We discover the perfect family-friendly ski retreat in Austria’s Arlberg January 10, 2022 “So glad you’re here”: the oft repeated words from hotel and restaurant owners who have just emerged from a strict lockdown and are, for the first time in months, welcoming tourists. We had chosen the Arlberg region (specifically St. Anton and St. Christoph) for a pre-Christmas ski when all things Covid were looking up. As [...]
Mammoth Lakes: The ski resort within driving distance of LA December 6, 2021 Mammoth Lakes has been the ski area of choice for Los Angeles residents since the early 1950s. These days the 5-hour drive can be a frantic scramble from the City of Angels when big snow is forecast. The journey is similar in length for anyone wanting, or needing, to escape the madness of Las Vegas [...]
Simon Miller heads to Les Menuires in Savoie, and finds there’s nothing sedate about skiing with the kids September 24, 2018 Reberty is an upmarket suburb of Les Menuires. Its timber buildings are in stark contrast to the now protected, brutalist architecture of the surrounding areas, and its these classic alpine touches that lend a touch of class to this corner of the mountains. Contributing to this touch of class are the chalets run by Powder [...]
Off-piste in Fieberbrunn, the little known freeride resort of the Austrian Alps March 5, 2018 Fieberbrunn is at one end of the elaborately named Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, an area of Salzburg dedicated to winter sports, and one in dire need of a rebranding agency. Fieberbrunn itself is named after the fever (“fieber”) quelling properties of its waters, which are said to have cured such dignitaries as Claudia de [...]
Annecy may lack the glamour and reputation of the bigger Euro ski resorts, but for a trip with kids in tow, it’s near perfect November 17, 2017 One of the biggest issues facing us cosseted west Londoners at this time of year is where to go for our family skiing holiday. Given the lack of parliamentary time to cover this imperative issue I’d like to throw an option into the debate – Lake Annecy. The marketing department in France clearly thinks that [...]
Sailing the Faroe Islands in a 60 foot round-the-world racing yacht, with zero experience July 21, 2017 This is a monumental step-up. Six months after a blissful family sailing holiday in Greece, I am climbing into a Fladen survival suit on a 60 foot round-the-world racing yacht in Torshavn harbour, which you will of course recognise as the capital of the Faroe Islands. I’m wondering if I’ve bitten off more than I [...]
Leave the beach behind and trek Europe’s prettiest mountain range, the Dolomites November 30, 2016 Sun seekers might disagree, but in my opinion there are few better places to spend the summer than the Alps, where you can find dozens of activities to suit everyone from uber athletes to Uber passengers. My family needed a little convincing too, before they’d agree to spend their holidays in the mountains rather than [...]
The Royal Palm in Mauritius: The best resort hotel in the Indian Ocean is back with a bang December 7, 2014 The Royal Palm, haunt of former French presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, has just undergone a £10m refurbishment. It was already the best hotel in Mauritius and, in the words of Spinal Tap, it has just turned it up to eleven, upgrading to become the only six star hotel in Mauritius. The Royal Palm [...]
Crillon-le-Brave: Cycle one of the Tour de France’s most feared routes November 2, 2014 The wonderfully named Crillon-le-Brave is a picture postcard Provencal village that lies at the foot of the Mt Ventoux. The village suffix – le Brave – was added by Henry IV in the 14th century in honour of his swashbuckling general Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon. He was apparently “the brave of [...]
