Dukes: it’s no longer just for martinis September 12, 2011 Thirty Six Dukes Hotel, St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY 020 7491 4840 www.dukeshotel.com FOOD **** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE ** Cost per person without wine: £60 DUKES Hotel, which lies in one of those impossibly cute courtyards off St James’s street, has for aeons been famous for one thing: martinis. Its bar, a cosy nest of [...]
THREE OTHER ST JAMES’S RESTAURANTS September 12, 2011 AVENUE A huge, bright place with tables as far as the eye can see – you can tell this used to be a Conran gaff. The Finnish chef does pretty decent things with classic, ultra-fresh British ingredients. 7-9 St James’s St, SW1A 1EE. www.avenue-restaurant.co.uk WHEELER’S OF ST JAMES’S A darkly sumptuous place with some rather [...]
The New Forest’s star keeps on rising with this new low-key gem September 11, 2011 THE New Forest is having something of a moment. Thanks to one of Britain’s most insightful hoteliers, in late 2009 it gained the glamorous five-star country house hotel and spa Lime Wood, which was bang on the money for today’s metropolitan weekenders; and now its sister hotel The Pig has opened this summer to much [...]
TRAVEL NOTES September 11, 2011 Snowy winter relaxation in the Pyrenees Classy Spanish boutique hotel specialist Hospes Hotels has launched a new winter package at its hotel in the mountains, Hospes Villa Paulita. An original 19th century art nauveau family mansion, it sits above the Pyrenees snowline on the shores of a beautiful lake, and is equipped with its own [...]
Double the wow with a Costa Rica and Nicaragua duo September 11, 2011 SEPARATED only by a narrow land border and united by a single language, the two Central American countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua couldn’t be more different. On one side Costa Rica, with its well-developed, well-trodden tourist trail, offers unrivalled wildlife-watching opportunities and some of the most luxurious hotels in the region. On the other, [...]
Why read Ulysses when you can shoot a zombie? September 11, 2011 In a meeting last week I bonded with my colleagues over shooting a poison pod into the mouth of a necromorph leviathan in the sixth chapter of Dead Space. We laughed at how I spent nearly two hours running in frustrating circles in an anti-gravity chamber, being splattered to the wind by giant alien tentacles. [...]
Housebuyers struggle to get loans in London September 8, 2011 HOUSEBUYERS across the country were buoyed by higher levels of purchase approvals in August, the surveyors’ group E.surv said yesterday. Approvals were up 4.3 per cent on August 2010 and hit a 15-month high. However, Londoners missed out on the boost, with approvals dropping by 10 per cent compared with July’s figure. That is because [...]
Land on Park Lane and you know you’ve won the game September 8, 2011 SOUTH AUDLEY STREET Price: £8.495m This attractive townhouse has been comprehensively refurbished in a style that shows off the beautiful period details but also incorporates the latest interior design styles and modern technology. There are five bedrooms, four bathrooms and four reception rooms. Contact: Knight Frank on 020 7499 1012 or go to www.knightfrank.co.uk CHARLES [...]
DALSTON, LONDON September 8, 2011 DALSTON SQUARE Price: £425,000 Dalston Square is a £160m development in the heart of Dalston, just two miles from the City. This three-bedroom apartment is on the second floor with a balcony. In total, it comprises 919 square feet. Contact: Barratt Homes on 020 7241 1833 or go to www.barratthomes. co.uk/London ARTHAUS, LONDON FIELDS Price: [...]
PROPERTY NEWS September 8, 2011 CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S CHILDHOOD HOME FOR SALE Charlie Chaplin’s home in 1889 at Methley Street in Kennington has just come onto the market for the first time in over a decade. Boasting its official blue plaque, this pretty brick-fronted mews house was Chaplin’s home during his early childhood and is a part of the “Charlie Chaplin [...]