LONDON – I don’t know this city as well as I’d like, but I found a great new spot in the eastern-central part of town. The Montcalm at Brewery City is a fun, polished and unique property near the Barbican and Moorgate tube stops. It’s in what functioned as the Whitbread Brewery for more than 200 years, and it’s got a lot of charm. You walk into the facility through a giant archway that once formed the entrance to the brewery, past iron gates with a polished gold sign. The lobby isn’t large but there are beautiful, fresh flowers (they’ve Read more
hotels
Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn nabs prestigious Mr. and Mrs. Smith hotel award Nice to see some Canadian content in the inuagural Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotel Awards! Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn, a high-end property that works with artists in a pretty remote part of the province, was this week named “Best Newcomer” in an awards ceremony held in London. Nearly 50,000 people from around the world voted for their favourite boutique properties in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith Awards, after which a shortlist of 10 hotels in each of the categories was put to a panel of 36 specialist judges. Read more
SORRENTO, ITALY – I love this part of Italy. We pulled into Sorrento on our last full day of our remarkable Silversea Cruise in the Mediterranean. A lot of folks headed to Capri or Positano for day excursions. But I’ve had the pleasure of visiting both on nicer days in summer so opted to stay close to the boat to get packed and visit the town of Sorrento, which sits high on a dark bluff of rocky land high above the water, facing Naples. It’s nowhere near as pretty as Positano, which clings to a cliff as if for dear Read more
ON BOARD CATHAY PACIFIC – I slept like a rock on a flat bed. I had outstanding service. And I stuffed myself silly. I had the chance to fly business class on Cathay Pacific on my recent flight home from Hong Kong to Toronto, for which I was hugely thankful. It’s not something I get to do all the time. For the most part, I’m in coach or economy like everyone else. But the upgrades occur occasionally, which is a huge perk of this job. There were the usual hot towels when we got on board, and I think they Read more
KOH SAMUI, THAILAND – What a great day. My first full day on this lovely island was actually spent almost entirely elsewhere; snorkelling up near Koh Phangan. We got hooked up with a tour that took us on a day-long excursion with really friendly and helpful guides and plenty of pop and water on board. It was about an hour to reach the snorkelling spot, a quiet kind of bay between two rocky islets off the coast of Koh Phangan, which is just north of Koh Samui and where they have those wild “Full Moon” parties each month. It wasn’t Read more
