Browsing: Luxury

Whilst on a tea safari in Holland Cindy-Lou Dale soon discovered the meaning of a cake hang-over.

I’ve heard much about the Dutch tea drinking culture, even more so about their idyllic afternoon tea shops. I saddled up my photographic assistant, Heather, booked a couple of Eurostar and Thalys train tickets to take me from London to Amsterdam (via Brussels) and sought accommodation advice from the tourism office there. A few days later, Heather and …

WINDAMERE HOTEL

The elegant Windamere Hotel, surrounded by tea and cardamom estates, is a gracious Colonial gem with grand views of the Himalayas. 

Here old rituals of politeness and respect hold sway, where turbaned staff serve afternoon tea in cosy inviting corners in the library or front parlour where books and newspapers are strewn around. The deep Victorian sofas, immense gilded paintings and framed photographs of stiffly posing people is somewhat reminiscent of an elderly …

After a few false starts and many growing pains, Punta Cana on the Dominican Republic’s eastern coast, might truly begin living up to the hype of becoming the “new” ultimate tropical vacation destination. Over the past two years, ambitious plans for massive upgrades in existing accommodations, services, and amenities, plus the completion of many luxurious new resorts have successfully come to fruition largely thanks to enthusiastic European and American investors.  Lately, the seascape has been …

The dream of skiing in St. Moritz, Europe’s winter glam capital, seems impossibly expensive to most of us. Yet this unbridled wealthy Swiss mountain village, where furs predominate, caviar is sold in supermarkets and snow-chained Bentley’s jockey with Porsche’s for parking, is affordable, very affordable – the trick is knowing where to look, and when to go.

From Zurich airport take the little red train, which gently threads through the Swiss Alps, gently clickedy-clacking higher …