Face favourites

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll know that I don't blog about beauty products very often. However, I thought it was about time I blogged about my favourite products for my face as these are the only beauty products I use every day without fail.

I never wear much make up, particularly during the week, but I always make sure I fully cleanse my face every night before going to bed.  I hate the thought of going to sleep without completing this nightly ritual! I've currently got five favourite products on rotation - read on to find out more about each one.

1. Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean

Peaches and Clean has been one of my favourite face products for years and it's always one I re-purchase when it runs out. It smells good enough to eat and it's lovely and soothing at the end of a long day. I've nearly come to the end of my current bottle but, thankfully, I've got a brand new one stored in my toiletry stash ready to be used as soon as this one finishes! 

2. Soap & Glory Face Soap and Clarity 

This face wash was one of the first Soap & Glory products I ever tried and it's another firm favourite. I like to use this particular product when I've worn more make up than usual; it gives a much deeper clean than Peaches and Clean due to its little pink scrub particles. I use this product once a week or so and you don't need to use a huge amount each time, so each bottle can easily last a year or more.

3. No7 Soft & Soothed Gentle Toner 

Soft & Soothed is the first product I tried from the No7 skincare range, and I now stock up on a bottle every time I have one of those £5 No7 skincare vouchers from Boots! This toner does exactly what it says on the tin. It glides onto my skin and makes my face feel really soft and refreshed after every use. On the rare occasions where I've worn a full face of make up, I use this product immediately after using one of my Soap & Glory face washes, just to mop up the last few remnants of foundation.

4. No7 Beautiful Skin Micellar Cleansing Water 

This is my first bottle of Beautiful Skin Micellar Cleansing Water and I'll definitely be re-purchasing. It has quite a similar effect to the Soft & Soothed Gentle Toner and leaves my face feeling bright and hydrated. However, I find that this product's scent is more striking and long-lasting. Also, it's worth noting that I love combining these No7 products with the Beautiful Skin Eye Make-up Remover which I blogged about here a few years ago.

5. Lush Cosmetics Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub 

This is the first product I've tried from Lush's skincare range and I love love love it! It's packed with sea salt which does an excellent job of buffing my skin, and it also contains avocado butter and limes steeped in vodka which make it smell unique and rather spectacular. It smells as if I'm rubbing a salty cocktail all over my face and it has absolutely amazing results. I feel as if I've been given a brand new face every time I use it! Read about the other Lush products I've tried here.

What are your favourite face products? Do you have any recommendations for me? 

Top ten beauty picks

I hardly ever write beauty posts but I've found a few excellent products lately which I just had to share with the blogging world. I do actually own quite a few beauty products, despite not seeing myself as a 'beauty person', so I'm making a conscious effort to use up what I have before buying anything new. I'm not giving up any food for Lent (why on earth would I do that?), but I am giving up buying beauty products which I don't need.

So here goes... here are my top ten beauty products!

1. Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation

I bought this foundation at half price from Tesco a few weeks ago and it's quite honestly the best foundation I've ever used in my life. It glides on smoothly and flawlessly like nothing I've ever used before and gives a lovely coverage which lasts all day. You only need to use a little bit each time so this pot should last for ages. This is definitely something I'll be purchasing again once it runs out. 

2. Avon Shimmer Block

I'd grown tired of using shimmer blocks as they left my cheeks looking too glitzy and glittery. However, my new shimmer block from Avon is truly beautiful. It leaves a natural sheen which can be as light or as dark as you want it to be, depending on which end of the compact you sweep your brush through. It's very pigmented so I only need to use a few sweeps at a time. This product has restored my faith in shimmer blocks!

3. Rimmel Eyeshadow Quartet

I've had this eyeshadow quartet for a few years but it's still going strong. I don't tend to experiment much with eyeshadow colours so this is always my go-to compact. I don't use the highlighter shade much but the other three shades are very well worn. I have a similar quartet from Max Factor but this one is far superior in terms of pigmentation and durability. 

4. Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara

This mascara has a brush on either end - one mega brush for your upper lashes and a little one for your lower lashes. The little brush is very handy for someone like me who is still very clumsy when applying mascara! This mascara makes my lashes look twice as thick and it's definitely my best mascara purchase of recent years. 

5. Barry M Bold Gun Metal Eyeliner 

I can't use liquid eyeliner (see above... too clumsy!) so this eyeliner pencil is an absolute lifesaver. I love the dark grey shade and it's very easy to apply. It frames my eyes beautifully and I've already stocked up on a few more in case they ever stop making this product. I haven't tried any other colours in this range but I don't think I'll ever stray away from the Gun Metal shade. 

6. No7 Gentle Toner

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover No7's skincare range. I always used to use a face wash to get rid of my make up but noticed that there were still traces of make up on my towel however long I scrubbed my face for. Enter No7's gentle toner... it soothes and cools my skin and removes every last trace of make up. A must have product!

7. Avon Heat Protection Spray

This is definitely the best heat protection spray I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot!). It smells lovely and I can notice a difference in the quality of my hair after only using it a few times. My hair feels softer, thicker and stronger... I've finally found a heat protection spray which can control my unruly tresses. Happy days. 

8. No7 Eye Make Up Remover

Another fantastic product from the No7 skincare range. This product has had a lot of negative reviews but I really can't understand why as it removes every trace of eye make up like magic after just one application. Also, just as importantly, it looks lovely on my bathroom shelf! 

9. Soap & Glory Dr Spot
Although I fortunately don't get many spots, Dr Spot comes to my aid very swiftly when the worst happens. If I put a dab of Dr Spot on a spot before going to bed, it's already dried out by the time I wake up. I have no idea what on earth they've put in this product as it smells awful, but I'm convinced that it has some kind of magical secret ingredient. 

10. Collection de Paris 

I bought this perfume at Charles de Gaulle airport and it's currently my favourite perfume. I'm really quite rubbish at describing perfume scents... this one is lovely and fruity (I think). I can't seem to find it anywhere else so I think it's exclusive to Paris, or possibly even exclusive to the airport itself. This makes me sad! 

Does anyone else love any of these products? If not, what are your favourite beauty products? 

Idyllic Images #32

Lovely evening walk around Cosmeston Country Park

Wedding make up... advice, please!

Where on earth do people learn to apply make up?!

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to knowing what kinds of make up I should wear and what shades would complement my best facial features, I took a trip to Boots last week to get some advice as I'm considering applying my own make up for my wedding. All the make up artists I've looked at are very expensive, and I'm concerned that they might slap loads of make up on which definitely isn't the look I'm going for. I don't generally wear much make up so I don't want to look like a totally different person on my wedding day... all I wear on a normal day is mascara, blusher and pressed powder!

I do make more of an effort in if I'm going out... I stretch to adding foundation and eyeshadow on these occasions!

This is about as made up as I ever get...

Although I don't want to look totally different on my wedding day, I obviously want to look nicer and more 'radiant' than I would on a normal day. I also want to make the most of my best facial features and need to make sure that the make up I choose complements my red hair rather than clashes with it. I think my best facial features are probably my blue eyes and my good skin... I'm not very good at coming up with positive features for myself so it took me a while to come up with those two!

On my visit to Boots, I decided to visit the No7 and Max Factor counters. I've heard nothing but good things about No7 products (and I love their nail varnish ranges), and I'd read some great reviews on Max Factor products recently too. I bought the following...

Max Factor FaceFinity foundation

Max Factor pressed powder

Max Factor blusher

Max Factor eyeshadow trio

Max Factor Clump Defy mascara

No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter

Nivea Soft Rose lip salve

Everything I bought came within budget and it's a great investment as I can use all the make up again and again. I'll obviously be practising a LOT before the wedding and will do plenty of trial runs... I'll also have bridesmaids on hand to help on the day if needed!

I loved the look of the foundation and you can still see my freckles through it. Believe it or not, I actually like my freckles. The Max Factor lady tried a few different shades out on my skin and we concluded that the shade I usually go for is actually a little too pale... the one I've bought for the wedding looks perfect! It's a 3 in 1 primer, concealer and foundation so I shouldn't need to put much else on my face. Luckily I have good skin so I shouldn't need to cover up any blemishes. Let's hope that the stress of the wedding preparations doesn't make my face break out for the first time ever!

I'm not sure if I'll need the pressed powder on the wedding day itself as the foundation's coverage is so good, but it'll definitely get used as I wear pressed powder every day. It's quick and easy to apply and just gives me a bit more colour, so I've been using it every day on its own for years. 

I needed a new blusher so this haul was well timed. The Max Factor blusher I've bought is much better than the 17 product I'm currently using, so that's another bonus. I had considered trying a creme blusher but the overall effect looked too... clown-like. I'm very pale so can't go too overboard with blusher!

I won't want to wear too much eyeshadow on the day, but I will want some colour just to add some definition to my eyes. The Max Factor lady suggested that I should use the lighter shade all over my eyelid then blend in the darkest shade from the outer corners of my eyes. She tried the shades out on my eyes to double check and the overall effect was subtle but effective. 

I love mascara and have to wear it every day due to my very fair eyelashes, so this was definitely a good investment. I do dye my eyebrows and eyelashes every two months or so (perils of being a redhead), but mascara still helps to thicken my eyelashes and to define them a bit more. I always go for black mascara for the maximum effect... I'm hoping for great things from this mascara!

I've read lots of great reviews on No7's Instant Radiance Highlighter so I thought this would be a good investment. It's been suggested that I apply it underneath my eyebrows, on my cheekbones and possibly in the inner corners of my eyelids. One blog post I read suggested that you should apply this highlighter on any parts of your face that are shadowy when you look down at the floor... I might use that tip!

Lastly, I bought the Nivea tinted lip salve as I'm allergic to all lip products apart from Nivea's range. I can't use lipstick, lip gloss, lip balms or lip crayons... this is not great news for the wedding photos but I'm hoping that the tinted lip salve will add a bit of colour on the day. I can't risk trying to use any fancy products on my lips just for the wedding or they'll flare up just in time for our honeymoon!

The one product I didn't buy was eyeliner as the Max Factor lady suggested that I shouldn't wear it on the wedding day if I never usually wear it. However, I do think eyeliner really makes the eyes stand out so I would like to learn to apply it before the wedding day... what do people think? I've also read that you should either accentuate your lips or your eyes on your wedding day, and obviously I can't do anything with my lips so perhaps I should focus more on my eyes. 

All thoughts on my wedding make up in general would also be most welcome... do you think I should apply my own wedding make up? Should I wear eyeliner? Can you recommend any other products for me to try? Let me know!

Idyllic Images #23

Evening in Cardiff Bay

Things that make me happy I'm alive (52 Lists Project)

This is my second post in the 52 Lists Project series... here are some things that make me happy I'm alive!

1. The lovely people around me (family, Neil, friends etc).

2. Food. All food. 

3. All things Disney.

4. Bobby (my car). Sadly, I don't think Bobby himself will be alive for much longer. *Sad face*

5. Our new house. Blog post to follow on that very soon!

6. Pretty views

7. Holidays

8. Neil's dogs (Homer and Tara)

9. Nights in with pyjamas, hot chocolate and a Yankee candle

10. Christmas 

What ten things make you happy that you're alive?

Idyllic Images #22

Sunny Sunday walk in Penarth

Things that remind me of home (52 Lists Project)

I love lists. I have a little book of lists, a week-to-view planner, and eight different folders on my phone for different list categories. Do you get the idea? I cannot function without lists.

I'll leave you to imagine my excitement when I came across Emma's 52 lists project. This project is perfect for me, and I'm slightly gutted that I'm late to the party and have already missed a few lists. Still, better late than never!

So here are a few things that remind me of home...


1. Beautiful views
I'm from a small village in West Wales, and sometimes I really miss this breathtaking view from my parents' back garden...

2. Toffee ice cream

My mother always buys toffee ice cream whenever I go home for a visit, so toffee ice cream will always remind me of home.

3. Warmth

My parents' house is always warm and cosy. My flat might be cosy but it's definitely not warm!

4. Piano music 

I started having piano lessons when I was 6 and they continued until I left home at 18, so hearing beautiful piano music always reminds me of home and our trusty old piano.

5. My parents' voices

I have the most lovely parents in the world, and hearing their voices over the phone always gives me 'hiraeth' for home. 'Hiraeth' is a Welsh word which can't really be adequately translated into English... it loosely translates into 'longing' but has a much deeper meaning. 

6. Muller Corner yoghurts

I can't usually afford to buy these myself and have to stick to cheap yoghurts instead. My parents' fridge is always stocked full of Muller Corner yoghurts so I make the most of them when I go home!

7. Creaky attic ladders

My parents used to have the most creaky attic ladder in Wales. Although it has now been replaced by a lovely wooden staircase, ominously creaky ladders still remind me of home. 

8. Christmas 

Home is the first thing that pops into my head whenever I think of Christmas. This is hardly surprising when I've spent all 28 of my Christmasses at home with my parents and loved every single one of them. I'm getting married this year so the routine will change, but I will always cherish my memories of spending Christmas at home.

What reminds you of home? 

Idyllic Images #21

The sky above my office a few weeks ago... beautiful!

Review of Barry M Matte nail polish

Assuming that you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll already have read about my love for Barry M in my first ever nail varnish post. However, I sadly have to admit that I'm disappointed with their latest addition to my collection.

I bought the Vanilla Matte nail polish a few weeks ago as I'd read lots of good reviews about the Matte range on various beauty blogs. I knew it would be vastly different to my beloved Gelly range, but I fancied a change and wanted to try something different. 

The nail varnish is much easier to apply than the Gelly polish, but even with two coats the colour just isn't very striking. I know the Vanilla shade is quite light and understated, but I was hoping the finished result would look more elegant and a lot less dull. I'm also definitely not a fan of the 'matte' look after trying this nail varnish... the shinier the better! 

It just looks a bit dull...

On the plus side, I've had this nail varnish on for five days now and it hasn't chipped at all, so it does seem to be more robust and less susceptible to wear-and-tear than the Gelly shades. I'm sure I will use this polish again as this is a good understated look for more serious occasions, but I don't think I'll be buying any more polishes from the Matte range unfortunately. 

This just means I'll have to keep buying from the Gelly range! Has anyone else tried Barry M's Matte range? What did you think?

Christmas presents... the toiletry edition

This is the second post in my 'What I got for Christmas' series (read the first post here), and it's a bit of a bumper category. I love toiletries of any kind so I was really pleased when I had so many for Christmas. Edwina bought me a huge variety with lovely explanatory gift tags on each one, and I also had some from my parents, Neil, Phillipa, Siân and Amy. You can just never have too many! I'm now nicely stocked up so I technically shouldn't need to buy anything for myself for ages... I'll see how long I last before I crack. I have a slight addiction to buying toiletries!

My favourites from the pile above are the Peaches & Clean face wash, Iced Strawberry Dream shower gel (smells good enough to eat!), the Minnie Mouse toiletry bag and the Palmolive shampoo for coloured hair. I can't wait to start using all these and they're already all standing neatly in line ready for when my existing bottles/packets run out. 

Moving on to the gift sets I received, I especially love the set of mini Body Shop body butters from Neil as well as the giant Strawberry shower gel. He bought me big bottles of Satsuma and Lemon shower gels from the Body Shop last Christmas and they're both amazing, so I'm expecting great things from the Strawberry edition. I also love the Soap & Glory set from Phillipa and am excited about trying The Scrub of Your Life for the first time as it's been on my wishlist for ages. I had the very pretty Guess Girl gift set from Siân and I'm already obsessed with the perfume scent. I'll definitely be buying more when this bottle runs out! While we're on the subject of perfume, Britney Spears' Curious perfume is an old favourite so I was very pleased when I found a bottle of Curious under the Christmas tree from my parents. I'll definitely be smelling lovely for the next few months!

Lastly, Neil bought me four bottles of Barry M nail varnish for Christmas... he knows me well! I love the limited edition glitter polish, and I always jump at the chance to extend my Gelly collection. These shades are called Blackberry, Blueberry and Plum and they all look really striking. I'll have to write another update on my Gelly collection soon... it's growing rapidly!

What toiletries did you have for Christmas? Do you love the Body Shop, Soap & Glory and Barry M products as much as I do?

Idyllic Images #19

Beautiful early morning view in West Wales

My very first ImPress manicure

I'm not a particularly girly girl, but I do absolutely love nail varnish. As I explained in my very first post on this topic, you'll never ever see me without nail varnish on. I've even planned what shade of nail varnish I'll be wearing on my wedding day!

This year, while preparing for my office Christmas party, I decided to try something different with my nails. Neil's sister loves using ImPress press-on nails for special occasions like holidays and parties, and his mother had bought me two packets of the 'Working Girl' pattern a few months ago. I thought the Christmas party was the perfect opportunity to give them a go!

Each packet contains 24 stickers of different sizes, so firstly you need to select one sticker that's exactly the right size for each nail. Once you've lined up your ten nails, use the provided wipe to cleanse your nails before starting on the application. I've been advised that this step is vital, so don't leave it out!

I started with the little finger on my left hand, and left both thumbnails until last to make the application as easy as possible. The stickers were very easy to apply and fitted like a dream on all ten nails. I pressed each one firmly for a few seconds and they felt super secure. I thought they might feel odd because they're longer than my natural nails, but they felt perfectly comfortable and didn't get in the way. They weren't flimsy at all so there was no danger of them snapping or flying off.

They were really shiny and the glitter effect was very effective... perfect for a Christmas party! I was so pleased with the finished effect and couldn't stop looking at my hands for a few hours after I'd applied them. These nails really add a touch of glamour and make you look as if you've had a manicure in a beauty salon. They obviously don't chip like ordinary nail varnish, so there's no danger of having to redo one or two nails the day after you've spent ages painting them as you've had chipping issues!

I was a bit worried about removing the stickers as they were stuck on so securely, but they came off easily when I immersed my hands in hot water and peeled each sticker off, starting from the right hand side. They didn't leave any marks and didn't damage my nails at all. 

You can buy the ImPress range from Amazon and Boots as far as I know... let me know if you've found them anywhere else! I'll definitely be trying the ImPress collection again as I'm well and truly hooked after my first experiment.

Has anyone tried ImPress nails? What did you think?

Idyllic Images #18

Beautiful little Homer... he looks like a model in this photo!

My Disney advent calendar

I have a Disney advent calendar. Is anyone surprised? I've always had an advent calendar for as long as I can remember, and I have no intention of stopping this tradition. It makes me feel extra Christmassy and enables me to eat a little piece of chocolate every morning for 24 days. Win win!

My Disney Princess advent calendar was £1 in Tesco, so the cheapest one I could find. I do love advent calendars, but I won't spend a fortune on them. You can tell it's cheap as it doesn't have a little foil covering over the chocolates and doesn't have an image behind each window, but luckily I love the taste of cheap advent calendar chocolate. 

I would have preferred to have seen Belle (from Beauty on the Beast) on the front instead of Cinderella as she's my favourite Disney princess, but unfortunately I don't work in Disney's design team. Cinderella is at the bottom of my Disney princess list... I have a feeling most people will disagree with me on that. Love the film, dislike the princess. 

6 windows down, 18 to go!

What advent calendar did you buy this year?

The Magic Kingdom... the best place in the world!

I've made no secret of the fact that I absolutely love the Disney parks in Florida's Walt Disney World. I love them enough to be able to write about ten blog posts on each one, but I thought I'd try to sensible. The Magic Kingdom definitely needs its own post, but I'll try to combine some of the other parks into one post. I'm not promising anything though... be prepared for lots of photos and gushing for the next few posts!

1. The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is probably my favourite place in the whole world, which is precisely why Neil decided to propose to me there. You honestly feel as if you've stepped into a different world when you go through those famous gates, and this world represents everything I love about Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom is home to fantastic spectacles such as Cinderella's Castle (pictured above) and the Beast's Castle in the impressive New Fantasyland, as well as some of my favourite rides in all of Disney World. Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain make me scream like a child... I genuinely can't stop grinning the whole way around these two rides (apart from when I'm screaming). They're not even proper thrill rides, but they're so much fun. Splash Mountain, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Pirates of the Caribbean are also brilliant rides, to name a few.

The shows and the parades at the Magic Kingdom are the best of the lot, in my humble opinion. The Celebrate a Dream Come True parade takes place during the day and is a good chance to see all your favourite characters such as Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Woody, Chip and Dale, and Baloo. The accompanying music sounds as if it's come from High School Musical so it definitely gets a thumbs up from me! This parade is guaranteed to put you in a great mood, and it almost makes me want to get up and dance with the characters. Almost. I satisfy myself by bobbing up and down on the spot and tapping my foot enthusiastically.

The Magic Kingdom's night time extravaganza is breathtaking. It starts with the Main Street Electrical Parade, where everyone's favourite characters appear on massively impressive lit-up floats. You can see all the classic characters in this parade such as Cinderella, Snow White and Peter Pan. I dread to think how much these floats cost to maintain and run... so many tiny bright lights!

This magnificent parade is followed by Celebrate the Magic and Wishes... two fantastic things you most definitely don't want to miss. Celebrate the Magic transforms Cinderella's Castle into a piece of living art and honours the tradition of Disney storytelling. Various scenes from films are projected on to the castle and the castle is transformed tens of times just by using these projections. Meanwhile, famous lines from the classic films echo around the park in time with the projections. I can't even explain how amazing it is... you need to see it to believe it! Wishes is an amazing firework display accompanied by classic Disney songs and is the perfect end to a magical evening. I don't even believe in magic and can be a bit of a cynic (believe it or not), but everything about the Magic Kingdom is just magical. There aren't enough superlatives in the world to describe it!

I promise that Disney fans of all ages will love the Magic Kingdom. You probably wouldn't love it if you're not a Disney fan (in fact, you'd positively hate it), but what are you doing in Walt Disney World if you're not a Disney fan? The Magic Kingdom creates the illusion of being in a safe and happy bubble where everyone and everything is lovely and anything is possible. I love being able to escape into this bubble, even it's just for a few hours. Real life is a bit of a struggle sometimes and the world isn't always a nice place, so it's nice to go to a place where things are actually perfect (apart from when it rains). 

Just look at these amazing images... I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be right now!

Does anyone else love the Magic Kingdom as much as I do? Let me know!

Disney's Old Key West Resort

Old Key West is beautiful. It's a deluxe Disney resort in the Downtown Disney area, and it covers a bigger area than any other Disney resort. Old Key West is Disney's recreation of the Conch Flats in the Florida Keys, and it's one of the most relaxing and striking places I've ever had the pleasure of staying in.

We arrived in Old Key West after a long flight, a delay at baggage claim and a bus trip in the rain on Disney's Magical Express, so we were very relieved to have a quick and easy check-in experience in the pristine lobby.

The staff were all friendly and informative, but I'd expect nothing less in a Disney resort. All the best customer service experiences I've had by far have been in Disney World! We were directed to our block of 'flats', or Vacation Homes as they're called in Old Key West, and I had a lovely Disney welcome...

Such a nice touch!

I'd read a lot of complaints about the rooms in Old Key West before we went on holiday as people thought they were dated and shabby. What planet were these people living on? The rooms are immaculate, spacious and even have a little kitchenette in each one. What more could you possibly want for a holiday where you don't even spend much time in your room? The view from the balcony was absolutely beautiful... I'm still missing it! A lot of people would complain about being on the second floor because they needed to climb some stairs, but I was very grateful for the lovely view and the peace and quiet.

Our block was only five minutes away from the Hospitality House, which is the central hub at Old Key West. The Hospitality House consists of the lobby, gift shop, main bus stop for the resort, Olivia's restaurant, Good's Food To Go, the bar and the entrance to the main resort pool. Although I had a lovely breakfast and dinner at Olivia's, my favourite food from Old Key West had to be these amazing onion rings from Good's Food To Go. These were no ordinary onion rings, believe me!

What more could you possibly want for lunch?

Olivia's restaurant

The iconic lighthouse and the main resort pool

We stayed in Disney's Coronado Springs resort last year, in the Animal Kingdom resort area. Although I loved Coronado, I felt as though Old Key West was even more 'Disney'. There were little Mickeys everywhere and in the most unexpected places, and the whole atmosphere was relaxed and 'magical'... typically Disney! There were a lot of small children staying here with their parents so the resort had a real family-friendly feel about it, yet it was still extremely tranquil. 

Our block of Vacation Homes

Little Mickeys on the balcony!

We didn't actually go the main resort pool as we had a little quiet pool just around the corner from our block. As Old Key West is so sprawling, there are a few quiet pools situated around the resort so that people don't need to walk for fifteen minutes to get to the main pool. Although we only went to the quiet pool once as we were so busy, it was a lovely setting and was actually quiet. There was also a hot tub next to the pool which was strangely relaxing, even though the humid climate begs to differ!

I loved the way staff members said 'Welcome home' every time you set foot in the resort after being out for the day. Yet another nice touch which you probably wouldn't get anywhere outside of Disney. The staff in Olivia's, the bar, Good's Food To Go, the gift shop and the luggage attendants were all equally friendly and welcoming, which added to the beauty and serenity of the resort. How many times has a nice hotel experience been ruined for you because the staff were rude? It wouldn't happen in Disney!

You even get a nice welcome when driving in to the resort!

One of the best thing about staying in a Disney resort has to be the Disney transportation system. If you're a Disney resort guest, you can catch a free bus to any of the Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach) and to Downtown Disney. All day, every day! You can then catch a bus back to your resort from the parks whenever you feel like it. Old Key West is massive so the buses did take a while to travel around the whole resort, but I'd much prefer to be sitting on a free bus than trying to negotiate the Disney park car parks.

As Old Key West is in the Downtown Disney resort area, you can also catch a boat to Downtown Disney if you fancy a break from the buses. We caught the boat once during our stay and it was a lovely experience... a short boat trip is always going to a bit nicer than a bus ride!

I don't think I could ever praise Old Key West enough, but hopefully I've given you a flavour for what a fantastic place it is. I'll leave you with some more images from the resort... it really speaks for itself!

Has anyone else visited Disney's Old Key West Resort? I'd love to hear about your experiences!