Mr. and Mrs. Smith - UK & Ireland Hotel Collection - Juliet Kinsman > Reviews (1)

** Please note that this review is on volume 2, which is not the book in the picture**

Mr and Mrs Smith is essentially a travel guide, but not in the same way the AA is a travel guide. This book only looks at a handful of hotels and they must be 4 or 5 * or boutique hotels.

It is a very stylish book and can be picked up at most book shops for about £20 – £25. You may think this is quite expensive, but an added benefit is that in every book you receive a Mr and Mrs Smith card. All you have to do is register the card on the website and it allows you to receive free gifts and discounts at the hotels they feature, both in the book and on their website www.mrandmrssmith.com.

The book starts with an introduction from the people at Mr and Mr Smith and explain that is has been going for nearly 5 years now. On the second page is where you can find your card. If it is not there (because you might have bought it second hand or someone might have stolen it!) then you can send your proof of purchase to the address supplied in order to receive another card.

There is then a contents page which shows which regions they feature in all four countries (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) and the names of the hotels in each region. On the opposite page is a map which shows the location of all the hotels.

On the next 2 pages there is an ‘At a glance’ section where it breaks the hotels down into several different categories including room rates, number of rooms, coastal retreats, spa stays and great gastronomy. This is good if you are looking for something specific from your get away because you can skip directly to the page without having to read about each hotel first.

The book starts with the hotels in England and the header page again breaks down the regions and lists the hotels featured in each region. There is then a section for each region. There is a lot of information, for example the Cotswolds – it tells you how to get there, some local knowledge of some places worth visiting and there is a diary of events. There is also a section called ‘worth getting out of bed for’ which gives lots of activities for the children, the say tripper and details of local markets and places to shop. This is repeated for all regions in all 4 countries.

The regions featured are:

England

Cornwall
The Cotswolds
Cumbria
Devon
Dorset
East Sussex
Liverpool
London
Northeast Somerset
Peak District
Suffolk
Thames Valley
West Sussex

Ireland

Belfast
County Meath
Dublin

Scotland

Edinburgh
Glasgow
Wester Ross

Wales

Brecon Beacons
Cardigan Bay
Camarthen Bay
Vale of Glamorgan

There are then reviews written on each hotel. There is at least one hotel featured in each region yet in this book the most hotels featured are in the Cotswolds. The reviews are written just as they would be on here. It normally involves a couple, one of which is employed by Mr and Mrs Smith, who go and stay at the hotel. I think they normally go under cover which means that the hotel staff do not know they are reviewing the hotel.

The reviews are very detailed and I really enjoy them because it gives a real sense that you are there with them at the hotel.

It is honest opinion and although they have to be diplomatic and can’t be horrible about the hotel, you still know it is coming from the heart.

At the end of each review there are a few essential details about the hotel such as price, check in and check out times and the facilities in both the room and the main hotel.

There is also a section called ‘In the know’ which gives some inside knowledge on the hotel such as rooms to avoid, the reviewers favourite rooms and some handy hints and tips.

At the bottom of this page it gives details of what discount or free gift you can get at the hotel when you produce your Mr and Mrs Smith card.

I love this book and it is one of my most treasured possessions at the moment. I come from a hotel background having studied it at university and there is something about hotels that really appeals to me. The book has great pictures and so much information. It is really stylishly designed as well to a really high quality. The pages are really thick and smell really nice too!! Also, I live in the Cotswolds so I was interested that there were so many hotels featured in this region. I have visited a few of them, just for the day, and the local information was really helpful as well.

If you were planning a trip away and wanted a nice boutique hotel to stay in then this book is the one for you. It gives reviews that you would not find on the hotels website and if you were unsure about location there is enough information in here to help you make a decision.

Even though it maybe more expensive that other leading travel books I feel that it is great value for money (even though I have not yet stayed at any of the hotels featured and because of that haven’t yet used my card, but looking at the pictures is enough for me!).

There are also hundreds more hotels featured on the website and if you were looking for a special get away gift for someone they also do gift vouchers.