Chalet Aurore, Meribel

We whip through the Blackwall Tunnel, exhausts flaring and roaring, enjoying the hum and purr of the monstrous engine restrained in this glowing rocket. Headlights flit-flit-flit through the central reservation but our eyes are on the lookout for Gatsos, flashing blue lights and undercover coppers. We’re encapsulated in a quiet pod, a super-smooth ride that’s…
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Run to the Hills: Rural Retreats

rural
The word staycation is a disgusting one, I feel dirty for using it, but I’m doing so to prove a point. As abhorrent as the word is, the concept is a great one. Travel takes time and time is precious, when I want a weekend away (which I so often do) the idea of airports…
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Ghost Busters: The Phantom Series II

“Perfection.” That was the ideal that Sir Henry Royce urged his employees to strive towards. In contradiction to the notion that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Sir Henry also implored his staff, in a vague Hey Jude-esque style, “to take the best that exists and make it better”.  It’s a pretty good principle…
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Hard Candy: BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981

In 1972, having created the still-lovely arc of the Porsche 911, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, grandson of the Bauhaus-trained original, left the car marque to cast the family eye wider. Design groupies across the world venerate the master’s (and his studio’s) subsequent work. Ranging from watches, televisions, sunglasses and all manner of consumer art pieces, the…
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Ragaz Spa Offers Three Stages of Spa

The Ragaz Resort Spa in Switzerland is offering the ultimate in Spa treatments as it incorporates three stages of Spa treatments. From massage, steam and sauna, through laser treatments right through to liposuction and plastic surgery. The centre at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz spans over 5,500 square meters and its recently finished facilities include…
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London Set, Paris Match

And as Chelsea Clinton and Charlie Sheen board that same 21st-century carriage that once held Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, they ride past the glorious Port Authority Bus Terminal, where three thousand drunk and homeless vagrants wait to escort them to the top of the Empire State Building, off whose roof they will be ceremoniously…
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Spa Girl: Yin Yang Goolies

“Want one?” he asks, completely ignoring the fact that I’m laden down with bags from Selfridges and downs the remnants of his glass. “Isn’t it a bit early.” I suggest, to which he looks at his watch, grunts “past eleven,” and signals to the barman for another. Ever since he lost his job he’s been…
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Death of the Kitchenette

Rightly or wrongly (well, if we’re honest, rightly) so, the serviced apartment has long been considered the dowdier cousin of the more illustrious Grand Hotel. They were usually only contemplated for their suite-like space, one suspects, for the ability to rustle up a meal in the confines of a closet-like kitchen. In recent years, however,…
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The Loneliness of the Long Distance Spa Girl

Certainly, I would say monogamy is the way forward in any other circumstance, but I’m justifying this on the grounds that everything is above board. We have no secrets: I’ve left Roger. But why, I hear you ask? There are a number of reasons – his refusal to help remortgage Mummy and Daddy out of…
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Granada

The Granada I knew was as pretty as a postcard – the only problem was that was the only experience I’d had of it. Postcards. And after 5 hours in cattle class with Iberia, who offer complimentary turbulence and little else, and a sweaty transfer at Madrid’s ridiculous excuse for an airport, I needed a…
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