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| | BOOKING ALERT: | | | THE NED | |  | | | We are so, so ready for The Ned to open this Spring. Soho House founder Nick Jones and the Sydell Group (NY’s The NoMad, LA’s The Line) have teamed up to transform the Grade I listed former bank into the city’s hottest new hotel-slash-member’s-club-slash-restaurant-complex. This is like Soho House on steroids: there’s the usual Cowshed spa and gym, but with both rooftop and basement pools, a gym and a hammam to boot. Rooms to stay in? Sure, but there’s over 250 of them this time around. Restaurants? Eight of them, serving everything from American junk food to Parisian bistro fare via Zobler’s NYC deli. Oh, and there’s going to be a Cecconi’s on site. We can’t decide what we’re most excited about: the rooms, the spa, the member’s basement or the food. Book now, before it’s too late.
| | | | The Ned opens April 2017 at 27 Poultry, London EC2R 8AJ. Rooms start from £252 per night.
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| | TREND ALERT: | | | SKI, SKI, SKI | |  | | | UJ hasn’t been able to escape ski fever the past few months. Over the festive season everything was about après. The EDITION transformed into a ski lodge, Bodo’s Schloss installed a ski simulator, and the Berkley’s rooftop became a cosy Alpine cinema. But where to go if you want to experience the real thing? Head to Laax in Switzerland for the ultimate ski experience: with 224 kilometres of runs, 4 snowparks and the longest half-pipe in the world, you’ll barely have time to take advantage of the resort’s insanely diverse culinary offering and design-led spas.
| | | | Get the Laax lowdown with our review.
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| | LUXURY ABROAD: | | | L’HÔTEL MARRAKECH | |  | | | For years Marrakech has been a stylish spot but with the YSL museum opening, the Oasis Festival heading into its third year, and recent hotel openings The Mandarin Oriental and The Source, there’s more reason to go than ever before. Joining them is Jasper Conran’s first foray into hotels: L’Hôtel Marrakech. It’s tranquil, but close to all the hotspots: Jemaa El Fna square, Souk and Koutoubia Mosque. This isn’t your usual riad: it’s all about the design. Think 1930s elegance – whitewashed walls, white voile curtains, high ceilings and soft colours. It’s got a traditional Moroccan vibe with a JC touch; it’s furnished with antiques and art from his personal collection. Jasper Conran’s first dip into the hospitality pool is a hit.
| | | | Visit the hotel’s website for booking information and up-to-date pricing.
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| | TRY: | | | WINE TOURISM | |  | | | We love the idea of a good holiday. We love the idea of a wine holiday even more. We all know Spain for its tapas and its Rioja, but all too often we’ve ended up in a bad tapas bar drinking less-than-great vino. Time to put it in the hands of the experts and discover something new. Wine Tourism Spain offer a huge range of trips which give you an insider’s tour of some of the country’s famed gastronomic regions. Escape from Madrid or Barcelona for a few days to Toledo or San Sebastian; they’ll take care of the itinerary, you drink the wine.
| | | | Prices vary; visit Wine Tourism Spain’s website for availability and prices.
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| | CULTURE TRIP: | | | NEW GENERATION FESTIVAL, FLORENCE | |  | | | By the end of August, we’re done with party season and we’re ready to turn our attention to something more chilled. Set against a backdrop of Italian dolce vita, food and wine, here’s where we take it down a notch. For a weekend of music and opera, The New Generation Festival in Florence is on our list. Set in the renowned Corsini Gardens (rarely open to the public), this is the spot to listen to young, musical talent and enjoy intimate live shows. Although it’s opera, expect a range of performers from drag acts to jazz bands, as they take the same stage as full, symphony orchestras and opera singers.
| | | | New Generation Festival takes place from 31st August – 3rd September Tickets start from €35.
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| | EAT: | | | THE BLACK SWAN AT OLDSTEAD | |  | | | If, like us, your travel plans are governed just as much by what you want to eat as where you want to go, make James and Tommy Banks’s Black Swan at Oldstead top of your list. Rather than a hotel, we’ll call it a restaurant with rooms. A Michelin starred restaurant with the benefit of being able to slip off straight to bed after your meal, that is. Take in the incredible scenery on the drive (it’s 45 minutes from York), enjoy a cocktail and bar snacks (think Wagyu beef sliders) at the bar, and then indulge in the formidable tasting menu before heading to one of the eight double rooms at upstairs. Drifting off with a belly full of spelt risotto, scallop with rhubarb and venison with sprouts sounds good to us.
| | | | Tasting menu £85, with an additional £55 for wine tasting. Visit website for availability and booking.
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| | COUNTRY ESCAPE: | | | WILDERNESS RESERVE | |  | | | What do you get if you mix Airbnb with Downton Abbey? Wilderness Reserve. Make this place the destination for your next country retreat. The Reserve spans 4,500 acres of land and offers a wide range of properties to rent Airbnb-style (with your own private chef), from barns to country estates. Go rural in Hex Cottage (there’s no electricity or WiFi, so it’s books by candlelight only) or go grand in Sibton Park, the estate’s resident Manor House, complete with private cinema, gym, and games room. We opted for The Walled Garden, the Reserve’s new modernist-slash-victorian glasshouse.
| | | | Read about our time there here.
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Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free weekly mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
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