Mary Gostelow

Some might remember the joy of seaside holidays. Others hanker after the kind of experiences portrayed in The Famous Five and other childhood books, and still another group might merely be fascinated by experiencing something that is so undeniably traditional English that it is worth a night away, next time in London. (Allow three hours’ driving…

Like many who are increasingly time short, I needed somewhere to recover, or at least to catch breath. Host luxury Phoenician, in Scottsdale AZ, fitted the bill…

Chicago is renowned, and justifiably, for some pretty unfriendly winter weather but the rest of the year it is gorgeous. In summer the city moves outside, quite…

Accor’s Co-Deputy CEO and head of the company’s luxury brands, Chris Cahill, beams when talking about luxury. To bring them up to date, some of the heritage Fairmont hotels have seen astronomical spend, which should result in double-digit increased rate but double-double customer satisfaction. I went to see two of Fairmont’s heritage ‘railway…

Yes, more news from the glorious Le Lyrial, sailing from Rome to Athens following last week's column.

Time to see what a boutique-sized luxury hotel at sea is like. I chose Ponant – named for ‘look west’, the opposite of Levant - that is actually more like…

Kimpton Fitzroy London is one of those surprises that, once found, could easily become a habit. First, where IS it? Well, walk 10 minutes north of Aldwych, up Kingsway, past Holborn and its tube (underground) station and you are in Bloomsbury, an area of London that was named after a 13th-century Norman landowner, William de Blemond.

Belmond Mount Nelson is the iconic luxury hotel not only of Cape Town and South Africa, but of the southern part of the continent. It is also, together with The…

Johannesburg’s Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa has a unique story. It was built in the early 1980s by insurance magnate Douw Steyn, best known today for…

Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski, 100% owned by that august luxury hotel company, is a significant player in Munich’s past. It was built by King Maximilian II in 1858 as his personal guesthouse, on the main central thoroughfare named in his honour.