The expertise and eccentricity of one's classmates. The time-honored squalor of the dormitories. The history underfoot and overhead. On a beautiful day in June 1999, a friend and I entered the reception area and were greeted by a friendly staff. In all of France, only 22 restaurants earned the three-star ranking in 2000.
Lira sounds more romantic than stodgily fiscal.
Cruise around some of the most gorgeous bits of the English countryside in a classic sports car of yesteryear, stumble upon hidden delights you never knew were there, submit to the cosseting of superbly trained staff in intimate luxury hotels on five successive nights and enjoy stunning cuisine prepared by Michelin award-winning chefs. Five English hotels, all members of the marketing group Small Luxury Hotels of the World, have combined to put together this novel package. Each morning the vacationing elite of the late 18th Century gathered at the elegant, chandelier-bedecked Grand Pump Room in this ancient spa city to sip the supposedly curative waters of England's only hot mineral spring. Not all that much has changed in the succeeding centuries, or so we concluded. The Pump Room remains a sumptuous gathering spot.