Client: International Hotel Investments (IHI) plc – Corinthia Hotels Group
E-zine features and website design
Client: Pepper Sea Club Hotel, Greece
Client: Avli Hotel and Restaurant, Greece
Je suis un fan: Mandarin Oriental Paris
Mandarin Oriental Paris has just celebrated its first birthday. An oasis of contemporary luxury in the bustling heart of the fashionable Saint-Honoré district, to stay at this hotel is to savour modern Parisian style with a refined infusion of the Orient.
Paris Fashion Week was in full swing when our taxi plied its way slowly up the bustling narrow Rue Saint-Honoré to deposit us at the coolly understated entrance of the Mandarin Oriental. Tucked between two grand old town houses, the approach to the lobby beneath a canopy of tiny glass lights – each sculpted as a butterfly – gives a first clue as to what’s in store. Inside the lobby with its soaring grey marble columns and floor-to-ceiling windows, there’s a second; a sculpture of a human form in two circles suspended in space. We’ve arrived at a place of air and light – a location to free the body and soul.
The hotel’s design style takes its inspiration from the richness and modernity of the 1930s and Art Deco. The original building dates from 1928, and its 138 rooms and suites on eight floors are amongst the most spacious hotel rooms in Paris. The welcome, like that experienced at all the group’s hotels, was distinctive; warm and efficient. With all the fabulous creature comforts, it’s so often the staff, brought up in the unique Mandarin Oriental tradition, that makes staying at any of the group’s hotels a deeply satisfying and memorable experience.
We were graciously guided to room 514, a Suite Deluxe, consisting of bedroom, bathroom, lounge and balcony overlooking the Rue Saint Honoré. With sliding doors separating its three areas and floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s a large fluid space, impeccably stylish and exquisitely furnished. Chic oriental touches and bold contemporary art, exude a feeling of understated contemporary glamour and luxurious exclusivity. “Look dad, it comes with its own iPad!” squealed my eight-year-old son in glee.
The cutting-edge technology to hand, is of course bespoke – Bang & Olufsen as well as Apple, and three discretely-positioned widescreen TVs – including one seamlessly part of the wall in the stunning bathroom – offer state-of-the-art entertainment technology. My only concern was how would I ever get my son to leave this cocoon of luxurious technically advanced comfort. The indoor pool was the answer, part of the deeply tranquil retreat that is the hotel’s spa, where subtle animated projections of butterflies in flight create a dreamlike world. Extending over two floors, the 900 square metre spa is one of the city’s largest.
Within this subterranean sanctuary, therapies developed by specialists in traditional Chinese medicine promote complete mind-body harmony. Evocatively titled treatments include Hu-Tieh Quan (the butterfly spring): a bath of warming ginger, uplifting mandarin and sacred frankincense followed by a soothing body mask and massage.
If all that holistic pampering makes you hungry, the hotel has two restaurants under the watchful eye of one of France’s most celebrated chefs – Thierry Marx, MO Paris’ executive chef, the gourmet Michelin-starred Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx, and Camélia – an all-day restaurant offering French cuisine influenced by Marx’s love of Japan.
Spilling into an elegant courtyard garden, Camélia is also the venue for the sumptuous buffet breakfast: just what’s needed if you have designs on some serious retail fashion therapy.
The Rue Saint-Honoré is the heart of Paris haute couture and home to the world’s most famous fashion brands – Versace, Hermes, Chanel and Yves Saint Lauren, as well as newer kids on the block like the edgy Colette concept store. They are all on your doorstep.
Whether you’re buying or just indulging in lèche-vitrines (window shopping in French – literally ‘window-licking’), a stroll on the Rue Saint-Honoré is an experience not to be missed. But then if you simply want to pamper yourself chez Mandarin Oriental, the hotel has a fabulous optional extra that adds a new dimension to Parisian retail therapy. Not only will the concierge find any item you’ve set your heart on, but will arrange pick-up and delivery to your room.
An up, close and personal encounter with Parisian history in all its magnificence is something that can’t be delivered – but it’s wonderfully close. Sitting in the capital’s premier arrondissement, you’re a five-minute stroll from two landmark Parisian squares – Place de la Concorde and Place Vendome. My son was less-enamoured with high-fashion and history but rather with simpler local delights. We headed to the Tuileries – the seventeenth century gardens that make up the central-most park in Paris; they have a funfair that he adored almost as much as our beloved suite.
Eurostar had whisked us in to Paris from London. We were there 48 hours, just enough time to scale the Eiffel Tower [tip: avoid long queues by getting there by 9.30am and walk the first two stages], take a boat trip along the Seine, and of course, indulge in a touch of that retail therapy unique to the French capital.
Mandarin Oriental Paris exemplifies modern, rather than classic luxury, and it does so breathtakingly. The butterfly, that delicate emblem of rebirth and fleeting freedom runs discreetly throughout this sublime hotel. It’s a symbol that could not be more fitting for this oasis of chic refinement.
While only the fortunate few might be able to make a suite at Mandarin Oriental their regular pied de terre in the French capital, for any discerning traveller every space here is an oasis to savour – a place to rest for exquisite nourishment before spreading your wings again.
Sensuous luxury that doesn’t cost the earth
At Mandarin Oriental, Paris, providing luxury and fastidious customer service with environmentally sustainable practices is a seamless process. The hotel has committed itself to obtaining La Haute Qualité Environnementale or HQE (High Quality Environmental certification) – the highest standard for green buildings in France. As the first hotel in France to recognised for such a commitment, its eco-responsible approach saves between 20 and 30 per cent of its energy usage in comparison with a non-HQE building.
Childsplay
For families, Mandarin Oriental, Paris has created an experience to showcase the best of what Paris has to offer younger visitors. Ideal for parents wanting to introduce their children to the city’s beauty and culture, J’aime Paris en famille allows families to improve their understanding of France and the French language in one fun-filled day. Comprising an enchanting tour of the city’s most famous and child-friendly delights, the tour is guided by an expert not just in Parisian culture and history, but how to make it come alive for children new to the city. After the day’s explorations, families can grab un goûter, a snack that French children traditionally enjoy at 4pm, which at Mandarin Oriental, is best enjoyed at its own delightful ‘cake shop’. Pastries and macarons will tempt the young, while a well-deserved glass of Bollinger awaits for parents at play.
Tom Kerridge opens at Corinthia Hotel London
In one of the most hotly anticipated UK restaurant launches of the year, the doors of Kerridge’s Bar & Grill has opened at Corinthia Hotel London. Insider Plus celebrates the event and tastes the reaction
Following months of preparation, which included a complete refit of the former Massimo Restaurant at Corinthia Hotel London, transforming it into a chic brasserie with parquet floors and rich burgundy banquettes, eager diners thronged to savour the latest offerings of Britain’s favourite chef Tom Kerridge.
Speaking to Insider Plus, Kerridge said he “couldn’t be happier” with how the day went, and that “having being involved in openings before, I know they’re a bumpy and exciting ride. This is why we enter the industry in the first place. Building those relationships with front of house, and everybody learning the food, and the dishes. It’s a wonderful place to be”.
The most popular starters on the day were fresh Cornish crab vol-au-vent with with crab bisque and the glazed omelette Lobster Thermidor. The most sought-after main course: Rib of beef from The Butcher’s Tap, Kerridge’s own butchery.
Within days of the opening, international media were commenting on London’s most talked-about new eatery, with Conde Nast Traveler leading in their admiration. “Trailblazing chef Tom Kerridge has gone from multiple-Michelin-starred pubs in river-side Marlow to a lofty, dome-ceilinged room with white columns in one of London’s swishest hotels… the perfectly turned-out hybrid of a gentleman’s-club-meets-glossy-New-York-steakhouse.”
Meanwhile, in one of the most insightful articles to appear in British media on the partnership between Corinthia and Kerridge, The Caterer magazine spoke to general manager Thomas Kochs about the spirit at the heart of the enterprise: “We both believe the team is incredibly important,” Kochs told The Caterer. “Tom really looks after those who work with him, because he wants loyalty and people to stay with him. Tom doesn’t want any barriers between front and back of house…he would be mortified if any waiter was afraid of entering the kitchen. These are little details, but for me that is wonderful…”
With Kerridge’s high profile – not only as the creator of the UK’s only pub with two Michelin stars (The Hand & Flowers), but because of his many TV appearances and book sales – his long-awaited arrival in London is a coup for Corinthia. Days before opening, BigHospitality, the magazine of the influential William Reed Group, wrote one of the most revealing articles on how Kerridge’s Bar & Grill was conceived – sparked by a phone call and a meeting with Thomas Kochs. “Thomas has a very special aura about him,” Kerridge said. “The synergy between my outlook of what the hospitality industry should be and his matched…We had a two or three hour conversation and I left the room knowing we would do this.”
Do it they did, and some. Perhaps what comes across most powerfully – beyond the stunning food itself, is the care and creativity behind the whole concept, in every detail. From the restaurant and bar’s sophisticated but informal interior design, to the hand-crafted English bone china used in the service, and the intriguing artworks and giant bronze sculptures that adorn the space, created by Kerridge’s artist wife Beth.
Art, aesthetics, and symbols, are important for Kerridge, and so are his roots. Diners at the Bar & Grill will notice a dog’s paw print design on the front of the grey and burgundy aprons worn by the chefs. There’s a very personal story to that. It’s taken from the paw print of one of his much loved (now departed) canines – Georgie, who left his mark literally years ago in wet concrete at Kerridge’s first restaurant during its construction. “The print now marks the foundations of everything we do,” Kerridge says. “It seemed very fitting to continue this by putting it on show in London.”
From the private dining menu, treats like duck breast and faggot with savoy cabbage, rotisserie apple sauce and duck fat pommes anna, show this is a restaurant without a formula in sight. Rather, it is an inspired celebration of simple, great food, and a gastronomic adventure that started 13 years ago in rural Buckinghamshire.
As the autumn leaves begin to fall outside Corinthia’s flagship property on Northumberland Avenue, Kerridge’s Bar & Grill is opening not only a new and rich chapter in the culinary adventures of Corinthia Hotel London, but of the British capital itself
Bathing with Herodotus
Michael Sweet takes the waters in northern Evia, Greece, exploring the steamy delights of the Thermae Sylla Spa Wellness Hotel
The healing powers of Edipsos’ thermal springs in the north of Evia have attracted politicians and artists for centuries, millennia even. Less than two hours drive from Athens, the luxurious Thermae Sylla Spa Wellness Hotel beckons at Edipsos. Built in 1890 and lavishly restored, the hotel has direct access to the famous Sylla thermal spring, which flows up through the nearby rocks.
The name ‘Sylla’ dates back to ancient times when the spring was a favoured haunt of Roman general Cornelius Sylla, who (on his days off from pillaging the port of Pireaus in 86 BC) did his r’n’r in these parts. Emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius also de-toga-ed here, but the town and its thermal springs go back even further.
Herodotus, the truly ancient Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC, reckoned twenty-one days of bathing in the waters was the recommended dose. The springs’ therapeutic properties of the springs are apparently a result of the metallic salts and trace elements that occur naturally in the water, particularly iron, calcium and magnesium. Heated some three kilometres below ground, the water reaches the surface at a temperature of between 70 and 85 degrees centigrade. Handy for boiling eggs, though I didn’t try.
Some of the more modest accommodation available in Edipsos gives a fascinating glimpse into early 20th century history, and the Belle Epoque of this loutropolis when the likes of Winston Churchill, Maria Callas and Greta Garbo took the waters here.
The faded elegance of the Aigli Hotel, two hundred metres from the harbour, with its chic art-deco design, stands out proudly amongst the drab sprawl of the contemporary waterfront. Its modernist features are a must-see for anyone even vaguely interested in architectural history. A modest renovation retaining its precious design features would be an idea for this dusty jewel of a building.
Back at the Thermae Sylla Spa, the service, rooms and amenities are top-class. Fresh organic produce from the hotel’s own farm supply the kitchens. Refreshingly, particularly for Greece, there is a total ban on guests smoking in public areas. A great gym and spa – offering body wraps with algae and fruit, aromatherapy and shiatsu – sits above interior and exterior pools that combine thermal and sea water at a constant 28-30C. A package booking at the hotel includes a free consultation with the spa’s resident doctor.
According to legend, Hercules would bathe in the waters of Edipsos before each of his labours in order to relax and regain his strength. I know the feeling. I drove back with the E75 national road packed with fellow travelers returning after the weekend break. By the time we pulled off the highway with a sigh of relief towards our home in Athens, I could have done with another long soak in those rejuvenating waters.
Recommended advertorials/paid content:
Magical Monemvasia: Kinsterna Hotel, Peloponnese, Greece
Tales from the medieval city/Knights in white satin. Allegory Boutique Hotel, Rhodes
Jill Kluge, Director of Marketing, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group“I’ve known Mike for many years as a digital content creator who has worked for many travel-related companies, including Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Creative, experienced and passionate.”
“Michael is a born storyteller with a gift for reflecting the personalities that create hotels and hospitality experiences beyond the ordinary.”
Barbara Avdis, President, Historic Hotels of Europe
“An impeccable writer, editor and a stickler for detail. Michael’s contributions are practically flawless.”
Herman Grech, Editor, The Times of Malta
Michael Sweet 