Luxury Hotels|Restaurants|Resorts
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.
As a peninsula Paliki is wonderful to drive around. I hired a car from Rentcarkefalonia (www.rentcarkefalonia.gr/en) run by the charming and unruffled Apostolis. It was perfect to escape all those airport interiors and queues by walking literally a minute away down a dappled lane dappled with trees.
Within two weeks I was back! This time to the southern half, beneath her mountainous ridge, her bays of golden sand and her view of the neighbouring island of Zante.
The water is family-friendly as it slopes gradually to its depths under a smooth flooring of sand. The vivid colours of the blue sky, the Cézanne-style white rocks and brown earth all protrude in sharp, pronounced definition.
There are rare moments in life where you can tangibly see the enormity of “Mother Nature” and feel incredibly small set against such an epic landscape. This is what I experienced as I stood looking upon the crystal clear water of Lomnicky Pleso (Mountain Lake) from a rocky outcrop at around 1,800m. Reflected in the glacial waters was Slovakia’s second tallest peak Lomnicky Stit at 2,634m, just one more cable car journey away.
At the time of writing for those coming from England Kefalonia’s one of the few free from Covid quarantine restrictions and still eligible for the ‘travel corridor’.
