The room was smart and functional over trendy and gimmicky.
It’s very peaceful – we slept with the window open and even the birds seem to wake late.
Room only is £49.50 per person and a spa treatment can be added on for £60. See champneys.com.
What is there to eat and drink?
We visited in January when hotels usually are less busy but the main Carrington Grill restaurant was packed with hen dos and couples.
We had a hearty lunch in the spa so stuck to mains for dinner and tucked into a couple of steaks.
Both well-cooked and good value along with a lovely bottle of Malbec.
The grounds are just as beautiful as the hotel itselfCredit: Supplied
Attentive staff brought us a Mojito cocktail and a Cosmopolitan while we waited for our mains.
We finished with some tea and a cheese board.
If you’re staying for longer, Wilmslow is jam-packed with restaurants – Cibo is a favourite of footballers while Hickory’s Smokehouse is more family orientated.
What else is there to do?
Mottram Hall is an activity-based hotel.
There’s a busy golf course, and while the spa attracts a large crowd, the experience was still relaxing and we didn’t feel cramped.
I enjoyed the 20m pool, along with the jacuzzi, steam room and saunas.
The gym looked well-equipped, but I was on a rest day, ahem.
Instead, I saved myself for a Champneys massage which almost caused me to yelp, but made my muscles feel amazing two days later.
A tailored spa break including three-course dinner, breakfast and lunch is £560.
Is it family friendly?
There are some family rooms available that sleep up to three people, as well as kids menu at the restaurants
Is it accessible?
The hotel has disabled parking spaces, along with ramps to the main entrance and the restaurant.
There are also three accessible rooms which have been tailored to suit disabled guests.
DID you know of the UK’s most affordable hotel chains was actually inspired by first class plane cabins?
Here is everything you need to know about staying at Yotel London City.
Yotel London City is the best base for exploring the city centreCredit: YotelRooms are simple but spaciousCredit: Yotel
Where is the hotel?
A short walk from London Farringdon station, you couldn’t get much more central when visiting the capital.
What is the hotel like?
The modern hotel has all the trimmings – on-site restaurant, rentable umbrellas, underground gym and hundreds of rooms to choose from.
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Check in whenever you get there; the lobby is 24 hours or there are self-service machines.
What are the rooms like?
Rooms are minimalist, decked out in clean white and the famous deep purple of the brand, albeit with some essentials such as large Smart TVs and hairdryers.
The highlight is the reclining bed which goes from upright to fully reclined with the click of a button (another cheeky space saver).
Otherwise the toilet and shower are in separate smaller cubicles, kitted out with eco-friendly Urban Jungle toiletries and towels.
Forgo the room service on longer stays and you even get added discounts.
Each room comes with complimentary towels and Urban Jungle toiletries, as well as a safe and fridge, iron and hairdryer.
Rooms range from single beds for solo travellers, to 2-3 person rooms with queen beds or even bunk beds. Ask for the VIP suite to get 399sqft of space to yourself.
Rooms start from £119. See yotel.com.
The Revolve hotel bar is where you will find breakfast, lunch and dinnerCredit: YotelMake sure to try the craft beers and cocktailsCredit: Yotel
What is there to eat and drink there?
The on-site restaurant Revolve has a limited, but perfect menu for food that ticks all the boxes.
I went for the classic pepperoni pizza and it came out fresh from the oven with the perfect level of charred crusts.
It’s also where you will find the bar, with a very extensive list of cocktails, wines and beers.
(I was sold by the elderflower and grapefruit Solar Boom).
If you’re short on time, there is a 24-hour Dine and Dash area with snacks and hot drinks you can buy to take with you.
What is there to do at the hotel?
Make sure to try Yotel’s Anti-Appy Hour, a collaboration with app-blocking keycard Bloom.
Sign up, tap the card on your phone and it blocks your chosen social media for one hour – the perfect time to take advantage of a now-discounted drink at the bar.
There are even postcards throughout the hotel so you can spend time writing them for your loved ones during your off-screen time.
Is the hotel family-friendly?
Cots can be requested at no extra cost, with some rooms sleeping up to three people including a bunk bed.
Is there access for guests with disabilities?
The hotel has lifts between all of the floors, as well as accessible rooms including Accessible Queen and Accessible Premium Plus.
Looking for a place to stay? For more hotel inspiration click here.
THE best hotels in the world have been revealed from luxury resorts to former celebrity escapes in LA.
Two that are in the UK have also made the cut – one in London and the other in Scotland.
The World Best Hotels have been named – including San Pietro di Positano in ItalyCredit: UnknownThe Beverly Hills Hotel is another in the top 100Credit: bevhillshotel / instagram
The list has been drafted by The World’s 50 Best who have released the best hotels from 51-100.
If you want to know The World’s 50 Best Hotels from 1-50, these will be revealed on September 15.
Inside the Junior Suite is a marble bathroom with a tub and walk-in shower and a personal bar.
The hotel currently offers an immersive afternoon tea inspired by the works of Claude Monet.
It has its own Pie Room as well which as it suggests in the name is dedicated to pie making – guests can book private dining or even give it a go themselves in a pie masterclass.
The Scarfes Bar has a Heroes and Villains-style cocktail menu with specially curated drinks with names like Diva and Foul Play.
When the sun shines, spritzes and Italian pizzas can be enjoyed on the Mediterranean terrace.
The other UK entry comes in 100th position and it’s Gleneagles in Auchterarder, Scotland.
Hotel das Cataratas is the only luxury resort next to Iguazu FallsCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
The 232-room hotel boasts 10 restaurants and bars ranging from fine dining to casual spots like The Chicken Coop and organised picnics.
It has luxurious bedrooms and suites with a “mix of homeliness and glamour.”
Outdoorsy guests can make the most of the activities, with everything from falconry and archery to horse riding and off-road driving available.
It’s known as one of the best places to golf too with three of the top courses in Scotland.
Plenty of other impressive hotels made the list too – some of the most beautiful include Il San Pietro di Positano.
The beautiful five-star hotel in Italy is literally carved into the cliffside.
It even has its own lift which guests can take down to the private beach, there’s also a tennis court by the water.
For swimming, there’s a beautiful pool with a sun terrace looking over the sea.
Gleneagles in Scotland is surrounded by sprawling golf coursesCredit: Michael SchofieldThe Rosewood in Covent Garden is another of the world’s bestCredit: Unknown
The Beverly Hills Hotel is a Hollywood classic that featured on the cover of the Eagles album, Hotel California.
Found on Sunset Boulevard, the famous hotel is as LA as it gets – surrounded by palm trees with Barbiepink accents and even its own red carpet.
Rooms range from Hollywood glamour-style Superior Rooms to restored bungalows – one of which was a favourite of frequent guest, Marilyn Monroe.
There are over 100 Four Seasons hotels across the world and two have made the list.
The one in Hong Kong boasts views across the skyline and Victoria Harbour from a rooftop infinity pool.
It has three fine-dining restaurants and plenty of luxury touches.
The second Four Seasons on the list is in La Manzanilla and it’s super luxurious reachable only by private plane or boat.
It has beachfront casitas and hillside villas with regular sightings of humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles from private plunge pools.
The Italian hotel in Positano has a unique sea front tennis courtCredit: ilsanpietrodipositano / instagram The Four Seasons in Hong Kong has an infinity pool with skyline viewsCredit: Seet, Ken
Another private resort to make it onto the list is Soneva Fushi in the Maldives.
It’s found on an island called Kunfunadhoo in the Baa Atoll with huge villas, open-air bathrooms with plenty of experiences all arranged by a barefoot butler – shoes aren’t a thing here.
Hotel das Cataratas is the only luxury resort situated inside Brazil’s Iguazu National Park right next to Iguassu Falls.
Guests even get special entry to the waterfalls before the park opens and after it closes to visitors.
It also has a huge outdoor swimming pool, tennis court and spa.
The list of the World’s Best Hotels…
Here is the list of the World’s Best Hotels – from 51-100…
Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist known for her hypnotic, repetitive polka dot artworks, died earlier this week at the age of 97. Hers was the third in a string of deaths this week that left me feeling quite melancholy. First Dolly Parton, then Tim Curry and finally, Kusama.
The silver lining in the death of an artist, whether they be musician, actor, writer or visual artist, is that they leave a trail of comfort for fans through their work. I can (and did) sit in my breakfast nook weeping to the sound of Parton’s voice in songs including 1971’s “Coat of Many Colors.” When it comes to mourning Kusama, I am planning a trip to the Broad museum in downtown L.A., which houses two of her famous Infinity Mirror Rooms.
“Longing for Eternity” (2017) is on view on the third floor and can be accessed with a free general admission ticket. “Infinity Mirrored Room —The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away” (2013), however, requires a separate free reservation. A rep for the museum said reservations are currently available through September with many time slots already completely full. The museum is also accommodating as many walk-ups as capacity allows — and these walk-ups have increased in the wake of Kusama’s death.
In an email to The Times, Broad founding President and Director Joanne Heyler wrote that Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, “have been among the most beloved works at The Broad since we opened in 2015.”
Heyler noted that the Broad’s 2017 exhibition, “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors,” “was an incredible moment in the museum’s early history. It was a beautiful show, and unprecedented operationally: the only time our ticketing system broke down due to demand, minutes after release. Her work is both wildly popular and conceptually rigorous; her journey as an artist is complex, full of resilience and a refusal to be limited. Visitors have found deep connection inside the Infinity Mirror Rooms at The Broad — smiles, tears, even marriage proposals. We’re grateful to be one of the places where people can go to spend time with her work and remember her, and we’ll keep working to ensure her art is experienced as she intended: by everyone, infinitely.”
This is welcome news, and the devoted interest makes sense. In many ways, these physically small but emotionally vast rooms encapsulate the essence of Kusama’s practice throughout her life. Built in a distinctively analog way, the rooms create the illusion of endless space through the use of light, mirrors and splashes of color. Kusama incorporated hand-sewn cloth, and later, multimedia video projections, but at their core the rooms remained largely technology-free.
It’s a pity because all the people who stepped into those rooms with their cellphone cameras at the ready missed a profound opportunity to inhabit a floating dreamscape of true peace and quiet — the kind we rarely grasp in our digital-notification suffocated world.
I can still remember the first time I had the opportunity to experience one of Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms. It was dark and glittering with tiny pinpricks of colored light. I felt as if I were suspended in a deep, black pool of energy that extended beyond me in all directions. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears and briefly wondered if this could be what it felt like in the womb.
I got dizzy and recovered, and then — for what felt like a long time but was only a matter of seconds — I was free.
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt taking moments of solace where I can get them. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
Babatunde Akinboboye The baritone fuses classical opera with hip-hop on “Toreador,” “Funiculi, Funicula,” “O Sole Mio” and more. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
Director Richard Linklater at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Richard Linklater A three-movie American Cinematheque tribute featuring Q&As with the Texas filmmaker. In a recent interview, Times film writer Mark Olsen asked Linklater what it’s like to reflect on his work: “What resonates with me in my mind is the experience of making the movie more than the movie itself — all the people you worked with and the cast and all those good feelings.” “Boyhood,” 7:30 p.m. Friday; “Waking Life,” 4 p.m. Saturday. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; “Dazed & Confused,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Directors Village, 961 Broxton Ave. Westwood. americancinematheque.com
Pericles Boston Court, in partnership with Play On Shakespeare, presents the West Coast premiere of Ellen McLaughlin’s modern verse translation of Shakespeare’s rarely performed adventure tale. Directed by Margaret Shigeko Starbuck. Through Sept. 27. Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave. bostoncourtpasadena.org
Romeo & Juliet A site-specific, immersive, queer adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Sassafras Saloon, 1233 Vine St. eventbrite.com
SATURDAY
Place Is the Space A four-hour immersive performance experience created by artist Edgar Arceneaux and co-creator Frank Lawson employs live jazz improvisation, theatrical storytelling and multimedia design inspired by Sun Ra’s philosophy and his film “Space Is the Place.” Presented by CAP UCLA, the event includes an audience procession to the Hammer Museum in conjunction with the current exhibition, “Space Is the Place,” for a final performance. 1 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
Joshua Smith Untitled (Yellow Heart), 2026 Acrylic on canvas 14 ¾ x 14 ½ in.
(839 Gallery)
Joshua Smith: Hearts and Triangles The artist’s first Los Angeles solo show includes brightly colored monochrome paintings on shaped canvases. Opening reception, 5-8 p.m. Saturday; exhibition continues through Oct. 17. 839, 839 N. Cherokee Ave. 839gallery.com
Winter’s Bench The world premiere of Mike Kenny’s play about a woman who returns to a park where she thinks a tree once spoke to her. Starring Anne Gee Byrd and Shih-wei Wu. Directed by Debbie Devine. All performances will feature Spanish supertitles. Previews, 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sept. 4; 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 8 p.m.; Sept. 7 and 14; through Oct. 25. 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St. 24thstreet.org
SUNDAY
Element Band Led by Ara Dabandjian, the ensemble features 12 musicians and vocalists, including Soseh Aramouni Keshishyan and Natalie Avunjian, in a celebration of Armenian heritage, creativity and live music. 7:30 p.m. The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East. theford.com
TUESDAY
Dvořák & Bruch Conductor Anja Bihlmaier and violinist Bomsori join the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
THURSDAY
Amadeus in Concert The Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by conductor Norman Huynh, conductor, and the Pacific Chorale perform live to Milos Forman’s 1984 Oscar-winning best picture starring Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham. 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
The Arsonists Max Frisch’s 1953 absurdist satire, translated by Alastair Beaton and directed by Luke Harlan. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 5 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sunday; through Sept. 20. Skylight Theatre, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave. skylighttheatre.org
Under the Oaks A weekly salon series featuring performance and music: “Currents: Composers in Concert” (Sept. 3); “Beer! A New Musical-in-Development” (Sept. 10); “Cabaret Theatricum Sings Marvin Gaye” (Sept. 17); and “The Voice of Dr. King” (Sept. 24. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sept. 24. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. Topanga. theatricum.com
Arts everywhere
Sarah Bareilles in the documentary “Sarah Bareilles: Good Grief.”
(A Group Effort Films / Naked Edge Films)
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief The Grammy-winning Broadway star and pop singer’s return to the recording studio for the first time in seven years is captured in this intimate documentary directed by Josh Alexander receiving a one-night-only theatrical release. The film looks at Bareilles’ experience of channeling her own pain to create art and the healing journey that accompanied it. Bareilles will perform at the Dolby Theatre, Oct. 12-14. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Laemmle and AMC theaters. sarabmusic.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Dolores Huerta photographed at Dolores Huerta “Help Wanted/Leave Now” exhibit at California Museum.
(Beth Baugher / California Museum)
Dolores Huerta has prioritized involving herself in projects relating to labor and women’s rights in the wake of going public with sexual abuse allegations against former labor leader Cesar Chavez. One of those projects can now be seen at the California Museum in Sacramento in an exhibition called “Help Wanted/Leave Now: ‘Operation Wetback’ and the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation,” which, according to a story by contributor Isa Farfan, “examines decades of the federal government’s deportation campaigns against Mexican immigrants even while it recruited millions of these farmworkers and rail workers to fill labor shortages during and after World War II.”
Contributor Leah Ollman reviews a new Eileen Cowin retrospective called “Between Panic and Paradise” at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Labeling Cowin a “wry disruptor,” Ollman notes that over the artist’s nearly six-decade career, she has toyed with time in a novel way: “By deviating from straightforward chronology, the installation resonates smartly with one of Cowin’s key operating principles — that we don’t experience time as a continuous line moving in one direction, but as episodic, fragmented, interrupted, layered.”
Gustavo Dudamel at the end of the first half his show at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 20.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Gustavo Dudamel is really leaving — although it feels as if the city has been mourning the eventuality for years. Times classical music critic Mark Swed was, of course, on hand to bear witness to Dudamel’s final farewell: a four-night Hollywood Bowl extravaganza. “Dudamel addressed the audience, sounding very much like he had 17 years ago at the Bowl, extolling in our being a crowd of many types together for many musics. L.A., he said, made him an Angeleno,” Swed wrote.
Swed also attended a Tuesday night show at the Hollywood Bowl after the Dudamel farewell extravaganza and found it rather empty and a bit “forlorn,” a situation, he writes in a review, that “left Anna Handler, who becomes the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s conductor-in-residence this fall, with the trickiest conducting assignment of the summer anywhere.”
Theater Director Bart DeLorenzo on the set of “Enemy of the People” at the Odyssey Theatre on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.
(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)
Times theater critic Charles McNulty recently sat down for a lunchtime conversation with Bart DeLorenzo, “L.A.’s most playfully provocative theater auteur,” about his decision to direct (and adapt) Henrik Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People” at Odyssey Theatre. “If ever there was a moment to revive ‘An Enemy of the People,’ it’s now,” McNulty writes. “The demoralizing spectacle of the U.S. Senate’s inquisition of Dr. Anthony Fauci last month, led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in unapologetic witch-hunt mode, was yet another reminder that Ibsen’s drama about a public health crusader being targeted by politicians and business leaders when his medical advice goes counter to their interests hasn’t lost its punch.”
The drama never stops at the beleaguered Kennedy Center as it deals with the continued tumult resulting from President Trump’s takeover early last year. Most recently the Justice Department claimed in a recent court filing that Trump’s “efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center’s financial survival, and structural renewal.” If the center isn’t shut down for the two-year renovation Trump demands, it may need to be demolished, the filing reads.
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Visitors line up outside the Japanese American National Museum for a 2022 event recalling World War II incarceration camps.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
After closing in early January, 2024, the Japanese American National Museum has announced it will reopen its newly renovated Pavilion on Jan. 23, 2027. Renovations include a new main entrance and new first-floor galleries for a brand new exhibition titled “In the Future We Call Now: Realities of Racism, Forging Democracy.” The special exhibition galleries on the second floor have also been updated and will feature the inaugural exhibition, “Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo.”
The Broad has announced its next fall exhibition, “Has the myth been shattered,” opening Nov. 21. The exhibition is set to include recent acquisitions by Guadalupe Rosales, Hank Willis Thomas and Mickalene Thomas. “Gathered together, works in the exhibition create unexpected connections across six decades, prompting an examination of how media has shaped history, memory, and collective experience,” a news release notes.
IF you want to stay at some of the best hotels in the world – check out these five resorts.
All of these spots were recognised at the TUI Global Hotel Awards 2026 with spaces still available this year and affordable stays.
The TUI BLUE Baris Andiz is the Best Hotel – TUI UK & Ireland with high praise from guestsCredit: UnknownLindos Blu Luxury Hotel and Suites in Rhodes has incredible mountain viewsCredit: Unknown
TUI BLUE Barut Andiz, Turkey
This hotel in Turkey has two à la carte restaurants and a spaCredit: TUI
Starting strong, this hotel was voted as the Best Hotel – TUI UK & Ireland thanks to its high praise from guests noting its friendly staff and chilled atmosphere.
Inside the adults-only hotel, guests can dine at two à la carte restaurants – both are on the first-floor which has panoramic sea views.
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Or check out the spa which comes with its own roof terrace with treatments on offer.
Side itself is a 20-minute walk along the promenade, which will get you there where you can explore its Roman ruins and restaurant-lined harbour.
A seven-night all-inclusive stay in a Double Room with Balcony starts from £748.24pp – this includes return flights to London Southend.
Hotel Fariones, Lanzarote
Hotel Fariones in Lanzarote has two pools and three restaurantsCredit: Unknown
The Hotel Fariones in Lanzarote came out on top for being TUI’s best hotel in the Spain and Portugal category.
It boasts two pools, three restaurants and direct access to the Playa Grande Beach.
Just a short walk away, you can discover Puerto Del Carmen’s Old Town where you will find a selection of restaurants and bars.
In the summer season there’s usually live music in the evenings.
A seven-night stay for two in a Double Room with Sea View and Balcony or Terrace with bed and breakfast starts from £1302pp with return flights to London Gatwick.
Lindos Blu Luxury Hotel & Suites, Greece
Lindos Blu Luxury Hotel and Suites was named the best hotel in the Cyprus & Greece categoryCredit: Tui
If you’re looking for a beach break in Greece, then check out Lindos Blu Luxury Hotel and Suites.
It was named the best hotel in the Cyprus and Greece category and comes with its own private beach, along with two restaurants.
There are also two outdoor freshwater pools, an indoor pool, a whirlpool and a spa.
The hotel sits on a cliff-top so be prepared for some breathtaking views across the bay.
A seven-night stay in a Double Room with Sea View and Balcony or Terrace with bed and breakfast starts from £1186.15pp – this includes return flights to Newcastle.
TUI MAGIC LIFE Sarigerme, Turkey
The TUI Magic Life Sarigerme has been named the best family-friendly hotelCredit: Unknown
TUI Magic Life Sarigerme has been named the best family-friendly hotel – and it’s not surprising.
The hotel has five swimming pools, seven bars and four restaurants – all of which sit on the beachfront.
The hotel is just a 20-minute drive from Dalaman but also right by Sarigerme Beach, which is a large, sprawling beach loved by locals for kitesurfing.
There’s also a packed entertainment programme with parties and live music as well as dedicated areas for those over 16.
A seven-night all-inclusive stay for two people in a double room starts from £932.63pp – this includes return flights to London Gatwick.
Hotel Caravel, Italy
The Hotel Caravel has mountain views and pretty poolsCredit: Unknown
Nestled away in Torbole, Lake Garda, is Hotel Caravel, which was declared the Best Hotel Northern and Central Europe.
Rooms have mountain views and make sure to take a dip in the pool, surrounded by greenery.
The hotel team are cycling specialists so simply hire a bike and they will recommend the best lakeside routes or mountain biking trails.
Included in the stay is a Trentino Guest and Garda Guest card which allows for free public transport and discounts into local attractions and experiences.
A seven-night holiday for two people in a room with a balcony and bed and breakfast in September starts from £801pp – this includes return flights to Bristol.
