Are you sick of trawling the internet or combing through guidebooks desperately searching for that somewhere special for a break away, only to be disappointed when your chosen destination doesn't live up to its promise? In this must-have guide Alex Polizzi, presenter of Channel 5's The Hotel Inspector, takes the hassle out of hotel selection, revealing her pick of the very best places to stay in Great Britain. Whether you're searching for a boutique city bolthole or luxurious country house, cosy bed & breakfast or Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms, you'll find it here. And you can rest assured that all 52 of the outstanding destinations featured - one for every weekend of the year - live up to award-winning hotelier Alex's famously exacting standards. Each of the hotels is described in absorbing detail, allowing you to really get a feel for the place and your hosts. In every case Alex makes it compellingly clear why it is so very special. In each entry her advice encompasses everything from which room to choose and what to eat, to where to go in the local area, ensuring that every aspect of your perfect British escape is covered. Entries are accompanied by a range of sumptuous colour photographs to give you the real flavour of your chosen destination, while all-important travel information is also included to ensure your journey is as smooth and trouble-free as possible. With its winning combination of expert advice, insider tips and sumptuous photography, Alex Polizzi's Little Black Book of Hotels makes compulsive reading for the armchair traveller, as well as essential reference when planning any trip away.
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A must read --Wedding - 1st aug 2010 -
A perfect British escape
--Entertainment News - 5th july 2010
For anyone planning a special getaway in the UK, this book is a must-have --Real Travel, September 2010
Polizzis' research takes the hassle out of hotel selection --Real Travel, September 2010
A perfect British escape
--Entertainment News - 5th july 2010
For anyone planning a special getaway in the UK, this book is a must-have --Real Travel, September 2010
Polizzis' research takes the hassle out of hotel selection --Real Travel, September 2010
About the Author
Since 2008 Alex Polizzi has been the presenter of Channel 5's The Hotel Inspector, bringing her considerable industry experience and authority to help transform some of Britain's worst-run hotels. As the granddaughter of Lord Forte and niece of Sir Rocco Forte, Alex comes from a long line of distinguished hoteliers. She trained at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and worked for Marco Pierre White at the Criterion, before undertaking roles at various Rocco Forte hotels around the world. Alex Polizzi is currently the proprietor of the Hotel Endsleigh in Milton Abbot, near Tavistock in Devon and, together with her mother the hotel designer Olga Polizzi, previously launched the highly praised Hotel Tresanton at St Mawes in Cornwall. She also hosts the BBC Two series, Alex Polizzi The Fixer, where she sets out to wage a campaign to save Britain's family businesses of all types, not just hotels.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Much as Alex writes in her introduction that she wants the book to be more than `hotel porn' it still is! No book featuring lovely hotels and hideaways, with great colour photography, is not going to be lust inducing. And this is a very nice selection of properties around the UK.
Knowing Alex's very high standards when it comes to service, facilitates (not to mention cleanliness) means that without exception you already know what you have here is a book of 52 places to stay that are not going to disappoint.
I would disagree that the book contains 52 `secret' destinations across Great Britain however - some of the hotels are in no way under wraps. I would imagine most people who know UK hotels a little have heard of Cowley Manor, Browns, Hotel Tresanton, the new Lime Wood hotel, Terra Vina and the Hotel Du Vin chain! That said there were also some great smaller properties I'd not heard about before.
It was especially refreshing to read about the inclusion criteria of the book, and to know that none of the hotels had paid to feature (not always the case in books of this ilk). What this has also meant is the book does have smaller guest houses, Restaurants with rooms, and B&Bs alongside the bigger hotels.
As a reference book I would have preferred to have seen the pricing information in the footnotes on the page of each hotel entry and not hidden away in the Gazetteer at the back, but then this would most definitely have ruined the `lust' effect!
With the hotels that Alex is involved in directly, or her family own/run, it would have been nice (and appropriate I think) to mention this in the review of each, not just in the introduction. If they are worthy of being in the book then I see no harm in speaking more personally about them.... Read more ›
Knowing Alex's very high standards when it comes to service, facilitates (not to mention cleanliness) means that without exception you already know what you have here is a book of 52 places to stay that are not going to disappoint.
I would disagree that the book contains 52 `secret' destinations across Great Britain however - some of the hotels are in no way under wraps. I would imagine most people who know UK hotels a little have heard of Cowley Manor, Browns, Hotel Tresanton, the new Lime Wood hotel, Terra Vina and the Hotel Du Vin chain! That said there were also some great smaller properties I'd not heard about before.
It was especially refreshing to read about the inclusion criteria of the book, and to know that none of the hotels had paid to feature (not always the case in books of this ilk). What this has also meant is the book does have smaller guest houses, Restaurants with rooms, and B&Bs alongside the bigger hotels.
As a reference book I would have preferred to have seen the pricing information in the footnotes on the page of each hotel entry and not hidden away in the Gazetteer at the back, but then this would most definitely have ruined the `lust' effect!
With the hotels that Alex is involved in directly, or her family own/run, it would have been nice (and appropriate I think) to mention this in the review of each, not just in the introduction. If they are worthy of being in the book then I see no harm in speaking more personally about them.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some good suggestions, but key info for hotels - price! - not obvious.
7 Sep 2010
By Wags
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book thinking to add to my reference material on good places to stay around Britain. No such luck!
There are some interesting entries, and the descriptions are okay, but the costs are hidden away at the back of the book, not with the main entries. I'd looked most of them up (very boring!) on the web before I realised. And some of them really are too well known to class as "interesting".
Overall, I'd recommend spending the time on the internet and using Tripadvisor rather than investing in this one.
There are some interesting entries, and the descriptions are okay, but the costs are hidden away at the back of the book, not with the main entries. I'd looked most of them up (very boring!) on the web before I realised. And some of them really are too well known to class as "interesting".
Overall, I'd recommend spending the time on the internet and using Tripadvisor rather than investing in this one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Book your next UK based holiday without this hotel guide book at your peril. Just like the Mr. and Mrs. Smith hotel website, this little black book, published by Quadrille, is the definitive guide of the really charming, delighful, well-run places that we all want to stay at. The author says it all about the ethos of this book in two accurate sentences:
"This book is intended to celebrate the hotels, B&Bs and guest rooms that deserve attention for the effort they make to look after their guests. Of course I have included some grand and expensive places to stay, but only those that don't rest on their laurels and do give anyone who digs deep into their wallets a really spoiling experience."
Alex Polizzi can make these claims in a calm, well-qualified and experienced voice. Her pedigree is redoubtable. After Oxford University, she trained at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, followed by a spell with Marco Pierre White at the Criterion and then for a number of hotels under the Rocco Forte banner. Born within the hallowed Forte famiglia, she is the daughter and work partner of Olga Polizzi, the stylish owner of the Hotel Tresanton in St. Mawes, Cornwall and the Endsleigh Hotel, near Tavistock in Devon. Alex has included some of the family hotels in this guide book, because "They are all extraordinary places to stay and wouldn't have been included otherwise". I concur.
Supposing you wanted to stay somewhere for each week of the year, there are 52 personally chosen destinations, and Alex and her co-author Piers Gladstone guide you through which room you should choose, what the specialities of the kitchen are, what to do and where to go in the surrounding area, as well as a page introduction on those essential ingredients: location, design, ambiance and service.... Read more ›
"This book is intended to celebrate the hotels, B&Bs and guest rooms that deserve attention for the effort they make to look after their guests. Of course I have included some grand and expensive places to stay, but only those that don't rest on their laurels and do give anyone who digs deep into their wallets a really spoiling experience."
Alex Polizzi can make these claims in a calm, well-qualified and experienced voice. Her pedigree is redoubtable. After Oxford University, she trained at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, followed by a spell with Marco Pierre White at the Criterion and then for a number of hotels under the Rocco Forte banner. Born within the hallowed Forte famiglia, she is the daughter and work partner of Olga Polizzi, the stylish owner of the Hotel Tresanton in St. Mawes, Cornwall and the Endsleigh Hotel, near Tavistock in Devon. Alex has included some of the family hotels in this guide book, because "They are all extraordinary places to stay and wouldn't have been included otherwise". I concur.
Supposing you wanted to stay somewhere for each week of the year, there are 52 personally chosen destinations, and Alex and her co-author Piers Gladstone guide you through which room you should choose, what the specialities of the kitchen are, what to do and where to go in the surrounding area, as well as a page introduction on those essential ingredients: location, design, ambiance and service.... Read more ›
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
VERY USEFUL, EXTENSIVE DESCRIPTION COVERS MOST OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, USEFUL PICTURES, GOOD VALUE, HAVE ALREADY USED IT.
By Lindy
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A personal choice as I enjoy Alex's TV programme's. The photography is excellent and her experience invaluable, she is an extremely knowledgeable and successful hotelier.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The information on the hotels listed is very informative and concise we have already been to one and found it to be as it says in the book so will try out others as and when
By Chris
Format:Hardcover
I love Alex Polizzi's stylish and sophisticated Little Black Book of Hotels. Her writing is professional and informative and along with the excellent photographs you almost feel you have checked into the room. But why are there so few hotels featured in the North of England and Scotland, and surely it would have been possible to include some less expensive establishments? I hope she considers a follow up book and includes areas that have been omitted in this book.
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Licia
Format:Hardcover
The author's intro to the book says the selection is such that there is something for every pocket. I totally disagree: I have searched online for almost all suggested hotels, and you won't find anything below 250 GBP per night, and the vast majority are *well above* that (twice as much). I bought the book for suggestions about where to go to give myself and my husband a treat, but that amount of money to enjoy the British countryside ... well, no thanks, there are plenty of stunning B&B for less than half the price! Bottom line: if you have a big budget, you may enjoy it, but don't be fooled by the claim "there's something for everyone" ...
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