To many, Marrakech's La Mamounia is Africa's most renowned hotel. Sir Winston Churchill spent much of his retirement time here and for decades it was an international "IN crowd" destination. The hotel re-opened in the fall of 2009 after a 3-year total makeover. Here is a first-hand account of our recent inspection. The avenue in...
Felíz año nuevo! Happy New Year! We’ve carefully checked out two newly opened hotels in Barcelona: Hotel Mandarin and Hotel Palace Barcelona. -The Mandarin Oriental in Barcelona has two outstanding features, in addition to its great location on Paseo de Gracia; the spa is the best in town,...
It began in 2007 and is expected to end by the end of 2009. The long-awaited refurbishment of the Hotel Palace (formerly Ritz) in Barcelona is almost there. This historic property, in the most central and prestigious part of Barcelona, includes an “optimization”...
The Palacio de Seteais reopens its doors in March 2009 after complete renovation and updating of its installations while closed in 2008. This fascinating example of Neoclassic residential architecture from the 18thC and all of its furniture from the same era have been completely...
One of our favourite historic properties within Spain’s government run chain of hotels, Paradores, is scheduled for a complete renovation. The Parador of Caceres (south-western Spain) will close in September 2009 and is expected to reopen one year later with 7 more rooms (for...
Orient-Express: Owners and managers of 51 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruise properties operating in 25 countries, sold Lisbon’s Lapa Palace hotel to a private Portuguese investor for 41.8 million USD. Orient-Express Hotels' President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul White said, "We have...