I admit, my initial reaction was one of somewhat guarded scepticism. Yes, the Raido brothers have somehow managed to create The Church Street Hotel, an extraordinarily romantic, fun and attractive Spanish-Americana-themed boutique hotel a few paces away from Camberwell Green. But could they work the same magic with their long-projected restaurant/tapas bar? And if so, would visitors and fellow Londoners perhaps unfamiliar with the intricacies of the South London bus system be adventurous enough to make their way to Camberwell to give it the support it deserves?
The answer is a …

26 March 2010 a landmark day in my evolving social-networking persona. After five months of relentless tweeting, I stopped. Cold tukey. Turned it off. Took a deep breath and waited to see what would transpire. Had Twitter gotten the best of me? What had I become? Was I @bestlovedhotels or Jeffrey Epstein or both. I wondered?

ONE of Jersey’s longest established hotels, Grand Jersey, is celebrating securing five star status from the Automobile Association GB (AA). Following a recent inspection by the AA, the property, part of the Delancey portfolio of hotels which includes Best Loved Hotels’ Bovey Castle in Devon and Brooklands Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey, has become only the second hotel in Jersey to be awarded the much coveted accolade of five stars.
The AA assesses establishments that offer accommodation to a set of common quality standards. These standards are agreed by the AA …

As much as I am saddened by England’s exit yesterday from Football’s World Cup competition in South Africa, there may be some good news coming out of this national sporting tragedy.
In advance of the competition, I had warned the entire Best Loved Team that visitor levels and enquiries to our website BestLoved.com might be down from 2009 for June and July. This was absolutely the case during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups in Japan and Germany not only for our website but we observed this across the entire …

At Best Loved, much like Jack Kerouac (or Willie Nelson), we’re always On the Road (Again) endlessly searching for unique and fantastic places to stay. All those hours spent criss-crossing the byways of the UK and Ireland have paid dividends of late as we have added three newbies  to www.bestloved.com over the past few days. Ranging between six and twelve bedrooms, these are all very exciting, intimate, well-run, character-filled places to stay.
Starting our tour in the West Country, we have Pentillie Castle & Estate on the Tamar Valley – technically in …

Sydney Opera House(Credit: Jen Pollack Bianco)
Last Friday marked the introduction of the first ever #Frifotos, short for ‘Friday Photo Forum’, a weekly virtual gathering using the widely popular Twitter social-media platform.  Each Friday at 1100 EST (1600 GMT), Twitter users have the chance to post relevant pictures that match the weekly subject matter as part of their tweets. What ensues is an entertaining and robust conversation as more and more pictures are uploaded and viewed.
#FriFotos was inspired by Jonathan Epstein, the CEO of Celebrated Experiences, the luxury travel company specializing in travel …

Author: Stuart Honey (Twitter)
Clovelly beach
You remember the legend of Brigadoon? This Scottish Highland village was doomed to wake for but one day every hundred years before disappearing in the mists to sleep again. At first sight, Clovelly appears to be frozen in time, too. Surely it is one of the most picturesque and well-cared for villages in England. Clovelly on the north Devon coast is an ancient privately owned fishing village seemingly precariously perched on a cliffside. Pedestrians only – no traffic – and its white washed cottages ‘tumble’ 400 …

Our hearty congratulations to the following Best Loved Winners at the South West Tourism Awards announced on 6 February at Torquay:
Bed & Breakfast and Guest Accommdation of the Year:
Gold Award – Pentillie Castle, St Mellion, Cornwall
Small Hotel of the Year Winners:
Gold Award – The Bath Priory Hotel, Restaurant & Spa, Bath
Silver Award – The Manor House Hotel, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Large Hotel of the Year Winners:
Gold Award – Bovey Castle, North Bovey, Devon
Bronze Award – Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Calne, Wiltshire
Large Hotel of the Year Highly Commended:
Headland Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall
St Michael’s …

Author: Stuart Honey (Twitter)
It’s not every day that I get to be a tourist attraction – in fact, let’s be real, never.
Well, this afternoon an out-of-town visitor to London took a photo of me as I was passing by Regent’s Park. Actually, I rather suspect he was snapping at the bike I was riding and my being there was purely incidental.  I was on one of 6000 hire bikes that have been seen on the streets of London over the last three months.
Distinctive sturdy and blue, they are available from …

This winter let three fantastically talented chefs delight your taste buds on three differing dates in three different venues.
Who are they: Well Paul Flynn from the Tannery in Dungarvan, Martijn Kajuiter from the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore and Eddie Baguio from O’Brien’s Chophouse in Lismore – all West Waterford properties which have come together and each one will cook one of the courses for each of the 3 feasts!
Tannery – Thursday November 18th 2010
Tannery Chef and Owner Paul Flynn will cook the main course, Martijn from the Cliff House …

By Olive Roberts
Luckily in my line of business I get to travel quite a bit – in previous years it was more global, but now mainly within the Island of Ireland. This is great as I am discovering, learning and sharing many treasures and secrets that go into the makeup of this great island mass.
Over the summer I dined out often. Time after time I found myself choosing Seafood Chowder and of course each bowl has been wonderful but completely different. Seafood Chowder is terrifically full of great ingredients …

By Olive Roberts
In general, the belief from those who stay frequently at hotels is the three most important things should be the Bed, the Shower and the Breakfast. Following that is a much longer list, but perhaps these three remain the most memorable for most guests.
So taking this trio of fundamentals, hotels must employ them to be truly distinctive – to stand out from the crowd.
At Gregan’s Castle recently I sat down with my family to breakfast after a superb night’s sleep and an amazing shower. Seated in a beautiful …