Holidays Abroad and at Home

There had been a reported increase in theThe same can be said though for some British
number of people having 'staycations' this year.hotels. Some have even gone the other way and
This has been welcomed by hotel owners acrossoffer a 'continental' breakfast instead - needless
the country and will surely have a positive effectto say I disapprove.
on the UK's economy (which needs all the help itCost aside for a moment, the reluctance of
can get). Although I hate to admit it, Britain can'tBritish hotel owners to go down the 'budget' route
hope to compete with Europe when it comes tohas meant the standard of the hotels in the UK
beach weather, or even beaches. But, Britain doeshas remained, on average, quite high. In other
have a lot to offer holiday makers. The focus ofcountries - particularly some of the popular
this article is whether the hotels of the UK are atstudent destinations - the market has been
a standard which matches those abroad.flooded by budget hotels where 'cheap' is the new
I've stayed in a number of hotels at home and'clean'.
abroad and to be honest I've had mixedThe irony perhaps is that some holiday
experiences in both cases. On average I'd saydestinations abroad are so dominated by English
that Britain's hotels are better on the whole, butholiday makers it feels more like home than home
you pay for it. British hotels are, partly because ofdoes (except you can get a tan and the sea isn't
the price of the Euro, somewhat more expensivesub-zero).
to stay in which is why camping and caravanWarm weather and cheap drink are often at the
holidays are so popular in the UK.top of the list for holiday makers; this is to the
As far as I'm concerned, one of the marks of adetriment of the UK hotel industry. The industry
good hotel is the quality of its full Englishcan't hope to compete with somewhere like
breakfast. Surely this is where England comes upGreece on sunshine, but it does have an awful lot
trumps? Despite other countries strong efforts togoing for it: maybe this year with some people
win over English holiday makers with their whollyforced to stay at home the industry will revitalise
English-ised breakfasts, there is an art to ain a spectacular way - we'll see.
traditional fry up that only some actually master.