Happy Birthday!

To celebrate Yvonne's birthday I arranged a Spa Break at The Hilton Hotel , Bath. Although we have visited Bath on many occasion's this time the visit seemed more relaxing than previous visits.

Normally we are rushing around shopping and trying to cram in as much as we could for the time allowed. This time, apart from a session at the new Spa Baths, we had no agenda.

We arrived on Sunday morning after an eventful drive down. We (I) chose a different route and I have to confess we got lost. When we arrived in Bath we found that the annual Bath Marathon was taking place and a lot of the roads were closed and we could not get to the hotel. Having found a parking place we took a 20 minute walk to our hotel and met up with Lynn & Mick who had travelled down for the "Birthday Girl".

The Break included a bottle of champagne in the room and two 2 hour sessions in the new Spa Baths but when I made the booking I mentioned that the visit was to celebrate a special occasion.

When checked in, the Hotel had given us a free room upgrade, fresh fruit and a bottle of wine in the room and a birthday card for Yvonne.

We had lunch with Lynn & Mick and then I had to make the 20 minute journey back to the car, by which time I could get into the Hotel car park.

In the evening, after Lynn & Mick left for their journey home, we dined in the Hotel.

The sunny weather continued into the Monday and after a leisurely breakfast we strolled around the city and in the afternoon spent our 2 hours in the relaxing Spa Baths.

On Tuesday, our final day, we awoke to another fine day and having checked out of the Hotel we took a boat ride down the river Avon to the village of Bathampton and back.

Medhupparu 2009

Medhupparu has not lost any of its charm in the last 12 months.

Since we visited last year improvements have been made to the facilities but little else has changed. The staff are still friendly and many that we have got to know over the four years we have been visiting the island, still remain. The tranquility has not changed and the snorkeling still provides surprises.

However, the credit crunch has left it's mark. The staff numbers have had to be reduced and when we were there the remaining staff were told that further cuts would have to be made.

The island is fully booked up until the end of May but from then on, so far, the bookings are down. Due to this there is talk of closing some of the accommodation and part of the bar and dining room.

Let's hope that we are in a position to return in 2010 and if we do it looks as though our party numbers will be increased.