Best Hotels

5 Reasons to visit Zambia
Over the years I’ve heard guests confuse Zambia with Zimbabwe and Zaire. A guest actually said to me last year: “I’m so happy to be here in Zaire, I’ve always wanted to come,” and I’ve even been asked: “So whereabouts in South Africa is Zambia?”

Andy Murray is one of the great British sporting heroes and a brilliant example of grit, determination and skill. Like most sporting heroes he receives a huge amount of praise when things go well and, unfortunately, a large amount of flack when they don’t. He represents excellence in a sport that many see as the ultimate individual British sporting achievement.

Whilst the Shandrani Resort and Spa provides everything you need, Mauritius is a beautiful island so I would recommend tearing yourself away from the gorgeous beaches, pools, water sports and chocolate moose and taking in some of the sites. The hotel will prepare a wonderful little hamper for you so you can pause and picnic whenever you feel like it.

Mauritius is celebrated for its water sports and one of the very best places to go is the Shandrani Resort and Spa. They have catamarans, kayaks and windsurfs aplenty, all included in the resort and the boat crew are the best we have ever come across in any of our travels. In fact they win our Excellence Award for the best boat house service on a resort. First of all, there were quite a few of them, so you were never kept waiting, someone was always ready to help and they enjoyed looking after you and getting you out on the water.

I have dreamed of going to Mauritius for many years, I even have friends who live on the nearby island of Reunion and one of my favourite school teachers was from Mauritius, it was her in fact who spent many of her free afternoons trying to improve my French many years ago. So I set off for Mauritius with IX Magazine to find out why the island enjoys such massive popularity with British, French, Italian, South African and Chinese tourists.

The Netherlands is blessed with an abundance of incredible cities. Amsterdam obviously shouts louder than the rest, whether you're a devout hedonist looking to take advantage of this veritable mecca of decadence, a keen historian eager to explore the capital's incredible heritage, or an arts buff heading for some of the world's greatest galleries. 

Great milestones such as anniversaries deserve something a little special, such as a beautiful hotel experience, great English countryside, fine dining and lots of romance.
For our 20th anniversary celebration we had chosen to spend the night at South Lodge, a grandiose and impressive country house near Horsham in Sussex. Just under an hour from London, the lodge is set in 93 acres of English countryside and boasts The Pass, a very fine 3 AA rosette restaurant where we were looking forward to dining that evening.

Bentley Fragrances launched their new Eau de Parfum for men at the Shangri La at The Shard last night. IX Magazine perused and sampled this great new men's perfume from this exciting and successful brand and found it excellent.

Sophie Ellis Bextor is not just a pretty face, though those cheekbones and perfect features are the envy of many a model, she is also balancing a successful pop career with motherhood and glamorous travel.  Mother of 4 boys, she has recently launched a new album, Familia, already receiving critical acclaim and for which she recently made a series of videos in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The album Familia is based on her love of Latin America, both Mexico and Cuba are cited as her influences, musical, cultural and story wise.

Insiders View Of The Brando Tetiaroa private island
Dining
Kung Hei Fat Choy, Happy Chinese New Year! French Polynesia is a multicultural area, with a large Asian community, and the Chinese New Year is always quite an event here. We have had the pleasure to organize a special themed night at the Beachcomber Café to celebrate the new year.