Our reviewers

Our reviewers are a panel of friends and people we admire, who we trust absolutely in terms of reporting back to us on Smith hotels. The only requirement is that they visit each hotel anonymously with a partner, and on their return give us the kind of honest lowdown you would expect from a friend.

Selection reviewer type… The artists The chefs The dedicated followers of fashion The entrepreneurs The journalists The media gurus The retail creatives The stars of stage and screen Other people we love

Mr & Mrs Smith reviewers

Anna Acton Actress
As an actress, Anna has stayed in more than her fair share of excellent, mediocre and downright terrible hotels. She has been working in theatre and TV since leaving university and is probably best known for her role as Geri in Family Affairs and as Rochelle Barratt in The Bill. Anna has also founded Next Big Thing Recruitment, an actors' placement agency.
Reviewed Hotel du Vin Bristol, Bristol and Rayavadee, Krabi.

Lisa Allardice Arts editor, Guardian Review
As editor of the Guardian Review, Lisa’s travels mostly involve interviewing authors in remotest Canada or wet weekends at Welsh book festivals. Two years ago, Harper’s Bazaar sent her to review six-star hotels in the Seychelles – alas resetting her hotel benchmark forever. Closer to home, Lisa – who has grilled arts luminaries including Natalie Portman, Audrey Niffenegger and Doris Lessing – is happiest driving her mini along Dorset’s coastal roads.
Reviewed Hipping Hall, Lake District and Les Rosées, Côte D'azur (east), and Demeure Monte-Arena, Languedoc-Roussillon.

Jason Alper Costume designer and stylist
A Londoner with one foot in LA, Jason Alper works in film and TV, recently filming with Sacha Baron Cohen in the States. Back in the Ali G days, Jason once found himself among burly Jamaica customs officials, explaining three fake fur coats and a case full of (fake) diamonds. It seemed to satisfy them when he announced: ‘I hear it’s quite dressy at night.’
Reviewed The Gray, Milan.

David Annand Model
Seven years of writing assignments and four years of fashion modelling have taken GQ Style associate editor David on a pretty comprehensive tour of the world's hotels. In marble-floored palaces in the Arabian desert, and Milanese fleapits, David, who has modelled for Prada and Rolex, has whiled away many hours watching films dubbed into languages he does not speak, and getting drunk on his own. So it was a welcome respite to finally be allowed to take Mrs Smith along for the ride.
Reviewed L'Hôtel Particulier, Provence and Riva Lofts, Florence, and Malabar Escapes: Trinity, Kerala, and Malabar Escapes: Serenity, Kerala, and Malabar Escapes: Privacy and Discovery, Kerala.

Ismay Atkins Virtual editor
Five years as an editor for Time Out Guides took Ismay to the highest hotel in the world in Shanghai, desert kasbahs in Morocco, impeccably designed suites in Stockholm and all manner of hostelries in between. Stints in Mexico and Havana in her Twenties gave her a taste for Latin America and so in 2006 – in a moment of calculated carpe diem – she left the Thames for the sultry shores of the River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Having left home, job and friends behind, she was relieved to find near-constant blue skies, butter-soft steaks and free-flowing Malbec. She works as a remote editor and freelance journalist.
Reviewed La Maison, Rio De Janeiro.

Janie Balcomb Director's representative
Janie has worked in TV commercials for over a decade, representing some of the world’s best directors, such as Jason Reitman and Rupert Sanders. As a result she’s enjoyed extended stays in Sydney, Buenos Aires and LA – and has become an arbiter of crisp, clean sheets and proper morning coffee. Spontaneity and an open mind are her travel essentials, as is a willingness to try anything and always eat where the locals do – not that we had her slumming it in the name of Smith. Her favourite hideaway in the world? A little cabaña in Uruguay facing the water.
Reviewed The Crescent, Los Angeles.

Nick Barham Advertising strategist, Shanghai
A year in China has provided Nick with a lifetime of luxury horrors: from Cristal-juggling bartenders to Louis XIV private rooms recreated in plywood and glitter. China is high-life crazy right now, but with his cynical London eye and taste for all things bitter, Nick is not easily swayed by the attempts to seduce via neon, teenage waitresses and pink cocktails.
Reviewed Fuchun Resort, Shanghai.

Sophie Barton deputy editor, Closer
Sophie spent the first few years of her journalism career as a features writer, chasing stories around the UK and beyond. She stopped over in numerous hotels along the way, many of which were shambolic and memorable for all the wrong reasons. Thankfully the balance has more recently been redressed by fantastic experiences in Kerala, Jamaica and Italy. She is now deputy editor at celebrity weekly magazine Closer. When she isn't working, she hightails it down to Dorset, where she lazes by the fire and eats too much.
Reviewed Casa Angelina, Amalfi Coast.

Claire Baylis Freelance writer and editor, (Marie Claire, Eve, Grazia)
Having interviewed the likes of Robbie Williams and David Beckham in London's most luxurious hotel suites, and travelled the world to review the best spas, hideaways and resorts, Claire is well equipped to sort the boutique hotel wheat from the chaff. Having ridden camels in Timbuktu with Zoe Ball, conquered mountains on horseback and mastered the art of snow-boarding in 48 hours, she knows the importance of a top-notch king size bed, rain-dance shower and well-stocked minibar.
Reviewed Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool.

Richard Bence Freelance writer and lifestyle editor, Attitude
Highlights of Richard’s recent travel past are a spring break at the retro Parker in Palm Springs, and a weekend on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, where he coincided with the visiting Argentinian polo team – for the second time in a year. Come summer, Richard will decamp to Ibiza for his annual dose of sunshine and hedonism. Richard wrote our feature on luxury travel accessories.
Reviewed Homeric Poems, Santorini and Villa Fontelunga, Tuscany, and Sofa Hotel & Residences, Istanbul, and Mystique, Santorini, and Sri Panwa, Phuket & Khao Lak.

Jeroen Bergmans Journalist
Jeroen graduated from Bristol University a decade ago, and immediately put his six languages to good use, working as a guide to American high-school kids on 'Europe in a week' educational tours. After a stint in the arid world of business travel, he joined the launch team of the Hempel, London's first minimalist, East-meets-West hotel. There he discovered a passion for design, inspiring his move to Wallpaper* magazine where, four years ago, he became travel editor.
Reviewed La Sommità, Puglia.

Raymond Blanc Chef-patron, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
Born in Besançon, France, Raymond Blanc opened Le Manoir in Oxfordshire in 1984, to fulfil his vision of a hotel and restaurant where guests can expect perfection in cuisine, service and comfort. Le Manoir is the only country-house hotel in the UK to maintain two Michelin stars for 16 years.
Reviewed Cowley Manor, Cotswolds.

Nellie Blundell Travel journalist and copywriter
Dividing her time between London and Sydney, with many a stop-over in between, Nellie has become a connoisseur of the hotel bed. The memorable ones get a mention in her stories for Aussie broadsheet, The Australian. In London, she's written a regular column for Time Out's food pages and moonlights as a copywriter with branding and design agencies across the city.
Reviewed A'jia Hotel, Istanbul.

Tracey Boyd Fashion designer
The British womenswear label Boyd expanded out of Tracey’s back bedroom in the late Nineties; in February 2000, she won the New Generation prize at the British Fashion Awards. The first Boyd shop opened in September 2001 at 42 Elizabeth Street in London’s Belgravia, and the label continues to expand around the world.
Reviewed Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Oxfordshire.

Susie Boyt Novelist
Susie is the author of four critically acclaimed novels, including Only Human. Her newest book, a collision of show tunes, hero-worship, biography and self-help, is My Judy Garland Lifewhich will be published this autumn. She also writes a weekly shopping column about fashion and shopping for the Financial Times Weekend. Susie lives in London with her family, and has never visited anywhere else she likes half as much.
Reviewed Château les Merles, Dordogne.

Felix Buxton Musician/DJ, Basement Jaxx
Felix and his musical partner Simon Ratcliffe fuse Latin, ragga and hip-hop with the underground sounds and attitude of their native South London. They've taken the sound of SW9 to Australia, America and Japan, and their albums – Remedy, Rooty and 2003’s Kish Kash – are enduring dance documents.

Jess Cartner-morley Fashion editor, The Guardian
From Ibiza to Iceland and Paris to Perth, Jess has been sampled hotels - all in the line of duty - while reporting from the international catwalks as Fashion Editor of the Guardian. She and her husband Tom Findlay from Groove Armada have recently had their second child, Pearl, and both are very much looking forward to another well-deserved hotel-break soon.
Reviewed Hotel Endsleigh, Devon and Hotel de Russie, Rome, and Residenza Napoleone III, Rome.

Mark Chalmers Creative director, Strawberry Frog
Formerly an architect and artist, Amsterdam-based Mark Chalmers is creative partner at global ad agency StrawberryFrog, and has worked on international campaigns for brands such as Sony-Ericsson and MTV. Having recently been locked out of his hotel room naked, he promises in future to keep a copy of Mr & Mrs close at hand at all times, if not always for intended use.
Reviewed Hotel Seven One Seven, Amsterdam.

Emily Chalmers Interiors stylist and author
Having smoothly progressed from enforcing bedroom makeovers on schoolfriends to forging a career as a photographic interiors stylist and author (with six inspiring books under her belt), Emily found herself comfortably slotting into the role of Mrs Smith. Emily’s latest project – her Spitalfields Market boutique, Caravan (www.caravanstyle.com) – provides the perfect excuse to seek out those special products from far-away places. At least, that’s what she tells Mr Smith…
Reviewed The Millhouse, County Meath.

Rob Chilton Features director, OK! New York
Six-foot New York-dweller Rob Chilton spends his transatlantic flights dreaming of stretching out in a kingsize hotel bed. As a travel writer, Rob has nosed around some of the most fabulous hotels in the world, in Thailand, India, Puerto Rico and Las Vegas, which he describes simply as ‘mindblowing’.
Reviewed The Bryant Park Hotel, New York.

Alison Chow Co-founder, Coco Ribbon
Alison has lived in Sydney, Hong Kong and New York, so she travels frequently between them to visit family and friends. Buying trips take her to Paris, Brazil and Shanghai, and her favourite holiday spots include Marrakech and Verbier, where she indulges her passion for skiing.
Reviewed Can Simoneta, Mallorca, Balearic Islands.

Shaun Clarkson Interior designer
With a BA in fine art and a series of successful exhibitions under his belt, Shaun Clarkson gained attention for his outrageous sculptures and installations. He is best known in the UK for London venues such as the Atlantic Bar & Grill, Jerusalem, Denim, Pop, Bartok and the Cheyne Walk Brasserie.

Lucy Cleland Editor, Country House
Country-house connoisseur Lucy honed her glossy-magazine skills at Condé Nast, before launching Country House: a magazine aimed at city folk searching for their dream out-of-town house. She may spend most of her working day poring over rural porn, but at the weekends, Lucy can be found digging the vegetable garden at her family home in the New Forest. So what's her big boutiquey daydream? To renovate a dilapidated old colonial house in Goa and turn it into a luxury hotel, of course.
Reviewed Brunton Boatyard, Kerala and Old Harbour Hotel, Kerala, and Kalari Kovilakom, Kerala, and Mykonos Grace, Mykonos, and Cavo Tagoo, Mykonos, and High Road House, London.

Bill Condie
After half a lifetime on Fleet Street, Bill Condie heard about the Global Village and decided to make it his own by becoming the Evening Standard's night editor out in Bangkok. He travels extensively through Asia and beyond and has learnt many useful things, the most important being that he must never, ever discuss the weather with the London newsdesk in February.
Reviewed The Sukhothai, Bangkok.

Tara Conlan
Tara is a journalist on The Guardian's media section and The Observer. She was previously TV Editor on the Daily Mail and has also written for the Evening Standard, the Sunday Times and Grazia. Nowadays her first question on arriving at a hotel is, 'Do you have a cot?' rather than 'What's in the mini-bar?' as she has a baby daughter.
Reviewed Town House, Marbella.

Giles Coren Restaurant critic and columnist, The Times
Giles has been restaurant critic of Tatler and The Independent on Sunday, as well as a regular columnist for GQ, The Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and Match of the Day magazine. In 2005 he published his first novel, Winkler, and won Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards. Since then he has spent more time doing television, co-presenting The F-Word with Gordon Ramsay, hosting Movie Lounge, Five's film show, and the C4 food history series The Supersizers Go... He has also made several documentaries for Channel 4 on such subjects as obesity, bio-technology and latter-day cannibalism.

Christopher Cottingham , Music journalist
Chris grew up in Oman, trained as a molecular biologist, and then gave up science to become a music journalist. He now works for Q, The Big Issue and The Guardian, amongst others. While travelling the world interviewing musicians such as Kanye West, Jon Bon Jovi and Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones, he developed a taste for fancy hotels. Can you blame him?
Reviewed Murano Oriental Resort, Marrakech and Jia, Hong Kong.

Jo Craven Features editor, Vogue
In her role as Features Editor of Vogue, Jo Craven frequently agonises over the stylishness and suitability of hotels and travel destinations for the magazine. As a young mother of two, she also obsesses about two illusive ideals: travelling light and locating on-tap butler and nanny services.
Reviewed Son Brull, Mallorca, Balearic Islands.

Ilse Crawford Designer and Creative Director, Studioilse
Ilse is a creative director whose company, Studioilse, has created Soho House New York, the Electric Cinema, and the influential Babington House. Other feathers in her cap include the launch of Elle Decoration in 1989, and a vice-presidency with Donna Karan Home (where she helped launch DKNY and Donna Karan Homeware). Ilse is also head of department at the renowned Design Academy Eindhoven. Her latest book, Home is Where the Heart Is, explores ways in which we can integrate our basic emotional needs into design.
Reviewed Château de Bagnols, Beaujolais.

Tiffanie Darke Editor, The Sunday Times Style magazine
Tiffanie is an author, as well as a journalist, and has published two novels: Marrow, a saucy tale of food and sex in the kitchens of London’s celebrity restaurants, and Strapline, a story of celebrity, football, and love on a national newspaper. She considers herself an expert on dirty weekends.
Reviewed Ca Maria Adele, Venice and Capri Palace Hotel & Spa, Capri.

Andy Davis Writer
After several years of trying to become a big fish in the small pond of South African magazine publishing, Andy Davis quit and moved to a small fishing village outside of Cape Town to surf waves and catch his own big fish, for dinner. In pursuit of his own lifestyle through journalism, he wrests regular travel assignments from newspapers and magazines such as The Sunday Times, GQ and Men's Health. He covers contemporary SA culture for the Mail&Guardian Online, and has been known to multitask in the film, advertising and brewing industries. His passions (apart from searching out and riding the perfect wave) are African music and contemporary political vitriol.

Lucy Davis Actress
Most familiar to Britons for her breakthrough role as long-suffering receptionist Dawn in The Office, and for gracing the big screen in Brit-com gems such as Shaun of the Dead, actress Lucy Davis is no stranger to wry observation and bone-dry humour, making her an ideal reviewer for Mr & Mrs Smith. That and (obviously) some pretty high standards where beds, room service and cocktail bars are concerned… Lucy lives Stateside these days, and recently completed a spell on critically acclaimed US comedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Reviewed Viceroy Santa Monica, Los Angeles.

Paul De Zwart Director, Dhillon Hotels
From its launch in 1996 until 2002, Paul was vice-president and general manager of the Wallpaper* group and the creative advertising agency Wink Media. After that, he dedicated two years to developing a pan-European hotel/art retreat business, developing his knack for design hotels. He recently founded Zoet Ltd working for leisure and consumer publishing clients.

Nick DeCosemo Musician
As singer and synth whizz with electro outfit Freeform Five and a busy lifestyle journalist, Nick DeCosemo has seen more than his fair share of complimentary shower caps and body lotion. The general rule is that when Nick's on a writing job, the hotels are much better than with a band. With the band there are six of them and he always end up sharing with the sound guy.
Reviewed Riad 72, Marrakech and Thirty Two, Cotswolds.

Sophie Dening
Sophie Dening was chief sub at Harper’s Bazaar for four years, and one of the founder editors of Mr & Mrs Smith. She now writes freelance on UK travel and hotels for Country Living and Country House, and is restaurants editor for Bazaar.

Stephanie Dennis Freelance producer/director
Stephanie started her TV career making cups of tea for Chris Evans at The Big Breakfast when it launched in 1992, and soon moved on up into the world of top-notch tacky TV: Blind Date, Gladiators, Pop Idol. Her career has taken her to some exotic spots such as Shepherd's Bush, where she was senior producer on Sky One's Fear Factor and more recently, Camden where she is co-executive producer on The Smiths' Hotels For 2.

Guy Dittrich Hotel marketing consultant
After a three-year stint as UK MD of Design, the specialist marketing company for contemporary hotels, Zimbabwe-born Guy now lives and works in Munich, from where he also writes about hotels for Condé Nast Traveller, Wallpaper*, The Guardian and The Observer, and files a regular column for Sleeper.
Reviewed Design & Style Hotel Neruda, Prague.

Tom Dixon Designer and creative director, Habitat
Tunisian-born Tom was a professional bass player and rap club promoter when a live welding act on stage at one of his events sparked an interest in design and craftsmanship. Despite his only qualification being a one-day course in plastic bumper repair, his eye for cutting-edge detail and flair for furnishings soon made him a name as the hottest avant-garde homewares talent. Today, iconic pieces by the Cappellini contributor, Habitat head honcho and Artek collaborator are found stealing the limelight in the world's most stylish spaces, from design museums to boutique hotels.
Reviewed Convent de la Missió, Mallorca, Balearic Islands.

Sean Dixon Co-founder, Savile Row tailors Richard James
After several stints at high-end creative fashion companies, including serving as commercial director at John Galliano, Sean co-founded contemporary tailors Richard James 15 years ago. The company was largely credited for breathing new life into the institution that is Savile Row. Sean travels extensively for both work and pleasure; as a Londoner, he’s always happy to leave the city but just as happy to return. The only other city he’d consider living in is Tokyo, quite simply because it has the best service in the world.
Reviewed Haymarket Hotel, London.

Kimathi Donkor Artist
Having graduated from Goldsmiths among a generation of Turner Prize nominees and millionaire artists, Kimathi only realised later on in life that he’d been missing a trick by opting for humbler trades such as teaching, instead of single-mindedly seeking fame and wealth. Recently, he has tried to catch up – even provoking the Brixton constabulary into investigating ‘nudity’ at one of his exhibitions. However, his biggest regret is that he and his legal-eagle wife keep taking absurdly extravagant holidays, instead of fixing the boiler.
Reviewed The George, Cotswolds.

William Drew Editor, Arena
Will has been the editor of Arena for the past year, having served almost four years' apprenticeship as deputy editor. He got his first job on a fashion magazine because they urgently needed 'a straight man in the office', and has built his career on similarly dubious principles ever since, working across a variety of travel, health and fitness, and style titles. He lives in the suburban bliss of Wimbledon with his wife and three sons, and is passionate about magazines, Man City and motivation.
Reviewed Jardins Secrets, Languedoc-roussillon and Hotel Terravina, Hampshire.

Kirsty Drury Fashion stylist
Kirsty Drury is no stranger to glamour and travel – no, she’s not a Page 3 model, she’s a jetsetting fashion stylist. Her first job was as a fashion assistant on GQ , although a few months later she jumped aboard the dance-music ship Mixmag where she remained fashion editor for many years, art directing editorial shoots in Tokyo, Miami, New York and Ibiza, grooming the likes of Kylie and Basement Jaxx; and staying up well past her bedtime a lot. A fashion-on-the-Web slot on The Big Breakfast was followed by lots of behind-the-scenes television work, image-fixing for many a star of the small screen. After a brief spell living and working in Rio, Kirsty is based back in London and busier than ever, but secretly dreams of running her own Smith-style stay somewhere sunny.
Reviewed Marari Beach Resort, Kerala and The Malabar House, Kerala.

Nick Dutton Advertising MD
Ad man Nick has been in the advertising industry in South Africa and England for the past 10 years, and is now MD of Euro RSCG. During his time, he has worked for a wide range of clients, from swanky car marques to fried-chicken takeaway chains. While his work and travels have seen him enjoy all sorts of hotels, guesthouses, tents and floors, his spare time is spent swimming, cooking, doing yoga and trying to be home on time to read his daughter bedtime stories.
Reviewed The Wheatsheaf, Northeast Somerset.

Neil Duttson Diamond dealer
Leading a trend in bespoke setting, Neil buys gems on behalf of clients and involves them at every stage of creating their jewellery. Before immersing himself in the closed world of diamonds, he organised events worldwide, from classic English weddings to hotel launches on the east coast of Africa.
Reviewed Columbus Monaco, Monte Carlo.

Louise Elliott Associate editor, Country Living magazine
After a lengthy stint as chief sub on Ideal Home, Louise freelanced on a range of magazines, as well as writing a beauty manual with Mary Quant for Dorling Kindersley. She found her dream job at Country Living magazine in 1996, a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. She became Associate Editor in 2002. She writes regularly on homes, crafts, arts and rural issues – but is still in search of the elusive moss-gatherer of the Welsh hills.
Reviewed Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells.

Chris Elwell-Sutton Deputy editor, Metro Life magazine
Chris Elwell-Sutton wrote for Dazed & Confused and Hip Hop Connection while he was a student, then worked for the late, great Smash Hits, and was deputy editor of Ministry, before becoming editor of Muzik. Since then, he has written for the Evening Standard, The Times, Esquire and FHM.

Ekow Eshun Artistic Director, ICA
A writer, broadcaster and commentator on art and culture, Ekow Eshun is the Artistic Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. He has written and presented several award-winning documentaries for TV and radio and contributes regularly to the BBC's Newsnight Review, The Guardian and The New Statesman.
Reviewed Puro Hotel, Mallorca, Balearic Islands.

Tom Findlay Musician/DJ, Groove Armada
While touring and Djing as half of dance act Groove Armada, Tom has seen more than his fair share of hotels. He is currently putting the finishing touches to the latest Groove Armada album and preparing for the annual Lovebox summer festival in Victoria Park, of which he is a co-founder. Tom is also overseeing his latest project, the Tune Tribe music download site.

Liam Fisher-Jones Development director, RSC
Liam’s first brush with hotel management came when he was just three years old, and was caught having a pee behind the sofa of the future general manager of the Ritz. Now undisputed champion of all ‘Any chance of an upgrade?’ competitions, Liam has spent 15 years globetrotting on behalf of London School of Economics, and now as development director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, for which he spearheaded a successful £100m campaign to redevelop the estate in Stratford-upon-Avon. Due to the RSC’s charity status, Liam has only once drunk from a hotel minibar, but spends as much time as possible in his room to ensure value for money.
Reviewed Tuddenham Mill, Suffolk.

Elaine Foran Fashion and international publishing director, IPC
Headhunted to work at the Evening Standard while still a graduate trainee, Elaine moved to the Express Group in 1989, then in 1992 to New Woman. At 26 she became publisher of Elle, then international publisher for EMAP Elan. Since 2001, she has been in charge of titles such as Marie Claire, Living Etc and InStyle.

Zoë Foster Gallerist
The hectic calendar of the contemporary art world means that Zoë spends much of her time living out of a suitcase, following biennales, art fairs and exhibitions. With galleries on both sides of the Atlantic, combined with a Canadian Mr Smith with an Estonian passport, the grass is very seldom allowed to grow under her feet. But her all-time clear-diary favourite, when she’s not reviewing for Smith? ‘A lazy Sunday afternoon spent with friends in the pub, of course’.
Reviewed The New White Lion, Brecon Beacons.

Daisy Garnett Freelance journalist
Daisy writes features stories and reviews for magazine and newspapers such as Vogue and The Daily Telegraph, and spent eight years living in New York. She returned to London five years ago on a small sailing ship with four friends and wrote about the trip for the Design section of The New York Times. Her travels have ranged from camping in Bedouin tents (while riding by camel across the Syrian desert to Palmyra) to living it up at Rio’s Copacabana Palace. She wishes she could combine the two.
Reviewed One Royal Circus, Edinburgh.

James Giuseppi Yoga teacher and DJ
Born into a family raised in hotels, James Giuseppi witnessed the inside story – it’s incredibly hard work! The Nineties flew past in a blur as James jetted about the former Soviet Union selling stuff at stupendous prices; he later tried to save the planet by blessing the 'ethical investment' movement with his dubious talents. These careers lead to stays at a spectrum of sleeping establishments, including an HMP…. The rude awakening of redundancy has meant reduced income but heightened happiness with life as a yoga teacher and DJ.
Reviewed SwaSwara, Karnataka.

Casey Gorman Head honcho, Handbag
Casey moved from California to London in 2000 and worked for Escada UK before joining British accessories designer Lulu Guinness as head of sales and sales director. Two years later, Casey became one of the youngest CEOs in the luxury fashion sector, when she was asked to head up the global business of Lulu Guinness.
Reviewed Villa Sassolini, Tuscany.

Marianne Gray Freelance journalist
London-based Marianne specialises in film and travel, and gets to travel to cool hotels for her film work and swanky hotels for her travel work. By choice, when on holiday, she prefers to go to 'interesting' little pensiones, or far-flung, remote guest houses where the tone is distinctly tinted with local colour – providing they have running hot-and-cold and a mule (or something) to carry her luggage to the uppermost peak!
Reviewed Atlantic House, Cape Town.

Robert Hendrie Wilson Journalist and author
Robert is a life-long journalist and Fleet Street survivor who has spent the past ten years as travel editor of Britain’s largest-circulation women’s magazine. He is also the author of four published novels and of countless newspaper features and feature-series. He estimates that in the past decade he has visited some 300 hotels. ‘As a travel writer,’ he says, ‘you don’t get to pick where you stay, so sometimes it’s an absolute disaster. Other times it’s a dream.’
Reviewed The Levante Parliament, Vienna.

Jo Holden Journalist and market maker
No stranger to travelling the world and sampling fine hotels, as well as some not so fine ones on various backpacking trips around Europe, India and Asia, Brighton-based Jo has a passion for travel and new places. After working as a travel journalist in London, Sydney and Amsterdam, she now calls the South Coast city home. In between freelancing for Metro, Time Out and Brighton & Hove Life, Jo is the founder of East Sussex's very own Spitalfields, the Lanes Market, showcasing the city’s creative talent.
Reviewed Woolley Grange, Wiltshire.

Dominic Holland Comedian
Dominic is an award-winning stand-up, with a regular column in The Guardian and two novels to his name: Only in America and The Ripple Effect. His BBC Radio 4 series, The Small World of Dominic Holland, is being developed into a TV series that Dominic hopes will hit our screens sometime during his lifetime.
Reviewed Baglioni Hotel, London.

Nick Hussey Producer, Nice Shirt Films
Today, he’s the executive producer of Nice Shirt Films, but Nick originally wanted to be a sports scientist. Since this involved tracksuits and pouring lager over his head, Nick turned to club promotion. Sick of Manchester’s gang violence, he entered the wine trade. Thousands of tasting sessions later he finally concluded that the filthy lucre of advertising was the only true path to hell. Nick lives in Wimbledon with his wife, spending his time going round in circles wearing lycra, looking for directing talent and not pouring anything over his head.
Reviewed The George in Rye, East Sussex.

Carrie Hutchinson Journalist
After four years working in London, Carrie Hutchinson returned to Sydney in 2000 (after the huge party that was the Olympic Games), and found herself contributing to many of the country’s fashion and lifestyle titles. She now is the deputy editor at Vogue Entertaining + Travel and a contributing editor for Wallpaper*.
Reviewed Ravesi's, Sydney.

Abby Johnson TV titles producer, Mr & Mrs Smith Design
One half of ‘the other Mr & Mrs Smith’, Abby and best friend Lisa Lloyd set up Mr & Mrs Smith (Design Ltd) in 2005. Their cutting edge design, marketing and animation studio produces bespoke title sequences for CH4, BBC3, T4, and E4 channels, as-well as designing marketing campaigns for the music and advertising industry. Abby and Lisa co-wrote their review as Mr & Mrs Smith though they dispute who’s the Mr!
Reviewed Soho House New York, New York.

Rick Jordan
At the age of four months, Rick Jordan set sail for Sierra Leone with his parents, an epic voyage he has no memory of but has struggled to match ever since. He has written and sub-edited for Wallpaper*, Esquire and the Guardian, and is currently Chief Sub-Editor on Condé Nast Traveller. During his time at Vogue House he has stayed in hotels from Bangkok to Kerala, although his favourite hotel experience was in a rooftop hot tub in Manchester, overlooking Coronation Street. He wonders why ‘tea and coffee-making facilities’ is still a selling point in this day and age.
Reviewed Luxx, Bangkok and Hospes Madrid, Madrid.

Christopher Joyce Freelance writer and Tuscan host
Unable to face one more night in yet another Shoreditch restaurant, Christopher Joyce decamped to the wilds of northern Tuscany in 2003. His recent Sunday Times column, Tales from Tuscany, told the salacious truth about life in that rural utopia; he is now developing it into a book. With his partner, Adrian, he runs Borgo della Madonnina (www.borgo-lucca.com), a small estate with three smart rental cottages.
Reviewed Hotel Savoy, Florence.

Rory Keegan Nightlife entrepreneur
Founder and creator of Chinawhite and Taman Gang in London, and the Mao Rooms in Ibiza, Rory designs nightclubs throughout the world. In past lives he has been involved in fine art at Sotheby's, microlight aircraft in Wales, feature films in LA and theatre in the West End of London.
Reviewed Hôtel Le A, Paris and Lugger Hotel, Cornwall, and College Hotel, Amsterdam.

Jeremy Kinsman Former ambassador and political commentator
No stranger to grand hotels, Jeremy Kinsman has spent a lot of time in such establishments as a Canadian Ambassador for 14 years, based in Moscow, Rome, London and Brussels. A keen skier and hiker, he's always loved escaping the big cities to humbler hideaways. Having recently retired from a lifelong diplomatic career that included spells in Algeria, NY and DC, he now calls Vancouver Island home. But his days of poking his nose into other's political business aren't over; Jeremy's an international affairs columnist, broadcaster, and project director for the Community of Democracies.
Reviewed The Carneros Inn, Napa Valley and Poetry Inn, Napa Valley.

Juliet Kinsman Editor-in-chief, Mr & Mrs Smith
Juliet Kinsman helped develop Smith from a twinkle in James' and Tamara's eyes in 2002. She defected from dancefloors to do-not-disturb signs, having edited music mags in the Nineties and contributing to The Face and Time Out. Running a youth culture website during the pre-millenium dot.com frenzy and working on the BBC's homepage nurtured an understanding of the internet, but now that she shares travel secrets in publications from The Guardian through to Grazia, and having presented The Smiths' Hotels for 2 on the Discovery channel, her heart belongs to hotels. Born in Canada, with stints in Africa, America, Greece and India, Juliet now remains faithful to her home turf of Queen's Park.

Anne Kornblut Political reporter
A jaded traveller in her day job as a political reporter for the Washington Post (previously, the Boston Globe), Anne Kornblut can usually be found in less-than-cutting edge hotels in places like Iowa and New Hampshire when she is not at home in Washington, DC. A graduate of Columbia University, New York, she covered the early years of the George W Bush administration, and in so doing had the pleasure of traveling to four of the six continents with the president (not exactly her ideal Mr Smith).
Reviewed Esencia, Yucatan Peninsula and The Tides Riviera Maya, Yucatan Peninsula.

Karen Krizanovich Journalist, broadcaster and author
Karen Krizanovich lives to see new places and eat weird things. Her reviewing for Mr & Mrs Smith typically notes the unusual, the fashionable and the plain good. She is noted for her skill in re-stocking mini-bars, and scorns hotels which short-sheet the beds.
Reviewed Il Palazzetto, Rome and Casa Tua, Miami.

David Lamb Associate fashion editor, GQ
Also senior fashion editor of GQ Style, David has styled Justin Timberlake, Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Craig and Clive Owen. His favourite place to be in the world is the English countryside, preferably with a pint of local ale at the end of a long, hot summer day; he is a self- confessed Anglophile, a country boy from Norfolk, and is married, with child.
Reviewed Great John Street Hotel, Manchester.

Jeremy Langmead Editor, Esquire
After graduating from Central St Martins, Jeremy Langmead accepted a job as sub-editor on Mirabella magazine without knowing what a sub-editor was. He went on to edit the Life & Style pages of The Evening Standard, followed by the relaunched Nova, The Sunday Times Style magazine, and Wallpaper*. He has also written for Elle Decoration, GQ, The Guardian and The Independent.
Reviewed Morrison, Dublin.

Mia Ljungberg Travel consultant
A Danish resident in Sweden – and founder of travel consultancy firm Exuberant – globe-savvy Mia consults hotels and publishing houses on the latest trends in luxury travel. With a vast background in travel including a stint as a wedding magazine’s honeymoon reporter and as manager of a Copenhagen hotel, these days Mia spends half of her year traveling – and the other half living on a rose farm in Ecuador.

Lisa Lloyd TV titles producer, Mr & Mrs Smith Design
With best friend Abby Johnson, Lisa set up ‘the other’ Mr & Mrs Smith (Design Ltd) in 2005. Their design, marketing and animation studio based in Soho produces bespoke title sequences for CH4, BBC3, T4, and E4 channels, as well as designing marketing campaigns for the music and advertising industry. Abby and Lisa’s highly acclaimed work has been featured in Design Week, Shots, Promo, Televisual & Broadcast.

Emma Loach Documentary-maker
Being a stressed, working mother of three smelly boys and partner of a busy actor makes grabbing a few days away from hectic London life an absolute priority for Emma. For her, finding hotels that are suitable for children, but which aren’t ‘family-friendly’ (a tag that, all too often, is a euphemism for manic and noisy, with a surfeit of sticky surfaces) has become imperative to maintaining any semblance of sanity.
Reviewed Rectory Hotel, Cotswolds.

Hannah Lohan Director, The Green Room
Hannah Lohan is director of the Green Room, an exciting new events company with a difference. Formerly a freelance TV producer and director working on fashion, design and lifestyle shows, Hannah decided to leave the world of showbiz to start up her own company, which now produces, designs and manages parties and events for a variety of clients. Her attention to detail and keen eye for stylish design makes her a great reviewer, as every aspect of a hotel – from the bedroom lighting to its bar food – will be closely scrutinized.
Reviewed P'tit Habibi, Marrakech.

James Lohan Managing Director and Founder, Mr & Mrs Smith
Managing director James Lohan is one half of the couple behind Mr & Mrs Smith. James’ first company, Atomic, created the infamous Come Dancing parties and club promotions. (One of his London parties, in 1998, was voted ‘number-one place to be in the world’ by FHM.) He built on this success with an events and party planning company in London, producing events for clients such as Finlandia vodka and Wonderbra. He then went on to co-found The White House bar, restaurant and members’ club in Clapham. Launched in March 2000, it is one of London’s hippest establishments. Since the conception of the book, James has visited almost 500 hotels.

Lucy Mangan Columnist, The Guardian
Star writer of The Guardian, with a regular column in its Saturday Weekend magazine, and author of Hopscotch & Handbags: the Essential Guide to Being a Girl. As neither she nor her boyfriend owns a passport, she has become something of a connoisseur of the many and various holiday and mini-breaking delights that the UK has to offer, and has yet to feel the need to seek further adventure abroad.
Reviewed The Bull Hotel, Dorset.

Scott Manson Journalist
Scott Manson likes hotels, and writing about them, so who better to have as one of our chief wordsmiths (excuse the pun)? A former editor of Ministry, Loaded and BA’s High Life magazine, he has travelled the world with DJs, rock stars and supermodels. Sometimes he didn’t even have to carry their bags. He’s also a regular travel writer for the Evening Standard and a contributor to the Sunday Times Style magazine. Scott wrote our feature on great beach bars.
Reviewed Perivolas, Santorini and Astra Apartments and Suites, Santorini, and Riad Farnatchi, Marrakech, and Dar Les Cigognes, Marrakech, and Kasbah Tamadot, Atlas Mountains, and Hazlitt's, London, and The Forbury, Berkshire, and Fawsley Hall, Northamptonshire, and Dylan, Dublin.

Howard Marks Author, bon vivant
Howard’s experience of overnight accommodation is singular, following several years as an international fugitive staying in five-star hotels throughout south-east Asia; then nine years in European and United States prisons. For the past ten years, he has written travel articles for The Observer, Time Out, and The Daily Telegraph on South America and the Caribbean.
Reviewed Riad El Fenn, Marrakech and Kssour Agafay, Marrakech, and Masseria Torre Coccaro, Puglia.

Charles Martin TV director
A fearless six-foot-fourer with a penchant for late-night shenanigans and swashbuckling misadventure, Charles has crossed six continents developing his long-standing love affair with travel. For now, his social life and his award-winning work keep him in London. Having directed a few episodes of The Smiths: Hotels for 2, he went on to the award-winning My Life as a Popat, as his Freaky series hit Channel 4.
Reviewed Les Terrasses, Ibiza, Balearic Islands.

Francesca Martin Features director, Harper’s Bazaar
At two weeks old, Francesca flew to her mother’s native Sweden and has wanted to cross the globe at least once a month ever since. She spent five years at Vogue, and now combines her role at Bazaar with editing the Arts Diary at The Guardian. She can often be found wringing out her soggy clothes at the Hay Festival, jumping the art queues at Miami Art Basel or interviewing celebrities by the pool at Chateau Marmont.

Jeremy Mascarenhas Publisher and bar consultant
Jeremy Mascarenhas has been publishing the London Bar Guide since the explosion of designer-bar culture in the Nineties. Having launched the London Restaurant Guide and with more titles on the way, he craves more than anything a day off: a Sunday morning in bed watching Hollyoaks, if truth be told.
Reviewed Prestonfield, Edinburgh.

Tabitha May Travel writer
After university, Tabitha veered from teaching ballet to working as a barrister, with a stint teaching English to young reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist high lamas in a monastery in Darjeeling. Somehow, her pursuit of spirituality sits comfortably with her life-long passion for glamorous pan-global travel. She’s been around, in the nicest possible way, travel writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Eve and Grazia magazines.

Stella McCartney Fashion designer
Stella graduated from Central St Martins in 1995 and became creative director of Chloé. In 2001, she launched her own label in partnership with the Gucci Group. She co-wrote her review with her husband, Alasdhair Willis, former publisher of Wallpaper* and now head of creative consultancy Announcement.
Reviewed JK Place, Florence.

Neil McLennan Lifestyle journalist
For more than 20 years, lifestyle journalist Neil McLennan has passed off having a good time as hard work at titles such as Time Out, ES magazine, Elle, Grazia and Marie Claire. When not supervising food shoots, nosing around homes of the rich and famous, flicking through glossy pictures and dining at fine tables, Australian-born Neil can be found travelling to boutique hotels all over the world, where he gens up on thread counts, premium-brand vodkas and indigenous spa treatments while accruing a fine collection of travel-sized grooming products.
Reviewed La Minervetta, Sorrento and Holm House, Vale Of Glamorgan.

Kirsten McNally Marketing guru
As founder of luxury, fashion and lifestyle marketing agency Brand Couture, Kirsten translates emerging consumer trends into brand experiences on a daily basis. In terms of hotels, Kirsten recognises that simple pleasures and personal touches go a long way with the modern traveller. In a world of increasing global fashion homogeneity, she celebrates Mr & Mrs Smith's eclectic mix of hi- and lo-fi places for every mood.
Reviewed La Maison du Frêne, Côte D'azur (east).

Jim McNulty Yachtsman and tour manager
Whether staying in the Lost In Translation-featured Park Hyatt hotel in Tokyo as tour manager for Fatboy Slim, or working as part of a crew decamping to a converted prison in Serbia, Jim’s twin passions of music and sailing have given him the chance to see the world. While his friends married, he travelled the Far East; when they were busy having babies, he was living in the Middle East. Now a partner in a successful yacht-charter business (as featured in our online Smith & Friends collection of self-catering properties), and a first-time father, he’s enjoying travelling incognito with his baby daughter Delilah and his own Mrs Smith, Sorcha, an interiors stylist.
Reviewed Barnsley House, Cotswolds.

Helen McNutt Freelance writer
During stints as a writer for The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Cosmopolitan, Helen has checked into a wealth of super-slick hotels. From walking in stilettos on a Monte Carlo beach, to having a gun pointed at her in South Africa, Helen has experienced some mind-blowing stuff in her time. She insists her best ever hotel memory is of a 70p a night mud hut on an Indian beach, though she admits she’s partial to the odd eye-wateringly expensive five-starrer on occasion too.
Reviewed Chewton Glen, Hampshire.

Felix Milns Freelance travel writer
A dedicated follower of fashionable hotels, Felix Milns has written for the FT and the Evening Standard, among others, staying everywhere from luxury safari camps in the Kruger to converted shipping containers in Bolivia. He also regularly appears as a travel expert on the BBC Holiday 10 Best programme.

Nick Moran Actor
Born in London, Nick is best known for his film roles (most notably in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). His career has resulted in something of a world tour. 'I've got 14 visas from nine countries, and more air miles than Alan Whicker,' he says. As a result, he's no stranger to hotel accommodation. He has written for The Guardian, The Times and the Evening Standard; is the author of the award-winning West End play Telstar; and is narrator of The Smiths: Hotels for 2.
Reviewed L'Oustau de Baumanière, Provence.

Chris Morgan Film location manager
Chris spent his childhood in countless countries so it seemed a logical progression to slip into finding locations for feature films and TV commercials. Over the years he has worked all over the globe, from Northern Ireland and Thailand to Iceland and Argentina. His subsequent experience of a wide variety of accommodation and an eye for detail makes him a natural when it comes to giving the low down on hotels. He's still searching for that elusive film job which would allow him to indulge in his two passions of food and motorbikes.
Reviewed Viceroy Palm Springs, Palm Springs.

Amanda Morison Travel editor, Red
As a child, Amanda Morison was transplanted from the wilds of Dartmoor to sunny Swaziland. She spent three years checking into the world's most luxurious hotel suites as travel editor of Brides, as well as travelling the world for Elle, The Guardian, Business Life and High Life. Amanda helped compile our Smith & Kids section and wrote our features on essential family-travel accessories and essential family-travel tips.
Reviewed Talaa 12, Marrakech and Ksar Char-Bagh, Marrakech.

Matt Morley Writer and brand consultant
After a peripatetic educational career around Europe as a linguist, Matt eventually realised that staying put was just not his thing. With his teeth well and truly cut thanks to a stint at Quintessentially, he has since divided his time between writing for/editing magazines and working for Luxury Branding, a consultancy that specialises in travel and hospitality brands; all of which ensures that he is never far from his next frantic dash to a boarding gate. Just don’t ask him which way is home.
Reviewed Townhouse, Miami.

Alex Morris Picture editor, Closer
Having grown up in various locations across London, Boston and Aberystwyth, globetrotting has always come naturally to style connoisseur Alex. Studying film in both Paris and Brighton led him into a career working on media and celebrity-focused magazine titles, including FHM, OK! and now Closer, where he became Picture Director in 2004. When he isn’t working his magazine magic, Alex’s idea of heaven is relaxing in the South of France whilst tucking into fresh sardines, washed down with an icy-cool bottle of muscadet: his perfect combination.
Reviewed Llety Bodfor, Cardigan Bay.

Roland Mouret Fashion designer
Having firmly established himself as a leading light in international design, Roland is recognised and praised within the industry and far beyond for his originality and his unique vision of women’s sensuality. Acclaimed for his catwalk shows from New York to Paris, that iconic Galaxy dress, and for dressing world-famous stars, Roland recently announced the launch of 19RM, a company jointly owned with Simon Fuller and part of the 19 Entertainment portfolio. In July 2007, Roland launched his new satellite collection of womenswear, RM, a range designed to ‘celebrate women’.
Reviewed Charlton House, Northeast Somerset.

Huz Mozaffar Designer
Huz whetted his cultural appetite studying fine art at Brighton University, after which he made a move into buying and product development. For the past four years he has been honing his skills at the Conran Shop. He considers himself to have the perfect job: he gets to travel the world, and find and design new stuff. His ideal getaway would be a trip to see the aurora borealis.
Reviewed Le Manoir de Raynaudes, Tarn.

Danielle Nay Brand angel
Danielle never leaves home without her passport. Just in case. Known to friends, family and journalists as the Oracle, she has a photographic memory for global destinations and a mania for creating itineraries and packing lists in Excel. (Danielle has now read the other biogs and thinks she should mention that she is no bimbo and also went to Oxford.)
Reviewed Riad Lotus Perle, Marrakech and Dar Zemora, Marrakech.

Gemma Newland Marketer
Gemma has spent more years than she cares to admit in the marketing and events industry. She travels so much that check-in staff at Heathrow now greet her by name! Gemma has a pathological dislike of large, purpose-built business hotels and has her own mental checklist that includes: Do the staff have a sense of humour even when I'm losing mine because the plane is late again? Can they make a great Cosmo? Is the hotel more beautiful than the shoes I'm wearing? Would I come here with the girls or my lovely man for a long weekend? Four yeses and they're on her (and our) hotlist.

Anthony Noguera Editor-in-chief, Arena
Emerging as a fanzine writer, Anthony Noguera edited various music magazines in the Nineties before joining Sky and then FHM, where he became editor in April 1999. Under his editorship, it became the bestselling monthly in British history. He was named EMAP Editor of the Year in 1999 and British Society of Magazine Editors' Editor of the Year in 2000.
Reviewed Prestige Paseo de Grácia, Barcelona and Didsbury House, Manchester.

Charlotte Northedge Journalist/commissioning editor, Guardian
Previously a glossy magazine journalist for titles such as Cosmopolitan and Psychologies, Charlotte would go to any length to get her story: taking flamenco classes in Madrid, learning how to flirt in Amsterdam or even touring Elvis' favourite burger joints in Mississippi. Now a commissioning editor at the Guardian, Charlotte has interviewed celebrities in some of the world's swankiest hotel rooms, and has reviewed everything from five-star resorts to the UK's muddiest festivals.
Reviewed Grand Hotel Central, Barcelona.

Louiza Paticas Actor
Better known to Radio 4 listeners as Helen in The Archers, Louiza was brought up between Athens and Surrey, has lived in Paris and Bordeaux and now lives in west London. She loves the perpetual 'work in progress' of Athens and if she could bottle a scent, 'Eau d'Athènes', with base notes of car pollution and jasmine mixed with a whiff of cigarette smoke, she would.
Reviewed Londa, Limassol.

Thalia Pellegrini Travel presenter
After years of jumping around in front of the camera on children’s television, London-based journalist Thalia decided to re-boot her career with a grown-up mission: to explore the globe. Now a worldly-wise travel presenter, regular reporting assignments mean she has had her fair share of hotels – good and bad. For Thalia, pure, smile-with-contentment relaxation comes in the form of a well-earned break with her Mr Smith. Preferably in a room where a wake-up call doesn’t pierce the airwaves at 05h with the words: ‘Sorry Thalia, the producer wants a PTC at sunrise. Can you be ready in 10?’
Reviewed Gidleigh Park, Devon.

Oliver Peyton Founder and chairman, Gruppo Ltd
Kicking off his two decades in the hospitality industry, Oliver masterminded the UK distribution of Japanese beer Sapporo, and turned the previously obscure Absolut into an ubercool vodka. The first of his award-winning restaurant ventures came in 1994 with the Atlantic Bar & Grill. He has followed that with Coast, Mash, Isola, the Admiralty in Somerset House and Inn the Park.
Reviewed Bulgari Hotel, Milan.

Alex Proud Gallerist and Music Venue Pioneer
Alex Proud is the founder of Proud Galleries – he opened Proud Central in 1998 and reopened the legendary Proud Camden in April 2008 at the magnificent Grade II Listed Horse Hospital in Camden’s Stabled Market. Further launches are planned in Brighton, New York, Paris and Tokyo. His Mrs Smith is Sunday Times Style columnist, TV presenter and author, Danielle Proud.
Reviewed Three Sisters, Tallinn and Hotel Tresanton, Cornwall.

Danielle Proud Broadcaster and journalist
(aka Mrs Alex Proud) is an interior design columnist for Sunday Times Style magazine. Her first book, House Proud, hit the shelves in November 2006. She spent years cutting her teeth as clubs editor and assistant to the TV editor at The Guardian Guide. This gave her a good grounding in identifying comfy furniture and making mean martinis. These skills, coupled with her designer's eye and marriage to fastidious hotel snob Alex Proud, make her an ideal commentator on a place's suitability for R&R, as well as easiness on the eye.
Reviewed Hacienda de San Rafael, Seville Province.

Mark Rae Music maker
Mark Rae began his musical career as a DJ in Manchester in the late Eighties before setting up the Fat City Records store and, in turn, the record label Grand Central. He was one half of the Rae & Christian act – together he and Steve Christian produced over 100 remixes for the likes of Nightmares on Wax, Texas and Dinah Washington, as well as recording two acclaimed albums – Northern Sulphuric Soul and Sleepwalking. Mark has gone on to make two solo records as well as to record under the name Yes King, with Rhys Adams, in Jamaica and London. Mark currently resides in Los Angeles where he is recording his third solo LP and writing numerous screenplays. Mark has travelled the world with his musical career and has taken in the delights of many hotels along the way.
Reviewed The Standard Downtown LA, Los Angeles.

Nick Raistrick Journalist
In the mid-Nineties, Nick was based in Prague but it got too cold, so he ended up living in Barcelona and Madrid, where he picked up Spanish and rediscovered his Middlesbrough accent. He currently works for the BBC World Service Trust, training journalists in developing countries like Somalia. His favourite destinations are Nepal, Guatemala and Borneo; he'd like to get paid to visit the Antarctic next, please.
Reviewed Hospedería Convento de la Parra, Extremadura.

Serena Rees Designer and co-founder, Agent Provocateur
Since luxury undies merchant Agent Provocateur first threw open its sexily-scented doors back in 1994, co-founder Serena Rees has been the driving force behind its meteoric rise to the world’s number one fashion lingerie brand. Her passion, relentless hard work and uncompromising attention to beauty and detail makes Serena the perfect stylish-hotel spy when it comes to meeting Mr & Mrs Smith’s exacting standards. Plus, she knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn't in the boudoir…
Reviewed Bellinter House, County Meath.

Anna Richardson Broadcaster and journalist
Starting her TV life at The Big Breakfast in its heyday, Anna embarked on a seven-year career as a presenter for the BBC and ITV. More recently, she turned her attention to writing, and as executive producer for an independent TV company, created hit series such as You Are What You Eat for Channel 4.
Reviewed Can Curreu, Ibiza, Balearic Islands.

Rhymer Rigby Travel journalist
Rhymer's work has led him to investigate corporate espionage and the male beauty industry, and seen him eating deep-fried tarantulas in Cambodia. His tales have appeared in the Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Observer, as well as magazines such as GQ and Condé Nast Traveller. He lives in London with his wife and Monty the cat.
Reviewed La Fuente de la Higuera, Ronda, Andalucia.

Danny Rogers Editor, PR Week
Danny Rogers is a prolific commentator on consumer brands and the marketing of travel. A self-confessed 'media tart', he is a member of the Superbrands Council and regular contributor to The Independent, The Guardian and Travel Weekly. He spends far too much time in hotel bars, most of which he reckons ‘dreadful’.

Taryn Ross Founder, UrbanJunkies.com
Taryn has been sniffing out what's hot and not professionally for over a decade now. With travel in her blood, and three passports under her belt, Taryn lived in New York, Chicago, Vancouver and Barcelona, before moving to London to pursue a career in fashion. After a spell in fashion PR, Taryn founded UrbanJunkies.com, London's daily e-mag. In addition to her role as MD and editor of the website, Taryn edits MIDAS magazine, and is on the steering committee of On|Off, a unique art/fashion/design initiative during London Fashion Week.
Reviewed Atzaró, Ibiza, Balearic Islands.

Nathan Rous Journalist
Nathan Rous has been staying in posh hotels at other people's expense ever since he discovered the art of blagging. Even while covering the Bosnian conflict in the early Nineties he managed to arrange a luxurious weekend in Dubrovnik on the way home. He has now set up a PR consultancy to help travel companies prevent similar journalists from taking advantage. After all, it takes one to know one.
Reviewed The Rockwell, London.

Tamara Salman Creative director, Liberty
Half Iraqi, half British, textile and fashion designer Tamara ‘lived down the road from Babylon’ in Baghdad until she was 14, at home in two dramatically different cultures. The daughter of a pilot, the former Prada and Romeo Gigli employee’s path was supposed to be an academic one – her parents wanted her to become a doctor – but, fuelled by a love of creative expression and adventure, by 16 she was hightailing it solo through India. After moving to Britain, she studied art, and while doing so fell in love with fashion. Since her appointment as creative director of Liberty of London, she has revived and reworked the store’s iconic archive of prints to produce innovative new collections, including modern swimwear and accessories.
Reviewed Tigerlily, Edinburgh.

Darius Sanai Editor-in-chief, Condé Nast Contract Publishing
Darius spends half his time turning corporate messages into beautiful magazines, at Condé Nast and his own company, Editorialise. The rest of his time is split between editing Lux magazine, being a contributing editor of GQ, consulting for luxury brands, and being bullied by his daughters.

Bee Shaffer Fashion columnist
Jet-setting daughter of legendary US Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Bee Shaffer divides her time between her history degree at New York’s Columbia University and her journalism career. Despite her youth (she’s just turned 21), Bee, whose real name is Katherine, has worked as a style columnist for the Daily Telegraph and a contributor to Teen Vogue, and has visited some of the furthest flung corners of the globe. Her list of top trips includes searching for tigers in Ranthambore, India, trekking through Libya’s Leptis Magna ruins, and a week riding Vespas around Mykonos, but she assures us that her trip to Rome for Mr & Mrs Smith is up there with the best of them.
Reviewed Portrait Suites, Rome.

Ben Sowton Record-company head honcho, Seamless Recordings
After eight years in advertising, Ben co-founded events company Atomic, and then the White House members’ bar and restaurant in south London, before fulfilling a long-held ambition to set up a record label: Seamless Recordings, whose bargrooves series has been described by Wallpaper* as ‘achingly sophisticated’.
Reviewed Blanch House, Brighton and La Coluccia, Sardinia.

Mimi Spencer Journalist
Mimi writes on matters of style – fashion, beauty, food, celebrity, travel and the curious ways of the world. She is a columnist for Observer Food Monthly and for You magazine at the Mail on Sunday – and a contributing editor of Grazia and Observer Woman. She also writes regularly for the Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar and the Evening Standard. Mimi edited ES magazine for several years before moving with her husband and two young children to Brighton – where she can see the pier from her desk and has a choice of 46 different yoga classes at lunchtime.

Oliver Stolle Editor and journalist
As an editor for Snow, the most avant-garde German snowboarding magazine of the late Nineties, Oliver travelled all the way from the Chugach Mountains, Alaska, to the southern Island of New Zealand. Now in his early thirties he knows, that a good hotel is more than just a warm and dry place to hide away from the next storm. At the moment Oliver is preparing travel stories for Neon and BMW Magazine in order to finance a new kitchen large enough to accommodate his love of traditional Bavarian recipes like Schweinshax’n and roasted baby goats.

Francesca Syz Journalist
British-by-chance – her parents came over from New York when she was just a twinkle in their eye and stayed forever – Francesca was born gumming a boarding pass. A contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveller, she has stayed at some of the world’s snazziest hotels but confesses she’d forsake a week in any of them for just one night in her Adirondacks log cabin. Francesca also writes for publications from House&Garden and Elle Decoration to the Observer and Saturday Telegraph.
Reviewed The Gore, London and Casa de Madrid, Madrid.

Alice Taylor Vice president, BBC Worldwide
A Londoner at heart, computer game and broadcasting whizz Alice currently lives in Los Angeles, but is plotting a future move to Mumbai. Or maybe Tokyo. Possibly Barcelona. Alice doesn't like staying still, and anyway, the best video games are always found across the pond somewhere. When not playing games or haranguing television executives about the future of media and technology, Alice is usually found blogging, speaking at international conferences and worrying about her carbon footprint.
Reviewed Avalon Hotel, Los Angeles.

Anthony Thistleton Architect
Anthony Thistleton established Waugh Thistleton with Andrew Waugh six years ago, just when Shoreditch was emerging from hibernation. Their work includes Cantaloupe, the Light Bar, the White House in Clapham and the Northern Light in Leeds. The practice now numbers 14 partners, with projects ranging from artists’ studios to large-scale developments.
Reviewed Amberley Castle, West Sussex.

Nigel Tisdall Travel editor, Marie Claire
Nigel’s globetrotting career began one wet Monday morning in 1985 when he went to London’s Liverpool Street station and caught a train to Hong Kong. Since then, he’s been roaming all over the world, writing principally for The Daily Telegraph and its weekend companion, The Sunday Telegraph. Currently travel editor of Marie Claire, he’s constantly checking into hotels. The best? ‘A tent in Antarctica – until it blew away.’ The worst? ‘A candle-lit lodge in the Peruvian Amazon, where I just happened to spot a cockroach on my toothbrush…’
Reviewed Square, Brighton and Hotel Daniel, Paris.

Simone Topolski Travel journalist
After a brief incarnation as a furniture and jewellery designer, Simone decided to swap workshops and toolboxes for boutique hotels and matching luggage, and entered the world of travel journalism. After several years of struggle, someone finally decided to pay her for it and she’s since explored the globe on behalf of Psychologies, Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Telegraph. When not scribing for her supper, she can usually be found snoozing in a hammock in the Mexican rainforest or making fire with her bare hands somewhere in Sussex.
Reviewed La Purificadora, Puebla and Condesa DF, Mexico City.

Philip Treacy Milliner
If hats were a country, then Philip would be royalty. As a child in the west of Ireland, he was obsessed with his mother's sewing machine, and eventually studied for an MA in fashion design at the Royal College of Art. He went on to design hats for Lagerfeld at Chanel, Gianni Versace, Valentino and Alexander McQueen, winning five British Fashion Designer of the Year awards in the process. He was recently created design director for the interiors of hotel The G in Galway.
Reviewed Château de Massillan, Vaucluse, Provence.

Oliver Tress Retail whizz, Oliver Bonas
Oliver Tress is the brains behind the Oliver Bonas chain of lifestyle stores; since its launch in 1993, more than ten shops have sprung up across London. Oliver started out importing fashion goods from Hong Kong for friends. His next trick will be international expansion.
Reviewed Samling, Lake District.

Robert Triggs Environmental lawyer
After repeated false starts, Robert finally ditched corporate law in the Big Smoke in 2004 in favour of the more right-on field of environmental law in Bristol. Although he has regular pangs of longing to pack in the legal career and set up a hotel at the back end of beyond, for now Robert is happy to indulge his itchy feet; getting his travel fix from jaunts for Mr & Mrs Smith instead.
Reviewed Raheem Residency, Kerala.

Laetitia Trouillet Fashion designer and personal shopper
French-born Laetitia Trouillet lives and works in Morocco, after seven years in London, where her designs were first spotted at Portobello Market; her lalla brand (www.lalla.fr) can now be found in Paul & Joe in London and Le Bon Marché in Paris. When she isn’t producing and selling bags from her new-town showroom, she guides shoppers round the souks and boutiques of Marrakech.

Matt Turner Editor, Sleeper
Matt joined Mondiale Publishing as a trainee on Night magazine, became editor within three years and spent the next five years visiting party capitals Paris, Rimini, Milan, Ibiza, Miami, Las Vegas and New York. At Sleeper since 2002, he now spends even more time checking out contemporary hotels, and gets a lot more sleep than he used to.
Reviewed The Setai, Miami and The Luxe Manor, Hong Kong.

Helen Veale TV producer
Helen Veale is a TV producer who, together with Laura Mansfield, runs Outline Productions, the TV company responsible for the series based on the Mr & Mrs Smith guidebooks, along with hit parental-guidance programme The House of Tiny Tearaways. Before setting up Outline, Helen was a freelance producer-director, and she has always enjoyed indulging in huge amounts of Italian food and wine.
Reviewed Villa Bordoni, Tuscany.

Paul Von Bergen Entrepreneur and spiritualist
The first three years of Paul's working life were spent in the corporate world, travelling between a seemingly endless succession of Alan Partridge-style business hotels, so he knows very well what a hotel should not be. On the other hand, numerous stays at extravagant Chuff Chuff hotel venues also means that Paul knows how to spot an after-party room when he sees one. After running a marketing consultancy, and an up-market erotic boutique, Paul is now embarking on a spiritual journey by driving a bus around Australia seeking inspiration.

Benjamin Von Eckartsberg Illustrator and comic- and artbook author
Benjamin von Eckartsberg is a German freelance illustrator and comic- and artbook author living in Munich. He has won several prizes, for example the Sondermann Prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair for the best German graphic novel 2005. Being published also in the French-speaking parts of Europe, he has seen a lot of hotels on his book-signing tours of Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland. So he knows to value the benefits of a hotel that knows how to create an environment where its guests are far-removed from being cattle in a stable.
Reviewed Anna Hotel, Munich.

Keri Webb Marketing guru
Keri has travelled extensively in the last ten years, firstly as a clothing production manager in Africa & the Middle East and more recently from working within travel industry where she helped to develop marketing campaigns for boutique and personalised tailor-made travel experiences. Her background of both quality control and marketing the best in personalised travel make her highly qualified to help Mr & Mrs Smith "cherry-pick" the very best boutique hotel memories. Finding the unique little touches that demonstrate the very highest service standards whilst retaining charm and personal service is a challenge Keri always relishes. And who can blame her.
Reviewed Ichibi Lakeside Lodge, Garden Route & Winelands.

Rory Weller Journalist
After ten years as a freelance journalist in the heady days of rave, Rory decided in the late Nineties that he couldn't spend much more time reminding DJs what country they were in that day and keeping photographers out of prison so got a proper job as features editor of Metro Scotland. On recent travels he's discovered that you can have road rage on a beach in Daytona, that it's useful to have a tabloid journalist handy if you're going to drown in the Gambia and, when in the Canadian Rockies, prairie oysters are a terrific jetlag cure and taste best cooked over an open fire.

Jori White Director, Jori White PR
A decade since she founded it, US-born Jori’s firm is one of the UK's leading lifestyle PR agencies. Her client list includes 34 magazine, Zuma and the Cinnamon Club. Jori has hosted many glamorous attention-grabbing launches, including parties for Sir Michael Caine and Sir Roger Moore.
Reviewed Pershing Hall, Paris and Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath.

Jim Whyte Freelance journalist
Jim Whyte spent ten years in marketing before fatefully asking The Guardian to send him somewhere cold. He was promptly dispatched to Siberia for the winter to file a series of travel articles. After requesting somewhere a bit warmer for his next assignment, they sent him to ride a camel across the Sahara. Now reacquainted with a far more stylish and comfortable form of travel with Mr & Mrs Smith, Jim is resolutely sticking to his first loves of yachts, sundowners and Italian ice cream.

Benji Wilson Journalist
A laughable two-year stint in advertising that began back in 1998 filled Benji with enough bitterness and bile to write a letter to Private Eye. He has been writing for them ever since, reviewing books and television programmes, and occasionally ratting on his friends for financial gain. His main interest, both at home and professionally, is television – he interviews celebrities and writes features for Radio Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Observer. On the rare occasions he can be prised off his sofa, however, he writes travel pieces for Condé Nast Traveller, The Sunday Telegraph and Arena.
Reviewed Driftwood, Cornwall.

Lucy Yeomans Editor, Harper’s Bazaar
Lucy Yeomans became features editor of Tatler in 1997, and deputy editor a year later. On her first day as features director of British Vogue, she was offered, and accepted, the position of editor at Harpers & Queen. That was in November 2000; since then, Lucy has transformed the magazine – now rechristened and redesigned – into a glamorous super-glossy.
Reviewed Continentale, Florence and Blakes, London.

Josa Young Executive editor, Conde Net
Josa Young was born in a four-poster bed and has been trying to get back into one ever since. Married for twenty years this year, and with two teenagers and a wild six year old to show for it, she is a writer and editor with special expertise in upmarket internet content. She has written and edited for Vogue, Tatler, Harpers & Queen, The Times and the Telegraph – and is currently Executive Editor, Conde Net, responsible for all the online glitz and gloss at publishing house Conde Nast.
Reviewed Queensberry Hotel, Bath.

Eric Yu Managing Director, Breakfast Group
Hong Kong-born Eric trained as a chartered accountant before purchasing London nightclub Villa Stefano in 1991, and transforming Jimmy’s Bar into Bar Rumba. His company (named for the wee small hours his business thrives during) is now behind the Substations, Jerusalem, Social, POP, Social Nottingham, Opium and Grand Central.
Reviewed Ickworth, Suffolk.