TraveLeave
My favourite part of the day was before sunrise, when I would enjoy a pot of coffee on deck while watching a thin electric wire of dawn burn against the epic darkness of the sea and sky, slowly growing and revealing the new landscape that we had reached the night before.
Christmas in Greenwich sees the peninsula turn into a festive wonderland with a 10-metre tree at its heart, There’s a children’s carousel ride, street food stalls selling everything from Bratwurst to cups of steaming mulled wine, and an arty market stocked with plenty of goodies that’ll make great last-minute gifts.
Subtly textured cedarwood rooms induce a sense of calm with silently sliding doors, fretwork inspired by local Tochigi latticework, puffy white (Western-style) beds, granite onsen, and balconies where you can wrap yourself in a cashmere blanket, sip green sencha, and watch cormorants and Black Kites flit around the lake.
With its sultry red walls and velvet-clad armchairs, waiters in black suits balancing trays of Old Fashioneds and Manhattans and live jazz band jamming on the stage, the only proof that we are, in fact, not in the 1920s is (thankfully) the absence of a thick cloud of cigarette smoke in the air.
Perhaps an unlikely contender, the property is, in fact, one of the most family-friendly hotels in London; there are in-room games consoles (this grande dame is no Luddite), children’s films on DVD, Ritz teddy bear souvenirs, Cocci Nella toiletries, mini bathrobes and slippers, recently redesigned to be more minimal and in keeping with the adult version.
La Galerie Dior and Claude Monet’s Water Lilies or Les Nymphéas at Musée de l’Orangerie are as compelling as ever for those who enjoy strolling peacefully through Jardin des Tuileries in the winter months.
The main thoroughfare of Union Street, previously slipping into obscurity, now connects an eclectic array of newly blossomed global dining spots – from flavour-packed vegan Venezuelan arepas at La Tiendita del Sabor – cooked up by five members of the same family – to Second Home Studio + Café around the corner, where visitors can pick up a paintbrush or take part in weekly blanket-knitting workshops over homemade bakes.
The plush hotel, located in the heart of posh Mayfair, welcomes guests with a 15-foot UK-grown Nordmann spruce Christmas tree, as well as festive floral displays overseen by in-house designer florist Philip Hammond.
Walk through its breezy, worn-in corridors, and it’s like The Jamaica Inn never left its glory days: blue and white palettes reign supreme alongside sofa-filled rooms, an eclectic and deeply personal mix of family heirlooms, and umbrella-flecked terraces that overlook one of the island’s longest private beaches and turtle sanctuaries.
Soothing chocolate box tones abound in this stylish apartment in quiet Calle Carill, which has tastefully refined Bohemian sensibilities with plenty of comfy touches; a big pouffe, plush double bed and various sofas to jump on.
At 4pm each afternoon, she and my dad would pour glasses of shop-bought sangria for themselves (diet cokes for us, naturally), and we’d sit on the balcony of our apartment chatting and playing card games, nibbling the kind of heavily salted cheap crisps you can only get on a European holiday.
Befitting the stylish hosts (both fashion types, one a former model and the other with a CV boasting Versace and Jil Sander), the interiors are tasteful and refined, with huge windows adding grandeur and original wooden beams bringing the cosiness.