wrong

An often overlooked city in the UK has been tainted with titles such as being the ‘worst’ place to stay, yet a travel writer has uncovered its allure and urges everyone to visit

A travel expert has defended the UK city that has been tainted by negative views, hailing it as one of the best and highlighting its thriving independent businesses and welcoming allure.

Earlier this year, Newport was named as the “worst” place to stay in the UK following research from Go Compare, which evaluated 55 destinations across the country for their family-friendly accommodation and visitor attractions. Elsewhere, a report by the Centre for Cities this year found that Newport has one of the highest numbers of empty shops of anyone in the UK.

Such damning reports mean that the Welsh city is often overlooked by travellers looking for a place to explore. Yet, an award-winning travel writer, who dedicates much of his time to discovering hidden gems across the UK, has labelled it as one of the best cities.

READ MORE: I stayed at UK’s worst hotel and used UV light in my windowless room – I wasn’t prepared

OPINION

Amy Jones

Ben Aitken, 39, loves to visit and explore British locations that are frequently dismissed by tourists, uncovering their often underappreciated charm. And Newport is one of them. “It’s punching massively below its weight in the sense that it’s got a lot going for it and people aren’t recognising that and are not taking advantage of that,” Ben exclusively told the Mirror.

“It’s peppered with these really excellent independent businesses. There are a lot of diamonds in this unfashionable place. And I can’t claim to have met all of the people that live in Newport, but I met a fair few, and each of them was friendly and welcoming.”

Having first visited in April last year, Ben said: “The first thing that struck me about Newport was its architecture. It was a boom town in the 1800s, and the legacy of its importance and significance, both industrial and civic, is still evident.

“The architecture is quite quirky; it’s not straightforwardly classic or Gothic. The high street curves and slopes in a nice way. It wasn’t buzzing, but that’s true for many towns and cities across the UK, if not the world, these days. It’s just a reality that the behaviour or habits of consumerism have changed so much.

“We no longer use high streets in the same way anymore, and when there’s no tourism in a place, that reality can appear a little unappealing, creating a quiet atmosphere. However, there are a few independent businesses that really impressed me in Newport after I wandered around for an hour.”

Ben revealed: “I had a great Italian meal at a place called Vittorio’s on the top of Stow Hill, opposite the cathedral. That’s been run by a family of third-generation Italian immigrants for about 30-40 years, as miners from Tuscany came to Newport in the 19th or early 20th century. That was a fantastic meal.

“There was also a great pub called Le Pub, which is short for Le Public space, and they do gigs and other events. It’s really relaxed, and has an inviting and quirky vibe. I chatted with the locals there and had a Trevor Nelson. It’s the local cocktail, but no one seems to know what it’s made of.

“Across the street, you’ve got a pub called Ye Olde Murenger House, and that’s about 4,000 years old. It’s the oldest and cosiest pub in Newport.” Ben added that the cafe, Rogue Fox, and fine dining restaurant at Gem 42 were other standout independent establishments in Newport.

He continued: “I also went to the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales, and there’s a brilliant velodrome just across the River Usk. Anybody can have a go. For about £20, they provided me with a bike, a helmet, and some instructions, and I whizzed around the velodrome for about an hour. It was the first time I’ve ever done that.

“Then I went to watch a rugby match at Rodney Parade. The pies were delicious. I didn’t really know what was going on, but it was atmospheric and meaningful.”

During his time in Newport, Ben stayed at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort, one of the country’s most renowned hotels. “It was really nice, it does what it does very well. I just wish it supported Newport city centre a little bit more by directing its guests there for dinner rather than to Cardiff or Bristol.

“I think I was the first visitor to have walked to the hotel from the train station, but I just wanted to demonstrate that you can do it.”

Ben added: “I’m not asking people to up sticks and move to Newport. I’m just asking them to consider visiting, staying over for the night, and I promise you can fill a weekend there. It has food, history, fun, and accommodation. It just goes to show that anywhere can be interesting and enjoyable if you just give it half a chance.”

You can read more about Ben’s UK travels and treasured finds in his book, Sh**y Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities, which was released earlier this year. Alternatively, you can visit his Instagram page.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

AS celebrity weddings go, few have been more scandal-hit than the nuptials of Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay.

From the bride not inviting her future mother-in-law to her hen do and the Olympian uninviting his family, to Adam’s aunt posting her feelings about the whole tawdry affair online, it has been the showbiz gossip gift that keeps on giving.

And to top it all off, the groom went the full Brooklyn Beckham by changing his name to Adam Ramsay Peaty,

But the marriage of swimmer Adam to Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly isn’t the first celeb wedding to be filled with scandal.

From Hollywood bigamy and a bride having to pee in a bucket, to stag do misdemeanours, celebrity weddings have more drama than an Eastenders Christmas special.

Here we take a look at some of the wedding scandals that engulfed some of showbiz’s biggest stars.

Turned on

From tent Romps to Nicole Kidman in Babygirl – sexiest TV & film scenes of 2025

TOP OF THE SHOCKS

Most shocking scandals of 2025…Myleene’s ‘cheat’ riddle to Coldplay cam

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

The world was thrilled when Prince Harry and American actress Meghan announced their engagement.

But things quickly soured with allegations that Meghan had made Princess Catherine cry over Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress and that the bride was demanding to wear a particular Royal tiara on her big day.

And it was going to go from bad to worse as Meghan’s dad Thomas Markle started to speak to the press.

He was then promptly cut off by his daughter.

In the end the only member of the bride’s family to attend the Royal wedding was Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland – with all the Markles crossed off the guest list.

The King then ended up giving his future daughter-in-law away.

But as we all know the wedding wasn’t the last scandal to hit the newlyweds as they chose to step away from Royal life, flee the UK, and appear to have a strained relationship with the rest of the Royal family.

Brian McFadden and Kerry Katona

Westlife star Brian and Atomic Kitten Kerry seemed like a match made in pop heaven.

The showbiz couple said ‘I do” in a grand ceremony at Slane Castle, Ireland, in 2002.

But behind their glitzy bash, which was said to have cost £100,000, Brian was keeping a secret.

Newlywed Kerry later discovered that her husband had cheated on her with a stripper on his stag do.

The couple divorced after two years together and Kerry later said she was ‘mortified’ by Brian’s infidelity. 

“I only found out after we got married. The girl he had cheated on me with was a lap dancer and he had made her sign an NDA and paid her 15 grand to keep her mouth shut,” she explained.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

It wasn’t long after tying the knot with Ryan Reynolds that actress Blake Lively found herself having to avert disaster – but not the romantic kind. 

Distracted by Florence Welch singing at her reception, it took some time for her to notice that a sparkler had burnt a hole into the front of her one of a kind Marchesa silk gown.

“I look down and my wedding dress has a big burn mark from one of the sparklers. Right on the front! And it was just so heartbreaking to me,” she told Vogue.

But new hubby Ryan turned it into a positive, later telling her the burn was “beautiful” adding: “You’ll always remember that moment with Florence singing and the sparklers. You have that forever, right there, preserved.”

She told Vogue: “Now that’s my favourite part of the dress.”

Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith

When the former Rolling Stone first met Mandy she was just 13 years old and he was 47.

Wyman wrote in his 1990 autobiography: “She took my breath away…she was a woman at thirteen.”

The relationship only became public two-and-a-half years later, when she reached the age of 16.

Despite the controversy around their relationship they wed in 1989 when Mandy was 18.

But she moved out just weeks after the wedding and they divorced two years later.

Even so, the scandal kept on rolling. In 1993, in a bizarre twist, Wyman’s 30-year-old son from his first marriage, Stephen, married Mandy’s mother, Patsy, who was then aged 46. However, they split after two years.

Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy

When you gotta go, you gotta go. And during her 2010 wedding to Jason Hoppy, entrepreneur and TV star Bethenny Frankel got the call of nature that just could not wait. 

Frankel, who was seven and a half months pregnant at the time, was wearing a form-fitting gown and could not easily make the trek to a proper bathroom without being seen by guests.

Her wedding planner, Shawn Rabideau, retrieved a silver champagne bucket for her to use. 

So Frankel peed in the bucket while her assistant and her wedding planner held up the dress. 

And the special moment was captured for posterity by the TV cameras for her reality show Bethenny Getting Married.

Britney Spears and Jason Alexander

Fans were shocked when Britney and her childhood friend Jason Alexander tied the knot at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas in 2004.

Britney later said she was just ‘drunk and bored’ after a while night out with Alexander.

The horrified Spears team quickly arranged for an annulment, claiming she lacked understanding of her actions, which was granted within 55 hours. 

But the drama would come back to haunt her years later.

On the day of Britney’s 2022 wedding to Sam Asghari, Alexander showed up at her home, livestreaming on Instagram as he tried to “crash” the event.

He was arrested, charged with trespassing, battery, and vandalism, and received a restraining order from Spears. He served around two months in jail.

Liz Taylor and Eddie Fisher

Where do we start with Liz? She is the undisputed queen of weddings having walked down the aisle no less than eight times.

But her most scandalous is undoubtedly her 1959 union with Eddie Fisher who she began an affair with after the death of her husband Mike Todd.

The only problem was that Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds.

Then in 1962 Taylor started having an affair with Richard Burton – while still married to Fisher.

Andy Carroll and Billi Mucklow

The footballer was all set to marry TOWIE star Billi in 2022 when photos emerged of Carroll passed out with two women in a Dubai hotel room on his stag do.

Heartbroken Billi promptly whipped off her engagement ring and moved out. 

But the two women involved came forward to say that nothing sexual had occurred and in fact Andy had been a complete gent.

So Billi forgave Andy and they wed at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire.

But their happiness was short-lived and they split in 2024.

Olivier Sarkozy & Mary Kate Olsen

Most brides spend months agonising over the perfect theme, colour scheme and decorations for their big day.

But it seems Mary-Kate Olsen wanted to keep it simple for her wedding to Olivier Sarkozy. 

According to the New York Post, the couple opted to adorn their reception room with “bowls and bowls filled with cigarettes”.

How romantic.

Shania Twain’s ultimate revenge

When country star Shania’s first husband Mutt Lange had an affair with her best friend and assistant Marie-Anne Thiebaud she was understandably devastated.

It was Marie-Anne’s husband Frédéric who first discovered the affair.

According to the Daily Mail, he found strange hotel receipts, phone bills, and even a lingerie set in his wife’s suitcase.

Shania and Frederic turned to each other for support during their marriage breakdowns – and ended up falling in love themselves.

They married on New Year’s Day 2011 – in the ultimate revenge act.

One of the most frustrating things I encountered when working as a hotel receptionist was guests asking for a room upgrade – but I finally have a solution to this common complaint

Before embarking on my journalism career, I spent several years behind the desk as a hotel receptionist. During this time, I honed my skills in anticipating guests’ needs.

We were always more than willing to accommodate any request, no matter how peculiar or extravagant, but there was one that consistently got under my skin.

Regardless of the type of room a guest had reserved, more often than not, they’d be angling for an upgrade. And I completely understand why.

READ MORE: ‘I’ve visited more than 40 countries but there’s only one city I’d live in’

Who wouldn’t want to add a touch of luxury to their stay without parting with a single extra penny? However, one question from guests that never failed to irk me was, ‘Can our room be upgraded?’ Of course, there’s no harm in asking, but it’s generally frowned upon for good reason.

There were countless instances when I’d be on the blower with someone booking a standard room, only for them to immediately follow up with, ‘Can our room be upgraded?

‘ The response was invariably, ‘We don’t provide upgrades until the day before arrival’, but internally I’d be thinking, ‘If you’re after a larger room, book a larger room’.

READ MORE: I found Travelodge booking trick that can get you a bigger and better roomREAD MORE: ‘We’ve ditched the UK for Thailand by selling everything we owned’

I worked at a high-end hotel and spa with 35 rooms, where upgrades were typically set aside for those celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary. Furthermore, we’d only upgrade rooms the night prior to a guest’s arrival, ensuring we knew exactly which rooms were free – we wouldn’t bump someone up to a superior room before it could have been booked online.

It’s astonishing how many guests inquire about an upgrade, even when larger rooms are readily available for booking. The second most irksome time to request such a privilege is post 3pm on a Friday evening, during the peak check-in period and when all rooms have already been assigned.

There were countless instances when a guest would bluntly ask me at check-in if their room had been upgraded, as though it was a given. That said, it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t consider giving you an upgrade.

We’re more inclined to offer an upgrade to those who haven’t explicitly asked for one. After all, we’re only human, and we’d much prefer to surprise someone with an upgraded room who will truly appreciate it, rather than someone who feels entitled to it or demands it.

READ MORE: Jet2 launches huge sale with £400 off all holidays and 20% discount on flights

Informing the hotel that you’re celebrating a special occasion is the top strategy to secure an upgrade, just ensure you do so prior to your arrival. Alternatively, checking in early is another clever tactic to help bag an upgraded room, and here’s why.

While upgrades are usually organised for the next batch of guests the night before, with key cards already allocated, situations can change. If we’re feeling particularly magnanimous, and the hotel is buzzing, we might spontaneously offer you an upgrade, even if that means downgrading someone else’s previously upgraded room.

Our guests weren’t made aware of any upgrades until their arrival, so if there were any changes, they’d be none the wiser, and we’d rather get you settled into your room. However, from my experience, these were reserved for guests who would least anticipate an upgrade, not those who impolitely demanded one.

Have you got a hotel secret to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

NEW YORK — Four years ago, New York City Mayor Eric Adams swept into office with swaggering confidence, pledging to lead a government unlike any other in history and declaring himself the “future of the Democratic Party.”

On the first promise, the mayor more than delivered. But as his tumultuous term comes to an end, Adams, 65, finds himself in the political wilderness, his onetime aspirations as a party leader now a distant memory.

Instead, he has spent his final weeks in power wandering the globe, publicly mulling his next private sector job and lashing out at the “haters” and “naysayers” whom he accuses of overlooking his accomplishments.

For many of his supporters, the Adams era will be looked back on as a missed opportunity. Only the second Black mayor in city history, he helped steer New York out of the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, often linking the city’s comeback to his own rise from humble roots in working-class Queens.

At a moment when many Democrats were struggling to address voter concerns about public safety, he drew national attention for a “radically practical” agenda focused on slashing crime and reactivating the economy.

But while most categories of crime returned to pre-pandemic levels, Adams will probably be remembered for another superlative: He is the only New York City mayor of the modern era to be indicted while in office.

“That’s a disappointment for voters, especially for Black voters, who had high expectations and aspirations,” said Basil Smikle, a political strategist who served as executive director of the state’s Democratic Party. “He entered with a lot of political capital, and that was squandered, in part because of his own hubris.”

Equally memorable, perhaps, were the strange subplots along the way: his hatred of rats and fear of ghosts; the mysteries about his home, his diet, his childhood; and his endless supply of catchphrases, gestures and head-scratching stories that could instantly transform a mundane bureaucratic event into a widely shared meme.

“So many mayors want to be filtered, they want to pretend who they are and act like they are perfect,” Adams said during a recent speech at City Hall, a freewheeling affair that ended with the mayor burying a time capsule of his achievements beneath a Manhattan sidewalk. “I am not.”

Swagger versus seriousness

Adams took over from Mayor Bill de Blasio in January 2022, amid a COVID-19 spike that was killing hundreds of New Yorkers every day, along with a worrisome uptick in both violent crime and unemployment.

Adams, a former police captain, Brooklyn borough president and state senator, increased patrols on streets and subways, brought back a controversial anti-crime unit and appointed the department’s first female police commissioner. He also raised eyebrows for installing many of his former Police Department allies, including some ex-officials with histories of alleged misconduct.

As he encouraged New Yorkers to return to their pre-pandemic lives, Adams made an effort to lead by example, frequenting private clubs and upscale restaurants in order to “test the product” and “bring swagger back” to the city, he said.

But if New Yorkers initially tolerated Adams’ passion for late-night partying, there seemed to be a growing sense that the mayor was distracted, or even slacking off, according to Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant and supporter of Adams.

“There was a tension between swagger and seriousness,” Sheinkopf said. “New Yorkers wanted to see more seriousness. They didn’t want to see him out partying at some club they couldn’t afford to go into.”

It didn’t help that Adams often declined to say who was footing the bills for his meals, his entry into private clubs or his flights out of the city. When reporters staked out his nighttime activities, they found that Adams, who long professed to be a vegan, regularly ordered the branzino.

Asked about his diet, the mayor acknowledged that he ate fish and occasionally “nibbled” on chicken, describing himself, as he often would in the coming years, as “perfectly imperfect.”

City Hall in crisis

The corruption investigation into Adams’ campaign, launched quietly in the early stages of his mayoralty, first spilled into public view in the fall of 2023, as federal agents seized the mayor’s phones as he was leaving an event. It loomed for nearly a year, as Adams faced new struggles, including a surge of migrants arriving in the city by bus.

Then, on Sept. 26, 2024, federal prosecutors brought fraud and bribery charges against Adams, accusing him of allowing Turkish officials and other businesspeople to buy his influence with illegal campaign contributions and steep discounts on overseas trips.

Investigators also seized phones from the mayor’s police commissioner, schools chancellor and multiple deputy mayors. Each denied wrongdoing, but a mass exodus of leadership followed, along with questions about the mayor’s ability to govern.

Adams insisted, without evidence, that he had been politically targeted by the Biden administration for his criticism of its immigration policy. But his frequently invoked mantra — “stay focused, no distractions, and grind” — seemed to lose potency with each new scandal.

Among them: a chief adviser indicted by state prosecutors in a separate alleged bribery scheme involving a bike lane and minor TV role; another longtime adviser forced to resign after handing a chip bag filled with cash to a reporter; and a string of abuse and corruption allegations within the Police Department, many of them linked to longtime friends Adams had installed in high-ranking positions.

Looking back at what went wrong, both supporters and critics of the mayor tend to agree on at least one point: Adams could be loyal to a fault, refusing to distance himself from long-serving allies even after they appeared to cross ethical lines.

“There was one City Hall made up of dedicated and competent leaders focused on executing his priorities,” said Sheena Wright, Adams’ former first deputy mayor. “There was another City Hall made up of people who knew the mayor for a long time, and who were allowed to operate outside the norms of government.”

‘A nuclear bomb’

Facing a plummeting approval rating and the prospect of years in prison, Adams began aligning himself with President Trump, going to great lengths to avoid criticizing the Republican and even leaving open the possibility of switching parties.

That seemed to work: Weeks after Trump took office, the Justice Department dismissed the corruption case, writing in a two-page memo that it had interfered with Adams’ ability to help with the president’s immigration agenda.

But in the view of Evan Thies, one of Adams’ closest advisers at the time, that was the moment that sealed Adams’ fate as a one-term mayor.

“The memo hit like a nuclear bomb,” Thies said.

The damage worsened a few days later, when Adams appeared on “Fox & Friends” alongside Trump’s border director Tom Homan, who threatened to “be up his butt” if the mayor didn’t comply with Trump’s agenda.

“It seemed to confirm the belief that he had traded his duty to New Yorkers for his personal freedom,” Thies recalled. “It wasn’t true, but that was perception.”

Adams adamantly denied striking a deal with the Trump administration. He has continued to suggest a broad conspiracy against him, at times blaming bureaucrats in the “deep state.”

Even with his case behind him, Adams struggled to build a reelection campaign. Earlier this year, his approval rating sank to a record low. In September, he abandoned his efforts, throwing his support behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a onetime rival he’d recently referred to as a “snake and a liar.”

As of late December, Adams’ plans for life after he leaves office remain uncertain.

“I did what I had to do, I left everything I had on the ice, and I’m looking forward to the next step of my journey,” he said during a farewell speech at City Hall.

Then, for the third time in as many months, Adams took off on an international trip. This time, the destination was Mexico.

Offenhartz writes for the Associated Press.