Just in

Hotels

Gleneagles Hotel

Bob Tickler had it right. After the student accommodation, the Rust Group felt they were entitled to some pampering and where better to get it than the Gleneagles Hotel? It’s the place where the Gleneagles Agreement – effectively banning apartheid South Africa from sport – was [...]

July 23, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Balmoral Hotel

The Balmoral Hotel has an interesting history. Like many of its nature it started life as a railway hotel called the Northern British (Railway Hotel). It is still positioned right above the main station Waverley. It has a clock which runs 3 minutes late to help passengers. Forte Hotel Group [...]

July 22, 2022 // 0 Comments

Goodbye Gleneagles, hello Hotel Balmoral Edinburgh

We were all sad to leave the luxurious Gleneagles. No wonder it hosts so many events. In fact the Head of Events Charlotte is the niece of a friend of Bob Tickler and when we met her she explained that security – including detailed vetting of herself – was a vital feature of putting on [...]

July 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

An evening at Windsor Races

Whilst we sporting Rusters often prefer TV-watching to attendance, in recent weeks Duggie Heath has reported from the Lord Test, Ivan Conway from the Oval and yesterday I was at Windsor evening races for its most popular meet on the Monday of Royal Ascot week. Disappointing would be too strong but [...]

June 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

Problems at the Hotel du Vin Cannizaro

Readers will recall my distrust of restaurants with fine views. The same applies to hotels. The Hotel du Vin Cannizaro is a fine white palatial stucco mansion set in parklands by Wimbledon Common. Wimbledon has many amenities: the Common, the All England tennis championship, theatre, a picturesque [...]

June 12, 2022 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/restaurant wrap up

Last weekend’s visit to Sanary and Cannes on Monday meant for some visits to some fine restaurants. At Sanary we always go to the Hotel de la Tour whose signature dish is sea bass baked in salt. It’s delicious but leaves you thirsty. Mireille does not hold back on ordering and the final bill [...]

April 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

Hotel Mamounia and Fowey

Two of my favourite places in the world were featured in programmes I watched yesterday. The first was Fowey in Rick Stein’s travelogue on Cornwall on BBC 2. In the early 80s I travelled to North Cornwall a lot and enjoyed many a meal at Rick Stein’s first restaurant The Seafood Restaurant at [...]

March 29, 2022 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Semolina and the Pig in South Downs

Semolina was recommended to me by the greeter/manageress at my hairdresser in Brighton. Its location off London Road, north of the centre, is not the best as it’s an area known for druggies. The restaurant is small. On the night we (my guest was a spirited Aussie girl who is a party animal) we [...]

March 26, 2022 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/the Boutique Hotel

If  there has been one development in the hotel industry that has irritated me it’s been the rise of the boutique hotel. As often as not these are designed in a small space but disguise the size with a modern makeover and a few gimmicks. Last weekend I had to attend a 65th birthday celebration [...]

February 15, 2022 // 0 Comments

To Bath (and back again one day)

I had previously visited Bath only five times in my life – three of them day expeditions to watch the Harlequins play “away” Premiership matches against Bath Rugby – and so my wife and I, delighted to take up the suggestion of the Rust’s esteemed sports editor that we join him at The Rec [...]

February 2, 2022 // 0 Comments

1 2 3 4 9