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Schlossle Hotel, in the
medieval city centre of Tallinn is one very fine boutique
hotel. Tallinn’s coziest boutique hotel in what is
otherwise known as Old Town welcomes you with very warm
log fires blazing in the lobby as you step into the hotel.
Tallinn
has a lot of accommodation choices – from budget
to the best, there is a wide selection of hotels,
guesthouses, hostels, apartments, bed and breakfasts
and camping solutions. Most hotels accept major credit
and debit cards. Rates are usually quoted per room
and not per person and include breakfast and tax.
I stayed at the Schlossle Hotel, in
the medieval city centre which is otherwise known
as Old Town. The hotel was very warm with log fires
blazing in the lobby when I arrived. Schlossle is
the choice of many celebrities and royalty including
the Prince of Wales. One cannot
fail to notice the plaque proudly displaying the names
of royals, diplomats and celebrities who had stayed
in this hotel as you climb up the stairs to your room
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. Every guest walks past this plaque. It raises your
expectations and immediately makes you feel important.
I was a little disappointed though that despite the
numerous services advertised on the room information
list which included 24 hour room service, laundry
and valet service, baby-sitting, Doctor on call, private
sauna and massage service, among others, there wasn’t
a maid ready-in-waiting to undress me and run me a
warm bath – but hey! – What do you expect
after all it was a hotel fit for kings and I was expecting
a ‘kingly’ service! The hotel is ‘cute’
with 23 rooms and suites to offer. All rooms have
deluxe furnishing and direct dial/ISDN-lines and phones,
voice mail and modem/ fax connection, minibar, In-room
safe, LCD television and DVD. My room was complimented
with a luxury en-suite bathroom and floor heating,
personal scale (as if I’d care to |
check
my weight on a fancy weekend trip!), it was a non-allergic
room with everything except for a non-slip bath mat!
Most importantly, everything in the room was clean
and carefully laid and I slept like a log.
Breakfast was in the hotel’s
restaurant Stenhaus which has won many awards and
has become famous in Tallinn for its intimate atmosphere
of 13th century vaulted ceilings and the huge roaring
log fireplace. Even before breakfast,
I was looking forward to dining in its elegantly
tapestry-decorated
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rooms,
by candlelight and to enjoy
the city's best rated culinary choices. Traditional
breakfast is laid out in a self-service manner
but you can order some hot breakfast. I suppose
that in Tallinn, Kings and Queens are familiar
with self-service! I was told that during the
summer, you can enjoy the courtyard garden for
lunch and dinner.
Also, if you choose to send the whole boardroom
there on a brainstorming weekend, the hotel’s
Boardroom offers a unique setting for up to 40
persons. It has conference and banquet facilities
for up to 18 people; and provides Cocktail Receptions
in the manner of a Baronial Manor House for up
to 60 people. Apart from the efficient service,
they also provide an overhead projector, screen,
flipcharts, video recorder, slide projector, TV
set and pin boards.
Schlossle hotel is the destination of everyone
famous from royals through to diplomats, famous
musicians, celebrities and now of course, me!
Will I make the grade and have my name placed
on the plaque of famous names that had made into
this hotel? I hope so – especially as I
could not identify any African-European on the
list. |
Places
to eat
A good place
to stopover for lunch is the Ribe Restaurant. The Ribe
is a contemporary restaurant with delightful interiors
and delicious food. It has rare foods on the menu including
a variety of game. I was also impressed to discover
that Ribe stocked up some Louis
XIII.
For a traditional Estonian
cuisine, you may want to visit the Kuldse
Notsu Korts where you can enjoy an Estonian dish
served by Estonian waiters and waitresses.
Other
sites worth visiting are the KGB Headquarters, the museums,
Open
air attractions, the Tallinn zoo with some 350 species
of over 5400 animals, and the botanical garden.
Shopping
The large shopping malls are in the New Town and exclusive
boutiques are located in the Old Town. Everything you
need is available in Tallinn from designer labels to
exclusive one-off items in the petite boutiques. Do
not expect any bargains though – prices are about
the same as any other part of Western Europe.
Nightlife
in Tallinn
Tallinn is a very interesting city. During the day rich
cultural tours are at their peak and then if you plan
a formal dinner, the suggestion is that you make it
early because dinner starts early between 6.30pm and
9.30pm, followed by pre-night out drinks before the
night out activity. A weekend in Tallinn is full of
buzz. Most of the nightlife activity goes on in the
Old town. The bars, night clubs, pubs and wine bars
are within walking distances of each other so instead
of picking a specific spot; you can a have a nightlife
medley by visiting several venues in one night.
Friday night is when all Tallinn gets lively. The night
activity starts from 11pm to 3am. If you want a less
crowded scene Thursday or Saturday will be a good idea.
However, if you are visiting in summer, there is not
much difference between the days. Bars and Pubs stay
open until at least midnight and a pint of the local
brew costs about 2-3 EUR. Expats and Foreign visitors
stick to clubs such at the Havana, Molly Malone’s
Nimega, Nimeta or O’Malleys; while the young and
trendy favour the hip party scenes.
Nightclubs
A quick scan of Tallinn revealed 13 nightclubs two of
which are a gay clubs. The nightclubs do not open until
11pm and most people linger nearby pubs and bars until
then. Some of the nightclubs like Club Privé
and Club Hollywood have fully-serviced lounges to cater
for the pre-nightclub traffic.
Other
ways of enjoying Tallinn
If you do not prefer to dance
your way into the night, you can enjoy some fine cuisine
experience, by attending some of the cooking challenges,
organised Estonian parties and evenings, spas and relaxation
activities, continue with culture and entertainment
or opt for adventure. The choice is endless.
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