When was the last time you took a vacation that was truly about just switching off and relaxing? Since my last family holiday with my parents —in 2002!— I don’t think I’ve ever gone away with the sole purpose of doing absolutely nothing. ‘Holidays’ since then have been all about exploring as much as possible; cramming as much as I possibly can into every single day of the trip, and returning home in desperate need of, well, a holiday!
I can’t believe it’s taken me over a year since returning from our epic trip around Guatemala to begin compiling content from it! Truth be told, the start to 2022 wasn’t quite what I’d envisioned; being quarantined for 10 days in an ensuite bedroom with my boyfriend, having tested positive for Covid (while not experiencing many symptoms) and having to rearrange our flights home to a fortnight later. When we eventually touched down on UK soil it was all stations
Right, it’s time for the next stop on my fantasy Stylish Stays tour, and this time I’m heading to the cultural city centres of California! Well, it is just a short hop, skip and a jump from the desert vacation homes I was drooling over before… California is one of those places that feels ‘familiar’ to me even though I’ve never visited before. Whenever I picture myself there I’m transported to the bustling Beverly Hills shopping malls and palatial-style mansions
Staying home is the order of the day, but it doesn’t hurt to daydream a little about all the adventures I hope to have, and the places I’d like to stay, in the future. Armchair escapism has certainly become one of my favourite pastimes the past few weeks. It begun as I was leafing though the pages of an old copy of Drift magazine, and intensified as I re-read a few pages from Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays.
Stylish multi-purpose boutique hotels seem to be a dime a dozen down in London, but up here in Manchester I’ve really struggled to come across a venue that rivals the likes of the capital’s Ace, Hoxton or CitizenM. Then along came Whitworth Locke. Opened late last year, Whitworth Locke has become one of my favourite places to hang out in the city and I can’t believe it’s taken this long for me to share a full post on the space!
Now that I’m settled up in Manchester, I’m often asked by friends and family to recommend a great place for them to stay in the city when they visit. But given that I live here and don’t have need to stay in a hotel myself, I’ve never been able to give a tried-and-tested answer.. until now! I was recently invited along by Hotel Indigo to spend the night in their new Victoria Station outpost, and experience a slap-up three-course dinner
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