented just a bed and a shower on a work trip. Others however were calming sanctuaries of joy and family time.
Iāve rattled 62 down to 5 plus a couple of honourable mentions. Here are My Top Fives Favourite Hotels from 2025 š©
Please click for moreWe bookmarked our holiday in Qatar with fleeting visits to a couple of Florida spots that we hadnāt visited in a long while.
Boca Raton I was last in 20 years ago, and Coral Gables was a place we used to visit regularly but our last time there was pre-pandemic.
Please click for moreIāve had a bit of a tour of Florida this past week. Orlando with work, Ocala for a swim meet, back home to Sarasota, tomorrow to Boca Raton and then Miami for a long flight on Thursday.
More on the 14 hour flight from Miami later.
Please click for moreš5ļøā£. I stayed in 39 hotels last year, over a hundred nights not in my own bed, and there were plenty of AirBnB stays too, but I canāt get excited about them.
I do like a hotel, especially fancy ones, although sadly they werenāt always fancy. Anyway, I have selected a handful and these are my 2024 Top Five Favourite Hotels šØ
Please click for moreYou probably would only heard of Ocala if you are a competitive swimmer or a competitive equestrian, or have it in yourself to watch either.
The city of Ocala is nestled between the eastern and western coasts of the northern part of Florida. The area is home to over 400 thoroughbred farms and training centreās and is considered the āhorse capital of the world.ā Kentucky, Newmarket, Ireland, Chantilly and Dubai might have something to say about that claim, but it is most definitely horsey.
Please click for moreWe are in Miami tonight prepping for an early flight to Mexico in the morning. Prepping by being sat in a hotel bar drinking martiniās and picking at a bowl of olivesš«.
Please click for moreš5ļøā£ They have been saying travel is back. I donāt think I ever got on a flight last year when there was an empty seat. Prices are high but people want their lives back.
I stayed at 19 hotels in 2022, as I had done in 2021. Last year that number increased to 32 due more than anything to work, meaning settings were function over thrills.
Please click for moreFlying on the red eye tonight from Las Vegas. I had four days in this crazy place on the premise of a best mateās 50th birthday that never got to happen during the pandemic, and was swiftly thrown together for this past weekend.
Las Vegas really is a nuclear attack on the senses. Some of the things you see, and some of things you canāt un-see are disturbingly funny.
Please click for moreš5ļøā£ In 2023 I stayed in the same amount of hotels than I did the year previous which was 19, although that year most of those came in the second part of the year.
Still, five was hard to narrow down last year, but led by our summer holiday location in Puerto Rico I have below selected My Top Five 2022 Favourite Hotels šØ
Please click for moreThe only other time I went to Barbados I stayed with my son up in the north of the island at Saint Peter.
That was 19 years ago, but this past year I was in Barbados twice, both times (first) and (second) to watch my daughter represent Bermuda swimming. Those trips centered around the Aquatic Centre, which forms part of the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex on the outskirts of the capital Bridgetown. The national football stadium Wildey Turf is also there.
Please click for moreBarbados was a blur. I couldnāt decide if it went by in a blink of an eye or it seemed like we were there for weeks.
The reason we were in Barbados was that our daughter was representing Bermuda at the CARIFTA regional swimming championships. Like a Caribbean youth games for under 18ās.
Please click for moreš5ļøā£. Here we are back at the beginning of a fresh year, and therefore my most recent collection of annual Top Fiveās.
In 2020 I stayed in just 4 hotels, but in 2021 I stayed in 19, and the counter only started in June. It was good to get back out there, but a warning for those yet to throw money at hotel stays ā there are still many hospitality restrictions depending on the hotel and location, and do not expect the same level of service(s) as hotels struggle with staffing and personnel. Also, as youād expect very little investment has being going into hotels within the past two years, so also presuppose tired and neglected properties at inflated prices as hotel owners attempt to claw back some money.
Please click for moreWaking up very early in Las Vegas is more precise this morning. My body clock and my eyes are not in tally at all.
I was 14 hours late arriving into Las Vegas yesterday after the plane was hit by lightning on itās journey into New Yorkās JFK, thus meaning an unexpected and irritating stopover at this funky hotel at the airport.
Please click for moreJust back from a little trip to Florida, a couple of days in Miami followed a couple in Fort Lauderdale, just 40 minutes north along the coast, and a place I hadnāt been for 13 years. It had changed significantly, and grown like a sunflower.
Neighbouring towns of Hollywood and Oakwood Park have been engulfed by Fort Lauderdaleās expansion. Once a renowned centre for spring-breakersā high jinks the dive bar and burger joints had all but disappeared and have been replaced by boutique hotels, upscale apartment buildings and a burgeoning restaurant scene.
A statement sending victory that one.
The tactics, game plan and the game management spot on. A magnificent defensive display again even with a makeshift back four, which became even more makeshift when Akin Famewo left the field with quarter of an hour left.
Portsmouth on the back of a very good run themselves presented our biggest challenge to date, and although we started slow, we grew into the game with the midfield four of Pratley, Shinnie, Forster-Caskey and Williams peerless, individually and as a collective.
Bermudaās airport re-opened last week, but I am in no rush to get on a plane. Lockdown has had me constantly thinking of travel, past trips and what future ones look like. I also realized that I never did write about the families trip to the Floridaās Keys at the end of last summer.
The Florida Keys are a coral string of islands that form the southernmost part of the United States. The iconic Overseas Highway runs from Miami to the bottom tip of the keys at Key West. American Industrialist and important developer of the Atlantic Coast of the state of Florida Henry Flagler attempted an ambitious plan to run a train the 160 miles across the 800 islands from Miami in the early 1900ās.
Flaglerās aspiration was to take advantage of the growing but geographically challenging trade between the U.S. and Cuba and the rest of Latin America. Yet despite some innovative engineering, the railroad was continuously hindered by a run of hurricanes but engineers persevered until the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. This CAT 5 devastated the Keys and killed 400 people.
That was the end of Flaglerās project, yet many of the track beds, trestles and bridges remain and form part of todayās Overseas Highway.
The Oscars as anyone walking on the red carpet this evening is fully aware always coincides with the Chicago Addick Shower Gelliesā¢. Since 2006 I have been championing, but mostly lamenting hotelsā judgement in what kind of shower gel, if any, they leave for their guests in their bathrooms.
It has always been a personal source of stupefaction of how some supply enough to run five bubble baths and others offer absolutely nothing, and the quality and cost of the hotel has no bearing whatsoever.
Next on my agenda for my 2019 Top Fiveās is Hotels. Those that know me or have had more than a cursory glance at this Blog will have worked out that I have a fascination with hotels. My travels were way down on previous years, but I managed to still have 20 locations to pick from and these were my Top Five Favourite Hotels:
A quick weekend in Miami to meet the exhausted-other-half and our little Edwina the Eagle daughter after their week skiing in Colorado. Whilst I made the short hop across from Bermuda this morning, they had to suffer a midnight flight and a red-eye from Denver.
A pretty quiet weekend should ensue and a welcome break from work, which is currently relentless and unsympathetic to doing much else including sleeping through the bloody night.
13 years I’ve been judging the quality of the quantity of hotel shower gels. I will never get that time back, but fortunately for you I’ve also spent the past 13 years telling you all about it. I always coincide my Shower Gelliesā¢ with that perhaps better known award ceremony in Hollywood, but whilst theirs comes to you from the Dolby Theatre, mine come from my armchair. No, not my shower.
I spent 80 nights in hotels in 2018 staying at 29 different ones. No wonder the other half says I’m never at home.
Picking my Top Five Favourite Hotels from 2018 was extremely difficult as I was very fortunate to stay in some great places, a few I’d been to before such as last year’s favourite, the 1 Hotel in Miami.
Nestled at 9,000 feet at the bottom of Bachelor Gulch mountain in Colorado is the gigantic dream-like log cabin that is the Ritz Carlton. Iāve been lucky to stay here a number of times and the hotel crowns the mountain range like a Bavarian castle complete with numerous huge log burning fires and a roaming giant St Bernard dog called Bachelor.
Iām no longer a skiier, I was only ever a perennial beginner, and an ACL replacement put paid to my mogul jumping career.
Back from a birthday weekend in New York, which pushed my step counter to record highs. Ask anyone in Bermuda and we donāt walk anywhere here. So it was lovely to walk and walk especially knowing that the option of getting into a yellow taxi would mostly end in frustration as the driver wonāt have any idea of where you are wanting to go, and unlikely to understand much English.
Possibly because my best mate is a black cab driver, but few things in life wind me quite up as much as a local taxi driver not having a solitary clue to where they are going.
We crammed a lot into the weekend and I ate more pasta than I have in a long while, mostly because Eataly, which was close to our hotel, was like a huge gnocchi shaped magnet for us. If you are a foodie and havenāt been in an Eataly then you should add it to your bucket list.
Last summer we spent a week for my birthday in the volcanic Caribbean island of St. Barts, or Saint BarthƩlemy (St. Barths) as the French call it in the French West Indies. Miami is 3.5 hours away and St. Barts lies 160 miles east of Puerto Rico and immediately south of the French and Dutch shared island of Saint Martin, where we flew into to jump on a noisy seaplane for a 15-minute journey across the water to St Barts. The flight is not for the faint hearted but there is the option of a boat, which takes slightly more than an hour.
The island has a jet-setting reputation of photo shoots, paparazzi and huge homes owned by billionaires that mostly sign idle. The haunt monde reputation began in the 1950ās when David Rockefeller bought two plots of land, including one on Gouveneur Beach. That move compelled the Rothschilds to follow and they arrived with a suitcase of cash and developed an estate in a coconut grove nextdoor to the Rockefellers. Today the Rothschild property is the Hotel Guanahani & Spa.
The island certainly has an air of chic. A mixture of St-Tropez sophistication with Caribbean laissez-fare, but the island doesnāt come across as pretentious. Just over 9,000 people permanently live on St. Barts, although around 200,000 tourists visit the just over 9 sq. miles during itās summer months.
I like hotels, you know that, and this week I stayed in two historical buildings that in last year have been tastefully converted.
In Chicago this week I stayed at the old Chicago Athletic Association (CAA). The CAA was established in 1890 just south of the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue. Itās original use was as a private club (for men I am sure) to meet for āathletic, business and social activities.ā Chicago based architect Henry Ives Cobb was inspired by Venetian architecture and the huge building was completed in 1893 with a sold out membership of 3,000 members.
The CAA used to host big national and international sporting events such as boxing and swimming. Many famous sports figures like swimmer and Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller used it to stay and train. The CAA remained a private membership social club for the cityās top brass, and I remember when I lived there it had a very hoity reputation. It closed in 2007.
In Miami for a day and night en route to Colorado for some last minute skiing. The snow omens are good with a fresh powder of snow covering the Rockies. We get to Vail tomorrow lunchtime.
The Easter weather in Bermuda has been chilly (yep I know) but we could feel the warmth as we left Miami Airport this morning, possibly because we had our ski stuff on to save packing it, but the sun has warmed us all, and there were a lot of burnt bodies sat this afternoon by our pool in Miami Beach.
I have literally made this my life’s work. For the 11th year I again scoured hotel showers around the globe testing bathing products, and yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time again to present my Annual Chicago Addick Gelliesā¢ which for maximum publicity I coincide with those lesser known 90th Academy Awards taking place in a shiny theatre somewhere in LA.
Those that have suffered this Blog for a long time know that I have a bit of an obsession with hotel shower gel products, or more specifically, the lack of them, and no one is more surprised than me to think I’ve dragged this ridiculousness out for a over a decade.
The second of my belated 2017 Top Fiveās is Hotels. I stayed in 26 different hotels last year, but after much back and forth Iāve chosen five, so please join me to test the bouncyness of the bed, the 500 thread sheets and copious amount of pillows that usually end up on the floor as I guide you through My 2017 Top Five Favourite Hotelās:
Bermuda has been home for nine and half years which is scary in so many ways. One of my problems with living on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, and I appreciate this for some has itās advantages, is that rarely do things change. Yet in the recent year or so brought about by the Americas Cup, Iāve witnessed a renewed confidence in the local economy and a surge in young and talented Bermudians willing to challenge the status quo.
The Island has seen an uptick in overseas visitors and they have witnessed a much more thriving island, Hamilton in particular where autonomous stores and places to grab a drink or food, often owned by young creative individuals or partnerships compete with the established but often humdrum and uninspiring names, all owned by just a handful wealthy families.
We’ve been coming to Buckhead for six December’s in a row. Buckhead is an affluent area of Atlanta, which when the lights are on, is an easy direct flight from Bermuda. Probably not the first place that conjours Christmas frippery, but over the years we have found plenty of festive family fun stuff to keep us busy for a couple of days as well as providing an opportunity for some last minute shopping.
I’ve spent the last few days staying in Brooklyn, at a hotel at the foot of the iconic suspension bridge that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River. I hadn’t previously spent any real time in Brooklyn, one of New York’s five boroughs, but I did get a little opportunity to explore.
Close up the Brooklyn Bridge is an incredible feat of architecture with it’s immense granite towers and thick steel cables, not to mention its birds-eye views from a span of 1,595 feet. Built in 1883 at a cost of $15m, my hotel room looked out onto it and I found myself just staring at this moving art installation as the sun lit it, the mist hid it, helicopters flew over it, ferries and barges moved underneath it and 120,000 vehicles and 4,000 people criss crossed it on any given day.
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For the 10th consecutive year I am proud to present my Chicago Addick Gelliesā¢ which for maximum publicity I coincide with those lesser known 89th Academy Awards. Those shower gel aficionados amongst you will know that I bang on about this subject close to my heart on a regular basis, and no one is more surprised than me to think I’ve dragged this ridiculousness out for a decade.
Anyway while over in Hollywood there is all kinds of razzmatazz going on, here at the Chicago Add ick Theatre, we keep it short and sweet. No brouhaha, no red carpet, but there will be bubbles, lots of them, but be careful not to get it in your eyes!
Since this time last year I have put my head down in 29 different hotels, and from memory I bathed in all of them. Other than the honeymooners in the next room, what is worse than stood in the shower naked and wet and reaching out to where you’d expect the shampoo and shower gel to be and finding some sandpaper like soap or some awful smelling liquid in a container as big as a pill box?
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My final Top Five selection from last year are things closer to home. Bermuda has much natural beauty, and outdoors is an alfresco activity heaven but beyond that it lacks some modern day indulgences. So I’ve avoided all the natural beauty, which I should remind myself I must never take for granted, and chosen some oddments that make life in Bermuda a little more sweeter.
So, here are my Top Five Favourite Bermuda Things from last year:
My 2nd listing of my 2016 Top Five Favourites. I stayed in 27 different hotels in 2016. Wow, that even surprised myself! But I do love a hotel, especially sumptuous fluffy slippers, flouncy beds and bubbly shower gel type ones.
So, here goes my 2016 Top Five Favourite hotels starts here:
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A few weeks ago we decided to forego an expensive and inevitably frenetic trip home to London and then onto the other half’s sister’s new abode in France. It was a tough decision but work was looking like I wouldn’t be able to be away for a prolonged time and the more we procrastinated, the more bloody expensive the flights got. Thus in the end we made the tough decision not to go home and see our families. We will do a big summer trip instead.
Then we were left with the choice of staying in Bermuda, which would have been fine if a little toasty, 23c on Christmas Day, or making a short trip somewhere else.
Those that read me religiously (thanks Mum) will know we have spent many a weekend in Buckhead over the years, a nice little area north of Atlanta in Georgia. We looked at flights, they were a good price, booked the hotel we always stay at, which is always very Chrismassy (photo), and we flew in last night. And head back to Bermuda on Tuesday.
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Hidden away for a few days in Florida at a very nice hotel in Amelia Island, the southern most point of the chain of barrier islands stretching down the east coast of America. I have been here before, and am happy to be here again, even if this time is work. It says here!
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On Friday I passed a milestone in my life, which in all honesty, I haven’t yet got my head around. We were in Chicago, which made me happy, and a lunch at one of our favourite old haunts in the sun, was followed by an unknown sequence of surprises in the evening.
The secretive-other-half had given me some hints, which turned up a blank, but she was in a real hurry for us to get out of the hotel at 5pm and into a cab south of the city.
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Jul 23
My son has been with us since last weekend which has meant a lot of time in the sun. Understandably he just wants to be outside and in the water, whereas selfishly this time of year here in Bermuda I just want to hide under an air-conditioning unit inside. 100% humidity is no fun, and although the temperature rarely exceeds 29C (85F), the Gulf Stream can bring many winds to this little isle and the summer southern ones bring horrid humidity.
Today to wrap up his latest visit we rented hydro bikes. It was fun biking across the shallow waters of Daniels Head. Out there is the hotel Cambridge Beaches, Daniels Island plus what is left of the 9 Beaches resort, which although in a state of dilapidation or still eerily charming. The shipwreck HMS Vixen is also within reach and the whole area is a haven for turtles and fish. The bikes were a lot of fun and quite a little work out.
One place we all tried for the first time was the new Hamilton Princess Beach Club (photo), which is only around the corner from us. The Green family have completely renovated the 130-year old Hamilton landmark and it is unrecognisable from the over-priced, outdated pink elephant that charged 5 star prices for 2 star quality just a year or so ago.
The Hamilton Princess is a city hotel so the Green’s also acquired the previous land that belonged to the Pompano Beach Hotel on Bermuda’s south shore and in their own inimitable style have built a simple but beautiful Beach Club on the land. We all had dinner there last night with the beach as a backdrop and the fantastic Big Chill as the backing soundtrack. Very nice indeed.
We fly back to Gatwick tonight and will spend a couple of days with parents down in East Sussex where I believe the weather has been equally as hot.
I always coincide my Gelliesā¢ with the Oscars, and unless you are either a shower gel watchdog, or have been unfortunate to have found yourself on my Blog at this time of year before then you either haven’t a clue what I’m on about, or think that I am so disillusioned by everything Charlton Athletic that I have taken to writing about the pros and cons of bodily cleaning fluids.
Whilst over in Hollywood there is all kinds of razzmatazz today, here at the Chicago Addick Theatre, we keep it short and sweet. No brouhaha, no red carpet, but there will be bubbles, lots of them, but be careful not to get it in your eyes!
Since this time last year I have put my head down in 19 different hotels, and from memory I bathed in all of them. Other than the honeymooners in the next room, what is worse than stood in the shower naked and wet and reaching out to where you’d expect the shampoo and shower gel to be and finding a rough old piece of soap or some awful smelling liquid in a container as big as a pill box?
See, you’re getting me, aren’t you.
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My Favourite Things would not be my favourite things if it didn’t include hotels. One day I will find the perfect place and never leave. In 2015 I stayed in 21 different hotels, a smaller number than the year before as I did less work travel.
So come with me and feel the 500 thread count and play with the remote control blinds and find out which were my Top Five Favourite Hotels from my travels last year:
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I have now lived in Bermuda over 7 years, 2 more than I lived in Chicago, which every time I think about it just sounds more incomprehensible. Chicago was a place where everyday I experienced something new. I never found a routine because the city would always throw up alternatives.
Bermuda is not like that, little changes apart from the tide of the sapphire blue Atlantic Ocean. However this year the island finally appeared to come out of the other side of a tough recession and there is a very noticeable wind of optimism coming in with that tide.
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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but I will let you in on a couple of snippets from our trip last week.
Last Tuesday night we saw Elton John at the Caesars Palace Colosseum. We were joined by OAP’s, couples, queen’s, teenagers, uncles out with their nieces and more OAP’s and Elton was in his element in his Las Vegas residency, just extended into next year. His sense of humour shone as bright as his sparkly pink coloured jacket as he rattled through 120 minutes of what must be hundreds of songs from his play list.
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Just as my body clock resets itself I am back on a plane and will be taking my heavy Charlton heart out west again later today.
Las Vegas is our destination and it is half-term, and my daughter’s 6th birthday so we thought why not. Not the usual holiday spot for a 6 year old but there is plenty to do in daylight hours for young kids and the week is all about her except for a small window on Tuesday night when the other half and I have got tickets to see Elton John and will grab a nice meal afterwards.
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We are spending Easter weekend in Florida, at the very north east of the state close to the Georgia border at a place called Amelia Island, named after Princess Amelia the daughter of George II.
According to my research Amelia Island is known for it’s shrimp festival, one of America’s most important petanque tournaments and is listed onĀ Travel & Leisure as one of the USA’s most quirkiest towns!
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Over in Tinsel Town, the celebs are gathering for the 87th Academy Awards, which is a shame because all of the real action is here.
I don’t think my annual Chicago Addick Shower Gelliesā¢ was on the agenda at the Woolwich Grand Theatre or the VIP Q&A this past week, which was disappointing especially as Katrien Meire had offered up one of her minions to present the awards, but for many this is all they are talking about.
There is no red carpet and no long and platitudinous speeches, but there will be awards, the much sought after Gelliesā¢, sadly incredibly in it’s 9th year!
Since this time last year I have put my head down in 25 hotels, and I am happy to report that I showered in all of them. There are many things to get annoyed about when staying in hotels – hard beds, lumpy pillows, thin walls, the cost of WiFi, the long list of taxes and fees upon check out, paying through the nose for bottles of water and mini bar items, but the thing that gets my goat every time is the utter lack of shower gel.
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On my way to Miami Beach this morning with the family for the week.
You might find it hard to believe but I am actually working, proper working. It is our group’s annual Symposium which is my favourite work week of the year, but it entails back to back meetings and presentations from early morning to late at night starting this afternoon.
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With Charlton dominating an eventful January and already early February on my Blog, and rightly so, My 2014 Top 5’s have got pushed out, but I’m going to finish with one more, a subject close to my heart, hotels.
Future Grandchildren – when I am old put me in a plush hotel not an expensive nursing home, and I’ll let you visit.
Here are My 2014 Top 5 Favourite Hotels:
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Oscar night in Hollywood, and time again for my annual Chicago Addick Shower Gelliesā¢ awards.
If you have clicked on here to read about Charlton’s FA Cup run, then I can only apologise, yet if you Googled shower gel, then this will probably be the best five minutes of your life.
No red carpet and no long and platitudinous speeches, but there will be awards, the much sought after Gelliesā¢, incredibly (I amaze myself sometimes) the 8th year I have presented these notorious awards.
Since last February I have kipped in 22 hotels, and I believe mostly showered in all of them as well. I can’t tell you how pissed off I get when hotels charge the equivalent of a quarter of an hour in Wayne Rooney’s company, have beds that are like sleeping on big white fluffy clouds with 46 pillows, television screens the width of a credit card and showers that are glass encased tardises yet expect you to bathe with a thimble of watery liquid, and that’s if you are lucky.
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Exciting foodie news in Bermuda yesterday with the Hamilton Princess announcing that celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson will create the hotel’s new restaurant as part of the $70m renovation of this famous landmark property.
I am a big critic of the restaurants in Bermuda, particularly Hamilton, not necessarily because of the food but what has always annoyed me is the complete lack of any innovation or creativity with one or two exceptions.
Menu’s rarely change, service is mostly lacking and I invariably leave Hamilton’s restaurants after paying more than New York prices cheated, uninspired and apathetic.
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In a warm Miami this morning after a journey back from a very snowy Colorado yesterday evening.
In the last three days we were in Beaver Creek 36 inches of snow fell, the most at this time of many years. This had caused earlier airport issues with a bountiful of cancellations and the tiny Eagle airport near Vail was stretched to breaking point yesterday, as was my patience.
Our flight had a weight problem, so they had to throw a few fatties off and some luggage which caused a lot of consternation and an hour delay all the while after I had to push a wheelchair, carry 7 bags, and herd a 4-year old.
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Next up in my 2013 Top 5’s is a look at the hotels I stayed in during the last year.
50 nights I spent in hotel rooms in 2013, some were functional, some were funky, some were a little flash but the following were my Top 5 Favourite Hotels:
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Saturday was an eventful day. My daughter on her birthday fed baby sharks and sting rays, swam and kissed and cuddled a dolphin, ate her way through an ice-cream mountain and then when fast asleep around 10pm dreaming of I would hope dolphins but probably ice-cream, she was awoken by a huge unannounced firework display a touch down the beach on Paradise Island from where we were staying.
Sleepy eyed she smiled and shuddered in turn at every splash of colour and large bang. It was a day to remember.
Two hours later just as we were about to call it a night after purposely watching again James Bond’s Casino Royale, because the hotel we were staying in plays a starring role, the sound of an alarm thundered around our room. This was followed by a recorded message that there was an incident that was being investigated but there was no need for alarm and to wait for further instructions.
Our daughter was awake again but was soon back to sleep. I opened the door of the hotel and peered into the night. Nothing going on.
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I was just downstairs at reception asking for a new key as I’ve managed to misplace mine. “What room are you in sir?” I was asked. “Um, 1727” I said. “Sorry sir, we haven’t got a room number 1727.”
I had no idea what room I was in, this being the 4th different hotel I’ve stayed in since Monday. I moved from the ultra trendy SLS in South Beach earlier this afternoon to the ultra staid Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne for another worky thing that begins tonight.
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There is some awards show going on in Hollywood tonight for theĀ 85th time apparently but more importantly going onĀ in my whimsical mind are the 7th Annual Chicago Addick Shower Gelliesā¢. If you haveĀ just clicked on this post, then unfortunately you have missed the red carpet, but if you read on then you will find out whichĀ auspicious establishment will be presented with one of my much sought after, or not, Gelliesā¢.
Since last February I have kipped in 31 hotels, and I believe mostly showered in all of them as well. I can’t tell you how pissed off I get when hotels charge the weekly wage of a journeyman League One footballer have beds that are like sleeping on big white fluffy clouds with 46 pillows and showers that are glass encased tardises yet expect you to bathe with a thimble of watery liquid, that’s if you are lucky.
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Next up on the Chicago Addick Top 5 agenda are hotels. When I am old I’d like someone to just move me into one of the five I have listed below. I stayed in 25 hotels in 2012, some for pleasure, some because of necessity. Five stood out from all of the rest and here are my 5 Favourite Hotels:
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After 10 days of burdening friends with a car full of suitcases and overstuffed bags, 2 kids, my insatiable appetite for cold turkey and pickle sandwiches and a thirst for red wine we decided to spend our last night of our Christmas trip in a hotel and have booked ourselves into the very lovely Coworth Park in Ascot.
Whilst 2012 was a year to be proud of being British (and a Charlton fan), 2013 will mark for me 10-years of being away from the country.
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A fantastic wedding weekend in Chicago has been extended by one night as we are holed up in the Hilton at JFK. Due to supposed bad weather, I am guessing somewhere in the world because it was not obvious, our flight from Chicago to New York this afternoon left late and sure enough we missed our connection back to Bermuda.
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No, not mine but me and the family are flying back to London tonight for my mates wedding, the one in which I am one of two best men, the speech is coming along nicely, although I’m finding it hard to keep it below two hours.
The wedding is Friday but before then we are doing a mini tour of Oxfordshire and Essex catching up with friends. This after a late dinner last night with a client and then home to pack in the early hours before getting up silly early this morning to come to work. I can sleep when I’m older.
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After a manic, and an often wearing March at work we leave Bermuda tomorrow for a week away spending the first weekend inĀ Coral Gables, near MiamiĀ and then next week in Colorado followed by the majority of the next weekend making our way back from the mountains to Bermuda, not something the airlines allow us to do simply.
As I posted last weekend we have tickets for the Sony Ericsson Open tennis men’s final on SundayĀ afternoon. In today’s semi’s Rafa Nadal plays Andy Murray and number one seed Novak Djokovic is paired with the 21st seed Argentinian Juan Monaco.
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The Academy Awards are tonight, and as is traditional I will guide you through my annual Chicago Addick Shower Gelliesā¢. If you have just tuned in, then unfortunately you have missed the red carpet.
Now don’t log off, this is the sort of thing that keeps me up at night. I stayed in 25 hotels in 2011, that is one every other week, and I can’t tell you how pissed off I get when hotels charge the weekly wage of a journeyman League One footballer have beds that are like sleeping on big white fluffy clouds with 46 pillows and showers that are glass encased tardises yet expect you to bathe with a thimble of watery liquid, that’s if you are lucky.
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One day I am going to stay in a hotel and not leave it. Just move in. For real. One of my few fanciful splurges is on hotels and these were my favourite five from last year.
1. St Regis, Atlanta
Buckhead in Atlanta has a ridiculous amount of quality hotels, but this one would not look out of place in Paris. The majestic hotel has a southern charm with Roman accents like it’s pool piazza (photo)
Hotel website
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Three prophesied days of fun and frolics in Las Vegas then. Eating, drinking, gambling, a Cirque du Soleil show, shopping and I even managed to throw in a work’s conference as well. The next stop is Chicago, a city that I hold very dear in my heart.
I do like Vegas and if you have never been, it really is somewhere that should appear on your bucket list. A few nights is enough though, for me anyway, because sleeping doesn’t appear high up on the list of things to do and my candle is severely charred at both ends!
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Sarasota, Florida
