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Gravetye Manor

As – to use a vogue phrase – a circuit breaker from the daily domestic routine, I made a reservation sometime ago for lunch yesterday at Gravetye Manor near East Grinstead. I had only heard good things of a hotel which was once the home of Victorian gardener and writer William Robinson [...]

October 17, 2020 // 0 Comments

London: it’s eerie

Yesterday I travelled to London for various meetings. A taxi took me to my first appointment via Oxford St. – I have never seen it so deserted. If I had to describe the West End pre-Covid I would use the word bustling. Now it would be eerie. It was like those nightmarish science fictions [...]

October 15, 2020 // 0 Comments

Mamounia/ a dream realised

If it’s good enough for Winston Churchill, a man of epicuean not to say Falstaffian, tastes it’s good enough for Daffers. This is a hotel I have always to stay at and with a few minor criticisms I have not been disappointed. The overwhelming feelings are those of space and excellence of [...]

January 10, 2020 // 0 Comments

A LA COLTHARD/MARBELLA CLUB

The good friend a heavy hitter in the ad world who stayed with us at the Marbella Club referred to it as ‘reassuringly expensive’. This was a clever ad slogan applied to a premium lager to attract a rich clientele. As I understand it, it means that it is intended to be expensive as [...]

September 24, 2019 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Varsity Hotel Cambridge

It’s been some years since I visited Cambridge and I cannot believe how much it has changed in my absence. Perhaps it’s the digital boom as it has a thriving science park but the city seems more alive and prosperous than I remembered it last. My memories go back to a May Ball in the early [...]

June 1, 2019 // 0 Comments

Amsterdam arrived and analysed

We actually made up the time after being given an earlier than anticipated slot. Schipol airport is a confusing, crowded place as you have to get past the flows of passengers making their way to departure gates. After clearing border control and customs there was no driver as arranged at the [...]

May 21, 2019 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/ Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat

Polly and I decided to go to her favourite place on the Riviera, Cap Ferrat. For those that do not know it, it is very much the enclave of the super rich. Aside from Paloma Beach, the Rothschild villa and the Grand Hotel, there is not that much to do. The Grand is now under Four Seasons Management [...]

April 29, 2019 // 0 Comments

Bye bye Grenada

It hardly seems a week ago that I posted on our aspirations for Grenada. These were more than met. The location, amenities and staff at the Spice Island Beach Resort were all superb. Though we only left the hotel twice, we felt we had experienced the island, particularly the Caribbean fusion [...]

March 1, 2019 // 0 Comments

A typical day in Paradise

I have now settled into my routine. My day begins with an early morning walk on Gran Anse beach. I find such places best in the early morning with only a few dog walkers about. The beaches at Grenada are public and I assumed that over the weekend the loveliest one at Gran Anse would be full to [...]

February 25, 2019 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Spice Island Beach Hotel

The first couple of days on any vacation can be testing: the long haul flight, time adjustment, mosquito bites, sunburn, settling in can all contribute to this. It’s testament to this fine award-winning hotel that we are after one full day all fully acclimatised and content. Whilst the resort has [...]

February 22, 2019 // 0 Comments

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