Explorer by EliteVoyage. Edition VI / Senses / Autumn Winter 2024

EXPLORER

by EliteVoyage

Senses

Astrotourism

Ski Chalets in the Alps

THE STORIES OF ICONIC WATCHES ARE TICKING AWAY ON PAŘÍŽSKÁ STREET

BenvenutoPininfarina

Pininfarinanamerepresentspuredesign,beautyandinnovation.It's95years ofexperienceandstillongoing.InMarch2019,AutomobiliPininfarinapresented theBattistaattheGenevaMotorShow.Oneofthefastestcarsintheworld, thoughtrueGranTourismo.Battistacombinesdynamism,speed,elegance andoriginality.

GalleriaAutomobiliPininfarinaisopenedinČeladná,MiuraArtHotel.

MeetBattista.

An intimate luxury experience on the Seine with 72 rooms, including a 7-bedroom apartment. The Maison boasts a Dior spa, curated art pieces, five restaurants and a dedicated kids club.

Enjoy both relaxation and prime access to La Samaritaine and nearby shopping.

Cheval Blanc Paris

8 quai du Louvre

75001 Paris

+33 (0)1 40 28 00 00

info.paris@chevalblanc.com

https://www.chevalblanc.com/en/maison/paris/

c hateau m cely

An oasis of relaxation in the heart of nature

For over 18 years, we have been more than just a place to stay.

DIAGNOSIS AND PREVENTION

Filip Kateřina

Michal Matouš

Dominika

Schönjoch in Fiss, Austria

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Antarctica Panorama Express train, Switzerland

Valletta, Malta

Kristýna Segovia, Spain

Senses

Why did that holiday feel so special? How can a single place live in our memory for decades to come? Travel is when our senses are most alive to the world’s possibilities. It’s our opportunity to discover new sensations and the strong feelings they create.

In Explorer VI we celebrate the senses, interviewing experts like designer Bára Škorpilová, wellness expert Dr Jitendra Varshney and sound engineer Dr. Stephane Pigeon, asking how each sense influences that unbeatable holiday feeling. We feature places and experiences that best excite our individual senses, from Istanbul to astrotourism.

This autumn-winter edition also goes to some of the world’s most sensual destinations, like India and Ecuador. I had the pleasure to discover three sides to Mexico and Stephen Bailey reports from different Seychelles islands. Sometimes all we need is a change of perspective, illustrated by the stunning aerial photography of Daniel Franc, which also adorns our cover.

At EliteVoyage our clients are travelling further and farther to find new places and experiences. They’re inspired by the search for new sights, sounds, tastes and feelings. This edition is an ode to that search and passion for exploration. When somebody asks why a holiday was so special, we can be lost for words. We can’t articulate exactly why. Our senses know. They remember it all.

Bon voyage, Petr Udavský Co-Owner & CEO EliteVoyage

60

SEYCHELLES

Stephen Bailey discovers four contrasting island resorts

126

MEXICO

Petr Udavský explores the three sides to Mexico

16 the HOT list

New hotels to visit now

26 HOT list in detail

BIJAL & Rosewood Schloss Fuschl

30

42

Ski Chalets in the Alps Ecuador

Jiří Havlín & Kateřina Havlínová get closer to nature

A detailed guide with travel designer Matouš Grund

82

The Aerial Photographer

Daniel Franc travels vertically to new perspectives

104 India

The most authentic country of them all?

EXPLORER

by EliteVoyage

COVER PHOTO: Sail Away, by Daniel Franc. A little lone autumn island on a glacier river in Iceland.

IMPRESSUM: Explorer by EliteVoyage PUBLISHER: Elite Voyage s.r.o., Národní 135/14, Prague 11000 CZ06744591 PERIODICITY: Biannual

LANGUAGES: Czech & English PLACE OF ISSUE: Prague ISSN 3029-5343 EVIDENCE NUMBER: MK ČR E 24575 AUTUMN / WINTER 2024-2025 / VI EDITION / published 27. 9. 2024

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Petr Udavský ENGLISH EDITOR: Stephen Bailey CZECH EDITOR: Laura Crowe

ART DIRECTOR: Martina Horka Kunc PARTNERSHIP & DISTRIBUTION: Štěpán Borovec CONTRIBUTORS: Petr Bartoš, Gaël Dandelot, Daniel Franc, Matouš Grund, Jiří Havlín, Kateřina Havlínová, Dominika Hüttnerová, Nikol Martinková, Pudukottai Nageshwaran, Mohit Nirula, Filip Pačes, Dr. Stephane Pigeon, Bára Škorpilová, Dr Jitendra Varshney

SMELL

Cheese

SIGHT

Light of Bára Škorpilová & astrotourism in Europe

TOUCH

An ancient art & awaking your fingers in Switzerland

SOUND

Soundscapes & where to travel for silence

TASTE

Minimalism

with Petr Bartoš & Blue Zone Sardinia

tour de France with Gaël Dandelot & Istanbul aromas

cover photo Nujuma, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

THE HOT

Nujuma, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

A remarkable creation in unchartered territory, Nujuma is among the first few resorts in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea. 63 very private villas, surrounded by beach and reef, each with a seaview pool and a telescope for discovering the stars. The Red Sea is a new destination of over 90 islands, sweeping desert dunes and the world’s fourth largest reef.

Our Habitas Ras Abrouq Al-Reem Biosphere Reserve, Qatar

A soulful space where Arabian desert meets the Arabian Sea, 90 minutes by road south of Doha. Beach and desert villas are made with stone walls and canvas roofs, completing the feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere. A place of complete relaxation, with farm-to-table dining, wellness activities and a few exploratory adventures. Great for a two- to three-day layover.

One&Only One Za’abeel Dubai, United Arab Emirates

An urban retreat in the towers redefining Dubai’s skyline, where large suites with floorto-ceiling windows frame the cityscape. Very central, very chic and this season’s new place to be seen, complete with a Longevity Hub by Clinique La Prairie and a stunning pool club on top of The Link.

Royal Mansour Casablanca Hotel Casablanca, Morocco

This reincarnation of a legendary royal palace from the 1950s is a contemporary tribute to Moroccan art and heritage. King Mohammed VI’s Royal Mansour Marrakech is among the world’s finest palace hotels. His new Casablanca hotel is reason enough to discover the captivating identity of Morocco’s White City.

Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel

Costa Smeralda, Sardinia

Sardinia’s original beach hotel recently reopened as a Belmond hotel, along the long and private sandy beach that has always been the best location on the island. It’s one to follow, as Belmond starts a multiphase off-season renovation, to breathe new life into the most extraordinary turquoise-green bay (Costa Smeralda translates to Emerald Coast).

Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor Formentor, Mallorca

A Mediterranean escape set in a vast private playground that’s long welcomed royals and A-listers. Four Seasons have completely re-imagined and developed this hacienda-style hotel in far northern Mallorca. It’s one of very few top beachfront properties on the island, also offering a chance to connect with nature through hiking, biking, boating and more.

Four

A hamlet of tented suites amid fuming volcanoes, sweeping grasslands and untrodden pathways. PUQIO provides a raw discovery of Andean life in southern Peru. It’s a rustically elegant retreat for the curious, for getting back to nature and embracing the traditions of a spectacular yet unexplored destination.

PUQIO

Colca Valley, Peru

Six Senses La Sagesse Grenada, Caribbean

Six Senses opens up high-end travel to the tiny volcanic island of Grenada, where a rugged coastline and beautiful rainforests await the adventurous. The resort sprawls across a headland and saltwater lagoon, each suite and villa with a private pool and eco-escapist vibe. It’s all remarkably spacious, as familiar comforts meet new explorations.

BIJAL

Antalya, Turkey

"Play is the concept of this all-villa beachfront resort in Antalya, which has only 19 villas spread around pine forest and a long beach."

Petr Udavský

Petr Udavský is CEO at EliteVoyage and Editor-inChief of Explorer. He visited BIJAL immediately after its soft opening in August 2023.

In three words? Private, spacious, relaxing.

Resort location? On the beach, within walking distance of Side old town, about one hour from Antalya Airport.

Your hotel highlights? The villas. Each has a nice garden and outdoor pool that’s completely concealed, so nobody can see in.

Extras for kids? The scavenger hunt for 30 miniature scenes across the resort with an Instax camera. Or the camp-out setup they do for kids in your villa garden.

Hotel design? Calming and feminine. Visually it’s pretty much perfect.

Why go to BIJAL? An intimate and private beach holiday for spending quality time with your partner or family.

When to go? Autumn for some late summer sun is ideal, but spring and summer months will also be very good.

Essential to know? The entire resort is designed around the concept of Play, which is incorporated into almost everything. It’s a nice way to break from your everyday thinking and routine. Also a great way to connect with your loved ones.

What surprised you? The long golden beach that’s practically empty and private, even in summer, something so rare in this part of Turkey.

Filip Pačes

Filip Paces is a travel designer at EliteVoyage and inspected BIJAL in August 2024

"BIJAL is a serene place for couples and families to spend quality time together, in a fun and relaxed environment, a very different type of resort for Antalya."

In three words? Maldives in Turkey.

Why go to BIJAL? To experience great hospitality, gastronomy and service, where the warm summer weather stretches from May to October.

What's different? The entire hotel concept, definitely not the usual in this mass tourism part of Turkey, with its typical all-inclusive resorts.

Gastronomy? Seems much improved since Petr’s visit last year. Two nice restaurants plus the excellent Teppanyaki restaurant and a lot of in-villa dining. Good house wine is included in half-board and full-board programs.

Favourite accommodations? There are only 19 villas and they vary in number of bedrooms and location. Each has a private butler.

Don’t miss? BIJAL’s lovely beach cabanas. There are only four and they are worth reserving in advance.

Length of stay? Five to seven nights. Enough time to disconnect and benefit from the playfulness.

Personal recommendation? BIJAL is a top choice for a holiday with your kids and parents. Ask me for recommendations about the exact villa for you!

Final tip? Pre-book the CIP Lounge at Antalya Airport for at least the departure. It’s a low-cost airline base and delays are common.

Rosewood Schloss Fuschl

Salzkammergut, Austria

"Rosewood delivers their signature style to this castle on the lakeshore near Salzburg."

Štěpán Borovec

Štěpán Borovec is operations director at EliteVoyage and inspected Rosewood Schloss Fuschl during its pre-opening weekend.

In three words? Nature, stylish, retreat.

Your trip highlights? All the possibilities for beautiful outdoor activities, plus the location and views on Lake Fuschl.

Why go to Rosewood Schloss Fuschl? An active holiday close to home.

When to go? Autumn, spring and summer, whenever you feel like a break.

Favourite accommodations? Heritage rooms and suites for younger couples, in the original 15th-century castle tower on the lakefront (there’s no elevator in the old tower). Plus the independent chalets for families.

Essential to know? Service has been poor and not up to our expected standards. A common problem with new openings which will impact your stay here.

Don’t miss? Getting Rosewood Elite benefits when booking with EliteVoyage, including guaranteed room upgrade, early check in, late check out and a special Elite room rate.

Final tip? Travel with friends and it can make sense to go by private jet. Flying to Salzburg is also an opportunity to see Hangar7 and dine at Ikarus.

Matouš Grund

Matouš Grund is a travel designer at EliteVoyage and inspected Rosewood Schloss Fuschl during its pre-opening weekend in June 2024.

"Rosewood Schloss Fuschl is paradise for outdoor people and for those seeking a quiet retreat with good wellness and food."

Style? Massive redevelopment of a 15th-century Schloss (castle palace) which sprawls around Lake Fuschl.

Location? Only 30 minutes by road from Salzburg. In the foothills of the Alps with stunning scenery all around, although not a good base for skiing.

Design? Very stylish and contemporary, while preserving a sense of history. The attention to detail is impressive.

What surprised you? The very calm, laid-back and inclusive atmosphere, it’s not snobbish at all.

Top facilities? Lovely Asaya Spa and the lake itself, where the water is drinkable quality and there are nice non-motorised water activities (motorised craft are forbidden).

Gastronomy: Excellent. Fine Salzkammergut dining at Schloss Restaurant, seafood at See Club, cool Vinothek and Schloss bars, plus the main restaurant with its impressive terrace view. And a traditional fishery.

Areas of improvement? The hotel had full occupancy in its opening months and the service isn’t yet good enough. Mistakes should be expected.

Your trip highlights? Hanging out at See Club on the lake, renting a 1981 Mercedes SL280, and the tranquillity of the area.

Length of Stay? Varies. A long weekend but also seven to ten days enjoying the stunning surrounding nature.

Personal recommendation? Rosewood Schloss Fuschl offers the benefits of a wellness stay, whether you come with your spouse, family or friends.

Final tip? I like the Deluxe Junior Suite Lakeview and Premier Lakeview Suite, good value and offers more space and privacy than other suite categories.

Galapagos fur seals on a beach in the Galapagos

ECUADOR

A celebration of unspoiled natural wonders, a country epitomising our planet’s natural history. The Galapagos Islands, Amazon Rainforest, Andes Mountains: Ecuador is an active destination, full of powerful new experiences in very rare settings.

Jiří Havlín and Kateřina Havlínová travelled to Ecuador on a trip created by EliteVoyage, where they discovered a new relationship with nature.

Lago Agrío, Ecuadorian Amazon

an

ACTIVE HOLIDAY in Ecuador

“Each part of Ecuador we visited was completely different. Our holiday felt much longer than it was, because there were so many experiences and activities” says Kateřina Havlínová. “It’s a holiday for people willing to give up a little comfort. Ecuador is still luxurious, but there are challenges and not everything will go exactly as planned, that’s just the way nature is.”

Ecuador stretches from dense Amazonian rainforest to the remote and mostly uninhabited Galapagos islands in the Pacific, with the volcanic Andes Mountains in between. The best destinations are far from modern civilisation and were not impacted by the well-reported issues Ecuador had last year.

“Ecuador is for people who are interested in learning something new, not just relaxing. It was a really active holiday” says Jiří Havlín, “you can’t only do what you want each day, you must follow the rhythm of animals and maximise the daylight. For conservation reasons the itinerary is largely fixed and you must adapt to doing activities in a small group.”

Finding a balance between conservation and tourism is Ecuador’s global success story. Many protected areas can only be visited with a specialist guide. Access to Galapagos sites is carefully controlled with time specific permits, restricting visitor numbers and preserving a certain exclusivity. Wilderness is thriving, wildlife is undisturbed, and visitors enjoy an intense immersion in another world.

Jirka adds: “I’m not particularly eco-conscious, but visiting a place like the Galapagos definitely changed my relationship with nature. Returning home I considered switching from a petrol to electric car. Galapagos is the destination I recommend most often to friends, because it’s something you can’t experience anywhere else. I’m so glad I was there, that I saw it for myself.”

Ecuador is for people who are interested in learning something new, not just relaxing.

Kateřina Havlínová and a Galapagos marine iguana

the GALAPAGOS islands

Wildlife on these islands is famously unique, with many endemic species that inspired Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. These animals evolved distinctly on each island, without natural predators. They are not scared of humans and it’s easy to be completely surrounded by their everyday behaviour, not merely observing from a distance.

“Galapagos was a dream come true” says Katka, “sea lions grabbed our hearts the most, especially mothers who had just given birth. They were fearless, calmly swimming around us. There were babies everywhere and playful toddlers. Kayak along the coast and you see them, but snorkelling you’re right among the animals.”

In the Galapagos there is an abundance, thousands upon thousands of animals to encounter every single day, sometimes at a single site. Some animals, like humpback whales and waved albatross arrive seasonally, most delight all year around, from penguins to tortoises, boobies and iguanas. Nature makes every day different, not only diverse animals but different activities to enjoy, in and out of the water.

It’s possible to explore the islands on trips from a single hotel base, like Pikaia Lodge and Galapagos Safari Camp on the island of Santa Cruz. This is the preferred option with kids. Exploring the full breadth of the archipelago and its experiences requires a small group cruise.

Jirka says: “On a boat you don’t have a table for two, you must adapt to people as well as the program. The boat was comfortable, with eight cabins and 16 guests. We were clearly the youngest among the guests.” Katka adds: “In a way it was relaxing, you don’t need to decide anything, everything flows. You meet people who are interested in the same things as you. It’s not a trip you go on for comfort, but for the experience.”

Snorkelling with a Galapagos sea lion

Visiting a place like the Galapagos definitely changed my relationship with nature...it's the destination I recommend most often to friends, because it's something you can't experience anywhere else.

Getting close to a blue-footed booby

It’s an impenetrable jungle around you, wherever you are. In ten steps you could easily be lost, but it’s so beautiful

AMAZON rainforest

Sacha Lodge is a very authentic Amazonian stay, overlooking the black waters of Pilchacocha Lake, in its own nature reserve. It’s one of the easiest Amazonian lodges to reach, requiring a 30-minute flight from Quito then two hours up the river. “It’s not an easy transfer, no car, two hours on a boat” says Jirka. Katka adds: “But it’s a nice experience, riding one of the Amazon tributaries, looking at the jungle around you. Then you canoe the final part to the lake and lodge.”

“The Amazon was a totally different environment requiring a new acclimatisation. It’s a rainforest, hot, harsh, humid. It’s an impenetrable jungle around you, wherever you are. In ten steps you could easily be lost, but it’s so beautiful” summarises Katka. Activities last for a few hours in the early morning and late afternoon, with the exact program adapted to guests’ fitness levels. Jirka says, “when they told me breakfast ends at 5:30am I thought nobody’s getting up! Then we realised that you must go out early because of the heat. You come back to the air conditioning around 10am and relax, before going back out into the jungle much later in the day. Visiting a local community in their village was my favourite experience, learning how people live and function in the jungle conditions.”

Katka concludes: “Our group always had two guides, a biologist and an Indian from the local community, telling us what each leaf is used for and what it can cure. You’re in the jungle with this dark lake water, which has a strong atmosphere. You go up to the canopy which is covered with bromeliads, everything is in bloom, and you see birds flying up in the trees. We saw sloths too. It’s all a very new travel experience.”

Exploring the Amazon near Sacha Lodge

River passing by Sacha Lodge Sacha Lodge

Hacienda Zuleta was an exceptional dining experience... meeting the daughter of the former Ecuadorian president was also an experience.

Jiří Havlín and Kateřina Havlínová on horseback at Hacienda Zuleta

northern HIGHLANDS

Ecuador’s Northern Highlands are framed by postcard-perfect volcanoes and colourful colonial towns. It’s a rural region where traditional life continues as it has for decades. It’s the best area to enjoy Ecuadoria’s distinctive haciendas. These are country estates or old farms, converted into small and beautiful hotels that are typically owner-operated. Hacienda Zuleta is the countryside retreat of a former Ecuadorian president and is now operated by his children.

Jirka says: “Hacienda Zuleta was an exceptional dining experience. We stayed for three days and I can name every dish we ate. It’s traditional local cuisine with a twist, made by chefs from the local community. We had amazing ceviche, lamb, rabbit…Meeting the daughter of the former president was also an experience. She’s a lady in the truest sense.”

Katka continues: “At 5pm the cheese was served and she came in, elegantly holding a glass. She continued conversations with all the guests. People immediately relax in her company, enjoying her stories of family life in Quito, when her father was president.”

Haciendas in the Northern Highlands are a nice contrast to the better known Ecuadorian destinations, as Jirka explains: “On the boat we were up at six, at Sacha Lodge we were up at four! Zuleta was where we could sleep as long as we wanted and make our own program each day. The climate in the Andes was also a nice cool down after the Amazon.”

Hacienda Zuleta’s grounds are for walking, horseback riding and watching endangered condors soar. For Katka it was “beautiful green and lush landscapes, overgrown fields, cows grazing…every evening there was a fire in our bedroom and a hot water bottle. It was all so relaxing and impressive. We really liked it here and are wondering how we can go back, if only for the food and walking.”

Hacienda Zuleta

Ecuador is home to 16% of the world’s bird species and over 10% of its plant species. Over 20% of the country is protected and there are wildlife destinations beyond Galapagos and the Amazon. Mashpi Lodge is a rainforest hotel in its own nature reserve, with its own ecosystem on a mountain plateau. “Modern, luxurious. Mashpi was great!” says Katka.

Jirka explains: “We love minimalist and modern design styles, so experiencing this in the rainforest was special. Even the food was contemporary. The climate was humid, but cooler than Sacha. It's a misty forest, so you need to be prepared for some fog.” The lodge is only 100 kilometres from Quito, although “of the whole trip, this is where we had the most challenging transfer. The last stretch of the road is very bumpy” adds Jirka.

Mashpi Lodge excels in providing unusual ways to explore the rainforest. There’s birdwatching, hiking, a canopy gondola, observation towers, sky bike, and many activities for children. “I really enjoyed walking in the dark with a torch, seeing tarantulas and different frogs,” says Katka, “I was so excited that if the guide had told me to touch anything, I would have done it.” Jirka replies: “At home she's afraid of spiders, here I didn't recognise her!”

This lodge has more modern and recognisable luxury compared to places in the Amazon and Galapagos. But for Katka, this isn’t the main reason to holiday in Ecuador: “We were taking a cable car over the treetops and suddenly the fog came. We couldn’t see anything but the rope. You say to yourself, everything just belongs to the fog forest, it's part of the experience.”

“I think Ecuador was the most powerful experience of all my vacations” she continues. “Anybody who loves nature will only confirm their relationship with nature. It's such a powerful place that even somebody like Jirka, who didn't really plan to go there, suddenly says Aha!”

CHOCÓ rainforest

"I think Ecuador was the most powerful experience of all my vacations. Anybody who loves nature will only confirm their relationship with nature. "

Jiří Havlín and Kateřina Havlínová in the Chocó Rainforest

Fog descends over the Chocó Rainforest

Ultima Courchevel Belvédére

Ski CHALETS in the Alps

Travel designer Matouš Grund explains the intricacies and realities of booking a ski chalet in the Alps, including the key considerations, locations and his personal favourites.

Matty, why do clients book a private chalet instead of a resort for their ski holidays?

With chalets there’s a much greater choice of location. Chalets are smaller than hotels and it’s easier to construct them closer to the slopes, or on the slopes. This means there are more ski-in ski-out options versus choosing a hotel. Chalets come with their own staff, including a chef and butler, so you are totally independent. In a hotel you must call the concierge and wait for a car. Or go for breakfast in the main restaurant. A chalet has its own manager, so when you’re out at a bar or restaurant and need a car it’s there in one WhatsApp message. You have a private kitchen and breakfast is served in your chalet. When you’re out on the slopes and want coffee, you message the butler. A few minutes later you ski into your own chalet for fresh coffee. Or an aperol spritz, whatever you want. You are also not dependent on sharing facilities either, like the ski room. It’s your own ski room that leads directly to the slopes. Privacy is the obvious reason to choose a chalet and for sure it’s important. Every client has a different feeling about the level of privacy they demand and even within chalets there are layers of privacy.

How do private chalets differ in terms of privacy?

This concept of privacy is relative of course. Even chalets that are part of a larger resort are still very private. For example, Le K2 Palace in Courchevel has four private chalets, ranging from five to seven bedrooms. It’s ski-in ski-out, each chalet has its spa area with indoor swimming pool, a kitchen, terrace, lounge with a fireplace, and all the other facilities we’d expect. Guests can use the facilities of Le K2 Palace resort too, but the chalets are managed by a different team. They’re independent and dining is done in the chalet.

Ultima Courchevel Belvédère has a total of 13 private chalets that share two large spa and wellness centres. They are fantastic chalets on the slopes with excellent service. However, it’s not a private spa, although you can get massages and treatments in your chalet. For some clients that’s absolutely fine. Wellness is key for other clients and they choose, for example, Ultima Crans-Montana, with its heated outdoor pool and a spa so large it would outshine most five-star hotels. Others prefer completely remote locations where they see hardly any other skiers.

Do ski chalets vary depending on their location across the Alps?

Chalets really depend on budget. If you want a fivebedroom chalet without a pool and wellness centre it’s relatively easy to find in any of the main Alps ski resorts. More luxurious ski-in ski-out chalets, with their own spa and pool and entertainment room, also exist in almost all locations. Of course they are more expensive and availability is very challenging, because there are less of them.

There are some trendy locations, like Verbier, Courchevel and Chamonix. These are better for clients who want to spend a few hours skiing and they do have good slopes, but the rest of the day is about shopping, going to restaurants and clubs. Gstaad has good chalets too, although the slopes are quite limited. Clients who really want to ski are more likely to choose somewhere like Lech, for example, where it’s more suited to adventurous long days on the slopes.

What are your personal favourites?

For me it depends on the style. I like heavy dark colours and the traditional wooden alpine design, this really old style but made with new materials. Some clients prefer bright colours, others like the Cheval Blanc minimalist design. This is another advantage with chalets, you have a wide choice of design style.

My favourite ski experiences are skiing into the chalet for a private drink, during a day out on the slopes. I also like that when you stay in a top chalet, everyone in the town knows about it. In Lech there are lots of exclusive parties over Christmas and New Year. And because we were staying in a top chalet, we never had any problems with reservations anywhere. Of course, like most people, my favourite ski experiences depend on having great snow.

How is snow changing in the Alps and how does this impact what you advise for clients?

Again it’s all about location. Snow levels have decreased drastically in recent years and unfortunately the longterm projections are not good. Consistently good skiing is moving to higher and higher altitudes. We usually recommend clients stay at least 1500 metres above sea level, preferably above 2000 metres depending on the time of year.

The slopes of Lech go from 1450 to 2450 metres and it’s usually a snow-sure destination. Solden is also a good option in Austria and has a long season thanks to its two glaciers - the highest slope starts at 3250 metres.

In general, France has the widest selection of luxury chalets in high altitude ski resorts. Tignes-Val d’Isere and Val Thorens are above 2000 metres and have slopes above 3000 metres, making them reliable choices for dedicated skiers. Another solid snow-sure area is around the Matterhorn, like Zermatt and Verbier in Switzerland, or Cervinia in Italy.

I’m cautious about advising other resort areas in the Dolomites. The slopes are mostly south facing and enjoy sunny days, so it can be amazing in January and February. But the snow melts quickly and the season is ending earlier and earlier.

CHALETS

offer a much greater choice of location, with a lot more ski-in ski-out options versus choosing a hotel.

Ultima Crans Montana

View from a chalet at Le K2 Palace Courchevel

Personally I love Switzerland. Last year I stayed at The Lodge by Virgin Limited Edition, Sir Richard Branson’s mountain retreat in Verbier. This is a very cool lodge with amazing views and nine bedrooms, making it ideal for larger groups, up to 18 adults and six children. The top floor has two gorgeous master bedrooms and on one entire floor there is a dining room, bar and patio.

It’s located in the centre of Verbier, only a few steps from the main gondola. So it’s not ski-out, although it does connect onto one of the returning slopes. This will be a disadvantage for clients who want to come in and out of the chalet throughout the day. Verbier has over 100 kilometres of connected slopes and if clients are making long ski expeditions every day then they might not care about the distance to the gondola.

The Lodge, Verbier

There is a beautiful indoor spa and wellness centre, which is a big reason to consider this property. The staff have been working there for many years and I was also very impressed with the service. I could really tell they’re a tight team, who know how to provide discreet, on-point service to very high-end clients.

The Lodge exterior

have been working there for many years and I was also very impressed with the service.

Skiing in Verbier

The Lodge Master Suite 1

Ultima

Courchevel

Belvédère

Aerial view of UUltima Courchevel Belvédère

I’ve had many clients staying at Ultima Courchevel Belvédère and more clients will be staying there at the end of 2024 too. During all these stays I’ve never had any phone calls or messages from clients. For me, this is the best possible feedback! It shows there’s a very good level of service and my clients are being well looked after. I’m in direct contact with the chalet butler and manager, so we can immediately troubleshoot any issue together. For example, if the weather is bad we can discuss an alternative program and make sure the clients still get as much as possible out of their holiday.

These are independent four- and five-bedroom chalets that are connected via a single underground corridor. They are set directly on the slopes, with prime ski-in ski-out location amongst three different valleys. The chalets are at an altitude of 1750, a short journey away from 1850 and La Rosiére Forest, and also the lively bar and restaurant scene of 1650.

Clients usually tell me that they only used the spa a couple of times, so it wasn’t an issue that the spa facilities are shared with a few other chalets. A more important factor is the high quality and personalisation of the dining, which is always mentioned in our clients’ feedback. These chalets are also very appealing price wise, as they start at around 60,000 EUR for one week in a five-bedroom chalet, depending on the time of year.

PRIME

ski-in ski-out location amongst three different valleys, at an altitude of 1750.

Ski Chalets in the Alps

Living room on top floor of a Prestige Residence, Ultima Courchevel Belvédère

Matty, how can you be sure a chalet offers great service and doesn’t only look amazing in photos?

We have personal experience at many chalets across the Alps. Either we’ve stayed there, been invited for an inspection, or had clients or friends give their feedback. We also cooperate with the oldest and best ski chalet provider in Europe, a company that is really taking care of owners’ chalets.

The company knows everyone working at each chalet. We request the CVs of the chalet team and check all staff before our client makes a booking. We can see where the chef used to work and the experience they have, a good indication of how the food can be.

I also like this company because they have direct contact with the owner, so it’s easy to make requests and manage a booking. There is no unnecessary reseller diluting our communication. They don’t offer chalets from a company owning many chalets. Sometimes we have direct contact with a chalet owner, but most chalet owners use a provider and we work with the best provider.

What are the first questions you ask a client when they enquire about a chalet?

Most important are the dates and then the location. Not only in terms of the country or ski resort, or whether it has to be ski-in ski-out, but also the level of slopes around the chalet. We don’t send very experienced skiers to a beginner’s ski resort. Even within a resort, one chalet can be surrounded by slopes that are perfect for a family with younger children, while another at a higher altitude has great access to black runs and off-piste opportunities.

The number of people is obviously an important question, but it’s just as important for me to know exactly who is coming. For example, a lot of chalets only offer double beds and no twin beds, which is fine for some groups and an absolute no for others. I’m thinking about the number of beds, not only the number of rooms. Normally the enquiry comes from one client who is going on holiday with lots of people, either friends, family or a mix of both. When we discuss the trip further I want to know the preferences of people across the group, so I can create a proposal that will suit everybody.

What do clients need to think about when considering a ski chalet?

The majority of ski chalets have a couple of master bedrooms, usually on the highest floor. The other bedrooms are smaller and not as grand, often a level down in terms of size, view or design. In many chalets the final bedroom has bunk beds, so it’s normally a room for kids, or for a client’s staff, like drivers, security or nannies.

So a five-bedroom chalet can have two presidential bedrooms, two junior suites and a bedroom with bunk beds. You need to discuss with your group who will sleep where and sometimes you need more bedrooms than you initially think.

Are private chalets also booked by a single family?

It depends on the price and the family’s attitude towards privacy. Chalets typically have a minimum of three bedrooms and one family of four can still book a chalet and have all the advantages, with the kids getting their own bedrooms. Obviously there are costs to having a private chef and chalet manager, costs which are more economical when spread across a larger group. With every family we can compare a multi-bedroom suite at a top property with a suitable chalet option, so the family can make an informed decision.

Matouš Grund skiing in Verbier, April 2024

TO know the preferences, so I can create a proposal that will suit everybody.

How far in advance do you need to book a ski chalet?

If you want a chalet for Christmas, New Year or during the school holidays, you should book far in advance. I’m talking about choosing from the very best chalets in the very best locations, because there are not that many of them. They are gone in a click of the fingers. Ultima Courchevel Belvédère has a couple of locations and a lot of chalets, so availability is better compared to a single owner’s chalet. When I stayed in The Lodge Verbier in March it was already fully booked for the peak times of this coming winter season. Often I’m making bookings in May for the following February or March. Unfortunately, around one year in advance is necessary for the very best chalets, so January is the time to book for December. Many skiers are re-booking the same ski chalet for next year, during their existing ski holiday. They don’t want to risk the availability of a ski chalet that completely meets their needs.

Do your clients also make repeat bookings to the same ski chalet?

Some do, when they love the resort and the chalet I’ve found for them. But there’s still a lot of possibility across the Alps when you book in advance. The same client can have completely different requirements year on year, depending on who they are travelling with. So it doesn’t make sense to simply book the same chalet.

Of course, I also handle transportation for my clients. Private jets are an efficient way to get to the Alps and save a lot of time on traffic-clogged roads. Flying in the mountains in winter can sometimes bring other challenges, something I always discuss with clients. Together we consider what makes the most sense for the trip. Creating the itinerary for a great ski holiday takes many other elements into account, far from just accommodation and transport. When clients are in contact with me, they understand the level of detail we are working at.

Ultima Crans Montana

Ski Chalets in the Alps

Sound Sight Touch Smell Taste

The temple bell stops–but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers.

Matsuo Bashō

SOUND THE SECRETS OF SOUND

How do you describe a sound? How do you hear sounds? Dr. Stephane Pigeon is the founder of myNoise.net, a vast library of interactive sound generators that immerse listeners in faraway places. He explains the science of sound and how we can be more conscious of what we hear.

Stephane, what fascinates you so much about sound?

I found something neglected, something mysterious that wasn’t well explained. Every frequency of light we name with a colour, so we can describe a rainbow. We only have numbers to express the frequencies of sound, no words. If humankind doesn’t invent the words to describe something, that something doesn’t exist in the minds of people.

I was educated in music, but only after developing an engineering mind did I realise it wasn’t music that fascinated me, just sound. Somewhere between the artistic realm of music and the science of engineering there was a big gap where I could live, helping to make people conscious of what we are all missing.

Do we all perceive sounds in the same way?

Blue is blue for everyone, but we comprehend colours in different ways, just look at how people dress. With every sense there are things we like and things we don’t. Some people find the sound of a croaking frog relaxing. Others hate it. A sound is emitted by something and you can’t disassociate the sound from the thing. This creates emotions. Hear a hooting elephant on safari and it’s beautiful. But when you hear a sound of the same low frequency in your house, like a power drill, you won’t like it.

Why do you think sound is neglected?

Everything is visual in our world. We live with our eyes and they take 90% of our CPU time. They use so much power we need to rest, so you close your eyes, shut down the CPU and sleep. That’s where ears come from. Ears are active 24 hours a day, so the slightest sound perceived as a danger will wake us. Without hearing, the earliest humans would have been eaten by bears and lions in their sleep. There is a direct, unbroken connection between the brain and the ears, for the core survival of life.

How exactly do the ears and brain communicate, especially when you are sleeping?

The ears send triggers to the brain. Strong triggers will wake you. Quieter ones can alter the pattern of your sleep and influence the dream you are in, without hitting the threshold to wake you. If you sleep well next to the ocean it’s because firstly you associate the ocean with wellbeing, and also because the ocean is a mask, a blanket over your ears and those triggers. Jungle is an overwhelming soundscape many people don’t like, maybe because they associate jungle with leeches and crocodiles. It’s active across all frequencies, so it’s also a perfect blanket to mask many triggers.

The goal with the myNoise soundscapes is to provide blankets for your hearing, so you can wipe away triggers that disturb you, including triggers you sometimes don’t notice.

How can we be more conscious of the sounds we hear?

Closing your eyes is a good start. But it’s difficult because we don’t have the vocabulary. Imagine if we had no names for colours, we would be colour blind. If I say blue you can vividly picture blue. Close your eyes, listen to a sound and then describe it in one word. Nothing pops up as the image counterpart. I can’t say the Indian Ocean sounds more schmumble (hey I invented a name here) than the Mediterranean, only that it looks more turquoise. We never invented the words so we must actively make comparisons. Actually, we invented the words bass, treble, and mids, for anything in between. How poor is that?

Record the ocean from one beach and then another. Listen to the recordings together and you will hear new sounds, because they only appear in one. Cup your ears and you can focus on the sound from a certain direction, like a particular wave. Rotate your head and focus on another spot. Come back and forth and compare how they sound, in terms of all the nuances that we refer to simply as mids. Then you can start hearing the colours of the frequencies.

When I started myNoise, I created a soundscape of the wind. Back then, wind was just wind. A user said, what about the sound of wind through falling needles in a pine forest? Later I went to the desert and recorded the wind, then the wind through an isolated tree in the desert. What was one sound, wind, becomes an infinity. The more you record, the more your ears notice subtle differences and these differences become prominent features.

MyNoise has over 300 soundscapes to listen to. Where are the most inspiring places you’ve recorded?

Madeira, Ireland, a cave in Slovenia where we gained special access to a subterranean lake, hundreds of metres below the surface. It was completely black, perfectly silent. I let water drip from the paddle, one drop at a time. As an engineer it was the most amazing sound because it was the most contrasted. I was hearing the faintest sound - the drop - wrapped in pure silence. Actually, it wasn’t silence, I started to hear the background noise produced by my own ears. I also remember going to Finland, to record wolves in the night. We went to a little community in the middle of nowhere, no electricity, cutting wood to make a fire. That was a wonderful experience.

How do you make the myNoise soundscapes so immersive?

Sound is one of the easiest ways to be truly immersed. It’s always more immersive than sight. There is no 3D technology that will render what you can see all around you, with a definition as sharp as your vision. That is not true with sound. With good quality headphones you can close your eyes and pretend you are elsewhere, transported by sound.

I use microphones spaced by the distance between your ears. Our hearing doesn’t use loudness but time difference to know where a sound comes from. At 340 metres per second a sound hits one ear first, then is reflected around your face before reaching the other ear. Those milliseconds are the clue for your brain. Listen to a studio music album and the sound will move to different places between your ears, because the engineer adjusts the volume of each little sound between the left and right channels, not with differences in time. Whereas close your eyes and listen to a soundscape made for myNoise through good headphones, and you will hear distinct sounds coming from outside your headphones. Your brain is tricked by timing differences between channels.

What are the biggest challenges you face when creating the soundscapes?

Each soundscape is made of ten recordings, or channels. Each of these has its own volume slider, so the user can manipulate the soundscape to their ears. I always want to cover the range of frequencies, from the rumble, the lowest 20 hertz, to the highest of 20,000 hertz, far above a buzzing mosquito. Many soundscapes are a collage of different recordings, made at different places or times, like the soundscape called Distant Thunder. Or imaginative ones, like the Dunes of Arrakis.

Go to the landcapes section of myNoise and you have the real thing - a mixture of recordings made at the same place, at the same time. For example, a Japanese garden, Tierra Del Fuego, the Irish coast or Aotearoa. I go to a place and open my mind to frequencies. A recent one is Forêt Ouareau in Quebec. I record a waterfall and have the bass. Droplets of water shimmering on the sand provide the highest frequencies. I record the tide and the wind, so there are sliders for tide and wind.

Yet each sound has to be recorded without the presence of another. That’s the big challenge and the fun part, probably why nobody else is crazy enough to have a site like myNoise. Some sounds, like cicadas, are active in a very narrow frequency range, so I can filter them in the studio without affecting the quality. Many aren’t, so my main trick is to use time. I record a place for 24 hours and then extract a few minutes of good, clean sound.

MyNoise is based on donations, so when the budget doesn’t allow travel, I team up with fans of the site around the world, who make recordings in distant places.

The sound of anywhere is continuous, so how do you make the soundscapes sound infinite?

Through engineering trickery and creating a perfect loop. On myNoise you won’t hear the loops. It’s easy to create an unnoticeable loop with continuous sounds, like a waterfall or coast. The challenge is with irregular sounds, such as wildlife. For example birds and frogs have a call and response rhythm. So if you hear the same two frogs communicating in the same way, you would notice a loop. My trick is to create multiple loops with different looping periods that interact with each other, so that the recombination always interacts in different ways. This way your brain doesn’t recognise something you’ve heard before, the “loop.”

What are your favourite sounds?

Jungles are full of ultrasound, frequencies above what we can hear. I record them with special microphones then slow it down in the studio, it’s like slowing down a vinyl record and everything becoming lower in pitch. First it’s silent and then you start hearing things you can’t actually hear. After recording dolphins underwater I slowed the audio by a factor of two to three. Most dolphin sounds are ultrasonic and for me, these highest frequencies are fantastic.

Whales are the opposite, they have incredibly low frequencies called infrasound, so low our speakers won’t play them and we can’t hear them. So I speed them up. Elephants will have ears tuned to lower frequencies, to hear other elephants walking far away. Bats and dolphins use sonar to ping ultrasound and communicate.

Does our range of hearing mean we’re missing a lot of the world?

No, as humans we can hear most sounds. It’s an evolutionary thing, our survival meant our ears tuned into the most active frequencies of the world. Interestingly, we don’t hear all frequencies uniformly. Our ears are most sensitive to frequencies around 1 kilohertz and we hear these louder than they actually are. For example, a baby cries at 1 kilohertz, not a mistake when you think from an evolutionary perspective.

The sounds we hear are infinite, just like the things we see. Maybe you’re missing a lot of the world because you don’t think about sound. Simply by being more conscious of sound can open up a whole world we didn’t notice before.

SOUND IS ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO BE TRULY IMMERSED. IT’S ALWAYS MORE IMMERSIVE THAN SIGHT...WITH GOOD QUALITY HEADPHONES YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR EYES AND PRETEND YOU ARE ELSEWHERE, TRANSPORTED BY SOUND.

SOUND SCAPE

SOUND FIND THE SOUND OF SILENCE

The rarity of silence. Precious moments adrift from outside noise, clear in mind. As external noises fade away, it’s possible to listen to what’s within. The heart beating, a finger twitching, the harmony that exists within body and mind.

Research consistently shows that silence decreases stress and lowers blood pressure. It improves clarity of thought, provides time to process emotions and make better decisions. This contrasts prolonged exposure to noise. All the stimuli must be processed, creating this feeling of overstimulation and being unable to think clearly.

Absolute silence is unachievable. Even silence has a sound, as the sounds coming from within cannot be controlled. Some people find the absence of sound “deafening” as they feel a sense of fullness in the ears. True silence would confuse us anyway. The goal is to find an inner silence, a silence of the mind. Thoughts never stop, but in the presence of silence they become less interesting. Definitely not as interesting as birds singing in the distance, or waves rippling softly across toes.

Realising the benefits of silence is all about creating the external conditions. And holidays can do exactly that, for a moment, an hour, a week or more. Long enough to hear the sound of silence and find an inner peace.

Wellbeing Resorts

A spa is an obvious first place to look in order to find tranquillity. Wellbeing resorts provide a sanctuary in which to be silent. Sound therapies are becoming more popular at these wellbeing resorts, including sensory deprivation therapies. This involves floating in a pool of water with a high salt content, in a dark and silent room.

JOALI BEING was the first wellbeing island in the Maldives and the only resort in the country offering this therapy. The resort utilises vibrations and resonance as part of other sound healing therapies on the island, including a Discovery Sound Path and SEDA, a sound therapy hall.

Accessible Wilderness

The best spas manufacture an environment in which silence can be heard. This silence occurs naturally in areas of wilderness, beyond the reaches of urban environments. It’s not necessary to travel to the poles or the stratosphere to experience this.

Norway is a great example. There’s a developed infrastructure which provides relatively easy access to the wilderness. Properties like Storfjord Hotel and 29.2 Aurland offer lots of modern luxuries. But in a few minutes, by bike, hiking or kayaking, there is nobody to see and nothing to hear.

Complete Wilderness

Very few places in the world remain virtually untouched by tourism and development. The Sahara is the biggest of these and Algeria has recently opened up to visitors. Exploring the Algerian Sahara is an adventure in the unknown and the silence can be deafening.

It’s a place of healing that calms the soul. Local guide and EliteVoyage partner Youssef Touggui takes visitors deep into the desert, where he sets up a comfortable camp and provides a unique luxury - a holiday experience nobody else has had.

Beach Solitude

Softly lapping waves and wind flowing across the sand. The sounds of near silence on an empty beach. Hard to find across the Mediterranean in summer but beaches without footprints are the norm in some places of the world. Like the Seychelles.

It offers many uninhabited islands, reachable by private yacht tour or kayak. Granite rocks help to separate beaches into smaller bays, providing natural privacy. Resorts are spread across large areas and some even make beaches private to individual guests.

1. Autumn sunrise in Tremblant national park, Quebec, Canada

2. Dr. Stephane Pigeon recording on Ile aux lièvres, Quebec

3. Dr. Stephane Pigeon recording in a forest in Finland

4. SEDA at JOALI BEING

5. Trolltunga at Lake Ringedalsvatnet, Norway

6. Djanet, southeastern Algeria 7. Félicité Island, Seychelles

Seychelles

Who holidays in the Seychelles and why?

Stephen Bailey goes in search of the Seychelles holiday vibe and explores four very different island resorts: Anantara Maia, Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, Six Senses Zil Pasyon and North Island.

words & photos Stephen Bailey

Mahé Island & Seychelles Impressions

Jungle shrouded mountains set the scene as I descend into Mahé, the largest of 115 Seychelles islands. I’m just below the equator, 4.5 hours south from Dubai, the runway flush against the Indian Ocean. Humid, tropical air greets me. Nature is my first impression, a thousand shades of green dominates as we twist over a mountain to Anantara Maia.

The resort spreads across a cove, cliff and peninsula, 30 detached one-bedroom villas with beautiful outdoor living spaces and pools. Snorkelling from the beach I encounter endangered hawksbill sea turtles and a great variety of tropical fish. Lounging on the beach I find real tranquillity, barely another soul on the sand. This is a great base for exploration, by boat to nearby islands and beaches, or with a driver going around the island.

For now I recuperate in the spa. And what a spa! Tucked away in the jungle, with elegant Balinese-style treatment rooms open to nature. I’m drifting off to the natural call of birds and insects and of the four resorts I visit, Anantara Maia’s was the best in terms of both facilities and treatments.

Visiting four resorts I also discover that Seychelles is a destination that thinks sustainably. Plastic is conspicuously absent. Most construction materials are natural and blend into the environment. Resorts don’t shout about being sustainable, they just do it. There’s real pride in conservation and preserving what makes these islands unique. Everywhere I go feels unspoiled: over 60% of land, 90% of coastlines, and a third of all waters are protected areas.

As a honeymooning couple we fit perfectly with the Anantara Maia vibe. Villas are very private and we especially appreciate the large outdoor living areas. They’re very peaceful with stunning views over the ocean and lingering sunsets, also ideal for in-villa dining which I’m told is the norm among guests here. I like the resort’s down-to-earth resort style too - there’s no reception or lobby - which quickly slows us into island rhythm. Although there’s only

one restaurant it has five chefs and five menus, in essence five a la carte restaurants at one table. All the food is very impressive and it’s novel to have an Indian tandoor starter, Creole fish curry main and then chocolate lava cake.

Convenience is Anantara Maia’s other key advantage. It’s only a 30-minutes drive from the airport and there are easy transfers to other island resorts directly from the helipad. Overall, this is a great option at the start or end of a holiday. It’s easy to coordinate with international flights and epitomises what the Seychelles offers. Beautiful villas and beaches, a laid-back and indulgent vibe, plus a lot of experiences in nature.

Castaway Vibes on a Coral Island

Flying to Platte Island the landscape changes dramatically. For 20 minutes there’s nothing to see, except ocean blue. A dot in the distance grows larger, an isolated coral atoll topped by a completely flat island. Touching down I find a landscape of tropical gardens and sandy bicycle trails.

Walking around the island takes about one hour, on white sand and exposed coral. Looking out there’s only water in all directions, not even a boat passing by. Waves rumble far in the distance, where the atoll drops vertically. This castaway vibe is liberating, like I’ve travelled somewhere I can’t be found. And the atoll’s lagoon is a remarkable place. Baby blacktip reef sharks glide around, barely 30 centimetres long. Baby rays are easy to spot in shallow water. Turtles poke their heads out. Encountering these animals while simply walking on the beach is a very powerful experience and it must be amazing for a child.

I’m learning that the Seychelles is a mix of exploration and serenity. We kayak around the island and stop to rest on a deserted white sandbank - kayak snorkelling is also an activity I’d recommend. Paddle boarding is our favourite as it offers an elevated perspective onto the lagoon.

Green turtle, hawksbill turtle, stingray, another turtle, eagle ray, baby shark, and so it continues. On one paddle around the island we count 30 different turtle sightings. Rays are innumerable. Dozens of harmless sharks swim beneath us. With such abundance it’s unimaginable these species are endangered, which is a credit to Platte’s unspoiled landscape and strong conservation. A keen diver must be in paradise here too.

In three days we can easily go everywhere on the island and try almost all the different experiences. We are very active travellers and our personal villa concierge is always making suggestions. Like a walk or talk with an island conservationist. Sunset yoga, reef walks, a sunset

cruise on board the resort’s yacht. Of course the spa as well, a nice space for couple’s treatments. Most of the activities are complementary and I appreciate not having a concierge chasing after my signature every time.

My surprising favourite is a coffee workshop with the master barista, in Waldorf Astoria’s signature Peacock Cafe, experimenting at the only coffee roastery in the Seychelles and drinking a coconut-milk-infused cold brew. I like when resorts value this everyday drink as something creative and exceptional. Guests can make their own roast, custom to their taste, for all their coffee during a stay.

We also drink pizza, tzatziki, pasteis and baklava. Somehow vodka mixed with mozzarella, tomato and basil really tastes like a cold, alcoholic pizza. It’s fantastic. Different signature cocktails are served with sushi at the sunset bar. Novel cocktails from mezcal and rum come at the lively Maison des Epices restaurant, where we feast on highly impressive meat and seafood, all prepared with a Creole and Latino culinary touch.

Of the four resorts I visit, Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island has the best dining and drinking. As somebody with a mostly vegetarian everyday diet, the plant-based Moulin restaurant is my personal highlight. Cauliflower, mushrooms, cabbage, roots, sprouts, herbs, wild leaves; almost all the ingredients picked from exotic gardens literally outside the restaurant, preserved and cured and transformed into something magical. And superbly paired with South African wines.

The restaurant’s goal is to have 100% of ingredients from the island within one year. One of the largest solar farms in the Indian Ocean provides most of the resort’s electricity. Villas are deliberately set back from the beach, to not interrupt turtle nesting. We have a one-bedroom hawksbill pool villa and there are multi-bedroom options for families, on the other side of the island. Our villa is surrounded by tropical trees and hedges, private enough to swim naked in the large villa pool. It does mean we are not on the beach and don’t have an open ocean view. Other villas do and are not as private. The muted villa interiors are not to my taste. However, I do like how the outdoor spaces are designed across the resort, particularly the thousands of shells and turquoise tiles, better in tune with the lush surroundings.

It’s so green everywhere in the Seychelles. These islands receive more annual rainfall than the Maldives and the weather changed rapidly during my trip, from sunshine to short, sharp rainfall, then to grey clouds and back to blue skies, sometimes within an hour. The annual climate is defined by two different tradewinds. Statistically, the driest months are October, November, April and May. Most people told me this is becoming impossible to predict and a little rain can interrupt an activity or change a day’s program. It can prevent a full day of sunbathing, but I’m discovering that long days on the beach and pool are not the reason to visit Seychelles anyway.

Overall I recommend Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island as part of a multi-island Seychelles holiday. The resort facilities are the best of the four resorts I visited and it’s a place where both couples and families will enjoy. But the island itself is smaller and less interesting than the Seychelles granite islands. A short stay is ideal. Come discover marine life, be active and try different activities, while enjoying a new and creative resort. Then gain a completely different island experience somewhere else.

Jungle & Granite

Paradise on the Inner Islands

Granite rocks balance impossibly on each other. Palm trees hang far over the white sand. Beaches hide far down jungle paths. Trails rise up the mountain and one leads to a dreamy sunset spot, a private place for canapes and Champagne as we experience Six Senses Zil Pasyon.

There’s always somewhere new to discover on this island of granite, tangled jungle and sand. Like the spa treatment rooms, accessed via a rope bridge through a labyrinth of boulders, to where an infinity pool awaits amid the wondrous scenery. It’s a very well known Instagram spot and the resort’s clientele are definitely the younger, stylishly dressed, Instagram crowd. The resort atmosphere is grown up and all about couples enjoying their space.

The Seychelles Inner Islands are the world’s only oceanic granite islands. They’re incredibly distinctive and Felicite island is the most impressive of my holiday, a large protected island, uninhabited except for one resort with 30 villas. It takes 15 minutes in a golf buggy to go from our villa on the sunrise side, to a beach on the sunset side. Then there’s another two thirds of the island beyond the resort grounds, rarely visited by anyone.

Each villa is perched amid the granite and trees, with an uninterrupted view onto the ocean and different nearby islands. The villas are so spaced out I can’t even see my neighbours’. A swing dominates the villa bathroom and the bathtub has a dreamy view. In the infinity pool it’s like I’m swimming on the edge of a cliff.

Although the design is heavy on wood it’s not rustic, rather a natural and contemporary style blending stealthily into its surrounding landscape. Reasons of design, exclusivity and space make this my favourite villa of the holiday. Inside the villa it feels like we have an entire island to ourselves.

The experience at Six Senses Zil Pasyon is about the villa and the island. The resort centre is surprisingly small with limited facilities. We drift off in a two-person hammock, on a long beach with no other guests. Kayaking 20 minutes across the ocean we find ourselves alone on uninhabited Coco Island. Snorkelling from the beach is good, although the impact of coral bleaching is very apparent and makes me appreciate the rarity of snorkelling on a healthy tropical reef.

Resort guides know snorkelling spots at nearby islands and a half day snorkel excursion is certainly worth it. There are many possibilities for fishing and scuba diving. Hiking trails take us across the island interior and it always feels like our own private island. Simply cruising around Felicite island is a blissful experience too, with so many deserted beaches to find.

Seychelles

Most the Seychelles Inner Islands are easy to visit from Six Senses Zil Pasyon too, like famous La Digue and smaller uninhabited islands unreachable without a private yacht. The resort has its own yachts and absolutely everything necessary for adventures on the water.

However, this is the weakest of the four resorts I visited in terms of service and facilities. The two restaurants and one bar merge into each other and I do miss another, more conceptual dining option. In-villa dining is understandably popular and there are destination dining options. Gastronomy is the resort’s main weak point though, notably the main restaurant, where the wide menu is designed to appease everyone but lacks top quality and feels old fashioned, not on brand in terms of Six Senses wellness and sustainability either.

For all other aspects of this island resort I would recommend Six Senses Zil Pasyon for a stay of one week, even potentially longer. There is so much to explore, so many things to do and every moment feels precious. The villas are simply divine and the beaches are like something from a dream. Demanding foodies will struggle after a few days though.

By now I’m fully settled into the Seychelles holiday style, which completely suits me as an active traveller. I like a program full of experiences and on Felicite I just wish I had more than 48 hours! While the beaches are more spectacular than the photos suggest, this just doesn’t feel like a purely beach destination. Seychelles is a destination for exploration.

115 number of islands in the Seychelles

Exclusivity Wilderness on North Island

In a H120 Airbus helicopter we fly directly from Six Senses Zil Pasyon to North Island in 25 minutes. Impressive islands jut out from the ocean, each marked by shimmering beaches, jungle-ravaged mountains, peaks, reefs, rocks and barely anything artificial. Only three Seychelles islands are populated and I can see why pirates loved the archipelago, with all the countless places to hide from the world.

Approaching the twin peaks of North Island we fly over a long white beach and a tract of thick jungle. Touching down we’re greeted by giant tortoises, some of the 200 who roam freely across the island. North is comfortably the most exclusive of the resorts, with only 11 villas strung along one long, main beach, on an island measuring over 200 hectares. We have our own private butler and our own golf buggy, to make our own adventures in nature. Everything is amazingly private, everywhere around the island.

Brad Pitt. Prince William and Kate. The Clooneys. North Island is known as a destination for the top echelons of world glitterati. I expected more glitz and glamour, but that’s totally not North Island. It’s barefoot vibes all the way and a simple, understated style. Everything is made to maximise the wilderness and nature. Reconnecting with nature on a wild island must be a true luxury for people who live in palaces and can buy almost any material thing. Island walking trails are rough and rugged, a real adventure across granite rocks and tangled vegetation. We drive 20 minutes along dirt trails to a beach without footprints. It’s called Honeymoon Beach and when it rains we hide away in a thatched roof cabana, listening to birds and waves. Later we discover our butler quietly roped off access, so the long beach was always completely private.

Last season the island’s conservation team marked over 500 sea turtle nesting sites. The only time we see other resort guests is when hatchlings make their break for ocean life on West Beach. We barely see any staff either, they’re available via WhatsApp instead. But we do see lots of gi-

ant endemic tortoises, which are similar sized to those in Galapagos. Often we must stop and wait for a tortoise to cross the trail. One patriarch, Brutus, eats mushy apple slices from our hands.

Again, this isn’t a destination for lying around and doing nothing. I’m an advanced level scuba diver and the two sites we visit are phenomenal. Large marine life swarms at 12 to 15 metre depths, with massive stingrays, tunas, wrasse, turtles, four different shark species including a three-metre lemon shark. Eels poke from crevices and it’s like we’re diving among a who’s who from the tropical fish charts - lionfish and scorpionfish will always be my favourites!

After the dive we lounge around a spectacular infinity pool overlooking the beach, where of course we are alone. There’s a spa on a hill overlooking the ocean. Restaurant Piazza is on the same beach as the villas and the other on West Beach feels like the edge of the world. Our butler offers many private drinking and dining spots around the island. In-villa dining is the norm and our villa has its own kitchen, where a chef prepares our breakfasts.

North Island does have menus, but the general manager tells me they are just for “ideas.” This is a resort to order anything at any time. Like tuna tataki on the beach at 4pm. A Champagne picnic setup for sunset. I ask about local seafood and the chef makes a four-course tasting dinner. Everything is excellent quality and I’m impressed by the creativity and adaptability of the island team.

The logistics of a large island means nothing happens quickly. By WhatsApp we order a cocktail to the beach, but it’s a 15-minute buggy journey just for the butler to reach us. There aren’t hundreds of staff either. It’s an island where we don’t see the service, an island that verbally encourages us to forget about time, where we are completely free to create the program we want: snorkelling, deep-sea fishing, paddle boarding, kayaking. The resort’s guides and three yachts are available for almost any type of adventure too and it would take months to discover everywhere in the area.

Each villa sprawls across a large wooden deck and has two bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s a shabby chic style without concrete, tree trunks used as pillars and roofs made from thatch. Only the bedrooms are fully enclosed with air conditioning. The bathrooms and many living spaces are open to nature, with views onto the garden and ocean waves.

Given this is comfortably the most expensive Seychelles resort, it’s easy to expect opulence. This isn’t the resort’s style. All 11 villas are hidden within nature, where the jungle meets the sand. There are ocean views from everywhere, yet the beachfront villas can’t be seen from the beach.

Exclusivity and wilderness is the resort’s style. And true wilderness is becoming so rare on our planet. While it’s famous as an island for couples, the villas, privacy and freely-created programs suit families too - many of the guests are actually families. North Island offers a chance to go back to basics and reconnect with nature, without giving up on comfort and service, on one of the most beautiful islands I’ve ever seen.

200 hectares size of North Island

10 species of ray found in the Inner Islands

25 minutes helicopter flight time between Six Senses Zil Pasyon and North Island

A Multi-Island Seychelles Holiday

Departing the Seychelles - Emirates has two flights daily, Qatar and Ethiopian have one - I’m struck by how underdeveloped the country feels. Other islands are part of most ocean vistas, yet there is very little boat traffic and no other resorts in view. Most islands are mountainous and uninhabited. The Seychelles could have another fifty resorts and it wouldn’t feel crowded.

This archipelago offers something incredibly rare. An infrastructure that’s well established for true high-end travel. In an unspoiled destination that doesn’t feel touristic. The government has stopped giving licences for new island resorts and hotels. Any new property must take over an existing property, like a new Cheval Blanc which should open in early 2025.

Diversity between islands makes the Seychelles a great destination for island hopping. Helicopter charters are the standard way to get around and all top resorts have a helipad. They are super efficient scenic flights, on an H120 Airbus that can take up to four passengers with luggage.

Returning home it feels like I’ve been on holiday for a month. Somehow, it’s only been eight days. That’s the beauty of island hopping and a program filled with experiences and new impressions. I can’t pick a favourite island from my trip. The biggest highlight was combining them. I wouldn’t recommend only two nights at each resort like my trip. Each is worthy of at least three to four nights, potentially more depending on your style of travel.

The island resorts I visited are excellent overall quality and boutique in terms of the small number of villas and high level of service. The islands themselves are far larger than the Maldives. Yet for a purely beach holiday there are many places around the world that can rival the Seychelles. This destination stands out because there is so much to do and so many places to go explore. The landscapes are otherworldly. And the exclusivity with nature is a dream for active travellers.

Seychelles

1. Arrival into North Island by helicopter

2. Stephen Bailey with his wife Christa

Beach at Anantara Maia

Sound Sight Touch Smell Taste

…I thank you light, for the subtle way your merest touch gives shape to such things I could only learn to love through your delicate instruction, and I thank you, this morning waking again, most intimately and secretly for your visible invisibility, the way you make me look at the face of the world so that everything becomes an eye to everything else…

from BLESSING FOR THE LIGHT

by David Whyte

SIGHT THE LIGHT OF BÁRA ŠKORPILOVÁ

Bára Škorpilová’s studio Mimolimit focuses on both architecture and interior design. You may recognise her creative signature in hotels you have visited, such as Grand Hotel Hradec in Pec pod Sněžkou or Velaa Private Island in the Maldives. We chatted with Bára about light, travel and the art of seeing.

photos Filip Šlapal (interior), Alžběta Jungrová (portrait)

Bára, do you like to travel?

I love travelling! I travel for work, with my son and with my partner, so sometimes it's hard to juggle it all together.

Are there places you keep returning to?

We repeatedly go to Tuscany, to Velaa, and to the Dolomites in winter and summer. Mongolia is also beautiful to me because of its nature. I've returned to Japan eight times, drawn by the culture, way of life, preserved monuments, modern art and old crafts, plus the mutual respect and close relationships between its people.

Your portfolio includes large resorts and small items like vases and tables. What has been your most complex project?

There have been many, from the PPF and J&T offices to private residences, castle spas and Velaa Private Island. We couldn't do larger projects without a team of architects, engineers, project managers, implementation companies and specialist craftsmen. These people are visionaries, they love their work and go above and beyond the ordinary.

Velaa Private Island in the Maldives wasn't the first hotel you designed…

Far from it. I designed my first hotel when I was 26 years old, in Malá Strana in Prague, and others followed: Holiday Inn, Yasmin hotel chain, Perla Hotel Prague and Hilton Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. For hotels, Mongolia was the biggest learning curve for me, although this one has not yet been completed.

Hotel interiors should have something surprising, convey a new spatial experience and evoke positive emotions.

At the same time, the design must meet economic, functional and operational requirements. I remember meetings discussing how much time it would take to clean a room of a certain design, or the maximum number of mirrored surfaces there could be. High quality "hotel craft" has to consider not only the guests, but the hotel’s functionality for staff. We received the Velaa contract in 2011 and all the previous experience was invaluable.

Do you play it safe with the most complex projects or do you take risks?

We want to keep pushing ourselves and I want 30% of new things to appear in every project - something untried, unrepeated, unrecognised, whether it concerns technology, shapes or materials. Then it's good to apply 70% of what we already know, which gives clients confidence and a sense of security. There are some clients who will say, "Bára, we're going for total uncertainty, we want something completely new that will never be repeated." That's a slightly different brief, because this type of ultimate originality takes more time and a bigger team. More complex projects don't materialise because we draw something in the office and hand the client a bunch of pictures. It's a constant interaction with designers, you go to workshops, have samples made and spent time visiting the site.

It's often about patience as well. If I want a special wall of rough, unpolished stone, they don't destroy the whole quarry just for me. For such a facade, the stone is gradually cut away for, say, a year. Then when putting the wall together I have to carefully consider the position of each piece, because each one is unique.

Are some materials, like stone, closer to you than others?

Materials are a huge hobby of mine and I have a good understanding of both their properties and how they are processed. We always test brand new materials on small things like vases or tables first. For example, we've been testing 3D printing like this for a few years. It’s obvious that it makes sense to play with 3D printing, even when it's difficult to work with. Everybody is still learning about it.

Stones are lovely to talk about! I enjoy going to quarries, seeing the stone in its rough and most original form, then witnessing how its character changes with different treatments.

Even in Bohemia there are some interesting quarries. For example, in Grand Hotel Hradec we used Slivenec marble which can withstand frost. It can have shades from grey to red - I call it the colour of meat - and creates beautiful textures on the walls. We also used this marble when renovating an old castle in Dolní Břežany. It looks completely different in each hotel because of the different finishes.

The next stone chapter of ours was to repurpose the brewery cellars of an 18th-century castle into a spa. I didn't want any luminous objects as light sources, so we designed luminous walls and ceilings with LEDs hidden in the spaces behind beams, or in grooves by the edge of the floor. We lit a crystal wall in the shower from behind - the stone is three centimetres thick and there is a half-centimetre layer of LEDs behind it. Finally, we lit the alabaster sink from below. For me, the amazing thing is that the light source is not an object, but the space itself.

CRA FT

HOTEL INTERIORS SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING SURPRISING, CONVEY A NEW SPATIAL EXPERIENCE AND EVOKE POSITIVE EMOTIONS.

Can you briefly explain the main principles of using light in space?

This is a topic for a whole lecture. It’s essential to remember that light is not only how it looks. More important is where, how and in which direction it shines. I remember when I used to make pictures of my interiors with the photographer Filip Šlapal. He carried around various lamps and reflective devices to enhance the photos. Standing in your own space and seeing what light can do, teaches you a lot about its role.

You will light an old house and a modern villa differently. Also a large space with a high ceiling and a small space with a low ceiling. I see it almost archetypally: the fire is on the ground, so low and intimate lighting feels good in the space. Placing candles on a table that itself shine down towards the floor will conjure a beautiful light and atmosphere. Then it depends if the floor is dark and absorbs light, or is pale and disperses the light further. Maybe I won't push a heavy closet into a corner, but move it a little away from the wall and illuminate it from behind. For closets, our favourite designs are those with illuminated fabric doors that soften everything and are still a great source of light. There are lots of lighting tricks we use.

Is it still possible for you to enter a space and not evaluate it from a professional perspective?

No. It's like a slight disability. I know immediately if I like something or not, and even if it's good, I think about what could be done differently. I'm able to put things in a different context, perhaps because of my experience. But I'm definitely not the type of person who feels the need to vent their opinion out loud in every space.

Is it different to design something small like a table and something big like a hotel?

Sometimes it's the same work. Maybe not exactly a table, but it can take six months to tweak a door handle.

What do you have to consider on such a door handle?

Design is closely related to the production process, so you have to learn the technical process behind how the object is made. With a doorknob, you have to master its weight and calibration so that it doesn't sag. Then you need to neatly hide all its inner workings. You must know how machines work at certain angles and tilts, how they can polish and sand the handle. All of this will impact the final design and you carefully weigh up each aspect as if they’re on scales.

Communication is an important aspect of your work. How long does it take to find common ground with a client?

I've been doing my job for a long time and we are selected by clients who share similar values. Then communication is easy. Even if a client disagrees with something, it can play out in a very nice way and it tends to spark something new. I try to understand the relationship between people, places and ideas. It's also important to be able to listen and ask the right questions.

But I have to communicate with craftsmen and builders too. I like those people and I know I depend on them. Knowing each other saves time and produces better results. I don't like to change contractors. I need to trust that when I explain what we are doing and why, we can go in the same direction together.

Which values do you appreciate the most?

Humility, modesty, respect, education, cultural insight... I try to follow people who do extraordinary things, whether in art, theatre, film, architecture, dance, choreography or music. I am inspired by those who are willing to go beyond the limits of the ordinary.

What has struck you recently in this respect?

The performance Planet [wanderer] by choreographer Damien Jalet and set designer Kohei Nawa. It's absolutely extraordinary in terms of choreography, set, music, costumes... They premiered it in Hamburg, I saw it for a second time in Geneva and I'm willing to see it a third time.

What do you feel in moments when you witness such extraordinary things?

Tremendous energy. I love it when somebody does something great.

STO NE

I ENJOY GOING TO QUARRIES, SEEING THE STONE IN ITS ROUGH AND MOST ORIGINAL FORM, THEN WITNESSING HOW ITS CHARACTER CHANGES WITH DIFFERENT TREATMENTS.

SIGHT OBSERVE ANOTHER WORLD… ASTROTOURISM IN EUROPE

A sky full of stars. Once the most bountiful of sights, now one of the rarest.

The nighttime sky was a travel guide for yesteryear’s explorers. Polynesians navigated vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean using star maps. Constellations directed camel caravans across the Sahara. This travel continues today, in places beyond the reach of manmade light.

The nighttime sky hasn’t changed. It still follows the same perpetual rhythms as the time of early civilisations. Artificial light has changed what we can see, yet special places remain where the universe still sparkles improbably. This is astro tourism, stepping outside everyday sights, travelling to see what exists beyond our own world. And these destinations are not all remote and distant.

There are places in Europe to discover the feeling of being covered by stars. Where the celestial is easily observed with the naked eye and tailored experiences reveal a world few people ever get to see.

Alentejo, Portugal

With very low light pollution and an average of 286 nights a year without clouds, The Dark Sky Alqueva was the first ever certified Starlight Tourism destination. It covers most of Portugal’s Alentejo region, around the enchanting old town Évora and several “white cities”, so called because they were constructed from local white marble.

Moonlight horseback riding, starlight wine tasting and astrophotography workshops are among the experiences here, as well as stargazing and solar observation at the official Dark Sky Observatory in Cumeada. Nighttime kayaking on Alqueva Reservoir is another opportunity to see more, by seeing less after dark.

Finnish Lapland

The aurora borealis depends on solar activity and geomagnetic conditions. Seeing these northern lights is dependent on a clear nighttime sky. The aurora is generally observed between the autumn and spring equinoxes in Lapland (late September to late March) However, the lights don’t dance all night and it’s freezing cold outside.

Finnish Lapland is a great astrotourism destination because of its glass igloos, where the phenomenon can be viewed directly from the bed. Levin Iglut has some amazing glass igloos for aurora watching. Each has a private jacuzzi, another warm and comfortable place to wait for and watch the spectacle.

La Palma, Canary Islands

This Canary island is located in the subtropics, so both northern and southern hemisphere stars are visible together. But instead of dense and sticky tropical air, smooth and slow Atlantic trade winds create one of the world’s clearest skies. All the island’s night-time lighting is pointed down or an orange hue, which doesn’t interfere with telescopes.

In 2012 La Palma became the world’s first UNESCO Starlight Reserve and it now has the world’s largest telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias at 2400 metres above sea level (photo on opposite page). A guided stargazing experience visits this and other observatories. A workshop in celestial sea navigation, using a sextant and astrolabe, is another nighttime experience. As are mountain hikes under the stars.

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Monaco and Cannes are associated with a different kind of sparkle, yet this place where mountains plunge into the Mediterranean fascinated astronomers before it did tourists. Over 2000 new stars have been discovered at The Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice, which opened in the 19th century with a 92-ton floating and rotating dome designed by Gustave Eiffel.

Alpes Azur Mercantour, centred on Mercantour National Park, is one of 22 International Dark Sky Reserves, certified for their exceptional quality of starry nights. It’s arguably the best as the mistral wind creates the sunny days and clear nights Provence is known for. Two hours north from the coast, Mercantour is a place for nighttime hikes, astrophotography workshops, and snowshoeing beneath the stars, all experiences suitable for children as young as eight. The Astrorama, above Cap-Ferrat, can be privatised for nighttime astronomy workshops too.

The Drop

A waterfall (Iceland)

The Aerial Photographer Daniel Franc

Czech photographer Daniel Franc explores new perspectives by travelling vertically. His aerial photos reveal new realities, in places we know and those much further away. After dozens of awards and two solo exhibitions - Invisible Worlds in Athens and With a Perspective in Trebon - Daniel explains the inspirations and freedoms behind his distinctive style of travel.

The Aerial Photographer - Daniel Franc

Daniel, your photos feel like puzzles, inviting the viewer to create their own interpretations. Are you consciously creating a puzzle?

It’s very subconscious. It’s the drive within me, to see what the world is like in its full plasticity. We think we see a lot from the ground, but we only see a little of what the world is all about. Our perspective is just one of many. Horizontal travel is safe. I’ve been to over 50 countries and done a lot of horizontal travel. It fascinates me how you can travel in your own backyard, just by changing the vertical perspective. When you have freedom to realise the world is more than what you see, it creates opportunity for another type of travel.

Why do people travel? For things that are not familiar and outside their scope. Vertical travel expands your consciousness. What you see from the air is a puzzle, a different world. Go higher and you don’t see the leaf and the tree but the rhythm of leaves and trees. It’s a wholly different feeling. Some of my favourite photos come from mundane locations in the Czech Republic, places you might have seen ten thousand times from the ground. Elevate yourself and the familiar suddenly becomes unfamiliar.

It fascinates me how you can travel in your own backyard, just by changing the vertical perspective ...

Do you want to show people a new reality or open people’s minds to many different realities?

I want people to join me on a journey into the world we live in. In the age of AI you can digitally create any landscape and it will look spectacular. People will say wow and why not, it’s a legitimate form of art. My photos are of a world we can see, not something totally made up. I’m cautious about the word reality, because what is real? But I take the general consensus of reality as my starting point. In post production I use various editing techniques, to bring out things and moods that are important for me in the photo, enhancing the game it plays with the viewer. I might clean up the photo, adjust contrasts and saturation, but I don’t add elements to the photo.

What is reality for you? How do you see the world we live in?

The universe we inhabit is one but it has so many sub realities. It’s liberating to know that what we see and live is not mandatory, it’s not given, it’s not all that is. You can see many more things, you can do many more things, you can be more variations of yourself, and that’s what I see in the world.

photo Petra Klačková

... When you have freedom to realise the world is more than what you see, it creates opportunity for another type of travel.

How do you decide on a shooting location?

Do you see a place from the ground and know it will look interesting from the air?

I tried to make puzzles consciously and it didn’t work, I produced photos that felt artificial. Then I let it go. Almost half of my photos are completely unplanned. Either there is a time opportunity or I see something intriguing, so I send up my drone and it’s pure wonder and experimentation. Sometimes I sense a location is very rich in nature or contrast, so I do the exploration from the sky.

The other half is done on intent. I search around using Google maps in satellite mode, imagining how somewhere would look if I played with perspective. I’m operating up to 120 metres, the legal height for drones, but for me the best views are from 60 to 80 metres, not the typical aerial map view. Even with planning it seldom plays out how I expect. I realise the photo isn’t what I was looking for and that’s not a bad thing.

So even through the process there is a huge amount of freedom to the work? Absolutely. In aerial photography you have a different kind of freedom compared to photography on the ground. You get one more plane, which gives more opportunities for composition. Almost all my photos are

The

top down. I remove the three dimensional element by hiding it behind a flat plane, so you start seeing a new reality. I’ve had a life unbound to expectations of what I should be doing and my photography represents this. I’m taking people on a journey to understand there is so much more to what we see, and who we can be.

The lake looks beautiful from the ground. Look at it from mid air and it’s a higher level of abstraction. Then I can take a drop of water under my microscope, see the micro world and all its complexities. Each plane is a different universe but they are also the same reality and the abstractions under a microscope are similar to what you see from the sky - the rhythms and mathematics of nature repeat themselves.

How do you think people interpret this journey you aim to create?

I like to listen to people discussing the photos during my exhibitions. In Athens two ladies discussed a waterfall in Iceland, one of them convinced the water was flowing from down to up. It’s like the photo has an expedition of its own and these discussions offer new perspectives even to myself. Recently I won second place in the Czech Nature Photo Competition, for a photo of birds in a muddy pond. It’s purely 90 degrees, meaning it can be orientated any way, vertical, horizontal, upside down. The exhibition curators hung it differently to how I sent it to them. I didn’t tell them, if the curators perceive a photo in a different way then that’s okay.

I could do works of pure abstraction and your mind would be completely free to create interpretations. But all my photos have some hint, some guidance. It looks like a mesh of colours and then you realise there is a little boat, so there must be water, and you build up this picture of reality. In our culture our brains work left to right. Some other cultures are different, so different minds will create different stories if I put an element on the left side or right side. You try to decipher it, you know it’s real, you’re thinking how is this real? This is what I like to bring out in my photos.

Aerial Photographer - Daniel Franc

River Paths

A river and a pond (Czechia)

Fall/en

Dried pond shore (Czechia)

How did you develop as a photographer?

I was always an amateur photographer, completely self taught. I also had experience with graphical design, which teaches a lot about colour theory, composition and how the brain interprets composition. Drone photography started by pure coincidence when my son wanted a drone for Christmas. Drone photography wasn’t something I intended to do, but now we had the drone.

At first I was completely fascinated by what you see from the air, taking the usual compositions like a tractor in a field. Then I realised fine arts principles applied a lot to this kind of photography, because there is more freedom. It’s blasphemous to say that I’ve learnt more from painters than other photographers. I studied how painters work with rhythms and shapes, contrasts and colours. Painters have still more freedom, yet for me, aerial photography is very close to canvas and brush.

What’s coming in the future for your work?

I have some new ideas for the creative content, but I’m also experimenting with creating large format prints on new media that amplify the peculiarities and exploratory journey. It could be several glass panels, or playing with lights and lighting embedded into the frame. I want to photograph more foreign locations again too.

Which foreign locations inspire you, especially your idea of different realities?

Definitely Australia, I am fascinated by the country and its nature. Iceland is any photographer’s dream from the ground or the air, so I’d like to go back there at some point. There are locations in Africa too. I like the minimalist nature of countries like Namibia and Iceland, or places in the Sahara. In the Namib Desert you’ve got orange dunes, blue sky and not much more. These minimalist sceneries are maximalist in a way, because whatever you capture receives more attention compared to a busy composition.

I like travel that isn’t bound to any goals or limitations.

Is your typical holiday all about flying the drone and taking photos?

I like travel that isn’t bound to any goals or limitations. Last year I rented a campervan and drove around Georgia with my son. We could sleep where we wanted and went to areas that are completely not touristic. I recently hiked several hundred kilometres of the Stezka Českem, the Czech Trail around the country and for a few weeks I was in the forest with my backpack, living the most simple outside life imaginable. The route back to basics can be complex and I liked doing it in my own country, where everything is more familiar. And if something went wrong I was only a two-hour drive from Prague!

Finally, what is your advice to people who want to start with aerial photography and explore their own new perspectives?

Drones are so accessible these days and you don’t need to be a photographer to start with one. The cameras are okay, similar to a compact camera. With post production you can make much more out of it. Aerial photography can be very addictive. Sometimes you get too hooked up to it, doing travels just so you can fly around. I had this period. I’ve realised it’s best to take my time on every trip, to have the intention not to fly all the time. It’s important to also appreciate the time the drone is in your bag and you’re out in nature or a new place. My advice would be to get a lightweight drone, go out exploring and open up a new window to the world!

The Aerial Photographer - Daniel Franc

Frozen Cosmos

A frozen pond (Czechia)

Rainbow Surfers

A morning on a beach

(Canary Islands)

Cast Away

A muddy island on a pond (Czechia)

Winter Crossing

First snow in a park (Czechia)

Post-mining recultivated lake (Germany)

Sound Sight Touch Smell Taste

The days are nouns: touch them The hands are churches that worship the world.

From Daily by Naomi Shihab Nye

THE ANCIENT ART OF TOUCH TOUCH

With three fingertips, an Ayurvedic doctor can touch your pulse and understand the root cause of a problem within your body. Dr Jitendra Varshney is director of wellness at Six Senses Vana, a retreat in the Himalayan foothills of India. He explains how touch is key to traditional Ayurveda and how the art of touch remains so important to our wellbeing today.

Dr Varshney, Ayurveda is central to what you do at Six Senses Vana. Can you explain why this ancient practice is still relevant in a world of modern medicine?

There is less difference than you might think between Ayurveda and modern science. Ayurveda believes that the body, like the cosmos, is made up of five elements: space, air, fire, water and earth. The body behaves according to the laws of nature and these elements work together. Space and air work in tandem and we call their combined energy vata. A dominance of the fire element we call pitta. Water and earth form a building material with an energy we call kapha. In Sanskrit, these three categories are called doshas.

Translated into modern science, vata represents the nervous system, which controls all our movements. Its main element is air, constantly moving, light and dry. So people with vata dominance usually can’t sit still, are rarely overweight, but complain about dry skin or dry mouth. Pitta represents metabolism, digestion and the hormonal system. Kapha energy is heavy and slow, which in modern medicine is represented by tangible parts like bones, muscles and body fluids.

Does one of these three doshas predominate in each person?

We are born with all three, but the proportions and how they operate within us will vary. Having more vata or pitta will give us different personalities and preferences. A person born with a dominant fire element pitta will tend to get angry quicker, and will benefit from cold and raw food. When you know your basic constitution you can tweak the details of your daily life and feel much better. Some people feel great after physical exercise, others need quiet meditation.

Can you change this make up of your constitution with Ayurveda?

No, just like genetics cannot be changed. But you can learn to live with the best possible version of your innate setup. People born with vata dominance shouldn’t eat raw food as this increases vata, even though everyone will tell you that salad is healthy! If three people come in with migraines we don’t prescribe the same program for all of them. Treatment in harmony with each person’s particular type is more effective and has fewer side effects. Paracetamol will lower most people’s temperature, but probably give a pitta-dominant person heartburn. The goal of Ayurveda is not to rid you of one symptom, but to bring the whole system into balance.

What roles does touch play in this process?

Any wellness treatment is incomplete without touch. Ayurvedic diagnostics is based on three pillars. First observation, darshan, noticing things like your skin or the way you move. Secondly, prashnam or questioning. And thirdly, sparshana or touch. With three fingers, each representing a dosha, I listen to and read your pulse. I assess basic characteristics, like whether the skin is cold or warm, whether the pulse is rhythmic, regular, clear or heavy. If vata dominates, the pulse moves like a snake. If it’s pitta then it jumps like a frog. Kapha will have a pulse like a swan, draggy and slow. Next I can recognise the five types of each dosha and go into greater detail.

How long does it take for a doctor to learn to perceive differences between people simply by touching their pulse?

The learning process never ends, you can always improve. In the first lesson every student will tell you all the pulses they touch are the same. After a month you will begin to subconsciously perceive subtle differences, even if you don’t know how to describe them in words. An Ayurvedic kidney specialist can accurately name a specific problem just from putting their three fingers on your pulse.

You will be surprised at what people can perceive with their senses when they really concentrate. When you don’t have tools to do everything for you, you use your brain and powers of observation much more accurately and actively. If you don’t give kids calculators, they learn to do maths much better in their heads.

Does massage also have a role in Ayurveda?

A massage isn’t just about the oil or technique, but the way you touch a person. Your consciousness and energy will influence the effects of the massage. Six Senses therapists train so they can maintain a beneficial state of consciousness, through meditation and breathing techniques. They are taught to touch blindfolded, to strengthen perception in their hands and not focus on visual information, as most of us are used to.

In Ayurveda, the most important role of a massage is to harmonise vata, because vata energy is cold and dry and massage is warm and oily. Vata is the only dosha that moves spontaneously in our body, so if you can control vata you can control pitta and kapha. The warmth of heated oil helps to open the pores and control the cold vata, so you are affecting all three doshas during the massage.

How does this work in more advanced programs, such as a detox program?

Ayurveda uses a massage technique called snehan as a preparation before the great detox called panchakarma, a preventative and therapeutic method of ridding your body of all toxins. The aim is to move toxins from the tissues and blood to the stomach, where they can be removed via the mouth or digestive system. Snehan literally means lubrication. Massage liquifies the toxins and loosens their bond with deep tissues. It’s applied internally too by ingesting medicated ghee butter, which absorbs the released toxins.

TO UCH

YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT WHAT PEOPLE CAN PERCEIVE WITH THEIR SENSES WHEN THEY REALLY CONCENTRATE.

What other touch therapies do you use at Six Senses Vana?

It all depends on what each client specifically needs. For example, we use a combined hot and cold stone massage, which acts as gymnastics for your circulatory system. If you need to relax, the order of the stones will be hot, cold, hot. If you need a kick we’ll put the stones cold, hot, cold. We also work with the YogaYam method, inspired by Thai massage, where the therapist works on the meridians of your body with their hands. Or we attach special bundles filled with herbs or healing rice.

Is yoga also an important part of your programs?

Yes, yoga isn’t just a physical exercise, but a way to connect the mind, body and soul. That’s why we prepare a different sequence of postures for each client. If someone is introverted and lacking energy, we focus on asanas that will help to open up the chest and increase circulation. If somebody is hyper and distracted we focus on calming inward asanas, like child’s pose. We also use meditation, such as the Shamatha method, GOM from Tibetan medicine or Pranayama breathing exercises.

How long do you need for a program at Six Senses Vana?

We recommend at least seven days. That’s really the minimum for you to get into a recovery rhythm and solidify new habits, which you can continue back at home. For a deep panchakarma detox to be effective, safe and authentic, you need to allow at least 21 days.

What are your most popular programs?

Detox and more recently, sleep improvement. Our primary goal is to help each client. We want to reach the deeper level, to go to the root, which is the real source of the problem. When you take care of the roots, the fruits will always be good.

1. Ayurveda treatment at Six Senses Vana

2. Sowa Rigpa therapy at Six Senses Vana

3. Kila hall at Six Senses Vana

Dr Jitendra Varshney

AWAKEN YOUR TOUCH IN... SWITZERLAND TOUCH

The most adulated products are made by human hands. Master artisans spend a lifetime perfecting their craft, each of their creations an original, defined by the deftest of touches.

Their world is to be at one with the material. To feel and manipulate, to express their art through the subtlety of touch.

Switzerland is one place in Europe where the touch of master artisans continues to be revered. A land where traditional techniques have been preserved, passed from generation to generation. Chocolate, cheese, watches, ceramics. Leather making, woodcarving, knifemaking, violin making and the spruce shingle roofs of alpine chalets.

Based in Geneva, the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity & Craftsmanship has a Homo Faber fellowship program for young artists to train with masters. Many of them live in small rural villages and have private workshops connected to their homes, rather than spaces in the city.

Grandmasters preserving ancient techniques. And there is a new wave of designers applying handmade principles to new ideas, like the bespoke glasses of Silvio and Fabio Leonardi, skateboards of Laurent Golay, or couture hats of Vanja Jocic. Both grandmasters and apprentices-turned masters host private workshops showcasing their craft, all arrangeable via travel designers in the know.

It’s possible to learn from these hands and evolve your own expression of touch, with master artisans that include…

A workshop with Anita Porchet

Anita Porchet is the best known enamel artist in the realm of watches. She skilfully decorates dials and cases with the enamelling techniques of cloisonné, champlevé, pliqueà-jour, paillonné and miniature painting, her work heavily sought after by the biggest brands in watchmaking. “It requires patience, meticulousness and great knowledge of the alchemy of colours and their transformation when exposed to high temperatures” says Anita. “I love the tranquillity of my workshop. Nothing can be done quickly… a simple coloured piece of glass, which becomes precious thanks to the expertise of the artisan”

IT’S POSSIBLE TO LEARN FROM THESE HANDS AND EVOLVE YOUR OWN EXPRESSION OF TOUCH.

ARTISAN

Master guitar maker Ermanno

Chiavi

Spend a morning in Zurich with Ermanno Chiavi, master guitar maker and restorer, inventor of the 13-string guitar. “Many instruments have passed through my hands as a result of restoration work” says Ermanno, “each one has told me a story about the master who built it, the technique used and the time in which it was made. When I am working, I forget everything around me, I can relax and a great inner joy takes hold of me.”

A violin workshop with Ulrike Dederer

Ulrike Dederer is also in Zurich, a violin maker trained in Cremona, where all the great violin makers train. “Violin making is a living art, and my work is constantly evolving” says Ulrike, “every piece of wood is unique and needs to be modelled in its own way. It is the wood itself that guides my work. I love experiencing the wood and its qualities with all the senses: how it feels under my tools, how it vibrates when I tap it, how it smells when it’s cut.” Ulrike could be your teacher for a day.

Porcelain with Arnold Annen

Arnold Annen makes Limoges porcelain bowls as thin as paper, with a transparency that is unparalleled in the world of ceramics. He says: “The purity of the material seemed to offer an infinite palette of expressive possibilities. The technical challenge also enthralled me. My gossamer-thin porcelain bowls always require new detours and inventions.” Arnold is based in Basel and shares over 50 years of experience, of his work that is described as white gold.

Green Gate of the City Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan

India

Fascinating, enchanting and often misunderstood. A destination with many faces and many places, the archetypal feast for all the senses. Authenticity has become an essential factor to many people’s holidays. And India is the most authentic country of all.

words Pudukottai Nageshwaran, Nikol Martinková, Dominika Hüttnerová, Mohit Nirula

INTRODUCING INDIA with Nagesh Ji

Pudukottai Nageshwaran, or Nagesh as he’s known, is founder and managing director of Incent Tours, EliteVoyage’s trusted local partner in India. Nagesh takes us all around India as he introduces his home country.

Nagesh, India conjures up so many images, good and bad. How do you explain India to a first-time visitor?

India doesn’t give you a sanitised version of itself. You take it or leave it. It is 100% authentic and 100% original. India is very quirky, somewhat bizarre even. It is traditional, religious and ritualistic. And yet it lives in the 21st century, India even put a lunar module on the dark side of the moon last year. But there’s still this strange apprehension about visiting India.

What do you say to people who have negative stereotypes about India, to convince them to come?

If people have these stereotypes there’s no point fighting against it, that’s the reason they won’t come. You mustn’t come with any prejudices. In India the underbelly is exposed and we are not going to hide behind something we can’t hide. I can’t camouflage poverty, you will see it from the car or driving through the villages. Not at the airport, definitely not at the hotels, which are up there with the best in the world. Some people need holidays on the beach. India isn’t a country you need to visit. It’s a country you want to visit. And when you say that you have already dealt with the cliches.

Many people would consider India a once in a lifetime trip. So where do you start in a country so big?

I politely disagree. Either you will love India or you will hate it. And if you love it, you’re coming back. Travellers coming to India are well read, they know what they want. We can show the ultra luxury version of India, in Rajasthan, places in central India, a top wildlife sanctuary, a glamping site in Ladakh, a wellness retreat. For returning visitors we can show so much more. I explored Gujarat recently and was the only guest in each place I stayed!

What might an itinerary look like for a first-time visitor?

The Taj Mahal is a universal obsession for first-time visitors. It’s coupled with a beautiful hotel called The Oberoi Amarvilas, where rooms overlook the monument. This makes the stay more interesting, meaningful and romantic. Delhi is the preferred gateway city for the Taj Mahal and I encourage people to experience a daytime train. Leave Delhi at 14:40, travel at 140 kph in complete comfort, arrive in Agra, see the Taj Mahal at sunset, overnight, then see it again at sunrise. Palaces and the maharajas are the second big thing. Like the iconic lake palace in Udaipur, or the city of Jaipur. Since

the early seventies, when these palaces became hotels, there’s been a consistent stream of first-time visitors on this DelhiAgra-Jaipur route known as the Golden Triangle. From Agra you could continue south to Gwalior, a very underrated royal city with a wildlife sanctuary nearby. One of my favourite places is a fort 100 kilometres north of Udaipur, called Chittorgarh, but worlds apart in terms of the number of tourists. You can spend a whole day exploring the ruins and people still live there, so you can really imagine what life was like there in the 13th century. Nowadays, some first-time visitors are coming for wellbeing, wellness and spirituality. Or maybe for the tigers.

What are your recommendations for people seeking wellness and spirituality?

For wellness there are some very serious health retreats, where people go for three weeks, and do detox programs and the like.

For example, the king and queen consort of England go to Soukya Health Retreat in Bangalore. If you want to experience an ashram there are many good ones in Rishikesh. Then you have world-famous wellness properties like Six Senses Vana and Ananda in the Himalayas, places which also host retreats.

India is a spiritual country by definition. You will find it in a mosque, a temple, simply being on the streets or sitting with people. From the monasteries of Ladakh in the Himalayas to the temples on the southern seashore, from the deserts of Rajasthan to the tea gardens of Assam, you don’t need to seek spirituality. It will be all around you. Be curious without being afraid. Ask what is going on and why. People will give you a special welcome and show you. Foreigners can enter 90% of the temples, so you don’t need to be a spectator, you can actively participate in what’s going on, as long as you follow the rules and dress code.

Nagesh in Hampi

Does religion and ritual play a big role in everyday life in India?

Yes. India changes every 30 kilometres. When I go to my native state of Tamil Nadu I see an entire spectrum of people, Muslims, Catholics, Hindus…In Goa you will see Catholic female saints wearing saris. India is also Buddha. So India isn’t bound by a single religion as such, except for a religion we call cricket.

For many people India starts with the Moghuls and ends with the British. But India was trading with the Romans, Arabs, Chinese, Portugues, there are references to Czech in India’s history too. Czech missionaries tried to convert the natives to Christianity and the first BATA store opened in India in 1933. It’s a cosmopolitan country that never isolated itself. But just think, the Aztecs or the Incas or the Mayans have mostly disappeared. Whereas Hinduism dates back 4000 years and has survived all the invasions and changes. You can really expe-

rience this side of life. Unfortunately, tourism isn’t a priority for the government and India is usually in the news for the wrong seasons. So on an international stage, India is good at putting people off. Come to India and you’ll see that Indians will take anybody into their embrace.

What are your personal favourite destinations in India?

I love Ladakh in the far north. It is essentially Tibetan and is only separated from neighbouring Tibet by the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas. I have never been to the Tibet that’s now part of China, because it’s still very difficult to access. Yet Ladakh is only a one-hour flight from Delhi. You land at 3500 metres, amid the most spectacular Himalayan landscapes. And in any of the Buddhist monasteries you can be completely by yourself. Ladakh is immense, vast, sparsely populated by people who are gentle and calm.

Ladakh

Go to a monastery, sit and relax, listen to the prayers, come back to your glamping site for breakfast, then go out hiking. It’s great in summer. Spend two nights in Delhi, do a trip to Agra, fly to Leh and spend a week in Ladakh. Extend it with Six Senses Vana or Ananda.

Hyderabad in the Deccan in South India is an upcoming destination. There’s a beautiful Taj hotel, the Falaknuma Palace, painstakingly restored in consultation with Princess Ezra, a Turkish princess and wife of the last ruler. It’s renowned for gastronomy, shopping, history, then within a 45-minute flight you can explore Hampi, see the ruins of the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, the last Hindu kingdom. Then cut further across central India to a nineroom hotel I love called The Postcard on the Arabian Sea. It’s bang in the middle of nowhere, steps from the sea, and you can have breakfast at 3pm if you want. Or fly to the Andaman Islands to finish on the beach. Bombay, or Mumbai as it’s now known, was always a happening place. As infrastructure improves it’s great for a short city break, especially if you’re holidaying somewhere else and flying on Emirates. Add on two to three nights at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, enjoy the shopping and culinary experiences, check out the city. Then fly back to Dubai.

Is India genuinely a beach destination?

There are of course many cliches about Goa.

Goa has its own power of attraction. It’s well known to people of my age, the last of the flower children. We used to party and now we own companies and want nice accommodations. North Goa especially is still very pristine and I much prefer the boutique hotels over the big chain properties in South Goa. The Andaman Islands are my favourite for peace and tranquillity. These Indian Ocean islands still have a lot of flora and fauna, they’re still authentic, not only about island resorts.

Spirituality will be all around you. Be curious without being afraid. Ask what is going on and why. People will give you a special welcome.

With all these places it’s becoming easier to see that India isn’t only a one-time destination. What planning tips can you give to visitors?

Part of our success comes from guides and drivers, they are the superstars. An EliteVoyage client returned to India and asked specifically for the guide he had two years earlier. For us it’s always about balancing the itinerary and knowing what the visitor really wants

It’s easy to get bored seeing one temple after another, one monastery after another. In resorts like Amanbagh you will only meet fellow tourists. You could combine it with a safari at Aman-i-Khás in Ranthambore, but you might prefer a tiger safari in a less famous national park, where there are fewer jeeps. And I have to remind people there are many other animals besides the Bengal tiger.

We’ve had two guests who are on their 28th trip to India and they can always go somewhere different. Connectivity has never been as beautiful as it is now. You can go to any part of the country. And with Emirates, Qatar and European airlines you can fly into many cities other than Delhi and Mumbai. Now, you can really choose the destinations you most want to visit and combine them on a balanced holiday.

EXPERIENCING INDIA

Nikol Martinková and an Indian wedding

“I want to go back for the people and the food.”

"My favourite travel experiences are when I can meet local people in their home environment. I was fortunate to experience India in this way, when my husband and I went there for a friend's wedding, in Gurgaon, near New Delhi. We only had ten days to travel, the maximum we could arrange at home with childcare for our three-year-old. As well as the wedding we made it to Agra for the Taj Mahal and took a train to the Pink City of Jaipur

The wedding was the number one highlight but the Taj Mahal is not far behind - it is dazzlingly beautiful and rightly ranks among the wonders of the world. The Hindu wedding lasted for three days I will never forget. On the first day, the immediate family, which numbered at least a hundred people, received us ten or so Czechs with incredible warmth. The paradox is that the younger generation of more affluent Indians often study in Europe and the States, so some came from even further away than we did for the wedding.

On the second day, the bridesmaids and friends of the bride gathered at the hotel. We had our hands painted with henna and donned the traditional kurti (tunic with pants) for a cocktail party by the pool in the afternoon. The groom's family was very culinary minded and brought in renowned chefs from North India. They served everything from vegetarian dishes to special rare mushrooms and delicacies like goat brains.

The latter wasn’t appealing to look at, but was truly a divine delicacy.

The only downside was that we hardly saw the bride, who was participating in many ceremonies, rituals and prayers. Only on the morning of the third day did the bride meet with the groom, and their faces were painted with turmeric. Then it was off to the main ceremony, followed by the final party. The dress code was to wear any formal dress we wanted, it just had to be very colourful.

We met so many people and I never ceased to be fascinated by how they approach life. They take things as they are. Even when you arrive at the Taj Mahal, and see poverty just outside the entrance gate, you get a feeling that the locals are not complaining and seem almost happier than we are. Throughout the trip I experienced how Indians are happy to share how they live. Nothing is a problem for them. In Agra we stayed with one of the groom's uncles, who had his own wine cellar. His family was incredibly friendly and open with us. He gifted wine to us and served us a whole variety of specialties.

We wanted to take a typical train journey to Jaipur, which was certainly an experience that made us stronger (laughs). Right outside the station in Jaipur two locals took us in and arranged to be our guides. They rented a car and drove us around. When life throws them an opportunity, they grab it immediately. We spent three very happy days with them.

I've probably never had better food than this trip. It did take us a day or two to get used to the spiciness, but after that it didn't even cross our minds. We really tried a lot of food. At first I was worried about street food because of the hygiene, but the locals told us we just had to try it. And they were right - it was amazing!

I would definitely like to go back to India, because we only saw a small part of this huge country. I'd be tempted by the mountains in the north and the beaches in the south, I'd really go anywhere. Yes, I guess you can't avoid poverty 100%, but at least you can remind yourself to be grateful for what you have. As a country, India made an incredible impression on me and I still draw internally from that trip.

Nikol Martinková is Finance Assistant at EliteVoyage.

Dominika Hüttnerová and the Taj Mahal

“I

want to return and experience more of India’s spiritual atmosphere.”

I wonder if I have a record for the shortest holiday in India? In February me and my friend went for just two days. I used to work for Emirates, so don’t find short, action-packed trips strange. I’m used to flying in, finding a good meal, and squeezing everything I can into 24 hours. My dream is to see all the wonders of the world in person, so the Taj Mahal was my motivation. It started with a holiday with friends in Dubai and I added on the 3.5-hour flight to New Delhi. All in all, Dubai to India is not that different from flying to Milan or Florence for a weekend.

We arrived into New Delhi in the afternoon. My first impression was culture shock, whether it's how the streets look or how the locals treat you. At Emirates I used to interact with Indian people on a daily basis and some of them really are incredibly nice. They inspired me with their attitude to life and health, and I enjoy the fact that they have herbs for everything. In Delhi, I sometimes saw people on the street in conditions that made my heart clench, but they themselves didn't look like they were suffering. Their attitude towards life is just admirable.

I was in a taxi in Dubai once and the Indian driver couldn't change the large note I had. I started forcing the whole thing on him, refusing change. But he wouldn't accept it because of a Hindu dharma or "correct teachings:" he didn't want to remain indebted to me. He preferred to take nothing. He told me that we would meet again in our lives and I would pay him back later. I was embarrassed. And he was right! Finally, we did meet and I was able to pay him back. I don't know how many countries have such a dharma, surely not many.

We left Delhi at 3am to arrive at the world wonder by sunrise. Seeing the Taj Mahal with my own eyes I wanted to cry with emotion. I've always been very fascinated by the structure, but I didn't expect the moment to be so powerful in person. It really gave me goosebumps. Our guide told us its history, that the king wanted to build a mirror-like structure in black on the other side of the river to symbolise himself, just as the white Taj Mahal symbolises his beloved wife. But it didn't happen because his own son had him arrested. We spent half a day here and then moved on to Agra Fort. Then back in the car, stopping for a chai karak on the way, and straight to the airport for a flight back to Dubai. The contrast between sanitised Dubai and wild India was amazing.

I thought that India wouldn’t be a destination for me, that I would just see one of the wonders of the world. But now I know I will definitely be back. I’m definitely fascinated by Varanasi, the holiest Hindu city, drawn to its sacredness and spiritual atmosphere. Next time I would stay longer and continue deeper south too. I also love paneer cheese! Palak paneer, paneer tikka masala...oh, take me back to India just for the food!

If you're not sure whether India is a destination for your long holiday, it’s easy to get a taste of it on a long weekend from Dubai. The two destinations represent diametrically opposed worlds: the luxury of Dubai with the organic and raw beauty of India. I'm sure most people will return for a longer trip after any brief taste of India.

Dominika Hüttnerová is a travel designer at EliteVoyage.

INDIAN HOSPITALITY

Mohit Nirula is COO of Oberoi Hotels, the Indian luxury hotel brand with a 90-year heritage and 32 properties globally, including 12 in India itself. Mohit explains the ethos of Indian hospitality and how Oberoi Hotels & Resorts differentiates itself on the global stage.

How do you describe Indian hospitality?

In India, luxury hospitality transcends mere training. It taps into the fundamental values we've embraced since childhood. India, by its culture and society, is a very hospitable country. As children we observe our parents welcoming guests, giving them respect and priority in our homes.

Consider our traditional greeting, the 'namaste,' with folded hands and a gentle bow. It signifies a deep respect for the divinity within the person being greeted, reflecting the spirit and ethos of Indian hospitality.

How does that translate into the service people receive within a hotel?

Service is about looking after the guests’ needs intuitively. It's about tuning into subtle signals and providing service even before guests realise they need it. Those who haven’t been to India may think the hotels aren’t of the same standard they expect elsewhere in the world. This paradigm should shift. Everybody coming to India should expect the very highest level of service, nothing less. The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD) has been a cornerstone of our service excellence since its inception in 1965 and has consistently produced some of the finest hoteliers in the industry.

Would you say it’s a more back to basics style of hospitality?

When you write good standard operating procedures they can only provide you with consistency. True hospitality requires going beyond this, to delight guests and surpass expectations, you must go beyond that. You need team members who can react to different needs empathetically, and be empowered to deliver on them. It’s not about focusing on what will make an unhappy guest happy, but what will create delight in any guest.

Mohit Nirula

Tiger in Ranthambore National Park

How are the best hotels in India different from the best hotels elsewhere in the world?

The best companies globally are so, because they attract the best talent and enrich them. Top universities attract the best talent and create an enriching environment. The same applies to hotels. Service and guest experience depend on the quality of the people providing it.

India's large population provides a strong talent pool. It means there are always a lot of very good people going into the hotel industry. In other countries, the highest talent chooses other industries and opportunities. In India, we attract a higher proportion of top talent into hospitality. At Oberoi, our brand strength and reputation for training means we really get the top talent. With 1.4 billion citizens, that's a lot of very good people, which leads to outstanding service.

What are modern guests looking for when they come to India?

Authenticity is very important to modern travellers and it’s something which Indian hotels have excelled at for years. They have always delivered this authenticity of experience. Travellers want to immerse themselves in the local culture and that starts with the hotel experience. The architecture, the interiors, the food they eat, the options to experience local sights and smells, to meet local people. We are an old civilisation with many things to be proud of from our past, including architecture, buildings and design. This is reflected in the hotels we make, which represent the essence of a place.

What surprises people who visit India for the first time?

What surprises travellers now is something meaningful and personalised. If I serve an amuse bouche that is customised to your tastes, to your dietary needs, which I have

found in advance without you saying so, that is surprising. Freebies don’t surprise people anymore. At Oberoi our approach is that all employees are free to do anything that will provide a more meaningful and personalised stay for any guest. We want to create this surprise, this delight.

Do you have a personal favourite among the Oberoi hotels?

That’s like having 32 children and telling you my favourite one! The sense of aura in a hotel is the amalgamation and harmonious work of the architect, designer, lighting consultant and horticulturist. What then makes the hotel is the people and service. As a combination of all of these things, my personal favourite would be The Oberoi Vanyavilas, which is in a tiger reserve in Ranthambhore.

The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort in New Chandigarh, is our most romantic hotel. It’s a very short flight from Delhi, with tented pavilions next to the forest. In India we have what we call auspicious days, and on those days the hotel is booked out for weddings. On the other 300-odd days of a year it’s heaven for couples. The layout, the way

your space is your own, the luxury tents with a garden and pool. There’s a lot of in room dining. Some people check in and are only next seen when they check out.

My third choice is the city and hotel where I feel guests should stay at least one more night, Oberoi Amarvillas in Agra, 600 metres from the Taj Mahal. Most guests only stay one night, but you could just gaze at that monument from your hotel balcony, morning, afternoon and night. Agra itself has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I don’t know why people go for just one night when the city has so much to offer. And the hotel is very special.

What is new with the Oberoi brand in India, in 2024?

The most dramatic Oberoi hotel will be Oberoi Rajgarh Palace, a stunning property spread over 60 acres, with a palace on top of the Managad Hills near Khajuraho. It opens at the end of the year.

This year’s other opening is the Oberoi Vindhyavilas, a property with 21 tented villas with pools, adjacent to a buffer area of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

in Central India. A special hotel because, well, everything that comes new incorporates everything we learnt from the previous ones and the new things we want to do! It opens at the end of this year.

Finally, what type of explorer are you?

If you travel within your own hotels two things happen. They know you, so you don’t get the true experience. And you don’t know what else is out there. As a professional I prefer to explore the best hotels around the world to experience the levels of luxury being offered globally. For personal exploration, my wife and I are passionate birders and photographers, often travelling to nature-rich destinations. Recently, we ventured out long before dawn to see a bird thought to be extinct, a priceless experience. We took the first known photo of this bird in 25 years, it’s a rough and ready style of travel.

India is blessed for nature. From Ladakh's mountains to Kerala's forests, the northeast hills to the Rann of Kutch. There's always somewhere new to explore in this incredible country.

Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur

Sound Sight Touch Smell Taste

“Smell was our first sense, and it was so successful that in time the small lump of olfactory tissue atop the nerve cord grew into a brain. Our cerebral hemispheres were originally buds from our olfactory stalks. We think because we smelled…A smell can be overwhelmingly nostalgic because it triggers powerful images and emotions before we have time to edit them.”

From A Natural History of the Senses,

by Diane Ackerman.

SMELL A CHEESE TOUR DE FRANCE

Over ten years ago, Gaël Dandelot opened his first French cheese shop and bistro in Prague, Fransýr in the Lucerna arcade. Today, the cheese shop has a little brother in Letná, hosting fondue evenings and tasting events. They’re easy to find: just follow your nose.

photos Kurt Neubauer

One of your mottos is "cheese never stinks." Was it hard to teach people to love smelly French cheese?

Many customers come to our shop and inhale enthusiastically when they open the door. Occasionally, somebody enters the shop and leaves immediately. I used to wonder if we looked awful, but then I understood they weren't expecting such an aroma to immediately hit their nose.

The Czech taste is reflected in harder cheeses like Comté or semi-hard cheeses like Morbier. Czechs generally like cheeses with both blue and white mould, as long as they are not too pronounced. It still surprises me though how many people don't like goat cheese. I've never heard the phrase "I like all but goat" in France, but I hear it regularly in our shops.

The products in Fransýr correspond to these tastes. If we were located in France we would have fewer harder mountain cheeses, then many more aromatic cheeses with a washed rind, and a wider range of goat cheeses.

How do the French eat their cheese in the 21st century?

There are always at least a few cheeses in every French fridge. They will be part of every festive table, although the tradition of eating cheese between the main course and dessert is becoming lost. Nowadays, cheese is more recommended with an aperitif. Personally, I don't have cheese after the main meal anymore, unless it's a very festive plate that's really worth it. But I like cheese for breakfast. Today I had Beaufort for breakfast.

Can you imagine, as a child, tasting a cheese as aromatic as Époisses?

I don't have to imagine, I loved it. I loved Saint-Nectaire and especially Roquefort, and I would always persuade my mother to buy it, even if she would usually rebuff me, saying it was a festive cheese. I tasted Époisses later, around the age of ten. When I started cheese tasting professionally, I found many French cheeses I didn't even know existed.

What are your most fragrant cheese memories?

I grew up in Saint-Étienne, just outside Lyon. I can still remember the moment an uncle brought back a whole piece of Muenster from a farm in Alsace, northeastern France, how he waxed poetic about it, sniffed it meaningfully and ceremoniously cut it open. As a young boy it was a completely new experience for me in terms of taste, aroma and presentation. And I was utterly fascinated. The most memorable cheeses are not necessarily the most distinctive. I love high mountain sheep cheese from the Pyrenees, some of the most interesting cheeses I've ever tasted.

Which cheeses are you particularly proud of in the shop?

I'm probably most proud of the overall range, which is extremely rich by local standards. We also offer less durable soft cheeses that need to be bought and sold quickly, which many cheese shops don't like to risk. These are cheeses that require real care. You need to know when a goat's cheese is at its peak in terms of flavour, so it’s ready to sell. I don’t think anywhere in the Czech Republic can match us for soft cheese.

AS A YOUNG BOY IT WAS A COMPLETELY NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME IN TERMS OF TASTE, AROMA AND PRESENTATION. AND I WAS UTTERLY FASCINATED.

CH EE SE

Camembert

Normandie

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

CHEESE MAP OF FRANCE

Poitou

Béarn

Aveyron

Jura

Savoie

Auvergne

We also have rarities like Bleu de Termignon, a specific cheese with blue mould that often doesn't turn blue. Only 3000 to 4000 wheels are produced every year. Every year I buy one wheel weighing around 11 kilograms, which ends up in our shop. It’s a rarity you don’t come across easily, even in France. It is only produced in summer in one particular place in Savoy, where a specific mould grows on a certain, protected plant. Farmers graze their cows there and this specific bacteria gets into the milk, impacting the cheese.

Have you ever tasted the mythical black Brie?

Just recently at a fair in Paris! Very interesting and less intense than I expected, with a nutty taste. It's not soft, as Brie usually is. Of course, it must be hard and dry otherwise it wouldn't last so long.

What are your personal highlights of a wine and cheese pairing?

Without a doubt Roquefort and Sauternes, which is a sweet wine with high residual sugar made from botrytis grapes. The combination is exciting because two completely opposite flavours meet. The cheese is intense and salty, the wine is strong and sweet. They balance each other’s saltiness and sweetness.

If the Tour de France was cheese wheels rather than bicycle wheels, where would it go?

I would start in the north of France, where Maroilles is made. I'd continue on to Normandy for Camembert and then south to Poitou, where they focus a lot on goat cheeses like Chabichou. In the Pyrenees, you'll find the phenomenal Ossau-Iraty and from there it's not so short a drive north to Aveyron for another sheep star, Roquefort.

Next go to Auvergne, where Saint-Nectaire and bluemould cheeses such as Fourme d'Ambert and Bleu d'Auvergne await. In Savoy I would choose between Reblochon and Tomme de Savoie, but in Jura there is no choice, it’s Comté of course.

Listening to myself, this is a blueprint for a great culinary journey you can also try at home. It represents a balanced cheese plate with the main smells and flavours of French cheese.

IT’S A RARITY YOU DON’T COME ACROSS EASILY, EVEN IN FRANCE.

SMELL FOLLOW YOUR NOSE ACROSS…

ISTANBUL

Overwhelming and yet unnoticed. Instantly forgotten, only to be remembered, long after a trip. Step outside the airport and there is always a new air, a new scent that will be imprinted in our memory. For many destinations this is where the consciousness of smell begins to end. Istanbul is an exception. Every district has its own smell. Scents create the city’s rhythm, defining how a day unfolds, hour by hour.

1

Coffee spiced with cardamom, the scent of morning while strolling through Sultanahmet, the oldest part of the city. Found especially in the space between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, as street vendors compete for customers.

2

The clean, natural scent inside the Blue Mosque, where tens of thousands pray barefoot each day, yet the smell of feet doesn’t exist. Here there is a smell of purity, something so rare in a big city.

3

Roses and tulips, the latter native to Turkey rather than Holland. Spring and summer brings floral bloom to Gülhane Park, between Topkapi Palace and the Bosphorus, mixing with the effervescent scent of the sea.

4

The famous Spice Market. All those exotic scents from faraway, that came to be forever traded in Istanbul. Like sumac, cinnamon, cloves, jasmin, pomegranate, honeycomb. They mingle into a punchy fragrance synonymous with Istanbul.

5

The Fatih district suggests what Istanbul must have smelled like centuries ago. Lemon cologne emanating from the old barber shops. Plus kokoreç, lamb and cow intestines loaded with spices and grilled on the street.

6

Balik ekmek, fish grilled with a dash of lemon beneath Galata Bridge, as fishermen cast their rods from the bridge itself. The salty smell of the sea mixing with distinctive fragrances coming off the grills.

7

The sweet, syrupy, moorish fumes of traditional baklava, the iconic Ottoman dessert. Baklava shops are all over Istanbul, one recommendation is the independent branch of Güllüoğlu in Karaköy.

8

Now the smell of sweat mingling with soap bubbles in a Turkish hammam. Traditional hammams are easy to find. For more calmness and privacy try the marble-clad spa at the new Peninsula Istanbul.

9

Agarwood perfume, also known as Oud, a combination of sweet, sour, vanilla and bitter tones. A smell that could be found in one of the city’s many perfume shops, but is most authentic as the warm embrace received entering a local guide’s home.

10

Nargile, or hookah, in a tea garden as the sun begins to fade, many flavours of tobacco puffed into the Istanbul smellscape, so effortlessly combined with a historic, eternal Istanbul smell - tea. 2 1 4 6 7 8 9 5 3

three sides to mexico

Petr Udavský explores Mexico and recommends a three-stop itinerary to discover the contrasting experiences in this vibrant country.

words Petr Udavský

photos Miguel Juarez, Ruben Faz, Petr Udavský

different holidays rolled into one

Mexico felt like a myth to me, a country that seemingly offers everything. Picture-perfect beaches on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. A collection of relatively new properties from the most respected hotel brands. Exciting elements of Mexican culture, or at least what we think of as Mexican culture. It’s a large country that conjures thousands of preconceptions, both good and bad.

Many of our clients are interested in visiting Mexico. But there’s usually a but, the most common being, but is it safe? I wanted to experience Mexico for myself and understand how Mexico can be for our clients, to learn what is really worth it and understand if those buts are real.

In San Miguel de Allende I met a world-famous creator of cowboy hats and rode on horseback, first upon beautiful cobblestone streets and then into the hills. I enjoyed mezcal and tequila tasting and the atmosphere created by a traditional mariachi band. A day cruising in a Catamaran was another highlight, the Caribbean waters are remarkably clear. I’ve never drunk as much margarita in my life and rarely experienced a country where the cuisine is so impressive, every single time.

Mexico is huge, roughly the same size as Western Europe, so I couldn’t inspect every top hotel or destination. On my short trip I did discover a remarkable diversity of experiences. I highly recommend Mexico for people who like to split their holiday across different places. Mexico is perfect for mixing different styles of destination into one. My recommendation for Mexico is to combine a beach holiday with an old-world traditional Mexican town, plus a contemporary city break. It’s remarkable how much there is to experience, even with only three days for each.

"Combine

a beach holiday with an old-world traditional Mexican town, plus a contemporary city break."

modern mexico city vibes

There are decent two-leg flights to Mexico with SWISS and KLM, most departing Prague in the morning and arriving in the late afternoon, with the time difference. Mexico’s airports surprised me. All very clean and easy to navigate, with no complications, queues or delays. I was afraid of Mexico City’s international airport because it’s such a huge city, but it was also very smooth and relaxed. The country has a very convenient domestic flight network, making it straightforward to combine contrasting, faraway destinations into a single trip.

The Mexican capital is a bustling and energetic city, full of creativity and spark. Different histories come alive here, from the Aztecs at the impressive ruins of Teotihuacán to colonial grandeur in Zócalo and Centro Histórico. Trendy neighbourhoods like Roma, Polanco and Condesa have their own buzz and flavours. It’s hard to travel far without encountering live music or street performers. There’s art to discover and not only Frida Kahlo. And the food! Oh, the food!

Mexico is a destination for foodies and Mexico City reflects this. It’s become a global culinary hub, with three entries in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. Across Mexico I tried so many dishes I’ve never seen in a Mexican restaurant in Europe. Chilaquiles was my favourite, a traditional breakfast that’s packed with flavour and species and a great way to start any day. I even loved Michelada, Mexican beer mixed with tomato juice, chilli and lime juice, in a frozen glass rimmed with salt and spices.

While there is history and tradition to discover in Mexico City, the city itself has a modern feel, with all the amenities and opportunities of a contemporary capital. Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City is a reassuring choice, a stylish oasis in the heart of the city, particularly good for families. Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel has a smaller, boutique feel and is more intimate for couples.

If Mexico City was closer to home I’m sure everyone would want to go check it out! There’s so much to explore in terms of museums, events, shopping, dining, local neighbourhoods and fun places to hang out. With so many cool experiences on offer we could easily tailor a three-day program to suit any clients’ interests.

tradition in san miguel de allende

From Mexico City it’s easy to safely travel by road to a different, older version of Mexico. The highlands surrounding the city have many pueblos mágicos, old towns chosen for their cultural importance and “magical” ambiance. San Miguel de Allende is the most upmarket of these and was my favourite destination of the trip, a traditional, cobblestone town with a laid-back atmosphere and stunning buildings.

This is an UNESCO World Heritage city, protected because it’s a unique melting pot of Creole, Spanish and Amerinidian cultures. Walking around the old centre I fell in love with the architecture. It’s so colourful and ornate, leading to the main square and the pink spires of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. On one street I met many traditional artisans and visited their small boutiques, including those in a cute market.

Everything is within walking distance and the relative lack of cars is part of the town’s appeal. Going around on horseback it felt like it was the 18th century, especially when we climbed lush hills surrounding the town. I floated in a hot air balloon above the highlands at sunrise, enjoying the bucolic and peaceful scenery, another experience I can recommend.

At dinner I met Gladys Tamez, world famous for making cowboy hats for just about any major celebrity who wants a cowboy hat, like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Madonna, Johnny Depp and Lady Gaga. She shared many fascinating tales from the world of showbiz and design with me. San Miguel de Allende is a small town boasting both a Belmond and Rosewood property. And there is a new Waldorf Astoria set to open in 2025. It’s a destination attracting interesting people.

Rosewood San Miguel de Allende is beautiful and has very nice gardens. It’s the larger property with 67 rooms, suites and private residences, built new while honouring the 16th-century Spanish and Mexican design elements that make the town so distinctive. I could immediately feel Rosewood’s sense of place and the property has a more resort style feeling that will suit families.

"San Miguel de Allende is the most upmarket of Mexico's traditional towns and was my favourite destination of the trip, a cobblestone town with a laid-back atmosphere and stunning buildings."

Casa de Sierra Nevada, a Belmond Hotel, is actually six different 18th-century buildings within the city. Each building and every room is different. To eat breakfast I had to cross the street from my room to the main building. It wasn’t a chore, it was part of the experience. This is such an authentic destination and Casa de Sierra Nevada amplifies the authenticity. It felt like I was living in old-world Mexico, immersed in its unique history and culture.

San Miguel de Allende is also exceptionally clean and safe. Safety is the number one but our clients have about visiting Mexico. Many people are afraid and think Mexico is unsafe, partly because Mexico is only in the news for cartels and violence. I asked everybody I met about safety and everyone had the same response. There are locations where travel is not recommended, especially near the border areas with the USA and also some older destinations, like Acapulco. In Italy, in Paris, even here in the Czech Republic, there are also places where travel isn’t recommended. There are no concerns in Mexico’s touristic places, like San Miguel de Allende, Mexico City, Maroma and other coastal areas. With a clear itinerary, Mexico is safe for our clients.

a beach holiday in mexico

The third part of a Mexico itinerary should be the beach. There are many. Los Cabos in Baja California Sur is only a 2.5-hour flight south from Los Angeles and has an impressive collection of beachfront properties. Also on the Pacific coast is Puerto Vallarta, where One&Only Mandarina is on my list for a future visit. Opened in 2022, Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo is another property exemplifying the Pacific experience, a resort spread across rugged, jungle-clad cliffs, with long practically empty beaches and big waves.

Mexico has two long coastlines and I instead chose the Caribbean side. I don’t recommend visiting Cancun or Playa del Carmen as both are mass tourism destinations. However, it was clear to see why tourism developed here. The water is stunningly clear and my trip highlight was a whole day on a catamaran. Cruising under the sun and enjoying some deep-sea fishing, swimming and snorkelling in remote spots, admiring the shore from the sea.

This Yucatan Peninsula region is also famous for xenotes, or sinkholes, semi-open caves with turquoise pools of water. Some are sacred Mayan sites where rituals still take place, like a temazcal healing ceremony at a spa inside a xenote at Chablé Yucatán, a spectacular inland hotel for couples.

I stayed at Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, which was completely reimagined and reopened in August last year. Everything feels new but the design style is very traditional, specific to this Mayan part of Mexico. The rooms and suites are sublime and very well equipped, with the buildings aligned to sacred Mayan geometry! It has a nice spa by Guerlain and a long beach. I did encounter some problems with seaweed which I’m told is unpredictable in this area.

This coastline has more contemporary options that offer the similarly laid-back, boutique feel of Maroma, A Belmond Hotel. Chablé Maroma is a peaceful all-villa resort a few minutes down the coast, very stylish and peaceful, best for couples or families with older children. Hotel Esencia is nicely secluded near Tulum, a very artsy and colourful refuge that’s hugely popular with the Instagram crowd. Like the Belmond, these options are located where the

jungle meets the sea. Families and golfers will also find good resorts in the Mayakoba complex, with Rosewood Mayakoba the best option.

The dining at Maroma was exceptional. Curtis Stone is an Australian celebrity chef with two Michelin-starred restaurants in California, who runs the wood-fired restaurant Woodend at Maroma. He barbecued some superb meat on the beach and stuck around our dinner table to explain his interpretations of Mexican cuisine.

Despite the gastronomy and drinks and continual soundtrack of mariachi bands, this beach area of Mexico doesn’t feel like the Mexico I experienced in San Miguel de Allende. It’s a resort-style holiday and it’s not the sole reason to visit Mexico. What I love most about this country is the diversity between different destinations. It was like having three holidays in one.

"The third part of a Mexico itinerary should be the beach. There are many, on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean."

"A country that seemingly offers everything... Now I’m just wondering why it took me so long to visit Mexico in the first place."

when to visit mexico

Mexico is big enough to have several sub climates. In general, November to April are the better months to visit, because it’s the cooler and drier time in the beach destinations, plus it’s dry season in Mexico City and the highlands. This means there should be good weather for each stop on this three-destination combo.

Three days is enough to get a good feel of each destination, with a mix of relaxation time and a program of activities. I am very comfortable moving between destinations and like to fit a lot into my itinerary, whereas for some clients I would recommend slowing down and spending an extra day in each location. I’d probably do the same if I was coming to Mexico with my kids. And yes, I certainly think Mexico can be a good family destination. The country’s travel infrastructure really impressed me and there’s a very positive attitude to children, who should be excited by all the colours and vibrancy.

What surprised me most was convenience. I was hoping for cool destinations, traditions and landscapes. I didn’t expect to experience so much diversity, so easily. And after this first trip to Mexico I’m already planning my return, to check out more places in this vast and varied country. Now I’m just wondering why it took me so long to visit Mexico in the first place.

1. Petr fishing off Mexico's Caribbean coast (photo Miguel Juarez)

2. Doorway in San Miguel de Allende (photo Ruben Faz)

3. Petr in San Miguel de Allende

4. Musical performance at Casa de Sierra Nevada (photo Ruben Faz)

5. Evening performance at Maroma, A Belmond Hotel (photo Miguel Juarez)

6. Courtyard in San Miguel de Allende (photo Miguel Juarez)

7. Street to Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel (photo Miguel Juarez)

8. & 9. Event at Casa de Sierra Nevada (photo Miguel Juarez)

10. Petr being fitted for a cowboy hat by Gladys Tamez (photo Miguel Juarez)

11. Maroma, A Belmond Hotel

12. Tulum on Mexico's Caribbean coast

13. Beach bar at Maroma, A Belmond Hotel (photo Ruben Faz)

14. & 15. Petr hot air ballooning over San Miguel de Allende

16. Petr with chef Curtis Stone

Sound Sight Touch Smell Taste

“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”

Anthony Bourdain, from Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

TASTEPETR BARTOŠ: MINIMALISM, FLAVOURS & POTATOES

Petr Bartoš is the founder and chef of Kruh Studio, a pop-up restaurant in Prague for eight diners. Its next circle opens in October with a fall menu.

photos Daniela Kadlečková

Petr, you have been in the gastronomy industry for 18 years. How have guests’ taste preferences changed during that time, and how have restaurants responded?

I can't believe I've been in the kitchen for 18 years! There's been a huge restaurant evolution. Prague, for example, has improved incredibly and I think its scene is underrated. We have places on the level of Paris, Copenhagen and New York that are really worth it, often unassuming bistros that do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

Diners' taste preferences have evolved too, but it's slower. I feel like there is still a big struggle to explain the real cost of food to people in the Czech Republic. The costs of good gastronomy are enormous, there's a lot of know-how, a lot of work involved, and using the best ingredients isn’t cheap. Fortunately, our guests at Kruh don't care about the price. They understand what they are paying for and they leave happy.

Kruh Studio is located in a penthouse on Vodičkova Street in Prague and is a very specific type of pop-up. Does it also attract a specific type of guests?

Every time I try finding the essence of the people who dine with us, I find that they are very diverse. The common thread is that they're open to new experiences and are willing to come without exaggerated expectations. When we started, there were times when guests arrived expecting a spectacular fine dining evening, but that is not our intention. And because we didn't meet their expectations, they left disappointed. But over time it somehow sorted itself out and now we get people who kind of belong here.

When we started with a pop-up in a residential house I didn't even do any research on how it works elsewhere. I heard that it's quite a trend in Berlin, London and Paris, but I've never actually been to one myself. Usually when I see one it’s connected to some program that doesn’t interest me. Kruh Studio is purely about food.

You cook in the same room as your guests and the final plate preparation takes place right on the other side of their table. How hard is it to play the social role at the same time as the cooking role? Can you even be yourself?

Yes, I usually can. Of course, I must be able to switch, I definitely don't share a bad mood with guests. You could say I have a face that I always keep on, although it’s still very natural. The most important thing about our project is the natural flow of the evening, which is set by the guests. I watch and see if they want to be entertained or be quiet for a while. I notice if they're communicative or if they're just out on a date and this is their night. Always I try to give them what they need. We usually have couples, so the classic set up is eight guests in four couples who don't always know each other. Sometimes they communicate with each other, sometimes they don't. It’s an atypical experience that’s not for everyone.

You see the immediate reactions of guests to each plate. Which of your dishes is a surefire hit?

Our dessert always hits the mark because it is very surprising. Guests also enjoy it when there's something a little controversial on the plate - like when we serve tripe and people discover it can be good. Even a simple vegetable with just one other ingredient can surprise.

I like minimalism in the kitchen. Sometimes you just need to cut an ingredient in an interesting way and give it a different texture that people don't expect. You can cut a cucumber so that it tastes like a completely different vegetable. Minimalism needs a lot of thought, it has its own meaning. Fortunately, people enjoy it, and I'm so glad they do. I don't tend to over decorate plates. Our food looks like it fell straight off the tree rather than a work of art, and every ingredient has a job to do on the plate.

Do you describe each course to your guests?

Yes, we talk to our guests. We introduce every dish and every wine we serve. Occasionally, a course needs an explanation of how to eat it. But we don't want to tell a story, we want to let the ingredients speak for themselves.

MI

I LIKE MINIMALISM IN THE KITCHEN. SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO CUT AN INGREDIENT IN AN INTERESTING WAY AND GIVE IT A DIFFERENT TEXTURE THAT PEOPLE DON'T EXPECT.

NI

MAL

How do you approach a raw ingredient you encounter for the first time?

I feel a need to taste it raw. Then I'll think about what to do with it. Sometimes I need some guidance, so I do a lot of googling, reading and searching, to find out how different cuisines approach the ingredient and what techniques they apply. It's important to adjust the raw ingredient so that its greatest potential is fulfilled. It should be either better or at least the same but more interesting.

Which ingredient have you struggled with the most?

A potato. Potatoes present a huge challenge! People consider potatoes as sauce carriers. I've been trying to create a potato course for about five years now and it's still not quite right. I've tried dozens of combinations, but as soon as I add something to the potato, it kills its "potato-ness" and becomes something else. The potato is a terribly humble ingredient, almost to the point of being shy. It doesn't want to be seen and it recedes when you put another vegetable or herb with it. It's very challenging to build a course on potato and only potato, to make it the star.

How often do you change your menu?

The pop-up started in the winter. We had a consistent winter menu and just kept tweaking it. With the arrival of spring, the menu became more dynamic. Seasons aren't just the seasons. There are lots of micro seasons when different herbs and vegetables are available, especially in spring and summer. The spring menu is predominantly plant based, has fifteen courses and is essentially vegetarian except for a few dishes. The star of the autumn menu is more likely to be red meat, game, pork, French sauces, broths and soups. For autumn we're counting on ten courses that will be more like comfort food.

Are you trying to give your menu a story?

I see it more as a curve than a story. It has to make sense and be dynamic, so that you don't have two similar courses or the same ingredients right after each other. But we don't make a big show, our approach is minimalistic, we just do what we need to do.

If you could only serve one course, do you know which one it would be?

I never thought about that. Our signature dish, which has been on the menu since the beginning, is kohlrabi, a turnip cabbage. It sums up how I think about food, a minimalist course that has only a few components. After making it many times we’re at the point where I don't have to change anything about the dish. But for me, it's not any individual course that is important, rather the whole evening.

Is it possible to do minimalism well in the kitchen, without having a traditional chef training and perhaps not knowing how to make a complex French sauce?

I think not. The basics are necessary of course. When you've been making sauce for three days, or have experience making plates with thirty components and steaming nitrogen, you’re reassured about what the point of minimalism actually is. If you start straight away with minimalist, the dishes might look good but they might not be sophisticated. The counterpoints are important and it's the only way to understand the other side.

For example, somebody who lives his whole life in prosperity may not appreciate it, may not not even know how prosperity works until he has experienced at least a little suffering. It's the same with our experience at Kruh. We are hidden, people are looking for us, they don't know what awaits them and how the experience will go. There is a certain discomfort, a form of suffering. It makes the guests enjoy the comfort of the evening all the more. And it stands out because of its counterpart.

There are three cooks, sometimes only two, for eight diners. Is it manageable?

Yes. I enjoy the process from a chef's point of view, our whole concept is actually minimalist as well. We literally squeeze every inch out of the kitchen to make it as efficient as possible. Everything has to fit together perfectly so we can present 15 courses that have a hallmark of professionalism and high quality.

I still don't see how two or three of you can put together 15 courses…

That's exactly it. A person who doesn't have experience in a big kitchen or running a fine dining restaurant can't put this together. We work in a small space and everything is based on small details that we have to follow to the letter. If those details are left out, it creates clutter and chaos. Our system consists of a lot of different points and times that have to be met. It would immediately show if it was haphazard, if the cogs didn’t turn exactly how they should.

THE POINT IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE INGREDIENT AND IT'S VERY MUCH ABOUT THE ART OF THE COOK. IT'S BASED ON DISCIPLINE AND DOING THE SAME THINGS EVERY DAY, GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AT THEM.

CO OK

Do you gravitate towards a certain type of cuisine?

The philosophy closest to me is the Japanese one, which brought minimalism to mastery. The point is to highlight the ingredient and it's very much about the art of the cook. It's based on discipline and doing the same things every day, getting better and better at them. I'm impressed that in Japanese culture, for example, intelligence is lower on the value scale than discipline. Craft is associated with discipline and art in Japan, and handiwork is valued. I find it a pity that in Europe or America things are more about how they look, what they explain and what they say. The original essence is actually missing. We are superficial in some ways, we don't appreciate that going deeper can be about letting go of intelligence.

Have you ever been to Japan?

I’m about to visit Japan for the first time, for a month on an inspirational trip. I'm keeping the itinerary more or less spontaneous. I have friends there and I know what cities I want to see, but I don't care when. Definitely Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka are important to me and then we'll see. It'll be a culinary journey, with lots of food and learning.

I don't know why, but during our conversation I keep thinking of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's Japanese essay from 1933, In Praise of Shadows... I know it and I even have it at home! It's beautiful...

TASTE TASTE LIFE IN SARDINIA

At first glance, there is nothing special about the mountain villages of eastern Sardinia. Narrow streets, steep hills, the slow pace of life, ubiquitous bread and pasta...But when the Italian island’s Nuoro province was heralded as a Blue Zone, people started taking a more detailed look.

A Blue Zone is a region where people have exceptionally long lives. In Nuoro the number of people over 100 years exceeds the global average by ten times. Who are these happy healthy people, how do they live and what do they eat?

Of the five identified Blue Zones, Sardinia is the most accessible thanks to seasonal direct flights from Prague. The others are Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, the island of Ikaria in Greece and the city of Loma Linda in California.

Sardinians owe their longevity to several factors, like strong family relationships, plenty of exercise and a strong genetic makeup that has been preserved through island isolation, and mountain isolation in Nuoro.

However, their traditional diet surprised scientists. It defies many of today's dietary clichés: lots of carbohydrates in the form of bread and pasta, skipped breakfasts, late dinners, high coffee consumption, daily wine drinking. Today’s rural Sardinian diet is not dramatically different from what their ancestors ate 1,000 years ago.

Sheep and goats are herded high in the mountains, allowing even octogenarians and ninety-somethings to walk over ten kilometres a day. They bottle their own honey, grow their own vegetables, olives and wine. In addition to olives, they press oil from mastic, which tastes like resin and promotes good digestion.

And yet this la cucina povera, or cuisine of the rural poor, promotes longer, healthier life. It's not just about the taste and quality of the food itself - it's about taste and quality of life. What is the secret?

Bread from local semolina wheat

The classic Sardinian table never lacks bread made from local semolina wheat, considered by many to be the best in Italy. EliteVoyage's travel designer Michal Pátek, tasted the art of local Sardinian bakers: "I have never seen so many types of bread, there are hundreds of them. Every region has its typical ones. Some of them are unleavened, thin and light, so that they last long for the shepherds in the mountains. Others are fermented sourdough and beautifully fluffy."

Minestrone soup & family dinners

One of the most common Sardinian dishes is minestrone soup. Usually vegan, the mixture of legumes and vegetables is a hearty source of fibre and an ideal lunch or dinner. Michal observed that "people don't eat much breakfast in Sardinia and even during the day they eat relatively little. You don't really have an appetite in the heat. In some places, an afternoon siesta is observed and the main meal is waited for at dinner, when the whole extended family is gathered around the table."

Omega-3-rich sheep cheese

Cereals form 47% of the Sardinian diet and dairy products make up another incredible 26%. The most common type of cheese is Pecorino made from sheep's milk, which is rich in omega-3 acids. "I enjoyed the fresh, creamy sheep's milk cheese the most," adds Michal.

Pasta as art

Pasta is a staple on Sardinian tables and it’s an art form. The intricate shapes are ideal for thinner and more delicate sauces to reach between the folds of each pasta, literally envelop it in their flavour. One of the island's national dishes is pasta malloreddus alla campidanese, a simple combination of tomatoes and local sausage. Michal enjoyed the fregola sarda con vongole the most. "The pasta, which resembles large pearls of couscous, is served in a tomato sauce with seafood."

Wine in good company

The Sardinians drink wine almost daily, but relatively sparingly. Michal recalls that "you would rarely see a local who was downright drunk. Instead, they seem pleasantly relaxed." The local red Cannonau di Sardegna contains two to three times more flavonoids than other wines. These act as antioxidants and protect against heart disease. Michal adds: "But the main thing is always good company. Especially when you toast with the words ‘A kent'annos!’” In the local dialect, that means "May you live to be a hundred!”

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A collection of timeless villas with views over Prague