Welcome to our official TripAdvisor UK blog. This is where we aim to share our thoughts, quirky updates, new research and anything else we hope you will find useful and interesting.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

TRIPADVISOR TRIPINDEX ROOM SERVICE: CAPE TOWN AND SHARM EL SHEIKH OFFER BEST VALUE FOR BRITS


TripAdvisor price-compares popular hotel amenities in 46 of the world’s key destinations

When planning a trip away, either for business or pleasure, we always know the cost of the hotel room itself, but what about the costs we often incur in the hotel? We at TripAdvisor have comparing the cost of popular items from hotels around the world to give travellers a useful snapshot of where their money will stretch the furthest.
TripAdvisor’s TripIndex Room Service is tracked against the British pound and is based on the combined cost of a club sandwich ordered on room service, a bottle of water, peanuts, mini bottle of vodka and a can of coke from the mini bar and the dry cleaning of one shirt.  All costs are taken from top TripAdvisor rated 4 star hotels in each featured destination.
The most affordable destination for British travellers, when it comes to TripIndex Room Service, is South Africa’s Cape Town with a total TripIndex Room Service cost of £12.61, while Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh takes second place with £15.27. At more than four times the cost of Cape Town, Moscow in Russia topped the list as the costliest with a TripIndex value of £53.05, closely followed by Paris which totals £44.17.

Affordable Africa and Asia
Africa offers British travellers the best value for money when it comes to those all-important room service costs, the continent lays claim to three of the ten cheapest destinations including the best value overall, Cape Town. Sharm el Sheikh follows closely behind in second place and Marrakech in Morocco is ninth.  And, while it might be more expensive to get there, it seems Asia offers great value for money when you arrive at the hotel, claiming three of the ten cheapest destinations: Mumbai in India, Jakarta in Indonesia and Taipei in Taiwan rank third, eighth, and tenth respectively in the list.

Hotel amenities comparatively costly in Europe
Europe dominates the most expensive list with seven of the top ten destinations, and Northern Europe leads the way in the costly stakes laying claim to three of them. Moscow in Russia takes first place while Paris (France), Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Zurich (Switzerland) and Helsinki (Finland) come second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively with Brussels (Belgium) coming in tenth.

London outside the ten most expensive destinations
London is often perceived as one of the world’s most expensive destinations, but when it comes to the common costs incurred once checked-in to a hotel, TripAdvisor’s TripIndex Room Service reveals that London is ranked in 11th place. On average, London is almost one and a half times cheaper than the most expensive destination (Moscow) for each TripIndex Room Service item. A club sandwich is £11.00, bottle of water £2.80, peanuts are £4.00, a can of coke £2.65, mini bottle of vodka £7.25 and to dry clean a shirt is £6.66.

Similar items, vastly different prices across destinations

TripIndex Room Service shows significant cost differences between cities for all items.

·         Club sandwich – The most expensive destination for this common hotel food order, is Zurich, Switzerland, where the average cost is £18.67 – over five times that of the cheapest in the list, £3.53 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
 
·         Bottle of water – Oslo, Norway has the highest cost for a bottle of water at £5.23. In both Hong Kong, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia all the hotels contacted provided bottled water free of charge.

·         Peanuts – At £7.96, Moscow, Russia is the most costly for peanuts taken from the mini-bar. The snack is over seven times cheaper in hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at £1.02.

·         Can of coke – A can of coke from the hotel mini-bar is most expensive in Oslo, Norway at £5.06 – over four times that of the cheapest in the list, £1.20 in Cape Town, South Africa.

·         Mini bottle of vodka – The most expensive destination for a mini bottle of vodka from a mini-bar is Stockholm, Sweden at £11.54; nearly six times that of the cheapest in the list, £2.03 in Cape Town, South Africa. Moscow is the second most expensive destination at £11.04, perhaps surprising considering Vodka is Russia’s national drink.

·         Dry cleaning of one shirt – Moscow, Russia has the highest cost to dry clean a shirt in a hotel at £11.30 – over six times that of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt the cheapest on the list at £1.81.

“For those willing to shell out a bit more on flights, it seems there is money to be saved in Asia or Africa. For Brits looking to stay a little closer to home in Europe, there is a price to pay and that price is on average more than four times as expensive,” continued Emma Shaw.

TripIndex Room Service at a glance

Cheapest:
 
  Destination Club sandwich Bottle of water  Peanuts  Can of coke  Mini bottle of vodka  Dry cleaning of one shirt TOTAL
1 Cape Town, South Africa £4.11 £1.20 £1.55 £1.20 £2.03 £2.52 £12.61
2 Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt £4.29 £1.02 £1.95 £1.43 £4.77 £1.81 £15.27
3 Mumbai, India £4.75 £1.35 £1.74 £1.49 £4.90 £2.04 £16.27
4 Istanbul, Turkey £7.34 £0.80 £1.50 £1.37 £3.69 £2.81 £17.51
5 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico £6.32 £1.91 £1.02 £1.73 £5.13 £1.96 £18.07
6 Budapest, Hungary £4.64 £1.67 £1.67 £1.49 £4.74 £4.04 £18.25
7 Sofia, Bulgaria £3.53 £1.28 £3.28 £1.67 £3.35 £5.29 £18.40
8 Jakarta, Indonesia £6.02 £2.27 £1.58 £2.22 £3.29 £3.06 £18.44
9 Marrakech, Morocco £6.69 £1.33 £1.30 £1.55 £6.05 £2.11 £19.03
10 Taipei, Taiwan £6.59 £1.21 £2.52 £1.25 £3.66 £4.18 £19.41

Most Expensive:

  Destination Club sandwich Bottle of water  Peanuts  Can of coke  Mini bottle of vodka  Dry cleaning of one shirt TOTAL
1 Moscow, Russia £13.95 £4.24 £7.96 £4.56 £11.04 £11.30 £53.05
2 Paris, France £13.81 £4.32 £4.89 £4.53 £8.63 £7.99 £44.17
3 Stockholm, Sweden £13.54 £3.51 £3.68 £3.51 £11.54 £8.19 £43.97
4 Oslo, Norway £11.15 £5.23 £4.71 £5.06 £8.41 £8.59 £43.15
5 Zurich, Switzerland £18.67 £3.37 £2.62 £3.21 £7.09 £7.94 £42.90
6 Helsinki, Finland £11.22 £3.97 £3.45 £4.14 £7.25 £11.05 £41.08
7 Tokyo, Japan £15.85 £2.60 £3.06 £2.69 £8.26 £5.61 £38.07
8 Singapore £11.73 £2.43 £3.54 £4.04 £8.70 £7.08 £37.52
9 New York City, USA £13.88 £2.80 £3.61 £2.95 £5.54 £7.39 £36.17
10 Brussels, Belgium £12.70 £3.24 £2.05 £3.71 £5.09 £7.77 £34.56


The full TripIndex is available at www.tripadvisor.co.uk/InfoCenter-a_ctr.RoomServiceUK
 
 
 
 
-Ends-


 
The international TripIndex destination list comprises key destinations from 46 of the 50 countries which receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals (data compiled by the UNWTO). 

TripIndex Room Service prices out the following items in each destination to represent the cost of common incidental items and services used in a hotel that travellers will incur during a stay:

Room service:

·          Club sandwich

Mini bar:

·          Bottle of water

·          Peanuts

·          Mini bottle of vodka

·          Can of coke

Dry cleaning:

·          One shirt


Prices shown specify the average cost (taken from a minimum of three hotels), collected from the top ten rated four star hotels in each featured destination. The top ten hotels were ranked according to TripAdvisor’s Popularity Index.  The Popularity Index is dynamic and can change at any time.  The list was accurate as of 21 January 2013.
Prices were taken in local currencies between 21 January and 5 February 2013 and converted to relevant quoted currencies, on 6 February 2013
 
Room service: Room service prices specify the average cost of a club sandwich taken from a minimum of three (where possible) hotels. Where a club sandwich was not available, the nearest equivalent was used as an alternative
Mini bar: Mini bar prices specify the average cost of a bottle of water, peanuts, can of coke and a mini bottle of vodka. These prices were taken from a minimum of three (where possible) hotels, or the maximum number available. Where peanuts were not available, the nearest equivalent was used as an alternative. Where a mini bottle of vodka was not available, the nearest equivalent was used as an alternative. Sizes/volumes of items may vary, but are the standard option as sold by each hotel used in the study.
*Please note – in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, all the hotels contacted provided complimentary bottles of water.
Dry cleaning: Dry cleaning prices specify the average cost to dry clean one shirt. These prices were taken from a minimum of three (where possible) hotels.

TripAdvisor Powers Travel Tools on Samsung Galaxy S 4


For Galaxy S 4 users, TripAdvisor will be right at your fingertips, right out of the box. The TripAdvisor app will be the only pre-installed travel app on the hot new Samsung Galaxy S 4, providing quick and easy access to TripAdvisor content. Plus, Samsung is using TripAdvisor content - millions of photos and over 100 million reviews and opinions - to power its own travel apps:

Travel Widget – the inspirational Travel Widget will showcase TripAdvisor images of popular travel destinations and attractions around the world. Touch the on-screen star icon to save places to your “Saves” list on TripAdvisor, or tap the image to see details in the TripAdvisor app, which include reviews, opinions, photos and contact information.

Lock Screen Slideshow – When the phone is in “locked” mode, you can opt to see beautiful travel photos of the world’s most visually striking destinations on the device’s high-definition display.

City Information in Samsung Story Album – Samsung Story Album helps build a digital photo book by seamlessly connecting travel content to your travel photos. TripAdvisor lets you add more city information into the Story Album.

And TripAdvisor has added exclusive features to its application, including Single Sign-On with a Samsung ID, the ability to load details of hotels and flights found on TripAdvisor into the phone’s native calendar app; and the ability to load contact information for a hotel or attraction to the Galaxy S4’s Contacts list.

The Samsung S 4 will start shipping in April, so if you’re lucky to get your hands on one, keep a look out for the integrated TripAdvisor content and app!




Thursday 14 March 2013

TripAdvisor celebrates St Patrick’s Day with Dublin’s top rated restaurants


This weekend, Sunday 17th March 2013 marks St Patrick’s Day – dedicated to the Patron Saint of Ireland. Along with the religious aspects of the Saint's day, the festival is traditionally marked with food, drink and general merriment.

St Paddy’s Day, as it is affectionately referred to, is celebrated all over the world but if you’re lucky enough to be in the capital city of the Emerald Isle on Sunday you’re sure to experience some of the best celebrations. And, if you’re in need of a good meal while you’re there, we at TripAdvisor have put together a list of the top restaurants in Dublin according to our community of reviewers*:
 

1.    Sabor Brazil – this Brazilian restaurant in Dublin City offers a culinary insight into the different regions of Brazil. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “Excellent food, delicious wines, and the most perfect service.”
 
 
2.    Arch Bistrolocated in the Dublin suburb of Rathgar, this restaurant serves modern European cuisine with classical French influences. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “The food here is excellent. I've been to many of Dublin's top restaurants and very few come close to this.”
 
 

3.    Beaufield MewsBeaufield House & Mews opened originally as an Antique shop in one room, opening only at night serving tea and homemade biscuits and scones made by the present owner who made them as a child for pocket money. After 57 years, the coachhouse building has been lovingly restored and now houses two restaurants. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “Every time I go to Beaufield Mews the service is excellent and the food is exquisite.
 
 
4.    Rasam Restaurant – located in Glasthule at the heart of a busy Dublin suburb, Rasam serves authentic Indian cuisine. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “This must be one of Ireland's best kept secrets. This is a restaurant that hits the mark on every level.”
 
 
5.    Dax Restaurant – this restaurant servings its customers with an array of continental and rustic food and wines. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “The ambience was superb, the food top drawer and the wine exquisite.
 
 
6.    Mayfield Deli Eatery – located in Terenure Dublin, this restaurant offers freshly prepared, home-made food. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “Great atmosphere, with an interesting menu.”
 
 
7.    Ruposhi Indian Restaurant – this restaurant serves traditional Indian food infused with fresh herbs and spices. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “A really well priced menu with excellent food, generous service and a nice laid back atmosphere.”
 
 
8.    Patrick Guilbaud – Ireland’s only two-star Michelin restaurant, situated in Dublin city centre, the cuisine is contemporary Irish with classical roots. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “This is the best restaurant I’ve eaten in. The service is outstanding and the food incredibly creative and perfectly presented.”
 
 
9.    Queen of Tarts – Queen of Tarts opened in 1998. Sisters Regina and Yvonne Fallon trained as pastry chefs in New York City, returning home to Ireland to establish and run their own cafĂ©. Customers can relax on the outdoor terrace with a coffee or glass of wine and watch the world go by; or curl up inside with tea and a slice of warm plum tart. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “Loved this little place! We visited it for a cuppa and something yummy and it didn't disappoint.
 
 
10. Chapter Onelocated in the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum on Parnell Square in Dublin’s city centre, Chapter One is an award winning Michelin star restaurant. As one TripAdvisor traveller commented, “The staff were, polite, attentive and friendly, the service was excellent and the food was delicious and beautifully presented. Superb meal.”
 

*List is according to TripAdvisor’s popularity index.  Please note the popularity index is dynamic and can change at any time.  List was accurate as of 25 February 2013.