Travel

Evian Resort, France

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The fascination of ‘taking the waters’ for health and well-being seems to be imprinted in the human condition. From the Turkish baths of the Ottoman Empire, and the great bathhouses of the Roman Empire, to the modern sophisticated spa, we have used water as part of many social, physical and spiritual rituals. Hot springs, cold springs, sulphur springs, sea water, river water, mountain water: this precious natural commodity has provided external and internal therapy for every generation and culture. To review Evian, the source of one of the world’s best-known mineral waters, and home to the renovated Evian Resort, I jumped on the short flight to Geneva, crossing over the…

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…

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….

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…

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…

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….

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,…

ANDERMATT

SWISS ALPS