Staycity Serviced Apartments - Edinburgh

While on a two week trip to Europe, my plan was to have a semi-break in the middle by renting an apartment.  This would give us the opportunity to have a couple of home cooked meals, as well as getting a chance to do some laundry.

I had read pretty good reviews about the Staycity Apartments on hotels.com and Trip Advisor, but the recurring theme seemed to be the hard to find location and to a lesser extent the staff.

The only thing I knew was to take the airport shuttle and get off at Haymarket Station.  From there, it would be a scavenger hunt, because according to most of the reviews, Staycity was located in a residential neighborhood and most locals did not even know of its existence.

While on the shuttle bus, one thing was crystal clear.  They were doing major construction in Edinburgh, so a tough challenge got even worse.

After getting off of the shuttle bus, we took a couple minutes to try and get our bearings.  Of course, never being in the city before we had no idea where we were.  Fortunately, we ran into a couple of locals who were very helpful in pointing us in the right direction.  Despite us having a small map, they were not exactly sure where the apartment was.  They looked on their GPS on their cell phone and then had a pretty good idea of where the apartment was located.

The walk to the apartment is very long and uphill, so if you have a lot of luggage be prepared for a long and strenuous trek.  After having some familiarity with the place, it might be easier to take the regular bus since it drops you off much closer to the apartment with no hills.

Staycity now has a sign in front of the apartments, something that seems to have been missing in many of the reviews I read.

Check-in was efficient.  We arrived a little early, so the apartment was not ready.  There are storage lockers where you can put your luggage so you have time to explore the city a little if you do arrive early.

The one bedroom, one bathroom apartment has laminate flooring.  As you enter the apartment, the bathroom is to the left.  Straight and to the right is the living room and kitchen.  There is also a small dining table.  The kitchen includes appliances, such as a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, dish washer and washing machine/dryer.  The bad thing about the washing machine/dryer is that is a combination unit.  Although it washes clothes nicely, the dryer function is just horrible.  It is basically a hot spin cycle.  It would take several hours to dry clothes, if lucky.

The bedroom is on the smaller side, with a small closet.  The king bed is comfortable, but outlets are severely lacking throughout the apartment.

The bathroom is large with a huge shower.  There is plenty of counter space and a medicine cabinet.

If your goal is to be close to the city center, Staycity is probably not for you, as it is a good 15-20 minute walk or bus ride to the city center.  If you are looking for a well kept place, with a lot of space, then Staycity is for you.  I would also recommend Staycity for those with large families or groups as it becomes more cost efficient



11 Brandfield Street
Haymarket
Edinburgh, EH3 8AS

Kampung Ali - Edinburgh

Kampung Ali Entrance

It was surprising to find a Malaysian restaurant in Edinburgh, especially one that has seemed to have gained a fairly good following.

The restaurant is sort of an odd mix decor wise.  There are various maps, pictures and figurines of Malaysia, however there is also paintings on the ceiling, fairly reminiscent to the Sistine Chapel.

Service is friendly, although somewhat slow.  They are not proactive with their customers.  Rather than greeting you when you first sit down and asking if you would like a drink, it almost seems like the staff waits until you are ready to order before approaching you.

Roti Cani

The Roti Cani consist of round pieces of flat bread, vaguely resembling a flour tortilla for those not familiar, with a curry dipping sauce.  The dipping sauce has a strong curry flavor, with lots of warming spices and a nice spicy finish that tingles the back of your tongue.

Malaysian Curry Prawns

The Malaysian Curry Prawns, one of the signature dishes, consists of head on peeled shrimp in a spicy curry soup.  The prawns were slightly overcooked and mealy, but heads and shells added a depth of flavor to the broth.  There is a slight kick to the dish, but nothing that will set your mouth on fire.  Overall, a somewhat disappointing dish due to the overcooking of the prawns.

Singapore Noodles

The Singapore Noodles is a type of chow mein, with thin egg noodles.  The shrimp and chicken were cooked slightly overcooked and mealy, but heads and shells added a depth of flavor to the broth.  For some reason, the dish seemed “overly dry”

Although the Roti Cani was flavorful, the rest of the dishes seemed to be lacking in seasoning.  One thing I noticed in the UK, is that restaurants seem to be afraid of using salt to enhance the flavor of their food.  I am not sure if this is a cultural thing, or whether they are trying to be on the safe side in order not to offend the many different visitors they get throughout the world.

97-101 Fountainbridge

Edinburgh EH3 9QG

The Tailend - Edinburgh

What trip to the United Kingdom would be complete without some fish and chips?

On an episode of “No Reservations”,Anthony Bourdain went to The Mermaid, but after asking some locals, most of them had never heard of it.  Probably not a good sign.

I was pointed to The Tailend, not exactly in the city center, as it is located in Leith, but only a 10-15 minute bus ride away.  Despite the location, most of the diners were American, oddly enough.

The restaurant is split up into two section: one a take-out place, and the other half a casual sit down restaurant.

There was a new waitress working the shift who didn’t understand English all that well, so service was sort of slow.  She was super nice and very attentive however.

The shrimp appetizer includes four plump shrimp that were deep fried.  The shrimp were succulent and crisp.  Unfortunately, we had ordered the grilled shrimp but didn’t make a big deal out of it.  A small side salad was served with the appetizer, however it had seen better days as it was very tired looking, with some very wilted and brown pieces of lettuce.  Very few leaves were crisp.  Even the tomatoes were a little over ripe and did not have much flavor.

Shrimp Appetizer

The Fish and Chips are the reason you are here.  A large piece of fish is lightly battered and perfectly fried.  It is super crisp and not at all greasy.  The meal comes with a small side of garden peas or mushy peas, and a huge mound of chips.  The chips are thick cut, and are crisp on the outside, and smooth and creamy in the middle.

Fish & Garden Peas

Chips

The “Chocolate Pudding” is a little misleading, as it is really is a molten chocolate cake.  The cake is moist, but a little dense and heavy with a large river of melting chocolate oozing out of the center.

Chocolate Pudding

 The Sticky Toffee Pudding is a nice large piece of cake, which is a little dense covered with an overly sweet toffee sauce.  The sweetness is reduced by the scoop of ice cream (or whipped cream if you like, I believe) dolloped on top.  It was hard to discern if there were dates or prunes in the cake, but very good nonetheless.  Although this is a rich dessert, it is well worth the calories.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

If you are in search of some good fish and chipsre in search of some good fish and chips, you can’t go wrong with The Tailend.

14-15 Albert Place

Leith Walk

Edinburgh EH7 5HN

Delta SkyMiles Contest

Delta is giving away 300,000 miles through their contest via their shopping portal, Sky Miles Shopping.

Entry is free, however you must be a Delta Sky Miles member.  Membership is also free.

You can earn 5 entries per day by shopping online or through the toolbar, and 1 entry for searching through the toolbar, and 1 entry for viewing the Bonus Miles Page.

Contest ends October 31, 2012.

Hilton "Hawaii Five-0" Contest

Hilton has partnered with the CBS TV show Hawaii Five-0 for a great contest.

There are 3 prize packages, including stays at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Hilton Waikiki Beach, and the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

You must be a Hilton HHonors member to enter, but enrollment is free.

Click here to enter.

Additional entries are gained with each global Hilton Hotels & Resorts stays.

The contest ends on January 5, 2013.

Hilton HHonors - Bourne Legacy Contest

Hilton is currently running a contest in association with The Bourne Legacy Movie.

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Hilton London Olympia

The Hilton London Olympia gets a lot of bad press because of their location, which I don’t believe is totally justifiable.

Yes, it is located close the Olympia overground station, unfortunately that train does not arrive on a regular basis.  The other option is to take the High Street Kensington station which is down the street, however transporting your luggage does not make this a fun walk.

If not taking the much closer Olympia station, I would suggest getting off at the High Street Kensington station and taking the #9 or #10 bus, which almost drops you off at the front door.

As you enter the hotel, the registration desk is directly in front of you.  Check-in was quick and efficient.  I was given an Executive King Room with Executive Lounge access.  As a Hilton HHonors Gold Elite, room upgrades are based on availability, as is access to the Executive Lounge.

It should be noted that I contacted the hotel prior to my stay, as we were staying the Hilton London Olympia for our anniversary.  I had requested a room upgrade if it was available during our stay, and received an email from the Business Development Department informing me that we would have an upgraded room during our stay.

As you enter the room, there is a stand up closet directly to the left which also contains an iron, ironing board, robes, slippers and safe.  The bathroom is located right next to the closet, and contains a shower/tub combination along with Peter Thomas Roth amenities.  Although the bathroom is not huge, it is much more spacious than many other bathrooms in Europe. 

Bathroom

Sink

Amenities

Toilet

 The bed is comfortable, but does not appear to be a true king bed.

Bedroom

There is a desk with a dresser next to it, on which the TV sits.  The desk has plenty of work space.

Desk & TV

There is also a small table with two chairs.  As a surprise, we were given some chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine.

Wine

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

As a Hilton HHonors Gold, benefits include free internet and free breakfast.  The breakfast buffet was fantastic and included hot dishes such as eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, beans and oatmeal.  There was also several types of smoked fish, cereal, breads and baked good, yogurt and fresh fruit.

The Executive Lounge is clean, well maintained and spacious.  The attendants are very friendly and accommodating.  Different types of soda, beer, and wine are offered, in addition to water, juice and coffee.  There are several types of snacks including nuts, crackers, cookies and fresh fruit.  Breakfast is also offered as an alternative to the breakfast buffet.  There are also hors d’oeuvre in the evening.

The Executive Lounge also has two computers with a printer for any business needs that may arise.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, as is the concierge.

Although some reviews online are not favorably of the Hilton London Olympia, mainly because of its location, with a little knowledge the location of the hotel does not pose a problem.

I would highly recommend staying at the Hilton London Olympia and would stay here again without hesitation.

Hyatt Regency Paris - Charles De Gaulle

The Hyatt Regency Paris - Charles DeGaulle is billed as a convenient airport hotel, but in actuality is not all that close to the airport.

The hotel does have a shuttle, but it is not all that reliable, as has been discussed by other bloggers and travel forums.  When waiting for the shuttle to the hotel, a wait of approximately 40 minutes was needed.  I was about to hail a taxi when the shuttle van finally did arrive.

After entering the hotel, the registration desk is directly to the left.  Unfortunately, when I got there no employees were in sight.  It took a few minutes before an employee did come to the front desk.  Registration was prompt, however the front desk employee did not direct me to the only working bank of elevators.

I headed to the closest set of elevators to the registration desk only to find out that they did not work.  After heading back to the registration desk, only then was I informed that the working elevators were located towards the back of the hotel.

Hotel Lobby

Lobby Atrium

Elevators hidden behind trees

I was given a Club King room, which was about the size of your average room in Europe.

There was a king bed, a small chair, with dresser and TV.

Bedroom

Bedroom

The bathroom was fairly large with a combination shower/tub.  There is very little counter space, which is always a hassle when traveling.

Bathroom

Bathroom

My main problem with the bathroom was the shower/tub set-up.  There was only a partial shower door, which always gets water all over the floor and allows heat to escape.  The second issue was with the height difference between the bathroom floor and the tub.  It must have been close to a foot, which can be a hazard since it is such a large difference.  With a wet floor, slipping and falling can easily occur.

The other problem with the room is that the air conditioner worked very poorly.  This made the room extremely uncomfortable.

The Regency Club had a very small selection.  There were only a couple of pieces of fresh fruit, some dried fruit and nuts, along with a selection of drinks.  The Regency Club is somewhat small, although it is two stories.  There was no attendant in the club either.

In order to get into Paris, you need to take the shuttle back to Charles De Gaulle Airport, then take the RER or other mode of transportation into the city.  This is a major setback due to the unreliability of the hotel shuttle.  It also takes about 15 minutes for the shuttle ride between the airport and hotel.

After going into Paris, we waited for over 50 minutes for the shuttle to arrive to take us back to the hotel.  The shuttle never arrived, and we ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel.  As we had an early flight the next morning, this was a huge waste of time.

After speaking with the front desk manager about the unreliability of the shuttle, he said that he would look into it, and did apologize for the inconvenience and gave me 5,000 extra Gold Passport points.

The Hyatt Regency Charles De Gaulle is a nice hotel, but not exactly close to the airport.  If you aren’t pressed for time this is a good choice, as the hotel is clean and well maintained.