Leo Bear

London

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

London-based freelance journo – Tatler, Telegraph, Women's Health. Passionate pickleballer. Mainly tweeting about film & TV here. On Insta I'm @leonorabear

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Articles

Winter Sun Wonder at Park Hyatt Marrakech

2 months ago | arbuturian.com | Leo Bear

Desperate for a dose of winter sun? Park Hyatt’s first foray into Morocco has been a long time coming and it’s a blinder. They’ve gone big. Big pools, big gardens, big spa and, best of all, it’s big on giving guests a good time. Like plenty of the five-star offerings in Marrakech, the brand-new Park Hyatt is outside the medina (15mins from the airport) with access via Al Maaden, a sprawling villa community popular with golfers. There’s nothing ornate nor grand about the hotel’s architecture.
The Escape: The Regent Santa Monica Brings California Dreaming To Life

Jan 7, 2025 | harpersbazaararabia.com | Leo Bear

The Regent Santa Monica is a modern love letter to a bygone golden eraIn Los Angeles, ambition is in the air. Everyone wants to look better, be fitter, be someone. The city is known for its fads; the next big thing. But step into the lobby of this new beachfront beauty and all that falls away. The Regent Santa Monica (sister to the Carlton Cannes) signals a return to the golden age of travel. We’re talking drink trolleys, Art Deco finery and waist-coated bellhops who’ll call you ma’am.
Should You Invite Children To Your Wedding?

Jan 7, 2025 | harpersbazaararabia.com | Leo Bear

Crying outbursts during ceremonies, chit-chatting during speeches – should children make it onto a wedding guest list? Travel and wellness journalist Leo Bear thinks not…Many will say children are a key component of weddings. They bring joy; make the proceedings feel relaxed and fun. But don’t be fooled by the scenes in Four Weddings and a Funeral – perfect children on the dancefloor in their best clothes – the reality is often very different. Allow me to share a scene from last summer.
Hob Montespan Talleyrand, Bourbon-L'Archambault

Nov 12, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Leo Bear

It was ten years ago this week that, on the advice of my mother, I found myself naked and shivering in a tiled torture chamber in a remote spa French town. Mother had signed me up for something called ‘The Cure’. The town itself was charming. Bourbon-L’Archambault is widely renowned for its thermal waters, crumbling medieval castle and patisseries selling perfect almond financiers.
Riad Botanica, Marrakech

Oct 23, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Leo Bear

Marrakech is resilient. It’s bounced back from Covid and from a Richter 6.8 earthquake. There’s not much you can throw at it. And every time I visit, it just gets better. More vibrant. Cleaner. More fun. The ancient medina might be a densely packed maze of alleyways impossible to navigate no matter how sophisticated your tech but there’s charm in the chaos, treasure to be found, friends to be made. Or so I discovered on my most recent visit.
Pickleball in Palm Beach: How my obsession took me to Florida for a sporting holiday

Aug 12, 2024 | the-independent.com | Simon Calder |Leo Bear

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth. Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts. Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda. Anyone who’s spent time in the US recently is likely to have noticed a new sound coming from sports clubs, parks and hotel grounds: a cheerful high-pitched “tock” – often accompanied by yelps of joy or frustration. I’m talking about pickleball, of course.
Pickleball in Palm Beach: How my obsession took me to Florida for a sporting holiday

Aug 12, 2024 | independent.co.uk | Leo Bear

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Having fallen in love with the sport in the UK, Leo Bear heads stateside to have a go at the US’s latest sporting craze in the Florida sunshine Anyone who’s spent time in the US recently is likely to have noticed a new sound coming from sports clubs, parks and hotel grounds: a cheerful high-pitched ‘tock’– often accompanied by yelps of joy or frustration.
The Palms Hotel & Spa, Miami

Jul 30, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Leo Bear

When it comes to travelling long-haul, I have a pre-requisite. I need to get into my hotel room as speedily as possible. For this reason, I tend to book small hotels where there won’t be a long line of people snaking across the lobby nor an agonising wait for my suitcase. In Miami, a city I return to most springs, I’ll book Casa Faena or Hotel Trouvail, both charming and boutique, located in Mid-Beach.
Cora-Cora, Raa Atoll, Maldives

Jul 3, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Leo Bear

I can’t say leafing through a priceless copy of the Quran was on my list of things to do in the Maldives but neither was visiting a ‘ghost island’ or chasing a wild rabbit. But that’s Cora-Cora for you. Paradise, but not as you know it. The 15th-century Quran was just one of hundreds of priceless artefacts kept in storage at Cora-Cora’s museum but you won’t see it unless you butter up Ibrahim, the museum’s director (and Maldives’ answer to Indiana Jones).
Glass tries pickleball in paradise at Kagi, Maldives

Jun 14, 2024 | theglassmagazine.com | Leo Bear

MOVE OVER Zendaya (Challengers), pickleball is the sport everyone is talking about. Over the past few years, the quirky racquet sport has achieved borderline cult status in the USA and has an A-list following: George Clooney, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson among them. Should further proof be required, Richard Branson just installed a court on Necker. So it stands to reason that the world’s hottest hotels are jumping on board.