Vogue Entertainment & Travel: October 2009

Boutique Hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith reveal their favourite hotels and escapes

When James Lohan and Tamara Heber-Percy met across a dance floor in Ibiza in 1996, who knew that seven years later, it would spawn both romance and a whole new phenomenon – though not quite the same as Brangelina.
Instead, the online travel specialists have been satisfying the worldwide craze for luxury boutique accommodation with their unique reportage and excellent coverage. “It was a question of traditional chintzy decor and snooty service – out; wow-factor design, unique detailing and personal service – in,” explains the English couple of the growing appeal of small hotels. Since its inception, Mr & Mrs Smith has published four guidebooks (its Australia and New Zealand edition is due out in November), set up a Melbourne office and will soon have a global 24-hour booking service. There’s also plenty more on the cards. In 2010, the US and Asia-Pacific guidebooks are released, as is a range of hotel-quality bed lined. So, who’s up for a dirty weekend?

Favourite hotels?
We have three: JK Place in Florence, which feels like a private home, with its elegant interiors and fantastic anticipate-every-need service; Hotel Endsleigh in Devon, the perfect countryside hideaway; and Blakes hotel in London, for its seductive atmosphere and the fact that we got married there.

Best travel tip? Pack half your clothes in each other’s bags in case one of the bags gets lost – it saves a miserable start to your holiday.

Mr & Mrs Smith in 30 seconds...
City or country? City
Room service or eat out? JL Retreat THP Adventure
Self-cater or private chef? Private chef
Cottage or castle? Cottage
Montenegro or Monte Carlo? Monte Carlo

Under-rated destinations?
Melbourne – it’s such a vibrant and stylish city. It’s also home to incredible galleries and some fantastic boutique hotels, such as The Albany in South Yarra.

We love hotel room with a butler cupboard, so when room service arrive, you don’t have that uncomfortable set-up moment.

Best ever hotel bar?
The Standard Downtown LA as the ultimate rooftop bar where they make great cocktails.

Dream holiday
We haven’t been to India and we’re dying to go to Rajasthan and Kerala. Tokyo would be another destination we’d love to visit – it appeals to our tech-loving sides.

Favourite destination?
Ibiza, because it’s where we met and we still go for a week every year. It’s perfect for us because it’s close to home (we do enough travelling already) and you can design your ideal holiday, whether you want a deserted beach or a glamorous night out. It also has Formentera, a beautiful island just a 20-minute boat ride away with sandy beaches as good as the Caribbean.