I have had a busy week!!!

I was very fortunate to be invited to the Four Seasons APAC Travel Leaders Summit held over 4 days in their London and Hampshire Properties with a small group of 10 people – travel agents from Australia, India and China.

Four Seasons also worked with some local Destination Management Companies to showcase the city of London to us!!

Our first stop was on London for 2 nights at the Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square – located just steps away from The Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and The River Thames.

An iconic building formally The Headquarters of the Port Authority of London in 1922. Such was the importance of this site that in 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its inaugural reception here, in what is now known as the UN Ballroom. During the Blitz in World War II, Ten Trinity Square was badly damaged by enemy bombing and the domed rotunda was destroyed. In the 1970s, after the Port of London Authority moved to its current location in Tilbury, the building was renovated and the central courtyard was filled in with office space. The building was then occupied by the European headquarters of the insurance broker Willis Faber Limited and continued to serve as offices until 2008. When Willis Faber moved on to a new location, the building lay vacant for several years. Returning to the spotlight, Ten Trinity Square played a starring role in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. It made a convincing MI6 where M (Dame Judi Dench) met Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes).

Following a six-year, multi-million-pound renovation – and now with the renowned management of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts – Ten Trinity Square stands once again as one of London’s most desirable addresses.

On the first night we were surprised with an evening tour of London by Mini Cooper….Our driver Stevie had us zipping around the city sights!! It was a bit hairy as he turned two lanes into three – but lots of fun!!

We were then treated to dinner at Mei Lime – an Asian Fusion restaurant in the Four Seasons hotel… Great food!!

The next morning Four Seasons teamed up with Noteworthy to give us a behind the scenes Changing of the Guards experience….

We were thrilled to be so close to the Queens Guard Band warming up – I even managed to get a smile from one of the members!!.

The Queens Guard is made up of :

Scots guards.
Grenadier guards
Coldstream Guards
Irish Guards
Welsh Guards

This was truly a once in a lifetime experience – whilst the general public were behind the fence we were actually inside the gates of Wellington Barracks so close to the action!!

The afternoon had us back at the hotel for an inspection and our Travel Leaders Summit meeting, and the evening had us enjoying a West End show – 42nd Street !!

Day three and we headed to the Four Seasons Hampshire for our two night stay with an exclusive visit to Highclere Castle along the way. Many of you would know it as Downton Abbey!!!!

https://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/

Highclere is the home to the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, and we were greeted by Lady Carnarvon who offered great rundown on the history of the Carnarvon family and castle plus a walkthrough the property.

To my amazement we learnt that the 5th Earl of Carnarvon discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

A number of relics and recreations of his findings are on display in the basement (maybe the dungeon) of the castle.

The castle is open over the English summer for tours… but is also the venue for weddings and events.

The Four Seasons Hampshire is a historic estate nestled in the English countryside, offering some fabulous activities for the whole family including Spa treatments, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Ziplining, Fishing, horseradish and some fabulous countryside walks….

It is only 40 minutes drive from London Heathrow Airport – a nice option for the last night of a UK Driving tour rather than an airport stay!

A very early start the next day for an 800 am flight from Heathrow to Nice to commence the week at ILTM.

On arrival in Nice we were whisked away to the Grand Hotel du Cap- Ferrat , A Four Seasons Hotel for the first of many events during the week at ILTM. A stunning waterfront property on the Cote d’Azur, the hotel has hosted many a celebrity over the years.

https://www.fourseasons.com/capferrat/

Four Seasons definitely know how to host a party for the travel trade with wonderful food and a Circus Theme to keep us entertained for the afternoon.

With a few days spare between cruising and my conference I headed off to the Emerald Isle for my very first visit…..

My plan was to spend a couple of nights in Dublin and then move on to Cork but the heavy weather had me stay in Dublin for the entire time…..

The Westbury Hotel was my base for this stay…..

The Westbury has recently been voted as Dublin’s Best Hotel by Conde Nast Traveller for 2018.

A lovely Old World type property with impeccable service and the best location right on Grafton Street.

The hotel offers some great dining options and the “The Sidecar” a stylish, elegant and modern take on a 30’s cocktail bar has been voted as Best Cocktail bar in Dublin!

There are many other wonderful hotels in Dublin, and one of my days was spent checking out these properties and their locations.

My recommendations:

5* – The Westbury Hotel and The Shelbourne Hotel

4* – The Dylan

Grafton Street is the main shopping street – very busy with Dubliners, shoppers, tourists and local musicians busking up and down this area.

The atmosphere was fabulous!!! My favourite busker was the guy playing the Piano in the middle of the mall!!!

Dublin is a very easy city to navigate and I found myself wandering the streets exploring (and shopping) for these few days!

There are also many Hop on/Off bus Tours as another option to get around.

The Temple Bar area was pumping by 10AM…..beer with breakfast is not uncommon with the Irish, so the tourists just join in – and what fun!!

Temple Bar is also home to some fabulous street art, and there are many tours available offering an insight into this scene or you can just wander and stumble upon them as I did.

Trinity College is home to The Book of Kells. The Book of Kells contains the four Gospels in Latin based on the Vulgate text which St Jerome completed in 384AD, intermixed with readings from the earlier Old Latin translation.

Suggest that you would pre-purchase the tickets to visit this attraction – the line for tickets was horrendous!

The most famous attraction in this city would have to be the Guinness Factory and definitely worth a visit!!! Pre-buy the tickets!!!!

The U2 recording studios, Dublin Castle, Jameson Distillery are some other ideas for a visit……or you can easily access Belfast, The Giants Causeway, The Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle on the many day trips offered by the local tour operators.

All in all a wonderful city and I cannot wait to get back there soon!!