Why go to costa when you have this beautiful gem. Make sure you stop here if you're passing…read morethrough M'head and need a coffee.

Normally decent coffee even if service can be slow. Today...@ 6.35pm …read more.. "Americano with milk please" "Sorry, am cleaning up the coffee machine" "Oh. What time do you close tonight" "7.30pm" "7.30pm...?! It's 6.35pm" "Lots to do. I can offer you tea" Closing the coffee machine an HOUR earlier?? Polite staff. Just incredulous.

This location of Starbuck's is open air, in the middle of a High Street shopping mall. Perfect for…read morepeople watchers and as a handy rendezvous spot. Typical UK Starbuck's offerings with a new addition of heated food on the menu boards.

Even a broken clock is right twice each day. In that spirit, I offer the following kind words…read moreabout the Thames Riviera Hotel: * The room I wound up in was fine; and * The riverside location is attractive. And with that, the positives will end. I hiked 10+ miles to reach this hotel which a travel agency booked for me. As I approached I could tell, even from the outside, that the place had some deferred maintenance. Stepping inside clarified my observation: the carpets looked worn and the interior shabby and tired. The woman at the front desk told us to wait, pointing outside to a gentleman smoking. "He'll help you when he gets back" she offered. Help here is a relative word. The smoker checked us in, showed us to our room, and mentioned that he'd upgraded us to a river view. As he walked out I walked to the far corner of the room to look out the window. Turning my neck at a 90 degree angle I could see and hear the car-filled bridge and spot the teensiest slice of the River Thames. Opening the window revealed that the window hardware was broken and a quick look around the room revealed the same shabby, tired interior that had greeted me at the front desk. This room was not acceptable. A new room was requested (we blamed the traffic noise) and keys were given to a satellite building behind the main building. After hauling luggage up several flights and walking down a hallway with stained carpet and sour smells, I stood outside our new room. Its handle had a "do not disturb" sign hanging from it and I could hear people inside. This too was not acceptable (obviously). A return to the front desk brought a bit of attitude, as though this was some big favor, requesting not to stay in an already occupied room. The third room? It was fine. Also in the satellite building, it actually had a balcony, a river view from there, was quiet, and had no traffic noise. It was charmless but by this time it was clear that charm wasn't this hotel's specialty. Breakfast, like all places in the UK, is included and with the exception of the fresh fruit and the pastries this breakfast was my least favorite of any I had on this trip. I didn't care for the taste of their eggs or potatoes. Maidenhead (birthplace of Theresa May!) is an odd town but surely there must be better lodging options here than the Thames Riviera Hotel. For every reason above, I'd be very reluctant to recommend you stay here but if you insist, ask for an unoccupied room in the satellite building, one with a river view and a balcony, and plan to eat your breakfast elsewhere.

Booked this hotel for three nights we turned up to book in at three o'clock the room wasn't ready…read morehad to sit in the lobby half an hour the room wasn't very clean sweet wrappers on the floor and a used pillows case it didn't look like it had been cleaned confusing air conditioning the room was very cold limescale on the chrome taps in the bathroom no privacy curtains in the room people walking past could see in and when you shut the curtains the room was very dark so hard to see when you were getting ready in the morning we were booked in for three nights but left after 1 it's a shame because it could have been a better experience with a bit more care and attention

Closed, was a nice moroccan place with bags of local character.read more

I believe this is one of the top 5 restaurants in the world, everyone and everything in that place…read moreis perfect, Giorgio is an incredible young host, the food is 10x better than anything else in Bray.

Many thanks to Discerning 1, whose review prompted me to track this place down. :-))…read more We checked it out last Sunday for the £25 per nose lunch package: a good way of testing an establishment. Very impressed, as was la contessa. Four-course menu with a choice from 4 dishes for the first three thereof. The dishes were not these, which I think is just a sample. http://www.campagna.caldesi.com/page.php?intPageID=44 I had: Crab and avocado. A sort of overlarge fishcake that was stuck together with olive oil and subtly seasoned. Squid ink noodles with clams (squid ink pasta is great). *Calves liver with spinach. Melts in the mouth. All absolutely scrumptiliously delightful and the portions were not over-large, as they can often be in Italy. More 'nouvelle cuisine' size. The pudding course was a set mixture of 'bits and pieces'. I don't have a much of a sweet tooth and I have usually pigged out by then anyway, but this little collection was desperately pleasing upon the eye and the palate. The wines were reasonably priced for a place like that. £25 for a bottle of Chianti Classico, although it didn't fire me up like the one I had at the 'Old Devil Inn' for £18. (see separate review) I thought that the decor was a bit bland, but I tend to ogle plates rather than fellow diners or wallpaper. The staff were attentive and charming. Now I look forward to the autumn: Tuscans do some rather interesting game dishes.