THE REVIEW

THE CILLIAN MURPHY EDITION

LATEST FEATURES

Finance, Property

Pondering property on the French Riviera? This is the year to make it happen

By

A timely convergence of economic and political factors could make overseas property the prime investment choice for 2015, explains Daniel Webber, co-founder and MD at FXcompared, the international money transfer business that specialises in overseas property. Bricks and mortar has long been an attractive purchase – whether it’s a personal home or a long-term investment. Now is an opportune time to think beyond the UK and snap up real estate further afield, according to findings from our recent survey. We asked UK-based property investors what’s driving their decisions to buy abroad – and top of the list was a strong British Pound. It was the biggest factor in overseas purchases…

Automotive

Aston Martin – Rapide S

By

A decade ago, if you wanted the sporty number that would turn heads and a model that could run the brood back and forth, you needed a garage that was big enough for two cars. We are, however, looking at a brand new world. A world of genuine four-seater sports cars with posing power to rival the best, and still enough room for the usual suspects. Introducing the Aston Martin Rapide S. Cue the genuflecting. I tend to affirm my own handle on new models by asking as many people as humanly possible what they think of a car. That is twice as hard when the model in question is…

Automotive

INSIDE ROLLS-ROYCE

By

Following the hugely positive reaction to this year’s Channel 4 television documentary about the brand, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has decided to engage directly with fans new and old in a series of free live exhibitions called ‘Inside Rolls-Royce’ presented by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.Appropriately for this most popular of great British brands, the first of these exhibitions will open in London on Thursday 13 November at Saatchi Gallery on London’s King’s Road and will remain open for just four days. It will then go on tour visiting major cities around the world throughout 2015.‘Inside Rolls-Royce’ will treat guests to an unexpected multi-sensory journey through the marque’s world-renowned engineering, design and craftsmanship, providing new…

Style, Travel

The Ed’s Christmas Stocking

By

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

By

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.

By

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

Marine Magic

By

In this fast-paced, technologically-bombarded era, we find ourselves switched on from dawn ‘til dusk. It’s becoming even more important to kick-back and unplug regularly to enjoy some clear headspace and remember what it’s like to share precious times with loved ones, connect with our natural world and simply switch off. Add to this the known benefits of taking in the sea air, originally heralded by the Victorians for its health giving properties, and you can head for a coastal retreat that unplugs and recharges you batteries like no other break. The health benefit claims range from improved quality of sleep – due to the sea air, which is charged with…

Property, Travel

Wolf Worster Associates

By

Having worked in the luxury and finance industry for some years now, I’ve worked with a number of property companies. A lot hit the mark and offer you and your companions access to properties in the far-flung reaches of the world. Many, however, are middlemen offering luxury villa bookings as a go-between. The reality is that only a few stars shine brightly. Finding a company that is right for you takes time and will no doubt become your lifelong travel consultant. In our quest to bring you the best of the best, The Review sits down with what we consider to be one of the best luxury property provider and…

Travel

Villa Kennedy

By

As Obama’s tenure withers to a dismal conclusion, his popularity, both locally and globally, lower than the protruding pot-belly of a portly dachsund, I find my mind wandering to the day of his inauguration. Out of the fire and brimstone of the Bush era had emerged a glimmer of hope, a fragment of sanity in a chaotic globe, beaming with all of the optimism of a cherub, but with the steely determination of a man that had conquered adversity and was ready to show the rest of the world how it’s done. He represented everything that was good in a changing world, and finally gave the United States a leader…

Style

BLT – Under Starters Orders

By

While I may not be a car fanatic, there’s certainly a car of choice: the Porsche 356 (C or A), of which there is a gleaming example spitting distance from the Brown in Town shop in the Bonhams marquee at this year’s Goodwood Revival – a car I wholeheartedly intend procuring when the time is right. But that time is not now. For the uninitiated, the Goodwood Revival is a nostalgic celebration of all things pre-1966, when the circuit was reopened, following its closure in the wake of Stirling Moss’s near-fatal crash in 1962. Of course, given that we have recently become parents of our second child, I fully appreciate…

Automotive, Events

Salon Prive – 2014

By

The world of classic and vintage cars has seen a boom over the last 10 years – and with that, so have the events related to these ageing works of art. Pebble Beach in California, Villa d’Este in Como, and now Salon Privé on the outskirts of London. Going from strength to strength, ‘England’s answer’ is now based at Syon Park after a spell at the Hurlingham club. The mastermind brothers behind this event are David and Andrew Bagley. They’ve taken the format and really established it in the motoring world, not only for securing the attendance of some of the world’s rarest and most interesting classic and vintage cars,…

Automotive

McLaren 650S

By

It’s like a high pitch shriek – a whine, if you will – like someone’s boiling live sparrowhawks in a pan in front of a horrified animal rights activist. I am, of course, speaking of the noise that every single person who took a ride in the McLaren 650S made aloud: a combination of undulated fear and excitement. Cue the Scotchgard seats. The McLaren 650S will take you from your Eames lounger to eyeball-drying speed (60, obviously) in just under three seconds. That’s impressive for anyone (not when compared with anything. Just in general. Full stop). If you’ve never been catapulted to 60 miles-per-hour in less than three seconds, you…

Food & Drink

Coq D’Argent

By

Some years ago, when I was a mere slip of a lad, I met up with an old friend outside the city-slicker terminal that is Bank Station. Pinstripe suit and Hermes tie-clad financial aficionados shuffled past me in neat rows, no doubt heading for a lazy lunch at one of the usual suspects. When my friend Darren arrived, he was sporting his usual trader attire and informed me that there was a great restaurant nearby with London’s best view. It was a massive understatement. In the internal columns of the No.1 Poultry building is a small and unassuming glass elevator that takes you up the seven floors to Coq d’Argent,…

THE REVIEW

THE ALICIA AGNESON EDITION

TRAVEL

The Ghan Train

The Ghan

By

I’m certainly no Francis Bourgeois, but there’s something so romantic and intriguing about crossing lands unknown in the comfort of a sleeper train. Being given the opportunity to see vast landscapes that many won’t ever get to witness, solely due to its sheer remoteness, is a rare delight.

Monterey Car Week: What to expect in 2024

By

A few key events are akin to film festivals and fashion weeks in the automotive world. The British have the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival. The French have Retromobile and the Chantilly Concours of Elegance. The Swedes have the newly launched Auroura Concours, Italy brings us the legendary Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este and Fuori Concorso, and then there’s North America… 

Boutique Retreats, Sojourn

Wilderness perfected, by Boutique Retreats

By

Travel is a fine and freeing thing. The unshackling of the metaphorical chains, the daily grind of work, and life’s endless expectations. Oh, and the choice! Sunshine, or snow? Lakes, forests, dunes or mountains? Total relaxation, escapism, exhilaration or luxuriation?

ViseVersa, The Hyatt Regency Lisbon

By

It would be easy to say that the past decade or so has been kind to Lisbon – it’s subtly undergone the kind of glow-up certain other smaller European capitals keep putting on the backburner… and it’s been driven organically by tourism raised high on the shoulders of social media’s more gastronomy-oriented corners. 

Langdale Chase Hotel

By

Steeped in amazing untold stories, the house was designed by J.L Ball, JT Lee and Pattinson of Manchester and built as a private house in the late 19th century for Edna Howarth

THE ALPINE EDITION

BEAUTY

Carried by the summer breeze

By

Scent carries our memories like music, a single note bringing waves of unexpected nostalgia. For some, remembrance can bring olfactory hallucination, the two notions having become intricately linked. A moment, a touch, a conversation, a friendship or a love…  waves of beautiful, visceral emotion. Here, Summer is an anthology of stories, told by scent. Taking a mind-clearing walk on the clifftops, the waves crash below, the birds kettle high above. You brush past clary sage, eucalyptus and lavender growing wild. The ocean air fills your lungs. You notice how sea-soaked branches grasp the rocks aside your path. As your mind wanders back to your day ahead, you replace a bottle…

Heard it on the grapevine: The unstoppable rise of Pelegrims

By

“In ten or twenty years, people will think nothing of travelling to the English countryside to indulge in some vinotherapy.”  It’s a bold statement of faith in the constantly-burgeoning British wine scene, but Jerome Moisan – visionary entrepreneur and leading light of Pelegrims, a rapidly-ascending skincare brand with a seriously impressive array of products – has never shied away from making an impact.  Indeed, Jerome is perhaps the only Frenchman alive who is a diehard champion of the English wine industry (or at least, the only one willing to admit it in public), but Pelegrims and the wineries of England’s South East hillscapes have a symbiotic relationship that has resulted…

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The Greatest Outdoors

By

Set between Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, my recent foray to the mountains offered plentiful serene moments of reflection and emotional expansion, with ample time to enjoy the last of the white stuff as the ‘23-’24 ski season came to a close.

THE REVIEW

THE BEN WILLIAMS EDITION

FILM

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae - Roger Chan - The Review Magazine

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae LP780-4

By

I slip my slightly clammy hand gingerly into the slot, ease some pressure and pull gently skyward. That scissor-door entry is nothing less than muted pornography. So effortless in its execution, it’s part of the recipe that makes the Aventador just that little bit more special.

Casio PX-S7000 Stephen Sims

Aesthetic Harmonics – The Casio PX-S7000

By

Quality, innovation and – by god, in this case – style. Casio’s reputation precedes it when it comes to its product development and, crucially, its product refinement. Their first electronic keyboard, The Casiotone CT-201, was birthed by Toshio Kashio and his team in January 1980.

Ferrari F8 Spider

Ferrari F8 Spider

By

Fresh from four days in Scotland driving the simply astonishing Ferrari F8 Spider, there are times in one’s life where you have to sit back, take some time, and genuinely let an experience wash over you. You need to take it in. Revel in it. The smells, the sights, the sheer visceral nature of it.

Alpina - Startimer Pilot Chronograph

Alpina – Startimer Pilot Chronograph

By

Like many Swiss watchmaking dynasties, Alpina can trace its founding back to the turn of the nineteenth century – 1883 to be precise – by Gottlieb Hauser, a watchmaker in Winterthur, who also established the Swiss Watchmakers Corporation (Union Horlogère Suisse).

Stacia Suttles

Stacia Suttles

By

It wasn’t until Stacia Suttles turned 19 and stepped into a boxing ring for the first time, that the amateur fighter realised she was exceptionally gifted in the combat sport.

Twisted 21

By

I scanned the horizon of the Finnish race circuit but Charlie was possibly doing a few laps in the 500hp V8 110. “Let me see if I can find him Tony”. “Cool man”. This was the first of a handful of semi awkward exchanges I would have with Tony Hawk that week as we crossed from Finland into Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria and Monaco.