Looking for the Hollman Beletage Hotel? Do we have the right address? you may ask yourself as you head down Köllnerhofgasse, a short street about five minutes walk from St Stephen’s Cathedral. You stop at the entrance to a grand old apartment building and enter a secret code which opens the heavy door. Once inside, your eyes wander around the cavernous hallway, which looks little changed from the late Imperial era.   more »

I have a strange addiction to Japanese restaurants. It's strange, because I have a severe allergy to most fish and seafood. Therefore, seventy or eight per cent of the menu is off limits to me. However, I persist for two reasons: KB is with me and he loves sushi; and I can content myself with a superb bottle of Sake and a real treat: Wagyu beef.

Where better to sample these delights than Zuma? Tucked away in a Knightsbridge side street across the road from Harrods and Harvey Nichols, this place is one of the best Asian restaurants in London, ...   more »

There are a small number of world class hotels in St Petersburg, and this is one of them. The Astoria has been around since 1912, when the unfortunate Nicholas II was still living in style down the road at the Winter Palace. Just about every world leader who has visited the city since has stayed at the Astoria.   more »