More than a year after the British Virgin Islands were devastated by Hurricane Irma, this paradise is finally leaving recovery mode. Simon Miller sails its beautiful coastlines January 11, 2019 On 6 September 2017, hurricane winds of up to 215mph battered the British Virgin Islands. The strongest winds ever to have made landfall all but destroyed the islands, and resilient locals were faced with rebuilding their lives and communities. During the hurricane, Sunsail’s BVI base at Tortola was totally destroyed. Dozens of boats were ripped [...]
A stay at Valsana Hotel in Switzerland, the geothermally powered Alpine retreat January 4, 2019 These days, a sense of wellbeing isn’t just about body and spirit but also about leaving a lighter carbon footprint. Which is why the new, eco-friendly Valsana Hotel is the perfect place to spend an Alpine spa weekend without feeling that you’ve given Mother Nature a battering. The Valsana is Switzerland’s first hotel to be [...]
Desert X is Coachella’s lesser known contemporary art festival and it’s drawing 200,000 art lovers to the area January 4, 2019 The locals were… curious. For the past few weeks, as they’d gone about their business around the nine cities that make up Greater Palm Springs, or hiking in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains, strange things were afoot. A deep hole was being dug into the desert floor close to the small resort town [...]
One of the USA’s most iconic hotels, Ocean House is famous for its timeless coastal experience dating back to the Victorian age January 3, 2019 With its fancy turrets, myriad windows and pastel-lemon façade, Ocean House is an imposing place. Found on the bluffs of Watch Hill, a well-to-do town in Rhode Island, on first appearances it’s a hotel that looks like a stuffy, Victorian grand-dame, fitted in an overblown crinoline dress, and exuding old-fashioned principles. In part, its looks [...]
Minicab and Uber drivers to lose exemption from congestion charge December 19, 2018 Minicab and Uber drivers will no longer be exempt from the £11.50 congestion charge from April next year, Sadiq Khan announced today as part of his push to curb pollution levels. TfL expects the changes to reduce the number of private hire vehicles entering the congestion zone each day by up to 8,000, a 44 per cent drop from current levels. [...]
Brits face paying for a visa waiver to travel to the EU after Brexit December 14, 2018 Brits travelling to the EU after Brexit face a €7 (£6.30) fee to holiday abroad without a visa, it is reported. The charge will come in in 2021, when Britain’s two-year transition period with the EU ends and the UK officially leaves the EU. If the UK’s transition period is extended beyond 2021, then the [...]
Holiday Homes: Thinking about buying a ski home? Read our guide on prices, places, powder and trends December 11, 2018 As the ski season descends upon us, it’s time to take a look at the best places to buy a ski home in the world, just in case you hit the slopes and never want to leave. Thankfully, we’ve got all the latest facts and figures at our disposal, thanks to the World Research team [...]
The Long Weekend: Where to stay and what to do in the rural bits of Mallorca, Spain December 7, 2018 The weekend: If you’ve been craving the chance to get back to nature (let’s face it, a quick sandwich in St James’ Park just doesn’t cut it), and a healthy dose of peace and quiet, head to this craggy peninsula on the north-eastern tip of Mallorca, pronto. An hour from Palma airport is the swish [...]
We head out to Japan to explore the incredibly diverse contemporary arts scenes of Takamatsu, Naoshima and Kyoto December 7, 2018 Standing on the end of a pier on Naoshima island, superstar artist Yayoi Kusama’s giant spotted pumpkin stands as a testament to the success of Japanese contemporary art. The nation’s art scene is often reduced to stereotype – cherry blossom prints, blushing geishas, delicate rock gardens – but this island on the Inland Sea dispels [...]
The former Stasi headquarters in Berlin has turned into luxury flats – but will it ever really get over its murky past? November 30, 2018 After the headquarters of the East German Secret Police was stormed in 1990, the building it was housed in has understandably struggled to find a place in modern, vibrant Berlin. But now it’s been renamed 2052 Industrie Lofts and turned into luxurious apartments that boast some of the largest outside terraces in the German capital, [...]