Advantages: Prints are massive and very high quality
Disadvantages: Big initial outlay - unlikely to be useful for the average home user.

...In the past when we have needed large format prints e.g. for health promotion campaign posters we have either done them by hand or outsourced them. Doing them by hand might sound like the cheapest option and its okay for one-offs but anything more than that has real costs in terms of ‘man’ hours. Outsourcing also has expensive costs and is only worth doing when you want a lot as this brings the cost per sheet down. Due to budget restraints we have had to think much more carefully about how we spend our money and how we can also generate more income. This is the main reason we started to cost oversized printers. These have always tended to be expensive as they were aimed mainly at the commercial market but are now much more reasonable. We decided to buy the HP DesignJet 130, A1 Inkjet Printer mainly due to its price but also because... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Location, price, facilities
Disadvantages: Plain looking room

...on the back, like a credit card, that would allow us to access our room, the main building after it shut at 9 p.m. and the secure car park at the back. The whole building was spectacularly clean and well maintained. The beds were comfy, the showers always hot, and the tumble drier for our soaking towels were well… tumbled. The SB offered bicycles and helmets for free for patrons, so it was possible to go for a short ride and soak up Collaroy. Other recreational activities there included a pool, internet access ($2 for 30 minutes, a bit expensive compared to home rates, but perfect at 1:30 a.m. for a drunken Paul and his rowdy mates) and couple of pool tables. I think that’s about it for recreational, as I said we didn't spend much time in the building (conscious). As for facilities, there was the secure car park, the showers... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: You see life
Disadvantages: The pays terrible

...breakfast trays and running the bar. Many people I know were under the impression that night porters slept most of the night, I can assure you that’s not the case and some nights you barely get a chance to have a cup of coffee let alone sleep. The computer system was quite complicated and Mary and I spent several hours some nights, her on one of the reception computers and me on the other, trying to solve problems that later on when we got used to it only took seconds, but between us we always got there in the end. Thankfully those first few weeks, at the steepest part of the learning curve, ran fairly smoothly, but hotels are places full of incidents and there’s a few things that still make me smile……………. Tuesday The bleeper attached to my belt went off at about 1.30A.M. telling me that someone was at the front door. The man a guest... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Smells great, Leaves skin like silk
Disadvantages: None for me

...I awoke the day after the ciao Brum meet with one hell of a hangover. Not that I'd been that drunk - I just ALWAYS get hangovers however much or little I've imbibed, and they're even worse if I've gone and overeaten too (which I did in Pizza Hut, big-style). And it had been a long day too. Up at seven thirty a.m. and not home until 1.30 a.m. next morning after a tired, sweaty train journey where I tried my best to stay awake so as not to miss my station. So here I was, 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, feeling lousy, even after my usual hearty breakfast of two strong coffees and 3 fags. There was nothing for it but a long warm bath and, as luck would have it, I had returned from Brum with a big bag of goodies from Lush. And one of those goodies was the Amandopondo bubble bath bar. There's a story behind the Amandopondo: Some time... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful