APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

Pound for pound, Bordeaux boasts some of the best gastronomy and wine in all of France...or the world for that matter.

Code 23, a fabulous bar with live music and a cozy vibe, is less than 15 minutes walk from the property.

Le Petit Commerce, one of the greatest, most unpretentious seafood houses in all of the region, is 15 minutes walk away from Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta.

Boulangerie Jocteur, an outstanding bakery, is a brisk 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Chartrons and its great homes and bistros are 15 minutes by tram.

Cite du Vin is less than 25 minutes by tram.

Bassins des Lumières, in a WWII submarine bunker also to the north of town, is less than 45 minutes by public transit.

APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta Front desk staff was excellent about giving tips on shopping/dining.

It also complied with my standard request to get the room farthest from the elevator and to have an extra flat sheet in the room.

I certainly used the coffee maker, as well as the fridge to store leftover gourmet food -- and the stove and microwave to reheat said food.

St. Catherine Street -- billed as the longest pedestrian shopping street in all of Europe, is footsteps away.

Garonne River, muddy but the spine of the city for centuries, is 10-12 minutes walk away, as is the famous Place de la Bourse with its giant reflecting pond and wondrous architecture. Bordeaux is a great city.

APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

When first considering several properties, I thought Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta might be out of the center.

Turns out it's in the center.

And right on the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage part of the city.

It's the best of both worlds -- modern, updated and quiet as it is not near any wine or other bars or nightclubs.

But Gambetta is a great area, flush with hip restaurants, wine bars and grocery stores.

One of the tram lines is 5 minutes away.

Also within a 5 minute walk is the G bus that connected with historic Saint Jean train station, where I arrived from Paris. 

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec staff is outstanding about explaining the price, departure times, etc. of the tours it sells from the front desk.

I wish it would affiliate with a better tour provider than Jalisco Tour Mendez.

Both daylong tours that I took spent an endless amount of time stopping at horrible restaurants and tourists traps that likely pay the tour company a kickback for depositing hapless tourists at their doorstep.

The base price of the tours is 25 USD -- at that low price, you get a tour that only rates about 2.5 on a scale of one to 5.

 

 

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec’s room temperature control is fixed.

You have to ask the front desk to send a person up to set it.

That means you only have a choice of air conditioning on or off -- you cannot adjust it to you comfort.

Please, treat guests like adults, and remove the governor on the temperature settings that can only be overridden with a code used by management.

The breakfast buffet was about 14 USD -- very high by Guadalajara standards.

I checked it out and while it looked clean, it really didn't appear to be worth the money.

I could not justify paying more than 20% of my daily room rate on a breakfast that was not cooked to order and had no luxury items on the buffet tables.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The Centro Historico is a 20 minute walk -- or a rideshare under USD 5 with tip – from Hotel Antre Chapultepec.

Tlaquepaque and Zapopan are about a half hour (45 minutes with traffic) 10 USD rideshare trip to visit those historic and vibrant neighborhoods.

The room had a large desk for working and room enough for a small fainting couch by the large balcony.

I would gladly stay again. 

And I wish every major city had a centrally-located, cost-effective Hotel Antre.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The fabulous working class Santa Tere neighborhood, with dozens of outstanding foodie spots, is a 12 minute walk north of the Hotel Antre Chapultepec.

GDL is a gastronomic mecca -- with amazingly fresh and fabulous seafood for not being a coastal city.

With a smooth check in and bilingual staff, Hotel Antre sets you up for all the cultural delights that GDL has to offer.

Jalisco state also is ground zero for outstanding coffee production.

Several of the best coffee purveyors in all of Mexico are within walking distance of the property.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec’s daily maid service brought two large bottles of water and cleaned -- while honoring my request to not remake my bed.

The front desk arranged a tour for me and helped estimate the price of a car service.

The room has tons of outlets -- regular prong and USB -- for recharging.

Antre Chapultepec is in the heart of Colonia Americana -- voted the hippest neighborhood on earth (as judged by Time Out Magazine).

Endless upscale and down home restaurants, bakeries, shops, street art and early 20th century architecture are within easy walking distance.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The Hotel Antre Chapultepec is modern, perfectly-located and well-run.

I asked a lot of questions before my arrival and the staff answered each of them expertly.

The hotel is very near Chapultepec and its noisy bars and clubs plus it is on one of the city's busiest streets -- but I only heard a minor roar on my 10th floor, sound proofed room.

I had a fabulous balcony with southern exposure.

The room was large for a price well under 100 USD per day.

The walk-in shower had endless warm water.

 

TABERNA DOS MERCADORES

POLVO COM ARROZ NO FORNO -- O MELHOR DO MUNDO

The Ribeira in Porto – the historic district at the edge of the Rio Douro – is filled with architecture, charm and restaurants. 

Many of the restaurants are fine, but they aim low toward the tourist palette.

The Taberna hosts visitors, but it has a small menu with a handful of entrees done perfectly.

It is a beacon of gastronomy.

I dined for lunch twice during my 36-hour visit.

The far and away winner is octopus with rice, cooked an oven.

A huge dish, fit for two people, comes to you for the low price of 24 euros.

The wine list is curated, and for a city famed for its fortified wine, has plenty of vintages from France and points beyond Portugal.

Servers are efficient and hardworking.

Desserts are homemade and delicious.

Let’s keep this our own little secret, for world class fin and shellfish and curated wine list in a warm atmosphere.

ADAGIO ACCESS PARIS REUILLY -- part 5

GREAT PARIS APARTMENT-HOTEL IN 12th ARRONDISSEMENT

The Adagio Access Paris Reuilly has a small, onsite, self-serve breakfast area on the ground floor (there also an inner courtyard terrace for warm weather.

The courtyard is decorated, for several vertical stories, with neon lights.

They look cool and hip – but they lit up my room at night.

I was in room 101, facing the back – it would benefit either from the neon being turned way down/off at night.

Better still, install blackout curtains.

The room has one small window – equipping with big, no gaps blackout drapes would serve the savvy travelers attracted to the Adagio brand.

The Accor Hotels site for the Adagio Reuilly is:

https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-8984-aparthotel-adagio-access-paris-reuilly/index.shtml

I got a slightly better deal through Booking.com:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/adagio-access-paris-reuilly.html

ADAGIO ACCESS PARIS REUILLY -- part 4

GREAT PARIS APARTMENT-HOTEL IN 12th ARRONDISSEMENT

Dear Adagio Access Paris Reuilly: I’m sharing some ideas to make a great room perfect.

Put the room safe anywhere but the bottom floor of the closet.

Coming off a long flight and being mid 50s, the last thing I want to do is get down on hands and knees and kiss the floor to access the safe for stowing my passport. 

Raise it up to waist height.

Put in a toaster.

The cooktop and microwave are very nice, but for morning toasting of all sort of French bread, bagels, even pastries -- I needed a toaster or small toaster oven.

Put a chain on the stopper in the wet room sink. 

I pushed the stopper down to do laundry in the sink -- a very common practice for road warriors -- and could never open it again.

The sink filled up with soap suds, toothpaste waste, etc -- fix this oversight.

ADAGIO ACCESS PARIS REUILLY -- part 3

GREAT PARIS APARTMENT-HOTEL IN 12th ARRONDISSEMENT

Adagio Access Paris Reuilly is a great deal because I got a room at a great time of year in Paris (September) for 200 USD per night -- fully loaded with VAT including.

I don't want to pay extra for a big lobby, tired crappy round the clock restaurant, gift shop, concierge, or 10 stupid decorative pillows on the bed upon arrival.

I'm a savvy traveler, so that extra crud insults me and tacks on 50 USD or more per night – making me pay for things I don't want.

Thank you, Accor/Adagio, for figuring out that there are those of us who will eat local, figure things out for ourselves and be low maintenance on housekeeping and staff -- so savings are passed on to us.

One other super high bonus point – the 3 star amenity (4 of 5 in ratings) property has 6 rooms adapted for people with disabilities.

ADAGIO ACCESS PARIS REUILLY -- part 2

GREAT PARIS APARTMENT-HOTEL IN 12th ARRONDISSEMENT

The apartments at the Adagio Access Paris Reuilly range from a 20 square meter studio to a 35 square meter one bedroom.

I had the studio and was amazed by the efficient use of space.

I loved the wet room – no enclosure around the shower.

I don’t know how the floor dry so quickly, but every hotel on the planet should use the same not slippery, super-fast-to-dry material.

The bed was firm and super comfortable.

The fridge plenty big, as were the kitchen sink, cooktop and microwave.

I'm low maintenance.

I do not like housekeeping barging in daily.

At the Adagio property, housekeeping is an extra charge unless you stay 7 days or longer.

That suits me perfectly.

I like to go to local/artisanal markets to buy some snacks, breakfast items, bottled water, and local food to keep in fridge.

The Reuilly property accommodates that perfectly.

ADAGIO ACCESS PARIS REUILLY

GREAT PARIS APARTMENT-HOTEL IN 12th ARRONDISSEMENT

I’m not normally big on chain hotels, but the Accor Hotels’ Adagio Access Paris Reuilly was perfect for nearly two weeks of business and pleasure in the City of Light.

I give the brand new, non-smoking low-rise hotel high marks for:

• Great price point
• Super close to major subway stations
• Helpful, low-key staff.
• Location in a neighborhood more authentic/less tourist-choked than closer-in arrondissements.
• Very close to the hip and eclectic 11th Arrondissement.

Quiet is very important to me.

I don't know how a budget place could be better built than a high end property, but I never heard construction sounds during my stay.

And the entire city block opposite this property is under heavy construction.

My room was right next to the apart-hotel’s two elevators -- like inches away.

But I never heard the typical people departing the elevator at night talking loud sounds.

Bravo.