It is maybe just another nice hotel of the ibis chain, but it is definitely in a prime location: the ibis Gare Matabiau. From there the main railway station (Gare Matabiau) and the main bus terminal (Gare Routière) are just across the road or better said just across the Canal du Midi. That’s of course especially great if you arrive or leave early in the morning. With that you’re having fast access to places like Andorra or the rest beautiful French cities surrounding Toulouse. You might have to figure out the right road, but it is also only just 15 minutes on foot to the city center and already around the hotel you’ll find good bars and restaurants.
Continue reading “Face à la gare”Solara
When the hotels at Banff are fully booked, travel agency typically find alternatives at Canmore which is just a 30 minutes drive on the Trans Canada Highway. The city has a nice city center squeezed into the space between Bow river and the highway and offers all you need for an overnight stay. At the southern end of the city you’ll find the Solara Resort which is a combination of three different hotels (Aurora, Bow, Chinook). Once you arrive get you hotel name, room number and door code (they don’t use keys) from the reception and park in the vast underground carpark.
Continue reading “Solara”Tonquin Inn
Jasper is a nice little city in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and it is mostly lined up at the main road, the Connaught Drive which is located in parallel to the massively used railway tracks (I’ve seldomly seen such long trains) and the Yellowhead Highway. At the northern end of Jasper you’ll find the Tonquin Inn which was my very first North-American style motel: with two levels and parking directly in front of your room door. It is a bit old-fashioned but it was a very pleasant stay with everything available in the close-by city center.
Continue reading “Tonquin Inn”Sandman
Kamloops is a city halfway between Vancouver and the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It is located at the Thompson River and seems to be the place for many different contests: during my stay the Scottish Dance Contest was held (at the Sandman Centre) close to my hotel, the Sandman Signature. The hotel is located next to the riverside park and after crossing the railway tracks you’re directly inside the city center with many good restaurant and shopping options.
Continue reading “Sandman”Adara
The city of Whistler reminded me much of the beautiful towns of the Swiss Alps, but it is also a bit Disneylandish. It has it’s unique style, a car-free city center, lots of water in different colors passing the city center and the highest density of gondolas and lifts for winter and summer sports I’ve ever seen. Close to the pedestrian zone and the Whistler Conference Center you can find the Adara Hotel – a good hotel with nice rooms including terraces, a rooftop pool and a connected restaurant.
Continue reading “Adara”Black Rock
The best hotel on my trip to Western Canada was the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort at the tiny little town of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. Its main building is located directly at the shore of the Pacific Ocean (remember, the next country on the other side is Japan) and you’ve got great views from your balcony to the rocks and the sea. The hotel contains a nice bar and a very good restaurant (a reservation upfront is needed) which also serves high-class breakfast in the morning: on a terrace with views on the sea.
Continue reading “Black Rock”The Vic
If I would look for a place to reenact some scenes of Pulp Fiction, The Vic would be my first choice. It isn’t by far a boutique hotel like how it is marketed, it rather feels like a motel at a radial road in a suburb of Victoria (on Vancouver Island). A lot of parking lots are available, the rooms are equipped with a kitchenette but they are already a bit shabby and need renovation (I couldn’t even lock my balcony door). But therefore the place also has its own liquor store, a Floyds Diner that serves good breakfast and a pub for the evening hours.
Continue reading “The Vic”The Listel
As I started my trip to Canada at Vancouver, The Listel was my very first hotel in the country. And it is a good one as it is located in downtown Vancouver on Robson Street with lots of stores and restaurants surrounding it. From here you can walk or cycle to the Waterfront, Stanley Park and Gastown, I even hiked to Hornby Street Aquabus stop to get to Granville Island (but don’t underestimate the inclination). The Listel is decorated with art and offers water dispensers on every floor – carrying you’re own reusable water bottle here is so normal that I had to buy me one already on the first day (and refill opportunities are available in many, many places).
Continue reading “The Listel”Gerald‘s Gift
It was probably the most lovely place I stayed at in South Africa, but I was really happy that satellite-based navigation was already invented when I had to find it. Gerald’s Gift Guest House is perfect if you want to sleep close to the Addo Elephant Park and it is located in the center of a large farm producing citrus fruits. It has the most wonderful garden a hotel can have around its rooms and as it is somehow in no-man’s-land there is also a restaurant just for the guests.
Continue reading “Gerald‘s Gift”At the woods
Having booked the At the Woods Guesthouse at Storms River brings you to a very special place, a village surrounded by forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Clearly designed for tourists, but having its special atmosphere. The At the Woods is a simple but good guesthouse with very nice owners. The rooms have a balcony or access to a terrace, but you need to make sure to hide your food as sometimes baboons get there – which sounds more funny than it is.
Continue reading “At the woods”