Winter breaks are all about curling up in a flash hotel October 11, 2009 THE nights, as you will have noticed, are starting to get darker earlier. Rain is falling more often. Coats, scarves and gloves are beginning to emerge from wardrobes. In short, winter is coming. At this time of year, if you are going to take a European city break you are not going to be doing [...]
Dolder Grand Hotel &Spa October 11, 2009 PERCHED just outside Zurich, the Dolder was built in 1899 as an escape for the good citizens. In 2001, though, it was taken over and given a thoroughly modern makeover, opening in early 2008. The old, castle-style hotel still exists, but is now embraced by a slinky and utterly fabulous new building. The old part [...]
Hotel Plaza Athenee October 11, 2009 THEPlaza Athenee holds a special place in the hearts of millions of women for being the romantic love nest – then love prison – of Carrie Bradshaw in the final episodes of Sex and the City. Now, if you don’t know much about Sex and the City, know this: the man who took Carrie to [...]
Hotel Arts October 11, 2009 THIS 44-floor skyscraper hotel was built for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but wasn’t finished in time. Nevertheless, it soon became a symbol of the city’s early Nineties lifestyle renaissance and remains one of Europe’s largest paeans to avante-garde contemporary luxury, despite being owned by the Ritz Carlton group. It’s all hustle and bustle in [...]
Hotel Missoni October 11, 2009 YOU wouldn’t necessarily associate the chic-as-you-like Italian fashion house Missoni – famous for its bold, colourful patterns – with the city where tartan is still the curtain design of choice. When you bear in mind that other Missoni hotels are due to open in sunny, jet-setting places like Cape Town, Kuwait City and Bahia in [...]
TRAVEL NOTES October 11, 2009 MandarinVegas to openOpening in Vegas on 4 December, those who want to play it safe will appreciate the fact that this is the only non-gaming hotel on the Strip. Better yet, the launch deal means that if you stay one or more nights you get a night for free, valid until 31 March. From £343 [...]
OUT OF OFFICE October 11, 2009 ED RUSCHA AT THE HAYWARDThe Los Angeles-based painter Ed Ruscha has been one of America’s most influential artists of the past 50 years. His cold depictions of remote gas stations and disembodied advertising and branding logos make for a particularly evocative, lonely version of pop art, but one unmistakably associated with California. 14 Oct-10 Jan, [...]
When it comes to the crunch, this is too trite October 8, 2009 TheatreTHE POWER OF YESThe National Theatre*** “THIS is not a play,” the narrator announces ominously as the curtains open. Instead it is a “story” of the credit crunch conducted through interviews with key financial figures, including mathematician Myron Scholes (Malcolm Sinclair) co-father of the Scholes-Black option-pricing model which underpinned much financial wizardry, FSA head Adair [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS October 8, 2009 FILMZOMBIELAND Woody Harrelson kicks zombie butt in this loopy slice of schlock horror. LOVE HAPPENS Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart get to do the rom com thing. THE VANISHING OF THE BEES Eco-scare documentary about the falling number of bees. DVDLOOKING FOR ERIC Charming comedy about life and football with Mr ooh aah Cantona himself. [...]
How to make a mammoth style statement October 8, 2009 IN THESE sartorially dismal times, when white shirts and grey suits are the name of the game in the Square Mile, a man has to be subtle with those little flourishes that add a bit of pizzazz to his work wardrobe. For a City gent – at least one who doesn’t wear glasses – the [...]