Aspiring Kennedy: Hotels

Showing posts with label Hotels. Show all posts

Baby's First Swim... a la mode.

Did you know "a la mode"

means "in the current style or fashion?"

While I may actually prefer

the Americanized version

that involves a mound of ice cream

being sat alongside- or on top- of something.

I mean, how did that become the term for

adding ice cream to a hot dessert?

In the current fashion of... childhood obesity?

Not sure...

but I'm thankful someone made it happen.

I'm also thankful that my dear friend, Kyla,

snapped these pictures of Viola

having her first swim...

in an infiniti pool....

.... at a gorgeous chateau

sat amongst a vineyard

in Southern France.

That, my friend, is swimming in style.

If we keep up these kind of moves,

this baby's first words are going to be

"Treat Yo'self."

Moving beyond the ridiculousness of this girl's short life,

can I once again sing the praises of this gorgeous chateau?

If you missed it,

my full review is here.

You can go check it out

while I stare out the window

at the grey skies of London

bemoaning the pseudo-summer.

{Yes, the fairy tale is over and we are back to living in reality!}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy.

Beginner's Manual for Staying In An {Italian Villa}

When we planned this blogger hen-do,

we knew it had to have a supreme backdrop.

With us all coming from different places in Europe,

we knew that most any decent place

within the reaches of Ryan Air was our play ground.

So we settled on Tuscany.

Megan, our bride-to-be, had never been,

and as a wedding gift to her,

I thought she should experience the greatness that is Italy.

And, as you may be realizing,

I have issues with spending any free time I have there.

Really bad issues.

So Liz found us an amazing villa on *AirBnB,

we paid the deposit, packed our bags,

and away we went.

If you are looking for an affordable place to rent in Tuscany,

this might be your spot.

It has four bedrooms,

two and a half bathrooms,

large common areas,

an updated kitchen perfect for making big meals,

and, most importantly, a pool set among an olive grove.

It took a lot, I mean, a lot to post a picture of me in a swimsuit next to tiny Megan.

The other great thing is that it's about 15 minutes away

from my favorite place in the world, Lucca.

I have highlights from Florence & Cinque Terre to come,

but for now,

enjoy the quick trip to our temporary piece of heaven.

To read the more tragic & real start to our trip,

head over to Liz or Megan's blogs for the recount.

They wrote out the stories so well,

I'll leave it up to them to give you the full picture.

{Read my review for renting an affordable house in France here.}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy
**if you haven't used AirBNB, use this link. We both save money. Win-win.

Pack Your Bags: {Classy} St. Andrews

If you've read this blog for a little while,

you might have learned that there are certain places

that I kinda get obsessed with after visiting.

And when that happens,

I visit them again... and again... and again.

St. Andrews in Scotland is one of those special places.

This famous town was listed on the first itinerary I ever had,

so, site unseen, I showed up and spent the day exploring the tiny coastal town.

And ever since that random day,

it's become one of my favorite spots in the UK.

Since I'm typically there with students,

I experience the town through the eyes (& budget) of a student....

but last week, I went with my parents

and got to experience the town through their eyes.... and budget.

All of that lead up to say:

we stayed at the St Andrews Old Course Hotel

and it was freakin' awesome.

{Oh yeah, I'm classy and belong in luxury hotels, y'all.}

A few things to know about the famous hotel:

It's owned by Kohler.

Yeah, like the water faucets.

While this seems weird, it results in the hotel having

amazing tubs and showers in every room

and one of the most amazing spas

I have ever been to in my life.

{Use of the thermal spa is free for hotel guests.}

I lierally sat in one of the whirlpools and thought:

I feel like a Roman at the baths.

And when we sat in the rooftop hot tub

as the sun set over the coast

drinking my chamomile,

I felt exceptionally fancy.

The breakfast served at the hotel is amazing.

Order some waffles

and tell me if you've ever had better.

You can't.

It's impossible...

because they are actually, believe it or not, Belgian

and have the yummy sugar pearls in the batter.

Oh my.

Regardless of if you are staying in the hotel or not,

you can come eat at the resort's pub, The Jigger Inn.

It's the cute little white house tucked between the golf course & the hotel.

It's well-priced,

the service is really great,

and the freshly caught haddock, for the fish & chips, is completely legit.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly,

free on-demand movies in your room.

I totally veg'ed out after dinner

watching movie after movie

in our enormous, American-sized bed

cradled by an obscene amount of fluffy pillows.

So this is my instagram-level tour

and review of our stay at The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews.

Overall, it's a great hotel that would make the perfect setting

for a trip to St. Andrews... if you can make the splurge.

{It would be hard to imagine being disappointed if you did.}

Wait for tomorrow when I take you on a drool fest

throughout the rest of town and our stay

with the pictures I took on my "real" camera.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy.

**follow me on Instagram. Username: aspiringkennedy

Beginner's Manual For Staying In A {French Manoir}

When our friends, Anthony & Kellee, planned a trip over here,

we wanted to do something that would get us out of the city...

so I started combing through the interwebs for private home rentals in France.

There were some amazingly gorgeous places out there- for about €12,500 a week.

They looked like the place where Eva Longoria + Tony Parker got married,

making them completely amazing... and totally unaffordable.

Somehow I hopped around the internet and found this place:

Le Manoir Champfreau.

It was €200 a night for the entire, three bedroom home.

We emailed the link back & forth wondering if it was too good to be true.

Well, thankfully we went for it.

And when we rolled through the main gate together,

we realized we had, indeed, hit the jack pot.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I present to you

Le Manoir Champfreau.

{Commonly confused with "the best place on earth.}

I can't recommend it more.

There are three residences within the property...
we stayed in the larger of the three.

Next time we'll be back to enjoy the pool!

Beyond the gorgeous setting in Saumur
and the amazing home you'll enjoy,
you'll also get the privilege of meeting Stephen & Bruce,
the proud owners of this glorious manoir.

Between their pasts as a private chef (Bruce) & butler (Steven) for a high-profile household,
you are pretty much guaranteed an amazing stay.

Bruce Riedner, Chef Extraodinaire. Bruce's spice rack (shown below).

But while you are in the midst of being pampered by these two dear American ex-pats,
you'll also feel like you've become a part of their family.

Between Stephen sharing his knowledge of the best area croissants,
Bruce pointing you in the direction of burgers topped with foie gras,
and being invited into their own home to see recent renovations,

you are going to hate leaving these two as much as le Manoir.

If you are planning to visit France,
I hope you'll consider the quick trip out of Paris
into the gorgeous countryside of the Loire...

Forget needing to see the famous Chateaux & Wineries,
you need to go just for the experience of staying here!

I'd love to introduce you to our new friends at the Manoir...
or if you contact them, tell them you came via Aspiring Kennedy.

They'll take good care of you. :)

*If you'd like to see pictures of the kitchen, read my post here.

*All images original to Aspiring Kennedy