Destinations
Where to go next
The blog, sorted by where in the world it takes place. Each hotel, beach and restaurant here is somewhere I stayed or sat down to eat myself — with the comparisons you can only make after seeing both.
Start here — the five worth reading first.
The Caribbean
Turks & Caicos
Sapodilla Bay vs. Grace Bay
The famous one against the quiet one — and which suits which kind of trip.
Turks & Caicos
Sapodilla Bay: the villa is the only option
No hotel on the bay, so the house is the whole decision — and the water is four feet deep.
Providenciales, T&C
The Bight Reef
The best thing on Providenciales is free.
Bahamas · Exumas
Staniel Cay & Compass Cay
The swimming pigs, the sharks, and whether the Exumas live up to the photos.
St. John, USVI
Trunk Bay vs. Maho Bay
Two of the Caribbean’s most photographed beaches, side by side.
Mexico
Mayakoba
Banyan Tree: beachfront vs. jungle rooms
Sand is for lovers, mangrove is for families — and the mangrove is what the hotel is really selling.
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Grand Velas: three resorts in one
An ultra-luxury beachfront for lovers, kid-safe playgrounds at the beach and in the jungle — next door to Mayakoba.
Mayakoba
Banyan Tree vs. Fairmont Mayakoba
A retreat and a resort share one jungle — and who each one is really for.
Mayakoba
Fairmont Mayakoba: the one that got here first
The resort that opened the canals, twenty years on.
Riviera Maya
Xcaret vs. Xel-Há vs. Xplor
Which park for which age range — from someone who did all three.
Asia
Hong Kong
The Peninsula & the Rolls-Royce service
Inside the fleet, the suites, and the hotel that defines the city.
Hong Kong
Peninsula vs. Rosewood Hong Kong
Old-world icon against the new favorite. Which to book.
Macau
Morpheus Macau
The Zaha Hadid landmark — and Jade Dragon downstairs.
Bangkok
Sorn
Southern Thai, three stars, and worth planning a trip around.
Bangkok
Four Seasons Bangkok
Nine acres of riverfront in the middle of the city.
Bangkok
Capella Bangkok
The best service of any hotel, anywhere — and the building deserves it.
Macau
Jade Dragon
Three Michelin stars, eight years running.
Europe
Istanbul
TURK Fatih Tutak
Modern Anatolian, two stars, and a gem of an evening.
Istanbul
Four Seasons Sultanahmet
Sixty-five rooms in a former prison, beside Hagia Sophia.
Istanbul
Çırağan Palace Kempinski
The palace, and the hotel beside it.
Paris
L’Oiseau Blanc
Two stars on The Peninsula’s roof, beside an aeroplane.
Madrid
Paco Roncero Restaurante
Two Michelin stars, and the best roof in Madrid.
Istanbul
Galeyan
The menu tells you what month it is.
Istanbul
Çırağan vs. Four Seasons Sultanahmet
History in the old city, or a palace on the water — the answer depends on your days.