All posts tagged: EG General

Best hotels on the Northumberland coast

Best hotels on the Northumberland coast

Published by Sam Flores

All our reviewers are either resident destination experts or travel writers that specialise in hotels. Often they will have stayed at a hotel many times and so can see how it has changed for better or worse over the years. They know what makes a great hotel in that particular destination and will compare it contextually against local competition. When our reviewers first visit a hotel, they stay for at least one night, eat one meal in addition to breakfast and will experience all of the facilities on offer. Whichever category of room they stay in, they will see the entry-level rooms in order to assess them. After their stay, our reviewers then give the hotel six scores out of 10, rating its location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. The average of these scores then determines the overall score. Our experts then select reviews for curated lists like this – the best hotels in a particular destination for families, for instance – together with the Telegraph Hotels team. …

Best golf hotels in the UK

Best golf hotels in the UK

Published by Sam Flores

All our reviewers are either resident destination experts or travel writers that specialise in hotels. Often they will have stayed at a hotel many times and so can see how it has changed for better or worse over the years. They know what makes a great hotel in that particular destination and will compare it contextually against local competition. When our reviewers first visit a hotel, they stay for at least one night, eat one meal in addition to breakfast and will experience all of the facilities on offer. Whichever category of room they stay in, they will see the entry-level rooms in order to assess them. After their stay, our reviewers then give the hotel six scores out of 10, rating its location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. The average of these scores then determines the overall score. Our experts then select reviews for curated lists like this – the best hotels in a particular destination for families, for instance – together with the Telegraph Hotels team. …

The best VPNs (including free VPN services), tested for privacy on iPhone, Android and PC

The best VPNs (including free VPN services), tested for privacy on iPhone, Android and PC

Published by Sam Flores

Score: 9/10 We like: Simple to use and easy for beginners to get to grips with We don’t like: Lacks extras If you want a straightforward VPN, ExpressVPN is hard to beat. It lacks a few extras offered by rivals, but those are mainly for advanced privacy needs and are unnecessary for most users. What ExpressVPN does offer is a far-reaching server network, extending to servers in 105 countries. In our tests, it performed quickly whether accessing sites or streaming videos. It’s also beginner-friendly. Some VPNs overwhelm with menus and technical jargon, but ExpressVPN keeps things simple, with a large on/off button front and centre. The service supports a wide range of devices, including computers, phones, Apple TV and even Wi-Fi routers, though you’re limited to five devices per account. Like most VPNs, it keeps no logs of user activity. The company highlights a case in Turkey where authorities seized servers as part of an investigation, but found no data, since nothing is stored on disk. There are no advanced features such as the ability …

Best home gym equipment for effective workouts

Best home gym equipment for effective workouts

Published by Sam Flores

45kg weight 4kg flywheel weight 30 resistance levels No screen, but a tablet holder Reviewed by Abigail Buchanan The Apex Smart Bike is excellent value for a web-connected exercise bike. We actually preferred it to Peloton in our review of the best exercise bikes. The cheaper price is thanks to a lack of HD touchscreen. Instead, there’s a tablet holder for you to insert your own, or your phone, where you can stream classes via an app. The classes are of excellent quality, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour, and there are strength, mobility and beginner-friendly exercises, by British instructors from Boom Cycle studio in London. The Apex is perhaps better suited to spin and indoor cycling fans, rather than anyone looking for performance training, as there are no options for simulated outdoor rides. Design-wise, the Apex bike is good-looking enough to (almost) blend into a living room, with a compact 4ft by 2ft footprint, and four colour options. It has a wireless phone charger, tablet holder for streaming classes, plus a water bottle …

The best robot vacuum cleaners, tried and tested at home

The best robot vacuum cleaners, tried and tested at home

Published by Sam Flores

Should I get a robot vacuum cleaner? Until recently, for most people the answer was no. Even the best robot vacuums had a tendency to mount chair legs and get stuck, wheels feebly pawing at the air, or to have a nervous breakdown in a confined space. AI has changed all that. “People want robot helpers,” says Colin Angle, the MIT robotics expert whose iRobot Roomba kick-started the whole industry back in 2002. “Rather than clean the whole house, they want to tell their robot vacuum to just clean under the kitchen table, or in the office, but that takes a huge amount of tech.” The best robot vacuums cost well over £1,000 and even the cheapest are over £300, so these are not toys (although there have been more than a billion views of pets riding robot vacuums on YouTube.) To find out which are worth your hard-earned cash, we put some of the best robot vacuums to the test. You can read our full reviews below, followed by answers to frequently asked questions, …

Best head torches for running and hiking

Best head torches for running and hiking

Published by Sam Flores

During the winter months, many of us have to exercise in the dark when we might not be able to see obstacles, and drivers and cyclists might not see us. That’s why it’s important to wear the best head torch you can afford. But, from Petzl to Ledlenser and battery-powered to rechargeable, the choices can seem baffling. I’ve been an ardent runner for over 20 years, taking part in multiple marathons and parkruns. I’ve also explored the risks of running in my books Running: Cheaper Than Therapy and The Runner’s Code. Having face-planted many a time, I know the dangers of a dash in the dark. So these past few months, I’ve put the most popular head torches to the test. You can read my full reviews below, along with my answers to frequently asked questions, but if you’re in a rush, here’s a quick look at my top five: The best head torches: At a glance JUMP TO REVIEWS How to choose the best head torch As with the best bike lights, the key …

The best carpet cleaners for removing stains, tried and tested at home with expert advice

The best carpet cleaners for removing stains, tried and tested at home with expert advice

Published by Sam Flores

Reviewed by Kulwinder Rai Steam mops for hard floors are a familiar concept but the Bissell Revolution HydroSteam is the first wet, upright consumer carpet cleaner with an integrated steam function. It performs its headline party trick by forcing steam into dirty carpets via a bank of 27 steam nozzles, located in front of, and underneath, its fixed, dual-brush roll assembly. The overall weight is heavier than Bissell’s Pet Pro (reviewed below) and while still manoeuvrable, a trip up the stairs does require some extra bicep action. The steam functionality also doesn’t extend to the supplied accessory tools. Operation is incredibly simple, however, with three choices. The first is the SteamWash Max mode, which is activated by pulling a trigger to dispense steam, water and cleaning formula. It takes eight hours to fully dry. The second allows you to soften deeply embedded stains by passing over them in Pretreat (steam-only) mode. Lastly, a faster, water and formula quick dry cleaning mode deals with everyday, light staining and sees carpets dry in around 30 minutes. The …

The best home security cameras to watch over your property

The best home security cameras to watch over your property

Published by Sam Flores

Which features should you look out for in a home security camera? First, look for high resolution. “1080p Full HD is the most common camera resolution,” advises Anna Forbes, Smart Home buyer at Currys. “It’s easily high enough for seeing a parcel at the door or watching the pets at home. But if you want to capture more detail of faces or number plates, then 2K, 3K or 4K cameras [offering two, three or four times the resolution of Full HD] are a better bet.” Second, you’ll want a decent field of view. “If a user has a specific area they want to monitor, they will need a security camera whose field of view matches the area’s size,” advises Stephanie Fort. Third, consider storage: some cameras have in-built memory but these aren’t always the best choice. “As long as you have a solid internet connection, cloud storage is generally safer than using local storage,” says Anna Forbes. “There’s always a risk of theft or physical events – like fire or flood – wiping out video …

Best lawn mowers including cordless, petrol and electric

Best lawn mowers including cordless, petrol and electric

Published by Sam Flores

Having spent a lifetime squeezing and holding drive and motion bars while mowing, Bosch’s cordless Rotak was a revelation: it’s operated via push-button controls built into the height-adjustable handle, making it much less tiring to manoeuvre. Its seven cutting heights are easily interchangeable, but what wins it our top spot is that it stripes your lawn as it goes, courtesy of a plastic roller mounted just behind the cutting deck. It’s effective – even if the straightness of your stripes depends on your powers of concentration. The brushless motor means you’ll never have to replace carbon brushes and they’re also more efficient so the battery charge lasts longer. If you already have a 36-Volt Bosch appliance like a grass trimmer or leaf blower, you can use the battery from that. Otherwise, the sets range from about £125 to £220, depending on the duration. The only quirk I encountered was that the collapsible grass boxes couldn’t hold the full 50 litres advertised. When the “grass full” indicator showed red, there was always lots of empty space …

The 10 best travel pillows for long flights and commuting

The 10 best travel pillows for long flights and commuting

Published by Sam Flores

When I started working at The Telegraph, I didn’t live in London, where our office is, and found myself commuting for hours everyday. If for nothing else, it was great for sneaking in some extra sleep after an early start, although my neck (and back) were not best pleased with the sedentary lifestyle. Since then, I’ve spent many a train journey testing different travel pillows to find the best. Travel pillows come in all shapes and sizes, some cosy, some cooling, but the best travel pillows support your neck 360 degrees around, to prevent the over-flexing of muscles on any one side. That all round support is particularly crucial for middle or aisle seats, where you have nothing to rest your head against. The best neck pillows for travel also clip onto your backpack or suitcase, so you don’t need to worry about taking up precious room in your luggage. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get it right. The Best Value pillow I tried, from Go Travel, cost just £20. Trtl, Cabeau …