Luxury Hotels|Restaurants|Resorts
Parma, a central city to the valley, is only an hour from either Bologna or Milan airport and is still a hidden joy for most Brits. Yes it gets very hot in August and very cool in January but the other ten months are divine and it’s never crowded so there are none of the queues you can get elsewhere in Italy and mercifully no sign of any selfie-sticks.
I’m just going to pause here. Right here, in the courtyard of this 19th century convent, now home to La Fourvière Hotel.
With the Baltic country of Lithuania marking the 30th anniversary of the restoration of independence this March from the Soviet Union, I thought it appropriate and in order run through some top sights, leading hotels and gastronomic delights in and around Vilnius, the capital, which was first settled in the Stone Age. Over the years it has changed hands between Imperial and Soviet Russia, Germany, Poland, and Lithuania a multiple of times.
It’s not all camel rides through the desert in the sandy vista of Oman, although they are possible! The vast expanse of land is mythical in itself, shadowed by mountains, and exotic architecture, captivating locals and ghost towns, it is easy to get carried away by an Arabic adventure.
I visited Oman when the country was still in its forty days of mourning- the much loved Sultan Qaboos bin Said had passed away, and the country was sombre. However, it didn’t affect the stunning scenery, and vistas which dominate the southeastern coast of Western Asia.
Irish Distillers, makers of some of the world’s most enjoyed whiskeys, has introduced Redbreast 27 Year Old, the oldest permanent expression in the beloved Redbreast series. An iconic addition to the collection, Redbreast 27 Year Old includes whiskey matured in ruby port barrels from Portugal’s Douro Valley to bring a new complexity and depth to the Redbreast collection.
It’s 6pm. Two sleepy pairs of legs are heading to the 20th floor of a building in the centre of Reykjavík. We walk into an empty foyer surprisingly devoid of the hurry-home hussle of workers sharing the tower. I notice, happily, that Icelanders are rather good at clocking-off on time. The lift pings our arrival and we’re greeted by Anni, our warm and welcoming Tower Suites concierge who shows us to our room – one of 8 suites.
We were ready to give up. And I am oh-so-pleased we didn’t. If we had, we’d have missed one of the most spectacular sights we’d ever seen. It’s giving me goosebumps just thinking about it (and no, I’m not just talking about the cold!).
“Why wouldst thou leave calm Hartwell’s green abode...Apician table and Horatian Ode?”
Lord Byron referring to Louis XVIII’s departure from Hartwell House.
Owned by the National Trust, Hartwell House is an exceptional opportunity to stay in a magnificent and eccentrically decorated English stately home in Buckinghamshire. Set in 90 acres of verdantly landscaped garden, just 40 miles from London, it personifies a style and character unique to Jacobean (and Georgian) country houses.
If Imagination had a home, Iceland would be it.
If you’ve ever fancied hosting a fabulous party on a superyacht, why not turn your wedding into something all your guests will remember?
A wedding on a yacht can be a sublime way of celebrating that all-important day. The right yacht can easily accommodate luxury catering facilities, bars, dining areas and cloakrooms for up to 200 guests. Including seated dinner, different dance floors, pools and a jacuzzi.
