Luxury Travel
We started our journey in Surrey at 9 am and headed north, basking in the explosive snorts of the 710 bhp McLaren 720S engine. My colleague David and I were pretty stoked about a week in the Scottish Highlands. As Lex Luthor so aptly condescended in Superman II "A good time? Is that all you care about? North, Miss Teschmacher. North!".
Opposite the electronic sliding glass door, which forms the main entrance of ‘Hotel Riviera Collection’ in Nice, is the most beautiful art-deco style wrought-iron elevator, around which spirals a staircase illuminated by striking ‘Klein Blue’ walls and abstract black & white carpets, both a constant palette, theme and narrative to be found across the hotel.
For that dream winter sun holiday, one place stands out from the rest, the Maldives. It is the quintessential holiday desert island poster that dreams are made of. As Sinead sang so aptly, “nothing compares”. But how to choose the right resort in a country famed for over a thousand islands?
We decided to fly over in business class with Srilankan Airways and discover the very best the Maldives has to offer, from outright luxury to fabulous beaches taking in the finest residences, outstanding cuisine and adventure sports along the way.
As I pulled up at The Royal Duchy Hotel in the new Audi E-Tron GT Quattro, I was splendidly greeted by the concierge James who showed me to my free electric charging parking space and immediately made me feel at home. He has worked at The Duchy for just under 40 years and is an expert on the hotel and the area. In fact, Mark, the manager and James are genuinely good company and skilled at predicting a guest’s every wish.
St. Stephen's Cathedral roof tiles, depicting the Imperial double-headed eagle and coat of arms of the city of Vienna, were nicely framed by the original wood beams and window-scape of my suite in ‘The Leo Grand’ boutique hotel, itself a baroque masterpiece that has been looking out towards the cathedral’s spires since the 12th Century.
Why go to all the trouble? By which I mean a Mediterranean summer holiday with spiralling temperatures, lengthy traffic jams and overcrowded flights for the holiday that never really stands a chance.
A flotilla of boats trailed in the wake of a fleet of traditional long-keeled yachts and their skippers, competitors of the Golden Globe Race 2022 (GGR); all were heading through the now iconic ‘Channel’ connecting Port Olona’s race village to the open sea, leaving the ‘capital’ of ocean racing ‘Les Sables-d’Olonne’ to melt away into the landscape.
Costa Blanca Fiestas
Costa Blanca is famous for its various fiestas, they run all summer and are simply unmissable. Whole towns devote days and weeks to staging exquisite extravaganzas, celebrating the Christians and the Moors, winemaking, local craftsmanship, sailing, fine food, giant fireworks displays and of course bull runs. See here for a list of Fiestas on the Costa Blanca with dates.
Seacave Kayak and Snorkel Tour Javea
If you want to mess about on the water in perfect luxury, with lots of interior space and superior stability, even in choppy seas, then a catamaran is the way to go. Here’s a selection of the best new luxury multihulls from some of the best design studios out there.
