In our latest edition of Tables We Love, we take you to Anacapri and the restaurant, La Terrazza di Lucullo restaurant at Caesar Augustus Hotel. Far from the daytrippers of Capri, this Relais & Chateaux hotel offers a lovely respite with an incredible view to accompany, breakfast, lunch or dinner, this is just the kind of table we love.
Recently we booked some of our favourite travellers a week-long stay at the beautiful Birkenhead House in Hermanus. While the annual accolades from Condé Nast and other tastemakers are well-deserved, it's the clifftop location of this beach house that we adore. Whether for breakfast, dinner or even a massage, this perch provides all the reasons we need to add it to "Tables We Love".
The newly opened, futuristic-looking Mar Adentro (Spanish for 'The Sea Inside') 5-star hotel, located in Baja California Sur, has not one but two incredible tables we love.
The first, their romantic sushi restaurant El Nido ('The Nest'), makes the biggest design statement. Sheltered under an eye-catching upside-down nest (made of actual twigs!) it appears to drift on a pool of water.
As for the hotel's main restaurant, Origen, its setting is no less impressive to El Nido's. Guests can enjoy alfresco dining within the hyper-modern all-white aesthetic of the hotel, while looking out at the contrasting blue of the Pacific Ocean.
Table for two please!
In a country full of fantastic lodges, Otahuna is one of New Zealand's best. The grand house built in 1895 is lovely, but we all know it is the people that make the difference, in this case it is chef Jimmy McIntyre. In our series of Tables We Love, we present two very different experiences Otahuna can provide. A fabulous lunch with a view and a divine dinner fit for royalty both wonderfully prepared by Jimmy. Two Impresarios have been to Otahuna and we agree it offers some of the best eating in New Zealand.
File this one under Hotel Villas We Love!
If you ever wanted to stay in the heart of a jungle, yet near the ocean in a luxurious villa, this villa in Costa Rica has got you covered.
5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, in the jungle, close to the ocean and only 15mn from the closest airport. Seems pretty perfect to us!
Trip type: Outdoor adventure, cultural exploration & gastronomic delight
Destination: Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada
Number of Days: 5
Meet the locals: Everyone is friendly on Fogo Island. You'll notice lots of the same family names--Foley, Decker, Forster, Poole. They've been there for centuries, and you'll meet them all.
Most other-worldly experience: Being surrounded by thousands of puffins and razorbills, furiously flapping their wings to stay airborne in the north Atlantic. Take the boat out to Little Fogo Island to meet them.
Favourite hotel: Fogo Island Inn, an architectural wonder on the shore near Joe Batt's Arm.
Best meal: Cod au Gratin, which is Chef Murray MacDonald's modern take on a traditional Newfoundland dish.
Architectural fantasy: The Shorefast Foundation's artist studios--Squish, Long, Tower and Bridge--all designed by the Inn's architect Todd Saunders. The studios host artists in residence year round on the island.
Recommended hike: The Lion's Den is a 6km ramble along the coast. It takes you through abandoned communities and is a lovely way to spend the morning. Have the Inn pack you picnic.
What to pack: More warm clothes than you'd think--mittens and hats came in handy for an afternoon at sea. Don't worry if you forget something--the Inn has plenty of gear you can borrow, from rain gear to locally made wool wear.
"We have arrived! Omg Florence is beautiful, and the hotel is amazing! ... When we arrived at the hotel, they gave us a late breakfast and just brought us some bubbly. So they are looking after us here!
... The cheese farm was excellent and so was lunch, beef, beef, beef beef, BEEF.... I just want to say, every restaurant you recommended was absolutely amazing. We definitly left heavier!
... Just wanted to say thanks for all your help..... I absolutely loved it there, and will certainly find time again to go and spend more time there."
" Everything went very well...great job! We liked Crowbush Cove the best of the PEI golf courses followed by Dundarave and Green Gables....
.... All the tee time reservations worked well...they knew we were coming....
... Your booklet was great...keep doing it!"
"Thank you for a great and memorable trip, it was so nice to have everything planned out for you with such organization and attention to detail.
We also appreciated that you worked so hard to find us the right tour operations and excursions so we didn't mind the back and forth in the planning at all.
We will definitely be using Travel Impresarios in the future. It's been a pleasure!"
“I just wanted to drop you a note to say we are home (sadly) but we had a GREAT time! All of the tours and tour guides were fantastic - my favourite was Stonehenge… loved the battlefields day (it was spectacular with a lovely day spent driving through the French countryside), and … the Louvre tour.
... Again, thank you for everything, especially the wonderfully precise directions on how to get from place to place which saved us a huge amount of precious time.
We'll be in touch for future trips and will pass on your info to others!”
“On a scale of 1-10 this vacation was an 11.5 - seriously, we had an absolutely fabulous time.
… Ranguana is paradise. snorkeling is crazy good, the beach is divine, the water literally teeming with life (e.g. in our first five minutes on the island, wading through the crystal waters a nurse shark cruised by us. eg. bird-life included frigate birds, osprey, boobies, ducks, a kestrel or merlin and one very confused barn swallow)….
… Did I mention it was paradise? We've been to some incredible places before, but none more amazing than this.
… Thanks again, we feel incredibly fortunate to have had this experience.”
"The vacation was amazing! ....
... The highlight of Venice for me was the boat tour. Our guides went above and beyond. They truly made the day.
... The Parmesan Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar producers were interesting to visit. I actually heard my son talking to his friend about it on the phone today! Gelato making was lots of fun, a definite recommendation."
"We truly appreciate your efficiency and attention to detail in planning all our trips. It allows us to give our full attention to experiencing each new place and while the guides you arrange for us are always excellent we especially loved our guide in Poland....
...... We were happy to return to the hotel Ca Sagredo in Venice. They opened the door to our bedroom and I burst out laughing. It is approximately the size of our main floor. I felt like I should pack a lunch to walk to the bathroom. We had not known last time we were there that Galileo spent much time and probably invented the telescope there....
......Thank you for enabling our continued attempts at enriching our lives and becoming better human beings"
“Thank you for organizing such a wonderful tour and making sense of our original wish list which was literally all over the map.
Couldn't have picked better places to visit and stay. All accommodations inside and out of Dublin were lovely! Glad we had a chance to stay at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, loved the decor and staff.
I'm amazed at the ground we covered and all we saw from major attractions to little out of the way places. And learned so much as well as being entertained and catered to!
It was a great success.”
“House is stunning! Weather great ... Hiked the north shore trail today and swam in a waterfall pool ... Doesn’t get much better!!”
— A family of five escaping to Maui and Kauai for hiking, snorkeling, biking, surfing and lots of other adventurous things ending in "ing"
