Beethoven’s Third Symphony was thoughtfully entitled ‘la Heroica’ or Heroic in English. Thank goodness he didn’t stick to his original plan and call it ‘Bonaparte’. After all, it was a piece written in 1804 about Napoleon… Beethoven’s memorial to the heroic achievements of a ruler who he hoped would go on to inspire Europe to […]
Hotel Quadrifolio, Cartagena, Colombia
Whistling through the streets, Rafael Nunez Airport disappearing in the rear view mirror, you could be fooled into believing you are on the outskirts of almost any Colombian town. Modern dwellings, skyscrapers in Bocagrande, twenty first century life. Window down, head cradled by your arm, you breathe in the warm sea air as you traverse […]
Singular Hotel – Puerto Bories, Patagonia
The Singular pays homage to the buildings and founder’s rich historical importance. The hotels’ restored wood dock hovers over the Fjord looking out to the Pacific, where ships took wool to all over the globe. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the bustle and shouting of workmen loading up the ships.
Fit for Kings… and Queens
King Street Townhouse, Manchester Manchester, the northern powerhouse for culture, music and food has come into its own over the last number of years and Eclectic Hotels have taken up the mantle and opened two impressive boutique properties. Elegant townhouses rather than hotels, they are both a home away from home. Well… a home if […]
The Fabric of Tel Aviv's Beating Heart
The sticky heat settles on your brow the minute the air hostess commands ‘doors to manual’ and you step out onto the tarmac that is Ben Gurion Airport. A short taxi ride and you are in the centre of Tel Aviv, Israel’s vivacious beating heart. Titled the ‘Mediterranean Capital of Cool’ by the New York Times, the second city that never sleeps has a way of drawing out your hedonistic side.
Your Link… with Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv been dubbed ‘the miniature Los Angeles’ by the Economist for a reason. It is the epicentre of high tech industry and scientific research in Israel. By the late 1990’s Tel Aviv had established itself as one of the world’s most technologically advanced cities, expanding rapidly ever since.
Bezalel and the joy of Jerusalem
The Bezalel Hotel is an integral part of this new world. Part of the Atlas Hotel Group, with 16 boutique hotels across Israel, it encompasses art and design in a way that perhaps its older counterparts lack. Quirky yet sophisticated, a style of its own.
Victoria Falls Safari Club, Zimbabwe
Stand completely still. Listen carefully. Gather your heightened senses; see, hear, smell, taste. Red desert dust escapes skyward. Rustling and grunting ensue. Scratching and snorting. Your eyes dart around, trying to lock eyes on the target. Through the pamplemousse grass, past the ornamental pots and exotic flowers. Breathing slows. Sweat trickles. Suddenly, without hesitation, and […]
Cape Grace – Cape Town, South Africa
‘You have to stay here at least once in your lifetime’. That’s the tag line. As plumes of grey smoke and the thunderous boom of the Noon Gun forever consign the Cape Grace and Cape Town firmly to memory, I’m tagged, I’m staying here at least once in my lifetime. What a magnificent beginning. The […]
Gran Hotel Inglés, Madrid
It doesn’t often rain in Madrid. It’s known to, but not often. The ominous, heaving, dark clouds could’ve spelt the beginning of a rather damp weekend. But they didn’t. They couldn’t. Nothing could have dampened the soul and sunshine emanating from the Gran Hotel Inglés. If anything, it prompted a jolly ‘awe well, we’ll have […]