THE REVIEW

THE CILLIAN MURPHY EDITION

LATEST FEATURES

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…

Travel

Marine Magic

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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,…

Style

STEP & REPEAT – Q3

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Who? Emma Stone Where? Magic in Moonlight premiere, Paris Reminding us why the LBD is a perennial fashion favourite, Emma Stone encapsulated the mood of the roaring twenties whilst retaining a thoroughly modern edge in this Chloe dress from the Resort Collection. Vintage elements such as the drop waist and finger-wave hairstyle are cleverly updated with the addition of a sheer guipure dotted skirt and a fringe trim around the bodice that feels reminiscent of the paillettes seen at Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton of late. Velvet ‘Pensamoi’ Louboutins with red flower embellishments and an emerald take on a smoky eye keep the look youthful. With more than a touch…

Cars

Bentley Mulsanne

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So, we’re five up and the speedometer is reading 130mph. I then hear a ‘bing’ and a message appears on the central screen. It reads: ‘Your tyre pressures are too low to safely proceed beyond this speed’. Disheartened, I lift off, feeling that discretion is the better part of valour, only to see another message appear: ‘Bing. To reach 170mph, you will need to inflate your tyres to the following pressures’. That really sums this car up. It has a can-do’attitude. Chances are, you’ve made your millions by probably not taking no for an answer. Why then, after shelling out £250,000 pounds on a motorcar, would you want it to…

Travel

45 Park Lane – W1

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It isn’t very often that a hotel launches in central London and makes such a Conrad Black-sized dent in the hotel hierarchy. 45 Park Lane opened its doors to the usual pomp and ceremony in September 2011. It collected its awards, welcomed its establishment and glitterati clients, and promptly sat down with a cocktail whilst its fans rallied around clapping and fawning uncontrollably. It is most definitely the heir apparent to the top of the London hotel scene. I have been a quiet fan of 45 Park Lane for sometime now. I have coveted her art deco lines and enviable location like a lion stalking a Cartier encrusted gazelle dragging…

THE REVIEW

THE ALICIA AGNESON EDITION

TRAVEL

The Ghan Train

The Ghan

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The Greatest Outdoors

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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.

Bentley Beyond, The Collection. For the journey.

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Driving a car you love is so much more than the ‘a’ to ‘b’. It’s the feel of the steering wheel moving from under your palm, the resistance of the accelerator beneath your sole or the slick movement of the gearbox. Sometimes it’s the thrill you get when the mechanic tells you that against all odds, your pernickety classic car flew through its MOT. It’s the bond you feel and the memories you create together over the miles.

Where the Hot Springs Flow: Diving into The Well, Oslo

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It is perhaps one of the great tragedies of my life that I don’t spend every weekend in a beautifully crafted replica of a Kyoto bathhouse, surrounded on all sides by thirty or more totally naked Norwegians, each glistening with perspiration and a curated array of essential oils. However, my trip to the spectacular Oslo wellness resort The Well ensured – within an hour of arrival, in fact – that my existence would no longer be completely lacking this experience. 

THE REVIEW

THE BEN WILLIAMS EDITION

FILM

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae - Roger Chan - The Review Magazine

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae LP780-4

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.