CHEWTON GLEN was one of the first ‘Country House’ Hotels in Britain, and I first experienced its charms in the early 1980s when I was introduced to the then owner, Martin Skan, who was one of several owners of the first batch of what became known as ‘Country House’ hotels.
At that time, I was the Managing Director of Debrett’s Peerage Limited, and we initiated a marketing plan to promote the charms of a number of early Country House Hotels, all owner occupied and run, to the American market.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, and a good wife, must be in want of a Caribbean Island. Apologies to Jane Austin but these words could have been written for Colin Tennant.
He was born into an aristocratic, landed family with enormous wealth. His education followed the well trodden route of the privileged, Eton, Irish Guards, and Oxford, ensuring the most advantageous start in life and affording him the luxury of doing whatever he liked.
What he liked doing was travelling, partying, and being in ‘Society’.
This month saw the arrival of the 108 metre, 5 storey Sunborn London at the Docklands’ Royal Victoria Dock. A Superyacht by anyone’s standards. However this Superyacht will offer its facilities to a wider audience because it is to be used as a Hotel location.
If you love London, and who doesn’t, but the thought of staying in an hotel feels too formal and lacking in privacy, then the ever increasing popularity of serviced luxury apartments may be the answer. Cheval Residences have got this formula down to a fine art. For thirty years they have been developing prime sites in London and furnishing them to a very high specification.
Does the thought of experiencing the lifestyle of aristocrats and celebrities both famous and infamous, appeal? If so, then there is no grander setting then Cliveden House in Berkshire. There have been three grand houses at Cliveden, two having the misfortune to have burnt down and the current Italianate mansion was finished in 1851. Cliveden has been home to Princes and Dukes and from the late 19th century, the home of the fabulously rich Astor family.
It is possible to drive from Winchester to Chagford, on the edge of Dartmoor in two hours, but the final few miles to Gidleigh Park hotel can take another half an hour if you make the same mistake we did of relying on SatNav to take us to our destination!
Do not make the same mistake. Follow the instructions which the hotel give you, and you will avoid a veritable ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ of the ludicrously narrow lanes in this part of Devon, and the ire of your wife, or partner, and any passengers.
It was fifty years ago that the Battle of Rorke’s Drift was immortalised in the film Zulu, on the 85th anniversary of the action. So it seems appropriate to reproduce The Vintage Magazine’s article , ‘A day in the life of Lt John Chard, Royal Engineers – 22 January 1879’. Whilst the film was not a documentary and for the sake of a good story the historical facts may have been tinkered with, overall it is down to this film that the Battle Of Rorke’s Drift did not just become another forgotten foreign war.
One of the ‘perks’ of publishing a lifestyle magazine like The Vintage Magazine is that you occasionally get to drive some of the most wonderful cars, eat the finest food and drink the finest wines in the best restaurants, and stay in the best hotels, so I thought I would write a ‘Review’ of the past year to record and remember some of these experiences.
The Vintage Magazine sent our Media consultant, Charlotte Holme, and her husband, Marc to London for the weekend to sample the delights of The Draycott Hotel in the middle of Chelsea. This is a traditional old style hotel formed by the joining together or 3 traditional London townhouses.and only two minutes from Sloane Square, centre of the known universe, and the ultimate venue for a weekend in London, with easy access to so many stunning shops, restaurants, bars and gastro pubs.
Welcome to The Vineyard, aka ‘food heaven’ to those in the know, and a wine connoisseur’s paradise. The Vineyard at Stockcross near Newbury in Berkshire is the creation of Sir Peter Michael, who virtually single-handedly introduced Californian Wines to the UK, and this was the foundation upon which he built this wine lovers and foodies paradise. You only have to look at their website or their brochure to see what is most important thing here and, and that is WINE.
