Perched high above the dramatic embrace of the South Devon coastline, The Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove stands as a quiet, graceful anomaly. In an age of sleek minimalism and curated experiences, this cherished family-run institution is unapologetically traditional, a testament to the enduring appeal of genuine warmth and a hospitality that feels less like a service and more like a welcome home.

One doesn’t simply pass through the Cotswolds; one glides through it in a stately fashion, ideally in a gleaming Audi Q8. It was in just such a manner that we swept up to the Greenway Hotel and Spa, a 16th-century Elizabethan manor just outside Cheltenham. There are grand hotels, boutique boltholes, and heritage inns, but the Greenway manages to be all three at once: a luxurious little country estate with a serious culinary pedigree, an Elan Spa that makes monks of even the most restless, and a garden straight from Alice’s dreamscape.

Some names don’t merely return; they arrive with a drum roll. “Testarossa” is one of them. For many of us it still means side strakes, a wide tail and a flat-twelve that sounded like late-night television in stereo. Forty years on, Ferrari has brought the badge back for a very different age. 

Early this summer I had the pleasure of spending 4 days in Avignon exploring what the Côtes du Rhône region has on offers when it comes to Wine Tourism.  I went with quite a few pre-conceptions, mainly that all the wines would be red, very heavy with high levels of alcohol that would blow my head off and the quality would be questionable!  But my experience was far from those pre-conceptions and I learnt so much more about the wines of Côtes du Rhône, the people and the wide range of activities (including family friendly) you could take part in from a ble

Audi Q8 Cotswolds Tour

Gliding through the rolling hills of the Cotswolds in the supremely comfortable Audi Q8, one is lulled into a sense of pastoral ease—honeyed stone cottages, gently meandering rivers, and villages so pretty they look airbrushed.

As Part of Our Audi Q8 50 TDI Quattro Tour

Images by Hayden Povey.

Every so often, a car turns up on my driveway that sets the neighbours’ curtains into full cardio. And I reckon the Polestar 4 might just be the most talked-about of the lot. Within the hour, heads were tilting, questions were being lobbed over hedges and before long I was presiding over what felt suspiciously like a Parish Council meeting.

September shimmers on the cusp of two seasons—when summer’s abundance still lingers in the market, yet the first golden leaves suggest autumn’s approach. For wine lovers, it’s a time to celebrate both the last al fresco evenings and the promise of richer, contemplative sips as nights grow cooler. In this week’s WINE TIMES column, I have chosen four bottles that reflect the spirit of September: refined sparkling to toast the transitions, a blushing rosé that evokes sun-drenched terraces, and a classic, oak-kissed red for autumn’s return to the table.

Rosé and red are increasingly sharing the spotlight, with traditional regions producing styles that sit comfortably in a global market that prizes freshness and accessibility. Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé is a good example. As the first official rosé in the history of Domaine Clarence Dillon, the family behind Haut-Brion. It marks a small shift in their outlook.

Some hotel names can be a bit of a mouthful. And then there’s the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District.

But this lengthy appellation is a fitting one for such a sprawling complex that’s actually one of the largest urban revitalisation projects in the city, housed in what was a 1912 power plant that lay abandoned for decades on the Savannah riverfront.