YOUR 4 ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ITEMS? Tell & Win A Canary Islands Holiday!

The new year is finally here and that means a fresh start for everyone and of course arranging for the most looked forward to time of all - a holiday!

Do you Need A Holiday? but cash is looking a little tight at the moment? How does a free 4 day holiday in the Canary Islands for four people sound? ... Yes I thought so!

Sol Hotels that are part of the Melia Hotels chain who already have 50 years experience and 300 hotels in 30 different countries, want to share a bit of their premium quality brand experience with you guys by holding a competition.

To enter all you have to do is become a fan of the Sol Facebook Page, Tell us what 4 items are an absolute must pack essential for your suitcase and get your friends, family and everyone you know basically to vote for your list!

When I say 4 items the judges don't want to see boring ones like toothbrush, shampoo, towel etc ... those are an automatic must for everyone anyway right!?

Maybe you're a little quirky and take something with you usually that may be considered as a bit strange to others? Like a digital photo frame to keep next to you when you're sunbathing on the beach if you're missing your loved ones, a cuddly toy that you have been snuggling up to at night for years! Things like that. But shhhsh! you didn't hear that from me about (without mentioning any actual names) ... my sister!!!

The 50 people with the most votes will be put into a draw and be randomly selected. Think outside the box and make your list stand out. After all this is a competition and you're in it to win it.

Time is ticking along now though and the competition will be ending on 18/01/12, 11:59pm so get your thinking caps on and turn your imagination and creativity switch on too!

Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

USEFUL TRIP PREPARATION: My Travel Checklist

This post brought to you by My Travel Checklist. All opinions are 100% mine.

We can get that caught up in the excitement of our travel plans we tend to forget important things like getting our foreign currency, making sure our passport is still valid and arranging for someone to take care of the dog etc.

Writing a list is a common and typical way to do things but when you already have everything you need at home in can be a hard task.

That's where the My Travel Checklist becomes an essential tool as it literally does all the thinking and organizing for you. All you have to do is point and click to check the boxes to make your selection.

Everyone is different of course and has different needs and things they need to do before they go away, so the list is tailored for you depending on your gender, the type of holiday you're taking and what the weather will be like.

Once you have done that you can browse through several categories like trip preparation, what to pack in your bags, things you need to do before you leave and check off and even add in your own choices if they are not listed.

When finished you don't need to print to cross your list off either. Again it can all be done online. All you have to do is email it or send to your mobile and as you do each item you can check it off. It really is that easy. Plus its simple to download and free to use.

THE CROFT HOTEL, BRIDGNORTH REVIEW

First Impression:

Looked beautiful and in keeping with the rural area.

Selling Points:

5 minutes walking distance to the High Street where the main night time entertainment was i.e pubs, bistro restaurants. Perfect for our girls night out. Check in time is flexible and you are given late keys to access the hotel anytime over your stay.

On Arrival:

Previously on the phone the owner was very helpful and welcoming. When we arrived at the hotel 16.30pm the owner was out and we were greeted by a young receptionist who unfortunately had little idea about parking or the local area. She showed us the breakfast room then we were shown to our bedroom.

Parking:

Was difficult to find. There is 40 minute limit meter parking outside the hotel if you can get it. On the next street there is short stay car park but that was only for a maximum of 4 hours. We found one eventually opposite Sainsbury's that's about a 10 minute walk away from the hotel. We paid £2 for overnight and luckily the next day (Sunday) was free anyway.

The Bedroom: (Room 1)

Nicely presented and clean. The furnishings and decor again was in keeping with the building and we had wooden beams on our ceiling which was a lovely feature.

Our room had a double bed and a single day bed. It was well equipped if not more than expected. Provided was a TV, fan, extra bedding, quilt covers, hair dryer and we even found a sewing kit! The usual kettle and basket of milk, hot drink sachets etc were there.

There was a big cupboard with plenty of hanging space and a dressing table with storage space. A safe was inside the cupboard also although we didn't use ours.

Being picky but it was important! - We only had 2 mugs in our room and there were 3 of us and my friend who had the day bed only had decorative cushions to lie on and no proper pillows. It was 2.30am in the morning before we realised about the pillow and was too late to ask for one, but we were told in the morning one was suppose to be there in the cupboard and got an apology.

En-suite:

Clean. Shower was a bit fiddly to work out how to turn on but we got there in the end and it worked fine. A body wash bottle was fixed in the shower area and small soaps were provided. Toilet cleaner and air freshener was provided also which I thought was a nice and necessary touch.

Welcome Pack:

Little soaps were provided as mentioned above as well as the kettle and the usual basket hot drink refreshments. The actual welcome pack folder was OK. It detailed breakfast times and other basic things. It did suggest there were plenty of leaflets in reception about the area, but it would have been nice to have perhaps have had some recommended restaurants nearby etc and instructions on how to work the shower.

The Staff:

Very friendly. Apart from the inexperienced receptionist I had always been spoken to professionally on the phone and at breakfast time staff were polite and accommodating. We got asked if our stay was OK.

Breakfast Room

Breakfast:

Available from 8-9.30am. A made to order English breakfast was offered or a fish breakfast as a hot alternative. There was a breakfast table with various cereals, fruits, yoghurt's and orange juice. Pots of tea/coffee were brought fresh to your table.

Breakfast didn't take long - about ten minutes or so. It was nicely cooked and tasted good but the bacon was cold.

Advantages:

Walking distance to the main High Street and pubs/restaurants.

Late Keys

Central heating radiator

Disadvantages:

No on site parking. Some noise from people walking around in the other bedrooms could be heard during the night but I suppose that comes with the age and design of the building.

Overall:

You couldn't fault the room. It was a perfect size for 3 people sharing and had everything you needed really. Apart from the minor problems mentioned which can always be improved upon overall I was very pleased with the accommodation and would stay here again.

Rating:

4.5/5

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Embrace Or Disgrace Them?

You are always hearing in the news about border control and illegal immigrants trying to make their way through - Many succeeding. I bet the government wishes there could be some kind of invisible fence to stop people taking advantage.

To be honest I'm kinda in the middle and is not really a political person. From what I've heard I know people come over to try and make a better life for themselves as in their country they don't have one. Others come over to try and make money to send back to their families.

I can see why it angers people though. If we wanted to emigrate to another country it wouldn't be that simple. There would be all kinds of paperwork to fill out and with some countries you have to have to be able to benefit the country somehow i.e work wise such as a being a doctor, architect etc.

In the United Kingdom it has been regularly known of that immigrants have been given homes, jobs over UK residents and even benefit monies that of course are taken from tax payers wage packets. So you can see why this has gotten out of hand.

In several other countries if illegal immigrants entered and got caught they would be jailed for a very long time and some with the extreme of their lives being ended by being shot for trespassing for instance.

I have heard dyer stories of people sneaking into lorries and then being trapped in there for days with hardly any air or being crushed to death by storage containers. Some people have even risked coming in by boat or swimming through the dangerous ocean waters.

But what is the right thing to do here? Simply send them back to where they came from with a punishment for breaking the law or do you think there should be another way?

RYANAIR VOTED WORST AIRLINE

Online comparison website GoCompare recently surveyed 3,000 adults in the UK with the questions of who are the best and worst airlines?

Ryanair came out on top and not in a good way! 19% of the votes took them to the number one spot for worst airline. Next down the list was EasyJet with 12% of the votes.

Old time favourite British Airways won the Best airline with 19% of people recommending them, and also making the top ten list were Thomas Cook, Thomas Airways and Monarch.

I think this just shows going with the renowned cheaper airlines isn't always the way to go, and sometimes paying that little bit extra is worth it for the overall service, comfort and value for money that all this airlines were surveyed on.

Just out of interest have you ever flown with Ryanair? And what was your experience from it?

STRAIGHT TALKING PLANS FOR CHATTY TRAVELLERS

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

The getting richer effect has expanded... by LittleBard95

Wouldn't you like to have The power of Android in your hand with all the apps and games you can think of, unlimited talk and texting for just $45 a month? And all this with a no hassle no contract plan?

People are saying you can Feel Richer with Android with a Straight Talk plan and its cut some of their phone bills in half. Why go for a contract when you can get deals like that? I'm already thinking in my head what I can spend the extra cash savings on. I am a woman after all and what we do best is shop and bargain hunt!

The phones on offer are not your cheap unknown makes either. Think Nokia, Samsung. Kyocera, LG and Motorola. On the smart phones you can enjoy voice navigation, a music player, video recording, a camera, bluetooth capabilities and touch screen access.

The International Long Distance plan is ideal for travellers as you get a flexible prepaid calling service that allows you to make calls from your mobile, home or office phone at reduced rates and with great reception and connectivity.

There are other plans to suit people who are missing home and like to stay in touch with their loved ones too like the All You Need Plan giving you 1,000 minutes, texts and 30MB of web data. Or if you know you are going to be chatting more or less every day you can have the $499.00 a year plan that gives you unlimited calls, texts, picture messaging and web - Potentially saving yourself a bucketful of cash!

PLAN YOUR PERFECT DAY: Fiji Wedding

We all have the idea in our heads of the perfect wedding. Some of us like to go traditional with the full works like the church, horse and cart and the big white dress. Some prefer a quick party wedding Las Vegas style and others like to jet off to an exotic location and enjoy their honeymoon over there too.

You hear a lot about Fiji weddings at Fiji all inclusive resorts which sound great for people who want a no hassle relaxing service and time away. Imagine being set in idyllic surrounds with champagne on arrival, walking down the aile to be greeted by a beautiful floral archway with an acoustic guitar player or choir in the background.

Then afterwards enjoy a special candlelit dinner with your loved one and/or watch some traditional Fiji dancing with friends and family. And of course there is no need to leave your guests early to jet off to your honeymoon location either because you are already there in the luxury surroundings. Plus if you have all inclusive you don't have to have the worry about needing money or how much you are allowed to spend etc.

Namale is Fiji's number 1 resort and Spa and a good place to look at if you want to have your wedding in Fiji.