{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/62870b1b-20db-4419-bda8-1c5eb94cf7a2/e9627cf0-33e7-486c-8496-3eabf739bafc?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"James Lohan, Founder of Mr & Mrs Smith","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/611f82c24804728354143eec/611f82e0e0582e00139b6f9d.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Today I’m joined by James Lohan, the co-founder - and the Mr - of Mr &amp; Mrs Smith, the much-loved boutique and luxury hotel booking service and travel club.&nbsp;</p><p>It all began when James and his wife Tamara (aka Mrs Smith) decided to go about creating their own boutique hotel guidebook, travelling the UK to dine the best spots for a luxurious weekend break. The book was a huge success, and the business has since grown to include a popular online booking service, and its membership programme now has more than a million global members.</p><p>In 2014, James and Tamara received MBEs for their services to the travel industry, and when I asked James how many hotels he’s visited, he estimated a whopping 2000.</p><p>As soon as we started chatting, I knew this had to be a long haul feature length episode. As a bit of a hotel junkie myself, this was just so much fun, listening to James zig zag across the globe from one extraordinary destination to the other.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Whatever you’re dreaming about, if you’re thinking of a weekend staycation or a mega honeymoon, I guarantee you’ll get some great inspiration from James.</p><p><br></p><p>Destination recap:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Polzeath Beach, Cornwall, England</li><li><a href=\"https://tresanton.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Tresanton Hotel</a>, Cornwall, England&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.blakeshotels.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Blakes Hotel</a>, London, England</li><li><a href=\"https://www.thewitchery.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Witchery,</a> Edinburgh, Scotland&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://drunkenduckinn.co.uk/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Drunken Duck Inn</a>, Lake District, England&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.belmond.com/hotels/europe/uk/oxfordshire/belmond-le-manoir-aux-quat-saisons/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Le Manoir aux quat’saisons</a>, Oxfordshire, England</li><li><a href=\"http://uxua.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Uxua Casa</a>, Trancoso, Brazil</li><li>Vik, Southern Iceland&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://elevenexperience.com/deplar-farm-iceland-winter/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Deplar Farm,</a> Troll Peninsula, Iceland&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.soneva.com/soneva-fushi/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Soneva Fushi</a>, The Maldives&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"http://www.illatini.com/en/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Il Latini,</a> Florence, Italy</li><li><a href=\"http://www.jkplace.com/en/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">JK Place</a>, Florence, Italy</li><li><a href=\"https://www.limewoodhotel.co.uk/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Lime Wood</a>, New Forest, England&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"http://www.reschio.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Reschio,</a> Umbria, Italy&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.etthem.se/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ett Hem,</a> Stockholm, Sweden</li><li><a href=\"https://www.foxhillmanor.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Foxhill Manor</a>, The Cotswolds, England&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://morukuru.com/places/ocean-house/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Morokuru</a>, De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa</li><li>Georgia</li><li>Namibia</li><li>Rwanda</li><li>India&nbsp;</li><li>Menorca</li></ul><p><br></p><p>You can find <a href=\"https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mr &amp; Mrs Smith</a> online and on Instagram @mrandmrssmith</p><p><br></p><p>Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.&nbsp;</p><p>Come and find me on Instagram - I’m <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hollyrubenstein/?hl=en\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">@hollyrubenstein</a> - and to find out more about the podcast, visit <a href=\"https://thetraveldiariespodcast.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"...","author_name":"Holly Rubenstein"}