Competition winner gives Leicester thumbs up

Throughout the year we often offer some amazing competitions which allow winners to experience Leicester. Recently we welcomed the winner of our Christmas in Leicester competition, Craig Middleton, who talks about his experiences below.

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We were delighted to be informed that we had won this amazing prize on 12 Dec 2022, and collected the prize bundle two days later. We were thrilled and very surprised when we realised what the prize comprised of!

We were lucky enough to win a £100 Set Voucher which we spent during our pre-Christmas visit and bought a few very nice extra presents for family. We posed for a picture with the friendly owner. There was also a £100 Visit Leicester gift card that also came in very handy. 

My son married just before Christmas, and I had an operation on 10 January, so we had to wait until now to enjoy the main prizes.  

We checked into the Hotel Brooklyn on a Thursday afternoon. The location of the hotel is about ¾ mile to the city centre. We were welcomed by two very friendly reception staff who booked us in and gave us our room cards. We were given the very stylish Brooklyn Suite. When we went to our room, we found a small smorgasbord for us to nibble on, and a free cocktails voucher. The room was very decadent with an extra-large bed, a free-standing bath (in the bedroom!), as well as a pod coffee machine, and all the usual things you'd expect to find. All of a high quality. 

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We were supplied dressing gowns and slippers to relax in. We were treated to a wonderful buffet-style breakfast each morning. The food was of a high quality and was actually hot, something most buffets fail to achieve. There was a continental selection of cheese and meats, pastries, toasts and jams, cereals etc. and a waffle maker to make your own fresh waffles.

We were also treated to dinner. We had salt and chilli chicken, and satay chicken for starters. Filet steak was always going to be our choice for mains, which was wonderfully succulent and tasty. Dessert was banana split which had been deconstructed but was so tasty that I even thought about ordering another one! The crew serving us (everything about the hotel is Americanised) were very warm and friendly. 

We visited the National Space Centre that afternoon which was only a 10-minute drive away. We hadn't been there since we came with our children some years ago. It was very interesting to come back and revisit it. As you would expect it was full of school children and was pretty noisy and hectic. We had a look around; some of the exhibits were very interesting, like the Soyuz capsule or Tim Peake's space suit. Although mainly for kids, there was enough to keep us interested. We noted car parking is an additional £4 per car.

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We went to the Abbey Pumping Station museum, which was next door, and actually found this more interesting than the space centre. I guess children might think the other way round. Definitely worth popping to if you come to the space centre though; it's only a very short walk away and is free on non-event days. 

We went for coffee and a cake at John Lewis in the Highcross shopping centre, which was very nice and enjoyed spending the John Lewis voucher which we had won. 

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The next morning, we travelled to the city centre to look around the shops. It was really nice to experience a busy city and shopping centre. Coming from Northampton, where our town centre has deteriorated so much, it was nice to remember how things used to be! We paid a visit to the King Richard III Visitor Centre. This was very interesting, made all the better by some very knowledgeable and friendly museum staff. To see the actual site where he was discovered was quite amazing and we'd recommend this if you're thinking of coming to Leicester. 

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We didn't have enough time on our weekend away to use either of the cinema tickets, and Leicester is a bit far from us to make a special journey, so I've given these to a local lady to make use of.  

We have still got a couple of prizes left, mainly the Sonrisa £100 voucher which we shall use later in the year. We were more than adequately provided with good food on this visit and look forward to using that in the future. 

We are so grateful to Visit Leicester and especially Gitte Magielse, who informed us of our lucky haul just before Christmas last year. We are also grateful to all of the businesses who donated prizes. It made our Christmas extra special together with our son's wedding. 

The highlight of our visit had to be the hotel itself. We were blown away by the decor, the staff, the food, and the room itself! It was a taste of luxury that we are unable to afford ourselves. I even had a bubble bath in the bedroom with a glass of beer! Big thanks to Karl Diggins, the hotel manager who gave us everything we needed and more whilst we were there.

Book your stay at the Hotel Brooklyn by clicking here. 

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