Category: All posts

Summer in Italy. Contributed by Nicole Mitchell. The charms of Venice are lengendary. A magical place that enthrais the visitors. So much beauty calls for an adequate residence and If you ever want to spend a night next to George Clooney you can do it here. Hotel Cipriani in Venice. The Hotel Cipriani in Venice is not located on San Marco or on the Grand Canal, its located on Giudecca Island, a 5-minute boat ride from St. Mark’s Square. The place has been an idyllic…Continue Reading “A night next to George Clooney in the Hotel Belmond Cipriani – Italy” →

Floating houses a solution for the future. The eco-friendly floating habitat WaterNest 100, designed by Giancarlo Zema for EcoFloLife is an enveloping of 100 sqm residential unit. Sea levels are predicted to rise. There are different types of floating homes, permanently floating homes and homes that float only when flood waters swell, but sit on the ground during the dry season. Requiring the later on new construction within floodplains, and considering same for threatened shorelines, is one way to plan for the future. Although floating…Continue Reading “Floating houses WaterNest 100, designed by Giancarlo Zema” →

Story contributed by Kathrin Sion. Exclusive style with natural flair, from time to you should have to leave the privacy of your place to explore, smell and taste a new ambience. For Duesseldorf residents the Netherlands offer a close fitting suitable goal, a close target. But if you classify the country thinking only covering sandy beaches and the sea, you are wrong! You will find A’dam (a great city)! And the unspoiled region of Twente east of the Netheterlands neibouring the federal German states of…Continue Reading “A walk in the park – Park Hotel de Wiemsel / Twente / Holland” →

Casa Brutale in Greece. Crisis, no, not at all #2. I love architecture and this design. A perfect hideaway. The team of architects at OPA designed Casa Brutale, a concrete house in a cliffside. The ‘chameleonic living space’ consists of a swimming pool as the ceiling and a huge facade facing nothing but the sea.We talked with the two partners Laertis Antonios Ando Vassiliou and Pantelis Kampouropoulos about the project. Why did you choose the area of the Aegaen sea? We were born and raised…Continue Reading “Coming soon! Casa Brutale – Aegean Sea / Greece” →

Destinationreport Bordeaux By Jens Hoffmann. I made a beautiful wine trip to Bordeaux. It is not so easy to get there – by Air France always via CDG-Paris. Anyway. Bordeaux just opened La Cité du Vin, an ambitious institution along the coast of the river Garonne dedicated to the history of French culture. The undulating wooden structure, designed by XTU architects, is part of a huge greening and revitalization effort along Bordeaux’s waterways, which also includes the opening of the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Europe’s largest…Continue Reading “A lifestyle report – Grandhotel Bordeaux / France” →

Sawasdee lovely Thailand. Isaan region. Fly in with Bangkok Airways to Chiang Mai. Features reporter Ben Harris. The north is very natural, Chiang Mai and the Hotel Four Seasons offer many exciting activities to do. The place is full of ying yang and we enjoyed it. The grounds are absolutely exquisite with lush vegetation and beautiful flowers through out the resort. There are a plethora of places to enjoy the serene environment. Spacious Lanna-style pavilions overlook terraced rice fields and the mountains in the beautiful…Continue Reading “Where the king slept – Four Seasons / Chiang Mai / Thailand” →

Wuerzburg, Frickenhausen, Volkach. Wine- Lifestyle-Culture. Text by Jens Hoffmann. Its always great to spend a few days alongs the “Mainschleife” in Franconia. The city Würzburg belongs to Bavaria. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. During our road trip through the region we had a couple of lovely wine tastings starting at the historic wineyard Max Müller I. in Volkach. Max Mueller Furthermore Weingut Rainer Sauer, Divino Nordheim, Winzerkeller Sommerach. Its great to discover Franken, it is boasting…Continue Reading “Wine trip to Franconia / Bavaria / Germany” →

Austria. Contributed by Jens Hoffmann A fairytale-like scenario at an altitude of 1750 meters was waiting, we got picked up at the International Airport Klagenfurt and it was a great snowy one hour 4-wheel drive experience to drive up to the Gerlitzen mountaintop. The Hotel 12 is a small slice of artistic luxury and the place will always surprise you with some kind of little extras. While body and mind relax in the natural surroundings, the view sweeps over the mountains, the surrounding ski slopes…Continue Reading “A hotel like a museum – Hotel 12 – Carinthia – Austria” →

By correspondent: B. Harris I love it to be in Shanghai Always fun to use the train in China. Check-in at the Shangri-La Jing An. After a nice ride with the airport express train (455 km/h, wow!!!) we arrived. The hotel is located on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River. Jing An Shangri-La features a design inspired by Shanghai’s past, present, and future. The 508-room hotel is the centerpiece of the Jing An Kerry Centre. Upon entering the lobby, guests are greeted by a…Continue Reading “Selected breaks in the city of the dragon – Shangri-La Jing An (Shanghai)” →

Egypt 2014. Cairo, Assuan- two epic journeys, packed in a summer read. Contributed by Jens Hoffmann (Text & Photos). Agatha Christies enjoyed this hotel as much as we did. The Legend Old Cataract Hotel, also known as the Old Cataract Hotel, is a historic British colonial-era 5-star luxury resort hotel located on the banks of the River Nile in Aswan, Egypt. It’s nowadays a Sofitel hotel. Death on Nile was filmed in the hotel. The first hotel legend relates to its name, which refers to…Continue Reading “Agatha Christie – The Legend in Assuan / Egypt” →

Bucharest 2015. Text: Jens Hoffmann Bucharest, Romania’s largest city and capital, always had a reputation for the high life and even earned the nickname “Paris of the East”. It’s a bustling metropolis known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards and beautiful Belle Époque buildings. For me it is truly a special destination. It’s not one of the most popular destinations in the world, but it attracs with culture, warm hospitality and nice food. We landed at Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport and checked in at the…Continue Reading “Paris of the East @ Angelo Airporthotel Bucharest / Romania” →

Stockholm. Contributed by Francois Jobard. The Swedish Vikings who walked east were such splendid physical specimens that many people fall in love with such tall guys, perfect bodies, big as palm trees. Besides that they set a capital city as stunning as they look. Stockholm is a cluster of jewel-like islands, and its long, light-filled days make summer the ideal time for your raid. We enjoyed Stockholm, checked in at a new hotel in Stockholm’s city center. It’s called Hotel Kungsträdgården and has opened its…Continue Reading “My favourite hotel in Stockholm is Hotel Kungsträdgården / Sweden” →