On holiday in the wild and beautiful region of Puglia in Italy for two weeks, on a whim we drove inland to world-famous Alberobello to see the ancient cone-shaped houses of Italy.

It was a day off from our usual ones by the sea. You see, we’d spent most of the time by the coast, swimming in the many natural pools and coves of the Salento Peninsula. One day, however, we drove across Puglia to stay overnight at the Palazzo Scotto boutique hotel in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello.

THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS OF ALBEROBELLO

We decided to visit Alberbello on a whim, and we were rewarded with the experience of walking around one of the most unique towns in Italy. Alberobello is known for the trulli, the fairytale cone-shaped stone houses that farmers in this region of Puglia once lived in.

There are still quite a lot of trulli that are being used by the local people for living and working. But many trulli are now empty. Or else they have been converted into hotels and museums. Tourists are always willing to pay a fee to see the original interiors of a trulli.

PALAZZO SCOTTO : WHERE TO STAY IN ALBEROBELLO

 

 

The Palazzo Scotto is a lovely little hotel, full of simple but tasteful details. The owner, Valerio carefully chose everything in the hotel to create a simple but upmarket boutique hotel in Alberobello. He’s obviously been successful with this as the hotel is always full.

A TRULLI WITH A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

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One lovely summer morning to head for the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne. We were in the spa town of Evian-les-Bains in France, just across Lake Geneva. It was so unusually bright that day that I had to stop the car by the ridge for a look at Lausanne in Switzerland, directly across the lake.

Lausanne was an easy two hour drive away, along. The route is magnificent as you have the lake on one side and the mountains on the other. In between, you drive through some of the prettiest towns in Europe.

GRAND TOUR OF SWITZERLAND

Following the well-trodden route of English aristocrats and Russian nobility on their respective Grand Tours of Switzerland over a hundred years ago, we were doing a three week road trip around Switzerland. One of the highlights of this trip was a long weekend in Lausanne, at the 18th century Beau Rivage Palace. This is one of the grandest palace hotels in Switzerland, if not in the world.

This had long been on my travel bucket list and finally we found ourselves at the entrance. This institution of a hotel is blessed with fine architectural features. It also has four hectares of spacious manicured grounds and an enviable frontage on Lake Geneva with views of the French Alps in the distance.

HOME TO HISTORY

For 150 years the Beau Rivage Palace Lausanne has hosted kings and queens, world leaders and tastemakers seeking a home away from their own luxurious homes.

The hotel’s ground floor corridor is where all the evidence quietly is. Unfortunately, it is not a pathway many guests will notice unless they decide to take a narrow winding staircase from the lobby down to the coffee shop or to the lake.

However we did exactly this one evening. And this is how we discovered the hotel’s Hall of Fame. It’s lined with signed black and white photographs of many of the good and the great who have laid their heads down here. It’s literally a long walk through history.

Since this hotel opened its doors in 1861, everyone who has been anyone has stayed here when passing through Lausanne. These include Victor Hugo, Coco Chanel and Nelson Mandela.

READ ABOUT THE MOST ROMANTIC NEW HOTEL IN SPAIN

CHARLIE CHAPLIN IN SWITZERLAND

Perhaps the most interesting of its innumerable distinguished guests was also one of its longest. The legendary actor and producer Charlie Chaplin set up temporary lodgings at the Beau Rivage Palace Lausanne upon his arrival in Switzerland with his family.

This was after a high-profile departure from the United States in connection with Senator Joseph McCarthy’s witchhunt for Communist supporters. Mr. Chaplin ended up loving this hotel and this area so much that he eventually chose a large villa nearby as his final home.

READ ABOUT THE MOST ROMANTIC NEW HOTEL IN SPAIN

THE BEST SERVICE IN LAUSANNE

These days, many guests choose to stay at the Beau Rivage Palace to experience its legendary hospitality. This is always exemplary and yet never intrusive. Indeed, the Beau Rivage Palace staff observe everything and see nothing. More importantly, the front desk and concierge team so impressed me as having a solution for practically any distress — save perhaps for a broken heart.

For the latter, however, a long weekend in one of the bright new suites facing Lake Geneva will certainly go a long way towards easing a heartbreak. This is the kind of hotel where you can literally leave your problems at the front door and feel like everything in the world will be fine. Or solved for you.

A SUITE FOR ALL SEASONS

We booked a junior suite for our stay. This is of course generally nicer than a regular hotel room. Nevertheless it’s at the bottom of the rung in terms of the hierarchies of suites at grand hotels. But quite frankly, it left me breathless as soon as I entered. This was among the loveliest junior suites I’d ever stayed in, in a lifetime of checking into the world’s best hotels.

The 75-square meter room was light, bright and airy. It could certainly lift anyone’s spirits even on the dreariest of days. It had a mirrored breakfast nook and bar that was a tiny room in itself. This room, unique to the junior suite on the second floor, jutted out of one corner. It had glass doors that opened up to a private terrace with a view of Lake Geneva.

DESIGNED BY PIERRE YVES ROCHON

Each guest room was created by French designer Pierre Yves Rochon in slightly varying styles of contemporary. Our suite was modern and colored in white and pale pastels. It had a fireplace on one side and an ultra-modern workstation on the other.

The workstation in white wood and glass was refreshed daily with flowers. Above it was a shelf filled with interesting books on Swiss architecture. There was also a book on Anne Sophie Pic, who incidentally runs the hotel’s flagship formal dining restaurant.

TOP ATTRACTIONS IN LAUSANNE

• Olympic Museum
• Lausanne Cathedral
• Palais de Rumine
• Collection de l’Art Brut
• Musee de l’Elysée

THE ROOM WITHIN A ROOM

The piece de resistance of this suite was a mirrored walk-in closet. It was bigger than an average Swiss hotel room and I loved it. It was massive, even for our large suitcases and an assortment of smaller ones. I reveled in the luxury of having enough closet space in Europe.

In fact, with four large cabinets, luggage tables at the end and a proper mirrored dressing table, it had enough places for everything. I could actually hang all the clothes I’d brought, arrange shoes neatly in pull- out glass drawers at the bottom and place my summer hats on the top shelf. Yes, this dressing room was literally fit for a queen. As was the rest of the room.

Read more about the world’s most beautiful hotels in Travelife Magazine.

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Sofitel recently worked with global marketing research company IPSOS to conduct this global in-depth survey. They wanted to understand the habits and preferences of guests. In particular, what women want to see and experience in hotels. The survey found that 86% of female travelers wanted a hospitality program designed specifically for women.

As a result, MGallery by Sofitel established Inspired by Her. This new program focuses on what women want when they are traveling.

WHAT WOMEN WANT

73% of women surveyed said they often forget to pack an essential item. Then, they don’t realise they’ve left it behind until they get to the hotel. As a result, all MGallery hotels now offer emergency kits. These kits include complimentary beauty items, makeup remover, nail polish remover, hair ties and pins. They also contain moisturizer, sunscreen, and stockings.

Women also want quality hairdryers and good bathroom lighting when staying at a hotel. So now, all MGallery hotels in the Pacific now have quality hairdryers and makeup mirrors.

HEALTHY MENU & SIGNATURE COCKTAILS

As part of the Inspired by Her program, MGallery hotels in Australia have also added light and healthy menu items in their restaurants. In fact, several dishes have been created specifically around inspiring women.

Signature cocktails have also been created with floral creations, champagne and fruit. Also, on request, a staff member will deliver a specially brewed tea in an elegant teapot to the room.

The global survey also found out that wellbeing experiences tops the list of ‘Memorable Moments‘ women want to have. Meanwhile the feminine touches women like in a hotel are fresh flowers, fragrance, quality bedding and materials, and attention to service detail.

 ABOUT MGALLERY BY SOFITEL

MGallery by Sofitel has over 90 boutique hotels around the world. Each MGallery tells a unique story inspired by the destination. MGallery hotels are places where guests can discover the best the world can offer. Well-known properties in the MGallery collection include Hotel Molitor Paris, INK Hotel Amsterdam, Queens Hotel Cheltenham in England, Santa Teresa Hotel Rio de Janeiro, Hotel Lindrum Melbourne in Australia, Muse Bangkok Langsuan in Thailand, and Hotel des Arts Saigon in Vietnam.

MGallery is part of AccorHotels, a leading travel and lifestyle group with over 4,300 hotels, resorts and residences, along with some 10,000 of the finest private homes around the globe.

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So late last night in Africa, living a #Travelife, we finally reached our hotel in Port Elizabeth after over 30 hours of traveling from Asia to this quiet city on the East Coast of South Africa, facing the Indian Ocean.

It wasn’t a hardship trip at all by most people’s standards, even if it was a 30-hour trip.

We had flat beds in row #1 of the airplanes all the way, decent food that included pastries from Laduree in Paris and my favourite kare-kare, and peaceful airport lounges to pass transit time in.

I even had eight episodes of Downtown Abbey for entertainment, even if I’d watched most of these already.

I’d seen these on my last few flights via Hong Kong this year since Cathay Pacific usually has these in their inflight entertainment selection.

My favourite eggs benedict with smoked salmon for breakfast yesterday, living a #Travelife

Still, in spite of all the comforts, I was ready to drop dead by the time we walked into the lobby of No. 5 Boutique Art Hotel in Port Elizabeth.

Room service last night

Fortunately, the sight of all the lovely art revived me enough to make it through a delicious room service dinner and a sea salt bath.

No. 5 Art Boutique Hotel is a member of the Mantis Group, which is a collection of luxurious, interesting and eco-friendly properties all over the world.

In this case, No. 5 Art Boutique Hotel has got great art deco furniture, very striking photographs, and the general feel of a Silversea cruise ship.

Art aside, I chose this hotel because it’s the best place to stay in Port Elizabeth, which is the city we flew into to pick up our rental car for part 1 of our big safari trip.

There are many bigger and higher-profile hotels in this city, but if you like privacy, exclusivity and luxury, like me, look no further than this lovely little hotel that feels more like a stylish home than a commercial establishment.

It certainly was a heavenly place to finally drop our bags down in, after a very long series of flights, and at the start of just another adventure in my never-ending, and never-endingly eventful #Travelife.

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