As part of our series of guest bloggers, Janice Waugh of Solo Traveler stops in Edinburgh to investigate Hotel Missoni.
Last November at The World Travel Market in London I had the chance to meet in the acclaimed travel blogger and social-media advocate, Janice Waugh. Up to then Janice and I had what could be called a casual electronic acquaintanceship on Twitter.
Yes, @bestlovedhotels and Janice, affectionately known as @solotraveller, had exchanged tweets from time to time admiring each other’s work.  Since 2009, Janice has carved out an interesting niche writing …

Amie O’Shaughnessy is the Founder and Managing Editor of Ciao Bambino, an award-winning global family travel resource featuring trusted hotel recommendations, extensive destination-related insight, and tips for traveling with kids all ages from babies to teens.
 I asked Jeffrey Epstein for his advice on a family-friendly weekend getaway from the Best Loved Hotels portfolio that would be appropriate and fun for a multi-generational group including our 8-year-old son. Given our limited time for this holiday — just 72 hours — we also needed something that was no more than a 2–hour …

 
On Sunday, March 26th the 8th Annual Scottish Hotel Awards were announced. Our hearty congratulations to these Best Loved winners:
The Scottish Hotel of the Year 2011  - The Torridon
Manager Gold Medals 2011 – Robert Ince | The Torridon
Chef Médaille d’Or 2011 – Jason Bruno Birkbeck | The Torridon
Cheese Award 2011 – The Torridon
Hoteliers of the Year 2011 – Anne Gracie & Ken Gunn | Duisdale & Toravaig House Hotels
Rising Star Young Manager Award 2011 –  Ali Gunn | Toravaig House Hotel
Rising Star Young Chef Award 2011- Chris Brayshay | Toravaig …

By Olive Roberts
Best Loved Hotel; Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, County Mayo has just launched a new training weekend programme designed specifically for beginners to triathlons. If you enjoy the outdoors and like a challenge, or have never tried a triathlon, this is a perfect way to get started! This is also one of the most wonderful locations in Ireland, overlooking Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick to begin your triathlon journey.
 
Knockranny House Hotel; awarded Best Four Star Hotel in Ireland by Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards 2010, has …

By Olive Roberts
Well I think most folk in Ireland will agree that Christmas 2010 will not be forgotten for a while to come. Temperatures got as low as -16 & -19 in some parts! A White Christmas indeed! This Arctic weather spell was in the lead up to Christmas and bookings were made and events planned. Some went ahead and others just had to be postponed or cancelled altogether. Spending Christmas at a Country House or Hotel is a big deal for people, many guests return to the same property …

Mary Ryan, an accomplished chef from Knockranny House Hotel, working under the mentorship of multi award-winning Head Chef Seamus Commons, has just been announced as the overall winner of the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year Competition.
 
The prestigious Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year Competition seeks out excellent cooks who think about what is happening beyond the kitchen, such as where their ingredients come from and how they are sourced and produced.
As the overall winner, Mary receives a €1000 cash prize along with mentoring and training from Head Chefs in …

What an enchanting idea – take home a piece of The Merrion Hotel with you for yourself or for your loved ones. For over a decade, guests at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin, have been enjoying Chef Ed Cooney’s delicious food. Now, with the launch of The Merrion Pantry, they can take it home.
Remember, before the fridge was the Pantry and inside was any amount of necessities and treats waiting to be discovered. The Merrion Pantry offers chutneys, jams, sauces, oils and spread are all now in attractive bottles and jars …

At a meeting on 18 November in Dublin with leading Irish hoteliers, Jeffrey Epstein, Founder Publisher of Ireland’s leading hotel marketing group, Best Loved Hotels, pledged that Best Loved Hotels would only work with hotels that were not directly or indirectly being supported with taxpayer’s money.

“It is unfair that well run hotels are being undermined by hotels that are undercutting rates using tax-payers money to support failing businesses.  It will simply lead to more tax revenues being poured down the drain” he said.
Mr. Epstein also announced that during 2011 Best Loved …

Last Friday’s #Frifotos Photo Forum theme was Autumn and once again the images offered up were staggering. We wondered what direction our twittering friends would take with the idea of Autumn. Looking over the hundreds of images most of them broke into one of two categories:

Author: Stuart Honey (Twitter)
It’s not every day that I get to be a tourist attraction – in fact, let’s be real, never.
Well, this afternoon an out-of-town visitor to London took a photo of me as I was passing by Regent’s Park. Actually, I rather suspect he was snapping at the bike I was riding and my being there was purely incidental.  I was on one of 6000 hire bikes that have been seen on the streets of London over the last three months.
Distinctive sturdy and blue, they are available from …