TRAVEL LIFESTYLE BEAUTY

Travel

2 min

We are heading home from Sardinia. Half-term week, 7 days of bliss in true paradise at the Hotel Valle dell’ Erica. This family holiday passed by in a flash. A testament to where we were. For the first time in ages, taking the family to a hotel catering to our every need really felt like a holiday from the minute we arrived. I normally take a day or two to acclimatise to any new environment. The critic in me finds little niggles that I need to let go of before settling in but here I just couldn’t find anything.
As a little girl, my very fair skin burnt a lot. I remember sun rashes, discomfort and even calamine baths in the South of France. I’m sure I was slathered in sun cream but in those days SPF15 was considered high. My grandmother used to smother herself in Bergasol oil with no SPF and go a mahogany brown. No such genes passed on to me!
Many people expect Sardinia to be a carbon copy of mainland Italy – wrong! I’m a lover of and frequenter of both places but don’t confuse the two whatever you do! Taking my family there for a third year running I thought it might be nice to let others know what really sets Sardinia apart in my eyes and which are my top Sardinian Hotels.
Spring skiing with family is always some of the best skiing. right sunshine, lots of eating out on terraces and the best of both worlds with warm temperatures and good snow if you choose wisely.
Flying home from Innsbruck from our family skiing trip, on our brand new Thomas Cook Airlines A321, I’m thankful for small mercies. Spotless plane, real service with a smile and civilised travel. Some might not associate a charter airline with such a positive outlook but then maybe this is a secret best kept to ourselves given the smooth sailing, practicality, brilliant value for money and real willingness to please of the staff – something hugely lacking in aviation these days.
Winter Wonderland Tea at the Chesterfield Hotel, Mayfair is a must. This festive season we seem to have spent more of our time in hotels than ever before, if you take into account the fact that we haven’t left London. With a fabulous two night stay at Ham Yard behind us – we had Christmas lunch there too, we are off to a Mayfair institution for tea.
Winter Wonderland Tea at the Chesterfield Hotel, Mayfair is a must. This festive season we seem to have spent more of our time in hotels than ever before, if you take into account the fact that we haven’t left London. With a fabulous two night stay at Ham Yard behind us – we had Christmas lunch there too, we are off to a Mayfair institution for tea.
Winter Wonderland Tea at the Chesterfield Hotel, Mayfair is a must. This festive season we seem to have spent more of our time in hotels than ever before, if you take into account the fact that we haven’t left London. With a fabulous two night stay at Ham Yard behind us – we had Christmas lunch there too, we are off to a Mayfair institution for tea.
As you may have gathered, I am a bit obsessed with Sardinia of late. This may have something to do with my choosing it last year as a holiday destination and then deciding to go back again this year with our new fourth family member – baby Gabriel (no angel, believe you me – he sleeps far too little for that!).
So we’re back in Essex. One of my favourite gastronomic boutique hotel and restaurant groups – Milsom’s. The family owns and manages some gorgeous properties dotted throughout Essex and Suffolk. All are unique but each has one thing in common – high standards, outstanding food and tastefully-decorated, comfortable bedrooms.