Photograph: (c) Kate Tadman-Mourby 2021 PATRICIA HIGHSMITH AND THE STRANGE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING KINGS PALACE HOTEL OF ATHENS Patricia Highsmith was one of the best crime writers of the twentieth century. Her tales of Thomas Ripley ...
In 1900 visitors to London were advised by Baedeker to find a hotel on the Strand. The choice began with 700-room Hotel Cecil, built on the site of Lord Cecil’s Thameside home, then the Savoy (built by Richard D’Oyly Carte who produced ...
At the western end of Piazza San Marco, just behind the Napoleonic Wing that houses the Museo Correr, sits one of the oldest hotels in Venice. Hotel Luna began life in the twelfth century as the Osteria della Luna. It was a simple house near th...
Philip Lewis, general manager of the Randolph in Oxford, has breakfast with Adrian Mourby, photographed by Kate Tadman-Mourby I met the general manager of the Randolph, Philip Lewis, for breakfast and a hotel tour. Philip joined in 2019 the Randolp...
My dear reader, In case you find this Feuilleton Ritz-heavy, you couldn't be more right. Since the early 1880s, the name Ritz is simply the better word for luxury. PUTTING UP THE RITZ … for sale. This time you ...
VIENNA — SEMMERING — SALZBURG — INNSBRUCK Austria is currently the hotspot of Europe, Vienna its capital. European summers are synonymous for visiting the countryside, sea- and lakesides activities, culture, festivals and, as I hav...
By Adrian Mourby HOTEL DES BERGUES, GENEVA Geneva’s Hotel des Bergues (A Select Member of The Most Famous Hotels in the World) is a restrained and elegant building and full of idiosyncrasies. It is the oldest purpose-built hot...
By Adrian Mourby If you want to know where the beating heart of England can be found, then Trafalgar Square is a good place to start. When World War II ended, thousands of people crammed into this world-famous piazza below the National Gallery and...
Adrian Mourby in front of the Pera Palace Hotel By Adrian Mourby On 1 September 2010 two momentous things happened in Istanbul. The Venice Simplon Orient Express arrived for its annual visit and the same day the Pera Palace Hotel reopened its doo...
By Adrian Mourby The name “Waldorf” is forever linked to ”Astor” in the public imagination. It was John Jacob Astor I, the wealthiest man in the United States at the time of his death in 1848 who was ultimately responsible. ...
By Adrian Mourby 2010 Anyone visiting the Dylan Hotel today passes through a three-arched portal that faces on to the Keizergracht. This stone structure and the yellow-paved courtyard that lies beyond it are all that remains of a stone and brick the...
By Adrian Mourby The Randolph in Oxford was built in 1866 and is one of those hotels - like Chateau Frontenac in Quebec and Gstaad's Palace - that is as much a symbol of the city it serves as a hotel. Last year a dramatic fire that caused f...
Finally we have an European answer to Mathilda, New York's most famous cat of the Algonquin Hotel, reports Adrian Mourby One of the latest recruits to the staff of Le Bristol in Paris is Fa-raon, a young Burmese who has been brought in as ...
Staying at Edinburgh’s Waldorf Astoria recently I was surprised to find my suite in the attic was named after Billy Garioch. The hotel, which was built 110 years ago as The Caledonian, is still known locally as “The Caley”. It...
By Adrian Mourby Bologna’s oldest hotel celebrated its centenary in 2012. A university city with a long musical tradition that encompasses Mozart, Rossini, Verdi , Wagner and Respighi, Bologna never became a major nineteenth century tour...
“Sunset over the Atlas Mountains”, 1935 oil painting by Winston Churchill Winston Churchill considered La Mamounia and Marrakech the most unforgettable place on earth. The world-famous balcony that bathed his creative sensitivity in glo...
"Why seek far afield when the good is close by?" Contributing Editor Adrian Mourby knows where to breakfast. The monumental Langham Hotel has dominated the south end of Portland Place since its completion in 1865. The hotel’s very height triu...
A Philippe Strack playground, where the pianist will come and play in your suite, just for you. It sounds good in practice but does it work in theory? Our contributing editor investigates... Le Royal Monceau, Raffles, Paris is without a doub...
HOTEL: ST PANCRAS RENNAISSANCE LONDON ROOMS WE LIKE: OVERLOOKING THE STATION PLATFORMS ARCHITECT: George Gilbert Scott OPENED: 1873 Like most people I like to think of myself as reasonably tolerant. I believe that even the most pernicious...
By Adrian Mourby* The Lygon Arms in Broadway looks exactly how you’d expect an old Cotswold inn to appear. Stone fireplaces, heavy wooden doors, uneven flagstones, mullioned windows and creaking floorboards denote a history that goes back to m...
Johannes Baur, born in Austria in 1795, was a visionary entrepreneur who profoundly shaped Zurich’s hospitality industry. In 1837, at the age...Read More
The historic building (top, slide to the right): The "new" Raffles main building in 1899. It opened on 18 November 1899, featuring the all new...Read More
Since decades “The Oriental”, as it is affectionately known by travellers from all over the globe, leads the lists of most...Read More
In 1952, a group of wealthy individuals including Donald Deskey, the fabled designer (among his works the Radio City Music Hall); Harvey Firestone,...Read More
You don your safari gear during the day, but you always dress for dinner. Because Mount Kenya Safari Club Nanyuki is an exclusive retreat. High on...Read More
