Monthly Archives: September 2026

The luxury traveller has changed, and quietly. Not so long ago, sustainability was a word attached to budget travel and a certain amount of doing without. That association has fallen away. At the top of the market, guests now ask how a villa is powered and where its food is sourced, and plenty want to […]

Nine times out of ten, when someone comes to me asking about a Greek charter, they’ve already decided it’s Mykonos or Santorini before we’ve even had the first call. Fair enough, they’re the names everyone knows. But I always ask if they’ve done the Cyclades before, and a surprising number have, at least once, and […]

Ask someone what’s on their Luxor list, and I can usually guess before they finish the sentence. Karnak. Luxor Temple. The Valley of the Kings. Maybe the Valley of the Queens if they’ve done their homework. And look, I’d never talk anyone out of seeing those. They’re extraordinary, and for a first-timer they’re basically the […]

A late landing at LAX and an early start to collect our rental car were followed by a relaxed drive along the coast towards Santa Barbara. It was a pleasure to have swapped the cabin air for the warm climate of Southern California but we were too early to check into our accommodation, so we […]

Tucked within a secluded acre of manicured gardens in Santa Barbara, Simpson House Inn has long set the benchmark for American hospitality. Built in 1874 for Scotsman Robert Simpson, this Eastlake-style Victorian manor made history in 1997 as the first bed and breakfast in North America to earn AAA’s coveted Five Diamond rating — a […]

There is a case to be made that nobody should visit Ibiza in July. Not because July is bad, but because the island saves its best self for later. Come in the back half of August and on into September and you find the version the regulars quietly keep to themselves. The sea is at […]

As a series of heatwaves unfurled across the capital, residents ventured out of their warm homes in search of exciting and cooling summer experiences. With the season coinciding with my mother’s first-ever visit to London, I too put on the thinking cap to arrange a series of enticing activities. Tai Chi: Kew Gardens With my […]

Ask most people when they’d book a villa in the Mediterranean and you’ll get the same answer: August. Sometimes July, if they’re trying to be clever about it. Almost nobody says September, which is odd, because September is when the whole thing actually starts to work properly. I say this every year to clients who […]

Most people think of a superyacht and picture the obvious things. A huge boat. Expensive interiors. A crew waiting around. That’s only part of it. Modern superyachts have become surprisingly sophisticated spaces. They are built for entertaining, relaxing, exercising, working and, of course, getting away from everyone else. The yacht itself almost becomes a private […]