The £1 room sale at The Hoxton Hotel: 27th January

The Hoxton £1 Sale is back!

The sale starts at noon (UK time) on the 27th January.

On offer: 500 rooms at £1 available only on the Hoxton website for dates between the 1st February - 30th April.

You are only allowed to book one room, for one night at a £1. Once made, £1.00 bookings cannot be amended and are not refundable.

The £1 sale is an on-line ONLY offer.

Hoxton Hotel
81 Great Eastern Street
London
EC2A 3HU

Hoxton Hotel in the City of London

Good Luck - this sale is extremely popular! 

Snow brings Britain to a standstill

Yep. It's happening all over again.Travel chaos after a heavy snowfall across most of southern Britain today.It couldn't have happened on a worst weekend. This weekend before Christmas should be the busiest travel and shopping weekend of the year. Instead the bad weather caused misery and a massive travel disruption just about everywhere.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick airports were closed and roads were gridlocked. It was so bad in the midst of the snow storm that police closed several access roads to Heathrow because of dangerous driving conditions. So even if the airport had been open, it would have been virtually impossible to get there by car. In fact, Heathrow Airport was advising people not to even attempt the trip.

Heathrow airport will remain shut until until at least 06.00 Sunday morning. When it does open again, "There will be further cancellations & delays for airlines tomorrow due to the knock on effects of the severe weather." (info via Twitter)

Gatwick Airport was closed for five hours but it's open, with some delays and cancellations.

The snow is very pretty but it really does bring everything to a standstill here. Drivers were urged not to travel unless the journey is essential but of course most people just ignored the warnings. I think people are desperate to get their Christmas shopping done and to buy food (panic buying).

Were you affected by the bad weather today? Did you have plans to travel out of the UK or expecting family members to arrive? Did you have your flight cancelled?

What are your thoughts about how this country copes (or rather doesn't cope) with snow and ice? I know there are warnings about icy roads for tomorrow. It would make sense for the gritters to get out during the night and make sure all the roads are gritted and/or plowed but it seems that there aren't enough gritters to go around.

By the way, it's probably going to be the coldest English December since records began in 1910, according to the Met Office.

Frozen UK - snow causes chaos!

The UK is frozen and not just because of the freezing temperatures. It's frozen as in nearly coming to a stand-still in many places. Two major airports are closed, Eurostar trains delayed, scores of other rail services cancelled and motorways blocked. Thousands of schools are shut.

This bad weather started a few days ago when very cold temps and heavy snowfall hit Scotland and northern England, parts of Wales and Northern Ireland.

On Nov 28th, the Met Office reported that:
Lowest overnight temperature last night was -18.0C in Llysdinam, Powys making it the coldest November night in Wales since records began.

Scotland has been hit the worst with very heavy snow and even though they are used to heavy snowfalls and cold temperatures, this was very early in the winter for such severe weather. Edinburgh Airport is closed until at least Thursday morning due to heavy snow showers.

The snow and freezing temperatures have gradually spread to most of England now. Yesterday, snow moving across London and the surrounding areas, caused traffic chaos.

Gatwick Airport (Britain's second busiest airport) closed today! There are no flights until 6am Thursday [update: until at least 0600 GMT on Friday] due to heavy snow and further snow forecast. Check website for updates.

Snow closes Gatwick Airport


Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and London City all open, but with delays to flights. You're advised to check before you head out.

Due to current weather conditions Eurostar services are delayed by up to 90 minutes. See this Eurostar link for the latest news.

The forecast is for fresh snowfall across the majority of the country.

How is everyone faring? We've only had a smattering of snow where I live. It is very cold though.

Edited to add:
Lincoln's famous Christmas Market has been cancelled due to the bad weather. This is the first time it has had to be cancelled.

The £1 room sale at The Hoxton Hotel: 9th Sept

It's time again for the famous £1 room sale at The Hoxton Hotel in the city of London!

The sales starts at noon (UK time) on 9th September

On offer: 595 rooms at £1 and 595 rooms at £29 which are available from 10th September 2010 – 9th January 2011.

The number of rooms that can be booked on this £1 promotion is limited to a maximum of one room per person.

Hoxton Hotel
81 Great Eastern Street
London
EC2A 3HU

The Hoxton Hotel

Good Luck - this sale is extremely popular!

Please note:
I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to share information about a great deal such as this one!

Travelling to the USA? You'll have to pay £9 to apply for permission to visit!

US to charge £9 for Esta compulsory travel entry form
The US government is to start charging UK travellers $14 (£9) to apply for permission to enter the country. The compulsory Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta) is free at present, but from 9 September visitors to the US will have to pay for it.
[link via BBC News]

How charming (not)! Charging £9 for permission to visit the USA. What a funny way to encourage tourism!!

I think it's an absolutely ridiculous idea. Add it to the standard (in my experience) very unfriendly welcome from Immigration and Customs agents and it's a wonder tourists consider visiting the USA at all.

What are your views about the new charge for ESTA? Have you visited the USA before? What are your experiences with the Immigration and Customs agents?



ESTA Application For UK Citizens

The Hoxton Hotel: next £1 sale, 13th May!

It's time again for the £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel

Thursday 13th May at 12.00pm (midday)

500 rooms at £1
and
500 rooms at £29

Available 14th May - 31st August 2010

"How to book" guide

(You are only allowed to book one room, for one night at a £1 price).

Hoxton Hotel
81 Great Eastern Street
London
EC2A 3HU

Good Luck - this sale is extremely popular! During their last sale in January, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 13 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book.


Please note:
I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal.

The Dunkirk spirit is helping people stranded in Europe

Due to the ash cloud (from the volcano in Iceland) spreading across Europe and halting air travel, people are pooling resources together to help each other. Yes, there are alternative modes of transport (buses, trains, ferries) but they are booked solid so lots of people are stranded across Europe and desperate to get home.

And once again, Twitter is proving to be a valuable tool in times of need. People on Twitter are using the appropriate hashtag, #getmehome that @indiaknight started to share travel, ideas, tips, lifts with others and to simply connect to each other and offer support in any way they can. It's the Dunkirk spirit at work to help people who are stranded.

I'm so impressed with the way people are volunteering to help each other (total strangers) and also impressed with the way Twitter is once again proving to be such a valuable tool. It's simply wonderful.

Edited to add: More Dunkirk spirit
Dan Snow @thehistoryguy is going to Calais, France tomorrow (Sunday, April 18th) to bring people home via a fleet of five speed boats! He's set up a special twitter account: calaisrescue

British airspace is closed due to Iceland volcano!

All flights to and from UK airports have been cancelled due to clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland

Flights cancelled by volcanic ash: what are your rights?

A cloud of volcanic ash has forced the closure of all UK air space and the cancellation of hundreds of flights, leaving passengers to choose between a refund or waiting for airports to reopen.

(link via telegraph.co.uk)

The Hoxton Hotel: next £1 sale on 21st Jan

It's time again for the £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel The Hoxton Hotel - the famous £1 sale is coming soon 21st January at midday! 500 rooms for £1 and 500 room for £29 for dates between the 1st Feb – 30th April 2010 Hoxton Hotel 81 Great Eastern Street London EC2A 3HU Good Luck - this sale is extremely popular! Please note: I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal when I can!

Snow, ice, sleet across UK causes travel chaos

Snow and ice continue to cause travel chaos across the UK, disrupting the Christmas holiday plans for thousands (link via BBC News)

Well, despite the snowstorm back in February, and the chaos it caused, the councils up and down the country didn't seem to learn anything from that experience. Yesterday, the chaos from roads that didn't get gritted (sanded) or salted, is inexcusable. It's unbelievable that news reports are about the gritters showing up today - the day after they were so urgently needed.

Yesterday was a real nightmare for a lot of people in many parts of Britain. There were many car accidents and a lot of drivers were forced to abandon their cars because the roads were so icy and treacherous. Traffic came to a halt in many towns and cities. Conditions were just appalling. Even emergency services and automobile breakdown companies were struggling to get through. In fact, an ambulance and a fire engine were both stranded on our road because of the ice!

A friend said that buses were getting stuck and blocking the roads in London. The bendy buses were the worst because they jackknifed all over the place until even they got stuck and jammed the roads even better. It meant very long journeys home for a lot of people yesterday.

I wonder if any of the roads were salted or gritted yesterday. Apparently they used to add molasses to the grit mix to make it sticky but the cost has gone up and now they don't however this means the grit and salt soon wash away particularly if you have some rain or sleet. Can someone verify if this is true?

Fortunately, Eurostar was back in business today after three days of stopages, although Eurostar services between London and Europe which were thrown into chaos by snow (more than 2,000 passengers were trapped on trains overnight in the Channel Tunnel on Friday) will not return to normal until "after Christmas" according to the latest report from the company.

And it's still only December! Winter has barely started.

What has the weather been like where you live? Have you had a bad experience on the road or perhaps waiting to travel via the Eurostar? What are your thoughts about the lack of gritting?

Related Post:
Frozen UK - snow causes chaos! (December 1, 2010)

The Hoxton Hotel: October £1 Sale

It's time again for the famous £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel: Thursday 1st October at 12.00pm (midday) 500 rooms at £1 & 500 rooms at £29 Available 1st Nov 09 - 31st Jan 10 Hoxton Hotel 81 Great Eastern Street London EC2A 3HU Good Luck - this sale is very popular! Please note: I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal when I can!

The £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel: 2nd July, 2009

It's time again for the famous £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel: Thursday 2nd July @ 12:00pm (midday) 500 rooms at £1 & 500 rooms at £29 Available 1st Aug - 31st Oct 2009 Hoxton Hotel 81 Great Eastern Street London EC2A 3HU This sale is very popular! Good Luck! Please note: I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal when I can!

Inn England: Celebrate England's best pubs

Enjoy England have created a new website - Inn England - to recognise and celebrate one of the country's most important National Treasures, the English pub. They have partnered with The Publican to build a database of fine pubs and inns around the country. Each month Enjoy England will feature a selection of Top 10 pub and inns. I'm impressed with the website. It's not just about searching for your favourite pub. They are asking people to rate the pubs on the site and to leave comments. And if you've recently discovered a pub you want to recommend, you can add it to the website and leave a comment about what makes the pub or inn special. Where's your favourite pub?

Top London Afternoon Tea 2009 and the Tea Guild's Top UK Tea Place 2009

Best tea in London and Britain named The best place in London to enjoy a delicious cup of afternoon tea has been named as The English Tea Room, Brown’s Hotel, which has won The Tea Guild’s prestigious award for the capital. The Tea Guild has also announced that The Top Tea Place Award 2009 has been won by The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford-On- Avon, Wiltshire. (link via VisitBritain.com) Brown's Hotel London - The English Tea Room The Bridge Tea Rooms - Bradford on Avon, England Congratulations to both for your awards! Well done! I'm always keen to get recommendations for traditional tea rooms. Where is your favourite tea room? Related links from the web: Afternoon Tea - This site will help you to find the perfect Afternoon Tea location in the UK London's Best Tea Rooms (link via Time Out London) Afternoon Tea in London (link via Visit London) Tea and cake places (link via teaandcake.co.uk)

The famous £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel: Tuesday 7 April

It's time once again for the famous £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel in London! The sale officially starts at: 12.00pm (UK Time) Tuesday 7th April 2009 500 rooms at £1 500 rooms at £29 Available from 1st May – 31st July (you are only allowed to book one room, for one night at a £1) This sale is very popular - during the last sale in January, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 11 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book! Hoxton Hotel's £1 Room Sale - details and a "How to book" guide Please note: I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal when I can!

Government reneges on promise for free bus pass in England for the over-60s

Last year - in April - I wrote about this offer in a post on my old blog: Free bus travel for over 60s anywhere in England As of April 1st. 2008 everyone aged over 60, or eligible as disabled, can get free off-peak* bus travel on local buses anywhere in England. (Over 60s in Scotland and Wales already get free national bus travel at any time of the day) *Off-peak is travel between 9.30am and 11pm weekdays and anytime during the weekend. It was good news but it didn't last long. This is the news about the scheme today: End of the road for free go-anywhere bus pass for the over-60s Are you 60 or over and do you fancy a free trip to the seaside? Grab your coat because this weekend is your last opportunity to take advantage of a benefit that the Government is quietly withdrawing. From next Wednesday - April Fool's Day - bus passes issued to the elderly and disabled will no longer be valid on hundreds of services. A year ago, ministers trumpeted the Government's generosity in giving 11 million people free travel on all local buses and coaches in England. Now pass holders will once again have to pay on coaches, park-and-ride buses, open-top bus tours and any services intended “primarily for tourism”. (link via timesonline.co.uk) Charming! And I bet the offer hasn't been changed in Scotland and Wales! Why is it we always get short-changed in England?! I thought it was bad enough that the offer was limited to off-peak bus travel in England - considering that over 60s in Scotland and Wales already were getting free national bus travel at any time of the day - but now most of the offer for over 60s in England has been withdrawn. I think this is outrageous! I am fed up with this Labour government! Edited to add a link from DirectGov (the website of the UK government for its citizens, providing information and online services for the public all in one place): There hasn't been any mention in the news about the free bus service being withdrawn or changed anywhere else in the UK apart from England so I assume this information from the goverment is still correct: Bus passes and coach travel for over 60s Local bus travel in Wales In Wales, if you're over 60, you're entitled to a free bus pass from your local authority. You can use it at any time of the day and are entitled to travel on all local bus services in Wales. The pass can also be used on some long-distance services. Local bus travel in Scotland In Scotland everyone 60 or over is entitled to free local bus and scheduled long-distance coach services within Scotland at any time of the day, including the morning rush hour. This scheme is run by Transport Scotland and you need to apply for a National Entitlement Card to travel for free.

Travel plans 'to be tracked' by UK Government

All travel plans to be tracked by Government Anyone departing the UK by land, sea or air will have their trip recorded and stored on a database for a decade. Passengers leaving every international sea port, station or airport will have to supply detailed personal information as well as their travel plans. (link via telegraph.co.uk)

This news makes me so depressed that I just want to cry. This isn't the way British society should be. What on earth has happened to our freedoms?

20 silly questions asked by tourists

20 of the most inexplicably simple queries fielded by tourism officials. My favourites: "Are there any lakes in the Lake District?" "In what month is the May Day demonstration?" "Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path of Heathrow?" "Is this where Sharon and Ozzie actually live?" Asked a visitor to Osborne House, Isle of Wight "Can you tell me who performs at the circus in Piccadilly?" "Why did they build so many ruined castles and abbeys in England?" (link via telegraph.co.uk)

Foreign drivers in UK face £900 roadside fines

Foreign drivers face £900 roadside fines to halt rise in crashes Foreign drivers will have to pay on-the-spot fines of up to £900 for flouting traffic laws under new legislation to be introduced next month. If they do not have enough cash or a working credit card their vehicles will be clamped until they pay — and they will face an additional £80 release fee. (link timesonline.co.uk) I think it's about time foreign drivers be held accountable for their driving offences in the UK! Currently, drivers from outside the UK are rarely prosecuted because police cannot pursue them if they don't respond to a summons. Why should foreign drivers be able to break British laws (and potentially put other motorists and pedestrians in danger) and get away with it? I hope this new law will be used vigourously. What are your thoughts about the new law?

The Hoxton Hotel: famous £1 sale - January 29th

It's time once again for the famous £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel: Hoxton Hotel's £1 Room Sale The 29th January at 12pm (UK Time) marks the official start of the next £1 sale. There are 1,000 bedrooms up for grabs on their website: 500 at £1 and 500 at £29, for dates between the 1st February 2009 – 30th April 2009 (you are only allowed to book one room, for one night at a £1) Hoxton Hotel 81 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3HU located a short stroll from the City of London and a 5 minute walk from Old Street Station (Northern Line). Please note: I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal when I can!