In Alex Garland’s seminal novel The Beach a young man search in southern Thailand for a seaside Utopia goes awry. In the Hangover Part Two a group of young men find a different kind of Thai experience. I went to Thailand looking for my own paradise idyll. I didn’t expect what I would discover. The [...]
Awww… the life of luxury. It’s tough to beat a Thai massage, sipping mimosas by the poolside, dining on only the best Parisian cuisine and living the luxurious life. Whether you’re looking for the perfect weekend get-a-way or want to rub sholders with the rich and famous, these nine luxury destinations will point you in [...]
England rugby player Tom Palmer has contacted me to say he is running an online auction, which includes a number of luxury holiday lots, to raise funds to help finance his close friend’s brain tumour treatment. The star lots are week-long holidays in 3 bedroom, pool villas at the 5 star resorts of Karma Kandara [...]
The Dorchester, London A visit to The Dorchester on Park Lane will pay homage to a truly classic British hotel whose reputation has been built over 80 illustrious years. The 3 Michelin starred Alain Ducasse Restaurant is a highlight, as is the magnificent and thoroughly English afternoon tea which can be taken daily in The [...]
Tripadvisor has once again published its Travellers’ Choice awards – this time for 2012. The top 25 hotels in the worldwide luxury category are as follows: 1. Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo – Chiyoda, Japan 2. Hotel Imperial Vienna – Vienna, Austria 3. Hotel Palacio de la Magdalena – Soto del Barco, Spain 4. La Casa [...]
Doha in Qatar was host of the Grand Final of the 2011 World Travel Awards last week, which saw the best of the best throughout the world of travel awarded for their services to the industry. The Wall Street Journal recently dubbed the awards as the ‘Oscars of the Travel Industry’, and it’s not hard [...]
Located around 200km from Bangkok you’ll find the famous Thai beach resort of Hua Hin – a place historically favoured by the Thai royal family and famed by its pretty beaches and outstanding seafood cuisine. Thanks to improvements in the road networks, the resort is accessible in around 3 hours by car from Bangkok International [...]
When planning a luxury holiday for the family, one of the key things parents want to know is how well the destination resort caters for children and teenagers. A 5 star hotel in a peaceful, tranquil and sun soaked destination may be the minimum requirement for adults, however, that much needed peace and quiet could [...]
I blogged a few weeks ago offering tips on 5 leading honeymoon destinations, so I thought I’d continue the theme and share my thoughts on 6 further resorts with you. Mauritius A colleague of mine has recently returned from Mauritius, where she hired a car and saw most of the country’s key highlights like Chamarel, [...]
Jean-Christophe Nager is the General Manager of The Pavilions, Phuket, a 5-star luxury resort built on a hill-top on the delightful island of Phuket. A Swiss national with more than 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Jean-Christophe (JC) graduated from Collège St-Michel, Fribourg, in Switzerland in 1978 and studied photography in Montreal, Canada for a [...]
Please let me get some adjectives out of the way before I go on to give you a more factual report of staying at The Pavilions in Phuket. Amazing, wonderful, fun, incredible, entertaining, educational, friendly, interesting, luxurious, impeccable, beautiful, spacious, different, comfortable, exciting, relaxing. Are you getting the gist of it yet? The Pavilions is [...]
This is a strange time of year, isn’t it? The weather doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind what to do, we’ve had a combination of 29 degree temperatures swiftly followed by howling gales, pouring rain and hail storms in the last five days here in the North West of the UK. [...]
This delicious dipping sauce is surprisingly easy to concoct, yet is complex in flavour. It will add a lively, spicy Thai zing to grilled meats such as beef or chicken, or to roasts such as pork. Whilst it can be mixed and used immediately, allowing the sauce to stand in the refrigerator for a day [...]
The prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel contains several restaurants offering different cuisines. All are renowned for their excellence and Le Normandie is world-famous for its classical French fine dining. Opened in 1958 by Germain Krull, Le Normandie has produced the height of French gastronomy for more than 50 years. The restaurant provides a stunning view of [...]
Choosing where to go on honeymoon for many seems an enviable task but the reality can be really rather more taxing. With so many options available to the modern couple the novelty of being spoilt for choice can become quite bewildering. With this in mind I have taken a closer look at the top 10 [...]
Whether you want a calm and upscale stag holiday or a more rambunctious occasion where the drinks flow freely, you can find whatever you are looking for at some of the best stag destinations around the world. From Asia to Europe, there are countless attractions, bars, and nightclubs to entertain you, and provide you with [...]
