CherylS's Qype profile

My Mum recommended this business to me when my computer broke down and he’s now managed to fix three computers for our family! Totally trustworthy and good value for money, he quickly diagnoses the problem, gives you a quote and sticks to it. Communication is great throughout and I’d heartily recommend him to anyone in the area.

We went to The Bistro in Devizes on the recommendation of a nearby B & B owner and we certainly weren't disappointed. On entering the building it seems absolutely tiny. There's a warm welcome from the chef, Peter Vaughan, who then takes you downstairs to a small but well designed area of tables that is simply but nicely decorated and it all feels very cosy. It looks a bit like a cafe, but the food is leaps and bounds ahead of many restaurants I've been to in recent memory. There's real attention to detail here, and a massive effort to make you feel welcome and informed about the food. But it's not intrusive, and nobody comes to check whether the food is alright immediately after you've got it, which we took as a sign of confidence that they knew they were sending out decent grub. So, amazing parsnip and cinnamon soup, brilliant fish of the day (caught that morning in Penzance and cooked in white wine), and an array of fabulous vegetables. To be honest, it's exactly what a restaurant should be like - good food, good service, minimal fuss. But as far as I can tell, so rarely achievable for so many places (the previous evening we were disappointed on so many levels by a place in Manchester that cost twice as much).
I believe they also do a cookery school and speciality nights.
On the way out we asked if they might be interested in moving to Manchester. Sadly it was a no. Boooooo.

The Innkeepers Lodge is a travelodge-style hotel set above and behind a Toby Carvery. On arrival, you have to check in at the carvery, which is an experience in itself due to the extreme stench of roasted meats and congealed fat. This almost unfathomable smell permeates through most of the hotel and causes disbelief without fail every time you go through the doors. The smell (sorry to go on about it, but it was really, REALLY awful), kind of sums up the general atmosphere of the place - old-fashioned, tired rooms, everything felt like it needed a good scrub down. However in its favour, the staff were helpful, it was pretty cheap (£49 per night, including a sufficient 'continental' breakfast of toast, bagels, pastries, cereal, yoghurt and fruit), the beds were fairly comfy, and the shower was ok, if a little small.
There was cause for amusement too - the man who checked us in told us there was 'no need to book' in the restaurant (hmm, really?), and the walls were covered in photographs of random things - Paul McCartney, a man in a submarine, and a Ford Sierra spring to mind. Also, I'm not sure that Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay would be terribly pleased about pictures of them on the wall of a Toby Carvery, but it amused me no end.
One word of warning, if you need to get a taxi back from the city centre (costs approx £9), remember to take the address or refer to the Toby Carvery rather than the Innkeepers Lodge - none of them seem to know where it is.

I actually thought Cadbury World was good fun. I can see where the other reviewers are coming from - there's a lot of information to wade through if you've got young kids and not a huge amount of free chocolate, but it's really not that bad. True, it's rather overpriced but we used some Tesco clubcard vouchers and that helped to bring the cost down considerably. Chocolate-wise we got buttons, a curly wurly, a bar of dairy milk and a weird 'make your own chocolate' thing at the end which was basically liquidised milk chocolate and something else of your choosing. The best bit by far was the children's ride, which was completely surreal - I have not laughed that much in absolutely ages. If you go without kids (yes, some of us do!) don't dismiss it as it really is freakishly odd.

Ho alloggiato qui per una notte un paio di fine settimana fa quando mi incontrai con degli amici in città. Devo essere onesto che non mi aspettavo grosse cose, ma dato che pagavamo solo 50 pound per la notte non mi importava molto. Appena arrivato ho pensato che era carino, di media qualità, pulito, funzionale, giusti spazi,con tutto ciò che ti aspetteresti da un normale hotel di città. Non aveva niente di lussuoso, e gli ascensori erano un pò piccoli, ma a parte questo non ho avuto niente da rideire. Potrei dire che ci tornerei al Thistle ma solo allo steso prezzo. Guardando recentemente le prenotazioni ho notato che il prezzo era di 119 pounds ( simile a ciò che chiedevano altri alberghi) quindi penso che questo sia il loro normale prezzo. A questa cifra opterei probabilmente per un altro posto.

Ich blieb hier für eine Nacht vor einigen Wochenenden, als ich mich mit Freunden in der Stadt traf. Ich muss sagen, ich habe nicht viel erwartet. Aber als wir nur etwa £ 50 für die Nacht zahlen mussten, habe ich wirklich nicht darauf geachtet. Bei der Ankunft dachte ich, es war wirklich ziemlich durchschnittlich - sauber, funktional, dezente Größe und mit Allem, was man von einem normalen Stadthotel erwartet. Es gab nichts Luxuriöses ,die Lifte waren etwas klein, aber über anderes kann ich mich nicht beschweren. Ich würde sagen, dass ich in Thistle wieder bleiben kann, aber wahrscheinlich nur, wenn ich eine ähnliche Vereinbarung über den Preis bekomme. als ich neulich nach Buchung in London suchte, stellte ich fest, dass es £ 119 pro Nacht war (ähnlich zu dem Preis, den die anderen Rezensenten gezahlt haben), so dass ich denke, daß dies eigentlich ihren üblichen Preis ist. Zu diesem Preis würde ich wahrscheinlich woanders gehen..

Pasé aquí una noche hace varias semanas cuando quedé con amigos en la ciudad. No esperaba gran cosa, pero como sólo pagábamos 50 libras la noche no me importaba mucho. A la llegada me pareció que era muy estándar, limpio, funcional tamaño decente y con todo lo que querrías de un hotel normal de ciudad. No había nada lujoso y los ascensores eran algo pequeños, pero fuera de eso no tengo queja. Yo diría que volvería al Thistle, pero sólo por una oferta similar. Me di cuenta al reservar hace poco en Londres que el precio era de 119 libras (similar a lo que otro de otra reseña pagó) así que supongo que ése es su precio normal. Por ese precio probablemente optaría por otro sitio.

J'y ai séjourné il y a quelques weekends lorsque je suis allé retrouver des amis en ville. Je dois dire que je ne m'attendais pas à quelque chose de génial, mais le prix n'était que de 50 £ la nuit par personnes donc je m'en fichais. A mon arrivée, l'endroit m'a paru de plutôt bon standing ( propre, bien conçu, de bonnes proportions avec tous ce que vous pouvez attendre d'un hôtel citadin normal). Rien de luxueux, et les ascenseurs étaient un peu petits, mais mis à par cela, rien à dire. Je reviendrais au Thistle sans problèmes, mais uniquement en payant le même prix. J'ai remarqué quand je réservais en ligne pour Londres plus récemment que les chambres étaient passées à 119 £ (le prix payé par l'autre reviewer), donc j'imagine que c'est plus dans leur ordre de prix. A ce prix là j'opterais surement pour un autre endroit.

I stayed here for a night a few weekends ago when I was meeting up with friends in the city. I have to say I wasn't expecting a great deal, but as we were only paying about £50ish for the night I didn't really mind. On arrival I thought it was pretty standard really - clean, functional, decently sized, and with everything you'd want from a normal city hotel. There was nothing 'luxurious' about it, and the lifts were a bit small, but other than that I had no complaints. I'd say that I would stay in a Thistle again, but probably only if I could get a similar deal on the price. I note that when I looked at booking one in London recently it was £119 a night (similar to what the other reviewer paid) so I guess that's more like their standard price. At that cost I'd probably opt for somewhere else.

I once read an article on the Carluccios chain which suggested that it was like 'McDonalds for the middle classes', and in some ways, that's kind of true, but in others, a bit of an insult. It's true in the sense that it's a bit of a staple - a place where you might consider for lunch if out in town shopping and wanted to stop for a quick(ish) bite, but on the other hand, it's got more about it than that. It is, to be fair, a restaurant, rather than a fast food chain (I think Starbucks and Costa would be better comparisons for the previous quote). The food is generally very good and fairly authentically Italian. They always have some interesting, seasonal specials on the board and everything is well seasoned and presented. The desserts are excellent too (albeit quite expensive) but they always come in enormous portions so I think they're worth it. The only downside seems to be staff management. I've been to both the Spinningfields and Trafford Centre restaurants and they both seem to employ vast numbers of people who don't seem to do a lot. They're very pleasant but always take an age to do anything and typically seem to forget your requests. Other than that it's a great place for lunch or early evening dinner.