Question 1: Why does John Malkovich own a budget design hotel in Eastbourne?

A) Because he is neighbors with a guy who claims his family invented the chocolate bar
B) So he could get in bed with 300 Welsh Secretaries
C) Because furniture design is his hobby
D) To make some dough
E) All of the above

Please fill in your answer with a number 2 pencil on the Scantron form provided.  Be sure to fill in the circle completely, or your answer will be marked incorrect.

Question 2 (essay format): Why do we care?

And the Story goes:

Just recently, the budget yet chic Big Sleep Hotel in Eastbourne has been rated by Trip Advisor as one of the world’s top ten celebrity owned hotels.  For design and pet-friendliness evidently.

I love this part.  Malkovich  got started in the hotel business because he is friends with a Mr. Cosmo Fry, his neighbor in Provence,  France.  Mr. Fry is a chocolate heir – his family’s chocolate business was founded in 1728, and run for over century before being bought by Cadbury’s in 1936.  He also claims that his ancestor created the first chocolate bar.  Now, Mr. Fry is a hotelier and Malkovich a part owner in this enterprise.

Malkovich got involved, because he is an avid furniture designer (he designed the furniture in his home in France). The concept of the design hotel was right up his alley – so far in fact, that in 2000 Malkovich got in bed with 300 Welsh secretaries as a promotional stunt for the Cardiff branch of the hotel.

What does this mean for you? If you are in the UK and looking for what has been described as an IKEA-quirky budget hotel stay – it’s the place for you.  Depending on the location, rates are as little as 45 pounds a night.

Check it out:

The Big Sleep Hotel
www.thebigsleephotel.com

Maybe it’s because the holidays are coming up, but all I can think of is shopping.  People still seem to be combing through sales racks on both sides of the Atlantic.  Recession.  Credit crunch.  Pshaw!  When it comes to retail meccas in the UK, my eyes are on the new hotspot for shoppers– Cardiff, Wales.  The Welsh capital was recently listed by retail experts in the top 10 places to shop in Britain.  Some say that within the next few years, Cardiff will take over Liverpool in the rankings.

The new St David’s shopping center opened this fall and it’s ginormous.  1.4 million square feet to be exact.  Stores range from Apple to All Saints and Hugo Boss to H&M.  Retail heaven, I tell you.  I don’t know about you, but shopping makes me…ahem..people hungry.  Jamie Oliver’s Italian is a new eatery located within St David’s that is a must.

But, it’s not just the new kid in town that makes Cardiff a shopper’s paradise, but the cities’ glass topped shopping arcades as well.  Let’s face it, plowing through crowds of people may not be your cup of tea when in search of that perfect pair of denim jeans.  Duke Street and High Street arcades are lined with smaller shops where you can peruse in peace.

Happy shopping!