We were delighted to see our latest site, 101 Honeymoons, reviewed by Carmen Roberts on BBC World’s Fast Track programme. Carmen wasn’t tempted by a honeymoon in a VW Camper van, but she was impressed by our honeymoon quiz. Try it yourself!
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101 Honeymoons reviewed on BBC World
Friday, May 28th, 2010BA’s new London City flight is the business
Monday, May 10th, 2010
By Mark Hodson, editor, 101 Holidays
Flying across the Atlantic was once a glamorous affair. In Diamonds are Forever - one of my favourite Ian Fleming books - James Bond, accompanied by the glamorous Tiffany Case, boarded a BOAC Boeing Stratocruiser for the overnight trip from London to New York. The aircraft made a short stop in Shannon where passengers were served steak and champagne followed by Irish coffee. On the lower deck of the Stratocruiser there was a cocktail lounge. Ah, those were the days.
By coincidence, the new British Airways business-only flights from London City to New York also stop en route in Shannon. This is because the runway at London City isn’t long enough to allow an Airbus A318 to take off with a full tank of fuel. But what at first appears to be a snag turns out to be an advantage, because - as the aircraft is refuelled in Shannon - passengers can quickly clear US immigration, landing at New York’s JFK airport as domestic passengers.
And the similarities don’t end there, as these twice-daily flights go some way to restoring the allure and exclusivity of trans-Atlantic flying. It’s not a complete return to the 1950s. You can’t smoke on board, as Bond did, or stash a pistol in your hand luggage, but you do get something even more valuable: acres of personal space.
The route - which was launched late last year - is operated by a brace of new aircraft fitted out with 32 forward-facing Club class flat bed seats. Typically, the A318 flies with about 100 economy seats.
Last week I put the service through its paces as a guest of British Airways, leaving London City at 4pm, stopping for just 25 minutes in Shannon and arriving at JFK at about 8pm local time. I was also testing another interesting feature of the aircraft - the ability to surf the internet and send and receive text messages from the air.
London City is by far the most pleasant of the capital’s airports: small, efficient and recently revamped. BA has a small dedicated lounge for the New York service and from there it’s a short walk across the asphalt to the waiting aircraft. We touched down in Shannon in less than an hour and headed straight to US immigration.
It’s not unusual to wait for more than an hour in a queue at JFK then to be given the third degree by an insolent, bullying immigration officer. At Shannon there was no queue and the staff - most of whom have lived in Ireland in many years - were helpful and friendly. Extraordinary.
Back in the air we rose to 10,000ft where a light in the ceiling indicated the OnAir system had been switched on. I tried to get online with my laptop with no success - apparently, a dongle is required. But I could use my iPhone, and this worked just fine. I was able to send and receive texts, surf the web and send Twitter updates. My BA minder even managed to get the BBC1 Six O’Clock News on his iPhone.
However, there’s a catch: the data roaming charges, at £6 per MB, are eye-wateringly expensive. For the cost of streaming a two-hour movie you could probably fly the cast over from LA to act the whole thing out in your living room.
Not all passengers will be overly troubled by the cost of calls. The service is mostly used by high-end bankers, lawyers and businesspeople, some of whom use it to commute regularly between the two cities. The cabin crew - who were supremely friendly and efficient - know many of their regulars by name.
When BA retired its Concorde fleet, it shelved the flight numbers: BA 001, 002, 003 and 004. Interestingly, it has given those codes to the new flights from London City, suggesting it considers it an equivalent service.
It isn’t. The new service is relaxing and sophisticated but lacks the glamour and visceral thrill of Concorde. The inflight dining on my flight was good, but not exciting: comfort food for executives rather than a celebratory feast. Still, the greatest luxury is space. While Concorde was notoriously cramped (and noisy), this new service allows passengers to stretch out and snooze on a wide flat bed.
A fully flexible return fare on the London City route costs around £4,000 - about 5% more than the regular BA Club class fare to New York. But if you’re happy to fly on fixed dates - as most holidaymakers are - you can get a return for about £2,000. If you can afford it, it’s a good deal.
Why travel websites need to invest in photography
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
By Mark Hodson, editor, 101 Holidays
Before the internet, people used to book holidays on the high street (imagine!). We’d pop into our friendly local travel agent, pick up a bundle of brochures then return a few days later to pay a deposit. Actually, large numbers of people still do this.
Then along came travel websites, complete with search boxes, live prices and (sometimes) online booking. Most travel companies love the web because they don’t need to spend a fortune on printing expensive brochures. But it turns out that the public aren’t so chuffed.
At yesterday’s Travolution Summit, a one-day conference in London about online travel, several speakers highlighted the fact that users of travel websites want to see more glossy pics - just like in those old brochures.
Giles Longhurst, director of the publisher Frommer’s Unlimited, presented the findings of a survey that showed - among other things - what users dislike about travel websites. The most common complaint: insufficient pictures. (You can download the full report here.)
Another speaker who highlighted the importance of photos on travel sites was Jim Cruickshank, director of product management at the Microsoft-owned search engine, Bing.
Cruickshank reported that while 80% of people say they are satisfied with search engines, only 30% are happy with how the results are presented. He predicted a “radical” change, particularly in travel, where he promised a “huge focus” on “deepening the experience”.
“Users are fnding travel searches particularly difficult. We need to change up the search experience, to help people cut through the cacophony of search results. Currently it’s all about pages of blue links,” he told the audience.
Top of Cruickshank’s list of proposed changes: more images.
Bing has already experimented publicly with Visual Search (see below) although the Travel section is a bit skinny. The aim, says Cruickshank, is for users to be able to “search travel destination by images”.
Funnily, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing at 101 Holidays, albeit in a simpler form. Our original homepage - designed by the very talented Gary Homewood - was intended to capture the fun of flicking through a travel brochure.
But the problem for travel websites is the dearth of decent travel photographs. Many tour operators, hoteliers and tourist boards seem reluctant to invest in professional photographers. A company might spend tens of thousands of pounds on building on a new website, but leave nothing in the budget for those all-important images. Meanwhile, travel photographers are giving up the profession because they can’t make a living out of it.
Something’s wrong. Perhaps we need to recognise the simple, vital pleasure of looking at a beautiful photograph, and how that connects us with the travel experience.
Meet the Boss: Robert Kidd, See Scotland Differently
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Robert Kidd, with his wife and business partner Heather McKinlay, started the travel company McKinlay Kidd in 2003, having had over 20 years experience working for some of the biggest names in the UK travel industry. Their See Scotland Differently holidays offer tailormade self-drive, independent holidays and experiences the length and breadth of Scotland and the islands. They live in Glasgow, but spend as much time as possible exploring Scotland to find new, authentic experiences. Robert is from Northern Ireland and is looking forward to the launch of See Ireland differently in 2010.
• Where did you go on holiday last summer, and why? Any plans for next summer?
We started the year with a week’s escape to Tobago, staying in the very relaxed village of Castara, catching some winter sunshine (and some unseasonal rain). Of course we travel frequently at weekends in Scotland, combining business with pleasure – it’s a real privilege to have some much glorious scenery on tap. Our main holiday this year was to Italy, where we stayed for a week in an apartment in Venice, researching family history, enjoying the Regatta Storica and Venice Film Festival, then to Bergamo, which we used as a base to take in the Italian Grand Prix.
Next year we will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in our favourite inn in the truly remote north of Scotland, in Sutherland. For our main holiday in November we hope to visit friends in Tanzania and also stay on Zanzibar – we lived in Kenya for a couple of years in the 1990s and look forward to our “Africa fix” every 2-3 years if possible.
• What is your favourite bolthole in the UK, and why?
We bought a cottage near the Mull of Kintyre nine years ago and recently had it fully modernised. It is five minutes’ walk from some glorious empty beaches, and we try to be there as often as possible, just about every weekend through the summer.
• If you could spend a long weekend in any city abroad, which would you pick, and why?
Chicago – all the buzz of New York, with much less hassle, and I enjoy the live music scene there.
• Please tell us three items that are always found in your luggage.
A camera – we take most of the pictures on our websites ourselves, a sunhat (due to my receded hairline!), and a waterproof – I never let the weather stop me getting out there.
• What one thing would most improve people’s overall holiday experience?
Making the most of local knowledge. At McKinlay Kidd we pride ourselves in helping people to find the places you think you might stumble across, but somehow never do. It’s the authentic local experiences that make a holiday special.
• What has been your worst holiday experience?
My only visit to Egypt will be forever tainted by being horribly ill for three days on a Nile cruise ship. However, a weekend in Blackpool a couple of years ago, was absolutely horrific from beginning to end, despite staying in a highly-rated B&B and eating in the so-called best restaurant in the town. All not helped when my football team (Charlton Athletic) were hammered 5 –3.
• Tell us your favourite hotel: in the UK; in mainland Europe; in the rest of the world.
Several in Scotland, probably the Isle of Eriska; the Hotel New York in Rotterdam and Shompole Lodge in the Rift Valley of Kenya.
• What is the most exciting project your company is working on right now?
The launch of See Ireland Differently, which will include holidays in Northern Ireland, where I was born and brought up.
• Thank you, Robert.
Visit the website, See Scotland Differently.
The best pub food in Britain?
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
By Catherine Leech, director of 101 Holidays
The Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George, Somerset, has been hailed as one of Britain’s best pubs for food. It’s the Good Pub Guide’s 2009 National Dining Pub of the Year, and was the Good Hotel Guide’s 2008 Gastro Pub of the Year. It is mentioned in the Michelin guide and even cited by Gardeners World’s on Radio 4 as one of the top three pubs for dining alfresco.
Can it possibly live up to the hype?
I’ve always been suspicious of award-winning pubs and restaurants - prices go up, complacency creeps in and the clientele goes a bit bling. But after lunch at the Lord Poulett Arms, I can only agree with the pundits.
This is a cosy, rustic village pub with a healthy mix of local drinkers and low-key visitors whose muddy wellies and battered Barbours didn’t raise an eyebrow. It also has the requisite roaring log fires, real ales, cider and sloe gin and a locally-sourced menu.
Starters included Cornish mussels, Lyme Bay mackerel, a warm salad of haggis and bacon, rillettes of local pork and local goat’s cheese, and cost £5 to £6. Mains such as gilt head bream, a hearty beef stew and risotto cost in the region of £8 to £12. All generously sized and beautifully presented.
Desserts cost around £5 and range from nursery favourites (there was a treacle sponge when we were there) to more sophisticated Cranachan and something very naughty involving Valrhona chocolate. There’s a great sandwich menu and the triple-cooked chips are the stuff of legends.
Three of us shared four starters and three puddings plus a couple of glasses of Rioja and four local organic fruit juices, for £34. If you drink too much and can’t make it home, there are some charming rooms too priced at £88, B&B.
I reckon the Lord Poulett Arms is the perfect pub for foodies - despite all the awards. Is there a better one in Britain? Your suggestions, please!
Best hotel cocktail bars in London
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
By Catherine Leech, Director of 101 Holidays
Despite the recession, London’s hotel cocktail bar scene is booming. On a recent Saturday afternoon I sampled some of the capital’s most prestigious boozers to find out which is best.
The advantage of visiting hotel bars on a Saturday is they are not full of corporate suits on expense accounts. The clientele are real people, spending real money, often up in town for a splurge.
There were six in our party and we turned up at each hotel without a booking. Nowhere did we need to queue, but every bar was virtually full. I can remember when it was considered unthinkably naff to drink cocktails at a London hotel. Those days are most definitely over.
The Coburg Bar, The Connaught
Service 5/5
Cocktails 4/5
Nibbles 5/5
Buzz 2/5
Total score: 16
The Bloody Mary was sublime and the nibbles superb (mini fruit kebabs as well as the usual nuts, cheese straws and olives), but the ambience was a bit flat. There were several Hooray Henry types, some cooing tweed-and-twin-set couples up from the country and a far-too-obvious pair of illicit lovers (get a room!), but the atmosphere was hushed. A great place to take Granny for a racy Martini.
Claridge’s Bar
Service 3/5 (perhaps we weren’t wearing enough Prada)
Cocktails 4/5
Nibbles 5/5
Buzz 2/5
Total score: 14
The famous Tea Room was bursting at the seams and the bar humming with frosty-chic East Europeans and celeb-hunting shoppers surrounded by Selfridges bags. It was designer label central and we had the distinct feeling that’s how they like it at Claridge’s Bar. Fun if you like a side order of glamour with your cocktails. And the cheesy/olive straws were outstanding.
The Mandarin Bar, Mandarin Oriental
Service 5/5
Cocktails 4/5
Nibbles 3/5
Buzz 4/5
Total score: 16
We loved the laid-back but stylish feel of colonial gentleman’s club meets contemporary chic. This is the sort of place where the staff remember you - and this visit was no exception. Nice. The flowers in the lobby are worth a visit in themselves - never short of spectacular. Shame they were a bit stingy with the nibbles. Warning: the bar gets very crowded on weekday evenings.
The Blue Bar, The Berkeley
Service 4/5
Cocktails 5/5
Nibbles 5/5
Buzz 5/5
Total score: 19
The Blue Bar (pictured above) was our runaway favourite: calming, chic, cool and potentially addictive. There was a cool, but unostentatious, crowd and the “Lutyens Blue” decor by the ubiquitous David Collins remains as beautiful and unique as the day it opened at the turn of the century (21st that is). My Sex & The City cocktail (a cliché, I know) cost an outrageous £16 but was relatively good value when you realise you are served the entire contents of a cocktail shaker, more than enough for two. We tried to take a photograph of the décor, but were unceremoniously asked to desist (for which we deducted a point).
* We did pop in to The Dorchester but the bar resembles a glitzy ’70s bordello and the clientele screamed Eurotrash. We exchanged looks and – without a word – walked straight out.
** I really ought to mention the stunning new Connaught Bar. With its understated Art Deco decor, it’s far more glamorous than the Coburg. It doesn’t open until 4pm and is closed on Sundays, but will be on our list next time.
So, our award for Best Hotel Cocktail Bar in London goes to the Blue Bar at The Berkeley. But what is your personal favourite? Do you know any other great hotel bars elsewhere in the world?
To book any one of these London institutions, check out Travel Intelligence’s selection of luxury hotels in London.
Tunis opens up to low cost flights
Friday, February 27th, 2009
By David Wickers, 101 Holidays editor
Cheap flights are coming to Tunis. After years of negotiations, Tunisia has joined the Open Skies agreement, allowing US, European and Arabic airlines to operate freely within its airspace. This paves the way for low-cost carriers to compete with Tunisair to the capital Tunis and other destinations.
A new airport, Enfidha, is set to open on the coast near Tunis towards the end of this year, boosting access to one of the Med’s most underrated - and unvisited - cities.
Here are my top 6 things to do when you get there:
THE SOUK
The souk in Tunis is a fascinating, historic maze of traders, segmented into different areas according to skills. Browse, bargain and buy, then take a glass of mint tea, flavoured with pine kernels, at the ancient Café M’Rabet, Arabic music oozing, you lounging on a straw mat.
THE BARDO
The Bardo is home to the world’s finest collection of Roman mosaics housed in a late 18th century palace. These exquisite, 2000-year-old snapshots of daily life are mainly focused on pleasure; drinking, playing dice, fishing, hunting, wrestling, dancing and eating - although one poor lad is shown from the waist down being swallowed by a fish.
CRAFT EMPORIUM
Take a late afternoon paseo along the leafy, paved central reservation of the city’s grand boulevard, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, an Arabian Ramblas complete with flower sellers. Les Maisons de l’Artisanat Tunisien (half way along, south side) is a 3-storey craft shop and the place to check on prices - which are fixed - before haggling in the souk.
SIDI BOU SAID
The prettiest village in Tunis, an Arabian Capri with white villas, pale blue doors, frilly iron window grills and flowers everywhere. It’s linked to the city centre by an efficient light railway, the TGM.
CARTHAGE
The pillagers have taken most of it (some of the stone was even shipped to Italy as hardcore) and the sprawl of suburbia has engulfed much of the rest, but Hannibal’s birthplace, in parts, still resonates. The most impressive sight is the Antonine Baths, all the more so when you realise that what you see today were merely the basement workings.
MEAL TO REMEMBER
My favourite restaurant in Tunis is Dar El Jeld, an opulent, exotically tiled, 18th-century house run by the original aristocratic owners. Try the brik, a deep fried, wafer-thin pastry shell filled with egg, finely minced lamb and parsley. The trick is to see if you can eat it without the yolk dribbling down your chin.
Find out more about holidays to Tunisia.
Istanbul luxury hotels reviewed
Friday, February 20th, 2009
By David Wickers, 101 Holidays editor
Istanbul in summer is a hot and hectic place - but there’s a seriously cool way to enjoy its remarkable palaces, mosques and bazaars.
I have just returned from a 4 day trip to Istanbul where I stayed at two luxury hotels, the Kempinski and the new Four Seasons (pictured above). Both are situated on the banks of the Bosphorous, the narrow straits that separate Europe from Asia.
With outdoor pools, al fresco dining and views across to Asia on the opposite banks, they are more like seaside resorts than city hotels, yet just 10 minutes or so by taxi from the main sights. As places to return after a long morning’s sightseeing, they are unbeatable.
And these are no ordinary five star retreats; each has been converted from a 19th century Ottoman Palace, built as imperial summer boltholes for the sultans.
The newest is the Four Seasons. The soft and natural interiors are a long way from the glitz that your average Ottoman would have demanded, although the standards of service would please the most demanding of pashas. It opened a few months ago, as sister to the Four Seasons Sultanahmet, which was earlier converted from a prison in the old heart of town. The Four Seasons on the Bosphorous has 166 rooms - hardly boutique, but the feel is surprisingly intimate. The spa is remarkable.
The Ciragan Palace is the older and larger hotel (313 rooms, mostly in a modern annexe), virtually next door. Restored and reopened by Kempinski in 1991 after a massive fire, the style is more traditional. It scores particularly highly on food, from what could well be the world’s most elaborate breakfast to the award winning Turga restaurant, which serves recipes derived from historic Ottoman recipes.
Both hotels are bookable through Kirker Holidays.