Jumeirah | August 2017

M

A

G

A

Z

Burj Al Arab Jumeirah The making of an icon: we go behind the scenes

Get your culture fix How to enjoy London's shows with the family

Grape expectations We take a tour of the vineyards of Frankfurt

KRYSTEN RITTER Marvel’s ultimate tribute to girl power

I

N

E

Available at: OMEGA Boutiques: Dubai: BurJuman • Deira City Centre • Dubai Mall • Dubai Festival City • Mall of Emirates • Mirdif City Centre • Sahara Center • Wafi Abu Dhabi: Marina Mall • Yas Mall.

And available at Rivoli stores across UAE. Toll Free: 800-RIVOLI

V 32 SC AT FO D CD Movement: Automatic Caliber: FM 2671 Power Reserve: 40 hours Indicators: Hours, minutes and seconds Dial: Sun stamped dial and appliqued numerals with 483 diamonds, 4.81 cts Strap: Rubber-Alligator Case: Available in Steel and Gold

GEMSET DESIGNS DMCC

Suite 28-D, Almas Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers P.O. Box 45962 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 435 7137 Fax: +971 4 435 7136

Jumeirah Magazine

Image: Getty Images

AUGUST 2017

Jumeirah Corporate Office, Al Sufouh Rd, PO Box 73137, Dubai, UAE, Tel: +971 4 366 5000, Fax: +971 4 366 5001.

Website: www.jumeirah.com Jumeirah is a trading name of Jumeirah International LLC. A Limited Liability company.

Registration Number 57869.

Share Capital Dhs 300,000 fully paid up.

Jumeirah International LLC its affiliates, parent companies and subsidiaries (“Jumeirah Group”) and the publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors or omissions contained in this publication for whatever reason, however caused.

The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of Jumeirah Group or of the publishers.

Readers are advised to solicit advice before acting on the information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Jumeirah Group and the publishers take no responsibilty for the goods and services advertised. All materials are protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (Including photocopying or storage in any medium by electronic means) without the written permission of the copyright owner, except as may be permitted by applicable laws.

Editor-in-Chief

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner & Group Editor

lan Fairservice Editorial Director

Gina Johnson Deputy Editor

Nina Catt Senior Editorial Assiatant

Cecilia D’Souza Art Director

Clarkwin Cruz Contributors

Tahira Yaqoob, Gareth Rees, Rachel Silvestri, Danae Mercer General Manager – Production

S Sunil Kumar Production Manager

13

Contents This Month

R Murali Krishnan Production Supervisor

Venita Pinto Chief Commercial Officer

13 City watch Discover the most exciting events happening this month

Anthony Milne Group Sales Manager

Ziad Saleh ziad@motivate.ae

20 Monitor Essential news and previews

For Jumeirah

Charlie Taylor, Claire Hill

Featured 24 Dark angel Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter is back in new Marvel creation The Defenders

Head Office: Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, PO Box 2331, Dubai UAE, Tel: +971 4 427 3000, E-mail: motivate@motivate.ae

28 Back to basics Amazon’s huge reach has extended from online shopping to bricks-and-mortar

Dubai Media City: Office 508, 5th Floor, Building 8, Dubai, UAE, Tel: +971 4 390 3550, Fax: +971 4 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, UAE, Tel: +971 2 677 2005, Fax: +971 2 677 0124, E-mail: editor-wo@motivate.ae London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK, E-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai

32

32 Get your culture fix How to make the most of London’s theatrical entertainment to suit all the family

9

E V E R Y C I T Y H A S A S E C R E T. O N LY D U B A I H A S L A P E R L E .

OP EN IN G AUGUST 201 7 AT A L H A BTOOR CITY

La Perle by Dragone is the region’s first ever permanent show, featuring 65 world-class artists. Created by world-renowned Artistic Director Franco Dragone, La Perle combines the spirit of Dubai with an iconic 860 sqm aqua-stage to deliver an unmissable spectacle in, on, and above water.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS TODAY

LaPerle.com

AUGUST 2017

Contents 46

Lifestyle 38 A nose for business Jo Malone knows scent — now she’s back with a new brand and plans to go global 42 A road paved with gems Family-run jeweller Moussaieff has a royal clientele with its innovative creations 46 Rheingau royalty Wine queens celebrate the king of Germany’s wine-producing regions 52 Lean, green machines Tesla’s electric revolution takes to the streets of UAE this summer

58

Travel 58 Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Going behind the scenes in the world’s best hotel for five years’ running 64 Insiders’ guide to...the Maldives Key tastemakers give a flavour of Maldivian life 70 Rebuilding the reef Jumeirah Vittaveli has joined the fight to save endangered coral in the Maldives 74 Break away Mallorca offers a dream destination of unique experiences for all tastes 76 Stay cool this summer Beautiful pools with a view at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts 80 Featured spaces Pepper steakhouse, Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait 82 The high life Tortuga Mexican Kitchen and Bar, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

11

City Watch

Key dates for your diary

Dubai

Outside In Until September 2 Following its successful launch as an indoor food truck festival in the summer of 2016, Hangry Hangar returns to Warehouse Four in Al Quoz as a full-blown extravaganza. The event promises kiosks serving food from local vendors as well as live music from local performers, stand-up comedy, fitness sessions and activities for children.

Hangry Hangar, Warehouse Four, Dubai. hangryhangar.com

Printed Pictures Until August 19 Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde’s Good Printing exhibition in Al Quoz’s art district is dedicated to the medium of print. The exhibition features work by 10 artists, including MentalKlinik, Rania Bellou, William Engelen, Aisha Khalid Ilan Manouach and Hassan Sharif and explores the art of printmaking.

Good Printing, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. ivde.net

Flying cars Until October 10

asian Voices August 10

Alserkal Avenue’s MAD Gallery presents Air Drive. The exhibition features nine images of classic cars, including an Aston Martin

The Music Room presents Awaaz, a

DB5, a Jaguar XK120 and a

celebration of the Indian subcontinent’s

Lincoln Continental, that appear

contemporary music scene, featuring

to be flying. The Air Drive

performances from British Asian singer-

series was created by French

songwriter Shaz Ia, Indian DJ Kay, popular

photographer Renaud Marion and

UAE performer Nazia Live and Indian

was inspired by childhood dreams

singer-songwriter Eshani-S.

of piloting a flying car.

Awaaz, The Music Room, Dubai.

Air Drive, MAD Gallery, Alserkal

dubai.platinumlist.net

Avenue, Dubai. madgallery.net

13

Abu DhAbi/istAnbul

Magic Man August 3 to 5 Saudi Arabian illusionist Ahmed el Bayed’s Take Off World tour stops off in the UAE for two performances in Al Raha Beach Theatre.

Having started performing in Saudi Arabia in 2004, El Bayed has since become a star in the Middle East, making regular television appearances and performing worldwide.

Ahmed el Bayed, Al Raha Beach Theatre, Abu Dhabi. abudhabievents.ae

New Thinking Until August 6 Taking its name from the term “doublethink” (the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs at the same time), famously used by George Orwell in his dystopian classic 1984, the Pera Museum’s Doublethink Double Vision exhibition delves into “alternative thinking methods”.

The show features work by artists including Tracey Emin, Marcel Dzama, Anselm Kiefer, Bruce Nauman, Raymond Pettibon and Thomas Ruff.

Doublethink Double Vision, Pera Museum, Istanbul. peramuseum.org

Shared Lingo Until August 27 Istanbul’s Salt Galata gallery presents Mouth

Funny Guy August 18

14

to Mouth, a survey of the work of the artists’ collective Slavs and Tatars. Founded in 2006, Slavs and Tatars’ work explores Eurasian culture. Mouth to Mouth features work

Abu Dhabi’s Al Raha Beach Theatre welcomes American comedian and actor Mike Epps for

concerned predominantly with the history

a one-off stand-up performance. Epps is best known for co-starring with Ice Cube in Next

of the Turkic languages.

Friday and its sequel Friday After Next, as well as for his work on US TV network HBO.

Mouth to Mouth, Salt Galata, Istanbul.

Mike Epps, Al Raha Beach Theatre, Abu Dhabi. abudhabievents.ae

saltonline.org

MahallatiJewellery

MahallatiJewellery

Mrs.Mahallati

THE HOME OF PRIVATE AVIATION AT THE SPEED OF BUSINESS

Passion for excellence is our trademark. In everything we do, our goal is to meet and surpass your expectations. Our highly trained staff are always on hand to ensure your complete satisfaction, both on the ground and in the air. Our unrivalled facilities located at Dubai World Central guarantee your utmost discretion, comfort and convenience every time you fly.

T: +971 (0)4 870 1800 | www.dc-aviation.ae | An Al-Futtaim Joint Venture Al Maktoum International Airport | DWC | Aviation District | Dubai, UAE

london

West End Hit Until January 6, 2018 British playwright Jez Butterworth’s record-breaking The Ferryman, the most talked about play this year, has transferred from the Royal Court Theatre to the West End’s Gielgud Theatre and extended its run to 2018. Set in Northern Ireland in 1981 at the apex of the Troubles, The Ferryman is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Paddy Considine.

The Ferryman, Gielgud Theatre, London. delfontmackintosh.co.uk

Intelligent Design Until September 3 Robots in the Science Museum traces the history of robots from the 16th century to the present day. The exhibition features more than 100 devices, including a 16th century mechanical monk and a replica of Eric, one of the world’s first robots, created in 1928.

Robots, Science Museum, London. sciencemuseum.org.uk

Classic Theatre Until October 7 Jack O’Connell and Sienna Miller star in Australian director Benedict Andrews’

Summer Sounds

rendition of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee

August 9, 16 and 30

Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of a

The Roof Gardens in Kensington – three rooftop gardens sitting 100ft above London –

Mississippi family torn apart by mendacity.

presents the fourth edition of Proms on the Roof. The three nights of classical music will

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Young Vic, London.

feature performances from musicians from the Royal College of Music.

youngvic.org

Proms on the Roof, the Roof Gardens, London. roofgardens.virgin.com

17

frankfurt/Shanghai

Game On August 19 Mid-table Shanghai Shenhua take on Chinese Super League title hopefuls on home turf in Shanghai’s Hongkou Stadium. Keep an eye out for Argentina’s Carlos Tevez playing for the home team and Brazil’s Paulinho playing for the visiting team.

Shanghai Shenhua vs Guangzhou Evergrande, Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai.

Alfresco Bites Until September 17 Frankfurt’s Museum Angewandte Kunst celebrates mankind’s protracted love affair with alfresco dining with Picnic Time. The exhibition, which comprises picnic utensils, installations, photographs and films, explores the role of picnics in different cultures and periods of history.

Picnic Time, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt. museumangewandtekunst.de

China Debut Until September 17 Celebrated French artist Philippe Parreno makes his debut in China, taking over seven floors of the Rockbund Art Museum with Philippe Parreno: Synchronicity. The exhibition curated by the museum’s director

Red Room Until August 13

18

Larys Frogier will incorporate the museum space itself, with Philippe Parreno controlling light and shadow throughout the renovated art deco building.

Frankfurt’s Deutsches Filminstitut (German Film Institute) explores the role of the colour

Philippe Parreno: Synchronicity,

red in film history with its aptly titled Red in Film exhibition.

Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai.

Red in Film, Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt. deutsches-filminstitut.de

rockbundartmuseum.org

COMMUNITY THEATRE La Perle, the 1,300-seat, custom-built theatre in Dubai’s Al Habtoor City, has been talked about for more than a year and has finally arrived.

Words: Gareth Rees

The theatre, which bosats an onstage pool, will welcome more than 450 international performers per year, with shows featuring large casts of more than 65 performers, including actors and acrobats executing aerial and aquatic stunts.

20

The theatre is the brainchild of celebrated director Franco Dragone, whose resume includes more than a decade with Cirque du Soleil as well as projects such as Celine Dion's residency show A New Day in Las Vegas’s iconic Caesars Palace, The House of Dancing Water in Macau and Story of a Fort, Legacy of a Nation in Abu Dhabi.

La Perle is currently taking bookings for shows from August 31 to the end of the year.

Shows from August 31 in La Perle, Al Habtoor City, Dubai. See laperle.com for more details

monitor

MEALS ON WHEELS Since the food truck trend first hit the UAE a few years ago, Dubai has wholly embraced the popular fad. If it’s not served from a window in the side of a four-wheeled vehicle, it’s not worth eating. This month the food truck collective Truckers DXB, one of the original instigators for the gourmet revolution in the UAE, will be parked in Dubai World Trade Centre for the Truckers’ Summer Warehouse.

The indoor food truck festival, open from Wednesday to Saturday, features 15 local food trucks serving an array of cuisines, including burgers and hotdogs, fusion, Italian, South American and Asian dishes.

There will also be entertainment, including live music and several themed nights such as gaming night on Wednesdays and ladies’ night on Thursdays. On Saturdays there will be cooking classes and the Makers’ Market, in which 35 Emirates-based artisans will showcase their handmade wares.

Truckers’ Summer Warehouse takes place from Wednesday to Saturday until September 2 in Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai. See truckers.ae for more details

LITERARY SALON Alserkal Avenue in Dubai’s Al Quoz neighbourhood is not only the cultural heartbeat of the city but also its creative engine room. As well as being home to dozens of Dubai’s leading galleries, it is also a seemingly unabating source of innovative events and initiatives that fuel the city’s ongoing cultural emergence.

Its latest enterprise is Literaturhaus at Nadi, an effort to “reinvent and revive the 19th century salon”. Literaturhaus at Nadi will run throughout August and September, welcoming authors, poets, critics, curators, publishers and translators to Alserkal Avenue’s Nadi al Quoz for a packed schedule of talks, readings, poetry slams and workshops, all geared to inspire debate and the sharing of ideas.

The line-up includes Palestinian spoken word poet Farah Chammah, the founder of Dubai Poetics Jamil Adas, publisher Andrew Hansen, percussionist Myriam Nehmeh, oud and guitar player Maruan Betawi, Zaki Nusseibeh, the former advisor to Sheikh Zayed, Egyptian author Man Khaled, Lebanese poet Zeina Hashem Beck, Emirati poet Afra Atiq (pictured), professor of Middle East and Islamic studies and comparative literature for NYU Abu Dhabi Philip Kennedy, curator Aidan Walker, Dr Frauke Heard-Bey, the historian, political scientist and stalwart of Abu Dhabi's Centre for Documentation and Research (now the National Archives) and author and former UK ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher.

Literaturhaus at Nadi takes place until September 30 in Nadi al Quoz, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

See alserkalavenue.ae for more details

21

Featured 24 Simply marvellous

Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter talks Marvel and Hollywood

32 Get your culture fix

Image: Royal Albert Hall

How to enjoy the best of London's shows with the whole family

DARK ANGEL

As brooding heroine Jessica Jones, Krysten Ritter’s damaged superhero has resonated with audiences. And with her character’s groundbreaking Marvel mash-up The Defenders set to hit Netflix this August, the actress’s stock is set to rise even higher

K

rysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones is a very modern superheroine. There’s no tiny leather miniskirt, curve-enhancing armoury or flash gadgets here. There is, however, sarcasm, guts, fragility and, just for fun, the occasional burst of superpowers, such as jumping three storeys, lifting a car or accidentally smashing a train window.

Words: Rachel Silvestri / Images: Getty and supplied

But in the Marvel universe, Jessica Jones is a reluctant heroine, as cerebral as she is physical and, following the events of the first season’s big finale, as unsure as ever.

24

It is this realism in a genre normally removed from reality that seems to have grabbed fans of the series, as well as Ritter herself.

Peope come up to me and find meaning in things that I didn't realise I was doing. I think people enjoy seeing a woman who is strong and shows real strength.

“So many people feel represented by Jessica and that’s refreshing and amazing,” Ritter told Deadline Hollywood after the first season. “The series has started so many feminist conversations that I never anticipated. People come up to me and find meaning in things that I didn’t realise I was doing. I think people enjoy seeing a woman who doesn’t look a certain way, who is strong, who isn’t rolling over and dying. She shows real strength.”

That is strength that Ritter herself also carries in buckets. From her humble upbringing on a farm in tiny Shickshinny, Pennsylvania — with a popu-

lation of little more than 800 — Ritter was scouted as a model at the age of 15, moved to the bright lights of New York city at 18 and began an international modelling career, gracing the runways of Milan, Paris and Tokyo as well as her adopted home.

By her early 20s, Ritter had begun to pick up small parts in movies and off-Broadway plays, honing her skills and making a name for herself. After a number of guest starring roles, her television debut proper came in Veronica Mars, followed by Gilmore Girls and various supporting parts in comedy movies such as 27 Dresses, Confessions of a Shopaholic and What Happens in Vegas.

With a strikingly memorable face, her look can swing between edgy and girl-next-door, making her a versatile actress who can turn her hand to wildly different roles. From one of her most memorable parts as an addict in the smash series Breaking Bad to demonstrating her creative chops by co-writing and starring in indie film Life Happens — with supporting roles from Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson — Ritter’s career has been one of constant reinvention.

And now the biggest transformation of all is set to take place on Netflix this summer — the culmination of Jessica Jones and three other Marvel series, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, with all four characters joining forces in The Defenders.

featured: Krysten ritter

25

26

featured: Krysten ritter

No one is best friends in all of the defenders. this is a reluctant team-up

The miniseries will follow the four vigilantes as they team up in New York to fight a common enemy, with Ritter’s Vamps co-star Sigourney Weaver joining the ensemble as the shadowy character Alexandra. Following on from their individual series, the Defenders are all flawed heroes, each with their own demons to battle.

“No one is best friends in all of the Defenders,” Ritter told Entertainment Weekly. “This is a reluctant team-up.”

But, however unlikely, the team will be hitting Netflix on August 18 and fans are ecstatic — a thrill compounded by the news that Jessica Jones will be returning for a second season next year.

“It’s early so yeah, we’re working on it,” said Ritter. “It’s happening.

Get excited.”

If The Defenders and the new Jessica Jones series are anywhere near as good as what we have seen from Ritter in her Marvel role so far, it doesn't seem fans need to be told to get excited — they're already there.

Marvellous MoMents step into the Marvel universe for the day at Dubai’s iMG Worlds of adventure. Pilot the avengers’ Quinjet, swing through the city with spider-Man and battle evil villain ultron in high-octane high jinks with everyone’s favourite superheroes. But if the heroes came to Dubai, where would they bed down for the night? Here’s Jumeirah’s pick of some truly super stays: the Hulk: Need to blow off

iron Man: There can be only

spider-Man: With Spidey’s

Captain america: We all know how

some steam? No need to go

one place for the bombastic

penchant for high altitude

patriotic he is, so perhaps a stay in

green with envy — Jumeirah

billionaire Tony Stark – the

escapades, Jumeirah emirates

the Ottoman splendour of Jumeirah

Beach Hotel has enough

unbridled luxury and style of

towers is the natural choice. After

Zabeel saray would help broaden

activities to keep young and

the Burj al arab Jumeirah.

a spell in the Talise Spa to ease

Captain America’s horizons a little?

old occupied. Beach access, 21

Chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces,

those aching superhero muscles

Although considering he’s a World

restaurants and bars and the

a helipad for quick aerial jaunts

and a visit to award-winning

War II hero who was reanimated

Wild Wadi Waterpark™ right on

and a world renowned high tea?

restaurants The Rib Room and

in the modern age, perhaps he’ll

your doorstep are enough to

Sounds like an iron-clad plan for

Hakkasan, he might not resist a

feel right at home, thanks to the

keep even David Banner happy.

a truly marvellous stay.

spin at the top of the towers.

grandiose feel of opulence.

To book a stay, visit jumeirah.com

27

28

Words: Rachel Silvestri / Images: Getty

CULTURE: BOOKS

BACK TO

SCISAB For a company that rode the wave of e-commerce, Amazon’s investment in bricks-and-mortar bookstores might come as a surprise to some. But this shrewd move is about more than just shifting books

29

Amazon bookshop in Seattle, Washington

“It’s because of Amazon,” came the bitter cry. Since the company’s appearance online in 1995, back when all the website sold was books, the Amazon effect has pushed traditional bookshops, from big corporates and small independents, to close in droves. The final death knell sounded for Michiganbased international bookseller Borders, which declared bankruptcy in 2011, closing down and selling off its domestic and overseas retail outlets, unable to keep up with competition from the online retailer’s low prices and convenience of home delivery.

Rival bookselling giant Barnes and Noble acquired the Borders Group’s trademarks and customer list, but even it is not without its business woes, with eight of its US stores slated for closure this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, contrary to the odds, Amazon is opening stores at a rapid pace.

Eight are already up and running across the US, including in prestigious New York location Columbus Circle, Chicago, San Diego and Seattle – the first of the stores to open in November 2015, in Amazon’s birthplace. At least five more will open this year, including three in California, one in Washington and another in New York, on Manhattan’s 34th Street.

At first glance, Amazon Books outlets are disappointingly normal, with all the classic chain bookstore touches. Well-lit with sober decor and wooden shelves, the interiors are dotted with comfy brown faux leather armchairs and a colourful children’s corner. But look closer and the innovative differences become apparent.

The brand’s devices wait, ready to be played with, in a table set-up very familiar to anyone who has browsed an Apple store. All books are arranged facing outward so there is less space for inventory but the ones that are stocked are given full visibility. Online reviews are printed on to cards which hang

30

from the shelves in strategic places and end table displays don’t follow genre themes but rather are grouped by how online buyers score the books or how quickly Kindle readers finish them.

The stores also push some of Amazon’s big innovations. Subscribers to Amazon Prime benefit from a two-tier pricing system, paying online prices while non-Prime customers will typically pay 10 to 30 per cent more for the same product, with other instant and logistical rewards also open to Prime members. Then there is Alexa: the same disembodied voice who does your bidding through Amazon Echo can also take you on a tour of the store. Most snazzy of all, payments can be made instantly through your Amazon account or by credit card – no cash, though. That’s so last century.

This may well serve as a testing ground for the future of Amazon’s plans for Whole Foods – the recent announcement that Amazon will buy the US food retail giant for $13.4 billion later this year has those in the industry speculating as to what the company has up its sleeve. With the Whole Foods package, Amazon will gain locations in all but eight US states, an established bricks-and-mortar network, a highly trained workforce, an educated and tech-savvy customer base and — as if more benefits were needed — an ideal place to gain data on real-life shopping habits. Statistics suggest that online and traditional retail shopping behaviours are different but with its new insights into both worlds, could Amazon be about to launch a twopronged attack on our shopping habits?

It is not just the US which is seeing Amazon expand. With its recent acquisition of Souq.com, the pioneering Middle Eastern e-commerce leader and reports that the new owners is looking for space to open a base in Dubai, perhaps the region could be next in line for this back-to-basics approach.

There could be an Amazon store coming near you soon...

Culture: Books

Amazon on your smartphone

Bookworm wonders Can’t wait for Amazon to make it to your neighbourhood? with the demise of bigger book chains, niche and independent bookshops are booming once again. Take a trip from your nearest Jumeirah property and browse the shelves in these worldrenowned quiet corners.

London: Belgravia Books The Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel has partnered with nearby independent bookstore Belgravia Books for its book and brunch Sundays, which includes a set menu and a paperback. The store has curated a lending

Amazon's first bricks-and-mortar store in Seattle

library for the hotel, which features everything from glossy coffee table books on food and fashion to biographies of famous residents.

belgraviabooks.com. sTAY: Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel or Jumeirah Carlton Tower, London. sHAnGHAI: Garden Books An unassuming store nestled in Shanghai’s romantic French Concession, this buzzing independent outlet stocks all the latest English language titles as well as a whole host of fascinating local publications that shed light on this fascinating city and China’s proud history. gardenbooks.cn sTAY: Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel, Shanghai.

IsTAnBUL: robinson Crusoe 389 Despite what the name suggests, this is no desert island — stocking Turkish, English and French language books, towering wooden shelves are reached by rickety ladders, giving the store real old world charm.

Founded in 1994, its new home is Beyoglu.

rob389.com sTAY: Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah, Istanbul.

Offering a charming atmosphere for those who wish to spend their holiday immersed in literature, booklovers can relax in the elegant Customers browsing in an Amazon bookstore

surroundings of the hotel’s Library Lounge.

31

GET YOUR CULTURE FIX Can you take a family to the BBc Proms, one of London’s most famous classical music events? Or have a romantic evening at the child-friendly West End production matilda the musical? It’s possible, experts reveal — you just need a bit of insider advice

A clAssy fAmily AffAiR: Taking children to the Proms July 14 to September 9, Royal Albert Hall and other venues, London For the most part, the BBC Proms are an incredibly classy, grown-up affair. The eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts first began in 1895 and takes place every year. For 58 days, famous conductors lead world-class orchestras in breathtaking performances, including this year’s highlights Reformation Day (August 20) and Beneath the Underdog: Charles Mingus Revisited (August 24). World-renowned singers also take to the stage. Adults shouldn’t miss Renee Fleming followed by Chineke (August 30), a show where the American soprano sings alongside the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

But is there much appeal for families?

Plenty, says insider Kate Warnock, a spokeswoman for the BBC Proms. She points to the just-finished July show of Sir Henry’s Magnificent Musical Inspirations. “The Proms are wonderful for children because they provide a fun and highly entertaining way to access classical music,” she adds.

Words: Danae Mercer / Images: Getty and supplied

Other child-friendly highlights include Proms Extra: Family Orchestra and Chorus (August 6), which invites aspiring musicians and singers to clamber on stage. Open to those aged seven and older, the event allows novices and talented prodigies alike the chance to perform alongside professional musicians, including the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Sarah Freestone, who started performing herself when she was seven. A similar event takes place the following week on August 12, when young musicians can perform music inspired by Oklahoma.

32

Families who love swing, blues and jazz can book Prom 57: Swing No End. This mid-afternoon event is all about boogie-woogie, stomps and shuffles, drawing on music from the 1930s and 1940s, with two bands battling one another.

Tickets are half-priced for the under-18s and family-friendly shows tend to take place during the day rather than at night.

As for which seat to book, Warner says: “It’s hard to say where the best seats are as it really is a matter of opinion — but no Proms event is sold out [in advance] because every performance has standing tickets available on the day.” If that appeals, be prepared to stand in notoriously long queues.

Hotel tip: If staying in the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, ask the concierge to book transport to any of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in a special branded Mini Clubman. jumeirah.com

FEATURED: LONDON CULTURE

First Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London

33

A nigHt At tHe tHeAtre: Adulting at Matilda the Musical Multiple dates, Cambridge Theatre, London It’s only natural that a musical based on Roald Dahl’s famous children’s novel Matilda should be child-friendly. The story, which follows five-yearold Matilda’s magical fight against a wicked teacher, features heartwarming lessons about family, friends and love. On stage it’s a lively, colourful affair with heaps of singing, dancing and special magical effects. It is also critically acclaimed; the show has won more than 85 international awards, including 16 for best musical.

Yet given all the family-focused goodness and saccharin sweet notes, is Matilda the Musical a good spot for grown ups?

issue through two perspectives: what causes a person to become a bully and how the victim suffers through bullying.” These dark notes are, however, fleeting, she adds. There’s a much stronger focus on the positive importance of perseverance, friendship and kindness.

Couples hoping to throw in added luxury can book VIP tickets. This includes top price seats, a souvenir show programme and a pre-show drink served alongside sweets. During the interval, a steward leads guests to a reserved table for an ice-cream intermission.

It can be. The music, developed by clever lyricist Tim Minchin, is bright and intelligent. The show has some adult undertones throughout.

For those not in London, there is reportedly a film version of Matilda the Musical due to be released in 2019 — perfect for watching from one of the UAE’s top-notch cinemas, where you can order from a Gary Rhodes menu.

“Matilda confronts the contemporary and very real issue of bullying,” says Cherie Nelson, writing in the blog Music Think Tank. Matilda faces mainly adult bullies throughout the story. Nelson writes: “This conflict presents the

Hotel tip: Book a pre-theatre dinner in the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel.

During London’s long, hot summer, you can also feast on champagne and canapes in the hotel’s outdoor venue, The Terrace. jumeirah.com

The Proms are wonderful for children because they provide a fun and highly entertaining way to access classical music

Royal Albert Hall, London

34

featured: LONDON CULTURE Scene from Matilda The Musical

Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel, London

OThER LONDON DaTEs fOR ThE DiaRy Opera: Passion, Power and Politics at the Victoria and albert Museum from september 30 to february 2018 Travel through 400 years with this immersive, engaging exhibition in one of London’s most popular museums. The show looks at opera through the lens of seven premieres, from late Renaissance Italy to present day, in a collaboration with the Royal Opera House. vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/opera Pacco Pena flamenco Dance Company - flamencura at sadler’s Wells from august 8 to 12 Electrifying and intense, this dance-focused show brings the master of flamenco to Sadler’s Wells’ intimate setting. Three dancers and six musicians will perform to uplifting guitar music.

Scene from Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Matilda The Musical

Expect an elegant evening. sadlerswells.com adventures in Wonderland at The Vaults Until september 3 Aimed at children, this immersive theatre experience allows guests to tumble down the rabbit hole. Guests are invited to pick between eat me or drink me upon entering the wonderland.

From that single choice, everything else unfurls. There are plenty of moments with the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and other beloved Lewis Carroll characters. thevaults.london anna Karenina - Mariinsky Ballet at the Royal Opera house Until august 4 It’s hard not to love this marriage of ballet and literature in one of London’s most renowned opera houses. This refined event features Alexei Ratmansky’s vision of Tolstoy’s epic, pain-filled novel. Classically trained dancers tease out the pain of Anna Karenina’s battle against her world. roh.org.uk

35

LIFESTYLE 38 A nose for business

Perfume guru Jo Malone knows how to sniff out a business venture

Image: Getty Images

42 A road paved with gems Moussaieff is an innovator in the world's gemstone industry

46 Rheingau royalty

We discover the wine queens of Germany's Rheingau valley

A NOSE FOR BUSINESS

Images: Andrew Meredith

Perfume guru Jo Malone is back with a new brand and a bold range of deluxe fragrances. Tahira Yaqoob reports

38

lifestyle: jo malone

a

s she stacked shelves with fragrance for the last time and turned off the shop floor lights, Jo Malone was struck with a terrifying thought: what on earth was she going to do now? As the founder and creative director of her eponymous perfume brand, her name and identity were inextricably intertwined. Now she had to forge a new path on her own, having sold the business and all rights to her own name in a golden handcuffs deal, which prevented her from forming a new cosmetics business for five years.

“The first morning I woke up, I realised I had made the right decision for the business but the wrong decision for me,” she says. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.” Now though, the master perfumer is back doing what she does best - interpreting moments and experiences through scent with her new brand Jo Loves, which is set to be rolled out globally in the next 18 months. Malone’s range of fragrances, scented candles and luxury bath products boasts 12 bold new scents, including smoked plum and leather, mango thai lime, green orange and coriander and red truffle 21. For a long time though, she feared she would never be able to create scent again.

39

In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy and a gruelling bout of chemotherapy, which stripped her olfactory powers. It was a devastating blow for Malone, a “super-sniffer” with a sense of smell so acute, it was recently found in tests by medical experts to be on a par with dogs trained to detect diseases. She has synaesthesia, a neurological condition in which the senses overlap, meaning she interprets colour, sound and music as scents - yet for the year that she was undergoing treatment, all she could smell was metal. “I could not smell [properly],” she says, in Dubai as a speaker at the World Retail Congress. “I had this very strong metallic smell in the background the whole time and I could not create top notes and base notes - but the chemotherapy worked and did its job. After a year, I started to feel like Jo again.”

Malone, now 53, had already sold her namesake business to Estee Lauder in 1999 for undisclosed millions but carried on as creative director, overseeing its expansion to a $78 million empire with more than 50 outlets. Three years after her diagnosis, she decided to step down in 2006. “I was terrified the can-

40

LIFESTYLE: JO MALONE

My sense of smell has come back in a very different way. I am much bolder and can smell things in fragrance that hardly anyone else can smell

cer would come back and made a life-changing decision to walk away from the brand I had founded,” she says. “I felt a stranger in my own business.”

On her final day, she sobbed as she left the store for the last time: “It was such a lesson - that moment when you think: ‘What am I going to do now?’”

Malone was not one to rest on her laurels, yet for the first time in her life, she found herself redundant. Born on a council estate in southeast London, she had worked for her sick mother’s cosmetics business from the age of 11 and with severe dyslexia, had dropped out of school with no qualifications at 15 for a life of hard graft. “It was up to me to put food on the table from the age of 11,” she says. “By 16, I was running a business.”

She worried, too, that the cancer treatment and her lack of employment would permanently affect her ability to create scents. “Just like anything, if you do not practise it, it can disappear,” she says. It was a walk along a pristine beach in Turks and Caicos that inspired her return to creating fragrance — a clean, crisp, citrus scent called pomelo that launched Jo Loves. Just as she had started Jo Malone with homemade nutmeg and ginger bath oils, concocted using saucepans and plastic jugs in her kitchen, she found herself back at her kitchen table in 2011 dreaming up her next venture. Two years later on her birthday, her husband Gary Willcox presented her with the keys to a new shop in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, central London, a former deli where she had worked as a teenager — and Jo Loves was born.

“My sense of smell has come back in a very different way,” she says. “I am much bolder and can smell things in fragrance that hardly anyone else can smell. I would never have done smoked leather and red truffle before because

they are not safe fragrances. [I am] pushing boundaries the whole time and using strong, dominant notes.” Thirty years on from her first solo business venture, she is “a hundred times the person I was and 30 years older in fragrance so what I have created is very different”. Red leather was inspired by her riding holidays in Montana, mandrine by an Italian piazza at night. She points to a white sofa with purple cushions and says: “When I see them, I smell eucalyptus and blackcurrant. I will listen to jazz and interpret it through smell. I am not physically smelling it but through my imagination. I trust my nose more than I trust most people.”

Jo Loves in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, is a short walk from Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes hotel. jumeirah.com

41

A ROAD PAVED WITH GEMS

Words: Rachel Silvestri / Images: Supplied

A stalwart of the jewellery world, family-run jeweller Moussaieff is an innovator in the gemstone industry and will exhibit at this year's Paris Biennale.

Jumeirah takes a closer look

42

Titanium and diamond feather necklace with Paraiba tourmaline (front), rose-cut pear shape diamond (back) and other diamonds

LIFESTYLE: JEWELLERY

G

littering gems, wistful tales of world powers and royalty, exotic journeys through history’s most glamorous and opulent times — the Moussaieff family story reads like a romantic novel, scarcely believable in its lavishness and mystery.

Internally flawless natural fancy intense pink marquise diamond and fancy vivid blue marquise diamond rings on round white diamonds and rose gold and pink diamond pave shank

But it is true enough. With their origins in the ancient Silk Road city-state of Bukhara, now current-day Uzbekistan, the Moussaieffs’ journey has led the family and their business on a winding path through the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The nomadic business has finally settled — at least for now — in London’s prestigious New Bond Street.

Dazzling pink and green diamond chandelier earrings set in rose gold

Traffic light pendant reminiscent of the family's Bukhara origins with Colombian emerald, Sri Lankan sapphire and Thai rubies hanging from a diamond necklace

43

A starry-eyed family legend holds that members of the Bukhara clan wove Genghis Khan’s silken cloak and as a result, the Moussaieff name has been associated with pearls, gemstones and fine goods for generations. What we do know is that current owner Alisa Moussaieff’s great-grandfather-in-law Shlomo, born in Bukhara, was trading in exquisite Arabian Gulf pearls and Indian gemstones by the late 19th century and by the 1920s, superlative jewels were making their way to the great maisons of Paris’s belle epoque society, thanks to the expertise of his son. A Hong Kong office followed during the 1930s and by 1963 young Shlomo Moussaieff, the great-grandson of the family patriarch, together with his Viennese wife Alisa, was settling into a brand new showroom in London’s Park Lane.

The Moussaieff brand went from strength to strength, attracting Middle Eastern royalty, political figures such as Imelda Marcos and even Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Zsa Zsa Gabor. The company’s second London showroom in Bond Street opened as Moussaieff quietly became a heavyweight in the world of fine jewellery — but only for those in the know. “Anyone wishing to buy for less than one million pounds need not enter,” quipped Shlomo at the turn of the century.

Colombian emerald and diamond ring set in platinum

44

Platimum diamond and ruby necklace with detachable brooch

LIFESTYLE: JEWELLERY

I am very excited to be exhibiting at the Paris Biennale this year. As it is so special I had to make sure I chose special pieces. That’s the secret to Moussaieff’s enduring success – the brand renews itself with each change in the business and fashion climate

A rare titanium and white gold brooch with oval green chrysoberyl nestled among yellow diamond petals

Jumeirah Carlton Tower

GREEN GEMS What better way to celebrate a new luxe purchase than by spending some time admiring how your diamonds sparkle in the sunshine in London’s most picturesque parks?

The walk from Jumeirah Carlton Tower to Moussaieff’s Bond Street headquarters takes a leisurely 30 minutes through some of London’s most picturesque streets — but spin out the journey a bit longer for a breath of fresh air amid the British capital’s green and pleasant plots.

Set off from Jumeirah Carlton Tower in leafy Cadogan Place and head along Sloane Street. Resist the temptation

It was around this time that the discreetly low-profile company began to make serious waves that would cause even those outside the jewellery world to sit up and take notice.

Moussaieff bought one of the world’s rarest stones, a true red diamond, worth an estimated $20 million — and now known as the Moussaieff Red.

to pop into Harvey Nichols and instead cross over Knightsbridge and South Carriage Drive and into Hyde Park. Admire the sparkling Serpentine and bear northeast on Louisa Duckworth Walk before exiting on Park Lane and crossing into Aldford Street. A quick left-right on South Audley Street will take you right into the small yet beautiful Mount Street Gardens. Exit the gardens next to

Thanks to Alisa’s innate eye for jewels and bold, colourful design, today Moussaieff remains one of the world’s most elite jewellers. A jewellery grande dame in her own right, since the death of Shlomo in 2015 it is under Alisa’s guidance that Moussaieff will join some of the world’s top brands at the Paris Biennale. And while there will be plenty of sparkle on display at such a lavish show, it is only Moussaieff that can claim an exotic generational history, stretching back to the very Silk Road itself. It might be the stuff of fairytale but when jewellery and history collide, real magic can happen.

Farm Street church and cross Mount Street on to Carlos Place. Follow the road north until you find yourself at the corner of the historic Grosvenor Square. After admiring the Roosevelt Memorial, head west on Grosvenor Street before taking a left on to New Bond Street and ending up at Moussaieff’s inviting door.

Moussaieff, 127 New Bond Street, London. www.moussaieff.co.uk. To book your stay at Jumeirah Carlton Tower see www.jumeirah.com

45

46 46

Words: Danae Mercer / Images: Frankfurt Tourism Board and supplied

lifestyle liFesTyle

RheiNgau RoyalTy The Rheingau, with its quaint towns and charming villages, is famous for its Riesling and the wine queens who promote the region's produce.

Now Frankfurt is set to get one too

Scenic view of Rheingau vineyards on the River Rhine

47 47

Vineyard in Germany

E

legant and poised, Stephanie Kopietz holds her heels in one hand, a bottle of crisp German Riesling in the other. It’s a sunny day in Wiesbaden, a walkable city, 40 minutes’ drive from Frankfurt. The light catches on Kopietz’s blue gown, her vine leaf golden necklace, her golden grape tiara.

She’s poised precariously near a row of grapes. It’s a delicate balancing act; in Germany’s wine country, the vineyards are notoriously steep. Machinery can’t handle it. Most grapes have to be picked by hand.

Kopietz manages it like royalty — as she should. This smiling 23-year-old is, after all, Rheingau’s wine queen.

Understanding the wine queens Germany’s Rheingau region is the land of Riesling. Offering mild winters and warm summers, with forest-capped hills protecting against cold winds and heat from the warm Rhine river, the area is perfect for growing Riesling grapes. Here many locals are full-time wine growers. The scenery is green, the river winds through it and the towns are charmingly quaint.

The result is a setting that feels a world apart from the slick, business-focused scenery of Frankfurt but for travellers staying in the financial hub, many parts of the Rheingau are close enough for a leisurely day trip.

48

Riesling from the Rheingau

LIFESTYLE Festive and fun atmosphere in Drosselgasse

Here, being a wine queen is no small thing. It requires extensive knowledge of wine along with a certain charm. The work — attending events, representing the product at functions, meeting people, tasting wine — is unpaid and extensive.

“I have one programme [or] one appointment every day, like a press conference or wine exhibit. All the time, all day. It’s tough to do alongside school,” laughs Kopietz. It is clear she loves the role but it is also clear there is a considerable time commitment involved.

Walk through Rudesheim’s famous Drosselgasse street

“When I was 17, my dad showed me the wine princesses and said you could do it. But it wasn’t something I dreamed of when I was little,” she adds. She didn’t care so much about being a princess or about the flouncy gowns. For Kopietz, who is currently studying beverage technology, it has always been about the refined art of fine wine.

“It’s good for my career but it also helps me grow as a person. I learn to talk to people, present on stage.” A successful village wine queen might go on to become the regional wine queen, then eventually the wine queen of Germany. Kopietz has her eyes set on the next crown. “I hadn’t travelled much before I became queen. A little bit around Germany but now I will go to Europe and America.”

Kopietz’s dream, one day, is to work in a wine cellar “or do marketing for wine. I think those are jobs I’d like”.

Queens in Lorch Lorch am Rhein, about 90 minutes’ drive west from Frankfurt, marks one of the borders of the Rheingau region.This sleepy town is lined by the Rhine river on one side and famous Rheinsteig hiking trail on the other. Buildings are tiny and traditional, with wooden shutters swinging open onto quiet streets. Vineyards shoot from the back of many restaurants and even more curl up the hillside above the town.

Captivating view of the vineyards, Rhine river and villages

“We have a wine queen,” says tour guide Edwin Schneider. “Every town has a wine queen, young women from 18 to 25. In England, the Queen stays for dozens of years. Here every year, we have a wine festival in the city hall in July when the new queen is crowned.”

Years ago, Schneider’s wife was crowned wine queen. It was her first time out of the small town of Lorch, with its rolling vineyards and striking Gothic church dating back to 1270. Inside, just behind the organ, there is apparently a special combination of notes that causes a small hidden door to swing open. “When this happens, out pops a bottle of Riesling and two glasses,” says Schneider, entirely serious.

“My wife and I were born here. We say a day without a glass of Riesling is to risk happiness. It is so in the region.”

49

lifestyle

Frankfurt looks to royalty It’s possible to track wine and the story of its queens around the entire Rheingau region. In tourist-friendly Rudesheim, known for its chairlift above vineyards and its wooden beamed houses, travellers stop at outdoor cafes to sip cold glasses. In Eibingen, nuns in St Hildegard Abbey produce their own wine. The nearby Schloss Johannisberg comes with the distinction of being one of the world’s oldest Riesling wine estates. Head to Wiesbaden and there is the luxurious Henkell factory, where sparkling wine is produced inside a baroque building with pink walls and dangling cupids.

From luxury to simplicity, the region has something for every traveller’s taste.

Yet it is in Frankfurt that the wine queen has been introduced to an entirely new audience. Earlier this year, for the first time ever, Frankfurt announced its very own royal figure: Queen Marilen I.

A GRAPE STAY Jumeirah Frankfurt serves a range of wine in its modern grill room Max on One. Veuve Clicquot champagne can be found in its airy Ember bar and lounge or for a true taste of Frankfurt, ask to try honey from the hotel’s own rooftop beehive — perfect drizzled atop toast or served alongside

Travellers to Frankfurt typically come on business. Those who linger for the weekend might stroll around the museum street or take a boat trip after a picnic in the park. But hidden on the fringe of Frankfurt is a 1.3-hectare vineyard, a stretch of land that is technically part of the Rheingau region.

Here 10,000 bottles of Frankfurt Lohrberger Hang Riesling are produced every year. They are sold in a vinoteque next to Frankfurt’s city hall.

Visitors walk through the vineyards in the Rheingau region

a glass of chilled sparkling.

To book a stay in Jumeirah Frankfurt, visit jumeirah.com/frankfurt

All this allows Frankfurt to have its own wine queen. Yet in an area known more for its apple wine served beside schnitzel, not everyone is entirely convinced. “In the small cities, they identify with wine. They live wine. They are wine,” says Frankfurt guide Soren Appuhn. “Here we drink wine but not 100 per cent every day.”

Apple wine is the focus of Frankfurt, says Appuhn. Traditionally visitors head to Sachsenhausen behind museum street to roam through the old apple wine district, where dark wooden taverns open onto cobblestone streets, then order a glass of Frankfurt’s famed slightly sour apple drink.

Tourists sometimes mix soda or sparkling water to soften the flavour but it is best not to do that, says Appuhn. “The idea is that it is handmade so it should be the best quality. Don’t reduce that to lemonade.”

For now, he adds, this new Frankfurt wine queen is not yet a local celebrity “but it might come”.

Queen Marilen’s first big event will happen in autumn this year. From August 30 to September 8, the queen and her ‘royal relations’ (wine queens often have wine princesses) will be present at Frankfurt’s massive Rheingau wine market. This annual event stretches along the city’s culinary promenade, the Fressgass (which translates as grazing street), offering grape lovers the chance to sample 600 varieties of red, white and sparkling.

“For us wine is a culture, a part of special events,” says Kopietz. The region's history, rolling hills, celebrations and castles are inextricably entwined with its association with grapes. “Every household has a cold bottle of wine in the fridge. Sometimes a glass is just about simply celebrating life.”

50

EMBARK ON A JOURNEY OF PRIVILEGED LUXURY

Royal Residences

Al Nafoorah

Escape away from the hustle of the city and relax in tranquillity among the Royal Residences akin to Ottoman royalty. With the azure views of the rippled lagoon waters and lush garden landscapes, discover a serene sanctuary with access to private beach and stunning views of the Arabian Gulf.

For bookings and enquiries email reservations@jumeirah.com or call +971 4 364 7555. jumeirahzabeelsaray.com

Talise Ottoman Spa

GREEN MACHINES

Words: Rachel Silvestri

Safety first – for passengers and the Earth to boot.

With Tesla’s electric revolution set to hit the Middle East this summer, Jumeirah gets inside the cars that are changing attitudes to both motoring and the environment

52

LIFESTYLE: TESLA

J

ust a few short years ago, electric cars were little more than a joke. Square and boxy in comparison to their sleek, gas-guzzling counterparts, cars powered by electricity were a source of ridicule for Top Gear enthusiasts and sensible car owners alike.

But then Tesla happened. Founded by a group of Silicon Valley engineers – led by internet tycoon Elon Musk – in 2003, the company’s mission was to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy”. Five short years later, the groundbreaking Tesla Roadster was launched. Taking just 3.7 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60mph, as well as managing 245 miles per charge on its lithium ion battery, there are now more than 2,400 Roadsters in action in more than 30 countries.

Following on from the Roadster’s sporty beginnings, the Model S was launched in 2012, offering consumers a more practical approach to electric motoring. The world’s fastest-accelerating four-door, it is attractive to keen drivers as well as families, touted as the safest sedan on the market and supremely comfortable and spacious too.

Tesla Model X and Model S in Dubai

53

Then came the stunning Model X, an SUV just as quick and safe as the Model S, with an all-wheel drive and 565 kilometres of range on its 100 kilowatt battery. It can get from standstill to 100kmph in as little as 3.1 seconds and seats up to seven people. It might look daunting but the Model X is completely electric and safe as houses. Vertically-opening falcon doors are a godsend for parents who struggle to get their children in and out of car seats as well as being a great solution for those tight parking spaces.

Both the S and the X have medical-grade HEPA air filtration systems, beating the dustiest of days and keeping the air inside the vehicle fresh and clean.

They also benefit from floor-mounted batteries, lowering the cars’ centre of gravity and making them roll-resistant while the Model X’s front trunk acts as an impact-absorbing crumple zone.

Tesla Model X in Dubai

54

lifestyle: tesla

So where did the idea for these green, safe and record-shattering cars come from? Named after visionary inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, the company’s beginnings stemmed from the imagination of one man.

Tesla’s charismatic founder Elon Musk was the inspiration for Robert Downey Junior’s portrayal of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Inventor, investor and – in some eyes – eccentric, nevertheless Musk has had the last laugh on a number of occasions. From his early vision for online payment resulting in PayPal. com, to his current determination to eventually establish a human colony on Mars, Musk’s horizons and ideas have certainly broadened over time. His recent projects include boring vast underground tunnel systems to provide express lanes for public and private transportation as well as a high-speed transportation system known as Hyperloop, intended to propel passenger pods through reduced pressure tubes using magnetic levitation or air bearings. Musk proposes that such a loop could reduce the current travel time between Los Angeles and San Fransico from its current six hours to just 35 minutes. Sounds crazy? So did an electric sports car in 2003.

Madinat Jumeirah

And now the Middle East is getting its own touch of Musk’s world-changing vision. Tesla has opened a store in Amman, Jordan and customers in the UAE will receive their first Model S and Model X vehicles this summer.

Sleek and SuStainable Jumeirah’s environmental efforts are also changing the world – one stay at a time Dubai turtle Rehabilitation Project — this Madinat Jumeirah initiative helps care for distressed turtles, nursing them back to health before returning them to the arabian Gulf.

Charging your tesla at home

Green Globe certification — these awards honour efforts toward environmentally sustainable

Of course, electric cars need infrastructure to support them and two of Tesla’s ‘supercharger’ stations have already popped up in the UAE with one just outside Jebel Ali in Dubai and the other in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.

Five more are set to open within the coming year, connecting the whole of the UAE, including a charging port in Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Thanks to Tesla’s ultra-quick charging system, it takes just minutes to reach full power.

However, with the Model S able to reach 632 kilometres on a single charge, perhaps stopping to top up will be a rare occurrence.

tourism and certify Jumeirah Group’s commitment

So will Middle Eastern motorists be up for switching to electric cars? We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for the first Tesla motors on the region’s roads this summer. But one thing’s for sure – if this really is the future of motoring, things are looking very bright indeed.

environmental education at emirates Hospitality

to conducting business responsibly and with transparency. Madinat Jumeirah was the first mixed-use destination in the world to receive this certification. in 2014, in addition to honours for individual hotels, the Jumeirah Group as a whole won a sustainability leader award from Green Globe.

school — environmental awareness is embedded in the school’s curriculum as well as forming part of Jumeirah’s training courses, ensuring sustainability is an integral part of Jumeirah and

Tesla’s Model S and Model X are available for order at www.tesla.com. Model S 75 starts at $76,600 and Model X 75D starts at $90,527

ingrained in the practice of its staff.

55

REDISCOVER DUBAI...

JUMEIRAH AL NASEEM, THE NEWEST ADDITION TO MADINAT JUMEIRAH Jumeirah Al Naseem is anchored on Dubai’s longest stretch of private beach, bringing fresh energy, exuberance and excitement to the award winning Madinat Jumeirah resort. Inspired by sand dunes, blue skies, sea breeze and Dubai’s heritage of pearl diving and Bedouin traditions. Perfect for those who like to explore and for whom Dubai might be a new experience.

For reservations call +971 4 366 8888 or visit jumeirah.com/alnaseem

travel 58 The star treatment We go behind the scenes of the world's finest hotel

64 The insiders' guide to...the Maldives Key tastemakers give a flavour of Maldivian life

70 Recreating coral

We explore the conservation work involved in saving coral reefs

THE STAR TREATMENT We give you an exclusive sneak peek behind the scenes to find out what makes the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah the best hotel in the world

58

Travel: burj al arab jumeirah

59

60

Image: Masam Ali

Travel: burj al arab jumeirah

i

t is one of the world’s most iconic buildings, as instantly recognisable and symbolic of the city it calls home as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the Sydney Opera House. When the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah opened in Dubai in 1999, it set a new standard in the meaning of the word luxury. Nearly two decades on from that grand opening, it is still winning accolades for being the best hotel in the world. At the Daily Telegraph newspaper’s Ultra awards in London in May, it won the title of best hotel in the world and best hotel in the Middle East for the fifth year running, based on votes from readers of Ultratravel magazine.

But what makes a hotel the best in the world? And how hard is it to keep such a hard-won accolade? Hotel manager Scott Murray says: “To me it is not just about the physicality of the building. It is more about the desire to deliver exceptional experiences. It is a great honour because there is so much competition out there.” His mantra is of being “only as good as your last performance” — a phrase which seems apt when you see the 24-hour operation from behind the scenes, as smooth and seamless as the different sections of an orchestra coming together to form a wondrous whole.

The numbers There are 202 duplex suites occupying 25 guest floors in the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, ranging from one bedroom deluxe suites to six three-bedroomed suites, two presidential suites and two royal suites, the latter sprawling over 780 square metres with huge sweeping staircases, a dining table to seat 12, revolving beds and opulent marble and gold leaf bathrooms big enough to live in. In the hotel's kitchens, 157 chefs cater for guests in nine restaurants, serving up to 4,000 meals a day, with a new drive toward sustainability and traceability of ingredients like fish. Executive sous chef Sascha Gausselmann says: “There is more to luxury than pure indulgence. We have a mix of customers demanding a healthy lifestyle and dietary requirements.”

61

The bespoke service The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah has built its reputation on personalised treatment and is renowned for its 24-hour butler service. Suites are carefully set up in advance of guests’ arrival with all their preferences, whether it is a box of baklava on the table, an organic fruit bowl and a bottle of Dom Perignon on ice or, in the case of one guest, a certain kind of German gummy bear sweet, which took two days to track down. No demand is too great and the acquisitions team specialise in sourcing any product a guest might desire.

“If it is impossible, we try to find an alternative solution,” says butler team leader Vasim Tahsildar. The most requested items are Playstations and DVDs of Fifa football matches.

The 140-strong butlering team even boasts seven guitarists in case there are any requests for special performances on birthdays or anniversaries. With royalty, diplomats and politicians coming to stay from around the world, they have a multitude of languages between them too. “I have had experiences I would never have imagined in my life,” says butler Dinesh Naik. Some butlers are even poached by guests as their personal assistants or are requested specially for each stay. “They remember us,” says Tahsildar. “That is what the Burj offers in comparison to other hotels - a level of service in rooms which is personalised. We have had guests who want to take butlers home.

Some have been recruited as personal butlers.”

62

Travel: burj al arab jumeirah

They remember us.

That is what the Burj offers in comparison to other hotels - a level of service in rooms which is personalised. We have had guests who want to take butlers home

There is a one-month training plan for butlers, who check in guests in their suites. They are taught things like how to anticipate guests’ needs and how to address royalty. Guests’ background is researched in advance so they can be recognised and their preferences noted. “We try to get all the information we can beforehand so we know as much as possible before their arrival,” says Naik. A guest history team alerts butlers to essential prep for repeat guests.

A suite can have up to six butlers in attendance, doing everything from buffing shoes and running baths to packing and unpacking suitcases, carefully putting layers of waxed paper in between garments. They closely monitor the room temperature - 24C in summer, 26C in winter. Everything from the mattress to the pillows (there are 17 on the menu) can be altered according to the guests’ desires. Some love the luxury bedding so much, they buy it. Then there are the hydraulics, making televisions magically appear from nowhere and beds rotate.

All guests are treated with the same reverence, whether they arrive by one of the Agusta helicopters or rock up in a Rolls Royce. “We are trying to maximise the face time with the guest,” says Naik. “That is what makes the Burj stand out. All hotels says we are all about personalised service but how will you do that if you do not have the staff? We are able to do that because we do have the staff. It is all the people who make it special.”

Murray says it all comes down to personalised service. “People come back month after month. It is about finding out what their preferences are and providing bespoke experiences.” Previously based in Dubai, he travelled the world and said there was “really only one hotel I would come back to.

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah is entering a new phase in the next 20 years.”

63

The InsIders’ GuIde To…

the mALDIVeS

Interviews by Gareth rees / Images: Getty

Get the inside track from the Maldives' most talented tastemakers

64

travel: maldives

Mariyam Unoosha

mariyam Unoosha

Professional singer and judge for maldivian idol

I was born in Malé, the capital of the Maldives, in 1985. Back then life was very simple. I’m blessed that I was born at a time when neither Malé nor the Maldives as a whole had undergone much modernisation so there wasn’t the technology we have today and we spent most of our time outdoors. I’m very grateful for that. Though I miss the simple way of life, I’m very happy to say our country has now developed and is still beautiful. My childhood was exciting — an adventure. My mum and dad were performers and music legends.

Music and performing is in our blood. I didn’t actually want to sing when I was young but my mum Shafeega knew I had something special in me and was the driving force for me to perform — [she was] my biggest inspiration.

As the Maldives are very small, opportunities for singers are very limited. We cannot make a career out of it like in other countries. Musicians and singers have to perform on the resort islands to earn a living, playing four to five days a week and studios and practice rooms are limited and expensive but it is slowly getting better. My team and I have plans to forge a better path for future generations of musicians so they don’t have to struggle like we did.

Private beach in the royal residence, Jumeirah Vittaveli

I was a judge for the first two seasons of Maldivian Idol. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I have so many great memories to cherish. The Maldivian music scene is not very strong but our little country is blessed with so many talented musicians and singers. If you ask Maldivian musicians the question: ‘Who inspired you?’ the majority, including me, will say Flu Nashid from Zero Degree Atoll. He is the greatest performer and song writer in the Maldives and Zero Degree Atoll has had a major impact on the Maldivian music scene. The best things about the Maldives are the white sand, the crystal clear water and the people, who have beautiful hearts and smiles.

65

Mohamed Vifaq

MohaMed Vifaq

ibrahiM ‘ibbadey’ hUssein

dJ, music producer, director of Uber events and artist Management

former professional footballer, flyboarder and owner of Liquid Water

booking agency in the Maldives

sports company

My mother gave birth to me in 1980 while she was in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

I grew up in Malé, one of the smallest capital cites in the world. We used to ride bicycles around the island. I listened to music from the age of 10 and by the age of 15, I was arranging parties with school friends. Playing music at these parties and get-togethers made me want to mix and play around with different genres of music. There were challenges. The proper equipment was not available in the Maldives and making contacts at the resorts so that I could spin there wasn’t easy. So back in the 1990s, house parties were the best way to go if you wanted to be a DJ. We would throw the party at a terraced building or a garage space but it came to a stop due to overpopulation of the city and complaints from neighbours about the noise.

I was born in the Malé in Kaafu Atoll. I grew up in the Galolhu district, which was a very close-knit, active community with a love of sports, especially football. Growing up, life was simple. All the neighbours knew each other and celebrated all occasions together. Most of us lived in bungalows. Now it is a concrete jungle.

Most of the new DJs are sticking to electronic music. In my experience a DJ can only be good if they are able to drop any kind of music anytime to entertain the crowd because in the Maldives we do not have proper clubs or festivals for the public — the clubs and bars are located in the resorts. I have performed in a few venues around the world and the response has been amazing.

The DJ that has inspired me most is DJ Nazeer Jamal, the first ever Maldivian DJ back in the 1990s. If somebody was visiting the Maldives for just 24 hours, I would advise them to book a room in a guesthouse or a resort near the ocean, enjoy the sun and sea, relax with some nice music and enjoy the food. What you see and experience in the Maldives is more beautiful than any glossy magazine could show and in general Maldivians are very friendly and helpful.

Samsara restaurant, Jumeirah Vittaveli

66

Ibrahim Hussein

Football has always been a constant. My love for the sport grew playing with my friends from the neighbourhood and for a short time it became my career alongside being a dive master. My childhood was happy and joyful. My elder brother Mohamed Hussein used be a professional footballer. He was my main inspiration to pursue football as a career but it was a popular sport in the Maldives. Every boy was into it and learned how to play at a very young age.

When I discovered flyboarding, I didn’t quit football right away. While I was searching for extreme sports videos on YouTube, I stumbled upon a flyboarding video by Franky Zapata from Zapata Racing. It was a very new sport at the time. I was fascinated by it and wanted to see if I was capable of trying such a sport so I gave it a shot. I quickly became addicted to flyboarding and eventually decided to build a career of out it. What started out as a hobby became something I wanted to train for professionally, to put the Maldives on the map for this extreme sport and qualify for a Flyboard world cup. It is all about getting pumped up on the adrenaline rush you get from flying. For our country to compete globally we need to produce athletes who can compete at the highest level in tournaments overseas but flyboarding has a bright future in the Maldives with more and more young Maldivians showing an interest in the sport. I wouldn’t say its extremely popular but over the last two years, it has gained more recognition. If you ever dreamed of flying like the birds and swimming like the dolphins then it is the closest you will come to achieving that.

My biggest inspiration is Mohamed Kaleem, a local footballer and coach who was the national team captain for a number of years. I have always had an interest in Maldivian folklore and historic events. If I had to pick one, I would say it would be the story about the Utheem brothers and how they battled to gain independence from the Portuguese conquerors. The whole story revolves around courage and bravery and their journey to battle on the famous boat Kalhuoffummi. One of the biggest misconceptions about the Maldives is that most of us don’t speak English. Although we have our own language, Dhivehi, the majority of Maldivians, especially the younger generation, are fluent in English. Chewing areca nuts (dhufun) and smoking gudu gudaa (similar to shisha) has been a vital part of our culture when it comes to socialising for the longest time. Although smoking gudu gudaa has become less prominent over the years, dhufun is mandatory after meals for any Maldivian.

travel: maldives View of the overwater jetty at Jumeirah Vittaveli

Professor Hassan Ugail

Professor of visual computing at the University of Bradford in the UK

I was born and grew up on the beautiful island of Hithadhoo, Addu City, located on the southernmost tip of the Maldives. It was the region where the British had one of its military bases while the Maldives was a British protectorate, before we claimed independence in 1965. Consequently, much of the infrastructure in Addu City, people’s thinking and even to some extent our way of life has been shaped by the British. Back then, Addu was almost like an independent entity, cut off from the rest of the Maldives. My father, who was working as a clerk in the British Royal Air Force base, used to get his weekly salary in pounds, shillings and pence. Surprisingly, to this date little has changed. Many of the buildings, roads and even some of the signs put up by the British still remain.

I’m not from a well-off family but I consider my childhood privileged. I was born into a large family, which was quite common back then. Being the eldest child, I have always had an authoritative way of thinking and a questioning mind. I took a keen interest in the trivial details of my surroundings and I was passionate about learning how things operate.

My father guided me with his knowledge and taught me to think above and beyond. He had an extensive library that helped shape my thought process. As far as I can remember, I always had an interest in mathematics. I recall many occasions when I would sit in a quiet corner at home, my head buried in an algebra book while other kids played football outside.

I was offered a scholarship by the British Council to read mathematics at King’s College London. That in turn opened several doors to further study, including a fully funded scholarship from the British government to undertake research in applied mathematics at the University of Leeds.

England was the first foreign country I ever set foot in. It was overwhelming but I acclimatised quickly. I have a profound love for the UK and the

Maldives. I miss the love, the smiles and the warmth of my people as well as the gorgeous weather and the beautiful beaches. I make a point of visiting the Maldives every three or four months. I am obliged to help my country by any means possible. I want to inspire youth and I want our people’s minds to open beyond what is taught by the book — I want them to develop life skills and for the younger generation to be innovative and be able to appreciate knowledge. I also want to contribute to our education system and to overhaul and incorporate critical thinking instead of the limited and tailored curHassan Ugail riculum they teach today.

I write a weekly column for the prominent newspaper Mihaaru as well as communicating my thoughts via social medial platforms. I have recently written a book, Sihhee Hadhiyaa, in the local language, which focuses on evidence-based healthy living habits. These are tiny leaps but I hope they bring great changes in the long run. I would love to return to the Maldives to live one day. I long to see a Maldives where hope meets opportunity.

In terms of Maldivians who have inspired me, the [first president of the republic] Mohamed Amin Didi is certainly one of them. In many ways, he is the father and the great architect of the modern Maldives. Another inspiring figure for me is the late Hussain Rahaa of Addu City, a renowned intellectual of his time.

I would recommend reading The Maldives: Islamic Republic, Tropical Autocracy by JJ Robinson. This book will give the reader some insight into local culture and traditions. Visitors should eat masroshi, a grilled disc of flour with a filling of coconut and tuna, seasoned so that it has just the right amount of zest and tanginess. It is a tea time snack and an all-time favourite of mine. Many foreigners assume the Maldives is an incredibly expensive place to holiday. They think it is a place only millionaires with private jets visit.

This is far from true — you can visit and enjoy the Maldives on a budget.

67

You really won’t want the summer to end this year. We have 90 exciting ways to fill your summer days with so much fun!

Whether you prefer eating out at some of Dubai’s most iconic locations, learning to cook with award-winning chefs, working out in amazing surroundings or just lazing by the pool and relaxing, you’ll have a lot of trouble saying no to all 90 Ways! No matter what you decide, it will be the most exciting summer ever – and all with Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts.

DON’T COUNT DOWN YOUR DAYS M A K E Y O U R D AY S C O U N T

For more information, visit jumeirah.com/90ways

PROTECTING THE REEF The Jumeirah Vittaveli is pioneering a project to preserve Maldivian coral and help breathe new life into vital ecosystems

70

Travel: maldives

Abundant marine life in Maldivian coral reef

71

Crown-of-thorns starfish

Stingrays and Eagle Rays are a common sights at the reefs

72

Stone pile coral

Travel: maldives PADI's Dive Against Debris campaign

i

t is one of the biggest lures for nature lovers the world over. Mention almost any beachside location and divers and snorkellers will wax lyrical about the beauty of its coral reef and the variety of marine life found there. The Maldives is no exception, its colourful fish and coral one of the biggest draws to visitors. Many of those staying in the Jumeirah Vittaveli cite its spectacular coral reef as one of the reasons for their visit.

method takes longer but is perfect for shallower water where the frames don’t quite work.

We made a commitment to dive around the island monthly. It is a great project to be involved with. We welcome everyone to join us in this initiative

Globally, there has been growing concern about protecting the world's reefs. Scientists recently announced that the Great Barrier Reef has lost more than 29 per cent of its coral and that existing protection plans would be unable to save it. Around the world, climate change and marine pollutants have been blamed for threatening these fragile marine ecosystems. In some parts of the Maldivian archipelago, bleaching has badly affected the coral. That is where people like Emily Armstrong come in. Armstrong, a marine biologist overseeing Jumeirah Vittaveli’s regeneration project, is fighting to change things. “Our coral reefs are under threat,” she says, explaining that recently ocean temperatures in the Maldives were unusually high. This caused the coral to expel their algae, lose their colour, become extremely stressed and eventually die.

To battle the bleaching of coral, Armstrong has become an expert in rebuilding fragile marine ecosystems. She heads Jumeirah Vittaveli’s coral project, an initiative that takes vulnerable coral and gives it a healthy environment to regenerate.

“The main method we focus on is the coral frame,” says Armstrong. The team starts by collecting loose coral, often broken off by strong waves or careless snorkellers. “If the coral is already bleached and vulnerable, it will die very quickly if it is not fixed to a hard, non-moving substrate so we attach these broken fragments to a frame using cable ties.”

The key to the project is making sure the living tissue of the coral is connected to the frame and cable tie. Next come regular coral check-ups.

“If the conditions are right, we can see the coral tissue starting to grow in as little as two weeks,” she says. There is a success rate of about 70 per cent, resulting in portable mini-reefs perfect for fish. Armstrong hopes one day staff from the resort might be able to manage and care for their own frame — a bit like a garden patch.

The Jumeirah Vittaveli is also trialling a method that involves stacking stones in shallow waters. “We insert long iron nails into large rocks and build them into a pile, then attach the loose coral fragments directly to the nails.” The

Even as she works to help regrow the coral, Armstrong is fighting an unlikely ocean villain: the crown-ofthorns starfish. In healthy environments, this starfish feeds on coral, helping keep the population under control. But when there has been an outbreak (something often linked to environmental changes and more likely when the reef is already sick), these starfish consume massive quantities of coral.

“They can bring significant damage to reefs in a short amount of time. To control this threat, we regularly undertake scuba dives to collect and responsibly remove the crown-of-thorns starfish,” says Armstrong.

Efforts to keep the reef clean are also important.

Through snorkelling and scuba diving, employees dig out any harmful rubbish or debris. Scuba diving is done in collaboration with PADI’s Dive Against Debris campaign.

“We made a commitment to dive around the island monthly,” says Armstrong, who adds the one-year anniversary of the initiative is soon approaching. “It is a great project to be involved with and a breakdown of all the debris we collect each month goes into a global database to better understand debris movement around the world.

“We welcome everyone to join us in this conservation-minded initiative and are pleased to offer this dive at no charge to any guest with a scuba diving licence.”

Guests can also book time with Armstrong to learn about the regeneration project, join weekly marine talks, book into a coral garden guided tour or even plant coral themselves. Interactive, guided snorkelling is a favourite activity of Armstrong’s.

For travellers lucky enough to be on the island during a big holiday, they might see an extra special sight — the coral frames being brought up to the beach. During those times, “everyone has the chance to be involved and plant a coral,” says Armstrong. Over the upcoming festive season there will be special adopt-a-coral workshops where guests can plant and name their corals.

“They get updates on the status of their coral afterward,” says Armstrong.

Ultimately, the fight to save coral is not a straightforward one. Yet people around the world are working to make a positive change — one single, small bit of coral at a time.

For more information on Jumeirah Vittaveli’s regeneration efforts or to book a stay at the luxurious resort, visit jumeirah.com

73

I

t’s never too late to book an amazing break for the summer.

Built on a clifftop overlooking the Mediterranean with 121 airy sea or mountain-facing rooms and suites, the Jumerirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa is a Mallorcan gem.

A great escape, you can choose to while away your days pampering yourself at the stunning Talise spa or get stuck into one of the many activities the hotel offers. Sporty types can enjoy the state of the art gymnasium and a year-round heated pool or 18 holes at the golf course, which is just a 15-minute drive away.

Words: Sophia Serin

A birds eye view of Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa

74

The hotel also has a packed unique experience itinerary, designed by the hotel’s local guide, which includes adventures for all tastes. Families will enjoy walks through the Tramuntana mountain range while couples can enjoy artisanal wine tasting tours. For the wild at heart, a Harley Davidson motorbike ride through the northern roads and mountains will win you over but if you want your heart to race at a different pace, birdwatching at World Heritage protected sites is truly unforgettable. Fit for any taste, the Tramuntana sunset boat trip is a must if you are staying at the hotel. Or if thrills are what you are after, book a helicopter tour and take to the skies. Sailing around the northern coast of Mallorca and the Unesco heritage Tramuntana region will take your breath away, all while nibbling on canapes and champagne — making for a perfect holiday with something to suit all the family.

To book a stay and enjoy these unique experiences visit Jumeirah.com/mallorca

Majestic views from Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa

Travel: mallorca

Break away Book a summer getaway you’ll never forget

75

76

travel: luxurious pools

Stay cool thiS Summer Beat the heat and stay cool this summer by taking a dip in one of these luxurious pools at Jumeirah Hotels and resorts

Terrace salt pool, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

77

The Burj Al Arab Terrace Located at the world’s most luxurious hotel, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, the Terrace is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind restaurant, pool, beach and cabana space, offering the finest in Arabian hospitality.

Set in the azure waters of the Arabian Gulf, this private 10,000 square metre outdoor luxury leisure facility seamlessly stretches 100 metres out into the sea, and is home to Scape Restaurant & Bar, two stunning pools, dedicated butler-serviced cabanas and a beach area with luxury day and sunbeds.

Summersalt Beach Club Think long beach days, lazy lunches and unforgettable views at this pool located at Jumeirah Al Naseem. Overlooking the serene waters of the Arabian Gulf, Summersalt Beach Club is the perfect place to soak up the sun and have fun with friends and family. Enjoy this unique vibe while lounging by the pool at one of Dubai’s most pristine and exclusive beaches.

The Peak Health Club and Spa If you’re staying in Jumeirah’s London hotels then enjoy access to one of the city’s premier health and beauty centres. With stunning views of London, this is an oasis of calm and tranquillity, high above the city on the ninth floor of Jumeirah Carlton Tower. The luxurious facilities include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms. You’ll also find a wonderful range of treatments, from a gentle head massage to a nourishing and rejuvenating body wrap.

Deligthtul view of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah from Summersalt Beach Club, Jumeirah Al Naseem

The Peak Health Club & Spa, Jumeirah Carlton Tower

78

travel: luxurious pools

Main pool at Jumeirah Vittaveli, Maldives

Island getaway Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives comprises 89 spacious villas and suites which all offer private swimming pools and direct access to the beach, or lagoon where extraordinary snorkelling awaits. However, there is also a large infinity resort pool which is set against a backdrop of the Indian Ocean. In the evenings, you can even sink your toes into the cool water and book a private aqua dinner experience.

Infinity pool

Infinity pool at sunset, Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa

Enjoy breath taking views over the Mediterranean sea in this adult only infinity pool, the ideal place to disconnect and unwind. Located by the fishing village of Port Soller and surrounded by the Tramuntana mountain range, Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa promises a true Mediterranean escape.

Enjoy access to your own private balcony or terrace and admire the picture postcard view at your leisure. This intimate luxury hotel in Mallorca houses a selection of 121 airy sea or mountain facing rooms and suites, spread across 11 buildings connected by wonderful scented gardens.

79

80

Words: Meryl D’souza

travel

featured SpaceS PePPer SteakHouSe, JumeiraH meSSilaH BeacH Hotel & SPa, kuwait Whether it’s succulent prime cuts, quality ingredients or a vibrant atmosphere that you are looking for, Pepper has it all. Kuwait’s premium steakhouse is equally a treat for the business traveller on a stopover or the leisure tourist looking for a memorable meal.

The Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa housing the steakhouse is a part of history. Legend has it that a resort has stood on the site on the southern coast of Messilah Beach since the 1970s and now, thanks to Jumeirah, combines Kuwaiti tradition with a modern twist.

One of four of the hotel’s dining options, the fine dining restaurant has an intimate forest theme with columns wrapped in trees, an illuminated lake in the centre, log tables, floral chandeliers and delicate leaf-shaped plates to complement the theme.

The stunning decor is enhanced by the restaurant’s ‘wall of a thousand lights’, a marvel that could keep you captivated for a while. Once you have soaked in the atmosphere, try the most succulent of prime cuts, accompanied by delicious side dishes. The menu boasts Australian wagyu beef, surf and turf, beef rossini and pumpkin risotto.

The restaurant lighting is intimate — perfect for a romantic dinner in the country. And with a thoughtful touch that shows the restaurant staff have thought of everything, there are menus lit by LEDs so you can still read the options.

For those extra special occasions, you can choose to book one of the private rooms, which can be scattered with rose petals and decorated with bouquets of flowers to surprise and delight your dinner companion.

Pepper steakhouse is open from 6pm to midnight Sunday to Friday and is closed on Saturdays. Call +965 2226 9666 or email JumeirahRestaurants@jumeirah.com to book

81

The high life:

Words: Nina Catt

TORTUgA MeXiCAN KiTCheN AND BAR, MADiNAT JUMeiRAh, DUBAi

82

THE LOWDOWN: The vibrant colours and flavours of Mexico have been

mortar) are just a few of the must-tries. Be sure to order the signature dish

transported to the Arabian Gulf under the expert guidance of head chef

molcajete tlajomulco, a molten lava-like melting pot of cheese, avocado,

Oscar Rito at Tortuga. The family-friendly restaurant is the perfect place

herbs and spices with beef or shrimp served with handmade corn tortillas.

for a lively lunch or dinner, and a top spot for Friday night drinks thanks

Save room for dessert. Classic churros, sweet cacao-mole cake and many

to its impressive cocktail selection.

more treats are not to be missed.

THE ATMOSPHERE: With a picturesque waterside setting, complete with

INSIDER’S TIP: Allow the chef to take you on a culinary journey of his

indoor and outdoor seating options, a relaxed dining experience offers a warm

hometown for an authentic experience like no other. Order Oscar’s Tour

and welcoming vibe. Dark wood with bright accents creates an authentic feel

Menu and leave it in the hands of the expert to deliver a five-course

while a live band on select days entertains the crowds with toe-tapping tunes.

bespoke meal that will leave you wanting to plan your next visit before

Dance the night away every Monday with salsa classes or join the summer

you have even stepped out of the door.

fiesta brunch on a Friday to start the weekend with a bang.

BOOKING DETAILS: Tortuga Mexican Kitchen and Bar is open for lunch and THE FOOD: A mouthwatering menu of authentic Mexican cuisine, spliced

dinner seven days a week, with a Friday brunch option from 12.30pm to 4pm.

with Tex-Mex favourites, awaits hungry diners. Street tacos, quesadillas, and guacamole caseron (hand-mixed at the table with a pestle and

Call +971 4 432 3232 or email Restaurants@jumeirah.com

Tel: (+971) 4 337 7000 Email: ahmad@ahmadkurdi.com www.ahmadkurdi.com https://www/facebook.com/ahmadkurdifinejewellery | https://www.instagram.com/ahmadkurdifinejewellery