By Jen Paolini, Mark Ellwood, and David Kaufman
Vacation 24/7
Call it Travelling for Life. In the wake of the pandemic, many of us have come to see travel very differently than we did before: It’s no longer an escape from the routine, but rather a respite within it, an element of our everyday.
One indication of this trend: Just ask any high-end agent about how much more frequent their communiqués with clients have become. Tanya Dalton, managing director of Greaves Travel Limited, says that around 30 per cent of her clientele now contact her outside of regular office hours, a rarity pre-pandemic. The new ease of working from anywhere has helped put affluent travellers on the road more than ever. Indeed, elite specialist Cookson Adventures now often bundles in services such as Starlink for itineraries to hard-to-reach sites. The retinues clients bring have grown, too, including the many employees who facilitate their day-to-day lives. On one recent Cookson booking: a chief of staff, a personal assistant, a social-media manager, a chef, two security specialists, and a pair of nannies. This type of traveller doesn’t just charter planes to and from a destination but keeps aircraft on call—the plan for a six-week journey Cookson is designing around the Tropic of Cancer. This hunger for travel has given rise to the semi-nomad, an emerging customer niche for Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, co-owner and director of Cazenove & Loyd. Multi-year plans are not uncommon, he says, often allowing clients to live in a far-flung locale for one to six months. “They have negotiated specific terms with their employers to facilitate a trip where they can work from another country for a set number of months,” he says, with South Africa and Morocco popular among American executives with European clients, as the time zones synchronise.
Red Savannah chief operating officer Edward Granville has noticed the same, with many clients looking to sketch out their lives on the road for the next five years. “They don’t necessarily book it all but put the plans in place,” he says. “They’re making travel integral to their lives, planning the next trips whilst clients are still on the current one.” Granville has seen a 225 per cent increase in bookings of so-called “supervillas”—homes with 10 or more bedrooms and costing upwards of US$75,000 (HK$585,470) per week— versus four years ago. These properties have grown in popularity with the rise of travel as a tool to reunite or reconnect, convening friends or relatives from around the world. Michael Hewell, who runs the leading high-end Disney-focused concierge, Michael’s VIPs, says that, pre- pandemic, he rarely, if ever, worked with more than one family travelling together; today, at least 20 per cent of his bookings are for two or more families, or for friends taking a trip in a large group.
Travel has become such a priority that it’s now even a gift to give, a rare gesture just a few years ago. New York City-based Fischer Travel’s clients have started tasking its team with devising trips as gifting moments. One gave his long-time assistant a Capri getaway last summer, while another, as a holidays gift, opted for open-ended, all-expenses-paid vacations to the destinations of choice for close family members. His daughter and her husband are already planning a trip to Wimbledon, with the offer of a knockabout against a top-flight player the day before. Game, set, and match.
Desert Retreat
Banyan Tree AlUla
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
In ancient times, AlUla’s verdant oasis served as a stopover for travellers on the incense trade route between East and West; its sand dunes and craggy mountains have seen civilisations rise and fall. In this cradle of human development, bearing some 200,000 years of history, Banyan Tree debuted its first resort in Saudi Arabia, a luxurious retreat set in the shadows of towering rock formations. Ancient Nabataean architecture, nomadic in nature, provided the blueprint for the tented accommodations, designed to smoothly blend into the desert landscape. Decorated with Arabian influences in mind, some villas come with private pools, but all come with remarkable views of the surrounding scenery. An infinity-edge rock pool, nestled between looming sandstones, looks out to the valley beyond—it’s one of the notable highlights of this particular Banyan Tree Spa, which specialises in Asian therapeutic traditions and Arabian wellness rituals. Banyan Tree’s signature Thai restaurant, Saffron, provides the Southeast Asian contrast to Harrat’s Arabic and international fusion flavours. Maraya concert hall, the largest mirrored building in the world, is just a few minutes away.
Classic Mediterranean
Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel
Venice, Italy
No introductions needed—Hotel Cipriani is quite simply a legendary fixture of the dreamlike Venetian lagoon. Set on Giudecca island, on the same grounds that Casanova allegedly once trod, its history traces back to 1956 when Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar and inventor of the Bellini cocktail, decided to open a venue fit for global travellers, welcoming such Hollywood luminaries as Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sophia Loren to the hotel. More than six decades later, the celebrated destination continues to reinvent itself through culinary collaborations and artistic partnerships, the latest being a photography campaign featuring the Belmond icon as seen through the lens of British artist Chris Rhodes.
Each of the rooms and suites is elegantly decorated in a classically ornate style popularised by the “floating” city—lots of drapes, velvet sofas and armchairs, and curved-leg desks and armoires—with views looking out over the shimmering lagoon or meticulously maintained lawns. A shuttle boat service, available around the clock, takes guests across the waters to the bustling St Mark’s Square. Don’t miss the exceptionally large swimming pool, the result of an imperial and metric measurement mix-up that produced an Olympic-sized recreational facility.
Historic Preservation
Amanyangyun
Shanghai, China
It is easy to mistake the stone villas of Amanyangyun as new builds designed to mimic the antique merchant mansions of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but they are, in fact, the real thing—the almost unbelievably well-preserved condition of these ancient relics is the commendable result of 16 years of painstaking conservation efforts. Relocated from Fuzhou to Shanghai for protection purposes, these villas were deconstructed brick by brick and reassembled on the site of their new home, along with some 10,000 native camphor trees, including the 80-tonne King Camphor Tree, now a centrepiece of the resort. Kerry Hill Architects, long-time Aman collaborator, breathed modern comfort into the traditional bones of these multi-room structures, and created new Ming Courtyard Suites to round out the accommodation options, always balancing Aman’s hallmark Asian-influenced minimalism in the design. Nan Shufang is the heart of Amanyangyun’s cultural activities: You can practise calligraphy, music appreciation, and ink-stone printing as the literati might have done in 17th-century China. Four F&B outlets showcase the best of Chinese regional gastronomy, Italian farm-to-table cuisine, and contemporary cocktail-making. Amanyangyun also houses the largest Aman Spa of the global lot, offering spa suites, treatment rooms, lounges, swimming pools, water and thermal facilities, fitness and yoga studios, and exquisite wellness across 2,840 square metres. Amanyangyun’s exceptional origin story is certainly unconventional, even in the pool of luxury conservation projects, but it’s all so very on-brand for Aman.
Beachfront Sanctuary
The Apurva Kempinski Bali
Bali, Indonesia
Few words have the ability to so aptly describe this Balinese stunner other than “majestic.” Budiman Hendropurnomo, of UK-based Denton Corker Marshall, drew on Indonesia’s natural landscapes and revered temple structures to raise a modern architectural interpretation of the country’s most iconic features; the cascading layout of the resort’s ocean-facing façade recalls tiered rice terraces, and the grand central staircase, flanked by waterways and greenery, emulates a climb up to the heavens. Imagined as an “open-air theatre,” this enormous Nusa Dua property continues to amaze on the inside.
Indonesian artistic heritage is on full display, from the gebyok partitions in the pendopo-style lobby, reminiscent of Javanese columned pavilions, to the handcrafted wooden details bearing traditional motifs. Koral is the first aquarium restaurant in Bali, Izakaya by Oku showcases Japanese flavours, Bai Yun specialises in Chinese hot pot, and L’Atelier by Cyril Kongo is a hip lounge for bar bites and drinks, serving as a canvas on which the graffiti artist exhibits his exuberant style. No Bali resort worth its salt would be complete without a wellness centre, and the Apurva Spa steps up to the plate with Javanese and Balinese healing treatments. Simply put, it’s breathtaking.
Eco-Luxury
Soneva Fushi
Kunfunadhoo, Maldives
A pioneer in eco-luxury hospitality, Soneva Fushi bills itself as the “original barefoot hideaway” and actively promotes a “slow life” experience to encourage guests to reconnect with themselves and the natural world around them. Sustainability is tightly woven into the fabric of the hospitality outfit’s founding philosophy, and Soneva Fushi has been 100 per cent carbon neutral since 2012.
53 private villas are spread across jungle and sea, and Soneva leans on natural materials, thatched roofs, hewn wooden beams, and woven textiles to imbue its interiors with authenticity and warmth. We like the Crusoe Suite for its referential bent, but the three-bedroom Sunrise Retreat is the perfect choice for large families travelling together in a group. Everyone will be well taken care of across more than 10 dining venues, covering plant-based, international, Asian, and Mediterranean cuisines.
Soneva Fushi is also home to a glass-making workshop which creates upcycled glassware and artworks for the villas and restaurants, a zip line experience on the island, water activities and cruises, and private observatories for stargazing. One of the luxury resort’s most-beloved features has got to be the whimsical water slides abutting the larger overwater villas—Soneva Fushi estimates that its guests “slide down them 12 times per day” on average!
City Chic
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
With over 3,000 ryokan accommodations and hotels in Japan’s capital city alone, Bulgari has entered a competitive market with its latest Tokyo outpost, but as expected of the luxury fashion house and rising hospitality empire, the new property stands out with its strong design concept and inimitable Italian flair. Milan visionaries ACPV Architects are once again at the helm to cast in marble, granite, travertine, and elm the signature look and feel of the Bulgari hotel brand across 98 rooms and suites, this time allowing for local influences, motifs, textiles, materials, and craftsmanship to seep into the vibrant visual language.
Niko Romito’s contemporary Il Ristorante and La Pasticceria experiences are part of the culinary attraction; Kenji Gyoten’s intimate Sushi Hōseki seats just eight in a space enhanced by handcrafted glass and wood decorations, echoing Japanese traditions. On a high floor of the Tokyo Midtown Yaesu skyscraper—of which Bulgari Hotel Tokyo occupies the top six—the Bulgari Bar is the coolest place to be on a Friday night. Followers of jewellery history will find much to appreciate in the archive drawings lining the walls of the lobby.
Boutique Hotel
Casa Maria Luigia
Modena, Italy
Modena legend Massimo Bottura, of the acclaimed Osteria Francescana, is known the world over for his contemporary take on Italian cuisine, but his hospitality project, Casa Maria Luigia, has remained an under-the-radar secret—until now. In the Emilian countryside, this 18th-century estate was transformed by Bottura and his wife, Lara Gilmore, into an artistic and culinary haven, chock-full of sculptures, paintings, photographs, design-led furnishings, and Bottura’s impressive 7,000-strong vinyl record collection. Each room is different to the next in this boutique hotel; the Luigina cottage is the largest among the handful of accommodations and can sleep up to six guests. A swimming pool and tennis court complete the facilities.
Dine at the sustainability-minded Al Gatto Verde inside the former stables of Acetaia Maria Luigia, home to more than 1,000 balsamic vinegar barrels, where Jessica Rosval, a long-time member of Bottura’s team, prepares a wood-fired feast that’s decidedly “not barbecue.” Casa Maria Luigia also offers guests the unique opportunity to skip the restaurant waitlist and experience Francescana’s signature dishes at the property’s Carriage House. An on-site vegetable garden provides the produce to Bottura’s kitchens, including Casa Maria Luigia’s.
Island Getaway
Banwa Private Island
Palawan, Philippines
Palm fronds swaying in the wind, fuchsia bougainvillaea bursting to life, and a fringe of white-sand beach stretching out to clear, blue waters—Banwa Private Island is a picture-perfect getaway off the coast of Palawan. Its six spacious villas ooze exclusivity, seclusion, and serenity, but there’s more to this slice of paradise than meets the eye. It’s surprisingly self-sufficient, for one: Drinking water is drawn from an artesian well and bottled on-site, honey is collected from beehives at the edge of the golf course, and fresh produce for the daily-changing menus is sourced locally from Banwa’s organic farm on Palawan. It’s also a sanctuary for wildlife, home to resident Mantanani scops owls and the flightless Tabon scrubfowl.
Best of all, Banwa is a place that gives back—the Aquos Foundation plays a central role in the protection of local biodiversity, nurturing the land and surrounding coral reef and marine life through conservation projects, reforestation efforts, and reef-ball installation, and the private island serves as a nesting ground for hawksbill turtles and native birds. Guests can go on guided underwater excursions to witness the initiative’s transformative results first-hand. It’s paradise with a purpose. Oh, and did we mention that Banwa is proudly mosquito-free?
Hotel Inside a Hotel
The Mansion at MGM Cotai
Macau SAR
Macau’s “jewellery box” resort and its glamorous architectural façade, designed in the shape of asymmetrically stacked rectangles rendered in silver, bronze, and gold, hide an even more beguiling secret within its walls: the Mansion. In an Inception-esque move, MGM Cotai installed a hotel-inside-a-hotel on its 280,000-square-metre site, an ultra- exclusive enclave available only to its most privileged guests (reservations are by invitation only, of course).
Moorish influences inform the design of the 27 residential-style villas, ranging from one- to three-bedroom formats set across four storeys around a covered, temperature-controlled courtyard with a fountain and garden. Maximalism is at play here; the hallways, lounges, and rooms are bedecked in mosaic décor, textiles, and artworks dripping in Moroccan splendour, an exercise in colour and excess. Mansion guests are well cared for by 24-hour butler service and a dedicated concierge, plus The Great Room and The Dining Room for culinary needs.
Adventure Base
White Desert Echo
Antarctica
White Desert’s third Antarctica property, Echo, continues to demonstrate the seamless integration of luxury hospitality with the pioneering spirit of polar expeditions, just as co-founders and world explorers Patrick and Robyn Woodhead intended. Adventure and ultimate comfort are prized in equal measure at this seasonal eco-camp, made up of six ovoid pods of composite fibreglass that can house up to 12 people and be dismantled to minimise impact on the environment. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow guests to gaze out at the snowy, uninhabited expanse from the heated cocoon of their retro-futurist, space- inspired rooms, decorated with original photography captured by retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts. A communal dining room, lounge, and shower facilities are located in a separate area. As a welcome drink, there’s the martini shaken with 10,000-year-old ice, to be savoured slowly. With Echo as your adventure base, you can venture out to visit an Emperor penguin colony or engage in guided White Desert activities such as ice climbing and mountaineering. Travelling to the edge of the world doesn’t get cosier than this.
Remote Resort
Six Senses Zighy Bay
Dibba-Musandam, Oman
Arriving at Six Senses Zighy Bay can be done in one of two ways: by zigzagging road or by paragliding down into the resort from the surrounding mountains—how’s that for first impressions? Once you are on the ground, it only gets better: the Omani-inspired villas and suites are spread out into a quasi-village, some on the sandy shores, but all with private pools. Wellness and relaxation are the order of the day, from Arabic-style hammam treatments and naturopathic therapies to a sleep programme designed by experts. Six Senses Zighy Bay also has superb dining options in Sense at the Edge at some 293 metres above sea level, Spice Market for Arabian delicacies, and Shua Shack for a Bedouin-style experience on the beach.
Adventure activities like rock climbing, diving, water skiing, kayaking, and sailing on the Dhabab dhow aside, sustainability strengthens the programme at Six Senses Zighy Bay. Guests can tour the Earth Lab to see the on-site glass-upcycling, candle-making, and soap-making operations. Goats and camels are fed with repurposed food, compost is donated to local farms, and the resort is engaged in a coral restoration initiative.
Train Travel
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train
Europe
Rail journeys carry with them an undeniable tinge of romantic nostalgia, a vivid reminder of the first steps of modern continental travel, where opulent carriages, sublime service, and majestic landscapes set the tone for 20th-century luxury globetrotting. Now, Belmond stands at the helm of a slow-travel revival with its lovingly revamped Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a timeless icon that wends its way through some of Europe’s most postcard-perfect routes, from the lagoons of Venice through snowy Alpine passes and French valleys to the urban centres of London and Amsterdam, or from Istanbul to Paris, to name a few.
Restoring the train to its Art Deco excellence took some doing but the result is beyond magnificent, not least because of the grand suites, which come in various themes. Lalique lamps, Baccarat stemware, and Murano glass sinks are just a few of the handcrafted artisan works featured on board. Jean Imbert’s seasonal menus—served across three sumptuous dining cars—highlight local producers and a loose marriage of French and Italian cuisines. Bar Car 3674 is a blue-velvet haven of cocktails and live music, and a steward will bring you breakfast in bed while you wake up to beautiful views.
Contemporary Design
Atlantis the Royal
Dubai, UAE
The new Atlantis the Royal dazzlingly picks up where its sister hotel (and next-door neighbour), Atlantis, the Palm, left off following its debut nearly 15 years ago. Located near the tip of man-made Palm Island, the latest outpost is a contemporary-design response to the original Atlantis’s traditional Arabian aesthetic and is more squarely aimed at adults rather than families. It’s also, intriguingly, set along the seafront far from the Dubai masses—a short limo ride from the city’s attractions, but deliberately apart.
Rising above the sherbet-green Persian Gulf, the Royal has nearly 800 guest rooms and some 231 private homes, all housed in a series of angular boxes stacked one on top of another like a giant game of Jenga. The resort spans six separate but connecting towers, with the central pair joined by a gravity-defying design detail: a 27-metre infinity pool some 91 metres above sea level. The complex features the usual over-the-top water amenities that have become signatures of Atlantis, notably that on-site jellyfish aquarium with marine exhibits and tours, plus a roster of bold-faced chef names: Nobu’s first beach club; Dinner, by the Michelin- starred answer to Willy Wonka, Heston Blumenthal; and Peruvian La Mar by Gastón Acurio. As for the rooms, opt for one of the 44 penthouses with indoor-outdoor lounges and their own glass-sided plunge pools high in the sky.
Makeover
Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel
Cannes, France
You can thank glamour-loving interior designer Tristan Auer for the eye-popping rebirth of this La Croisette staple. He has conferred much of the same magic on this twin-domed wedding cake of a building as he used when tasked with the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. The two-year-long process stripped back the patchwork upgrades of the interior to its original grandeur—check out details such as the once-concealed columns in the lobby—while adding new amenities. Notably, there’s a much-needed infinity pool (the largest at any hotel in Cannes) anchoring the garden-like reinvention at the Carlton’s formerly shabby rear, now an oasis away from the frenzy of the beach in peak season. It’s framed by two new wings, built to house branded residences. But don’t think of staying here without opting for a sea view: 72 of the 332 rooms face the water and the hotel’s much-photographed pontoon. Contemplate it from one of the small chaise lounges perched artfully in front of the bay window of your sea-view room, or just check out whether the crowd at the hotel’s beach club, also an Auer project, looks lively enough to sidle down to.
Ocean Paradise
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives
Kothaifaru, Maldives
Raa Atoll gained a sublime all-pool-villa paradise with the opening of Alila Kothaifaru Maldives, another jewel in Hyatt’s growing collection. Singapore-based Studiogoto gave the resort its barefoot-luxury look and feel, balancing the abundant vegetation of the island with a palette of natural tones and textures, low-rise villas, and wide-open spaces to invite the outside in. Choose between a beachfront or overwater villa, facing sunset or sunrise, and let the expert marine guides take you on a snorkelling or diving tour around the house reef to explore the diverse aquatic life before settling down to get pampered at the treetop Spa Alila. Between Seasalt, Umami, Pibati, Mirus Bar, Yakitori Bar, and The Shack, a wealth of international flavours—including Japanese, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Indian—is guaranteed. Alila’s also big on unique experiences: Hop aboard a dhoni sailboat to a private sandbank for an expertly prepared sunset barbecue, watch dolphins frolic in their natural habitat on a laid-back cruise, and learn about the important role of the coconut tree through native Maldivian stories, culinary and cocktail workshops, and a wellness therapy.
All-Inclusive
Naviva, a Four Seasons Resort
Punta Mita, Mexico
Don’t confuse Naviva with Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita; though both hotel destinations are neighbours, share the same picturesque peninsula, and promise an unrivalled level of attentive service, that’s more or less where the similarities end. In this intimate, adults-only retreat, travellers can embark on a journey of restoration and self-discovery. 15 well-appointed tented camps, drawing on biophilic design and biomimicry, dot the forested, tropical landscape, making up a collection of structures that take inspiration from the world at large. Inside, open-air spaces unite man-made and natural environments; the interior, channelling Mexican cultural elements, features work by local artists and craftspeople.
Naviva welcomes guests to rest, recuperate, and revitalise themselves through authentic cultural, wellness, and spiritual activities, such as the traditional temazcal heat ceremony, spa treatments using indigenous ingredients, cliffside yoga, and more. Plus, your stay is all-inclusive, and all meals, snacks, and drinks are covered, whether you want to enjoy a picnic, dine in your tent, or at the Copal Cocina restaurant. “We sought to introduce a new vision for luxury hospitality—one that nurtures personal growth, cultivates community, and remains rooted in nature,” says John O’Sullivan, regional vice president and general manager. Naviva also offers buyouts for groups wanting to make the resort fully their own.
. . . AND OUR BEST WELLNESS AND WELL-BEING DESTINATIONS OF THE YEAR
European Well-Being
The Original FX Mayr
Maria Wörth, Austria
A happy gut is key to improving overall well-being—and that is exactly the focus at The Original FX Mayr, a European pioneer in strengthening intestinal health and digestive systems through the same-named fasting method. With scenic Austrian mountains as the retreat’s backdrop, the Original FX Mayr team prompts a full body reset through intense detoxification treatments and regenerative therapies, supported by nutrient-rich meals, osteopathy, shiatsu, physiotherapy, hot-stone massages, and even virtual-reality fitness. Gaze out across the turquoise waters of the Wörthersee lake while swaddled in the modern luxuries of a preserved 1930s historical building that once served as a holiday home to British royals.
Island Wellness
Joali Being
Bodufushi, Maldives
Bringing well-being and self-discovery to the Maldives, Joali Being is centred around the four core pillars of mind, microbiome, skin, and energy. Biophilic design reigns supreme across the 68 beach and water villas, each cared for by a jadugar private butler. Nutritionists curate the menus using local produce, massage therapists lull you into deep relaxation, herbologists craft natural potions to combat maladies, movement trainers lead fitness classes, and—this being the Maldives—oodles of marine activities await. Unique to Joali Being is the hydrotherapy hall, dedicated to “healing through water” with a salt inhalation room, Russian-inspired banya bathhouse, hammam, Aufguss sauna, and pool for watsu aquatic therapies.
Holistic Integration
Rakxa
Bangkok, Thailand
Combining scientific, traditional, and holistic wellness, plus Eastern and Western medicines, Rakxa is the place to be to bid farewell to the things that ail you. On the jungled Bang Krachao island—Bangkok’s “Green Lung”—this all-inclusive retreat addresses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing through personalised programmes at its state-of-the-art medical gym, holistic wellness centre, and Bumrungrad International Hospital-managed scientific clinic. Acupuncture, floatation pods, cryo sauna, Ayurvedic therapies, IV infusions—you name it, Rakxa’s got it. It also runs its own organic farm, and the daily-changing menus and homemade kombucha at Unam restaurant are simply phenomenal.
Maternity Care
Saint Bella
Asia
Chinese traditions are clear when it comes to postpartum care: zuo yue zi—“sitting the month”—is a centuries-old custom that requires new mothers to rest and recover for at least 30 days while a confinement nanny takes care of the household. Not a bad way to spend a month, we think, especially if Saint Bella is involved. Saint Bella, by PrimeCare International, operates in partnership with five-star hotels across major cities in Greater China and beyond. It makes postpartum confinement an experience like no other with its award-winning luxury nursing concept; the tailored maternity plans and certified caretakers provide around-the-clock pampering for mother and baby in top-notch facilities during this critical period of new birth.
Natural Healing
Six Senses Vana
Dehradun, India
Six Senses has brought Vana, an Indian healing retreat in the lower Himalayas, into its fold. Integrating sustainability, seasonality, conscious consumption, and balance into its foundational philosophy, these bespoke wellness journeys are centred around Ayurvedic treatments, naturopathy, traditional healing practices, purposeful nutrition, and physical fitness, set against contemporary spaces designed by Esteva I Esteva. Its apothecary dispenses herbal tinctures, infusions, and decoctions made from local plants, and the dining venues dole out pure, natural flavours extracted from mindfully sourced produce. Slip into organic-cotton loungewear and let the experienced team guide you through your daily wellness activities.
