An Essex Wedding - Mar/Apr 2019 (Issue 85)

W hat is marriage? Marriage is knowing that your wife must arrive at the airport at least 17 hours before your flight in order that she not have a panic attack. As Mr Cassels and I set off at silly o’clock on a Thursday morning, I smiled (not just because we were embarking on a two- night, child-free break) but because it’s those little things – accepting each other’s foibles without comment or complaint – that make a marriage. And arriving at Hotel Eden a few hours later (admittedly a few more than necessary due to the afore-mentioned over-zealous punctuality), not only made me feel like a honeymooner all over again but also further reflect on those all-important little things that lead to lifelong love. For the exceptional luxury and comfort (and believe me, I have been privileged enough to stay in a LOT of luxury hotels so when I say exceptional, I mean it) at Hotel Eden comes not from the gleaming marble bath that’s large enough for a party, the capacious walk-in-wardrobe, the welcome feast of chocolates, fruit and prosecco laid out in the sitting room of our suite or even the cloud-like mattress – although all those things were present and correct. Nor is it found in the impeccable yet approachable service as we were folded into the bosom of this Italian family. No, it’s in the tiniest of touches, the barely discernible moments that elevate cossetting and indulgence into an art form. My room key was handed to me Paris may be the city of love but Rome is all about romance, finds Georgina Cassels La dolce vita HONEYMOONS 123