In the short time it has been open, The Living Room at the W Hotel Istanbul has fast-become the place for chic locals, young and old, to meet for a light lunch, a coffee, a drink after work, or aperitifs before heading upstairs to Jean-Georges’ Spice Market www.jean-georges.com. And one of the best things about this super-stylish café-bar is that a selection of Spice Market’s delicious appetisers is on the snack menu, including Jean-Georges’ Crunchy Calamari with Sriracha Mayonnaise,...

The Londa Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, boasts the buzziest lobby lounge bar in the country. The place just hums and from 6pm onwards it’s the hippest place to be seen in the city. And it’s fascinating to watch how the clientele changes throughout the night. Early evening sees locals dropping in for a coffee after work and businessmen bonding over whiskeys after doing their shipping and real estate deals. Mid-evening sees romantic couples calling in for a glass of champagne, and expats and...

If there’s one thing Dubai hasn’t done (and admittedly there’s not much), it’s been to take full advantage of its vibrant Dubai Creek, the lifeblood and lively heart of ‘Old Dubai’, by providing Creekside bars for after-work drinks, sundowners, or quiet nightcaps. There are oodles of stylish bars on the beach, from chic Sho Cho to laidback Barasti Bar, both of which overlook the Arabian sea and sand. But until now there were very few decent places on the Creek where you could sit back and enjoy...

The recent gala opening of the InterContinental Dubai Festival City saw the hotel group flying some 800 VIPs from around the globe to the city for the celebration, and crossing a couple of thousand names off the long guest list as people arrived at the entrance to a dramatic reception of drumming, dancers, flames, and performance artists. The party was just as illuminating as our behind-the-scenes look at the preparations that went into the simultaneous launch of the three properties. A “sea of...

We know you think that everyday is a holiday for travel writers, but, like Charles and Marie, we’re taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period. We’ll be back in 2008 with more travel posts from Thailand, Australia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cyprus, Turkey, Milan and more… and that's just the first few months! Hoping you’ll join us on next year’s grand tour.

Lara & Terry xx

Every spa treatment in Thailand starts with a soothing foot bath of some persuasion, each one slightly different to the next. At the Banyan Tree Spat our feet were washed gently in a bowl of cool water filled with rose petals. The tinkling sound of the water was the only noise audible – other than the birds singing in the lush garden that surrounded the treatment ‘room’. Our ‘room’ was an elegant open-sided space surrounded by a still moat, verdant tropical plants and high walls decorated with...

We thought the Anantara Koh Samui’s sublime infinity swimming pool was enough to send us into a state of much-appreciated calm. (After all, as we keep telling our dear friends Charles and Marie, this travel writing work can get stressful.) That was until we arrived at the Anantara Spa for our treatments. (Somebody’s got to do them, right?) Once there, we were floating. Literally. Because the Anantara spa has a floating lobby! Accessed via leafy paths between which a lush, lily-covered pond sits...

There’s something about an infinity swimming pool that’s so dreamily irresistible… and the Anantara Koh Samui's is the most sublime. How many times have we seen infinity pools grace the covers of travel magazines? Swaying palm trees reflected on their still surfaces, water spouting from the mouth of a statue of a monkey, the horizon hard to discern so that the sky, sea and pool are seamlessly one… and therein lies their magnetic pull that makes us immediately want to go book that dream...

We can’t rave enough about the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Thailand, where we recently stayed, and the resort’s wonderful spa is well and truly worth writing home about! Set spectacularly in a lush jungle setting of tropical palms, pandanus and ferns, the location is pretty special and the spa itself is simply sublime. As soon as you enter the elegant candle-lit reception area, replete with soothing new-age sounds and exotic aromas, you’re immediately sent into a state of relaxation. The...

Apart from Beit Sissi, Aleppo’s most atmospheric drinking spot is the charming old bar at the faded Baron Hotel on Sharia Baron in the new town. While this historic hotel still manages to pull the guests in, sadly we can no longer recommend staying here (more on why soon), yet its delightful front bar is definitely worth dropping into. Harking bar to the colonial-era when the French occupied Syria from the 1920s-40s, the characterful space features a splendid brass-railed oak bar with leather...