our view from the room the morning after the storm
As part of my position I am required to attend top-secret conferences scattered around the countryside: this one in Lancaster, which is about as far as you can go without running into the Lake District. The journey should have taken five hours but it took nine, of which four were spent in such mind-numbingly boring stop-start M6 motorway traffic that we only have the knowledge of time having passed: either that or we were abducted by aliens, but I don’t recall any little green men probing my anus. We finally reached the Sun hotel in the heart of downtown old town Lancaster at 9 pm, its integral bar abuzz with Friday night revellers: once T had macheted his way through the crowd to the reception area at the back we were led up several carpeted flights of stairs to Executive Room 32. After the long drive flat screen satellite TV, wine glasses and corkscrew were almost all we needed and after a quick trip down to the bar to pick up a bottle of Rioja we settled happily into our comfortable, cosy eyrie under the eaves.
one well-stocked bar
Terrific idea for breakfasts: five items from a selection of eight included with room price, or choose from the individual breakfast menu: Eggs Benedict, Kippers, etc. You could stay a week and have something different every day, enjoying the morning tranquility of the bar with self-serve juice, cereal (if you must) and coffee laid out opposite an array of newspapers, a basket of toast and preserves plus the full Monty brought to your table by friendly-enough but blissfully not too-so staff. Very very pleasant: even Katie Melua on the tannoy couldn’t upset me. I just wish we hadn’t had to be anywhere afterwards.
smoked bacon, herb sausages, white pudding, poached egg, grilled tomatoes
Sorely tempted by the Eggs Benedict I found myself seduced twice over by the 5/8 selection: gosh do I love a bit of white pudding.
- bacon, fried duck egg, sausages, mushrooms & flageolet beans in tomato sauce
After a leisurely breakfast like that there’s no need for lunch and barely room for dinner even, so the £70 a night room price looked increasingly bargainly. What with the weather – remember the recent hullabaloo over 10 million fell runners swamped by storms? same area, same weekend – exploring Lancaster was pretty much off the menu, so after the conference we snuggled in once more. Champagne by the glass at £6 (£6.50 for rosé) set the mood for a laid-back evening, although I could have done without the strawberry floater: it was decent champagne, so why make me stick my fingers in it? T’s stomach empties faster than mine so he ordered a Lancashire hotpot from the bar menu (they stop serving at 7 pm – not entirely convenient for folk with continental habits) which I gather was well tasty, although not good-looking enough to snap.
We loved staying at this hotel – beer aficionados would love it even more – and recommend it heartily. Visit their website to get a feel for the place; it more than lives up to its own marketing.
virtual tour
the Sun Hotel & Bar, Lancaster
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Blue Beach bar & restaurant, 31 Promenade des Anglais, Nice 06000 – opposite the Negresco
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