Excellence Luxury Villas
Dawn was just breaking in Yerevan, Armenia and the sun was starting to filter through the high rise buildings in the centre illuminating the mish mash of streets and buildings. The only people walking the street at 5.30 am were the unlucky few. Those who have early morning shifts at the hospital, the parking conductors, ...
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 ...
They say Greece represents many countries rolled into one. From the serenity and tranquility of the mainland’s remote rural regions, to the islands with their picturesque bays and bustling towns, there’s plenty to choose from when trying to decide where to visit. Especially if you have the great fortune to pick Crete. To many people, ...
Mauritius is celebrated for its water sports and one of the very best places to go is the Shandrani Resort and Spa. They have catamarans, kayaks and windsurfs aplenty, all included in the resort and the boat crew are the best we have ever come across in any of our travels. In fact they win ...
Danesfield House and Spa evoked 50’s movies as we cruised up the steep winding hill through the gardens in the Aston Martin Vantage, before stopping at a tree lined drive dominated by an imposing gothic clock tower. This vast sprawling and imposing Neo-Tudor mansion was completed in 1991 by architect W.H. Romaine-Walker for a soap ...
Christmas and New Year are all about tradition from the religious aspects leading through to two occasions when memorable dinners are de rigueur. For these festivities, you can justify exploring beyond the normal choices. For me, the best wines are those fresh discoveries; they add new, pleasurable and exciting experiences to the dinners. After many ...
If Italy ranks amongst the most beautiful holiday destinations in Europe (and the world for that matter), then Sardinia is the offshore jewel in the country’s crown. An island of unparalleled natural serenity- a place where dolphins guide lazy boats into harbour and life moves at a snail’s pace- it’s understandable it has long been ...
The paradise of providence. That’s how I felt about Puglia in Spring. So fertile for its dry, hot climate. So uplifting with its masseria, the whitewashed farmhouses with their singular but solid shapes and spacious courtyards. I had left the cold British spring to experience instantly its warm summer equivalent. It was so engaging and ...
If Imagination had a home, Iceland would be it. But, deciding where exactly in this skyr-topped millefeuille land of folklore, trolls and spirits, is a hard task indeed. Perhaps Imagination would boldly burst its knuckles on the door of Þórsmörk’s lamb-stew steaming Volcano Huts; or maybe it would edge, inch by spray-splattering inch behind Seljalandsfoss ...
Yves de Contades went to the ultimate luxury Caribbean island of St Barths to discover paradise, sample the succulent French Caribean cuisine and luxuriate in the finest hotels with a little light sailing in between. The Art of Being (An Island) St Barths is an international fusion of French, English, Swedish, American and Caribbean ...
The UK has seen the sixth consecutive year growth in revenue for the superyacht industry. The fall in the pound has helped, though a third of superyacht owners are actually based in the UK, the exchange rate means there is much more bang for your buck. Whilst there has been a rise in new build ...
$500,000 (for charity) – Screaming Eagle Cabernet 1992 – Technically the highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine. However, the price paid was for charitable purposes. $275,000 – Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck: the world’s most expensive Champagne. – In 1998, two thousand bottles of Champagne were salvaged from a ship, originally destined ...