Best Hotels

Lunch at The House Lounge at Heathrow was the perfect way to start our trip to Ozen By Atmosphere At Maadhoo Island in the Maldives. We had wisely picked our flight times to make the trip as comfortable as possible and to get the maximum time in the Maldives. The outbound flight to Male with Qatar Airways was at 15.05 with a 55-minute stopover in Doha. This meant we would arrive at 9.00 in the morning at Male and have the whole day to get over the jet lag and get acclimatised.

There are getaways and there are hideaways. And it was on Arran, an isle separated by the Firth of Clyde that I had chosen to come, to avoid the hassle of Covid, the endless paperwork and all those wretched travel passes.

So I took the ferry from Ardrossan to Arran’s Brodick Bay and then drove beyond a heathered wind-swept mountain graced with roaming deer.

The Relais Henley is a stylish new waterside retreat in Henley-on-Thames. There’s just something about riverside hotels that is gloriously appealing, particularly in England. In the old days, you could always find something wrong about a hotel, but a new breed has emerged that just gets everything right from the get-go and the Relais Henley is just such a place.

The Hotel Montalembert is an incredibly chic hotel set just off the Rue Du Bac, one of the best streets on the Left Bank of the Seine in Paris. You are ideally situated to explore the superb cafes, Michelin-starred restaurants, antique furniture shops, bistros and boutiques and only a stone's throw from the famous bridge of love "Le Pont Des Arts".

The Mitre Hampton Court Hotel is a luxurious boutique hotel overlooking the Thames that has been extensively refurbished. It was the first stop on our Ferrari F8 Spider Tributo tour and delivered exceptional food, decor and service with great panache.

Set like a gem on the north side of Hampton Court Bridge, it boasts a long terrace overlooking the water. Just opposite the Hampton Court Palace. Its origins date back to the reign of Henry VIII, built at the direction of Charles II as a hostel for Palace visitors.

Imagine having an affinity with nature where Europe finishes to face the full force of the Atlantic as she unfurls her fury amassed after 3000 miles. It’s all here to discover for the extremities of the Algarve (that is a stunning coastline of miles of untrammelled white beach) are yet to be known by most travelling Brits.

During our Maserati Levante Trofeo tour to visit the Great North Air Ambulance Service helicopter rescue we stayed at the lovely Derwent Manor Boutique Hotel between Newcastle and Durham at the edge of the North Pennines in North Yorkshire.

Originally built as a country residence for the three-time Lord Mayor of Manchester, Alderman John Grave. Derwent offers 56 elegant double bedrooms including five suites with stunning views over the countryside and four boutique cottages

Yacht life is generally pretty expensive and the yachts we usually drool over tend to be somewhat pricey. However, if you fancy a taste of yachting luxury there are other ways to lounge in leisure on the water.

Spring is the perfect time to enjoy a stay at one of the Historic House Hotels of the National Trust. Guests may enjoy extensive spring gardens in bloom, and beautiful historic interiors at all of the Houses. The company has taken the best advice to ensure everything is in place for a visit that will be as safe as it will be comfortable and enjoyable, with safety measures introduced and praised after the first lockdown of last year that applies to staff as well as guests.

Sure enough, a week later I was back. Having previously recorded my experience of Kefalonia’s northern niches in Fiscardo and southern shores in Lourdata I just had to complete my exploration of the island and the western waves of Paliki.