The Hotel Mys Khao Yai is located near the forest of Khao Yai National Park in Khaoyai, Thailand, designed on the concept of the ‘Elevated Ground Floor’. Hotel guests leisure through the rush landscape to reach their room. Every guest room is like a small forest cabin in itself. Therefore all rooms are suite rooms equipped with living area, bathroom ensuite, balcony and trees.
The design urges all guests to be exposed to nature to the fullest with a high standard of luxury living. The sky acrylic pool with a clear view of the mountain offers the glimpse of being part of nature. As a twist of an excitement, guests are swimming in the cantilevered pool structure as if they are swimming into the sky.
With only 24 keys, the hotel Mys is exclusively designed for private events with a central plaza that leads to the pool terrace as an altar. Suitable for a cozy party of family and friends or special event.
The Times and The Sunday Times (September 18, 2023) – They used to call it La Belle Endormie: a sleeping beauty choked with traffic and blackened with soot. But now Bordeaux has woken up. Its long parades of 18th-century architecture have been sandblasted clean and its streets equipped with trams, cycle lanes and pedestrianized zones. Navigation is quick, the atmosphere unhurried and the food uncommonly good. And if you fancy following in the footsteps of King Charles, who will visit Bordeaux during this week’s short French state visit, you can even get there by train — take the Eurostar and a high-speed TGV; the total journey time from London is six hours.
What to do
The Chartrons quarter
● First, a little history. See that modest cathedral by the Hôtel de Ville? It’s where Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Louis VII of France. Later, in 1152, this feisty daughter of the southwest married again, in Poitiers, to the man who became King Henry II. In doing so she began a Bordelais involvement with England that didn’t end until 1453, when the French captured the city. Sure, a lot of water has flowed under the city’s bridges since then, but to be reminded of the connection is like discovering an unexpected cousin.
● Bordeaux profited handsomely from this attachment thanks to the English thirst for its wines. So continue this 650-year tradition with a riveting, self-guided audio tour of La Cité du Vin. The decanter-shaped landmark explores every aspect of global winemaking and wine culture, with one amusing omission: intoxication. The best bit is a display that wafts key wine flavours up your nose (£19; laciteduvin.com).
Coolest neighborhood
The northern district of Chartrons starts with palatial mansions and merchant warehouses, but shrinks to more modest proportions the further you wander from the city centre. Along the Rue Notre Dame it finds its mojo. Here, half a mile of browsable tiny shops sell must-have crockery, hand-made brushes and £2.50 fruit-crumble tartlets. Clambering vines deepen the sense that you’ve found the perfect French provincial street.
The Times and The Sunday Times (September 11, 2023) – No exaggeration, Turkey’s rambling former capital, unspooling either side of the broad Bosphorus strait, is up there among the friendliest places you could visit for a long Euro-style weekend. Hospitality is in the Turks’ DNA, whatever you might think about the politics. The weather will always deliver too: midwinter has a snowy, Soviet chill that is super atmospheric, while spring and late summer into autumn turn the city into a giant urban resort, with bars, cafés and pool-trimmed hotels lining the endless waterfronts on Asian and European banks.
Karabatak
What to do
● What was founded as the Byzantine emperor Justinian’s 6th-century church has ballooned over aeons into the Hagia Sophia. Now a mosque, it’s a gargantuan spectacle. Enter and in the spiritual gloom a magnificence develops, daylight angling through windows in the galactic dome light years above. Remarkably there is even runic graffiti, carved by a mercenary from the Viking age (free; muze.gen.tr).
● Allocate a day to explore Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman sultans built in 1459 by Mehmet the Conqueror, who grabbed Constantinople from the fading Byzantines. Chamber after chamber reveals military regalia and priceless gifts from dynasties as far away as China. The Bosphorus views are magnificent and the emerald lawns are made for lounging on (£20, includes harem access; muze.gen.tr).
● The Ecumenical Patriarch, spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, resides at the Patriarchate of Constantinople, a serene neoclassical complex in Fener district, above the waters of the Golden Horn creek. Join global pilgrims in the glittery cathedral aisles and witness, perhaps, the divine liturgy or, later, vespers — black-clad, scented and seductively mystic (free; ec-patr.org).
● We associate art nouveau with Paris and Budapest, but in the twilight years of the Ottomans it flourished in Istanbul. Casa Botter (originally Botter Apartmani), built on Istiklal Caddesi at the turn of the 20th century for a tailor to Sultan Abdul Hamid, was the city’s first example. After decades of neglect it’s now a must-visit art gallery and, façade-wise, a real kooky looker, chiselled and Viennese-ornate (free; Instagram @casabotter).
Discover Germany, Switzerland and Austria – The top three hikes in the Alps; garden season highlights; a special focus on Alta Badia, a cyclist’s paradise; an interview with actor Peter Ketnath; top Riesling wines for long summer evenings; Switzerland’s best agencies and more…
The Alps offer a variety of walks and hikes for every skill level. Some of our favourites can be found in the Swiss Aletsch Arena region which is known for its outstanding natural beauty, its many sunshine hours, and more.
In the heart of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage, Alta Badia offers the ideal area to experience the emotions that cyclists, from amateurs to professionals, seek and appreciate every time they saddle up.
In recent years, thanks to the numerous activities and initiatives related to cycling, Alta Badia has become a point of reference for demanding cyclists. In August 2022, Alta Badia was awarded the GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) certificate, an internationally recognised reference standard for sustainable tourism. The bicycle, in all its forms, is the ideal means to experience tourism in an environmentally sustainable way, and events such as the Maratona dles Dolomites-Enel and the Bike Days should therefore be a symbol and an important signal in this direction. For this reason, cycling in Alta Badia is in no way inferior to hiking, where clean air, splendid landscapes and spectacular peaks invite you to treat nature with respect.
THE TIMES (June 21, 2023) – A list of 20 of our favourites that are still available. We’ve also highlighted some of the county’s hottest restaurants and its most eye-catching holiday activities. Visitors will notice a renewed push towards sustainability, including an even bigger emphasis on local ingredients in restaurants — think edible seaweed or chickens reared on site.
Polurrian on the Lizard, Mullion Yes, OK, the approach to this family-friendly bolt hole and the village of Mullion itself are a touch suburban. But look westwards instead of east and there’s Cornwall in all its wild magnificence. At the bottom of the garden, just beyond the swings, the coastal path clings to clifftops before tumbling down to a little cove. The views reach out towards Penzance and the open ocean.
Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes It may be 25 years old this year, but Olga Polizzi’s Arts and Crafts-influenced hotel is not resting on its laurels. Most of the bathrooms have recently been redecorated with mosaics, Carrara marble, and tongue and groove panelling. It has new wallpapers, new fabrics and even a new suite. The effect, however, is unchanged. This is probably Cornwall’s most elegant hotel: thoughtful, arty and peppered with eye-catching patterns and colours.
St Michaels Resort, Falmouth Down on Gylly beach, St Michaels Resort is burnishing its wellness credentials with the opening of four spa garden lodges on July 1. Guests will be able to step straight into the revitalised spa garden and take advantage of a bubbling hot tub and barrel saunas. They can also soak in their own outdoor copper bath in the privacy of the lodge terrace.
The Times and The Sunday Times (June 15, 2023) – The most popular way to access all this from the UK is via the ports of Dieppe (ferries from Newhaven; dfds.com), Le Havre, Caen and Cherbourg (from Portsmouth and Poole; brittany-ferries.co.uk).
Le Tribunal, Mortagne-au-Perche
Hotel in the Perche region’s main hub Southern Normandy’s Perche region is a succession of gentle hills clad in beech and oak. Much of it is designated a natural park. There is great diversity here, in landscape and architecture, which come in a palette of colours thanks to different building materials. Its main hub is Mortagne-au-Perche, a market town of cobbled streets, antique shops, magnificent mansions and its famed black pudding.
Domaine de la Cour au Grip, Repentigny
Rustic retreat in cider country The Pays d’Auge, to the east of Caen, is an unhurried, painterly landscape, mixing oak and hazel woodland with cattle-filled orchards where morning mists lie low in the valleys and the autumn colours are magnificent. This is cider country, and there are still 20-odd cider makers on the 25-mile Cider Route. The former farm of Domaine de la Cour au Grip is on that route in the village of Repentigny, not far from Beuvron-en-Auge, one of the prettiest villages in France.
Le Landemer, Urville-Nacqueville
Restaurant with rooms west of Cherbourg Not every ferry traveller wants to hurry home. Le Landemer, barely ten miles along the coast from the ferry port of Cherbourg, is for those who like to linger. This designer conversion of a coastal house is as much an eating as a sleeping place, with five traditional rooms in the main house, and four yacht-style rooms — more modern with big picture windows — smuggled away in an adjacent building.
For centuries Sintra was the favoured summer retreat and hunting ground of Portuguese nobles, and their legacy is a veritable jewel box of palaces, castles and candy-coloured mansions.
The traditional retreat of Portuguese nobility provides the perfect mix of palaces and pastries
The Unesco-listed cultural landscape of domes and turrets seems to be straight out of a fairytale — no wonder it has fired the imaginations of literary luminaries from Hans Christian Andersen to Byron. Deserving of far more than a day trip from Lisbon, 20 miles away, Sintra is even more magical at the day’s end. Once the coach parties have departed, the few who linger have the run of all those lofty viewpoints and quaint pestico bars.
Casa Piriquita There’s more to Portuguese pastry craft than pasteis de nata, as this traditional bakery that dates from 1862 proves. Treat yourself to a signature queijada, a type of cheesecake, or the sugar-dusted puff pastry “cushions” called travesseiros, which are filled with almond cream.
Incomum by Luis Santos Incomum is one of Sintra’s smartest dinner spots, with a Mediterranean menu that ranges from carpaccio and truffle-laced risotto to Iberian pork filet mignon and lobster bisque — and a signature olive oil pudding to finish. Handily, there’s a wine bar next door for an aperitif or post-dinner glass of port.
CBS Sunday Morning (May 7, 2023) – First published in France in 1900, The Michelin Guide has been awarding stars to restaurants for about 100 years. Today, it rates the work of chefs around the world, including in the United States.
Correspondent Kelefa Sanneh talks with an anonymous Michelin restaurant inspector, and with chefs at a restaurant with a coveted Michelin star.
Discover Germany, Switzerland and Austria – April 2023 Issue: The April issue of Discover Germany, Austria & Switzerland puts a special focus on the sustainable tourism approach of Berlin. While the German capital is leading in many areas, Berlin also knows how to reconcile sustainability and tourism in a clever way. We further travel to Bavaria to try out some adventure holiday option. Other topics covered are an interview with actor Langston Uibel, a special theme on art, culture and museum highlights, design and lifestyle trends, fashion items that combine modernity with tradition, great museums and destinations for a spring getaway, and much, much more.
Germany has much more to offer than just beer, pretzels and famous football teams. It is a paradise for artists as well as art lovers. Paintings, architecture, literature, music or design – the country’s art scene combines different backgrounds and cultural influences. The cities of Germany are home to numerous museums, galleries and theatres showcasing fine art and culture.
Germany’s culinary scene is one of the world’s best – for many reasons. Not only does the country lay claim to many award-winning chefs and restaurants, the sheer diversity of restaurants in the country is also one of a kind.
Bon Appétit (March 21, 2023) – A perfect Peking Duck is maroon in color, with crispy skin encasing juicy, tender meat— and Han Li-Jun, founder and head chef of Chili House in San Francisco, has been in the craft of making it for 3 decades. Watch him break down each step in the intricate process, as demonstrated by his collaborator Chef Han, in serving authentic and traditional Peking Duck.
Chili House SF is an authentic Chinese Food Restaurant located in the Richmond District of San Francisco, California. Our executive chef, Chef Han, has been cooking since 1988 and has had the privilege of serving his cuisine to Chinese Presidents and Foreign Ministers.
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