Whoever thought of putting a railway hotel up here back in 1902 should have taken some shares in The Balmoral. It’s still above Waverley Station, but it's got so much else good going for it.

After a great night’s sleep at The Balmoral, it was time for the gym, which opened at 7 (here was a first, the attendant needed a photo). The entire basement is devoted to wellness.

Chris Bancroft, above, is quite a guy. Hotel kid grows up to win all kinds of UK awards and scholarships, Cornell and The Newt in Somerset, when he moved north of the border to what is arguably the most charmingly eccentric hotel in Scotland, if not Europe.

The Fife Arms’ amazing art is carefully explained in an impressive tome, The Fife Arms, by Dominic Bradbury. The fuchsia-highlighted Art Deco cocktail bar, above, is Elsa’s.

Mandarin Oriental is Vienna's newest luxury hotel, but already it has the making of being the top C-suite hangout. It's got so much style. The building, for a start.

At ravishingly-beautiful Mandarin Oriental Vienna, eating and drinking, all designed by a French company, Humbert & Poyet, is in Atelier 7, the glassed-over central courtyard of what is an all-white building rising six floors above ground – see above.

There was a really, really hilarious moment at this year's annual Luxury Bloc, held as always in Prague. This is the seventh annual event and, is it possible to say it? It was better than ever. Okay.

There were just over a hundred invited travel advisors from 14 countries at the 2026 Luxury Bloc in Prague, organized, as always, by Gabriela Markova, with the strong support of the event's co-founder, her husband Petr Marek, and her growing team. Her business is growing, indeed.

Its first year has passed, and it's excellent to see how Fairmont Golden in Prague is maturing. It's no longer a fledgling, wondering what its place is.