Hotels, restaurants, bars and the occasional experience, filtered by whether I would go back rather than whether anyone paid for a listing. Search by country, city or name, or narrow it down to the kind of trip you are taking.
One of the highlights of my life. Most of a day trekking through thick bush, with birds and wildlife the whole way, before coming face to face with a mountain gorilla. Magical is not a word I use often.
Contemporary Spanish cooking on a concept that shifts region with the seasons, so summer and winter give you different countries entirely. Incredible seafood and creative tapas-style plates. The wine list leans properly into Canarian producers, which is where it gets interesting.
The little brother of the Cape Town original, though my favourite of the two. Coal roasted meats, sumptuous sourdough, bold flavours, finished with a traditional sweet trolley. Eating a course at the counter with the chef is the part that stays with you. I will take Franschhoek over Stellenbosch every time.
My favourite outpost of the group and a genuinely good way to lose an hour. Meander the store, take cocktails and pasta on the roof, then a pizza back to the hotel with whatever you have talked yourself into buying. The concept works.
Perched on the lake shore a little out of town, so you get the views without the hustle. Apartment style, which makes it work properly for families, but sophisticated with it. The team are a real part of why it lands.
Indian fine dining at its best, oddly located in a glass box in a hotel courtyard. Imaginative cooking with bold flavours, plus a black dhal I will remember until I die. The drinks list is poor but the food more than carries it.
Contemporary cooking in a pub, which is exactly why it works. Book the bar counter for the craic with the team and a clear view of the chefs working the open kitchen. A strong menu balancing small plates with mains, imaginative in flavour and technique while championing Irish produce. Order the bone marrow mash, the beef cheek and oxtail house roll, then the scallops. I broke the golden rule and switched between grape and grain, Guinness alongside a serious wine list, with no regrets.
Elegant, timeless and remarkably layered. A small cafe and bar, a fish restaurant with live tanks, then a classical dining room where kitchen and front of house blend so completely it takes the open kitchen somewhere new. A couple of secret lounges and speakeasies tucked away too. Pricey but worth it.
Out into the Bay of Fundy aboard a converted fishing boat, with humpbacks showing up almost immediately. It takes real travel to get there but the crew are good company and it earns the effort. Get the scallop roll before you board.
Spectacularly situated, clinging to a hillside above the Mediterranean. A proper family option rather than somewhere I would pick as a couple, but on those terms it delivers: genuinely good activities for kids, plus an all inclusive buffet restaurant in the best spot on the property, right by the sea where most resorts reserve the view for their upgrade signature venues. The beach is a little shingly but service was good throughout and the value is hard to argue with. The kids loved it.
One star, modern New Nordic, in a room made by an 1800s glass ceiling that does most of the work before the food arrives. Exceptional handling of vegetables and herbs. It tastes distinctly of where it is. The butter alone is worth the trip.
The centrepiece of my friend Niels Peter Pretzmann's Farmers Circle, a regenerative farming and circular food economy project. The only certified organic restaurant in Lithuania, Michelin starred, working almost entirely from their own produce. A red brick shed rustically converted at the heart of the farm. Hyper local, farm to table, done properly.
The Portuguese outpost of the Spanish icon, tucked inside the ME Lisbon. Modern and industrial with a beautiful open kitchen doing most of the theatre, though the cooking itself stays honest and artisanal, built on local sourcing. The cheesecake is famous and genuinely unusual. I loved it. My dining companion did not.
Eight generations of artisan butchery in a Tuscan village. One of the stand-out experiences of my life. Communal tables, live fire, course after course of steak including the Fiorentina, wine included. Dario is bold, theatrical and a total showman. Absurd value. Worth a dedicated trip.
A lifestyle hotel in the suburbs with coffee roasting in the lobby, a clothing label in the mix and a top-floor restaurant that gets properly busy. The team make it. A refreshing counterpoint to the big brands elsewhere in the city.
A design-led boutique hotel on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County, surrounded by wineries, cider makers and a food scene well beyond what the location suggests. We came with the kids for a birthday and it handled that as easily as it would a quiet weekend. A lake beach on the doorstep, laid back service, top produce, plus a menu that runs from the classic to the genuinely playful.
Two Michelin stars built on Scottish ingredients and not an ounce of pretension. I knew Andrew from my years at the hotel. Watching Stevie hold that standard and build on the legacy year after year is something. Intimate room, world-class service, the best dining in Scotland.
A simple, buzzy North American brasserie built on culinary nostalgia. Oysters, aged steaks and proper cocktails, with a speakeasy feel and prices that are genuinely reasonable by Dubai standards. A small group where each venue carries its own slightly different mood.
Far more than a restaurant. Jozef is an artist and the theatre is extraordinary, but it rests on real science: gastrophysics and behavioural psychology, bringing Professor Charles Spence's Oxford research to the table. It takes what you think you know about your own senses and quietly dismantles it.
Hilltop elegance overlooking the city, close enough to wander in but far enough to escape the crush. Huge rooms, understated grandeur and one of the great breakfasts of my life.
A small group turning out burgers several levels above what the retro fit-out suggests. Lively, unfussy and consistently very good. Finish with the sticky toffee cake.
One of those places that feels timeless and keeps pulling you back. Beautiful food and the kind of hospitality that makes you want to stay for another course. The chicken Kyiv is the order.
A rustic, understated room in the heart of Montmartre, family run and built around the côte de boeuf. The Bordeaux list is where it really surprises, big reds at prices that make no sense for the location. Found through a Parisian friend rather than a guidebook, which is usually the sign.
Over 100km behind a husky pack across multiple days, staying in remote off-grid cabins along the way, northern lights overhead — genuinely magical. Double-digit sub-zero, brutal conditions, and nothing like the Santa's-grotto version people imagine. You spend half the time being pulled and the other half running through metre-deep snowdrifts and hanging on for dear life crossing frozen lakes. More army training exercise than husky ride.
Epic themed lodges that would horrify plenty of people, but they do families properly and the value is hard to fault. Enormous indoor waterparks are included and it is worth building one into a longer itinerary. I have done both the Poconos and Niagara Falls sites and they deliver the same thing. Just eat elsewhere. Go local and find something better.
Queued around the block and worth it, though the line moves faster than it looks. Freshly made, limited seating, more locals than tourists. I take the traditional salmon with chive cream cheese. The kids go straight for the rainbow with blueberry.
Gueridon service done properly, beef carved from the trolley and crepe suzette at the table. Classical and elegant without ever tipping into stuffy. A serious wine list and a real sense of occasion. It still possesses an unparalleled sense of magic and remains the beating heart of the hotel. Gleneagles is where my career started and where I met my wife, so treat me as biased.
Minimalist and design-led, the antithesis of everything else in DIFC. Wonderful Greek flavours with service that manages to be endearing and properly professional at once. Natasha Sedaris owns it, with Galaxy Bar next door on the World's 50 Best list if you want to make a night of it.
A game park experience that feels like a secret the South Africans have kept for themselves. Halfway between Joburg and Durban, so it takes a drive, but you get a lodge overlooking a watering hole for a fraction of Kruger prices. More intimate than the big national parks, yet we still saw almost everything. Communal dining, a plunge pool, a team second to none.
My local, plus the best Sunday lunch in Scotland. An old coaching inn that has stayed relaxed and genuinely cosy, with rooms upstairs if you overdo it.
One of the first in the city to take a Michelin star. Still among the best reasons to visit. Fire cooking, intimate room and a proper champion of Estonian produce. Ask for the chef's counter. Take in the sea views back across the city.
A cliffside room looking straight out at the Atlantic, which would be reason enough on its own. Family run, with the feel of somewhere locals drive to rather than a spot that trades on the view. The focus is steak and grilled meat, done well and priced far below what that outlook suggests it should be. The wine list holds up too.
Relaxed dining beside the black and white bonded warehouses outside Bardstown. Quirky inside, plenty of outdoor seating, corn toss for the kids. It comes into its own on a sunny day. Comfort food built for sharing. The cornbread with Jim Beam honey butter alongside the smoked brisket is the move.
I have been through a lot of distilleries over the years and this one still impressed. Interactive, properly guided, set in the château at the heart of Cognac itself. The tasting options are worth taking your time over.
An adults-only boutique retreat on the slopes of the Beşparmak Mountains, set among the vines with the sea beyond. Wonderful rooms, incredible views and properly quiet. Etel Winery is on site with a wine spa and tasting room.
Asma Khan's heartfelt homage to home, cooked by an all-female kitchen. I hosted her whole team on a tour here in Scotland and they were exceptional. Toasties and a mango lassi at lunch, Kosha Mangsho at dinner, then the biriyani supper clubs if you can get a seat. Her hospitality envelops you.
Part of a small Paris-born group run by a British couple. Exactly what the name suggests: a British pub filtered through French sensibility. The house-brewed beers are the reason to go. Young crowd, central location.
Praveen and Swarna have been friends since my Gleneagles days. They have built something well beyond what Perth usually offers. Classic Indian cooking done right, plenty of awards, none of the formality.
Tucked away behind Los Mochis overlooking Liverpool Street, about as good as a counter gets. Theatrical cooking from a chef whose knowledge runs deep, in a room small enough that you see every movement. No expense spared. Take the sake pairing.
Part of a larger gated development on the coast, so it feels safe and self-contained. A wonderful main pool, direct beach access, plus large individual rooms with their own plunge pools. Lifestyle-led throughout, the food is good and there is kite surfing straight off the beach.
Founded by my friend Charlie Carroll. A masterclass in guest experience design. A short menu with a low base price and trade-up cuts from named heritage farms and their own herd. Free dripping popcorn on arrival, free ice cream at the end, wine chosen by region rather than producer. Quick, generous, no pretension. Then there are the cleavers, which get stolen constantly.
Italian, but not the version you are expecting. A tight room, sharing plates that jump around the regions and a cocktail list taken as seriously as the food. Take the counter seating.
More than a dozen visits across Denmark and the UK, including a good few opening parties. It never once drops. Beautiful spaces, with visual menus that make a cuisine which can feel closed off genuinely navigable. The kids menu is amongst the best I have come across, nudging children towards adventurous eating while keeping safe choices within reach. The teams balance efficiency with a soft welcome better than almost anyone. Tivoli has brilliant views over Copenhagen.
A collection of private homes in the Mara built on a conservation model that actually works, with meaningful engagement with the local community rather than the staged version. A brilliant concept and a wonderful team, all before you factor in the wildlife and the park itself.
An enchanting relais in Franciacorta, home of Italy's most respected sparkling wine. A 19th century villa done in understated country-chic, with a simple restaurant that knows exactly what it is. The Espace Chenot spa is substantial, there is a pool, plus complimentary bikes for riding between the vineyards.
Dark, atmospheric, casual, properly buzzy. Order the corn ribs with salted coconut, shrimp and lime.
I knew Mat and James from their Caravan days and gave a little opening advice, then saw the first City site before it opened. They have gone on to become one of the most respected artisan coffee names in London, blending Australian coffee credentials with Irish charm. The best flat white in the city, in my opinion.
Contemporary sharing plates that take a Mediterranean brasserie somewhere more interesting. Small, casual, properly neighbourhood. Creative without ever being inaccessible, with seamless service, a good selection by the glass and whipped feta worth ordering twice.
A wine estate the Mazzei family have owned since 1435, which is not a claim many places can make. Guest rooms are scattered through the village itself, so you fall into the rhythm of Tuscan life rather than watching it from a resort. Huge rooms, understated Italian luxury, a roll-top bath in the bedroom. An osteria for casual dinners, a wine bar for later, plus a genuinely impressive tour at the winery. Easy runs into both Siena and Florence.
Motel-style rooms and a simple breakfast, made entirely special by sitting in the middle of the vineyard. A tasting is included and the tasting room is a short walk. Spend the evening with a bottle and a fire-cooked pizza overlooking the vines while a local band plays. Bliss.
Adam Handling's country pub, close enough to the castle or Legoland to build a day around. An awarded gastropub that does everything the format should: inventive flavours alongside pub and fine dining classics, a strong beer list plus a genuinely brilliant wine selection. Properly kid friendly too, with miniature versions of the adult dishes rather than the usual afterthought.
A quirky little pastry shop in the heart of town, run by Emily and Andrew, who previously ran the kitchen at Andy Murray's Cromlix. The window display of daily bakes and savouries is worth the stop on its own, with flavour combinations that range further than you would expect. Go for the daily doorstop sandwich or a Danish bow.
Two Michelin stars, white tablecloths, a genuine occasion. Refined modern cooking built on exceptional classical technique, plated so beautifully you feel bad taking a fork to it.
A short drive from the city on the way to Table Mountain National Park and the Cape of Good Hope. Get there early and watch several hundred penguins going about their morning. Genuinely memorable.
Luxury done properly, with views to match. A restaurant line-up that gives you a genuine choice rather than one good option and three fillers, a creative breakfast, a wonderful pool. Direct beach access with the town a short stroll along the sand. Service was impeccable throughout.
A sourdough bakery on the main square run by Emily and David, now ranked among the 50 best in the UK. The bread is spectacular, particularly the small loaves. The cinnamon buns are something else entirely. Best coffee in Crieff too.
Farm to fork in the truest sense, run by a Latin American chef patron with real creative range. Tucked away in the suburbs, an eclectic mix of expats and locals that somehow all work together. Cook school, bar, event space and multiple dining areas across the farm itself. Genuinely inspiring, not just good.
The best live music experience I have had, full stop. Iconic does not do it justice. Somehow intimate despite the scale, with a real sense of occasion the moment you walk in. A must for anyone who loves music, country fan or not.
Set on the Cairn o' Mohr winery and fruit farm just outside the city, with a brunch menu that punches well above its setting. Drinks made on site, a young team led by owner Linsay who make you feel welcome the second you sit down. Worth the trip out from Dundee alone.