FREE internet in the desert at Amangiri
As you know, dear reader, if there’s one thing we hate more than being ripped off, it’s being ripped off for life’s essentials. Rather than climbing back onto our high horse following our piece on extortionate hotel and internet charges, we’ve decided instead to shower bouquets on major hotels that do provide free internet. After all, these days, internet = oxygen, and it’s no longer a matter of being able to pay, it’s that hotels shouldn’t be charging in the first place. Kudos then, to the very few major hotel groups that don’t gouge you for getting online.
Fashion is a lie-down [image courtesy of Design Hotels]
Fashion in Milano isn’t just about the clothes you wear, cara, it’s a lifestyle. From Armani Nobu to Bulgari Hotel, fashionistas just cannot bear life without couture. Joining Bulgari in the haute-elier ranks is Maison Moschino, with a whimsical 65-roomer housed in an 1840s railway station. Have you packed your Choo-Choos? All aboard.
Mirrors, mirrors on the wall at Palazzina Grassi [image courtesy of Design Hotels]
That annual mask and costume hell, the Venice Carnival, has almost whirled its way through for another year, leaving a momentary calm when locals reclaim the city before the next wave of the leezure suited arrive in spring. Sure, it’s still rather parky in February and several shops and restaurants will be closed, but the beauty and joy of a deserted Piazza San Marco is worth the trip alone, and though it’s been slow coming, there are now more stylish hotels than ever to bed down in La Serenissima, including Philippe Starck’s first foray into Italian hotels via the whimsical Palazzina Grassi.
Beach style at Villa Bentota
After decades in the wilderness, Sri Lanka’s long deserved place in the sun may have finally come. Though there are still post-election rumblings, vast, unspoilt parts of the stunning north and east coast have opened to travellers again, while a crop of beautiful new boutique hotels have sprouted in the west and south. No less than the New York Times has put the Resplendent Isle number one on its destinations list for 2010, so get there fast before the hordes do. Here’s a peek at one just opened bower where you’ll wish to lay your head.
Hide away in secluded COMO Shambhala, Bali
The holiday season is in full swing and THE party of the year is just around the corner – but, uh-oh, you haven’t booked your getaway yet? Fret not, it’s not too late, Kate. Whether you’re travelling solo, with your beau or with sprogs in tow, we’ve selected five of the best destinations with equally stunning properties for you to frolic away your winter blues. So brush off that dust from 2009 and bring in 2010 with gleaming sunshine and glittering style.
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Cosy and quirky at Crosby St Hotel
The opening of the Crosby Street Hotel in the coolest part of Soho reaffirms what clued-in New Yorkers already knew, there’s the completely commercial open air mall that most of Soho has become, and then there’s Crosby St, lined with the area’s best independent stores and concentration of gorgeousity, seemingly separated by Broadway from the Starbucks and SUV crowd.
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