Your Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wedding - October/November 2019 (Issue 79)

HONEYMOON From a five-star eco resort in Thailand to one of Scotland’s most romantic hotels in Edinburgh, Demelza Rayner highlights some up and coming honeymoon hotspots News GREEN WITH ENVY… …is what your friends will be when you honeymoon at the Tongsai Bay resort on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Samui. Boasting a range of pool villas, each with a terrace, outdoor bathtub with a view and a four-poster gazebo, the family-owned hotel is perfect for newlyweds. Furthermore, it’s the first five-star green hotel on the island, meaning it works hard to protect and preserve the environment with a range of eco-conscious and sustainable initiatives. Find out more at tongsaibay.co.th MORROCAN MOUNTAINS If you like to immerse yourself in the local culture while you’re away, the Authentically Berber Experience at Sir Richard Branson’s luxury retreat Kasbah Tamadot will prove a honeymoon to remember. The new package includes a one-hour mule trek, tea in a local Berber house, one-hour cooking lesson, Berber bread baking and a visit to the Eve Branson Foundation. Prices start from £477 per room per night. For full details visit virginlimitededition.com ROOM FOR ROMANCE If you’re considering a mini-moon to Scotland then look no further than The Glasshouse in Edinburgh. This award-winning luxury hotel offers newlyweds a dedicated Romance or Suite Romance package that will help you start off married life in style! On arrival you’ll be treated to a chilled bottle of champagne, which can be enjoyed on the two-acre rooftop garden, or in a relaxing bubble bath. Rose petals are sprinkled across the spacious hotel bed to set the scene, while a champagne breakfast will be delivered the following day, making for the ideal in-room lazy morning together.  Prices start from £279 per room. To view both packages, visit theglasshousehotel.co.uk WOULD YOU HONEYMOON HOUSE SWOP? In search of the weird, the wonderful and the Instagrammable, Millennial and Gen Z couples are increasingly rejecting traditional honeymoon hotels in favour of home stays booked through peer-to-peer platforms like Airbnb, Love Home Swap and Beds on Board.  Patchwork Honeymoon Fund – patchworkit.com – reports that the sharing economy has empowered this new generation of newlyweds to build a honeymoon free from the old parameters and redefine what luxury means to them. Olivia Knight, Founder of Patchwork says, “Couples are not just using peer-to-peer platforms like Patchwork to ‘crowd-fund’ their honeymoons, they’re also using sharing economy businesses to organise their entire trip.” If this is you, we’d love to hear about your experiences! 104