Penha Longa Hotel and Resort is ideally located in the middle of a natural parc of Sintra, It's a five-star resort and probably one of the most beautiful resorts in Portugal.

Our stay from April 8^th to 15^th, 2017 was delightful but punctuated by small incidents due to a disorganised and an unstructured staff.

We spoke to Susana Mata, P.A. to the resort's General Manager, about those incidents and how a few little mishaps can spoil a great holidays for the guests. Below, are a few examples

of what happened to our family :

On our first night we were surprised to find our room without an extra bed for our six-year-old boy (even though we made a reservation through Expedia for two adults and one child) and when we asked for the extra bed we were told that there would be an extra charge of 40€ per night, which of course we did not agree to. Between the hotel and the travel agency, we don't really know who thought it would be OK for our son to sleep where? On the floor? With us? When we book a room for three, guess what: we expect the room to actually accommodate three.

One afternoon, we asked for a kitchen knife to be brought to our room, so we could peel an apple for our son. “Right away, Sir”. Half an hour later... we decided to go down to the reception to ask for it again.

When we checked out, our invoice showed a 73€ charge for dinner at the B-Lounge on our last evening on Friday the 14^th 2017 even though we actually had dinner at another restaurant in the hotel: LAB by Sergi AROLA, which also showed on our invoice. After we mentioned the discrepancy to the staff, they checked the receipts, realised the mistake and apologized.

We also had to wait 30 minutes for a staff member to bring the car around. It would have been quicker to just go get the car ourselves. Thank God our flight was much later in the evening.

As we mentionned to Susanna Mata, a five-star hotel should focus on the quality of the service – quality is in the details -- and each guest should be treated as a valuable member and not just a customer or a consumer.

We hope our feedback will help Penha Longa Resort's management and staff improve, restructure and refocus on a service based on quality, not quantity.

Penha Longa Resort

Estrada da Lagoa Azul Sintra - Linhó 2714 - 511 Portugal
T: +35 1 21 924 9011
F: +35 1 21 924 9007

www.penhalonga.com

« 24 » est le restaurant d’Erwan Merdignac et de Hakim Seghaier, dont nous avions précédemment fait la connaissance lorsqu’il était chez Auguste, le restaurant étoilé de Gaël Orieux.

Disons-le tout de suite : Hakim Seghaier et son chef Erwan Merdignac visent les étoiles. Dès le moment où nous pénétrons dans le restaurant, l’ambiance (chic, élégante et sobre à la fois) du lieu nous fait oublier que nous sommes dans le 8^ème arrondissement business.

Mais la vraie beauté est dans l’assiette où le chef nous concocte un menu déjeuner avec un rapport qualité prix aussi bien que son voisin d’en face Maoto Aoki. Le menu 24 Express qui va de 29 euros pour deux plats à 33 euros pour le plus classique entrée-plat-dessert est une vraie perle.

Pour notre déjeuner du jeudi 2 mars 2017, nous avons pris en entrée, le filet de lisette en escabèche à l’orange, d’une légèreté printanière et savoureuse. Notre plat, le lieu jaune accompagnée d’une mousseline de fenouil au beurre Nantais basilic fut délicieux avec une cuisson parfaite. Pour terminer, en guise de dessert, une salade de fraise, aérienne et délicieuse.

La carte des vins sélectionnée par Hakim Seghaier est remplie de belles références.

Le service par Hakim Seghaier et son équipe est courtois, professionnel et avenant.

Avec les restaurants « 24 » et Makoto Aoki, la rue Jean Mermoz se dote de deux belles adresses gastronomiques.

24 Le Restaurant 

24 rue Jean Mermoz
Paris 8e
Tél. 01 42 25 24 24
Menus : 29 (formule, déj.), 33 (déj.), 70 (dégustation) 

24lerestaurant.fr 

Virtus, anciennement Clandé, c’est le reboot du restaurant de Marcelo Joulia, l’architecte-gourmet.

Qui dit reboot dit deux nouveaux chefs : Chiho Kanzaki et Marcelo di Giacomo qui œuvrent désormais aux manettes de Virtus.

Le soir, les deux chefs nous proposent l’unique menu de dégustation à 59.50 Euros pour une mise en bouche + 2 entrées + 2 plats + 2 desserts. Le menu change en fonction du marché et des produits, frais et de saison.

Notre dîner du 17 mars 2017 a été l’occasion pour nous de découvrir les talents conjugués de ces deux chefs qui, à travers leurs plats, nous ont démontré leur maîtrise des saveurs et des produits, en particulier avec leur mise en bouche (granité d’ananas bousculant une huître posée sur une crème à l’échalote) ou le prédessert (mousse de maté, légère et rafraichissante).

La carte des vins est magnifiquement élaborée par la sommelière Paz Levinson. La carte est éclectique, voyageuse, une belle part dédiée aux vins du monde avec des pépites comme les deux bouteilles que nous avons sélectionnées : le pétillant rosé argentin,  Colonia Las Liebres-Bonarda Rosé 2013 et un rouge grec somptueux, le Saint George Nemea 2013 de Skouras.

 Le service était féminin, charmant et professionnel mené par Paz Levinson.

Tout fut (presque) parfait. Seul bémol : il semble y avoir un problème d’aération. Ainsi, lorsque nous sommes sortis du restaurant à la fin du repas, nos vêtements étaient imprégnés de l’odeur de la cuisine, ce qui n’est jamais agréable. Nous espérons vivement que l’équipe de Virtus saura remédier à cela rapidement.

Virtus

8, rue Crozatier

75012 Paris

Téléphone : 09 80 68 08 08  

www.virtus-paris.com

If you’re going to Vienna for a weekend, let us give you a good piece of advice: rent Manuela and Monika’s magnificent apartment located on Graf Starhemberg Grasse, which is walking distance to the main train station Wien Hauptbahnhof.

Manuela and Monika have two beautiful apartments in the building: a one-bedroom on the first floor and a two-bedrooms on the fourth floor.

We rented the one-bedroom on the first floor which has a very nice terrace. The apartment is very well equipped, light, superbly designed, furnished and spotless clean

Manuela and Monika have paid attention to every tiny detail for the comfort of their guests: Vienna guides in English, French, Spanish and German, a few well-selected books/novels, wi-fi connection, cable TV with the main international channels, a very nice kitchen with Nespresso coffee machine, a supply of capsules and a variety of other supplies like small wine bottles, tea bags in the kitchen; plus a hair-dryer, toothbrush/toothpaste, body lotion and skin care cream in the bathroom.

They also have a small corner near the entrance where guests can find umbrellas on the way out or take off their shoes and coats before proceeding into the rest of the apartment. They even have scooters in case you feel like discovering the city in a more sporty style!

It was probably the best and the most beautiful apartment we have rented so far for a weekend.

APARTMENTBERLIN

Monika GRÛNEIS (+4369910262158)

Manuela K. FISHER (+436643430958)

landladies@apartment-berlin.wien

Graf-StarHemberg-Gasse 17/4

A-1040 Wien

Shiki is the creation of the visionary Japanese Joji Hattari, music conductor turned restaurateur.  He has created a combination of Brasserie and Fine Japanese Dining in the same place. 

The Japanese dishes are largely made by chef Takumi Murase from Austrian ingredients – even the sushi and sashimi feature local fish.  

The glossy wood-panelled walls and jet black ceilings are the very essence of contemporary chic, with nary an oriental cliché in sight. 

Shiki Fine Dining is the perfect place to take your love for a romantic tête-à-tête. 

The restaurant proposes two seasonal menus (Winter & Vegan) which are composed of five dishes and cost respectively 82 euros and 62 euros. 

We decided on the Winter menu for our dinner on Saturday, March 4^th 2017 which was amazing, from the starter to the dessert and even the pre-dessert. Every bite was tasty, refined and flavorsome.  Not only do chef Takumi Murase and his team master all the ingredients and products, they know just how to sublime them into original savors. 

The wines list was rich, eclectic and international with a great selection of Sakes and cocktails (with or without alcohol). 

The service was very nice, professional and competent. 

Shiki Fine Dining was with Mraz & Sohn our two best meals so far this year. We are surprised that it did not get a Michelin star in 2017. They deserve it immensely. 

For all the travelers in Vienna, you should book this restaurant if you wish to have an original and refined meal.  

Shiki Fine Dining 

Krugerstraße 3,  

1010 Vienna, Austria 

www.shiki.at