Julie

We were impressed by the Domes Noruz Chania beachfront property in the village of Agioi Apostoloi, this area is very popular with locals at the weekend and the natural park is fiercely protected against development. This luxury 5* hotel has 83 suites with 2 swimming pools, 1 restaurant and 2 bars. Chaniá is only 2.5km away for a city vibe and the beautiful Venetian harbour in the old town. The holiday resorts of Agia Marina and Porto Plananias are along…

It’s hardly been worth storing the suitcases away as we are heading to Crete this week for our travel conference. Our first trip to Crete was on our spring conference 2 years ago, this time we’re looking forward to meeting up with colleagues, plus we’ve added a couple of days on to explore the island for ourselves. On our last visit we flew into Heraklion and stayed at Capsis Crystal Energy by the village of Agia Pelagia. This time we…

Hong Kong was amazing, everything we’d hoped for and some. We were constantly on the go, out exploring everyday, we slept like the dead every night and didn’t suffer with jet lag on arrival or after our trip. I put the lack of jet lag down to flying to our long haul destinations overnight where we try to sleep as much as possible. On arrival we force ourselves into the local timezone for eating and sleeping, for us it’s imperative…

We wanted to experience Sunday brunch in Hong Kong. Whilst many of the 5* hotels offer a Western style brunch buffet, we decided to dine at Duddell’s for their fresh and unlimited Asian cuisine with free flow Veuve Clicquot. What a fabulous gastronomy delight! Duddell’s is situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district, their restaurant on level 3 has been awarded not one, but two Michelin stars. The Weekend Salon Brunch is served in the salon on level…

We were unsure if to visit Aberdeen during our time in Hong Kong, Mike remembered going to the Jumbo floating restaurant for lunch as a child with his parents at the weekend. In the end we went on our last day, catching the number 70 bus from Central. We walked the length of the harbour along the promenade on arrival, the sampan tour guides were quite persistent in their efforts to negotiate a harbour tour. It was an interesting stroll…

We decided to head for the coast on the other side of Hong Kong on Saturday morning. We took the MTR into Central and then caught the 260 express bus to Stanley from the Exchange Square bus station. It wasn’t easy to find the bus station, the signs from both Hong Kong station and the IFC shopping centre were terrible! There’s several buses to Stanley, the 6, 6A, 6X and 66 stop had a long queue, we spotted a small…

We booked the 4* Harbour Plaza North Point for our 6 night stay in Hong Kong, the hotel was celebrating it’s 17th anniversary on our arrival. We were invited to a breakfast meeting on our first morning by Billy Wan, the Director of Business Development for this hotel. It was fascinating to learn the history and portfolio of properties including within the hotel group, understand their clientele and seasons, as well as gaining lots of local knowledge about Hong Kong.…

When I asked Mike what he’d like to do on his birthday in Hong Kong, there was no hesitation in his response which was to have afternoon tea at The Peninsular. This nostalgic British tradition remains very popular in Hong Kong and although there are many places offering an afternoon tea service, The Lobby at The Peninsular is high on the list of the top ten recommendations. The Afternoon Tea service is classically British, served on a silver tiered stand,…