Hotel San Michele, Capri

05/06/202505/06/2025

A beautiful hotel needs a few prerequisites: such as friendly welcoming staff, a great buffet breakfast, a pool to escape to and well serviced rooms.

Hotel San Michele has all this and an incredible view, which is worthy of staying for if the only reason.

The rooms are well kept and have a nostalgic charm. I had a very small, tiny room on the second floor with possibly the best views of the island. It was room 203 but it was a single bed and so tiny you could NOT swing a cat in there. I affectionately called it my Capri Grotto.

Given the time of year, it was very hot and the pool along side the hotel is free to use for guests, including a beach towel and sun chair. It can get busy so pick the times that you go.

The pool restaurant was definitely a stand out. With fresh fish, yummy salads, attentive staff, I only really discovered it on my last day and of course, the obligatory bellini ( a spritz type drink with prosecco and peach juice).

Not normally a fan of breakfasts nor buffet bars, it’s not something I factor in when considering a hotel. However, the buffet breakfast at Hotel San Michele was exceptional. Not on a Sheraton cook anything you want level, but on another level. Lots of cheese, cold meats and small selection of hot foods. The usual Americana junky breakfast foods. And lots of fruit and salad ingredients.

I don’t normally have breakfast but did enjoy my breakies at the hotel which are included in the price.

I will be going back to stay as the rooms, the views, the staff and pool/bar next door make this an easy place to stay.

Book here.

Holroyd House Toowoomba

11/07/202011/07/2020

Shelly & Jonathon are wonderful hosts at the Holroyd House.

Set in the very pretty northern suburbs of Toowoomba but still walking distance to town (albeit a long walk) is their cottage and loft.

The cottage is anything but a cottage and is a large family home with wonderful living spaces, but on this occasion we stay in the self contained loft.

It is a beautiful loft with self contained kitchen, separate bathroom and walk in waldrobe.

The furnishings are delightful with little gestures such as fresh water and chocolates.

The bed is firm and comfy with electric blankets so the room is cosy and the bed toasty.

A big surprise is the breakfast which is included. We are gluten and dairy free so didn’t want to inconvenience Shelly but she made the most amazing hamper with coconut yogurt, granola, fresh berries, dairy free cheese, GF bread, GF banana cake, ham and home made relief.

I am happy to recommend this place and we will be making this our stay-place when we come to Toowoomba. Thank you Shelly and Jonathon.

VR Rotorua Lake Resort

20/07/201920/07/2019

Accommodation in Rotorua is tricky.

At one end you have dorm style back packer and at the higher end you have some boutique resorts.

Finding something in between is a challenge and weekends are particularly challenging (and a bit pricey). If you have the option plan ahead or do what we did and stay a little bit out of town.

The VR Rotorua Lake Resort is a family friendly hotel about 15 minutes outside of Rotorua on it’s own lake. Lake

The friendly staff are really helpful and the facilities whilst a little older are just fine!

Our room has quite a romantic feel with a spa tub that opens onto the main room. The main room opens on the grassed area infront of the lake giving us direct access to the jetty and vast lawns. It is a really tranquil and beautiful spot.

We arrive late so head straight for a hot tub and sauna. Both are delightful. The pool is a 28 degrees.

In the morning we get to use the kayaks free of charge and have a quick paddle on the lake. The lake is actually a series of locked lakes that cover a wide part of the country side.

We don’t eat at the resort but the restaurant serves until late and breakfast can be purchased additional to the room. There are tennis courts for those keen for a hit. All in all, we decide we will be back and might even bring the kids.

Exotica Bali Hotel – the best villa in Canggu for value

21/10/2017

My friend asked today ” Why don’t you have your own villa in Bali?” seeing as I travel there all the time and lately have been heading over monthly.

I have looked into it, but while the ease of staying at a place such as Exotica Bali (Bed and Breakfast) is available I can’t justify the debate in my head.

Last night is the first time I have stayed there and I shall be booking ahead of time for my next visit. It books out quick!

The villa is about a ten minute walk to the beach – something that always deterred me but this is becoming the more ” hip part” of town anyway. Funky cafes, organic eats, warungs and great shops line the upper part of Jl Batu Bolong.

The entrance to the villa is lovely, the pool perfect and the staff great.

The rooms are luxurious, very well priced and have everything you need while staying away from home.

There is even a drying area for laundry and a “relaxation” space on the first floor over looking the rice fields.

I can highly recommend this place and the tariff includes breakfast!

You can book directly here.

Villa Sonja Ubud

21/10/2017

Ubud is an eclectic arty town about an hours drive from Denpasar airport.

It is well known for the art-yoga-vegetarian scene and definitely worth a stop over for a few nights to explore the local area.

Sprinkled in and around Ubud are free flowing waterfalls, lush rain forests and sacred sights.

Accommodation ranges from home stays – very keep and usually suitable, through to elaborate, six star world class resorts.

This time around I opted to stay at the Villa Sonja as it was close to the side of town where I was doing my reiki course (at Ubud Yoga Centre).

I was really impressed. For the price, the rooms were large and clean.

The villas are an assortment of rooms, (hotel style) and larger rooms. All with private bathrooms.

Two large pools ensures plenty of swimming options and there is a warung for meals on site. I usually eat next door at the Swasti Eco Village as it offers incredible food.

I would rate this place as 7/10 over all. 9/10 value for money.

The Aston Canggu

21/08/2017

Canggu is my preferred place to stay in Bali.

The coast is fringed by different villages and slowly, as tourism increases, Kuta has spread. Legion, Seminyak and now Canggu. Fortunately Canggu has stamped itself as a mecca for surfers and cool folk. It’s not as upmarket as Seminyak and not family driven like Legion.

I love it.

I normally stay in the villas: The Duane and Villa Love Echo as they are great value for money, clean, have a pool and morning breakfast. But this time my beloved villas were booked out!

So I am forced to look else where… and I decide to stay at the Aston, Canggu.

The roof top pool lured me in.. and the close proximity to Old Man’s.

Its a wonderful decision.

From my room we can do a surf check on Batu Balong up to Echo Beach.

The breakfast buffet is excellent and it is very easy for me to find healthy food and non-gluten and non-dairy food options.

The rooms are good. I would request one with a view if you stay. The views are great.

The view from the top floor is even better! And be sure to wiggle your way up to the very top… a nice little sitting area where you can down a Moscow Mule or two!

I really loved staying at this hotel. It’s pricer compared to the villas (the villas are $50-60 per night and the Aston is $140-160).

I am going to find it really hard not to stay here again in the future and go back to my villas.

The Beach Club Monaco

10/05/201710/05/2017

When you mention Monte Carlo and Monaco to people, images of flashy designs, rich and famous and fast cars come to mind. But for me it is different. Of course those elements are there but for me, Monte Carlo (the main part of the province on Monaco) is a gate way to the Cote D’azure and many fun night clubs!

This is my forth visit to town and each visit it feels like home as the surrounds become more familiar. I find the locals very friendly and very accommodating for my high school French.

I have never had a problem with people being rude or not trying to understand me. Quite the opposite, many go out of their way and are almost flirty in nature…

I am in town for the boat show and to network for my art works.

A friend is staying at the Monaco Beach Club and suggests “hanging by the pool” which in my sleep deprived, slightly hung over state sounds heavenly.

My first experience with the hotel is overwhelming. They treat me like a princes and attend to all my needs. The breakfast buffet is simple and adequate and can be consumed overlooking the water.

After breakfast we decide to relax on the terrace (verandah) and watch life go by. Which in this case is watching super yachts bob around on the horizon as helicopters come and go, bringing in guests and supplies.

A few swimmers come to the waters edge and swim out, laughing and giggling and enjoying the serene waters.

I muster a few water colours and the sun beams down on the alcove we find ourselves in.

Beside the hotel is a bluff that is rarely used. I go exploring.

Offering some of the best views of Monte Carlo I find the bluff a childhood delight. I scale up and down it’s little walk ways and lose myself in time day dreaming about making this location home.

All in all the Beach Club Monaco is a world class hotel, offering world class views, with easy access to the beach or the 50 meter pool. The rooms are stunning and clean, the staff exemplorary and the interiors very Monte Carlo and chic. I highly recommend staying here if you can afford it .

Luxury in Ubud – Puri Sunia

22/03/201622/03/2016

Last year I stumbled across the Puri Sunia twenty minutes outside of Ubud.

Balinese rice fields — Rice fields near Ubud Bali

It is a new resort that is very beautifully designed and connected to greenery in a very Bali way.

I stay in a deluxe room and it is deluxe. Much better than some of the other similar rated resorts in this region.

The spa area is good and everyone is welcomed with a complimentary foot spa massage. It really does work – massage is relaxing.

You could simply whittle time away at the resort starting with early morning yoga and stretching. If you want to slide in and out of the pool like I did, you can order excellent pool side dining.

I think you should venture into town for a few “must experience” in Ubud.

Great restaurants, music and bars and funky art shops, Ubud is a well known in-land town higher than the better known beachside town of Kuta near Denpasar.

Ubud sunset — sunset over the rice paddies, Ubud

I love Ubud for it’s organic cafes, it’s colour, it’s history, and clothing shops. A friend of mine has her own female clothing range called Goddess on the Go and she has the material made out of wood! Great fabric, nice and cool and easy to wash. Say I said hi if you make it to her shop.