This Twitter Account Mercilessly Rips Bad Trip Advisor Reviews

Chiefs of Trip gathers together some of the worst and most petty Trip Advisor reviews out there and rips them apart, slowly.

from Fine Dining Lovers

Kensington Gardens, London hosts Serpentine Pavillion 2017 designed by architect Diébédo Francis Kéré

Berlin-based architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has designed a bold, light-filled structure to serve as the next Serpentine Pavilion in London's Kensington Gardens

from LUXUO

Food Events: What's On in March 2017

Take your pick of food events around the globe, where some of the best chefs in the world will be sharing their dishes and their opinions.

from Fine Dining Lovers

My personalised passport cover from Carve On + Win a personalised travel set!

I came home from Scotland last weekend to find a chunky wooden box waiting for me on the doormat. It was small but solid and had the branding of this blog perfectly etched into the lid. The box itself was so lovely that I almost didn’t want to open it (I have a thing for…

The post My personalised passport cover from Carve On + Win a personalised travel set! appeared first on The Travel Hack.

from The Travel Hack

Top Ten London Boutique Hotels

I’ve always had a thing for boutique hotels, you know those special places, small but full of character. They’re often in secret corners hidden away, and not a lot of people know about them…but that just makes them even better. In this post I thought I’d tell you about my favourite of these London hidden gems.

1. 11  Cadogan Gardens

Maybe not so much a secret any more as I’ve mentioned this hotel several times on my blog before. Located behind Sloane Square in London’s higgledly piggledy maze of side streets is this charming bijoux boutique hotel, 11 Cadogan Gardens.

Every room at the beautiful townhouse is different and mine had a four-poster bed and an equestrian theme with a view out to the famous streets of Chelsea. 
With beautiful antiques throughout, the public areas are special and intimate but also the height of luxury and opulence. It’s the perfect place to take a break from shopping to enjoy afternoon tea on the terrace or dinner in the restaurant.

2. The Capital

What’s not to like about an intimate family-owned hotel that’s the just about as close to Harrods as you can get? No only is it a stone’s throw from London’s most famous department store but The Capital is also home to a Michelin-starred restaurant and a bar with a world class whiskey collection.
The super intimate hotel has only 49 rooms but each is decorated in a classic style with luxurious fabrics and antiques. A visit to the restaurant, Outlaw’s at The Capital, is an absolute must to try the Michelin-starred menu devised by world-renowned chef Nathan Outlaw and his Head Chef Tom Brown.

3. The Ampersand

From the classic to the more quirky, The Ampersand is such a fun hotel. Combining a Victorian Townhouse building with a modern interior, it’s a fantastic place to stay in London’s fashionable Kensington.

With the hotel’s proximity to London’s iconic museums, the room decor draws on music, botany, geometry, ornithology and astronomy referencing the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V & A.

I particularly loved this music themed room! Absolutely unmissable at The Ampersand is the Science-themed afternoon teas, one of the most unique of it’s kind in London.

4. The Ham Yard Hotel

I love the Ham Yard Hotel, in fact I love all the hotels that make up the Firmdale Group, a small collection of design hotels in London and New York, but I think that the Ham Yard has to be my favourite. It’s actually so much more than just a hotel as you enter through a beautiful courtyard or village with other restaurants and shops at the hotel’s Soho location. All rooms are designed with eclectic fabrics by the hotel owner Kit Kemp who has an incredible eye for putting together interiors and collecting unique pieces.
As well as being home to a fantastic restaurant and one of London’s most happening bars, The Ham Yard also boasts a 1950’s style bowling alley and a state-of-the-art theatre with its own bar.

5. The Kensington Hotel

For me the Kensington Hotel is the perfect combination of luxury and a home away from home! With cosy lounge areas, a glamorous bar and stylish restaurant, you could basically spend your whole weekend just enjoying this beautiful hotel.

I would also recommend that very reasonably priced weekend brunch which starts with a really delicious seafood buffet. 

6. Brown’s Hotel

The thing that I love most about Brown’s in Mayfair is the spectacular history behind it. It’s London’s first hotel, and where Alexander Graham Bell made the first ever phone call and Agatha Christie and Rudyard Kipling were regulars there! Despite the hotel’s age, the interiors are fresh with beautiful mosaic floors and perfectly maintained wood paneling. 
They also do an excellent afternoon tea in the stylish Donovan bar and the restaurant is by famous British chef, Mark Hix.

7. DUKES London
 
Nestled in a courtyard in historic St James is hidden gem, DUKES LONDON. I love the classic decor and the famous DUKES Bar which reputedly makes the world’s best martini!
But my favourite room is the Perrier-Jouët champagne lounge with it’s pink and green colour scheme. Have an aperitif here before dinner at THIRTY SIX restaurant. Oh and dogs are welcome at DUKES so you don’t need to leave your four-legged friend at home!

8. COMO Metropolitan London

Nestled among the grand dames of Park Lane is beautiful boutique hotel, COMO Metropolitan London. With a simple classic aesthetic, this is the hotel for fans of minimalist chic and elegant luxury.

In London luxurious Mayfair, with views over Hyde Park and around the corner from London’s most high end shopping streets, the location is perfect too. Spa and wellness is emphasised with treatments at COMO Shambhala Urban Escape and healthy spa food served at breakfast in the bar. The hotel is also home to the famous Met Bar and to Nobu Park Lane, one of my favourite restaurants in London.

9. The Beaumont

A hotel owned by restauranteurs Corbin and King of The Wolseley and The Delaunay is bound to be a hit and I was super impressed by the beautiful Beaumont Hotel when I went to visit. Inspired by the beautiful art deco hotels of the 1920’s this boutique hotel is a little jewel on a quiet garden square near Selfridge’s. 
The hotel’s American bar has that cosy feeling of a private members club and I love the Colony Grill, a restaurant serving food from both sides of the Atlantic.

10. Dean Street Town House

My final boutique hotel is also one of my favourite restaurants in London. Owned by Soho House, Dean Street Townhouse is a super cool and relaxed and the perfect place for all day drinking and dining.

Think super comfy sofas, fireplaces and comfort food in the restaurant. The bedrooms are classically designed and range from the excellent value for money ‘tiny’ sized room to the spacious ‘bigger’ rooms.

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Those are my top ten boutique hotels in London. What are your favourites? 

An InLinkz Link-up

The post Top Ten London Boutique Hotels appeared first on SilverSpoon London.

from SilverSpoon London

What's In Season In March?

Wondering what to eat this month? Take your pick from asparagus, leeks, mushrooms, radishes, sweet peas and much more.

from Fine Dining Lovers

Why Not . . . Let Go?: 30 Things to Bid Adieu To

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.”– Raymond Lindquist

I can remember quite vividly the first time I rode my bike without training wheels. I was four or five years old, and we were bicycling in our neighbors long drive-way. I don’t remember how long I rode with training wheels, but the moment I was riding without them, it felt as it should have been all along.

I was pedaling by myself. I was smiling from ear to ear, and it was simple because I didn’t have to battle my hesitancy, my reluctancy and instead I simply trusted myself. Trusted myself to understand the rhythm of the bike, how to maintain momentum and how to correct when needed.

Letting go of habits that do not serve us can be scary, much like letting go of our training wheels. The habits, much like the training wheels appear to give us safety, security and clear boundaries, but in reality, they hold us back from reaching our fullest potential.

Here is another analogy that I was reminded of this winter whilst traveling over snow and ice packed mountain passes with streams of travelers. Trucks and some cars chose to gear their vehicles with chains (understand for the trucks who were carrying extreme weight, but for vehicles that weren’t, it forced them to only drive 30 mph no matter what the road conditions were. And while the chains were indeed valuable in very unique situations, for the remainder of the trip, they caused damage to the roads and slowed everyone (who had traction tires) down unnecessarily. Now, I am not saying to refrain from putting on chains. Absolutely not. Safety is paramount, and I’d rather go slow than not make it at all, but the here’s the similarity between chains on tires and holding onto habits that no longer serve us even when we may have had good intentions when we adopted them: they limit us from reaching the quality of life we seek to attain and experience.

Since 2017 began, I have been contemplating the habits, ideas and approaches to living that cause me strife, anxiety, and mental exhaustion. And while you may be wondering, Well, if they’re causing such negative responses, why do you hold on to them? you have to understand that these are defaults that arose out of protection based, for good reason, on experiences from the past. However, these experiences took place in the past, and I, as we all have with each day we wake up, was no longer in the past, but instead the present. And if indeed my habits were causing negative responses in me, perhaps I needed to reassess their presence in my way of going about living.

Today, I’d like to share with you 30 habits, choices, ways of living to let go of. At some point all of these items had to be relinquished by myself: some quite some time ago and some more recently. Either way, having let them go, the quality of my life has risen even if at first the angst of making such a choice gave me great pause as I wondering what awaited me on the other side of each change I was instituted in my life.

Let go of . . . 

1. Unhealthy, toxic, destructive relationships

Who cares if they are family, who cares if they have been in your life for years, who cares if they mean well. If they hold you down, cause you pain (emotional and/or physically), dash your hopes and hurt your spirit, let them go.

2. The timeline you had for your life that you are clinging to. Ultimately, your stubborn grasp is what is denying you the opportunity to experience a beautiful life.

3. The fear of abandonment

When we fear we will be abandoned, denied, or rejected, we cling even harder and in so doing begin to push others away. Discover how to stand on your own two feet, enjoy your own company and be your own best friend. Knowing the one person who you depend upon, you, cannot and will not abandon you, releases your need to cling out of desperation and fear onto others.

4. Stereotypes

Instead of making assumptions about who someone is based on shared similarities with a particular group that you think you understand, take the time to get to know the person, the individual. And then remind yourself, you wouldn’t want to be pigeoned-holed based on what “group” your exterior, ethnicity or sex associates you with, so refrain from limiting others as well.

5. Absolutes

Each one of us is human which means we will make mistakes. We will have bad days, we will have moments we wish we could change. With this in mind, remind yourself that the people in your life will not be perfect and neither will you. No one person is 100% good or 100% bad. This is not to say you shouldn’t be clear about what you can and won’t tolerate, but be patient with people and yourself.

6. Cynicism

A negative perspective on the world will no more improve the quality of your life than showing up late to an interview.

7. Assuming the worst and saying it is self-preservation

Running through all of the possible scenarios good and bad, and then assessing how you would deal with them is not necessarily a bad thing to do to ease your mind. However, if you automatically assume the worst no matter who wonder the situation is, you will close the door of any possible unexpected goodness taking place. It might seem to be a safer course of action to put the armor on now even though nothing has warranted it, but it will keep you inflexible and unable to move with the beauty of possibility.

8. The extra stuff

Clutter, extra sporting equipment, extra clothes, extra furniture, let it go.

9. Stressing about inconsequential life hiccups: bad traffic, long lines,

10. Worrying about what other people think

People will think what they think. But know they are seeing it through their own lens, and you have no idea what that perspective is. Own your beautiful, amazing self. Stay in your lane and enjoy the journey.

11. Past relationships that didn’t work out . . . because they weren’t supposed to. Move forward, move upward and be thankful for the opportunity.

12. Wanting to control everything

We simply cannot control everything, and when we continue to try, we reduce our ability to control what we can in the best way possible to render the most satisfactory results. Take a deep breath, and recognize where you have a role, a responsibility and then own your part to the best of your ability.

13. Expectations

I used to despise the quote that stated one should never expect in order to never be disappointed. And while I still am not a huge fan, I do now understand the premise. When we let go, we cannot be disappointed due to the absence of something. However, I hold out hope and refrain from being cynical, so when something does occur that is worth applauding, I can respond with sincere elation.

14. Comparisons

Appreciating anything or anyone for being what or who they are requires an observant, appreciate and secure individual. While we can certainly be inspired by others, knowing we are each on our own journey, makes it easier to applaud and support others as they journey through their life and we journey through ours.

15. The belief that you must always be happy and comfortable

Social media would have us believe that happiness is a constant state of being. Nope, not true. And we do ourselves a disservice by judging our level of happiness and then berating ourselves when we can’t seem to maintain such a high and happy mood all the day through.

16. Thinking you must fit in somewhere

17. Insecurities

18. Ignoring your health

19. Keeping everyone happy

20. Jealousy

21. Expecting perfection in yourself, your partner, friends, family, etc.

22. Overspending

Going to bed at night knowing your checkbook is balanced, debts are paid and you are falling asleep in a safe home. Refrain from purchasing items unless you need them.

23. Avoiding uncomfortable conversations

24. Passive aggressive behavior

25. Thoughts that do not serve you and the journey are wanting to travel

26. Assuming those others are happier, more successful, and have it all figured out.

27. Not appreciating where you are right now in your life.

While such a list can absolutely continue, knowing now, at this very moment, each of us can rid ourselves of habits that our holding us back is a beautiful reminder that those habits, thoughts and approaches that no longer service us can be let go.

Image: source

from The Simply Luxurious Life®