Susan D'Arcy

London

Luxury Travel and Spa Writer at The Times

Pretends writing about spas and luxury hotels for The Sunday Times Travel section is a proper job

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Articles

16 of the best wellness retreats in the UK

Feb 19, 2025 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy
37 of the best spa hotels in Europe for 2025

Feb 4, 2025 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy
The Cavendish Hotel review: an artsy escape on the Chatsworth estate

Aug 8, 2024 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy

In 1830 the 6th Duke of Devonshire reputedly won this characterful country inn in Baslow during a game of cards. Its recent renovation cost £3.5million but wasn’t much of a gamble for William and Laura Burlington, the heirs to the dukedom and the Chatsworth Estate. They not only worked with the acclaimed designer Nicola Harding on the new look for the hotel, which is wrapped up in the Derbyshire Dales on the edge of the 30,000-acre estate, but gave her a distinct advantage as well.
Moor Hall hotel review: a country hideaway with Michelin starred flair

Aug 1, 2024 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy

It may be grade II* listed, but you’re not at this 16th-century manor house near Liverpool to admire its architectural heritage — rather to experience the cutting-edge cuisine of one of the UK’s best restaurants. Chef-patron Mark Birchall is endearingly modest and happy to let his talent do the talking.
Inside the newest Pig - the cool hotel group’s most affordable stay

Jun 13, 2024 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy

Until 2011 our rural hospitality scene was mostly ticking-clock stuffy and/or expensive, then the Pig hotels arrived and changed all that, championing informality and affordability. The name was even chosen to make people think of a laid-back pub rather than somewhere snooty where you pay a lot of money to feel unworthy. And now, finally, the chairman, Robin Hutson, has gone the whole hog and he’s opening the group’s first bona fide public house.
Rooms cost £1,600-a-night at this London hotel. Is it worth it?

Jun 8, 2024 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy

I feel suitably A-list as I arrive at the first hotel in London to break the £1,600-a-night barrier for its “cheapest” room, though maybe not for the reasons you’d expect. Just as royal families think that everywhere smells of fresh paint, the first sight VIPs often have of a hotel is the staff entrance as they try to slip into the building unnoticed.
This is the coolest spot on the Kent coast (no, it’s not Margate)

Jun 5, 2024 | thetimes.com | Susan D'Arcy

When the Haçienda in Manchester was the epicentre of the UK’s music scene, Matt Ryan DJ’d there and lived in the same apartment block as Noel Gallagher. Later, he moved to Venice Beach in California, where seeing celebrities stripping off for alfresco workouts got positively boring. It was by chance, as lockdown loomed, that he found his “pinch-me” dream destination. And that place is … cue gameshow-style dramatic pause … Deal.
This Soccer Star Turned Hotelier Wants to Rent You His Ibiza Home This Summer

Mar 9, 2024 | robbreport.com | Susan D'Arcy

Published on March 9, 2024 Sayana Cairo You don’t need to be bonkers to be a goalkeeper, but it surely helps. Placing one’s head in harm’s way of a rocketing projectile and swinging cleats for a living is risky enough; adding insult to potential injury, if your side loses, you’re usually the one who gets blamed. Meet Bobby Dekeyser.
35 best spa hotels in Europe

Dec 13, 2023 | thetimes.co.uk | Susan D'Arcy

What did the Romans ever do for us? Forget the sanitation, education and roads — they gave Europe its spa culture. The tradition is still going strong but has been fabulously updated so bathing is now in hydrotherapy infinity pools, often perched on cliff edges or rooftops, and treatments blend high-tech advances with age-old principles.
Chopard’s New Boutique Hotel in Paris Will Only Cater to the Brand’s Most Loyal Customers

Nov 6, 2023 | robbreport.com.au | Susan D'Arcy

The family behind the Swiss jeweller debuts a glittering new hotel on the exclusive Place Vendôme. As addresses go, Paris’s 1, Place Vendôme just might be the chicest in France. A short stroll from the Seine, it’s the cornerstone of the city’s most elegant 17th-century square, originally built to honour the Sun King, Louis XIV, and now home to flagship stores for Chanel, Dior, and Chopard, among others.