Travel Plusses and Minuses 2008

This posting will be updated during the course of 2008 as I develop the good and bad things in travel in 2008.

So far here are the Plusses and Minuses for the year to date

PLUSSES

Eurostar Travel to and from London/ Paris from London St.Pancras
As in my various postings, nothing quite beats the ordeal of flying to and from Paris than the civilized Eurostar from the stunningly beautiful St Pancras station in London. There is a lovely business lounge in St Pancras, it is easy to check in and get through passport control. The negative so far is the messy and over crowed check-in/ passport at Paris Gard du Nord. It is undergoing renovation but hard to see from what they are doing that it will actually speed up passport check-in.

Tripadvisor.com
Still the best way to research hotels and where to stay. I have found so many great places, like the Tongsai Bay Resort for our Thailand holiday, but also managed to avoid horrors!

Addison Lee
I have been using lots of different car services across the year here in London. Then someone suggested trying Addison Lee. They are fantastic. They are very cost effective, marginally more expensive than a black cab and you can book the car online and then 20 minutes before the car arrives they send you a text message with the car registration, driver’s name and number. Then when it arrives you get another text message saying they are outside. They are efficient, friendly and a great service.

Hotel du Louvre Paris
I have stayed there quite a few times so far this year. The staff is always welcoming and friendly and I have been upgraded to better rooms most times I have been there, including a suite and lovely corner room. To see the suite click here and the corner room click here. Part of the Concorde Hotel chain you also get free wireless unlike most hotels they still annoyingly charge for internet access.

MINUSES

Short Haul Flying in Europe for work
It is stressful, chaotic and the size and gap between seats in economy seems to be getting tighter and tighter and smaller and smaller. A nightmare when you are 6’ 2” tall. And as the bulk of travelers are tourists it is noisy and frustrating. It is also impossible to do work on the flight. I hate having to fly for work on short haul, it is really not at all glamorous or pleasant.

Pullman Rive Gauge Hotel in Paris Issy les Moulineaux
Closest hotel to our offices in Paris, this 600 room hotel lacks customer service. I stay here a great deal and still they have no way of acknowledging that I am a very repeat guest even on greeting. Housekeeping is very slap dash and the food is terrible. And… don’t get me started!

If you have any suggestions on Plusses and Minuses, leave a comment on this posting or email at [email protected]