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Welcome
Editoral
We know travel creates carbon emissions. People say we can play our part by travelling less. No. Now is the time to travel more and explore further. We learn so much from the pioneering perspectives of people and places around the world. The more we explore the more we absorb, the more we bring positive change to our everyday habits. With this autumn and winter collection we present the destinations of tomorrow, the places and people helping to take luxury hospitality into a brighter future. The summer heat waves sharpened us to the importance of action. At EliteVoyage we’ve experienced an incredible surge in demand for luxury holidays. For us, it’s not about always doing more, it’s always doing it right. This led us to a partnership with Path Net Zero and Gold Standard on page 26, so anybody can travel carbon neutral. Being more sustainable is a journey without a definitive beginning or end. We can all follow our own path. Edition II of Explorer travels from September to February, six months of opportunities from the most creative minds in global travel. Sustainable holidays are better holidays. Where will you explore? Bon voyage, Petr Co-OwnerUdavský& CEO EliteVoyage
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EXPLORER by EliteVoyage IMPRESSUM: Elite Voyage s.r.o., Národní 135/14, Prague 11000 COVER PHOTO: La Fortuna Waterfall Costa Rica by Fabio Fistarol www.elitevoyage.com MAIL: explorer@elitevoyage.com EDITOR IN CHIEF: Petr Udavsky ENGLISH EDITOR: Stephen Bailey CZECH EDITOR: Laura Crowe ART DIRECTOR: Martina Horka Kunc CONTRIBUTORS: Tomáš Safarik, David Eder, Leia Welle PARTNERSHIP & DISTRIBUTION: Štěpán Borovec AUTUMN / WINTER 22 / II. EDITION © 2022 Costa Rica Holidays in the Champion of the Earth4424ASustainable Future for Travel Exploring the planet, without leaving a footprint 30 Switzerland. Sustainable? How different destinations do sustainability 40 The Change Maker Jeff Smith VP Sustainability for Six Senses shows us the future 70 Winter Beach Holidays Miavana, Anguilla & Hawaii 108 East Africa Safari The ultimate journey in Tanzania & Rwanda 128 Medical Wellness Four destinations for long-lasting life change 136 Winter Fashion Trip Shopping in five different fashion-forward cities 12 The HOT list New hotels to visit now 98 Vietnam & Cambodia Human connection with Réhahn & Eric Raisina 142 A New Chapter at the Mandarin Oriental Prague We meet new GM Duarte Correia The Antarctic Pioneer Exploring with Patrick Woodhead & White Desert 84
Alpine Passes Tour The freedom and thrills of Europe’s roads56Ski the 118Alps Corvara, Lech & Crans-Montana Wildlife encounters & cruising the archipelago IntoGalapagos.Another World. 62
13EXPLORER by EliteVoyage New hotels to visit thenow HOT list cover photo Habitas AlUla, Ashar Valley, Saudi Arabia
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EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Habitas AlUla Ashar Valley, Saudi Arabia A sprawling desert resort in a land unfamiliar to the modern traveller, Habitas AlUla is the first of what will be many luxury properties in Saudi Arabia’s breathtaking wilderness. Amid sandsto ne mountains and ancient Nabataean and Lihyan heritage, this 96-room resort is a modern, expe riential oasis.
the HOT list Middle East
Evguenia and Fabrice Ivara have created a refuge for the modern curious traveller on the very rare Sumba island. “We see Cap Karoso as a bridge between the mysterious aesthetics of Sumba and the serenity of tropical leisure.” Their concept is beyond accommodation, “a living community of travellers animated by the same interests: ancestral cultures, nature, sustainabi lity, gastronomy and contemporary art.” HOT list
Asia
15EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Cap Karoso Sumba Island, Indonesia
the
Off-the-beaten-path safari luxury leaps for ward with the complete rebuild of this seven -suite camp by Wilderness Safaris. Now there are private plunge pools, outdoor showers, spa facilities and 142 square metre suites overlo oking the elephant-dominated Osprey Lagoon. Plus a new four-tent sister camp, Little Duma Tau. All in one of Africa’s most exclusive reserves for lots of big game, the Linyanti.
16 EXPLORER by EliteVoyage DumaTau Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, Botswana
the HOT list Africa
Just four tents in the raw wilderness of South Luangwa, where rare animals roam and lion roars pierce the inky black night. Inspired by old-world exploration this is a rustic and authentic camp perfect for walking safaris and drives. It’s getting back to earth, whilst having a few modern conveniences.
Time+Tide Luwi South Luangwa, Zambia
the HOT list Africa
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the HOT
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Americas
Aman New York Manhattan, USA Aman delivers their signature quality and we llness to an urban environment, reimagining the city hotel experience in New York. It’s an extra ordinary retreat from the frenetic pace of the city down below. 83 suites, all with fireplaces, oval bathtubs and marble rain showers. 2300 square metres of wellness over three floors, including two private Spa Houses with private outdoor terraces and hot and cold plunge pools. list
Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, México Jalisco, Mexico
On a secluded Pacific beach hidden behind verdant jungle, Four Seasons brings their signa ture style to an unexpected and remote desti nation. Several private beaches and coves, three infinity pools cascading down the cliffside, a pri vate nature reserve, endemic species, spa, golf and an emphasis on local Mexican artisans. Soft opening November 2022.
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the HOT list Americas
Rosewood Vienna Vienna, Austria
the HOT list Europe
Finally a fresh and contemporary take on lu xury hospitality in Vienna’s Old Town. Rose wood Vienna oozes timeless elegance, bringing 99 residentially-styled rooms and suites to Pe tersplatz, along with an Asaya Spa. Stylish, so phisticated and a reason to reconnect with the Austrian capital.
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21EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Cashel Palace County Tipperary, Ireland Relais & Chateaux’s newest member is a resto red Palladian palace in the shadow of the Rock of Cashel. 42 unique guest rooms and eight suites, plus a spa and horse riding trails in the nearby countryside. It’s steeped in the property’s 18th -century heritage, including the famous Gui nness Bar, a link to the Guinness family who first brewed their ale here in the 1740s. the HOT list Europe
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The Rooster Antiparos Island, Greece
the HOT list Europe
A boutique retreat, hidden as a gem on a tiny and unspoilt Greek island. With just 17 individu al houses besides the Aegean, each with its own gardens, pool and lots of privacy. The raw beauty of this secluded island is reflected throughout the design, at a wellness resort embracing slow living and feeling renewed.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Long awaited and now fully open, Reykjavik Edition balances Icelandic heritage with crisp, clean lines. Think unpolished concrete with sheepskins, black painted ceilings and rainbow rugs. Yet for all the eye-catching design featu res, epic views through floor-to-ceiling win dows impress the most. Reykjavik is paradoxica lly a city with a village fee. Similarly, this Edition is a large hotel with a boutique feel. the HOT list Europe
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The Reykjavik EDITION
A FutureSustainableforTRAVEL Solutions for better holidays, from hotels, destinations and travel companies.
Every few months EliteVoyage handpicks a Gold Standard project with maximum impact and value. We choose clean energy projects as these make quicker and more permanent savings than planting trees. They also support local communities. Open the project on the Gold Standard websi te to see exactly who you are supporting and how. The project's Impact Registry shows the verified emission reductions EliteVoyage and its clients have invested.
What is carbon offsetting?
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3. How does carbon offsetting actually work? To offset carbon emissions you invest in “verified emission reductions.” One ton of carbon emissions equals one verified emi ssion reduction. For example, when you invest one veri fied emission reduction in a solar farm pro ject, you prevent one ton of carbon emissi ons being created by fossil fuels. Travel is on a long journey to a sustainable low-car bon future. One day we’ll take aeroplanes powered by biofuels and stay in energy-po sitive hotels. Until this future arrives, you support the transition by offsetting your unavoidable emissions.
5. How accurate is the calculator? The EliteVoyage and Path Net Zero car bon emissions calculator for holidays, uses the same benchmarking data as the United Nations and World Tourism Organisation. Adding a 5% contingency covers what we can't calculate, like the exact emissions of a particular aircraft or activity. Future for Travel
Your holiday creates unavoidable carbon emissions. Flights, transfers, hotel stays, even the food you eat generates a carbon footprint. To balance these emissions you can invest in a project that removes the same amount of carbon emissions, somewhere else in the world. This is known as carbon offsetting.
1. Where does your money go? Your money goes to a specific Gold Standard environmental project. Gold Standard is the world’s most respected carbon offsetting organisation, a non-pro fit based in Geneva, founded in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs. Gold Standard collaborates with the United Nations to provide “a best practice stan dard to quantify, certify and maximise the impact of climate projects to the sustaina ble development goals.”
2. How does your money make a difference?
4. How long does it take for my holiday to become carbon neutral? When you buy a verified emission re duction something happened yesterday. You’ve invested in a project that’s already removing carbon dioxide from the atmo sphere. Thanks to your investment, the project can continue to make a difference, preventing new carbon emissions and sup porting local communities.
A Sustainable
Many people reduce their carbon footprint by travelling less. But there's a way you can travel without limits, without damaging the planet. EliteVoyage partnered with Path Net Zero to create a carbon emissions calculator for holidays. Try it now. Understand the emissions of any holiday Offset your carbon footprint with a UN-sealed climate project from Gold Standard Travel guilt-free and never stop exploring
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EXPLORE THE PLANET, without leaving a carbon footprint
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Path Net Zero’s first calculator proved you can understand the carbon footprint of a trip. People can make their own choice about being sustainable, it’s not for us to force them. So I challenged Mark. Instead of a calculator for travel agents, how about a calculator for our travellers?
David: We all want better holidays. We also want what’s best for our kids. When school tells me my kids need a water bottle free of BPAs I don’t question it. My children are aware that travel creates a significant carbon footprint, they care about how we affect the planet by going on holiday. But how can I offset our family footprint if the data isn’t accurate?
Mark: We need to act. I think a holiday in the Maldives is the ultimate treat as a hu man being. But if the planet warms 1.5 de grees and sea levels rise, the Maldives will be underwater. When Petr approached us we loved the educational element of a customer-facing calculator. When you calculate and understand your own carbon footprint, you actively try to reduce it. You see that a luxury overnight sleeper train in a Pullman carriage has a lower carbon footprint than a domestic flight. Then you realise it's a cool and interesting experien ce to enhance your travels.
Petr Udavský: Most people want to be sustainable, but they either don’t know how or can’t afford the time and cost.
David Eder: I’m slowly getting into sustai nability. My children are teaching me. Switching to an electric car, properly re cycling, reducing plastics. My businesses are working towards sustainability certifi cations. Yet when it comes to my holidays, I despise the general narrative. Flying is bad so I can reduce my carbon footprint by travelling less. Travel less? Experiencing other countries and cultures has inspired me to make many positive changes. Travel is my favourite hobby as well. Travel less! Okay, I could also travel differently and not travel on an A380. So I’m going to kayak to the Maldives with three kids for my holiday? Or swap my Tanzania safari for a coach tour in Poland? Carbon offsetting is a far better solution, but why is carbon neutral travel so new for travellers like me?
Mark Duckmanton: Travellers and tra vel companies didn’t understand the data around their carbon emissions. Think about millions of people travelling in jumbo jets to different countries and resorts. This data is incredibly complex. It took us a year just to do the calculations for the clients of my two travel companies. My background is tech and building accessible technology from complex data sets. Along with friend and business partner Dan Moore, we tur ned these calculations into a basic excel calculator that other travel agents could use. This was how Path Net Zero was born.
Mark: We simplified the data by using the same sources as the United Nations and World Tourism Organisation. For air travel we use the exact location of any two airports to calculate distance, plus Sustainable Future for Travel Making Travel Carbon Neutral for Anyone words David Eder
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We can change so much of our everyday life to become more sustainable. Surely our holidays can be good for the planet as well? I met EliteVoyage CEO Petr Udavský and Path Net Zero CEO Mark Duckmanton, to discuss their new carbon emissions calculator for holidays.
David: I feel I can make a difference by making conscious choices as a consu mer - the car I drive, what I drink and eat, how I dress, how I reduce consumption of non-recyclable materials. I’ve always stru ggled with carbon offsetting. When a com pany asks me for money to plant a tree, who plants a tree? What does it solve? When oil companies run commercials telling me they’re going green I can’t see what’s real. Where’s the evidence that the money I spend on carbon offsetting is go ing to make a difference?
29EXPLORER by EliteVoyage verified sources on carbon emissions per kilometre, per passenger, per cabin class. We use a benchmarking index by Cornell University of 15,000 global hotels, to know the average per night emissions in diffe rent hotel categories in any country.
Petr: Travel in first class and you occupy five times the space as a passenger in economy, so you contribute five times more carbon emissions. Five-star hotels in the Middle East generate a relatively higher footprint because of their energy consumption for air conditioning and swimming pools for example. All our holidays are customised to tiny details so I wanted a calculator with three decimal places.
David: I invest in stocks and small busi nesses. Carbon offsetting is my long-term investment in the planet. Over the last decades I’ve seen travel providers change their approach to sustainability. New pro perties have improved energy consump tion. Hotels have changed their suppliers, amenities and operations. When my holi day can be carbon neutral, I as a traveller, can also help.
Petr: Sustainability is becoming the norm in many countries. It will soon be the norm in the Czech Republic. I see children of our long-standing clients influencing the fami ly holidays. Young people have this planet for another 60 years, they want change. But we only achieve this change by inclu ding everybody. We want to give people the choice, to make it easy for them to act and make a difference. Right now this isn’t about all our travellers offsetting their holidays. I’m confident that year on year, more and more travellers will do this. Not only our travellers, either. The calculator created between Path Net Zero and EliteVoyage is for everybody to use. Sustainable Future for Travel
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Mark: We want every holiday to be offset, but that’s utopia. 2030 is a critical point for the planet, because if we have a 1.5 degree temperature increase by then it’s too late. By 2030 we want to see everything in the travel industry to be net zero.
Petr: Greenwashing is a global problem. The most important reason for our part nership with Path Net Zero is their colla boration with Gold Standard. The United Nations calls Gold Standard a best practi ce standard for quantifying, certifying and maximising the impact of climate projects. Anybody can go to Gold Standard’s Impact Registry and see the carbon offsets EliteVoyage has purchased on behalf of our clients. Mark: Trees are critical but a tree will take five to ten years before it starts re moving carbon from the atmosphere. Gold Standard’s clean energy projects make a more immediate, long-lasting and mea surable impact. The misconception is that when you invest in a project something will happen tomorrow. Actually, something happened yesterday. You’ve invested in a project that’s already preventing future carbon emissions. These projects are so much more than taking carbon out of the atmosphere. A great example is cook sto ves. Many developing communities burn wood to run their stoves, which depletes forests and creates nasty toxins. When you invest in solar cook stoves you’re investing in reforestation, cleaner air, community growth, employment, health and wellbeing.
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EliteVoyage private travel consultant Tomas Safarik travels by rail through Switzerland, exploring how sustainable travel is being implemented in a destination close to home.
Sustainable?Switzerland.
We should all be more sustainable, but how? I’m not interested in the top sustainable resort in the world, that’s the tip of the iceberg. I want to know how different people and travel com panies are approaching this same question, so mewhere close to home. How does a new eco property like Cervo compare with a grand dame like Badrutt’s Palace? How sustainable is the new destination of Andermatt? Rest assured, this isn’t just an educational trip. It’s going to be a lot of fun in Switzerland, travelling from Zermatt to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express train.
I fly to Zurich and it’s surprisingly easy to take two trains to Zermatt. Greener than arriving by helicopter, or driving and par king in Tasch, as Zermatt is completely car free. Taking the train isn’t a high-end thing in the Czech Republic, we take cars, plan es, ideally private planes. But I can imagine meeting a Swiss billionaire on a Swiss train, at least a millionaire who doesn’t have his own chopper. In Switzerland the train is more convenient and faster than going by car. It makes sense. Zermatt gets me in the mood for walking. I start walking somewhere close and want to walk further, the Matterhorn and other 4000-metre mountains looking down. It’s one-of-a-kind type nature that’s gre at for hiking. I skip the famous attractions and just ask the staff at Cervo which way to go, they know it all. With all this natu re, Zermatt is a premium destination, but it doesn’t feel top tier. I’m missing high-end gastronomy. There are resorts with five stars but that’s all that makes most of them five-star.
The ZermattResortMountain/ResortEcoCervoin Switzerland. Sustainable?
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Cervo is an exception, the best hotel in Zermatt. I experience how sustainability is their primary focus. Entering the resort I feel beauty. I feel eco just being here. The staff look like they’re really into it, their uniforms suggest it. The hotel restaurant Bazaar is vegetarian based. The suites are comfortable, made from materials that are good for nature and local to the area. And the views are insane. Plus they have Hastens beds, so I’m not just sleeping well because my legs are weary. I just can’t imagine an uptight, old-fashioned type of traveller co ming here. There’s a younger vibe and staff look different to most hotels, refreshingly informal in Switzerland of all places, home of classic Swiss hospitality! Over two days I see how sustainability is not just talk, it’s action. Thanks to thermal drilling, geothermal power provides almost 95% of their energy and Cervo is nearly in dependent from the grid. That includes the spa, with its onsen and meditation room. Used water is recycled, reheated and re turned to the system clean. The staff tell me how and I don’t really understand it, but I see that people genuinely care about the environment at Cervo, in all of Zermatt too. Cervo's rule of thumb is to source products and services from within 150 kilometres, including equipment, services and ingre dients for the kitchen, the main exception being wine. They have bee hives making honey in the Alps! Bathroom cosmetics are locally sourced and very natural, which don’t give much foam and are not high end, but that’s the ethos here. Be sustainable first, innovate and do what is best for this beautiful nature, and then make it as luxu rious as possible. It’s homely and I find pla ces to hide away all over the resort. I leave feeling like part of their family, inspired to do more myself.
EXPLORER
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So what a change in mood when I arri ve by Glacier Express to Andermatt. I can tell this village was an old army base, uti litarian buildings greeting me off the train. It’s gloomy, in a mountain basin, the atmo sphere heavy with clouds. Probably stormy and great for fresh powder in winter, but outside skiing season it’s dark compared to Zermatt. The Chedi is extensive, occupying about a third of the village. The rest I walk in just five minutes. Entering the Chedi I feel glamour and glitz. The interiors are stunning, must have cost tens of millions. Everything shines. My face seems to reflect from the walls. I have an entry-level deluxe room and it’s over 50 square metres, with a Hastens bed as well. My gas fireplace flickers and I watch it from my balcony. I recline in my standalo ne bathtub. Opulence and grandeur to the eye, although the staff are a bit formal for my personal taste, always available rather than instantly welcoming. The spa is mag nificent, everything extremely clean, eve ryone super professional, but not fawning over me. In Cervo the staff proudly educated me on elements of sustainability, but in the Chedi I have to dig a lot deeper. To find out that all the electricity comes from rene wables, either hydroelectric or wind. That almost their entire Audi fleet is electric. Which is neat because this is a car lo ver's paradise, with spectacular mountain passes all around. I take one of their electric Harley-Davidsons for a ride, a complimen tary activity with the room rate. It’s their third coolest experience, after this enor mous walk-in cheese humidor, with hun dreds of Swiss cheese circles available to try. And my highlight, meeting these super cute cows at a local Wagyu farm. Meat con sumption isn’t great for the environment but I am a carnivore at heart. At least the Chedi's Wagyu is locally produced, in the sameLunchvalley.isat Japanese by the Chedi, the second highest Michelin-starred restau rant in the world. A five-hour hike to get there, or my choice, the cable car. Stepping onto the mountain a storm sweeps in and I’m stuck for four hours, nothing to do but eat and explore the extensive wine and sake list. I’m imagining the winter season here, skiing to these culinary mountain huts. Without the snow I don’t think Andermatt is a destination for me. There’s not so much to do and the Chedi seems best for fami lies, not so much younger guests or groups of friends. Children are even permitted in the hydrotherapy part of the spa! But still, Wagyu cows and electric Harleys - I should be more on it with my Instagram feed!
The Andermatt/DestinationNewTheChedi Switzerland. Sustainable?
Switzerland. Sustainable?
37EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Back on the Glacier Express and I’m envious of those in the highest Excellence class, served a seven-course meal with wine, only 20 seats and only avai lable on the full eight-hour journey from Zermatt to St Moritz. In first class I settle for three courses, each with a detailed ex planation. Swiss cheese, Swiss meat, milk from a town along the route, all the food an authentic presentation of Switzerland. The Glacier Express is almost entirely powered by hydroelectricity, which makes me consider the big picture. Some travel companies heavily advertise small things making minimal impact, because people are asking for sustainability. Switzerland has developed an infrastructure tied into nature, maximising and balancing the surroundings. Like this 90-year-old alpine railway running off renewables! Beautiful views as well, panoramic windows revea ling increasingly impressive scenes, as we ascend above 2000 metres. It’s the Alps, it’s slow travel, it’s so dreamy and natural I’m very sceptical about my final destina tion. St Moritz? That’s an old money des tination famous for skiing and being posh, right? Probably not sustainable at all.
A Green Way Express/TraveltoGlacier
Switzerland. Sustainable?
Yet my first impression is youthful ener gy. All these alluring shops and restau rants excite the explorer in me. The sta ff at Badrutt’s Palace don’t make me feel weird because I’m young, which is rare for grand dame hotels. It’s gold and mar ble and extravagance, really an old-world palace, far from the contemporary design of Cervo and Chedi. Entry-level rooms are only 25 square metres so I’m in a recently refurbished one-bedroom St. Moritz Suite, in love with the views, feeling quite royal with the antique furniture, embracing ex travagance. There’s a special atmosphere, inclusive of everyone, perhaps at odds with the exclusive appearance. At breakfast the general manager stops for a chat, stops at every table. He tells me how 97 private jets landed in St. Moritz last festive season, solely for guests of Badrutt’s Palace. I can sense it’s a proud, family-owned property, see they’re used to providing the best of the best, whatever the age or nationality of guests.
I’m escorted around St. Moritz in a vint age Rolls-Royce and Landrover Defender, imagining the gasoline consumption. But the element of sustainability I discover here is longevity. These cars are 40 years old and more, the Rolls from the 1950s! I’m sitting on a sofa that is 70 years old and feels really gre at. When something breaks in another hotel they replace it. When hotels renovate they create waste. But at Badrutt’s they really take care of their stuff, being sustainable in sustai ning the place. Locally sourced cosmetics as well, a very high-end Swiss brand. The food is local, save for a few exotic choices, and breakfast is in another stratosphere compa red to my two other stops. Plus innovative technology in this grand dame. In 2006 they installed a heat pump system that warms the hotel by extracting heat from Lake St. Moritz. It covers 80% of the hotel’s energy needs and saves 1200 tons of carbon emissions per year. 1200 tons! I go on a seven-hour hike listening to sto ries of royal guests and small sustainable changes. E-bikes are perfect for exploring St. Moritz and I swim in an alpine lake with surprisingly warm water. I paddleboard on another lake, dine like a prince and max a cre dit card in two shops. I’ll come here again in winter to ski, because it also feels like home, even if I’d never choose this design style for my actual home. A week in Switzerland and I’m learning the re’s no right or wrong answer to sustainabili ty. Everyone is starting from a different place, approaching the challenge from their own perspective. Most impressive is how every body is trying something, making big impact changes, not being hung up on plastic straws or forcing demands onto me. I set off looking for an answer but there isn’t one. There are infinite answers. Switzerland shows me how the challenge of sustainability is an opportu nity to be resilient, innovate and express identity. And ultimately, an opportunity to create better travel experiences. St.Palace/DameBadrutt'sinMoritz
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The Grand
Many of the sustainable practices we now expect from luxury hospitality brands were being implemented by Six Senses, decades ago. What will we demand ten years from now? No plastic straws? How about simply, no plastic? Carbon footprint? Why not a hotel that’s energy positive? Explaining what’s coming next is Jeff Smith, Vice President Sustainability for Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas.
The CHANGE
JeffMakerSmith
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The Change Maker - Jeff Smith
Most people want to do the right thing. In the future I can’t imagine any hotel ha ving single use plastics for guests. It’s going out of fashion and it won’t come back. In 2017 we launched a crazily ambitious missi on to be completely plastic free by 2022. We did an inventory at all our hotels, spas and offices. We’ve identified all the plastics but will all Six Senses be plastic free? No. We realised we can’t do it. But by pushing the goal we flip the conversation. Now we’re conscious about what plastic we keep, not what we remove.
Sustainability is no longer a trend. It’s the mainstream now. A lot of reports prove the interest in sustainable travel and the mar ket has shifted to meet demand. American Express, Expedia and Booking.com all do surveys on booking trends. 80% want sustainable travel options, so of course the supply is adapting. That’s partly why so many hotels are seriously looking at sustainability. So how do you feel about sustainable travel being the mainstream? We’re moving forward. Six Senses has been known as a pioneer in sustainable luxury hospitality since the roots of our brand in the 1990s. A lot of the things we did then are now done by most mainstre am hotels. For example, you can’t drink tap water in Asia so hotels used to fly in bo ttled water for guests. In 2003 we started bottling our own drinking water on site in glass bottles. That was innovative 15 years ago. Now it’s the norm. Six Senses has ne ver had plastic shampoo bottles for guests. We eliminated all plastic straws in 2016. These things are now expected from most travellers. Removing plastic straws has been such a buzz in the last few years. Does it make a difference?
I’m a nature nerd and love to experience unique cultures and wildlife, in places I ha ven’t seen before. I recently returned from India. We have the newly opened Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan and are rebran ding Six Senses Vanu Wellness Resort in Dehradun in the northeast. How do you personally make your travels more sustainable? I always pack mineral based sunscreen. The most common commercial sunscreens contain chemicals that kill coral and dam age marine ecosystems. They’re not good for humans but we put them on our skin. I always look for the coral safe label when buying sunscreen. It seems cliche but I always carry a reusable container. Think about how many points on your journey you use a takeaway container. A coffee lasts ten minutes and then it’s gone in the trash forever. Many travel companies claim to be sustai nable now. How do you know who is sustai nable and who is greenwashing? Sometimes greenwashing happens with good intentions, like a company who wants to be sustainable but can’t articulate the conversation, so they make bold claims that can’t be supported. The best way to cut through the noise is to look for facts. Try to look past sweeping statements and goals, like we’re good, we’re green, or we’re striving to do something. That says nothing at all. Look at what a company actually did. When a company says they support a school for girls that’s enabled 583 girls to have ac cess to education, that’s a factual impact. It’s not a good or bad statement, it’s left to the traveller to determine the value.
41EXPLORER by EliteVoyage The Change Maker - Jeff Smith
How do you feel about sustainable travel becoming such a big trend?
What type of explorer are you?
Of course it only works when there are shorter local supply chains. If the produce comes from a farmer down the road you can do it, but how do you get a container back to a beef supplier in Brazil, when you’re a resort in the Maldives? We’re in the travel industry. Who wants to fly halfway around the world to eat the same hambur ger they can eat at home? What’s the point?
When a government like Rwanda bans plastic bags, or Hawaii prohibits coral da maging sunscreen, it sends ripples across the world. These are signposts of change. There’s also a big shift in the investment space. You’re more likely to finance a new hotel build when there are sustainability commitments. On a local level, think about a private island resort. It’s the most signi ficant economic contributor to the local community. When that business gives fo cus to sustainability, to the environment and community, the local business com munity follows, so the impact is magnified.
Travellers want the very best things a de stination has to offer. Our role is to high light and curate what’s great about a local destination. What else is coming from your role as lea ders that in ten years will be the norm? Every Six Senses property composts onsite. Every hotel has food waste. If it can’t be eaten by people or animals it can be composted. Composting puts nutrients and carbon back into the soil and improves soil health. This will catch on because the re’s a cost saving. Less waste equals a lower cost to remove waste. In terms of wildlife impact we have Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives. Our conservationists collected data on manta rays, sea turtles and dol phins, which was used by the government to establish a new marine national park. So now there’s more to see which makes it more attractive for guests. What other major changes do you see in the travel industry?
Within sustainable travel, what will beco me mainstream in upcoming years?
During the inventory we found that most of our plastic is not guest facing. It’s in the shipping, receiving and packaging. So we’re doing more programs around circularity and supplier take back programs. We want to find local suppliers and give them reu sable containers to deliver their products. In Vietnam we had fishermen delivering us fresh fish in styrofoam boxes. We gave them a reusable cooler box. Other suppliers wan ted it because it’s a simple win-win, a more efficient business model. We don’t waste time and money dealing with single-use trash, nor does the supplier. That sounds so simple but is it achievable all over the world?
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The path to sustainability is not a one line journey. There are an infinite number of ways. It’s not just one direction either, so metimes it’s going around in circles and fi guring it out. Every step on this journey is an important step. I find it inspiring and motivating to see what our competitors are doing. Taking good ideas from each other is the way for us to move forward.
We need to build
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With a calculator you place a cost on car bon. Right now, dumping greenhouse gas es into the atmosphere is free. But if you start to encourage an offset with a cost, there is a price to pay. It shouldn’t be free to dump your greenhouse gases. So for travellers to just be aware of their carbon footprint has huge educa tional value. It encourages a reduction in consumpti on and that’s so important, because you can’t only do offsets. We have to turn off the tap. There’s a strong argument that travel is an essential industry. Ideas and expectations are sha red and spread. The huma nity of travel and under standing of other cultures breaks down barriers, re duces biases and conflict. So much impor tant wildlife conservation is solely funded by tourism. A certain amount of travel is essential and we can offset its carbon footprint. What’s the future for sustainable travel?
fromaresystemsnewthatdecoupledfromcarbon.Thismeansgettingawayfossilfuelsandplastic.
Six Senses plans to open the first energy positive hotel in 2024. Tell us more about Svart.
Operational carbon is the tip of the ice berg. More than 60% of a hotel’s lifetime emissions are embedded in the building. So hanging your towel on the bathroom wall is important, but there are many op portunities to reduce carbon in design and construction. What’s brave and ambitious from the Svart team is the commitment to offset the carbon of construction, by being energy positive in operati ons. It’s possibly the future of all buildings. Svart is still in the design phase, they haven’t broken ground yet. All our new Six Senses have minimum sustainable building requirements, so we can measure and re duce their energy use. For example, Six Senses Ibiza is the first BREEAM certified hotel in the Balearic Islands and has a 40% reduction in energy use, through solar panels, and a geothermal heating and cooling sys tem. That’s the direction we must keep moving, to use technology to reduce the impact. Can we have a truly sustainable tourism industry? We need to build new systems that are decoupled from carbon. This means getting away from fossil fuels and plastic. Almost all plastics are oil. We are wrapping our food in fossil fuels. We don’t even recognise that, it can’t be good for our health. Decoupling means strategies that add value to travel lers without relying on fossil fuel products. Think of bicycle tours, community based tourism, nature based tourism. Travel has so many opportunities. Moving people around the world globally is the elephant in the room. To truly have a global sustainab le travel industry we will need to decouple long distance transportation from fossil fu els. Nobody has found the silver bullet for that yet, but it needs to come. Can carbon offsetting play a role within all this?
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Costa Rica Champion of the Earth
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Costa Rica finds a serene balance. It’s called pura vida (pure life). This small Central American country is home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity. Every region is so different. This is where a beach holiday easily combines with jungle and volcano exploration. Where wild adventure is made easy and accessible, for families with children of any age. Where these diverse regions and natural landscapes are matched by exceptional places to stay.Welcome to the UN Champion of the Earth, to a place where you will step comfortably outside your comfort zone, to experience something completely new.
cover photo Lapa Rios Costa Rica - Champion of the Earth
Local flights can connect most destinations featured via San Jose, on a Cessna Grand Caravan.
Fly to San Jose from Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, Gatwick & Madrid.
Fly to Liberia from Amsterdam or Zurich.
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Private charter flights are available between all desti nations, typically on Cessna 206 or Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft.
Helicopter services are possible from all lodges in this article, for up to six passengers on Augusta Power 109 Elite or Bell 206 twin-engine helicopters.
Lapa Rios San Jose Nayara Tented CampKasiiya Origins Lodge El Silencio Costa Rica Central America Liberia Costa Rica - Champion of the Earth
A fjord in the tropics?
There are only four in the world. Toucans soar, macaws call, monkeys swing, whales breach and dol phins cruise past. This is Golfo Dulce on the Osa Peninsula, where the experience can be walking through nature to deser ted beaches. Or it’s learning about medi cinal plants, learning to surf, swimming in bioluminescent waters and sea turtle con servation. Lapa Rios is the groundbreaking ecolodge that proved you can combine sustainability and five-star luxury. It ope ned in 1993 and continues to inspire others around the world. Go for one of the new Lapa Villas with private plunge pool.
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Pacific Beach Fjord
1. Opened in 1993, the five-star Lapa Rios has been the inspiration for countless ecolodges around the world. 2. Golfo Dulce is one of only four tropical fjords in the world. Closest airstrip is Puerto Jimenez. 2
Lapa Rios
Unusual characters dance in Costa Rica’s cloud forests. Quetzals, humming birds, black guans. Amid the trees there are waterfalls, ziplines, hiking trails, coffee tasting and villas with private jacuzzis. El Silencio feels like a lodge on the edge of the world, 1500 metres above sea level, next to Poas Volcano and Juan Castro Blanco nati onal parks. But it’s also only two hours by road from Costa Rica’s main international airport. It was Central America’s first ever Relais & Châteaux property and it’s a per fect introduction to Costa Rica’s style. Go for a two-bedroom riverside villa in this striking natural setting. Silencio
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Cloud Forest
3. El Silencio was Central America’s first Relais & Châteaux 4.property.16suites & 8 villas are distributed spaciously across the cloud forest. Closest airport is Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose 3
El
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Costa Rica - Champion of the Earth
Volcanoes dominate Costa Rica’s landsca pe. Arenal is the most famous, the postcard image, the setting for family adventures like canopy ziplines, hanging bridges, waterfall rappelling and chocolate tours. It’s where you get dirty on a jungle hike then retre at to a chilled martini in your pool. Nayara Tented Camp combines the feeling of wil derness with new-world glamour. Sleeping under canvas creates an immersion in na ture and sloths hang upside down around the property. Families can stay in interco nnected suites with private plunge pool, or the new two-bedroom villas. Use of all the children’s facilities at sister property Nayara Resort is included in a stay.
5. Nayara Tented Camp is the most impressive of three Arenal resorts making up the Nayara complex. 6. 29 tented suites are joined by new two-bedroom family villas. Closest airstrip is El Tanque. 6
Nayara Tented CampVolcano
Want off the beaten path? Want remo te? Well, welcome to nowhere. Costa Rica specialises in remote eco lodges in pristine nature, where you can enjoy seclusion and surprise without roughing it. None are as remote and remarkable as Origins Lodge, overlooking Lake Nicaragua and best acce ssed via helicopter. Just six standalone ac commodations blending into their surroun dings, with fire-heated outdoor pools and honeymoon-level exclusivity. Take a guided night walk, go tubing down River Celeste, connect as a family and connect with a pla ce nobody else knows about. Go for the two-bedroom Villa Vertigo.
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Origins Lodge Mountain Rainforest
Costa Rica - Champion of the Earth
7. Just six standalone accommodations. The two-bedroom Villa Vertigo is great for families. 8. This is Costa Rica’s very rural and undeveloped northwest. Closest airstrip is Upala.
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Jungle Beach 9. & 10. Kasiiya Papagayo recently won the International Architecture Award. Closest airport is Liberia International Airport (LIR) 11. Nine tented suites sharing three deserted sandy beaches. 11
PapagayoKasiiya
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Papagayo is Costa Rica’s trending beach holiday destination. Indigenous jungle meets golden sands, howler monkeys call from the treetops, and Pacific beaches are empty of footprints. It’s classic beach leisure in an uncrowded place. Think snorkelling, kaya king, paddle boarding and a day exploring the Pacific on a 15-metre yacht, your guide fishing for a fresh barbecue lunch. Four Seasons also have a great resort in Papagayo, ideal if you value a full range of facilities. Kasiiya is a boutique eco resort with only nine tented suites, beautifully quiet and unique, with a very exclusive beachfront location.
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TourPassesAlpine
The freedom and thrill of the road. EliteVoyage CEO Petr Udavský drives the scenic alpine passes of Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany, on a four-day tour with automotive travel design experts Ricard & Bonette. Passes
Alpine
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Tour
58 EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Alpine Passes Tour V aduz in Liechtenstein is really not too far from the Czech Republic. It’s a great starting point for driving Europe’s best alpine roads. From here we drove the fantastic Fluela Pass at dawn, when it was empty of other traffic. Long straights, light curves and then sharp hair pin turns, taking me higher and higher into Switzerland. So good we drove it back and forthAutomotivetwice. travel design is about the de tails. Driving on roads selected for their beau ty, but also their driveability and the relative lack of other traffic. After lunch near St Moritz we crossed into Italy, driving some delightful small passes from Livigno to Bormio and Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi. What a hotel! Entering the hotel I felt like time had stood still, as if I was experiencing Grand Hotel Budapest. With its wonderful spa and scenic views, it’s a great place to spend a few days just relaxing, especi ally for car and bike lovers. Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi’s other advantage is its location directly beneath the southern side of the Stelvio Pass. We started early to drive this alpine icon, long sweeping sections and dazzling views, then back down for break fast. Then it was back up Stelvio - yes it’s that good - and down its famous north side, an incredible wall of 48 switchbacks. By now there were other cars. On this guided Ricard & Bonette tour we used radio transmitters, meaning I always knew of upcoming traffic or potential hazards, and could better enjoy safe supercar driving.
1. Rifugio Alpine Tibet Hütte 2. Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi 3. Petr Udavský at Stelvio Pass
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Fluela and Stelvio are famous and typically close for the season in late October. But with the right planning, these sublime passes are complemented by less-known roads that are equally as fun. Hidden treasures dot these alpine routes. Chateaux Castel Fragsburg is blissfully remote and we dined on the terra ce of their Michelin-starred restaurant. After this lunch in the Prosecco region we travelled wide, sweeping sections of road into Germany, through an almost empty nature reserve that was pure driving nirvana. Althoff Seehotel Überfährt was our final stop and what a sur prise! An outstanding hotel in beautiful natu re, only one hour by road from Munich, with exceptional service and a nice spa. I will re turn here for sure, it’s the perfect place for a long weekend, relaxing on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, with a three-Michelin-star restau rant as well. From here I was back in Prague within four hours. It’s famously said that travel is about the journey, not the destination. Well, on Europe’s alpine roads it’s both. I discovered stunning hotels, villages and restaurants, with the freedom and thrill of a carefully chosen driving route. 4. Strada Statale 44bis, Austria 5. Stelvio Pass 6. Sylvensteinsee
nirvanadrivingPure
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islands.Galapagos. Into Another
Galapagos.
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Into Another World.
Swimming with penguins and dancing with seals is all in a day’s experience as Explorer editor Stephen Bailey takes a cruise in the Galapagos World. words & photos Stephen Bailey
Silence descends on North Seymour island. A silence full of sounds, as silences so often are. A Nazca booby chirping. The shuffling gait of an endemic land iguana. Galapagos fur seals grunting in the distan ce. Now the antics of a blue-footed booby seeking a mate. He hops from blue foot to Is this sea lion flirting with me? Ah, that's a shark!
Galapagos. Into Another World.
65EXPLORER by EliteVoyage blue foot. Opens his great wings to the sky. Pouts elegantly with his bright blue beek. She absorbs the mating display and inspects the coloured feet. They’re turquoise, a sign of exceptional diving and fishing ability in a booby. But I can’t fully appreciate the si ght. All I can focus on is the sound. On an isolated Pacific island, I’m close enough to hear a rare Galapagos bird softly hopping. Charles Darwin put the Galapagos Islands on the map. But before his HMS Beagle, animals arrived in the archipelago either by their wings, or catching a ride on driftwood from mainland South America. They evolved without predators. So these rare boobies aren’t threatened when I peer directly above their mating dance. Neither is a marine iguana sneezing on the beach. She blends into a golden beach and lives on an island without fresh water. She drinks the sea water, extracts the salt and noisily sneezes it out. I’m close enough to offer her a tissue.Travel on a Galapagos cruise is slow tra vel. Every morning we wake at a new island and explore a specific wildlife site. We’re always the only tourists there. For con servation purposes, access to every site is carefully restricted. It’s one small group at a time, sometimes just two groups per day. The best boats have a superb track record of supporting Galapagos conservation, so they enjoy first pick of the best wildlife spo ts when creating their cruise itineraries. Thanks to this, I’m standing on a golden beach, so engrossed in a Galapagos land ig uana I almost walk backwards onto a raft of sea lions. I’ve interrupted the resident male’s sunbathing and he twists his neck to give me both a grunt and stare. When I jump into the water with a snorkel two of the sea lions follow! They swim up close, pirouetting through the Pacific, then gli ding away effortlessly. Only to return half a minute later with some new underwater tricks. Do these blubbery characters swim with everyone? Is this sea lion flirting with me? Ah, that’s a shark! Galapagos. Into Another World.
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How did I almost miss the whitetip shark swimming next to me? Too much flirting with these sea lions no doubt. Now I bare ly notice the stingray! It’s camouflaged on the sandy bottom, just tiny blue eyes and a dotted tail betraying its position. I’m not searching for wildlife, these animals are surrounding me. I follow the stingray until it disappears into the ocean abyss and what’s this? A penguin! Of all the things to do on an archipelago straddling the equa tor, swimming with penguins is a complete unknown. They’re so fast, whooshing past me and jumping back onto the cliffs.
I’m not searching for thesewildlife,animals are surrounding me.
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At one time there were 15 different spe cies of giant tortoise, one for each of the largest islands and one for every volcano on Isabela Island. Four of these species are already extinct. It seems a poignant tur ning of the tables, that Galapagos wildlife sneaks up on me, rather than the hunting and pillaging of a former time. Tourism ge nerates income for conservation, through conservation fees built into every itinerary. There’s never been a more important time. Rising ocean temperatures, especially the El Nino phenomenon, almost wiped out an entire young generation of Galapagos fur seals. This unusual world may not be around forever and I can feel this rare pri vilege at every wildlife site. Santa Cruz island is certainly interesting. I lounged on a beach full of seals, did ex cellent snorkelling on an afternoon boat trip, and quickly lost count of the giant tor toises. Galapagos Safari Camp and Finch Bay Hotel are the other luxury accommo dation options on what is the busiest and most touristic of all the islands. But when there are over 100 islands and islets, much of the wildlife experience can only be done on a cruise.
Galapagos. Into Another World.
Surprises are what make the Galapagos feel like another world. To survive in such a harsh environment you have to be sur prising. Like flamingos in a glassy lake. Or crabs that seem to levitate on the water, earning their name Sally lightfoot. Only four of the 19 volcanic islands have a fre sh water supply and are actually inhabited. Five-star accommodation is only available on Santa Cruz island. Spending two nights at Pikaia Lodge provided me with a gentle Galapagos introduction. I looked over the archipelago to Santa Fe island from my pool suite. Re-energised after the flight in a pri vate plunge pool, at a carbon neutral lodge on the edge of a volcano, with sleek moder nist lines, Peruvian marble bathrooms and giant tortoises in my garden.
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A new morning and I wake to an ocean sunrise. Before breakfast we kayak along a craggy shoreline, frigatebirds divebom bing close to my paddle. Some emerge holding tiny fish. Others fly past serenely, pouting their inflated red chests, hoping to impress females. Back on the boat I eat breakfast with a view of dolphins playing in the wake. We cruise to the archipela go’s northeast, beyond what can be rea ched by day trip from one of the inhabited islands. It’s slow travel, scanning the ocean for whales from a topdeck jacuzzi. The boat wou ldn’t win a beauty contest in a Mediterranean har bour, but it finds the ba lance between expedition and comfort. It’s smoo th and spacious sailing, with 16 passengers spread across three decks. For the penultimate morning we disembark onto the harsh, fiery re mains of a volcano. The lava is fresh by Galapagos standards, barely 50 ye ars old, too fresh to har bour life. But all the islands started this way, as the remains of explo ded volcanoes. Red lava twists into bizarre sculptures. Black lava flows in surreal swir ling patterns. There are huge lava tubes and tunnels exist, like the inside of a barreling wave formed from cooled lava. Once more I feel privileged, humbled by the force of nature, realising I am but one miniscule moment in our planet’s evolution. What surprises me most is that the Galapagos cruise is so inclusive. There’s a family with young children on our boat. A man in his seventies who explores at the pace of a tortoise and undoubtedly sees more than me. Sure, it’s an adventure, but these islands are not a difficult place to travel, not when you’re led by local natura list guides. And guiding is where the best boats also distinguish themselves. What’s hard is truly slowing down. Disconnecting from the everyday world. Letting go and then allowing this reconnec tion with nature. It’s taken 5 million years for this unique world to form in the Pacific. That’s not something to be experienced by looking at photos or rushing to a few sites. Or trying to flirt with sea lions for that matter. As I tiptoe across the lava flow, the sounds guide me once more. An infinitesi mal sound, far below a whisper. Maybe I am only imagining the sound, sim ply sensing something is near. Finally I see it, stan ding on all fours, her ton gue a lasso hunting for in sects. A Galapagos lava lizard, her bright red throat and dark grey body blurring effortlessly into the landscape. She was watching me long before I noticed her. And she’ll be here long after I’m gone. This seems to symbolise my experience in the Galapagos. I’m just visiting, exploring, ex periencing a brief moment in time that is unique to me. Everyone will have their own impressions and discoveries here, their own intimacy in this other world. And the legacy is not only memories, but the con servation, the world we can help to sustain for long after we’re gone. Everyone will have their andimpressionsowndiscoverieshere,theirownintimacyinthisotherworld.
Galapagos. Into Another World.
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holidayswinterbeach~
Welcome to private paradise.
cover photo Miavana
Three blissful and entirely different islands for your winter beach and sun, in three contrasting oceans.
miavana madagascar,timesanctuaryislandby+tideindianocean
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A private island in the Indian Ocean, loca ted off the northeast coast of Madagascar. It’s the largest island in the Levens archi pelago, a protected marine area which was formerly a hideaway for pirates. It has the exceptionally rare flora and fauna of Madagascar, but it’s also a private Indian Ocean island.
Where is it?
The humpback whale migration conti nues until October and sea turtles begin nesting in December, with hatching conti nuing until April. This is also the best time of year for snorkelling, scuba diving and boat fishing, including deep sea excursions. miavana’s attitude is that the entire island can be an outdoor spa.
An exclusive few, usually couples. There are only 14 villas on a 10 square kilometre island and just 44 guests when Miavana is at full capacity. It’s a destination for modern day explorers who want to combine an ex clusive beach holiday with adventure and wildlife. What’s the weather like? September and October are the best two months to visit Madagascar. Miavana’s su mmer season then starts in November and the water temperature reaches 26 degre es, with warm, humid days and cooling overnight rains. January and February can be wet and is when the island is subject to cyclones.
How are the beaches?
Miavana’s attitude is that the entire is land can be an outdoor spa. There are no specific spa facilities but a wide menu of massages, treatments and therapies, done in your villa or anywhere on the island. What is Miavana doing around sustainability? An environmental team lives on the is land, overseeing successful reforestation and crowned lemur conservation pro grams. They also monitor nesting sea turtles and marine biodiversity. Staying at Miavana financially supports the Time+Tide Foundation, which operates education, he althcare and female employment initiatives for the local community. Why travel here in the European winter?
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Classic Indian Ocean white sand and lots of space. The island interior is a vibrant fo rest populated with endemic Madagascan wildlife, a great counterpoint to the soft sand. Most of the island’s coastline is beach and every villa has a beach buggy for ge tting around the island. How are the villas? Enormous and well separated from each other - the smallest is 450 square metres! Each villa has a private deck, plunge pool, direct beach access and personal butler. One, two and three bedroom villas are avai lable. All have a study that can be converted into an additional children’s room. Miavana opened in 2017 and it all still feels fresh and new. What about the spa?
Winter Beach Holidays, Indian Ocean
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Miavana is one half of a beach and safari holiday combination. Fly from Nosy Be to Johannesburg and do your safari in the Sabi Sands.
Guests typically stay seven to ten ni ghts, with five nights the recommended minimum. What will I do?
Fly to Antananarivo on mainland Madagascar, easiest via Paris on Air France. Then it’s a two-hour domestic fli ght to Diego Suarez and a 30-minute he licopter transfer. It’s better to fly to Nosy Be via Reunion island and helicopter from there. Better still, fly direct from Milan or Rome to Nosy Be, on seasonal flights ope rating until early January. How long should I stay?
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The exotic bounty of Madagascar. Almost all the food is locally and sustainably sou rced, with chefs creating seasonal me nus from ingredients like mangrove crab, Madagascan Rova caviar, fresh vanilla and zebu-milk buffalo mozzarella. The focus is on personalised in-villa dining rather than a wide choice of on-island restaurants. Can Miavana be part of a longer holiday?
Lemur trekking and guided nature walks. Close-up encounters with sea turtles and unusual forest animals. Helicopter excursi ons to nearby national parks and flying low over the whales. A full range of marine ac tivities and of course the secluded beaches. What will I eat and drink?
cap juluca a belmond hotel, anguilla, caribbean sea
Anguilla is an exclusive hideaway in the eastern Caribbean, close to Saint Martin is land. Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel is a bare foot escape on the shores of Maundays Bay, featuring Anguilla’s finest accommodation and the Caribbean’s best beach.
Where is it?
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Timeless and very spacious. The private pool villas are among the finest accommo dations in the Caribbean, with living spa ces overlooking Maundays Bay and pools accompanied by the sound of the waves. Families can choose a two-bedroom casi ta, three-bedroom or five-bedroom villa. Couples can also enjoy a private freshwa ter pool and open ocean views from the Beachfront One Bedroom Casita Suite, Beachfront One Bedroom Pool Suite or Jonquil Suite. How is the spa? Spa treatments at the Arawak Spa focus on bringing harmony with nature and re focusing your energy. Three treatment ro oms, a salon, and a swimming pool.
How are the beaches?
How are the villas?
Winter Beach Holidays, Caribbean Sea
Soft white sand and shallow, sparkling waters. Cap Julaca is situated on Maundays Bay, a pristine crescent-shaped cove often awarded as one of the world's best beaches. It's the pick of the beaches on an island fa mous for its beaches, a good place for kids to swim, and a great place to spend a day pampered by private beach attendants.
Anguilla is one of the driest Caribbean islands and the weather is relatively con sistent all year around. It feels like su mmer every month of the year. Although September and October are the peak of the June to November hurricane season, Anguilla stays storm free in most years. Travel from January to March for the clea rest skies, lowest humidity and almost no chance of rain.
EliteVoyage clients enjoy Belmond Bellini Club benefits here, such as complimenta ry upgrades upon availability and in-resort credits. What’s the weather like?
A seafront sanctuary to satisfy epicu reans, escapists and adventurers, young and old. While the grown-up atmosphere appeals to couples, the Explorers Club and spacious multi-room accommodation opti ons make this equally appealing to families.
What is Cap Juluca doing around sustainability? A wide range of initiatives helping build a sustainable future on the island. Like water boxes to reduce plastic waste and conserve water; professional training op portunities for people from the local com munity' a Chef's Garden providing healthy home-grown herbs and vegetables for the restaurants. ~ soft white sand and belmondsparklingshallow,waters...belliniclubbenefits.~
Why travel here in the European winter?
It’s cold at home so come for sunny days and comfortable tropical island indulgence in the Caribbean. How do I get there?
Typically seven to ten days. What will I do? Food, culture and wellness can all take centre stage here. Like cooking lessons with Michelin-starred chefs, costume ma king workshops and Cap Juluca’s Carnival Gala. Go fishing with the locals, snorkelling in the bay, kayaking, scuba diving, water skiing and windsurfing. Sail to the uninha bited Prickly Pear Cays for a day of empty white sand.
Anguilla is considered an exclusive hideaway but is one of the more accessi ble Caribbean destinations when flying from Central Europe. Guests of Cap Juluca typically fly to neighbouring Saint Martin (SXM). This is a convenient one-stop flight, usually via Amsterdam or Paris. From Saint Martin it’s only a 20-minute private boat charter to Cap Juluca.
How long should I stay?
Winter Beach Holidays, Caribbean Sea
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What will I eat and drink?
Cap Juluca is at the heart of Anguilla’s di verse gastronomy scene. Among the high lights is Uchu, delivering the tastes of Peru from fresh Caribbean ingredients. Cip’s by Cipriani combines Belmond’s Italian origins with local produce - think dining alfresco on lobster prosecco risotto - while the Cap Shack is more rum, reggae and barbecue tapas. Don’t miss a night dining under the stars on Maundays Bay. Can Anguilla be part of a longer holiday?
Consider some very easy island hopping by combining Cap Juluca with a stay at La Samanna on Saint Martin. At both proper ties you can enjoy Belmond Bellini Club benefits.
four lanai,&resortseasonslanaisenseilanaihawaii,pacificocean
Lanai is one of the main eight islands that make up Hawaii, but it’s nothing like Oahu and its skyscrapers. Lanai measures over 350 square kilometres and has just one small town and only two places to stay, both of them operated by Four Seasons. Almost the entire island is privately owned, by Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle.
Where is it?
Winter Beach Holidays,Pacific Ocean
Temperatures around 30℃ are relatively consistent throughout the year. It’s a little wetter during winter and you will need an extra layer at the wellness resort, but not down by the beach.
How are the beaches?
A tree-fringed golden beach that feels like the edge of the world. Accessed by a path from the resort, it’s a calm and safe place for children to swim, part of a mari ne reserve and often visited by dolphins. Lanai has other beaches to explore, whe re the setting is wilder and the ocean a lot rougher. How are the suites?
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Explorers seeking a secluded and exclu sive version of the Hawaii travel experien ce. This is the last unspoiled Hawaii island, where remote beaches meets adventures in a red volcano. Sensei Lanai, a Four Seasons Resort is an adult-only wellness property hidden in pine-covered mountains popula ted by wild deer. Four Seasons Resort Lanai is a family-friendly beachfront property with a kids club and oceanfront golf course. What’s the weather like?
Four Seasons renovated the beach resort in 2016 and opened Sensei Lanai in 2019. No villas at either property but almost all the suites measure over 100 square metres and there are good options for families of any size. Sensei’s style is calm and light, whe reas Lanai Resort has more vintage, Hawaii vibes. How is the spa?
Sensei is among the Pacific’s best wel lness properties, especially their structu red wellness programs and private spa ha les. Guests at the beach resort can travel to Sensei on a 20-minute shuttle for tre atments, or use the Hāwanawana Spa on site (try the Ocean Potions Head-To-Toe Ritual). What is Four Seasons doing around sustai nability on Lanai?
A lot of small and important changes, like on-site composting, sourcing food locally, producing resort-filtered Hawaiian drin king water, and reducing energy consump tion. Try the local communities activities, organised through the island’s Love Lanai Cultural Advisors, a~ ~aadventuresoffeelsgoldentree-fringedbeachthatliketheedgetheworld...inredvolcano.
Winter Beach Holidays,Pacific Ocean
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Couples can have two very distinct Hawaiian experiences on the same island, without needing to island hop, so ten or more days on Lanai is common. Families tend to have up to a week at the beach resort then some time on another Hawaii island. What will I do? Play golf on a course with ocean views at every hole. Snorkel straight off the beach. Stargaze at the new observatory and le arn how Pacific people navigated using the stars. Sail on a 20-metre catamaran, hor seback ride in the forest, go hiking or rent a Jeep to explore more of the island. There are private snorkel sails, scuba diving pro grams and fishing trips. Almost all island activities are managed by Four Seasons. What will I eat and drink?
Whales arrive in December and can be seen until March. With warm sunny days and no mosquitos, winter in Hawaii is a complete change to most of the world at this time of year. How do I get there? Getting to Lanai is not the challenge it used to be. Four Seasons now operate a charter air service from Honolulu to Lanai on eight-seater Pilatus planes. Alternatively it’s a 40-minute boat ride from the island of Maui to the beach resort. The typical fli ght route from Central Europe to Honolulu is via Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO). How long should I stay?
Definitely. Most guests combine the exclu sive Lanai experience with one of the other Hawaiian islands. Flying via San Francisco, Los Angeles or another US city creates com fortable layover opportunities.
Winter Beach Holidays,Pacific Ocean
There’s a Nobu at the beach resort, a gre at steak and seafood restaurant, plus a ca sual restaurant with shared plates called The Break (don’t miss its homemade ge lato). Dining on a five-course menu under the stars is very popular and even if you don’t play golf, try a lunch at the clubhouse. Our favourite is the poolside farm-to-table Malibu Farm - sprouts never tasted so good and of course there’s poke. Can Lanai be part of a longer holiday?
Patrick Woodhead is the founder and CEO of White Desert, the only company taking tourists to Antarctica’s interior, on a private business jet from Cape Town no less. He’s also broken multiple world records for his Antarctic expeditions. In this wide-ranging interview, from Buzz Aldrin to biofuels, Patrick shares an entirely unique approach to exploring Antarctica.
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85EXPLORER by EliteVoyage The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
Wolf’s Fang Peak The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
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You have to be pioneers and be the first people to fail. The cars never made it. We just didn’t get it right, didn’t have enough time or finance. Others realised what we did wrong and built a vehicle to achieve this feat only a year later. Now we use this kind of vehicle all the time around our camps. We have these Antarctic six-by-six super -powerful trucks on steroids that can drive to the pole. Back in 2002 it was very nascent.
In 2002 you were part of the youngest and fastest team to reach the South Pole. Tell us about it. I called it misadventures in a white de sert. And it really was misadventures. To say we were clueless is an understatement. We arrived in Punta Arenas to ski across Antarctica and forgot our skis. Skiing with kites was a whole new concept, cat ching the wind and cruising hundreds of kilometres in a few days. It’s where this whole concept of using support vehicles came about, we were also the first to try and drive a wheeled vehicle to the South Pole. What’s amazing is that we genuine ly enjoyed the 42 days it took us to ski to the South Pole. From being the preserve of hardcore explorers, people who really suffered through Antarctica, we found we really enjoyed it.
Which was faster, kite skiing or the vehicles?
This was a much more ambitious trip. Kite skiing is fast, dynamic, dangerous. Four of us rode 1850 kilometres in 75 days. We were stuck in a storm one day. And we thought wouldn’t it be amazing to have a camp that was luxurious. One with proper beds and nice food. Only polar explorers were seeing the interior of Antarctica. Cruise ships went to the peninsula, but why couldn’t ordinary tourists come and experience this incredi ble interior without pulling sleds? That was the inception of our concept.
Tell us about your first White Desert camp. I thought I’ll just buy three tents, build a little camp and see if anybody comes. It was financed on my credit card. We had two clients the first year. So we bought another tent and slowly it’s grown organi cally. We realised we couldn’t compete with the Ritz for comfort or gastronomic expe rience, but we could offer something dee ply unique. 17 years later we have a team of 100 people in Antarctica, three camps and our own ice runway.
Cruise ships went to the peninsula, but why couldn't ordinary tourists come and experience this incredible interior without pulling sleds?
Cover Photo - Blue Rivers near Whichaway Camp
Two years later you led the first ever east to west traverse of Antarctica. How was it different?
I love spending time on the ice and go in and out. Running the company inevitably means there’s a lot to do in Cape Town as well. From the start we’ve always wanted ge nuine polar explorers to be the guides, crew, even the chefs. There are only ever 12 gu ests on any White Desert trip, with 15 mem bers of staff and three record-breaking high mountain guides. That makes it easy to split off into different groups. So we can cater for people who want to enjoy the landscape and views, and others who want to achieve something hardcore. We had Bear Grylls on the same trip as a Saudi princess who had never seen snow before. One is trying to climb and jump off everything, the other is terrified to walk outdoors.
Surely Antarctica wasn’t your first ad venture. What came before all this polar exploration? When I was 17 I listened to Ranulph Fiennes do a talk about his trans globe. My overriding feeling was one of jealousy. He was doing these amazing expeditions and I was what, just going to potter around? So a group of friends came together and we climbed these previously unclimbed moun tains in Kyrgyzstan. Then for nearly a de cade my life was about visiting unmapped and unexplored places: unclimbed moun tains in Tibet, the Congo, travelling down a river nobody had gone down before, in the Amazon in Suriname.
Are you still in Antarctica leading the trips?
The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
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White Desert's UIAGM high mountain guides are experts in the field of Summitingexplorationa mountain in the Holtedahl mountain range
We had Bear Grylls on the same trip as a Saudi princess who had never seen snow before.
Whichaway Camp Echo Base
The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead It’s really not like going to the Maldives, it’s transformationalaexperience.
People who have the means to come to Antarctica with us tend to be fascina ting people. Prince Harry dropped in for a day which was epic. These people are usually very in demand and very absor bed, with a mobile phone and a PA asking them a thousand different decisions. With us they’re away from that, they’re separa ted, they have a chance to detune, disco nnect, to become themselves again, to have chats and conversations. There’s a lot more time in Antarctica so you get to know the person more, that’s been really nice with all the guests we’ve brought in. So many are now my friends. It’s really not like go ing to the Maldives, it’s a transformational experience.
What’s it like meeting people like Buzz Aldrin and Bear Grylls?
Less adventurousness can be defined in many ways. The astronaut Buzz Aldrin stayed at White Desert and he’s the most adventurous man on the planet. He’s left the planet and he was 82 when he came with us, so in terms of making Antarctica achievable there’s an age factor involved as well. There are luxurious elements. When you’re flying into Antarctica on a $30-million jet, taken to a beautiful camp in an Arctic truck, to have incredible food with a polar view, the re’s nothing un-luxurious about it. There’s nothing simple about it either, there’s massive behind the scenes infrastructu re when you land a Gulfstream G550 on an ice runway. We’re experts at it and we have one fo cus, Antarctica, that’s how we can make it achievable for diverse people.
You and Bear Grylls are probably quite happy with camping in the wild, less so a Saudi princess. How achievable is explo ring the interior of Antarctica for the less adventurous?
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Traditionally people have looked towards the past and made camps harking back to the golden age of exploration, with brass and leather and Shackleton. Elements of our Wolf’s Fang and Whichaway camps re flect this. We had all these fabulous conver sations about Mars and living on the moon with Buzz Aldrin and Colonel Terry Virts who ran the International Space Station. So with Echo we looked to the future and said let’s build something very forward thinking. The pods themselves look like they’ve been beamed from Mars, there’s this surreal ja gged landscape and this Martian colonial outpost.
How do you make your camps comfortable for such wide-ranging people? Our growth has always been about what we need to make a great experience, rather than any far reaching business plan - that would be the more sensible way to do things. A lot of our inspiration came from Southern Africa safaris. In Zambia or South Africa they’re building a luxurious element in a highly wilderness area. You have to be remote in terms of power and facilities. You must be environmentally conscious and remove all waste. Many of these aspects we’re bringing to Antarctica, on a much more difficult scale. Tell us about your new Echo Base that’s opening this season.
What else do people see of Antarctica’s interior?
Antarctica has surreal in abundance. People get off the plane and their mouths hang open. The mountains are nothing like the rest of the world. They’re these pillars that rise vertically for over a kilometre, mo noliths with jagged teeth coming straight out of the glacier, unclimbed mountains that people come to climb. That’s contras ted with 200-metre-long tunnels of blue iridescent ice that people can walk through. We have tourists who would say they’ve tra velled everywhere and yet when they come with us, they’ve never seen anything like it before. That’s the joy of where we operate.
We’re told that Echo is also inspired by Star Wars. I’m from the seventies and Star Wars was the seventies version of what the future would look like. I had lots of fights with in terior designers who said it needs to look like a boutique hotel room. I was saying no, more Star Wars, less boutique, like the in terior of the Millenium Falcon, when you press a button and something happens. It’s fun and beautiful. Then the exterior skin is very high tech - once inside you can barely hear 80 knots of wind. You’re sitting in this mountain amphitheatre, looking out through floor to ceiling windows at Wolf’s Fang Peak, this shard poking above the polar ice cap.
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The nearest neighbour if the International Space Station circling 400 kilometres above your head.
Over 100,000 people a year visit peninsu la Antarctica on cruise ships, so it’s big bu siness, it’s mass. We shy away from that and stick to very small numbers. You can’t feel serendipity and a sense of discovery if there are 200 other people standing next to you. With White Desert you’re going to a colony of 28,000 emperor penguins and we’re the only tourists who go there. It creates this sense of discovery, like you’re the only one. That sense of discovery is the real intangi ble when you’re coming to Antarctica.
Is this very different from the peninsula of Antarctica?
Fat Biking at Echo Base Visiting a colony of 28,000 emperor penguins
Tell us more about the South Pole.
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The South Pole is another step. We have our main ice runway on a glacier at Wolf’s Fang, which is 150 kilometres from the coast. Then it’s a further seven-hour flight to reach the South Pole, another 2400 kilometres. We must refuel at a place called Dixie’s Camp on the high polar pla teau. There the nearest neighbour is the International Space Station circling 400 ki lometres above your head, which is brilli ant. Going to the South Pole is logistically challenging and it’s still incredibly rare. Flying seven hours to the South Pole really puts Antarctica’s scale and your own expe ditions into perspective. On all our maps you just see these little fingers coming up from the bottom of the map, belying the size and power of this continent. The scale is immeasurable. On the high polar plateau you can be 2000 ki lometres from the nearest person. I’ve been going for 20 years and I’ve barely touched the surface of Antarctica. There are huge wilderness areas people haven’t seen and it will be a long time before humankind puts its footprint here.
The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
Is it not incredibly cold though, especially at the South Pole? We start operations 20th November and finish around mid February. This is the hei ght of summer so it is the most clement Antarctica is going to be, plus you have 24 hours of daylight. At Whichaway Camp it’s around minus five degrees celsius, a dry desert cold that’s really not bad. When we go to the high polar plateau and the South Pole things are more serious, it’s minus 25 and we must take more care. Do your guests ever get stuck in storms like you did on the Antarctica traverse? We do get storms but they’re infrequent. You have to be a little unlucky. For most pe ople who go through a storm it’s high ad venture, it’s serious, they may be uncom fortable and not enjoy that exact moment. When they come home the amount of sto ries they’re telling is incredible. It’s part of the adventure when you travel to extreme places. You must be prepared for certain delays and weather conditions, but we do recognise that rich powerful people have tight deadlines, we do everything to stick to schedule. Most people understand they’re not in control, that Antarctica and the weather is in control. Once that realisa tion kicks in they relax.
The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
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We've been doing carbon offsets since 2007. Our camps have minimal footprint. Now we're transitioning all our fuel to biofuel.
What led you to choose a private business jet, the Gulfstream G550? Previously you could fly to the interior on this great big Russian cargo plane that churned fuel. It was military spec and you sat on a parachute seat. A combination of safety and range led us to the Gulfstream. We needed something with the range to go all the way from Cape Town and turn back if the weather was bad. This inevitably led us to the bigger, more expensive jets. The G550 is nimble, a lot safer and burns a lot less fuel. It’s also a great cold weather jet. Now instead of having 80 people on a Russian cargo plane we can have just 12. The whole experience is tailored because you can dispatch on a shorter weather win dow. We also use a A340. We first land at Wolf’s Fang where we have an ice bar. I call it the coldest transit lounge in the world, because transit lounges are supposed to be warm and snug and help you sleep. Ours is freezing cold because it’s sculpted from ice. Blue light comes from the glacier and keeps you awake. A Gulfstream G550 lands on the Wolf’s Fang ice runway Dixie’s Camp en route to the South PatrickPoleWoodhead
96 EXPLORER by EliteVoyage How sustainable is it to fly to Antarctica from Cape Town, even with such a fuel efficient jet? We’ve been doing carbon offsets since 2007. Our camps have minimal footprint. There are no foundations, we remove all waste, all plastics, all that relatively sim ple stuff inside Antarctica. While we cou ld change everything inside Antarctica we couldn’t change the fuel the jets were bur ning, so we offset it. Last season we bought our first sustainable aviation fuel, 40,000 li tres. Now we’re transitioning all our fuel to biofuel and that’s really exciting because there are a whole load of other benefits. There are less particulates in it, which is the base of black soot that stays on snow and melts it faster. This is where the futu re of travel is going, super efficient engines burning super efficient fuel with far less carbon. Where else do you see the future for sustainable travel, especially in Antarctica? One of the big things we did is hybridise our logistics for scientists and tourists. Each year we’re taking about 150 scientists to their research stations on the same planes as our 250 tourists. These scientists are ge tting to their centres to do ice core drilling and research. These tourists are CEOs and owners of big companies, they’re thought leaders with a lot of influence. Suddenly they really care, they’ve fallen in love with the continent and become an ambassador. So the tourism done responsibly can be a real force for good. We want to do more work bringing this hybridisation of tourism and science. Beyond Echo what else do you want to do more of at White Desert? Our future will be small and low key. That’s our DNA, giving a bespoke experi ence. You want to feel that discovery and that’s what we can do in the interior of Antarctica. Some travel businesses are pre ordained and structured in their creation. For me that’s not as special. I like that we’ve grown organically and concentrated on one thing, because it’s being true to itself. Finally, what is the future for Antarctica?
The Antarctic Treaty is one of the most successful ever international cooperations, between scientists and political foes wor king together. That gives us hope for huma nity. It’s up for renewal in 2042 and the gre at hope is obviously that the treaty will be renewed. The future is tourism growing in a highly responsible way and keeping a ba lance. There’s a huge amount of wilderness and it will still be a wild place, respected properly. There’s something very special about the idea that nobody owns this land. It’s the only turf on the entire planet that nobody owns and it’s a continent.
Crossing an enormous glacier to climb a Nunatak peak Exploring ice tunnels. Ice climbing is another activitytotry.
The Antarctic Pioneer - Patrick Woodhead
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words Leia Welle Vietnam photos Réhahn Cambodia photos courtesy of Eric Raisina
Vietnam & Cambodia
Leia Welle finds human connection and a playground for the curious traveller in Southeast Asia, with an experience arranged by EliteVoyage partner Easia Exclusive. Two multilayered countries beyond their two-dimensional stereotypes, rich for so many reasons, especially their people.
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2. A Dip, a 76-year-old man from the To Dra ethnic group, consi dered a subgroup of the Xo Dang. He lives high in the mountains near Ko Tum. A Dip is a talented musician and artisan, helping ensure his ethnic group’s crafts and culture remain a part of modern life. This photo features in the book Vietnam, Mosaic of Contrasts Volume III.
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S unrise paints the sky as Hoi An’s rice fields glow golden. It’s just before harvest, the landscape resembling a Van Gogh painting. “My favou rite time of year” says Réhahn, a French photographer who permanently swapped Normandy for Vietnam over a decade ago, “Vietnam is an amazing open-air studio, everything is an excuse to take photos.” We’re barely ten minutes outside the World Heritage city of Hoi An and it’s oh so qui et, paddies unfolding in every direction, a strikingly simple yet evocative scene. Réhahn’s open-air studio is not just land scapes though, it’s Vietnamese people. His photo of 72-year-old tour boat captain Madame Xong sold for USD 150,000, the most expensive photograph ever sold in Asia. It became famous overnight, as the cover for his first coffee table book Vietnam, Mosaic of Contrasts Volume I. He’s animated when we discuss Vietnamese grandmothers.“Theycanbe 80, 90, 100 years old, and you see there is something cheeky and fun in their eyes” he says. “Life is diffe rent here, I’m amazed at how friendly pe ople are. When I’m on my motorbike in the countryside and it starts raining, a stranger says come to my house. They serve me tea, give me a chair, ask questions because they are curious. In our western countries we suspect strangers, we’re buying alarms and security cameras.”
1. The Hmong ethnic group are warm, welcoming and known for their mastery of textile arts. In this photograph from Réhahn’s “Hidden Smile” project, a Hmong woman reveals her hands, which have been tinted blue from dyeing fabric with indigo dye. This photo features in the book Vietnam, Mosaic of Contrasts Volume II.
3. Réhahn meets with the Phu La ethnic group in a northern village near Ha Giang. At first they were a bit shy but once they started interacting with the photographer, they were warm, welcoming and ready for a good laugh.
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This isn’t my preconception of Vietnam. I was thinking war, conflict, and craw ling through the Củ Chi tunnels. But in Hanoi I met with a calligraphy master at the Temple of Literature and explored the old quarter on a 1950s cycle rickshaw. It’s a quarter of 36 different guilds, every street with its own artisanal specialism, like copper, silk, watches and bamboo. My idea of Vietnam was a single group of pe ople, now I’m learning that Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups. “It became my challenge to meet the 54” says Réhahn. “I thought it would take me two years. It took ten. I spent so much time in strangers’ houses, even to take a nap or smoke a pipe with them.” Réhahn’s decade-long quest is now dis played at the Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An, a portrait, dress and story from 56 of the 54 tribes (some are not officially recognised by the government). It’s a fasci nating insight into Vietnam’s diversity, fun ded solely by the sale of Réhahn’s photo graphs and coffee table books. Witnessing his portraits in full size is a privilege as well. When French President Macron was gifted a Réhahn photograph by Vietnamese presi dent Nguyen Phu Trong, he said it evoked an Asian proverb, “the smile that you send out comes back to you”. And you can’t not smile when confronted by the mystery of these photographs, this country. You discover a small village and are invited into three different houses, just because it’s time for lunch and that’s how the people are.
4. Inside the Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery, a 500 square metre exhibition space in Hoi An Old Town.
5. On Réhahn’s first meeting with the La Ha ethnic group he had a motorcycle accident and left the village with only one portrait, of 91-year-old Ly Ca Su. Three years later he returned to spend an afternoon with his subject and she gifted one of her costumes for the museum.
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Réhahn is not a typical guide. Actually, he’s not a guide at all. Guides are invari ably charming and good at regurgitating facts. Réhahn brings more critical thinking and we discuss how life in the Vietnamese countryside isn’t really changing, but in Saigon there’s McDonalds and Louis Vuitton, people drinking a Starbucks on the go like we do in Europe. “Here the daily life is getting better every day. It’s more affor dable, there’s internet everywhere, 30% of the young generation are on Netflix. Now they put swimming pools on their rooftops instead of water tanks.”
EliteVoyage and Easia Exclusive partner around an ethos that any part of the jour ney is an opportunity. Like a scenic flight from Hanoi to Halong Bay by seaplane, then admiring the famous limestone karst from a private jacuzzi. Or discovering Cham art at My Son Sanctuary, an ancient hybrid of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, my guide a special consultant to UNESCO and author of Cham literature. I’m discovering a mul tifaceted country with a depth unknown from the outside. Réhahn tells me about the“Therenorth.you can meet maybe 15 different tribal groups. I was with friends on a mo torbike trip and they worried where we would eat. I said, ‘don’t worry, we will eat with somebody.’ ‘But how’ they wondered, ‘do you know people there?’ No. You drive on a small road and don’t know where it will take you. You discover a small village and are invited into three different hou ses, just because it’s time for lunch and that’s how the people are.”
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“Siem Reap is a big destination for luxu ry travel” Eric continues. “People come in on their private jets and are amazed to see fashion here. We do made-to-measure ap pointments and organise private fashion shows. Shows in Cambodia are a chance to share my universe with others.”
104 EXPLORER by EliteVoyage Sapa is the known destination of the north, home of 94 tribal villages where the culture is very well preserved. Only three are busy with tourists Réhahn tells me, in the rest you won’t see another foreigner. Vietnam also has more traditional rea sons to travel. Like long golden beaches. Exceptional hotels, like the new Zannier Bãi San Hô or Four Seasons The Nam Hai in Hoi An. I’d expected to be writing about li mestone karst formations and hotel design, but insightful conversation with Réhahn is theHestandout.initially visited Vietnam to support local children with a French NGO, then sold up in France and moved with his wife in 2011. “I took photos to decorate my re staurant and was soon selling more photo graphs than ice cream, so I opened my first gallery in 2014.” My time in Hoi An is short, enough to see the beautiful old town, bi cycle in the countryside, hang out with Réhahn, hear his story and visit his galle ries. While serendipity often plays a role in Vietnamese village encounters, meeting Réhahn is not by chance. Easia Exclusive creates these connections with people who are relevant now, were relevant then. Not once do we talk about the war. And if war was my old Vietnamese stereotype my idea of Cambodia was worse. Genocide, temples, and a little human traffiking. It’s known as one of the world’s poorest countries, at least by GDP statistics, so I hadn’t expected my guide to be dressed quite so magnificently.
“We have something in Siem Reap really blowing people’s minds” says Eric. “We have all these artisans and workshops. It’s not like in New York where you’re in a shop and then you’re gone. Here you discover the stories behind it all. The stories are about these people, their culture, their food, about so many things.” That’s not to say Angkor’s temples aren’t magnificent. It’s even possible to have the man tasked with the Angkor ex cavations as a private guide. These tem ples and palaces sprawl across the jungle, hundreds, thousands of them in all, evoking my memories of Tomb Raider. Then again, here’s a man who had a boutique on Paris’s Rue Dauphine and makes clothes for Angelina Jolie.
“I was at fashion week in New York and when they saw my dresses they believed I was based in New York or Paris” says Eric Raisina. “I said no, I’m coming from Cambodia.” Originally from Madagascar, Eric moved to Siem Reap in the nineties, a period when he was picked up by the Parisian haute couture houses. Christian Lacroix and Yves Saint Laurent are among his collaborators. This isn’t the story I expected to cover here, in the destina tion base for exploring Angkor, the New Seven Wonder of the world. What about Khmer King Jayavarman VII constructing the Bayon, as a primary locus of the royal cult, to honour Mahāyāna Buddhism circa 1210 AD? Well, that’s just regurgitating facts.
6. One of a kind piece by Eric Raisina, photographed by Surachai Saengsuwan, at Beng Mealea temple outside Siem Reap.
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We have something in Siem Reap really blowing people's minds, we have all these artisans and workshops.
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“I invite guests back to my personal villa. It’s a way of saying thanks. I’m not saying it’s the best table in Siem Reap but I’ve tra ined my team well. People remember it!”
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Eric initially came to Cambodia because he heard about the silk. For over two deca des now he’s showcased Cambodian silk on an international fashion platform. He shows me photos of his 2021 collection, taken in Angkor and at Shinta Mani Wild, a luxury tented camp created by legendary hoteli er Bill Bensley. The silk has an ephemeral quality, a lightness, especially in contrast to the raw and rugged stone of ancient Khmer kingdoms, those rocks and temples in over grown jungle, the godly faces looking down from the Bayon in Angkor Thom. Shinta Mani Wild really is wild. You arri ve by zipline. Here, Eric’s dresses repre sent a juxtaposition at the heart of the Cambodian travel experience. There’s so mething rough, unpolished, excitingly so, against the richness and exclusivity repre sented by fine silk. Genocide and people traffiking are not topics of conversation, especially not when drinking Champagne on Tonle Sap. But I still want to know how Cambodia’s culture is shaped by the brutal, not-so-distant past, what Eric found to swap Christian Lacroix and Paris for Siem Reap.“We had to rebuild everything. Everything was new so for myself it was perfect. I was free to do everything I wanted to do. I star ted training women, doing workshops, ex changing a lot of ideas. I wanted to do some innovation and Cambodia was the perfect place.” This sentiment is reflected in the count ry’s luxury hospitality as well. Eric’s concept is haute fabric and innovating with the raw materials. Hotelier Arnaud Zannier created Zannier Phum Baitang by building free -standing villas based on traditional Khmer stilted farmhouses. He added a spa in an old temple. It’s another in a string of design-led hotels here. There is a Rosewood in Phnom Penh, then Shinta Mani Angkor, Amansara, and Belmond La Residence d’Angkor all in Siem Reap. The level of originality is hugely unexpected and in Cambodia it’s only going in one “Thedirection.changenow is that the young ge neration took over and realised their cultu re is so strong” continues Eric. “I’m talking about creativity and a young generation coming forward, finding their real identi ty, embracing their culture - young artists, young singers, young designers.” Another stereotype is how Southeast Asia is a region to rush through, combining world-renowned sights like Angkor and Halong Bay, with a little Bangkok and a Thai beach. But this is a region for slow travel, for curiosity, for appropriating a destina tion and creating a personal playground. A private fashion show. Interacting with communities who live in the Angkor com plex. A rainforest patrol with rangers from the Wildlife Alliance in Kirirom National Park. Foraging for edible Cambodian plants with Shinta Mani Wild’s chef. The region is most memorable for its people, for not knowing where the conversation will go.
Siem Reap is a big destination for luxury travel. People come in on their private jets and are amazed to see fashion here.
“Everyone asks me why Cambodia?” Eric smiles. “I didn’t choose to be here, it was just a feeling. Madagascar and Cambodia are similar, the landscapes, population, the mix of Southeast Asia and Africa and French colonial past. I was amazed to see the beau ty of the culture here, it’s so unique. I felt good here, I felt like I had been here before.”
Vietnam & Cambodia
I’m starting to feel the same. Maybe it’s because I can meet fascinating peo ple with a passion for travel, people with a story and insight, people who can show me something unexpected. Maybe it’s be cause I know how memories of a holiday stay longest when they involve people, not only places. Tomorrow I’ll fly onwards to Song Saa Private Island, for some quiet beach days to reflect on the connections I’ve made. Before then I follow Eric into my journey’s next unexpected chapter..
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7. Eric Raisina photographed by Mathieu Jacobs.
Réhahn has two galleries in Hoi An and expects to reopen his Saigon gallery soon. His photographs and coffee table books can also be purchased in his online store.
Eric Raisina has a boutique in Siem Reap. His next show is October 28th at Chijmes in Singapore.
Easia Exclusive are a b2b travel operator specialising in SouthEast Asia. They are the EliteVoyage partner for unique holidays in the region.
8. 2021 Collection by Eric Raisina, photographed at Shinta Mani Wild.
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It’s how close you get. How raw it feels. The unfiltered wildlife theatre, in places people cannot stay. This is East Africa. This is safari. What stories do you imagine?
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Lions on a dusty savannah. Elephants, everywhere. Gorillas in the mist, The drumbeat of wildebeest hooves.
SafariAfricaEast
Over 30,000 wild mammals live in an ex tinct volcanic caldera, in a utopia of six di verse ecosystems. Massive elephant bulls. Bashful black rhinos. Lions lounging in the open. Buffalo. Hyena. Hippos in one lake and flamingos in another. With so many animals it’s hard to know which way to look. Then grass. Grass, grass, grass, when you leave the crater and continue your game drive in the Serengeti.
East Africa Safari
Most days on safari involve waking before dawn, because many animals are most acti ve in the cooler morning hours. But it’s your first morning in Africa. Take it easy. Adjust to the rhythm. Savour a lodge that balances Maasai with Versailles. Think Persian rugs, vintage wood and chandeliers above your bathtub. Then descend into Ngorongoro Crater for an afternoon game drive.
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DAY 1 - Flying to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
Ngorongoro Africa is huge. The stories we imagine don’t all happen in the same place. Different wildlife lives in different habitats in different parts of the continent. It’s not a zoo. It’s a continent where wildlife runs free, where you live a personal story, with the animals right in front of you. How many fables and icons can you make real in two weeks?
DAY 2 - Ngorongoro Crater Afternoon Game Drive
1. Cover photo - Lions in Ngorongoro Crater 2. &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge 3. Safari with &Beyond in Ngorongoro Crater
DAY 3 - Safari from Ngorongoro Serengeti
Kilimanjaro has various one-stop fli ght connections to Central and Eastern Europe (typically 11 - 15 hours journey du ration). The best is with Qatar Airways. Arrive in the morning and continue directly to &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge on a bumpy drive or short safari flight. Take in the views. Rest. Relax. Watch the elephants march past.
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Wildebeest give birth in the grass. Zebra eat the grass. Thomson’s gazelle skip across the grass. The big cats gather here to fe ast on a bounty of easy meals, the newborn calves. The Serengeti has more wild large mammals than anywhere else in Africa. Spend your day on game drives, tracking lions and leopards and hyenas and cheeta hs, as they hunt their prey on this ancient grassland.
Serengeti DAY 4 - A Full Day Serengeti Game Drive
DAY 5 - Immersed in the Great Wildebeest Migration
East Africa Safari 4
From January to March, over a million wildebeest gather on the volcanic soils of southeastern Serengeti to calve. They’re not migrating now, they’re fattening up for their long annual journey north to the Masai Mara and back, following the rains to fresh grass. This is the great wildebeest mi gration and you’re surrounded by animals. Spend another day driving off the main tra ils, surrounding yourself with wildebeest, zebra and all their predators. Learn how nothing you see is encountered in isolation.
The Serengeti ecosystem stretches for 30,000 sq km - that’s the size of Belgium! You need three days. Spend a third night at Sanctuary Kusini, a boutique tented camp looking down on the animal-covered plains, where the safari never stops. For a thrilling new perspective you can do a walking safari here! A camp like Sanctuary Kusini is a chic hotel experience, but with canvas for walls and comfort in an otherwise unexplorable location.
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DAY 7 - Final Serengeti Game Drive & Flight to Kigali, Rwanda
A final morning game drive in the Serengeti. Every safari is personal on this vast land. So what will you experience this time? A leopard on the prowl? Lions ripping into a carcass? Take a safari flight back to Kilimanjaro and fly RwandAir to Kigali. Arrive in the evening. Take some time out at The Retreat and your private plunge pool. Consider extending your stay for a second night, so you can explore Rwanda’s fascina ting culture. 5 4. Zebra herds gather on the Serengeti 5. Sanctuary Kusini
DAY 6 - Keep Exploring the Serengeti
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DAY 9 -
Soar above The Land of 1000 Hills, mis ty volcanoes all around before you touch down at Bisate Lodge helipad. Helicopters are perfect for maximising time in this small, visually divine country. Run by Wilderness Safaris, Bisate Lodge has just six forest villas, in the style of the Nyanza kings. This is not colonial Africa. It’s pure, authentic and contemporary Africa. Visit a nearby community and spend the after noon relaxing at the lodge.
Nyungwe DAY 8 - Transfer to One&Only Nyungwe House & So Many Monkeys
An early flight to Nyungwe and a different wildlife world. Welcome to the Congo Basin rainforest. Decadent, exclusive, isolated: One&Only Nyungwe House is the only true five-star lodge in the world’s second largest rainforest. Nyungwe Forest National Park is Africa’s wild primate heaven. First taste some tea. Then do a guided game walk to find ten species of monkey, olive baboons and grey-cheeked mangabeys.
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TrekkingChimpanzeeinNyungwe
A chimpanzee trek starts immediate ly from your bungalow-type suite. Today you’re tracking one of the rarest sights of all, our closest living relatives, wild chim panzees. Come eye to eye with a troop. Interpret their expressions and gestures. Admire the similarities, like their opposa ble thumbs. Expect a thousand new impre ssions. Expect surprises too, as more than 30 chimpanzees show their fascination in you, their primate cousin on two legs.
East
DAY 10 - Scenic Helicopter flight to Volcanoes National Park & Bisate Lodge
Safari
6. One&Only Nyungwe House 7. Chimpanzee trekking with One&Only Nyungwe House Africa
DAY 12 - Second Gorilla Trek in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking is even better the second time around. Visit a different habituated troop. Witness different interactions and behaviours. Up to eight trekkers form one trekking group and there are no fences or barriers. Sometimes the gorillas surround you, safely of course. So put down your camera for a moment. Try to comprehend where you are, who you are with. Only around 1000 mountain gorillas remain and never has even one been in a zoo.
East Africa Safari 8
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It seems surreal, the world’s largest pri mates marooned on volcanic mountains in the sky. Walk through dense and tangled forest. Get off the trail. Now there’s a mo ment when time stands still. A wild moun tain gorilla is staring back at you, gesturing, communicating, revealing. For one hour you are within a few metres of a gorilla tro op. Welcome to their world. Welcome to the most intimate wildlife experience of all.
DAY 14 - Arrival Back Home What African stories do you imagine? What African stories did you actually Whatexperience?African stories will you share? 8. Bisate Lodge 9. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park - photography Wilderness Safaris 9
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DAY 13 - Transfer to Kigali and Late Evening International Departure Wake up to the wild. Absorb the lodge’s Rwandan style for a final time. Say goodbye. Transfer to Kigali by road (three hours) or scenic helicopter (30 minutes). Kigali to Central and Eastern Europe is a one-stop flight with Qatar Airways. Or fly RwandAir Kigali to Brussels and meet a ho mebound connection.
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Corvara in Italy Lech in Austria
theSkiAlps
Crans-Montana in Switzerland
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Exploring the old and new in Europe’s great mountain range, from slopes to spas and where to stay. Skiing in stylish destinations yet to be overrun by fashionista crowds.
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The season is typically early December to early April. While the snow melts soo ner than other destinations, Corvara is known for its exceptionally clear con ditions after Christmas. New Year and February are the peak season months, but in general it’s rare to find crowds or lift queues.Theresort has a grown-up vibe and mostly attracts couples, friends and fami lies with teenage children. Mostly it’s for people who want to explore different slo pes and dine extremely well. Corvara is around eight hours by road from Prague. Fly to Innsbruck, a 2 ½ hour road transfer from Corvara. Or do a layover in Venice, which is three hours from the slopes, especially for the Venice Carnival, 11th - 21st February 2023. Bolzano is the closest airstrip and is sui table for turboprop aircraft and a small selection of jet engine aircraft.
Corvara, Italy
Ski the Apls Italy
1. Skiing in the Valais Valley, Switzerland
Most of the Alta Badia is easy cruising, amid sublime Dolomites scenery. It’s gre at for beginners and intermediate ski ers, but also hosts one of the Ski World Cup’s most challenging downhills, on the Gran Risa. Being in the southern alps me ans a shorter season but weeks of sunny, storm-free weather - it’s rare to lose a day of skiing here. While every level of skier can be satisfied, boarders typically spend their time in the snow park. Mix relaxed Corvara skiing with adventurous days exploring more of the Dolomiti Superski area, all of it connected solely through li fts and snow. The Sella Ronda circuit is justifiably famous, there are dedicated gourmet ski safaris stopping at mountain huts, plus a World War I legacy ski safari.
2. Hotel La Perla 3. The Sella Ronda Circuit in the Italian Dolomites
Trip Planning
A Dolomite village on a sunny, southern plateau, on the upper reaches of Val Badia, where varied skiing meets exceptional gastronomy and the lowkey Ladin culture of Alta Badia. It’s popular with couples and families with kids of all ages, with over 1200 kilometres of slopes to explore.
Ski
This mountain manor is one of very few genuine ski-in ski-out properties in the entire Dolomites. Originally built by ski instructor Ernesto Costa in 1931, it has evolved into a 54-room boutique owned and operated by Ernesto’s children, Michil and Mathias. Remember the names becau se staying at Hotel La Perla is an invitati on into a family home, where the owners converse with guests over aperitivos. Their approach is local, from the individually de signed rooms to all the food at four impre ssive restaurants. Take a Romantik room, for a balcony and an untouched Dolomites view. While there are no specific chil dren’s facilities, it is a very welcoming place for families with kids of all ages, and popu lar especially for those with teenagers. The Costa family also operate L’Murin, a brewery that’s Corvara’s best apres -ski venue, and guide guests around their Mahatma Wine Cellar, ranked in the top five of all Italy. There’s a good spa, cooking demos and a new executive chef at Stua de Michil, who spent eight years in Japan. Mostly there’s a huge amount of passi on here, Hotel La Perla exemplifying the authentic feel of this quiet and snowy Dolomites village. 2 3 the Apls Italy
Hotel La Perla
Ski the Apls Austria 4. Kristiania Lech 5. Ski-in ski-out at Kristiania Lech 6. The empty slopes of Lech
Alpine heritage and exceptional snow take the lead at this old-money resort in the Arlberg, western Austria, a vast ski area with a formidable reputation for consistent powder. Lech is a cultural crossroads in the heart of the Alps, a gastronomic hub and place of family businesses, attracting snowsport lovers of all ages and many nationalities.
The season starts in November and can continue into late April, the region famed for snow quality, especially late-season snow. Fresh snowfall is commonplace throughout the season. Some skiers enjoy being the only one on an empty slope after a storm, others don’t mind a day off. Lech attracts all types of people from all over the world. It has an old money, smart -fashion type of vibe, quite different to the rest of Austria. Apres-ski can be lively, so can the shopping. Lech is seven hours by road from Prague. The closest commercial airports are Zurich (two hours) and Innsbruck (90 minutes by road). Lech has a helipad, cutting trans fer time from Innsbruck to 40 minutes. Altenrhein St Gallen in Switzerland is the closest airport for private jets (less than one hour by road).
Trip Planning
Lech, Austria
Snow & Skiing
For snow cover and snow quality Lech is hard to rival, especially as it’s interlinked by lifts and pistes to all areas of the Arlberg. Local slopes are spread across three moun tains and there is enormous variety, from freeriding fresh powder to groomed nur sery pistes. There’s only one black run and neighbouring St Anton typically attracts advanced skiers, but this means Lech’s off -piste areas stay mostly untracked. Another advanced challenge is the 85 kilometre Run of Fame, the longest ski circuit in the Alps. Beginners have easy nursery slopes and the majority of the pistes are a joy for interme diates. It’s good for boarders too - Sherman Poppen used to holiday here and would stay at Kristiania Lech.
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Austria’s first ever Relais & Chateaux property balances a traditional alpine sty le with some major contemporary deve lopments. It now has the best spa in Lech and a stunning swimming pool for children. This softens the old stuff, like the hunting trophies and regal, old-world feel. As do the new Kaiser suites. It’s always been the best place in Lech to dine and it’s just 100 me tres from the ski lifts, literally Lech’s most centralOwnedhotel.and operated by the Moosbrugger family, which makes for interesting conver sations and experiences - most of the wine comes from their ninth-century vineyard - as Post Lech evokes the grandeur and change of this long-standing but under stated resort. For many years this has been where the Dutch and Norwegian royal fa milies stay for their ski holidays. Lech
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Othmar Schneider was Austria’s first Olympic ski champion. He started the country’s first ski schools and his family invented the modern slalom technique. The family home was named Kristiania, af ter the old name for Oslo, where Othmar claimed gold. Gertrud Schneider, his ec centric daughter, transformed the house into the 27-room Kristiania Lech, that she and the Schneider family operate to this day. Pop art and idiosyncratic design build on the typical alpine exterior. Being a hou se, every room is completely different. Their styles vary enormously and guests choose their specific room before arrival. There’s no spa but there is a sauna. Individual saloons are a feature of the re staurant and breakfast is only a la carte, available any time of day. It’s a lifestyle ho tel for adults, fun, lighthearted and indi vidualised. Kirstiania Lech is a five-minu te walk or complimentary transfer to the main ski lifts.
7 7. Post
Kristiania Lech
Ski the Apls Austria
Post Lech
Designer boutiques, fabulous chalets, ski-in ski-out hotels and an upcoming gastronomic scene. Trendy Crans and the somewhat quieter Montana are positioned on sunny, south-facing ski slopes. Together they create a mosaic of great skiing, relaxing wellness and contemporary holiday luxuries.
Ski the Apls Switzerland
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From its sun-soaked high plateau, CransMontana reveals the most impressive pa norama of anywhere in the Alps, from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc. Skiing starts from the hotel door and the lifts ascend to Plaine Morte Glacier at 3000 metres. Advanced skiers go up to La Toula for a challenging descent, or tackle the broad carving sections of Piste Nationale. Most of the 140 kilometres of slopes are ideal for beginners to intermediates, with groomed runs and deep off-piste snow. It’s a very good destination for all levels of snow boarder too, with great carving and one of Europe’s best freestyle parks. Heliskiing and heliboarding can be epic here and the golf courses turn into paradise for cross country skiers. Almost all the lifts have been recently upgraded as Crans Montana looks forward to hosting the 2027 FIS World Championships. Trip Planning Although the lifts operate until the end of April, the snow melts earlier than other Swiss resorts, so most of the later season snow is artificial. February and early March are especially good, with long sunny days interspersed with days that dump huge fre shCrans-Montanapowder. is popular with both families and friends, an ideal destination for groups of varying abilities, who fill the kit room with both skis and snowboards. Apres-ski is smart but not particularly li vely, as most people are enjoying their ac commodation or the increasingly impressi ve restaurant Crans-Montanacollection.is11hours by road from Prague. Fly direct to Geneva instead and it’s a two-hour transfer by road or rail. By private jet use Sion Airport, only 20 kilome tres outside Crans.
Snow & Skiing
Crans-Montana,Switzerland
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Six Senses Crans-Montana
Six Senses bring their renowned spa resort brand into a destination where guests need to restore tired legs. Think rooftop swimming pool, hammam and a Biohack Recovery Lounge just for star ters. It’s a fully ski-in ski-out property with a prime position just above the main gondola in Crans. The facade suggests classic Swiss chalet architecture, yet the interiors are a reinvention of what to ex pect in the Alps. It’s yet to be tested as Six Senses Crans-Montana opens its do ors on December 7th, the design a mix of quartzite stone, larch, oak, muted hues and contrasting shapes. The subdued pa lette brings more focus to the view. From bay windows and private terraces there are glorious views across the entire Valais valley, from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc.
8. Crans-Montana is situated in the Valais, a valley of big mountains, ice caves, glaciers and long slopes. 10. Ultima Crans-Montana 9 10
Ultima Crans-Montana Ultima Crans-Montana is a prestigious ski-in ski-out option, highly refined, with absolute tranquillity and privacy. Two private chalets up on the slopes, with amenities and services many superior fi ve-star hotels would be envious of. Like a 1,000 square metre spa, complete with a heated swimming pool to mirror the mountains beyond. A private chef desig ning personalised culinary menus. Chalet one has eight deluxe bedrooms, all with a balcony overlooking the wilds, plus two dormitories for kids (sleeping 26 in total). At 3,850 square metres it’s a haven com plete with cigar lounge, billiard room and arcade. Chalet two is smaller, with six gu est rooms, a cinema and an open kitchen for socialising. Together they accommo date up to 38 guests on an exclusive-use basis. Or each chalet can be booked sepa rately, with the spa facilities shared between the two.
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Mixing medical treatments with traditional wellness and spa, in a nurturing environment quite unlike a hospital. But is medical wellness really a holiday? And what are the results?
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WellnessMedical
Four people share their experiences and perspectives, from Europe’s best regarded medical wellness destinations. cover photo Sha Wellness Clinic
“The people here are successful. They know how to make money, they know how to grow money. People here can talk for days about financial investment and growth” says Doctor Mera. “At SHA they le arn how to apply this to their most impor tant capital, their health.”
Alicante, Spain Explorer Editor Stephen Bailey tries the SHA experience. Medical Wellness
The first thing is to clean your windscreen and realise what’s far in the future.”
A valid suggestion, but I’d still prefer a Bloody Mary over a berry smoothie for breakfast. Then he presents a scientific analysis of two men born in 1973. According to their physical body age, one is in his thir ties, one in his sixties.
And so it really begins, my healthy ageing program at SHA Clinic in Alicante, Spain. Like many guests I stroll around in my whi te robe and slippers. My daily schedule is packed full of treatments, from deep tis sue massages to acupuncture, osteopathy, facial mesotherapy, lung detox nebulisati on and intravenous ozonetherapy. Each is different from the next and most I’d never even heard of before. I relax in the spa, by the pool, in the gardens and in my enor mous new suite with Mediterranean views.
SHA
“You’re making your forties in good shape” Doctor Mera compliments me. “That’s like Everest Base Camp. Can you make your sixties in good shape? Then you can walk casually to the top of Everest, not attempt its hardest and steepest face.” Often I need a holiday for my body to re cover from my holiday. I disconnect men tally but here at SHA I do something more. I disconnect and reconnect with my health and wellbeing. I never believed my holiday time should be wasted on wellness. Now I realise the time I invest now will create so much more time for my future holidays. Wellness Clinic
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Admiring the Bay of Altea from a rooftop swimming pool I feel on holiday. In my sui te and in the spa this feels like a relaxed Spanish getaway. In the restaurant too. Yet downstairs, where I meet Doctor Mera, the atmosphere is clinical. Am I really spending my precious holiday time in such an austere environment? SHA is a wellness clinic, for integral health and wellbeing. Normally my holidays are indulgent, because when you struggle for time, holidays are the chance to let go. And this is how Doctor Mera co erces“Mostme.people only see what’s directly ahead of them or recently behind them.
Slipping into the SHA rhythm I no longer find the atmosphere so clinical, even du ring exhaustive health examinations. I rea lise the medical facility is just a small part of the complex. I do coastal hikes and try yoga before a breakfast that always starts with miso soup. The food is fabulous, a combina tion of Mediterranean and Okinawan diets, the two places with the world’s highest life expectancy. With interactive food classes I learn how to bring vitamin-rich seaweed and superfoods into my everyday life. And how to make brownies, pastries and break fasts very healthy. Doctor Mera is pragma tic everytime I see him. “Look at David Attenborough, 96 years old and still making wildlife documenta ries. How much time did he have? He’s on the top of Everest, do you want to aim for Everest?”Ultimately
I find his and SHA’s philosophy both eye-opening and inclusive. The mix of modern medical science with ancient therapies helps me overcome my scepti cism of both. I didn’t think I had time. But making time to focus on my stress, sleep, nutrition and digestion, is already showing its benefits.
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Hypoxy fat-burning training, Kneipp hyd rotherapy, a healing experience in the Altaussee forest. My favourite was the water shiatsu, so good for relieving pain in my back and any remaining tension. Staying at Vivamayr Altaussee was a much needed detoxification and over ten days I went through cleansing and resting to find a better version of myself. While a lot of it may seem very clinical, the overall fee ling is not. I was in my own bubble of calm, helped by the beautiful and serene nature all around.
VIVAMAYR Altaussee Styria, Austria
Oh the therapies!
People often ask me if I would go back to Vivamayr. In many ways I’m still there, living the changes I made, following their concept and being healthier at home. Of course I would go back, I’ve tried other Vivamayr hotels but this one is the best, especially the bio food. You do have to be have though. There’s absolutely no alco hol, they even limit talking while eating, so you can better chew and digest your food. It’s not a usual holiday, more a place to have time alone, time to rest and reflect and re connect with yourself. Here there is abso lute comfort, a feeling of complete safety andThetrust.wellness area is clean and cosy but don’t come here for a spa, even if you walk around in white robes. I experienced my own kind of wellness here, an inner co nnection, created over ten days that have made a big difference to my general health. The medical aspect is strong and my sche dule represents the depth of Vivamayr. I had my free radicals and biological antioxidant potential analysed. I did functional myo diagnostic testing, to determine disorders in my musculoskeletal system. There were blood tests, urine tests, alkaline infusions and an adrenal gland infusion. Don’t wor ry if you don’t understand many of these things. Neither did I. This was an educatio nal ten days that helped me to understand my body in completely new ways. So many professionals were part of my experience, doctors, nurses, receptioni sts, even waiters who knew my preferen ces and needs. My program was individu ally planned to include everything, even my water drinking. There were electroly sis footbaths, abdominal treatments, liver compresses, anti-cellulite serum massages, colonic irrigation therapy, osteopathy and lymphatic drainage. I chatted about test re sults with the doctors and received nutriti onalThencoaching.thetherapies.
EliteVoyage client Maar Eder spends ten days by the lakeside at VIVAMAYR Altaussee.
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Visit Clinique La Prairie and it’s immedia te this famous Swiss clinic is not for nor mal holidays. “You come here for medical interventions” says Matouš Grund. “There are over 50 doctors, 25 specialisms, three surgery theatres. It’s not like you only have a massage or facial everyday. The clinic is focused on medical and then wellness.” Revitalisation is their master program, based on the clinic’s 90 years of experience in cell regeneration. It was precisely here, back in 1931, that Professor Paul Niehans began his pioneering cellular therapy to slow down the ageing process. The clinic soon evolved and gained international fame when Niehans treated Pope Pius XII. “If you want weight loss or a healthier body this is also a very good hotel for you,” says Matouš. “You have medical checks, are under the control of doctors, with slimming spa treatments, sports and healthy vegeta rian food. There are blood tests, DNA tests, specialist analysis. They have an amazing gym with personal trainers and outdoor activities.Exclusive” clientele have been returning to this wellness hotel in Montreux for de cades. After renovations in 1991 and 2005, Clinique La Prairie is now updating all their facilities once again. “We met a Hollywood actor at dinner but I won’t tell you who or why he was there! The new suites have a modern and spa cious design, better than the old-fashioned gold style from before. The junior suites are particularly good now, with only one suite per floor.” The clinic’s medical services can be booked on an a la carte basis. Specific results-based programs include Detox, Better Mobility, Anti-Aging Stem Cells and Improved Sleep. Clinique La Prairie is now separate from the cosmetics brand, but their signature five-day Advanced Aesthetic Beauty remains very popular. “You can really see they’ve invested big money here. The spa has an indoor pool, two saunas and many other facilities, but I was surprised to see Swiss Connection cosmetics in the La Prairie spa.” Matouš has a clear recommendation. “My advice is don’t stay here just for the spa and well being, these are a part of your medical we llness program. You come here for modern and exhaustive treatments with real, long lasting results, not for a normal holiday.”
Clinique La Prairie Clarens, Switzerland
EliteVoyage travel designer Matouš Grund visits Switzerland. Medical Wellness
Medical Wellness
My powerful first impression of Waldhotel is its size. Of course I know Bürgenstock and its magnificent spa. I just wasn’t expec ting the resort to also have an almost new hotel, with 137 rooms and suites. It seems more like a big village than a clinical facility. “The environment is completely diffe rent to a hospital” says Professor Verena Briner, the medical director of Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence. “Of course we have high specification equipment, like lung function and bone density machines that look like machines. We have consul tation rooms facing the forest. But it’s me dical innovation meeting with nature that sets us apart, creates a unique health ex perience. It’s nice, it’s a hotel.” Matteo Thun was the architect and he’s known for hotels and wellness re sorts in nature. He once said: “It should hardly be necessary to talk about sustai nable architecture. We should just build it.” WaldHotel has this at-one-with-nature feel, dominated by natural wood and sto ne, modern five-star luxury. Guests also enjoy full access to the entire Bürgenstock complex.“Youcan earn a lot of money just by do ing medical tests, you can do hundreds of blood tests and so on. But when you want to do something good for the people you have to listen to them, look at them, unde rstand them to make sense of the results.”
Professor Briner is softly spoken and very persuasive. “It’s called clinical reasoning, you look at the important part and re commend what they should do next.” Guests typically stay for three or four days, often coming with family or fri ends. Everyone has a holiday in nature and around the resort, with one person also doing a medical program. Professor Briner hints at the exhaustive scope and detail on offer.“We have all the general aspects, pre ventative colonoscopy, gastroscopy, we look at the colon for polyps, do derma tology checks, have cardiologists and make stress echocardiograms. When so mething isn’t completely normal we can do CT angiography, it’s like an x-ray and you see narrowing of blood vessels. If I see a guest on day one and they have enlar ged lymph nodes we do additional tests, that’sTheseimportant.”diagnostic services are comple mented by dedicated programs for weight management and body and mind balance, which is essentially detox and mindfu lness. WaldHotel is also a certified reha bilitation centre with 24 rooms for rehab from surgery, accident and cancer. “At the end we discuss the details of their health, discuss the lifestyle change” says the professor, “life expectancy in Switzerland is 84, we have to see what will happen over the next 40 years.” As I depart Waldhotel I’m confident of my understanding about my current heal th, plus the treatment and lifestyle chan ges to make long-lasting results. And after a program of medical wellness, there really is only one place to go, the world’s most scenic spa, the Alpine Spa, just up the path at the Bürgenstock Hotel.
Waldhotel Lucerne, Switzerland Explorer contributor Leia Welle discovers Waldhotel – Health & Medical Excellence, part of the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne.
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Winter Fashion Trip Winter
Five fashion-forward cities. Five very different shopping trips. TripFashion
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The Store / Rare Market Jessica Jung and Dami Kwon changed perceptions away from big brands when they launched Rare Market in 2014, a three -floor concept boutique filled with de signers hard to find elsewhere. It’s created a new generation of Seoulites, standing out with their own style.
Winter Fashion Trip
Dior CEO Pietro Beccari calls this glis tening house of steel and glass “the next generation of pop-up stores, in a meatpac king district full of butchers.” Each capsule within the popup hosts a different Dior wo men’s line, including one to customise Dior Book Totes.
Another kind of chic, the South Korean capital is an energetic mash-up of temples and cuttingedge design, deep tradition and fast-moving fashion. Here the shopping continues for 24 hours without pause.
Don’t Miss / Hanacha Studio Wonky and mischievous designs are the new street style in Seoul and Hana Cha’s label Hanacha Studio does local for the locals. Most of her new collection is made to order from a small city boutique. Direct Prague to Seoul flights are sche duled to resume in November 2022.
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Where to Stay / Signiel Seoul Between floors 76 and 101 of the Lotte World Tower, a stellar new hotel where Korea’s glitterati now gather. Michelin di ning, an Evian Spa and a place to rest in a city that doesn’t stop.
The Pop-up / Dior Seongsu-dong
Copenhagen
The Furniture Store / Hay House
A surreal 15-seat restaurant with a con cept of holistic cuisine, equal parts art, theatre and gastronomy. A six-hour dining experience for the curious mind, moving through different rooms and ideas of food as fashion.
Where to Stay / Nimb
The Scandinavian fashion scene always had much-loved labels and forwardthinking design, now the Danish capital is emerging as fashion’s sustainability capital. It’s where the savvy stay ahead of the most important trend of all.
The Fashion Mall / Illum
A masterclass in Scandinavian design packed with homegrown products, like Bang & Olufsen, Geismars and Georg Jensen. A rollercoaster of salubrious styles that make Nimb an absolute one off.
After a hugely colourful renovation, the Hay House flagship store now occupies an entire art nouveau building in central Copenhagen. Art, architecture, design and standout signature pieces, years before they’re copied by Ikea.
Winter Fashion Trip
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Scandinavia’s most premium department store balances international brands with emerging Danish fashion. New for 2022 is the mazy Shoe Heaven on the second floor, and recycled furniture in the fourth-floor Design Atelier.
The Holistic Experience / Alchemist
The Experience / Personal Shopper at Galerie Lafayette
The reference city for fashion and haute couture, where the biggest brands showcase the latest first. Paris Fashion Week starts September 26th and the French capital has countless secrets to uncover. These ideas are merely for starters.
Paris
An exhibition of the Tiffany archives dominates this pop-up, including some French Crown Jewels and George Paulding Farnham’s legendary late 19th-century pie ces. Open until May 2023 the pop-up ho nours history and prestige. Access to the backspace is by appointment only.
Most items in this flagship store are only available here, on Rue St Honoré. So travel for fashion. Then stay for coffee, because there’s a great YSL cafe where they roast their own beans.
Where to Stay / Hotel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel
The PopUp / Tiffany Pop-up, Avenue Montaigne
Style consultation and hands-free shopping in the art nouveau department store. Everybody knows Galeria Lafayette. Not everybody knows how to make the most of a visit. This is made-to-measure personalised shopping.
The Store / Saint Laurent Rive Droite
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Karl Lagerfeld’s final hotel interior pro ject was Les Grands Appartements, the two best suites in the re-imagined 18th-centu ry Hotel de Crillon. A two-ton bathtub car ved from a single block of Carrara marble, chandeliers from the Kaiser’s personal co llection, and large-format photographs that are all Karl’s camera work.
Winter Fashion Trip
The coolest hideout in Southern California, a private surfside refuge. Japanese minimalism, low-key comfort and high-end indulgence, in the place where celebrities escape from the paparazzi.
Where to Stay / Nobu Ryokan Malibu
Fashion
The Concept / Casa Perfect A 1970s Beverly Hills mansion turned into a design gallery, an eclectic collection of highly collectable furniture and art. Worth a trip just for the architecture, views and Roman-style jacuzzi. Appointment only and won’t be around too much longer (the hou se is listed for sale).
Los Angeles
For stateside winter shopping head west to Los Angeles, where the traditional glamour is being tempered by modern street styles. Hollywood is trendy again, Beverly Hills has been revitalised, plus the sunshine and swimwear continues all winter.
Two Rodeo Drive flagship stores. One for women, with limited edition crocodi le and ostrich leather goods, customisab le travel cases and made-to-order Haute Maroquinerie. Now a new men’s store, for custom belts, shoes and items straight off the catwalk.
The Stores / Louis Vuitton
The Smell / Le Labo A smell raised in New York and still unconventional on the perfumery mar ket. Every fragrance is hand blended, each label personalised, and the creations from this Los Angeles are tailored individually to shoppers.
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Winter Trip
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A city absent of boundaries, a space where creative freedom trumps glamour. Berlin’s modern character was built on being anti-isms - anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-sleep - so how does that fit with a booming new fashion scene?
Three ever-changing stores on Potsdamer Straße, each a juxtaposition of art gallery and retail fashion. 77 focu ses on a single brand or product. 81 house Andreas Murkudis’s personal selection in a former printworks. Then 98, a shoppable apartment and exhibition space.
The Vibe / The Store X
Another from Berlin’s experiential retail playbook, where it’s impossible to know what’s coming next. Ever-evolving, like Berlin always is, with an eclectic ethos transcending fashion, furniture, music, art and food.
Where to Stay / Wilmina or Berlin Das Stue
The Stores / Andreas Murkudis
Berlin
Steep poles, concrete slabs, leather-co vered benches and strip lighting. Beyond minimalism, this is brutal, halfway between a construction site and abandoned buil ding, yet with a refined insight into the lu xury fashion house.
For a gritty, anti-establishment Berlin weekend try Wilminia, a 19th-century wo men’s prison turned hotel. Berlin Das Stue is the city’s new design-forward five-star, next to the ostrich enclosure of Berlin Zoo - the interiors by Patricia Urquiola are fabu lous.
Winter Fashion Trip
The Space / Balenciaga
A New Chapter at the OrientalMandarinPrague
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Duarte Correia specialises in rebranding hotels. The Portuguese hotelier recently took up the General Manager role at Mandarin Oriental Prague and we went to meet him.
A New Chapter at the Mandarin Oriental Prague
How will you be rebranding the Mandarin Oriental in Prague?
Winter events are being developed now and we will be launching these soon. One of the great things about Prague is that it has all seasons clearly defined. When it’s cold, people want an outlet, so we can provide an experience that’s tailored for winter. This hotel has an incredible history and that is already half the work done – housed within a former 14th century monastery and loca ted in the historic centre of Prague, just a few minutes’ walk from Charles Bridge.
With the hotel’s location, building and surroundings, we can develop a stronger leisure experience and concept. It’s a ho tel in a city, disguised as a hideaway, with a renowned spa, amazing gardens and phe nomenal history. It is a lot more than a city hotel, it is an urban hideaway at heart. These are the attributes we need to focus on when developing the hotel’s next chap ter. I strongly believe this will be a differen tiator in Prague. Will the hotel be renovated? Yes. Currently we are evaluating a few options and establishing a strategic direc tion. The aim is to uplift all areas, including accommodation, food and beverage, and public spaces. We’re meeting you in Mandarin Oriental’s new DSquared event space. Tell us more about this space. The idea is to give people in the city an opportunity to start living again. We will have events, fashion shows, themed eve nings with Michelin chefs, to name a few. These events are about reaching out to the community to say we have a great spot in the heart of Prague, let’s get people to gether again and celebrate life. People can easily pass this hotel and not know if they are welcome. Everybody is welcome here and I look forward to more residents ente ring through our doors. Will this continue throughout winter?
143EXPLORER by EliteVoyage How did you come from Portugal to Prague? It was a zigzag journey. I left my home town in Madeira and moved to London aged 16, where I stumbled across the hos pitality world. After London I stayed in Vietnam for three years, Mauritius for four, then Tanzania for another four. My experi ence is around rebranding of resorts. I just spent three years in the Caribbean, rebran ding and repositioning Mandarin Oriental, Canouan. But I missed my roots and being close to family in Portugal, so when Prague came up I didn’t hesitate. What a beautiful city Prague is!
How do you see luxury hospitality coming out of the pandemic?
It hasn’t been easy. Now we are seeing the byproducts of the pandemic, the after math. Many of us have heard of the “great resignation” in the hospitality industry. Our industry was the first to be hit during the pandemic. A lot of people lost their jobs. Over the last two years many people rea lised they wanted more flexible working conditions, more time with family, less overnight and weekend shifts. Talented pe ople moved to industries where they can do their work at home, on their phone. That is where we are headed and the industry needs to adapt.
A New Chapter at the Mandarin Oriental Prague
People will find some differences in how hotels operate, but I don’t agree that ex pectations in terms of service and expe rience should be lowered. Over the last couple of years, hotels have had to adapt their operations to satisfy Covid 19. As a result, hospitality has lost some of its essence, and that essence is being hospi table, being a host, welcoming somebody, surprising our guests with experiences that are eccentric and individualised. A lot of hotels are implementing more automa tion while decreasing human interaction. What differentiates a good hotel from a great hotel is the service delivered by its people, someone who knows what you like, how you like it and delights you with details showing they care. I hope we will see a lot of this coming back.
How will the luxury hospitality industry fully recover from the pandemic? Upping the interaction and personal touch, not getting away from it. Taking the time to talk to someone, and literally tal king, not just asking a question, engaging and having a conversation. Although it goes against the increasing trend of automa tion and working from home, I still belie ve in human interaction. Any hotel in the world will differentiate themselves on how its people make you feel. People under stand they should expect something a bit different now, but when you arrive and you are made to feel like a million bucks, that’s what counts and that is what will be remembered. How busy have you been this summer? Is travelling to Prague really back? We’ve had extraordinary occupancy le vels over summer, but we’ve been challen ged in terms of increasing personnel to satisfy the demand. During the pandemic we were fighting for the business. Now we have the business we are fighting to attract the talent to deliver the experience. Some hotels are operating at 90% but their servi ce is compromised due to a lack of staff. We always monitor our occupancy versus team ratio. The quality of experience is a two way street – guest experience and collea gue experience - and when done right it builds long-term loyalty and appreciation. How is Mandarin Oriental Prague adap ting to become more sustainable? This is a topic that is very close to our hearts. Removing single-use plastics is just one part. We’re changing our cars to electric and have charging stations in the garage, available for any guest. There’s a big emphasis on sustainable and ethical procurement, auditing our suppli ers to make sure they meet our conditions and standards. Like is the coffee, vanilla, paper that we purchase, ethically sourced? That’s important. Working with the local community is also important. I visited a restaurant outside Prague recently and tasted the most amazing apple juice of my life. It’s produced by a local family in this region known for its apples. I’m putting
If many hotels and hospitality companies are struggling to get good staff, do travel lers need different expectations now?
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it in our hotel soon, instead of the main stream big brand minibar item. It tastes better, there’s a story behind it, you sup port a local company and reduce carbon emissions.
What type of explorer are you?
I’m not sure there’s a word to describe it. It truly depends on the mood. I’ve been known to go to the airport with my passport and get a flight to the first destination I see. I like cities and places with a strong culture and history. If I go to Thailand for instance, I like to eat and discover the street food. Authenticity is very important to me, I enjoy seeing what a destination is all about.
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What’s your timeframe for the renovati on and rebranding of Mandarin Oriental Prague? My main priority now is establishing the team, having the right people in the right places. So human resources and learning and development are the big first focus of mine. We want to engage with the com munity and be more involved again. We want to do it right, to create and recrea te the foundations we can build upon for many years to come.
What’s your next trip? A random selection from the departures board at Vaclav Havel Airport? I’ve been planning Machu Picchu for three years and three times it’s been cancelled. That’s going to happen! I also have this thing about going to Antarctica, it’s so high on my travel plans. 2
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