Stanley Spencer’s ‘village in heaven’: an arty weekend in Cookham, Berkshire

The bucolic banks of the Thames, dotted with fine pubs and historic locations, make a picturesque setting for exploring the life and times of one of England’s greatest artists

Cookham, a Thames-side village in Berkshire, was described as “a village in heaven” by the artist Stanley Spencer (1891-1959), who lived there most of his life. He is best known for his paintings of biblical events transposed to Cookham’s streets, gardens and riverbanks. Today the village houses the Stanley Spencer Gallery, a converted Methodist chapel run entirely by volunteers. The gallery opened in 1962 and was refurbished in 2007, with a mezzanine floor added to show more of the 100-odd works in the collection. Two exhibitions are staged every year. The summer show, A Brush with History: Stanley Spencer and Modern British Art, runs until 5 November. The winter exhibition, Everywhere is Heaven: Stanley Spencer and Robert Wagner, begins on 9 November and is the gallery’s first collaboration with a living artist. As well as paintings and drawings, the museum contains memorabilia such as Spencer’s pram, which the eccentric artist used to push his canvas and easel around the village – wearing his pyjamas under his suit if it was cold.
£7 adults/£3.50 age 18-25/under-18s free, daily until 5 November, Thursday to Sunday only from 9 November to 24 March Continue reading...

All stations to Athens: crossing Europe by train and boat

Travelling overland from London to Greece allows time to soak up the atmosphere and scenery as you ride through France, Switzerland and Italy

There’s been a rockslide somewhere in the Maurienne Valley, deep in the French Alps. By the time I’m due to set off on an intricately planned, early autumn European rail trip from London to Athens, nearly a week has passed since the incident. My intended path through France, Italy and then on to Greece via sea had relied on a connection from Lyon to Milan passing directly through this region. Now the route is out of action and it could be months before the railway tracks are dug out from the rubble. Initially, I’m irate. En route to the Eurostar terminal at London’s St Pancras at 6.30am, however, I encourage myself to think differently.

My decision to opt for a flightless pilgrimage in search of late-September sun wasn’t only environmentally driven. I’d also chosen to take the slower way in the hope of learning to enjoy the journey; seeing it not as an inconvenience but as a part of the adventure. Diversions needn’t be a drag, I tell myself, but an opportunity. In this case, to visit Switzerland. Continue reading...

China’s Domestic Flight Capacity to Soar 34% Above 2019 Levels

As domestic flights in China are set to surge 34% higher than pre-pandemic levels, the global tourism sector eagerly awaits the revival of international flight capacity in the country. -Peden Doma Bhutia

In search of strange and sacred sites – the UK’s weirdest walks

Created by three friends fascinated with ancient places, the Weird Walk zine has a cult following. Comic Stewart Lee introduces three magical routes from their new book

Two books bestrode my childhood, and made me the man I am: The Magic Bridle, a collection of British and Irish myths retold by the folklorist Forbes Stuart, which ignited my six-year-old imagination in 1974, and Mysterious Britain by Janet and Colin Bord, published two years earlier, and part of a then burgeoning bookseller phenomenon of often unreliable Earth mysteries compendiums. Nonetheless, they set this particular boy off, seeking out ancient sites whenever possible. Now everything has wilted but I still have calves of iron, and I can identify the outline of a hilltop earthwork from a moving car on a motorway as surely as a falcon seeing a field mouse 500 feet below.

Through childhood and adolescence I worked towards my targets, assembling my own apostolic archive of similar but unrelated 70s texts, light on detail and heavy on conjecture. Where were these places of power? I would see them! “You and your old ruins!” my gran would cluck dismissively, as I politely requested we broke our Morris Marina journey southwest to the caravan site, at Stanton Drew or Glastonbury. And when I stumbled in my cub-scout shorts to find the Longstone Barrow, which I had only seen in a blurred pamphlet picture, my divorcee dad waited patiently in a car at the bottom of Challacombe Common, counting down the functional alcoholic hours to opening time. God bless him! Today I feel his pain. But we were all weird walking blind back then, confused men with their hands on the shoulders of the equally confused man in front, seeking silhouettes of standing stones in the mists of imaginary moors. Continue reading...

Here’s Why China’s Fliggy Thinks the Travel Recovery Is Just Getting Started

As the Chinese travel market embraces personalization, technology integration, and enhanced experiences, the industry needs to adjust to this ever-changing landscape.
-Peden Doma Bhutia

Visa Rides Post-Pandemic Travel Surge

Concerns about an impeding economic slowdown aren't putting a dent in travel demand, and experts except consumer spending on travel to remain strong. -Rashaad Jorden

Hilton’s U.S. Growth Returns to Normal, International Surges

As the U.S. sees a return to pre-pandemic patterns of hotel demand, Asia Pacific appears to be roaring back. -Sean O'Neill

AirAsia Parent Company Seeks to Raise More Than $1 Billion in Debt, Equity

The goal is a venture that expands the AirAsia brand to enterprises seeking to launch airline franchises in emerging nations.

-Srividya Kalyanaraman

Beyonce Boosts Hotel Bookings

Today's podcast discusses Beyonce's hotel bounce, Airbnb's New York City issues, and five airline themes for next week. -Rashaad Jorden

Feel the glow: under the mountain into a radon spa in Austria

Bad Gastein’s curious attractions include tunnels where visitors can soak up low doses of natural radiation, which is claimed to help cure eczema and other ailments

The Austrian Alps are known for their visually dramatic walking trails. But equally alluring are the sumptuous spa-hotels where hikers can relax aching limbs in a maze of saunas and steam rooms, all scented with eucalyptus. And no spa is more labyrinthine than the radioactive caves I found myself (naked) in in Bad Gastein.

This elegant spa town was built on a rocky perch beside a spectacular waterfall in the declining years of the Austro-Hungarian empire: in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, belle époque hotels were tapping the radon-rich thermal waters to offer curative stays to bourgeois visitors. Continue reading...

French made: the Paris festival celebrating centuries of unique crafts

Couturiers, spirit-makers and neon-sign merchants are among the 600 artisans opening their ateliers next month to showcase their traditional trades

Stepping into the Brûlerie de Belleville in Paris’s 19th arrondissement feels like entering an old-fashioned apothecary. Floor-to-ceiling dark wooden shelves filled with glass jars, tins of roasted coffee beans and a huge variety of coffee makers line the walls; bar counters are topped with wine-coloured marble where you can sip on freshly made espresso.

The Brûlerie is one of Paris’s oldest quality coffee roasters and one of the artisans taking part in this year’s ParisLocal, a festival held over three days in November to promote locally made, environment-friendly businesses and craftsmanship. Continue reading...

Camping and bacon butties will always beat London’s luxuries | Brief letters

The joy of inexpensive holidays | Facing grief | Hope from Poland | British Museum digitisation | Poo diary

Camping in Scotland over years now passed, I remember the joy of walking back to the campsite from a good night at the pub and gazing at the stars, before climbing into a sleeping bag; luxury hotels were not for us (‘It’s the exclusivity’: the rise of London’s £1,000-plus a night super-luxe hotels, 20 October). Oh the bacon butties for breakfast, even though bacon was off the menu at home (Harrods’ £28 sandwich: we find out if the taste matches the price tag, 21 October). Wonderful holidays!
Helen Evans
Ruthin, Denbighshire

• My mother died 23 years ago aged 89, and is missed so much for her wit and fun despite hurdles in life. I bought a shrub. It immediately became Madge, and she and I often sit and chat, especially with tea and cake. It softens the grief (Twenty years after Mum died, I still don’t know how to mark the day, 22 October).
Jean Jackson
Seer Green, Buckinghamshire Continue reading...

‘We’re in a housing desert’: a month in, is New York’s Airbnb crackdown working?

A new law puts strict limits on how hosts use the site in the city. What does it mean for residents and tourists?

It was once a popular way to visit New York City: book someone else’s entire apartment for a few hundred dollars a night on a site like Airbnb, and briefly play resident in America’s most expensive metropolis.

In a city where one in three renters spend nearly half their income on rent and lines for apartment viewings snake around the block, the practice infuriated tenants struggling to find housing. Continue reading...

Half-term fun in Kent: 10 family days out on a tight budget

From crabbing off the pier to visiting Britain’s most haunted village, a Kent local shares tips on value-for-money things to do with children

As a child I can remember trying to swim out to a wrecked fishing boat off the beach at Camber Sands on the Sussex/Kent border. I stared at the horizon until the whole universe felt blue. It felt like the most exotic place on Earth. The south-east coast clearly made an impression, as I later settled in Kent and I am raising my own family here.

I work as a guard and bouncer, earning £11.76 an hour, which doesn’t buy a lot of excursions, even with my girlfriend’s wage chucked in (she works in a school for vulnerable children). Continue reading...

Choice-Wyndham: Debt? Private Equity? Other Bidders? What Comes Next

If an alternative asset investor like Blackstone gets interested, things could get even more interesting. Same if European hotel giant IHG made a bid of its own. -Sean O'Neill

‘A Yellowstone for Europe’: Romania’s ambition for a vast new wilderness reserve

A project to create Europe’s largest forested national park aims to protect 100,000 hectares of wilderness as well as boost ecotourism in support of local communities

Up on the hill we spy them: dark, imposing forms moving through the dense forest. It’s a group of bison wandering wild in Romania’s Făgăraș mountains. I stand silently with my guide Răzvan Dumitrache as the animals graze.

This area of Transylvania, at the southern edge of the Carpathian mountains, is among the wildest places in Europe. Brown bears, wolves and lynx roam the forested hillsides – and bison were recently reintroduced after a 200-year absence as part of the work of Foundation Conservation Carpathia. FCC’s ambitions are not small: it aims to create the continent’s largest forested national park. A 101,000- hectare (250,000-acre) wilderness reserve. A Yellowstone for Europe. Continue reading...

Amazing Adriatic: the top five places to visit

History, culture and great cuisine are waiting to be discovered from the Istrian peninsula to the Venetian Lagoon

The uppermost tip of the Adriatic is a curious mix of cultures, cuisines and architectural styles. Pack lightly and tour the Istrian peninsula, before hopping over to the Venetian lagoon opposite. On a clear day, you can see from one side of the sea to the other. Forgo car hire, it’s more serene to travel by ferry, train and bus – and the occasional taxi out of season. Continue reading...

20 of the UK’s best hotels, pubs and B&Bs – for under £150 a night

In this extract from the new Good Hotel Guide, we choose places to stay with great cuisine, chic interiors and scenic walks from the front door

Brockencote Hall, Chaddesley Corbett, WorcestershireYou might think you’ve rolled up at a luxury Loire valley chateau when you arrive at this Victorian manor in landscaped parkland. There’s nothing too luxe about the price, though, with B&B from £138. Spend what you save on a nine-course tasting extravaganza in the restaurant, perhaps matching it with a flight of wine. A normal two- or three-course dinner might feature local produce such as Worcestershire duck breast with confit duck hash and artisanal cheeses. There’s plenty to do during the day – fishing, tennis, or a stroll around the 29 hectares. The 21 bedrooms range from contemporary classics to feature suites.
Doubles from £138 B&B, nine-course dinner £85, brockencotehall.com Continue reading...

Former Expedia Exec Says Google Increased Ad Costs for Little Return in Antitrust Trial

Google has been fined billions of dollars in the European Union for similar practices that are allegedly happening in the U.S. -Justin Dawes

‘It’s the exclusivity’: the rise of London’s £1,000-plus a night super-luxe hotels

Price is no deterrent as wealthy visitors flock to the capital for ‘experiences’ only big money can buy

Cost of living crisis, what cost of living crisis? A new breed of uber-luxury hotels in London is breaking records with rooms costing more than £1,000 a night as wealthy visitors flock to the capital for “experiences” only (a lot of) money can buy.

In the Peninsula on Hyde Park Corner, a short walk from Buckingham Palace, rooms start at a kingly £1,300. Despite the startling price tag, the hotel is said to be running at full capacity, with the manager, Joseph Lee, reporting it has been “very busy” since last month’s opening. “It’s been very successful,” he says, with the hotel anticipating a strong Christmas. “We’ve been very happy with the level of bookings so far.” Continue reading...

IHG’s China Recovery ‘Isn’t a Hope, It’s a Reality’ Declares CEO

The IHG third quarter results are here. They don't provide much information on financial performance, but they show promising signs of recovery in China. -Josh Corder

U.S. Travel Caution FAQ: What the State Department Advice Means for Travelers

This worldwide caution for Americans to stay alert in tourist spots, even often safe European capitals, is quite notable. -Sean O'Neill

‘Ablaze with russets and golds’: readers’ favourite places for enjoying autumn

From an expanse of saltmarsh in East Yorkshire to Croatia’s verdant islands, our tipsters share their most memorable places to visit in the fall

We loved Ljubljana in Slovenia during autumn, but less than an hour’s drive away is the beautiful Lake Bled. It has a rustic and tranquil vibe, its focal point being the Assumption of Mary church on its island. The lake is surrounded by mountains and forests, and it is these that bring the place alive. The leaves turn a stunning array of orange, yellow, red and purple, creating an unforgettable scene.
Colin Snoad Continue reading...

Choice’s Hostile Takeover Bid for Wyndham, Explained

There's nothing quite as exciting in the corporate world than an unwelcome takeover offer. On this episode of the Skift Travel Podcasts, Skift's hotel experts deal with the drama. -Jason Clampet

Citi and Navan Enter Into Travel and Expense Partnership

This is a big win for Navan, giving it an inside track to a lot of Citi's corporate accounts. -Dennis Schaal

Video: Good Times or Bad for the Global Airline Industry?

Airlines are enjoying strong demand this year, and fuel prices have dropped from last year’s highs. But non-fuel costs are rising, and supply-side bottlenecks are frustrating the industry’s efforts to expand.
-Jay Shabat

Google Reshapes Hotel Distribution: 3 Key Insights

Google is constantly tweaking its hotels platform and we see its latest iteration contributing directly to the democratization of the online travel industry. -Pranavi Agarwal

‘Change is in the air’: a stay at a rewilding project in Yorkshire

The Broughton Estate dates back to a time when wolves still roamed England. Now they are working to restore this ancient landscape – and provide a sanctuary for guests to recharge

When Roger Tempest inherited Broughton Estate at the age of seven, tadpoles flowed from the taps and the main house was so exposed to the elements that in winter the billiard table gathered a light dusting of snow. The family dined in hats and gloves. The land had been given to his ancestors in 1097, in the aftermath of the Norman invasion, when wolves still roamed England. For almost a millennium, these 3,000 acres on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales have mirrored the history of our land: the enclosures, the persecution of predators, deforestation, modern agriculture and the gradual eradication of the wild. Today, Broughton is part of a new conversation about land use that could rewrite the book on what England looks like.

Roger is the 32nd generation, and that weight of history came with a certain responsibility. Astronomically expensive to run and managed by people not predisposed to management, many English estates were being dissolved. But when Roger came of age, he was determined to save the place. It was the late 1980s, and the fax machine was enabling offices to be set up in places hitherto unimaginable. He built a business park in the crumbling barns which breathed new life into the place. Today it houses 52 companies with more than 700 employees. With the estate solvent, other changes became possible, to the extent that it was recently described by Alastair Driver, director of Rewilding Britain, as “the most rapidly transformational” rewilding project in the country. Continue reading...

Spirit Aero Projects Near-Term Revenue Boost From New Boeing Price Agreement

The companies are taking action to boost production in this era of aircraft shortages. -Justin Dawes

Google Unveiled: A Web-Scraping Analysis of U.S. Hotel Distribution – New Skift Research

We web scraped 5,000 hotels across Google to understand the current state of the wider distribution landscape. We found that Google's actions are allowing small OTAs, new entrants and direct sites to compete head-on with the legacy players. Could this mean the end of the duopolistic power long-held by Booking and Expedia? -Pranavi Agarwal

Choice’s Hostile Takeover Bid for Wyndham

Today's podcast examines Choice's bid to acquire Wyndham, Expedia's recent round of layoffs, and United Airlines' third quarter earnings. -Dawit Habtemariam

Major Review Platforms Form Coalition to Fight Fakes

The lack of liability for online platforms in hosting user reviews has been under intense political pressure. The proliferation of fake reviews doesn't help, either. -Dennis Schaal

Sleep in a shop: the French town breathing new life into its high street

Formerly a hub of luxury shoemaking, the medieval town of Romans-sur-Isère is turning its empty shops into stylish self-catering stays

It’s certainly an eye-catching shop window, full of interesting artefacts – an old sewing machine stands poised over a sheet of leather, with an oil lamp on one side, ancient shoe moulds on the other. There’s more leather hanging above, with footsteps cut into it. I step into the Tannerie, then lock the door behind me.

I’m not here to shop, but to sleep in the appealing apartment inside it, with an inviting living room leading up several steps to comfortable sleeping quarters. A kitchenette and a swish modern shower room complete the picture. It’s spacious, tastefully decorated and better than many hotel rooms – yet a fraction of the price, at €75 a night. Continue reading...

Choice Hotels Explained: 5 Key Facts as it Goes After Wyndham

Tracing its roots back to its original name, Quality Courts United, Choice has established itself as a prominent player through acquisitions. -Selene Brophy

Skift Global Forum Attendees Share Their Thoughts on 4 Key Travel Topics

What are the top-of-mind issues impacting the future of travel? During Skift Global Forum 2023, we surveyed travel industry decision-makers to gain insight into the foremost topics and emerging trends driving what’s next for the industry.
-AIG

Hilton’s New Loyalty Plan for Small Businesses

Today's podcast examines Hilton's loyalty extension, Israel-Hamas War's impact on carriers and Saudi Arabia's latest ultra-luxury project. -Dawit Habtemariam

Skift India Report: India Pushes Cleanliness Standards for Tourism Businesses

While 'cleanliness is next to godliness' may not consistently reflect India's outlook, the nation is recognizing its importance to attract both domestic and international tourists. Initiatives such as the rating framework hold significant value in evaluating and enhancing the cleanliness standards of tourism establishments. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Chieftains, saints and sinners: eight of the best unsung castles and abbeys of Ireland

In a country where historic buildings appear around almost every corner, these lesser-known treasures offer brilliant visits without the crowds

The Rock of Cashel, a medieval stronghold that once served as the seat of Ireland’s kings, is undeniably magnificent. Perched high on an outcrop overlooking lush Tipperary farmland, its round towers, high crosses and 13th-century Gothic cathedral attract a steady stream of visitors. But it’s not the only Irish castle or abbey to draw large crowds. Even off season, there are long queues for internationally recognised sites such as Bunratty, Clonmacnoise, Glendalough, Dunluce, Blarney and Kylemore. Unesco-designated world heritage site Skellig Michael (famous as Luke Skywalker’s island sanctuary in Star Wars) has limited access, and other ancient buildings have been made into five-star hotels.

But this is a country where a castle or abbey can appear around almost every windswept corner, so there are thousands of off-the-radar places to visit. These sites have equally impressive architecture, and possibly even more intriguing backstories, but a noticeable absence of tour buses and crowds because they haven’t featured on the big or small screen – yet. In most cases, you’ll share the space with just a handful of Hibernophiles. With that in mind, we’ve selected eight of the best lesser-known abbeys and castles in Ireland dating from the seventh and to the 19th centuries. Continue reading...

American Airlines Shakes up its Small Businesses Travel Loyalty

Loyalty programs are big business for airlines, with companies and their employees carefully weighing the perks of these programs. -Selene Brophy

Share a scenic bus route in the UK – you could win a holiday voucher

Tell us about your favourite public bus route through great scenery – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break

Many rural bus routes have been cut in recent years but those that remain still offer a great window on to the UK’s countryside. And with the bus fare cap – now at £2.50 –on single journeys across England running until 30 November 2024, it’s possible to enjoy views of large swathes of glorious woods, peaks, coast and meadow for a fraction of the price of most rail tickets or travelling by car.

Please tell us about your favourite routes for enjoying UK scenery and explain any details, such as timetable quirks and seating tips, that will help visitors enjoy them. Continue reading...

Saudi Unveils Leyja: Yet Another Luxury Mountain Destination

Trojena for skiing, Soudah Peaks for luxury housing and now Leyja for space-age hotels, Saudi Arabia continues to develop its mountains for tourism. -Josh Corder

New Langham CEO Seeks Growth Across Luxury and Midscale Hotel Brands

In September, Bob van den Oord became CEO of Langham, a luxury hotel group. In his first interview in the role, he talks about the group's multi-brand strategy to double its property count. -Sean O'Neill

Keeping it surreal: my Dalí-inspired art trip to Catalonia

Portlligat, Cadaqués and Cap de Creus provide the ‘hallucinatory’ backdrop to an emotive journey into the natural world that helped create the artist

I have been made in these rocks. Here have I shaped my personality,” Salvador Dalí said of the landscape around his home of Portlligat, plus neighbouring Cadaqués and Cap de Creus. Dalí lived in this village for most of his life, setting up home in a fishing hut from 1930. It was, for him, a place of “geological peacefulness”.

This area of Catalonia – the most easterly point of Spain – is the endpoint of my road trip from Brighton via Chartres, Carcassonne and Languedoc. Dalí brought me here. His beguiling and surreal imagery fired my young imagination; his art was a gateway to the weird. Ever since discovering that the hallucinatory landscapes that frame his work are every bit as strange as Dalí portrayed them, I’ve wanted to visit. I’m here for Dalí and for the rocks. In my pocket a geological curio from Brighton beach also makes this something of a pilgrimage. Continue reading...

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines Sees Strong Demand But Airfares Fall

Airlines jumped on the surge in travel demand to Turkey. That's translating to lower airfares even as visitor numbers rise. -Edward Russell

Top 10 activity breaks for a supercharged half term

Get moving in or outdoors then relax in one of our selection of hotels, lodges, manor houses or even a castle

In the heart of the Devon countryside sits an Arts and Crafts manor house and 58 lodges with private hot tubs. Rolling hills and 125 acres of parkland provide the ideal setting for families (and their dogs). Dive into the indoor pool then try your hand at tennis, archery or pickleball. Book a bushcraft and survival course and learn to build shelters and make fires – essential skills come the apocalypse. A jam-packed itinerary is recommended to make the most of the facilities: a fully equipped gym, group fitness classes, a spa, games room and seemingly endless child-friendly courses. Then feast in one of three restaurants, or enjoy a DIY roast dinner kit delivered to your lodge for a cosy night in (themoleresort.co.uk, from £225 a night for a 2-bed lodge for 4 people). Continue reading...

Apollo Global Aims to Join SAS Investor Group

Financially struggling airline SAS may get a new investor. -Dawit Habtemariam

Loyalty Backlash Doesn’t Hurt Delta’s Bottom Line

Today's edition of Skift's daily podcast examines Delta's earnings, big tech's AI travel moves, and Airbnb's senior housing research. -Rashaad Jorden

A mountain walk in the Hebrides to a great pub: Seumas’ Bar, Isle of Skye

A hike in the footsteps of mountaineering royalty also takes in some of the Scottish Highlands’ finest views

Excitement rises from the get-go. Ahead, a clearcut path leads through ankle-high heather across a landscape bound on either side by the Red and Black Cuillin, two dark-frowning massifs with deeply scarred features and bones of rugged gabbro. Even half-hidden in mist on this overcast morning, they are to me the most beautiful mountain ranges in Britain.

Yet beyond these, almost coming into the light between the two, is Sgùrr na Strì, a far more modest 494-metre knuckle of coagulated rock that threatens to upstage them. Many say the view from its summit is the most spectacular in Scotland, and the shifting of shadows from the hilltop’s panorama, across the Black Cuillin to Loch Coruisk, the Small Isles and the Sea of the Hebrides, make it feel as if it is always in motion. Continue reading...

Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor: a land of megaliths, ghosts, solitude – and literature

Miles from cities and motorways, the backdrop to Louis de Bernières’s latest novel is a place for spooky hikes and a real escape from the 21st century

Forget satnav, the best way to find your way around the wild granite uplands of Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor is to invest in an old-fashioned Ordnance Survey map. That’s exactly what writer Louis de Bernières did when he was exploring the setting for his new novel Light Over Liskeard, a “heartwarming” dystopian fantasy in which the hero (a quantum cryptographer called Q) seeks refuge and self-sufficiency in a remote moorland farmhouse while waiting for the collapse of civilisation.

The author of the best-selling Captain Corelli’s Mandolin chose Bodmin Moor, he says, because “it’s one of the furthest places from any centres of population”. The moor is ringed by small towns (including Liskeard) and scattered with tiny huddled villages, but there are no cities for miles, no handy motorways and not much in the way of reliable phone reception (the notion of life off-grid seems very real up here among the craggy tors of the High Moor). And in one of Cornwall’s least-visited regions, it is easy to find yourself completely alone. Continue reading...

Inside the Taliban’s luxury hotel

Once the site of legendary parties, the Intercontinental in Kabul is still a potent symbol of who rules Afghanistan – and what its future might hold

At the first barrier, a Talib smiles; he has orders to smile. At the second barrier, a sign: Weapons Handover Point. Those who deposit their Kalashnikovs here will receive a locker number and get their weapon back upon leaving the hotel. The road winds up the hill between circular trimmed hedges. At the third barrier: a body search. Then, behind a metal gate, the driveway to the hotel finally appears. Car tires squeal on the marble slabs in front of the entrance.

The Intercontinental Hotel towers over the Afghan capital like a castle. Kabul, this war-ravaged city. The noise of its car horns can no longer be heard up here. Continue reading...