Jessica Phillips

Greece is, quite simply, king of the holidays. It’s a country full of sprawling cities, beautiful islands and some of the best beaches in the entire world, and the food? Don’t even get us started on the food. There’s a hell of a lot of islands, and our editors have been to a hell of a lot of them, but for the on-the-ground knowledge that only a local has, we’ve roped in our Greece expert Demetrios Ioannou, who grew up in Athens but has travelled all over the country. Whatever you’re looking for, here are the best places to visit in Greece.  Where should I go for my first time in Greece? We’re firm believers that everyone should go to Athens at least once in their lives. So if it’s your first time visiting the country, you should probably start there. But the good news is that in Greece, you can pretty much do it all. So don’t stay in Athens for a full week – spend a perfect weekend there before heading out on a ferry to Aegina, Poros, Hydra and more. If you’ve ticked off Athens already, consider Greece’s latest destination dupe, Paros, which is set to this year’s ‘new Santorini’ (just without the crowds).  📍 RECOMMENDED: Discover our ultimate guide to Greece Which is the best Greek island to visit? If we’re talking most popular, Santorini and Mykonos are always going to be top of the list. But Greece has more than 6,000 islands and islets, each with its own unique vibe and all worth visiting for entirely different reasons. Crete is Greece’s biggest island, in the south of th

The smog and stress of London can really take its toll on your skin. That’s why there’s nothing better than a regular facial (or a one-off treat) to give you that much-needed top-up, leaving you feeling glowing, fresh-faced and dewy.  Just thinking about what we put our skin through is enough to give you frown lines. That’s thanks to the combined efforts of pollution and air-conditioned offices, as well as the added bonuses of harsh weather, booze, sun exposure, dehydration and – our least favourite – the inevitable passing of time. Happily, there are loads of great spas, treatment rooms and estheticians in London who can give your face a break and a much-needed zhuzh. Whether you’re after a relaxing, soothing facial massage, some instant radiance, a total skincare overhaul or something a little more intense such as microneedling or laser treatment, read our pick of facials in London.  RECOMMENDED: The best spas in London. 

Dreaming of sand between your toes, wind blowing in your hair and sun beating down on your skin? You might just be due a trip to the beach. Here in the UK, we can’t quite guarantee the sunshine, but we can guarantee some seriously stunning beaches which will rival those of Mediterranean (and might even be contenders for the best beaches in the world).  We have white sand beaches, we have pebbles, we have towering chalk cliffs and rock pools galore. We pretty much have a beach for every occassion. Not sure where to go? We’ve rounded up the best beaches in the UK right here, from Scotland to Cornwall, all chosen by Time Out travel writers who have been to visit them IRL. You’ll also find our expert reccs for where to stay, so you can make the most of your beachy getaway. Enjoy.  Where are the UK’s most beautiful beaches? Pretty beaches are dotted all over the UK, but you’ll find some absolute beauties in Scotland, Cornwall and Wales, where the water is often clear, beaches are surrounded by tall cliffs and greenery and you might even find sand between your toes. On our list of the UK’s best beaches, we’ve included the prettiest and most serene stretches of coast out there, but we’ve also included those better for vibes, families and big old picnics. They might not be lookers, but they’re perfect for a seaside day out.  RECOMMENDED:🏖️ The most amazing hidden beaches in the UK🌊 The best outdoor swimmming pools in the UK🏊 The best wild swimming spots in the UK🌤️ The best place

Need a place to stay in London? We’re here to make it easy for you. Every year, a wealth of new hotels open in the capital which is a testament to the fact that London remains one of the most desirable places to visit in the world. However, that can make it tricky to decide which hotel to choose. But worry not because we have slept our way across the city and hand-picked our favourites for the ultimate list of London hotels, which covers locations right across the city, and every category from blowout luxury (including having your own butler, might we add) to budget basic and brilliant. In this mega list, we've listed everything from our favourite five-star hotels in Mayfair to more affordable hotels outside of zone 1. Plus you’ll be able to check out one or two of the capital's many Michelin-starred restaurants because yep, loads of them call London hotels their home. But if spending a small fortune on food isn’t your bag? There’s also an ever-increasing number of good-value food options for budgeteers, too. Throw great design and architecture into the mix, plus superb bars, world-class hospitality and the opportunity to have a home-from-home in the best city in the world and, well, you’re laughing.  Which area is best to stay in London? It's not just the range of hotels that's so impressive – you're also spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a neighbourhood to stay in London. The city is made up of a sprawling network of dynamic neighbourhoods, all with their own uniqu

With over 6,000 islands, a seemingly endless coastline, ancient sites and lively party towns, it's easy to see why Greece is such a top tourist destination. Plus, it’s a country that caters to all tastes and all budgets. Whether you’re looking to tuck into Cretan dakos and assyrtiko wine in a taverna run by a feisty grandma, explore Athens’ overabundant art scene, or just install yourself by an infinity pool overlooking the Adriatic, you’re well covered. Accommodation options range from wallet-friendly, family-run digs to some of the most exclusive (and expensive) hideaways in the world, offering all manner of appealing extras; from yachts and private beaches to billiard rooms and free bikes. Here is our pick of the best hotels in Greece. RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇷 The best places to visit in Greece🏨 The best hotels in Mykonos This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

With Hollywood still regaining its footing after a 2020s it’d probably describe as a personal low, the field has been open for streaming shows to monopolise the cultural conversation. And this year it’s been well-established thoroughbreads that have been dominating our social feeds (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Bear, Industry, Bridgerton, Slow Horses), as well as some unexpected bolters (Baby Reindeer, Rivals, Fallout). And with a second run of Squid Game about to end the year with a big pile of bodies, the pressure to cram in eight or ten episodes’ worth of must-see TV is not relenting anytime soon. Our advice? Shake off the pressure to ‘see everything’ – it’s impossible, short of ripping a hole in the fabric of time – and find the shows that really hit your sweet spot. To help with this, we’ve taken a backwards glance over the best and most all-round enjoyable new binges, curating our definitive list of 2024 favourites. And as any fan of ace Aussie comedy Colin From Accounts will tell you: it’s not always about the number of Emmys on the shelf, as the sheer joy on screen that makes something worth your precious time. Here’s where to start. RECOMMENDED: 🎥 The 50 best movies of 2024🔥 The best TV and streaming shows of 2023📺 The 100 greatest ever TV shows you need to binge

There are an awful lot of things to moan about in the UK, but pubs are not one of them. Pubs are for your friendly catch ups, your Sunday roasts, and your mid-summer sun traps, and we love it all. We really do.  Everyone’s got a favourite (probably the one closest to the end of your road), and so do we. But some pubs are really good for food. Others are great for craft beer. The very best pubs do it all. With that in mind, here we are: the best pubs in the whole of the UK. Happy drinking, folks.  RECOMMENDED:🍝 The best restaurants in the UK🍺 The best beer gardens in the UK📍 The best places to visit in the UK🏠 The cosiest Airbnbs in the UK

It’s officially the depths of winter, and that means spending as little time as possible outdoors and as much time as possible being warm, cosy and preferably in pyjamas. And those long, wintery nights call for one thing: some good snacks, and a really good podcast. Luckily, we’ve got them coming out of our ears.  Whether you’re a grisly true crime guy or after something more chatty, there’s a podcast out there for you. And here at Time Out, we’ve been bingeing all of them to bring you the very best (and stop you wasting precious time). For giggles, celeb sightings, world history, investigative journalism and a hell of a lot more, here are our favourite podcasts out right now, picked by our editors. Happy listening! ️‍🔥 November 2024: We’ve just added a bunch of great podcasts to this list, including the gripping ‘Wrongly Accused’ and the hilarious chatty-comedy ‘Comedy Bang! Bang!’. We update regularly with new releases, so check back for more podcast recommendations from the Time Out team.  RECOMMENDED:🎧 The best news podcasts🗞️ The best history podcasts🔪 The best true crime podcasts

I’ve lived in this city for four years and have lived in four different properties in that time. A London baby, I know – but still long enough to have learned a thing or two about the capital’s treacherous rental market. My first London home was a strange-smelling shoebox above an agave bar on Kingsland Road. The second? A recently renovated Victorian townhouse with a garden which a former flatmate snagged for bargain rates during the pandemic (we begrudgingly moved out when the landlord raised rent by a sweet 60 percent). Fast forward through a month at an ex’s and now I’m living in a shared house in a decent area, paying below average rent with an (actually!) nice landlord. Hell, it’s not perfect, but I could be doing a lot worse.   The art of finding a good room to rent in the capital is an art you’ll slowly learn to master – often because you won’t have much other choice. Those horror stories about evil landlords, bidding wars, impossible flatmate interviews and viewing queues down the street? Not to scare you, but there’s some truth in them.  RECOMMENDED: 23 things you should know before moving to LondonLondoners on their subletting horror storiesInside the murky world of property guardianships There is, of course, the bog-standard advice you shouldn’t overlook when searching for a room: don’t rent somewhere with mould (it probably won’t go away), always do the viewing in person, and don’t take that flat on the other side of the river to your pals (you won’t make the jo

Growing up on a council estate in Manchester in the early ’00s, Yasmin Finney’s childhood dream was to be a lollipop lady. While her classmates fantasised about being Buzz Lightyear or Hannah Montana, her inspiration was Catherine, the woman in the high-vis who ushered her safely home from school. ‘She was my favourite person. She would command the road with that lollipop,’ she tells me on Zoom, her Pomeranian pup Coconut draped on her lap like a blanket. ‘I wanted to be her.’ Things didn’t quite go to plan. Today, Finney is a global star known for playing Elle Argent in Heartstopper, Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s hugely successful YA books series about young queer love, as well as Rose Noble in Doctor Who alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Catherine Tate. She’s also a YSL and Tiffany ambassador, has been on several prestigious magazine covers, and has almost two million followers on TikTok. As a working class, Black trans woman she’s also a symbol of hope for people from a trifecta of marginalised communities. And she’s only just turned 21. With season three of Heartstopper landing shortly, things are only going to take her further away from marshalling the school gates. This school year, Charlie and co are navigating UCAS forms, vodka hangovers, body hang ups and having sex for the first time. In other words: things start to get real at Truham Grammar. For Elle, this means exploring her relationship with new boyfriend Tao (William Gao) and confronting what sex means and loo

I moved to this city in the deep, dark depths of the pandemic. My first flat was, obviously, awful. The landlord was dodgy (shock). It was full of mould. The shower was next to the kitchen and had no door. Still, though, I look back on those days fondly. One rare sunny afternoon we climbed out of my flatmate’s window to sit on the roof, drinking homemade Bloody Marys and blasting the Bad Boy Chiller Crew from a box speaker into the sticky, polluted air of Kingsland Road. We got quite a few glares from passers-by, but also a fair amount of smiles.  Whether you’re moving here for study, work, family, or another reason, your first months in London will be challenging, but you’ll probably look back on them with such fogged-up rose-tinted glasses it will hardly matter anyway. Use this time to meet as many new people as you can and to make mistakes. Be broke, go to M&M world (don’t actually), get lost on the tube. That said, there are some things I wish I’d known before coming here. Hindsight is a blessing, as they say. But we’re not gatekeepers, so we asked Time Out staff to share their top tricks and tips for anyone moving to the capital. Some of these folks have been born and bred here. Others are adopted Londoners, like you might well be one day. Listen up, take note, and good luck. 

Don’t listen to what Radiohead said: pop will never, ever die. And here at Time Out, we love the golden oldies as much as we love the newbies. The 21st century is a long one, after all.  Here on our list you’ll find fabulous pop songs from every era, from Outkast and Missy Elliot to Charli XCX’s Brat Summer and the world’s newest pop queen Chappell Roan. The only criteria? It has to be a feel good bop, and it has to make you want to get up and dance. All of these tunes do just that, and then some. Read on for the best pop songs ever made.  RECOMMENDED:🎤 The best karaoke songs🎉 The best party songs❤️ The best love songs☀️ The best summer songs

The Rome Edition is how I imagine the Emerald City to look if it was designed by Gianni Versace. The boutique hotel is the brand’s 15th outpost, and instead of playing it safe, it’s gone full pazazz. The lobby is pure Italian excess, showcasing the building’s original 1930s Cipollino marble staircase; the floor-to-ceiling jade curtains drawing eyeballs to the high ceilings; an orange-topped pool table acting as much as a statement piece as a sporting arena.  Designed by Ian Schrager and owned by Marriott, the 93-room hotel is an endless contradiction; it’s both elegant and over-the-top, close to the tourist hotspots of Piazza Barberini, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain yet a welcome respite from the hubbub of street vendors, waving umbrellas and tour guides telling Millennials that Hilary Duff did not sing at the Colosseum.   It works because it’s been created with Italians in mind. The signature restaurant Anima is headed by Antonio Gentile who serves seasonal dishes inspired by Rome and Naples. Cacio & Pepe with pink raw prawns, and pasta with three yellow tomatoes are some of the most popular menu items – though the smoked artichoke is a real showstopper. Italian sparkling, white and dessert wines are also showcased among more well-known offerings from New Zealand and France. The local nods pay off – stylish Italian men discuss regional football teams over a mid-week tipple alongside the Americans ‘doing Europe.’  There are also plenty of options for a nightcap. Th

Wherever you go in The Churchill - in the bar, by the fireplace, even next to your bedside table - you get a strange sense that there’s someone watching you. Because there is. Winston Churchill’s likeness is a signature across the hotel. Paintings of him and copies of his artwork are dotted across the lobby, restaurant, bar and bedrooms, with themed mugs and cocktail books for sale in the on-site shop. There’s even a life-size statue of the ol’ chap at The Churchill Bar so you’ll never drink an Old Fashioned alone. Here comes the spoiler: the hotel doesn’t have any historical connection to WC. Its architect was a Churchill fanboy, making it more of a Disneyland for WW2 geeks and American tourists (including Barack Obama who stayed at the hotel during his pre-election campaign in 2008). Though, Churchill's family have donated a few original photographs and love letters he sent to his wife, Clementine. But what The Churchill lacks in political legacy it makes up for in service and comfort. Staff are accommodating without being overbearing. While the rooms are simple and elegant, decorated with grey walls, white bedding, a sturdy wooden writing desk and a royal purple armchair. The jerk to the 21st century comes in the bathroom which has been fitted with a Millenium Falcon-esque smart-toilet - which makes a loo stop a lot more exciting than it should be. The food also stands on its own, with executive chef Carlo Martino serving up a British ingredient-driven menu at The Montagu

It might be best-known for bringing Singaporean cuisine and hospitality to the City, but being able to watch the rat race from Pan Pacific London's infinity pool is the highlight of a stay here. There's something about feeling smug in a swimsuit while stock market traders trudge down Bishopsgate below: a 'Freaky Friday'-style power shift that lasts as long as you can afford to play pretend.  The pool area (which is subjected to seasonal makeovers,) has been transformed by luxury children's clothing brand Bonpoint, with pink deckchairs, straw parasols and cherry insignias. Dyson hair dryers and Diptyque toiletries are on hand to help with the post-workout glow-up. Food and drink options are equally extra, with the hotel being home to two restaurants and three bars. Straits Kitchen, a Singaporean-inspired kitchen, offers authentic lobster laksa for £45 a pop; the Shiitake Sayuran Rosette - a mix of mushrooms, pak choi, beancurd, enoki and soy - being one of the best veggie meals I’ve eaten during my 17-year run as a vegetarian.  The wine list and cocktail menus also have an Asian influence, with red, white and sparkling Chinese wines competing for attention alongside Sussex, Argentina and California vines. Ground-floor bar Ginger Lily is the spot for a nightcap, serving up a Highball, made with green tea, lemon juice, whisky and honey. Just be warned, the hotel’s carb-to-alcohol ratio might leave you a little fragile come morning.  Neighbourhood Less than a five-minute walk fro

Moorgate is a bit of a cultural wasteland on weekends, and, depending on how you feel about finance bros and signet rings, maybe on weekdays too. But the City has started to shake off its stuffy image. Pop-up country-music bar Buck N’ Bull often takes over The Anthologist with line dancing and a mechanical bull, and axe throwing venues like Whistle Punks and Boom Battle Bar are becoming as synonymous with the area as trust funds and plague pits. 5* boutique hotel, South Place Hotel, is part of this facelift. Its name makes it sound like an arty Miami Beach transplant, and in some ways it is. The hotel hosts art residencies throughout the year, showcasing work from the likes of Real Hackney Dave. On the day of our visit, the lobby housed one IRL ‘love bomb’ - an eight-foot-tall bomb replica with ‘love’ painted in neon pink paint down its side.  The bedrooms also cater to a creative crowd, with bespoke pieces in each of the 80 rooms. Ours was home to record-shaped artwork of 80s new-wave band Altered Images, as well as a rather regal portrait of a faun. There’s also a lot for tech nerds to get excited about, from the Bang and Olufsen TV to the Dyson hairdryer that’s lit up in a cupboard like a rare gem in a heist movie. The 5* touches come out in details like the vegan James Heely toiletries, an entire drawer dedicated to wine glasses and hotel room snacks from indie and eco-friendly brands like Two Farmers, Serious Pig, and Joe and Seph's. Then there's Michelin-starred seafood

Run by mammoth hotel chain Radisson, who also run the Park Inn and art 'otel brands, Park Plaza Westminster is a slick operation that also caters to the masses. With 1,023 rooms and suites, it's closer to a cruise ship than to its neighbour and rival, Premier Inn.  Rooms are stripped back, with white walls and a dark wooden table making up the skeleton of the space. The minimalism is deliberate. This hotel knows that focusing too much on furnishings - soft or otherwise - would be like turning your back on the Mona Lisa.   Why? The majority of rooms have a screensaver view of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and The London Eye. So close are you to the Elizabeth Tower, you might as well be reading the ten o' clock news.  Due to its 32 conference rooms and proximity to Waterloo and Westminster stations (both five minute walks away) Park Plaza is known to cater to time-poor business travellers like the half-dozen pilots we saw during our stay. Speed and efficiency are a key consideration. So, you can check out by QR code, and breakfast is self-service, but overseen with military precision.  If you're looking for a more relaxed pace though, that can be arranged too. Just ask the man we saw walking nonchalantly through the hotel lobby in his spa robe at 11pm. The hotel has a gym, pool, steam room, sauna and spa, which are surprisingly quiet for a hotel of its size. Or you can make the most of the bath and Elemis toiletries in your room.   Brasserie Joel is also a dining experience

It’s already dark when we arrive on Santorini, Greece’s fifth-smallest and arguably most romantic island, but even spying the half-drawn outline of the caldera dotted with pockets of orange and gold from sports bars and living room TV screens was enough to see why almost 2 million tourists – significantly made up of Americans, couples and American couples – flock here each year. By daylight, with the layers of a sapphire sea, red cliffs and iconic blue domes coming into view, it’s clearer still why so many people believe the island is the Lost City of Atlantis. Carved high into the volcanic rock, our hotel, Kivotos Santorini, tricks you into thinking the 10 boutique suites, fitted with Sonos speakers and multicoloured mood lighting, are as natural as the island’s black sand beaches, which formed during a large volcanic eruption in the sixteenth century BC. But here, blending in is as much an objective as standing out. Unlike traditional white stone homes and hotels in the area, the resort is painted jet black; a Batcave plonked on top of a wedding cake, if you will. The communal areas keep up the superhero aesthetic; the hotel’s main pool is stained red by underwater lights; the bar stocked with an assortment of nuclear-grade spirits. Our junior suite is just as much a stylish lair. The minimalist grey and white aesthetic is timeless, with the walk-in rain shower and Bvlgari toiletries adding touches of modern luxury. The real McCoy though is the private outdoor heated plunge

‘Unfortunate’ is a musical parody upon which your childhood innocence will be shipwrecked. Ursula the sea witch was the villain in Disney's 1989 classic ‘The Little Mermaid’ (and its recent remake). But this musical retelling of her story is crude, camp and extremely horny.  Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022, the not-safe-for-Mickey musical – written by Robyn Grant and Daniel Foxx and composed by Tim Gilvin – tells the ‘untold’ story of Ursula. Landing at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, ‘Orange is the New Black’ star Shawna Hamic has been recruited as the drag-inspired witch, while River Medway from ‘Drag Race’ picks up the baton as a basic bitch-ified Ariel, with an ensemble cast helping to hammer home that this is as much a celebration of queerness as a rehashing of the classic fish tale. Hamic delivers a series of cutting and comic one-liners early on to set the tone. She mentions her ‘lesbian haircut’ and how her little corner of the underworld is the ‘intersection between the Barbie movie and the Hitler Youth’. It’s a bit like drag brunch bingo, without the mimosas, which makes a lot of sense given the original Ursula was inspired by Divine, the iconic ’70s drag queen. There’s also a queer-ification of the plot, with Ursula and a latexed-out Triton (Thomas Lowe) performing a will-they-won't-they duet, while a fun same-sex shakeup throws a dinglehopper in the works. The show’s self-awareness makes it special, with numbers such as ‘We Didn’t Make it to Di

In the same way Jack the Ripper has become more of a dark fable than a true crime story about a man brutally murdering five East End women, so the case of Lizzie Borden has passed into Massachusetts folklore. The legend goes that Lizzie –  a hysterical 32-year-old spinster – killed her father and ‘evil’ stepmother with an axe in the summer of 1892 in order to inherit the family’s sizable fortune built by her dad’s casket manufacturing business - yes, caskets. Foreboding at its finest. The story captured the local imagination for its brutality and the fact the only suspect was Lizzie, who was tried and later acquitted – because how could a lady be capable of such a heinous crime? Over 120 years later, the murders are as much legend as fact. There have been Hollywood retellings, including 2018’s ‘Lizzie’ starring Kristen Stewart, and the suspected murderess acting as the meat and potatoes for many true crime and revisionist podcasts, including ‘Crime Junkie’ and ‘You’re Wrong About’. You can even book a stay at the Borden House, said to be one of the most haunted places in America, if you fancy being scared shitless for the night.  Now a musical take comes in the shape of ‘Lizzie’, a 100-minute punk-rock musical playing at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until early December. The cast is made up of four women who play Lizzie (Lauren Drew), Emma, Lizzie’s sister (Shekinah McFarlane), the Bordens’ neighbour, Alice (Maiya Quansah-Breed) and the family maid, Bridget (Mairi Barclay). W

If you hadn’t noticed, country music mania is taking over London. C2C Festival returned for its 10th year in March, Maren Morris has just sold out the O2 Kentish Town and Luke Combs has added an extra London date as part of his world tour this October due to overwhelming demand. But it’s not just the music of Americana that’s made its way across the pond. A Nashville-inspired bottomless brunch is on its way to the capital, and it’s brought a giant mechanical bull along for the ride. Taking place at The Anthologist by Drake and Morgan, cowboys and girls can expect 90 minutes of bottomless whiskey lemonade (or Italian spritz or sparkling wine if you’re not playing by the rules – you outlaw) and a choice of southern plates like mac ‘n’ cheese and hot chicken. There’ll also be live country music and a DJ set from Chris Armstrong who’ll be playing the latest hits from Music City. Giddy up.

The bad news is Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at the Tate are sold out until the end of March. But if you can’t step into the artist’s imaginary world, you can at least eat your way through it, because Rosewood London is offering a red and pink hued, Kusama-inspired afternoon tea in its Mirror Room. Created exclusively for Valentine's Day by Executive Pastry Chef Mark Perkins, the menu fuses Japanese flavours with French culinary flair. Savoury offerings include chicken teriyaki sandwiches and keta caviar, while the cakes are contemporary and personal. ‘Dots obsession soul of pumpkin’, a dark chocolate sable paired with passionfruit ganache, is inspired by Kusama’s childhood when she recalled a pumpkin speaking to her during harvest on her family’s farm, with ’Flowers that bloom at midnight’, an ode to her 2010 sculptures by the same name. 

When you think of Pembrokeshire, chances are it’s the historic town of Tenby that comes to mind. If you’re Welsh, you probably spent lazy Sunday afternoons on North Beach dripping ice cream on your grandparents’ shoes or learning about how Henry Tudor launched his bid for the British throne from that same raspberry-ripple-stained spot. If you’re a visitor, you’ve probably come to see Wales’ – ahem, superior – answer to Cornwall. If it’s true Welsh tranquillity you’re after, though – the sort Gwyneth and Co would medi-gasm over – head north-west to Lawrenny. Located on the peninsula of the River Cleddau within Pembrokeshire National Park, the village is home to greystone farmhouses, a local pub, a bakery, a hostel, a village shop and around 500 people. It’s a corner of the world that benefits from the unique alchemy of being frozen in time, yet conveniently connected to the A477. That’s probably why luxury glamping site The Little Retreat is thriving. Starting out as the brainchild of health and wellbeing entrepreneur Amber Lort-Phillips, the project was brought to life during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic with a few helping hands from the local community. Fast-forward a year and you’ll now find four geo-domes situated on the slope of the upper walled garden on the town’s old castle site. Each dome is fully insulated, fitted with a super-king bed, Smart TV, coffee machine and telescope, and comes with a private kitchen and bathroom. Outside, there’s also a rattan fur

Part of The Doyle Collection, this family-owned five-star hotel is one of an eight-strong portfolio across London, Bristol, Cork, Dublin and Washington, which is leading the way in sustainable tourism as the only luxury hotel collection in the UK to run on renewables. In practice, this means The Marylebone aims to source food and drink produce from within a 50-mile radius for its on-site restaurants 108 Brasserie and Pantry, and it plans to move away from single-use plastic in its bedrooms by 2022 without compromising on comfort or quality. Speaking of its bedrooms, there are 257 of them, including 44 suites, and they’re pretty dreamy. Options range from Classic rooms, fitted with two single beds, a queen or a king, at £244 a night, to the pièce de résistance, The Marylebone Suite, which will set you back £2,625. Covering 120-square metres, it comes with an open-plan lounge with concealed 60-inch mirrored TV, dining room, mini kitchen with Nespresso machine and bar. There’s also a king-size bed, marble bathroom stocked with products by eco-conscious luxury skincare brand Malin+Goetz, a whirlpool bath, separate rain shower and TV. But the real showstopper is the Scandi-inspired all-weather terrace, kitted out with an in-built fireplace and TV. With a retractable roof, it serves up uninterrupted views of the local London skyline, from the rooftops of independent red-bricked boutiques to Selfridges’ alfresco restaurant. On site, guests can access the Third Space gym, exercise c

Three years after fleeing London and killing off a few life peers alongside his waistcoat clad alter ego, Professor Jonathan Moore, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) is back on home turf for the final season of ‘You.’ The bloodthirsty bookseller we’ve come to know, loathe – and occasionally questionably root for - has put his grave-digging days behind him. He’s settled into the role of dutiful husband to CEO wife Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), appearing on red carpets and magazine covers as the Prince Charming to her C-suite, and playing happy families with his previously estranged son Henry in a brownstone on the Upper East Side.   But like all rampaging psychopaths, Joe starts to miss ‘ridd[ing] the world of assholes,’ and his murder sobriety wavers when his newly created empire comes under threat from a cowboy magnate. Long story short, the reformed dad quickly refamiliarises himself with a pickaxe. For the final chapter, Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) joins the cast playing Kate’s identical twin sisters Maddie and Reagan, alongside Griffin Matthews (The Flight Attendant) as baby bro Teddy, with Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale) playing Joe’s latest love interest, Bronte.  Here are a few familiar and new locations where the final showdown was filmed: Photograph: Clifton Prescod/Netflix © 2024 Bleecker St. subway station In March 2024, Penn Badgley was seen filming the final season of You near Bleecker Street subway station. Following a global murder spree which took him to LA and Lo

Bridgerton season 3 proved to be an eventful one in the ‘ton. Quick recap: after years of wallflowering, Penelope Bridgerton (Nicola Coughlan) took centre stage as the object of Colin Bridgerton’s (Luke Newton) affections. The pair navigated their fledgling love while Penelope tried – and failed – to hide her identity as Lady Whistledown. She was eventually forced into the light by Queen Charlotte’s quest for the truth, a pink pretender better known as Cressida Cowper and good old fashioned guilt. Colin forgave her for the deception, she and Eloise become BFFs again and the gossip column continues circulation, this time with a new signature.  But what to expect from Bridgerton season 4? With filming currently two-thirds complete, Netflix and the Shondaland team clued us in on what’s next on the ’ton.  Photograph: NetflixBridgerton season 4 Bridgerton season 4 sneak peek As a Valentine’s Day treat, Netflix threw open the doors of its Regency palace for a special sneak-peek event. On the agenda? Plenty of intel on season 4’s plot machinations, a look at the show’s period finery, and a cast and showrunner Q&A – all illuminated by about a million candles. Take a peek behind the scenes below.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jessica Phillips 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@jessicaphillipsmedia) What is Bridgerton Season 4 about? Season 4 will focus on Benedict Bridgerton’s love story with Sophie, a lower-class servant. The plot

A terceira temporada de Bridgerton revelou-se bastante agitada. Resumo rápido: após anos a viver à margem, Penelope Bridgerton (Nicola Coughlan) assumiu o papel principal como o objecto das afeições de Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). O casal viveu o início do seu amor enquanto Penelope tentava – e falhava – esconder a sua identidade como Lady Whistledown. Acabou por ser desmascarada na procura da rainha Charlotte pela verdade, graças a uma impostora vestida de cor-de-rosa, mais conhecida como Cressida Cowper, e à boa e velha culpa. Colin perdoou-a pela mentira, ela e Eloise voltaram a ser melhores amigas, e a coluna de mexericos continua a circular – agora com uma nova assinatura. Mas o que esperar da quarta temporada de Bridgerton? Com a rodagem já concluída em dois terços, a Netflix e a equipa da Shondaland deram algumas pistas sobre o que vem a seguir na alta sociedade britânica do século XIX. ©Netflix Antevisão da quarta temporada de Bridgerton Como presente do Dia dos Namorados, a Netflix abriu as portas do seu palácio da era da Regência para um evento especial de antevisão. Na agenda? Muitas informações sobre a trama da quarta temporada, um olhar sobre os trajes de época da série e uma sessão de perguntas e respostas com o elenco e a showrunner – tudo iluminado por cerca de um milhão de velas. Eis um vislumbre dos bastidores. Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Jessica Phillips 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@jessicaphillipsmedia) Do que se

The first four episodes of Bridgerton season three land on Netflix tomorrow and Shonda Rhimes’ period romp is showing no sign of slowing down on the heaving bosoms and sexy Regency shenanigans. This time it's Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin’s (Luke Newton) moment to promenade in the spotlight, as the chemistry between the pair builds to danger levels. If you’re hazy on where season 2 left things, and what to expect from Lady Whistledown’s quill this time out, allow us to deliver this swift briefing epistle to you via silver salver. Photograph: Liam Daniel/NetflixWill Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington be turning up the heat in season 3? 1. The pheromone levels will be soaring The first episode introduces the series’ key singleton, Colin Bridgerton, and provides a handy excuse for him to get his tailored top off. Following in the footsteps of the now-departed Duke of Hasting (Regé-Jean Page) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), he’s stepping in as Bridgerton’s resident smoke show. Watch as he objectifies himself by changing into formal garb in a carriage en route to a ‘ton event. That flash of pecs offer another reminder that Regency England was a secret hot bed of gyms. And things remain steamy between Anthony and Kate Bridgerton (Simone Ashley), fresh from their honeymoon in season 2. Instead of longing stares and wistful sighs, they’ll be trying to make an heir this time out. They’ve got eight episodes, with a handy four week gap in the middle, to pull

If you’re suffering from a pink-coloured gap in your life after last year’s Barbie-mania, you don’t have long to wait for a top-up. Mean Girls, a musical remake of the cult 2004 teen comedy with Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, is hitting cinemas across the globe and trying to make ‘fetch’ happen all over again. Newbies Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Avantika Vandanapu and Bebe Wood are taking the reins as Cady, Regina, Karen and Gretchen, with Emily in Paris star Ashley Parks and ex-Mad Man Jon Hamm joining the cast. Tina Fey and Tim Meadows are back as maths teacher Ms Norbury and Principal Duvall respectively.  Here are five major takeaways from the latest retelling of the Plastics and their prey. Photograph: Paramount Pictures 1. Yes, it’s definitely a musical – and the songs get a B+ This Mean Girls follows the original storyline – a transfer student decides climbing the social ladder is more important than maintaining her GPA – but it’s adapted from the Broadway musical, so expect the characters to break into song in closets and cafeterias this time. Following? It takes a while to get used to Cady singing about calculus and some numbers are too dull to function (‘It Roars’, ‘What’s Wrong with Me’) but when it works, it works. Our pick? ‘Apex Predator’, a catchy cautionary tale about Regina’s status as queen of the high-school jungle.  Photograph: Paramount PicturesBusy Philipps as Mrs George 2. It’s still trying to make ‘fetch’ happen Happily for Plastics purists, all

The fourth and final season of ‘Sex Education’ hits Netflix later this month, just in time for freshers’ week/cuffing season/the whole bed-rotting trend. The new trailer has dropped and things are looking as juicy as ever for the students of Moordale High. When we left the gang in season 3, Moordale had gained a reputation as the ‘Sex School’ following an STI outbreak and a student production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that would make the Moulin Rouge! look like your local 50+ Zumba class. Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and semi-reformed bad boy Adam (Connor Swindells) have sex, but break up when Eric cheats on him with Oba (Jerry Iwu), who he meets on a family trip to Nigeria.  Elsewhere, Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) comes to terms with her recent sexual assault, Jean (Gillian Anderson) gives birth to baby Joy, and Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Ruby (Mimi Keene) make a go of things. It all gets messy, though, when Ruby says ‘I love you’ and Otis, well, doesn’t. The resident school sexpert is still pining for Maeve, who is dating – but later dumps – voicemail-deleting, undercover villain Isaac (George Robinson). She’s also off to the US as part of a month-long ‘gifted and talented’ program. Here’s four things we spotted in the new season 4 teaser. Photograph: Thomas Wood/NetflixEmma Mackey as Maeve Wiley Otis is preparing to send Maeve an epic sext After three seasons of will-they/won’t-they, Maeve (Emma Mackey) and Otis are still will-they/ won’t-they’ing, even after kissing on season 3’s eventful

The V&A’s newest exhibition will pay homage to the life and works of Coco Chanel, charting the style evolution of the designer behind the House of Chanel. The exhibition is the first of its kind to be hosted by a major museum in the UK and will feature 180 looks, with all the iconic jewellery, accessories, cosmetics and perfumes – you know, the one that smells like Mum’s big night out – to boot.  Some of the most notable designs on display include outfits made for Hollywood stars Lauren Bacall (To Have or Not to Have, The Big Sleep) and Marlene Dietrich (Witness for the Prosecution, The Blue Angel). The exhibition will have eight different themed sections exploring all the hallmarks of the timeless Chanel look, from stitching to hitting the runway.  Here are some of the little-known facts behind one of the twentieth-century’s most influential/controversial designers. Nuns taught and inspired her After her mother’s death from tuberculosis in 1895 when she was just 11, Chanel’s father abandoned her and her four siblings at an orphanage where they were raised by the nuns of Aubazine Abbey. It was in this unassuming convent where Chanel learned how to sew and where she was inspired to create the signature Little Black Dress. Apparently it was the habits of the nuns who helped hone her craft. She lived in a hotel for more than 30 years No, we’re not talking about the local Travelodge, Chanel spent much of her life at The Ritz Paris, booking herself into a suite in 1937 and not lea

Four years after becoming a New York Times Bestseller, American author Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue is getting the movie treatment. Landing on Prime Video on August 11, the BookTok favourite follows the secret romance between the son of the US President, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), and Henry, Britain’s royal spare (Nicholas Galitzine). Having let their ongoing feud cause an international incident – more on that later – the high-profile and sickeningly good-looking pair are forced on a diplomatic mission to play nice. And given the flick’s R-rating, play nice they do.The result is funny and smart, a mix of Heartstopper earnestness and the royal silliness of 2004 Julia Stiles romcom The Prince and Me. It even shoehorns in that iconic British insult, ‘bellend’. The early reviews are taking over the internet too, with its ‘A+ casting ‘ and the two leads’ ‘electric chemistry’ both drawing praise, along with its fun but meaningful depiction of same-sex love. Here are six reasons why Red, White & Royal Blue is shaping up to be the surprise romcom hit of the summer. Photograph: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video 1. It gets sexuality right Unlike other LGBTQ+ romcoms of late that have somewhat missed the mark – we’re looking at you Happiest Season and Bros – Red, White & Royal Blue is nuanced and informative, without being preachy. It’s made crystal clear that Alex is bisexual, not gay, and we get a fly-on-the-wall view of the real talk that goes on around who do

As the Barbie movie’s July 21 release date fast approaches, London has fallen under the Mattel doll’s spell. A pink TARDIS has popped up on the North Bank. The London Eye has been lit up in Barbie’s favourite colour. Mega-fans are planning on dressing up in full-on Barbie garb to watch the film, with many of us considering watching two blockbuster films – Barbie and Oppenheimer – in one sitting in the name of #Barbenheimer. Seriously, are we okay? All this hype has almost made us forget what this is all about – the dolls themselves. It might not feel like it, but these guys have been going for way longer than the movie’s marketing campaign. Since 1959, more than a billion Barbies – and considerably fewer Kens – have been sold worldwide. And there have been plenty of famous Londoners among them. From pioneering scientists to onstage superstars, these are the locals who’ve been immortalised in plastic. David Bowie Bowie is so iconic that he got not one but two Barbie dolls made in his honour. Mattel first channelled the rockstar’s unmatched style in 2019, recreating the instantly recognisable Ziggy Stardust look from his ‘Space Oddity’ era. In 2022, round two saw the release of another doll, this time to mark the 50th anniversary of the late singer’s fourth album, ‘Hunky Dory’. The ‘Life On Mars?’ music video was recreated, complete with ’70s glam-rock look powder-blue suit and matching eyeshadow. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barbie® (

Luke Thompson is having his cake and eating it. Figuratively: that’s how he describes simultaneously filming season three of ‘Bridgerton’, Netflix’s hugely successful TV series, and rehearsing for Ivo van Hove’s West End stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s bestselling novel ‘A Little Life.’ And literally: he’s tucking into a vanilla-and-passionfruit cake while chatting about his busy schedule, using words like ‘lucky’ and ‘blessed’ as he munches away in Terry’s, a 1940s time-capsule caff in Southwark.  He’s run the two miles from rehearsals in London Bridge. That’s how excited he is to talk about stepping into the shoes of Willem, one of the book’s four lead characters, alongside an all-star cast headed up by James Norton of ‘Happy Valley’ as Jude, Omari Douglas from ‘It’s a Sin’ as JB and Zach Wyatt from ‘The Witcher’ as Malcolm. ‘I knew there was a possibility “Bridgerton” wouldn’t be able to fit around this,’ he explains. ‘I worried I’d audition, be offered the part and have to turn it down. So to be able to do both is the joy of joys.’ ‘Joy’ isn’t usually the first word that springs to mind when talking about ‘A Little Life’, the Booker Prize shortlisted novel that captured imaginations and speared souls when it first hit bookshelves in 2015. The plot follows four college friends as they move painfully through life, covering topics from sexual assault, drug addiction, self-harm and suicide. It’s not an easy read, yet it has the unputdownable power of a story in need of

We asked you about the weirdest things that have happened to you while sharing a place in London. Here’s what you said… 'I lived with a guy who stored steak under his bed' 'I was introduced to my flatmate's boyfriend. He was my ex' 'My landlord died so I got to live there rent-free for a bit while his family figured out what to do.' 'My housemates had a full on fist fight about who should take the bin out' 'Someone carved threatening messages into my chopping board and peed in my pots and pans' 'I said no to a date with a guy in my house, so he keyed my car' ‘My flatmate crashed into the garage door after drunk-driving home from Spearmint Rhino.’ ‘A girl who collected her boyfriend’s semen in a plastic cup, which she kept under her bed.’ ‘Three vegan Aussie lads told me not to go in the “LSD fridge”.’ ‘My gay flatmate giving a blow job to his “straight” friend at the kitchen table one night.’ ‘A crazy French girl put drawing pins inside the oven gloves as a farewell gift.’ ‘My live-in landlady presented me with the ashes of her dead cat in a miniature coffin.’ ‘My male housemate couldn’t explain why my lost bra turned up in the back of one of his drawers – complete with makeshift plastic-bag padding.’ ‘My housemate brought home a few pheasants he claimed to have shot. They still had shop tags on their feet.’ ‘The man who greeted each morning in a waistcoat and Y-fronts, with a large G&T and the words: “It’s always six o’clock somewhere in the Empire!” No, he wasn’t called Bor

Anyone born in the Nineties will know the significance of October 3. It's been christened Mean Girls Day since 2004, the year Tina Fey's teen comedy became an instant cult classic. If you're over the age of 35, let us explain. The date relates to when Lindsay Lohan's misfit protagonist, Cady Heron, speaks to her conventionally dishy love interest, Aaron Samuels. He asks what day it is. She replies with 'It's October 3rd'. And thus, with three words, a million memes and an unofficial holiday was born. Following in the footsteps of Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You, Mean Girls has become a timeless cultural touchstone. Need proof? Try googling 'Mean Girls brunch near me'. And let's not forget Kris Jenner's 'cool mom' bit in Ariane Grande's Thank U, Next music video. 2018, what a time. Most October thirds, MG fans go all out, creating their own Burn Books, taking scissors to their T-shirts and bombarding Daniel Franzese with Cameo requests. And this year is no different. Except it kind of is. Hotels.com has gone OTT by offering one-night stays in pink hotel rooms on Wednesdays...for the price of an UberLUX. The five participating hotels can be found in Washington DC, Sweden and Paris. And there are two here in London. The Mayfair and Raddisson Blu Edwardian are offering up their pink-themed suites for a steal-price of £60.  Each room is bookable with a 'Fetch' bespoke code - yes, literally - but you'll have to move faster than Regina George in front of a moving bus to get