India Hicks

photos courtesy Storm Models

The posting of India Hick’s dining room on Style Court reminded me of an interview I read in Ultra Travel and thought I would share an excerpt.

Born in London, to interior designer David Hicks and Lady Pamela Hicks, India was named in honour of her grandfather, Lord Mountbatten – the country’s last Viceroy.

After backpacking around the world and modelling for labels from Gap to Ralph Lauren, she moved to the Bahamas 11 years ago with her partner, David Flint Wood and founded The Landing hotel.

Do you ever get tired of island living?
Never. Who else has two-and-a-half miles of private pink sand to run on? That and the stars bind me to the island.

What’s life like there?
Extremely simple – and great fun. I’m woken by my parrot squawking outside and my three children squawking in their bedrooms next door. The noise only subsides once I’ve taken them to school on the golf cart – although traffic hazards such as chickens make for an interesting journey.

Big lavish hotels or boutique joints for you?
Small ones. I prefer places where you know the set-up and they know you. In London, I love The Milestone. My mother adores it too. It’s reassuringly English, chintzy and comforting.

Other favourites?
The Gramercy Park Hotel in New York. I can never decide whether I’m an Uptown girl or a Downtown girl – and there, I don’t have to. It’s halfway. In Miami, I always stay at Casa Tua, which is intimate and so welcoming. Just right.

Real escapes?
Shompole in Kenya, which is made from pieces of wood or stone collected by the Maasai. It’s a unique window into an almost-forgotten Africa. We went on a Royal African Safari, visiting the Rift Valley, the Aberdares, and then Hippo Point – but then, I love Africa. When I was 18 years old, I went all over the continent – from South Africa through to Malawi, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, everywhere. It was the best education I ever had.

Travelling wardrobe?
Jeans and a cashmere jumper. My new favourite travelling shoes are Converse All Stars because you can dress them up or down. If I’m going to a city, I’ll usually have something on by Ralph Lauren or Day Birger et Mikkelsen, the Danish designer. For less formal occasions, maybe pieces by my sister-in-law Allegra Hicks, or Diane von Furstenberg, who also has a house on the island.

Tips for travelling?
If you want to sleep, headphones are very good at blocking out the sound of the plane. I think a fizzy Vitamin-C drink helps ward off germs. Jemma Kidd’s lovely skin-tone lipstick gives a bit of shimmer to eyelids and lips; and Dr Hauschka’s rose cream is a lovely moisturising pick-me-up.

Ideal romantic getaway?
A weekend at the Hotel Santa Isabel, in Havana, Cuba. It’s on the Plaza de Armas, a beautiful square. The place feels slightly sad, but it also has a romantic and unspoilt air about it. Havana still has that old-world charm, which I absolutely adore. You find dust on everything – and I rather like that, in our modern, flash, sanitised world.

Most glamorous hotel?
The Taj in Bombay. I love breakfast round the pool, because you really can’t beat the glamour and elegance of Indian women. Mind you, although I am a great fan of the country and am obviously named after it, I can’t stand the food.

Is it the worst food you’ve had?
Definitely not. I went with my mother to Russia at the invitation of the Pushkin Society, and in the local government hotels, we had to supply our own light bulbs and electrical plugs. The food was, um… well, put it this way: at that time, I didn’t like caviar very much, so I had to live entirely on baked potatoes. How things change. During my third pregnancy, caviar was just about all I wanted to eat. We once bought a beautiful caviar set in Kenya – little bowls made of ostrich eggs and lined in silver, with tiny mother-of-pearl spoons, all in an ostrich-skin case.

Interview by Lisa Grainger
Copyright 2006 Ultratravel & The Telegraph