Luxury Travel

My ‘to do’ list tick-tocked through my mind. Emails, meetings, deadlines; presents to buy, friends to visit, appointments to sort. So much to do and so little time. How could I possibly relax and give in to the magic of the festive season with so much on my mind?
This pendulum of pressure was no match for Surrey’s Nutfield Priory Hotel and Spa.
Here is a hotel that exudes warmth and welcome. Stepping inside was like that post-Sunday lunch, ‘let’s all cosy up by the fire’ feeling, and that’s exactly what we did first.

Arghhh, Heathrow at 6 am, not glamorous or clever. However I was off to visit The World of Leica at Leitz-Park in Wetzlar, an hour outside Frankfurt, which made it all worthwhile. Before we get into the wonders of the trip, let me reassure you that this latest architectural marvel is nowhere near as naff as it sounds, in fact, it is somewhat of a shrine for photographers both old and new, whether they shoot Leicas or not.

This page was blank for a long, long time.
Not because I couldn’t think of anything to say about The Silo Hotel. Quite the opposite. It was because there were so many ways to start the story of our stay, so many fabulous moments, that I really had no idea where to begin. We may have only spent one night here, but in that snippet of time the hotel and its staff created our own spectacular beginning, middle and end.
This is our Silo story.

Finding The One isn’t always fairy-tale straight-forward. It takes patience, searching (and soul-searching). It means experiencing the not-so-right, the you’ve-got-potential, the what-on-earth-was-I-thinking?! But they always say, ‘You know when it's The One’. And I knew.

The smiles struck me first.
Sunshine smiles, happy-to-see-you smiles, there’s-such-a-treat-awaiting-you smiles.
Greetings as heartwarming as the jasmine tea brought to us as we checked in, followed by the pop and bubble of champagne because, why not?
Before we’d even stepped into our superior suite at Cape Town’s The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, I knew I was going to find it very hard to leave.

Gautier Cognac is regarded by the French as one of the very best in France and therefore the world. The Gautier Extra 1755 is quite magnificent and well worth the price tag.

Project SHU has successfully concluded her final sea trials in the Baltic Sea. Her delivery is planned for autumn of this year.

The British airline ‘2Excel’ is the only globally accredited airline that is licensed to perform aerobatics.
To gain that unique accolade every aspect surrounding the airline has to meet the highest standards; the pilots are not only all RAF war zone veterans with over 25,000 fast-jet flying hours, but former members of the Red Arrows team.  Their aerobatic ’planes are the German built Extra 300 LPs certified to +/- 10g. with the same power to weight ratio as the new Ferrari 458.  

Hong Kong has such a romantic aura surrounding it, rich in history, boys own tales and block buster movies. An island that served as the nexus for trading between two mighty empires for hundreds of years and celebrated for its grand casinos, towering modern sky scrapers, beaches, markets and now the world’s longest sea crossing bridge.

Pendennis Shipyard recently completed the restoration and repair of the stunning Mariette superyacht, built in 1915, this 42 metre, twin-masted schooner sailing yacht is one of the world’s most historic yachts. We asked the Captain, Charlie Wroe, what life is like on a luxury superyacht.
How long have you been the Captain on the Mariette?
Since 2005
What was your career background/ history before coming on board as Captain?