Hilton Doubletree, Philadelphia, USA

I love the Hilton Doubletree brand. It might have something to do with the free cookies given to all guests on arrival, but there's much more to it than that; I think the key is friendliness. Alright, all hotels are supposed to be friendly places – some aren't – but Hilton Doubletree really goes to town.

The view from room 1712, Hilton Doubletree, Philly

Based on Broad Street, the Philadelphia Doubletree offers a central location within easy reach of everything you're going to need: restaurants, museums, you name it. On the museum front, you must visit the Eastern State Penitentiary. There are buses and taxis passing by most of the time, there's the subway and Jefferson railway station is about a 10-minute walk away and linked to the international convention centre.

Check-in was straightforward – which is great if you've crossed the Atlantic from the UK – and my room (1712) was, predictably perhaps, on the 17th floor. I had a decent view of Broad Street and I was right next to the elevators, which is both good and bad news. Good because I didn't have to roam along lonely hotel corridors; bad because at night I could hear the machinery of the lift whirring as people travelled up and down the building. It wasn't a major problem.

I always find that American hotels go over the top with the air-con and sure enough, I found myself switching it off in order to get a decent night's sleep. There's nothing worse than a noisy air-con system.

Everything else seemed fine: there was a flatscreen television, decent desk space, two double beds, an easy chair, a wardrobe with a safe, an iron and ironing board and proper coat hangers. As for the bathroom, it was pretty standard: a bathtub, shower, sink and toilet, a decent collection of towels and three face flannels.

Inside room 1712, Hilton Doubletree, Philadelphia...

The best part of my stay was the serve-yourself breakfast on the Mezzanine level. Great service and excellent food. Every day I enjoyed cubed melon, porridge, scrambled egg with 'breakfast potatoes' plus one sausage and a pot of black tea – wonderful. There was plenty more to choose from including yoghurts, breads and pastries, oranges, pears, apples and bananas.

There is a bar downstairs offering snacks all day, including the traditional Philadelphia cheese steak, although there's probably better food on offer outside of the hotel. Bellini is excellent and so is Pietro's and they're both close-by.

If you're into fitness there's a gym and a swimming pool on the 5th floor, but I never had time and made do with walking around the city (in the wrong shoes).

Check out was as easy as check-in, it was all good. I will definitely return.

NH Palacio Hotel, Avilés, Asturias, Spaina

The NH Palacio Hotel in Avilés blends in nicely with its surroundings. Located on the city's main square opposite the town hall – or a building that looks surprisingly municipal – it gives nothing away from the outside. But once through the glass sliding doors all is revealed: this is a classy hotel offering a mix of grandiosity and modernity depending on where you are in the building. There is, for example, what might be called 'the old part' of the hotel, characterised by the grand staircase leading up to the hotel restaurant, which itself is rather grand in appearance with its high ceilings. Then, if you pass by the staircase and walk towards the elevators, the hotel takes on a more modern but nonetheless grand appearance.

Room 209, NH Palacio Hotel, Avilés...

But let's start from the beginning: the check-in. It's always nice when checking into a hotel is a simple and straightforward process and that was the case here at the Palacio. Within minutes I was making my way past the aforementioned grand staircase leading to the hotel restaurant and trudging on towards a left turn and the elevator, which I took to the second floor and then weaved my way around the corridor, past a modern galleried area to room 209 on my right.

The room followed a tried and tested layout: bathroom on the left, wardrobes on the right, then a long desk above which there was a flatscreen television facing the rather grand double bed with its six pillows and ornate headboard. 

Everything worked. The bathroom sported two wash basins and there was a pleasant shower and (mark of a good hotel, perhaps) a bidet, which I never used, but admired from a distance. There was a safe in the wardrobe.

What I really liked about the hotel room (and, indeed, the entire hotel) was the doors. They were made of a rich wood and were heavy and dependable.

I love hotels with wall-mounted sockets for the key cards. Knowing that the room simply won't work without inserting one's keycard into the slot is reassuring for one good reason: it means I'm not going to lose my keycard. It also saves on electricity as the room is plunged into darkness the moment the card is withdrawn.

Unusually, I got a good night's sleep from day one and every morning a refreshing shower prepared me for breakfast on the ground floor. The breakfast room was bright and airy and offered everything one needs for the most important meal of the day: hot beverages, bread, pastries, cooked meats, fresh fruit, yoghurts, you name it.

I tried the hotel restaurant on my third and final night. It was alright, but I could have done with larger portion sizes having eaten the night before at a restaurant across the road, which boasted plenty of meat and large chunks of bread, they even provided a grill on which customers could cook their own meat. And let's not forget the 'local brew' – cider – served in the same way street sellers in India serve coffee (by pouring it from a great height into a cup).

Travelling can be a stressful affair and every now and then I must admit that I, like everybody else, get things wrong, things which only have an adverse effect on myself, like spending two weeks staring at a boarding pass and somehow thinking that 1030hrs was at night and not in the morning. I convinced myself that I was flying out of Avilés at around 1030pm and hadn't for one moment considered that it might be 1030am, bearing in mind that the airlines rely upon the 24-hour clock. I was happily sending emails to people saying I needed picking up at around 8pm in the evening when really I should have been saying I needed a lift in the morning. How all this came about, I don't know, but I didn't finally twig until it was too late. I was sitting at the desk in the hotel room looking at the boarding pass and suddenly I got it. I started to panic. How, I wondered, could I resolve this problem? 

There were no flights out of Aviles, not after mine had departed, and I needed to be back home so I had to get a flight from somewhere. I decided to book a plane out of Bilbao and quickly purchased a one-way ticket online. But how do I get to Bilbao? I slung everything into a suitcase, didn't bother shaving and headed down to reception in a flustered state. Fortunately for me there was Anabel and Konchy, both of whom knew exactly how to resolve the problem and, in the process, calm me down as everything around me seemed to be going wrong.

I was advised to take the 1345 bus from Oviedo to Bilbao, which would take three hours, and then find my way by cab to the airport and my flight home. It all went very smoothly. Anabel even wrote out (in Spanish) instructions to the man behind the desk at the bus station – everything went smoothly and I got home safely.  

So, in addition to being a great hotel, the NH Palacio employs great people too. Should I ever find myself in Avilés, I'll be rebooking this amazing place. 

Avilés, by the way, is a lovely place. It's a small but perfectly formed city in a picturesque region known as 'green Spain'. And it's only 90 minutes from London.

H10 Duque de Loulé Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal

I always feel slightly guilty sitting in a hotel room and reviewing the place while I'm still a guest, but here I am sitting in Room 905 of the H10 Duque de Loulé Hotel in Lisbon on the ninth floor and I'm feeling very happy purely because, so far, the hotel has proved itself to be, well, nothing short of fantastic.

Room 905...

It's now nearly 7pm here and, on returning to my room, I found one of those Portugese custard tarts and two jellies on a white plate waiting on the desk. Wonderful! But let's go back a bit. The check-in was fast and efficient and it wasn't long before I was safely ensconced in my room. It's one of those hotels where the key card activates the power. I pressed it into the little plastic socket on the wall near the door and there was light. Not that it was dark. While it is winter, Lisbon is fairly bright and sunny; there are blue skies with cotton wool clouds and the last thing I need to do is turn on a light.

After an early start in London – I flew TAP from Gatwick (very pleasant) – I was in need of a shower and I want you all to know that the bathroom here is wonderful as it includes a rain shower extraordinaire, which is really refreshing. So refreshing, in fact, that I could have stayed under it for hours, but didn't because I had a meeting to attend.

There's a fully stocked minibar – they trust their guests! – and there's a safe in which to store valuable stuff (in my case a passport and mobile phone). From the minibar I had a bar of chocolate (Dairy Milk) and a couple of Oreos. I'm not pleased with myself for this as I've also enjoyed the aforementioned custard tart and jellies, which went down a treat, but they're not good for me so I'm feeling a little guilty.

Like all hotels, the view out of the hotel window is not brilliant, but who cares? The room is fantastic. There are wooden floors, a large double bed (two singles pushed together and covered with a double sheet); the wardrobe doors sport elegant mirrored panels, the walls are white, there's a flatscreen television on the wall opposite the bed, a seat in the window with blue cushions, wispy net curtains and thicker, creamy-coloured drapes. On the wall opposite the bathroom are six period prints, all featuring horses, the wall behind the bed has two blue-tiled panels, which contrast nicely with the cream walls and there are two bottles of mineral water on one of the bedside tables (whether they're free or not, I don't know).

The view from room 905...

The general vibe is very pleasant, the staff on the front desk are friendly and because I'm only here for the one night I've really only got breakfast in the morning to make this review truly comprehensive, but I'll tell you first that, along with the custard tart and the jellies, I received a letter welcoming me to the hotel and informing me that the hotel is part of H10 Hotels, which has 59 properties in 29 destinations.

Unlike a lot of the hotels I stay in, this one has a restaurant, the Azul & Branco Restaurant, run by head chef Bruno Fradeira who offers 'a great selection of Portuguese flavours'. There is also the Equestre Lobby Bar, which is run by Hugo Simao and his food and beverage team. I'm guessing that there is some kind of horsey theme going on as that word 'Equestre' gives it away.

There's also a roof top bar offering splendid views of Lisbon's rooftops, perfect, I would imagine, on a hot summer's day, but it's January and while it's not that cold it's worth wearing a light jumper to stave off the cool breeze.

I slept well and soon it was time for another excellent rain shower in the bathroom followed by breakfast. There was plenty of choice: fresh fruit (I enjoyed sliced oranges, which were juicy and flavoursome; sliced peach too). There was home-made cake, those ubiquitous custard tarts, boxed cereals, pastries, breads, everything you can imagine, plus a cooked breakfast option (I chose omelette with potatoes and a mushrooms side order – absolutely perfect).

I'm about to check out, which is a big shame, and it's an even bigger shame that I didn't try the restaurant (we ate out on the river bank, not literally on the bank, but in a restaurant, with glass walls).

This hotel comes highly recommended from me to you. Book a flight to Lisbon, jump in a cab and you'll be there.