mcsue
9 Apr 07, 11:30 AM
This is the fourth time we’ve spent our preflight evening at this hotel; we find it quieter and less hectic than the Hilton as there are mainly flight crew and couples staying here. Oh and the food options suit us better too.
The Sofitel is situated in the North Terminal, which I used to imagine would be a real hassle, but the monorail shuttle over to the South is very frequent and takes only minutes.
They have rooms overlooking the runway, but I prefer one facing out over the lobby as I like to have a nosey at everyone bustling about below. Who’s checking in? How busy is the hotel? What are people eating and drinking?
(Paul thinks this is a bit weird and is not in the least bit interested in what anyone else is doing and would probably prefer to look at planes, but he humours me)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/Disney_Oct06_0S_002.jpg
We paid £147 with Holiday Extras - prices seem to vary quite a lot and can go up to around £200, so I was pleased with this price which included 15 days parking at the nearby Flightpath car park.
They are currently refurbishing the rooms at the Sofitel but not all have been completed yet.
I asked if there was a refurbished room available when we checked in, but no joy, so we decided to pay another £30 for an upgrade to a newly decorated deluxe room.
This included a free in-room movie, 50% off internet use, a flat screen TV and a new ultra comfy bed – which was indeed comfy, even more comfy than my comfy bed at home, if a tad smaller.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0066-1.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0067.jpg
The deluxe room upgrade included a discount of 10% at the hotel bars and restaurants, which would have been handy - except that the discount wasn’t applicable at the Oriental Restaurant, as it’s a Ken Hom franchise.
Bit of a shame that, as it’s the place where we’d planned to have dinner. We’d looked forward to it all day and were in the mood for something with a bit of spice.
Ah well, 10% wasn’t really going to amount to much for just the two of us, and as always I’d brought a bottle of wine from home to drink in our room, so we stuck with our plans and headed off to the Oriental.
Paul started with Veggie Spring Rolls and chilli dipping sauce, and as we intended to share a selection of vegetarian dishes for mains I had the Cantonese Spare Ribs, in order to stave off any carnivorous cravings.
We then shared some spicy Braised Aubergines, Mixed Vegetable Curry and some Sugarsnap Peas with Cashews.
Paul ordered some Egg Fried Rice which I find too cloying for my taste, so I had plain steamed Thai Rice.
As usual, service was very good and the food was fresh and well seasoned. It was nicely spiced without being eye-wateringly fierce – well maybe those aubergines were pretty fiery!
Our meal was nicely washed down with a bottle of Hermit Crab Marsanne/ Viognier from Southern Australia.
The bill was £63 including (optional) 12.5% service charge.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_002.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_004.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_007.jpg
Next morning we treated ourselves to a relaxing breakfast in bed via room service.
There was cereal, toast, jam/marmalade, French pastries, freshly squeezed juice, some coffee for me and hot chocolate for Paul.
Hot food included sausage, bacon, beans, hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes and eggs - poached for me and fried for Paul.
It’s quite expensive at £18.95 each, but you do get a lot of food. We barely made a dent in it all.
We could have shared one between us; there would still have been plenty to eat.
Hmm, I think maybe we will do that next time.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0074.jpg
The Sofitel is situated in the North Terminal, which I used to imagine would be a real hassle, but the monorail shuttle over to the South is very frequent and takes only minutes.
They have rooms overlooking the runway, but I prefer one facing out over the lobby as I like to have a nosey at everyone bustling about below. Who’s checking in? How busy is the hotel? What are people eating and drinking?
(Paul thinks this is a bit weird and is not in the least bit interested in what anyone else is doing and would probably prefer to look at planes, but he humours me)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/Disney_Oct06_0S_002.jpg
We paid £147 with Holiday Extras - prices seem to vary quite a lot and can go up to around £200, so I was pleased with this price which included 15 days parking at the nearby Flightpath car park.
They are currently refurbishing the rooms at the Sofitel but not all have been completed yet.
I asked if there was a refurbished room available when we checked in, but no joy, so we decided to pay another £30 for an upgrade to a newly decorated deluxe room.
This included a free in-room movie, 50% off internet use, a flat screen TV and a new ultra comfy bed – which was indeed comfy, even more comfy than my comfy bed at home, if a tad smaller.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0066-1.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0067.jpg
The deluxe room upgrade included a discount of 10% at the hotel bars and restaurants, which would have been handy - except that the discount wasn’t applicable at the Oriental Restaurant, as it’s a Ken Hom franchise.
Bit of a shame that, as it’s the place where we’d planned to have dinner. We’d looked forward to it all day and were in the mood for something with a bit of spice.
Ah well, 10% wasn’t really going to amount to much for just the two of us, and as always I’d brought a bottle of wine from home to drink in our room, so we stuck with our plans and headed off to the Oriental.
Paul started with Veggie Spring Rolls and chilli dipping sauce, and as we intended to share a selection of vegetarian dishes for mains I had the Cantonese Spare Ribs, in order to stave off any carnivorous cravings.
We then shared some spicy Braised Aubergines, Mixed Vegetable Curry and some Sugarsnap Peas with Cashews.
Paul ordered some Egg Fried Rice which I find too cloying for my taste, so I had plain steamed Thai Rice.
As usual, service was very good and the food was fresh and well seasoned. It was nicely spiced without being eye-wateringly fierce – well maybe those aubergines were pretty fiery!
Our meal was nicely washed down with a bottle of Hermit Crab Marsanne/ Viognier from Southern Australia.
The bill was £63 including (optional) 12.5% service charge.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_002.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_004.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/Disney_Jan07_OS_50_007.jpg
Next morning we treated ourselves to a relaxing breakfast in bed via room service.
There was cereal, toast, jam/marmalade, French pastries, freshly squeezed juice, some coffee for me and hot chocolate for Paul.
Hot food included sausage, bacon, beans, hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes and eggs - poached for me and fried for Paul.
It’s quite expensive at £18.95 each, but you do get a lot of food. We barely made a dent in it all.
We could have shared one between us; there would still have been plenty to eat.
Hmm, I think maybe we will do that next time.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h277/Suzyfoodpics/2006/poly%20pics/IMG_0074.jpg