Sally Shalam   Travel writer | Consultant | Contact


If it has the X-factor, she’s stayed there…


Sally Shalam is a freelance travel writer with more than 500 articles published in the British national press.

She writes a Saturday column in The Guardian Travel section, which has an established following and contributes a regular page to Condé Nast Traveller.

Her specialist subject is Britain and the quiet revolution taking place in modern holiday accommodation, from bed & breakfasts and boutique hotels to gastro-pubs and self-catering holiday houses. ‘The writing is on the wall for Brit Grot,’ she says. ‘In 2010 there is no longer any need for trauma counselling after staying in a British B&B.’

 In the early Nineties, Sally Shalam hung up a battered backpack to take a permanent post at The Daily Telegraph’s Travel section. Soon after, she joined the London Evening Standard as Travel Editor. Here she created a must-read Travel section serving up three weekly helpings of the best and liveliest travel coverage to an urban readership hungry for hot tips, travel gossip and the heads-up on destinations worth knowing about. 

Spotting the changes in modern travelling habits, out went anything that wasn’t razor-sharp or focused on nightlife, shopping, hotel design, gastronomy or emerging hip destinations. Trend-spotting became the driving force behind ES Travel and the holiday industry quickly recognised the importance of its editorial. 

She embraced current obsessions – weekend breaks at the beach, in the country, boutique hotels, romantic boltholes, but most of all, the newly cool British scene. Deciding that airports and flying were becoming about as desirable as standing on a packed bendy bus, she went freelance in 2004 to become what she calls, ‘a tourist in my own backyard’.

Her passport has gathered a little dust now, but her weekend bags tend to wear out faster than you can say Louis Vuitton. She explores Britain’s back roads to report on emerging trends: the modern British pub with its smart bedrooms, or the gastro-B&B dishing up local produce at dinner, gathering a wealth of insider info and tips along the way.





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