With discerning travelers increasingly seeking experiences that are both indulgent and environmentally conscious, Luxury Gold launched a new tour in partnership with VisitScotland that proves luxury and sustainability go hand in hand.  

This exclusive 10-Day journey through Scotland’s breathtaking landscapes and storied cities takes you deep into the heart of this remarkable country, with every step promoting responsible travel and sustainability. 

Take a look at Spectacular Scotland.

Thoughtfully created, with sustainability in mind

“We’re thrilled to bring this new tour to the Luxury Gold portfolio, and it has been very exciting to work on,” says Karen Gower, Senior Travel Experiences Manager for Luxury Gold. “When crafting this 10-Day itinerary, I’ve combined all of the luxurious touches our guests expect from Luxury Gold, with the best that Scotland has to offer. This includes bucket list destinations and experiences, as well as hidden gems that we know our guests will love.  

“But what really makes Spectacular Scotland stand out in our collection is its focus on sustainability. Working in partnership with VisitScotland, this has been at the forefront when sourcing every experience, supplier and even the pace of the itinerary. Guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on guests, our Travel Concierges are chomping at the bit to run this tour as they can see how fantastic it is!” 

Luxury and sustainability at a glance

A special focus on activities that have a positive impact on the environment, including visits to Cairngorms National Park, Glencoe National Nature Reserve, Loch Fleet Nature Reserve and the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust on the Isle of Mull. 

A new MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience developed specially for this tour – a Highland Tartan demonstration. While other itineraries usually only include one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, this one has four. 

Mostly 2-night stays, which means a smaller carbon footprint in travel terms, as well as allowing guests more time to support the local economy in one area, avoiding areas where there is a strain on the local community due to visitor numbers. 

Restaurant and hotel suppliers have been sourced with sustainability at the forefront of consideration, such as Michelin-starred Unalome by Graeme Cheevers in Glasgow, where you’ll dine on day 8.  

Developed in partnership with VisitScotland

Created in partnership with VisitScotland, Rona Wallace, Senior Manager, Business Development join us for a Q&A to explain more about the sustainability ethos behind our new Spectacular Scotland journey. 

Why is it important to offer responsible travel options?

“Scotland has welcomed visitors for over 200 years, and we want to ensure tourism provides sustainable economic growth for generations to come.  Responsible travel is entirely possible and by working with organizations like TTC and their Luxury Gold brand, we can demonstrate how it can be achieved in Scotland.   

“The principle of Responsible tourism means slowing down the consumer, allowing them to dwell longer and discover different places away. This in turn delivers more for local communities and allows clients on tours to relax and make those local connections which we know from consumer trends is what they are looking for. This in turn delivers a strong selling tour. Spending a longer time in a destination ultimately leads to less carbon production and benefits the hotels too.” 

Do you believe luxury and sustainability in travel can go and-in-hand?

“Definitely.  High quality immersive experiences benefit local businesses and communities, and many of our 5-star accommodation providers take responsible tourism very seriously – they are committed to climate action, social inclusion and giving back to their local communities, using an abundance of local food and drink in their offering while delivering on the expectations of luxury clients.”   

What do you hope our guests learn about Scotland that they may have not already known?

“That memorable experiences go way beyond the standard bucket list – by working closely with the Luxury Gold team and our knowledge of Scotland businesses we’re able to suggest experiences that are unique to Scotland and will live long in the memory.”   

Which experiences on the tour are you particularly excited about?

“It’s a hard choice, as all offer their own unique experience which clients will find memorable, and at times unexpected.  The VIP Visit with Lord Bruce of Broomhall House will be a highlight, but my ultimate favorite has to be the MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Highland Tartan Demonstration.  I am sure the clients for Luxury Gold will have some serious fun here, whilst learning about one of Scotland’s ancient industries.”  

What does the future hold for responsible tourism in Scotland?

“There’s a lot of desire amongst tourism businesses to do the right thing for sustainable growth.  Public sector agencies are working in partnership with the private sector to co-ordinate our strategic plans and activity – as a country we’re the right size to deliver on this – small enough to have personal relationships across different sectors, but large enough to make meaningful change.  There’s still a long way to go, but we’re definitely on the right path.  We also want to share our learnings with other destinations and together we can make a difference.” 

You may also enjoy reading: 12 Most Beautiful Places In Scotland You Need To Visit This Year

Spectacular Scotland – a peek at the itinerary

Your luxurious journey through Scotland begins with two nights in its charming capital Edinburgh. Explore iconic landmarks such as St Giles’ Cathedral and Edinburgh Castle, savor seasonal Scottish produce and foraged herbs at the renowned Wedgwood Restaurant on the Royal Mile, and meet the owners on this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. 

A VIP visit with Lord Bruce, a descendant of Robert the Bruce, at Broomhall House in St Andrews takes you into the heart of Scottish nobility, and the breathtaking Cairngorms National Park unveils Scotland in all its natural beauty. Take a private tour of Balmoral Castle and estate and visit the historic battleground of Culloden, take a golf lesson on the championship course, and spot sea otter nests and seals at the serene Loch Fleet Nature Reserve. 

Near Dornoch immerse yourself in Scottish heritage with Highland Tartan demonstration, before exploring the breathtaking Glencoe valley with a ranger, both MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences. The next day sample the finest whiskies at the Tobermory Distillery on the picturesque Isle of Mull or round off your day with a visit to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Your journey concludes in Glasgow with a Michelin-starred lunch at Unalome by Graeme Cheever and two nights in the acclaimed Cameron House Hotel. Personalize your final day with a relaxing champagne cruise or another equally exciting activity, ensuring a memorable finale to this remarkable experience. 

Discover the full itinerary here.

For the ultimate combination of luxury and sustainability, secure your place on Spectacular Scotland, for departures in 2026. 

Seaside hotels, spa resorts, boutique hotels in the world’s coolest cities – what are the best hotels in Europe to book right now? Some of them just sit head and shoulders above the rest, offering unforgettable experiences from the moment you walk through their grand doors. Our pick of Europe’s (and the UK’s) most magnificent luxury stays is here. We hope it inspires you to stop dreaming, and book that Luxury Gold journey to Italy, France, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland or Sweden.

Four Seasons Firenze, Florence

A true classic – there’s scarcely a list of luxury hotels the Four Seasons Firenze doesn’t appear on. The building itself is a restored 15th century palazzo and it sits surrounded by Florence’s largest private garden – flamboyant with fountains, statues, umbrella pines, yews and sweeping beeches. Some rooms have views of the Duomo and the interiors are opulence itself: dramatic bouquets, frescoes, bronze sculptures, mosaics, moldings – the full Italian Renaissance.

 

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Le Bristol, Paris

Another icon in the world of luxury hotels, Le Bristol has been offering a haven to luxury-loving artists since 1925. Among the people to have graced its sumptuously oversized suites: Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Christian Lacroix. The rooms are full of light, as well as period furniture and antique mirrors. Close to the Champs-Élysées, Le Bristol’s courtyard is the ideal escape, with its serene white and green palette. And the restaurant – Epicure – has three Michelin stars.

 

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You may also enjoy reading: 10 Most Exciting Hotel Openings of 2025

Raffles London at the OWO, London

The Old War Office (OWO) on Whitehall is now (as of 2023) one of the best hotels in Europe – a super-sumptuous luxury stay imbibed with history and subterfuge (there’s a hidden bar in the underground interrogation rooms once used by MI5 agents, for instance). Over an eight-year renovation, the original floors and staircase were preserved – where Winston Churchill delivered his wartime announcements. The rooms are nothing short of spectacular.

 

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Passalacqua, Lake Como

This 18th century villa opened as a hotel in 2022 and has quickly emerged as one of the most idyllic luxury stays in the world. Surrounded by the impossible blues, greens and turquoises of Lake Como, the hotel is resplendent with Murano chandeliers, gilded mirrors, original frescoes and manicured gardens. The pool scene has to be one of the most glamorous in the world, with its pine green loungers and lily-petal parasols, against the lake backdrop.

 

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Adare Manor, Ireland

This neo-Gothic manor house sits within 840 acres of formal French gardens, parklands and the River Maigue and is quietly one of the best resorts in Europe. Activities on offer include falconry, fishing and archery, and the spa is world-class. The padel club is tucked in the woods, with a gym, sauna, steam room and enormous swimming pool alongside the courts. The interiors are all oak, leather, monumental stone-vaulted ceilings, chandeliers and red velvet. Adare’s got it all (including a chocolate shop). If you’re enamored with our Castles & Kingdoms journey, you’ll adore it here.

 

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For more breathtaking stays read: How You Can Stay in Europe’s Finest Private Castles

Gran Hotel Ingles, Madrid

This boutique hotel in the middle of Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras is tucked down a narrow street – soothing, but full of life. At its heart, the glamorous lobby is abundant with gold, bronze and velvet; it has a central bar surrounded by cocktail lounge space, designed as a gathering space, inspired by the Café Inglés of the 19th century, which attracted writers and artists. The rooms are white and grey with lots of straight lines and sharp angles.

 

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Borgo Santandrea, Amalfi

If Amalfi isn’t on your luxury hotels bucketlist, put the Borgo Santandrea on there right now, truly one of the best beach hotels in Europe. Built dramatically into the rockface (as only the Amalfi Coast knows how), looming directly over the glimmering sea, with a private beach club, suitably serene white and blue rooms and all the Negronis and fritto misto you could dream of, this address is simply special.

 

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Kalesma, Mykonos

Another of the most glorious beach hotels in Europe, Kalesma sits up a Mykonian hill, out of reach of the parties, surrounded by olive trees, bougainvillea and the scent of rosemary, basil and lavender. With only 25 suites and two villas, this luxury boutique hotel is arranged across gorgeous whitewashed buildings, inspired by Cycladic architecture, but with chic, modern interiors. The dining options – meze, pool bar, sunset lounge and private dining – make it difficult to leave.

 

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Experimental Chalet Verbier

Soul-reviving views of snow-capped peaks, tartiflette by Gregory Marchand, an epic hammam, cosy rooms with mountain terraces, and Winter Cup cocktails (Pimm’s, Fino sherry, lemon, cucumber, bitters) make this one of the best hotels in Europe. From outside, it looks like a regular luxury chalet, but the flashes of scarlet on the shutters let you know that what lurks within is far more stylish than all of the others, bar none.

 

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Bookmark for later: How to Spend 48 Hours in One of Norway’s Most Scenic Hotels

Hjortviken Country Club, Sweden

One of the hot new boutique hotels of the year, this unique escape just outside of Gothenburg is worth having on your list, particularly if you’re considering our Timeless Scandinavia journey, which starts in Copenhagen. Low-key glamor is the vibe – there’s cross-country skiing in winter, lake activity in summer, and plenty of lounging under coral, fringed parasols, plus a Swedish brasserie, some Cali-inspired tapas and an eighties New York City-style nightclub.

 

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Discover how magnificent stays bookend each day on every Luxury Gold journey.

The best restaurants in London are magnificent and myriad. They are pizzerias, fine dining establishments, curry houses, food markets, grand dining rooms and caffs. Does London have Michelin star restaurants? Yes, 85 of them. Not more than Paris, but more than New York City, Copenhagen or Rome. Does London have sushi and Thai food and Turkish? But of course; the selection of cuisines knows no bounds. If you’re heading to London on either our British Royale or Castles & Kingdoms journeys, you’ll want to extend your stay and make some reservations – treat the list below as your little black book.  Somehow, we have narrowed it down to 13 of the best places to eat in London right now.

The Devonshire

The London pub of your dreams is just off Piccadilly Circus, right opposite the elaborate, art deco theatre that’s been hosting the feathers of Moulin Rouge since 2022. The Devonshire is a hot ticket, so book in advance. Then you’ll be able to luxuriate in your good planning, on a burgundy banquette, with a pint of velvety Guinness and a beef cheek suet pudding.

 

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Brutto

This perfect trattoria is one of the best restaurants in London for a celebratory lunch that ends on a tiramisu high and starts with coccoli or “cuddles” (which are fried balls of dough served with silky prosciutto and creamy soft cheese). The atmosphere is divine, as are the spritzes. Bookings open exactly 14 days ahead of time, so you must be alert.

 

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You may also enjoy reading: What to Wear to Dinner in London by Food Writer Laura Goodman

Brat

This Basque grill restaurant in chic Shoreditch is named after the old English word for turbot, one of the star menu items that comes golden from the grill. Brat is about great food, cooked disarmingly simply but with such skill. The grilled flatbread with anchovies is a modern classic, as are the chopped eggs with bottarga on toast, and – arguably London’s most famous pudding – the burnt cheesecake.

 

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The Clove Club

For fine dining with a big heart, nowhere does it like The Clove Club, which has been keeping modern British food interesting in Shoreditch Town Hall for over 10 years now. The tasting menu is ever-changing, but always an adventure through the best of British ingredients – Wiltshire trout, Orkney scallops, Scottish langoustine, Yorkshire rhubarb – containing eight dishes which are so much more than the sum of their parts.

 

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Chishuru

In 2024, chef Adejoké Bakare became the first black woman in the UK to be given a Michelin star. Her singular West African cooking had a loyal fanbase among London’s chefs and punters long before she settled at the Fitzrovia address, thanks to a previous Brixton iteration of Chishuru. The food is luminous, delicious, cosy, alive – this is a tasting menu that makes you feel looked after.

 

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Jikoni

Eat an abundant, joyous lunch at Jikoni, where the floral tablecloths and peachy pastels will lift your spirits and the food is sunshine on a plate. Chef-founder Ravinder Bhogal describes her kitchen as ‘no borders’, offering a gently genius cross-cultural menu of, for instance, prawn toast Scotch egg with banana ketchup, or Cornish ray wing with lime pickle beurre noisette. Not to mention the Jikoni ice creams (pistachio, Ovaltine or Turkish delight).

 

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Bookmark for later: The Luxury Gold Guide to the Best London Experiences

Trullo

This handsome blue spot close to Islington’s Upper Street is an Italian restaurant in the most London sense of the words. The menu is creative but unshowy and the food is reliable, but always a massive treat. It’s one of the best restaurants in London, but quietly. For primi: pappardelle with beef shin ragu or ravioli with Westcombe ricotta, sweet herbs and walnut sauce. From the oven: Whole Torbay lemon sole. Yes.

 

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Kol

Sitting at number 17 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Kol is a modern Mexican restaurant full of soul in calm, elegant Marylebone. Chef Santiago Lastra’s blending of central American flavors and British produce is masterful and the downstairs mezcaleria oozes fun. It’s fine dining – tasting menus only, which is just as well, because you don’t want to miss a thing.

 

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Ikoyi

And at number 35 of the same list is Ikoyi, which the people at the World’s 50 Best describe as serving “category-free cuisine”. With a choice location on The Strand, close to Covent Garden station, this two Michelin star restaurant is the brainchild of chef Jeremy Chan – he creates complex, beautiful dishes inspired by West African spices and British ingredients.

 

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Toklas

This Mediterranean restaurant with its own bakery has lots of fans, including Britain’s own Nigella. It’s near Temple, close to the Thames, and only a short walk along The Strand from Covent Garden. Come for coffee and squishy cardamom buns in the morning or a perfect, pre-theatre set menu. Or, luxuriate in the full menu, from boquerones, through grilled pork chops (with escarole, raisins and capers), fantastic fries and tarte tatin. Toklas is one of the best places to eat in London at any time of day.

 

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Gymkhana

This is a two Michelin star restaurant inspired by the elite clubs of India where members of high society socialize, eat, drink, and play sport. The dining room – with its amber lighting, dark timber, shades of jade green and brass – is a chic space in which to work through a thoughtful tasting menu, an adventure in Indian fine dining.

 

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The Ritz

What is the most iconic restaurant in London? There is nowhere on this planet like The Ritz. Think: lofty, frescoed ceilings, gilding, glittering chandeliers, marble columns and all the rest of it. Go for absolute theatre – it’s icons or bust. The beef wellington is a fine centrepiece, made with Périgord truffle, sliced at the table and the crêpe Suzette is cooked (and dramatically flambéed) tableside.

 

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With exceptional dining at the heart of every Luxury Gold journey, take a look at our collection of small group luxury tours.