Very recently, on an island not far away, a tired city girl was happy to escape Bangkok for the first time in over a year. Released from the border lockdown, many people here had rushed to Europe (so easy to get into!) and all returned infected with Covid (and therefore straight back into quarantine). But…
Category: Hotels
Hotel reviews, interiors, dining
Do Your Island Math: Luxury Secret Garden + Private Beach = Four Seasons Koh Samui
We’re in the throes of a weird Covid third wave, raging full-throttle in Bangkok. WFH is back in place, schools are closed, and pink Food Panda deliveries are the main sign of traffic on empty city streets. But let’s rewind to a few short weeks ago, so I can cling to the memories of my…
An Afternoon Tea Tree Indulgence at the Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok
It’s mid-afternoon, mid-week, and the mood is lively in the lobby of the new Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok. You’d never guess the hotel only officially opened on October 1st, in the middle of a Covid border lockdown, judging from the energy in its elegant, cavernous lobby. A low murmur of polite chatter and the occasional clink…
Where Vietnamese Heritage and Modern Monk Wisdom Meet – Four Seasons Hoi An
Historic Hoi An, the Vietnamese town famed for its 300-plus tailor shops, had hovered on the fringes of my awareness for years. It’s been there for centuries, but was the type of secondary destination you’d tag on to a bigger one, like Ho Chi Minh City. So when direct flights between its sister city Danang…
A Thai Island Escape Where Bigger is Better – Ritz Carlton Samui
As I’ve mentioned before, word of mouth is a powerful thing. At lunch recently a friend mentioned her stay at the Ritz Carlton Samui, and what I remember from her enthusiastic convo was Big! Big! Big! and New! New! New! Oooooh. Words that stuck like hooks and reeled me in. All this bigness and newness…
Where Singapore’s Old and New Chinatowns Meet – The Six Senses Maxwell
I’m just a visitor, but there seems to be two Chinatowns in Singapore – hip new Chinatown where curlicued old mom ’n pop shophouses have gentrified into trendy cafes, bars, shops, salons, and yoga studios on one side of the Maxwell Road intersection, while on the other side lies the majestic Kwan Im Goddess of…
Enchanted Rainy Day Hideaway – Keemala Phuket
Rain was lashing against the airplane window as we landed in Phuket and I was taken aback. It had never occurred to me that it might be raining during my island getaway at Keemala Phuket resort. It was June – still the soft launch of rainy season in Thailand, and not the real, heavy flood…
Feeling Hong Kong’s heart through art, cuisine & spa – The Cordis Hong Kong
Hong Kong is so exciting to visit. Such a throbbing place! Everything comes at you from all directions, all at once. It’s sensory overload 24/7. You stumble around in a semi-dazed state from trying to block it all out and take it all in at the same time. It keeps you on your toes,…
Heritage Hip in China’s Panda City – Temple House Chengdu
It seems obvious to choose Shanghai or Beijing for a first visit to China. I would have done that too, but the minute I heard the words “panda city”, I was headed to Chengdu. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Chengdu was at first, but who cares, when the city is the official panda center…
How to stay in a palace at the Rishikesh International Yoga Festival – Ananda in the Himalayas India
70 Spiritual Leaders | 100 Countries | 150 Sessions The International Yoga Festival, 1-7 March, 2018 It’s time to head to Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, the home of the ancient yogis, sages and seers. Every year the riverside town of Rishikesh in the cool Himalayan foothills hosts the International Yoga Festival with more people…
A hotel where Malaysia’s Chinese heritage lives on – the Blue Mansion Penang
I always forget I’ve been to Malaysia because I haven’t been to Kuala Lumpur. But then I remember I’ve been to Penang and stayed at a historic hotel that isn’t easy to forget at all. The Blue Mansion Penang is an unusual boutique hotel with its own unique heritage and even Hollywood movie credits. An…
The fantasy island where fish swim above when the meal’s underway – Hurawalhi Maldives Resort
I must confess. I had never been that keen to go to the Maldives until I visited the fabulous, amazing new Hurawalhi Maldives Resort last month. Yes you heard me. And you may wonder- who in their right mind wouldn’t want to go to these jaw-dropping paradise islands? Err … that would be moi. And I had my own reasons….
The Coolest Pool Penthouse in Phuket – Aleenta Resort Phuket, Thailand
What insider insight can I tell you about Phuket, an island so famous, so popular and so commercial that for decades it’s been consistently voted on “World’s Best Islands” lists and whatever other superlatives you can imagine. Well here’s a useful bit of info that might astonish people about this famous island. What most Phuket…
How to house a Viceroy (what?) – Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel Mysore, India
What do you do when a Viceroy of the British Empire comes visiting? Build him a palace to stay in. I’ve said this before, and I say it again – I love old palace hotels in India. I love the majesty, the history, the crumbling edges, and the slight creepiness of these old buildings. The biggest…
Home sweet home at the secret honey house – Villa Madu Ubud, Bali
I would never have known about Villa Madu in Bali if a friend in Ubud hadn’t suggested it to me (thank you secret friend! You know who you are!). It’s one of those under-the-radar places that I’ve never seen before in big magazines, but is known through word-of-mouth, or by people who know people. I…
Where life is beautiful by design – Stone House luxury B&B, Bali
I left Stone House Bali a few weeks ago, yet when I think of it now, I can still feel as if I’m there. So vivid was my stay there that the feeling lasts and lasts, and is imprinted deep into my sense memory. When you stay at Stone House, you absorb every bit of the…
Where Angkor chic shines – the Shinta Mani, Siem Reap, Cambodia
– Where ancient Khmer motifs infuse contemporary design. Believe it or not, I’ve lived in Bangkok for years and had never been to Cambodia, even though it’s just across the border. Maybe it’s the close proximity, but it never seemed so urgent a destination. The only reason to visit would be to see Angkor Wat, but,…
The Hideaway Home of Count de Mauny (and yours too) – Taprobane Private Island Sri Lanka
When I first set eyes on Taprobane Island I had no idea that a few years into the future I’d become friends with its owner, an expat British businessman who lives in Colombo and Hong Kong. At that time, I didn’t even know someone could actually own this fantasy vision that I glimpsed while driving down…
Bye Bye, Fear of Frying, at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai Thai Cooking School
“Nine is a lucky number in Thai culture,” our cooking class coordinator said as we stood in the crisp morning sunlight in front of the wooden spirit house at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai’s Rim Tai Kitchen Cooking Academy. “So I give you nine incense sticks and ask you to join me in the Thai…
Where moon massage, mystic mantras, and Theta healing meet Garudas galore – Hotel Tugu Spa Bali
I’d heard of the Hotel Tugu Bali long before I went there, and always spoken in tones of admiration. ‘Tugu’ and ‘beautiful’ were always mentioned together, as in: “Tugu! It’s gorgeous!”, “The whole place is filled with antiques! And it’s right on the beach!”, everyone gushed. Yes gushed. People always seem to get excited when they talk about…
Where to Relive Bangkok’s Old Town Charm – The Asadang Historic B&B
Bangkok’s historic Grand Palace district is the place to be right now if you’re in the Thai capital. A small heritage B&B offers old-time charm just a short walk from the city’s grandest spectacle. Thailand is experiencing the most heartbreaking event ever known to Thai people, the passing the world’s longest reigning and most greatly beloved monarch, HM the late King…
In Kiddie Wonderland, a Soothing Sanctuary for Mum & Dad at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
People were astonished to hear that I was going to the Hong Kong Disneyland spa. Why? Weird part number one: I don’t have kids and have no reason to be running around with giant mice and ducks. Weird part number two: Hong Kong Disneyland has a luxury spa?! At any rate, it wasn’t really my…
A New Future Rises From a Family’s Abandoned Past – Baan Pra Nond, Bangkok B&B
What happens when dream and coincidence intersect? When an old family photo surfaces, she never expected to see the house she had dreamed of for years… Not long ago when mini-boutique hotels were quite the trend on the Bangkok scene, I started hearing about a new little bed & breakfast hotel called Baan Pra Nond,…
Praya Palazzo, Bangkok – From the Ruins, A Labour of Love
A historic Italian palazzo in Bangkok? Yes, it does exist. You can even sleep here and have breakfast on the river next morning. What you don’t know is the massive labour of love it took for a young widow to transform this former pile of rubble into the lovely hotel you see today… Bangkok is not a…
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