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Holiday Inn Kenilworth

We went to England for my sisters wedding in September 2011, and it was lovely. It was held at the Kenilworth Castle which was a beautiful location. The entire city of Kenilworth in Warwichshire was really lovely. It seemed like an up-scale small town.

We flew into Birmingham Airport as it was the closet airport from Kenilworth and my sister picked us up. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth which was a beautiful hotel with lots of amenities in and around the hotel.

Holiday Inn Kenilworth

Eating options was plenty in Kenilworth, and the location of this hotel was ideal for ones who like to eat – such as myself. The hotel is located right in the middle of of a great traffic circle (roundabouts) with major streets for dining. We ate at the Starbucks inside the hotel a few times for lunches and snack, and The Almanack. We also had a fantastic dinner at Indian Edge which is just down the street of The Square and it’s a fantastic East Indian cuisine restaurant which I highly recommend.

Besides all the dining and shopping in boutiques, the hotel was beautiful. It feels really new, or newly renovated. It was large, the staff was quite friendly – after they warmed up to us being familiar faces, and the rooms were large and clean.

We stayed in the Executive Suite as we needed a room with more space to get ready, and of course a king bed was worth it! It seems that England usually has either 2 twin beds or 1 queen – sometimes a double as standard sizes. So, with the upgrade, we got more space to get ready for the wedding, and visiting of other family/friend members.

The location of the room was fantastic as I love rooms that are far from the elevator. This was the perfect room for me as it was at the very end of a hallway. It had an extra window in the room which was something I loved during the day, and in the evening, the shades darkened the room really well!

Overall, the room and the hotel was fantastic! I would return to this area and stay at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth again anytime. You can see the walk through of my room from the clip below!

Holiday Inn Kenilworth

Abbey End 212, Warwickshire,
CV8 1ED England

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Harringtons on the Hill

What a fabulous place, Harringtons on the Hill provided wonderful food for a wedding banquet. The quality of food was top-notch, and the location was really rustic and warm. I was fortunate to try Harringtons with a fantastic special menu.

The appetizer that I had was Scallops with Chorizo salad. The scallops was really tender and fresh, and the chorizo was a delicious sausage. The appetizer was on a fresh bed of greens that was crisp and sweet – which I really like. I am not a fan of salads with the bold flavoured greens.

Another appetizer that we had as we shared our food (even though they were individually ordered, we couldn’t help but putting our forks in each others food) was Country Style Pate on sourdough toast. There was also a side of red onion jam which really a good pair. Usually, when I think of Red Onion Jam, I think of a big roast or lamb… but, it was complimented nicely with the pate! What made this dish extra special was sourdough toasts and the subtle sourness really elevated the taste and flavour of the appetizer.

My main course during this reception was Seared Peppered Tuna with Mango and Red Pepper Salsa, which was delicious filet of tuna cooked to perfection and topped with a fresh and homemade mango & pepper salsa. It was extremely refreshing with the salsa and the nice squeeze of lime.

As we were in Kenilworth, a dish called Kenilworth Spring Lamb with couscous was very attractive. It makes you think of fresh local flavours at it’s best! It was true, the lamb was tender and juicy.

My cousin ordered the Lemon Cheesecake where I HAD to try some. It was so refreshing and the cheesecake was light, fluffy and creamy! It was a really nice texture of cheesecake, and it definitely wasn’t sitting around for a few days in the refrigerator! So, this was a really special cheesecake. Suddenly, I really like lemon flavoured desserts!

Apple Pie with Custard was a wonderful dessert. Warm, decadent apple pie with warm custard I got to drizzle on my pie! Normally with apple pie, you get the scoop of Vanilla ice cream, but this warm custard made the pie extra rich, and it was perfect. There wasn’t ice cream making the crust soggy or anything! It was a perfect end to a perfect meal!

There’s never a better dessert than Warm Chocolate Brownie and this brownie was rich tender and chewy chocolate brownie “bar”.

This is a restaurant where everyone who enjoyed it is still thinking about it and wanting to return in the near future! 🙂 I know I will be for sure! The food here is definitely exceptional!

Harringtons on the Hill

42 Castle Hill
Kenilworth CV8 1NB,
United Kingdom
01926 852 074

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The Almanack

After checking into our hotel that was across the street from The Almanack we had to go for a lunch, and found ourselves at the Almanack. The restaurant is large, spacious, bright and just a lovely place to have been. We enjoyed our lunch in a large yet comfortable space.

I tried the Fish Board and actually split it with my sister as I just ate a burger. The Fish Board comes with Smoked Mackerel Pâté, Prawn Cocktail, Marinated Anchovies, Mini Fishcake & Tartare Sauce, Cucumber Sticks & Rye Bread. It was the perfect plate to share, and it was really tasty. Each item on the fish board had its own unique taste and texture which was really fun to experience – as we don’t have this like this. None of the items was fishy at all – which really made me happy! The smoked Mackeral had a really nice smoked taste, and it was firm but flaked off into pieces really nicely. The prawn cocktail was pretty fun – not the best prawn cocktail I’ve ever had, but it was really fun to get my hands dirty and enjoy it! I like anything deep fried, so the fishcake was right up my alley! It was really light and fluffy and cooked perfectly as well. Nothing was bad at all! I don’t know my thoughts of anchovies, but I do like these ones from the Almanack! 🙂 So, it was a very satisfying meal, and one I will remember!

We ordered a bunch of other lunch entrees, which I didn’t try. But, everything was gobbled up in a heart-beat, so I’m assuming it was delicious! The table ordered Potato and Watercress Soup

We also ordered a dish of Caesar Salad to share at the table. It was a nice and fresh salad and it was well received by everyone.

Free-range Chicken & Crispy Bacon, and topped off with Anchovies & Croutons. The last dish that was ordered was Honey & Mustard Roast Free-range Gammon

We went back to The Almanack for breakfast the following morning, and they served a wonderful breakfast selection! From Salmon Eggs Benedict to the All American Breakfast. We had a lot of us, and we had a nice selection of breakfasts ordered.

First of all, everything was cooked perfectly, and that means they looked and tasted good too! I started with the Pancake Breakfast which naturally was pancakes and maple syrup. They did drench the pancake in the syrup and by the end, it was too sweet. The pancakes were light and fluffy and wasn’t cooked until it was a beautiful golden brown colour.

The Salmon Eggs Benedict was really delicious. There was some salmon instead of the traditional ham, and spinach on the eggs Benedict. This really was a nice touch with a nice taste to the dish.

Our table also had the All American Breakfast which was a large and filling breakfast – perfect for a busy day ahead – which in our case was! This breakfast consisted of beans, toasts, mushrooms, sausage, bacon and eggs. It’s truly a hearty meal.

The Almanack

Abbey End North Kenilworth
Warwickshire
(01926) 353637