Best Hotels

With a matador-like swipe of the towel, our ‘GusMester’ (Mist Master) Matthias, directs a blast of hot, scented air towards our perspiring limbs within the confines of the sauna cabin. This form of aromatherapy is followed by a dip in the cold waters of the Oresund Strait between Denmark and Sweden, sending the endorphins into overdrive, giving an almost instantaneous feeling of elation and renewed vitality. This is ‘SaunaGus’, just one of the signature activities available at Denmark’s leading Spa hotel and part of a holistic approach towards health, well-being and luxury.

Vintage sepia photographs, part of a permanent display dedicated to the history of ‘pearl diving’ at the Bahrain National Museum, was an ideal starting point to understand this cultural heritage. Displays give an insight into the design of the timber Dhows, the basic dive equipment used and of course the men who crewed the boats for months at a time. The few grainy images available, show every muscular sinew visible across the diver’s torso, created from a life below the waves, and based on a diet of fish, dates and rice.

An unassuming, anonymous and heavy-set red door separates a quaint cobbled courtyard, from an intimately historic foyer, embracing an almost monastic-like silence. As the door closes behind you, Lisbon’s bright morning sunshine is replaced by softer tones; the sensory contrast is immediate and welcome. This is one of many such contrasts that guests of the exquisite ‘Palácio Belmonte’ will experience during their stay.

Fez is Morocco’s second largest city but looking at the airport’s route network over the last 20 years or so, visitors wouldn’t know it. With the arrival of budget airlines and a refreshed larger airport, Fez was now more open as a city break destination. But before this growth, a couple from London, had already built and developed the city’s leading hotel, Palais Amani which opened its doors in 2010. 

Surely there is nothing better than a very full 5* luxurious country house hotel break for a truly relaxing time.  Bovey Castle now under the ownership of The award winning Eden Hotels Collection  – the service has been transformed – it  fills that luxury criterion with aplomb, add in a well-presented building and extensive estate, stunning location and a spa in which you can lose yourself and be pampered.  And, there is the tranquillity of the flower gardens.  Children are equally well looked after with a crèche, visits to the deer park and feeding the fawns and chicken.  There is also a c

Honeymoon. I feel like the very word itself should be written in quill with golden ink and looping calligraphy swirls. A word that conjures up images of luxuriously indulgent days, time dripping by like treacle, real-life hustled into the wings as married-life peacocks its way onto centre stage.
But the challenge is this: how to transform that one word into a reality that refuses to disappoint. A reality that will stay with you for ever, that you will re-live with more than a touch of smug contentment knowing that it was one of the most precious times of your life.

When arriving late at night, it’s always worth the suspended joy of opening, like a present, the shutters the next morning. In comes the sun over a clear blue sky above these terracotta roofs of Ronda. With Ronda what’s so special is that it’s that rarity: a European city centre from which I could see the fields beyond.

A really relaxing and enjoyable stay in a hotel is not necessarily governed by the star rating. However, you can be assured when the hotel has five key elements in place: The staff members are welcoming and personable without being intrusive. When you wake up in the morning you know where you are; that is reflected in the room or suite by being individually furnished. The hotel is owned by a family or individual so it is not the boring, corporate standard product.

Midleton Very Rare Whiskey 2019 was launched at The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin by Master Distiller Brian Nation. This superb whiskey combines only hand-selected single pot still and single grain Irish whiskeys of exceptional quality and rarity, from the Midleton inventory. Each whiskey has been matured exclusively in lightly charred ex-bourbon American oak barrels for between 13 and 34 years. 2019 marks the oldest collection of casks used to create a Midleton Very Rare.
Brian Nation explains:

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.