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
With pristine snow fields, adrenalin-fuelled pursuits and a white-hot après-ski scene all within scarf-flinging distance, Matakauri Lodge boutique hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand, is at its most alluring during the local ski season, which runs from now until it’s sticks-down in October.
Style Alpine elegance
Setting Shores of Lake Wakatipu
Why this week? There’s [...]
Ettinger of London is renowned for its stylish handcrafted travel accessories (we’ve got our eye on their beautiful bridle hide billfold purses, weekend bags and classic captive-top hip flasks for Christmas this year). But this luxury leather-goods label is less well-known for the dynamic adventurer, cross-country cyclist and former ski instructor at its helm. Who [...]
A flight to Geneva, a train to Martigny and a 100 minutes of driving will get you to Switzerland’s sunniest ski resort: Verbier. Nothing prepared me for quite how special a few days here would be: it’s upmarket but down-to-earth; sophisticated yet unsnooty; and when the weather’s right, it’s breathtakingly beautiful.
This weekend, it was fantastically [...]
With Cupid on the cards mid-month, there’s more reason than ever to splash out on (boutique) bedded bliss. Luckily, our ceaseless search for seductive stays has resulted in eight new additions, spread across cool coasts, colour-rich countryside and snow-kissed slopes.
First up are two Greek treats on the idyllic islands of Kefalonia and Ithaca – [...]
Not long before Christmas, me and my soon-to-be-Mrs-Smith found ourselves touching down in the heart of the Swiss Alps, for a weekend reconnaissance mission at Solis Cambrian Hotel & Spa – one of the latest additions to the Smith boutique hotel collection. We visited Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland, a village-sized cluster of gingerbread-house wooden [...]
Now that you’ve had my top tips on How to… drive in the Alps, you’re ready to test your newfound skills in some real-life situations. So here are five fantastic Alpine driving routes I try to take whenever I’m in the mountains – strictly for Smith Ski research purposes, you understand:
Geneva – Chamonix – Martigny
Distance: [...]
Car adverts invariably show a gleaming vehicle purring unhindered along an empty highway that twists and turns through magnificent scenery. Real life is, of course, a bit different. The reality is that the average speed of a car in London’s rush-hour traffic is seven miles an hour, and the nearest that many motorists get to [...]
We caught up with Liz Berman, owner of two of our favourite ski chalets – Chalet Kernow and Chalet Ti in Verbier – and asked her to divulge her thoughts on what gives great travel…
Favourite places to stay on holiday?
When I stay in hotels I like places that have beautiful spacious rooms with great views [...]
The other day Pip McCormac at The Sunday Times asked me my thoughts on ski chic for this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/specials/ski0809/article4744798.ec
We put our heads together here at Smith HQ and here are our thoughts:
Of course style is essential and practicality is paramount, but comfort is a priority if you’re as crash prone as me. Hi-tech gear means [...]
The stylish new online collection of Alpine ski chalets with boutique hotel-style service.
The leading connoisseurs of the world’s finest boutique hotels bring you Smith Ski: a meticulously selected portfolio of the finest ski chalets in Europe.
From the high-altitude snow fields of the Trois Vallées & Val D’isère and the Chamonix valley in the [...]
