Advantages: Cheap accommadation and food but of reasonable quality
Disadvantages: Everything shuts on a Sunday so if you are in a B&B make sure you stock up on grub

...During a holiday to America I travelled to Richmond, Virginia and had a thoroughly enjoyable three days in this culturally and architecturally rich city. Getting there: Road: It is about 2-2 ½ hours drive from Washington By Amtrak: Very comfortable and cheap but does not exactly provide a central dropping off point By Greyhound: Cheap way of travelling but again it drops you on the outskirts of the city By Air: Richmond airport is only really an option if you intend to pick up a car there as it is 10-12 miles outside the city Accommodation: Virtually all the accommodation in this city is very reasonably priced as it has a university and has to cater for students for when they first arrive. One useful facility was a central reservation line that could be called to book rooms in the participating hotels in the scheme. If you do... Read review

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Advantages: Loads! All round excellent hotel to stay in.
Disadvantages: Perhaps not for kids, not in ‘touristy’ part of town (which could be advantages to some of course…)

...This was an excellent hotel! It’s not the poshest I’ve stayed in terms of how it looks, but it has excellent facilities and is all round a great place to stay. They were chosen "Best Hotel in Richmond" as well as "Best Brunch" by Richmond News readers for 2003. I stayed there for just over a week in September 2003 while I attended a convention for the show Stargate SG-1. And I’ll be back again this summer! It’s also fairly convenient for Vancouver and the surrounding area if you’d rather not stay downtown. Facilities include a shop with some lovely souvenirs, an Internet café, hair salon and an exercise room with saunas (and a washing machine which I only discovered after I’d lugged my bags several blocks to the local laundrette!). There is a pool and Jacuzzi in the courtyard but they are small. Reception can also fix you up... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, cheap to run, fuel widely available - globally
Disadvantages: haven't found any yet - except not really lightweight

...I have used a range of different camping stoves over the years, having been involved in outdoor activities with young people I have had an ongoing debate around the safety/efficiency issues. I have personally used a coleman stove for 15 yrs - the special delight is when you are camping with Trangia fans. I like to set-up the stove and kettle, in the time it takes to boil I can get my tent pitched and then go round with mugs of tea whilst my friends kettles are just getting up to a simmer - smug doesn't even enter into it. So why else am I convinced? You can control the stove from a gentle simmer to a full rolling boil, the fuel - unleaded petrol - is widely available, a tank full is plenty to cook a meal for two, with extra brews as well. The stove has a fairly wide base an is stable in most conditions, it is easy to light and soon... Read review

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Advantages: Light, unbreakable
Disadvantages: Slower to boil, lack of fine flame control

...I have had my Trangia since 1989 after several years of experience using them and it is as good as the day I bought it. They are robust, and will last a lifetime. Unlike most liquid or gas stoves, the burner has no moving parts. Just fill with Methelated Spirits, (some water, to reduce sooting) and light with a match. The heat of the flame causes the fuel vapour to rise up the side channels of the burner and out through the small holes at the top. The rest of the stove looks like two pans, one inverted with air holes holds the burner, the second - the windshield holds the pan / frying pan. Once the burner is cool, you can seal it up with a cap. The O-rings are still good, and it has never leaked on me. On top of the lid you can store the flame control. This is a guard that sits over the burner and restricts the flame... Read review

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Advantages: Lightweight, easy to use, fuel and time efficent
Disadvantages: hard to clean

...The Trangia is a well established portable cooking device brand - Don't accept any Rip-offs.! The Trangia is an all-round good buy - every minute detail maximises the efficiency of the cooking: Beginning with the heart; the methylated spirit burner. The brass "cup" will hold approximately 150 ml of meths allowing you to cook for a good half hour without having to refill - Don't try and refill it when you've already lit it whatever you do! - Take it from my own personal experience - there will be bacon everywhere! Right through to the frying pan everything will cook quickly and easily - My personal favourite being bacon on my 25 series. You'll be able to cook 10 - 15 rashers of bacon only using one burner full of meths which is handy when you're cooking for four. The Trangia stove comes in a range of sizes and materials: If you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Small, portable, high heat (but controllable), reliable
Disadvantages: Price of fuel

...I purchased a Coleman Peak 1 camping stove about 12 years ago, when I embarked on an expedition to walk the Penine Way. The stove is lightweight, portable, and best of all - reliable. It gives a good heat, boiling 2 pints of water in less than 5 minutes (try doing that with your standard Calor Gaz stove!). Although the power output is high, it is also very controllable. There is a small lever to adjust the flame, and it can be lowered to a simmer if that is all that you need. Safety has also been taken into consideration such that, even though the stove is fuelled with petrol, it can be tilted, turned, and even inverted without flaring up in your face. The fuel made by Coleman is rather expensive (around 9 pounds for a 1 litre tin), although the newer models can now use standard unleaded fuel of the type you put in your car... Read review

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Advantages: robust, solid, not expensive, reliable
Disadvantages: no good for backpacking - too large & heavy

...The Bistro 250 stove from Camping Gas is an excellent piece of equipment. We bought one this year from Argos at just £26.99 which included a gas cartridge (these normally cost around £2.50 or £1.95 for a non genuine equivalent cartdridge. The gas cartridge is easily fitted and can be removed between uses - an added safety feature. It also has a clever mechanism which automatically ejects the cartridge (thereby extinguishing the stove) if the cartridge gets too hot - this can apparently occur if you use a pan which is too big, although ours is HUGE and we had no problem at all! The power of this baby is a massive 2700W which compares to a measly 1100W from our old stove. It bols up our kettle of water in less than a couple of minutes and toasts bread on our camp toaster almost faster than we ca load it. I recommend... Read review

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Advantages: Smooth, clean, modern appearance
Disadvantages: PCB failed after 3 years use

...I bought this hob in December 2004 to replace my Phillips unit which had done excellent service over 12 years but was becoming dated. The Stoves unit appealed because of the clean and modern appearance and I believed Stoves was a name to be trusted. Fitting was quite easy as it slotted into the same space as the Phillips without cutting the worktop and initially the unit worked satisfactorily. The touch sensitive buttons were slightly unresponsive but not excessively so. However, I did notice that if anything covered the control section (even water) the unit would beep alarmingly - probably a safety feature. The hob was very easy to keep clean, no fiddly buttons to pull off to clean underneath, and the ceramic very durable. After 3 years of use the surface appeared as clean and smooth as if it were new. Regretfully... Read review

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