Long Weekend: Tackle the French Alps in Chamonix, the perfect resort for a snow-filled weekend getaway March 13, 2017 The weekend: Hitting the mountain is often an annual affair – the same week, the same place, the same friends. While this might give you something to look forward to it’s worth remembering how easy it is to simply grab your gear and treat yourself to a weekend adventure. If you worked on Thursday and [...]
The world-famous ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge are enjoying huge investment. We head up into the Rockies to investigate March 3, 2017 So famous are the Back Bowls of Vail in the skiing world that, this being America, you would expect them to be trademarked. To anyone who loves the rush of downhill skiing, these giant geological saucers 3.5 kilometres up the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, are the Holy Grail of winter sports. In size and scale [...]
Britons are expected to splash out £108bn on cars during 2017 February 28, 2017 Britons will spend £108bn on cars this year, according to research by American Express. The poll found that 19 per cent of adults will spend an average of £11,094 buying a brand new or second hand car. Londoners spend the most on cars at £14,557 each, followed by the East Midlands (£13,831) and Scotland (£13,191). [...]
US immigration from the UK doubles following Donald Trump’s election February 28, 2017 A sharp increase in single flight bookings to the US appears to have occurred during January and February, as people rush to beat President Donald Trump’s looming travel ban. The number of one-way flights booked to America from the UK has doubled since the start of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, according [...]
Brave sub-zero temperatures to discover Moscow’s hidden cultural treasures February 24, 2017 Russia’s sprawling capital teems with magnificent onion-domed churches, candy-coloured Baroque buildings and compelling, clean-lined, Stalin-era skyscrapers. Pretty parks such as the vast, green Gorky Park dot the city, and at its heart is the imposing plaza of Red Square. This is home to the showpiece cathedral of St Basil, Lenin’s mausoleum and the state-owned department [...]
Opinion: If you’re an Airbnb host, there are a number of legal potholes that can catch you out if you’re not careful February 24, 2017 Airbnb is now a hugely popular online platform connecting would-be landlords (or “hosts”) with tenants (or “guests”). The site allows for the vetting of both hosts and guests through online reviews and provides hosts with insurance in case things go wrong. But that still leaves a number of legal snags, however, which can be easily [...]
Airbnb isn’t only revolutionising the holiday market; it’s also changing the way offices are designed February 23, 2017 When Airbnb sent round a survey to its employees in Paris asking what they’d like in their new office, the request was for a petanque field. For the uninitiated, petanque is a form of boules played with a wooden ball. “We were like, ‘weeeelllll, that may not happen, it could be a little dirty and [...]
Long Weekend: Check into Marbella Club, a golf hotel in Malaga with an aristocratic pedigree February 20, 2017 The weekend: Marbs, as certain raffish reality TV characters call it, occupies a prime location by the Med on southern Spain’s Sunshine Coast. Behind this famous tourist town rises the jagged Sierra Blanca mountain range. You can shop, swim, hike, or mountain-bike, but most visitors are here to play a round with their balls. Thanks [...]
Reach stunning landscapes, luxury hotels and the national speed limit driving in the Scottish Highlands February 20, 2017 The soul-crushing experience of driving in London can be enough to grind down even the most dedicated fan of cars. No matter how many horses are hiding under the bonnet, they’re not much use if you’re crawling along at 4.8 miles per hour. That’s why Scotland’s North Coast 500 is such a tantalising prospect – [...]
How to find quiet sanctuary in the buzzy, bohemian city of Prague February 10, 2017 Widely regarded as one of Europe’s prettiest capitals – and one of the only European cities that remained largely undamaged during the Second World War – Prague is like an ornate display cabinet of architectural styles throughout the ages. From the 14th century Gothic wonder that is Charles Bridge to the graffiti-strewn John Lennon Wall, [...]