Giraffe Restaurant @ Heathrow T5

Giraffe, Heathrow T5

It’s a bit of a different one, but since I went there whilst on my travels, I feel like Giraffe deserves a little mention.

I have to admit, going to Giraffe for breakfast turned out to be a bit of an oversight. Not due to the restaurant itself, more because I managed to forget that because I was flying with BA and not Ryanair (other budget carriers are available!), I would be provided with a breakfast on the flight.

First Impressions

I like Giraffe, I’ve been a few times, mainly to the one in Waterloo (which is always rammed and has a half an hour queue… plan ahead) or the one in Guildford, which is not normally rammed, but is equally good.

This particular restaurant is more like a department store concession, mainly because it isn’t in a retail unit or anything like that, it is open plan with the rest of the departures concourse. This is pretty nice, it means you can see what’s going on, both inside the terminal and on the runway, whilst the screens help you to spot when your plane is on ‘last call’ and you still have a sausage left on your plate. It does mean the experience is also a little odd though, as you don’t have the normal restaurant atmosphere.

4/5

Service

It was pretty packed in there and to be honest, the service wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful either. We made a couple of changes to the standard dishes when ordering and they got those totally wrong, so that wasn’t so great, but what can you expect from somewhere like that. The waiter was exceptionally cheery though, especially given how early we were there.

3.5/5

Food

Giraffe’s food is generally interesting because it comes from all over the world, or at least it is inspired by stuff from around the world, a little bit. My breakfast wasn’t, it came from a frying pan, just the way god intended. I can’t really say much about it because it was a typical fried breakfast, a pretty good one at that. If you like that kind of thing and you are indeed flying on a budget airline, you could go a great deal worse than eating here. In terms of the lunch/dinner menu, I don’t suppose it’s much different from the other Giraffes, meaning that it remains a great place to go and grab a bite before your flight. (I’m rhyming now, genius writing crossed with simplistic poetry is just one of my many untapped talents.)

4/5

Price

A restaurant in a location with a captive audience… There isn’t a single moment in all of history where this didn’t mean vastly inflated prices. My Breakfast was over £8, which is far too much, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be the same situation anywhere, so what can you do…

3/5

Overall

Nice restaurant, good food, slightly odd location, decent service, 3x large Giraffes. What more could a soon to be jet-lagged man ask for?

4.5/5

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Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5

Sofitel Heathrow

I had never heard of Sofitel before this holiday, they have both city centre hotels (including London) and airport locations.

Star Rating

*****

It is important to note that hotel ratings have not yet been standardised internationally, meaning that the rating listed above is the official rating provided by the relevant agency in the hotel’s locale.

Location

The Walkway

Sofitel’s Terminal 5 hotel is a bit special, primarily because the entrance is actually inside the terminal. It is a surprisingly long walk down a corridor to get to the hotel itself, but when you are checking in at about 5 in the morning, staggering out of your room and 5 minutes later finding yourself in the airport is a pleasant experience. There is also a bus which you can use to reach the other terminals.

5/5

First Impressions

The hotel itself is lovely. I am sure the temptation is there to take advantage of the location to bump up the prices without really providing an experience to match. I didn’t have to check in myself, arriving late, but the check-in desk were extremely helpful in providing me with a door card and all that stuff. You can immediately tell it’s a nice hotel, with plenty of open space, a few bars and restaurants and a few little shops and things; there’s even an Audi R8 on show.

Now, if you aren’t staying there, access to any floor but the lobby is restricted. That is to say, you can go anywhere you want to spend money, but getting to a room is only possible if you have a room key, which you will need in order to operate the lifts.

4.5/5

Amenities

The bars are pretty straightforward and I didn’t get the chance to eat there. Apart from that there is plenty of room. The hotel is split up into a number of different sections within the main shell of the building, each with rooms running up and down a corridor and windows facing out into one of the open spaces, whether that is the bar or the ‘Zen Garden’, which our room faced.

‘Zen Garden’

To be quite honest, I don’t really understand the Zen Garden. To me it looks like one of those things that architects put there to make their plans look pretty. You know the ones, you see this attractive sketch, usually with pastel colours, or something that looks like it’s been painted in watercolour. The plans talk about amazing open spaces for people to hang out, the Zen Garden offering the chance to stop for a contemplative thought or the chance to ‘escape from the hustle and bustle’. The reality never matches up, with the open spaces left unused because they are totally impractical, and the reality of the buildings never matching up to their imaginary forefathers. What I am trying to say, with this unnecessarily long ramble is that the Zen Garden is pointless. There was never anyone in it, there were a couple of benches and a few ornaments, but certainly no ‘garden’ and all it really offered is the chance to charge a bit more for a room that overlooks it.

There is a spa and relaxation suite, perfect for pampering groups of hens on their way out of the country for a wild holiday, or the over 50s with too much money to spend. There are apparently 5x treatment rooms, sauna, steam and a ‘Vitality Pool’ which is ponce-speak for a pool which is too small to actually swim in.

There is also a hair salon and jewellery shop although if you have a 6am flight I doubt you’ll find much time to make the most of these! Perhaps more practical is the car park, which means that you can purchase both a room and parking for your trip, perfect for the more busy travellers out there.

In reality though, the hotel has pretty much anything a traveller could need, with hard liquor or relaxation available… although it all comes at a price.

4.5/5

The Room

Until recently, my hotel related experience was pretty non-existent. Between the ages of 0 and 12 my holidays consisted almost exclusively of Mathews caravan holidays on the French Atlantic Coast. From there on family holidays were usually spent in Spanish apartments, with the odd trip to Center Parcs thrown in.

What all this means is that I was far from qualified to hold any type of opinion on where I stayed, because I had almost no point of reference. Since then I have been lucky enough to stay in a few hotels and I have tended to find that regardless of whether you spend £90 for a night or £290 for a night, much of what you find in your room is the same.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is, the ratings in this area are pretty tight, unless a room is dire, but things like cleanliness and spaciousness will have a big impact an my views, because things like beds and toilets are items you’d hope to find in all rooms. I suppose decor and the like will also count for a lot.

Sofitel ‘Classic Room’

I believe I stayed in a ‘classic room’, which is, as you might expect, one of the rooms at the cheap end of the spectrum. There are suites available, with the largest offering 3 bedrooms. If that’s what you’re aiming for, I imagine your experience will be 100x nicer than mine and I can tell you now, my impressions were pretty darn good.

Like many business and higher end hotels, Sofitel Heathrow’s rooms are relatively generous in terms of the space afforded and the decor is clean and inoffensive. You won’t be surprised to learn that everything also feels modern, with the hotel only having been open for a few years.

There is a flat screen TV, mini-bar, safe and internet access in the room via an ethernet cable. In the bathroom, there is a bath and a walk in shower, rather than the more predictable ‘shower over the bath’ arrangement that is popular in hotels and homes across the country. It is worth noting that in these cheaper rooms, the broadband access, be it WiFi or through the cable is chargeable, whilst in all other types of room it is free.

The bed, which was queen sized, was nice. Slightly on the firmer side, which is how I like it. I didn’t like the pillows, which were some kind of unnecessarily soft feather based affair. Apparently they have 5 varieties available and a call down to reception would have sorted me out, but I’m not the sort to make a fuss (it’s the British way), so I soldiered on, with my face increasingly engulfed by pillow as the night wore on.

I can’t really have any complaints about the room though and given that it was really just a stop-over for a night before flying out, it was more than comfortable.

4.5/5

Food

Unfortunately, with an early flight and the choice of a room that doesn’t have breakfast included, unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to sample the hotel’s cuisine. I understand the restaurant, well, Brasserie; Brasserie Roux serves fantastic food if you are at the hotel for dinner, whilst there is Breakfast included with all of the nicer rooms at either the Vivre Restaurant or La Belle Époque. If you have had the chance to eat at any of Sofitel’s restaurants, please do leave a comment with your thoughts below.

I did have breakfast in the terminal though, at Giraffe, a review of which is on this blog. (It’s not yet, hence the lack of a link, but it will be, then there will be a link and not this bit in brackets, which is temporary…)

Costs

Rooms cost upwards of £130 if you book at least 2 weeks in advace or closer to £170 for something more flexible, meaning that although it’s not cheap, what you save on catching the National Express Coach (see my earlier review) you can spend staying here, instead of with Lenny Henry at the big purple Premier Inn. Once again though, in a section I have poorly labelled ‘cost’ it is the value for money that counts and although it’s not cheap and you don’t get a great deal included, it certainly isn’t bad value for money.

3.5/5

Overall

A lovely hotel, with an unrivalled location, particularly if you happen to by flying with BA from Heathrow. It’s modern classy and has a fresh design which sets you up nicely before a long journey, or allows you to have an ideal night of rest on your way back home.

If you plan on staying at Sofitel, you can book with them here. In case you’re wondering, I don’t make a penny when you click-through to any of the sites I link to from my blog, I am just trying to make your life easier!

I’d love to have the chance to stay again and if I have the money, I will certainly opt to stay here over any of the budget alternatives.

4.5/5

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National Express Coach between Woking and Heathrow

A National Express coach, in Woking, in case you can't imagine what that looks like.

I’ve been so lazy and let’s be blunt, this is not going to be long, or interesting, because it’s about a ride on a coach; so unless you’ve never been on a coach journey before, or really need to know how to get from Woking to Heathrow, I’d leave now.

Honestly… go!

Ok, so, you’re still reading, so coaches are new to you, huh? Well, they are big metal things that go on the road, they have about 50 seats, and windows down each side which help to distinguish them from lorries. You know what lorries are, yeah?

Fine, I’ll stop being a dick. If you’re going to Heathrow, you think (like me) taxis are a bit expensive and you’d rather not pay actual cash-money to have your car earn a few dents and scratches in an enormous car park, so far away from the terminal you might as well be at home, then public transport is the obvious choice.

You really have 2 main options, the coach, or the train. For me, the train means either going up to Waterloo, making my way across to Paddington and catching the extortionately expensive Heathrow Express in a journey that would take upwards of an hour and a half. I could get on the Piccadilly Line and make my way down that way, which would also take about an hour and a half,  or there’s the RailAir Coach from Woking. Obviously, this limits your options and really you have to be able to get to the coach stop easily. There is another RailAir coach from Reading I think, I live in Guildford, so Woking is only 10 minutes away on the train.

You can either buy your ticket for the journey online here, for about £11.00 including booking fees, although that requires a printer; or you can purchase from the driver. I would recommend at least checking the coach times online though, they run approximately every half an hour.

Neither of my trips were at particularly busy times (Woking to Heathrow on Friday evening, after about 8pm, return journey on Thursday evening), meaning that I don’t know how long the journey can be. For me though, the journey up to Terminal 5, the first stop, took 20 minutes, the journey home took less than 15. I couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was and I have to admit, although I normally hate busses, I wouldn’t go up to Heathrow any other way.

Understandably, there may be other issues, like a multitude of bags, or a multitude of children, which makes the coach less viable, but to be honest if you’re one of those people, you probably have your taxi or car parking booked already?

However, if you are still contemplating how best to get up to Heathrow and you live within spitting (or train journey) distance of Woking, it’s not fancy and it’s not particularly exciting, but I can’t think of a better way to get there. 5/5

For the record, the rating doesn’t really mean anything in this instance, but since it’s all I have to reflect how good something is it will have to do!

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Greece: Athens (Αθήνα)

So, I’ve not written about anything for a little while because I’ve been out of the country! To be fair I was around at the weekend and could have done a few articles by now, but I am lazy, so I haven’t, because playing the demo of FIFA 12 was more important.

I am going to do a bit of a series on the things I did in Greece, starting with this page. Then what I’ll probably do is set up some kind of link at the top there so that if you ever decide to go on holiday to one of the places I’ve been you can have a look through all the stuff I did and decide if it sounds any good.

I’ll do a separate post on each of the individual things, so apologies for the very general nature of this one. As I write a review of each aspect, I will add links to the below. There’s more below the itinerary!

The Parthenon in the evening.

Itinerary

Day 0
09/09/2011

National Express Coach: Woking to Heathrow (T5)
Hotel: Sofitel – Heathrow (T5)

Day 1
10/09/2011

Breakfast: Giraffe – Heathrow (T5)
Flight: Heathrow (T5) to Athens – British Airways
Transfer to Athens by ‘limo’
Hotel: Divani Palace Acropolis (5*)
Visit to Temple of Zeus
Dinner: Dionysos
Cocktails at the bar on the roof of Divani Palace Acropolis

Day 2
11/09/2011

Transfer to Ancient Olympia by ‘limo’
Hotel: Hotel Europa (4*)
Guided tour of the site of Ancient Olympia and Museum
Dinner: Hotel Europa

Day 3
12/09/2011

Transfer to Athens by ‘limo’
Hotel: Divani Palace Acropolis (5*)
Dinner: Plaka – Kosmikon Grill House

Day 4
13/09/2011

Transfer to Acropolis by ‘limo’
Guided tour of the Ancient Acropolis
Guided tour of the Acropolis Museum
Lunch: Acropolis Museum Restaurant
Transfer to Megara Airfield by ‘limo’
Flight over Athens (Global Aviation)
Dinner: Plaka – Estiatopion Taverna

Day 5
14/09/2011

Kalamaki Beach
Lunch: Kalamaki Beach Bar
Dinner: Diogenes
Cocktails: Grande Bretagne Hotel – Roof Garden Bar & Restaurant

Day 6
15/09/2011

Tour of Panathenaic Stadium
Transfer to Athens Airport by ‘limo’
Lunch: Everest (Athens Airport)
Flight: Athens Airport to Heathrow (T5) – British Airways
National Express Coach: Heathrow (T5) to Woking

Athens

Having never visited Greece (or the surrounding countries) before I didn’t really know what to expect, in fact, even my experience with Greek food was limited to pitta bread, so I was going in pretty blind.

My assumption was that, as a mediterranean country, there would be some similarities with Spain, with white buildings, swimming pools-a-plenty and olive-skinned locals. I wasn’t far off, although Athens as a large city doesn’t have many pools and the like.

The airport is a fair distance from the city and was built with the 2004 Olympic Games in mind. Once you arrive, you are immediately struck by the state of the city in general. Whilst many cities have areas which are in a poor state of repair, Athens is a city which, outwardly, really looks like it is struggling, with graffiti on almost every building and many in a poor state of repair. There are no high-rise buildings, with the majority of the city restricted to 3 stories and, the centre (Syntagma), not exceeding around 7 stories tall. This all relates to the Acropolis and a requirement to keep every building below the height of the iconic hill.

However, once you begin to explore the city, your impression changes. The best way to look around is almost certainly on foot, particularly if your base is towards the centre of the city (known colloquially as Downtown). The first thing you will notice is that it is hard to walk for more than 5 minutes without stumbling across an ancient building or relic of some kind. Syntagma Metro Station has a whole area behind glass reflecting what was found when the station was built as part of a network also needed for the 2004 Olympics. South of there you will find the Temple of Zeus and in between, if you walk via the Plaka you will stumble across once or two fenced off areas with excavated columns and buildings. The Acropolis Museum and even our hotel are built on top of ancient buildings which have been excavated and preserved behind glass.

The city centre has a number of areas which are well worth visiting for their individual charms. Many of the areas worth a visit are pedestrianised, however, this isn’t quite as strict as you might expect and you will often find mopeds or city vehicles travelling up and down, sometimes with scant regard for public safety! Whilst there are a number of places to visit, the must see areas are as follows: –

Plaka (πλάκα)

Plaka is where you will find a glut of restaurants and Tavernas. Based at the foot of The Acropolis on the Eastern side, it is an area which is buzzing every night, generally with tourists. As you walk through in the evening you will find that every restaurateur is quite happy to promise you the best food in all of Athens and won’t leave you alone until you come in for dinner. All I can say is a good wall through will give you an idea of what’s there and help you decide where you want to eat; don’t be bullied! The two restaurants we visited there were both generally good and I’d suggest there are some bargains to be had, but you also get what you pay for in general. There’s also a small outdoor Cinema in Plaka playing newly released films in English with Greek subtitling, if you’re looking for something to keep you entertained, it’s an option!

Syntagma (Σύνταγμα)

Syntagma is the name for the centre of the city. It is here you will find the Parliament Building, which has a changing of the guards ceremony every hour. In front of the building is a large three level square, which is where the protests of recent times have been held, but for the majority of the time a good starting point and somewhere to spend lunch. Lining the square’s North and North Western sides are hotels including the beautiful Grande Bretagne, which has a fantastic view of the city, including the Acropolis and Panathenaic Stadium from the bar on the roof. Syntagma also has fantastic transport links, with the Tram lines starting from here, buses and the Metro station allowing you to reach almost anywhere in the city.

Ermou (Ερμού)

Ermou isn’t so much an area as a street. It is to Athens what Oxford Street is to London, the shopping destination. It’s a good place to have a look with a number of familiar names and a host of new shops to get your teeth into. Ermou runs from Syntagma, north of The Plaka, so if you have a spare day or even an afternoon before dinner, it’s easy enough to walk between the two via this street (free maps are available from the tourist board offices). Simply walk about 2 thirds of the way down and turn left, keep going until you’re past the flea market shops and it’s all restaurants and tavernas unless one takes your fancy on the way.

Kolonaki (Κολωνάκι)

Kolonaki is where all the hip young things go in the evenings! Unfortunately I am not nearly cool enough to go there, so I can’t give you loads of first hand knowledge, but it’s where the local celebs, the rich and the pretty people hang out. Got to be worth checking out, even if you do look like Quasimodo… Although you might find it hard to get in anywhere if you do.

Koukaki (Κουκάκι)

Koukaki is where our hotel was located. It’s just to the south of the Acropolis and boasts one of the most expensive residential streets in the city – the pedestrianised road Dionissiou Areopagitou. This road is the best way to get to the Acropolis, the location of the excellent Acropolis Museum and if you go down there, not far up from the main road, you’ll find a little yoghurt bar, which is great for a refreshing snack.

The Good

A few general things because overall Greece is a really great place, but you will be struck by…

• The people. Greeks are generally exceptionally friendly, but they are honest too. Many Greek people speak English and almost all of those I spoke to went through some higher education in the UK. I was amazed by how willing to help and to chat some of the people were.
• The food. I did have one meal I didn’t love, although that was probably more my taste than the food itself. In general though the standard of the food was excellent. I didn’t have to resort to ordering a burger once and the dry, hot heat leaves you wanting salad, which is almost enforced healthiness!
• The weather. It’s totally predictable. It’s going to be sunny! Everyone there will tell you that for 8 months of the year there isn’t a drop of rain. I am sure this is a bit of an exaggeration and there was the odd cloud every so often, but they were right, glorious sunshine every day, a lovely comfortable temperature in the evening and fortunately, not too much humidity, making the shade a welcome sanctuary.

The Bad

A confession. I am being entirely picky now, but I have to say something here, right?

• The roads. They are incredibly busy in the city and the drivers (and riders) care little about the safety of people on foot. Driving down the main highway out of Athens and into the countryside, it is not unusual to see cars weaving their way through the traffic, although where they are hurrying to in such a laid back society I do not know. In town, travel by public transport or on foot where possible.
• The taxis. I was lucky enough to have a driver in town, but the Taxi drivers do not have a good rep. They are known for ripping off punters, speaking little English and, at the moment, striking a lot. Make sure if you use one that the meter is on. The one way streets make it hard to tell if the route is the quickest, but it is good to try to get an idea of cost before you set off. Public transport is cheap and well worth taking advantage of.
• The civil service. Again, not something you’ll have to deal with unless you’re moving there, but they can’t be sacked and they aren’t happy about the cuts the government would like to make. The striking garbage collectors meant there were over-flowing bins outside of the most important areas, providing one example of the current situation.

The Ugly

• I am sad to say graffiti is a massive problem in Athens. There is a culture in Greece that people should be allowed to express themselves and there certainly does appear to be respect for ancient monuments and the like. However, little else avoids the spray can and with much of it taking the form of tags, rather than a proper attempt at art it has left some areas looking particularly shabby.
• For a city with so much history, much of it with a genuine beauty, it’s a shame to say that the architecture of residential Athens is uninspired and unflattering. A sea of low-rise cheap boxes in many areas let the city down. The height restrictions mean Athens is a low sprawling city.

As I have said, it’s easy to overlook the less good parts because, as a tourist, on foot, you see little of the negatives. The ancient monuments are well-preserved and the Olympics have brought some modern transport and architecture to the city. I really do recommend that you visit.

As a city break, I would have to give Athens 4/5, although you’d be able to achieve much of what you want to over the course of a long weekend with some good planning. However, the fact you can also visit some of the islands easily by boat, either for a day, or longer means that there is potential to have a top drawer holiday for a week or two, with Athens as your base.

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