Travel: Hotel Du Vin
Review of boutique hotel chain
Budget hotel operators are breaking out the champagne to celebrate their commercial clout as times get tougher.
Punters are plumping for the plain and simple and booking into booming 'basics' brands like Whitbread's Premier Inns or even orange-hued bargain basement easyHotels.
That's all very well, but although it's certainly true that these chains provide a bed for the night and an acceptable standard of creature comfort, it's also undeniable that you get what you pay for.
And let's not forget that famous slogan: 'Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.' That's the Gucci family slogan, by the way, and you won't find it on a Lidl carrier bag.
So why would anyone in their right mind pay twice the price of a basic budget room and book into an upmarket boutique hotel?
These smart little stopovers constitute another section of the market which has been quietly expanding in recent years, and their success is down to a formula which mixes class, informality and elegance in equal measure.
One of the best-known names in the boutique hotel business is Hotel Du Vin.
You might think it sounds like an upmarket off-licence but this expanding enterprise is a tempting alternative both for business travellers and weekend treat couples.
Business customers will probably make a beeline for big city addresses like Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow, with Edinburgh and Newcastle due to open soon.
All are based in distinctive and historic buildings right in the city centre, not identikit boxes out on a ring road somewhere.
The weekend treat customer is more likely to gravitate towards the likes of Winchester - the original Hotel du Vin and the smallest in the group - Tunbridge Wells, Cheltenham, Bristol and Cambridge - though who's to say that the business traveller won't have those towns and cities plugged into a packed personal organiser?
Tunbridge Wells is typical of the Hotel Du Vin offering. This understated sandstone mansion, once a private home and a regular holiday spot for the young Queen Victoria, now offers 34 elegant rooms in a setting a short stroll from the town centre.
The only thing that jarred was the overly-precious naming of every room in the joint after a famous wine, which seemed a marketing step too far when taken in combination with the proliferation of wine-related artwork and knick-knacks.
But public areas are warm and welcoming, elegantly furnished and well-judged on the friendly side of formal, while rooms are generously proportioned and sumptuously equipped.
You'd expect a bumper bed and fine cotton, but it's the little touches that notch that comfort level a little higher - fresh milk for tea and coffee, for example, and not a hateful little sachet of UHT muck.
There's wi-fi access in all rooms as well as the tastefully-concealed trouser press and other housekeeping kit, and a kettle that actually does its job in double quick time - most hotels these days seem to prefer slow, slow, slow models which take an age to give you the vital ingredient of that morning cuppa.
But the bathrooms are the piece de resistance, fitted out with a real eye for style and comfort whether you opt for a relaxing soak in the retro bath or a monsoon soak in the modern walk-in shower corridor.
Classy soaps and shampoos are served up not in individual sachets or miniature bottles, but generous containers that encourage you to spoil yourself. A discreet sign says it's quite all right if you pack what you don't use into your bag and take it home with you. Er, I didn't need permission, but thanks very much.
Food and drink is a crucial part of the success story at the Hotel Du Vin.
On the drink side, let's just say that the fabulous and far-flung wine list doesn't let anyone down. It's been put together by someone who really knows their stuff, with bargains, blow-out options and intriguing new names in equal measure, and that range is matched in the bar where the variety is dazzling. Chilean brandy, anyone?
Food is served in a comfortable and cosy take on a French bistro, with a slick squad of staff ensuring quick and attentive service.
It makes no claim to be Gordon Ramsay but it's a world away from the grub that's normally on offer in, or next door, to a budget brand, and a 12.95 plat du jour means there's no need to strain the bank balance.
The menu changes daily but it's put together with understanding and imagination, local produce is incorporated where possible and veggies can usually count on a choice from three dishes, not just a take it or leave it option.
All in all this is classy, relaxed dining guaranteed to treat your tum and set you up for a night of elegant ease, resting up before you descend again to tackle the breakfast, a groaning buffet designed to cater for both Continental and Full English tastes and again serving up quality ingredients without fuss.
So if you're faced with the need to spend a night or two away and you're tempted towards the 'box with a bed in it' end of the market, just remember what those canny old Guccis say.
And if you're asking yourself whether you can justify that extra expense, another advertising slogan comes to mind: Because you're worth it.
Find out more about the Hotel Du Vin chain of hotels at www.hotelduvin.com
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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