
Pentillie Castle, Cornwall
Bed and Breakfasts; they ain’t what they used to be. The image of matronly landladies with all the charm and hospitality of a Stalag guard setting nine o’clock curfews is gone…
Bed and Breakfasts; they ain’t what they used to be. The image of matronly landladies with all the charm and hospitality of a Stalag guard setting nine o’clock curfews is gone…
‘You see, my dear, it’s all about the little grey cells,’ I say smugly, tapping my head with a wise forefinger and reaching to twirl my moustache…Nick Hammond arouses his inner Poirot on a visit to Knightsbridge newcomer, The Wellesley.
Sometimes you visit a place that just speaks to you. It fits you like a glove. Every nuance, every little touch and gesture sounds a chord…
The Compleat Angler hotel takes its name from Isaak Walton’s famous angling book of the same name, also known as The Contemplative Man’s Recreation (1653) and not one I intend to read.
“At approximately 11am, a white silence steals our breath away as we step almost seamlessly from the plane door on to a train that would carry our winter-coated crocodile through a snow-clad Switzerland…”
“Air, water and road traffic flies, floats and rolls beside the strategically located Runnymede-on-Thames hotel. Although its face is arguably blighted – the blank facade from 1974 oddly leaves the impression of a slap head forehead…”
“It’s hardly surprising that the hotel once known as Twatley Manor decided to have a name makeover in favour of the more elegant Whatley Manor – now considered one of the most sophisticated hotels in the UK.”
“A stay at a country house hotel always puts me in mind of JG Farrell’s literary masterpiece Troubles…” Tom Leahy swaps London for a weekend jaunt to North Wales.
Beautiful, otherworldly and showcasing the finest in Moroccan food and design, La Mamounia is a world away from the busy souks of the Medina…this is Morocco but not as Moroccans know it.
“I have, for years, suffered from a terrible affliction. None that might affect my health – at least it hasn’t yet – more my sanity; I have an uncontrollable tendency to double book myself.” Larry learns a lesson in diary mismanagement…
“We only play to a minimum of 80,000 people,” says the Turkish rock star with an ironic glint in his eye as he builds a pyramid out of macadamia nuts on the table that sits between us…
“Fresh from a £24 million renovation, The Caledonian now boasts two restaurants by the Galvin Brothers and a Guerlain Spa…” Alwynne tries Edinburgh’s plushest new arrival on for size…