ultratravel The Daily Telegraph
YOUR GUIDE TO HEAVEN ON EARTH
AUTUMN 2012
On location
IN SEARCH OF THE MODERN GATSBY SECRET HAUNTS OF THE FASHION SET FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA IN FOCUS ANTHONY HOROVITZ OF ARABIA
+
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RedeďŹ ne extraordinary in Antelope Canyon, Arizona.
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7 nights Half Board in a Standard Sea-View Room From ÂŁ1399 per person For further information or to book please contact Kuoni on 01306 744739 Quoting tour reference: IO0704 www.kuoni.co.uk
www.longbeachmauritius.com
Saddling up Riding the pampas in style with Argentina’s cowboys (page 52)
CONTENTS
41
Features 28 Playground of the modern Gatsby The Long Island of F Scott Fitgerald’s novel has lost it sheen. Today’s East Coast aristocrats head north to Nantucket, says Douglas Rogers
13
38 Virtual Singapore See the city’s skyline come alive though your tablet or smartphone 41 Style-setters’ secrets Nicole Farhi, Poppy Delevigne, Angela Missoni, Heidi Grosman and Louise Kennedy reveal their favourite holidays spots out of the fashion spotlight 44 In the footsteps of TE Lawrence Anthony Horowitz rides into the wadis of Jordan to seek out the Arabia portrayed in David Lean’s epic film 52 The well-heeled gaucho Near Buenos Aires, Chris Moss discovers five estancias where guests can experience the cowboy life while enjoying fine food and a decent malbec 63 Bid for a dream holiday Trips to Mauritius, Vietnam and the Maldives are among the prizes in our silent auction in support of CLIC Sargent, the charity for children with cancer 72 Paradise atoll Win a trip for two to Jumeirha Vittaveli in the Maldives
Regulars 11 Editor’s letter The glamour of the film and fashion worlds inspires our writers; plus, LOUIS VUITTON
Blippar, the app that enriches armchair travel
24
13 The next big thing News, trends, events and phenomena from around the world, compiled by Adriaane Pielou 17 Ultratravel accessories Lights, camera, action: what to take with you, from a light-up umbrella to a calfskin-coated camera 22 Victoria’s secrets Small gestures of politeness make a big impact, says Victoria Mather 24 Countdown to… Washington DC. Peter Foster, the Telegraph’s resident correspondent, charts the city where the presidential race is hotting up 27 Shop local Lisa Grainger relishes the creations of the artisan chocolatiers of Brussels 67 Ultra intelligence Ballooning in the Antarctic; afternoon tea, Russian-style; a suite to savour in Tuscany; and what makes spa specialist Lisa Johnson hot and bothered 74 Travelling life Francis Ford Coppola names his favourite restaurants, hotels and holiday spots – from the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala to the Metropole in Hanoi
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2012. Published by TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, and printed by Polestar UK Limited. Colour reproduction by wearefmg.com. Not to be sold separately from The Daily Telegraph. Ultratravel is a registered trademark licensed to The Daily Telegraph by PGP Media Limited
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EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LETTER
LIFE THROUGH A LENS g
INTERACT HERE
REX; WARNER BROTHERS; ANTOINETTE EUGSTER
Bring our cover story to life with footage from next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gatsby film, stills from our shoot in Nantucket, and moreâ&#x20AC;Ś
BLIPPAR HOW IT WORKS 1. Download Blippar for free from the App Store or Google Play. 2. Hold your smartphone or tablet over the photograph (left) and the advertisement (opposite). 3. Watch the pages come alive.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Who is this Gatsby?â&#x20AC;? asks Nick Carraway (played by
that can transport them from the printed page into the heart of the
Tobey Maguire) in Baz Luhrmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much anticipated
action. With Blippar (above right), readers can use their smartphone or
remake of The Great Gatsby. Many expect the
tablet to roar through Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s streets in Mark Webberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Formula
directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s depiction of New York in the 1920s â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
1 car, or to leap from the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel with six Base
the age of jazz, loose morals and bootlegger
jumpers. They can also watch the trailer of Luhrmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ lm (above) or
millionaires â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to be a parable for modern times. The
hear why Christian Louboutin is such a fan of the Mandarin Oriental (see
ÂŁ80-million ďŹ lm, once scheduled for this autumn, has been put back to
advertisement, opposite). Augmented reality just got very real indeed.
summer 2013, giving us time to ponder afresh Nick Carrawayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s question.
Continuing our life-through-a-lens theme, author and screenwriter
On page 28, novelist Douglas Rogers sets out on an East Coast odyssey
Anthony Horowitz heads to Jordan (page 44) to fulďŹ l a lifetime ambition of
taking him from the holiday mansions of the Hudson Valley to the nautical
visiting the set of Lawrence of Arabia, 50 years after the release of David
retreats of Nantucket, where modern-day Gatsbys spend their summer.
Leanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s epic ďŹ lm. In Travelling life (page 74), Hollywood director Francis
As wealth and consumerist values continue to shift East, we turn our
Ford Coppola deďŹ nes what luxury means to him and, on page
attention to Singapore in the wake of the royal visit. Those who marvel at
41, big names from the world of fashion, including Nicole Farhi and
the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline (page 38) will be equally awe-struck by the technology
Angela Missoni, reveal where they kick off their heels and hide away.
Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
Photographer:
Jonathan Glynn-Smith Stylist: Louise Hall-Strutt Model: Victoria@Ford Models Clothing: Hat vintage, jacket Ralph Lauren, trousers Nicole Farhi Shot on location in Siasconset, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
Victoria Mather Our exacting columnist goes from Gloucestershire to Mumbai in search of that most basic of hotel essentials â&#x20AC;&#x201C; decent service. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the X factor,â&#x20AC;? she says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the thing that deďŹ nes whether you feel special or a dead bore to staffâ&#x20AC;?
Anthony Horowitz Fascinated since boyhood by Lawrence of Arabia, the novelist and screenwriter needed no persuasion to visit Jordan on the 50th anniversary of the ďŹ lmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wadi Rum was thrilling,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;because it was so easy to get lostâ&#x20AC;?
Nicole Farhi The fashion designer, who was born in Nice, reveals where she goes to unwind with her family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; such as her house by the sea near Marseilles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful to be in a place where you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to dress up or put on make-up,â&#x20AC;? she says
Chris Moss Having lived in Latin America for many years, the author and journalist knows his criollos from his casuarinas, making him perfectly placed to head south from Buenos Aires and tour the loveliest and most welcoming estancias on the pampas
Francis Ford Coppola The Hollywood ďŹ lm director, hotelier and winemaker counts Belize, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro among his favourite places, and has surprisingly simple tastes. In hotels, he says, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the practicalities that count, â&#x20AC;&#x153;like having a shelf in the shower to put my electric toothbrush onâ&#x20AC;?
ultratravel
Editor Charles Starmer-Smith Creative director Johnny Morris Managing editor Andrew Purvis Deputy editor Lisa Grainger Sub-editor Yolanda Carslaw Photography editor Joe Plimmer Contributing editor Adriaane Pielou Intern Naomi Matusala Executive publisher for Ultratravel Limited Nick Perry Publisher Toby Moore Advertising inquiries 07768 106322 (Nick Perry) 020 7931 3239 (Fran Burns) Ultratravel, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT
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the
NEXT BIG THING COMPILED BY ADRIAANE PIELOU
Modena art Clockwise, from main picture: classic cars in the Enzo Ferrari Museum; the exterior; and the Fiorano test circuit, where two new driving courses take place
Upcoming events, trends, ideas, phenomena and feats of large-scale engineering from the world of luxury travel
F
zFERRARI MANIA irst came the vast, luminous showroom of the ÂŁ15-million Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, northern Italy. Shaped like a car bonnet and made of aluminium in the yellow and black of the Ferrari logo, the futuristic 54,000sq ft building looms large over the modest brick house (far right)
where the marqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founder was born in 1898. Inside are 30 classic cars of historical signiďŹ cance displayed on plinths like works of art, surrounded by motoring memorabilia, photographs and, where possible, video footage of the cars in action. Now, from this autumn, fans can also get behind the wheel of a Ferrari on two new driving courses held at the Fiorano test circuit, GETTY IMAGES
11 miles away, near Maranello. Two options are available: an advanced driving course (October 18-19; ¤10,905/£8,580) and a sports driving course (November 14-15; ¤8,207). Prices include lunch at the track and two nights at the Una Hotel Modena (store.ferrari.com/events).
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the NEXT BIG THING
zRIVA 63â&#x20AC;&#x2122; VIRTUS Making a big splash at the Cannes Boat Show this weekend will be this 63ft monster, the largest open yacht ever produced by the legendary Italian boat builder. With a top speed of 40 knots and a cruising speed of 35, Rivaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship is sporty as well as sleek, its teak deck and stainless-steel fittings recalling the styling of the 1950s. The price of the Virtus has yet to be announced (riva-yacht.com).
z NOBU IN LAS VEGAS Superchef Nobu Matsuhisa (above) is big, with 26 restaurants to his name, but his latest opening in the US is positively gargantuan. With 11,200sq ft of floor space, Nobu Las Vegas seats 327 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; twice the capacity of a Boeing 737-800 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and cost $30 million (ÂŁ19 million) to build: entirely fitting in Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital of scale and ostentation. In addition to sit-down meals, it will provide room service for the first Nobu boutique hotel (180 rooms), located, like the restaurant, at the Caesars Palace mega resort (3,950 rooms) with its kitsch Ancient Roman theme. Rooms at Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace cost from $300 (ÂŁ190) a night, and can be booked from October 1 (caesarspalace.com/nobu).
z FIFTIES REVIVAL IN PUERTO RICO
The former Rockefeller hotel, built in 1958, reopens in December after its dazzling renovation by Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Once a grapefruit and coconut plantation, the estate has an aquatic playground (left) fashioned from an old Puerto Rican mill. $1,200/ÂŁ765 a night (doradobeach.com).
z SHOW OF GOLD The Olympics may be over, but London is once again the setting for a glorious display of precious metal. This month, the largest ever Goldsmithsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fair takes place in the Italianate Goldsmithsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hall. Spread over two weeks, September 24-30 and October 2-7, it provides an opportunity to buy direct from leading silverware and jewellery designers (thegoldsmiths.co.uk/events).
z OPULENCE IN GREECE Turning a blind eye to austerity,
the 38 calm, secluded guest
Aman makes its mark â&#x20AC;&#x201C; big
pavilions, each with its own
z SURREAL SCREENINGS
time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with Amanzoe, its latest
pool. A spa, hammam, gym,
An indoor swimming pool (right), a Bollywood
resort (below), sprawled
library and near 360-degree
beach party and a volcanic lava-cave deep
across a hillside near Porto
views across pine forest and
underground (the mysterious Cinema
Heli on the east coast of the
olive groves to the Aegean
at the Centre of the Earth)
Peloponnese. At its centre is
make this an unrivalled spot in
are among the more unusual
a vast reflection pool with
which to decompress. From
venues for screenings at
a circular terrace as its hub,
¤825/£650 per night (00 800
a watery theme continued in
22 55 2626, amanresorts.com).
z HERITAGE RETREATS
the ninth Reykjavik International Film
The serene 60ft pool (above) at Lakshman
Festival, which gets
Sagar, Rajasthan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 32-acre â&#x20AC;&#x153;heritage
under way this month.
retreatâ&#x20AC;? opening this month â&#x20AC;&#x201C; proves that
On Tuesday Movie
simple pleasures can trump the sumptuous.
Night, well-known
The retreat, built around a 19th-century
Icelanders open their
hunting lodge, has 12 mud-and-stone
homes to festival-goers
cottages, each with a fireplace and plunge
for private viewings of
pool. Among the diversions for guests are
their personal DVD
herding goats or sheep and making pottery,
collections. The festival
all during visits to local villages, plus fishing
runs from September 27 to
and contemplating the night sky. From ÂŁ205
October 7. Five-night stays
per night for two, full board (sewara.com).
cost from ÂŁ600 per person, excluding flights (icelandairhotels).
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Enjoy a complimentary balcony upgrade on Celebrity Eclipse速 sailing from Southampton. Plus, you can also take advantage of up to $500 to spend on board, courtesy of us.
Call 0844 493 6017 Visit celebritycruises.co.uk/ultra Contact your travel agent
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ACCESSORIES
9
LIGHTS COMPILED BY ADRIAANE PIELOU PHOTOGRAPHS BY NATO WELTON
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1
3
4
5
1 Bright Night light-up umbrella ÂŁ17.49 (0800 044 5010, ďŹ rebox.com). Fitted with a waterproof 6V bulb powered by batteries lasting three hours, this ingenious invention comes in various striking patterns, and in a ďŹ&#x201A;uorescent â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;safetyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; version. 2 Frogman Power Chip Neon by LED Lenser ÂŁ39.95 (01460 240336, ďŹ&#x201A;ashaholics.co.uk). Diving torch with a long, narrow LED beam that cuts through the murk. Easy to grip and operate with one hand or when wearing gloves, it emits 75 lumens and is waterproof to 200ft. 3 Light-up i-pout lip gloss by New Cid Cosmetics ÂŁ11.70, available in eight shades, and Compact LED Model Mirror ÂŁ19 (0845 643 0119, feelunique.com). 4 Tikka 2 Core head torch by Petzl ÂŁ53.90 (01433 622001, safariquip.co.uk). Rechargeable via USB, this lightweight, versatile and â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reportedly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; bomb-proof torch has three light modes for different activities. 5 Tiny Monster TM11 V1.12 by Nitecore ÂŁ194.95 (Flashaholics, as before). The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smallest and lightest 2,000-lumen torch is made from aircraft-grade aluminium
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CAMERA
ACCESSORIES 2
3
1
4
3
7 4
6
6
5
1 Nikon 1J1 with 10-30mm lens ÂŁ499.99 (nikon.co.uk/wheretobuy). Ideal for travel, with interchangeable lenses stored in a compact way. 2 Nokia 808 PureView ÂŁ489.99 (0845 045 5555, nokia.com). Has a Carl Zeiss lens and 41-megapixel camera at the rear, and a second camera for self-portraits at the front; images can be sent direct to Facebook and Flickr. 3 Leica M9-P Edition Hermès ÂŁ18,000 (020 7629 1351, leica-storemayfair.co.uk). Coated in calfskin and created jointly with the French fashion house, only 300 exist â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hence the price. 4 Pentax Q ÂŁ599.99 (01782 753 350, pentax.co.uk). The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smallest, lightest camera has a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;vintage colourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shooting mode. 5 Olympus Tough TG-620 ÂŁ229.99 (00800 659 67873, shop.olympus.co.uk). Waterproof to 100ft, shockproof, freezeproof and crushproof. 6 La Sardina Seoul Edition ÂŁ55 (00 43 1 899 440, uk.shop.lomography.com). Inspired by the Russian-made Lomo Kompakt Automat of the 1980s, this cult analogue lomography camera produces â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;saturated colourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; images
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ACCESSORIES
5
2
4
1
3 6
ACTION COMPILED BY SIMON DE BURTON
1 Bremont ALT-1WT World Timer ÂŁ3,995 (0845 0940 690, bremont.com). This pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch shows the hour, simultaneously, in 24 cities around the world 2 Linde Werdelin Oktopus II Double Date ÂŁ15,360, and (directly above it) Reef dive computer ÂŁ1,500 (020 7727 6577, lindewerdelin.com). The stylish diving watch, in titanium and rose gold, acts as a platform for the powerful clip-on instrument that helps divers plan their dive and avoid decompression illness 3 Chanel J12 Marine ÂŁ3,200 (020 7499 0005, chanel.com). For swimmers and divers, water-resistant to 1,000ft, with a screw-down crown and unidirectional bezel 4 Louis Vuitton Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup ÂŁ6,550 (020 7399 4050, louisvuitton.co.uk). Sailing watch with a regatta timing function, from the ofďŹ cial sponsor of the race 5 Polar RCX5 Tour de France GPS ÂŁ374.50 (01926 310330, polarelectro.co.uk). Cycling watch with heart monitor, downloadable training programmes and GPS 6 Chopard Mille Miglia ÂŁ9,660 (020 7409 3140, chopard.com). Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chronograph, in a white special edition, from the backer of Italyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mille Miglia car rally
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JASON FORD
Putting full-size bottles in the bathroom is exactly the kind of small detail that packs a big punch of luxury
Little gestures of consideration count in these harsh times. Victoria Mather seeks out shining examples of service
/
oast and marmalade is surely not too much to ask for, is it? Yet when Andrew Dunn, founder of Scott Dunn, was feeling a bit peckish at a top London hotel at 10.30am and waved down a passing waiter, his modest request turned into a three-act play. First the toast; 10 minutes later the butter; 10 minutes after that the marmalade, which, by this time, had been lost in translation as Marmite, by someone for whom English clearly wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a ďŹ rst language. Mr Dunnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s toast was, of course, cold. This, gentle reader, is a parable of our times. As the British become more idle, regarding a job in service as a downgrade to Downton Abbey, staff from the rest of Europe and beyond have become our lifeline to uber-nannying (which is what service really is). It is just that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always get the plot â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or the marmalade. Andrew Dunn, by comparison, employs only the best; his company (scottdunn.com) provides the most experienced, super-trained, jolly nannies in the villa and chalet business. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re every motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pride. Not least because Mummy can leave the little darlings building snowmen up an Alp or frying by a pool without fear of her smallfry ending belly-up like deceased goldďŹ sh. Service is the X factor, the thing that deďŹ nes whether you feel special or a dead bore to staff whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d prefer it if you were not a guest paying to interrupt their valuable time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about thoughtfulness, and the little things that cost so little but mean so much; we are thrilled by the smallest gesture of consideration in these turbulent times. In my quest for good service, I set the satnav for the Wheatsheaf Inn in Northleach,
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Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s secrets
Gloucestershire. Would a pub, until recently the dustman of hospitality, be better than one of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grand duchesses? The answer is a glad, conďŹ dent yes. My room was a poem of expensive neutrals, the bathroom abundant with full-size bottles of Bramley, an eco-chic brand that smells delicious, not of hairdresserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s after-shave. Full-size is exactly the small detail that packs a big punch of luxury. Little plastic bottles are mean, purport to pong of mango (why, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disgusting?) and, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always suspected, all contain exactly the same viscous unguent, so you might just as well chuck the conditioner into the bath along with the shower gel. The Wheatsheaf (cotswoldswheatsheaf.com) is owned by Sam and Georgie Pearman; he was a chef at Langanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the Michelinstarred Glass House in Kew, she was a corporate lawyer. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re young, whizzy, attention-to-detail ďŹ ends. If the Chipping Norton set, just up the road, left any children behind, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be returned dry-cleaned and replete with organic steak frites. The Wheatsheafâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff have a training exchange programme with the Gramercy Tavern in New York. Their executive chef, Antony Ely, has cooked for Bono (perhaps not a bonus) and worked at Chez Bruce and the River CafĂŠ. The food is exactly what one wants, comfort food executed perfectly. I was in a dog-friendly room so Maud could go into the garden; always sniffy, literally, about her accessories, she consented to use the immaculate dog bed thoughtfully provided. When we left, we received, like all guests, a smart bag with sparkling and still water and a Wheatsheaf
chocolate bar to sustain us on the weary road. The little gesture. Perfection. Like the bookmark placed by Oberoi staff inside the novel youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve thrown aside in the rush to dinner/the pool/the spa. Like the real books, the kinds of novels youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always wanted to read, in the rooms at La Trasierra (trasierra.co.uk), near Seville. Like the complimentary car and chauffeur at Trident (tridenthotels.com) in Bandra Kurla, Mumbai, and the advance calls made by the concierge to restaurants, shops and nightclubs to red-carpet your way. Magic. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactly how to make a near-the-airport hotel funky. (If ďŹ&#x201A;ying into Mumbai late and ďŹ&#x201A;ying out early, the Trident is the only place to stay, with off-the-planet service, champagne at 2am and clothes laundered during whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left of the night.) But then, in India, good service is a given. At the new Lakshman Sagar in Rajasthan (greavesindia.co.uk), once the hunting lodge of the Thakur of Raipur, they understand that a whispery dining room of strangers is ghastly. Have dinner ďŹ&#x201A;oating on the lake. No problem. The 12 shikar ghars, or villas, where you sleep are built of stone and contain books, music and locally sourced furnishings. The limo? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bullock cart that transports you and lunch up to the Fatehgarh Fort. At Sher Bagh (sherbagh.com) at Ranthambhore, Rajasthanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiger reserve, the chef includes you in cooking by the camp ďŹ re, using spices and tomatoes from the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organic garden. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind, therapeutic. At the Serai Tented Camp (the-serai.com), near Jaisalmer, the chefs invite you personally to collect Phumbi mushrooms with them. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting personal. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll raise a toast to that.
Simple luxury in completely natural surroundings, a serene hotel where I can unwind and cleanse my mind, space to just be me. Get special extra content with the Aurasma Lite app by pointing your device to this image.
Requested by Jonathan...
Crafed by
For expert advice and to book, visit your local store or kuoni.co.uk For a brochure, call 08 44 557 3777
COUNTDOWN TO Washington Museums, great restaurants and a palpable political buzz make DC the place to head this autumn, says Peter Foster
3
HOTELS The Willard InterContinental
(001 202 628 9100, washington. intercontinental.com), established in 1818, hosted Abraham Lincoln for a month as he awaited inauguration. Across the street from the White House complex, the Willard has also accommodated nearly every US president since 1850 as well as Charles Dickens, Martin Luther King and David
5
Lloyd George. For a more modern take
REASONS TO GO
on VIP treatment, try the Mandarin
In the run-up to election day in November, and
Oriental (below, 001 202 554 8588,
with the first of the presidential debates looming, the
mandarinoriental.com), favoured by
excitement in the US capital is tangible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the feeling
celebrities and security-conscious
of being close to the centre of power is exhilarating.
diplomats, and therefore used to
Great landmarks greet the visitor at every turn, many
handling high expectations. The
relating to Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political history: must-sees are the
Tabard Inn (001 202 785 1277,
White House (smaller and more unassuming than youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d
tabardinn.com), in a quiet corner of the
expect), the US Capitol (bigger and grander, above) and,
vibrant Dupont Circle neighbourhood,
along the National Mall, the piercing white needle of the
was converted from a row of town
Washington Monument. The city also has some of the
houses in 1922. Its 40 rooms, each
worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest museums (see below). While itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true
with eclectic decor, offer DCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
that DC is no London, Rio or New York come nightfall, all
quintessential boutique experience.
those politicos and K-Street lobbyists â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not to mention the Obamas, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keenest VIP diners â&#x20AC;&#x201C; couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t survive without some choice restaurants. Major performers pass through music venues such as the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and, for something more intimate, the celebrated Blues Alley jazz bar in Georgetown. Rent a car and take a day-trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the shores of Chesapeake Bay, the civil war battlefields at Gettysburg or the family seats of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson at Mount Vernon and Monticello.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Spacious avenues that begin in nothing, and lead nowhere, are among its leading featuresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Charles Dickens
MAP: TANIA WILLIS. 4CORNERS; ALAMY; REX
4
VISITORSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BOOK Senators, mayors and the First Couple are often out and about, as are A-listers in town to promote political causes. CafĂŠ Milanoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guest list includes George Clooney and Julia Roberts, while The Source has served Paul McCartney and Harrison Ford. At the Four Seasons, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have been among the diners and the Jolie-Pitts have stayed there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; though once they ate more modestly, opting for a special at Charlie Palmer Steak.
2
MUSEUMS DCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main cultural treasure is
RESTAURANTS CafĂŠ Milano (below; 001 202 333 6183, cafemilano.net), at
the Smithsonian Institution, the
3251 Prospect Street, is a Georgetown institution and the haunt of
worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest museum and
diplomats, lawmakers and lobbyists. A wide-ranging menu of Italian
research complex. Perhaps most
treats allows less well-heeled diners to get away with a bill of $40
unique is the Air & Space
per head, but spending double that would be easy. Another good
Museum (right; 001 202 633
choice for people-watching is the Old Ebbitt Grill (001 202 347
2214, airandspace.si.edu), housing
4800, ebbitt.com), a stoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s throw from the White House and
more than 100 years of American
a favourite of Presidents Grant, Harding and Roosevelt. Ahead of
aerospace history, including the
the election, its velvet booths, lit by antique gas lamps, are the
Wright brothersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Flyer and the Apollo
scene of political tĂŞte-Ă -tĂŞtes aplenty. Founded in 1856, it is one of
11 command module. Also unmissable is
Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest restaurants, with excellent, unpretentious food.
the Hall of Presidents at the National Portrait
Renoirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Luncheon of the Boating Party and quiet rooms filled with
1
modern art. Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens (001 800 429
Goodwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Team of Rivals, the biography of
1520, mountvernon.org), the estate of George Washington, is out of
Abraham Lincoln. President Obama named
town, on the shores of the Potomac River. The mansion has been
it as the book heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d take to the White House,
restored as it was in Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day, and the education centre
and it is now being made into a Steven
tells the story of one of the great figures of American history.
Spielberg biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
Gallery (001 202 633 8300, npg.si.edu), while The Phillips Collection (001 202 387 2151, phillipscollection.org) is home to
ESSENTIAL READ For a sense of the historical heart that
beats within the capital, pack Doris Kearns
NEED T O KNOW WHAT BUILT ON A SWAMP ON THE ORDERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE PLANNED CITY HAS BEEN THE SEAT OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS, TODAY, IT HAS 600,000 RESIDENTS WHEN AVOID THE STEAMING MONTHS OF JULY AND AUGUST AT ALL COSTS; TEMPERATURES RISE TO 38C. DC IS A CITY WHERE YOU NEED TO WALK. IN SPRING, THEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BLOSSOM; IN AUTUMN, THE FALL. WINTER IS COLD, BUT BRINGS BLUE SKIES FLY SEVERAL TIMES A DAY FROM LONDON WITH BA, UNITED OR KLM; THERE ARE ALSO DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM MANCHESTER. WITH ITS INTERMINABLE SECURITY AND POOR CONNECTIONS TO THE CITY, WASHINGTONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DULLES AIRPORT WILL BE THE LOW-LIGHT OF ANY TRIP
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BRUSSELS ULTRATRAVEL CHOICE 3 ESSENTIAL ADDRESSES Pepper trufďŹ&#x201A;es? Ganache embellished with gold crickets? Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital is the place to discover unexpected pleasures in the dark art of chocolate-making, says Lisa Grainger
JEAN GALLER 44 rue au Beurre, Grand Place (00 32 2502 0266, galler.com). A bakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son who started making chocolate 35 years ago and has 30 shops worldwide. Charming, charismatic, and known for his creativity (for instance, white chocolate with marzipan and pistachio); inventing the 70g bar; wafďŹ&#x201A;es ďŹ lled with praline; variety (from 85 per cent chocolate spread to super-light fresh raspberry trufďŹ&#x201A;es to the Oasienne, with almond-paste and orange); and
experience worth travelling the world for. It is Marcolini, admit the new wave of experimental chocolate-makers, who has led the way in modernising chocolate and educating clients about ingredients. He inspired Laurent Gerbaud (chocolatsgerbaud.be) to create his own style of 75 per cent Ecuadorian/Madagascan chocolate ďŹ&#x201A;avoured with fresh fruits, nuts and spices â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Turkish ďŹ gs in summer, Piedmont hazelnuts in autumn â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and offer them one at a time with wine or coffee. (Galler, too, has embraced this concept in his wine-and-chocolate shop in Uccle suburb.) Gerbaud encourages tasting chocolate as one might taste wine, but at the aptly named Passion Chocolat, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s virtually impossible to sample just one â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially when its Italian owner, Massimo Ori, is about. Ori is not just mad about the meringue-light pralines with ganache ďŹ llings, but ensuring customers become addicts, too. By the time I leave him to visit the 100-year-old Wittamer (wittamer.com), a few doors down, I can hardly face another chocolate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; never mind Wittamerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delectable ganaches adorned with gold-dipped crickets. And I deďŹ nitely cannot face eating a single one of the chocolates I create at the workshop of Zaabär (zaabar.com). In its industrial kitchen, classes are held two days a week, showing chocoholics how to spread hot mixture on to marble tabletops, work it to a glossy consistency, and then roll trufďŹ&#x201A;es and pour bars. While a six-year-old in the class is thrilled by the size of the bar she has made, the ďŹ&#x201A;avourings she is offered are less pleasing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really like chilli and pink peppercorns,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I have hundreds and thousands?â&#x20AC;? In Brussels? At an artisanal maker whose latest ďŹ&#x201A;avour is curry? Absolument pas!
graphic packaging â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each ďŹ&#x201A;avour presented in a coloured wrapper, designed by his wife.
LISA GRAINGER
T
here arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t many countries whose chocolate-makers have been in business for more than a century, whose population can stomach 15lb each of chocolate annually and whose capital has more chocolate factories than any other city on earth. But Brussels, as any chocolate aďŹ cionado will tell you, is not just capital of Europe, but chocolate capital of the world, a place where one only has to breathe the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s air to get a heady hit of the dark delicacy. In fact, as my guide, MĂŠlanie Saussez, is quick to point out, the sweet that most people would call chocolate, the Belgians call confectionery (â&#x20AC;&#x153;our c-word,â&#x20AC;? she says). Real Belgian chocolate, apparently, has to contain at least 30 per cent cocoa, mixed with sugar and cocoa butter. The (literally mind-blowing) creations that send endorphins racing to your brain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; made by the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s masters of the dark art â&#x20AC;&#x201C; contain at least twice that concentration, and often as much as 85 per cent. Even to mention giant Belgian brands such as Godiva, Neuhaus and Leonidas induces discomfort among the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chocolate Masters, who regard making the real thing as an artisan craft. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Increasingly, people want to know about the purity of ingredients,â&#x20AC;? says Jean Galler, who started his business in his parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bakery, and is considered, as Saussez puts it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Brusselsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; God of Chocolateâ&#x20AC;?. Galler adds: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not enough to use the best-grade chocolate, without additives. We have to source the ďŹ nest ingredients, and create delicacies that are dreams.â&#x20AC;? Since the 18th century, when chocolate was brought back from Mexico and turned from a drink into a hard sweet treat, chocolate bars have maintained a pretty consistent form: long bars, trufďŹ&#x201A;es and pralines. But Belgians are not afraid to break with convention, as I discover on my three-hour chocolate tour with Saussez, into buildings with elaborate medieval spires and brutal glass walls, occupied by both fashion designers and traditional lace-makers. In the world of chocolate, in the past decade, the changes have been revolutionary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with Pierre Marcolini leading the way. Still the only Belgian chocolatier to control every step of the process, from choosing the bean and roasting it to creating his exquisite Grand Cru boxes, featuring single squares made from beans from a speciďŹ c origin, Marcolini turned chocolate-making into a hip new art. His shop, off Grand Sablon square, where elegant men drink espressos at pavement cafes, looks more like a jewellersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; than a luxury food emporium, all black double-height rooms, gleaming glass cases and slim staff in slick suits. Clearly, to the designer-clad Japanese tourists queuing to get in, this is an
PASSION CHOCOLAT 2/4 rue Bodenbroek, Grand Sablon (00 32 2514 7714, passionchocolat.be). Opened seven years ago by Massimo Ori, a former Italian engineer and serious epicurean who believed it was time to â&#x20AC;&#x153;follow my heart, my true passionâ&#x20AC;?. His two tiny shops have become particularly well-known for their intensely ďŹ&#x201A;avoured ganaches, cherry cognac â&#x20AC;&#x153;bombsâ&#x20AC;?, 85 per cent chocolates ďŹ lled with fresh-mint-infused cream, and biscuit pralines, using a secret mix of roasted nuts and creamy caramel.
HOW TO DO IT SHOP Chocolate master MĂŠlanie Saussez charges â&#x201A;Ź150 for three hoursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; guiding and tasting (00 32 496 778601, melanie-saussez@hotmail.fr). STAY The serene Hotel Amigo, rue de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Amigo (00 32 2547 4747, hotelamigo.com), two minutes from the bustling Grand Place, with
PIERRE MARCOLINI
top-notch concierge, from â&#x201A;Ź199 for a double. TRAVEL Kirker Holidays
1 rue des Minimes, Place du Grand Sablon (00 32
(020 7593 2283, kirkerholidays.com) offers three-night trips to Brussels,
2514 1206, marcolini.be). The only master
travelling on Eurostar, staying at Hotel Amigo, with private transfers, from ÂŁ619. EAT Vincent, a traditional tiled brasserie known for high-quality
chocolatier in Belgium to buy beans direct from producers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from Ivory Coast to Cuba â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and roast
steak (00 32 2511 2607, restaurantvincent.com), or, for ďŹ sh, the wooden-
them himself. Known for his small and intensely
panelled Scheltema (00 32 2512 2084, scheltema.be), both about ÂŁ100
ďŹ&#x201A;avoured 6g chocolates, square tablets (main
for two, excluding wine. VISIT The Chocolate Museum, to understand
picture, top), contemporary monochrome boutiques,
the sweetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history (mucc.be). MORE visitbelgium.com/belgianbites
jewel-like packaging, intense ice creams and delicious cakes (he was originally a patissier).
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IN SEARCH OF When Leonardo DiCaprio (left) plays Jay Gatsby in next summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-awaited ďŹ lm, his ďŹ ctional haunt will be Long Island. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s millionaires have a different playground, as Douglas Rogers ďŹ nds on an East Coast odyssey beginning in the Hudson Valley and ending in nautical Nantucket
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THE MODERN GATSBY
In Gatsbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wake A motor launch off Nantucket Island, where New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monied classes spend their summers, with Brant Point lighthouse in the background PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH
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y friend Halliday, who made a fortune in advertising in the 1990s, fancies himself as Gatsby. Or at least he did, back when he had money, before the crash. He had a loft in Tribeca where he hosted decadent costumed balls, and he spent entire summers at country estates and beach houses, dressing in white linen jackets and Brooks Brothers suits and sipping Tom Collins cocktails on pillared balconies. There was probably a lighthouse in his story, somewhere. I met him years ago, when I ďŹ rst moved to New York, and heard snippets about the life he had led. I assumed, when he spoke of â&#x20AC;&#x153;the beachâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;the countryâ&#x20AC;?, that he meant the Hamptons, but he scoffed at that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jerry Seinfeld from Brooklyn goes to the Hamptons.â&#x20AC;? Halliday wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t averse to Long Island, per se. East Egg and West Egg in The Great Gatsby are substitutes for Manhasset and Great Neck on the North Shore â&#x20AC;&#x201C; aptly known as the Gold Coast â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and an elite Wasp leisure class still lords it over that lush peninsula. Old Westbury has the famous Meadowbrook Polo Club (est 1881), while the grand mansions of Sands Point and Locust Valley are glorious reminders of the decadence of the Gilded Age. But, by all accounts, much of Manhasset and Great Neck has been invaded by Mob Wives and drunken bachelorette parties; besides, as with the Hamptons, getting there from Manhattan can take ďŹ ve hours in Friday trafďŹ c. No, Halliday told me, if I wanted to ďŹ nd todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gatsbys I would have to go elsewhere. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything old is newâ&#x20AC;? is a clichĂŠ, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a longing in our uncertain economic times for the order, glamour and sophistication of a romanticised past â&#x2C6;&#x2019; hence the allure of Mad Men and Downton Abbey. Next summer, a new Gatsby movie by Baz Luhrmann will be released, a rather frenetic retelling of F Scott Fitzgeraldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s masterpiece of the louche, gin-soaked Jazz Age. In tribute to the ďŹ lm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and book â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I wanted to ďŹ nd out where a modern-day Gatsby might spend his summer, so I met up with Halliday in his favourite Manhattan haunt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle (itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like he has no money) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and he advised me on an itinerary. I should start in the Hudson Valley, upstate New York, he reckoned, country retreat of the Rockefellers and Roosevelts back in the day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and, according to him, still a bolt-hole for the monied classes. Then I should drive east, past the hedge-fund titans in Connecticut, to Newport, Rhode Island (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst resortâ&#x20AC;?), a society playground since 1881 when Lady Astor started summering there. Unlike Long Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mansions, Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are either open to the public as museums or
Chic lit The retro style of F Scott Fitzgeraldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel (left), recaptured in next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film starring Leonardi DiCaprio (bottom), can still be found at the Glenmere hotel (centre) in the Hudson Valley
still lived in by descendants of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mrs Astorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 400â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; her elite list of late-19th-century New York society families. Where else, I asked Halliday? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Island,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Marthaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vineyard?â&#x20AC;? He looked at me as if I had arrived at one of his black-tie balls in Bermuda shorts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nantucket, you heathen, Nantucket!â&#x20AC;? I once thought Nantucket was a line in a limerick, but no. There it is, a speck in the Atlantic, about 30 miles off Massachusetts. Once the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest whaling outpost, inspiration for another American literary classic, Moby Dick, it is now an exclusive hideaway for billionaire tycoons, blue-blood politicians and reclusive celebrities. I had a week to visit Hallidayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suggestions, and I hit the road in the confused heat of late June â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a white linen jacket and a copy of The Great Gatsby in my travel case. First stop was a country house in the Hudson Valley, an hour north of Manhattan. The eastern side of the Hudson has long been a retreat for the uppers: Rockefellers, Roosevelts and Vanderbilts built mansions there, which are now museum homes. More recently, Chelsea Clinton married an investment banker in Rhinebeck. In keeping with Gatsbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more nouveau inclinations, I was on the less fashionable West side, heading to a farming town called Chester. It seemed an unlikely place to ďŹ nd echoes of the Jazz Age. I passed a giant outlet mall and a tractor. But on a tree-lined bend I came to a set of wrought-iron gates. And there it was: a giant, salmon-pink Tuscan mansion on a hilltop, an elegant driveway curling to its front door. I drove up. Formal gardens rolled down to woods, and a lake shimmered in a valley below. A man in a uniform came out to greet me. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Welcome to Glenmere,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am Charles, the butler.â&#x20AC;? Very good. Glenmere was built in 1911 by Robert Goelet, scion of a Manhattan banking family. Like Gatsby, he had been trying to woo back a woman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in his case, his wife â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who was having an affair with an Italian. A big house usually does it. He hired the architects Carrère and Hastings and a masterpiece rose on a hill: a 35-room Italianate villa set around a grand central cortile, with sweeping marble staircases, columned porticos, and formal gardens dotted with statues and fountains. The wife, Daisy-like, remained un-wooed, but the mansion was a high-society hit. Babe Ruth mingled with visiting British royals, and socialites poured in from nearby Goshen racetrack and Tuxedo Park, Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst blue-blood gated community â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which was developed in 1885 by the tobacco baron and yachtsman Pierre Lorillard IV and later gave its name to the tux. Then came the crash. Goelet sold, and a succession of delinquent owners followed. By the time Alan Stenberg and his partner Daniel deSimone bought Glenmere in 2006, it was a wreck. Now, six years and more than $30 million later, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an 18-room Relais & Châteaux, easily the ďŹ nest hotel in the Hudson Valley. Charles took my bags to my suite and I walked the
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grounds. A spa had been added out back (I booked The Glenmere Man treatment in the marble-tiled hammam) and by late afternoon, after the requisite round of croquet, was drinking gin gimlets by the pool, ferried to me on silver trays. As the sun dipped, I read: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was music from my neighborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house through the summer nightsâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? I met Stenberg, a dashing sixtysomething with slickedback hair and ďŹ tted jacket (he was almost the model for Ralph Laurenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s polo player) in the library before dinner. Cole Porter tunes drifted in from the living room. He saw me admiring his books. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re real,â&#x20AC;? he joked. For Stenberg, buying Glenmere started out as a sop to a mid-life crisis, but it has turned out to be a timely tribute to a glorious age. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recall, back in 2008 there was no Gatsby nostalgia or Downton Abbey,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We thought our guests would be ďŹ ftysomething retirees.â&#x20AC;? Instead they are fabulously rich young New York couples in love with the Gilded Age and the Roaring Twenties. A hedge-fund millionaire â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a woman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; recently rented out the entire house for a weekend-long Gatsby party. â&#x20AC;&#x153;White opera gloves for the ladies, bow ties for the men,â&#x20AC;? Stenberg added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We called in a croquet master. People do anything to recreate that era.â&#x20AC;? Glenmereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contemporary aesthetic helps to attract the monied classes. Scott Snyder, designer to the stars, has combined vintage furniture with edgier modern art from Germany, and the food, sourced from surrounding farms, is very New York. I ate a delectable octopus salad in the cortile one evening; then foie gras and short ribs paired with Italian wines in the dining room. On my ďŹ nal night I met a well-to-do neighbourhood man who had popped in for a nightcap. He lived in Tuxedo Park, that mysterious gated community. I asked how it started. He told me that Lorillard moved to the Hudson Valley in 1885 when his beloved Newport started getting overrun by the nouveau riche. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like who?â&#x20AC;? I asked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Vanderbilts,â&#x20AC;? he said. Newport called, four hours away. I drove east, crossing
the Hudson on the Tappan Zee bridge, then motored north up Interstate 95, bypassing Greenwich and Darien, leafy towns of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hedge-fund titans, every second car a Ferrari. I arrived in early afternoon over the majestic Claiborne Pell suspension bridge and could see why the rich made Newport their playground. The old town ran down to a glittering bay, where yachts danced on the tides; on higher ground the Gilded Age mansions of Bellevue Avenue stood sentinel, their back gardens rolling to cliffs above the Atlantic. y only problem: Newport was full! The Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup yacht race trials were taking place, and every millionaire with a boat was in town. Unable to get a room at Castle Hill, the favoured retreat of the summer set, on its own peninsula, I lunched there instead. Tribes of blonde Wasps reclined on Adirondack chairs on a lawn sloping down to the bay; a perfect vantage point for the races. I noted the famous Turret Suite: it had a front-on view of a lighthouse on the rocks. The Vanderbilt Grace, built as a YMCA in 1909, and now a hotel with 33 rooms and suites, was full, too. Still, I managed a cocktail in its bar where an immaculate Italian in a cream suit and blue shirt stood next to me sipping iced water. So cool. Like Gatsby. I found a room at the Attwater, a low-key boutique hotel in a great location, just off Bellevue Avenue. Which is, of course, the highlight of Newport. Is there a more opulent road on earth? It was here that Mrs Astor made Beechwood Mansion her summer home. The 400? That was the number of people she could ďŹ t into her ballroom. I took a trolley tour of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Avenueâ&#x20AC;? the next day, and the mansions rolled by: Doris Dukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 39,000sq ft Rough Point, Claus von BĂźlowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clarendon Court, a Bentley in the drive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of the original owners lived in them only six weeks a year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the summer season,â&#x20AC;? said our guide. The Vanderbilt mansion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Breakers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was the biggest
M
of the lot. It did seem a bit nouveau. The Preservation Society purchased the house 40 years ago and it is open for tours â&#x20AC;&#x201C; except for the fourth ďŹ&#x201A;oor, where a brother and sister, descendants of Cornelius, are said to live in Grey Gardens-like seclusion. As for Beechwood, it was bought in 2010 by Larry Ellison of Oracle, one of the richest men in the world, who has closed it to the public. A mansion tour is one thing, but a party in one of the homes is the real deal, so I was delighted to learn that one of the grandest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rosecliff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; would be having an evening cocktail soirĂŠe for the Newport Flower Show it was hosting. Sponsors included Brooks Brothers, the iconic American apparel brand. I bought a ticket and donned the white jacket. The grand ballroom, with its frescoed ceiling and clustered chandeliers, looked familiar, as did the sweeping back terrace and fountain, steps leading down to garden, the ocean beyond. Couples danced between the ďŹ&#x201A;ower stands and ate canapĂŠs in front of stalls selling rum cocktails and designer clothes. Then it hit me: The Great Gatsby, 1974: Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. This was Gatsbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house in the ďŹ lm! I made my way to the Brooks Brothers tent and admired the shirts. Daisy would have wept. It was then that the elegant Italian I had seen at the Vanderbilt Grace appeared beside me. I introduced myself. He said his name was Claudio Del Vecchio, and he happened to be the owner of Brooks Brothers. I almost spilled my drink. We talked Gatsby. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You know we made all the suits for the new ďŹ lm,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than 500 costume looks, period style. Of course Mr Fitzgerald was a customer of oursâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? I loved Newport â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the lively sailor bars and seafood restaurants on the wharf; the Prohibition-era smuggling boat, Rum Runner, on which I did an evening cruise around the bay; lavish weddings in full swing on the lawns of private yacht clubs. But Newport luxuriated in its past. I wanted the future, or at least the presentâ&#x20AC;Ś And so to Nantucket, or in Hallidayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Islandâ&#x20AC;?.
I FOUND A ROOM OFF BELLEVUE AVENUE. IS THERE A MORE OPULENT ROAD ON EARTH?
Nautical but nice Clockwise, from main picture; the Bellevue Avenue headland, Newport; navigation aids; a fan at the Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup, Newport; scallops at Castle Hill; sailing past the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agassiz Mansion
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Getting to the Cayman Islands from the UK is easy. It’s leaving that’s hard. Soft white sand between your toes, aquamarine sea, azure sky and golden sun and perhaps, a delicious Rum Punch – a visit to the Cayman Islands is pure indulgence. With three small islands to choose from, 5-star accommodation, fantastic restaurants and luxury spas, you’ll enjoy a holiday of a lifetime in paradise. Direct BA flights make it even easier for you to get to the Cayman Islands. Sadly, they also provide direct flights home too.
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Vintage look Clockwise, from top: model transport; feeling the breeze at Brant Point lighthouse, Nantucket; al fresco dining at the White Elephant; Cisco Beach, one of Nantucket’s best surfing spots; memento of a whaling past; Sankaty Head lighthouse
You can take a commercial flight to Nantucket from New York now – a 45-minute puddle jump (many summer residents take their Gulfstreams) – but for many years, you had to go by boat. I drove an hour north to Cape Cod, and caught the slow ferry from Hyannis. Thirty miles out at sea, in sight of no land, Nantucket’s isolation is its appeal. It was the last day of June – midsummer – but when the boat pulled in, the island was shrouded in mist, only widow’s nests of old town rooftops visible through the shroud. Isolation can be a great leveller; even the jets of the billionaires get grounded in the fog. Nantucket is a byword for blue blood, but it has had its booms and busts. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when whale oil was king and its fleet spanned the globe (Ahab and Starbuck in Moby Dick are Nantucketers), the island had clean-burning street lights before Paris, and the wealthiest, most literate population in America. When the oil market crashed the island sank back into oblivion, a poor fishing community. In the 1920s – at around the same time Gatsby was holding court in West Egg – it was discovered by the Broadway set, who moved into tiny, rose-covered cottages and spent summers drinking gin gimlets and performing singalongs in cedar-shingle playhouses. Only in the 1950s did affluent Northeasterners discover the island, and only in the 1990s was truly impossible wealth ushered in. I booked a cottage at the White Elephant near the harbour, the most elegant hotel in town, a languid property done in light beach tones. It had a beach of its own, deckchairs lined up on the lawns facing it. A wedding was in progress, and the fog cleared for the vows. I walked into the rarefied old town. Cobbled streets lined with chic boutiques were lit by vintage lamps; there were no traffic lights. Aside from a single Ralph Lauren, there are no chain stores. Tommy Hilfiger has a home here, but he’s not allowed to open a shop. The island has its own dress code and language, too. Men in faded red shorts and caps – Nantucket Reds – cycled by, and in the Boarding House, a popular bar for the summer set, every second shirt and over-the-shoulder sweater had either a whale insignia or the letters ACK on it – Nantucket’s airport code. These are the ultimate in preppy signposts: code to an entire class of Americans who spend their leisure time in Nantucket. alliday was last here six years ago, yet his list of places to visit and restaurants to try was still relevant. I dined on butter-poached lobster with chorizo at the candlelit Straight Wharf; John Kerry – “husband of the Heinz heiress” – was in the adjacent bar area with an entourage. No one paid him any attention. And why would they? The list of billionaires with homes here is long: George Soros; Eric Schmidt from Google; the CEOs of P & G and Johnson & Johnson. I met an estate agent who had a waterfront property listed for $59 million; the joke goes that Nantucket is so expensive, millionaires mow the lawns of billionaires. Of course, the arrival of new money – so many Gatsbys – has brought social conflict. Rival golf and yacht clubs have sprung up because the establishment clubs had such impossibly long waiting lists. The Nantucket Golf Club, of which Bill Gates is a member ($300,000 to join), opened in 1995 because no one could get into the elite Sankaty Head, established in 1923. The Nantucket Yacht Club, a ramshackle cedar-shale pile with a couple of tennis courts close to the harbour, is far more prestigious than the swanky new Great Harbor Yacht Club ($250,000 to join). I thought of Mrs Astor and her elite 400; Lorillard spurning the Vanderbilts – and so it goes. And yet, for all the new money, Nantucket has retained its style and grace. Often forcefully. There are building codes – homes are all done in that simple grey cedar shingle – and a group called the Nantucket Land Bank commands a levy from any new home buyer, which then goes towards purchasing new land to be protected from development. In effect, the property base gets ever smaller, the prices higher. After two days in the old town I relocated to the
H
LCKI8KI8M<C
grandest hotel on the island, The Wauwinet, a gorgeous, discreet 28-room inn, on the near-deserted north-east peninsula. Motorboats bobbed in a private dock, and my room looked across Nantucket Bay, the old town lights twinkling in the harbour. I could imagine Gatsby standing here, watching his guests arrive by motor launch. Nowadays they arrive in planes from the world over. My fellow guests included an elderly Chinese woman, dressed head to toe in Prada, who practised tai chi on the lawn, and a young British honeymoon couple cuddling in a corner. National Geographic magazine recently rated Nantucket the greatest island in the world – these travellers will only increase and the secret will be out. If you want the true retro glamour of the Gatsby Age, relocated to the 21st century, there is no better place than Siasconset, an idyllic hamlet on high cliffs at the eastern edge of the island. I visited one afternoon on Halliday’s advice – and stayed past midnight. The Broadway set hung out here in the 1920s, and those rose-covered cottages still stand, alongside larger cedar-shingle homes. The Casino – the theatre where they performed – is still going, now a private club with tennis. I dined on scallops and sea bass in the Sconset Café, a chic, minimalist space; millionaires in flip-flops sat at tables near me. At sunset I walked over to the Summer House, a classic, somewhat faded 1920s hotel and bar, with sea views from its rose-strewn gardens. I ordered a dark and
TWO WOMEN IN SEQUINS, FEATHERS IN THEIR HAIR, DANCED A WALTZ. I WONDERED WHICH CENTURY I WAS IN stormy, while a man played show tunes on a white piano. The crowd got larger and louder; a blonde television news anchor I recognised flirted with a man who looked like George Soros. “His brother,” a drunk corrected me. Two women in sequinned dresses, feathers in their hair, danced a waltz. I wondered which century I was in. Around 10pm a tribe of privileged young drunks, dressed in tuxes, ties undone, returned from a wedding “in town” – Nantucket village. The barman promptly frogmarched one of them out for an unpaid bill. I took a walk outside, weaving, slightly drunk, through the gardens, the scent of roses and jasmine mingling with cool sea air. A half-moon hovered over the Atlantic; somewhere out there in the emptiness was Portugal, Europe, the Old World. The only sound was the gentle lap of the waves below. Then, suddenly, a low rumble came out of the darkness. I turned, and clattering towards me on the old sea road was a gorgeous white vintage car, roof up, a couple inside lit by the moon. The driver had a hat on, a woman beside him was smiling. They hooted and waved. Then the car disappeared into the night. Sublime Travel (01753 653646, sublimetravel.co.uk) is offering seven nights on Nantucket Island, from £2,800, based on two people sharing. The price includes return flights from London to Boston with British Airways, return internal flights to Nantucket with Cape Air, three nights at the White Elephant and four nights at The Wauwinet.
LAWNS, LAUNCHES AND LOBSTER LUNCHES How to live like a 21st-century Gatsby on America’s opulent East Coast
WHERE TO STAY
two-bedroom cottages, where guests can
The Straight Wharf Nantucket Island
Glenmere Hudson Valley (001 845 469
indulge their inner Gatsby. The lawn of
(001 508 228 4499, straightwharf
1900, glenmeremansion.com). From the
the main building is lined with white
restaurant.com). Perennial favourite close
butler at the front door to the Carrara
wicker furniture and deckchairs – perfect
to the wharf, with timber floors, hurricane
marble bathrooms with amenities scented
for watching tycoons’ yachts pull into the
lamps and great service. Simple, fresh
for the hotel by an Italian perfumer,
harbour. John and Theresa Heinz Kerry live
dishes include yellowfin crudo, clambakes,
Glenmere is Gilded Age grandeur for the
a few doors down. Doubles from $195,
and butter lobster with chorizo. Try to get
21st century. The 18 rooms include
garden cottages from $295. Prices
a table on the deck, facing the water.
a 12,500sq ft penthouse with views of
almost triple in high season.
Glenmere Lake, while the landscaped
Sconset Cafe Nantucket Island (001
grounds have more than enough
508 257 4008, sconsetcafe.com). This
room to land a helicopter. Rooms from
minimalist, low-ceilinged space with white
$750 (about £480) per night, Goelet
chairs has art photography on the walls.
Suite $3,585 (£2,290). No children.
Try the crispy skinned cod with fingerling potatoes and saffron aioli. It’s BYO (buy
Castle Hill Newport, Rhode Island (001
a bottle from the wine shop next door). No
401 849 3800, castlehillinn.com). This
credit cards, but they do accept cheques.
pristine Relais & Châteaux property, on The Summer House Nantucket Island
a private 40-acre peninsula, has its own
(001 508 257 4577, thesummerhouse.
lighthouse, beach and wedding marquee. Guests stay in pretty beach houses,
The Wauwinet Nantucket Island
com).This faded property with a beach-
cliff-side cottages or the historic
(001 508 228 0145, wauwinet.com). This
side bistro, pool, piano bar and restaurant
nine-bedroom Agassiz Mansion (top),
28-room hotel occupies a narrow spit,
transports guests to the 1920s. Magic.
a pile built in 1874 for explorer Alexander
with access to Atlantic beaches behind
Agassiz. Its lawn and terrace bar are
it and the bay in front. Guests are ferried
hangouts for the yachting set, and the
to and from Nantucket Village in a 1948
Take a trolley tour of Nantucket,
best room is the Turret Suite duplex,
Chevrolet or on the Wauwinet Lady
including the grand mansions of Bellevue
with sweeping views of the bay.
motor launch (above). Dine inside or
Avenue (vikingtoursnewport.com).
Doubles from $750, Turret Suite $1,150.
on the terrace deck at Toppers, a great
Board Rum Runner II, a prohibition-era
restaurant serving island classics
smuggling boat from the 1920s, for
Vanderbilt Grace Newport, Rhode Island
such as diver scallop ceviche and
a cruise off Newport, Rhode Island
(001 401 846 6200, vanderbiltgrace.com).
lobster bake. Doubles from $225.
(bannistersnewport.com/cruises).
WHERE TO PLAY
Built as a YMCA by Alfred Vanderbilt in 1909, this historic district mansion was
The Attwater Newport, Rhode Island
turned into a sumptuous 33-room hotel by
(001 401 846 7444, theattwater.com). New
the Grace Hotel group in 2010. From the
boutique hotel in light blue, white and
vintage indoor pool to the cocktail bar
yellow tones. Doubles from $159.
lined with Pop Art paintings, it’s a subtle synthesis of classic and contemporary
WHERE TO EAT
design. The British-born chef Jonathan
Glenmere (see Where to stay, above).
Cartwright’s restaurant, Muse, features
The executive chef Seadon Shouse,
a tasting menu called “An Evening at The
formerly at Zylo Restaurant at the W Hotel
Visit the 7th Annual Newport
Breakers”, based on a 1912 dinner at the
in New Jersey, creates modern classics
Mansions Food and Wine Festival
main Vanderbilt Mansion (though, these
with organic, farm-fresh ingredients.
(above), from September 21 to 23, with
days, you are served quail instead of lark).
grand tastings at Marble House and Clarke Cooke House Newport, Rhode
a gala celebration at Rosecliff (001
Island (001 401 849 2900, clarkecooke.
401 847 1000, newportmansions.org).
The White Elephant Nantucket Island
com). On the ground floor of this
Attend Nantucket Race Week,
(001 508 228 2500, whiteelephanthotel.
18th-century building, right on the wharf,
which takes place every August, and
com). This harbour-front property in soft
the Candy Store Bar does cocktails, sushi
watch the Opera House Cup
white and blue tones is the leading
and oysters; on the top floor, the SkyBar
Regatta – the first on the East Coast
old-town hotel. The main cedar-shingle
evokes St Tropez and serves chowder,
for all-wooden, single-hulled classic
building has 54 rooms, plus one- and
lobster and steak frites to the yachting set.
boats (nantucketraceweek.org).
Doubles from $275.
LCKI8KI8M<C
PAGE 28: BIKINI LIZA BRUCE, SUNGLASSES LINDA FARROW VINTAGE. PAGE 31: JACKET RALPH LAUREN, HAT VINTAGE. PAGE 35: (MODEL BY CAR) JACKET AND SHOES RALPH LAUREN, HAT VINTAGE, SWIMSUIT SONIA RYKIEL; (MODEL BY LIGHTHOUSE) SWIMSUIT AND BIKINI LIZA BRUCE, SUNGLASSES LINDA FARROW VINTAGE
Flying the flag The nine-bedroom Agassiz Mansion at Castle Hill in Newport, Rhode Island
ESCAPE
VIRTUALLY THERE
The surreal skyline of Singapore comes alive with Blippar, the technology that takes armchair travel to new heights. On the eve of the Grand Prix, and in the wake of the royal visit, download the app, point your smartphone and enter in…
ZIP
along an aerial walkway, among the 18 ‘Supertrees’ of the newly opened Gardens by the Bay
STEP
BLIPPAR HOW IT WORKS 1. Download Blippar for free from the App Store or Google Play. 2. Hold your smartphone or tablet over the landmarks pinpointed by the captions above. 3. Watch the pages come to life with video, audio, 3D images and more.
LCKI8KI8M<C
KENNY TEO
inside the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, two of the world’s largest plant conservatories
DRIVE LEAP
the Singapore Grand Prix circuit at night with Formula 1 winner Mark Webber
from the 680ft-high platform of the Marina Bay Sands Skypark with six Base jumpers
FLY
above the ‘lotus flower’ of the ArtScience Museum, then along the waterfront to the Louis Vuitton store
“THERE ARE 61 LAPS, SIX SLOW TURNS, FOUR HIGH-SPEED STRETCHES, THREE IDEAL SPOTS LCKI8KI8M<C FOR OVERTAKING” Mark Webber navigates the Singapore Grand Prix circuit
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Far from the catwalk La Ciotat, where Nicole Farhi has a home. Bottom: Soho House in Miami, where model Poppy
CAMERA PRESS
Delevigne heads for a romantic break
CĂ&#x201D;TE COUTURE
A quaint seaside town in France is Nicole Farhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite haunt; Angela Missoniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is a village in Sardinia. Lisa Grainger gleans some surprising tips from the fashion set POPPY DELEVIGNE
Company (theultimatetravelcompany.
boyfriend wants to pass out during the day,
One of two models in the family,
co.uk); I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t book a flight without Heidi,
I can nip out and shop for vintage stuff; the
the other being her sister Cara, the
sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on speed-dial on my phone. Soho
shopping is brilliant. But then, Miami is an
26-year-old socialite (pictured, left)
House is amazing, and so romantic I get
amazing city; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really underestimated.â&#x20AC;?
has featured in campaigns for Anya
butterflies in my tummy thinking about it.
Hindmarch, Mango and Burberry, and is
The rooms are very private and personal,
a brand ambassador for Chanel.
the baths big enough to swim in and the
â&#x20AC;&#x153;My summers nearly always start with a trip
whole place is such fun. There are rows of
to Ibiza, involving lots of cocktails on the
beautiful sunloungers with navy blue-striped
beach, late nights and really long lie-ins. We
cushions, watering cans to wash your feet,
party at home, mostly, but if we go out, we
and a beautiful cocktail garden with fairy
The French fashion designer created
love the Jockey Club (jockeyclubibiza.
lights and lanterns. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Cecconiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
her eponymous brand in 1982 as part
com), where they do the best strawberry
restaurant downstairs and you can order
of the French Connection group, and
daiquiris, and play incredibly loud rave
food up to your room (you must try their
has since branched into restaurants.
music. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fantastic restaurant in San
zucchini frites). Sometimes weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have
She lives in London with her husband,
Lorenzo, in the middle of the island, called
a whisky cocktail in the bar, other nights
the dramatist and writer David Hare.
La Paloma (palomaibiza.com), where
weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll go to their Mexican place to drink
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We go every summer with our children and
everything is really fresh and organic and
tequila and watch outdoor movies. If my
grandchildren to the South of France,
NICOLE FARHI
home-made. They make things like rabbit
where we have a house outside a quaint
tagliatelle with tomato and avocado salad,
little seaside resort called La Ciotat (en.
served with vats of cold rosĂŠ.
tourisme-laciotat.com), near Marseilles.
After that, we head to Tuscany for
Because I was born in Nice, I always dreamt
a week, where we rent a farmhouse, sleep,
of having a house by the sea, and I love it.
eat and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touch a drop of alcohol (after
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everything that Cannes and St Tropez are
Ibiza, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the last thing we want). What I love
not: very discreet and quiet. It is wonderful,
about Tuscany is that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so Romeo and
when you spend your life designing clothes,
Juliet, with all the hills and exquisite scenery.
to be in a place where you can relax, where
As an antidote, my boyfriend and I will
you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to dress up, put on make-up
go for a romantic break, just the two of us,
or meet anybody in the fashion industry
to Soho House (sohohouse.com) in Miami,
(apart from my old friend Betty Jackson,
which I book through The Ultimate Travel
who coincidentally lives five minutes away).
LCKI8KI8M<C
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all terribly old-fashioned and local, with
the ingredients â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially the seafood. One of
course and a little village
a Saturday market where farmers sell their
my favourite restaurants is Barque (barque
with two restaurants,
vegetables or chickens, and men bring fish
restaurant.com.au), set in a colonial house and
a pizzeria, two bars and
theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just caught. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a square with a bar
serving wonderful Asian cuisine. The staff have
a marina. The food is
where you can have a glass of wine or a coffee.
a genuine warmth. I also love The Wine Store
delicious â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lots of pasta
(thewinestore.com.au), where the wine bar has an
and pork, as well as fish.
Other than this family holiday, David and I try to go away once a year on our own â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for a birthday, anniversary or celebration â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and
impressive list and the food is excellent.
Our favourite restaurant
At Margaret River, we loved Cape Lodge
nearby is Da Pasqualina, in Murta Maria, which
pamper ourselves. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been to quite a few
(capelodge.com.au) in Yallingup, which felt like our
does appetisers of clams and octopus, and then
Aman hotels (amanresorts.com): three in
own little private property, in beautiful grounds,
grilled prawns and fish with potatoes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very
Bhutan, one in Bali and one in the Turks and
but with people there in minutes if you needed
simple and extremely delicious, especially with
Caicos. The last one, in Turkey, was fantastic. The
anything. Everything was of the finest quality: the
a decent Sardinian wine such as Vermentino.
rooms are like villas, with their own pools, and if
bedlinen, the towels, the porcelain in the dining
you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to see anyone
room. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to leave. When we did,
(thalassa.com) thalassotherapy spa in Quiberon
else. We mostly drove to little villages nearby and
we drove, with not another car on the road,
in Brittany, an hour and a half from Lorient airport,
ate in tiny restaurants, and I also went to
along a fantastic stretch of coast to Quay West
or a few hours on the TGV from Paris. I went with
a hammam, which was fun (I love to be scrubbed),
(mirvachotels.com) in a place called Bunker Bay:
my mother when I was 15, and I now go with my
and got to see Ephesus and other ruins.
itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a contemporary resort on a beautiful beach.
husband. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on an Atlantic-facing peninsula with
If I close my eyes, I can still see it: the delicate
its own microclimate, so even in winter you can sit
rock formations, the varied blues of the sea.
outside in the sun. The spa was opened in the
If we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to an Aman, we tend to stay at a beautiful hotel near Naples called Il San Pietro di Positano (ilsanpietro.it). Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s set above rocks
Afterwards, we went to a wine estate called
and, to get to the beach, you go in a lift through
Single File (singlefilewines.com), so named
the rock. The balcony views are breathtaking, the
because among the vines are ducks that roam
rooms are furnished in a lovely classical style,
around in single file, and another called Matildaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
and people dress up for dinner. The food is
Estate (matildasestate.com), where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a
unbelieveable, just gorgeous.â&#x20AC;? nicolefarhi.com
delightful restaurant called Pepper & Salt, run by the talented chef Silas Masih. One dish he made I will never forget: a mix of raw fish and beetroot and edible flowers. It was just perfect, like nothing else I have ever eaten.â&#x20AC;? louisekennedy.com
For 30 years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been going to the Thalassa
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A little beach bar, paella and a bottle of rosĂŠ â&#x20AC;&#x201C; my idea of a perfect afternoonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Heidi Grosman
1960s but is still the best, with a huge jet pool, very good massages, seaweed wraps and salt scrubs that work. You stay at the relaxed Sofitel Thalassa Quiberon (sofitel.com), surrounded by incredible rocks and beaches. The food is healthy, of course, so you miss bread and wine, but you still have beautiful fish, oysters and clams. There is so much to do: amazing walks, cycling along the coast, big monoliths in Carnac. Best of all, at the end you go home with a beautiful face, and a much slimmer body, but
LOUISE KENNEDY
you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel like you have suffered; you just feel energised.â&#x20AC;? missoni.com
One of Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful fashion designers, she has dressed political figures ranging from Mary Robinson, the former Irish president, to the First Lady of Chile
ANGELA MISSONI
and members of the Jordanian royal family.
The daughter of Rosita and Ottavio â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taiâ&#x20AC;?
â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a quick fix, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll head to Italy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Menaggio, the
Missoni (who competed in the 1948 London
most beautiful location in the world, overlooking
Olympics for Italy, and designed the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Lake Como and the mountains â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or to St Tropez.
tracksuits), Angela Missoni was born into
One half of the Heidi Klein duo (the other is
Both are easy to get to from London, so theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
one of the great knitwear dynasties. Her
Penny Klein), this designer of swimsuits,
ideal if you want three or four days away. For
collections have been worn by Cameron
bikinis, sunhats, flip-flops and kaftans thinks
a long holiday, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a convert to Western Australia.
Diaz, Nicole Kidman and Sharon Stone.
pre-holiday shopping is a chore. Her
On our last trip, we stayed in East Fremantle, by
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every summer I go to my house in Sardinia, in
collections are available all year round.
the harbour, where there is a real buzz,
a village called Puntaldia (puntaldia.com), near
â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are three places I keep going back to: Ibiza,
particularly around George Street, which felt like
Olbia. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a beautiful spot, with long, white, sandy
where we have a house in the hills, and where we
Nantucket or the Hamptons: quaint, upmarket,
beaches. One, just by my house, is three miles
go to relax; St Tropez, out of season, when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not
with great little shops and incredible restaurants.
long. There are lots of little islands, so you
too crazy; and Mustique, where we usually hire
HEIDI GROSMAN
can get in your gozzo [a small, flat-bottomed
a villa. Mustique is gentle, very low-key, with a lovely
Australian cuisine: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just the way they cook
fishing boat] and go exploring. There is very little
little bakery in the village, two bars (Basilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and
and the mix of Asian influences, but the quality of
around: a simple 1980s resort, a nine-hole golf
Firefly), and the Cotton House (cottonhouse
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ANTHONY OF ARABIA For the author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia was an inspiration. Fifty years on, he follows in the footsteps of Lean and his entourage and discovers the real star – Jordan, with its vast, silent valleys, dramatic light and abundance of ancient sites
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Golden highlights Anthony Horowitz (main picture, left) and his guide, Zakaria Salameh, with the Jebel Umm Ashreen rock formation in Wadi Rum as a backdrop. Opposite: Peter Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Toole (left) as TE Lawrence in the Oscar-winning film Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean (right). PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE PLIMMER
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Bumpy ride Anthony Horowitz and his guide journey through Wadi Rum, eerily devoid of tourists
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an it really be 50 years since the release of David Lean’s epic masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia? Looking at it now, it seems as vital as ever, with none of the fustiness or sense of archaism that attach themselves to many classic films. The colours are superb and the performances outstanding (although Peter O’Toole was robbed of his Oscar by Gregory Peck at the 1963 Academy Awards). The wonderful musical score by Maurice Jarre is as evocative as ever. And there are still moments that have lost none of their power to thrill: Omar Sharif turning from mirage to man as he comes riding out of the desert; the single panning shot that captures the assault on Aqaba; the astonishing cut from the blowing out of a match to the Arabian sun. “Every tool used to make movies was used in the making of Lawrence of Arabia,” Steven Spielberg said in a speech to the American Film Institute 25 years later. “I was inspired the first time I saw it. It made me feel puny. It still makes me feel puny – and that’s just one measure of its greatness, because it’s a continued inspiration and it’s cutting the rest of us down to size.” The film received a standing ovation at its New York premiere and went on to win seven Oscars, yet in all the acclaim surrounding it, there is one contribution that the critics have overlooked – the country in which it was filmed. As David Lean himself wrote to his producer, Sam Spiegel: “…listen to me, Sam. The thing that’s going
to make this a very exceptional picture in the world-beater class are the background, the camels, horses and uniqueness of the strange atmosphere we are putting around our intimate story.” Many of the most memorable sequences take place in Jordan, including an early scene in which Lawrence is being escorted across the desert by a Bedouin guide. You’d have thought that a shot of two men on camels would be simple. In fact, it demanded a 500ft ski-lift, two cumbersome Panavision cameras and dozens of men working flat-out in the 40-degree heat. Somehow Lean encapsulates the Arabian desert with the khamsin (desert wind) blowing, the sand chasing its tail on dunes 1,000ft high, the afternoon shadows stretching out and the landscape saturated in an ethereal, golden sunlight. I travelled to Jordan to celebrate the anniversary and began in the desert at Wadi Rum, about 60 miles
ONE EARLY SCENE DEMANDED A 500FT SKI LIFT AND DOZENS OF MEN WORKING IN 40-DEGREE HEAT
south-west of Petra, where Lean shot a great deal of the film. His brilliant production designer, John Box, might have constructed Aqaba entirely out of plywood – the attack was shot in Almeria, Spain – but Wadi Rum is exactly as David Lean found it. In fact, TE Lawrence came here himself and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom can be found quite close to the railway line that Lawrence spent quite a lot of his time and energy blowing up. Actually, nobody is completely certain that the rock formation is the one that inspired TE Lawrence’s book, and I could only count six pillars. Like the nearby “Lawrence’s Spring” or the Nabataean construction “Lawrence’s House” – which isn’t – the pillars, too, may have only a tenuous connection to the great man. What is certain, though, is that Lawrence came here and famously described it as “vast, echoing and God-like”. I can’t put it much better than that. I stayed two nights in King Aretas IV Camp, which was only 20 minutes away from the nearest town – a bumpy, exhilarating drive across the sand – but which really did feel like the middle of nowhere. I was surrounded by vast rock faces – granite, basalt and sandstone – which, whacked by the sun and the wind, seemed almost to be melting. At times, when the light hit them at a certain angle, it was as if they were covered in hieroglyphics, perhaps carved by some alien race, trying to tell me something I didn’t understand. Until you have been alone in the desert, it is hard to
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grasp how old the world is and how small we are within it. It’s not just the light that’s extraordinary. It’s the shadows, too, clinging on to every stone, every twist of desert grass. I never knew there were so many shades of black and grey. Walk just a hundred yards and the silence is total, overwhelming. You have left the 21st century. At night, the stars dazzle and as the moon slides out, stark white and ancient, from behind Jebel Umm Ashreen (a mountain whose name translates as the Mother of Twenty), you feel you are watching the essence of all drama, with no need for actors or cameras. There were few horizons at Wadi Rum. I was surrounded, enclosed, by tons of rock, by mountains that a million years ago were at the bottom of the sea. The expeditions that I made – on horseback (through the first-class Wadi Rum Horses, with proper, spirited Arabian animals) and on camels – were thrilling because it was so easy to become lost in the ever-changing landscape. King Aretas IV is described in the publicity literature as a luxury camp, and with its 10 lavatories and hot showers, sprung beds and very decent food, it certainly offered more luxury than Lawrence ever enjoyed. My first impressions of the many tents in rows and the sewage truck parked in plain sight were not encouraging – the camp seemed more military than luxurious – but with the fire lit, the wine poured and the sand dunes glowing in the moonlight, I was willing to forgive it anything. Originally, David Lean had planned to shoot all over Jordan and the Unesco World Heritage site of Petra was high up on his list. It was a wish denied by the film’s cost-conscious producer, Sam Spiegel, who moved the entire shoot to Spain. (In the end it was Spielberg who would return to this extraordinary place, many years later,
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Sand city Clockwise, from top left: King Aretus IV Camp; desert signs; soldiers wearing Jordanian dress, at a Bedouin camp; and the Monastery at Petra, where David Lean’s wish to film was thwarted by his cost-conscious producer
sending Indiana Jones into Al Khazneh – the so-called Treasury, which is actually a mausoleum.) Petra – an official Wonder of the World, and on just about every list of places to see before you die – is this year enjoying an anniversary, too. After a millennium lost to the world, it was rediscovered 200 years ago by a Swiss explorer, Jean Louis Burckhardt, who entered the city disguised as an Arab. I needed no persuasion to hop on a camel and head that way, although my travel company, with its usual well-honed efficiency, had provided a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a very knowledgable guide. othing can quite prepare you for Petra, a city carved out of the very rock by the Nabataeans in the sixth century BC. As you descend through the eastern entrance, a narrow gorge that once served as a waterway, you feel as if you are entering a monumental conspiracy between nature and humankind. There are boulders shaped like elephants that turn out to be accidental, and carvings of camels and merchants that have been placed there by design. The colours and shapes of the rock faces put you in mind of the Spanish architect Gaudí, but they are the result of erosion, exposing the sulphur, cobalt, silica and magnesium below. As you continue down, more and more buildings seem to come into focus, mainly tombs and tricliniums (meeting places), emerging from the hillsides until you turn a corner and there is the Treasury. And even though it is the climax of everything you have seen, it is still only the start. For me, the high point of Petra was exactly that: the Monastery (another misnomer, as it was originally a temple) is 900 steps up, although for the faint-hearted there are donkeys. What makes the
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inexorably against the walls. If there were half a dozen tourists in clifftop ruin so special is that it is relatively unknown. In fact, you feel the place when I visited, I’d be surprised − and that is a crazy you are discovering it for the first time. Impossibly large, carved once situation: Karak is unforgettable. again out of a gigantic cliff-face, it reduces you to slack-jawed That said, as you head south down the King’s Highway, it’s hard to amazement. It was built from the top down, carved one inch at a time escape the sense that you are following a well-tried tourist route and with what must have been incredible patience and skill. My great by the time our guide had ferried us into the obligatory mosaic hero, Tintin, came to Petra in The Red Sea Sharks and I felt exactly the factory (and shop) near Madaba, I was beginning to detect a whiff of same sense of wonderment and adventure as I climbed past plunging coach-party mentality. If you can get past this, the overall experience ravines and stood in front of this monolithic construction with the is transformative. Stand on Mount Nebo, in the blazing heat, where rest of the city far below. Moses himself stood and saw a Promised Land that he would never Now here’s the thing. Up to 8,000 people visit Petra on some reach, or dip into the water of the River Jordan at Bethany, where days and it’s hard to imagine it with crowds of tourists following Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist, and the Bible is no brightly-coloured flags and umbrellas through the narrow longer something you had to read at school. It bursts into life. You passageways. But when I was there, at the beginning of May, I had feel its power and mystery all around. And not just that. At Bethany the place almost to myself. Why? Well, I stayed at the comfortable you are just a few yards away from Israel and two miles from Mövenpick hotel, which has the advantage of being right next to the JORDAN BASICS Jerusalem. At night you can see the twinkling lights of Bethlehem entrance. I was in there at 6.30am, ahead of the crowds. And right When to go Although Jordan and Palestine. Although there are soldiers everywhere and the now, there are no crowds. is a year-round destination, the tensions in the area, the echoes of so much conflict, are palpable, n a way, you have to feel sorry for the Hashemite Kingdom most comfortable times to visit the overall impression is one of peace. of Jordan, which finds itself surrounded by some of the most are September to November, I ended my trip by swimming in the Dead Sea – or rather bobbing troublesome neighbours anywhere in the world. It is bordered when summer temperatures like an oversized, ungainly cork. I’m afraid I found myself giggling by Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel and, just as memories of have dropped, and from March like an idiot. This is something you must experience sooner rather the devastating bomb attacks launched by Islamic militants to May. From June to August, the than later, as the Dead Sea is drying up at an alarming rate – losing in 2005 have begun to fade, fresh troubles in Syria have dealt another temperature can reach 50C, and more than 3ft of depth per year – and nobody can be sure that plans body blow to tourism. One might add that Abu Qatada, that most from December to February it to divert water from the Red Sea will really work. unwilling of tourists, with his well-publicised desire not to return to can be cold, particularly in the I coated myself in mineral-enriched mud, baked in the sun and Jordan, hasn’t exactly helped. desert, as well as rainy. finally emerged feeling like a new-born baby – though without the Amid all this, Jordan remains stable, and the Foreign and Currency The Jordanian dinar nappy rash. At the wonderful Evason Ma’In Hot Springs hotel, I stood Commonwealth Office had no restrictions in place in its travel advice (JD); currently £1 = JD1.10. beneath waterfalls that pounded me with naturally heated water and for Jordan at the time of writing. Reassuringly, the armed forces are Time +2GMT. Direct flights from ate dinner at the Panorama restaurant, with its astonishing views everywhere. While I was cantering across the desert, I was overflown London take about five hours. and so-so food. I wasn’t in Jordan nearly long enough. You could by three Cobra attack helicopters – and no car enters or leaves a hotel Practicalities Visas are issued spend two or three days in Petra alone. But for a week’s holiday, without being thoroughly searched. The atmosphere is tranquil, the on arrival to most nationalities I’m hard-pressed to think of a better destination. people highly educated and friendly and, under King Abdullah II, (JD20 for single entry; JD60 for When Lawrence of Arabia came out, 50 years ago, it received government policy has been broadly liberal (his mother, Princess multiple entry). It is considered positive but not universally ecstatic reviews. In his brilliant biography Muna al-Hussein, was a British woman, born Toni Gardiner, who first impolite to eat, drink or smoke of the director, Kevin Brownlow records Lean’s dismay at one came to the country as a secretarial assistant on Lawrence of Arabia). in public, particularly during particularly unkind headline: Two and a Half Pillars of Wisdom. With an uncharacteristic sense of humour, God gave Jordan not Ramadan, when restaurants are However, Dilys Powell in The Sunday Times had no doubts. “The a single drop of oil. In the long run, though, this may have often closed until after sunset. sun rising on the rim of blood-orange sand; dust storms like the contributed to the country’s stability. The economy relies heavily on Tourist information smoke-trails of a djinn; the shapes of infinity, the colours of heat – knowledge-intensive industries such as information technology; uk.visitjordan.com a passage which might be out of Homer…” And it’s clear to me, educational standards are high, with no fewer than 36 universities in reading those words, that she wasn’t just writing about a cinematic the capital; and most people you meet speak English. masterpiece. She captures Jordan, too. The other thing about Jordan is that it is very small. It is just 225 miles from Amman in the north to Aqaba in the south, and the Bailey Robinson (01488 689700, baileyrobinson.com) is offering population is only seven million. Although three-quarters of the a seven-night tailor-made package to Jordan from £2,135 per person, country is taken up by desert, the topography is extremely varied, including accommodation, return flight with British Midland and much softer and more verdant than you would expect, and packed private transfers throughout. The price includes one night at the Four with sights that are well worth visiting: Roman, Byzantine, historical, Seasons Hotel Amman, two nights at the Mövenpick Resort Petra, one natural, and Biblical. The traditional tourist triangle – Israel, Jordan night at King Aretas IV Camp in Wadi Rum and three nights at the and Syria in a single package – may be less desirable now, but for me Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea or the Evason Ma’In Hot Springs. it only emphasises that Jordan is a pretty perfect holiday destination in itself. Even the flights are civilised; if you take off at lunchtime in London, you can be having dinner in Amman by sunset. That is exactly what I did, joining the crowds in the lively, surprisingly European Rainbow Street, where I sat on the balcony of the jazzy Books Café, watching a spectacular full moon and smoking an argileh, also known as a hubbly-bubbly. (In fact, I would give this experience a miss; it may look exotic, but I’d have had as much fun wrapping my lips around the exhaust pipe of a Land Rover and it took me hours to recover.) It’s a pity that so many tourists rush through Amman, a densely-packed city on seven hills. Jabal al-Qal’a – or Citadel Hill – is certainly worth a visit, with its columns of the Temple of Hercules and its archaeological museum, which contains what is believed to be the first statue of a human ever made. The next day I went to Karak, an impressive castle built by the knights of the First Crusade and eventually brought down by the Muslim commander Salah ad-Din. Even when I was a boy, Saladin was something of a hero figure for me and I could easily imagine what it must have been like to be inside the fortress, listening to the boulders being catapulted endlessly and Top terrace The author (left) at the Ma’In Hot Springs hotel, overlooking the Dead Sea; and a waiter at the Cave Bar, carved into the rock at Petra
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BFI; REX; PAGE 45: AVIATOR SUNGLASSES BY RAYBAN; T-SHIRT BY HUGO BOSS; SHIRT BY ROBERTO CAVALLI; SCARF BY JOHN VARVATOS; PAGE 47: SHOES BY ROBERTO CAVALLI; SCARF BY HUGO BOSS
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Calm dignity A gaucho in traditional dress at Las Viboras, one of the oldest estancias in Argentina, with eight guest rooms. Inset: the entrance to the stables at La Bamba
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THE GAUCHO CLUB
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MAIN PICTURE: CHRIS MOSS
At a select group of estancias near Buenos Aires, guests can saddle up with traditional horsemen by day and enjoy sublime comfort, a carnivore’s feast and a decent malbec at night. Chris Moss can’t get enough
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WE CANTERED STEADILY FOR AN HOUR OR SO, ACROSS WIDE-OPEN PLAINS UNDER A HUGE SKY
Working holiday The view from the saddle on a cattle-herding ride across the pampas at El Ombú de Areco, a nine-room estancia near the ‘gaucho capital’ of San Antonio de Areco, about 70 miles from Buenos Aires
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omantics will tell you the Argentine pampas begin where the River Plate dries out, and the grasslands stretch off like a green sea to the distant west. But for me, they begin at the Atalaya bakery, on Highway 2 at Chascomús. Here, for decades, artful cooks have been serving people the best sweet, buttery croissants in the world, called medialunas – the perfect accompaniment to a flask of maté and the long drive south. Now, when I stop there on my way to the Las Viboras estancia, I feel a Pavlovian prompt. In the early 1990s, I used to drive, or be driven, down the Ruta 2 every Friday, accompanied by my then girlfriend, Cecilia, often with her mother, father and spaniel, Bell. We were bound for her dad’s smallholding near Dolores. It was my introduction to the pampa húmeda, the great treeless plain of central Argentina. I learned to ride criollo horses, to birdwatch (and birdlisten) and to be joyfully idle, like WH Hudson in his pampas memoirs. In Far Away and Long Ago, the Anglo-American twitcher writes of his “happiness in the solitary places I loved to haunt, communing with wild nature, with wild birds for company”. I was 26 at the time, and being in the pampas was akin to a second childhood. There is always a risk in going back to places that have been important in your past, but Las Viboras provided a perfect re-encounter. It was family-run and the main house wasn’t too ostentatious (some estancias are very bling). I was welcomed with an al fresco lunch of lamb grilled in the classic gaucho style: crucified over a white-hot wood fire and slow-cooked to perfection. Once the malbec was poured, there was lively
conversation, about the countryside, the polo, the politics and, of course, “las Malvinas”, as well as culture and literature. I was then encouraged to take a siesta until it was time for a round of maté at 6pm. It was, as Argentines would say, the most cordial of bienvenidas, but over the next couple of days I sensed, behind this friendly, familial facade, the deep roots of Las Viboras. This was an estancia dating from 1820, making it one of the very oldest such estates in Argentina (the country declared independence only in 1817). Its location, close to the sea and an ancient coach track, meant Las Viboras almost certainly served as a frontier post during the wars between Argentina and the native Querandi, the pampas Indians. The brother of Juan Manuel de Rosas, supreme caudillo and number one hero-villain of early Argentine history, stayed there, and Las Viboras gets a mention in Don Segundo Sombra, a classic of Argentine literature. Times have changed, of course, but the owners are fierce protectors of tradition. The estancia is run by three sisters in their thirties, Sandy, Giga and Carolina Dodero, who inherited it when their father died; their mum is the fourth owner but rarely visits. “She doesn’t like the countryside, or horses, or anything,” said Giga, “so she hardly ever comes.” The Dodero sisters appear in Buenos Aires social and celebrity magazines – they are part of the polo set – but, Sandy told me, “We were raised like Indians. We used to spend our childhood here, riding and playing with the gauchos. I don’t much like the city and I avoid going there. That’s why I don’t have a boyfriend – I can’t find one who loves to be out here all the time.” The farmland surrounding Las Viboras covers some 10,000 hectares, massive for an estate that is only two
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Pampas life Clockwise, from top left: a rider outside the main house at La Bamba de Areco; the swimming pool at El Rocío; Sebastián Goñi, the owner of Candelaria del Monte, with one of his art works; and typical gaucho finery
hours from the capital. The main house is set in its own gardens – known as the parque – that are neat but not overly so, bordered by casuarina trees planted to throw shade and keep the wind at bay. Most estancias follow this model; because the virgin pampas were almost treeless and covered in long grasses, settlers planted casuarina, eucalyptus and poplar trees to “civilise” the wilderness. There were also small, pretty cottages for dozens of employees – gauchos, cooks, maids and farmers. At dusk I walked for half an hour across the parque to a soundtrack of squawking ovenbirds and lapwings and more tuneful kiskadees, until I spied herds of cattle and horses in a distant field. I decided to save the pampas proper for the next day. It was pitch dark, a breeze blowing. In a small brick and plaster workshop, half a dozen peones were tacking up for their long morning rides; most days they would head off in different directions. “They check for pregnant or sick cows, keep an eye out for any problems with the stock and round them up for branding and vaccinations,” Sandy said. That morning, one gang was going to move 400 head of cattle to ensure that they had plenty of water (for the past two years, there had been drought in Buenos Aires province). We said our hellos and shared a couple of matés. The solid, squat but handsome criollo horses, with their wide sheepskin saddles, stood quietly beside riders dressed in berets, pantaloons and wide leather belts, with long daggers tucked in just above the buttocks. The scene was like something out of Martin Fierro, the great 19th-century gaucho-themed epic poem, and these gauchos exuded a calm dignity in their dealings with both horses and humans. On a whim, we decided to accompany the drovers. Four
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horses were tacked up for me, Sandy, Giga and a friend, and we set off west in the grey dawn light. After passing through a couple of gates, we were out in open country. To catch up with the gang, we trotted and cantered steadily for an hour or so. It was the great Argentine experience: no paths, no fences, no roads to cross; just the freedom of the wide-open plains under a huge sky. By the time we caught up, the stock had been rounded up and we joined the rearguard, shooing the cattle across several fields and along a dry riverbed. The gauchos hooped and yelled, chivvying on the slow, ageing cows and the mischievous young calves that delighted in breaking ranks. By now the sun was higher and we were all warming up. The gauchos grinned as they worked, exchanging banter. The black and brown Angus glowed with health. Las Viboras is the biggest estancia I have visited and the Dodero women were, in their way, aristocratic (their surname is closely linked with the Onassis family). But my three-day visit there was like a working holiday. I was rarely in the house, never in my bedroom, I dined and drank with the family and I got drawn into a fight with cans of spray-on party cream (long story). I began
POLO PONIES PRANCE ON PUTTING-GREEN LAWNS AND THE STAFF USE WALKIE-TALKIES
to smell of horses, and I enjoyed the barbecues all the more for the long rides. When it came to leaving, it was with a tinge of surprise as well as sadness. If there is one notable characteristic of estancia life, it’s that you completely forget there is a world out there – of roads, cars, haste, shops, work, and hassle. That has to be good for the soul. he Ruta 41 was too long and too well-paved to be a back lane, but it still had the feel of a country road. Tractors used it to hop from field to field, cattle trucks freighted stock to market and there were small towns every 30 miles or so, where all the shops seemed to sell combine harvesters and macho pick-ups. Heading northwest to San Miguel del Monte, I soon gave up overtaking and drove like an old gaucho in his ancient Falcon – slowly, window down, breathing in pig muck and the perfumes of the pampas. At the next estancia, Candelaria del Monte, I was greeted with fillet-steak sandwiches – I don’t eat a lot of red meat at home in Britain, but I was making up for it – and then quince pastries and maté. Always maté. I was soon joined by the estate’s owner, Sebastián Goñi, who inherited the family home a decade ago and manages 100 hectares pretty much alone. When he’s not working, he paints and sculpts; the estancia, which is only 30 years old but carefully designed to look like a traditional country house, is a gallery for his provocative conceptual pieces. On a short ride, I noticed that all around the estancia were soya fields. I’d heard this crop was eroding the old ways of the pampas, replacing the cattle and, at the same time, causing unemployment: you don’t need gauchos to corral soya beans. Sebastián said opening estancias to tourism was one way of preserving culture: “If I grew
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Sail right around South America and Cape Horn before Exploring New Zealand and the South Pacific
12 TO 118 NIGHTS FROM
15 TO 119 NIGHTS FROM
12 TO 116 NIGHTS FROM
£1,299
£1,599
£1,099
To book, or for a brochure, visit cunard.co.uk/ultra or call Cunard Reservations on 0843 373 4083 Alternatively contact your Travel Agent THE MOST FAMOUS OCEAN LINERS IN THE WORLD
ABTA No.V8764
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Fares shown are subject to availability and are per person based on two adults sharing the lowest grade stateroom. For voyage details, complimentary benefits, stateroom accommodation, important information on passport, visa and health requirements and booking conditions, which you must read before booking please refer to the World & Exotic Voyages 2014 brochure. This information can also be found on www.cunard.com
‘WE OFFER GUESTS TENNIS, BOWLS, MASSAGE, AND GUESS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO? NADA’ soya, I wouldn’t be able to offer visitors a picture-postcard [impression] of the pampas. By keeping criollo horses and Hereford and Angus cows, and being able to show people calves being born, we keep something special. At the same time, the tourism allows me to keep the house going.” Estancias the size of Candelaria aren’t sustainable as farms, he said, and would most likely be sold off and absorbed into a larger estate without the tourists. He said he worked closely with a neighbouring estancia, El Rocío, sharing bookings and maintaining high standards. “There are some estancias where you get busloads of people arriving in the afternoon, when they put on shows for tourists. We want to offer our guests something more personal – the experience of a typical estancia, but with a bit of luxury, and lots of comfort.” If Candelaria was very comfortable, La Bamba de Areco, a couple of hours’ drive north, was positively well-heeled. Here polo ponies pranced around puttinggreen lawns and the staff used walkie-talkies to ensure food was served, drinks poured, horses groomed and gates opened at just the right time to make guests feel like actors in a glamorous gaucho film. wned by Jean-François Decaux – of hoardings fame – the estancia dates from 1830, though one brick building known as the pulpería, or general store, is much older. It probably once served as an inn, as La Bamba sits on the Camino Real, the royal highway which, in the colonial era, linked Buenos Aires with the mines of Alto Peru (now Bolivia). The estancia was luxurious in decor and offered every service imaginable, but it was also sublimely peaceful. Over dinner the manager, Guillermo, told me, “When they arrive, people ask me what we have in terms of activities. We tell them: polo, riding, tennis, bowls, massage, a big television… and guess what they want to do? Nada. That’s what they’re here for – to do nothing.” As I’d already done a bit of riding, and enough driving, I was committed to doing some nada, too, so I kicked back on the pulpería’s settees with my WH Hudson book and a birders’ field guide. I strolled around the polo stables, where a farrier was shoeing a beautiful polo pony. His physical strength and sheer huevos (as in eggs, meaning cojones in Argentine Spanish), when the horse protested, was sublime: he looked it in the eye and told it off in horse language. One of the gauchos, a handsome, Conan-like character, showed me how he could make a criollo horse lie down while he was still seated on its
O
back. And two others showed me their finery: belts of silver coins, white shirts and shiny boots set proudly in ornate stirrups. If this was the get-up of gaucho warriors of yore, it was very regal republican wear. I drove out on to the royal highway, now a rutted dirt road, to begin my journey home. After a while, I passed another estancia – El Ombú de Areco, named after the pampas tree (in fact a massive herb). I made a detour through San Antonio de Areco, an ordinary-looking town at first glance but famous for its silversmiths and saddlers and cherished by Argentines as the “national gaucho capital”. Every November, a week-long Fiesta Nacional de la Tradición is held here, when gauchos from all over Argentina ride into town, grill whole cows for dinner and show off their cowboy-style dressage. The town’s most famous estancia, La Porteña, was once the home of Ricardo Güiraldes, a tango-dancing dandy and the author of Don Segundo Sombra. He took his guitar and gaucho clothes to Europe, which is where I was heading after my week in the Argentine country. So where do the pampas end? Well, the romantics will say it’s where the grass fades to grey and becomes Patagonia or rises to the clouds in the Andes. But after my trips to the pampas, I most often turn round and head back to the city. After a couple of left turns out of La Bamba, I was on the Ruta 8, immediately busy and soon widening to a dual carriageway. Then came the shanties and branches of McDonald’s, the suburbs and gated estates, and soon the road widened to 12 lanes, with toll booths, and horns sounding. It was my gateway through the great wall of mid-rise Buenos Aires. The Argentinian capital is famous for its shrinks and neuroses, for having its back to the river and its face set for Europe. But if there is one fundamental instance of denial in its people’s psyche, it’s their shunning of the open horizon of the vast grassy plains; Buenos Aires hides from the plains as meat-eaters hide from slaughter. I lived in the city 10 years, but I only miss the pampas – and the medialunas, and the maté.
5 ESTANCIAS WITH STYLE LAS VIBORAS
communal spaces and an old
Polo and cattle estancia run by
pulpería (inn) that serves as a
a very committed Argentine
bar and lounge. Carlos Gardel,
family. The handsome Italianate
the tango legend, stayed here.
main house (below) has a large
Near San Antonio de Areco,
but cosy living room and eight
Argentina’s official gaucho
traditionally decorated
capital, 70 miles from Buenos
bedrooms (some with shared
Aires (00 54 2326 454 895,
bathrooms) surrounded by a
labambadeareco.com).
rambling estate. Near Dolores, 136 miles from Buenos Aires
EL ROCÍO
(00 54 911 4049 7352,
Daubed in bright pastels and
estancialasviboras.com.ar).
decorated with beautiful objets d’art and textiles, the five-room El Rocío (top) breaks the mould of estancia design. It is close to wetlands, so ideal for birders, and not far from San Miguel del Monte, 68 miles from Buenos Aires (00 54 911 5161 5969, estanciaelrocio.com).
Last Frontiers (01296 653000, lastfrontiers.com) can arrange a five-day trip similar to the above from £1,339 per person, based on two sharing, with car hire. The price includes a one-night stay at each of three estancias, with full board, plus a further two nights’ b&b in Buenos Aires. British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) flies direct from London Heathrow to Buenos Aires from £874 in World Traveller and from £3,526 in Club World, including taxes.
CANDELARIA DEL MONTE
EL OMBÚ DE ARECO
Cool, arty country house, with
Historic late-colonial-style
eclectic décor in the six large
nine-room mansion, built in
guest rooms and very
1880 and ideal for one-day
personalised service. Don’t
visits, offering horseback rides
expect gaucho folk music; the
and birdwatching trips. Near
owner, Sebastián, plays Nick
San Antonio de Areco, 70 miles
Cave in the communal living
from Buenos Aires (00 54 2326
room. Near San Miguel del
492 080, estanciaelombu.com).
Monte, 68 miles from Buenos Aires (00 54 2271 442 431, candelariadelmonte.com.ar). LA BAMBA DE ARECO Colonial-style polo estancia (right) with 11 sumptuous bedrooms, tastefully designed
ARGENTINA BASICS When to go All seasons except winter (late June to
Meating place Gauchos at the Fiesta Nacional de la Tradición, a week-long fair in San Antonio de Areco where they show off their riding skills and grill whole cows for dinner
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© CHRIS MOSS; ALISON WRIGHT; CAMERA PRESS; GETTY IMAGES
September) are pleasant. January can be hot and humid. Practicalities Visas issued on arrival. Getting around You will need a car or driver to get around Buenos Aires province. If going it alone, make sure you obtain full insurance and drive with lights switched on to avoid fines/bribes. Currency The Argentine peso (AR$) is no longer monopoly money and Argentina isn’t cheap, though food and drink remain good value. (£1 = AR$7). Time difference –3GMT. Direct flights from London take about 13 hours. Tourist information argentina.travel
Luxury HoLidays 2013 Carrier specialises in luxury tailor-made holidays worldwide. Service is personal, flexible and haute couture. Our new 2013 brochures are available now and introduce the latest luxury resorts and hotels in the most chic destinations, including desirable beach resorts, private island retreats and exotic touring itineraries for the most memorable of experiences. New Destinations: Montana and Wyoming / Bermuda / Jordan / Zante / Verona / Zimbabwe / Burma Latest Hotels: Taiwana St Barths / St Regis Mauritius / Amanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;zoe Greece / Ranch at Rock Creek / Segera Kenya / Monastero Santa Rosa / Banyan Tree Lang Co Bay Vietnam Ultimate Experiences: Le Massif de Charlevoix train / Windstar Cruise / Private Jet / Gorilla Trek in Uganda
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Canyon and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
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£1,000
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INCREDIBLE INCLUDED EXPERIENCES NEW YORK CITY - stay in the art deco grandeur of the iconic Waldorf Astoria or luxurious Jumeirah Essex House and dine aboard a luxury ship, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. WASHINGTON D.C. - see the Lincoln Memorial and White House – then follow the inauguration route of U.S. Presidents up to the U.S. Capitol, during two fabulous tours. Stay at the Park Hyatt Hotel, dining at the renowned Blue Duck Tavern. CHICAGO - discover the ‘Windy City’, home of the Blues on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan. Included Scenic FreeChoice options range from cruises to an all-American foodie bicycle tour. GRAND CANYON - kick back amid giant cacti at a five-star desert resort. And there is nothing more awe-inspiring than watching the vast Grand Canyon light up before your eyes as the sun rises. Soar over its awesome expanses with a scenic flight! LAS VEGAS - bigger, brighter, more energetic, colourful and glitzy than anywhere else on the planet - especially when seen from a helicopter! LOS ANGELES - on to legendary Los Angeles for a stay at the elegant Beverly Hilton, before taking the Pacific Surfliner rail journey to San Diego SAN FRANCISCO - stay at the fabulous Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, with its famous trams and Golden Gate Bridge, which are again seen spectacularly from the air.
For your free brochure and DVD call 0800 002 9762 or visit www.scenictours.co.uk
22 day Grand America Coast to Coast
from PER COUPLE only
Key:
£4,995 pp
0800 002 9762
www.scenictours.co.uk
HURRY OFFER ENDS 15 NOVEMBER 2012 Terms & Conditions: Prices are per person based on two people sharing a double / twin room. Early booking saving of £1,000 per couple is for new bookings made by 15th November 2012. Hotels are subject to change and may vary dependent on departure date. For full terms and conditions please see our brand new 2013 USA, Canada & South America brochure.
STEVE DUNLOP
Every one a winner Clockwise, from left: Sky Sports presenter Charlotte Jackson; Ultratravel’s publisher, Nick Perry; Damon Hill and Barry McGuigan; Katie Melua, Darren Gearing of Shangri-La Hotels, and motorcycle star James Toseland
THE GLITTERING PRIZES
Bid in our silent auction for a luxury holiday, and enrich the lives of sick children too. Eddie Jordan explains how In May, when guests gathered at The Savoy hotel in London for the annual Ultratravel awards, it was partly to celebrate the best in luxury travel, partly to raise funds for a charity close to my heart. For more than 30 years, longer than I’ve been in Formula 1, CLIC Sargent has been building and running Homes from Home across Britain. As a CLIC Sargent patron, I have seen first-hand the difference these homes make to children and young people with cancer. We know that, on average, a family in Northern Ireland makes a round trip of 95 miles, up to five times a week, to access the cancer treatment their child needs. These practical difficulties – not to mention the financial pressures – can be the last straw for parents already struggling to care for a very sick child. That is why CLIC Sargent has launched the Northern Ireland Homes from Home Appeal, led by my good friends Barry and Sandra McGuigan. This exciting appeal will fund two brand-new facilities in Belfast where families can relax in a homely, comfortable environment, each an easy walk from one of the city’s
cancer hospitals. From my own work with CLIC Sargent, I know how much families in Northern Ireland need this kind of facility. Mary’s son, Michael, is 18 years old and comes from Ballykelly. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in November 2010 and began treatment. “The travel had a big impact on our family,” says his mother. “It came at a time when the winter weather was incredibly bad, with snow and ice on the roads. Michael spent three months in hospital from December to March, meaning that he missed his birthday and Christmas at home.” On most days, she adds, the family was doing a round trip of 130 miles to be with Michael. “A Home from Home would have been a godsend,” Mary says. “It would have saved us so much money, and we could have stayed together over Christmas. Instead, we paid for a hotel so we could be close to Michael at what was already an expensive and stressful time.” We hope Ultratravel readers will bid generously in this silent auction, helping families like Michael’s. With your support, we can help CLIC Sargent realise its ambition of providing two CLIC Sargent Homes from Home in Belfast. Good luck – and bon voyage.
THE LOTS ON OFFER LOT 1 A TRIP FOR TWO TO VIETNAM Donated by Western & Oriental, Banyan Tree and Angsana Hotels & Resorts A six-night luxury beach escape, comprising three nights in a private villa at the newly opened Banyan Tree Lang Co, three nights in a suite at Angsana Lang Co (both with daily buffet breakfast), return international and domestic flights, and airport transfers in Vietnam. (To be booked at least eight weeks in advance, for travel between January 5 and December 19, 2013, subject to availability.) Minimum bid £2,500.
LOT 2 A TRIP FOR TWO TO INDIA Donated by The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts and British Airways A six-night holiday of three nights in a grand deluxe room at The Leela Palace New Delhi and three nights in a lake view room at The Leela Palace Udaipur, with breakfast, all transfers and return Club World flights with BA from London to Delhi. Minimum bid £3,000.
LOT 3 A TRIP FOR TWO TO THE MALDIVES Donated by Constance Hotels and British Airways
HOW TO BID
Seven nights in a double water villa at Halaveli Resort in the
We are inviting you, our readers, to bid for the 21 lots listed on these pages, erring, please,
Minimum bid £2,000.
Maldives, including daily breakfast and return flights with BA.
on the generous side. To take part, send your bid, stating clearly which lot you are bidding for, how much you are bidding, and your name, address, email address and telephone
LOT 4 A TRIP FOR TWO TO MAURITIUS
number, to ultrabid@clicsargent.org.uk. The winning bid for each lot will be the highest
Donated by Beachcomber Hotels and British Airways
received by CLIC Sargent by midnight on Sunday, October 28, 2012.
Five nights in a junior suite at Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa in
The highest bidder for each lot will be contacted and asked to send payment within
Northern Ireland
Appeal Two new Homes from Home in Belfast
two weeks. On receipt of the cheque, each winner will be sent the prize vouchers by
Mauritius, including half board and return flights with BA. Minimum bid £2,000.
registered post. Rooms and flights are subject to availability and, unless otherwise stated, all flights are economy class. Each holiday is subject to separate terms and conditions, in
LOT 5 A STAY FOR TWO IN LONDON
addition to those published overleaf; these are available at ultra.travel/auction2012 or by
Donated by Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living
emailing conditions@clicsargent.org.uk.
Two nights in a one-bedroom residence on Park Lane, Mayfair,
For more about CLIC Sargent, see clicsargent.org.uk/northernirelandappeal
including breakfast. Minimum bid £200.
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LOT 6 A TRIP FOR TWO TO DUBAI Donated by The Address Downtown Dubai, Armani Hotel Dubai and British Airways A three-night stay, including two nights in a deluxe room at The Address Downtown Dubai, with breakfast and dinner at Hukama Restaurant; plus one night in an Armani classic room at the Armani Hotel Dubai, with lunch for two at the At.mosphere Grill. Also included are return flights with BA. Minimum bid £1,750.
LOT 7 A TRIP FOR TWO TO SINGAPORE Donated by Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts and Singapore Airlines A four-night stay, with two nights in a courtyard suite at Raffles Hotel Singapore and two nights in a suite at Swissôtel The Stamford, including daily breakfast and return flights from London or Manchester with Singapore Airlines. Minimum bid £2,000.
LOT 4
LOT 8 A TRIP FOR TWO TO PARIS Donated by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, The Oetker Collection and British Airways A two-night stay, with one night in a deluxe room at the Shangri-La
Going, going… gone Enticing trips to Mauritius (above), Vietnam (left) and Scotland (bottom) are among the lots in our charity auction, many including flights with British Airways (below)
Hotel, Paris, with breakfast; plus one night in a junior suite at Hôtel Le Bristol Paris, with breakfast, dinner for two (including a glass of wine per course) at Brasserie 114 Faubourg and two spa treatments at Spa Le Bristol by La Prairie (date restrictions apply). Also included are return flights with BA. Minimum bid £1,200.
LOT 9 A TRIP FOR TWO TO ROME Donated by Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and British Airways
LOT15 A STAY FOR TWO IN LISBON Donated by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Two nights in a classic room at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, including daily American buffet breakfast. Minimum bid £400.
LOT16 A STAY FOR TWO IN LONDON Donated by The Savoy, London Two nights in a river view deluxe suite, including breakfast, and tea for two in the Thames Foyer. Minimum bid £800.
A three-night weekend stay in a deluxe room at the Grand Hotel Via Veneto in Rome, including daily breakfast and return flights with BA.
LOT17 A EUROPEAN CRUISE FOR TWO
Minimum bid £1,250.
Donated by Cunard A five-night Northern Europe voyage on Queen Mary 2, departing
LOT 10 A TRIP FOR TWO TO MOROCCO
LOT 1
Donated by Virgin Limited Edition and British Airways Three nights at Kasbah Tamadot, Sir Richard Branson’s Moroccan
from Southampton on August 3, 2013. Passengers will visit Brussels or Bruges (from Zeebrugge) and St Peter Port, Guernsey. The successful bidder and guest will enjoy accommodation in
retreat, including daily breakfast, local taxes and return flights
a Britannia balcony stateroom, use of the spa, entertainment and
with BA. Minimum bid £850.
all on-board meals, including white-gloved afternoon tea (cover charges apply in some restaurants). Minimum bid £1,500.
LOT 11 A TRIP FOR TWO TO MAURITIUS Donated by Lux* Island Resorts and British Airways
LOT18 A STAY FOR TWO IN LONDON
Five nights in a superior room at Lux* Le Morne in Mauritius, with
Donated by Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
half board and return flights with BA. Minimum bid £2,000.
A one-night weekend stay at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, including breakfast and dinner at Bar Boulud (with one bottle of
LOT 12 A STAY FOR TWO IN SCOTLAND
wine selected by the sommelier). Minimum bid £300.
Donated by The Gleneagles Hotel Two nights in a Gleneagles estate room, including breakfast and
LOT19 A MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE FOR TWO
a choice between a table d’hôte dinner at The Strathearn restaurant,
Donated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises
or a tee-time for two at one of three championship courses – the
A seven-night voyage on the Seven Seas Mariner from Rome to
PGA Centenary Course (the venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup), the Queen’s Course or the King’s Course. Successful bidders will have unlimited use of the resort’s other facilities. Minimum bid £500.
LOT 12
Barcelona, calling at Florence, Portofino, Monte Carlo, St Tropez, Marseille and Palma. Includes return flights from the UK, transfers, all meals and drinks, 24-hour room service, unlimited shore excursions, entertainment, use of gym, cruise gratuities and
LOT 13 A STAY FOR TWO IN SPAIN
service charges. Departs on May 15, 2013. Minimum bid £2,750.
Donated by Kempinski Hotels Three nights in a double room at the Kempinski Hotel Bahia
LOT 20 A TRIP FOR TWO TO NEW YORK
Estepona, on the Costa Del Sol, including daily buffet breakfast.
Donated by Mandarin Oriental, New York, and British Airways
Minimum bid £400.
A two-night stay in a Central Park view room at Mandarin Oriental, New York, including return Club World flights with BA.
LOT 14 A TRIP FOR TWO TO ABU DHABI
Minimum bid £2,500.
Donated by Jumeirah at Etihad Towers and Etihad Airways Three nights in a deluxe double room at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers
LOT 21 A STAY FOR TWO IN LONDON
in Abu Dhabi, including daily breakfast and return flights from
Donated by Café Royal Hotel, London
London or Manchester with Etihad. (To be booked by December 31,
One night in a junior suite at the Café Royal Hotel, London, including
2012, for travel completed by June 30, 2013.) Minimum bid £800.
afternoon tea for two. Minimum bid £200.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1 All lots are subject to their own separate terms and conditions. Please familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions for each lot, which will be posted at ultra.travel/auction2012. 2 This auction is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man aged 18 years or over, except employees of CLIC Sargent, Ultratravel and Telegraph Media Group Limited, their families, agents or anyone else professionally associated with the auction. 3 Details of how to participate form part of the terms and conditions. By submitting a bid in this auction, participants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. 4 The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 5 Bidders may bid for more than one lot, but may make only one bid for each lot. Once submitted, bids may not be withdrawn and you acknowledge that once the Promoter has confirmed you are the highests bidder, you have entered into a legally binding contract to buy the lot you have bid for from the Promoter. 6 Bids must be above the reserve listed for the lot being bid for; in pounds sterling; and received by the Promoter by midnight on Sunday, October 28, 2012. 7 Successful bidders will be notified within seven days of the closing date of the auction. 8 Late, illegible, incomplete, defaced or corrupt bids, and bids below the reserve for the lot being bid for, will not be accepted. 9 The successful bid for any one lot will be the highest received by the closing date. If two or more bids equal the highest bid, the lot shall be awarded to the bid received first. 10 Successful bidders must remit their payment for the relevant lot within 14 days of notification. 11 If the Promoter is unable to contact a winning bidder within seven days of the closing of the auction, or if the payment is not received within 14 days of a winning bidder being notified, the Promoter reserves the right to award the lot to the next highest bidder. Should there be two or more bids equalling the next highest bid, the lot shall be awarded in accordance with Condition 9, above. The Promoter reserves the right to carry on awarding the lot to the next highest bidder until the reserve is reached. 12 If the Promoter is not able to award a lot for any reason, the Promoter reserves the right to withdraw the lot from the auction. 13 The lots as described are available on the date of publication and are subject to availability. 14 Lots are not transferable and there are no cash alternatives. 15 All holiday vouchers must be used within one year of the successful bidders being notified and are subject to their own separate terms and conditions available at ultra.travel/auction. 16 Events may occur that render the auction impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter; accordingly, the Promoter may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the auction and the entrant agrees no liability shall attach to the Promoter as a result. 17 Ultratravel is responsible for the publication of this auction. All aspects connected with the provision of the lots are the responsibility of the Promoter. Promoter: CLIC Sargent, Horatio House, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA. Registered charity 1107328. For full details of the Promoter’s terms and conditions, please email conditions@clicsargent.org.uk
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ANA Premium Economy* gives you that little bit more. A ‘living space’ that is 17% ** more than Economy. And the warm welcome and care throughout your journey. Helped along with fine food and a spot of bubbly. You see, Japanese hospitality isn’t by design. It’s all natural. Bring Premium Economy to life. Download the FREE Aurasma Lite App from your app store and hold it in front of the ad. Enjoy more. Fly ANA Premium Economy.
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THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS Imagine discovering the glamour and mystique of the Eastern and Oriental Express. Draped in intrigue, this world famous train offers travellers the option of taking an extended journey or simply to enjoy a day out to experience truly luxurious train travel. You will have the opportunity to spend three nights on the exclusive Eastern and Oriental Express before boarding the magnificent Queen Victoria cruise liner for your journey to Dubai. Wind your way along the edge of the River Kwai and take a guided tour of the colonial city of Georgetown, then board the ship for your unforgettable cruise across Asia. Soaring mountains, lush green forests, endless ocean and first class service await you on this magnificent journey.
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• Return flights from/to London Heathrow • 1nt 5 stay in Bangkok • 3nts on the Eastern & Oriental Express • 4nt 5 stay in Singapore • 12nt cruise from Singapore to Dubai • 2nt 5 stay in Dubai
Departs 19 Mar 2013 onboard the Eastern & Oriental Express and Cunard Queen Victoria Inside ......................... fr £3899 Outside ....................... fr £4299 Balcony....................... fr £4299 Grill Suite................... fr £6049 On the Eastern & Oriental Express upgrade from a Pullman Cabin to a State Cabin for an extra £250pp or a Presidential Cabin for an extra £1,330pp
Imagine Discovering… Arrive Bangkok, Transfer to 5 Hotel Day 2 Embark Eastern & Oriental Express Day 3 Eastern & Oriental Express Day 4 Eastern & Oriental Express Day 5 Disembark Eastern & Oriental Express, Transfer to 5 Singapore Hotel Day 6 5 Singapore Hotel Day 7 5 Singapore Hotel Day 8 5 Singapore Hotel Day 9 Embark Queen Victoria, Singapore Day 10 Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur) Day 11 Leisure at Sea Day 1
Leisure at Sea Colombo CABIN Leisure at Sea UPGRADE Leisure at Sea FROM OUTSIDE Mumbai TO BALCONY^ Leisure at Sea Leisure at Sea Muscat Dubai Disembark Queen Victoria, Transfer to 5 Dubai Hotel Day 22 5 Dubai Hotel Day 23 Return Flight to London Heathrow Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21
FREE
0800 840 5900
Don’t just imagine - call free on or visit imaginecruising.co.uk
Terms & conditions apply; for full details please visit imaginecruising.co.uk. Prices are per person and are based on 2 adults sharing an inside cabin, an outside cabin, balcony cabin or grill suite. Where applicable flights are based on London departures, unless otherwise stated; regional departures are available upon request and may carry a surcharge. Imagine Cruising are ATOL protected and ABTA bonded (L7903/Y2901). When paying by credit card a 2½% charge will be added to your booking, and if paying by debit card a 0% charge will be added. ~ Where applicable & subject to availability. ^Free cabin upgrade for selected cabin grades as indicated above.
intelligence ULTRA
Polar attraction A balloon flight for two over Antarctica is Brown + Hudson’s next bespoke project
MICHELLE VALBERG
EDITED BY LISA GRAINGER
Taking off
3 NEW WAYS TO TRAVEL IN LUXURY
1
EXTREME MADE-TO-MEASURE
safari on film, then present the images to them in a book.
the marine-rich seas on a private luxury liveaboard such as
When Brown + Hudson talk about “truly bespoke”,
The company’s next challenge? Arranging a hot-air balloon
Silolona (silolona.com) or Tiger Blue (tigerblue.info). Prices
they mean it. The London-based travel company, set
flight over the Antarctic for a particular couple who want to
start at £2,500 for seven days, including flights, meals,
up in 2009 by Philippe Brown, who had previously worked
soar above the ice, entirely alone (brownandhudson.com).
transfers and all diving activities (originaldiving.com).
in advertising, doesn’t have a single package to sell – or
2
3
even a template. “Everyone’s idea of a perfect holiday is different,” Brown says. “To one person, the word exotic might mean Bethnal Green; to another it might mean
FIVE-STAR SCUBA In the past, dive hotels have not been synonymous with luxury. However, a spate of recent openings
ART OF AFRICA Anticipating an influx of design-savvy tourists to Cape Town in 2014, when the city becomes World
diving with turtles in Papua New Guinea.” Hence the
has encouraged Tim Simond, author of the coffee-table
Design Capital, the One&Only resort has launched art tours
“mood board” he creates for each client, followed by
book Dive in Style, to launch Original Diving. Its holidays
led by João Ferreira, a local gallerist. The tours, tailored to
a highly personalised trip which might involve meeting
feature out-of-water experiences as breathtaking as those
guests’ particular interests, might include visits to the city’s
a particular hero (Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town,
beneath the waves. Having just returned from Raja Ampat
main art galleries, private studios (some of which are
say, or a Formula 1 driver in Monaco) or spending time
in West Papua, which he says has “the best diving I’ve
normally open by invitation only) and hip workshops such
with some of the world’s leading experts, from sommeliers
ever seen”, Simond – a qualified dive master – highly
as The Foundry, as well as trips to arts-and-crafts areas
to wildlife guides. Brown can arrange tutors for children on
recommends trips to the area, staying at either the Sorido
such as Kalk Bay. Prices range from R3,250 (£260) for
long trips, and his latest triumph was hiring a guide who
Bay Resort (papua-diving.com) or the boutique Wakatobi
a half-day to R4,600 (£370) for a full day, in a chauffeured
was also a professional photographer to capture a couple’s
Dive Resort (wakatobi.com) in southern Sulawesi, or plying
Mercedes, for up to six guests (oneandonlyresorts.com).
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A d r i a t i c - We s t I n d i e s - C e n t r a l A m e r i c a - B a l t i c - B r i t i s h I s l e s
Luxury Under Sail W IT H
N O BLE
C A LE DONIA
hilst there are many large sailing ships offering passages around the world there are few if any that can compare in terms of luxury to the 96-passenger Sea Cloud II. Standing on the dock and looking up at her you cannot help but be impressed by the sheer majesty of the vessel. Walk up the gangway and on to the deck and it is even more impressive. And, the splendour does not end here; below deck is a sumptuous world of traditional maritime inďŹ&#x201A;uences with 21st century luxuries.
W
We have chartered the magniďŹ cent Sea Cloud II for a series of unique voyages in regions of the world which are simply perfect for exploration under sail. Our exciting voyages in the Adriatic, Baltic, British Isles, Central America and the West Indies will particularly appeal to those who enjoy a few days travelling under sail. To be on deck when the sails are fully extended is a marvellous experience. The forces of nature and ingenuity of man combining in the most natural of ways allows us to experience the thrill of sailing and a form of transport that has existed since the earliest of times.
Call today for a copy of our new Sea Cloud II brochure or view online
Call us today on 020 7752 0000 for your copy of our brochure. Alternatively view or request online at www.noble-caledonia.co.uk
THE TASTE TEST
Vintage meets modern The open-plan Val d’Orcia suite features a resin tub
RUSSIAN ROULADE This year has already seen the opening of a Russian jewellers in London (Fabergé, on Grafton Street), a Russian bookshop (at Waterstones in Piccadilly) and, this month, a Russian spa (gobanya.co.uk). Now they have been joined by a deli in Knightsbridge (The Merchant’s Yard, stocking delicious perozhiki pastries and raznosoly pickles) and two Russian restaurants, Novikov and Mari Vanna. While Novikov’s interiors are cool international, Mari Vanna is styled like a vintage dacha, wallpapered in Russian newspapers, lit by chandeliers and lined with shelves of Soviet literature. Its afternoon tea (£45) features delicacies ranging from blinis with caviare and Perogi dumplings to finely layered honey cake, plus tea from the Rare Tea Company or a glass of (surprisingly good) Russian champagne. Prince William took over the place for his thirtieth birthday – and signed a wall to prove it. Booking essential: 020 7225 3122, marivanna.co.uk
SUITE DREAMS
A VILLAGE WITH A VIEW VAL D’ORCIA SUITE Hotel Monteverdi, Tuscany Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Provincia di Siena (00 39 057 826 8146, monteverdituscany.com) Opened August 2012 From €250/£200 per night, b&b Size 380 square feet USP The setting. The peace. The history. In this hilltop hamlet, every building is centuries-old, barely a dozen cars pass daily and a painterly panorama appears around every corner. At its heart is a café serving farm-fresh fare and in among the stone dwellings are a handful of exquisite rooms and suites. Hotel Monteverdi would be a find anywhere, but in well-mined Tuscany it is remarkable. The man behind the seven-bedroom hotel is Michael Cioffi, a lawyer from Ohio, who came across the
“forgotten” village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro – population 20, access via an unmade road, altitude 2,700ft – while on holiday. Entranced, and seeing the potential for sensitive renovation, he bought several tumbledown properties and recruited the Rome designer Ilaria Miani to create three villas. He introduced artists-in-residence, an archaeological dig that has uncovered a 12th-century fort, and now the hotel, also designed by Miani. A pool, with a view to the volcanic Monte Amiata, and a restaurant will follow. Guests can do yoga on a grassy terrace, and six miles away is the sublime garden, La Foce, with its excellent new restaurant, Dopolavoro (dopolavorolafoce.it), as well as the vines of Tenuta del Trinoro, whose acclaimed red is available by the glass.
The details In the open-plan Val d’Orcia Suite, entered via ancient doors from the street, old, new and natural merge. From the bed, I can see Monte Cetona and Radicofani Castle, as well as cornfields and cypresses. A painted concrete floor, pale-washed walls and light linen bedding set off the beam-andbrick ceiling and stripped-wood lintels. From the glass-walled shower, with 2ft rain-head, and the travertine trough of a basin, mirrors reflect outside and in. I hear murmurs from the café and passages of Beethoven as musicians practise for a concert in the church. There’s concealed his-and-hers storage, a flat-screen television and free Wi-Fi, but no need for air-con – that is provided by 3ft-thick walls and a hilltop breeze that keeps the village cool in summer. Yolanda Carslaw
THE INVESTMENT
BAGS OF GOODWILL The Taj group of hotels has just opened a Taj Khazana shop in London – its first outside India – selling items made by the disadvantaged and disabled, and by Indian artisans whose skills were in danger of dying out (such as the hand-loom weavers of Varanasi). Among the beautifully curated collection of jewellery, shawls,
3 NEW ITALIAN SUITES
homeware and inlaid boxes on sale at Taj’s
San Lorenzo Mountain Lodge This 16th-century former hunting lodge in the Dolomites has four suites and offers delicious home-cooked meals (from €2,400; sanlorenzomountainlodge.com). Hotel Castello di Casole Located among rolling olive groves, the restored 10th-century castle in Tuscany has just opened five two-storey, loft-style suites (from €980; castellodicasole.com). Borgo Santo Pietro The boutique Tuscan property has four new suites set around a courtyard; one of them, Casa di Unicorno, also has its own garden (from €645; borgosantopietro.com).
51 Buckingham Gate hotel are natural leather bags ranging from washbags and totes to covetable Globetrotter-style suitcases (bottom), available in two sizes and costing £362 and £579
ULTRA APPS
AIRPORT INTELLIGENCE
FlightTrack Pro $9.99 (£6.40)
Tracks flights anywhere in the world − all 1,400 airlines and 3,000 airports − and gives information on gate changes, flight cancellations, weather and delays.
Next Flight $2.99 (£1.90)
SOUVENIR SEARCH
SCIENTIFIC ANTIQUES In the Old Town in Geneva, Antiquités Scientifiques (rue du Perron; 00 41 22 310 0706, perret-antiques.ch) is like a museum − but the exhibits are for sale. Set up by Marc-André and Marlyse Perret 30 years ago to capitalise on their antique-hunting habit, the tiny boutique is full of quirky objects, from hand-crafted globes and dark-blue
Scans for all departures from
apothecaries’ jars to brass binoculars
an airport over the next two days −
and vintage cameras. Also handy
useful if you’ve missed a flight.
for visitors to Geneva are the
FlightBoard £2.49
Shows arrivals and departures boards at 16,000 airports, updated every five
respectively (tajhotels.com/taj-khazana.html).
tourist office’s nine new maps, downloadable from geneva-tourism.ch.
minutes – handy if you’re a cabbie. IT’S A CHANGING WORLD
AFRICAN HOTELS 7 OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING ECONOMIES ARE IN AFRICA, WHERE ECONOMIC GROWTH IS ABOUT 6 PER CENT A YEAR – DOUBLE THE RATE OF MOST WESTERN ECONOMIES. IN THE PAST AFRICA THIS DECADE AS THE CONTINENT’S LARGEST ECONOMY, HAS NEARLY 7,000 NEW ROOMS IN HOTELS BUILT BY RADISSON, SHERATON, IBIS AND LEGACY. SOURCE: AFRICA-CONFERENCE.COM
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ALAMY
YEAR, 10 LEADING HOTEL BRANDS HAVE CONSTRUCTED 108 NEW HOTELS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, ADDING 22,000 ROOMS – A 42 PER CENT INCREASE. NIGERIA, TIPPED TO OUTSTRIP SOUTH
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
LETTING OFF STEAM
Travel experts reveal their bugbears
10,000,000
Nights booked to date through Airbnb, which provides accommodation in private homes – one every two seconds
Spa guru Lisa Johnson on what makes her blood boil outside the sauna IRRITATING MUSIC It might help therapists to get into the zone
14
themselves, but bland arrangements of classical favourites, pan pipes and mating whales have the opposite effect on me. The
Pairs of shoes created for Marilyn Monroe by Salvatore Ferragamo, on show in his Florence museum until January (museuferragamo.it)
600
Aldaba giant tortoises still alive on Fregate island – the secondbiggest population on Earth
947
Year The Royalist Hotel – England’s oldest inn – was built
best spa music is of ocean waves and birdsong, as played at the Maia spa in the Seychelles. The Ilia Music CD and Wah! by Savasana are also good. Alternatively, let clients plug in an iPod and listen to their own. PAPER PANTS I’m not really sure which are worse – the cheese-cutter G-string variety, or the
A DINING REVOLUTION
shapeless, shower-hat kind with no obvious
More than 10,000 people take
tables for eight have been laid
glory), with a stop for a swift
back or front. The black ones are marginally
a spin on the London Eye each
with white cloths, flowers and
bathroom break in the facilities of
preferable, but Mr Bean would still have
day, but none has been able to
silver ice-buckets. A surprisingly
the (rather less salubrious) London
a field day. Pray for deft towel management.
stay for dinner – until this month.
good three-course dinner is then
Aquarium. The cost of dinner for
FEEBLE MASSAGES
After a glass of champagne at
served during four revolutions of
eight is, unsurprisingly, steep
It’s all very well for therapists to glide around
Gillray’s Bar on the South Bank,
the Eye (including lobster salad
(from £5,000) although high tea
tentatively like woodland sprites, but I prefer
guests are accompanied to
during the first, followed by lamb,
costs a more down-to-earth £628
them to get stuck in. Insist on an experienced
a private pod in the Eye, where
then crème brulée knickerbocker
(0871 222 4002, londoneye.com).
massage therapist with strong hands, such as Elaine Williams at Grayshott (grayshottspa. com) in Surrey, if you want your muscles manipulated rather than just stroked.
THE BOOK
GIANT TOWELLING ROBES
INTIMATE INDIA On seeing Rohit Chawla’s photographs, author and Indiaphile William Dalrymple declared them among the best to have come out of India “since Cartier-Bresson was here with his Leica in the late 1940s”. Chawla’s portraits of Rabari nomads from Gujarat, published this month in his book Wanderlust, are well lit and beautifully composed but also remarkably intimate. The photographer lived and travelled with the nomads, observing the frugal simplicity of their lives while simultaneously recognising their beauty and sense of style – captured in his arresting image of camel-herders (left). From $60, rohitchawlaphotography.com
Shuffling along in a voluminous tent – with a belt that does up around your knees, and arms that trail along the floor – certainly doesn’t make you feel serene. Can we just have a nice cotton robe that fits, please? Towels are for drying yourself, not for wearing. ENDLESS SPA MENUS Who has time to wade through page after page of non-surgical facelifts and triple detox wraps? We’re there for pleasure. So please keep the menu short, or invite us to book a time slot, as at Espa spas, and pick
NEW BOUTIQUE
whatever we feel like when we get there.
MONASTERO SANTA ROSA CAMPANIA, ITALY
OTT FACILITIES
Why is it special? Where else would you find a hotel boasting not one but two
Everyone loves a sauna/steam-room/vitality
confessional boxes? It has taken 12 years of painstaking work – and very deep pockets –
pool, but do we really need several of each?
to transform this 17th-century nunnery into a luxury hotel. The end result is a retreat
It seems unnecessary, particularly given the
that celebrates the best of the original religious architecture without skimping on
number of times I’ve been the only person
21st-century comforts.
in an eerily quiet spa.
Where is it? On the edge of limestone cliffs above the town of Amalfi, a few minutes’
HALF-LENGTH LOCKERS
drive away. Its dramatic 660ft elevation means the hotel and all its rooms have unforgettable
Thoughtful details such as little trays for
views over the Bay of Salerno and the craggy Amalfi coastline.
storing jewellery are undermined by making
The American owner’s addition of an eclectic mix of Italian antiques throughout the building adds authentic detailing to the historical atmosphere, and the colour palette of natural stone, convent blue and citrus lemon creates an air of calm. Boutique bonuses? A state-of-the-art spa built within the original walls, and outdoor fireplaces on the terrace, allowing guests to enjoy the spectacular setting late into the season. Downside? There is a small lift, but if you don’t like climbing steps, this isn’t the hotel for you. Best room? All 20 are permutations of a nun’s cell, arranged around common spaces. All are spacious, but the Citrus suite, where the old kitchens were, has a lovely large terrace and high, vaulted ceilings. Top tip There is a helicopter landing pad nearby, within Sophia Loren’s former holiday home, enabling guests to avoid the coach jams on the long and winding roads from Naples and Positano. Alternatively, there are several boats for hire. The details Via Roma 2, Conca dei Marini, Italy (00 39 0898 321199, monasterosantarosa.com). Doubles from €375 (£295) b&b. Johnny Morris
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FLOATS MY BOAT n ingenious idea, the ParrLuxe Sea Cabana (above) is for sunbathers who would rather do their tanning on the water, but with shade if they want it. New York designer Stuart Parr, disgruntled with beach furniture, created his own floating version with not just a tanning deck but an optional carbon-fibre canopy, steps and an inside swimming net to protect bathers from sea creatures. It comes in two sizes – 8ft or 12ft long – takes 15 minutes to inflate and costs an eye-watering $35,000 to $55,000 (001 212 966 6340, parrluxe.com).
A
us hang our coats in a jacket-length space, beside our muddy boots. Much better to relieve us of our coats and shoes at reception, as at the Mandarin Oriental in London. (It would be nice to have a spacious space to change in, too; just because a spa is bijou doesn’t mean its clients are pocket-size.) CULTURAL INCONGRUITY Tapping a dainty gong at the beginning and end of a treatment might work wonders in Asia, but it’s so out of place elsewhere, it’s hard not to laugh out loud. Stick to the aromatic footbath beforehand and the jasmine tea afterwards. By all means offer Thai massages outside Thailand, but please don’t make Western therapists masquerade as Thai masseuses – as on my last visit to London’s K Spa (k-west.co.uk). They look as if they’re in fancy dress and probably feel like it.
ILUSTRATIONS: ROBERT SHADBOLT
The look High church meets high style with a heavy sprinkling of ecclesiastical eccentricity.
The journey is just the start of the
GREAT RAIL JOURNEYS
iconic
Enjoy
Trans-Siberian Express
rail journeys
19 DAY HOLIDAY FROM £10,295
An unforgettable adventure on the luxurious and world-famous Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, that takes you on an iconic journey across Europe through the heart of Russia and Siberia. Day 1: To Berlin. Depart St Pancras International to Brussels, before continuing to Berlin, via Cologne, where we spend two nights. Day 2: Exploring Berlin. Enjoy a fascinating ‘East meets West’ tour of Berlin, introducing the sights of the once divided city. Days 3-4: Warsaw. Continuing to Warsaw for an overnight stay. On Day 4 enjoy a free morning before boarding an overnight sleeper train to Moscow. Days 5-6: The Trans-Siberian Express. Arrive in Moscow late afternoon for an overnight stay. Day 6 exploring Moscow, including the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basil’s Cathedral. Later, transfer to the luxurious Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express to begin our fabulous 12-night journey in luxurious en suite cabins. Day 7: Kazan. Our first stop is Kazan, renowned for its beautifully ornate buildings, including the onion-domed cathedral and awe-inspiring Kul Sharif Mosque. Day 8: Yekaterinburg. Across the EuropeAsia divide to Yekaterinburg and visit the poignant site where the Romanov family was murdered in 1918. Day 9: Novosibirsk. Alight in Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, with a guided tour of
the city including the Opera House. Days 10-11: To Irkutsk. After a leisurely day in complete luxury on the train, arrive in Irkutsk on Day 11, the ‘Paris of Siberia’. Enjoy a sightseeing tour, with time to explore and shop for souvenirs. Day 12: Lake Baikal. One of the most scenic days as the train skirts along Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world, stopping for a lakeside barbecue lunch. Day 13: Ulan Ude. Visit the Old Believer’s Village to learn about the history and culture and a concert featuring local dancers and musicians. Days 14-15: Ulaanbaatar. Arrive in the capital of Mongolia and visit one of the fascinating museums before lunch at a restaurant housed in a yurt. Rejoin the train travelling through vast Siberia back into Russia. Day 15 is spent relaxing on the train. Days 16-17: Remote Siberia. The train follows the Shilka and Amur Rivers close to the Chinese border through remote Siberia to the most easterly point of our epic journey. Days 18-19: Vladivostok and home. Our 8,000 mile adventure across almost a third of the entire globe ends in Vladivostok with a tour of this fascinating city. After an overnight stay, transfer to the airport for our flight home on Day 19.
adventure
We’ll make sure you don’t miss: • The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express • Moscow, including the Red Square & St Basil’s Cathedral • Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia • Irkutsk & Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world • Ulan Ude including a visit to the Old Believer’s Village • Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia • Vladivostok
value
EX CE LLE NT - With so much included First Class rail travel (Standard Premier Class rail travel on Eurostar) 12 nights on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express (all meals and excursions included) 5 nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast each day Scheduled flight from Vladivostock to London in Economy Class 1 night on board the overnight sleeper train from Warsaw to Moscow All excursions described in itinerary Accompanied by a professional Tour Manager throughout
2 departures on 1st May 2013 and 21st August 2013
1
The TransSiberian Express in Winter
2
India’s Palace on Wheels
3
Cape Town, The Blue Train & Kruger
18 DAYS FROM £9,275
15 DAYS FROM £3,398
11 DAYS FROM £3,475
Travel on the incredible Golden Eagle TransSiberian Express train for an unforgettable 8,000-mile winter adventure.
Join us on board the fabulous Palace on Wheels and experience the lavish lifestyles of the Maharajas seeing the wonderful sights along the way.
From Cape Town to Pretoria and discover the highlights of South Africa. Enjoy fantastic game drives and stay at Kruger National Park.
BOOK WITH 100% CONFIDENCE FULLY BONDED, FULLY PROTECTED
Dates and prices are subject to availability. Prices shown are per person based on 2 sharing. Terms and conditions apply.
- BOOK NOW or request a free brochure
01904 734 009 Our UK tour advisors are here 7 days a week
www.GreatRail.com
COMPETITION
Kicker caption Nfflclcls niii tiii Biiitlsh-bcckxd Siiirrc Liiinx niii piiinds wiiith
Paradise atoll Clockwise, from top: private dining al fresco; a beach suite; the Talise Spa; and the overwater Fenesse restaurant. Inset, below: sunset over the Indian Ocean
WIN A LUXURY TRIP TO THE MALDIVES THE PRIZE A five-night stay for two in a beach villa at Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives, including daily breakfast, airport transfers by speedboat and a complimentary coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spa treatment at the Talise Spa. Also included are two return Coral Economy flights from London to Male via Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways.
JUMEIRAH VITTAVELI Located on South Male atoll, a 20-minute boat ride from Male International Airport, Jumeirah Vittaveli is the archetypal Maldivian island paradise. Each villa and suite has its own private swimming pool, sala day beds, and direct access to either the lagoon or the idyllic white sand beach. In the rooms, high ceilings, timber flooring and traditional Maldivian furnishings create an airy beach-house ambiance, while modern comforts include state-of-the-art technology such as mood lighting, Wi-Fi access, Apple Media Centre, 42in flatscreen TV and Bose sound system with iPod docking station. Wide views of the Indian Ocean encourage moments of tranquil relaxation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but for those who want a more active holiday, there is plenty to do. The resortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five-star Padi dive centre offers not just scuba diving and snorkelling on colourful coral reefs teeming with marine life, but also kayaking, sailing and fishing trips at sunset. Other resort facilities include a bar, three restaurants, an overwater gym (open 24 hours a day) and the Talise Spa, offering a range of 100 per cent organic and signature treatments for complete rejuvenation of body and mind. jumeirah.com/vittaveli
HOW TO ENTER Simply go to telegraph.co.uk/vittaveli. You will need to leave your name, address, telephone number and a valid email address. All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday September 30, 2012.
FLY WITH THE BEST Etihad Airways is delighted to have been voted the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leading Airline for the third year running at the World Travel Awards. Its new fleet of luxury aircraft takes comfort and service to new heights. Flying Coral Economy, our prize winners will be able to relax in ergonomically designed â&#x20AC;&#x153;cradle reclineâ&#x20AC;? seats that support the spine in a more natural position, each with a 10.4in touchscreen and more than 600 hours of on-demand entertainment options to match. They will choose from three main-course dining options, one inspired by their destination, plus a wide range of complimentary drinks, enjoying the warm spirit of Arabian hospitality in the air.
Terms and conditions The holiday and flights are subject to availabilty, and must be taken between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013. Restrictions on travel dates apply during busy periods. See telegraph.co.uk/vittaveli for details, plus full terms and conditions
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Imagine Cruising presents Distinctive Ultra-Luxury Antarctica Voyages
Imagine… experiencing one of these four unique voyages to the southern-most regions of the world, the mighty Antarctica onboard Seabourn Quest
Imagine Cruising
with all these benefits
All Inclusive Cruise Flights Included Spend 5 days in Antarctica with the SBN Experience At least five landings – one per day (conditions permitting)
EXPERIENCE Your Seabourn ship is like a private club, where members share expansive open decks, inviting social spaces, and the personalised attention of an exceptional crew. Enjoy gourmet dining experiences that rival the finest restaurants anywhere, from French fries to foie gras, every dish served on Seabourn receives the expert attention of highly skilled and imaginative chefs. During this magnificent Antarctica cruise you can experience the last unspoiled continent on earth, in all its rugged grandeur. Witness the spectacles of ice and rocks, vast in scale and shining with brilliant colour and intensity. Seas filled with ice in every size and shape, observe wildlife in amazing abundance and diversity. Your time at sea will be filled with expert guest lecturers and your time on land with experienced Expedition leaders.
Expeditions in small inflatable craft to explore the natural beauty and wildlife
23nts from
£10,599pp
Imagine Cruising are delighted to be able to announce a very special series of four 21-24-night Antarctica Voyages for Winter 2013/14 onboard the Seabourn Quest – the only LUXURY ship to sail the White Continent. Offering discerning travellers the opportunity to combine a luxury cruise with an adventure, and go ashore for more indepth discoveries!
20 Nov 13: 23nt Buenos Aires to Santiago 11 Dec 13: 24nt Santiago to Buenos Aires (featuring Patagonia, Antarctica & South Georgia Island plus Christmas & New Year at sea!) 4 Jan 14: 23nt Buenos Aires to Santiago 25 Jan 14: 23nt Santiago to Buenos Aires
Imagine Discovering… Itinerary - based on 20 Nov 2013: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4-5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8-12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15
Arrive Buenos Aires, Transfer to 5 hotel Buenos Aires, Argentina Montevideo, Uruguay At Sea Pt. Stanley, Falkland Islands At Sea SBN Antarctic Experience At Sea Ushuaia, Argentina Scenic Cruising
Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24
Punta Arenas, Chile Scenic Cruising Puerto Chacabuco, Chile Castro, Isla Chiloe, Chile Puerto Montt, Chile At Sea Valparaiso, Chile Transfer to 5 Santiago hotel Return flight to London Heathrow
Appropriate expedition wear will be provided
OPENING HOURS: Mon - Fri 8am to 9pm Sat & Sun 9am to 9pm
BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE Fully bonded means your money is 100% protected
L7903
0800 840 5901
Don’t just imagine - call free on or visit imaginecruising.co.uk
Terms & conditions apply; for full details please visit imaginecruising.co.uk. Prices are per person and are based on 2 adults sharing an inside cabin, an outside cabin, balcony cabin or grill suite. Where applicable flights are based on London departures, unless otherwise stated; regional departures are available upon request and may carry a surcharge. Imagine Cruising are ATOL protected and ABTA bonded (L7903/Y2901). When paying by credit card a 2½% charge will be added to your booking, and if paying by debit card a 0% charge will be added.
I like simplicity; I don’t need luxury. I want good basics, like a decent light so I can read in bed
F
rancis Ford Coppola, 73, is one of America’s
most respected directors, best known for his acclaimed films The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. He is also a winemaker, with vineyards in Sonoma County and Napa Valley, California, the publisher of a literary quarterly magazine, Zoetrope, and a hotelier. His fifth hotel, Palazzo Margherita, opened in Basilicata, Italy, in March. How many holidays do you take a year? I don’t have a regular schedule. One year I won’t get a holiday at all, the next we might take the family to one of our own resorts, in Argentina, perhaps, or the new place in southern Italy. Sometimes we’ll charter a boat, either in the eastern Caribbean or in Europe – to Turkey, say, which is wonderful, with its ancient sites, such as Ephesus, or around the Greek Islands. Your favourite spot to relax? Guatemala, near the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, one of the wonders of the world. I love the rustic food. It still has a population of indigenous Indians, so you find beautiful fabrics and artworks.
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simplicity and innocence of the country, and the
The Godfather Coppola at Palazzo Margherita, his latest hotel venture in southern Italy
TRAVELLING LIFE Francis Ford Coppola
The legendary director on Mayan magic, the romance of Rio and the Milanese suite that starred in a Hollywood film Where are you going next on holiday?
as diverse: mountains with rivers you can swim in,
big, fantastic beach with beautiful food and
to see animals – all those kinds you see in zoos,
It’s my 50th wedding anniversary coming up, and
gorgeous beaches, and the second-largest barrier
beautiful girls. The Metropole in Hanoi has been
except in their real habitat. When things calm
we’ve been talking about celebrating in Vietnam:
reef in the world. You feel like you are going on
wonderfully preserved, too, to look like it did in its
down, I’d like to go to Libya, Mali and Ethiopia.
perhaps Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, then one
a jungle adventure, but a civilised version.
heyday, when Somerset Maugham was there.
Do you like adventure holidays?
of the beach resorts.
Must-see places in Belize?
Do you like luxury hotels, or simple ones?
Not really. The most adventurous thing I’ve done
Do you travel light?
The sandy beaches of Placensia; Ambergris Caye
I like simplicity; I don’t need luxury. I want good
is learn how to fly a helicopter in the Philippines.
No. For me, going off to an unfamiliar place is
in the north for diving and snorkelling; and
basics, like a decent light so I can read in bed,
One night we landed on a beach and slept on it.
an incentive to get writing, so I will often have
interesting Mayan ruins, such as Caracol.
and a shelf in the shower to put my electric
What would you consider a real luxury?
a heavy bag of research and books. I love new
Where do you eat out when travelling?
toothbrush on. I was in a hotel recently where
A room with two bathrooms, one for each of us.
devices, too, so I’ll probably have at least one with
Places serving local cuisine. Italian food isn’t quite
I had to put it on the floor.
Do you worry about your carbon footprint?
me – a really small loudspeaker, say, or a travel
the same when you’re eating it in a hotel in South
Things that rankle in hotels?
One should try to do what’s in reach. At our
bag that charges your electronic gadgets.
America, because the ingredients are different.
Being sent bottles of this or that, or baskets of
hotels, we have a hydro plant to make electricity.
Which make of luggage do you prefer?
Having said that, more than 140 languages are
fruit. If I want to eat or drink something, I like to
Our wineries have high levels of recyclable energy
Ghurka. Their leather bags don’t wear out, but
spoken in San Francisco, so you can get great
choose what it is. The internet in hotels should be
and we farm organically. Until they make an
get more weatherbeaten and lovely with age.
food from all over: Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and
free – and I really resent it when they charge you
aeroplane that flies on hydrogen, though, we will
Favourite city for a weekend away?
very good Chinese. One place does a wonderful
five dollars for a bottle of water beside your bed.
have to make do with the ones we have.
Berlin, which has many of the wonderful features
vegetable, like spinach, sautéed with garlic and
The most glamorous room you’ve slept in?
Are you a big shopper when abroad?
of Paris but is cheaper. The Collection of Classical
served with smoky dumplings. That is really good.
The big suite at the Savoy in Milan [the Hotel
I used to love going into local hardware stores, to
Antiquities has great pieces from ancient Rome,
What’s your idea of a perfect holiday?
Principe di Savoia], which was so spectacular that
look at little things they made locally. Nowadays
then there’s the Nebuchadnezzar gate and a good
Going some place where I don’t own a hotel. If
my daughter, Sofia, put it in a film, Somewhere.
it’s harder, though you can still do it in Vietnam.
zoo. Places change, just like people do, and Berlin
you’re the owner, everyone wants to voice their
Top spot to stay in Britain?
The best airline in the world?
feels like a city that is having its time.
displeasure. As soon as I arrive, the staff are on
I wish I had the budget to stay at Claridge’s. It was
I took a trip on Cathay Pacific recently, which was
Holiday spot you love returning to?
my case, wanting a new truck or telling me about
the home of [the Hungarian-born film-maker]
pretty hard to beat. It was very luxurious, the flight
Belize. It’s a former British colony, with British
someone they’ve had to fire for having an affair.
Alexander Korda, a big figure in my life. His home
attendants were spectacular, and the amentities
traditions, organisation, education and language,
The most romantic hotel you’ve stayed at?
isn’t there any more – it’s divided into four
beyond what you ever expect. It must have been
but a really diverse culture as well. Some of the
The Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, which
apartments – but you can still feel his presence.
pretty amazing, given that I still remember it…
population are more like Jamaicans, with their
is an Orient-Express hotel. It’s very old, and they
The most remote place you’ve been?
For further information on Francis Ford Coppola’s
reggae spirit and rasta mentality; then there are
have managed to keep the patina of what it was
Kenya, where we went all over the jungle. In the
hotels, see coppolaresorts.com
Mayan and Hispanic people. The landscape is just
like. But then Rio is a remarkable city – like one
Masai Mara, we stayed in a hotel of tents. We got
Interview by Lisa Grainger
LCKI8KI8M<C
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