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
To follow up our recent feature on the Top 10: Boutique Hotel Designers, we thought it would be great to talk to the top triumvirate of designers about their inspirations and aesthetics. Kicking off our interview series is design doyenne Anouska Hempel, who came in at Number 1 for the longevity of her legendary London [...]
In the first of what (we hope) will be a series of insider interviews with hoteliers, we caught up with Tim Haigh and Rupert Pendered – the boys behind Barnsley House – to find out what makes them tick and reveal some behind-the-scenes goings-on (warning: may contain bullwhips and sailors).
Barnsley House is one of [...]
Just yesterday, we launched our October collection, and (as promised last month) beefed up our Brazilian boutique-hotel selection in the process. Not content with just three luxury city hotels in Rio, which we had previously, we dispatched the intrepid Laura and Katy to the beach-lined state of Bahia to uncover the finest in coastal comfort, [...]
I’d just like to wade in and add my tuppence-worth to Anthony’s great post on the Top 10 best hotel bathrooms. It’s probably a topic that merits a bigger hit-list, and one that’s fairly subjective as it depends very much whether you’re a soak-in-the-tub or a power-shower type of person (I’m both, according to whim [...]
Most people know good boutique hotel design and when they see it - but not everyone can identify the people behind the polish – the ones who pick the flooring, paper the walls and hang the blinds. LUCY FENNINGS brings you a Who’s Who of hotel design with a top-ten list of the most influential [...]
This year I’m a judge in the Sleep European Hotel Design Awards. The winners will be announced at the Sleep Awards 2008 ceremony is on 6 November at Sofitel, terminal 5, Heathrow.
The awards recognise the work of architects, designers, and developers across 18 different categories. They are judged by a panel of leading hotel [...]
When it comes to reporting on cutting-edge arts, culture and design, New-York based Coolhunting is on the vanguard. And few hotels are more worthy of being celebrated on this finger-on-the-pulse website than Thierry Teyssier’s Romaneira. At Smith we always appreciate great-looking hotels, and there’s nothing we love more than sharing our experiences at fabulous hideaways, [...]
Wow-inducing bathrooms have become as important as seductive boudoirs at the hotels Mr & Mrs Smith visit, and they’re a great opportunity to showcase imaginative design. Double sinks, or even double baths create a glamorous boutique-hotel feel, glass-enclosed wet-room-style showers and baths with a view add drama. Beautiful materials and different textures, from stone tiling [...]
In the past, I’ve definitely deemed a hotel too ‘businessy’ to join our carefully selected collection of seductive stays, and have swiftly dismissed corporate-tinged places simply because its clientele just didn’t look like the kind of fun-loving folk our discerning members would want to while away their precious leisure time with. But when it comes [...]
A lovely chap called Peter Fritz from Bulgarian website MilliardCity.com got in touch with me to do a Q&A session about luxury and hotels having watched our TV programme currently broadcasting in Eastern Europe. The intro (very roughly translated) says along the lines of ‘When you want to travel, and you want to get some [...]
