The team at Massey mull over their travel in 2011...and what 2012 will bring!
JULES PEARSON
1. What has been your favourite destination in 2011? My favourite holiday destination was Barcelona, I visited the city for the first time this year and loved everything about it from the food and nightlife to the shopping and beach – every city should have a beach!
2. What has been your favourite new opening hotel/restaurant in 2011? That’s a hard one they have been so many! I have particularly enjoyed NOPI, The Riding House Cafe and Kopapa for breakfasts but one of the best meals I had was at the Chiswell Street Dining Rooms for my birthday and near my house The Edinburgh Cellars does a mean roast!
Hotel wise I love the Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell, from the interiors to the food and cocktails everything is just perfect.
3. Which country/city are you aiming to visit in 2012? In 2012 I am hoping to visit even more places I have yet to travel to and perhaps revisit Japan and NYC. I’d like to go to Bali and visit our client; the super stylish W Retreat, Amsterdam, Marrakech and Istanbul are all on my list...it’s a LONG list!
4. What is your travel resolution? To travel to more places and make the most of my weekends – with the flights and train routes from London you have easy and cheap access to a lot of European cities, I’d like to make more use of those routes!
LUCY SHROUDER
1. What has been your favourite destination in 2011?
Tanzania without doubt. Spending 3 weeks here for my honeymoon was the travel highlight of 2011. With a wealth of time on the ground we were able to cover a good distance, exploring the islands and mainland. From the ocean-facing beach huts at Unguja Lodge to the tented treetop suites at Fundu Lagoon; the open-fronted lodges at Sand Rivers in the heart of the Selous and the coastal forest hideout of Ras Kutani – this was my ‘trip of a lifetime’.
2. What has been your favourite new opening hotel/restaurant in 2011?
The St. Pancras Renaissance London - a fabulous, almost fairytale building that’s been reincarnated into one of London’s most romantic hotels. It epitomises the magnificence of 19th century London with its grand staircase, gold-leaf ceilings and Gothic ironwork, so-much-so that you’re instantly transported back to that intriguing and glamorous era.
3. Which country/city are you aiming to visit in 2012?
I’m planning one last hurrah holiday before the arrival of my first baby – so rather selfishly I’ll be seeking a sun-blessed, beachy retreat in which to stock up on year’s worth of sleep!
4. What is your travel resolution?
To keep my love of travel alive despite the addition of a little one and (although more challenging than before) to be more spontaneous, grabbing every spare opportunity to explore and reward ourselves with little adventures away.
DIANA MASSEY
1. What has been your favourite destination in 2011? Without a doubt, Argentina. I travelled there in the spring and again this autumn, and both times returned to London and started to plan a return. The people, the countryside, the horses, the food and of course the Malbec , all add up to a magical place. I have still so much to explore and yet always find myself returning to Estancia Los Potreros in Cordoba, a real home from homes.
2. What has been your favourite new opening hotel/restaurant in 2011? Hotel wise I think The Zetter Townhouse is hard to equal. The combination of Tony Conigliaro’s fabulous cocktails, Bruno Loubet’s food, the eclectic and unique interiors by Russell Sage and the vision of owners Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan has made for one of one the most exciting new hotels in the capital. Food wise I am a convert to MEAT Liquor, which is just moments from Massey HQ. Their motto is 'Arrive hungry, Leave Drunk' – and the great burgers and dangerous cocktails are testament to that!
3. Which country/city are you aiming to visit in 2012? I have become a little obsessed with Frozen Planet, so using that as my inspiration Finland is very much at the top of my list, I’d like to visit Lapland and see the Northern Lights.
4. What is your travel resolution? Pack lighter! My bags were 7kgs over on my last long haul flight, and I escaped paying a fine by the skin on my teeth! So my resolution for 2012 is to pack light and also to finally listen to those Spanish Language CDs that have been languishing in my drawer for a year now..
KATE CHESSHYRE
1. What has been your favourite destination in 2011?
There have been lots, but visiting Beirut for the first time in January was the highlight for me, discovering such a friendly, relaxed city. And then going back again in September and feeling like a local already! Plus great Lebanese food which I’ve been searching out in London restaurants whenever I can.
2. What has been your favourite new opening hotel/restaurant in 2011?
St Pancras Grand in London - love the huge old London building being brought back to life after sitting derelict for so long. The lobby feels like a place to meet friends before starting a train journey to the Scottish highlands.
3. Which country/city are you aiming to visit in 2012?
I visited South America for the first time this year with a trip to UXUA Casa in Brazil.. and would love to go back to the continent to explore more maybe Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador… I’m not fussy!
4. What is your travel resolution?
To travel more by train, never get another 6am low cost flight and learn more than two words in the local language when I get there.
ANGELA APPLEBY
1. What has been your favourite destination in 2011?
It’s been a bit of a Middle East year for me with Beirut, Istanbul and Jordan – all equally fascinating but if I had to choose one then perhaps Jordan
2. What has been your favourite new opening hotel/restaurant in 2011?
Zetter Townhouse
3. Which country/city are you aiming to visit in 2012?
Reykjavik for the Northern Lights which are set to be the biggest display for 50 years.
4. What is your travel resolution?
To dust off my PADI dive certification and get back into the land of Nemo