News: Hotel Indigo Coventry opens, Cathay Pacific resumes flights to Barcelona

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• Cmon John says:

  26 Jan26 January 05:31

  Two comments – Voco Dubai……. sounds like the ghastly Emirate destination has finally declared itself to even the blindest of devotees that it is simply an expensive Benidorm.
  Second – there must only be two tiers of cities in the UK then…….otherwise how would Coventry and Stratford upon Avon find themselves in any same group other than by the county in which they find themselves? Do check out “armchair traveller” before you book your weekend break to Coventry. It has previously been a “City of Culture” and we all know what sort of UK cities manage to get that accolade!

  • blenz101 says:

    26 Jan26 January 05:51

    Not sure how Benidorm famed for the elderly spending the winder, binge drinking Brits in the summer, family package holidays and full English breakfasts is in any way like Dubai. There is plenty wrong with Dubai and it is indeed expensive (not helped for Brits by the dirham being pegged to the USD, so similar complaints the the USA is out of control price wise) but nothing to ever suggest it is similar to Benidorm. Unless you mean it was once a fishing village that now embraces tourism?

    As for Coventry, I’ve always found it quite an interesting city with plenty of interesting architecture, multiple museums, parks and canals and the surrounding countryside in Warwickshire is fantastic.

    Sounds like you are just a snob on two continents.

    • zapato1060 says:

      26 Jan26 January 06:12

      Visited the city center in Coventry. It was ‘interesting’ to put it nicely/mildly.

      • HampshireHog says:

        26 Jan26 January 08:12

        Coventry, veritable dump for sure. I’ve had the misfortune to visit occasionally for work and felt so sad for the poor inhabitants when I’d eventually escaped.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          26 Jan26 January 09:44

          A developing former dump.

        • Cov Lad says:

          26 Jan26 January 11:32

          Your opinion, but for some of us it is home with an amazing history, literally smashed to pieces during WWII and again when the car industry collapsed in the 80s. Rising again and proudly doing so.

          The Hotel Indigo will be the go to hotel in the sky blue city.

    • lumma says:

      26 Jan26 January 08:26

      Dubai is to the middle east as Benidorm is to Spain. Both are overdeveloped and a bit vulgar with far better places to visit in their respective areas

    • JDB says:

      26 Jan26 January 08:58

      @blenz101 – I think the reference to Benidorm is relatively accurate as Dubai is indeed a concrete jungle built for mass market tourism for those who don’t really want to go to anywhere too foreign or too challenging; sun and everyone speaking English. For many, the idea of being stuck with eating in hotels or shopping malls, sitting on a artificial beaches/around a crowded pool or indeed hanging around in a hotel lounge isn’t much of a holiday. I don’t criticise those who think that is a holiday, just that places like Dubai or Cancun should be described for what they are.

      PS Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Emirates used to be incredibly cheap when I first went in the mid-1980s.

      • Gordon says:

        26 Jan26 January 10:30

        @JDB I think Rhys would beg to differ regarding Cancun! From his below reference to the Conrad on his review in March 2023, he also stayed in Mexico City!

        “Overall, I have to say I was really impressed with my stay at the Conrad Riviera Maya Tulum resort.
        “Despite a bit of a check-in nightmare, the service throughout the resort was the best I received during my entire stay in Mexico”.

        The construction of the new Nichupté Lagoon bridge linking the airport to the hotel zone, together with an investment of $1.4 Billion to renovate and upgrade passenger services at Cancun the second busiest airport in Mexico.

        Judging by the investments, Cancun seems popular, so they must be doing something right.

        • Gordon says:

          26 Jan26 January 10:33

          Just for clarification purposes, the last two paragraphs were my input!

      • blenz101 says:

        26 Jan26 January 22:03

        I disagree. Dubai is city where millions of people live and work and has an economy of c.$30bn. Yes it has embraced tourism and being a coastal city offers beaches and shopping. It’s never going to offer the acropolis or a niagra falls. The overall city is certainly not built for mass market bucket and spade tourism in the way benidorm is.

    • Aston100 says:

      26 Jan26 January 15:16

      Coventry is a dump.
      Dubai is an expensive dump.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    26 Jan26 January 09:46

    Stratford-upon-Avon isn’t a city

    And just because indigo is one of the best hotels in 2nd tier cities it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have great properties in other towns

• blenz101 says:

  26 Jan26 January 05:39

  The voco is clearly aimed at Gen Z who currently flock to the 5ive palm and the nearly complete but delayed 5ive JBR. Will also be very popular with UAE residents in the same demographic during the off-season for staycations. Smart move shipping them all off to an offshore island where no surrounding hotels can complain about the noise / excessive alcohol consumption.

  I think there is demand to stay on offshore manmade islands in Dubai. The Palm Jumeriah kind of proves it. The Anantara World Islands Resort looks amazing for anybody looking for a sensible resort hotel. All the islands are accessible by a quick speedboat transfer and you avoid all of the the noise, traffic and pollution that comes with staying in a city but it can quickly access mainland Dubai if you want it.

• Sandgrounder says:

  26 Jan26 January 06:11

  I like the UAE, lots to see and it’s not all expensive, some brilliant value authentic south asian food in deira, not really in to roasting myself on a beach though and there are better places to do that than dubai.

  • zapato1060 says:

    26 Jan26 January 06:19

    Same. UAE’s so called soulless claims are derived from those small minded who only venture in Dubai’s city center or read about celeb habits on Daily Fail. Lots of interesting, cultural and authentic places in the other 6 Emirates.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      26 Jan26 January 09:48

      100% it has something for everyone as long as you do some research

• Tomas says:

  26 Jan26 January 07:03

  They’ve done an amazing VE exercise on the world islands so far, managing to make it look like the low-end Disneyworld resorts. No wonder it’s designated as the confused voco brand.

  • Bagoly says:

    26 Jan26 January 09:55

    The hotel itself seems to be a bit confused:
    There is a big headline “Pet Friendly Hotel”
    underneath which is “Only Guide Dogs or Service Animals Allowed”
    And an FAQ: “Can I bring my pet to Monaco Heart of Europe Dubai?”
    Answer: “No, pets are not allowed at Monaco Heart of Europe Dubai.”

    Another FAQ is “How much is parking at Monaco Heart of Europe Dubai?”
    Answer: “Complimentary parking is available at Monaco Heart of Europe Dubai for hotel guests.”
    For one’s boat?

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      26 Jan26 January 13:18

      Given the target market, probably means that “handbag dogs” are fine 😉

• William Benson says:

  26 Jan26 January 07:42

  All the more reason to avoid Dubai.

• ankomonkey says:

  26 Jan26 January 09:28

  Is the Indigo in Coventry, UK or Coventry, The World, Dubai 😉 ? Was Coventry, The World, Dubai a coveted area and one of the most sought after plots?

• Bagoly says:

  26 Jan26 January 09:58

  From that write-up I thought it had only the 17 suites.
  There are actually rooms as well.

  • will says:

    26 Jan26 January 10:45

    I did wonder that too.

• Swifty says:

  26 Jan26 January 13:02

  This is where the wannabe influencers will be. Yuk. Can’t think of anything more tedious than sitting on fake island in a morally bankrupt sea of environmental death and human rights violations. Tell us how you really feel!?

  • Aston100 says:

    26 Jan26 January 15:20

    If the Coventry IKEA were still around, it would like a word.

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