Europe and Middle East

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in Europe and Middle East. independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Hotel Chavanel room shot

Hotel Chavanel. Exquisite design.

In the chic Hotel Chavanel, Paris has the very property for which the phrase “small but perfectly-formed” could have been conceived. The frontage, a couple of minutes’ walk from the Madeleine, is so narrow you could walk by and miss it,

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The Balcon at the Sofitel St.James

The Balcon at the Sofitel St.James

The Balcon at the Sofitel St. James is that rare beast, a French restaurant in a French hotel which has turned its back on its upbringing and decided to go native. What used to be Le Balcon, a rather stuffy eatery on London’s posh Pall Mall with rather heavy French dishes, has been reborn as THE Balcon under the helm of a talented Antipodean chef.

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Hiking In Gran Canaria

Majestic Hiking in Gran Canaria

Far more than just sun and sand, Gran Canaria boasts mountains, colonial villages and archaeological remains, Rupert Parker dons his boots to hiking in Gran Canaria.

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Hotel Shangri-La Paris

In a city awash with five-star hotels, a new entry with a slightly off-centre location needs an irresistible proposition to draw the well-heeled. Napoleon is not a bad name to throw around, nor is having the Eiffel Tower on your doorstep. Chinese owners of the Hotel Shangri-La Paris have done a good, if difficult job, of combining French grande luxe with Asian antiquities in this hotel built in 1896 as the private residence of Napoleon III’s great-nephew, Prince Roland.

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AlmaLusa Baixa Chiado Quarto1

AlmaLusa Boutique Hotel

I’m in the haven-like Praca do Municipio, just next door to Al fama in the Baixa-Chiado neighbourhood, the home of the AlmaLusa boutique hotel, Lisbon’s latest luxury urban hideaway, a perfect sanctuary for those of us who have had our fill of sardines for one night.

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Island Grill

Island Grill

Having one of the finest locations in London is a pretty big feather to have in your cap when you’re a restaurant, after all it’s ridiculously exciting when you can boast you are literally opposite London’s Hyde Park on the famous Bayswater Road. The Island Grill has another pretty big feather to play too, it’s the main dining outlet within the Lancaster London, formerly the Royal Lancaster, one of the capital’s iconic clutch of famous hotels dating back to the sixties.

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