Casa Pacha Formentera: Ibiza’s superclub settles down
By John O’Ceallaigh In a riff on those ‘want to feel old yet?’ memes that show child actors of yesteryear as addled by middle-age as the rest of us, spare…
Britain’s new hotel brands: from glamorous golf retreats to remote treehouse idylls
By John O’Ceallaigh Clearly, there’s never been a more challenging time to kickstart a new hotel brand but the imminent debut of three new hotel groups on British shores is…
‘A vibrant social hub’, The Marbella Club’s new Clubhouse is a hopeful harbinger of good times to come
By John O’Ceallaigh We’ve become so accustomed to bad news, that a recent notification about the forthcoming spring launch of Marbella Club’s new Clubhouse seemed to have been beamed in…
A masterclass: Not schmaltzy or untethered from reality, Ashford Castle’s new Extraordinary Experiences are cultural immersions done correctly
By John O’Ceallaigh A disclaimer: I seem to be innately predisposed towards Ashford Castle on the Galway-Mayo border in the west of Ireland. I grew up an hour away in…
Botswana’s Xigera: Red Carnation Hotels’ ‘legacy’ project ambitiously combines fully customised safaris with African artistry
By John O’Ceallaigh The president and founder of Red Carnation Hotels, Beatrice Tollman may be from South Africa, but it is in Botswana, at the enticingly named Paradise Island in…
Long-awaited Iniala Harbour House hotel brings an infinity balcony, plunge pools and “Malta’s most expensive English breakfast” to capital Valletta
By John O’Ceallaigh There’s never been a more challenging time in which to open a hotel. Still, the developers and backers behind the long-awaited Iniala Harbour House & Residences (previously…
The Kyushu courier: the strangely named 36+3 is Japan’s newest luxury train
By John O’Ceallaigh It remains to be seen if the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics will take place this summer as hoped. In any case, travellers currently considering a trip to…
Blood is thicker than water at Transylvania’s Bethlen Estates, a family enterprise centuries in the making
By John O’Ceallaigh Its macabre, blood-curdling associations with Dracula could be off-putting to some, but there seems to be little doubt that the proprietors of intriguing new opening Bethlen Estates…
Time travel by train: built from renovated rail carriages, South Africa’s Kruger Shalati lodge journeys to the origins of Kruger National Park
By John O’Ceallaigh It was about 100 years ago that the first tourists made their way to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and what a thrill it must have been….
In South Tyrol, Forestis resort pairs an all-natural concept, and Celtic yoga, with the dramatic beauty of the Dolomites
By John O’Ceallaigh As is the case the world over, Italy’s hospitality industry is in desperate need of support, and a very good enticement to plan a visit comes in…