Outside the front door, this is a quieter part of town, showing signs of
Dublin’s remarkable wealth explosion - but if you want the romance ruined by
the sight of a thousand stag-dos, Grafton Street is only a short walk away. Details:
The Dylan (00 353 1 660 3000, www.dylan.ie
) has doubles from £178, B&B; dinner at Still is about £35 a head,
plus wine. Fly to Dublin with Aer Lingus (0870 876 5000, www.aerlingus.com
), Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com
) and others.
The Gore in London: probably best to wait until after September 13 to
book The Gore, as it’s so close to the Albert Hall that the Proms tend to
fill the rooms. And that’s a good measure of the place - this spruced-up old
stager is the perfect weekend hotel for, erm, the more experienced lover.
None of your trendy Balinese furniture here, the Gore aspires to be the kind
of place Edward and Mrs Simpson would have held their trysts in, all chaise
longues and velvet drapes, mirrored headboards and oak four-posters.
On the border of Knightsbridge and Kensington, it’s the perfect place to enjoy
London’s lull between summer and Santa, and you can revive yourself in the
hotel’s well-regarded bistro - which serves, entirely typically, a champagne
afternoon tea. And on the night of Friday, September 19, there’s even
burlesque in the cocktail bar: Miss Polly Rae and the Hurly Burly Girlys.
It’s a wonder they don’t leave Viagra in the minibar. Details:The
Gore (020 7584 6601, www.gorehotel.com
) has doubles from £210, B&B; champagne tea is £35pp; dinner and
burlesque on September 19, £39pp.
The Miller of Mansfield, a skip from Reading: a lot of old coaching
inns that have tried to turn themselves into modern-day shag palaces have
failed embarrassingly, thinking that black uniforms, a faux-fur bedspread
and a sprig of parsley on the fry-up qualifies as sexy. But you can
certainly feel the love at The Miller of Mansfield in Goring-on-Thames,
where the rooms have been renovated in trendy country-house style, with
plenty of statement beds and clever, decadence-inducing colour schemes.
The restaurant is equally conscientious, where smart food is very fairly
priced. Close to Goring & Streatley railway station, less than one hour
from Paddington, this is a much-loved hideaway for London lovers -
particularly as autumn rolls around and the threat of wedding parties
booking the whole darn place out finally starts to recede. Details:
The Miller of Mansfield (01491 872829, www.millerofmansfield.com
) has good-size doubles from £155, B&B, at the weekend; dinner
£19.95 for three courses.
Luxury on Islay.
May we pass on our thanks to Brian Schofield for his review of An taigh osda. We are the owners of the property and have had a flood of enquiries and 6 confirmed reservations since Sunday who identified Sunday Times as their source.
Paul & Joan Graham, Isle of Islay, Scotland