If you could experience pure indulgence in the city of your choice, where would it be? A luxury spa within a Hammam of Marrakech, a sommelier’s vineyard in a Lyon chateau? Or a Buddhist retreat in Bangkok? While a trip to Sydney might conjure up cliché connotations of Vegemite, beer stubbies and Ugg Boots, the largest city in the Land Down Under does indulgence oh so well.
The late Sir Norman Wisdom will always be remembered for his unique brand of subtly sophisticated comedy. So it is only fitting that his name should appear on a blue plaque attached to the Hotel du Vin in Cheltenham, as it is a phrase that applies just as equally to the 4-star residence.
So the suitcase is back in the loft and the tan-prolonging aftersun you’ve been applying daily is down to its final squeeze. Brown crunchy things that look suspiciously like autumn leaves keep appearing in your garden and nights are drawing in. Friends and colleagues have now stopped telling you how ‘well’ you look. It’s all a bit grim.
As a born-and-bred Londoner I have often wondered what it must be like to view the city through the eyes of a visitor. Yet as with many other tourist experiences, like visiting Madame Tussauds and witnessing the changing of the guard, it has always been something that’s, well, been a bit too much grief. After all, why would I spend the night in a London hotel when I have a warm bed waiting for me at the end of a tube line?
Paris, Milan, London and NYC – all classic destinations when it comes to ‘style’. These fashion meccas are now closely followed by the trend-setting ‘ Ms’ – Madrid, Moscow, Marrakech, Monaco and Mumbai (Vogue even has a dedicated office there now).
The aviation industry has long used the frisson of flirtation to sell flights, beginning with strict ‘glamour’ criteria for cabin crew on the first commercial flights and continuing through to recent sexy advertising campaigns from airlines such as Virgin. Now a survey from flights comparison site Skyscanner has revealed our romantic associations with flying are still going strong with the trend for“flyrting” – the practice of passengers flirting whilst flying.
A secret hidey-hole in London’s Little VeniceYou could be forgiven for channelling your inner child with a swashbuckling pirate fantasy during a night at The Cabin room at London’s enchanting 4-star Colonnade Hotel. With portholes, nautical décor and a comfy fine-linen-clad bunk bed, this cosy room-for-one, frequented by business travellers and the lucky offspring of the hotel’s salubrious clientele, is the ideal place to rest your head for those of you seeking a good night’s sleep – without giving your bank manager a coronary. ‘Chic, unique and boutique’ is the mantra of this luxury townhouse hotel – and boy, do they deliver. Built in 1865, The Colonnade, which has seen the likes of Sigmund Freud enter its doors, casts an imposing shadow among the palatial Victorian terraces of north London’s Little Venice – an area of rich history, boutique shops and, yes, canals.
Sometimes you need a holiday that ticks all the boxes –relaxing, cultural, exotic, active and thrill seeking. It was just this sort of holiday that I was after when I headed to the Mayan coast of Mexico.
Outdoor cinema evokes memories of warm summer night under the stars but would you dare to do it as the skies threaten snow? Well this new pop-up outdoor cinema with large blankets, down filled coats, snuggly hot water bottles and giant heat lamps may make you change your mind.
Belle About Town is for the woman who is time deprived but style rich.
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” – Coco Chanel.
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