24 Hours at Le Mas Candille

This amazing little place of pure tranquility and romance is just on the hill above Cannes. When we left the train station of Cannes we were driven directly in a completely different world, through very narrow streets until we reached the municipal Mougins. A large gate opened and we were chaffeured to the main area of Le Mas Candille.

The arrival was smooth and pleasant although we felt a bit lost in the reception area as the staff is sitting and there are no seats for guests on the front desk. after check-in we got a short tour to the room, which was located in the newer building La Bastide. The room was very generous (I think it was a Deluxe room as it was overlooking the Grasse village) and we even had a huge terrace with an impressive view. Th bathroom is kind of the same style throughout the property, while each bedroom is designed in a different style - which makes the stay even more interesting.

A very nice gesture, and quite unusual to us, was the Cocktail reception on the main pool, where the General Manager, Mr. Silver (the owner) and the Sales Manager were welcoming the guests personally. Therefore we also had the pleasure to meet Mr. Silver personally, one of the most passionate and coolest hoteliers we have ever met. You really feel, when you are talking to him, that Le Mas Candille is a passion for him and that he is doing it with heart and soul. That's also what makes this hotel very different from the Grand Hotels on the Croisette.

Throughout the night we could hear simply nothing, which was also a great plus and the reason why we kept the window open all night. The beds were really heavenly, I feel that I have to mention that I will try to get the same blanket at home. The bathroom of our wonderful Room was very generous with separate shower and tub (what i really appreciate!!) and luxe Molton Brown toiletries AND an amazing view over Grasse as well.

To be honest, my absolute favourite place was the main pool in front of the summer restaurant, followed by the Hydrotherapy Pool at the Shiseido Spa. I think this is also a great opportunity to tell the hotel that we illegally used their Hydrotherapy pool at 10.00 pm, but we could not resist the beauty of the resort, the view and the fact of swimming under the stars.

Unfortunately we oversleept breakfast at their 1 Michelin starred restaurant, which is kind of sad, but another reason to come back to my "little peace of pure Heaven". I guess that this small hideaway is an excellent alternative to the Terre Blanche resort, which I will test in one week. The view really exceeds all expectations at Le Mas Candille.

We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Silver for the generous invitation to test the "Le Mas Candille". Our stay was completely sponsored by the owners. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

48 Hours at The Augustine Hotel Prague

As the newest high-end five-star hotel addition to Prague, I really felt in best mood when arriving. The check-in was smooth and we got a welcome drink, what I found a nice touch. Afterwards we got a tour through the public areas, followed by an inspection of the room. We were lucky and got a parking space in their courtyard, otherwise when you prefer parking in a garage, they park your car in the garage of the nearby Aria Hotel.

The room itself was spacious, the bathroom on the other side not – with a bath-tub-combination (I normally hate this most in a hotel). As the toiletries were upscale ones and filled up every day, I was not that discerning. Just to let you know: they do have rooms in the standard category with larger bathrooms and even separate showers as well. The bed was very comfortable as the whole room. Unfortunately we did not have a view over the Castle Hill, but therefore we overlooked a church and a courtyard. One afternoon there was a wedding going on in this courtyard but happily for the hotel they finished in the early evening. Otherwise it could have ended like at the Grand Hotel Stockholm – see previous blog posts.

Breakfast Buffet was on the small side, although everything can be ordered from your table and will be prepared in the kitchen at your disposal. The scrambled eggs were really good and in my opinion everything else was of good quality, too. The service was perfect and very attentive, we felt very welcomed.

The bar is also a nice place to relax in the afternoon, as the Augustine Spa is: A small spa indeed with a sauna, hamam, steam bath and relaxation room with experience showers. The products were really good – Kerstin Florian, Ila and Ex Voto are predicted to be world-class.

All in all, I like this hotel because of the generous layout combined with the chic italian style, the location and the wonderful ambience of staying in an old monastery.

24 Hours at the Hotel Bristol Vienna

The old grand-dame Hotel of Vienna was originally predicted to be mentally dead, but since the Sacher family took over the ownership, a lot changed and a completely fresh wind breezes now through the elegantly styled hallways.

After a glamorous arrival in the 1^st class with the new Czech Railjet, we were chauffeured by our private driver of Uber, to the luxurious Hotel Bristol on Kärtnerring 1. The check-in was smooth and our Bristol Suite was already available at 11.30 which was a great plus. Upon entering the heavy door of our Suite, a completely different world opened to be discovered. Through the bright and airy entrée we got a first sight of the size of this little piece of pure heaven.

A huge living room with two light-brown sofas, a comfortable armchair, a writing desk with seating arrangements and a TV shelf with a built-in fireplace welcomed one of its first guests. In addition to this impressive area we found our bedroom that we entered through two very elegant sliding doors with gold handles. Everything did not only look so expensive, it really was of high quality. As the antiques, the deco vases and the lamps.

Back to the facts, the bedroom: The bed was extremely comfortable and the curtains did black-out extremely well. Beside the bed there was the entrance to the bathroom, a heaven for all bath-lovers: A separated toilet area with bidet, double vanities, a deep bath tub, and finally – an enormous walk-in shower at 1,5x1,5 meters. Last but not least I have to mention the world’s best bathroom amenities, at least they are the most expensive ones – by famous perfumer Roja Dove.

Although the city is amazing, we did not want to leave our heavenly bed. Fortunately breakfast was predicted to be world-class, so that’s why we headed down to Bristol Lounge and it really was worth the way. I would call it a very selective offer but of really high quality: bread is served in the main area, while all other products, including the cooking place are located in a separated room which is perfectly cooled for the fresh products.

The staff was always helpful and they even gave us a complimentary late check-out until 4 pm without any discussion. So we could enjoy the luxury of our huge Bristol Suite on a lazy Sunday afternoon before we headed back to Prague.

The Bristol proofed once again that it want to compete with the other high class properties such as the Imperial, the Ritz Carlton and the Park Hyatt. We can gladly say, YES! It is our new favourite hotel in Vienna.

Our stay in a new Bristol Suite at the Hotel Bristol Vienna was completely sponsored by the hotel. 

Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

Capannelle Winery - Gaiole in Chianti

Our second vineyard was the “Capannelle” a very young winery was bought in 1974 from Raffaele Rosetti who actually didn’t want to produce wine. After a few years of producing excellent wine, the original owner sold this wonderful property to Mr. James Sherwood, the owner of the Orient Express Hotels, know called Belmond Collection. Mr. Sherwood expanded the winery and added a stunning wine cellar with a unique wine safe. After a small tour through the cellars Giulia prepared a winetasting with four different wines (one Rosé wine, one refreshing Chardonnay, one typical Chianti Classico and one Solare 2006). During this tasting we were treated with some Tuscany specialties.

Make sure that you also purchase the renowned 50&50 which is produced in cooperation with the vineyard “Avignonesi” near Montepulciano.

We wooul like to thank the Capannelle winery for the nice tour and the unforgettable wine tasting! We were completely invited by Capannelle. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

Castello di Brolio - Barone Ricasoli

The best start for a picture perfect day in the most wonderful area of the Chianti - was the “Castello Brolio - Barone Ricasoli”, the oldest winery of whole Italy. It is a beautiful castle between Florence and Siena and was in the past a very important place for Florence. They could spy out their enemy Siena because it was the last castle belonged to the city Florence.Barone Bettino Ricasoli, who lived around the 19^th century, was the founder of the well-known Chianti Classico (80% Sangiovese, 15% merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon). They are one of the biggest wine exports with 3 million bottles, of which 80% are going to the United States.

We would like to thank the Barone Ricasoli winery tor the invitation to join the interesting Classic Tour for free. 

Fèlsina Winery - Castelnuovo Berardenga

The last point of our trip was the “Fèlsina” winery. In 1966 Dominic poggiali Fèlsina bought the estate. After driving through the wonderful alley we reached the court of the Fèlsina winery. We got a very interesting private tour from Irene. She showed us around the old cellars and told us their new project: vino Spumante. After the tour we had a wine tasting in the beautiful garden in the middle of olive trees and under a pergola. We tried a spumante Brut, one glas of Rancia (100% Sangiovese), one Chianti Classico and one very good vin Santo (Trebbiano and Malvasis).

We would like to thank the Felisna winery for taking time to show us around the winery and for the wine tasting.

72 Hours at the Castel Monastero in Tuscany

Located on the southern part of Chianti, next to Castelnuovo Berardegna, there used to be a castle, the name of this castle was Castel Monastero.

You're lucky, because this luxurious holiday retreat is still alive and even more luxurious then before the expensive renovation. If you ever find this place without a navigation system which is just confusing you even more, you will arrive at this place, just one hour south of Florence. After 13 hours of travelling from Munich, including one lunch break in Modena (at La Quercia di Rosa) and one longer shopping stop at Barberino Fashion Outlet, 30 minutes before Florence. 

After our arrival we were greeted by the kind front desk staff member Stefano who showed us around and even accompanied us to the room. The room itself, a Prestige Room, was very dark upon entering and the layout made the room even smaller then it used to be. A real highlight of our room was the enormous bathroom with double basin, bath tub, separated room with toilet, bidet and a huge shower. Don't worry, you will never run out of these luxury toiletries by no other then Lorenzo Villoresi, the nose of Italy - there are plenty of them inside the bathroom.

When you forgot your wake up call, then you might be awake due to some gardener cutting the greens around the buildings. If not, it's not really bad as the breakfast is nothing impressive. I have stayed in many luxury hotels and this breakfast is alright, but there are lot more products to offer even in Tuscany. We found the female service chef a bit rude, because we wanted to order Scrambled eggs with ham and not to take the cold and foamy scrambled eggs from the buffet! She did not accommodate our request and seemed to be more hectic than helpful.

The bar is a very nice place to chill out in the evenings and all staff members were quite nice and helpful. The snacks and the wines served at the bar are also very good. A real problem was the cocktails we ordered. We wanted to have Pina Colada. Unfortunately there is no barkeeper at the bar and therefore the Pina Colada was disgusting. I complained one time and they immediately served another one, far better but with little rum only and still the wrong glass. It is absolutely not the fault of the staff but for the price of 12 euros per cocktail we expected a real highlight. In fact it was a disappointment.

Due to the fact that the staff members are not teached how to make a perfect cocktail, they do not have a shuttle service (which is more then necessary for tourists coming without a car), the Wi-Fi did not work properly and because of the fact that our room was smaller than expected, we can only grant 7/10 points. 

Nonetheless, Stefano was the highlight of our stay and made us feel welcome.