One of my favourite aspects of staying at SCHLOSS Roxburghe was participating in a whisky tasting led by Carrie-Anne Jones. A whisky ambassador, Carrie-Anne spoke knowledgeably and passionately about whisky's heritage, Scotland's whisky-producing regions and why she had chosen the three whiskies that we sampled in Bar 1745: a limited edition Sauternes wine cask finish 12-year-old from Speyside's The GlenAllachie distillery, a dram of 18-year Bowmore and a tequila cask finished 15-year-old malt from Deanston.
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Birds are chirping and geese are honking on the far side of the fairway as I raise the sash window of my vast guestroom at Maften Hall in rural Northumberland. It’s pleasant to wake with a view overlooking a championship standard golf course.
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The Douro Valley is known for being the home of the world’s first demarcated wine region and the area from which grapes are sourced to produce Port.
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The Victoria Falls Hotel is one of those places that you really should go out of your way to visit for a drink or a meal even if an overnight stay is beyond your budget. If you can afford to stay at the hotel then do so: it provides a sense of the Victoria Falls’ heritage. I found it a thoroughly pleasant place to stay and a hotel that’s easy to recommend to lovers of luxury.
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I was allocated a sizable ground floor bedroom at the back of the hotel, with a sash window that opened onto the garden. The quiet location and heavy curtains ensured that even on a summer’s night I was able to sleep well. The décor of my room was classically English in pastel colours, with framed prints on the walls. The en suite bathroom was stocked with Penhaligon’s toiletries.
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“Did you hear the whales singing during the night?” asked a smiling, fellow guest as I headed downstairs for breakfast at the Doctor’s House Inn and Spa at Green’s Harbour in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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I pause by the lifts and photograph down into the atrium. Its volume, subtle illumination and stylish design were sufficient to draw a murmured wow from me upon arrival last night.
Even in daylight it looks remarkable. This hotel opened its doors in 1987 but there’s nothing tired about the Marina Mandarin Singapore. Refurbs have ensured John Portman’s symmetrical design continues to impress.
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St Mary’s Inn is a gastropub that offers B&B accommodation in the former administrative building of St Mary’s Hospital, a couple of miles from Morpeth in Northumberland. In its heyday up to 2,000 patients were treated at the hospital, an asylum that closed in 1996.
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Berns, I learn during my two night stay close to central Stockholm’s Nybroviken Harbour, is more than just a hotel. You might think it smacks of marketing speak to describe a hotel as an institution but this place is worthy of the term.
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The Hotel Gotthard, at Lech am Arlberg, has been in the hands of the Walch family since 1931 and is currently run by Clemens and Nicole, a husband and wife team. Nicole originates from South Australia and like the Gotthard’s receptionists and waitresses, wears a traditional Austrian Dirndl while working.
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