Tag Archives: Small Luxury Hotels of the World

The delights of Pottery Barn

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I can’t be trusted with interior design. If you need some advice on which curtains go with which carpets, or which chairs with which table I suggest you ask a room of colour-blind monkeys before approaching me.

I’ve been attempting to make my abode a more aesthetically pleasing one over the last couple of years and it’s been an abject failure. I seem to be able to buy a nice piece of furniture. Standalone this piece of furniture would garner some respectful cooing from the ladies of London Town.

The problem arises when I try to fit said piece into the muddled shambles of a cluttered bohemian/shabby chic/Scandinavian puzzle I’ve created in my flat.

I’ve given up now. It was getting so weird that I could see guests considering calling the men in white coats. Or at least I had until, after whinging at an American friend for half an hour about my appalling décor skills, she suggested I have a look at Pottery Barn.

Pottery BarnI almost lost my temper. “I’m not sure pottery is going to help my dear, have you not been listening? More pots (yes I bought some giant pots) are not the answer.”

She was kind enough not to call me a moron before explaining that pottery barn does a lot more than pottery. I’d imagine my American readers already know this. And I fear a large number of everyone else knows too. Perhaps the part of my brain that could have stored this knowledge was destroyed at Dukes on Monday

After five minutes looking at furniture and soft furnishings I predictably got bored and drifted into the travel section where I purchased a faux fur neck roll (it looks like a puppy that lives quietly on your shoulders) for flying. Although I think I might wear it all the time. It’s so comfortable that taking it off makes me cry, and I’ll be able to power-nap anywhere at any time.

It’s at this stage in my blog posts I usually panic about mentioning SLH. No need this time. As my finger strolled through the pottery barn blog, I randomly found a competition to win a trip to the Sandpiper Hotel would you Adam and Eve it! (an SLH hotel if you didn’t know).

The Sandiper, Barbados

I love it when a plan that didn’t actually ever exist appears to come together.

Bank Holiday Monday in the UK

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Next Monday is a bank holiday in the UK.
So I, along with the vast majority of the working population, will not be at work on a day of the week that we would ordinarily spend in the office.
Pleasant, but no big deal. Right? It’s only one day.
Wrong.
It is a big deal. It’s bigger than a big deal, it is a MASSIVE deal and Londoners – who decide not to go away to a lovely little boutique hotel somewhere – will collectively lose their minds, forget that work will ever come again, and embrace the day like it’s their last.
I’ll be one of them.
The streets, bars and parks of the English capital will be rammed with, traditionally reserved Londoners behaving like it’s spring break in one of those American teen movies that my man friends like to believe is more documentary than fictional nonsense.
(Just in case any men read this I should say to them: “Of course those films are an accurate depiction. Approximately 95% of American school girls are, indeed, in their early 20s and look like models – everyone knows that!”)
Anyway. Bank Holiday Monday. In short, it’s utterly utterly brilliant. Unless it rains.
In which case plan B kicks in and then it’s rubbish.
Everyone gets in their automobile and turns the city into an extended IKEA car park full of road rage and regret.
But they won’t give up once they’ve started the journey. Because we English love an angry queue. Hours later the sales of tea lights and cheap/pointless household furnishings have rocketed, the Swedes are laughing and we all make a promise we won’t keep – to never get in our cars again on a bank holiday Monday.
The good news is the weather forecast is looking promising. So you probably don’t have to worry about getting lost in IKEA following the arrows around that fly trap of a shop.
I’ll be in Dukes Bar, arguably home to the best cocktails in the city, with three girlfriends enjoying, no doubt, more cocktails than is entirely sensible.

HULHRDU_43002147_Hotel_Facade_600x399So prepare yourself for an incoherent and potentially grumpy blog post next week. I’ll be writing it on Tuesday morning with a large cup of coffee and a sore head for company.

New York, New York!

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Every girl has her favourite city. And I wish I could say mine was a little less of a cliché. But, despite my best attempts to be different, one will keep me coming back for more until the end of time: New York.

That’s not to say I don’t love sampling new cities – there’s nothing more exciting than getting lost on new streets, watching a new brand of city dwellers from behind the rim of a coffee cup, feeling the birdsong of an alien language gliding across your ear drums.

The chocolatiers and beer-worshiping of Bruges; the cigar smoke filled jazz clubs of Havana; the barely dead sushi of Tokyo’s fish markets; and the chic romance of Barcelona’s bars – all are among my favourite travel memories.

But will I ever enjoy these cities, these new voices, more than when I hear a New Yorker order a slice of pizza? Or feel the same rush of delirious happiness that cycling through Central Park brings me?

In a way I hope so, but I have my doubts…

After all, everyone likes to read new books, to see new plays, to listen to new music. But equally we like to be embraced by the warmth of the ones we already fell in love with.

So I spent this weekend in the arms of my beloved Big Apple. Strolling past the shops I’ve already spent far too much in on 5th Avenue, gossiping in the cafés of the East Village and staring out across the water at the Statue of Liberty.

And it made me very happy indeed.

I stayed, you’ll not be surprised to hear, in a beautiful boutique SLH hotel.

But can you guess which one? The photo should give you an idea…

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The lovely Hotel Chandler

Cologne at Christmas

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Dear Melissa,

Cologne’s famous Christmas markets are not to be missed! Even Ebenezer Scrooge would feel festive when wandering the craft stalls that line the streets, sipping heart-warming Glühwein and soaking up the magical atmosphere and twinkling lights. I am sure you will have a ball and come back laden with gifts and a feeling of goodwill Melissa. Don’t forget my present!  I believe they kick off on the 26th November this year. I can smell the cinnamon and gingerbread already.

The best place to stay in town is Hotel im Wasserturm, an impressive retreat with superb city views and great location in the centre of the city, close to chi chi boutique shops, Cologne Cathedral and the streets in which the markets are located.

Aside from strolling around the stalls and enjoying the shopping and traditional food and drink, make sure you book in for dinner at the property’s La Vision restaurant. On the 11th floor, it offers amazing views high above the city roofs – often named the best view in Cologne – and fantastic modern German cuisine.

You might have noticed you can now review SLH properties on our website – this is a new facility we’ve launched, and I see that one of the first reviews was for Hotel im Wasserturm.  Markus recommends the restaurant and its view as his top tip for the city! Just so you know, the review facility is only open to our Club members who we know have stayed at a minimum of two SLH properties in the past – so reviewers should be well versed in our high standards. A great new resource to use when planning trips in the future don’t you agree?

PK

Waterway wonders: which ocean-view does it for you?

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I knew you’d fall in love with the Pillars Hotel, its private-home-style service is legendary across Florida and I always try and drop in if I’m ever passing! But your love of waterway views (and passing yachtsmen) has got me thinking about my favourite ocean-view haunts and one place immediately sprung to mind that you really should add to that never-ending travel list of yours, Hôtel les Ottomans in Istanbul.

This incredible hotel recently popped up on my radar again when a friend tweeted her picture in front of one of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen. She was lounged out on their magnificent terrace, Raki in hand watching the most elite yachts of the Bosphorous coast passing by – sound like perfection? Oh and did I mention the vinotherapy spa she had just come from??

But alas, I know you’re heading over to the Big Apple so maybe you’ll have to put thoughts of yachtsmen wining and dining you on a Turkish roof-top terrace to the back of your mind until another time!

PK