I’m a compulsive reader of Conde Nast Traveller and I regard it as the best travel magazine in the luxury sector going.  So I’ve always wanted to go to their annual Luxury Travel Fair in London, and this year I had the availability to go for the first time, taking advantage of a ‘readers’ free ticket offer for the London Olympia event.  I envisaged a glamorous affair with stands manned by top airlines (maybe with cabin or seat mock-ups), luxury hotel chains and groups, and destination tourism authorities all eager to entice me to their products, with free-flowing Champagne to boot!

The reality was very different. It looked like a small regional trade fair and all the stands were occupied by Tour Operators. No airlines, just 2 hotels, no ‘hospitality’.  I really felt I could just as easily have picked up a few tour brochures from a travel agent on the high street!

When booking the free tickets on Conde Nast’s website I could also pre-book and pre-pay for a luncheon in a pop-up Anton Mossiman restaurant. No menu was available to view, but I was keen to book because I’ve long admired Mossiman, and £68 for his food, a glass of Champagne, 2 glasses of wine, mineral water and coffee seemed like a good deal.  Imagine my dismay when I arrived to see that the set menu was smoked salmon, roast turkey and all the Christmas trimmings – on 1st November!  I’m not fond of ‘Christmas dinners’ at the best of times, and November 1st is not the best of times!

The starter of marinated salmon with flakes of smoked trout, herbs and lemon oil was actually pretty nice 7/10.  But the highest praise I can give the main course is “it was a Christmas dinner”. 2 slices of mechanically sliced dry turkey, some small pieces of vegetables and a tasty gravy. 3.5/10 Hardly cutting edge gastronomy!

Dessert was a collection of faux Christmas joy. A quenelle of Christmas pudding, with custard, a mandarin panda cotta (which they claimed was a parfait) and mulled wine sorbet in a dark chocolate cup-case.  4.5/10

I’m sorry, but this whole day was a waste of my time and money. 1/10

One tour operator is due to phone me to help me plan a Maldives holiday. If that produces a fantastic result the I’ll revise my score for this day out.