“You HAVE to come to our local village carnival! It started on Thursday already but if you come today, you’ll see the costumes and the final parades. Bring an overnight bag. And be prepared to speak Spanish… It’s about an hour from Valencia, I’ll drop a pin of where you must come.” (This was allContinue reading “A Night at Villar Carnival”
Category Archives: Travel
2022 will be a cracker!! But who will win the next Thacks Awards?
As we’ve already raced towards the end of the first month of 2022, we’re happily seeing signs of economic recovery for the tourism and hospitality sectors. Which is also a great thing for 2022’s haul of Thacks Awards. The panelists are looking forward to traveling beyond their Spain, Austria, UAE, Cyprus, Australia and South AfricanContinue reading “2022 will be a cracker!! But who will win the next Thacks Awards?”
2021 Top 5 Winner: IMPODIMO GAME LODGE, South Africa (bordering Botswana)
Impodimo Game Lodge is a luxury lodge in South Africa’s fifth largest reserve, Madikwe Game Reserve. Remote and unspoilt, nestled in the northwest part of South Africa, on the Botswana border (about 3.5 hours drive from Johannesburg), Impodimo is one of a few unfenced lodges, meaning wild animals can (and do) roam freely. We hadContinue reading “2021 Top 5 Winner: IMPODIMO GAME LODGE, South Africa (bordering Botswana)”
2021 Top 5 Winner: Culture Wine Bar, Cape Town, South Africa
At the top of a staircase, off Cape Town’s foodie street (Bree street), sits an oasis of relaxed chic. Here the truism “less is more” applies, since they don’t stock everything, but the wines they do stock are thoughtfully curated by expert sommeliers: some bottles rare and hard to find. Simply put, you can’t goContinue reading “2021 Top 5 Winner: Culture Wine Bar, Cape Town, South Africa”
2021 Top 5 Winner: TOP INTERNATIONAL EATERY – RUST EN VREDE RESTAURANT, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Three of the six international Thacks Awards panelists met in South Africa this month to undertake a final critique – and they were blown away. Again. The outcome was as expected: Rust en Vrede Restaurant wins the Thacks Awards Top International Eatery for 2021 amongst shortlisted contenders in Australia, the UAE, Spain, Malta and Austria,Continue reading “2021 Top 5 Winner: TOP INTERNATIONAL EATERY – RUST EN VREDE RESTAURANT, Stellenbosch, South Africa”
2021 Top 5 Winner: BOUET RESTAURANT, Valencia, Spain
After five consistent visits in 2021 by three of the Thacks Awards panelists (one was just a cheesecake and wine visit!), Bouet Restaurant was the 2nd Thacks Awards win for the city of Valencia. A consistent solid offering and great service, with one of the nicest sommeliers we’d met, meant this restaurant easily ticked allContinue reading “2021 Top 5 Winner: BOUET RESTAURANT, Valencia, Spain”
2021 Top 5 Winner: QATAR AIRWAYS, Doha, Qatar
What do you say about an airline that is probably already the world’s most awarded airline… ever? Do they even need any more awards? Well, since Thacks Awards are objective and fair, we’re consistently sticking to our guns and one of the panelists has happily awarded a Top 5 Winner 2021 award to Qatar Airways.Continue reading “2021 Top 5 Winner: QATAR AIRWAYS, Doha, Qatar”
An Underrated Tower in Italy
No, we’re not talking of the leaning tower. Also not a tower at a bridge. We’re talking of a tower you’d probably never heard of unless you’ve visited and explored the Piedmont wine region. Piedmont in Italy borders France and Switzerland at the foot of the Alps and is known for food and wines suchContinue reading “An Underrated Tower in Italy”
Thailand Reopened to Tourism: November 2021
How did Thailand reopen to tourism? The world has been a strange place since the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to many international journeys since early in 2020. The tourism industry in Thailand is a massive contributor to the country’s economy. In the first quarter of 2020, tourism was estimated to directly contribute 5.65% toContinue reading “Thailand Reopened to Tourism: November 2021”
Training the Most Luxurious
Rovos Rail’s website claims that they operate ‘the most luxurious train in the world’ and the Thacks Award panel agree that they have a near-perfect product. Sadly, the perfection which alludes them seems to be largely out of their control. So being totally objective, we have decided not to award them with one of theContinue reading “Training the Most Luxurious”
Thacks Awards 