Airbnb wants to sort out your entire travel itinerary way beyond home rental November 17, 2016 Airbnb wants to arrange your entire trip for you, not just find you a place to stay. The startup has set out ambitious plans to expand beyond simply being a holiday home rental platform, to turn itself into the go-to app for people's entire holidays with the addition of local trips, meetups, restaurant bookings and more. [...]
Fancy some stargazing? Hop on a plane to La Palma, the most stellar of the Canary Islands November 17, 2016 The farthest of the Canary Islands from the coast of Africa has just 80,000 inhabitants, and 150,000 visitors per year. Unlike its rocky neighbours, there is enormous variety on the island, with mountains above the clouds, black sand beaches and a night sky that has made it a must see for astrology lovers the world [...]
New architecture tour of the National Theatre celebrates 40 years of Brutalism on the banks of the Thames November 17, 2016 “This is a public building, so you’re welcome to come up whenever you’re passing,” is the repeated refrain of our tour guide for the evening at the National Theatre. And it’s worth repeating as it’s a fact we often forget about many of London’s most famous landmarks. We’re uncommonly lucky to live in a city [...]
Focus On Rotherhithe: A £34m investment has brought a new town square, library and cultural centre to the Docks November 11, 2016 Rotherhithe, a conservation area in the Docklands in south east London, is one of the prettiest and most rapidly gentrifying places in the capital. With a long and proud history as a major trade port, it was a working dock right up until the 1970s. It was also home to the first under-river tunnel in [...]
Restaurateur Mark Hix reminisces with artist Gavin Turk about the glory days of the YBAs ahead of his upcoming show at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery November 10, 2016 I’ve converted a couple of veggie artists over the years, tempting them with tasty cuts of rare beef – Tim Noble and Mat Collishaw spring to mind – but I suspect Gavin Turk is a lost cause. Gavin, one of the original YBAs, has been veggie for over five years and went full-vegan last year; [...]
Edinburgh’s quality of life key to attracting talent from across the globe November 10, 2016 They say home is where the heart is: where we feel comfortable, safe and free to explore our interests and dreams. Home can be four walls and a roof, a familiar serene landscape or a vibrant city. Home is good for the soul, but interestingly, recent research has also begun to explore the strong correlation [...]
Gordon Ramsay interview: Michelin stars, overtaking the French and why his new restaurant, Le Pressoir d’Argent, is something special November 9, 2016 “If I’d tried to open this restaurant 15 years ago, I’d have been shot, hung upside-down and had my bollocks put in that thing over there, the pressoir d’testicle.” Finally, I thought. So measured – serene even – was the Gordon Ramsay sitting opposite me, I’d started to wonder if his famously filthy lyricism had [...]
M&A activity surge predicted in betting, airline and homebuilding industries after Brexit vote November 9, 2016 The UK’s Brexit vote is likely to increase deal activity in the betting industry, among airlines and between homebuilders, new analysis out today suggests. With the outcome of the Leave vote far from decided, “the only certainty is uncertainty”, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report noted. But the report, “Will Brexit hurt – or help [...]
Nobu interview: the sushi tycoon talks about family, Robert De Niro, and how his new Shoreditch hotel will be a game-changer November 8, 2016 According to Madonna, you can tell if a city is going to be fun by whether there’s a Nobu in it. The brainchild of Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro – or just plain “Bob” – the brand has an uncanny knack of courting the beau monde. Even after 22 years, in which time more [...]
This Arizona town will let you play out your cowboy fantasy: Ride bulls, wear cool hats, walk into a saloon and have the music suddenly stop playing, the works November 4, 2016 They say “all sunshine makes a desert.” But in Arizona (299 sunny days per year; average temp 24 degrees celsius) I don’t hear anyone complaining. In fact, this state is booming, with capital Phoenix now one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US. Scottsdale, a wealthy destination town in the northeast of the [...]