Michael Edwards, Author at A Luxury Travel Blog : A Luxury Travel Blog

Short stay: Wynford, Ambleside, Lake District, UK

By Michael Edwards on Sep 05, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Regions, United Kingdom, Vacation Rentals, Western Europe

With six double bedrooms, comfortably able to accommodate a dozen guests, this is the ultimate self-catering house. Stylish contemporary decoration, with Orla Kiely fabrics, makes this spacious house a luxurious place for grand reunions of family and friends. Though, in such a large house, it is always possible to find a quiet corner for a […]

Short stay: Whittlebury Park, Northamptonshire, UK

By Michael Edwards on Aug 22, 2021 in Accommodation, Featured, Going Out, Hotels, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel

Whittlebury Park is the refined late twentieth century successor to the great English country house. This time though, the contemporary nirvana, elegantly sat in 700 acres of parkland, comes with spacious rooms, instant hot-water and essential air-conditioning. Not a headless ghost, fraying Elizabethan tapestry or uneven floorboard in sight. Although the decor harks back with […]

7 reasons to visit Liverpool

By Michael Edwards on Aug 05, 2021 in Attractions, Europe, Going Out, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Looking out across the Irish Sea and to the world beyond, Liverpool has its own take on life. In its heyday, in the early decades of the twentieth century, Liverpool was the gateway to the world. The warm and welcoming locals, the Scousers, with that unique singing accent, usually see the funny side of life. […]

Short stay: The Belfry Hotel and Resort, near Birmingham, UK

By Michael Edwards on Jun 22, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Leisure Travel, Regions, Resorts, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

The Belfry Hotel and Resort is not just a haven for golfers. Some guests, having the time of their lives, wouldn’t know the difference, in golfing terms, between an eagle and an albatross. It is a resort for all the family, for friends meeting. Though a visit to The Belfry, set in lush Warwickshire countryside […]

Short stay: Citadines, Barbican, London, UK

By Michael Edwards on Jun 12, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Citadines, Barbican is perfectly located for exploring London’s Culture Mile which includes the Barbican, Guild Hall School of Music & Drama, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of London. Citadines offer a range of accommodation from classic rooms through to one bedroom apartments which can accommodate up to four people. As well as the […]

Short stay: Ettington Park Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK

By Michael Edwards on Jun 10, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Ettington Park Hotel is a grand palatial house, dripping with history, built on an epic scale in 40 stately acres of rural Warwickshire on the banks of the River Stour. A long tree-lined drive gives guests arriving by car the opportunity to take in glimpses of the towers and turrets of a country house that is […]

Short stay: Rothay Manor, Ambleside, Lake District, UK

By Michael Edwards on Jun 06, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Rothay Manor is a wonderfully elegant Regency mansion which has become a boutique hotel at the heart of the Lake District. Privately owned by Jamie and Jenna Shails, the hotel is renowned for fine-dining going from strength to strength with Dan McGeorge creatively leading an impressive culinary team. Although the house remains true to its […]

Short stay: The Black Bull, Sedbergh, Cumbria, UK

By Michael Edwards on Jun 04, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

It is a journey that has brought a Japanese Thinking Bath, kokedama mossball rooted plants and potent wasabi vodka to small-town Cumbria. Nina Matsunaga, born of Japanese parents in Düsseldorf, and James Ratcliffe, born just down the dry-stone-wall-bordered road, have put Sedbergh on the foodies’ global map. Guests travel from afar for East / West […]

Short stay: The Roseate Reading, Berkshire, UK

By Michael Edwards on May 23, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

It has been some journey. Shire Hall for the County of Berkshire, completed in 1911, has become Reading’s only five star hotel, recently described as “the UK’s sexiest townhouse”. Boldly built in Queen Anne symmetrical style, facing onto Forbury Gardens and its bandstand, with a central three bay portico framed by Doric order columns, today […]

5 English hotels to visit soon

By Michael Edwards on Apr 12, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Soon England’s hotels will be opening their doors again to welcome guests desperate for a weekend break or a holiday to explore city, coast or country. Here are five stars of England’s great hotel collection: from east to west and from north to south to help you start thinking where you will head once the […]

5 historic English hotels

By Michael Edwards on Feb 13, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Across England’s green and pleasant land dozens of historic hotels reveal chapters of the nation’s rich and often turbulent history. Over the last century many grand country houses have been saved from ruin and reborn as luxurious hotels. Once these houses were the zealously guarded bastions of the aristocracy, not that every one of these […]

Short stay: Congham Hall Hotel and Spa, Near Kings Lynn, Norfolk, UK

By Michael Edwards on Nov 01, 2020 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Spas & Pampering, Speciality Travel, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Carved kingfishers and waders, an oil painting of deer flitting through the forest, a Norfolk estuary at sunset. Congham Hall Hotel and Spa, where you hear the birdsong, is a haven, a rural celebration of one of Britain’s most restful counties. Congham Hall Hotel, built in the 1780s, is a whitewashed Georgian mansion complete with […]

Short stay: Hampton Manor, Hampton-in-Arden, West Midlands, UK

By Michael Edwards on Oct 27, 2020 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

The country house party is stylishly back at the foodie estate of Hampton Manor. In the parlour, lavish books and board games sit invitingly on coffee tables. Wellies are ready for country rambles. The croquet lawn awaits. Guests gather for pre-dinner cocktails, gins or wine. After dinner Frazer guides guests through a tour of whiskies. […]

Short stay: The Cavendish London, Mayfair, London, UK

By Michael Edwards on Oct 13, 2020 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

In the true spirit of The Cavendish London you could order The Duchess from The Petrichor Bar: a cocktail of Galliano, Cointreau, orange juice and double cream. Then toast Rosa Lewis, known as the Duchess of Jermyn Street, who worked her way up from humble origins to purchase The Cavendish London in 1902. Back then […]

Short stay: Roseate House, Hyde Park, London, UK

By Michael Edwards on Sep 30, 2020 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Roseate House London is a white stucco confection of a 48-room boutique hotel within a five-minute walk of Hyde Park. An invitation to revisit an era when London aspired to become the next Athens or Rome. Dating back to 1842, three Grade 2 listed townhouses with classical columns and balustraded balconies, make up this dignified retreat […]

Short stay: The Duncombe Arms, Ellastone, Staffordshire, UK

By Michael Edwards on Aug 30, 2020 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, United Kingdom, Western Europe

The Duncombe Arms shows just how far The Great British Pub has travelled. Gourmet pub classics have brought a Michelin Bib Gourmand, two AA rosettes and foodies from afar. This is no longer just a place where only locals drop by for a pint and a bite. Ten rooms in Walnut House, every one, with […]

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