Le Chambard is everything you could want in a hotel set in the bucolic wine region of Alsace: historic, charming, recently renovated to modern standards and a food lover’s heaven. It is the home to a Michelin starred restaurant whose chef, Olivier Nasti, was awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2007. For those unacquainted with […]
Cour du Corbeau: historic hotel in the centre of Strasbourg
May 26, 2014 by
Hotel Cour du Corbeau is one of the oldest hotels in France, having begun its life in 1528 as an inn or relay station for people traveling by horse-drawn coaches. One can count among its illustrious guests, the Duke of Bavaria in 1570; in 1647, Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, who was […]
Sri Lanka travel guide: favourite hotels, cuisine, recommended places to visit
March 17, 2014 by
This Sri Lanka travel guide is designed for people who are interested in visiting Sri Lanka for a short period (a week or two), who enjoy savoury spicy cuisine and want something more than a beach holiday. Why visit Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka is an island that lies southwest of India, closest to the state […]
Buckingham Place: secluded beach retreat in Sri Lanka
March 1, 2014 by
Buckingham Place Sri Lanka is a quiet boutique hotel with swimming pool, close to Tengalle, but tucked away in a secluded area in the southernmost part of Sri Lanka. The beach is just five minutes away on foot and during my stay there in mid-January, was completely deserted. The hotel overlooks the calm still waters of […]
Governor’s Mansion Sri Lanka: luxury in a tea plantation
February 27, 2014 by
The Governor’s Mansion in Sri Lanka is one of the most unique places to stay on the island because it is a historic property set on a hill in the middle of a tea plantation, far away from the noise, the crowds and the heat. The Governor’s Mansion was built shortly before the 1800s by […]
Heritance Kandalama Sri Lanka: five-star nature retreat
February 27, 2014 by
The Heritance Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka is one of those unforgettable places you find hard to put in words simply because there is no other hotel like it in the world. Built into the stone cliff mountain that overlooks the Kandalama lake, the building was designed by Sri Lanka’s most famous architect, the […]
New recommended Queenstown, New Zealand restaurants
January 2, 2014 by
This is an update to the Queenstown, New Zealand restaurants and travel guide which I posted two years ago. In early December 2013, I returned to the south island of New Zealand and spent a week in Queenstown after several days sea kayaking and hiking in the Abel Tasman national park (see Kayaking in New […]
