Images By Hayden Povey.

The modern SUV has become the de facto family chariot. Tall, comfortable, laden with technology and more often than not, about as likely to see mud as a Dyson showroom. Yet for all their polish, there’s a sense that the SUV has lost touch with its original brief: utility.

The hottest summer residency on London's dining scene – Cape Town’s celebrated restaurant Pot Luck Club in pop-up form at The Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych – has been extended until the end of June 2026 due to popular demand. 

And Londoners should be feeling even luckier this Christmas and new year period as its head chef, Luke Dale-Roberts, has put together an exclusive new festive menu to celebrate the news.

Luxury takes many forms, yet Villa Nai 3.3 reshapes the very idea of indulgence until it feels impossibly richer, deeper, and more intoxicating than you imagined. Perched on the edge of Dugi Otok like a superbly hidden hobbit house of luxury, tucked into the hills with secret terraces, sun-drenched stone, and olive groves that seem to whisper ancient secrets, it offers a view so arresting even the most discerning Middle-earth residents might consider relocating.

One of the pleasures of tasting at this time of year is discovering how deeply place shapes a wine’s character. Winter slows everything down, giving you time to notice the things you might have missed: the origins of a grape, the temperament of a region, or the decisions of a winemaker. This collection shows just how varied those stories can be. 

My whisky (and rum) selections below move across styles, regions and ideas, beginning with Mosswood’s Jamaican rum shaped by the life, and mythology, of William Kidd, before returning to Scotland for three very different views of Highland distilling: the quiet composure of Tomatin’s 18 Year Old Oloroso Sherry, the seasonal experimentation behind Cù Bòcan’s Creation #7, and Tamdhu’s sherry-led Year of the Horse release with its distinctive artwork by Page Tsou.

Jones Family Kitchen is a London find that feels as though it has been waiting for you all along. Nestled quietly within Eccleston Yards, a large interior courtyard resembling a maze or labyrinth with hidden entrances and exits, and surrounded by a cluster of eclectic restaurants, it radiates the kind of charm that can turn an ordinary evening into a small adventure.

Our visit to Eccleston Square Hotel formed part of International Excellence Magazine’s BMW Z4 M40i Grand Christmas Tour of London, which is an excellent excuse to indulge in refined hotel comforts while sweeping through the city’s most elegant neighbourhoods in a machine that encourages irresponsible levels of enthusiasm.

For those of us who spend our working lives around whisky, tasting the annually released Buffalo Trace Antique Collection remains a rarity. It is cited regularly, chased relentlessly and yet rarely seen. Bottles appear in specialist shops on release and disappear almost instantly, later reappearing at auction with price tags that bear little resemblance to their intended purpose (to be drunk). Tasting even one of them is unusual. I have never managed to. Tasting all six in a single sitting is almost unheard of.

A weekend in Surrey behind the wheel of the BMW Z4 M40i LCI B58C 3.0i was a masterclass in refined indulgence. I began my week’s tour with a morning admiring the e-foiling and sailing at Queen Mary Sailing Club, followed by a festive shopping spree in Sloane Square, before retreating to the Eccleston Square Hotel for a night of calm luxury, and finished with dinner at Jones Family Kitchen in Eccleston Yards, Belgravia.