Get the low-down from the original style-seekers' latest good-time hunting expeditions, find destination inspiration and insider tips from around the world. Welcome to the official Smith blog: we hope you enjoy your stay
We’ve been thinking a lot about trends in the travel industry this week – especially the increasing predominance of the boutique inn – and we figured there was no one more likely to have their finger closer to the pulse than Martin Raymond, one half of the founding team behind the Future Laboratory, the trend-spotters [...]
Reading Tam’s recent posts about Ilse Crawford’s new venture and the Barnsley House boys’ latest acquisition, I couldn’t help wondering (in true Carrie Bradshaw style) whether we’ll be seeing an explosion in polished designer ‘boozers with bedrooms’ in the next year or two. If this turn of events does become a trend, I don’t think [...]
More news on the inn front: last weekend, James and I had an all-too-rare weekend off - no reviewing, researching or meeting with hoteliers to tell them all about Smith - this one was purely pleasure. We went to Barnsley House (one of the very first boutique hotels to come into our collection). Now, I [...]
‘Boutique hotel’ must be up there as one of the most overused and misused terms. At Smith, not only do we adore genuine boutique hotels, but we love special stays that have their own wow-factor.
So how do we define what makes a boutique hotel or a Smith hotel?
THE QUESTIONS MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM ASK THEMSELVES [...]
Given that the techy development of Mr & Mrs Smith has been continuing apace (this travel blog, the BlackBerry app, the route-planner gizmo), you could be forgiven for thinking we’re in the midst of some grand plan for world domination. We’re not (well, actually we are, but it’s a benevolent one, involving free minibars and [...]
I found this great website to make postcards from your own snapshots…
Go to ppme.co.uk, upload your favourite holiday snap, write your own ‘Wish you were here?’ type message and they print and send your image as a postcard for only 99p.
It beats the usual cheesy purple sunset shots and having to find stamps/postbox, plus [...]
Lucy grills Amber about her recent research trip to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean
So, Amber, welcome back: tell us a bit about your trip to the Maldives – was it all lying about on beaches catching rays (my guess, judging by your tan, which is still astonishing after a week back in Grey Britain)?
Well [...]
It’s that magic time of the month again – we’ve just launched a whole host of luxurious boutique hotels in some of the furthest-flung corners of the world. It’s a mixed bag (in terms of geography, not quality, naturally), covering four continents, eight countries, and one very hefty air fare bill (carbon-offset, of course)
Most excitingly, [...]
Since the launch of the Smith route-planner and our top luxury UK road-trips not so long ago, we’ve been thinking a lot about the lure of the open road, the thrill of the wind in the hair, and the enduring 80s awfulness of soft-rock service-station drive-time compilation albums.
Thus far, we’ve thought exclusively about journeys within [...]
So - yesterday, I had lunch with John Hitchcox at Electric House (of Soho House Group fame). You may not know his name but you will certainly have heard of:
a) at least one of his building projects (Jia, The Gramercy – not to be confused with Ian Shrager’s New York hotel).
b) his business partner, design [...]
