Caroline Phillips

Journalism

Caroline Phillips
“Caroline Phillips is a tenacious and skilful writer with a flair for high quality interviewing and a knack for making things work.”

Caroline Phillips

Journalism

All articles from 2015

The last days of summer in Sicily

Country & Town House | 24 Sep 2015

Tell people that you’re going to holiday in Sicily and you can see, on their faces, their imaginations conjuring up pictures of rolling hills, cypresses, red clay roof tiles baking in the sun, plump tomatoes bursting with flavour, cornfields, sheep and exotic, if benign, undercurrents of Godfather-related history. How satisfying, then, to realize that our family trip to SoloSicily‘s Fattoria Corleonese (near that Corleone, but more of that later) was to deliver on all of the above and more.

How to Holiday With Teenagers

Huffington Post | 11 Sep 2015

“Whaaa?”… “Huurgh?” The language barrier’s always one of the first obstacles to overcome on holiday in a foreign country. Even more challenging when the tongue you’re trying to understand is your teenager’s. As a starter, try practising your response to these common teenage phrases: “Dinna wanna come on this stoopid holiday inna firssplace!” or, and this is a biggy, “Wassha mean there’s no 4G/Sky TV in this stoopid villa!?”


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Monaci delle Terre Nere

Huffington Post | 9 Sep 2015

If I’ve found my favorite little-known hotel, I shouldn’t be telling you. But then it cannot be such a big secret as Anthony Bourdain (chef, author and TV personality), John Madden (director of Shakespeare in Love and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), and Josh Hartnett (actor, Pearl Harbor) have already plumped for its lava-filled bedrooms. This is Monaci delle Terra Nere, a new-ish (two years old) boutique hotel that’s off -the- beaten- lava track in the foothills of Mt Etna, Sicily.


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A family holiday with teenagers: Vacanze con figli adolescente (To Sicily with the mob)

High50 | 8 Sep 2015

The language barrier is always one of the first obstacles to overcome on holiday in a foreign country. Even more challenging when the tongue you’re trying to understand is your teenager’s: “Whaaa?”… “Huurgh?” Yet here I am: August, Sicily, at Casalnuovo – a beautiful villa with majestic 360-degree views and a massive pool – with six teens, two of them with my DNA.


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Monaci delle Terre Nere: an Italian hideaway from heaven

Country & Town House | 24 Aug 2015

‘I always dreamt of making an earthly paradise,’ reveals erstwhile engineer Guido Coffa. Mission accomplished. Working with his girlfriend Ada Calabrese – a passionate amateur interior decorator and an architect, Guido has created Monaci delle Terre Nere, the sort of boutique hotel that makes heaven look second rate. The property sits in 40 acres of organic farmland in the fertile foothills of Mount Etna, the volcano coughing angrily behind, the Mediterranean Sea beckoning serenely in front. The dusky-pink villa dates from 1800 – a noble family’s private home turned winery, then farm – and there are 19 bedrooms/suites, some in outbuildings on the estate. The refurbishment took five years and the result is the epitome of rural chic – where stylish-rustic meets cool-contemporary. ‘Having fallen in love with it instantly,’ he remembers. ‘I decided to devote my life and every drop of my energy to its resurrection.’

The Aman Spa at The Connaught review

Queen of Retreats | 20 Aug 2015

The quick read: The Aman Spa is in (arguably) London’s premier hotel in swanky Mayfair. You come to this subterranean beauty when you want to swap stressy city life, noise and buzz for tranquility, spiritual sustenance and top-notch treatments. It’s very ‘om’, with an elegant twist – from the second a staff member glides to your side to offer you a steaming ceramic bowl of lemongrass or ginger tea until you leave the serene, Asian-style treatment room. There’s a 60-metre swimming pool with a cascading water wall, a steam room with twinkling lights, crystals and multi-buhzillionaires letting off steam, plus five treatment rooms. You leave a few hours later feeling as though you’ve had a mini holiday.


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Is This the World’s Most Expensive Hair?

Huffington Post | 9 Jun 2015

Hair royalty, hair-raiser — he’s been called many things. One thing’s for sure — hairdresser Daniel Galvin Jr knows a thing to two when it comes to tresses. And now he’s offering a mobile hairdressing service. Hair on Bikes. Like meals on wheels. Only think cut ‘n’ colour delivered to your home or office. That is to say, two men on a bike come to do your hair chez vous. Daniel and his top snipper, Joseph Bilton. They’re the only duo in London offering such a service.


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