Cheap, last minute and not fussy

tigertedd_2

My wife and I were about to go to Rome for our anniversary. It's a tripshes dreamed about since she studied art in college. She's been feeling a bit down recently as we've had two kids in two years and she needs a break (as do I). I surprised her with the trip as a Christmas present - best Christmas present ever. But any idiot can book a hotel and a Ryan air flight (courtesy of he tools and links on this website). The real special touch was managing to find child care for 3 kids for 5 days.

Everything was taken care of, except I hadn't realised her passport is out of date. Long story short, it's not going to be renewed in time to go. We've managed to shift everything to May, for about £120, which is quite a result in the circumstances, but the childcare is still in place, it's still her birthday, our anniversary and we both still need a break.

So I was hoping to get a hotel in the uk for a few days. But seeing as I've spent most of my budget on the Rome trip, there's not a lot left. And I don't really fancy spending our anniversary sat in a premier inn for 5 days.

We don't really want to do anything. Just wake up to a nice breakfast, have some options for dinner and maybe gaze at some nice scenery. Mainly we want to sleep.

So I'm looking on LastMinute.com for their secret hotels. But the first hurdle is that I've got to choose a place. I really don't care though. Could be the mountains, or the sea or anywhere in between. We live in derby, so everywhere is as far away as anywhere else, and my job means that a 3hr drive to as far as Newcastle is not really a big deal.

Is there a way that I can search on last minute.com, or any other site, for just anywhere in England, then sort it by price and stars and pick the cheapest 4 star? Or should I take a road atlas, stick a pin in it, and start there. That's what I'm after. Any ideas?

zagubov

How about York, Chester, Durham if you want the north, or maybe the south coast like Brighton using websites like airb'n'b or such like.
Or, if you both have sea legs, ferry to the Isle of Man or Ireland (North or South) wouldn't need a passport either. (actually maybe check that).

artichoke

I have only ever found those secret hotels in big cities so if you want to gaze at scenery that might not be the best option.

If you want scenery why not stay local and save on travel costs and spend a luxury weekend in the Peak District? Put in Bakewell or buxton in booking.com and put in your star level and see what comes up?

Or further afield - the Lake District or North Wales?

the MIdlands Hotel in Morecombe is very good and that hotel group has a winter special offer on at the moment. The Waterfront hotel is in this group too and is on the shore of lake Windermere - so good scenery to gaze at and the hotel is good too.



http://englishlakes.co.uk/offers/