Hotel Reviews

After undergoing a comprehensive makeover, the Mandarin Oriental Savoy in Zurich has reopened its doors this winter. Established in 1838, this historic gem, recognized as the city's earliest grand hotel, has newly joined the lineup of Mandarin Oriental's high-end luxury hotels.

Rocco Forte has long been on my bucket list of luxury hotels and I finally tried the British family brand in Brussels. The stylish presentation on their website is intriguing and the company’s mission seems very much in line with my own mantra: respect the historical heritage of the place.

Brussels itself is kind of underrated. Yes, it is the home to a bureaucratic behemoth: the parliament of the European Union. On the other hand, though, there is world-class contemporary art, historic and cultural sights, oh and Tin Tin!

Swiss author Johanna Spyri was inspired to write her world-famous children’s book in 1879 after going on spa visits in Bad Ragaz. Just like you and me, her famous heroine Heidi was enchanted by the mountains and didn't want to go back to the dirty city she came from.

Well, to me this town in the Swiss canton St. Gallen at the gate to the Alps was put on the map by the Leading Hotels of the World group. The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is one of the oldest hotels of its kind and wants to adhere to the highest standards of the business to this day. Let’s see if we want to stay with Heidi or rather go back to the big city...

Munich, tourist magnet in Southern Germany and capital of Bavaria, has always been one of the wealthiest cities of the country and thus has a lot to offer for the discerning traveller. It achieves the impossible by resembling a small charming village (which hides its actual size quite well), while still having international renommée in culture, art, science, history and cuisine.

The Bayerischer Hof is the classical choice in Munich. It’s not only frequented by local celebrities and members of high society, it’s also hosting the yearly Security Conference Munich with high profile state guests.

On TripAdvisor, this hotel doesn’t get the expected rating close to 5.0, when you compare it to the other luxury hotels in town (Mandarin Oriental, Rocco Forte, Vier Jahreszeiten,…). I wanted to find out, why that was.

Before I booked my stay at the Sharq Village and Spa (part of the vast Marriott group) in Doha, Qatar, I read some reviews mocking the resort as a kitschy “Arabian Disneyland”. As you know, I like it when hotels fit their style to the place and its history, so I actually liked the idea of living in this Arabian-style village. It’s important to me, though, that a place is not kitschy, but authentic. So I was eager to find out whether those accusations were true for the Sharq!

On a one-night stop-over with the wonderful Qatar Airways Business Class I had enough time to check it out and even try a massage in the spa.

I recently discovered an interesting Sub-Brand of Sofitel, a hotel chain belonging to the Accor conglomerate that I usually don’t pay attention to. With the Legends hotels they got me listening: promising to keep the history of their place, which is usually in a location where actual history took place. And that in utter luxury? My favourite combination!

And now what if this location is Amsterdam? This unique and amazing European city already offers so much culture (Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh anyone?), historical Northern architecture (Dutch Renaissance, Grachten), and the most liberal society on the continent (you know exactly what I mean).

As part of a Bordeaux wine tour through the right bank around St. Emilion, I stayed in the Grand Barrail, a luxurious chateau and SLH boutique hotel amidst the vineyards. Compared to the fantastic Les Sources des Caudalie this place took the more elegant, old-world and aristocratic route when it came to designing the interiors and appreciating the heritage of one of the most famous wine areas in the world.

Kaiser, Chancellors and Kings or Queens stayed in this hotel, at the center of political Germany, near the Reichstag at Unter den Linden where history happened so many times: Emperor Wilhelm II. of Prussia before WWI made this hotel possible in the first place and was a preferred guest, a lazaret during the war, then in the roaring 20s where the high society partied and stumbled into the crisis that ended the Weimarer republic.

The second hotel on our Seychelles trip this year was the Hotel Eden Bleu on Eden Island near the capital Victoria. After the fantastic Hilton Labriz, the (cheaper) Eden Bleu could only lose. I didn’t expect much and, unfortunately, I was not positively surprised. “But the photos look great!”, I hear you say. True, the “hard product” really was nice: all new and an open and bright interior design. So, why did we leave the Eden Bleu disappointed?

The prince's Downtown Palace was sumptuous and - while being in the center of everything - it still was a calm oasis. A perfect representation of Dubai today: an old Arabian palace amidst modern skyscrapers.

Directly next to the Burj al Khalifa in downtown Dubai this luxury resort might not be on your point-collector's-list, as it is not part of any international chain ("just" the local Address Hotels and the U by Emaar-program), it is still very well worth your money - especially when you book with a Virtuoso agent: we got an upgrade from the "cheapest" room to a big suite. Let's take a look!

Just one hour South of Dubai you will find the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. This reserve was created to preserve some of Dubai's natural wonders. (and they didn't find any oil, so what else to do with a desert?)

The cool thing about this reserve is that there is a luxury hotel in the midst of it: The Al Maha Luxury Collection Resort & Spa.

When Ian Fleming came to the Seychelles in 1958 he got inspired to write James Bond short stories for his book "For Your Eyes Only". This is also true for dreamers wanting to travel to the Seychelles: only those willing to cash out - this place is not cheap - are allowed to lay their eyes onto paradise. You don't need Bond's platinum card courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen (damn, what would I give for a card like that?), but you should be able to hand over 500 USD per night for accommodation only. Of course you don't have to stay at a Hilton Resort, but then again, why live at all? (and, the Hilton Labriz was one of the "cheaper" options, mind you)

The luxury brand of the Hyatt corporation opened its first Dubai outstation already in 2005. Situated at the quiet Dubai creek with a marina and a golf course this Dubai hotel is different from the downtown options - but is it a viable one? The city is becoming the hotel capital of the world with seemingly more hotels than residential buildings, so the choice is not easy. Let's see how the Park Hyatt fares.

Hygge = Danish word for a feeling of home, comfort, like a hot chocolate sitting by the fire reading a book

You might know Vals in the mountains of Switzerland from the thermal baths: 7132 Therme & Spa designed by famed Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. To finally visit the hyped baths I went to Vals for a weekend and stayed in the wonderful Brücke 49.

Once upon a time the government of Hamburg announced to build the most beautiful concert hall the city has ever seen: the Elbphilarmonie (or Elbe Philarmonic Hall). People would come from far away, Hamburg would have a new landmark with a high cultural value. And people came.