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30 Years of LeShuttle – 30 Fascinating Facts
As LeShuttle (formerly Eurotunnel Le Shuttle) marks its 30th anniversary, we've taken a quick look back at the popular shuttle service that transports vehicles and passengers under the Channel from Folkestone to Calais in just 35 minutes.
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Asia
Khao Lak – A Slice of Authentic Thailand
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
Chef Hopkins at one of Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort's master cooking classes
“I love this place because there aren’t too many Brits, there’s not an English breakfast in sight and it is still very much ‘authentic Thailand.’” Angela** who was holidaying with her husband and two young children, didn’t pull her punches. After all she ran a 500-student dance school in London: clearly organisation was her middle name and she knew exactly what she wanted from a vacation.
1:00 AM 20th April 2024
Asia
Bangkok’s Hidden Gems - A Three Hotel Journey
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
The huge reclining Buddha at Wat Pho also known as Wat Chetuphon
Thailand’s capital boasts countless ‘big attractions’ but move away from the well-beaten track and you will find some hidden gems: how to extract venom from a snake for example (do not try at home!) and the story of Jim Thompson, the US millionaire who disappeared without a trace leaving behind one of the biggest brands in the world!
1:00 AM 13th April 2024
Weekend
Tallinn – Mediaeval City and Steven’s Domain!
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
Edinburgh boasts its Greyfriars Bobby legend – the dog that guarded its dead master’s grave for 14 years – and Japan’s equivalent is Hachiko, immortalised outside Shibuya Station, but none of them can steal a march on Tallinn’s Instagram superstar: Steven the Seagull!
1:00 AM 9th March 2024
Weekend
In The Soup In Tartu
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
Tartu: European City of Culture
“You might want to turn the roaming off on your phone,” said our Estonian host, Herling Mesi, as we sped across frozen Lake Peipsi at Varnja, just a short car ride from the centre of Tartu. “The Russian border’s only 15km away,” she continued, “right in the centre of the lake, and even though we are only 3km from the shore, Russian telecom may pick up your phone signal.
1:00 AM 2nd March 2024
holidays
Kids Go Free In Cornwall
A Cornwall hotel has introduced a ‘Children Should Be Seen (And Not Paid For) package to coincide with the Easter holidays. The St Moritz Hotel + Cowshed Spa, in Trebetherick, near Rock and Polzeath, already has a dedicated kids club with its unique Mini Moritz programme of daily activities.
1:00 AM 28th February 2024
Weekend
Princess And The Verbier Magic Carpet!
"Are you OK?" said the Frenchman to his daughter as she skied down the nursery slope at Les Esserts in Verbier, Switzerland. "Oui," said the tiny tot moving a dummy to the side of her mouth so that she could reply. Shortly afterwards a tantrum followed as the child, rolling on the ground in the freezing snow, demanded to be carried back to the top of the slope!
1:00 AM 10th February 2024
Africa
Cruising – The New Ambition
If the people you meet onboard ship, as much as the ports you visit, are a measure of a cruise line’s overall quality, then Ambassador has to sit alongside many of its more expensive counterparts.
12:00 AM 5th January 2024
Africa
Grandma’s Wisdom And Globetrotting In 2024
Group Travel Editor for the P.ublished.com Media Titles, Phil Hopkins, takes a brief look back at 2023 and overviews where he’ll be visiting in the first quarter of 2024. So, sit back and take some inspiration from our very own resident globetrotter!
1:00 AM 2nd January 2024
Hotels
A Winter Spa Experience In North Yorkshire
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
If the guilt of Christmas over-eating becomes too much to bear after December 25th, then prepare to purge at the Coniston Hotel near Skipton in North Yorkshire! Here are some New Year / Winter deals that might help ease your mind or even (marginally) reduce your calorie intake!
12:01 AM 24th December 2023
Europe
Norway’s Chilled Approach To Life!
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
The ladies from Voss ice bathe every week throughout the winter. Photo: Åsmund Aarsand.
Floating saunas and refreshing winter bathing have become a hot trend in several places in Fjord Norway. But did you know that the traditional Norwegian Christmas bath has a history of over 100 years? In recent years, more and more people have become interested in ice bathing in Fjord Norway, as a refreshing physical challenge and an enjoyable and social happening.
12:00 AM 15th December 2023
Review
Steel Town To Spa Town in 10 Minutes!
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
The lady sitting next to me at breakfast was dressed in flamboyant, vibrant colours with more than a little African fashion flair. I couldn’t help myself. “I have to say, you look fantastic,” I said, watching as her pearly white teeth stretched the width of her face. “Why thank you,” she said. But, before my curiosity could interrogate further, her follow-up sentence explained everything.
1:00 AM 17th June 2023
holidays
Sumptuous, Scenery, Splendour - The Perfect Lakeside Setting
Andrew Palmer
Group Editor
Beech Hill Hotel
The last time I was at Lake Windermere I was cycling a gruelling 150 miles coast to coast in 24 hours - as you do! Having set off from Whitehaven at 6am I eventually arrived at the Chain Ferry in Bowness. If I had known the Beech Hill Hotel was just a stone’s throw away, I would have turned right after disembarking the short ten-minute ferry and gone off to pamper myself at the hotel’s spa.
1:00 AM 13th May 2023
Review
Out In The Cold At Coniston!
There is a rugged landscape photograph mounted on the wall of room 20 in the Coniston Hotel Country Estate & Spa just outside Skipton in North Yorkshire. Nothing unusual about that, you might think, until you spy a small tent card sitting on the circular writing table at the other side of the room.
7:00 AM 17th March 2023
Americas
Multi Million Re-Fit For St. Lucia Beach Resort
The Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort in St Lucia has debuted a new look following a transformative multi-million dollar renovation to the Mediterranean style 65-acre property.
7:00 AM 25th February 2023
Hotels
Istanbul’s New Luxury Spa
The Stay Boulevard Nisantasi in Istanbul, Turkey, offers guests the perfect winter wellness retreat for 2023. Part of Türkiye’s first independent carbon-neutral hotel group The Stay Hotels, the new 1220 sqm Stay Spa spans an entire floor with nine treatment rooms, an indoor spa pool, adjoining hot tub, Turkish bath, and wooden sauna, and using all vegan and organic spa products.
7:00 AM 30th January 2023
Europe
Reboot, Refresh, Restart – Wellness Retreats for 2023
Been eating one too many mince pies this festive season? Then a wellness break might be just what you’re looking for in 2023! According to a recent survey by YouGov, the three most popular New Year’s resolutions were to improve fitness, lose weight and improve diet. To help make these resolutions become a reality, we have listed some of the best retreats which will help you on your quest for a mind, body, and soul reboot.
3:00 AM 3rd January 2023
holidays
Worthy Boost For Buxton - The Buxton Crescent Hotel
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
Historically Buxton in Derbyshire has been famed for two things: its spa waters and, since 1903, Frank Matcham’s opera house. Now, there’s a new ‘old’ kid on the block: the spectacularly restored Grade I-listed Buxton Crescent Hotel, originally two ‘spa’ hotels built in the 1780’s by the Fifth Duke of Devonshire, but only recently returned to its former glory as one beautiful residence.
7:00 AM 12th September 2021
holidays
Lake Windermere vs A 1970’s Cop Show!
Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
Windermere’s Beech Hill Hotel & Spa reminds me of my favourite programme from the 70’s: Starsky and Hutch! The detective duo’s sidekick, Huggy Bear, would create a ‘diversion’ so that the two main protagonists were able to apprehend the bad guys who rarely spotted the truth of what was happening. And my point?
7:00 AM 17th July 2021
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