Hilton, Sydney

The Hilton Sydney is a five star hotel in Sydney CBD that underwent extensive renovations in 2005.

The hotel is located opposite the Queen Victoria Building in the heart of the city, very handy for the shops and also within walking distance to Darling Harbour. The entry foyer is an impressive wall of glass and the staff at check in are polite and eager to help.

As with most Hilton hotels it comes with all the trimmings:

• Business centre
• Gym
• Pool
• Spa
• Restaurant
• 3 Bars
• Lobby cafe
• Wireless internet access

The rooms are clean, fresh and modern with remote control block out blinds,comfy beds, crisp white sheets, flat screen TVs and glass encased bathrooms with well designed lighting and all modern appliances.

Check out is a little later than some other hotels in Sydney and greatly appreciated =) The hotel is the proud and well deserving owner of the "best re-developed hotel' award 2005.

Occasions: Perfect for couples wanting a romantic getaway in the middle of the city giving plenty of choices.

Best bits: The remote controlled block out blinds are fantastic if you need a 'Nanna nap' after too much pounding of the pavement or shopping, or if you have had a big night the night before.

Worst bits: The Hilton has a club 'Zita Bar' which, whilst very trendy can lead to large queues, at times blocking side entry to the hotel and requiring patrons to validate themselves to burly security guards.

Keep in mind: Please ensure you check the room you have chosen has the upgraded bathroom facilities as some of the rooms are lacking this - we were bitterly disappointed on one of five visits to be without the new sleek bathrooms

Chaophraya Thai and Palm Sugar Lounge, Liverpool

This relatively new (opened in 2009) Thai restaurant is a welcome edition to the Liverpool food scene. The food is fresh and fabulous, reasonably priced and staff are pleasant and attentive without being intrusive.

Favourite dishes include: Pad Prik Sod (duck or chicken), Panang Curry, Gung Chup Pang Tod (tempura prawns) and the vegetarian spring rolls. We encourage you to work your way through the menu as its all good =)

The restaurant is tastefully decorated and has a great atmosphere. This, combined with the internal link in to the Palm Sugar Lounge makes it a great place for a night out.

There is also the option to secure a private dining room for groups - this has views into the Palm Sugar Lounge next door, where, if you wish to carry on the exclusivity, you can book private booths for your group.

Bring some extra cash if you will be making it a long night as Palm Sugar, as lovely as it is, does come with slightly hight drinks prices than other pubs and clubs in the area, however, the area and venue in my opinion warrants the extra charge.

What to wear:The restaurant is not pretentious at all and we have attended in shorts/t-shirt as well as dressed to the nines. However, most people to get glammed up and you will certainly want to dress to impress if planning to sweep into Palm Sugar afterwards

Prices: Entrees sit around the £7-9 mark, Main meals are £9-12 with individual rice portions at around £3

Other information: Bookings are essential to avoid disappointment, even on mid- week nights

Aguas De Ibiza, Lifestyle & Spa, Santa Eulalia Del Rio and Blue Marlin, Ibiza

Aguas De Ibiza is a member of Design Hotels and is located in Ibiza’s Santa Eulalia Bay marina far from the loud sounds, messy streets and rowdy revellers of San Antonio.

The hotel is wonderful and has become a firm favourite of ours.

There is free parking (on street) at the front of the hotel - a welcome change to the hip pocket, and our hire car stayed there safe and sound for the duration of the stay.

The rooms are large, bright and airy with all modern amenities. Clean lines, great tones and nice lighting make it easy to want to stay in your room/on your balcony for the duration of your stay.

The hotel has direct access to the promenade that leads around to the next little village and is flanked with restaurants and bars which makes it easy to stroll around whilst working up a hunger with plenty of food styles to choose from.

There is a boat trip from Santa Eulalia stopping at Cala Longa and San Antonio which is much cheaper than booking a guided vessel and has views just as good.

The only negative with this property is if you go in the off season. Arriving in May we were astonished to find that all hotel facilities were not available:

- roof top bar & pool was closed

- one of the hotel restaurants was closed

- limited staff on duty

However, to compensate these aspects the hotel was much cheaper than during peak times and the only reason the above was an issue was due to the fact that we were not advised this when booking.

Highly recomend making the trek to Blue Marlin. Our sat nav began taking us down dirt roads, over grown with head high grasses and we began to think we would never find our way out/back when the road opened into a dirt car park full of trendy mopeds, four wheel drives and sports vehicles. All of a sudden shorts and t-shirts did not seem the appropriate attire.

Yes, we would have preferred to have been aware of the venues reputation and clothed ourselves appropriately, but that was just our preference, as the staff treat everyone the same, make all feel welcome and there is a great relaxed atmosphere. The food is fantastic and for the quality you get not that expensive. The Blue Marlin is a regular haunt for celebs and plays host to some great DJs. It's cool, beachside, chilled vibe made this a highlight of the trip and although getting there may be hard (we have since heard there may be buses from the towns) it's well worth it.