Felix, atop The Peninsula Hong Kong, brings itself to now. Felix Lab mixologist François Cavelier even has a cocktail ideal for breakfast—Cavelier’s Milky Ways is a concoction of Widges London dry gin, lemon cordial, and Louis Roque Vieille Prune Eau-de-Vie, stirred or shaken with Greek yoghurt. If Felix the restaurant is not yet open at your wake-up hour, simply order one via private dining.
Make something similar yourself, with Duchy Originals’ Royal Windsor Pink Gin, distilled near Windsor Castle with cassia bark, pink peppercorns, orange peel, and rose petals, and then infused with raspberries grown on the castle estate. Duchy Originals was established as a premium organic food and drink brand in 1990 and it is wholly owned by the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund. (Talking of which, if you are even thinking of being in London for the coronation on 6 May, reserve a suite quick—many top hotels are already sold out.)
Some royal ladies will be re-using tiaras and other magnificents. Old is hot news, everywhere. A pop-up of vintage Hermès bags at Jetex’s private jet terminal at Dubai International Airport sold out before the organisers could finish putting them on display. In Los Angeles, stylist Maleeka Moss coordinated upcycling platform Vveave’s runway show of much-loved Versace wearables, deliberately timed for the 2023 Academy Awards. Vveave is owned by Moss, together with influencer Nava Rose and Bent Kahina fashion, run by Jora Frantzis and Chaima Mennana. It sources supplies from Ebay and Vestiare Collective and re-imagines them to younger-generation 2023 styles.
Ace Hotel Kyoto is a conversion of the city’s 1920s Central Telephone Company Building. Re-done by Yokohama architect Kengo Kuma, the 213-room hotel opened in 2020. At the moment, its Italian restaurant is temporarily disguised as Japanese. Running through 20 May, the hotel hosts the latest Noma spin-off, bringing Nordic cuisine and three-Michelin starred chef René Redzepi back to Japan—the first pop-up Noma did was at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo in 2015. Now, Redzepi enthusiastically heads a total party of over 90 chefs, supporters, and others who have decamped from Copenhagen for a couple of months. Trust your luck and book a two-night hotel stay in the hope—possibly in vain—of getting last-minute returned tickets for lunch or dinner, both multi-course tasters.
Angkor Wat, near Siem Reap, is on many bucket lists, but you can avoid what might well be hordes of tourists by going out of hours. Siem Reap’s iconic private place is Amansara, former guesthouse of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihanouk. A masterpiece of 1960s New Khmer architecture, the double-height restaurant and Amansara Suite are originals, but 12 of the additional rooms, by Kerry Hill, have private pools. Book a remork—a Cambodian black motorbike with carriage—for guided sunrise visits, perhaps with historian Ven Sophorn, to the ruins, just 10 minutes away.
The Middle East is far more than F1s and camel races—did you know the latter are now remotely controlled? Real camels are urged forward by robot riders, directed by the animals’ owners watching by video in their air-conditioned Maybachs.
See it all—think of luxury small-ship operator Windstar’s inaugural Persian Gulf cruise, starting 23 November 2023, presenting a unique way to see the whole of the gulf in one 10-day trip, along with me and such fascinating others as extremely-approachable president of Windstar Cruises, Chris Prelog. In Dubai, there’s the Burj—and investment to consider, say in not-available-elsewhere Rolexes (values are up average 250 percent in five years). There’s traditional soukh shopping in Qatar’s capital Doha, and art to admire at Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel. See desert wildlife on Sir Bani Yas islands. Explore caves at Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahsa. Finish in Muscat but stay on at The Chedi, Oman’s modern-legend hotel where long floating chiffon scarves and unbranded Dior separates are order of the day. Buy frankincense for all the folks back home.
