Biltmore Hotel

“ We thought this hotel was extremely grand and beautiful if a little bit overly "posh" for holidaying but we wanted to treat ourselves. More of a golfing/spa hotel and it's not cheap (2 rooms with buffet breakfast, £640). We were allocated $20 per day for breakfast in vouchers but unless you added to you only had enough for the continetal breakfast which consisted of lovely fresh fruits, cereals, plain yoghurt, breads and pastries with coffee/tea etc. The rooms were very tasteful and richly decorated and superbly clean with crisp white bed linen and fluffy towels and dressing gowns. No coffee making facilities in the room (a disappointment for us as we all like our early morning brew) but you could buy coffee from the bar to take back to your room. We had been travelling around and were looking forward to a nice hot soak in the tub but the water was barely luke warm in the tub although it ran hot in the basin. We asked for this to be checked, which they did almost immediately, but the problem was never resolved during our stay. We were only there for 2 days and didn't want the hassle of moving rooms so we put up with the inconvenience. The huge pool was fantastic although we didn't get the chance to try it out due to bad weather and a film crew taking over parts of the hotel. The filming wasn't much of a problem (quite a novelty to watch actually) although we were unable to gain access at one point as they were using the upper reception for filming so we had to wait patiently in the heavy rain until they had finished. The grounds were kept immaculate and were a delight to wander around. The adjoining golf course is a must for golfers. We ate lunch at the pool side bar and it was lovely. The service was perfect and our server paid attention to detail and was friendly and chatty but very professional. Most of the staff were very charming although one or two were a little bit starchy. There isn't much in close proximity to the hotel so you need to get out and about a bit to find the restaurants and shops. We found a great Italian place in the Merrick Shopping Mall (think it was called Villagio). All in all we had a lovely stay.

“ Top Tip: Villagio Restaurant, Merrick Shopping Mall (about 10 minutes by car). Lovely Pizza and Lasagna. Reasonably priced. Some people were dressed up and others casual. Very comfortable atmosphere with friendly serving staff.