Why are there storks nesting on the roof of a five-star hotel in Zurich? . . . Justine Tyerman learns the legend of the ‘Haus zum Storchen’. She also discovers how ‘savoir-faire with tradition’ has saved the soul but polished the visage of a much-loved city landmark.
Browsing: Boutique Hotel
“Boutique hotels” are small and personal hotels with an attractive atmosphere. They tend to boast stylish design and gourmet chefs. Often times you will get to know the owners or hotel managers and talk to them about local peculiarities and their individual interpretation of a place.
Boutique hotels are our preferred way of staying abroad. As a nice coincidence, they are mostly situated in luxurious destinations and sometimes even close to spectacular golf courses…
Trogir – another of Croatia’s little towns. Medieval, precious, and tourists galore. Even so, don’t miss it!
Istria – where is that Croatian peninsula located again, the one where they come up with the world’s biggest truffles and peddle highly picturesque seaside towns?
“Mis huus, dis huus – mis Herz isch es Hotel” (“My house, your house – my heart is a hotel.”) Even though the song by Switzerland’s award-winnning rap duo Lo & Leduc (they rap in the Swiss German dialect) has absolutely no connection to the HUUS Gstaad Hotel, I couldn’t get the catchy tune out of my mind during the drive there. Maybe it was that Latino groove?
This post is about the time recently that saw us dining at the Hotel Riva Konstanz by Germany’s Lake Constance. We leave it to you, dear fellow traveler, to judge which was the greater tragedy: the story of the curvaceous Imperia, Shakespeare’s tale of the beautiful Ophelia, or how we failed to recognize the star chef of the gourmet restaurant that bears Ophelia’s name. Yes, a tragic tale, but true…
Having heard quite a bit about hotel Château d’Ouchy over the years, I’d always wanted to spend a night as a princess in that castle by Lake Geneva with a history that dates to the 12th century. So, what did I find out when I finally made it there? The Château also once did duty as a prison!
My preferred way of launching into Sundays is with a long, leisurely brunch. To heighten the “brunch” experience even more for us, Zermatt Tourism came up with an interesting experiment: the night before they packed us into a real igloo at minus 20 degrees! We make it to brunch the next morning anyway!
Not long ago we were abducted into “A Thousand and One Nights” by Austria’s Cuddle Hotel Gams as it does for its guests every Thursday. But, it is also possible on any other day to be seduced into a time for two in this special ambiance…
On a cold, drizzly autumn day, is there anything better than retreating into a warm, cozy cocoon? This is exactly the autumn delight that the Seerose Resort & Spa on Hallwilersee (Lake Hallwil) celebrates in multiple ways…
Ibiza, the “white island”. Now, how on earth did it get that name? Not likely that it came from the new-age white beach clubs. We pondered the question in proper style at the white design hotel Ca Na Xica.
The first place we bedded down in Botswana was at the Ngoma Safari Lodge. We’d heard and read a great deal about this luxury destination: the accommodations are supposedly beyond belief and the safaris as well. Naturally, we were curious as cats about what was waiting for us in the renowned Chobe National Park…
Recently, Relais & Châteaux extended invitations to one of their legendary gourmet adventures of the special kind. Happening this time: 17 Gault-Millau points, 1 Michelin star, 1 sommelière, 1 world champion chef in a manor house on the shore of Lake Constance. We naturally couldn’t wait to take it in with all our senses…