Cedar Court Hotel in Huddersfield is perfect to navigate Yorkshire and it's halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It is also easy to access major attractions of Yorkshire from the hotel, making it a perfect base for leisure or business travellers. 

DoubleTree by Hilton Dartford Bridge is a 4 star hotel located next to the Queen Elizabeth Bridge over the River Thames. The hotel has modern bedrooms with internally equipped air conditioning and various other amenities, that any guest would need for a convenient stay. The hotel offers bedrooms designed for all sorts of guests, either solo travellers or couples, those staying with family or business guests. 

My family and I stayed in a 2 queen bed deluxe room that also offered the view of the bridge along with the other fantastic amenities. I would say this room is definitely a great choice for families, due to the larger space available for the little ones to play and to run around. 

DoubleTree by Hilton Dartford Bridge has their own private car park with ample space for parking, available for the hotel guests. Also, it has a fantastic location as it’s quite near to the two big shopping centres in the area, Lakeside and Bluewater where one can spend time in shopping or enjoy a meal or even a sweet treat at any of the restaurants or dessert parlours located inside the mall. Freshly cooked waffles are always one of my favourite items on the menu at a popular dessert parlour located inside the Bluewater shopping centre. 

We found a convenient parking spot in the car park, after which headed straight to our room after a very smooth check-in.  

The first thing on entering the room that caught my eye was a welcome pack laid aesthetically on the coffee table. I’m a huge fan of a rich chocolate cake, and this was perfect to go with an evening hot drink especially after burning some calories at the spa. I am also really fond of hand written, personalised messages as they instantly level up the whole guest experience and makes one feel welcomed. 

Just after settling in and unpacking, we decided to go straight to the spa to enjoy a dip in the indoor pool and to relax in the jacuzzi. The spa also has a sauna and steam room, but we enjoyed looking at the little one playing with water and twirling in the pool in his swim ring. 

We were provided bathrobes and slippers in our room, which is always very convenient when staying at a hotel. Since I am not a fan of walking barefoot, I make sure to carry my slippers, but just as we left for the hotel, I realised I hadn't packed one.  

Our spacious bedroom also had USB ports, a safe, LCD TV, a hair dryer and iron with the stand. The interior was modern and comfortable beds were great for a good night's sleep. 

Our room also had a kettle and tea and coffee facility, which husband enjoyed after coming back to the room from the spa. Just after that, we drove out for some dinner before hitting the bed to catch some Z's. 

After a good night's sleep, we headed to the restaurant for breakfast. I am so glad the breakfast is served until 11:00 am on weekends, because it gave me a chance to sleep a bit longer. 

The restaurant offers a variety of both hot and cold breakfast items including fried eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes, hash browns, and freshly baked croissants. Different types of breads, juices, hot drinks, fruits, yogurt as well as the cereal bar was also present. I was told they also cater to gluten and dairy free options, but the little one wasn't keen on eating anything, so we didn't order anything for him. 

My family and I had a fantastic staycation at DoubleTree by Hilton Dartford Bridge, and I would definitely love to stay there again in the future.

For husband’s birthday celebration, we wanted to choose a foodie destination and somewhere not too far from Cambridgeshire, so we settled for Birmingham this time. 

On Friday afternoon, we drove towards Mercure Birmingham West Hotel where we stayed for the weekend. Although it’s just about a 90 minutes drive to the hotel from our place, our travel time actually doubled due to the heavy traffic that remained standstill on different points for a long time. 

Finally on reaching the hotel, I was relieved to know that we didn't miss the pool time as it was a very warm day and we all were really looking forward to some water fun. 

There was ample parking outside the hotel (complimentary for guests), and it didn’t take long for us to get off and head towards the hotel building along with our luggage. After a smooth check-in and a warm welcome, we took the lift to our room after which we went straight to the spa. 

It was BabyM’s first time in the pool, and he was totally overjoyed. The best thing was that the hotel has a separate pool for the little children and we had the entire facility to ourselves. 

The pool timings for children are shorter than the adult timings, so make sure to check with the reception when booking the room. The spa also provides towels and the changing room has all the necessary items such as shampoo and body wash, hair dryer and lockers needed for after the swim. 

After some relaxing time in the jacuzzi, we got changed and headed back to our room to get some rest before getting dinner. Since we were supposed to eat at the hotel, there was nothing to worry as we could just walk to that floor without prior booking.

I was so glad the chicken served at the restaurant was Halal, so it didn’t take a lot of time for us to decide what we will be having for our 3 course meal. The ambience was perfect for a family friendly meal, and high chairs can be provided. 

Not to forget, it was also husband’s birthday weekend, so we I had to order cake for dessert. Our starters included a Thai style cod & prawn fish cake and BBQ chicken wings, which were quite delicious.

For the mains, we ordered Herb roast chicken breast that was served with sauté potatoes and tender steamed brocolli and Cajun spiced chicken breast that was served with skinny fries. For the little one, we ordered the good old British Cod fish and chips. 

I happily cleaned my plate soon after it arrived and enjoyed the main, and after that we ordered the desserts which included a New York cheesecake that was served with Jude's Hampshire chocolate ice cream and a fresh fruit salad. 

Our bedroom for the stay had been tastefully decorated with the perfect selection of colours and modern furniture. 

Just after finishing dinner, we decided to retire for the day and walked back to the room to catch some Z's. The next day was ready for us with lots of excitement but we had to fuel up before heading to the places planned for the day! The restaurant at Mercure West Birmingham serves both hot and cold breakfast items including the items of an English breakfast, baked items, fruits, yogurt, tea and coffee.