78 The Times Magazine1
Explore upstate New York
There’s always a reason to go to New York
but, if you have time, add on a train trip
upstate from Penn Station to Hudson,
following the river all the way. The town has
an attractive main street, all weatherboards
and porches, tempting antique shops and
a cool hotel, Rivertown Lodge, in a former
Twenties movie theatre. On the return
journey, stop off at Beacon for Dia Beacon.
This contemporary gallery in a former
Nabisco box-printing factory showcases
modern work from the Sixties onwards in vast
spaces. Go in spring when it will be warmer.
Rooms from £168 (rivertownlodge.com). For Dia
Beacon, see diaart.org2
Glebe House, Devon
Everyone I know who has stayed at Glebe
House, which opened last year in the east
Devon countryside, wishes they were friends
with the couple, Hugo and Olive, who run it.
They cure their own charcuterie, for goodness’
sake. Stay in one of the six bedrooms and
enjoy cosy kitchen suppers of homemade pies
or cassoulet from Monday to Saturday. Dinner
is £48 per head, which includes dishes such as
hogget with beans, shallot, anchovy and chard,
in the restaurant from Thursday to Sunday.
B&B doubles from £129. Reopens on February 1
(glebehousedevon.co.uk)3
Stay in an artist’s house, Scotland
Last year I stayed at Artist’s House in the
sculpture park Jupiter Artland, west of
Edinburgh. I walked up and down Charles
Jencks’s undulating grass mounds, Cells
of Life, without a soul around, and went
to bed with a Grayson Perry. This year
I have the newly renovated and art-filled
18th-century Old Observatory House
atop Edinburgh’s Carlton Hill in my
sights (pictured). It was originally built
for astronomers, so the views are great.
(jupiterartland.org). Three nights’ self-catering
for four from £1,050 (observatory-house.art)4
Swim in Paris
Perhaps the ultimate swimming spot in Paris
is Le Bristol’s pool in the rooftop from which
you can see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night.
There are lots of other reasons to stay at
the grand dame, but it’s pricey. Hotel Molitor,in the 16th arrondissement, is more accessible
and equally thrilling. Its minimalist rooms
overlook the rebuilt open-air lido, Piscine
Molitor (pictured), an icon of the Thirties.
Rooms at Hotel Molitor from £225
(molitorparis.com)5
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is one of my favourite places,
especially Lunuganga in Bentota – the country
estate of the island’s famed architect, Geoffrey
Bawa – on the island’s southwest coast. This
is a man who had bells to ring for coffee or
gin and tonic; the latter would sound each
evening at sunset. It’s beautifully peaceful and
there are five private suites to rent. The airy
gallery studio suite, a former cowshed, is my
pick, but the main draw is having the estate
gardens to yourself once the visitors have left.
B&B doubles from £169 in the glass house
(lunuganga.com)6
The affordable boutique hotel website
I have an addiction to i-escape.com. The
website’s wide selection is well chosen and
affordable. My latest find on the site is Hotel
Ses Sucreres in Ferreries, Menorca, a village
near the middle of the island. Its arty rooms,
communal kitchen and courtyard for breakfast
were exactly what I was after. The owners are
adding more rooms and a café this year.
Rooms from £121 (iescape.com)7
La Tonnarella on the Amalfi coast
This low-key seaside restaurant, only
accessible by boat, between Amalfi and Conca
dei Marini was a favourite of Jackie Onassis
and Princess Margaret. I’m now a fan too.
I went there on my honeymoon, renting a
small speedboat from our hotel to buzz up and
down this glamorous stretch of coast. Boats
moor up outside La Tonnarella where the
signature dish is spaghetti e zucchine – known
as “Spaghetti Jacqueline-style” (the recipe
is on the website). I’ve tried making it back
home but it doesn’t taste the same and
I can’t go for a swim afterwards.
(ristorantelatonnarella.com).8
Falaknuma Palace, India
Set above brilliantly blaring Hyderabad,
Falaknuma Palace, the former home of the
Nizam of Hyderabad – the family jewel box
included the Koh-i-Noor and Great Mughaldiamonds – is unsurprisingly grand. Best of all
are the jasmine martinis served in the ornate
Gol Bungalow Terrace while listening to the
fireworks and horns below.
Palace rooms start from £444 (tajhotels.com)9
Bike & Boot, Scarborough
What a location! That sweeping beach, the
Cleveland Way right on the town’s doorstep
and the North York Moors National Park
within easy biking distance. I stayed at Bike &
Boot, and borrowed one of the powerful e-bikesLITTLE BLACK BOOK TRAVEL
Jenny Coad Times deputy travel editor’s top 16
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ALAMY, KODIAK GREENWOOD, SCOTT CLARK