Smith Travel BlogTravel tales and hotel news from the boutique hotel experts at Mr & Mrs Smith

This month, the intrepid Smith team of style-seeking hotel hunters began its global trek in canal-crossed Amsterdam, home to a trio of reinvented Dutch stunners: a modern aristocrat named Sir Albert (originally a diamond factory), the fantastical Andaz Amsterdam (formerly a library) and modernist masterpiece Conservatorium (the one-time Sweelinck Conservatory of Music). Then, we headed [...]

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Looking for boutique hotels in London but want to escape the bustle of the city? Go west: in riverside Richmond, the Bingham is a smart townhouse with stylish rooms, excellent food and a verdant lawn that leads down to the Thames… (All photos by Rachel Juarez-Carr.) Tweet

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This week we’re prescribing a hearty dose of lavish Latin living as a post-winter pick-me-up: snugly situated on the southwest corner of London’s Hyde Park is the irresistibly Italian Baglioni Hotel… Style: Daring decadence Setting: Parkside palatial Why this week? Spring is officially here but many of us are still stuck in the wintry doldrums. [...]

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With rain-soaked pavements and throngs of unsmiling shoppers, shopping in London can be less than pleasant without some insider knowledge. But we’re here to help: just two umbrella-dodging minutes from London’s hectic Oxford Circus, there’s a serenely sparkling wonderland: welcome to Swarovski Crystallized… Opposite Liberty, close to all the West End theatres and just steps [...]

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This month, we explored the edenic eastern Algarve from our temporary home at quirky country house Fazenda Nova; after that, we lounged by the pool at Corsican beauty La Signoria. Once we managed to tear ourselves away from the sun, we were northward bound, off to hang out with a host of cool locals at [...]

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Londoners, if you like to keep your fingers on the pulse of  restaurant, bar and hotel openings, you will enjoy getting emails from Urbanologie, such as this one about the hottest new tables in town… One of the most anticipated launches of the year was the recent opening of Keith McNally’s Balthazar London in Covent Garden [...]

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Stylish, hardworking, easy on the eyes and often found in the world’s best bathrooms: like their products, the dynamic duo behind Malin + Goetz skincare is very well-travelled. So, we just had to sit down with co-founder Andrew Goetz to find out their insider tips and favourite places to stay… ______________________________________________________________________ Why did you start [...]

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We’re starting the new year as we mean to go on, with a host of heavenly hotels. This month, we’ve already enjoyed a Tuscan tryst: we were seduced by a cosmopolitan Chianti castle, Castello del Nero and also Villa Armena, a baroque villa near Siena. In London, the witty Ampersand hotel in Kensington wowed us, [...]

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What’s that you say? It’s nearly Christmas? Cue cold sweats, mild panic buying and a belated urge to sling on some knitted accessories, sing a merry tune and stock up on seasonal good cheer. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up a festive assortment of great London activities that will sate yuletide appetites, scent your [...]

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It’s 10am and I’ve just turned down a free glass of champagne. I hate myself. On the plus side, I’m sitting on an elegant dove-grey sofa at the Maison de Parfums in Selfridges, surrounded by a glittering array of Dior perfume bottles and being given an education in fragrance by a very lovely lady called [...]

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