We Don't just Fancy Fine Hotels, We Love Staying in the Best Rooms.

It's time to celebrate our first birthday today! It was on 21 June 2014 that we went live with our online travel guide. The Pillow & Pepper travel team visited more than 500 hotels and restaurants across Europe, testing and evaluating them anonymously and independently. About the 279 finest venues that made a lasting impression on us we wrote detailed profiles that we present to you on pillowandpepper.com. The past few months have been highlighted for us by plentiful feedback from you, dear members, partners and friends. Thank you very much.  

Berlin for the Seasoned Traveller

Berlin is an exciting and bubbly city, subject to constant change, absorbing everything and always open for new impulses. Our work keeps taking us back to the city, where we invariably encounter amazing and amazingly free-spirited people. As it so happens, Pillow & Pepper itself originated in Berlin. Germany's first city is a highly popular destination not just for creative minds, for it offers an exciting mix of art, fashion, and culinary culture that is always worth a weekend trip. Let yourself be inspired, and rediscover Berlin – far from the standard tourist trails!  

10 Tips for a Smashing Weekend:

St. Moritz – Our Editors' Favourite Places to Stay

We just love St. Moritz in March. The socialites who habitually read the wine list from right to left have now departed. Hotel rates are plunging, and rooms here become suddenly affordable even for those not carrying a platinum card. The ski slopes become the domain of genuine snow buffs again, and there is no need to make reservations for the sun deck anymore. Just drop in on a whim, and make yourself at home, as the jet set frenzy has given way to a serene nature experience.  

7 Tips for a Truly Great Time in St. Moritz:

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who is the Fairest of them all?

We love hotels! That’s why we have spent roughly 100 nights in them last year. And, we love telling you about (some of) them even more. Our passion for fine accommodation, rather than being limited to luxury hotels, extends to owner-operated boutique hotels, because infrastructure is only one of our rating criteria. We give equal weighting to each of the aspects of ambience, authenticity, location, room quality, culinary culture, and service. Here is our Top 10 list of unique Swiss alpine hotels – that have made a lasting impression on us. These are venues that positively define Swiss hospitality, that fill us with pride for our native country, and that we warmly recommend to you:  

We Love Christmas and Hotels.

Christmas trees and decoration are twinkling and sparkling everywhere you look. It is no different here at our editorial office. An intense, eventful year is drawing to a close. We visited more than 300 hotels and restaurants across Europe, testing and evaluating them anonymously and independently. The 269 finest venues that had made a lasting impression on us we profiled in detail. And these are the ones we present on pillowandpepper.com. The most important day for us this year was 21 June 2014 – the day we went live. Nothing, however, exited us like the copious feedback from you, dear members, partners and friends. Thank you ever so much!

A Culinary Field Trip to Alsace

Brace yourself for the scent of mulled wine, gingerbread and glazed almonds: Brightly lit Christmas Markets are opening all over the place. The prettiest of all, though, you will find in the Alsace, especially in Strasbourg, the city which calls itself the “Capitale de Noël” and which has hosted the legendary “Christkindelsmärik” since 1570.  

The Prima Donna of Truffles

The Piedmont in Northern Italy has just succumbed to the truffle fever again. Between now and Christmas, white truffles are all that anyone in the Langhe region and its capital Alba cares about. For this is where the precious object of desire and refinement, the white truffle species tuber magnatum pico, grows underground and in the wild only. All attempts to cultivate the truffle have failed so far. So it arguably qualifies as one of the last remaining marks of distinction for the true gourmet.  

Paris for Connoisseurs

With the Fashion Week having come and gone, hotel rates in Paris are once again affordable. The fashion metropolis is not just a destination for fashionistas, but has so much more to offer with its exciting mix of art, couture, and culinary culture; the city is always worth a weekend trip. Let yourself be inspired, and rediscover Paris – far from the trodden tourist trails!  

Von Freunden für Freunde

You have been with us from the start, hence we chose you as one of our ambassadors.  

Milan: Catwalk Talk with Giuseppe Zanotti

With the Fashion Week under way, things are getting frisky again in Milan. We took the opportunity to have quiet chat with the celebrated Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti (57) – the man who knows how to make a girl's day – about style, design, travel and his favourite hangouts in the fashion metropolis.

Longing for Provence

The summer is over, and it's back to work for all of us. Hundreds of unread e-mails in your in-box! Isn't it great to be back from the beach and no longer to have to stare at the sea, and to have more reasonable fare than chilled rosé and colourful cocktails? No, it isn't great – let's be quite honest about it. Who in all seriousness is looking forward to returning to work after a perfect summer holiday? Precious few of us. So what would be a good way to brighten your first days back on the job? That's right: planning the next holiday!  

Everything it Takes to Make Your Summer Nicer: Friends, Sun, and Gifts

You are one of our “early bird” launch members. As a token gift, we would like you to have a voucher worth € 15 that you may use to retrieve insider knowledge about a location of your choice on pillowandpepper.com free of charge.