The Journal
Guides for choosing well
Where to go, when to go and how the options really differ — written around the retreats in our collection.
Per person, per room, all-inclusive: how luxury pricing actually works
Two headline rates that look alike can describe very different stays. How to read room-only, B&B, per-person, fully inclusive and exclusive-use prices, and the extras that often sit outside them.
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Scotland's Highlands and Islands: planning around ferries, distance and light
From Skye and Harris to Orkney, Sutherland and Speyside, Scotland's remote north and west reward careful planning. How to pace the distances, book the boats and choose where to stay.
Choosing your first safari: six African countries compared
Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe? How the landscapes, seasons and styles of safari differ, and what a per-person rate actually buys.
How to stay in a ryokan: bathing, kaiseki and the etiquette that matters
A ryokan sells an evening rather than a room. How the bath, the yukata and the kaiseki dinner work, what the per-person price covers, and the inns in the directory worth the journey.
The Alps, season by season: where to go in winter, and where in summer
Zermatt, St Moritz, Gstaad, Verbier, Courchevel, Andermatt or the Dolomites? How the great Alpine resorts change between snow and summer, and which hotels close in between.
The Cotswolds and the southern country house hotel, reinvented
The English country house hotel has moved well beyond chintz and formal dining. How the Cotswolds and the southern counties now offer farms, bathhouses, great gardens and private-house stays.
Australia and New Zealand's luxury lodges: tradition, pricing and seasons
Small, remote and often all-inclusive, the lodges of Australia and New Zealand are a way of travelling in their own right. How the tradition works, what the rates really cover, and when to go.
Beyond Bali: Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Bhutan
Four countries, four very different trips: a long food-led journey, a temple-and-jungle circuit, a compact island loop and a slow Himalayan lodge route, plus the monsoons that decide when to go.
The Caribbean, island by island: eight islands and how they differ
Barbados or Antigua, St Barths or Anguilla? How eight islands differ in character, access and style, and why so many of their best resorts close for part of the hurricane season.
Desert retreats: Morocco, Oman, Jordan, the UAE and Namibia
From the stony Agafay to the red dunes of the Namib: how the great desert escapes differ, when each is at its best, and where to stay in them.
The English coast, from the Isles of Scilly to Northumberland
England's coastline changes character every few hours of driving. A clockwise guide to retreats by the sea, from Atlantic islands and Cornish coves to Norfolk saltmarsh and Northumberland castles.
Gorillas and chimpanzees: trekking in Rwanda and Uganda
How primate trekking works, how Rwanda's short, polished trips differ from Uganda's longer, wilder circuits, and the lodges that make the early starts easier.
Iceland: geothermal luxury, remote lodges and the question of light
Northern lights or midnight sun, the Golden Circle or the far north? How Iceland's best places to stay differ by region and season, from a lava-field spa to a highland base.
Ireland's castle and country house hotels: how to choose, region by region
The Republic's great houses range from Victorian castles with falconry schools to fishing lodges with open fires. A guide to the grandest stays, from Mayo and Kerry to Kilkenny and Wicklow.
Maldives or Seychelles? How to choose between them
One is a scatter of coral atolls made for staying put; the other a granite archipelago made for exploring. Geography, seasons, transfers and the kind of stay each suits.
The Mediterranean in summer: how the coasts differ, and when to go
Amalfi or the Cyclades, Mallorca or the Algarve, Provence or the Riviera? How Europe's summer coasts compare, and how to time a trip to miss the worst of the crowds.
Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize: beaches, rainforest, reef and colonial towns
How to combine colonial Mexico and the Yucatán, Costa Rica's volcanoes and forests, and Belize's reef and ruins, and why the wet and dry seasons matter more here than the calendar suggests.
The North of England: Lakes, Dales, Moors and the kitchens worth the drive
From Windermere to the Peak District, northern England pairs big walking country with some of Britain's most serious cooking. How to choose a base, and where to book dinner.
The seasonal calendar: which retreats close, and when
Mediterranean summers, alpine splits, Caribbean autumn closures and safari camps that shut for the rains: how the year works across the directory, by region and by month.
Spa and wellness retreats worth travelling for, from onsen to Ayurveda
Thermal springs, Japanese onsen, Ayurvedic programmes, destination spas and Britain's most ambitious spa hotels: how each kind of retreat works, and which sort of stay it suits.
Wales: country houses from Eryri to Pembrokeshire, the Gower and the Wye
Wales rewards choosing one region rather than touring the whole country. A guide to its country houses and restaurants with rooms, from the mountains of the north to the far south-west.
What 'private island' really means, and how to choose one
The phrase covers everything from an Argyll island reached by a Victorian bridge to an eleven-villa island in the Seychelles. How the models differ, and what to ask before you book.
Wild North America: ranches, wilderness lodges and coastlines
From Montana cattle valleys to the North Atlantic rock of Fogo Island, nine places in the US and Canada where the landscape is the point, and how their short seasons shape a trip.