England's Countryside & Wales Day 13

We were at the Novotel Tower Bridge for a total of 4 nights in two different occasions.
The hotel location was excellent, near underground line and Tower of London and a safe neighborhood.

All of our dealings with Reception/Front Desk were all very friendly and helpful.
They were very willing to give suggestions on restaurants, routes to attractions and any other issues we had.
They took the time to print maps to make our wanderings around London much easier.

Our two rooms were very clean and modern facility.
Rooms were excellent and windows did open to allow fresh air to come in and cool the room.
Bathrooms were good, our only concern was the lack of shelving to store our toiletries.

We had read the reviews of the breakfast and we must strongly disagree.
What they had available was superb.
The variety of food and selection were stupendous. Excellent taste to all - hot and cold food, fruit, bread, milk products, coffee and tea.
All were available, they never ran out of anything and the selections were replaced often to insure hot food.
The wait staff and management were very accommodating and worked hard.
As we were there during a holiday period, the hotel was full. People could still get in and have a full breakfast.
We spoke to two families who came for breakfast from the hotel across the street. Only 6 Pounds.

Our one concern with the hotel was the internet and lack of speed and effectiveness.
We have stayed at ACCOR hotels and they have a good system.
Why this one does not is a lack of concern by the management.

GET THE INTERNET FIXED.

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Positives:

We arrived late in the afternoon and the Reception was excellent and the ladies helped us whenever we had questions or concerns.
Our room in far side of building - overlooking the street not river.
For walking and exploring York it is a great location by the river for exploring and seeing the old city.
Little park with geese and birds just off the front entrance.

When we arrived in our room we asked for another chair and it was sent up quickly.
Room was modern but tight/small, no closed closet, but hangers and blocks for storage - Space in main area was small.
The internet was excellent - FAST.
They do have a problem with Apple iOS but speak to them and they help get you on.
The speed is excellent. Thanks for this perk!

The breakfast room was expansive and we situated.
The selections were super - good and plentiful.

Great variety of food and beverage.
Second morning the dining room was completely full with two large tour groups and they still had all the food out and one did not have to wait for anything.

Negatives:

Big bleach stain as one opens the door and enters the room.
Security chain broken - asked that it be fixed and was not for two days.
Spoke to the manager and still not fixed

Shower sprays all over the floor, one has to turn down the pressure to keep floor dry.
Beds were quite soft.

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This was an old hotel that has some charm. It is located outside of town but is walkable. The hallways creaked and squeaked, old wood furniture, grounds looked down on Llanberis and its two lakes, Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris. Unfortunately with its charm come detractions that one must be aware prior to checking in.

To get to the rooms one must use their sole elevator if one has a suitcase (they had no porters) and then navigate through the halls with aged carpeting. Once we opened the door we saw a very small room with no room to put suitcases down. They did have a counter that spanned the whole width of the room but we needed to use it to write our articles and edit the photos for publications in the USA. Fortunately the room and counter had an excellent number of power outlets.

We turned off the heat and opened the window to find it only gave us 2 inches of ventilation. We did ask housekeeping if we could rotate it to open it completely but it was broken. We asked for it to be fixed but it was never done in the two days we were there.

The bathroom was another problem. The ventilation fan was noise (old). Once we turned on the shower it took some time for hot water to arrive. Once it did it was quite weak and one had to stay in the shower to rinse. The counter sink had two faucets - hot and cold but one could not blend. But they had good pressure. Once we went to bed we found the bed to squeak every time we moved. This can be a problem in the deep of the night.

We asked that the room be cleaned and left a notice on the door at 7 am. When we returned at 1 pm it was not cleaned but the cleaning staff was next door. I asked why it was not done and their response was "no one told me!" I then pointed out the sign on the door handle. Once it was done we noticed they did not provide clean glasses or taken the trash.

To get to the front desk, dining room and pub one had a long walk through the winding hallways. Breakfast was good but plan on some time for the main meal as those are prepared to order after one asks. About 15 minutes. They did have a buffet for cereals, milk products and fruit. I asked for one (1) piece of cheese and it took over 15v minutes to get it and they brought a whole plate - six large wedges. Excellent but what a waste. Pub food was good and the service was very prompt.

On our first day I took a walk to photograph the area. Notice several piles of trash on their lawn with the face and name of the hotel in the background. Rabbits were eating the leftovers and the paper and plastic was blowing into the flowers and shrubs. I spoke to the front desk. Next morning it was still there. Once again to the front desk. When we returned at 1 pm I spoke to the desk again and took people out to see it. Then they cleaned it as there was a major reception there in the late afternoon.

Very mixed feelings about our stay. But this is the only large hotel, others are basically B & B.

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Reception was very helpful and assisted on all questions.
Easy walking from hotel to city center and one can walk to Baths, churches and bridges in 5 minutes.
Nice beds and comfortable.

Room was a bit stuffy, but the AC worked and the window did open a few inches.
Internet was good and fast once one signed up for HHonors.
Enormous and excellent supermarket next door - easy to pick up anything.
Several fast elevators

Room was over top of the dining room and overlooked a large black tar roof.
Very small room - could not put the suitcase on floor.
No floor mats in bathroom.
Second day several towels not given us.
Some positives on breakfast but one had to wait long time for slices of cheese or specials.

Wait staff at dinner very surly and were not willing to help or serve.

Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.

Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

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