A Luxury Travel Blog

Résidence Supérieur is an extreme luxury concept, designed by internationally known lifestyle designer Richard Nilsson, located on the French Riviera. The concept include super sports cars, private jets, yachts, butlers, chefs, bodyguards and any other service you may wish for. Résidence Supérieur is created for the extreme connoisseurs and is totally unique in the way that there are no limits for how you can tailor your staying. The concept will be expanded to other locations in the near future and is currently offering Villa Oxygene in Cannes.

According to the Sofia Echo, the Chedi brand is heading for Bulgaria. The hotel will form part of the Thracian Rocks Golf & Spa resort complex near Kavarna on the Black Sea which is being built in three phases.

The first [phase], currently underway, will deliver a golf course with 18 holes, nine of which will be playable by mid-2009, hotel, villas, yacht marina complex with resort apartments and inland apartment buildings.

The second phase will include another hotel, but details on that one are yet to be announced.

globrati has published The Dreamlist, debuting with a colleciton of their “favourite destinations to chill out this summer”.  Making the grade are:

• Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, ME
• Llao Llao Hotel & Spa, Bariloche, Argentina
• Amirandes, Crete, Greece
• The Lodge, Verbier, Switzerland
• The Beach House at Manafaru, Maldives
• La Purificadora, Puebla, Mexico
• The Surf Lodge, Montauk, NY
• Parador de Santo Estevo, Galicia, Spain
• Toka Leya, Victoria Falls, Zambia

Owned by the famous McCormick Spice family, The Onion House is a unique architectural oddity that has now been made available to rent as a holiday retreat. It can be found in Kailua Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island and was built by the celebrated architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, designed to take full advantage of its natural tropical surroundings. The property has garnered a great deal of media attention since opening and HGTV chose the master bedroom of the house as one of the top ten ‘Most Romantic Bedrooms’ in the world.

As one of the most luxurious hotel and golf resorts in the world, the five-star Adare Manor offers 62 bedrooms in an elegantly appointed manor house, as well as 11 Clubhouse bedrooms, 22 two- and four-bedroom townhouses adjacent to the Clubhouse and 46 three-bedroom villas. In addition to golf, this community resort offers a variety of fine dining options, an elegant spa, and outstanding fishing on the Maigue. Other activities and amenities include cycling, archery, hiking, shooting sports, and an equestrian centre.

Doxford Cottages, 3 miles from Embleton, is situated in the middle of a 2500 acre agricultural estate in an idyllic position. It opens next month and there are 7 cottages, 3 of them sleeping 8 people in 4 bedrooms. There are games facilities and a football pitch but the real glory is the location and the views from the cottages to the 3.5 acre Doxford Lake.

Private luxury villa rentals in Jamaica, from Jamaican Treasures.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Island properties from Greek Islands Club
• A Corsican gem: La Maison Rorqual
• The European-influenced Four Seasons Hotel México, D.F.
• Wine recommendations from Decanter magazine

In case it passed you by, yesterday was St. George’s Day. And I’m sure it was no co-incidence that the presentation of the Enjoy England for Excellence 2008 awards was celebrated on the same day. For the first time, the event was held outside London, with the organisers preferring to opt for the European Capital of Culture, Liverpool. Fittingly, it was held at St. George’s Hall. Here’s a round-up of the winners:

Gold Awards

Large Hotel of the Year
Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire

Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Mill Granary Cottage, Lower Teesdale
Stone Cottage, Lake District

Tourism Website of the Year
Philharmonic Hall, London

Small Hotel of the Year
Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Yorkshire Dales

Meet England Business Tourism Award
Emirates Stadium, London

Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Poston Mill Park, Herefordshire

Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Salty Monk Restaurant with Rooms, Devon

Sustainable Tourism Award
Cottage Lodge, New Forest
Strattons Hotel, Norfolk

Taste of England Award
Fifteen Cornwall

Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Liverpool 08 Place

Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Sunderland International Airshow

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinhamshire

Outstanding Customer Service Award
David Pollard of Falmouth Ambassador Ltd.

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Consumer Voted Award - Best Day Out
Whitby, North Yorkshire

Silver Awards

Large Hotel of the Year
Radisson Edwardian Manchester
The Dorchester, London

Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Compton Pool Farm, Devon

Tourism Website of the Year
Pennywell Farm, Devon

Small Hotel of the Year
Combe House Hotel, Somerset
Hillbark Hotel, Wirral

Meet England Business Tourism Award
Manchester Central
Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire

Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Seafield Caravan Park, Northumberland
Sunset Park, Near Blackpool

Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Boltongate Old Rectory, Lake District
The Old Manse, Northumberland
Clow Beck House, County Durham

Sustainable Tourism Award
Fern Cottage Bed and Breakfast, Gloucestershire

Taste of England Award
The Old Bakery, Lincoln

Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Nottingham Tourism Centre
Brighton Visitor Centre

Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival
Castle Howard, York

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire
Forde Abbey and Gardens, Somerset

Outstanding Customer Service Award
Mick Logg of Xscape, West Yorkshire
The Executive Team at the London Marriott West India Quay

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Tullie House Museum, Carlisle

Richard Hammond (I assume the one of Top Gear fame?) has a piece in today’s Guardian newspaper on the winners of the sustainability awards.

I was pleased to see one of our clients gets a favourable mention in The Telegraph today, in an article accompanied with the words “Three top hotels on the quiet shores of Lake Windermere”.  Holbeck Ghyll was where Renée Zellweger stayed when filming Miss Potter. They have recently added The Gatehouse to their available accommodaiton, which is available on self-catering or hotel terms. Also receiving honourable mentions were Gilpin Lodge and Storrs Hall.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Concierge services by Concierge deLuxe
• Rome Hotels from Luxique
• Discover the benefits of Club 21 Card membership
• Villas in Europe from My Perfect Villa

Last year I took my family to Brittany for a two-week holiday with a company called Carisma.  It was billed as ‘luxury camping’ but the reality was that, whilst we weren’t in a tent, it wasn’t in fact all that luxurious.  Easier than a tent, perhaps - especially since our two boys are very young - but after the first night we found ourselves buying inflatable beds in the local supermarket because the bed had been so uncomfortable.  We were also promised a site with a good mix of both English and French guests; whilst it did host both, they were each allocated to entirely separate areas of the camp.

Anyway, this summer we are contemplating France once more, and I’ve left it a little late so am setting myself the Easter weekend to try and get something sorted.  Our plan is to have a week away but allow for 2-3 days travel there and back, so a total break of around 10 days.  Our boys will be aged 4 and 2 so we think we might put camping off until next year.  What we did like about last year’s holiday, though, was that our boys were able to safely have fun in a communal play area with other children.  If we just hired a gite for the four of us somewhere, they might not get that.  Self-catering would suit us well, though, and I’ve been thinking that a gite complex (where other children may also be present) such as Le Roudier, Le Clozet, La Haye Eder, Jardin Fleuri Holiday Homes or the new Emerald Coast Gites might be the kind of thing that suits us, as might a gite on the periperhy of a campsite.

I also found the yurts of Canvas Chic but that is a little bit further than we had planned to travel.  We intend to take the car and, since we’ll travel from the North of England, the upper two thirds of France would be preferred.  A nearby beach would also be a bonus.

I’d be grateful for any suggestions from readers.

If you’re looking for the ultimate in timeshare, then consider the new Private Collection from Banyan Tree.  As a member you’ll get to enjoy one week a year in beautiful villas across Asia and Europe. With an annual membership fee of just $3,000, it sounds reasonably affordable, but beware the catch: the joining fee will set you back $120,000.

Banyan Tree Private Collection’s unique value lies in its complementary product offerings, ranging from resorts, spas, serviced residences and galleries to golf courses that allow the club to deliver multi-faceted, destination-specific experience and hospitality services. For those who desire tailor-made holidays, the club offers an à la carte menu of destination-specific experiences that can be prepaid. Exclusive travel experiences range from gourmet dinner on the rocks and spiritual temple treks, to diving with marine researchers.