Keith Austin

Keith Austin

Originally from London’s East End, Keith Austin has been a journalist for more than 35 years. Keith is passionate about food, drink, travel, writing, photography, humour and soccer. But not in that order.

Despite its 100 years El Encanto has pretty much everything you could want in a 21st-century hotel.

The hotel Hollywood's elite escape to

You can see why this hotel was a favourite sanctuary of the Hollywood set.

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Pia glacier in Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia.

Apocalyptic one day, sunny perfection the next

Rain, sleet and – if you're lucky – snow gives voyagers in southern Patagonia a dose of adventure they will remember forever.

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Deep beneath the swanky European HQ of the Bloomberg company in central London is the Roman Temple of Mithras.

What did the Romans ever do for London? Quite a lot, actually

London is in a near-constant state of excavation and astounding artefacts continue to emerge from the rubble.

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Life is moody blue at Niyama Private Islands Maldives.

A place so much like paradise, it's insane

Honestly, it's stupidly, madly, insanely paradisaical, this place.

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The Ninja Dojo and Store in Kyoto teaches the skills that go towards making a ninja.

Lessons in the subtle art of killing people quietly

Ninja master Izo Ichikawa is upstairs waiting to induct us further into the subtle art of killing people quietly.

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The modern Alila Seminyak is a step up from the more rustic aesthetic at Alila Manggis.

From low-key and relaxing to stupidly luxurious

Robust massages are just some of the treats at Bali sister properties, Alila Seminyak and Alila Manggis.

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A walking tour of Jewish Cologne

A stroll around this city will provide a dark, sobering and harrowing insight into the banality of evil.

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The Kosoyoku treatment, a dry bath, at the Riraku spa at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto.

Taking a dry bath in Japan - this is what it's like

I'm wearing nothing but black disposable underpants and a white hairnet.

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Pont du Gard, a mighty aqueduct bridge rising over three arched tiers, built by first-century Romans.

The French city of Roman marvels

Say what you like about the Romans but they certainly were careless, leaving bits of themselves scattered willy-nilly across Europe.

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Strasbourg in France has pretty half-timbered gingerbread-style houses.

No wonder the Germans and French fought over Strasbourg

It turned French in 1681, German in 1871, French again in 1918, German in 1940 and French again in 1944. Welcome to Strasbourg.

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Colourful serene nature at Mount Koya, Japan.

Visiting one of the most sacred places in Japan

People leave little knitted hats and scarves on the statues in the town's splendidly eerie cemetery.

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Hidden highlight: Chelsea Physic Garden.

London's secret garden that even locals are unaware of

This haven for plant life and bumblebees is one of London's best-kept secrets.

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Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski sits in a prime location in Old Havana.

The Kempinski: Havana's first five-star hotel

There is something about the open-air pool on the top floor of the Kempinski hotel in Havana that reminds me of James Bond.

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The most fun you can have naked in Japan

A few hours at Osaka's Spa World provide almost as much fun as can be had with your clothes off.

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View over Green-Wood Cemetery and downtown Brooklyn, New York.

The best cemeteries to visit in New York

Now that I am here, I would also like to pop by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Irving Berlin, Herman Melville and E.L. Doctorow.

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