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The ultimate collection of stylish boutique hotels worldwide.

Mr & Mrs Smith

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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

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Archive for the 'Travel tips' Category

Camembert, crustacea and cocktails

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Columbus may have discovered America, but Team Smith recently made a world-altering find of our own: cheese macaroons. And not just any old common as muck cheese - these were Camembert- and Pont-l’Evêque-flavoured puffs of pleasure. It’s difficult to comprehend the majesty of a cheese macaroon unless you’ve eaten one, but for the uninitiated, they [...]

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Bathtime at the Baglioni Hotel

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

It can be tough sometimes, working for boutique travel experts, whose daily tasks include jetting around the world, seeking out glamour-soaked hotels in wow-factor destinations. No really, it can. Especially when said work involves testing out our luxurious hotels’ facilities, just to check they are still as top-notch as ever - the spa for instance, [...]

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Hotel of the week: The Hazelton Hotel

Friday, October 30th, 2009

This week, we’re donning our snoods* and heading to Canada, home to mountie, moose and maple. Toronto is a  shimmeringly clean city of towering high-rises, and, in winter, has that kind of fresh chilly air that makes you glad to be alive (and wearing a coat). It’s a also a great place to do your [...]

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In the diary: bonfire bacchanalia

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

LEWES BONFIRE

Date 5 November
Place Lewes, East Sussex
Style Pyro pandemonium
Setting Not-so-sleepy Sussex streets

Indulge your pagan and your pyromaniac urges with the UK’s greatest bonfire bacchanale.
Event Highlight The Bonfire Societies signal the start of the processions by racing barrels of burning tar down the High Street at 6.30pm, after which the whole town seems to parade past [...]

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Rocking all over the world

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Have you ever noticed how actresses about to receive a necklace on screen are always bare-necked before their suitor rocks up with a jewellery gift? If you, too, know that naked feeling when you’re in your hotel room, getting ready for a fabulous night out – get your partner to channel Richard Gere in Pretty [...]

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This month, we took to the autoroutes of fabulous France on our bicycles to cherry-pick the best boutique hotels this land can offer. We also called in on Australia and New Zealand for a hefty-mileaged detour…
In Paris, we unearthed Hidden Hotel, an organic-only hideaway where mattresses are made from coconuts and synthetic fibres are nowhere [...]

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Hotel (Crillon le Brave) of the week

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Having disgraced ourselves at last week’s Call My Bluff-style wine challenge, we’re determined to reclaim our oenophilic crown and return to cultural kingliness à la Smith. So we’re leaving London behind this week and heading south to chase those fading summer rays in Provence, where a distinct lull in the air can only mean that [...]

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Insider address book: Linda Pilkington

Monday, September 21st, 2009

At the start of the summer, we asked luxury perfumer Linda Pilkington to share her scents of smell (and a few other things). As the founder of Ormonde Jayne on London’s Old Bond Street, she’s journeyed to far-flung frangipani-lined shores and knows more than a thing or two about travelling in style. We delve into [...]

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What to wear where (be it Miami or Birmingham)

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Planning a boutique hotel break is not just about finding the right place to stay. Even when you’ve pinned down your perfect location, how to hone down our threads to hand-luggage proportions?
Isabella Oliver – best known for its sartorial ways with baby bumps – now stocks a 365 collection of no-pregnancy-required womenswear. Dresses, tops, [...]

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There are a few things you can rely on finding at the English seaside: fish ’n’ chips and candyfloss; stocky-legged kiddiwinks with buckets and spades. Less predictable is the weather. And something you really might not expect? A world-class Italian pasticceria – that’s a patisserie, for those in the know.
So imagine our delight when [...]

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