Stylish setting falls short on substance June 13, 2011 MASSIMO Corinthia Hotel, Northumberland Avenue, SW1, 0207 998 0555, www.massimo-restaurant.co.uk FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £42 MASSIMO, in the newly opened Corinthia Hotel between Embankment and Whitehall, can probably claim the prize of grandest dining room to open in London this year. It’s a looming hall that David Collins – the ubiquitous [...]
Jumeira Rotana 4* June 13, 2011 Base yourself on Dubai’s fashionable Al Diyafah Street and enjoy the calming luxuries of Jumeira Rotana whilst staying close to the action. Chill out by the rooftop pool, take in the Dubai skyline from the rooftop restaurant or head down below and hit Jumeira Beach, just a 10 minute walk away. Of course, you could [...]
Dusit Princess City Centre 4* June 13, 2011 Rooftop swimming pools are grabbing our attention yet again, this time at the Thai-styled Dusit Princess City Centre hotel. Take a dip high above the ‘Heart of Dubai’ with stunning 360 degree views of the Deira district. And for a real authentic experience, kick back in the al fresco Shisha Zone with a Shisha Pipe [...]
Al Bustan Rotana 5* June 13, 2011 Taste the kind of luxury Dubai is renowned for at the sumptuous Al Bustan Rotana. The impressive lobby sets the scene here with its striking Gazebo café, before giving way to a hotel full of deluxe delights. There are five restaurants to sample, from Lebanese to Thai, along with a poolside snack bar for when [...]
Serenity and decadence at Dubai’s hottest new hotel June 12, 2011 DUBAI seems an unlikely place for a relaxing holiday at first. Even 2,700 feet up, at the top of the Burj Khalifa tower, the whirr of cranes and speeding Jeeps in every direction makes the sea view throb with activity. My guide points past the hollow half-built skyscrapers jutting across the city skyline to the [...]
THINK ROOMS… with LateRooms.com June 12, 2011 AL BUSTAN ROTANA 5* Casablanca Road | Al Garhoud | Dubai | 30880 Taste the kind of luxury Dubai is renowned for at the sumptuous Al Bustan Rotana. The impressive lobby sets the scene here with its striking Gazebo café, before giving way to a hotel full of deluxe delights. There are five restaurants to [...]
TRAVEL NOTES June 12, 2011 READING ROOM AT W HOTEL Talk about intellectual stimulation. This month W London – Leicester Square is introducing The (W)riters’ Library (right) an oasis of literary calm for guests with books curated by journalist and playwright Damian Barr. Barr has tapped ten of his favourite authors including Bret Easton Ellis, David Nicholls, Geoff Dyer, Naomi [...]
Cars, horses, glamour: a glorious summer awaits at Goodwood June 12, 2011 IN his famous song the Stately Homes of England, Noel Coward noted of the nation’s country piles that “the fact that they have to be rebuilt / And frequently mortgaged to the hilt… certainly damps the fun / Of the eldest son…” Try telling that to Charles Gordon-Lennox, eldest son of the 10th Duke of [...]
Savvy investors will soon be taking to water June 9, 2011 FORGET yachts, successful City boys and girls will be cruising to work on boats in the years to come. Marinas are springing up alongside London’s Thameside developments. Chelsea’s flashy 1,000-apartment Imperial Wharf has just opened a marina, while Vauxhall’s St. George Wharf is building a river taxi pontoon on its doorstep that will open in [...]
Architects cast an expert interior eye June 9, 2011 FREELANCE writer Elisa Wickham and her partner were faced with a debate two years ago when they began renovating the interior of their promising, but outdated shabby three-bed property in N7: Pay an architect to advise or go direct to a builder? “Neither us have any building abilities and we don’t have massive incomes so [...]