Travel

Travel

Airbnb – Amsterdam

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Many a revolutionary idea has been born out of Maslow’s hierarchy of need. In 2007, Joe Gebbia emailed his roommate, Brian Chesky with a quick scheme to make an easy buck. “I thought of a way to make a few bucks – turning our place into a “designers bed and breakfast”. If you don’t know the story of Silicon Valley’s newest member of the unicorn club then you really need to pick up a copy of the FT more often. Airbnb made waves, 100ft, see it from the beach and start running grade waves. I can’t really say I had any reservations about modern day sofa surfing, after all, the…

Travel

Ca Maria Adele, Venice

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You only have to mention the word Venice and a wonderful tapestry of images fills your mind. This city offers an exquisite taste of historic grandeur, artistic wealth, drama, mystery and a large dash of romance. If Venice isn’t on your bucket list, it absolutely should be. Having travelled to Venice many times in my twenties, working with the Venice Simplon Orient Express, I thought I had ticked this particular box. But given the opportunity to visit again, I was keen to see how this magical place had evolved. Of course, the only real way to arrive in Venice is by private water taxi – a moment worth its price-tag….

Food & Drink, Travel

Roomers Hotel and Cocktail Bar

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There are a lot of sequined items in my wardrobe. One morning, after a night trying to smoke Viagra in a shisha, one particularly brilliant male friend of mine came downstairs to breakfast wearing them all at once, like some sort of bejeweled butterfly from a grey chrysalis amongst last night’s fag ash. Roomers was a place for some sequins I thought, albeit one item’s worth, with more cocktails and less Viagra. Roomers in Frankfurt, Deutschland, is a ‘lifestyle’ hotel (exchange lifestyle for sexy, or even just sex). It’s in the ‘Design Hotel’ league, having been created by Grübel (BMW on the résumé) and the Romanian designer Oana Rosen, and…

Travel

The Capital – SW3

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Turnbull & Asser, Holland & Holland, Berry Bros. & Rudd, The Capital. There’s a reason this esteemed collective of British brands is synonymous with a time when honour was held above all else. To maintain integrity, a stiff upper lip, and to stand the test of time and changing traditions – these are surely the marks of an institution deserving of the Royal seal.  I have a fascination with tenacity, a trait which people often tell me I hold in abundance. It could well be a compliment. Or an insult. I can’t quite tell. David Levin MBE opened The Capital on Basil Street, Knightsbridge, in 1971. Having started his tutelage…

Travel

The Grace, Mykonos

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‘Grace’ derives from the Greek word charis or chairo, meaning to rejoice.  As far back as Homer, it meant sweetness or attractiveness, yet in time, it also came to signify goodwill and loving kindness. Having spent a few cherished days at the beautiful Grace in Mykonos, part of the Grace Collection, this chic boutique hotel, lived up to all of these things. Discreetly located a short drive from Mykonos Town and perched idyllically overlooking the unspoilt Agios Stefanos beach, the pristine hotel offers the most beautiful retreat with breath-taking sea views and a humbling starry sky at night. The hotel makes a single promise: to deliver a simple, elegant grace….

Travel

Hacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza

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Ibiza must’ve been made on the sixth day, when all that God had left was a brutish hangover and some clay. The island is architecturally unremarkable, a brown featureless lump, where people don’t come for the history, or the culture, but for the twenty-first century Mecca of clubs, comedowns and sexually-charged coastlines. At least that’s what I thought. We’d spent the first four days in the heart of clubland, Platja d’en Bossa, at a hotel called Ushuaïa, which if you know Ibiza, is a place where the party never stops. Everything about this part of the island is imported junk from university campuses in less-sybaritic parts of Europe. Namely Manchester,…

Travel

Kai Matsumoto

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Amy McNichol visits Kai Matsumoto in Japan; luxury unlike any she’s ever seen before If you’re heading to Japan, you’ve probably scrawled ‘Tokyo’ and ‘Mount Fuji’ in to your itinerary and circled them excitedly with felt tip pen. You might not have done the same with Matsumoto, a lesser known city in the Nagano Prefecture, surrounded by gob-smackingly beautiful mountains. The mountains that you drive over (and indeed beneath courtesy of some epic scale tunnels) are tummy-turningly high and belly-flippingly bendy at points. I visited in autumn and despite the dazzling sunshine, the leaves on the towering trees were turning that rich red colour you presume is enhanced in the guidebooks….

Travel

Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel

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Mallorca has always had a sweet spot in my heart, with happy memories of my first ever girls’ holiday, at the tender age of 18, to Magaluf – a major milestone, having survived A-Levels and my first independent holiday. Freedom! Needless to say, that particular trip was packed with more sunburn, alcohol, wardrobe angst and nightlife than should be humanly possible, but very happy memories nonetheless. So, as I returned to this magical place, I was excited to discover the other side of the island, both literally and philosophically. We were headed north-west to Port de Soller, an area noted for its outstanding natural beauty, to stay at the recently-opened…

Travel

The Arctic Circle

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No children, no partner, no work. But you still have to call and check in, of course, to confirm proof of life, your partner tells you with a certain sardonic tone. You obviously have to read emails too, just in case your office forecasts the apocalypse and you aren’t there to say ‘I knew it, I saw it coming’. The modern holiday has become a Living TV documentary, where you board a low-cost flight and head somewhere ‘warm’ to try and get business-grade drunk. There are only a few differences between business drunk and normal drunk: business drunk means it’s still acceptable to drive. Of course, even if you aren’t…

Travel

Asia in the Mediterranean

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As someone who is passionate about travel and experiencing all the wonders and riches of the world’s eclectic cultures, cuisines, people and landscapes I am rather embarrassed to say, as yet, I have not visited as much of Asia as I wish to. However, my daily life is enriched with many of the cultural influences that have reached our shores from the incredible food, their historical attitudes to natural health and wellbeing ( I practice yoga, tai chi, meditation and use Asia influences practices like acupuncture for health) , to their Feng Shui design influence and the strong religious philosophies which resonate powerfully with me ( I am sure I…

Travel

St. Regis Resort, Mauritius

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Mauritius was motherland to the dodo, the dumpy and cumbersome flightless bird endemic to this tropical island lying eastwards of Africa on the tropic of Capricorn. The Theory of Island Biogeography describes the phenomenon of endemic these island species – like the giant Galapagos turtles and the extinct moa of New Zealand – the premise being that sea-locked islands are devoid of higher mammalian predators, thus removing the selection pressure for agility and speed, which rendered organisms oversized and birds flightless. Like the Mauritian dodo, who lives on in its thousands in wooden ornamental form. I have my own Theory of Island Biogeography concerning humans. It strikes me that every…

Travel

Walking in my fathers footsteps

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My love affair with Machu Picchu started when I was in my mid twenties whilst working with an American airline to promote the richness, diversity and beauty that Central and South America has to offer. Hours of putting brochures and ads together to promote this part of the world meant that the iconic image of Machu Picchu was imprinted on my soul early in my adult life. Even before “bucket lists” were de-rigueur I knew Machu Picchu was on my list. My desire grew in my 40’s when, having just had my son, my amazing 74 year-old Dad announced that he was going to walk The Inca Trail. Something he…

Travel

The Arch

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Some years ago, when I was seeking my fortune as a publisher, I stumbled across a property in a leafy part of Paddington. Yes, they exist. It was an altogether minimal affair: the entire ground floor of the interconnected, listed townhouses had been flattened to create a Zen-like reception area, complete with people raking sand. When I returned on business, not too long ago, it appeared the owners had decided the property was worth more residentially than commercially, and turned the whole place on its head. Luckily this isn’t the sort of thing that happens at The Arch London, one of the few bastions of what I would call a…

Food & Drink, Travel

Up amongst the stars at Kozue, Park Hyatt

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Amy McNichol My knowledge of Japanese cuisine was only a smidgen above zero when I touched down in Tokyo in October. Despite the popularity of machine-rolled sushi flogged in supermarkets and the flurry of ramen houses that have popped up in recent years, the mass market (me included) is only familiar with a narrow cross section of Japanese cuisine in the UK. With this in mind, I tried to widen my horizons and see what the heck else I could trough during my time there. On my first night in the capital I washed barbecued beef, onions and bean sprouts down with Asahi. That was at a street stall with…

Travel

Casa Ceasarea

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Israel’s Boutique Bed & Breakfast The storm raged across the golf course, battering hail against the big French windows, but with the A/C humming away, we didn’t care. Casa Caesarea in the thunder and the rain is very cosy. With plenty of books to read, tea to make, films to watch on the huge flat-screen TV, or a bath to take, wrapped up after in the sumptuous towels, we were home from home in this luxury homestay. Ex-New Yorker Anne will welcome you into this unique property, about half-an-hour north of Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. “I want my guests to feel more than welcome,” she said. “I want…

Travel

Collineige

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Having just flown back from France two days prior to my first proper ski trip of the season to attend the wedding of fellow correspondents, Drs. Paul and Lucy Farrow, I was all too aware of just how soul destroying budget air travel is. If you have ever flown in Asia or the US you will have noticed that some of the planes operating are far from in their heyday. Flight used to be about prestige, people dressed for the occasion, cigarettes came with mandatory jade holders, champagne flutes would clink and the captain might even come and join you for a toast. Now the ashtrays on planes are welded…

Style, Travel

The Ed’s Christmas Stocking

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Subscribers have been lucky enough to receive the Christmas Gift Guide, but here The Ed picks his best of the bunch. Launer Luxury Leather Wallet From £307, launer.com A beautifully-crafted leather wallet, made from lizard and black calf leather. Using its trademark traditional handmade technique, Launer ensures that every part of this indulgent yet tasteful wallet has been turned by hand to form its elegant finish, with space for eight credit cards.  1968 saw Launer issued with a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II, bringing the brand onto the global stage. Almost 50 years later, a piece like this is still fit for royalty.  Monitor Audio MA100 £450, monitoraudio.co.uk Monitor Audio continues to do what it…

Property, Travel

The Loftfactory, Paris

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Paris is becoming somewhat of a yearly ritual – a place that, from London, is easier to get to than Cornwall or Scotland. A mere hour on the plane, or a couple more by train; time that can be happily whiled away with a few glasses of champagne. For the first time, however, we thought about staying at an apartment between the hotels. Whilst looking at options, I was told there’s only one apartment worth staying in when visiting Paris. You’ll find The Loftfactory on Rue Greneta, a neighbourhood that’s quite the bohemian centre. Think Soho meets Camden, only prettier. You enter through an immodestly large door – what was…

Travel

The St. Regis Mauritius Resort.

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Mauritius was motherland to the dodo, the dumpy and cumbersome flightless bird endemic to this tropical island lying eastwards of Africa on the tropic of Capricorn. The Theory of Island Biogeography describes the phenomenon of endemic these island species – like the giant Galapagos turtles and the extinct moa of New Zealand – the premise being that sea-locked islands are devoid of higher mammalian predators, thus removing the selection pressure for agility and speed, which rendered organisms oversized and birds flightless. Like the Mauritian dodo, who lives on in its thousands in wooden ornamental form. I have my own Theory of Island Biogeography concerning humans. It strikes me that every…