Pausanias

I first came across the Gallivanter's Guide in 1995 - copies were strewn around the library area at Amanpulo. It had a distinctive look and rather than photographs it had line drawings. As a journalist and published author, I appreciated the elegant writing style and I liked the overall approach which I could trace back to Rene Lecler and his book The 300 Best Hotels in the World. I subscribed to Gallivanter's for several years - I gave it up because I felt Lyn was following her readers rather than her instincts. There was a total lack of adventure or exploration or encouragement to go outside the safe confines of a Four Seasons or an Amanresort. That was something Lecler did so well - he found hotels in places like Yemen and Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu so I followed him there. Lyn just seemed to offer yet another Four Seasons. I don't blame her for that - she sent me to some great places but fewer and fewer so I gave up. (I did buy the books, though - The Ultimate Hotel Guide.)

Gallivanter's was there at the start of the Aman revolution and the rapid growth in the luxury sector. Luxury hotels are no longer exclusive - they are a dime a dozen in places like the Maldives. That's because Russians, Chinese, Taiwanese, Azerbaijanis, Indians etc etc have passports and an open sesame to anywhere with a private pool and a tasting menu. It has become impossible to keep up and impossible to finance such a project as a little newsletter for a few American and European CEOs.

Gallivanter's did always seem honest, unlike most print journalism these days, let alone the Facebook and Twitter chatter and the army of bloggers. I'll always be grateful to Lyn and David (whom I've never met) for keeping going for more than 25 years without getting obviously bored by being permanently cocooned in luxury. And for writing with such elegance without recourse to foul language, coarse humour and self-conscious offence. Or incessant spelling mistakes, typos and punctuation lapses.

They have no heirs.