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…

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…

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…

Summer Lodge

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I am continually dumfounded by people’s lack of appreciation for history. It can be forgiven of the ill-educated, but surely not anyone with a basic appreciation for England and her peerage system. Irrespective of your political alignment, we would not be the nation we are today without a fair dose of dukes, earls and barons. Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways was the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, a British peer and Member of Parliament in the 18th century. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he held office for six years, gained the rank of Captain before his passing in 1802, and was succeeded by no less than nine children. I think we…

Queen of the Cotswolds

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As I hopped into the Austin Healy 3000, to drive to the Cotswolds on a sunny Friday afternoon, I didn’t really know what to expect – except for the faint waft of Farrow & Ball paint and more limestone than you can shake a stick at. I followed Smith, our motoring editor, up in his XK140, weaving our way through the rush hour traffic, as if we were holding a special classic car pass. Either that or the five o’clock commuters were too fearful of the insurance bill to fix the classics we were driving that day. As we headed up the M5, on our way to Painswick Court (known…

Chateau de Bagnols

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Is there anything more splendid than spending a night in a chateau? Of course, I am accustomed to penthouses, apartments, villas and the like, but nothing has the quite the same feel as a chateau. I first encountered this mainstay of the French countryside whilst visiting the Comte and Comtesse de Vanssay in the Loire valley. How wonderful it was to wake up in such a grand building every day, and to become part of that building’s history. The Chateau de Bagnols was built, or at least started, between 1217 and 1222 by Guichard d’Oingt. He built the main defensive fortress with three round towers linked by curtain walls with…

Heesen Sirocco

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If you are a regular reader of The Review, you may have noticed that we are somewhat lacking in the nautical editorial department. Now, this is nothing to do with our interest in all things sea bound – very much the opposite. It’s because we have always strived to genuinely review the best and brightest for you, accepting no substitutes along the way, and no doubt ruffling some feathers. But that’s our job and we work tirelessly at it, so your moisturised debutant hands don’t have to. No doubt your father slaved away at the Fortune 500 company he inherited, so that you could go to Harrow and Oxford, and…

The Baymen

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The Baymen is a new luxury jungle retreat being built in the Cayo district of the Belizean rainforest. Ever wished that you could get away from the drudgery of everyday life, whilst relaxing in the wilds and not having to worry about your money? Well, funny you should say that. Pack your machete and Louboutins, folks, were going to the jungle. The development is a combination of all-out luxury, with a romantic, old-age pioneering feel. This is carried throughout, with the individual wooden lodges being named after the glorious explorers of old, such as Shackleton and Livingston. The romance of four-poster beds shrouded in mosquito nets, along with open verandas…

ANDERMATT

SWISS ALPS