Today I’m joined by James Lohan, the co-founder – and the Mr – of Mr & Mrs Smith, the much-loved boutique and luxury hotel booking service and travel club.
It all began when James and his wife Tamara (aka Mrs Smith) decided to go about creating their own boutique hotel guidebook, travelling the UK to dine the best spots for a luxurious weekend break. The book was a huge success, and the business has since grown to include a popular online booking service, and its membership programme now has more than a million global members.
In 2014, James and Tamara received MBEs for their services to the travel industry, and when I asked James how many hotels he’s visited, he estimated a whopping 2000.
As soon as we started chatting, I knew this had to be a long haul feature length episode. As a bit of a hotel junkie myself, this was just so much fun, listening to James zig zag across the globe from one extraordinary destination to the other.
Whatever you’re dreaming about, if you’re thinking of a weekend staycation or a mega honeymoon, I guarantee you’ll get some great inspiration from James.
Destination recap:
- Polzeath Beach, Cornwall, England
- Tresanton Hotel, Cornwall, England
- Blakes Hotel, London, England
- The Witchery, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Drunken Duck Inn, Lake District, England
- Le Manoir aux quat’saisons, Oxfordshire, England
- Uxua Casa, Trancoso, Brazil
- Vik, Southern Iceland
- Deplar Farm, Troll Peninsula, Iceland
- Soneva Fushi, The Maldives
- Il Latini, Florence, Italy
- JK Place, Florence, Italy
- Lime Wood, New Forest, England
- Reschio, Umbria, Italy
- Ett Hem, Stockholm, Sweden
- Foxhill Manor, The Cotswolds, England
- Morokuru, De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa
- Georgia
- Namibia
- Rwanda
- India
- Menorca
You can find Mr & Mrs Smith online and on Instagram @mrandmrssmith
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Come and find me on Instagram – I’m @hollyrubenstein – and to find out more about the podcast, visit
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