Europe and Middle East

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

newby tea Eng Breakfast w. Teapot 2 copy

Newby Tea. Discover Pyramid style tea bags at Waitrose

Newby Tea pyramid tea bags are at Waitrose Indulge in an elegant afternoon tea dunking silken leaf laden pyramids in a posh hotel and it’s very likely you’ll be tasting Newby tea, a company well versed in supplying luxury hotels. Well now you can have that same experience at home with the news that eight […]

Read the full story here
Adam Handling at Caxton 010

Adam Handling at Caxton. Incredible food from a master chef.

It can only be a matter of time before even greater honours are awarded to Mr. Handling, the latest one being British Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year 2014 and you will be hard pressed to experience food of this quality at these prices.

Read the full story here
2011 11 21 17.00.41

Chef Rui Paula at The Vidago Palace

Chef Rui Paula is something of a legend in Portugal and the Douro River region in particular. A self taught culinary master, his passion for inventive recipes using locally sourced ingredients has brought him fame and fortune, not least because of a clutch of successful restaurants in Porto.

Read the full story here
Night train to Berlin

The Night Train to Berlin. Loaded with romance

On a rainy night in February, I was waiting in Paris’s Gare de L’Est station for the night train to Berlin. Those last four words are loaded with romance. And I was taking this winter journey in search of the romance of rail travel in a European winter.

Read the full story here
Vidago palace golf course

Vidago Palace Golf Course

Standing on the 17th tee of Vidago Palace Golf Course I had no indication of quite what I was in for. It had been quite a round up to that point; negotiating most of the cunningly placed creeks, coping with Augusta like slopes on the giant greens, and one wayward fairway wood aside, keeping to most of the fairways.

Read the full story here
Randolph MacDonald Hotel 006274

Restaurant at the Randolph

The restaurant team were all looking a little smug as we were shown to our table at Restaurant at the Randolph, and rightly so considering the restaurant had just been awarded its third AA rosette. Some accomplishment from a kitchen brigade committed to serving only British sourced fresh ingredients. It helps of course if your owners hail from Scotland (especially when salmon is on the menu) and Macdonald Hotels and Resorts has collected over 40 AA rosettes across all its properties.

Read the full story here