Pre-Cruise Hotel for Consideration: Botleigh Grange

I came across the Botleigh Grange Hotel by accident. We were about to celebrate my uncle's 90th birthday at a restaurant in Botley and needed an overnight stay. Botleigh Grange appeared on my search engine results as reasonably priced and close to our destination.  It is an historic, well appointed, country house hotel in its own grounds less than 8 miles by car from the centre of Southampton. The original parts of the building date back to the reign of Charles 1, and Oliver Cromwell not only stayed there, but was great friends with the owner.
To be honest, my expectations of the hotel were not great. The trip advisor reviews were very mixed  and their breakfast inclusive rate for a double room was very inexpensive. We paid £68 for both of us. We were very pleasantly surprised to discover that this was such a great hotel. I then found out that they also offered 21 nights free parking and a taxi to Southampton as part of one of their cruise packages. Alternatively, guests who do not need parking can simply book into the hotel and arrange their own transport.  Obviously their rates vary, according to demand, but, if you are seeking an out of town venue, I would definitely recommend including this hotel in your searches for a pre-cruise stay.
So what can I tell you about this hotel?
The rooms are spacious and well furnished, albeit with older furniture in keeping with the decor. We had a standard double room, and there was plenty of space.

The bed was extremely comfortable, and there was a traditional, but spacious ensuite bathroom.

There was no air-conditioning, but the electric heaters were effective and adjustable. The room was clean and the lighting was good with ample power-points and free wifi. We were delighted to find a hotel where you could actually open a window. Our room overloooked the ramparts, but I resisted the temptation to climb out of the window and role play at Mr Rochester's mad wife!
During our stay, the main restaurant was closed, but there was a bar menu which served a quality menu of freshly cooked food.

The inclusive breakfast consisted of a continental buffet and cooked English. It was freshly prepared and served by friendly and efficient staff. I was particularly impressed with the wide corridors and ample public spaces, although I imagine the hotel would feel much busier when hosting a wedding or conference.

 The lifts appeared large enough for guests with mobility problems, and there was a portable ramp to cover the few steps in the internal porch, if needed. I didn't get a chance to try out the spa, but its use (though not treatments) was included in the cost, and the pool looked very inviting.

  The rear patio contained well lit tables and chairs with heaters.

The hotel campus was accessed from an imposing long drive with fields of horses on either side, and the adjacent business parks were well landscaped and tucked behind hedging and trees. We were delighted  by the two large lakes at the back of the hotel gardens.

So if you are looking for an 'out of town' pre-cruise stay with a bit of historic personality that won't break the bank, then go online and check out the Botleigh Grange Hotel. It definitely exceeded our expectations.

   

Impressions of a Suite on P&O Ventura

In November 2018, my husband Chris and I went on a 3 night mini-cruise on Ventura. Although we have cruised quite a lot over the years we had never travelled in a suite before. This being a short cruise,  we booked a suite for ourselves as a treat. It was a guarantee deal, whereby we did not choose our suite number.  We were allocated R410, otherwise known as the Cathay Suite. This was one of the lower grades of suite on Ventura, situated midships on the Riviera Deck. It had a very convenient position, close to the lifts and within easy reach of most central areas. There was occasional noise of moving furniture from the lido deck above, which might be more intrusive in the Summer, but it did not bother us.
Before I describe the suite in more detail, I would like to make it clear that if we had unlimited funds, we would, of course, always choose a suite, but, like most cruisers, we do have to watch the pennies. In this post, I have tried to give some helpful details for anyone considering the extra expenditure.

So what did we get for our money?
Firstly, and in my opinion, most importantly, we had lots of extra room.....
a large sleeping area, separated from the living space by heavy curtains.

There were two TVs, one in each area, a large dressing table, desk, and an extremely useful extra sink with  glasses and plates stored in an upper cupboard.

     

Storage was generous with ample drawers and a large walk in wardrobe with a full length mirrored door.

There were two double patio doors which led to a well furnished wide (not deep) covered balcony. The cover added extra privacy and considerable protection from the November weather. It would, I am sure, provide shade on sunnier days, but might also cut out a lot of the sun, depending on the position of the ship.

 The bathroom consisted of two rooms, so the sink and toilet were separate from the full size spa bath and shower.

The bathroom was well appointed with all the usual supplies, plus white company toiletries and use of P&O plush towelling dressing gowns.

I soon learnt not to use too much shower gel before turning on the spa!!!

What other extras did we get from our suite status?

• Early embarkation and a buffet lunch with complimentary drinks reserved only for people in suites and top tier loyalty customers. This provided a great start to our cruise, and we felt very privileged.
• Optional breakfast in Epicurean. Breakfast here was lovely, but as the opening times were limited, when the clocks went forward we had to eat rather earlier than we wanted to take advantage of the venue.

 

• Champagne, fruit bowl, chocolates, atlas, binoculars and daily canapes including chocolate dipped strawberries on the formal night.

• And of course the services of a butler in addition to a steward! We did not take advantage of the butler's packing/unpacking services, but it could be useful if perhaps you were elderly with limited mobility. He brought our canapes, visited daily to check if we needed anything, arranged large print menus for my husband, but on such a short cruise we had little need of him. On a longer cruise we might have taken occasional advantage of the in-cabin dining which he would have been happy to arrange.

So would I book a suite again? For a very special occasion or if someone trebled my pension, possibly yes. I would want it to be on a much longer cruise and to choose the location of the suite. Chris's sight is not so good these days, and extra space does help, but for now, we're going back to booking deluxe balcony cabins, which are as large as we can afford. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to have any cabin with a balcony on a cruise ship. Having said that, if anyone on P&O is reading this, we would not say 'no' to a complimentary upgrade!