“A heavy summer’s rain has meant the nation’s unique and exquisite flora and fauna has erupted in an intoxicating and riotous display: sweet jasmine, lilies and honeysuckle, all dazzle the senses once you make the slow drive up the gradual slopes of the Cape Peninsula National Park where the Mount Nelson is ensconced.”
If I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn I’d wound up in a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Tallinn’s Old Town hardly seems of this world, let alone this century…
“Taking its name from the London hotel in which Oscar Wilde was famously arrested, the charming shutter-fronted Cape Dutch building dates from the early 19th century…”
“Located on the banks of the Crocodile River, Lethabo offers spectacular views of the surrounding blue Magaliesberg foothills in the Cradle of Humankind…”
Bed and Breakfasts; they ain’t what they used to be. The image of matronly landladies with all the charm and hospitality of a Stalag guard setting nine o’clock curfews is gone…
‘You see, my dear, it’s all about the little grey cells,’ I say smugly, tapping my head with a wise forefinger and reaching to twirl my moustache…Nick Hammond arouses his inner Poirot on a visit to Knightsbridge newcomer, The Wellesley.
Sometimes you visit a place that just speaks to you. It fits you like a glove. Every nuance, every little touch and gesture sounds a chord…
The Compleat Angler hotel takes its name from Isaak Walton’s famous angling book of the same name, also known as The Contemplative Man’s Recreation (1653) and not one I intend to read.
“At approximately 11am, a white silence steals our breath away as we step almost seamlessly from the plane door on to a train that would carry our winter-coated crocodile through a snow-clad Switzerland…”
“Air, water and road traffic flies, floats and rolls beside the strategically located Runnymede-on-Thames hotel. Although its face is arguably blighted – the blank facade from 1974 oddly leaves the impression of a slap head forehead…”
“It’s hardly surprising that the hotel once known as Twatley Manor decided to have a name makeover in favour of the more elegant Whatley Manor – now considered one of the most sophisticated hotels in the UK.”
“A stay at a country house hotel always puts me in mind of JG Farrell’s literary masterpiece Troubles…” Tom Leahy swaps London for a weekend jaunt to North Wales.