Innehållsförteckning för July/August 2024 från Business Traveller

DESTINATION GROVE OF NARBERTH, WALES If you're looking for luxury in the remote rolling hills of Pembrokeshire, then this boutique 25-room hotel is right up your street. The thoughtfully restored country house features 10.5 hectares of grounds (including kitchen gardens), rooms and suites across the main house and quaint cottages, plus an award-winning restaurant. It's also got myriad eco credentials (the electricity is 100 per cent renewable), hiking and coastal sights on the doorstep and starry nights back at the hotel. The property also won SLH's Hotel of the Year award in 2023. grovenarberth.co.uk CULLODEN ESTATE AND SPA, NORTHERN IRELAND Perched on the forested slopes of the Holywood hills near Belfast, this luxurious spa overlooks the Belfast Lough and sparkling County Antrim coastline. Guests can enjoy palatial scenery, ESPA spa…

LONDON ITALIAN BOCCONCINO Discover Bocconcino Mayfair, the epitome of Italian dining in London. Nestled in the heart of Mayfair, Bocconcino offers an unparalleled culinary journey with premium ingredients like fresh truffle, caviar, handmade pasta, and exquisite seafood displays. Experience vibrant nights with captivating DJs and live music, all while savouring delectable cocktails. The extensive wine collection boasts over 300 handpicked selections. Combining luxury, authenticity, and an unforgettable atmosphere, Bocconcino sets the standard for exceptional Italian cuisine in London. 19 Berkeley St, Mayfair, London W1J 8ED, UK reservations@bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk 020 7499 4510 bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk LONDON FINE DINING CHINESE GOUQI Embark on a culinary journey at the esteemed fine dining Gouqi restaurant in Trafalgar Square, London. Led by renowned chef Tong Chee Hwee, Gouqi promises a luxury dining experience. With an 18-year tenure at…

BACKGROUND The W Edinburgh opened in November 2023. It is the second of Marriott's W Hotels brand in the UK (the other being in London). A third is slated to open in Manchester in 2027. WHERE IS IT? The W Edinburgh is housed in the show-stopping Ribbon Building in St James Quarter, a new lifestyle, retail and entertainment district in the heart of the city. The property is a five-minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley train station, while a taxi to Edinburgh Airport takes 30 minutes. WHAT'S IT LIKE? The brand has undergone an evolution of late. Cool social spaces, exciting events and striking design are still a priority, but a new level of sophistication is dropping gimmickry, adding comfort in the guest rooms (no longer just a place to crash…

BACK GROUND Singaporean brand COMO Hotels and Resorts launched its first property in its home country in September 2023, integrating its lifestyle and wellness brands into the hotel space. Housed in the mixed-use 19-storey COMO Orchard building, the COMO Metropolitan hotel occupies 11 floors with 156 rooms and suites. The building is also home to a fashion retail space curated by Club21, an urban wellness space by COMO Shambhala and international dining outlets. WHERE IS IT? The COMO Orchard building is located on Bideford Road, just off the city's main Orchard Road shopping district. It's close to the modern Paragon shopping centre, and a 25-minute drive from Changi Airport. WHAT'S IT LIKE? The hotel has a design ethos of modern simplicity, with a neutral colour palette creating a calm, relaxing…

BACKGROUND British brand Marshall is well known for its audio products and rock ’n’ roll legacy. The Bluetooth wireless Major V over-ear headphones, released in April 2024, are an upgrade on the Major IV. THE PRODUCT The stylish vegan leather headphones have a retro feel, with a fully black design aside from the familiar white Marshall font on the textured ears and a striking gold control knob on the right ear – the shape of the well-cushioned pads are a lovely nod to the brand's square amps. They don't come with a case, but are rugged, lightweight and collapse inwards – compact enough to fit snugly into a backpack. While wireless, there's also a 3.5mm audio cord – though this is outdated for smartphones without a jack port. The headphones…

Upcycled backpacks EMIRATES PLANS TO REPURPOSE more than 50,000 kilos of waste material from 191 aircraft (110 A380s and 81 Boeing 777s) currently undergoing a cabin interior refresh. The materials will be used to produce thousands of children's backpacks and school bags, donated to community schools and organisations supporting early education across Africa and Asia. Emirates’ Engineering team has recovered over 5,000kg of scrap materials from economy class seats from the 22 Airbus A380s that have been completely retrofitted. Seat fabric, crafted from 95 per cent wool and 5 per cent nylon composition, were deemed as ideal for upcycling “due to their durability and non-flammable nature”. Fabrics were then laundered, deep cleaned, leather-conditioned and thoroughly disinfected before being sewn into unique pieces, featuring new lining, functional zippers and adjustable straps.…

Researchers believe turbulence will only gain pace alongside global warming In a pleasing case of nominative determinism, British Airways’ Flying with Confidence director, Captain Steve Allright, once reassured me: “Remember that turbulence is uncomfortable but rarely dangerous. It is a perfectly normal part of flying caused by nature.” And he's right: out of the circa-400 million flights that took place between 2009 and 2022, there were – according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration (the US’ regulatory body) – 34 passengers and 129 crew members recorded as seriously injured due to turbulence. The last fatality caused by turbulence on a commercial flight was in 1997, during United Airlines’ Flight 826 from Tokyo to Honolulu. That was, until the spring of 2024. On 21 May, severe turbulence on Singapore Airlines’…

AVIATION When boarding a flight, most passengers are more concerned about their seat assignment, potential bad neighbours or inflight entertainment (IFE) than the age of the aircraft they are flying on. However, the age of an aeroplane can significantly impact the flight experience, not to mention operational efficiency and environmental sustainability. PASSENGER EXPERIENCE Newer aircraft typically offer better amenities, such as larger and more comfortable seats, more storage, advanced IFE systems and enhanced connectivity. Obviously, the aviation industry has come a long way from when flying was a loud, cold and unsettling adventure, where passengers experienced more physiological issues such as tiredness and dehydration. New technology aircraft like the Airbus A350 long-haul jet, which is popular with airlines around the world including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and soon Qantas, have…

In the 600 years since Scottish fishermen accidentally invented golf, the sport has undergone tremendous technological innovation. First played with sticks and stones washed up on beaches, then with clubs crafted from hickory shafts and leather balls stuffed with feathers, golf has evolved into a modern game dominated by equipment made of space-age alloys and employing military technologies like GPS. Here is some of the hottest new gear that will make you look great and maybe even improve your game, too. DRIVERS TaylorMade describes its new Qi10 as “the most forgiving family of drivers the company has produced”. Simply put, the higher the moment of inertia (this club achieves the elusive 10,000), the more forgiveness. High MOI reduces head rotation on off-centre impacts, protecting against mishits and delivering more consistent…

BACKGROUND Locke is a design-led serviced apartment brand from hospitality company edyn. It launched in 2016 and has properties in Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Berlin and Munich (see businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested). The brand debuted in Switzerland in November 2023 with this property, which is a conversion of the Hotel Ascot Zurich. WHERE IS IT? On Tessinerplatz in the city's quiet Enge quarter. It's adjacent to a tram stop (ten minutes from the city centre) and Zurich Enge railway station (served by the S-Bahn). The hotel is also a ten-minute walk from the convention centre. Footie fans can hop over the road to the FIFA Museum, Lake Zurich is a five-minute walk away and the Rietberg Museum just 12 minutes’ walk. There's a co-working cafe next door, plus a small Coop supermarket.…

UP FRONT VIRGIN ATLANTIC PLANS TO RETURN to Canada for the first time in over a decade, with direct flights from London Heathrow to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The carrier briefly operated flights to Toronto around 2001, and more recently served the Canadian city of Vancouver (though this route has not operated since 2014). The daily service will launch on 30 March, 2025, with fares starting from £490 per person. The route will be operated by a mix of aircraft including the A330-900neo – complete with Virgin's Retreat Suite. Virgin also plans to expand its codeshare partnership with Canadian carrier WestJet in October, with benefits for both airlines’ frequent flyers “expected to follow in 2025”. My Lounge opens at London Luton Airport AIRPORT DIMENSIONS and Swissport have opened their second…

A fleet of cranes and diggers toil away on a vast 6.2 million sqm construction site along the Athens Riviera, 20 minutes south of Athens. It's the former home of Ellinikon International Airport, which closed in 2001 when Athens International Airport opened. Several structures from the old airport remain, including hangars, terminals and signage, but soon the area will be unrecognisable, transformed into The Ellinikon – the largest smart city in Europe. The US$8 billion project, led by LAMDA Development, is the kind of thing you might expect to see in the Middle East or China – not the sleepy coast of one of Europe's ancient capitals. But the futuristic city will be a major boost for Athenians and visitors alike, and a gleaming testament to modern Greece. The first…

DESTINATION When you're constantly hopping on and off planes, staying put might just offer the kind of R&R you need. Not to mention that when we're so focused on exploring the latest upand-coming destination, we often forget to look in our own backyard. From the remote beauty of the Lake District to stunning country manors accessible from London, embrace the art of slow travel this summer and enjoy a UK staycation. LE MANOIR AUX QUAT'SAISONS, A BELMOND HOTEL BEST FOR: Gardening and gastronomy On the outskirts of London in the quaint Oxfordshire hamlet of Great Milton lies Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, a 15th-century manor nestled in 11 hectares of land. Within minutes of exiting the motorway, we found ourselves in the fairytale-like Grade II*-listed premises, passing by juicy apricots along…

LEISURE The active volcano at the heart of the island offers fertile, nutrientpacked soil Sugarlandia sounds like something out of a fairytale. The mythical setting of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, perhaps. Turns out, it's the Filipino nickname for Negros Occidental, a province on the Philippines’ fourth largest island, Negros. It doesn't take long to understand the basis for its nickname. Our drive from Bacolod-Silay Airport takes us through endless fields of cara morada (purple) sugarcane – the key ingredient in rum production – while tropical rain beats down on thriving plantations. The area isn't well known on a global stage, and the tourism industry needs development, with few big-name hotels. But that might all be set to change. I've travelled to Sugarlandia to learn about the region's burgeoning rum trade,…

4 HOURS IN … 1 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION The most likely starting point for a trip to Egypt is its capital, Cairo. The city can easily take three to four days to explore, however, if you're on a busy schedule and only have an afternoon to spare, you can't miss the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). The NMEC is situated in the heart of the city, near the historical area of Old Cairo. It is close to several other prominent museums and archaeological sites and was established to showcase the rich and diverse history of Egyptian civilisation from prehistoric times to the modern era. The museum's mission is to preserve and present Egypt's cultural heritage, emphasising its significance in shaping world history. Consisting of a contemporary building…

BACKGROUND Cathay Pacific serves this route with the Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350. Both aircraft feature the Safran Cirrus seat in business class. It's comfortable, with good storage, privacy and tech features, but over the years it has come to lag behind competitors on the innovation front. That's set to change when Cathay debuts the Aria Suite on its Boeing 777 fleet later this year. CHECK-IN Flight CX256 departs LHR T3 at 2010. I checked in easily via the app, but for manual check-in and bag drop, head to Area C. Fast-track security was quick. THE LOUNGE Cathay's lounge (Lounge C, located next to Gate 11) bears the same lovely Studioilse design as other flagships, such as Hong Kong. There's lots of hot and cold food options, including a full…

BACKGROUND Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas opened its first hotel in the Netherlands in 2022, though the property has been part of Minor Hotels group since 2000 – most recently as a 451-room NH Collection property. The hotel dates to 1856, when Polish tailor Adolph Wilhelm Krasnapolsky opened a coffee shop and hotel. Today, the property is made of 55 canal houses and has six wings. A refurbishment reduced the room count to 402 to allow for bigger suites, plus a new spa and gym. WHERE IS IT? Very central, on Dam Square facing the Royal Palace. Ideal for setting off on foot, or borrowing one of Anantara's complimentary bikes to explore the city's labyrinthine alleys. The hotel is a 30-minute drive from Schiphol Airport, or a short walk from…