Best Hotels

So IX Magazine had the Bentley Flying Spur V8 S for a week to review, so we took it out for a luxury tour of the finest English vineyards, mostly specialising in fine sparkling wine.
I reviewed the Bentley Mulsanne a little while ago in Bavaria and the aim of that car is pretty self explanatory. It targets the top end of the luxury market looking to be chauffeured around in total luxury. But I was not so sure about the Flying Spur, who is it aimed at and what is its purpose?

I’ve been mouching around Cumbria recently and it really is quite bloody marvellous. So if you’re heading up there for some grub it’s worth noting that the Lake District is extremely good with food and its restaurants are some of the best on this planet. So without any waffling or further hyperbole, here is my top 10 (so far!)
 

Marané Swimwear’s Horizon Collection Can Now Be Found In The Faena Hotel Miami beach
Luxury men’s swimwear label Marané has just announced that its Manantiales swimshorts will be available at the newly opened Faena Hotel Miami beach.
The luxury 169 room hotel is one element of an incredible arts and culture quarter developed by industrialist Len Blavatnik and real estate tycoon Alan Faena, who is known for his buzzy, Philippe Starck designed boutique hotel in Buenos Aires.

Commanding a magnificent position between the Blackdown and Quantock hills in the countryside a couple of miles from Taunton is the Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa. The Regency building has a sophisticated elegance and the surroundings afford superb views from virtually all the public rooms and bedrooms. It is set off beautifully by four acres of well-tended gardens, that privacy is not respected by one sheep which regularly jumps the fence from the neighbouring field to join the rabbits gambling outside our bedroom window.

Waking up covered completely with a fluffy, white duvet in a cosy, warm flat I groaned and pulled the cover over my face and tried to flick the alarm off with as little effort as possible. It was 7am and the phone case prevented stopping the alarm that penetrated my sleep and shot me into the waking world with little remorse. I had no excuse, I was supposed to be up to catch the best snow and enjoy whatever powder lines were still intact from the previous night’s snow.

The Med’s High-Style Sparkles in Torquay.
We could have been forgiven for thinking we were in Sveti Stefan (now an Aman Resort) – in Montenegro as we gazed out from our ‘deck’, glass of champagne in hand, across the sparkling bay. Sveti Stefan has always been fashionable with a guest list which included Sophia Loren, and when we saw the Cary Arms’ new so-called ‘beach Huts’ we just knew that there will be some notable guests. These potentially design award-winning pavilions are exceptional; they breathe 21st century style into what was formerly tired concept.

It was a bitterly cold morning in the southern Bulgarian ski town of Bansko and the instant coffee on the balcony had chilled at an alarming pace. In the distance the vague plumes of steam could be seen coming from the figure of a muscular brown horse pulling a cart. On top of the cart was a man with a dark complexion holding the reigns loosely and bobbing up and down as the cart moved forward. The snow was thick with a slight crust on the surface as it had rained a little the previous night.

Cheltenham has a reputation of being the essence of an elegant Regency town, the immediate image that comes to mind is that it is rather genteel and sleepy, the fact is that there is masses going on in and around the town. It is generally accepted as having the role as the cultural centre of the Cotswolds; festivals are aplenty. Within the town there is plenty of interest from the museum and art gallery to water activities at the 1930s outdoor lido and the boating lake in Pittville Park.

A few years ago, we reviewed the historic Bear Hotel at Woodstock near Oxford; a characterful, pretty, ivy-clad historic coaching inn with a super-abundance of beams, open fireplaces, squeaky floorboards and a rich helping of atmosphere… Just perfect to explore the Cotswolds for both the active and the just downright lazy! You don't even have to go very far because there's much to see in and around Woodstock itself, so we were very much looking forward to revisiting such a delightful place.

Dawn was just breaking in Yerevan, Armenia and the sun was starting to filter through the high rise buildings in the centre illuminating the mish mash of streets and buildings. The only people walking the street at 5.30 am were the unlucky few. Those who have early morning shifts at the hospital, the parking conductors, the cigarette venders or those heading towards the numerous construction sites across the city. Yerevan in the early morning is much like any other city, the rich and poor, the young and old and the pace of life are all very similar to say London, Paris or Milan.