Category Archives: Pixie’s Selection

Best & Worst . . . Club Sandwiches

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Whenever and wherever possible, I always try to sample the local food and will seek out street food as this is consistently the best tasting food available.   But sometime, I arrive at an unsociable hour and/or I just crave the simplicity of room service.   The @ZombifiedPixie’s Club Sandwich Index is something that has grown organically and unintentionally.   This index is something that I have often joked about compiling … until today.

In my opinion, the best HOTEL club sandwich is from The Kempinski Khan Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

I had these before (as well as after) visiting rural, rustic western Mongolia.  Thus, it cannot be said that the club sandwiches had an unfair advantage of being a delicious alternative after a week of eating nothing but muttons and potatoes.

The worst hotel club sandwich is from The W Hotel, Union Square, NYC.   I was jet lagged, tired, and hungry and would almost eat anything — except for the fries that accompanied the room service club sandwich.  The sandwich itself was fine, but, the fries were embarrassingly bad.   They were cold, wimpy and limpy, and covered with oily parmesan cheese.   These were obviously fried hours ago and left under a hot lamp to wilt.  If I wasn’t too tired, I would have called hotel management to complain (but I gave feedback in my post trip email survey).

Other hotel club sandwiches considered:

Good: 

  • The Meridan, New Delhi, India
  • The Westin, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Swissotel, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Swissotel, Gocek, Turkey
  • Amanjiwo, Borobudur, Indonesia

Average:

  • The Sheraton Park Lane, Green Park, London
  • The Intercontinental, New Delhi, India
  • The Intercontinental, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
  • Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra, Cambodia
  • The Sheraton, Saigon, Vietnam
  • Queen’s Hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Best & Worst . . . Spa Experience

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The Oberoi spa experience was so fantastic that I actually came back again the next night for a repeat treatment!

The Claremont spa experience was just terrible — plus, it was impossible to relax because the masseuse kept insisting that that I relax.  All she  really need to do is SHUT UP!

Despite one bad experience at The Four Seasons Hong Kong, the spa team is generally extraordinary.  The Landmark also rates highly — but if I have a pet peeve, it is that it is necessary to reserve in advance some of the ‘free’ spa rooms which makes it inconvenient if I want to be spontaneous.   I LOVE LOVE LOVE the herbal ball spa treatment at Pimalai Resort and this resort is in strong 2nd place for the best spa experience ever.

Dishonourable Mentions include:

  • Le Meridien, New Delhi, India — dull, boring, uneventful, ineffective.   No repeat.
  • InterContinental, Phnom Penh, Cambodia — my spa experience was fine, but, hubby’s masseuse was too busy answering her many mobile phone calls and just wasn’t interested in doing her job!!!!

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Best & Worst . . . Kedgeree

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The best kedgeree tasted (thus far) is from The Wolseley in London.  This is my go-to place for brunch in London and I’ve tried this dish more than I can remember.  H O W E V E R, there is a problem with taste consistency at The Wolseley.    Depending on who is the chef in the kitchen that day, the dish varied from deliciously unctuous to good-but-not-that-memorable.