A spoiled travel editor’s guide to luxury hotels July 9, 2025 I know, it’s not en vogue to brag, but as City AM’s travel editor, I stay in the world’s plushest luxury hotels for a living. Here’s the shocking thing: despite the £1k-a-night price tags, they often fail to do the very simplest of things to make your stay better. So, here is some constructive criticism [...]
Jet2 hikes dividend on record passenger numbers July 9, 2025 Jet2 shares tumbled on Wednesday despite record passenger traffic as investors fretted over global geopolitical uncertainty. Shares fell more than 5 per cent by midday evven after the leisure travel group hiked its annual dividend and reported a surge in profit on soaring demand. Investors are set for a final dividend of 12.1p per share [...]
Consumer confidence rising as summer holiday season begins July 7, 2025 The majority of UK households are feeling financially secure, with 70 per cent of people confident enough to plan a summer holiday, according to a survey. The number of people feeling financially secure has risen this quarter by three percentage points to 58 per cent, while confidence that the UK economy is improving has risen [...]
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: Behind the culinary icon July 2, 2025 During my first visit to Le Manoir I could neither speak nor talk. This is not hyperbole about dumbfounded luxury – I was just a baby. But my parents still tell the story of how Raymond Blanc, in full chef’s whites, came to ask them if I had enjoyed the fresh pasta and butter the [...]
Inside the Belfast boutique hotel taking on Airbnb June 20, 2025 Can this hotel-private home crossover concept take on Airbnb? Julia Khamissa checked in to delve deeper THE CONCEPT Room2 bills itself the world’s first ‘hometel,’ a hybrid between hotel convenience, boutique design, and Airbnb-style autonomy. Think flexible booking, pet-friendly policy, and a kitchenette in (almost) every room. Room2 Belfast is set in a modern, curved [...]
Howl like a wolf and imitate monkeys and this new London spa June 20, 2025 At new London spa Shoreditch &Soul, strangers laugh like wolves in a 40-person sauna. Could this be London’s most joyful answer to the wellness boom? One of my favourite TV quotes comes from Samantha in an early Sex and the City episode: “You can’t swing a Fendi purse without knocking over five losers.” I recycle [...]
Inside the Caribbean island that’s becoming a secret AI hub June 20, 2025 Anguilla is where high-rolling lawyers from New York go to work remotely in tranquillity. It is also becoming an unlikely world-leading beacon for AI due to one lucky coincidence. Adam Bloodworth went in search of answers The Sunset Bar on St Maarten’s Maho Beach is one of the weirdest tourist attractions in the world. Go [...]
Has the Greek island of Santorini become a tourist hellscape? I went to find out June 20, 2025 I was stirred, not shaken, by the boutique Sandblu resort on Santorini, you’ll be pleased to hear. Santorini was hit by a succession of small earthquakes at the start of this year, which prompted more than 13,000 of its 15,500 inhabitants to evacuate the Greek island by ferry and air, and left its three million [...]
The sleepy French region transforming into glamorous holiday spot June 10, 2025 There are no alarm clocks in Château de Chanet. Each morning I’m woken by the very French smell of fresh butter croissants and coffee creeping through the rafters. Chefs bustle in the kitchen below, preparing charcuterie, conserves and honey from the surrounding farms and hives. It’s a pretty blissful existence, living out my childhood fantasies [...]
This Barcelona hotel has a beautiful rooftop pool and great food June 10, 2025 To read recent headlines, it’d be easy to believe Barcelona had become little more than a tourist hellscape these days, with water pistols fired at Sagrada Familia visitors and a mass antitourism demonstration planned for this weekend. Certainly, many signs of overtourism in the city are visible – the weekend crowds on La Barceloneta Beach [...]