world reviewer
i-escape
i-escape.com is the brainchild of Laila Ram and Nicky Tinto, passionate hotel-groupies who are dedicated to helping discerning independent travellers find and book exciting and unusual places to stay in some of the world's most beautiful and fascinating locations. Their website features a growing collection of our favourite small hotels, guesthouses, retreats, eco-lodges, private rental properties and unforgettable travel experiences, all of them personally visited by them or one of their team and honestly reviewed in detail, with photos to match.
They choose places to stay which are unique in some way, whether in by design, natural setting, the owners or the activities on offer. From jungle treehouses to historic palaces, Laila and Nicky have put together a genuinely charming and eclectic range. They won't insist on a certain number of stars (you won't find any bland chain hotels or large resorts on i-escape), rather, all their places offer a memorable experience. Nor do they choose according to cost (which ranges from £10 to £500 a night), but they do try to ensure that they are sensitive to local nature and culture, so that the environment does not have to pay.
I-escape is not a travel agent or tour operator, but an independent, highly researched interactive travel guide and free on-line booking service. They can connect you directly with the accommodation owners and holiday providers as well as offering free unbiased advice - helping you escape the traditional package holiday!
i-escape's activity
- 08 May 2009
i-escape reviewed Otter Creek Tents in Maharashtra, India
Romantic tents on a beach, with muslin draped four poster beds and views over the creek If you are looking to get away from the crowds in Goa, Otter Creek Tents in North Goa is the ultimate romantic bolthole – you have to walk the last 500m between a c…"
- 27 Jun 2008
i-escape reviewed Oltre il Giardino in Venice, Italy
An intimate, art-filled, family-run hotel in off-beat San Polo, with spacious bedrooms and a secret garden If you’ve ever wondered what it's like to live in Venice – in a family home, in comfort and in style – then here is your answer. Oltre Il Giardin…"
- 22 May 2008
i-escape reviewed Ca' Maria Adele in Venice, Italy
Grand design in an intimate hotel - an exciting and sexy new addition to one of the world's most romantic cities Ca Maria Adele is a hotel for luxury-lovers; lovers of plush, decadent rooms and oversized jacuzzi baths; lovers of gold leaf, ornate kings…"
- 03 Apr 2008
i-escape reviewed Sumahan on the Water in Istanbul, Turkey
Converted Ottoman distillery on the Bosphorus with industrial-chic loft suites, excellent fish restaurant and a magical waterfront location This was once an alcohol factory which, from the 1870s, had produced suma, the fig-syrup spirit used to make …"
i-escape reviewed Ajia Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey
A historic waterside mansion transformed into a contemporary boutique hotel offering fab rooms, a terrace restaurant and cool bar On the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, this uber cool hotel is a slick conversion of a 19th century yali – the palatia…"
i-escape reviewed Misafir Suites in Istanbul, Turkey
A restored Ottoman apartment block in the throbbing heart of down-town Beyoglu, with 7 giant suites and a hip café-bar The so-called ‘Paris of the Orient’, Beyoglu was the city’s cosmopolitan epicentre; a wealthy community of neo-classical embassie…"
i-escape reviewed Gaia Retreat & Spa in New South Wales, Australia
A stylish and holistic health retreat with fantastic countryside views and fabulous food Gaia Retreat is a 15-minute drive inland from the popular seaside resort of Byron Bay. Stylish and luxurious without being pretentious, it’s co-owned by Olivia Newt…"
i-escape reviewed Paradise Bay Eco Escape in Queensland, Australia
A fabulous all-inclusive eco-lodge on a private bay in the beautiful Whitsunday Islands Only reachable by helicopter from neighbouring Hamilton Island, this lodge enjoys an awesome setting in the privately owned Paradise Bay on the Whitsunday islands, p…"
i-escape reviewed Sofitel Metropole in Hanoi, Vietnam
Grand, gracious and graceful – Hanoi’s favourite hotel tickles the pleasure receptors and draws an eclectic crowd If you love big hotels, you’ll fall head over heels for this grand dame of French colonialism. It's one of Asia’s finest – as good as t…"
i-escape reviewed Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa in Vietnam
Part of a French-run 4-star chain in Vietnam, the Victoria is far and away the most comfortable hotel in the mountain town of Sapa High in Vietnam's northwest highlands at 1650m altitude, the former French hill station of Sapa lies in a spectacular …"
i-escape reviewed Patagonia Camp in Magallanes, Chile
Luxurious 'camping' in designer yurts by a stunning lake, with perfect views of the Cuernos del Paine Imagine all the wonderful things about camping – the views, close contact with nature, and that feeling of isolation – but with central heating in yo…"
i-escape reviewed Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay in Nha Trang, Vietnam
Eden on the shores of the South China Sea, where your very own villa has a private pool and personal butlers are on-hand to help You arrive by boat to find a 2km crescent beach with forested mountains rising behind; you step ashore to discover your very…"
i-escape reviewed Mandalai Hotel in Thailand
A new boutique hotel in northern Koh Phangan, offering 12 stylish rooms, a quiet beach, fab food and luxurious boat trips At last! A stylish little beach hotel - just 12 rooms; that's minuscule for Asia - in a sleepy bay ringed by wooded hills on on…"
i-escape reviewed The Apsara in Laos
Colourful interiors and super-stylish rooms make this easy-going hotel on the Nam Khan river the hottest ticket in town This is a cool little restaurant-with-rooms that stands on the banks of the Nam Khan river, one block down from main street. First an…"
i-escape reviewed La Residence d'Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Soft elegance abounds at this colonial-style hotel, which offers peace in the city, a great pool, super rooms and excellent service La Résidence hits all the right notes: lush tropical gardens, delightful airy rooms, loungers encircling a cool blue …"
i-escape reviewed Les Terrasses in Ibiza, Spain
French elegance meets boho chic in this laidback bolthole, with 10 beautifully styled rooms and a sociable, arty atmosphere As you drive from Ibiza Town to Santa Eularia, you pass a big Yves Klein blue stone on the side of the road. This is the inco…"
i-escape reviewed Can Curreu in Ibiza, Spain
A tranquil and decadent 10-room finca with beautiful gardens and an excellent restaurant, perfect for chilling out with your partner The northeast of Ibiza is so much more civilised than the rest of the island, and this hotel - our favourite in Ibiz…"
i-escape reviewed Ku' Damm 101 Hotel in Berlin, Germany
A former office block? You’d never guess. Playful, spacious, well-priced und sehr cool It’s always good to have expectations surpassed. From the outside, Ku’damm 101 (at one end of the Kurfürstendamm, West Berlin’s main shopping street) looks nonde…"
i-escape reviewed Atzaro in Ibiza, Spain
A seriously hip rural retreat where the A-list ladies lunch, this 21-room hotel is the perfect place to join the party First impressions matter – and at Atzaro our first impression was excellent. We arrived at night, driving along rough tracks to …"
i-escape reviewed The Ambassador Hotel in Delhi, India
A colonial classic in the heart of Delhi – relaxed, friendly, charismatic and recently refurbished Old fashioned charm and understated luxury combine in this spaciously cool retreat from the heat and bustle of India’s capital. Built in 1945 and rece…"
i-escape reviewed Fasano Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
50s style meets Noughties chic: this 92-room addition to the Fasano dynasty is set to shake up Rio's hotel scene Elegant, understated and fabulous: three words that sum up the brand-new Fasano hotel, which has just opened in Rio's stylish Ipanema distri…"
i-escape reviewed Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany, Italy
Magical castle with 6 romantic suites, 2 stunning pools and outstanding views across unspoilt Maremma valleys towards the Argentario coast This is the stuff of film sets and fairy tales: half a medieval castle (the other stone tower burnt to a cinde…"
i-escape reviewed Quercia Rossa in Tuscany, Italy
Rustic meets Rococo in this stylish but affordable agriturismo in Tuscany’s (relatively) unexplored Maremma region, between Manciano and the coast Don’t be put off by the house's exterior. Beneath a 1970s coat of concrete render (a previous owner ha…"
i-escape reviewed Mykonos Grace in Cyclades Islands, Greece
A seriously sexy new hotel for the Mykonos party set seeking a glamorous pad just minutes out of town This boutique beachside hotel is aptly named, for it simply oozes style. Reopening after a complete facelift in May 2007, the crisp design lines have b…"
i-escape reviewed Domaine de la Baronnie in La Rochelle, France
The grande dame in town, this mansion hotel oozes history, along with style and comfort in a park-like setting Enter through heavy iron gates and step into some French history. La Baronnie is a stone mansion with 18th century French baronial pedigre…"
i-escape reviewed Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia, Italy
Contemporary chic meets rustic idyll: a hip, glamorous masseria conversion among orchards and olive groves Against the intense blue sky and rich green land, these white buildings dazzle, silhouetting twisted tree trunks. You don’t expect to find this ki…"
i-escape reviewed Casas da Lapa in Portugal
Stylishly renovated country hotel amidst Portugal's highest mountains, offering warm hospitality, great food and stunning hiking You could be forgiven for wondering where the Serra de Estrela is – it's not a region explored by many tourists, not eve…"
i-escape reviewed The Prince in Melbourne, Australia
With its glam bars, iconic restaurant, sleek rooms and constant people parade, this is the hippest place to be - and be seen - in Melbourne The neighbourhood of St. Kilda started as a seaside refuge for down-at-heel bohemian types. Now it's the trendies…"
i-escape reviewed Hotel Lindrum in Melbourne, Australia
A stiletto hop to Federation Square, this new-generation boutique hotel keeps fashionistas, media types, sports lovers and gastronomes smiling Boutique Hotel is sooo early Millennium. If you really want style and flavour from your rest stop, come here, …"
i-escape reviewed Hotel Signum in Aeolian Islands, Italy
Pretty country-house hotel in the languid village of Malfa, with big pool, fragrant gardens and inspiring sea views If you thought the Aeolian Islands were all about summer crowds, noisy parties and arid landscapes, then think again. Tucked away on the …"
i-escape reviewed La Villa Mauresque in Fréjus, France
Laid-back luxury on the Côte d'Azur - 2 magnificent villas available for romantic B&B, family hols by the sea, or weekly rental for groups of up to 20 Fancy the romance of the Riviera but find the glitz and glamour exhausting? Then head to Villa Mauresq…"
i-escape reviewed Le Sirenuse in Naples, Italy
The prima donna of Positano is as classy and comfortable as ever, and still the only outstanding hotel in town Positano is the most photogenic - and the most photographed - village in Italy. Its pastel facades soar up from sea-washed crags, which once t…"
i-escape reviewed Fasano Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil
Sao Paulo's best hotel and restaurant: elegant, discreetly stylish, set in the leafiest and trendiest shopping district Sao Paulo may not share the visual splendour of Rio de Janeiro, but Brazil's financial hub and South America's largest city is full o…"
i-escape reviewed Bon Ton Resort in Malaysia
Seven antique Malay houses rebuilt in an old coconut plantation on the island of Langkawi Atmospheric, laid back and thoroughly unique, Bon Ton is a careful blend of conservation principles and design savvy. The small resort (or 'Coconut Village' as it …"
i-escape reviewed The Lyall Hotel and Spa in Melbourne, Australia
A faultlessly stylish hotel and spa in glamorous South Yarra, which has perfected the boutique formula The Lyall is a hotel that lets you imagine just for a moment that you are part of the in-crowd. Fashionistas, designers and creative business types mi…"
i-escape reviewed Paperbark Camp in New South Wales, Australia
Comfortable tented eco-camp and excellent restaurant, perched amid paperbark forest near stunning Jervis Bay, 3 hours south of SydneyAfter a 3-hour journey down the Pacific Highway from Sydney, a brilliant flash of parrots in the canopy of gum trees wel…"
i-escape reviewed Choupana Hills Resort and Spa in Funchal, Portugal
Chic, award-winning spa hotel with jaw-dropping views in the Madeiran mountains Choupana Hills is nothing like it ought to be. It’s cool, stylish, gutsy and, frankly, exotic: the essence of Malaysian luxe, magically transported to genteel Madeira. The f…"
i-escape reviewed The Medusa in Sydney, Australia
Striking architect-designed townhouse in the midst of trendy Darlinghurst, well placed for the city sights and the vibrant Eastern Suburbs Likened to New York's Soho, Darlinghurst is Sydney's most fashionable urban village. Colonial terraces vie with ar…"
i-escape reviewed Hotel Sezz in Paris, France
Super-cool design hotel on the quiet side of town with luxury and privacy assured Some hotels have it, others don’t, Hotel Sezz has it in spades. We trawled through the contemporary design hotels of Paris, and unanimously crowned the Sezz la belle demoi…"
i-escape reviewed Chateau de Massillan in Provence-Cote d'Azur, France
Parkland, peace and a courtyard pool at this 1555 chateau with sublime 21st-century interiors, north of Avignon The Chateau was built in 1555 for Diane de Poitiers, a mistress of Henry II. Perhaps he wanted her discreetly hidden away, perhaps she loved …"
i-escape reviewed Hi Hotel in Nice, France
Out-and-out design hotel bang in the heart of Nice, with rainbow rooms and a rooftop pool Hi-Hotel is a hotbed of colour: pink glass at reception, purple and green resin floors and, up by the pool, orange leather cushions on designer white sun loungers.…"
i-escape reviewed Hotel Mas de Peint in Arles, France
An ancient farmhouse in deepest Camargue, with smart bedrooms, white horses and superb dinners cooked in front of your eyes White horses, black bulls: the Camargue is a wild chunk of floodlands and huge lagoons which attract millions of birds each year.…"
