Luxury Travel

A Castle Built by Henry VIII (Give or Take Three Centuries)

L'art De L'emballage

Unboxing the Osmo 360 II is a treat. Everything is so beautifully wrapped, with the care of a Parisian pâtissier boxing up a tarte au citron, and the products themselves are of obvious quality, each with a reassuring heft and finish. It is quite exciting revealing them one by one.

Seaplane to Shaviyani Atoll: Barefoot Pilots and the Finest Commute on Earth

L'Arrivée: Whisked Through, Then Made to Wait

We were greeted before security had even finished pretending to be difficult, our concierge sweeping us through in proper VIP style, past every queue and straight to the waiting car. After eight hours in the air this counts as a mercy rather than a luxury.

A lovely Antiguan lady then drove us to our villa, chatting away as though we were old friends rather than jet-lagged strangers.

Deep Bay: The Best Beach You Have Not Yet Been Told About

Arrival in Poreč: Bentleys, Marble and a Very Good First Impression

There is a particular moment on any holiday when you know, with total certainty, that you are going to be fine. Mine came approximately eleven seconds after arriving at the Pical Resort, Valamar Collection in Poreč, when I clocked a Bentley Continental GT, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini Urus parked outside the entrance like a pair of expensive bookends. This, I thought, is no ordinary family resort. Quelle surprise.

Arrival: The Audi A5 S Line and the Finest Fifty Yards in Black Tie

The Tour: Le Touquet, a chateau in Fontainebleau, Chateau de Chambord, Chaumont-sur-Loire

The queue for LeShuttle's Flexiplus lounge told its own story. McLarens, Ferraris, Lamborghinis — you name them, they were there, idling politely in line like schoolboys waiting for the tuck shop to open, their owners doing that studied nonchalance that only a man leaning against half a million pounds of carbon fibre can attempt.

Arriving at Naturhotel Forsthofgut feels like stepping into a perfectly balanced world  - one where the warmth of a family-run retreat meets the refined elegance of a five-star hotel. Nestled at the foot of the Asitz Mountain in Leogang, it’s the kind of place where the air carries the scent of pine and wood, mingling with the aroma of freshly baked bread in the morning, and where hospitality is more than just a service; it’s second nature.

“Welcome to the City of Dreams Mediterranean” was the greeting from the hotel doorman as he opened the gold-rimmed glass entrance ushering us into a grandiose, marbled and voluminous lobby; this type of glamour, style and pizazz is usually associated with cities like Dubai, Hong Kong or Miami, yet here we were on the eastern periphery of Limassol on the beautiful island of Cyprus.

I mention the Maldives and already you are conjuring up a far away paradise, powder white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise sea and the bluest of blue skies you have ever set your eyes on. Yes certainly it is paradise but what sets the Sun Siyam resort group apart from the others is the staff. The minute you arrive the staff greet you with the words “welcome home”, well if your home is heaven you have returned.