Advantages: Pure unadulterated luxury and great service
Disadvantages: erm... nope can't think of any

...I like doing really daft spontaneous things. That's why I told my partner we were going out for dinner at the Hotel Du Vin in our nearby town of Tunbridge Wells, but secretly booked us into a luxury double room upstairs too. Now seeing as Tunbridge Wells is only a few miles away, it was a tiny bit of a decadent gesture but hey, let's go mad once in a while. I nearly managed to blow the whole surprise when in the bar for an aperitif I told him the glass of wine had already gone to my head! 'How are we going to drive home then?' he said worriedly. He then preceded to spend the whole evening weighing up the options of trying to catch the last train home, or splashing out on a cab and collecting the car the next day. Knowing our bags were already upstairs from when I'd checked in that afternoon I smiled to myself. Luckily the food... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap
Disadvantages: Very harsh, has a acidity taste

...Marks & Spencers the day before. The wine in question wss the Vin de Pays du Gers and the culprit for my purchasing this wine was none other than our "In-House Wine Connoisseur" Miss Blurbubble. A bit about the wine before I start bubbling (intended mention) about the wine itselft. Vin de Pays du Gers is basically the second most produced wine in France. 1,800,000 Hl of the wine is produced yearly and produced in an area referred to as the "Gers" in France. Marks & Spencers, like other makers such as Tesco etc, have joined in the band wagon of having their names attached to economically viable and economically priced wines, by linking up with French companies that provide and produce the respective labels of wine. Unforunately the wine in question is absolutely horrible. It was lucky that I was already "happy" after my... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: They ask you to take the `freebies` away !
Disadvantages: Gets very busy and may need to book well in advance.

...History : Many years ago when I was a young under age alcohol drinking teenager living in a small village outside Winchester, Hampshire my friends and I would go to what was then called the `Southgate Hotel` to sneak inside the stale smelling bar to pretend we were 18 and sip martini and cinzanos believing we were the height of chic...................... In 1994 some one had the good heart to transform my illegal drinking den into the first Hotel Du Vin, a hotel built on its reputation of quality and turn it into something so chic, smooth and luxurious that I had to pinch myself the first time I revisited it. This is now one of several Hotel Du Vins and has been an adult retreat for me for 3 times now - I like to think that both myself and the hotel have improved with age ! Location: The Hotel Du Vin... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Pleasant, easy drinking, cheap wine
Disadvantages: Sometimes Aldi run out

...We have all been beefing about being reduced to writing ops in the new Food & Drink category, then it hit me – an excuse to drink more wine! Where I used to go to the cinema with a notebook, to write film reviews, now I can sit at home, slurp and try to write something coherent. Great. I thought of attempting to write a proper wine review, of a really good bottle, then thought I’d be honest and tell you what I normally drink. Baron Saint Jean Vin de Pays du Gard is sold exclusively (as far as I can tell) by Aldi. They sell is at an unbelievable £2.09 a bottle. A proper, 75cl bottle! I can’t remember why I first took a chance and bought a bottle – either extreme woolyheadedness or a week when I was totally skint. But I was very glad that I did. It’s alright! Now I usually like a full, well-rounded red... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great location, even greater wine cellar
Disadvantages: Breakfast was not quite to the standard I was expecting.

...Hotel du Vin are an exclusive brand of boutique style restaurants beginning with their first Hotel in Winchester back in 1994 this popular brand have spread across the UK at a rate of knots. With Hotels in Harrogate, Henley On Thames, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, and Tunbridge Wells. The next 12 months are going to be one of the most exciting in HdV’s history with Hotels opening in Cheltenham, Cambridge, York, Poole and Newcastle. HdV offer the hotel guest an exclusive experience far different from any other hotel chain in the UK with the exception of course of Malmaison its sister company. Each hotel offers individual qualities or facilities but all contain certain specific requirements in order to make them part of the HdV ethos. HdV Harrogate appears to be one of the more written about hotels in the chain, but I guess... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Absolute bargain basement!!
Disadvantages: Sharp acidic taste, not good if your a recovering Alcoholic

...first choice was two cases of Chalis Premier Cru (1999) at £12.99 a bottle. This is one of my all time favourite wines and is perfect for any occasion. (Goes very well with wild salmon canapés) and of course I also purchased the obligatory case of Moet and Chandon. Since having a sense of humour, this dictated that I should to get them all pissed on good wine (as one does!) and then pull out the ‘battery acid’ and see if they noticed…well to cut a long story short they didn’t, although it could have had something to do with them all being as drunk as lords!! On to the Wine! Vin de pays du Gers (2001), at what can only be described at the amazingly low price of £2.99. I surprisingly liked this wine, described as being a ‘full of palate-tingling sharp apples, lemons and limes’ Vin de pays d Gers is a popularly produced wine in France... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Distinct flavour
Disadvantages: Can be pricey, bit too sour

...OH gawd! I’m at it again! Another alcohol opinion – seems I can only go one or two opinions without writing one but the food categories – well, let’s just say that I don’t eat a lot! Today’s subject – Marks and Spencer Vin De Pays du Gers – a French white table wine, though what the “du Gers” bit means I couldn’t tell you. I bought two bottles of this just before Christmas and took one bottle over to the parents for Christmas dinner and kept the other in my fridge. We polished off the first bottle over the turkey and I have just hauled the other bottle out of the fridge and finished it off myself. The description on the bottle made us all laugh -“ refreshing and vivacious” – VIVACIOUS?! How so with a wine? It didn’t dance around the table or tell us jokes or anything! Although it certainly was refreshing and unusually tangy – I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

...I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side of the canal to where the two lovers, played by Annabella and Jean-Pierre Aumont, settle against one another on a bench, despairing and apparently doomed I simply didn't look back. I couldn't. Since that Sunday afternoon I have always had something of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: It is beautiful, lots of things to do and see, good tourist facilities for both families and travellers, this place is amazing all round!
Disadvantages: Some areas can be very dangerous - but then most countries do

...As the title suggests, South Africa is a place you probably never want to forget. In fact you won’t be able to forget it if you go there!!!! If any of you readers are from South Africa or have been there and see something I have written wrongly or I have missed something out on this opinion, please tell me and I will gladly change it. There are many things you should know before visiting this place, for your own safety and to get the best enjoyment out of the place. GENERAL SAFETY RULES - Don’t go out alone at night in certain places in South Africa, unless you are in a place that you have been told that it is a safe place to be by a trustworthy person - In certain cities there are these taxis that you shouldn’t get into. They are usually Toyota Hi-aces (like minibus things) and if you jump into one of those you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A beautiful country with superb scenery, unlike any other
Disadvantages: You have to be safety consciuos

...South Africa has everything, a warm tropical climate, mountains, beaches and of course game farms. There is so much to do that no matter how long you spend there, you will never get to see everything you would like to. South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation due to it's cultural diversity and has a population of 39 million people. The Kruger National Park supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the continent and is the second largest exporter of fruit in the world. The best time of year to travel is April and May when the hottest time of year has passed and winds are light, as well as August and September for the game parks. More wildlife is seen during this period as the leaves are only just starting to grow back on the trees and wildlife is easily spotted. Temperatures before April and after September often... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful