Back in April Trip.com had a British Airways promotion offering half-priced flights from Gatwick to selected destination which I took advantage of, for a trip to the Jersey island with my mum. Just over 200 kilometers away, Jersey turned out to be a perfect weekend break from London.
Being a small island Jersey doesn’t have a huge selection of hotels, and in terms of big chain there are only Best Western and Radisson. I’m yet to set foot in a Radisson hotel since having acquired their VIP status so it’s a great chance to test the water.
Once we landed, I was impressed with how efficient Jersey’s public transport was. Bus routes 15 and 9 took us directly from the airport to the hotel in under 30 minutes, making the journey really straightforward.
So we chose the Radisson Blu Waterfront at St Helier, which sits right next to Elizabeth Marina and overlooks St. Aubin’s Bay. The setting was absolutely beautiful – one of the highlights of the trip. One evening, we even walked out to Elizabeth Castle during low tide, which was such a unique and memorable experience.
View from the hotel lobby is pleasant, and the outdoor bar gets really busy in the afternoon. UK is blessed with a wonderful summer this year.
As a Radisson VIP member, I was greeted warmly and upgraded to a Premium Sea View room, which was a lovely gesture. They even apologised for not being able to upgrade me to a suite, and it’s not something that usually happens in my previous experiences.
Our twin room is at the fourth floor:
I was slightly disappointed that the room didn’t have floor-to-ceiling windows or a balcony, especially considering how stunning the views were. The hotel itself was built in 2007 and the age it’s showing is much worse; a renovation wouldn’t go amiss.
Still, the room was comfortable, with a cozy bed, minibar, coffee machine, bathrobes.
On the room door there’s a plate saying “Business Class”. This is how Radisson used to call their executive rooms, which have now all been replaced by the name “Premium”.
Still water dispensers are available at each guest floor.
A good thing with Radisson VIP is breakfast is included in the reservation already so there’s no need to argue with untrained front desk ever.
it was a pretty standard English buffet: nothing too exciting, but it did the job.
The hotel doesn’t have an executive lounge, but they made up for it by giving out drink vouchers, which was appreciated.
There’s a heated indoor pool, though it’s on the smaller side and felt more like a family-friendly spot than somewhere to seriously swim.
The sauna, steam room, and gym rounded out the leisure options nicely.
All in all, the hotel’s location was the real star of the show. The rest of the experience was fairly average, but I still felt like I got good value thanks to the VIP “discount booster” and perks. It was a solid stay, though with a few improvements it could really shine.
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