Best of 2017 (3)

Hotels now...

I think I only stayed in three hotels during 2017. When I visited Belfast in April I stayed in an Ibis, but it was a nightmare - noise from other (drunk) residents at 3am. I also stayed in the Ibis Ouarzazate. Quiet. Comfortable. Great value (£22 including breakfast - which wasn’t available when I left at 5am, oddly enough).

Ibis Ouarzazate

Then I stayed in the Casablanca Novotel... twice. It was delightful. I’d stayed there for a couple of nights in 2009, so as well as being a lovely place in a good location, I enjoyed that sense of familiarity.

I stayed in apartments a few times - in Oslo and Girne, and on Colonsay. The one in Oslo was particularly memorable.

Airbnb

Bed and breakfasts - I had a lovely one on Islay and a quirky (in an enjoyable way) one on Lismore. I stayed in another one in Roy Bridge on my way to Eigg - it was very good but nothing unusual or memorable.

Eigg... Yes... That was an unusual place. I loved it. No frills and the toilet was 10 yards away across the field, but an experience.

Eigg

Then there was the Terrace Guesthouse in Istanbul - an officially designated Special Place which I hadn’t visited since 2008. It was fantastic to go back.

Ayia Sofia from the Terrace - Istanbul

My previous experience of riads (Marrakech and Fes in 2009) is very positive. Le Petit Riad in Ouarzazate didn’t let me down. I spent 5 nights there - plenty time for something to go wrong, but it didn’t.

Room 1 - Berber Thunderbox

The same can be said of the Riad Lamane in Zagora - a 3 night stay.

I find myself trying to decide between the “caravan” on Eigg and the Terrace Guesthouse. Breakfast with a view of the Bosphorus, or with a view of Ardnamurchan.

The View

The Blue Mosque on your doorstep, or a herd of cows.

Blue Mosque

And the winner - in a photo finish - is the Terrace Guesthouse.