I went to Hollywood and, following a brief and unaccountable sense of impending doom, found it to be lovely February 10, 2017 "Look, there’s Angelyne." Our tour guide to the stars pointed to a woman in the lane next to us riding a hot pink Corvette. She looked pale and ageless, like hummus that had been moulded into the shape of a sad Dolly Parton. Her cloud of yellow hair was puffed out like a big candyfloss, [...]
Karma Group’s founder and chairman John Spence explains how and why he plans to double the size of his business February 6, 2017 I cleaned toilets in Gatwick Airport for a bit, but that’s the only real job I’ve ever had,” says John Spence, founder and chairman of The Karma Group. A university drop-out, the hotelier and resort-owner originally became a tea boy for a music agency. Before long, he was representing bands like Culture Club, Bananarama and [...]
Picture perfect: A photography tour of the Caribbean island of St Lucia February 3, 2017 So if my aperture is f/3.5 and my shutter speed is 1/125th of a second, what should my ISO be if I want to properly expose this image?” “Four…hun…dred?” I ventured timidly. “Nooooo,” Kirk said, as we took a pew in a cathedral in Castries. To the casual passerby, he must have sounded like he [...]
The Long Weekend: The alpine retreat of Le Grand Bellevue is an ice-cool luxury break February 3, 2017 Gstaad is everything you could wish for in a traditional alpine town: chocolate-box wooden chalets, pine trees, mountain air, glaciers among the peaks and the clanging of cow bells as the dairy herds come in for milking. A handful of grandes dames hotels, called the palace hotels, continue to attract the jet-set for winter sports, [...]
Long Weekend: Keeping up with the super-fit locals while cycling around Malmo’s Western Harbour January 20, 2017 Getting there: The journey into Malmö itself is one of the most fascinating things about this Swedish city. First you must fly into entirely the wrong country, landing in Copenhagen, before boarding a speedy train that whizzes you out of Denmark and over the border in about 20 minutes. On the way you’ll travel along [...]
Cycling firm Velusso offers premium biking trips in the Balearics. We geared up to take them for a spin January 20, 2017 Cycling holiday firm Velusso has grand designs on satisfying the needs of City cycling enthusiasts. Its aim: to combine a luxurious break with a darn good workout while providing snippets of what it’s like to be a member of the Olympic cycling team. The post-London Olympic cycling boom led to increasing numbers of cycling holiday [...]
From Michelin-starred restaurants to an exciting calendar of events, Macao has it all January 18, 2017 Travelling on business or for pleasure, Macao makes a perfect addition to a trip to Asia. Just 40 miles from Hong Kong, Macao’s potent mixture of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, refined over more than 500 years – it’s been a Special Administrative region of China since 1999 – makes for an exceptional getaway, where the [...]
How to dance with the devils in Peru at the carnival that will score you more kudos than Rio January 18, 2017 Everybody has heard of Rio’s Carnaval; score extra points at your next dinner party by shaking your thing at Peru’s Virgin of Candelaria festival. Taking place in the mountainous city of Puno – 12,770ft above sea level – in the two weeks beginning 31 January, this Catholic celebration involves lots of traditional Peruvian masks, huge [...]
The best new hotel suites in Europe, from the reopened Ritz, Paris, to the spectacular Westin in Hamburg January 18, 2017 There are certain things one can expect from hotels at the top end of the market: flawless, personalised service; rooms with minibars, rainshowers and designer bath products; a supremely comfortable bed; free wifi and fine-dining. Most of us will have a favourite hotel in the cities we frequent – perhaps it’s The Connaught in London, [...]
Hidden on Sri Lanka’s south coast is architect Geoffrey Bawa’s ultimate project, now a boutique hotel called The Last House January 17, 2017 Geoffrey Bawa is Sri Lanka’s most renowned architect, the creative force behind what’s known as “tropical modernism” and among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. But while his works include such notable sites as the Sri Lankan Parliament Building, his style is best appreciated in the subtle details of his smaller, more rural [...]