Get on the road with these famous literary trips August 19, 2014 A-level results are in and those of us with kids are preparing to put our hands in our pockets to fund their “mind-expanding” trip abroad before the hard work – or hard drinking – of university begins. According to insurance firm Endsleigh, almost a third of students have a road trip across North America as [...]
Spitbank Fort: Welcome to the UK’s craziest hotel August 8, 2014 Spitbank Fort is a granite maritime castle marooned in the home waters of The Solent, one mile out of Portsmouth harbour but a comfortable breast stroke swim from the Isle of Wight. It was built by Prime Minister Palmerston in 1878 to discourage Napoleon III in his ambitions of sailing the French fleet up the [...]
Learn how to fight like a gladiator in Rome August 1, 2014 Things started badly. Paolo tried to convince me to hold the sword in my right hand. “I really can’t. I’m very left-handed,” I whined back. “OK. You will die first,” he replied nonchalantly. Paolo was my gladiator training instructor and it was a beautiful sunny day – a “great day to die” as they shout [...]
48 Hours in… Panama City August 1, 2014 Where to stay Panama City isn’t exactly lacking in hotels but the five star Bristol stands out among a wealth of good options. With 125 comfortable rooms offering views of Panama City’s great architecture, it’s the ultimate choice if money is no object. Visit thebristol.com Where to go With the Pacific to the west [...]
48 hours in… Munich July 18, 2014 Where to Stay One of the newest hotels in the Rocco Forte collection, The Charles is the place to stay if you want to do Munich in style. Recover from a night in the beer-halls with a morning lounging in your luxuriously furnished, high-ceilinged room. roccofortehotels.com/Charles-Hotel Where to go The Jewish and Medieval City [...]
Cochin, Kerala: The Indian town with all the beauty of Goa without the tourists July 18, 2014 The road from the Cochin airport is lined with enormous signs advertising wedding silk and jewellery shops. Is this India’s biggest wedding depot? “Saris!” was all I could get out of the driver for an explanation. But soon enough, bright pink and turquoise beach shacks began to line the road, Zen-looking men in nappy-like skirts [...]
Panama: Latin America’s new number one holiday destination July 11, 2014 In Britain, Panama is famous for two things: the canal and canoe man. Back in 2002, John Darwin faked his own death and fled to Panama City with his wife, who, following his “canoeing accident”, claimed £1m in insurance and pension pay outs. Had a newspaper not got hold of a picture of him looking [...]
John O’Groats: Scotland’s tip top scenic spot June 27, 2014 If ever there was a place where the buildings should huddle together for warmth it was here, but the roughly strewn archipelago of bungalows stand apart from each other, slightly standoffish in their brown pebbledash. John O’Groats is a strange place, twinned in everybody’s imagination with another strange place, Land’s End. I asked drinkers in [...]
Review: Shangri-La at The Shard June 27, 2014 Every major city from Toronto to Tokyo has its share of castles in the sky, towering hotels offering panoramic views. But waking up to the sun rising over the Square Mile – the Gherkin and the Cheese Grater rising out of the morning fog – must be among the most impressive. My room was on [...]
Florence’s four best boutique hotels June 13, 2014 Frequent flyers, particularly those travelling on business, see a lot of forgettable hotel rooms. Even if the corporate purse stretches to a five star offering, it’s normally a last-minute, practical booking in the centre of town. The global hotel franchises that cater to the busy and perpetually tired are experts at creating welcoming yet efficient [...]