What Sophie Said

Last weekend I headed off on a little escape from London, to Ashford in Kent. The Ashford International Hotel was my home for the weekend, and what a beautiful home it was. Part of the Q Hotels group, it's situated just off the motorway and a perfect hub for business or for relaxation. Everything looks brand new and clean, and the reception area is huge and nicely furnished, complete with a warm welcome from the staff. The room was hidden down a maze of corridors, but although the hotel is pretty huge you certainly don't feel like it's busy. It's not often you bump into anyone in the corridors, and the shared areas such as all the seating in the lobby were always comfortable and quiet. The room was far more spacious than I had expected, and the red and pink decor felt plush and luxurious. Everything was spotlessly clean and the bed was unbelievably comfortable. The bedding was also really soft, and didn't have that starchy feel you get at some hotels. ...

January is a long month. It can also be a pretty miserable one – payday was ages ago, the weather isn’t summery, and people are struggling to stick to their resolutions. So when Hotels.com offered up an amazing January sale, it seemed rude to ignore the opportunity for a bit of luxury to help the journey to the end of the month. Doubletree by Hilton, Docklands Riverside is a beautiful hotel. I’ve stayed at the London Ealing Doubletree before, and have to say my second visit to the hotel group was no disappointment. The hotel comprises of two of three separate buildings, right by the river, joined by tunnels that feel like you’re on a luxury cruise ship. The communal areas are huge, with enormous windows letting in natural light, complete with exposed brick walls and wooden details. My reservation was for a Queen room, and I have to admit I was unimpressed to find a bed you’d barely call a double in the room. On returning to the check-in desk, it was confirmed the b...

Before moving to London I had my own flat. A whole flat of my own things, and a space that was fully my own. Now I’m in London, rent costs mean I’m in a shared house, and there’s a lot of adjusting that’s had to be done! The main differences / difficulties I’ve found are in another post , but I wanted to show some of the ways I’ve tried to make my new space homely, and personal to me. When you’ve got limited space, it can be difficult to avoid feeling crowded and cluttered. I’m lucky in that my room is spacious, but it’s still only one room. I tried to make sure I brought enough things with me to give my room those personal touches, without displaying everything I’d had in my flat and ending up drowning in ‘stuff’ there was no room for. I had a pretty ruthless clearout before moving, so was quite restrained with the amount of decorative ‘bits and bobs’ I brought with me. One reason was car and room space, and the other was that I didn’t know how much storage space I wo...