Luxury Hound

What content would you like to see in a luxury travel newsletter?

Kagehitokiri

i read elite traveler (online) and departures.

i like their sources/contact info.

and elite traveler's production quality is great.

i used to read centurion but its no longer online.

Raffles

Ever seen Gallivanters Guide? Its an Andrew Harper-type hotel review newsletter, one location per month. Highly recommended - we tend to base our holidays around it now!

Never fell in love with Nota Bene or NB Pulse but they have fans. I think their marketing is better than the product to be honest. Business Traveller is obviously a joke, especially the premium cabin airline reviews.

I'd be keen to see something like Gallivanters Guide but focussed on the villa rental market (now I'm a family man!) which is currently very opaque. I'd also be interested in something which focussed on airline premium class cabin reviews - basically FT trip reports but with more photos! Not sure I'd pay for that on its own, though - it would be better linked in with a broader offering.

Elite Traveller, Luxx etc are kept strictly out of my house and I treat them as 'airport lounge if I'm desperate' reading material ...

livefromtuscany

Hi - following your advice, I researched Gallivanter's Guide on the internet - I appears that they charge GBP 152,- for a 1-year-subscription only consisting of an 8-page newsletter every month. Is it really that good?

grumbler

I agree with this, though I find the GG a bit stodgy. I still subscribe to NB (at least for now), but the content has declined in its usefulness, destination coverage continues to be perverse, and the efforts to branch out into shopping, etc seem to have taken focus away from the main product.

jeffreyt

I think the content Andrew Harper provides is what I want to see, hence the reason for subscribing.

Raffles

Put it this way .... it can save you from making expensive mistakes, so on that basis pays for itself very easily.

The format is very simple and makes you wish you had their jobs. A married couple, mid 50's looking at the photos, take off every month to visit a location with some recent 'action' (new openings, renovations etc), stay at 3 or 4 places and then come back and write up their experiences. The reviews are 100% focussed on the property and are absolutely not guide book stuff - they very rarely do restaurant recommendations, shop reviews etc. It is 100% focussed on the best hotels and the best rooms in those hotels, plus comments on the food, spa, leisure etc. Unlike Andrew Harper (who they like to knock on occasions when they hate a place he rates) the same people write every review. Because they are British there is a UK focus - not necessarily on UK hotels but on places where Brits tend to visit.

I trust them enough to take quite chunky punts based on their guidance - for example we are about to book 6 nights at the Capella in Ireland based on their exceptionally glowing recommendation (they made in their Hotel of the Year 2007) and I don't think I'd even heard of the place until I read about their visit.

The best thing to do, actually, is to start by ordering their Ultimate Hotel Guide. This is basically the last five-years worth of reviews put together in book form. If you like the book, then subscribe to the newsletter. If you don't like their style, then you're only about £40 down.

vuittonsofstyle

Unlike Harper, GG answer all e-mails personally - so more like a club membership.

Non-NonRev

it would be nice if newsletters included feature articles on the service aspects of luxury properties. Some of the greatest disappointments occur when high service expectations are not met.

An occasional story on how a hotel staff member's actions made a guest's stay a memorable one would be nice to read, and would balance out the repetitive articles on Frette linen thread counts and (faux or real) Louis XIV decor.

laf747

Very true and as a subscriber to both GG and Harper I much prefer GG.

Fliar

I love GC but would never pay for a subscription (I'm stingy). I read them at Aman properties ;-)

livefromtuscany

Thanks for the detailed info - I will order the book to see what they are all about.

vuittonsofstyle

What does everyone think of Andrew Harper's new rating system? To me, it is much too complex - I have to keep looking at the back page to work out his scores. Even then, he seems to give really basic places 90-something scores, even though he says there is no air-con, no showers, no restaurant, no......

I do not see how you can have faith in these ratings. Give me something more simple.

brendamc

Harper (not his real name) does not travel incognito to the higher end more expensive resorts, so his reports are slightly biased & perhaps not the same service the unknown traveler would receive.

I booked him into the resort I was representing at the time, after he requested a reduced rate, so speak from experience...

vuittonsofstyle

I heard from a GM that his name was Richard Atkinson and that he is very tall.