THREE OTHER GRAND FRENCH BRASSERIES October 25, 2010 GALVIN LA CHAPPELLE A year after it opened, the Galvin brothers’ Spitalfields restaurant has become an institution for City diners looking for superior French flair. Its sister bar, Galvin Cafe a Vin, lives up to its name with a fabulous wine list, plus formidable food of its own and a cigar terrace. 35 Spital Square, [...]
A fancy hotel is the answer if you’re stranded by snow December 20, 2010 IT’S not looking good for those of us planning to head away for Christmas, which means it could be time to rethink things. Option one: wallow at home, rueing the fact that your plans have been scuppered and the shops have sold out of turkey; option two: book into a hotel, relax and enjoy a stress-free Christmas [...]
A fancy hotel is the answer if you’re stranded by snow December 20, 2010 IT’S not looking good for those of us planning to head away for Christmas, which means it could be time to rethink things. Option one: wallow at home, rueing the fact that your plans have been scuppered and the shops have sold out of turkey; option two: book into a hotel, relax and enjoy a stress-free Christmas [...]
UK HOTEL REVIEW October 10, 2010 ONCE home to the newspaper of the same name, The Scotsman overlooks Waverley Station and North Bridge from one of Edinburgh’s most impressive buildings. If arriving by train, you should seek out the lift taking you directly into the hotel lobby, through a basement adjoining the station from which papers were once sent out. The [...]
Intelligent luxury under a hot blue sky January 16, 2011 ABU Dhabi sounds like a heady jumble of car, construction and human. In the daytime, the air is thick with noise as it is thick with the pervading haze of dust blown in from the sandlands to the south and thrown up by the never-ending construction. It softens the otherwise relentless sunshine, rendering everything (including [...]
More than Voho, darling: Vauxhall is in for an overhaul September 23, 2010 SANDWICHED between the South Bank and the Battersea waterfront, it was never going to be long before Vauxhall took off. Until now Vauxhall has traded on two cards: “Voho” – Gayer Soho – and housing London’s politicos. However, this week’s launch of St George Wharf, more commonly known simply as The Tower, is a sign [...]
The past lives on as Agatha Christie’s top hotel reopens October 17, 2010 ONCE you’ve been to Istanbul, Paris, Berlin and even London seem somehow paltry, a bit small-scale and even a touch banal. The enormity and seductiveness of the Bosphorous, especially at sunset, and the mesmeric mixture of ancient history, Ottoman splendour and Islamic architecture beguile every traveller. Its appeal was just as strong for the most [...]
Where the cool kids will watch the football June 2, 2010 Going Out LONDON is gearing up for the World Cup and the city is awash with interesting and sophisticated places to enjoy the games – if you know where to look. If you’re based in Canary Wharf, Tompkins is launching in the nick of time. This stylish waterfront restaurant and bar in the Pan Peninsula [...]
UK skies are crystal clear for light planes April 19, 2010 WHILE the cloud of Icelandic ash has kept most of Europe’s airliners firmly on the ground, anyone with an interest in flying smaller aircraft will have noticed the volcanic activity has not interrupted all sections of aviation. Many light aircraft even took advantage of the empty skies over the weekend to fly through controlled airspace [...]
Antigua has a touch of Caribbean class January 31, 2010 GREY London Februaries can be hard to bear, which is why Antigua’s sun, sea, sandy beaches – and direct flights – make it a regular haunt for Brits in search of winter sun. This year there is a real buzz around the island, largely because of the re-launch of Rosewood’s Jumby Bay resort, which has [...]