Lindsay very much respected landscape over ego, and so Méribel was conceived as something more considered than its contemporaries. Chalets rather than concrete, timber rather than spectacle. That founding philosophy still lingers. This respect for the natural terrain extends beyond architecture to the very way one engages with the mountain. Méribel’s true scale is unlocked off the manicured pistes.
The sheer size of Thailand (and the vast amount of coastline and islands) mean that one could probably spend a lifetime exploring and not cover it all. I hazard to guess that would mostly be due to falling in love with somewhere, something or someone across the myriad landscapes that the country offers.
Even for somebody well-acquainted with the nature of international travel, there’s something remarkable about the fact that a plane can be boarded in the grim satellite that is Stansted Airport, flown for a mere eighty minutes, and disembarked somewhere that feels worlds away.
There’s something to be said about pulling into the port of some far-flung Greek island, and feeling the eyes of locals and tourists alike locking onto the vessel you’re about to disembark; not in disdain, exasperation or resignation at yet another overstuffed cruise ship lumbering into harbour, but with a genuine sense of wonder and, dare I say it, a flash of envy.
Do you feel like family? Do you feel you could ask something obscure or out of the ordinary perhaps and have it be met with wilful mite. The South Place Hotel almost feels like home. For someone living on the other side of London, that’s not a huge ask, but it remains a factor.
The Palacio, as I said, is situated at the south of the city, by the Belem Tower and surrounding the hotel are various sights to take in whilst in Lisbon, or none of them. There is a huge Brutalist edifice that houses the museum of the locality, but at every turn there is something to see, visit, climb, ride, eat or drink.
MotoGP is a big deal in Portugal, and motorsports fans from the Iberian peninsula and further afield rejoiced in 2024 when a brand new two-year contract was signed for the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Tuscany is a part of the world I felt I was familiar with. I’ve walked the cobbled streets of Siena. I’ve jostled through the overbearing crowds of Florence, craning my neck to take in the wonders of Brunelleschi and his kin while keeping half an eye on…
This is not a typical wellness retreat – all too often a rigid pursuit of detox or discipline. It’s landing in a place that can gently guide you back to your centre. The Turks and Caicos Islands sit like scattered pearls in the Lucayan Archipelago, a chain of some forty islands and cays, only a handful of them inhabited.
Nestled in a quiet residential street, however, only moments away from St Helier’s quaint and picture-esque squares bustling with bar and pub life, the property balances old-world heritage with modern indulgence.
At the mesmerising Al Hosn Festival, I found a vivid celebration of Emirati heritage with craftspeople, poetry, pearl divers and falconers gathered around the city’s oldest structure, the Al Hosn Fort. The air was thick with the scent of oud, and for an afternoon, I felt part of something older and wiser.
Sat discreetly in the heart of Mayfair and set over 5,500 square feet with Old Bond Street a literal stone’s throw away, one makes their way up five floors to be released into an oasis of clean lines, cool tones, and – dare you miss it – two whacking great mock-ups of jet fuselages.
During The Open in 2015, Sir Nick Faldo stayed at the estate, a quiet endorsement. And while guests today might not hold Claret Jugs, the sentiment is the same, this is where you come to focus, rest, and feel genuinely looked after.
Set in a sprawling country estate with a gentle grasp on the Cotswolds just moments away from Cheltenham, a long driveway lined with neatly coiffured hedgerows leads to The Greenway Hotel & Spa. Resident to the same lineage from its construction in 1584 until 1854, after just three subsequent owners, it opened as a luxury hotel in 1945. Relatively untouched, the Elizabethan architecture still reigns throughout the grand Grade II-listed 16th-century manor.
Egypt is one of the four oldest civilizations, an ancient land steeped in Bedouin traditions. In the South East Sinai lies Dahab – not merely a town, but a bohemian arcadia and a powerful fusion of culture and progression, where the past and future coexist harmoniously.
Freshly back from a YogiSki retreat in the French Alps”, is a phrase quite enjoyable to leave hanging in the air at an early morning on set. It holds steady with awe; with a pinch of the smugness generally associated with regaling tales of a ski break, alongside a heaped spoonful of intrigue at the idea of early mornings stridden with a grounding yoga practice, deep in the mountains.
LeShuttle has been a fixture in the UK to France movement of people and goods for almost 25 years, first seeing passengers in May 1994. Some 90 million vehicles have been estimated to have used the service. Movement with pets is integral to their service, having transported over two million cats and dogs since the year 2000.
Half-walled with glass, a surrounding decked courtyard garden is enclosed with a stone wall peppered with ferns. Textural elements from our backdrop are mirrored in the interiors, with well-tended plants, bark-tiled feature walls, underheated wooden floors, a hanging fireplace and his and hers sinks held up by exposed tree roots.
Embarking on the inaugural ski trip of the season is a journey I relish every year. My repatriation to the mountains for each new alpine season is an assault on the senses, both physically and mentally. This season I sought a destination that would combine alpine charm with my usual hunt for contemporary sophistication. The Falkensteiner Hotel Kronplatz in South Tyrol’s Puster Valley, nestled at the foot of Kronplatz mountain in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage area, was a very strong choice indeed.
At the heart of this verdant expanse, in the southern foothills of the Sintra Mountains, I discovered the Penha Longa Resort; a sanctuary that beautifully marries luxury with the great outdoors and boasts one of the top 30 golf courses in Continental Europe and among the top 10 in Portugal.