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CONTENTS

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JUNE 2022

14

Editor’s Letter

16

Objectified

24

The Answers With...

27

Auction

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The Travel Issue

This issue, we travel the world to bring you the best of iconic locations such as Lake Como in Italy (where the new Passalacqua (above) is located), Geneva and, closer to home, Hua Hin, as well as off-the-beaten-track destinations like Rwanda, British Columbia and Antarctica.

CONTENTS

93

Dream Machines Wheels

94

The EV Kool-Aid Acid Test

98

Changing Horses

102

Land Rover, Redux

104

Reliable, Intelligent, Technologically Advanced

Water 106

Up, Up And Away

108

I, Ro-boat

109

Now Docking In The Metaverse

Technology 110

A Rush Of Fun To The Head

111

The Goods Writing Instruments

112

A House Of History And Writing

Style 116

Making Of An Icon

Jewellery 122

Genius At Work: Top Of The Rock

Time 126

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Dual Timer

CONTENTS

131

The Resource Money

132

A Legend’s Second Act

136

Realty Check

142

Heights Of Achievement

Design 144

Cooking Up Calm

148

Blurring The Lines

Travel 150

Membership Perks Up

Savour 152

This Month’s Feed

155

Size Matters

156

Digital Label Art, First-release Rights, Elaborate Magnums. Has the Emperor Got Some New Clothes?

158

Robb Reader

162

The Duel

On The Cover Guests of Nimmo Bay Resort can spend an unforgettable day exploring the many waterways, inlets and islands that surround this wilderness lodge set within the lush heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada.

Photography by Jeremy Koreski/Nimmo Bay.

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Since when did dreams have a limit?

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T H E WO RLD ’S

FI NES T D IAM ON D S

FO R

B R I L L I AN T WO M E N

EDITORIAL

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ROBERTO BERNARDI

C A N DY L A N D

NOW showing at Mucciaccia Gallery 6 Lock Road Gillman Barracks

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JUNE 2022

you will find it awash with New Nordic flavours, bolder than its traditional fare (think scallop mousse with rhubarb pickle and cod with black truffle and white asparagus).

On the southern side of the globe, White Out (page 48) is one intrepid journalist’s account of the desolate beauty of Antarctica on board the Swan Hellenic’s Minerva. These summer cruises are now more ecologically sound, reducing carbon outputs and promoting holistic approaches to the travellers who seek to commune with one of our Earth’s icy frontiers.

And what of accommodation options and where they’re located? Oh, The Places We’ll Go (page 58) rounds up 20 fascinating and spanking new properties to check into, each of which have newly risen in the past year or will – in the case of GHM’s The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort – open right about now. Its beachfront setting opens to sweeping views of the Arabian Gulf and the Doha skyline and its location in the heart of Katara Cultural Village makes it an ideal base for those planning their World Cup sojourn later this year.

Enjoy the issue and safe travels.

Robb Report Singapore Editors

P H OTO G R A P H Y: G H M H OT E L S .

EDITOR’S LETTER The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort marks GHM’s debut in Doha, Qatar.

AFTER SEVERAL ABORTIVE attempts, it finally feels as though dawn has broken onto the darkness of border and travel restrictions. The world, bar a few countries, is now welcoming travellers again.

And from many reader accounts, it would seem that we are rapidly rediscovering the joys of travel and its restorative effects on our being.

With this month’s Travel issue, let us take you on an exploration of the lesser-known lights of global destinations. Wild At Heart (page 32) is a deep dive into the Nimmo Bay fishing lodge in British Columbia, where ultra-luxe means being enveloped by nature’s majesty while getting shiatsu massages on floating sauna docks, and being served by Linnéa LeTourneau, a Canadian chef whose career and cuisine has been shaped by Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris.

Across the Atlantic, you will uncover what the Norwegians have been up to at their capital city (population 700,000) the past couple of years. Scandinavian Modern (page 40) is an examination of how Oslo’s architecture, culinary and contemporary arts scene has evolved into its coming-of-age moment in 2022 – starting with its National Museum’s opening this month after 19 years of careful planning. This edifice – larger even than the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao – will house the largest display of arts in the Nordic region. And once you step out onto the city streets,

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars pays tribute to a legendary racer with its Landspeed Wraith.

OBJECTIFIED

Objectified

A Tribute To Speed Captain George Eyston’s three landspeed records, set between 1937 and 1939, were accomplished in the purpose-built Thunderbolt, an eightwheel, three-axle machine that was powered by two Rolls-Royce V12 aero engines. Each had a 37-litre displacement and an output of over 2,000bhp, and the Thunderbolt ended up reaching almost 580km/h. This remarkable engineering achievement, and the remarkable personality who drove it, forms the inspiration of the Landspeed Collection.

Selected for this purpose is Rolls-Royce’s most powerful current offering: the Black Badge Wraith.

As a Bespoke collection car, it is meticulously decorated to tell its story.

For example, the wood veneer fascia is patterned after the Bonneville Salt Flats, the venue of Eyston’s records.

Other interior elements reference the Thunderbolt’s aluminium construction and the bright yellow markings that increased its visibility to timing equipment. Its two-tone exterior features a new Bespoke colour, Bonneville Blue.

The Landspeed Collection consists of 25 of the open-topped Dawn and 35 of the two-door Wraith. This will likely be the last of this model of Wraith as Rolls-Royce will soon be wrapping up its production and is no longer taking orders for it.

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Objectified

Retro Revisited Omega has updated its Speedmaster ’57, a modern take on the original Speedmaster of 1957, with a new Master Chronometer-certified Calibre 9906, a manually wound two-register chronograph movement that sports a silicon balance spring and a slimmer profile. Its depth now clocks in at just under 13mm and it is also slightly smaller at 40.5mm in diameter.

Other key visual elements are largely unchanged, including the large arrow on the hour hand, and tachymeter bezel. Speedmaster ’57 is available in several references, including a retrolooking one with black dial and vintagecoloured lume.

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Objectified

Travelling Without Moving Leaving on a jet plane is a fine idea but even the grandest of vacations eventually come to an end. The next best thing? A timepiece that whisks you off to far-flung places with nothing more than a glance at the wrist.

Dressed in red, blue and white, Harry Winston’s Opus 14 references the quintessentially American 1950s diner, complete with a fun jukebox-themed date and GMT display.

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T H E AN S WE RS WIT H . . .

THOMAS FLOHR The founder and chairman of VistaJet on how he came to own an F1 car, racing at Le Mans and his favourite way to eat Mozambican shrimps.

Words: Wei-Yu Wang Photography: Alex Cretey Systermans and Elsa Young

WHEN THOMAS FLOHR founded VistaJet with just two aircraft in 2004, he had no understanding of the market – which, he says, can sometimes be a good thing. It certainly worked out for VistaJet. The business aviation company offers access to 80 aircraft, which form part of the 350-aircraft fleet of parent company Vista Global, and services several thousand subscribed customers. “Before VistaJet, you had to buy a full aircraft or you didn’t know what you got until you get to the airport,” the 62-year-old says. Now, his company provides a seamless, flexible private aviation experience with none of the downsides – or the cost – of private jet ownership.

“The addressable market is 23,000 business jets in the world and they fly on average only 250 hours a year. We fly our aircraft between 1,000 and 1,500 hours per year. And hence our unit cost is much lower because we can drive a network effect all around the world,” he explains, adding that his fleet is available 365 days a year, which is impossible for any single private jet. When on the ground, you might find him behind the wheel training for his next race at Le Mans or unwinding at the luxury eco-resort founded by his daughter Nina.

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

I try to open my eyes and not do anything, not touch anything, no phone. I just want to clear my mind.

What advice do you wish you had followed?

I think at times I could have been even more bold than I have been in the past.

What in your wardrobe do you wear most often?

Jeans and a black or white T-shirt.

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The Answers With...

What is your exercise routine and how often do you work out?

Six times a week, I’m in the gym. I do sports. And as you know, I race. And the last 10 days before each race, I’m even doing it twice a day.

What have you added recently to your collection?

Sebastian Vettel’s Formula 1 car from 2017. Ferrari and VistaJet have a great collaboration, and it was a great honour.

What is the car you are most attached to?

It’s the 2018 488 GTE from Ferrari, which brought me to the podium of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Second place.

How many times have you raced at Le Mans?

From 2017 to 2021, five times. This year, it will be a sixth time.

How did you get into racing?

I was always fascinated by rallies. I did the East African Safari Rally 15 years ago. At the end I found it too risky, too dangerous. And then I tried the track and then found an amazing coach. He felt that I had a little bit of talent so I learnt more. I did some regional championships and then I did the European championship. Eventually, I qualified for the world championship. Step by step – just like building VistaJet. What do you regret not buying recently?

I eliminate the concept of regret in my life. Regretting doesn’t give you anything.

What is the most impressive dish you cook?

There is a shrimp which is called Carabineros. It’s like a dark red shrimp from Mozambique. I love to cook a very saucy, juicy pasta with Mozambican shrimps. By the way, my daughter just opened the Kisawa Sanctuary hotel there.

We’re very connected to Mozambique.

Are you wearing a watch and how many do you own?

I have one watch. The rest, my daughter took over. I have a 1967 Daytona Paul Newman and I love it. But I wear it on very rare occasions.

When was the last time you completely unplugged?

I think it was in Kisawa Sanctuary in Mozambique. I was there with my daughter, with my family. It’s a place where you calm down.

What is worth paying for?

Time. We all have limited time in our lives. I call our airplanes time machines because they give you that extra space.

Where is your favourite neighbourhood in your favourite city?

It’s probably Brera in Milan.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : V I S TA J E T, K I S A W A .

From top: Kisawa Sanctuary; an aircraft in VistaJet’s Global 7500 fleet; Thomas Flohr on the racetrack.

Auction

OFF THE BLOCK

Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$48 million The top lot of the The Macklowe Collection sale in May - a tantalisingly rare one - was a never-before-seen late masterpiece by Mark Rothko, viewed as a quintessential example of the American artist’s signature abstraction. As one of 19 paintings on canvas executed in 1960, it encapsulates a pivotal period of artistic development in Rothko’s career, during which high-keyed colours were replaced with a more tonal, richer palette of darker reds, purples and deep blues. The work’s remarkable provenance was such that it had never been publicly exhibited, having remained in The Macklowe Collection for nearly 40 years before coming to auction.

W O R D S : R E N Y I L I M. P H OTO G R A P H Y: S OT H E B Y ’ S , B O N H A M S , C H R I S T I E ’ S , A R TC U R I A L .

We keep you up-to-date on the hottest lots under the hammer.

Untitled, 1960 by Mark Rothko

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Auction

Landscape after Wang Ximeng

by Zhang Daqian Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for HK$370 million An influx of over 50 bids and an 18-minute bidding battle pushed Chinese artist Zhang Daqian’s mesmerising landscape painting into the realm of a new world record at auction, becoming the most valuable Chinese ink painting ever sold at Sotheby’s.

The blue and green work - which is outlined in gold and was completed in 1948 - was once part of Shanghainese socialite Sun Zhifei’s collection. Arriving fresh to the market, it had not been shown to the public for 40 years and was subsequently sold to a private Asian collector.

Patek Philippe Reference 2499, Second Series Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for HK$60.3 million Comfortably outstripping its top pre-auction estimate of HK$48 million, this pink gold perpetual calendar chronograph timepiece is considered an exceptional example of one of Patek Philippe’s most important wristwatches. This particular watch was made in 1957, retailed by the prestigious Italian retailer Gobbi Milano, and offered for the first time at auction in Geneva in 2007, where it fetched CHF2.7 million - a world record price for a reference 2499. Just nine pink gold second series examples are known to exist, distinguishable by their applied baton numerals, but this is the only specimen with a retailer signature on the dial.

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Auction

1980 Porsche 935 #L1 Bidding commences on 2 July through Artcurial Motorcars in Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans race and its corresponding Artcurial auction, Le Mans Classic, return this year with a number of exciting highlights, such as this 1980 Porsche 935 #L1. The car boasts an intriguing history, including some time on the track at the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans event, and boasts a top pre-auction estimate of €1.6 million. Keen collectors will also want to keep an eye on a helmet that features the signatures of 22 Tour Auto winners, with proceeds from the sale benefiting Bongela School in South Africa.

Le peintre et les maries aux trois couleurs by Marc Chagall

Grey schist Buddha sculpted in Gandhara

Plastik-Wannen

by Sigmar Polke

Bidding commences on 28 June through Christie’s in London

Bidding commences on 14 June through Bonhams in Paris

Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$6.2 million

Following on from the success of Christie’s Shanghai to London sale series in March, the upcoming 20/21 London to Paris series will centre around the artistic synergies between London and Paris throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. A selection of artworks by Marc Chagall will launch the sales series - the first Christie’s sale dedicated to the BelarusianFrench artist’s work - all formerly in the artist’s estate and never offered for sale before. Le peintre et les maries aux trois couleurs, which was painted in 1984, is expected to command between £1 million and £1.5 million at the auction.

Hailing from the collection of the late dealer and collector, Claude de Marteau, this grey schist Buddha (estimated to be worth up to €700,000) is part of a spectacular assemblage of Hindu and Buddhist art worth an estimated value of over €10 million.

A prime example of the collection’s museum-grade content, this sculpture was created during the third century in Gandhara, an ancient region located at the crossroads of Eurasian trade networks linking India, Central Asia and the Middle East.

One of many highlights of The Macklowe Collection - which recently became the most valuable collection ever sold in auction history - this rare oil painting by German artist Sigmar Polke was fought over by four bidders, exceeding its top estimate of US$4.5 million. Polke utilised the pictorial style of 1960s advertising to depict a series of cheap plastic tubs as alluring objects of desire to create an ode to the glossy facade and empty promises of a consumer-driven society. This work was previously held in the collection of Charles Saatchi in London, one of Polke’s first major patrons.

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H

P H O T O G R A P H Y : K E LV I N T R A U T M A N / W H I T E D E S E R T.

T E

I

S

S

“If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveller, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueller than mirrorglass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than 100 years of quiet.”

– Patrick Rothfuss

U

E

William Hazen, a former Nimmo Bay guide, dives off the roof of the resort’s floating restaurant, Little River.

Wild At Fraser Murray grew up at his parents’ beloved Nimmo Bay fishing lodge. Now he and his wife are taking it in a new, high-adventure, ultra-luxe direction.

Words: Jen Murphy Photography: Jeremy Koreski

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THE TRAVEL ISSUE

Heart

WHEN CRAIG MURRAY initially motored his boat through Kenneth Pass and into Nimmo Bay, a remote inlet deep within British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, it wasn’t love at first sight. The grey fog was so thick that summer afternoon in 1980 that he could barely see his boat’s bow, let alone the surrounding untamed swathe of ancient cedars. But when he cut the engines, he heard the gentle rumble of what he was seeking – the waterfall local loggers had told him about. A quick wander on shore led to the source of the sound: a powerful cascade coming down from 2,655m Mount Stevens.

At the time, he wasn’t thinking of its beauty so much as its potential to provide power and drinking water to a fishing lodge and family home. Murray, originally from Ontario, had moved west to Vancouver Island in 1973. After working in commercial fishing and logging, he craved a job that would let him lead a salt-of-the-earth life with his wife, Deborah, and their young children.

“I knew an isolated lodge in the wild would depend on a clean, quiet power source,” he says. “Many a local told me I’d find a waterfall strong enough to turn a water turbine in Nimmo Bay. As soon as I saw the falls, I knew it was the place.” A moonshot thinker, he devised a scheme to tow a floating house by tugboat across Queen Charlotte Strait to the secluded bay, jury-rig it to a hydroelectric system and start selling saltwater fishing trips.

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The lodge was anchored in 1981, and its first angling-obsessed guests arrived shortly after.

Accessible by only air or sea, it was an adventure just to get there. The accommodation was modest. Deborah did the cooking, smoking salmon and foraging for dinner. Luckily, die-hard fishermen weren’t expecting turndown service or gourmet food. They came to hook monster-sized salmon day in and day out amid silent old-growth forests.

Those inaugural guests would barely recognise the family lodge today. It’s now a bona fide luxury resort run by the next generation of the Murray family, and the property’s brown-bag lunches have been replaced with meals prepared by Linnéa LeTourneau, a Canadian chef who cut her teeth at Michelin-star restaurants in Paris. The original team of six has grown to a staff of 70, including eight pilots, 12 guides and three spa therapists who conduct salt scrubs and shiatsu massages on floating sauna docks or in glass-fronted tree houses. And while you can still go fishing, Nimmo Bay is attracting a new crowd with fresh adventures such as freediving, heli-surfing and grizzly-bear viewing.

Fraser, 44, the eldest of the three Murray children, is responsible for the lodge’s reinvention, which I’ve observed first-hand during four visits over the past seven years. He clearly inherited his dad’s ambition and imagination. And while he has made a great many changes to the business his parents started over 40 years ago, one thing that’s stayed the same is the importance of surprising and delighting the guests.

Craig built Nimmo Bay’s body of loyal patrons with a wild-eyed focus on enhancing the experience. In his fourth season, he teamed up with local helicopter pilot Peter Barratt to introduce the then-novel concept of catch-and-release heli-fishing, offering half- or fullday A-Star chopper rides to over 50 isolated rivers and streams, some of which had never been fished. Craig marketed it as “the most unbelievable sport fishing adventure of a lifetime”, and in short order the eightperson lodge went from hosting rough-and-tumble Canadian fishermen to welcoming Wall Street titans

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : M U R R AY F A M I LY A R C H I V E S ( F O R M E R L O D G E A N D C R A I G M U R R AY ).

THE TRAVEL ISSUE

THE TRAVEL ISSUE

Clockwise from above: Craig Murray and a young Fraser show off a big catch; the resort’s forest cabins are near an idyllic stream and waterfall; the view of Nimmo Bay from Mackenzie Sound; the original lodge, anchored in 1981, now serves as a game room and lounge.

willing to spend thousands of dollars a day to hook a nine-kilogram coho.

Nimmo Bay earned a reputation as the ultimate guys’ getaway and quickly became the wilderness clubhouse for Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, former president George HW Bush and other big names. “It spoiled me for all fishing trips,” says Tim Jahnke. The 62-year-old chairman of the board of Elkay, a sink-and-water-solutions manufacturer, estimates he’s taken more than 200 clients to Nimmo over the past 20 years – and not just for the views. “It’s the only place I can let go and trust someone else to take care of my customers,” he says. “The team has a magical ability to intuit what someone wants and make sure they have it.”

Hal Schroeder, 69, isn’t even an avid fisherman, but after he first brought clients in 2001, he told the Murrays to book him for the same week for the rest of his life. “I’m an experience junkie,” says Schroeder, CEO of Concept Services, an Austin-based food-service equipment company. “The first time a helicopter landed me and my buddies on a glacier, and staff snuggled us in blankets and harvested glacial ice for our gin and tonics, I knew I’d always come back. A golf trip can’t form bonds like that.”

Schroeder, who is married, loves the old-boys-club feel. “It’s the place I go to be outdoors with my guy friends and just be a guy,” he says. “I used to tease (Craig’s wife) Deborah not to bring any girls around.”

When a boat dropped me at the dock for my first stay in the autumn of 2015, Schroeder and his crew were sipping cocktails in Adirondack chairs around the fire pit beneath a sign with the word ‘Schroederville’ painted on it. The men stared at me,

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a lone blonde searching for a nature fix, in stunned disbelief, as if I were the region’s mythic spirit bear.

Luckily, I’d made the journey from Port McNeill with Craig, who nodded to assure the group I was no threat to their man escape. And besides, women were slowly becoming a more common sight at Nimmo Bay. Five years earlier, Craig had handed the reins to Fraser and his wife, Becky. The couple had a different vision for Nimmo, one that included more guests like me, who were drawn more to the wildlife and nature than to the fly-fishing.

F

raser didn’t know a life beyond Nimmo Bay. He, his brother, Clifton, and their younger sister, Georgia, were raised in life jackets and learnt survival skills, such as how to dig clams for dinner and shoo away black bears, early on. Fraser was assisting guides on fishing expeditions by age seven, something he occasionally still does now. His siblings waited tables at the lodge restaurant while growing up but eventually went on to pursue musical careers – Clifton is a member of Canadian vocal group the Tenors, and Georgia a successful singer-songwriter.

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After the 2008 financial crisis put an end to corporate spending accounts, the resort struggled. At one point, bankruptcy seemed inevitable. Craig stubbornly believed a fishing lodge that operated a few months a year could still survive. But Fraser realised the only way to save Nimmo Bay was to adapt with the changing times. Instead of a fishing lodge, he envisioned a wilderness resort with a longer season, stylish cabins, a tree house spa and unique experiences, from coastal wildlife safaris by boat to helimountain biking on ridgelines.

Fraser started to share his ideas for expansion with the lodge’s long-time regulars. The successful entrepreneurs among them agreed a fresh direction was necessary.

The new approach sparked enough support that in 2009, one guest anonymously gave the family access to US$250,000 in investment capital to pay the bills, transform the activities and revive the lodge.

The generational transition was far from seamless.

Despite the property’s off-the-grid location, Fraser and Becky believed it could compete with some of the world’s top lodges, including Alaska’s Ultima Thule and Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado – and command comparable prices – if they offered a similarly refined

P H O T O G R A P H Y : N I M M O B AY.

Above: Fraser casts a line in a river near the resort. Below: chef Tim Larsen tends to the smoker.

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suite of amenities. But Craig and Deborah were set in their ways. Fraser remembers his mother crying when she learnt he’d replaced the restaurant’s garlicky, store-bought Boursin with a locally sourced artisanal goat cheese.

It took time and patience to attract an audience equally in awe of nature as of fish. Craig had worked with only a select few travel agents, but in 2011, Fraser and Becky attended Pure Life Experiences, a global luxury travel conference. Some agents’ eyes glazed over when the couple talked about the fishing lodge, but the mention of orcas and black bears commanded complete rapture. “Immediately, we shifted our marketing to focus on wildlife viewing,” recalls Becky.

And the lodge’s new offerings found purchase with the regulars, too. When Fraser told Schroeder about their plans, he vowed to return year after year, but for a “mancation” rooted in fishing. That changed when he started going into the wilderness with guides.

Schroeder still mainly fishes but acknowledges that “flying over mountains and glaciers, dodging grizzly bears and eagles that you could almost touch is hard to beat”.

Above: head chef Linnéa LeTourneau trims a freshly caught halibut in the kitchen at Little River.

Below: Kusshi oysters are finished with pickled kelp and pine oil.

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he first evening of my 2015 stay fell on crabboil night, a long-running and beloved Nimmo tradition. Guests – then still mostly fishermen – filed into the rustic dining room, gathered at communal tables and rolled up their sleeves as servers delivered trays heaped high with the region’s massive Dungeness crabs. Pints of beer overflowed. Tender crabmeat flew around the table. Craig still couldn’t help but play the garrulous host, hopping from table to table before grabbing a microphone and treating us all to a serenade of John Prine’s In Spite of Ourselves in his deep tenor.

Eventually, the entire room broke into a singalong of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. From the corner of my eye, I caught Fraser taking it all in and shaking his head as if admitting defeat.

When the rowdiness died down, Fraser made his way to the front of the room to give the official welcome and a rundown of how things worked for the handful of new faces. “We don’t believe in itineraries at Nimmo Bay,” he explained. “Days are dictated by the unpredictability of weather and wildlife.” Within minutes, a hand went up. “So, what’s the schedule for tomorrow?” a young man asked. Almost imperceptibly, Fraser shook his head once before quickly putting on a smile and reiterating that the team would share a weather report and game plan in the morning.

Diners pay thousands of dollars to relinquish control to Michelin-star chefs for bespoke tasting menus. Fraser aspires to gain the same trust from his guests. “People insist on itineraries, so we provide a loose agenda,” he says. “By day two, they usually give us back the reins.” The expectations of wildlife enthusiasts, it turns out, are far more demanding than

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those of fishermen. That first evening, a different guest lamented that his vacation would be ruined if he didn’t see a bear. Autumn is bear season, and while the odds of spotting a grizzly or black bear are strong, a sighting is not guaranteed, just as hooking a whopper salmon on a fishing outing isn’t a sure thing.

To avoid disappointment, Fraser has trained his team to help guests see beyond what they assumed would be their vacation highlight. “Nature happens when you take it all in as opposed to focusing on a whale or bear,” he says. “When guests slow down, they go home remembering the bird they saw taking flight in the morning fog.”

On my first trip, I assumed I’d be hunkered down behind a log with binoculars looking for a bear. But my guides, conservationist Adrien Mullen and Francisco Escobar, a former reserve officer with the Canadian military, led me on an epic adventure that involved off-roading in a van, crawling over a log to cross a river and stand-up paddleboarding alongside dolphins. By day’s end, we hadn’t seen a grizzly, but they seemed far more disappointed than I was. As we boarded our boat to return to the lodge, Escobar started to apologise yet again for the lack of bears. Right then a grizzly plodded into view. The moment was spectacular, but it was the thrill of the adventure, not the bear sighting, I would replay in my memory.

When I returned one year later, in the autumn of 2016, I was no longer in the minority. Couples and families outnumbered fishermen. This time I’d come for a wellness retreat rooted in mindful paddleboarding in the bay, freediving workshops in remote alpine lakes, forest bathing amid the cedars and hot-cold therapies where I’d sweat in the floating sauna and then dive straight into the bay’s brisk waters.

I stayed in one of the intertidal cabins, which had been renovated with LL Bean charm, constructed on pilings at the water’s edge. Twice a day, when the tide came in, I felt like I was in the Pacific Northwest’s answer to an overwater bungalow in the Maldives. The crab boil was now a seafood feast, served in individual bowls with salmon, clams and baby potatoes and paired with a sommelier’s selection of Canadian wines.

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hile the actual guest experience is dramatically different from the original fishing lodge Craig built, the familial hospitality remains the heart of Nimmo Bay. “I remember early on, a guide was fussing over my mum as she got in a kayak,” Fraser says, “and she scolded, ‘Give me the paddle. This place was better when it was worse.’ It was an important reminder that just because it’s shinier doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better.” The confused guide had only been doing what he’d been taught. Fraser now uses the incident as a training example. It helps his staff separate the guests who prefer low-maintenance service from those who want and appreciate more attention.

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Above: a young grizzly bear fishes for salmon.

Below: wilderness activities such as whale-watching are bringing a new audience to Nimmo Bay.

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Case in point: Beth and Jim Hayhurst spent their 22nd wedding anniversary at Nimmo in October 2019. At cocktail hour, a staff member overheard the couple talking about wanting to renew their wedding vows one day. Their final evening, the entire staff surprised them with an intimate ceremony by the waterfall followed by a candlelit dinner. “They set up a beautiful ceremony for us,” Beth recalls. “I felt like I was surrounded by close friends or family.”

Fraser, much like his father, is always brainstorming how to improve the Nimmo experience. When the pandemic shut down tourism, he used the pause to tow in a new Scandi-minimalist lodge with floor-toceiling windows (the old one had started to sink) to the same location, sourcing power from the waterfall.

He also invested in two new catamarans and opened a restaurant, Little River, overseen by LeTourneau, who’d previously cooked at the Parisian gastronomic temples Verjus and Le Chateaubriand.

On my most recent visit, in 2021, I freedived for urchin and foraged for spruce tips and sea asparagus, all of which showed up on LeTourneau’s evening tasting menus. In place of the brown-bag lunches, guests are surprised with pop-up picnics on a mountaintop or a mossy forest floor. I kayaked out to

the floating sauna one afternoon to find a bathrobe, slippers and basket stocked with a mizuna-andmustard-greens salad, a thermos of winter-squash soup, pickled mussels from Salt Spring Island and a bottle of sparkling wine from Summerhill, an organic producer in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

Nimmo 2.0 barely advertises fishing on its website.

Fraser can rely on angling stalwarts, 15 per cent of his clientele, to fill in salmon season, August through October. (Although even fishing fanatics like Jahnke, the sink titan, who now visits Nimmo with his wife, put down their rods for a day to go whale-watching or hiking.) Wildlife, wellness and culinary programming allow the lodge to remain open a full six months a year. With an 80 per cent guest-return rate (and prices starting at US$1,575 per person per night), Nimmo’s peak summer months are often reserved a year in advance.

Schroeder marvels that his old boys club has evolved into what may be North America’s most indemand summer camp. “You think you’re going for the fish, the eagles, the glaciers, the mountains, but that’s really just the stuff you see,” he says. “The magic of Nimmo has always been the people and how they take extraordinarily good care of you.”

Guests take in sunset views from Mount Stevens after a short helicopter ride.

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Oslo Opera House, designed by homegrown architectural firm Snøhetta.

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This year is Oslo’s time to shine as contemporary art, architecture and a burgeoning food scene give the Norwegian capital a vibrant new edge.

Words: James Stewart

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Bjørvika Bridge, part of Oslo’s Barcode development project.

What’s extraordinary about this image, though, is what’s behind him. The dock bristles with a panoply of doubletake architecture. There’s the glassskinned Deichman Bjørvika public library, its upper storey fanned out at an implausible angle. Jostling for space behind is a design book’s worth of office and apartment blocks: cubes, cantilevered rectangles, ziggurats.

There’s also the Opera House I’m standing on, beside a young family having a picnic, gaggles of teenagers and tourists taking selfies. The roof slants all the way down to the broad plaza, doubling as a ramp. Around 100 of us are gathered at the top on this chill late-winter dusk to experience one of the finest viewpoints in the city. And

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what really astounds about this cuttingedge cityscape is that 20 years ago, the docks of Bjørvika housed nothing more exciting than shipping containers.

There are three things you need to know about Oslo. One is that the Norwegian capital, with a population of 700,000 people, is a pipsqueak by European standards. The second is that Norwegians are no enthusiasts of change. Things aren’t as good as they were, they grumble happily. And third, keep in mind that until 1969, this was a nation of fishermen and farmers.

What changed everything was the discovery of offshore oil. Norway’s trick over the past half-century has been to team its economic bonanza with technological innovation and a highly

educated society, a combination that could define liberal democracy.

But in terms of travel, 2022 marks the year when Oslo finally comes of age. Copenhagen and Stockholm are already Scandinavian must-sees. Now the Norwegian capital is out to claim its spot as the most interesting destination in the Nordics.

If any single project supports that claim, it is the National Museum.

When it opens on 11 June, after 19 years of planning, the institution – four previously distinct museums of art and applied arts united in one organisation – will house the largest display of arts in the Nordic region. Those with skin in the game like to point out it will be larger

P H OTO G R A P H Y: S H U T T E R S TO C K .

From a dock at Bjørvika in central Oslo, a man rows into the fjord, following a ribbon of silver water as sunset flames the clouds. His wooden boat is naggingly familiar to anyone from northern Europe: high, pinched bow and stern; as slippery as a fish. In such designs, from this very fjord, the Vikings conquered and traded from Constantinople to Newfoundland.

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than Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Frank Gehry–designed outpost of the New York icon that turned the off-theradar Spanish city into an essential stop on a European art tour.

The museum represents the latest element of the ongoing Fjordbyen (Fjord City) urban-renewal scheme launched in the 1980s. There’s no faulting its harbourside location. Ferries thrum to nearby islands. Walkers promenade in the sunshine. The light has that sparkling luminescence of the coast.

Here you are in the heart of a European capital, yet the mood evokes seaside holidays. It’s rather lovely.

But, gosh, the museum’s big. Clad in grey-green slate (German architectural firm Kleihues + Schuwerk aimed to have a dialogue with both a 14thcentury fortress across the harbour and the nearby city hall), its imposing 54,534sqm slab walls in one side of the water’s plaza. Illuminated on the roof, a marble-skinned exhibition space will glow at night like a latter-day Acropolis.

“It will make Oslo a centre for arts and culture in North Europe,” marketing director Tord Krogtoft tells Robb Report, adding that it may be the only big national museum to open this year. “It is world news.”

He considers a moment, then adds with a smile: “It’s quite unorskt (unNorwegian), actually.”

Installation of art in the 87 rooms, spread between two floors, is under way. Some of the works, such as an eyepopping mural of rainbow starbursts by American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt – certain to be catnip to Instagram influencers – are exuberant, but the decor is restrained. Limestone floors, rich oak doors and window frames of burnished brass lend a patina of age to lofty spaces. Occasionally, sound art – plainchant, say, or birdsong – soundtracks spaces. In all, about 5,000 items will be on display, from paintings to furniture, design and fashion to religious art, most of it Norwegian.

As impressive is that the state coughed up every one of the six billion kronor, or roughly US$635.8 million, it cost to build. “It’s an issue of culture and ambition as much as money,” Krogtoft says. “Oslo has changed so much in 20 years. Everything has got better and better: music, dining, art, everything.

So while this museum says, ‘Here we are,’ in Europe, it also gives people here the culture they should have.”

So egalitarian. Rather Norwegian after all, then.

Oslo’s other hot museum ticket is Munch. Opened in Bjørvika last year, the world’s largest collection of artist Edvard Munch – and one of the largest museums devoted to any individual

Here you are in the heart of a European capital, yet the mood evokes seaside holidays. It’s rather lovely.

artist – is not an easy building to love. Osloites joke that it resembles a shipping container standing on end. Architecture critics have more generously opined that the 13-storey structure, designed by Spaniard Juan Herreros, aptly embodies Munch’s psychologically tortured work. Inside, where curators have a collection of nearly 28,000 works to play with, the

expressionist art is stellar, and a bar on the top floor provides unrivalled fjord views. Yes, two versions of The Scream are on-site. The third is at the National Museum, and American financier Leon Black was reported to be the winning bidder on the fourth at Sotheby’s for nearly US$120 million in 2012.

The aforementioned adjacent Opera House, erected in 2008, offers a manifestly different vibe. It’s not just that acclaimed homegrown architecture firm Snøhetta has dared to evoke an iceberg: glass cliff faces, roofs that shelve into dark water, a mountain’s worth of white marble. It’s also that the roofscape is conceived as an inviting public park.

The vibrant scene in Bjørvika is only part of what’s making Oslo an appealing capital to visit. Having introduced higher tolls and congestion pricing for all but electric cars, the neoclassical centre is so calm, so devoid of traffic and hurly-burly, you never quite get used to it. The city is also compact enough that nothing is more than 20 minutes away by metro or tram. Ride for 30 minutes and you’re in pine forest.

Walk west of the train station – down shopping high street Karl Johans Gate, through a park where guards march stiffly before the royal palace – and you reach Frogner, the city’s most fashionable residential area.

Among the borough’s elegant pastel mansions, Sommerro is set to open in September. It’s been hailed as the first neighbourhood hotel in Oslo, but such plaudits actually undersell it – Sommerro is one of Scandinavia’s most interesting launches in years.

Robb Report is the first publication inside its landmark pile, a fusion of art deco and functionalist red brick. Dating from 1931, it was previously owned by city-electricity provider Oslo Lysverker, serving as company headquarters but also including a pool and bathhouse in the basement for public use (a typically community-minded Scandinavian gesture). The lobby atrium now features a spectacular art deco chandelier that dangles six storeys through the centre of a wrought iron spiral staircase. In what will be a brasserie in the former payment hall (one of four dining spaces), the renovation preserved a 1930s mural

by Norwegian artist Per Krohg, a pal

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THE TRAVEL ISSUE Left, from top: fish soup at Festningen; the dining room at Amerikalinjen, a hotel in the namesake shipping line’s one-time headquarters.

of Matisse’s whose work also adorns the United Nations Security Council building in New York.

Nordic Hotels & Resorts is in top form here. The company, known for creating luxury properties, including Icehotel in Sweden and Denmark’s Villa Copenhagen, pioneered art hotels in Oslo with The Thief in 2013 (the unusual name references the area’s past as both hideout and execution site for smugglers and other rapscallions), followed six years later

by Amerikalinjen. The latter, occupying the eponymous shipping line’s neobaroque headquarters, in which emigrants once booked passage across the Atlantic, is pure Jazz Age glamour.

In candid moments, managers admit the 231-room Sommerro has been as

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: S T I A N B R O C H/F E S T N I N G E N, F R A N C I S C O N O G U E I R A /A M E R I K A L I N J E N , S O R G E N F R I .

Right: the outdoor terrace of Sorgenfri.

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much of a hassle as you’d expect of a project that has required around 100 meetings with a municipal conservation team since 2019. “It would have been easier to tear down and build from new,” brand director Siri Løining says.

Cheaper, too: the project cost about US$288 million. “But,” she continues, “it’s much more interesting to keep the stories of the building, its DNA. This is a cultural-heritage project.”

GrecoDeco, the New York– and London-based design firm behind Soho House, has handled styling. The model rooms are an interplay of texture and pattern, art deco chic and folksy Nordic touches. So there are walls panelled with cherry-stained ash, stepped ceiling mouldings, tapestry headboards and rose-marble bathrooms. But bespoke

hand-knotted rugs have images of storks, and colours are russet and moss, taupe and dusky pink. Superior rooms feature Murano-glass chandeliers.

One luxury suite occupies what was once the panelled office of the utility company’s director.

In the basement, in what will be Scandinavia’s largest city-hotel wellness area – “It’s not a spa. This is more for health and mindfulness,” Løining notes – guests will change in restored wooden booths and swim beneath a playful Krohg mosaic that Sommerro has safeguarded.

Oslo’s first rooftop pool will be open year-round. (Don’t worry, it’s beside a sauna for winter.) Though Osloites’ use of the rooftop amenities will be limited to the off-season (October through

April), they will be welcome to book appointments to the below-ground facilities and join the gym all year.

Løining explains: “A lot of developers don’t think about where they are.

We’re embracing this building’s unique history, its unique experiences and how it has served local communities.”

While the vintage Krohgs celebrate Norway’s artistic legacy, Sommerro is also looking to the contemporary artists and designers invigorating Oslo’s scene today. The hotel commissioned Kaja Dahl to re-envision a stone drinking fountain that once stood in the wellness area and to fashion vases in granitelike porphyry for the guest suites. Her work blurs sculpture and nature, art and craft. In her exhibitions at nearby

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QB Gallery in Frogner, a ribbon of wood unspools into the air. Polished marble reveals a crystalline core. It’s all somehow unmistakably Scandinavian.

QB manager Mikaela Aschim talks of a growing international clientele for the gallery’s roster. There’s huge investment potential for buyers, she says, because a small national base of collectors keeps prices attractive.

A few commercial art galleries, such as Standard (Oslo), Galleri Golsa and OSL Contemporary, have penetrated the international scene, while Galleri Format focuses on contemporary craft and design. Kunstnernes Hus, meanwhile, has been artist-run since 1930 and features exhibitions as well as independent films.

At QB I meet Dahl, who leads me through the backstreets of Frogner: cool corner cafes on beautiful fin de siecle terraces (the area emerged as a summer retreat for Oslo’s elite), cobbles, the fjord winking below.

At one point we head into Frogner Park, where over 200 bronze, iron and granite figures by sculptor Gustav Vigeland are on permanent display.

Vigeland, who lived and worked nearby in what is now his namesake museum, spent almost 20 years installing the works before his death in 1943. “I love these,” says Dahl. “They’re so soft but in granite.”

Dahl attributes the explosion of Oslo’s art scene to prosperity. “Artists are infiltrating everywhere in Oslo right now,” she says. “It’s a sign of a society that has real luxury, that has the time and wealth to create.” Holding art in high esteem starts at the very top: Norway’s Queen Sonja is a longtime photographer and printmaker who established the Queen Sonja Print Award, a biannual international prize funded by sales of her work.

As is the case in other cities, cool restaurants and cafes are close by the galleries. Sorgenfri, on the elegant street Sorgenfrigaten (the name translates roughly as No Problems Street), is a dual-purpose space: polished concrete and pink-marble bar above, gallery and art-fashion boutique below. It’s the sort of madly creative place every traveller yearns to discover. Outside are two hunks of raw larvikite stone polished into seats – a commission by Dahl.

Right: a junior suite at Sommerro, due to open in September.

Facing page: Inheritance, 1897-99 (left), and Girls on the Bridge, 1927, by Edvard Munch, at the artist’s namesake museum.

She believes Oslo’s rise is just beginning. “I think there’s a move to make everywhere an aesthetic experience,” she says. “That’s not a crazy recipe for a city, is it?”

The dining scene is also showing off a new sophistication. Ask why Oslo is awash with visionary small restaurants preparing New Nordic cuisine and chefs such as Hanne Rutgerson, a bright 30-year-old who apprenticed in a Michelin-star venue, will tell you about stellar Norwegian ingredients, a moneyed, cultured clientele, the ease of a small city. It’s an unbeatable combination. Rutgerson recommends Hot Shop, a neighbourhood bistro in a former sex shop that offers no-menu seasonal dining of real depth and refinement. I can vouch for Festningen, serving classic-modern dishes in the harbour fortress.

At her own brasserie, Kastellet, Rutgerson sends out a procession of dazzling small plates: scallop mousse

with rhubarb pickle; skrei (Bering Sea cod) with black truffle and white asparagus; duck with cherries and grapefruit. It’s Nordic but bolder, more international, more interesting.

Anything but traditional.

Back at Bjørvika, I visit Kok saunas.

Fifteen years or so ago, when the fjord was toxic sludge, these floating saunas would have been madness.

Now, after a municipal clean-up, you can flit between sauna and seawater, which flirts with two degrees Celsius.

Norwegians can’t get enough of this sort of thing, incidentally. It taps into a concept of friluftsliv – strong mental health through outdoor living.

I sit in a tiny superheated cabin among jovial Osloites. We chat, crack jokes. At intervals we emerge from steaming to plunge into the fjord.

Opposite, the Opera House shimmers with a magical glacial beauty. It is a life-affirming experience. Not bad for a nation of farmers and fishermen.

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Antarctica is both the spectacular trip of a lifetime and a fragile environment in desperate need of protection.

Can the two be reconciled?

Words: Mary Holland Photography: Kelvin Trautman and Martin Bianco

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It had been 36 gruelling hours since we’d entered the storm, and the ship had begun to rock and creak and groan.

We swung from starboard to port side, as I lay in my bed drifting between lulls of sleep and moments when I felt as though I was levitating above my mattress. By morning, my espresso machine had found its way to the floor and a heavy table had wedged itself against my bed.

Harrowing episodes like this one are common on the Drake Passage, a notoriously rough body of water between the tip of South America and Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands. Sometimes it’s known as Drake Lake (when it’s calm) or, in an instance like this when the weather is rather less pleasant, Drake Shake. For 48 hours straight, our ship, Swan Hellenic’s Minerva, lurched through giant swells and waves that rose 30ft high. Passengers clung to their drinks and gripped handrails as they staggered down hallways. Some were so seasick they didn’t leave their staterooms.

I found refuge in the ship’s sea-facing sauna, where I watched the horizon dip and rise, feeling nauseated at times.

Navigating through the Drake, as explorers have done on ancient vessels for centuries (sans creature comforts and modern technology such as stabilisers, which ships, including Minerva, have today), feels like a rite of passage to Antarctica. Not only does it make the arrival on the white continent so much sweeter – like you’ve actually earned it – but it also prepares you for an environment that can be as hostile and unforgiving as the voyage that gets you there.

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THE TRAVEL ISSUE Passengers aboard the SH Minerva gaze from the Swan’s Nest as the ship approaches the Lemaire Channel, famed for its icebergs and sheer cliffs.

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Antarctica is so remote and inhospitable that travellers can visit only a few months of the year – in the Southern hemisphere’s summer, before everything freezes over. Yet interest in this farflung destination is growing. Reaching it has become much easier, with aviation operations and fly cruises (a plane takes you to the continent, where you board a vessel), though the inability to land in bad weather presents a challenge. There’s also a wave of snazzy, more ecological expedition ships. “There’s a trend toward new-builds with state-of-the-art propulsion and hybrid systems and fuel efficiency built just for travelling there,” says Jonathan Brunger, South America consultant for Scott Dunn, the travel specialist that helped weave together my journey to the Antarctic.

Minerva, a luxury 152-passenger boutique ship that Swan Hellenic launched late last year, belongs to this new generation. It has a five-megawatt diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system that removes nitrous oxide and burns low-sulphur diesel, which has a lower carbon-dioxide content.

The hull is PC5 ice-strengthened, and onboard there’s a sophisticated waste-management system and a laboratory for future scientific research. But perhaps most striking is its holistic approach to travelling to Antarctica in a more responsible way.

Because burning less fuel or using less plastic is only one part of the solution.

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or some passengers onboard these ships, sailing to Antarctica is an opportunity to see rare birds and wildlife endemic to the region; for others, it’s just another cruise or place to tick off their bucket list. More bleakly, there’s a growing number of cynics who hope to see it before it melts away or is destroyed by over-tourism. Which isn’t inconceivable. With no restriction on the number of people who can travel to Antarctica (though there are restrictions on where ships can dock and the number of visitors allowed on designated shore areas at one time), it begs the question whether this remote continent is at risk of becoming the next Venice. For a place with such a pristine, fragile environment and ecosystem, where human encounters can have a profound effect, one has to wonder: is travelling there even a good idea?

It’s a loaded subject and one at the heart of an ongoing debate. Many posit that those who visit Antarctica become ambassadors for a place that has no indigenous population to speak on its behalf.

“Antarctica doesn’t have a native voice like other places in the world,” says Brunger. “By going there, you’re building good stewards who have a voice.

(It also) makes the region economically viable and creates interest so it’s not just scientific research and fisheries.” Patrick Woodhead, founder of

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Above: the Minerva and some of its Zodiacs in Neko Harbour.

Facing page: passengers watch as elephant seals playfight at Hannah Point on Livingston Island.

White Desert – an expedition company that shuttles guests from Cape Town to Antarctica by private plane, where they then stay in luxury ecocamps – offers a similar line of reasoning. “If you can bring people in a responsible way, you really open their eyes to it. That means they’re going to forever be impassioned about the preservation of it,” he says, adding that his guests are often people with the means – financial, political, intellectual – to have a huge impact on the future of Antarctica.

And what happens to its future matters. “So much of our lives in the north depends upon what happens here,” says Seb Coulthard, a historian, engineer and assistant Antarctic-expedition leader with Swan Hellenic, who describes Antarctica as the “world’s largest weather factory”. From the salt that’s released by the melting ice and then drives currents to the sections of ice that contain millennia-old chemical reactions, the entire ecosystem has a global impact. Unlike the Arctic, which is deteriorating more rapidly, Antarctica and the surrounding water are protected under the Antarctic Treaty, a set of agreements signed in 1959 by 12 countries that had scientists active on the landmass. But proof of climate change is growing nevertheless. Sea ice is melting, glaciers are calving, and certain animal species, such as the Adélie penguin, are declining because of habitat change. By 2048, when parts of the treaty are up for review, who knows what natural resources the world will be vying for here? Less than 100 years ago the whaling business was thriving, the continent’s bay swirled with red water, and whales

P H O T O G R A P H Y : W H I T E D E S E R T, S W A N H E L L E N I C .

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were almost hunted to extinction. Today we can still see the evidence – giant bones litter the shores, and old whaling-station buildings remain.

“People don’t care about things they don’t know; they care about things they love,” says Coulthard, who believes travellers who visit will feel motivated to lobby for the continent’s preservation. “The folks who travel here are often captains of industry, engineers, people who have influence.” But no matter who you are or how you travel to the white continent, you still leave a trace, and some experts are sceptical about our growing impact and whether tourism is regulated enough.

Ricardo Roura, PhD, a polar-regions specialist and senior adviser for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC, a non-profit that monitors issues affecting the region, including tourism) who has spent time working as a researcher and lecturer on ships in Antarctica, isn’t entirely convinced that visitors feel motivated upon their return home. “I never got the sense that people (who go) become what the industry calls ambassadors,” says Roura.

“People go to some place, become interested, then finish and move on to the next.”

To better understand these points of view, I had to visit, which is precisely how I found myself on a two-week journey aboard the SH Minerva alongside passengers from around the globe – some who had snapped up a last-minute trip and others who were fulfilling a lifelong dream. A mix of hard-core adventurers and high-end travellers, it was certainly not your average cruise crowd.

After two days of storms and no sign of land, we finally spotted the first icebergs, then calm ocean and a white domed swathe from which tall mountains rose. The clouds parted and sunlight glinted off the peaks, penguins darted through the water, and in the distance, whales spouted; it was as though I’d tumbled down a hole and dropped into a fairy tale. I don’t know if the Drake Passage had left me disoriented, and, frankly, I was just grateful to be gliding through tranquil water, but I could not wipe the grin from my face. It was love at first sight.

We cruised to designated landing areas and islands, southward to the Antarctic Circle and back again, adjusting our route as the weather changed overnight. We sailed through the magnificent

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THE TRAVEL ISSUE An aerial view of Minerva’s Zodiacs moving through floating, frozen chunks known as brash ice, in the French Passage, where travellers can observe crabeater seals, gentoo penguins and humpback whales.

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Lemaire Channel, flanked by mountains as sheer as the Andes (technically they belong to the same range), observed gentoo-penguin colonies and hiked up a mountain to gaze out at miles upon miles of snow, sea and ice. Aboard a Zodiac boat, I drank a glass of (very cold) champagne brought to us by the Minerva team while I admired a towering iceberg and watched as a leopard seal snatched a penguin and swiftly gobbled it down. I even took a polar plunge in the 30-degree water. Never had I been anywhere so wild, so raw.

I quickly learnt that in Antarctica we are all merely observers. Penguins go about their days, oblivious to our presence, the weather turns on a dime, forcing us to change our itinerary, and chunks of ice unsympathetically block channels that boats need to cross. Nothing about Antarctica is convenient or easy, but that’s part of its beauty.

Until my journey on the Minerva, I had never considered visiting this remote place. I couldn’t see the value in tourism because the transaction isn’t obviously tangible, compared to other fragile environments such as the Galápagos, central Asia or parts of Africa, where travellers’ dollars often fund wildlife preserves, national parks, conservation efforts and local communities.

I’ve journeyed to all of these places and seen first-hand the positive impact travellers can have. In the Galápagos, I saw how tourism plays a fundamental, though not trouble-free, role in protecting the land and water and fending off poaching by creating an economy that’s linked to preserving wildlife. In southern Africa, I’ve observed how people from rural communities have been hired, schools have been built and antipoaching units have been funded. In central Asia, I’ve witnessed tourism help fuel conservation of endangered snow leopards while also providing local employment.

Many operators who work in these delicate places are now re-evaluating the ways we travel to them. Behzad Larry, founder and CEO of Voygr, a company that leads high-end snow-leopard expeditions in the Himalayas and elsewhere in Asia, has calculated his organisation’s footprint and set boundaries so as not to cause harm, even if it means scaling back. At snow-leopard camp in northern India, where water is scarce, Larry has added flush toilets and showers to only three of the nine suites (which are otherwise provided with luxury linens and excellent service). Not because Voygr couldn’t afford it financially, but because the environmental cost is massive. “Could we add infinity hot-tub pools? We could,” says Larry.

“But imagine doing that in our landscape with the amount of power we’d consume, the amount

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of diesel we’d have to burn for back-up generators and the space we’d have to take up for solar panels.

Could we charge more for it? Sure. But is it the right thing to do? No.” White Desert is also mindful of the repercussions of over-tourism and flies only around 250 people to Antarctica per year. And in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Singita has gone solar, cutting its reliance on diesel generators by more than half.

Generally, travellers who trek to a remote location go specifically for that adventure, not for the plunge pool or thread count. “You are not going just for a boat – you are going for these kinds of experiences,” says Dolores Gangotena de Diez, founder of Quasar Expeditions, which operates in the Galápagos. That’s where the luxury lies – in the rare access. Roughly 50,000 people have the privilege of going to Antarctica every year, whether by ship or plane or fly cruise. And if they’re doing it on the Minerva, they enjoy not only exclusivity but also spacious suites with balconies, fine wines and five-star service. The limited 152-guest capacity (some ships take up to 500 people) ultimately allows passengers more access to shore-landing opportunities as well as extra time with guides and naturalists.

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hile operators are adopting more responsible tactics, it’s a common belief that guests should similarly shift their modes of travelling when entering atrisk environments around the world. Dave Wilson, head of commercial development at African Parks, a non-governmental organisation that operates national parks and reserves across the continent, advocates charging visitors more to enter these spaces. “For too long, park and concession fees have been cheap, and as a result they’re often not enough to run a park,” he says. He also suggests travellers spend more time in one spot, as opposed to hopping around from one country or park to the next, as slowing down allows a deeper understanding of the place and ultimately makes a greater impact on the visitor. “It’s about fewer people staying longer,” Wilson says. “You can still achieve the same revenue; it’s just how you sell it.”

Naturally, in Antarctica, where cruises can last up to a month, travellers aren’t dipping in and out.

But ASOC’s Roura hopes that visitors will also adopt more reasonable expectations. “Passengers want to see in 10 days what professional Antarctic scientists will never see in 10 or 20 expeditions,” he says. “Some tourists want to tick things off this list. I think if we change this mentality, then that might cool down the (travel) frenzy.”

Prior to the pandemic, tourism in Antarctica was booming. Next season is anticipated to revive that trend, especially as new ships roll

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Above: a gentoo penguin.

Facing page: a bedroom at Echo, a luxury camp by White Desert in Antarctica.

out, replacing outdated ones that belonged to companies that have gone out of business during the past two years. Already, Swan Hellenic has two more in the pipeline, which will bring its fleet up to three. White Desert unveiled a third camp in Antarctica this season.

“You have to shop for your holiday carefully,” says Coulthard. It’s not just about green credentials but whether those ships are members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, which ensures that tourism partners comply with the Antarctic Treaty. Also important, according to Coulthard, is which country issues the ship’s operating permit (the UK and the US are known to scrutinise, a good thing) and whether the guides are certified seafarers and members of the Polar Tourism Guides Association, meaning they’re trained to work in that environment. Some ships even have citizen science programmes, allowing passengers to assist in collecting valuable data. Arming guests with knowledge about the landscape and wildlife is also critical. During our two-day crossing, we sat through various lectures held by expedition leaders, historians, ornithologists and marine biologists. They were not all compulsory but were conducted inside a glass-fronted observation lounge strewn with Scandinavian-style couches, where cocktails were shaken and champagne poured, so it hardly felt like a laborious task. When people weren’t holed up in their rooms with seasickness (where they could also watch on their TVs), the lounge buzzed.

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On our last day, we visited Hannah Point on the volcanic Livingston Island, which has a long black beach flanked by tall mountains, reminiscent of something you might find in Hawaii. The sand is so acidic here, the snow doesn’t always stick.

I wondered how much of Antarctica would resemble this stretch if not compacted with ice.

The gloomy reality, of course, is that as the planet warms, we may soon know. Only that morning I’d received a grim notification: the United Nations had concluded that climate change is harming the planet faster than humans can adapt. The sky was grey and the wind was whipping across the bay.

Against the base of the mountains stood an uneven line of gentoo penguins, hunched over, their backs to the sea. “They’re grumpy,” pointed out Sarah Scriver, our expedition leader. They remained in the wind at the edge of the sea because, despite being cold and hungry, they couldn’t enter the water to feed until they’d finished growing new feathers. It was a sure sign that winter was coming.

It was time for us to go.

We were one of the last cruises of the season, before the temperature typically plummets from 30 degrees to well below zero and the sea

around the continent freezes, almost doubling its size – though a heat wave would soon blow in, unsettlingly spiking thermometers as high as 85 degrees. Already we’d hit a few storms and the weather was turning – Antarctica didn’t want us there anymore. But when we left its shores on a sunny day, a few hours early to avoid a storm approaching the Drake Passage, I was astounded by how somewhere so inhospitable and bonechillingly cold can melt your heart.

While we can’t be certain what will happen here, I am sure of one thing: the behaviour of people on my ship had changed. I saw eager, pushy tourists who got too close to wildlife on the first day sitting peacefully on a rock watching from a distance on the last. They were almost in a state of meditation – which this humbling landscape truly begs you to do. “It’s one of the places that make you ponder,” remarks Coulthard. “It serves as a reminder of how fragile our lives are.” Maybe all these visitors won’t become voices for Antarctica or lobby for its preservation. But something inside them had been stirred. And now that they’ve experienced the continent’s fragility and learnt about its perils, I am optimistic that more will care.

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Oh, The Places We’ll Go From a cosmopolitan island getaway in the heart of the Cyclades to the gloriously restored historic War Office in London, these new properties are bound to reawaken the traveller in you.

Words: Yeo Mae Yee

The Tokyo Edition, Ginza TOKYO, JAPAN Following the overwhelming success of the first Japanese Edition hotel with The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon, The Tokyo Edition, Ginza is set to further entrench the Edition brand in bringing a state-of-the-art luxury lifestyle to Japan. A dream collaboration between famed architect Kengo Kuma and Ian Schrager, the standalone property is complete with 86 guest rooms and suites, three high-end restaurants including a rooftop bar, and more. A mere three-minute walk from Ginza station, the hotel’s location on Chuo Street puts it near the heart of entertainment and shopping for an unbeatable neighbourhood traipse.

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Jumeirah Bali

P H O T O G R A P H Y : M A R R I O T T, J U M E I R A H I N T E R N AT I O N A L .

BALI, INDONESIA Jumeirah Group’s debut resort in Indonesia, this all-villa luxury resort is located at the southwest tip of Bali, promising exclusive views of the Indian Ocean. A stay in one of the 123 villas guarantees you a private pool, outdoor living area and access to a private beach. The resort’s Talise spa incorporates traditional Balinese wellness techniques, including the Turkish hammam, and features other wellness facilities like the sauna, Vichy shower treatments and guided meditation and yoga classes by the resort’s resident master yogi. Even dining is a relaxing affair – you can enjoy a leisurely meal at any of the three signature restaurants: The Akasa Gastro Grill is a traditional bar and grill, Segeran offers authentic Southeast Asian cuisine, and Maja Sunset Pool Lounge provides refreshments by an infinity pool overlooking the Indian Ocean.

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JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa JEJU CIT Y, SOUTH KOREA JW Marriot offers an exotic escape to the top of a cliff off the southern coast of Jeju island. Expect full oceanic views of the stunning coastline, which is a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site.

The resort’s luxury infinity pool and natural hot springs, featuring the Korean-style sauna jjimjlbang, adds to the experience.

But what completes the escape is the resort’s impressive architecture that intentionally complements and optimises views of the picturesque coastline. Designed by award-winning architect and interior designer Bill Bensley, the resort is also an abstract representation of the island’s Choga architecture – a type of traditional nature-friendly house type, making the Jeju culture and influence in the resort unmistakable.

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Thompson Central Park NEW YORK, THE US

P H O T O G R A P H Y : J U L I E S O E F E R / H YAT T C O R P O R AT I O N .

Award-winning lifestyle brand Thompson Hotels provides yet another luxury stay at its latest venture in New York. With its public spaces designed by architect Thomas Juul-Hansen and guest rooms designed

by Stonehill Taylor, the property features stunning contemporary architecture. New York City’s iconic arts scene and Broadway have been incorporated into the glamorous architecture of this landmark building. From its 11m-high ceilings with a massive central skylight to a curated collection of artworks, be prepared for a sensory supernova as you walk through the corridors. Look out for the culinary offerings too: Burger Joint, one of New York’s top-rated places for burgers and fries, and Standing Room Only, which serves cocktails as well as rare and organic wines. Thompson Central Park is also home to the 174-room Upper Stories – a collection of luxurious accommodation, high-end amenities, exclusive offerings and access to a private Upper Stories lounge.

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Hotel La Palma, Capri Designed by one of the world’s foremost interior designers, Francis Sultana, Hotel La Palma in the Italian Capri Village is a landmark 50-room-andsuite hotel. The original Hotel La Palma, Capri’s first hotel that dates back to 1822, has been restored by Oetker Collection and acclaimed Italian designers. As with any luxury Italian getaway, Hotel La Palma does not compromise on gourmet food options. The menu at the restaurant, bar and terrace is led by chef Gennaro Esposito, owner of the two-Michelin star restaurant Torre del Saracino for the past 23 years. Just a short drive to Capri’s southern coast, guests can enjoy the elegant La Palma Beach Club, which is open to visitors from neighbouring hotels and yachts.

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: O E T K E R C O L L E C T I O N, G H M H OT E L S .

CAPRI, ITALY

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The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort DOHA, QATAR Following the successes of GHM’s Chedi luxury hotels, the group will be opening a new resort at Katara Cultural Village in Qatar’s capital city, Doha. The property is perfect for travellers looking to explore the city’s heritage or to catch the 2022 FIFA World Cup matches. The resort occupies a beachfront setting, which means extensive views of the picturesque Arabian Gulf and Doha skyline from the suites and villas. Stay in one of the 59 rooms and suites, or if you’re with a large group, opt for the 32 chalets and villas dotted along Katara Hills. The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort, which will also have an expansive spa and fitness facility, is scheduled to open next month.

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Raffles London at The OWO LONDON, ENGLAND

P H O T O G R A P H Y : G R A I N L O N D O N LT D , G E O R G E F A K A R O S / M A R R I O T T I N T E R N AT I O N A L .

Raffles London at The OWO is the result of a fiveyear long transformation of Britain’s historic Old War Office – the unmistakable, iconic Whitehall building once inhabited by Britain’s most famous statesmen, including Sir Winston Churchill.

The renovation saw a meticulous restoration of the building’s classic Edwardian architecture, with magnificent interior elements by famed designer Thierry Despont, who has transformed landmark buildings including Maison Cartier and the Statue of Liberty. Taking one of London’s most powerful addresses, the UK’s first Raffles hotel will be a world-leading destination for food and wellness. Dine at the collection of 11 restaurants and bars led by world-class chefs, including three unique dining experiences from chef Mauro Colegreco. The hotel also offers a holistic wellness experience at its world-leading destination spa. The most highly sought-after suites at Raffles London are the former offices of influential political leaders, located strategically in the building’s corner turrets overlooking Horse Guards Parade and the stunning St James’s Park.

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Matild Palace BUDAPEST, HUNGARY A stay at Matild Palace is a step back into the distinctive belle epoque period of European history.

Built under the guidance of Her Imperial and Royal Highness Maria Klotild, the grand dame was initially a gathering place for Budapest’s 20th-century artists and academics. The property, with its rich history and significance, is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With 111 regal rooms overlooking the Danube river, 19 suites including the signature Crown Tower Suite and Maria Klotild Royal Suite, guests live like royalty in one of Europe’s prettiest cities. At the hotel’s ground floor, world-renowned master chef Wolfgang Puck brings Beverly Hills’ Spago to Budapest.

Or, you can enjoy wellness services at The Swan Spa that includes a hammam, thermal therapy, steam rooms and saunas.

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The Tasman The Tasman in Hobart is both an architectural marvel and historically rich space, and marks the first venture into Australia by Marriott’s Luxury Collection. Realised by award-winning Australian architectural practice Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp and acclaimed Australian interior design firm Joseph Pang Design Consultants, the hotel boasts three distinct eras of design. The hallways of the original 1840s heritage building are preserved, with the luxury of the 1940s art deco building incorporated into the design, and modern-day views of the Hobert waterfront from the Pavilion building. There are also elevated F&B options aplenty – from its signature Italian restaurant in partnership with Tasmanian chef Massimo Mele to Mary Mary, a reimagined old-world cocktail bar.

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: A L F I O G A R OZ ZO/I L S A N C O R R A D O D I N OTO.

TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA

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Il San Corrado Di Noto SICILY, ITALY Silicy’s renowned UNESCO World Heritage destination, Val di Noto, is now home to a boutique resort that offers visitors an immersive experience rich in nature and history. The lesser-known region of Val di Noto was an ancient masseria (a fortified farmhouse) once belonging to Prince Nicolaci and has now been converted into an all-suite retreat. Home to just 26 premium suites, eight pool villas and stunning citrus and olive groves, this luxurious hideaway offers plenty of space and privacy. Explore the historic stories of Italy in an area that boasts a rich history dating back from 664 BC via the spectacular landscapes and the surrounding medieval villages built in the baroque period. At the resort’s heart are authentic Italian dining experiences such as the exceptional Principe di Belludiam and Osteria Casa Pasta. Led by chef Paolo Gionfriddo, a pioneer in Italian and international cuisines, you can opt for a nine-course Prince tasting menu that features specialities with the seven-glass Dal Val di Non al Val di Noto wine pairing at Principe di Belludia.

Or enjoy dishes made with traditional home-style cooking at Osteria Casa Pasta.

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The Retreat at Elcot Park BERKSHIRE, THE UK

P H O T O G R A P H Y : A S T R I D T E M P L I E R / T H E R E T R E AT AT E L C O T P A R K , T O M M Y P I C O N E / P A S S A L A C Q U A .

Located in the heart of the West Berkshire countryside, The Retreat at Elcot Park is an escape to a reimagined 18thcentury country house. The 55 bedrooms and suites are playful, colourful and warm, with each room exuding a unique personality. Revel in the exceptional food and drink options at the two restaurants: 1772 is an all-day brasserie serving classic French favourites, while Yu offers pan-Asian fine-dining. And of course, a countryside escape would be incomplete without wellness facilities. The Retreat at Elcot Park has its signature Signet Spa, which includes facilities like an indoor vitality pool, mud chamber and salt flotation room. There’s also an outdoor infinity pool with a bar.

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Passalacqua LAKE COMO, ITALY Set in a magnificent garden overlooking Lake Como in Italy, Passalacqua is reopening as a 24-suite retreat after three years of restoration. The villa is a historic home: following its construction in the 18th century, Passalacqua played host to some of the world’s most prominent figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincenzo Bellini and Winston Churchill.

Today, the modern iteration of Passalacqua sees three different accommodation offerings, each with a distinctive character. The highlight residence is the Villa, which has 12 suites and a double-height music room where Bellini played the piano. Take a walk around the hotel to admire the majestic terraced gardens with more than 15 enchanting water fountains and centuries-old trees that are considered to be some of Italy’s most beautiful. Guests are also invited to take a swim in the floating pool or practise yoga in the peaceful Magnolia Garden.

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The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne One of the most highly anticipated openings in Australia this year, The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne promises luxury and legendary guest service from 270m above the ground. Upon entry, guests are whizzed up 80 levels via an express elevator, direct to the sky lobby. Backgrounded by an uninterrupted and expansive view of Melbourne’s skyline, the hotel boasts 257 guest rooms and The Ritz-Carlton’s signature services – including the The Ritz-Carlton Club and The Ritz-Carlton Spa. The hotel is also perfect for corporate events with world-class meeting and event spaces, including a grand ballroom, totalling 2,781sqm.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : T H E R I T Z- C A R LT O N , T R Y F O N G E O R G O P O U L O S / C A L I M Y K O N O S .

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

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Cali Mykonos CYCLADES, GREECE Located in the heart of the Cyclades – a cosmopolitan island group southeast of mainland Greece – Cali Mykonos is an architectural marvel. Throughout the resort, traditional Cycladic architecture is combined with the natural features of the untouched landscape: from pools filled by the natural sea, local stone and marble for pathways and structures, to food ingredients from the gardens. Cali Mykonos offers 40 exquisite suites and villas that come with a private pool and a spacious terrace, and if you’re looking to host bigger gatherings, there are also multi-storey villas available. Situated at the very peak of the property, the three-level Cali Villa can host a party with its five bedrooms (each with a private pool), a private elevator and wrap-around terraces. The resort’s signature Mediterranean restaurant is helmed by chef Lefteris Lazarou, who has prepared meals for political leaders and royalty.

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Six Senses Crans-Montana CANTON OF VALAIS, SION, SWITZERLAND Six Senses Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, is a dream winter holiday destination for travellers looking for a luxury adventure and wellness escape. Winter attractions include the 3,000m-high Plaine Morte glacier and 140km-long open slopes.

In summer, guests can try their hand at the prestigious Severiano Ballesteros 18-hole golf course. Coupled with year-round quality wellness offerings that include a 2,044sqm spa specialising in alpine treatments and a suspended relaxation area, Six Senses Crans-Montana also offers indoor and outdoor activities aplenty. The resort has 47 guest rooms and suites and, as with its sister properties, employs a sustainable, eco-friendly approach in its design by employing energyefficient systems and equipment.

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Cap Karoso

P H O T O G R A P H Y : S I X S E N S E S , A L E X G R A B C H I L E V/ C A P K A R O S O .

SUMBA, INDONESIA An island getaway at Cap Karoso is a journey to one of the world’s most spectacular stretches of sand, Karoso beach, located in Indonesia’s southwest Sumba. At the heart of Cap Karoso are its initiatives in community engagement and sustainability, ensuring that tourist activity does not come at the expense of the island’s alluring natural environment and community. For starters, plastic packaging is banned throughout the property and 80 per cent of staff are hired locally. There is even a Cap Karoso organic farm – central to the guest experience – where almost all vegetables, eggs and dairy will be produced. There are ample opportunities not only to immerse yourself in sustainable practices, but also to learn from and mingle with the locals. Social spaces including the Julang restaurant and Explorer’s Beach Club are designed with community in mind, and cultural excursions are crafted to consciously explore the island’s nature and culture.

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The Maybourne Riviera The parent company of London’s iconic Claridge’s has introduced a new resort on the rocky peninsula of Roquebrune-CapMartin - a Côte d’Azur hotel with views of the Mediterranean and three countries: Monaco, France and Italy. The Maybourne Riviera is the product of unifying some of the world’s best chefs with the biggest names in design. Take your pick from a range of rooms, all with a unique personality and type. The Grand Azur Suite, for example, has elegant lacquer details that draw on the design legacy of Eileen Gray, while nautical touches and boucle fabrics take style notes from Coco Chanel. The food scene sees equally big players. Mauro Colagreco, owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Mirazur, has introduced Ceto, ‘an ode to the sea’, on the resort’s top floor, while French culinary legend Jean-Georges Vongerichten serves his menu at the pool bar. At the quiet tip of Cap Martin, the Riveria Playa beach club is a place to enjoy long lunches and sunset aperitifs mere footsteps from the sea.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : T H E M AY B O U R N E R I V I E R A , T H E O T H E R H O U S E .

ROQUEBRUNE-CAP-MARTIN, FRANCE

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The Other House LONDON, ENGLAND The Other House, launched in conjunction with the highly anticipated Private Club, is a luxury home and club for those who frequent bustling London. Being a part of the Private Club entitles one to a range of exclusive amenities: access to the bars Hogsmire and Keeping Room, a cosy screening room The Den, and an all-day Club Menu by London’s youngest Michelin-starred chef Asimakis Chaniotis and head chef Gary White. There are limited slots for external membership to the Private Club, which is restricted to people who are ‘wise as an owl’ and ‘curious as a monkey’.

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Habitas Bacalar BACALAR LAGOON, MEXICO Mexico’s striking Lake Bacalar is now home to the green luxury hotel brand Habitas.

Located four hours from Cancun airport and 40 minutes from Chetumal airport by car, Habitas Bacalar is tucked away from the commotion of Mexico City. Instead, guests are transported to a timeless paradise surrounded by immaculate shores, multihued waters and natural, earthy surroundings.

And, there is no need to worry about your stay disrupting Mexico’s pristine natural environment – the Habitas group has launched the property in conjunction with an environmental programme that promises the preservation of Bacalar Lagoon. The property has just 35 cabanas and opportunities to experience local practices like floating meditations, temazcal (Mexican sweat lodge ceremony) and spa treatments. Highlights of the spa treatments include Bee-Well Therapy, which uses local Melipona honey, oats and coconut milk, and Chocolate Body Wrap which exfoliates the skin with oatmeal and coconut before a cocoa and coconut wrap is applied on the body.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : TA N V E E R B A D A L / H A B I TA S B A C A L A R , F 2 I M A G E S / S E X TA N T I O R W A N D A .

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Sextantio Rwanda LAKE KIVU, RWANDA An experience a world apart from conventional luxury hotel offerings, The Capanne Project is premised on the idea of identity-building and areas of social disadvantage. Sextantio Rwanda is located at the marginal land, at the northern tip of the island on Lake Kivu. The exotic location is mostly populated by Congolese fishermen and farmers engaging in a fully subsistence economy. Guests can opt to interact with village life at the school and markets, or engage in other local activities like traditional night fishing.

The traditional huts, in the style of the Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda in Butare, contain traditional Rwandan beds with layered straw mats and mattresses and have basic facilities like hot water and wi-fi. A stay at Sextantio Rwanda supports a good cause too – the price of staying here, for a minimum of three days, is a donation to Sextantio Onlus, which provides health insurance to Rwanda’s needy.

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German Delight Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa celebrates its 150th year and shows how its fabled hospitality can delight the weariest travellers.

Words: Hannah Choo

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Europe’s steepest funiculars; that will get you to the summit of Mt Merkur (it was named after the Roman god of commerce), where patience will be rewarded with a panoramic view of the rolling green hills, a distant France, and quite importantly, a mug of beer.

Located in the heart of it all, though, is Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, a 150-year-old property that overlooks the tree-lined Lichtentaler Allee and its babbling brook. It has hosted many political soirees and dignitaries like the Dalai Lama, and is arguably the town’s most grandiose hotel and

Located on the edge of Germany’s Black Forest, Baden-Baden is an excellent retreat that’s home to salt-rich natural springs and very little traffic, human included.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : B R E N N E R S P A R K- H O T E L & S PA /O E T K E R C O L L EC T I O N.

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t was the first of March, just the two of us.

Like bubbles in champagne, we were a couple desperate to get away from it all and explore Europe our way – to have an adventure, with nary a plan or stress. The only thing we had planned was to have fun and we found that in Baden-Baden, a beautiful spa town just under two hours south of Frankfurt and one hour from Strasbourg, a bustling provincial city in Alsace.

Located on the edge of Germany’s Black Forest, Baden-Baden is an excellent retreat that’s home to salt-rich natural springs and very little traffic, human included. There’s also the very inviting Caracalla Spa, where friendly locals enjoy the baths and whirlpools for a token sum. We had a one-sided conversation with a chatty old man, which we thoroughly enjoyed, and well, we barely know German.

A favoured destination of the European elite – since the time of Queen Victoria, Victor Hugo, Napoleon III and the like – it is also a fully functioning town with an identity beyond thermal baths. Spend two or three nights here and what you’ll get is a winning mix of urban and green nature in ways that make you feel connected to the landscape. Visit Festspeilhaus Baden-Baden, the country’s largest opera and concert house, experience the annual international horse race or watch the sun go down from Hohenbaden Castle.

Take your chances at the casino or ride one of

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Clockwise from above: Parkvilla Park Suite; Prestige Junior Suite; Parkvilla Royal Garden Suite’s terrace.

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the Oetker Collection’s show pony. After all, its facilities make it, effectively, a holiday in one property: incredible restaurants, a billiards room and big indoor pool with French windows that open out onto the gardens, to name a few. There’s also Kleopatre, the beautiful but proud resident cat that does as she deems fit. If you are so lucky as to encounter her, expect to be ignored – and I speak from experience.

Brenners Park is mostly known for its spa, the kind of place where you spend half a year reshaping your body and soul. Yes, it’s impossible to not feel relaxed at Villa Stéphanie & Wellbeing, an elegant five floors of indulgence. There’s a medical care centre that offers aesthetic treatments, and there are fitness trainers who you can work with individually. The nutrition coaches and doctors, on the other hand, are committed to customising menus as a form of preventative medicine. Guests can also indulge in a plunge pool or hammam (out of numerous sauna rooms), or even better, unwind under the good hands of a massage therapist. We opted for the couple’s deep-tissue massage, not knowing what to expect, until I heard the snores happening right beside me. My therapist was good; his was probably even better.

Think of the hotel and spa as the perfect tranquilliser you would gladly pay for. Stroll into the lobby from the entrance or the garden at the back (it’s only a five-minute walk from here to the town centre), and be wrapped by a genteel 19thcentury ambience. There are around 100 rooms in

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Brenners Park is mostly known for its spa, the kind of place where you spend half a year reshaping your body and soul.

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total, including the two-storey Panoramic Suite and Parkvilla, an exclusive residence that boasts 600sqm of living space, terraces with sun beds, a private garden and daily open bar. The decor is very charming, being traditional and antiquefilled, and the service is warm but sharp, with good attention to detail. No expense is spared in ensuring quality, from your orthopaedic mattress to the food that goes onto your plate.

Just as Baden-Baden had surprised me, so did the food at the hotel. Fritz & Felix is excellent for

its charcoal-grilled items (even the greens are incredible) and beef tartare, while the sun-soaked Wintergarten will take you through contemporary cuisine, like lobster with saffron miso and lightly pickled salmon with lemongrass. The Pierre Hermé-inspired afternoon tea is also a must if you’re up for blended tea and macarons created specially for the hotel by the revered French pastry chef himself.

Your stay at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa can’t get much sweeter, I reckon.

Clockwise from below: the indoor pool; couple’s treatment room; Kleopatre the resident cat.

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Lakeside Luxury With its 26 spacious suites and breathtaking views of Lake Geneva, The Woodward aims to be the city’s most exclusive luxury hotel.

Words: Wei-Yu Wang Photography: Claire Cocano

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ts exterior is almost representative of Geneva, a city of understatement and sobriety: a pre-war building, all square corners, cornices and rows upon neat rows of wrought iron balcony railings.

The entrance, too, is unassuming – off to the side, with a modest awning and simple signage that proclaims that this is The Woodward. One of Geneva’s most exclusive lodgings, it is the latest from Oetker Collection, one of the interests of the famous German family behind Le Bristol in Paris, The Lanesborough in London – and frozen pizzas.

The Woodward opened in September 2021 after five years of development. Despite its sizeable six storeys, it has only 26 guest rooms. In a first for the city, each is a suite, from the relatively modest Junior Suite at 55sqm to the 303sqm Royal Suite,

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which includes a dining room with a banquetworthy table.

Of the 26 suites, 21 command full views of Lake Geneva. The Woodward is perched on Quai Wilson, one of the city’s lakeside thoroughfares and major arteries which on weekday evenings is packed with traffic and on sunny weekends is packed with people. A marina sits right outside the hotel, with bobbing watercraft adding to the leisurely scene.

Across the lake is the profile of Geneva’s old town, which lights up with innumerable watch brand names during the evening. To the right is Jet d’Eau, the dramatic water fountain that is the city’s most famous landmark. On a clear day, Mont Blanc’s distant peak is visible, and to the left, Lake Geneva stretches out in the direction of Lausanne. Those wrought iron balconies are all readily accessible

from inside the suites, behind tall windows and billowy day curtains.

With living areas of sofas, coffee tables, fireplaces and shelves populated with books and vases, there is a homey feel to the suites – specifically that of a modern Parisian apartment with a reserved but contemporary taste and a penchant for light, neutral tones and subtle luxuries. The relaxed decor makes the attention to detail easy to miss, but close examinations are rewarding. The silk covering of the headboard is hand-painted and embroidered by Fromental.

The wall panelling is straw marquetry, courtesy of Lisson de Caunes in Paris. The chandelier is Baccarat, the drawer pulls are by Lalique. The minibar is housed within a lacquered armoire with mother-of-pearl inlays. In the spacious master

bathroom, underneath the dual sinks, is a Dyson hair dryer. The suites are thoughtfully laid out, and ideal to receive visitors. The main living areas are separated from the private quarters and have their own half-bath, making them ideal for hosting social or business engagements.

The residential feel extends throughout the hotel. There is nothing cold or sparse about the carpets and Macassar ebony wood flooring of the corridors and stairwells, punctuated by eclectic pieces of furniture or decor with anachronistic vintage inspirations, from a 14th-century style chandelier that was designed for the Yves Saint Laurent boutique in Paris to seats in the style of the 1930s or lamps from the 1950s.

The lobby is not called the lobby, it is the ‘salon’ – French for ‘living room’. The front desk is tiny

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by hotel standards, and the exclusivity is such that queues are non-existent and luggage is obligingly whisked away to where it should be. There is little of a feeling of coming and going.

Here also one finds Le Jardinier, open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, a casual dining venue that takes particular pride in its locally sourced produce. In fact, no ingredient will have travelled more than 150km before arriving at the restaurant’s kitchens. Whether chicken, fish, vegan or gluten-free, dishes are uncomplicated to best let those ingredients do the culinary lifting.

Le Jardinier, a concept by Michelin-starred chef Alian Verzeroli, has already made a name for itself in several locations in the US; this outpost at The Woodward is the first in Europe.

The restaurant is airy and high-ceilinged, and is housed conservatory-style on a pair of verandas that overlook the lake. The Woodward is lucky to have these verandas, as the Genevan authorities are notoriously protective of heritage buildings; they relented in this particular case as it was shown through historical photographs that this part of the building started as a restaurant.

As a matter of fact, the building came to life as Hotel Bellevue in 1901 before becoming the local headquarters for HSBC in the 1980s. A vestige of the bank remains in the basement; the door to the guests-only cigar room (named, in what must have been a fit of whimsy, Salon Al Capone) is the old vault door.

The basement is also where one finds 1,200sqm of wellness facilities, including a gym, saunas,

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Swedish baths, the longest indoor swimming pool in Geneva, and the Guerlain spa and its six treatment rooms. For this French brand – wellknown for its fragrances and skincare products – The Woodward is its first spa in Switzerland.

Through the basement, guests can also access The Woodward’s highlight dining experience, L’Atelier Robuchon, though as an attraction all its own it also has a separate street-facing entrance for the general public. An established concept that boasts a flotilla of Michelin stars across

The hotel’s culinary experiences include L’Atelier Robuchon (above) and Le Jardinier (top and above left), both recipients of Michelin stars at their New York outposts.

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Clockwise from above: the Royal Suite is served by a private lift; the belle epoque architecture of the listed 19thcentury building; Club Woodward houses the longest indoor swimming pool in Geneva; The Woodward offers aweinspiring views of the water and the majestic Mont Blanc.

numerous cities around the globe, this is the first time that the storied Robuchon concept has arrived in Switzerland. It is helmed by chef Olivier Jean, who spent seven years leading L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Taipei. The restaurant at The Woodward continues the legacy of the venerated French chef by offering his tapas-style dishes that once turned the culinary world on its head. The flavours are classic, the presentation deliberate with a hint of modern reinvention, and signature dishes such as Caviar Jelly and Beef Rossini are

offered alongside new ones developed for The Woodward. Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, the restaurant shares the intense black-and-red colour scheme and counter seating that is common to the other L’Ateliers.

But if one prefers something quieter, room service is always an option. And indeed, with the space for a proper dining table afforded by a suite, and with the glorious view, it is a perfectly sensible option at The Woodward – one that takes advantage of some of its best qualities.

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Art Of Retreat The secret weapon of many a celebrity, Chiva-Som’s award-winning wellness programmes are designed to make guests leave feeling fresh and rejuvenated. But before that, there’s work to be done, writes Mark Lean.

Photography: Kiattipong Panchee

It’s a well-known secret that many of the world’s beau monde practise the 10+2 rule; that is 10 months of unabashed indulgence in champagne, caviar and everything else that’s excessive, followed by two months of near religious detoxing with cucumber shots, calorie counting and fresh coconut juice sipped from newly opened husks. Chiva-Som, which means Haven of Life, in the idyllic seaside town of Hua Hin, is one such place that caters to such discerning – and disciplined – folk.

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Accommodation options include the Thai Pavilion Suite, which has its own outdoor private glass-walled sala, a private space for around six guests set amid tranquil gardens.

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While Chiva-Som’s wellness programmes are world-class result-focused showcases, guests who wish to luxuriate in the tranquil setting and pursue combination therapy ‘routes’ aren’t refused the option, either.

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The 54-room resort, recently given a facelift by the late American interior designer Ed Tuttle, is less about over-the-top design gestures and more about gracious curves and bends, and ornate teak carving embellishments of ancient Ayutthaya.

Guests are encouraged to leave their worldly cares and electronic devices (digital time is only allowed in rooms and not in public areas) at the checkin desk. The experience is made less traumatic with the resort’s general manager Vaipanya Kongkwanyuen’s clever distraction of showing his pet koi dancing in the pond encircling the arrival pavilion on his command.

Now in its 25th year, Chiva-Som is one of the world’s foremost wellness centres. Its therapies, facilitated by expert staff and equipment, address all aspects of well-being during the said two months of detoxing from life’s fabulous excesses. Freshly sliced mangoes await after Pilates reformer sessions – the resort was one of the first in Thailand to bring in the Pilates grand cru hardware: the pine-framed reformers and Cadillacs. Or join a yoga class with Kamlesh Kumar, a teacher with unflappable patience who adjusts the level of difficulty according to the students’ abilities.

Besides yoga and Pilates, guests are also encouraged to follow a specific programme during their stays. This could range from a fullblown detox to immune resilience, gut health and optimal weight management – the options can be tailored to suit each guest’s concerns. The immune resilience programme, for instance, takes a multidisciplinary approach to crank up the body’s immunity. Available as either a five-or sevennight stay, the quest for good health is composed of empowering chi nei tsang abdominal massages that wake up one’s inner life force. This is followed by therapeutic back brushes, spine mobilisation, and fast-track back release sessions. Ayurvedic sessions of shirobhyanga are next – the gentle warming up of the body’s marma points (head, shoulders and neck) with medicinal oils – as well personal training and guided meditation sessions.

Beyond the specific wellness immersions, the resort also hosts visiting practitioners throughout the year. These experts comprise a spectrum of internationally recognised therapists ranging from spiritual healers to similarly magical masters of fascia manipulation, better known as Rolfers.

During certain months of the year, Thomas Andersen, who trained at the Guild of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado, sees clients at Chiva-Som. Anderson’s client list includes celebrities and American sports personalities, all of whom have benefited from his deep understanding

P H OTO G R A P H Y: C H I VA - S O M .

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Facing page, from top: the Ocean Premium Room is the largest and most luxuriously appointed of the Ocean Rooms; the 20m pool sits next to Taste of Siam.

Chiva-Som’s range of treatments include (right, from top) South Indian massages, meditation sessions and a cleansing diet.

of and intuition about how bodies work. Rolfing sessions are an ideal complement to the other restorative sessions and treatments offered at the award-winning retreat. After 90 minutes in his hands, don’t be surprised if you find yourself one to two centimetres taller. The results, Anderson says, are almost always permanent, but top-up sessions after the initial set of 10 foundation sessions, known as 10s, will assist the body to process the impact it invariably undergoes over the years.

An average day at this beachside resort has the structure of an ashram routine with definite touches of luxe. Guests greet the morning with sunrise yoga or qigong, then it’s time for breakfast.

The resort’s high-tech wellness facilities run the gamut of electromagnetic stimulation sessions that offer four times the benefits and intensity of a normal one-hour workout. For deeper dives into workouts and conditioning, Chiva-Som also has within its grounds a comprehensive physiotherapy centre for those with rehabilitation or optimal performance goals.

While Chiva-Som’s wellness programmes are world-class result-focused showcases, guests who wish to luxuriate in the tranquil setting and pursue combination therapy ‘routes’ aren’t refused the option, either. For example, if one wishes to learn the fundamentals of healthful eating, seek the wisdom of the resort’s executive chef Sinchai Srivipa who can be found at the stylish Taste of Siam, a veritable temple of nutrition. A constant font of ingenious cooking tips, he swaps carb-ey noodles for konjac versions, adds exotic spices such as za’atar to pep up salads, and tailors menus for guests with specific dietary goals.

Chef Sinchai’s job is to help guests to undo the damage of their 10 months of dietary abuse, so expect dish portions to be bite-sized. Calories are listed for each dish, which means that your indulgences can be well-calculated and – almost – guilt-free. Guests are also encouraged not to drink alcohol past 6pm. So perhaps lay off the dirty martinis till after you check out.

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By Sea Or By Air Furniture maker RH has designed sleek private jets and a yacht that you can charter.

Words: Helena Madden Photography: Greg Wilson and John Vogler

RH covered the G650’s floors with hand-tufted wool, silk and cashmere.

The exterior distinguishes itself from the cold steel or white typical of other private jets with the company’s pervasive neutral grey-and-champagne colour scheme.

RH Three has a bit more history behind it. Turkish builder RMK Marine designed the 127ft expedition yacht in 2003, and in 2016, it was renovated by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen.

This spring, the finishing touches were being added to its latest reimagining by RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman.

No surprise, the exterior paint job went from a classic black and white to a palette similar to RH One’s – a wheat and “phantom grey” combination. The finishes in the cabin and staterooms include Carrara marble, Italian leather, wire-brushed European oak, lacquer and stainless steel. Onboard amenities include a sky lounge, three sunbathing areas furnished with massive daybeds, an outdoor gym and a swim platform, plus plenty of action-sport water toys.

A top-deck sunset terrace invites

RH One’s sophisticated wood and cashmere-laced interior.

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RH One is a 12-person Gulfstream G650 private jet (top); RH Three offers flexible accommodation for up to eight guests (above).

stargazing and the roasting of s’mores over its firepit. The boat is available for charter in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean for up to eight guests.

Charter experiences on both the yacht and the planes (there’s also a G550 RH Two) can be booked through the brand’s new digital portal, World of RH, launching later this year. We can’t help but wonder if the company missed the boat on timing – yacht and private-jet travel was especially desirable during the pandemic and before fuel prices went sky-high.

RH Three’s glowing, refitted interior.

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RH (FORMERLY KNOWN as Restoration Hardware) is renowned for its enormous sofas and tables crafted with weighty slabs of salvaged wood.

Now the furniture manufacturer is taking a seat (as well as making them) at the aviation and marine tables with RH One, its private jet, and RH Three, its refitted yacht.

They’re not corporate vessels but rather a splashy part of a larger experiential initiative that also includes the brand’s hospitality venues such as its restaurants in Napa Valley, Chicago and, on the horizon, San Francisco.

The goal with this foray into planes and boats is simple: bring a trained design eye – and the feeling of home – to these often-overlooked interiors.

However, the execution took some engineering to achieve the brand’s signature aesthetic with lightweight wood and marble veneers rather than chunky blocks of materials. RH One, for instance, features rift-sawn European white oak in the 12-person cabin – the first all-wood interior Gulfstream has ever installed. Well, it’s not all wood:

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Porsche issues a teaser – a very fast, electric concept race car with 1,073hp.

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The EV Kool-Aid Acid Test Porsche’s latest feat is very fast, very electric and very cool – but you can’t buy it. Yet. Words: Sam Smith

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THE MACHINE YOU see here is a 1,073hp, fourwheel-drive, electric Porsche race car. It’s not a 911, the 1960s-born teardrop that everyone knows, but it might be more important. The 2021 Porsche Mission R isn’t even a real production car: only one has been built to date, costing around US$10 million, and it’s not for sale even if you have the money and the personal phone numbers of Porsche’s entire executive board.

The Mission R is a concept, unveiled at last year’s Munich auto show, built to gauge public interest in electric motorsport and, more consequentially, to hint at the next version of Porsche’s entry-level sports car, the 718 Cayman. It’s also a driveline testbed, since the next 718 will reportedly be electric-only, with no hybrid or gas model offered.

The race car’s 80kWh battery and inverter spit 908 volts – just 92 shy of the international motorsport safety limit – and much of the drivetrain is cooled

silent motor was outshouted by gearbox whine that filled the tiny yet airy cockpit. As with most mid-engine cars, and all mid-engine Porsches, the tyres worked in delicate balance with each other, though the way the car carried its mass – low and in the middle – was unmistakably that of an electric vehicle. Remarkably, the battery can be freshened from a five to an 80 per cent charge in just 15 minutes, a feat we witnessed multiple times.

Perhaps more remarkably, the German engineers present were against type, talkative and interested in feedback. The overall sense was of a legacy-steeped company trying to define what it should be going forward, while aware of all the many ways in which those considerations might not align. Yet the Mission R felt every bit a Porsche: fast, predictable, eminently communicative – a car you want to keep driving. In a certain light, it seemed even more of a Porsche than the hallowed

by a proprietary oil system developed on Porsche’s Le Mans–winning 919 prototype. The composite body is part organic, resembling carbon fibre but based in flax. Each axle wears one drive motor, and that 1,073hp figure is available in only shortburst ‘qualifying’ mode, with longer runs limited to around 671hp.

Concept cars rarely run or drive well. This is different, both a finely honed mix of purpose-built parts and components borrowed from pro-racing 911s (mostly in the FIA GT series) and a fully dialled machine on Michelin racing slicks. Our test took place at Porsche’s dense little Experience Center track in Los Angeles, where the car slid and whined and whirred, equally forgiving of errors and insistent that you avoid them. The steering was immediate, even for a race car, the grip was immense and the acceleration was perpetually good for a wallop in the back, even as the near-

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911 because it was built to look only ahead, while the 911 is a nearly 60-year-old idea that had been dragged into modernity.

This is important because there is supposedly no hybrid or electric 911 in the works. That model, a company head recently insisted, “will stay combustion-engine as long as possible”.

Why not start your revolution with the biggest name in the stable? Because when you grow synonymous with a specific idea, you change that idea slowly.

The 911 began life as the core of Porsche’s image and its cashflow; now, it merely represents the former, its profits dwarfed by those of the company’s immensely successful SUVs. On a long enough timeline, an electric 911 will happen. For now, we have this. Question and answer in one.

Silent and potent. Portentous, even. But mostly a hell of a lot of fun.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: P O R S C H E .

Concept cars rarely run or drive well. This is different, both a finely honed mix of purpose-built parts and components borrowed from pro-racing 911s and a fully dialled machine on Michelin racing slicks.

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Changing Horses Ferrari’s first V6-powered production car inhales the track like a beast.

Words: Viju Mathew Photography: Lorenzo Marcinno

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Hybrid? Yes. V6? Yes. Crazy Ferrari performance? Oh yes.

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SURELY, THE THINKING always went, a Ferrari that rolled off the line with a V6 engine, a power plant common in Camrys and Kias, would signal the end times for Maranello. Yet the 819hp Ferrari 296 Gran Turismo Berlinetta (GTB) – not just the marque’s first V6-powered production car, but a plug-in hybrid V6 production car – is a cracking start to a new age. More than that, it’s a revelation, and not only because of the way it inhales sections of track like a far heavier-breathing beast.

Ferrari built its early legacy on cars with 12-cylinder bravado up front, but it’s had great motorsport success placing a V6 behind the cockpit, introduced with the Targa Florio-winning 246 SP in 1961; that same year, Ferrari took the Formula 1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with the six-cylinder 156 Sharknose. (Then, of course, there was the road-going Dino, which debuted in 1967 with a 2.0-litre V6 making 178hp, but those cars were never officially branded with the Prancing Horse badge until the later eightcylinder versions.)

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Ferrari built its early legacy on cars with 12-cylinder bravado up front, but it’s had great motorsport success placing a V6 behind the cockpit.

As with many of Ferrari’s motorsport champions, the 296 GTB enjoys the stability and balance of a mid-rear-engine layout. Its twin turbochargers are nestled in the 120-degree gap between cylinder banks with the exhaust sitting on top, a ‘hot-vee’ configuration that cuts weight, lowers the centre of gravity and improves output.

The 165hp electric motor (juiced by a 7.5kWh battery) sits between the engine and the eightspeed dual-clutch transmission; with the 654hp from the 2.9-litre mill, total output is 109hp more than the F8 Tributo. And with a US$318,000 price tag that runs roughly US$40,000 above that car, the 296 GTB is certainly no entry-level model. Nor is it some transitional footnote in the interregnum

between mechanical and all-electric – not when Cristiano Pompucci, Ferrari 296 GTB Power Train Project lead, refers to it as “the next chapter in the history of our sports berlinettas”.

Of course, the automaker had some unaskedfor help writing this particular chapter, with Pompucci acknowledging that the car was a direct response to Europe’s newest emissions regulations.

But quash any thoughts of compromise, or the 296 GTB will quash them for you. The 1,470kg (dry weight) model is among the nimblest in Ferrari’s stable, with balletic handling owed in large part to the 102.3-inch wheelbase, which is the shortest in the current line-up. The hybrid system’s continuous power delivery erases turbo lag and allows the six-shooter to fire from zero to 100km/h in an estimated 2.9 seconds, devouring the main straight of Spain’s Monteblanco Circuit along the way. Engaging the brake-by-wire system – the hefty calipers are shared by the SF90 Stradale – in conjunction with the new ABS Evo assist and Ferrari’s six-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor brings the machine from 200km/h to a standstill in 107m, besting the lighter F8 by nearly 10m. Along with the active rear spoiler, which deploys for up to 100 additional kilograms of downforce, this makes the 4.4km circuit’s hairpins far less hairy.

Off the track, while exploring the countryside outside Seville, the GTB demonstrates its grandtouring prowess. It’s here that the eDrive and Hybrid modes excel. Accelerating from a stop light under full electric power, I pass a small funeral procession making its way down a side street.

The car is respectful in its silence, with the ability to remain decoupled from the engine for 24km.

Less impressive: the interior’s underwhelming JBL sound system, lacking the souped-up audio of some other OEM-supplied set-ups, and the diminutive infotainment screen, both of which feel uninspired. And traditionalists will surely bristle at the all-digital dashboard, though it suits the vehicle’s nod to the future and I for one am thankful for the head-up display.

No matter how great the car, the biggest hurdle Ferrari may need to clear is the perception that its latest release is the result of procrastination, with the marque having vacillated on its messaging regarding pure electric vehicles. One Ferrarista, who owns the 458 and F8, worries that despite its claimed 2025 target date, “Ferrari will hit late in the all-electric fight and get a black eye”. But this model is a demonstration of what the automaker can do in spite of restrictions, not because of them.

And with its ferocious performance, beautiful proportions and grand-touring comfort, the 296 GTB feels like Enzo saying: “Bring it on.”

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Land Rover, Redux From South Carolina’s Himalaya to the UK’s Arkonik, these manufacturers are cranking out topof-the-line restomods.

Words: Basem Wasef Photography: Kelly Edwards and Tim Miller

1. Coolnvintage Known for: Aesthetically authentic reinterpretations of Land Rover Series trucks Model name: Build 115 Price: US$120,000 Donor vehicle: 1979 Series 3 Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder Power: 100hp Transmission: Five-speed manual Notable features: Coolnvintage, out of Lisbon, Portugal, honours the minimalist design of early Land Rovers while

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incorporating subtle, high-quality details such as leather dashboards and Marshall sound systems. Despite the niceties, these stylish trucks are stout enough to handle serious overlanding when called upon thanks to reinforced suspensions, upgraded disc brakes as well as heavyduty gearboxes.

2. Twisted North America Known for: High-performance V8 and electric-powered Defender rebuilds Model name: NA-V8 110

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Price: US$330,000 Donor vehicle: Defender 110 (for registration) Engine: 6.2-litre GM LT1 V8 Power: 525hp Transmission: Eight-speed automatic Notable features: A 22-year-old mainstay in the UK, Twisted has expanded stateside and features a design centre in Austin, Texas, and a production facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Its 90, 110 and 130 models are constructed and tuned using proprietary technology that involves

P H O T O G R A P H Y : C O O L N V I N TA G E , T W I S T E D N O R T H A M E R I C A , E V E R R AT I , H I M A L AYA , A N C H O R E D I N L O V E / O S P R E Y C U S T O M C A R S , A R K O N I K .

REIMAGINING A CLASSIC Landy – whether that means more power, more luxury or even an electric vehicle (EV) conversion – has become a cottage industry all its own, with restomod outfits operating around the globe and seemingly more popping up every day.

Thinking of one for yourself but don’t know where to start? Here’s a guide to the names you need to know.

Dream Machines | WHEELS hundreds of hours of testing, which is why these hot-rodded trucks drive remarkably well for their bulk. EV aficionados will appreciate Twisted’s electrified models, which produce up to 900hp and run upwards of US$370,000.

3. Everrati Automotive Known for: Electrifying iconic models including the Ford GT40 and Porsche 911 Model name: Electric Land Rover Series IIA by Everrati Price: From US$200,000 Donor vehicle: Series IIA Engine: Engiro electric motor Power: 150hp Transmission: Direct drive with high/low range Notable features: Everrati’s modern take on the Series IIA starts like any other, beginning with a fully restored and galvanised chassis followed by the addition of power steering and airconditioning. But the restoration house, set in the English town of Bicester, rounds out the build with an electric drivetrain fed by a 60kWh battery that can produce up to 240km of range, while standard CCS (carbon capture and storage) fast charging can boost the battery from 20 per cent to 80 per cent in 40 minutes.

Osprey is known for both Defender restorations and replica constructions on new chassis using a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (MCO) authorised

by Land Rover. One-of-a-kind builds have incorporated everything from antique flooring and artisanal inlays to custom-engraved exteriors; founder

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6. Arkonik Known for: Period-correct Defender restorations Model name: Rhapsody D110 Price: US$210,000 Donor vehicle: Defender 110 Engine: 3.5-litre V8 Power: 180hp Transmission: Five-speed manual Notable features: A veteran Defenderrestoration outfit with 16 years of experience, Arkonik claims over 400 examples delivered globally from its headquarters in Mells, roughly a twohour drive from London. Long associated with faithful reproductions using stock Land Rover engines, Arkonik has recently added powerful Chevy small-block LS V8 engines to its repertoire.

7. ECD Automotive Design

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4. Himalaya Known for: Dynamically enhanced takes on classic Defenders Model name: El Diablo Price: US$350,000 Donor vehicle: Defender 130 Engine: Supercharged Chevy LT4 6.2-litre V8 Power: 650hp Transmission: Eight-speed automatic Notable features: Based in Hollywood, South Carolina, Himalaya cut its teeth creating custom Defenders but has branched out into earlier-series trucks upgraded with modern suspensions and beefier drivetrains. Its high-powered offerings are available in three build levels, all of which combine punchier performance with modern amenities. In El Diablo, these include heated seats, a touchscreen display, a back-up camera and Bluetooth connectivity.

Aaron Richardet has even overseen the installation of secret firearm safes with biometric scanners.

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Known for: Unique Land Rovers built to client specifications Model name: Project Britton Price: US$289,000 Donor vehicle: Defender 110 Engine: Tesla direct drivetrain Power: 100kWh battery pack plus 450hp motor Transmission: Direct drive Notable features: Located in Kissimmee, Florida, ECD Automotive Design made its name building custom Defenders and Range Rover Classics before adding battery-powered projects in 2021. Its Defender 110 EV combines a Tesla power train with air suspension and Brembo brakes, perfect for city drivers seeking a plush alternative to mainstream SUVs.

5. Osprey Custom Cars Known for: One-off Defenders, as well as Ford Broncos and Toyota FJ models Model name: Defender 90 Replica Price: US$169,950 Donor vehicle: None (clean-sheet build) Engine: Chevy LS3 6.2-litre V8 Power: 430hp Transmission: Six-speed automatic Notable features: Founded in 2009,

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If you hate parking (parallel, especially), luxury SUV Volkswagen Touareg will do the job for you.

Words: Jamie Nonis

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: V O L K S WAG E N.

Reliable, Intelligent, Technologically Advanced

DOES COMFORTABLE MEAN boring? That is one question we couldn’t help asking ourselves on our recent test drive of the Volkswagen Touareg.

After a six-month hiatus, Volkswagen’s facelifted flagship has returned in a more chiselled form, and we also can’t help noticing that it has a little more swag, too.

The third-generation Touareg does not scream but whispers premium with quiet sophistication, gliding into the ranks of a competitor roster that also features the likes of the Audi Q7, MercedesBenz GLE, BMW X5 and even the Porsche Cayenne, perhaps.

But while the Touareg may not hold the same allure for badge snobs, consider the gauntlet thrown down. Under its hood, a three-litre V6 turbo petrol engine powers this luxury SUV, with 340hp and 450Nm of torque on tap. And despite its heft, the Touareg hits the century dash in a very respectable 5.9 seconds.

Dream Machines | WHEELS

As far as SUVs go, this is one exceedingly comfortable ride. You’re completely insulated from outside noise in this premium class cabin, while the vehicle soaks up every little bump in the road with absolute ease. Its four-wheel steering makes the Touareg feel far nimbler than it actually is, and body roll is kept to a minimum with active roll stabilisation.

But in optimising comfort, that also makes for a somewhat unexciting drive as the all-wheel drive sacrifices some of its edgy ‘off-roady-ness’ in favour of comfort and luxury. Not that it’s a bad thing, and quite a fair trade, if you ask us. And we’re certainly not complaining about the sunroof or soft-closing doors, either.

That said, the Elegance variant is joined by the R-Line model, which proffers a sportier feel with pedals in brushed stainless steel and other distinguishing features. Both have multi-function leather steering wheels with shifting paddles to kick things up a notch when driving without kids in tow.

Now that’s all well and good, but what we really need to talk about is how this 2022 Touareg is the most intelligent and technologically advanced vehicle that has rolled off Volkswagen’s production line to date.

The impressive technology begins and ends with the new 360° Area View system, which makes a host of new features possible. Like the Park Assist Plus function debuting on this Touareg.

Aided by 12 ultrasound sensors and four cameras,

This and facing pages: externally, the Touareg combines stylish elegance with sporty dynamism, while its interior features a fully digitalised cockpit with a highly customisable intuitive touchscreen.

you can now entrust the vehicle to parallel and perpendicular park for you. All you have to do is press and hold the Park Assist button until the manoeuvre is complete.

The cameras also let you see around corners, alerting you of other road users in front of, behind, or to the left and right of the vehicle displayed via the infotainment system – before they come into view. If this high-tech SUV is starting to feel like the last word in reliable luxury, it is.

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Up, Up And Away These yacht expeditions let you explore the uppermost reaches of the globe.

Words: Julia Zaltzman Photography: Christopher Scholey and Gilles Trillard

NEED AN ANTIDOTE to the breakneck pace and numbing news cycles of modern life? Sailing north into some of the world’s most serene, remote frontiers is a uniquely soothing remedy. Here are five of the finest – and least-travelled – cruising grounds at the uppermost reaches of the globe.

Nansen Explorer Greenland One of the most remote itineraries in this group, cruising Greenland’s majestic icebergs and glacier-covered plateaus with alpine troughs and tundra wildflowers presents a landscape that hasn’t changed for centuries. Areas such as Ilulissat offer kayaking near the icecap, while more kayak exploration awaits at Eternity Fjord, with its towering mountains and hanging glaciers. Refitted last year, Nansen Explorer is the only yacht in this group that sells individual cabins – seven cabins for up to 12 guests – with simple Scandinavian style and luxe features including floorto-ceiling windows, two chefs and large staterooms. From US$16,500 per person via EYOS Expeditions

Dream Machines | WATER totem poles, while its karaoke facilities, smoke blower and bubble machine are sure to be put to good use after the whisky tastings. The boat will also travel in Norway, between Stavanger and Bergen, for those who want to enjoy the fjords and midnight sun. Slipstream features an owner’s suite with a private observation lounge and direct access to the foredeck as well as a sky lounge that transforms into a cinema. From around US$373,000 (increasing to about US$404,257 per week during summer high season) via Burgess

Le Commandant Charcot

North Pole

P H O T O G R A P H Y : E Y O S E X P E D I T I O N S , P O N A N T, E D M I S T O N , P E L O R U S , B U R G E S S YA C H T S .

Pacific Yellowfin British Columbia

If you’ve ever dreamt of walking in the snowshoes of the most famous polar explorers, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot offers that opportunity in July, with a bucket-list expedition to the magnetic North Pole. The trip includes sailing to the heart of the ice floe, then actually cutting through the pack ice when it’s thinnest in order to reach the destination. Beyond experiencing glaciers, mountains, constantly shifting ice packs, polar bears and reindeer, other off-ship pursuits include sea kayaking, snowshoeing and hiking. Meanwhile, life on board the 123-suite vessel presents little hardship, with two restaurants, a spa to explore and even the opportunity to assist in scientific research carried out on the vessel. From US$40,730 per person via Ponant

Halo Norway Built by Feadship and geared for wellness charters, the 188ft Halo is ready to transport guests to the Norwegian fjords for a summer of pampering. When cruising into Andenes, the northernmost settlement on the island of Andøya, the yacht’s sundeck pool is the best place to spot sea eagles, seals, minke whales and humpbacks. A specialised crew includes two personal trainers, a massage therapist and a yoga instructor.

The ultimate onboard experience?

Working out on the foredeck with the fjords as a backdrop. Halo’s six-cabin layout presents an owner’s suite and four convertible king cabins on the main deck, with a sizeable VIP accommodation on the bridge deck. From around US$498,000 per week via Edmiston

This 113ft classic yacht will moor in Desolation Sound, with its dramatic mountain backdrop, as well as explore other pristine areas of British Columbia.

Composed of calm inlets, sweeping bays and scattered islands, Canada’s west coast is wilderness at its most scenically beautiful, and the yacht’s restored logcabin-style interior with nautical accents complements the Pacific Northwest terrain. Off-yacht adventures include kayaking secluded lagoons and perhaps even paddling with orcas. You can also step ashore to harvest clams and oysters.

The yacht is stocked with toys including an inflatable trampoline and slide, plus a six-person hot tub. From around US$137,480 per week via Pelorus

Slipstream Scotland and Scandinavia Calling all whisky connoisseurs: a summer of fun sailing Scotland’s distillery-filled coastline is on the cards aboard 197ft yacht Slipstream. The exotic, Winchdesigned interior includes hand-carved

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Dream Machines | WATER

I, Ro-boat Fully autonomous boats are still years away, but self-docking is already here – mostly.

SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER Volvo Penta introduced its first joystick boat control, the yachting world is planning its next step toward autonomous piloting with assisted-docking systems. But don’t let go of the wheel just yet. The ability to have your boat automatically pull into a slip while you and your guests sip cocktails on the foredeck could still be five or even 10 years away.

“It’s coming,” Anders Thorin, Volvo Penta’s product manager for marine electronics, told me in 2018 during a stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was at the helm of a fully self-docking Volvo-powered Azimut as it eased itself between a pair of race boats. That system, despite its flawless demonstration, wasn’t ready for prime time, but last year a paredback version of Assisted Docking made its debut as an option on Volvo’s Inboard Performance System (IPS) engines, using a combination of IPS and Global

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Positioning System (GPS)-based data along with information from steering, transmission, bow-thruster as well as engine controls.

The system neutralises wind, tide and current, making docking in tight, gusty quarters less of a potential catastrophe (and giving newbie captains the type of confidence that’s usually developed only after years of embarrassing mishaps). Essentially, the joystick control keeps the boat moving, in a straight line or laterally, without it getting pushed around. When your hand comes off the joystick, the boat stops immediately rather than gliding into trouble; a Side Push button keeps it pinned against the dock without having to tie up.

“This is just like how automatic transmissions replaced the manual clutch on cars,” says Federico Ferrante, president of Azimut-Benetti USA. “We’re selling a lot of these on our Volvo

IPS boats.” At the moment, the lengthoverall (LOA) sweet spot is from 30ft to 60-plus feet but, as Volvo raises its IPS horsepower ratings, that could move to 80- or even 120-footers. Ferrante says the system is a natural fit for owneroperated boats but also makes sense for larger vessels, since there’s that much less need for a professional captain. “It would save a lot of cost to just have a deckhand,” he says.

According to Volvo’s Thorin, assisted docking is part of a company autonomy strategy that will next tackle collision avoidance on the way, eventually, to fully autonomous boats.

“There’s a lot of learning ahead before full autonomy becomes a reality,” says John Reid, vice president of enterprise technologies at Brunswick Corporation, the world’s largest marine company. Radar, GPS, electronic charts, lidar, image sensors and more will be used to identify potential hazards, which means an enormous amount of data will need to be analysed by onboard computers before coherent information is conveyed to the boater.

Besides docking, he says, “approaching vessels, speed zones and submerged objects are other pain points that need to be addressed. The system needs to see hundreds of meters in all directions, filtering out the hazards.”

Brunswick already offers joystick docking, and according to company plans, its ACES initiative – for Autonomy, Connectivity, Electrification and Shared Access – will eventually have 35 products.

But like Thorin, Reid won’t reveal an internal timeline to full autonomy.

“We’ll be delivering incremental enhancements to control the vessel,” he says. “But it will take time to go through production phases.”

I L L U S T R AT I O N : L A R S L E E TA R U .

Words: Michael Verdon

Dream Machines | WATER

Now Docking In The Metaverse A digital start-up has created a US$95 million NFT of a custom 206ft superyacht.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: G R EG O RY C M A R S H A L L .

Words: Michael Verdon

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for something more rarefied from digital assets than non-fungible art and metaverse-exclusive sneakers, try this: start-up Cloud Yachts has partnered with esteemed designer Gregory C Marshall to create a US$95 million NFT – paid in cryptocurrency, naturally – of the design for a 206ft custom superyacht, to be built in real life by Delta Marine in Seattle.

It’s a first for the yachting world – and, for that matter, the NFT space. But it makes sense to Marshall, who founded his eponymous naval-architecture firm in 1994, especially as he’s already using holographic technology to allow owners to virtually tour a yacht design, in real scale, from anywhere.

“We create roughly a million digital pieces for a typical superyacht project, but (those) often end up scattered across many computers,” he says. “This NFT is a digital twin of the real vessel – an archival tool where you can keep all the data in one place.”

The NFT will go beyond the design to include all technical data on the systems and structures, and because it’s located on the Ethereum blockchain, it’s virtually tamper-proof.

Cloud Yachts, founded by technology veteran Zach Mandelstein as the “world’s first digital yacht dealer in the metaverse”, will handle the financial transactions, delivering cryptocurrency payments to the appropriate parties.

Mandelstein is also working with designers Bannenberg

Clockwise from above, left: a rendering of the 206ft, US$95 million custom superyacht from Gregory C Marshall, sold as an NFT through Cloud Yachts; plans for a US$12 million, 110ft explorer yacht also designed by Marshall and sold as an NFT, currently in build at Tactical Custom Yachts in Vancouver, Canada; Marshall’s Rainbow NFT artwork, selling for 1 Ethereum.

& Rowell, David Weiss and Marco Casali on significantly less expensive NFTs, single pieces of digital art priced at 1 Ethereum, or about US$2,000.

While nobody has yet snapped up the US$95 million yacht, the team is also working on a Marshall-designed 110ft explorer NFT, built by Tactical Custom Boats for a Texas client. Priced at US$12 million, the real-life version should be completed in three years.

Such an unconventional process requires a learning curve.

“We all recognise mistakes will be made,” Marshall says – and in fact, the first instalment for the 110-footer was sent to the wrong account. But the designer believes that NFTs will become a common practice, at least judging from the interest that came after first announcing the US$95 million NFT project in February. “We were astonished by the response,” he says. “People were coming out of the woodwork.”

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Dream Machines | TECHNOLOGY

A Rush Of Fun To The Head As virtual reality becomes a real-world phenomenon, the industry’s top players hope these headsets bring the metaverse into the mainstream.

Words: Mark Hacking

THIRTY YEARS AFTER Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash introduced the term ‘metaverse’, it’s fast becoming reality. With rapid advances in technology, the tools needed to explore virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) are now better, faster and more lifelike than ever.

The virtual elephant in the room, though, remains Apple, with persistent rumours that it will release its own VR/AR headset either late this year or early next. Meanwhile, here’s a look at top contenders currently (or soon to be) scrambling for market share while it’s still there for the taking. It might be VR, but the stakes are real, and very high.

Released in 2016, the US$500 Sony PlayStation VR now lags behind the top competitors, but the next-generation VR2 promises to change that when it arrives later this year. Although pricing has yet to be announced, the VR2 offers improvements across the board, such as OLED displays with 2,000 pixels by 2,040 pixels per eye, a refresh rate of 90/120Hz and redesigned VR2 Sense Controllers with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Plus, cameras supporting eyetracking functionality present only what’s necessary for more efficient processing.

Meta Quest 2 Developed by Oculus and since rebranded under Facebook’s new Meta umbrella and its Reality Labs subdivision, the Quest 2 is the bestselling headset on the market and one of the best in the game, period. Starting at US$299, the wireless component is self-contained and features a lighter design than the original Quest, more processing power and a sharper display of 1,832 pixels by 1,920 pixels per eye. And with the optional Oculus Link Cable (sold separately), the Quest 2 can be connected to a compatible PC for even more processing speed and access to a wider range of entertainment.

Vuzix Shield

HTC Vive Pro 2 The US$799 HTC Vive Pro 2 delivers industry-leading 5K resolution at 2,488 pixels by 2,488 pixels per eye, a 120-degree field of view and 3D sound.

One drawback: the need to purchase two compatible base stations and motion controllers – a US$1,399 package at least – and tether the headset to a PC with hefty processing power. But if realistic playback is what you’re after, the extra cost and hassle are easy to overlook.

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From top: Meta Quest 2, Vuzix Shield, Sony PlayStation VR2 and HTC Vive Pro 2.

Optical-component company Vuzix has claimed CES innovation awards every year since 2005 – and its latest product, the Shield smart glasses, are a good example why. Expected to arrive this year and estimated to cost more than US$1,000, the traditional-looking eyewear showcases the first commercial application of microLED stereo displays and features an eight-core CPU, stereo sound and hands-free smartphone integration. In addition, the shatterproof lenses can be customised with a prescription from your optometrist.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : S O N Y, V U Z I X , S O N N Y C O S T I N / O C U L U S , H T C .

Sony PlayStation VR2

P H OTO G R A P H Y: DA N I E L S C H A E F E R /M O N T B L A N C.

Montblanc Haus is the brand’s tribute to the art of writing.

The Goods Jewellery

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Style

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Writing Instruments

P H OTO G R A P H Y: M O N T B L A N C.

The Goods | WRITING INSTRUMENTS

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The Goods | WRITING INSTRUMENTS

A House Of History And Writing The new Montblanc Haus, a gallery dedicated to the brand’s history and craftsmanship, is all about the fountain pen, its use and its place in culture.

Words: Wei-Yu Wang Photography: Daniel Schaefer

This and facing pages: within the 3,600sqm Montblanc Haus are exhibits dedicated to the brand’s history.

HAMBURG, GERMANY’S SECOND largest city, is a renowned cultural destination with numerous museums, theatres and concert venues – and it now has one more destination in Montblanc Haus. A 20-minute drive outside the city centre, Montblanc Haus is a permanent exhibition sited next to the brand’s manufacture and headquarters.

After five years in the making, it opened with the aplomb expected of a major brand milestone: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daniel Bruhl and Oscar Isaac were among the celebrities present, while Heinz O Wehmann of Michelin-starred Landhaus Scherrer handled dinner and Jamie Cullum provided the evening’s entertainment.

Montblanc Haus takes the form of a threestorey, 100m-long edifice, courtesy of the architect Nieto Sobejano, latterly based in Berlin. It is quite deliberately box-shaped – of the kind that may hold a pen, in fact. The bold, black structure is wrapped in a motif of Mont Blanc, the famous mountain range of the Alps and from which the company takes its name. This image has featured on Montblanc packaging since the 1920s, but is reinterpreted here in dynamic, contemporary fashion; the Montblanc Haus pattern is made up of narrowly spaced vertical lines and triangles, suggesting pen strokes. The building is especially impressive at night when this motif is lit up – as is the iconic, six-sided Montblanc logo.

While Montblanc is indelibly associated with the fountain pen, it has been expanding its purview since the 1990s. In a modern-day boutique, surrounded also by watches, luggage, fragrances, headphones and all manner of leather goods and accessories, a newcomer may be forgiven for not knowing where the brand comes from. A visit to Montblanc Haus, however, will leave no doubt as to its roots as a penmaker, founded in 1906.

Within its 3,600sqm are exhibits dedicated to Montblanc’s history, charting its growth from one of many in the crowded, early-20th century heyday of fountain pens, to the inception of the Montblanc name and branding in the 1920s and the birth of the Meisterstuck range, and how it cemented its reputation as a luxury icon by the 1950s.

Montblanc has the benefit of a surprisingly well-preserved set of documents and archives, as director of brand heritage, culture & sustainability, Alexa Schilz, discovered. She took the lead on the Montblanc Haus project. “We were lucky that in the past, a lot of old colleagues collected things and put them in boxes. Everything was quite nicely preserved,” she relates. She and her team of museologists searched through these for the key elements that defined Montblanc.

The results are on display in Montblanc Haus: exhibits of old plans, drawings, photographs and the like. Montblanc was something of a forerunner

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The Goods | WRITING INSTRUMENTS

in advertising, with a daring and aggressive campaign even during the early years – impactful posters in the trendy art deco and Bauhaus styles of the era, branded cars, biplanes and enormous prop pens that served as store signs. There is a collection of vintage products as well, pens and ink bottles of all shapes and sizes that reveal the design trends of their respective decades.

A consistent message, even from this early era when fountain pens were everyday tools, was that of exceptional products and luxury. Alessandra Elia, director of category management writing culture, speaks about a particular advertisement that caught her eye. “I remember some of them

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were mentioning it being your ‘Sunday pen’. Back then, they were already positioning it as something that you can do in your free time, for enjoyment. So they were positioning Montblanc as a true luxury object,” she says. It is this attitude that has served the company well as technology marched on and fountain pens became objects of desire rather than essential tools.

Other exhibits communicate the craftsmanship of today’s Montblanc, like the many-step, multiweek process it takes to create each gold nib.

The full range of nib sizes and styles is quite a sight, from the standard round to exotic, flexible calligraphy nibs of limited availability. There is

The Goods | WRITING INSTRUMENTS

This and facing pages: Montblanc Haus invites visitors to rediscover the joy of writing with pen and paper.

also a sample of Montblanc’s bespoke nib service and its near-endless possibilities. Showcased also are examples of the brand elevating the pen into pieces of art; currently this is an exhibit of its recently concluded Patron of Arts series, a 30-year endeavour which combines precious materials, painstaking handcrafting and remarkable storytelling. Other displays are full of enthusiastic examples of writing. A standout is the Correspondence Wall, which features letters and artwork in varying scripts, styles and languages from around the world, all created by fountain pen. It is enough to prompt a visitor to go to the postcard station, pick up one of the available pens and mail someone a handwritten memento.

The archives room, which is not open to the general public, has special meaning to Schilz as the documents and inspirations that enabled Montblanc Haus are stored here. “This is what made everything possible in the project,” she says.

“I’m in deep love with this part of my work, where I can be visionary and where I can be creative, and in order to be so, you need a starting point.

And this is what the archive is.” The room is a meditative one, round and windowless with floorto-ceiling drawers and a single table at its centre.

It will be available to certain exclusive visitors, but it is also a place for Montblanc’s creatives across its many departments – those who are driving the future of the brand and who need a reference point for its heritage. After all, as Elia explains, writing is still at the core of everything the brand does. “If there’s something that makes us unique, it’s writing. There are a lot of watch brands, a lot of leather goods brands,” she says, noting that the new Meisterstuck leather collection drew heavily upon the nib as an iconic element. “Writing is the source of everything. More than ever, I would say.”

Montblanc Haus is thus not just a showcase of the brand’s history, it also cherishes a piece of culture that was key to its founding. “The ultimate objective is to inspire writing,” says Schilz.

“Not everybody finds it natural to use a writing instrument day-to-day. We want to showcase how valuable it is to put aside the laptop and phone, and just put pen to paper. To detox, to manifest thinking or to connect to somebody – to find the joy in writing.”

Elia adds: “When you’re writing by hand, there is something that connects you almost spiritually with what you’re doing. It’s a sensorial experience, especially with the fountain pen. The sound, what the instrument is doing when you open and close it, the way you fill it and clean it – it’s a ritual, you have to take the time. Luxury is about taking the time to enjoy an experience.”

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Making Of An Icon The new Montblanc Meisterstück Collection is bound by understated elegance, timelessness and the enduring appeal of its most famous pen – the Meisterstück. With that in mind, we spoke to three entrepreneurs, all tied by a similar desire to create real impact, value and meaningful change, without forgetting their roots.

Words: Justin Choo Photography: Studio Daydream

Lincoln Yin with the Montblanc Neo Briefcase (S$2,575), an elegant take on the traditional satchel with a stylish metal clasp; Montblanc Star Legacy Automatic Date; Meisterstück Gold-Coated 149 Fountain Pen.

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UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE IS a defining trait of the new Montblanc Meisterstück Collection, where its craftsmanship and quality are heightened by iconic design elements from the company’s illustrious past as well as its present. And yet, true sophistication never comes across as boisterous; somehow it is blindingly apparent to one who sees its worth, even from afar.

Iconic designs are perhaps timeless to us because they encapsulate ideals that transcend mere artistic expression.

It’s also why the most evocative art and music tend to rise above the shackles of the contemporary zeitgeist; an unspoken congruence of values shared by the creators and their audience, if you like.

By the same token, Lincoln Yin, David Z Wang and Gillian Tee are bound by a single commonality – the importance of a cause behind their work. In the same way that unforgettable historical figures are venerated or castigated for their contributions to society, these young entrepreneurs exemplify all that is good about start-ups that address the inadequacies of current systems. They share with us what drives them to go the extra mile.

S T Y L I N G : J O S I A H C H U A . H A I R & M A K E - U P : A N G E L G W E E U S I N G L A U R A M E R C I E R A N D L’ O R É A L .

L O C AT I O N : S T U D I O G R A F U N K T.

The Goods | STYLE

The Goods | STYLE

THE POWER OF INTROSPECTION Lincoln Yin, founder and CEO of banco by RABC Group Whatever the challenge, Lincoln Yin looks within for the answer.

A L S O P I C T U R E D : B R I O R D D E S K B Y L I G N E R O S E T; E I G H T A R M C H A I R B Y C O N D E H O U S E ; B E L I Z E M I R R O R B Y L I G N E R O S E T; T R E P I E D F L O O R L A M P B Y L I G N E R O S E T; L A P A B O O K C A S E B Y L I G N E R O S E T; F U L L O U T F I T B Y E R M E N E G I L D O Z E G N A .

Destiny or happenstance? While many entrepreneurs have conquered all on the promise of big dreams, banco by RABC Group founder and CEO Lincoln Yin’s introspective eye has always looked within. Yin is no stranger to sweeping changes, having pivoted from one industry to another in his short and hectic career.

While the future is often uncertain, he draws strength and belief from the sole constant – his core values and the desire for meaningful work.

How did you get started?

I majored in engineering and transportation at university. I always had a passion for software and technology and I learnt to code. At university I was asked by a logistics and warehouse company if I could develop software for them, which led to my first start-up when I was 19 years old. I’m interested in finance and I found that I really liked data. During my senior year at university (year three), we had an opportunity to work with a company that does trading engines. So in 2013 we shifted from a software company for logistics and moved to fintech.

Sometimes, the journey of life is not planned or designed; it just happens.

But surely it’s not luck that got you this far.

I believe in the Japanese concept of ikigai.

You have to find the passion, what you are good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for and where the roads meet. I like the combination of finance, technology and supply chain industries.

The ikigai is like the North Star and a lighthouse which leads the direction to go far.

How has this philosophy helped you?

Some (people) know what they will do from day one, so their company name references what they do. I can’t say I know exactly, which is why I look to my roots.

Create more value and the company will grow. We started as a trading technology for exchanges and brokers, grew to have clients from overseas and in 2017 we got a chance to work in supply chain finance.

Destiny is like a combination of passion and embracing opportunity.

I studied supply chain, crossed over to fintech, then supply chain finance,

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then a financier in a digital age. It wasn’t a calculated business direction. We were too small and I was too young. It was more about how we can keep upgrading ourselves to do more things, bigger things, and create value for society.

At the very beginning, it’s not always up to us to choose.

So what gives your company purpose?

Our mission is to make finance inclusive and green. We differ from banks and other non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) because we design products for each sector. For example, we have a financing product for cleaning companies and security guard companies in Singapore that have difficulties in securing loans from traditional banks. We designed a product only for this sector where we do better risk management and as a result, the cost is much lower – somewhere in between bank rates and private lending peer-to-peer rates. It’s been getting very good traction.

We also design products for green finance as there’s a lot of demand from

the government to push for green and sustainable finance.

Are you personally invested in the causes as well?

Because of my family education, I always feel less excited if it’s only about making money alone.

I look for self-fulfilment and the chance to create value for society.

In 2017 I was asked, as one of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance delegates from China, to visit Germany. I was also selected as a Global Shaper, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, which encourages young leaders globally to create more value for society. In Israel, I saw how technology was used to address agricultural concerns. In Bangladesh, the local Global Shapers shared how they, as a country, make changes despite their lack of resources.

I was exposed to many global leaders at the Davos summit and these experiences had a big impact on me about creating real value. They served to make me feel that I need to do something to create impact.

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David Z Wang with the Montblanc Duffle (S$2,745), every man’s go-to for a quick getaway; Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph.

NUMBER CRUNCHING AS A BALANCING ACT David Z Wang, co-founder and group CEO of Helicap David Z Wang shares how he balances life, work, profit and meaningful enterprise.

“Take your work seriously but not yourself (seriously),” says David Z Wang, co-founder and group CEO of Helicap, reciting one of his favourite tenets laid out in the company’s values.

It’s an ethic that establishes the importance of balance at Helicap, which was formed to help NBFIs better service the underbanked.

The company’s high-tech approach to finance is complemented by trust, a culture that promotes a sustainable work-life balance, as well as the determination to make shareholders and the underprivileged happy.

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How did you come to know about the credit gap problem?

We opened more than 20 accounts with fintech peer-to-peer platforms globally to study their deals in 2015 and 2016 and how we could do better. It was then we realised there were 35,000 NBFIs and a US$500 billion credit gap. It was a huge problem and a huge market and highlighted the need for financial inclusion.

What justified your business direction?

Some of the portfolio companies we backed with debt became huge – some reached the unicorn stage. Examples

include Kredivo (instant credit financing for e-commerce purchases and personal loans), Funding Societies (SME loans), Julo (salary financing) and Erudifi (higher education loans).

Is there anything else other than good numbers to start a partnership?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, I would have coffee with the CEO, decision maker and sometimes with the equity investor before the final approval for any partnership. Either my co-founder or myself need to meet face to face and we are very strict on this. It’s a handshake to

The Goods | STYLE

A L S O P I C T U R E D : M I L A N S O F A B Y H O S H I N A ; S . 2 1 M A R B L E C O F F E E TA B L E B Y H O S H I N A ; F U L L O U T F I T B Y L O R O P I A N A .

sign things off and you can hold people accountable. It’s a physical connection that will be remembered. There must be an essence of character and relationship in everything we do; if not you’d be replaced by someone who will pay a dollar more. It’s a working relationship, so we put all the chips on the table. It’s almost like signing a prenuptial agreement.

What keeps you motivated?

People, progress and our future potential.

For us, teamwork is very important. We support each other because we have a lot of trust. You can only achieve that outside the boardroom: breakfast on Mondays, drinks on Fridays, quarterly activities and so on.

We start with a tough first 48 hours of the week and gradually wind down until 6pm every Friday, when we have drinks.

We try to keep weekends free to spend quality time with family or sleep.

The company has grown from managing US$1 million to US$100 million plus in deal volume in about three years and yet our headcount costs only doubled from 10 to 20. So I can see a super-efficient model shaping. Maybe we can go from 20 to 40.

We’re in the midst of a fundraising round, to bring us from US$100 million to US$1 billion.

Also, we see benefits of our investments in the form of over 200,000 underbanked in the region served with our technology and capital.

What’s next for Helicap?

We are moving to back technology startups with revenue-based financing.

Companies have too much equity and need to optimise balance sheets with debt. It’s a fairly sophisticated thing a lot of start-ups don’t do because they’re not investment bankers or financiers like us.

So we build the technology to analyse how companies operate, spend and invest.

We’ve already solved double-digit returns in the first three years, so now we can think about impact – investing for purpose. Morphing them together, the returns are not going to be mind-blowing.

But it’s going to be meaningful and I think you will get a lot of buyers at that level.

So we’re trying to solve this in the next three years. I will also be working on how to build a meaningful enterprise and give back to society.

How are you trying to create an impact?

We are launching an impact credit business as we realised that half of our portfolio appeals to financial inclusion.

If we give a company one million or five million dollars, how many people get to benefit? Our technology can profile where the money goes to. I think this is completely missing from the industry. We have tracked more than 200,00 individuals who have benefited from our loans. We’re looking to get to a million very soon.

You have a bursary as well. Why? The money is for the students to do an exchange programme. It’s a way to see the world from the country’s perspective and it will make them learn and think more like a global citizen. I want to provide this opportunity because I benefited a lot from my exchange programme. COVID-19 has disrupted this programme but we’ll start again this year.

My passion is youth development.

We’ve had 15 batches of interns at Helicap group. They’ve contributed a lot and I hope that we’ve taught them something; not just hard skills but how to look at life differently as well.

The Montblanc Duffle (S$2,745), built on a love of writing, is crafted from a new deep-shine black leather and features details that points to the language of the nib; Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph.

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HOMAGE TO A HAPPY HOME Gillian Tee, founder and CEO of Homage Gillian Tee’s lifelong journey of self-discovery leads her back home on a caregiving crusade.

Motivation has never been in short supply for Gillian Tee, founder and CEO of Homage. While the business of caregiving is a potentially burgeoning one given the ticking time bomb of a global ageing population, Tee’s sense of purpose is far more personal. Having cofounded the award-winning behavioural change technology solution, Rocketrip, Tee realised that the next phase of her growth lay back home. It was a chance to reconcile with the personal struggles of

her youth and use the experience to create meaningful change.

What set you on this path?

I want to be part of building something that can apply to people’s lives in a way that is meaningful to me. I get very motivated, particularly with vulnerable groups.

Sometimes things have to happen in your life to have a huge impact. I had a caregiver who took care of me and she was someone I loved deeply. She passed

on when I was 11. There were certain childhood troubles that I went through as my family was going through a tough time.

Given your success overseas, what prompted you to come home?

A few things: my sister, who (had been living) with my mother, moved back to Perth; Rocketrip was stable and scaling well; I felt I had overcome a lot in the US and reached a stage where I felt ready. I realised something in my heart didn’t sit

Gillian Tee and the Montblanc Pouch (S$1,200), which features the brand’s iconic mountain design (strap sold separately); Montblanc Star Legacy Moonphase.

A L S O P I C T U R E D : E N N É A D I N I N G TA B L E B Y L I G N E R O S E T; D A H L E M C H A I R B Y A R F L E X ; L I T H O S B O O K E N D S B Y L I G N E R O S E T; S E LV A N S S I D E B O A R D B Y L I G N E R O S E T; F U L L O U T F I T B Y S A C O O R .

The Goods | STYLE

The Montblanc Pouch (S$1,200), made from full-grain calfskin, fits perfectly in your hand, under the arm or even when looped around the wrist.

right if I settled in New York. It will always be a second home but I knew it was not time yet.

It was a self-defining journey in the US and after all the lessons I picked up I was ready to come full circle. I realised you can have both roots and wings and I wanted to commit to family and a community. I had built a community in the US and I felt it was important to build a community with my mum and my family. I travelled the world for 15 years – now it was time for me to come full circle.

How did your struggles play a part in your personal growth?

It wasn’t even called mental health issues at the time. You just didn’t know what you were going through and you’re trying to figure it out. My sisters and I can talk about it now because we’re more mature and we understand what we went through, but growing up we lacked the self-awareness and the avenues to deal with all of these and it leads to an inability to trust people.

I defined myself through my time overseas and now I have recreated my relationship with my mother – it’s the best it’s ever been. I’m proud of how far my family has come now and it’s also the

kind of world that I think you can build through intentionality. It’s been a really good journey.

Is Homage strongly tied to your identity?

Yes, Homage is so tied to my identity in some ways. I think, more importantly, it’s tied to my values. That’s why I feel I want to amplify, scale and mobilise caregivers to deliver care.

And out of the pool of 9,000 carers that we have, 70 per cent are women. So that motivates me further. We’ve delivered more than a million hours of caregiving using technology and we’ve empowered everyday people like you and me to deliver care to someone and support them in the small things.

What motivates you?

I think it’s important to look at personal care and enabling people to take care of someone; helping them in the small moments. I won’t impose my beliefs on anyone but I think that’s what drives genuine fulfilment.

One of our caregivers – his name is Ash – would spend 45 minutes brushing an older gentleman’s teeth just to help him start his day right.

Just hearing stories like that makes me want to do this for another 20 years or 30 years. This connection in supporting someone during their vulnerable times is a magical and meaningful display of the human condition.

What about the future?

Just faithfully building and scaling this impact – this part of the world needs long-term care solutions. Nothing too sophisticated and sexy. Governmental infrastructure, financial infrastructure, social infrastructure for long-term care needs to be improved. We’re part of the national conversation around how to best shape support systems.

We’re mobilising the largest trained and curated pool of caregivers operating across the Asia-Pacific region from a technology-driven care platform. We’re defining a category and a whole generation of carers empowered by technology and ensuring that we’re doing it across the various developed, middle income and developing markets.

What we need to do is scale ourselves; scale our solutions, scale our people.

Inspire more people to join us. That’s what’s next, really.

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The Goods | JEWELLERY

GENIUS AT WORK

Top Of The Rock Tiffany & Co takes its high jewellery to new heights with an extraordinary necklace celebrating the house’s Manhattan roots.

Words: Paige Reddinger

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THERE’S BEEN NO shortage of jawdropping jewels coming out of the workshop of Tiffany & Co during its 184 years in business. Notable among them is the company’s 128-carat yellow-diamond necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn, Lady Gaga and, most recently, Beyoncé. But sadly for collectors and celebrities alike, the piece has never been for sale. Poised to rival that bijou’s fame, however, is the new World’s Fair Necklace, set with more than 175 carats of diamonds. Valued at a skyscraping US$20 million to US$30 million, it’s the most expensive and elaborate creation the jeweller has offered to prospective clients.

The company honours its 1939 version in the design of the contemporary edition. Created, as its name suggests, for the World’s Fair in Queens, New York, during the art deco era, the original was set with an over 200-carat aquamarine at its heart. The necklace’s release also coincided with the debut of Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue boutique, which opened its doors for the first time in 1940.

In a full-circle moment, the 2022 version will make its entrance this autumn (assuming it doesn’t sell to a collector before it arrives), timed to the reopening of the jeweller’s New York City flagship after a three-year-long renovation to the space. This time around, the piece has been reconceived with an 80-carat, D-colour, internally flawless diamond, dubbed the Empire Diamond, at its centre. And for the first time, the stone can be popped out of its cage and put into the setting of an accompanying ring. According to the company, the original necklace’s whereabouts are unknown, making the 2022 edition an even more valuable slice of high-jewellery history.

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1. Mirror, Mirror The original 1939 necklace, pictured in sketch, was not transformable, unlike today’s version. Small adjustments were made to the unique shapes of the baguette diamonds where the collar meets the centrepiece basket, offering a lighter, more modern feel.

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A model of the new version was made via CAD and a handmade design that was then 3D-printed in green wax, allowing jewellers to play with the fit and sizing.

Here, a jeweller assesses how the emerald-cut setting of the ribbon collar will fit and slide into the carriage that holds the Empire Diamond.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: T I F FA N Y & C O.

3. Carat Cradle The jeweller takes the platinum setting that will hold the Empire Diamond and cleans its casting with a tool tipped with a rubber wheel before the metal gets prepolished and the stones are placed.

4. Base Camp The setting for the platinum base of the ring, which accompanies the necklace and will also hold the Empire Diamond, is prepared using an engraving tool.

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5. Perfect Placement The jeweller has laid out the round brilliant-cut diamonds and is starting to arrange the round jewels on the bottom. Work has also begun on one side of the setting that will surround the Empire Diamond. The necklace is about 60 per cent complete at this stage.

6. Crowning Glory The 80-carat, D-colour, internally flawless oval diamond is set into its cage at the heart of the necklace. It was responsibly sourced from Botswana and is part of Tiffany & Co’s fulltransparency programme that traces the origins of its stones of 0.18 carats and larger. The World’s Fair Necklace’s end client will receive a full report detailing the stone’s every step from the mine to the cutting floor to the Tiffany vault.

7. Sticky Fingers Custom-cut diamond baguettes will fall on either side of the basket of the oval diamond. They are carefully set in an initial rough layout using a tool with a sticky wax that enables the jeweller to pick up each gem one by one.

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8. Chain Reaction The back of the necklace is carefully inspected to ensure that the diamonds have been set correctly, that the prongs don’t obscure the jewels and that each stone is securely in place.

9. Ring in the New Unlike its predecessor’s, the centrepiece of today’s World’s Fair piece can be removed from its carriage on the necklace and placed inside a ring, for a solitaire that will rival almost any other finger bijou.

10. Fringe Factor One design element from the 1939 original that Tiffany & Co felt strongly about preserving was the cascade of baguette diamonds at the tip of the necklace. “We thought they were a great nod to New York, the art deco empire and the Empire State Building,” says Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co’s chief gemmologist. “We wanted it to very much feel from that era, but it’s much lighter, and the fit is spectacular.”

11. The Masterpiece The completed necklace is adorned with 504 diamonds, including 353 round brilliant stones, 150 custom-cut baguettes and, of course, the ultra-rare Empire Diamond.

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The Goods | TIME

Dual Timer Parmigiani Fleurier reinvents the GMT function for the post-pandemic age.

DON’T LET ITS simple facade fool you: beneath the minimalist Milano Blue dial of Parmigiani Fleurier’s new Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante ticks an incredibly complex world-premiere automatic movement, one that allows for the simultaneous tracking of two time zones – that is, a GMT – paired with a split-seconds chronograph function, also known as a rattrapante.

One of watchmaking’s most difficult to construct (and therefore rarest) complications, a rattrapante model is typically equipped with an extra seconds hand that sits atop the first, as well as an additional pusher, essentially creating two chronographs from one and allowing for the simultaneous timing of separate events.

In the case of the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, though, Parmigiani has repurposed the function as a flyback accessory to the GMT. Its two skeletonised, delta-shaped hour hands – the upper in rhodium-plated 18-carat gold, the lower in 18-carat rose gold – remain superimposed until a press of the rose-gold pusher at eight o’clock sends the top hand, indicating local time, one hour forward while revealing the rose-gold ‘home time’ hand, below. Push the button in the crown to reset the hands. “What makes it special is that never before has the rattrapante function been used outside chronographs,” says Guido Terreni, Parmigiani’s CEO. In combining split-timing with GMT, the watchmaker has embraced the former’s literal translation. “In French, rattraper means ‘to catch up’, ‘to reunite’,” Terreni says. “In the pandemic, the GMT reinvented its role – it was not linked to travelling but to being connected to someone living in a different time zone. Now that we are exiting the pandemic, we all want to travel, discover places and culture and be reunited again.”

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The 40mm stainless steel model, which retails for about US$28,000, made its debut in late March at the Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva. It belongs to the Tonda PF collection of pared-down timepieces on integrated steel bracelets that the brand introduced in September. In addition to a knurled bezel fashioned from platinum, the watch features a dial adorned with Grain d’Orge guilloche and hand-applied, rhodium-plated 18-carat-gold indices.

According to Terreni, the new GMT epitomises Parmigiani’s creative approach to the future of watchmaking – and of the brand.

“Being a world premiere, of course it sets a new direction and it is not linked to the past,” he says.

The rest of the industry, in other words, now needs to play catch-up.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: PA R M I G I A N I F L E U R I E R .

Words: Victoria Gomelsky

Special Feature

Going Green Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces a special, green-dialled edition of the Polaris Date.

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glass-box sapphire crystal is a throwback to the style of midcentury watches.

It houses the latest-generation automatic Calibre 899AB, which boasts of a worry-free 70 hours of power reserve, as well as a 200m water resistance rating for the nautically inclined.

The green rubber strap pushes it into casual territory, but thanks to the quick-change system, it can be dressed up in moments via a wide range of bracelet and strap options.

The Polaris Date is a boutique edition and will be available exclusively on the Jaeger-LeCoultre website for a month.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Marina Bay Sands Boutique #B2M-240 Casino Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands IG: @jaegerlecoultre

P H O T O G R A P H Y : J A E G E R - L E C O U LT R E .

IN TERMS OF sporty-chic watches – that is, robust timepieces that can stand up to everyday activities while being elegant enough to be worn to meetings and formal dinners – Jaeger-LeCoultre has long had a distinctive, unique approach.

This is thanks to the Polaris collection, which began in 1968 with the alarm-equipped, diving capable Polaris Memovox.

Back then, its 300m water resistance was no mean feat, and its 42mm diameter, uncommonly large and bold.

The modern Polaris Date was launched in 2018 and maintains the original’s aesthetics albeit without the alarm function, which is far more of a novelty than a practicality in today’s context. As such, the diver’s internal rotating bezel remains, as does the 42mm diameter steel case and practical, highly legible markers and numerals. New for 2022 is a doublegradient deep green dial, with a mix of opaline, grained and sunray textures that demarcate the different dial segments.

This grants it exceptional depth and character when it comes to the play of light; this is enhanced by the gradient, which ranges from light olive to dark, lush rainforest, and the layer of translucent lacquer that tops it. The lumed markers are vanilla-tinted, suggesting its retro inspirations, while the

Special Feature

This and facing pages: the new Polaris Date continues to evoke the collection’s sophistication and elegance, with every aspect designed, manufactured and assembled at Jaeger‑LeCoultre’s manufacture in Vallee de Joux.

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C O N N O I S S EU R S H I P F O R T H E U LT R A-A F F LU EN T

RO B B R E P O R T S I N G A P O R E

W W W.RO B B R E P O R T.C O M.S G

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: D U S I T C E N T R A L PA R K .

The legendary Dusit Thani Bangkok Hotel is being reborn with a new look but with the same unique architectural design and will be part of Dusit Central Park, a mixed-use development with retail, office and residential components, all conveniently located opposite Lumpini Park.

The Resource Art & Design

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The Resource | MONEY

A Legend’s Second Act From former rice fields to its present urban heart, Bangkok’s Silom Road is arguably one of the world’s most famous thoroughfares. Equally legendary is the former Dusit Thani hotel, which is now in the process of its physical metamorphosis into the 46-billion-baht Dusit Central Park development.

Words: Mark Lean

POST-PANDEMIC BANGKOK is possibly not the same as it was at the start of 2020. Parts of Ratchadamri are poised for redevelopment, while farther down the street at the intersection of Silom Road and Rama IV Road, the site where the former Dusit Thani hotel once stood is readying itself for its second spectacular act.

The upcoming Dusit Central Park will be a collection of branded residences, the second iteration of the 259-key Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel, the 80,000sqm Central Park shopping centre, and Central Park Offices, a grade-A 40-level office tower with a built area of 90,000sqm.

The 46-billion-baht development, a partnership between Dusit Thani Public Company Limited and Central Pattana Public Company Limited, will be embedded on a 3.68-hectare plot of land overlooking Lumphini Park, Bangkok’s foremost inner-city green lung.

According to La-ead Kovavisaruch, CEO of Vimarn Suriya Company Limited, the developer of the Dusit Central Park project, it is Dusit’s timeless legacy that remains dominant in peoples’ minds. “Dusit International was founded by Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui. The founder had a dream, a vision to see Thailand as a leading global tourism destination. This was just after the Second World War. Now 50 years later, Thailand is on the top five list of leading countries for tourism. So her dream then was to build a five-star hotel that represents Thailand and Thai culture with an international level of service comparable to the highest global standard,” says Kovavisaruch.

The new development, too, will retain the legacy.

“At the same time, we put in new features and

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considerations that will last. These elements will include the sustainability nature of the business. It’s about the environment, it’s about wellness and it’s about well-being. This is what we would like to add to the Dusit legacy. It starts from the design of the development and encompasses the whole project, right through to our service – how we can serve the people better with these considerations in mind,” she adds.

For the branded residences at Dusit Central Park, prices of leasehold units start from US$480,000 for a 55sqm one-bedroom unit at Dusit Parkside, while a 120sqm two-bedroom unit at Dusit Residences begins at US$1.2 million.

Kovavisaruch says the light, the nature elements and the greenery, are well-considered at Dusit Central Park. “What we can carry on is Dusit’s service. Dusit has built its name with the gracious service of Thai people. We consider all of these aspects in our branded residences. We will set the new standard; for example, in-room service, which many developers do not offer. We concentrate on the aspects of environment sustainability and ‘green’ values. We carry through these key components in the entire development.”

Dusit International’s footprint currently includes over 40 hotels and over 300 individual villas across 16 countries. Kovavisaruch says that the company

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Dusit Residences will have 160 units comprising two-, three- and four-bedroom units as well as penthouses.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: D U S I T C E N T R A L PA R K .

Dusit Parkside will offer stylishly contemporary living spaces.

The Resource | MONEY

has extensive experience in catering to both local and foreign markets. This track record extends to the Dusit Central Park project. “We are in the centre of Bangkok,” she shares. “We connect nature and the urban centre. We are next door to Bangkok’s green lung. Our development connects to the city’s largest park. We set the set the benchmark for green considerations. Our location allows us to build an icon, a role model (for the city).”

Kovavisaruch recalls Silom as being the most crowded street in Bangkok. “As a commercial centre it was previously busy, but has become quieter in recent years. Our founder had great vision to see Silom transform from rice fields to what it is today. In the past five years, Silom is gaining a resurgence and will once again become a centre where everything happens. The land price in Silom is among the top three (most expensive) areas in Bangkok,” she says.

The hope, for her, is also to build a better community here. The rooftop of the new Dusit Central Park will have three sections of greenery: private, private and hotel guests’ access, and public areas. “We are confident that the Dusit name will be spread widely to countries overseas, as will our design concept, the

brand and our product which will draw international buyers. Whether they will make the units their second home or as investment considerations, we are confident (of sales). We have adjusted the buyer ratio to 65 per cent local and 35 per cent foreign as some people might still be uneasy about international travel,” adds Kovavisaruch.

In the past, people from Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia considered Bangkok as their second home, with many purchasing properties in the city. “Things might change a bit, but we are confident that once we have the chance to touch base with people who love Thailand and Bangkok, our product will speak for itself,” says Kovavisaruch.

In the next five to eight years, the Thai capital will have a mass transit system comparable to the top five cities in the world. This will “hopefully reduce the traffic congestion, which Bangkok has become known for in the past 50 years”.

Projects such as Dusit Central Park, Kovavisaruch believes, with mixed-used developments, will retain their relevance. “There is a luxury hotel, lifestyle elements such as fine dining and retail, and commercial and office spaces. This makes everything complete.”

An 11,200sqm park with multiple terraces has been planned for the rooftop.

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REALTY CHECK | HIGHLY DESIRABLE

P H OTO G R A P H Y: T H E P E N I N S U L A H OT E L S .

Presenting this month’s hottest properties for another place to call home.

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THE PENINSULA RESIDENCES LO ND O N , EN G L A ND

The world’s oldest luxury hotel brand is establishing its first landmark property in the UK, which will include just 26 private residences. They are housed in a dedicated private wing of the new hotel, which is scheduled for completion this year. Homeowners will have access to all five-star services of the hotel, including in-residence dining, the chauffeured Rolls-Royce car fleet and the personalised concierge service that is synonymous with The Peninsula. The residences comprise one- to four-bedroom apartments and a penthouse, with bespoke interiors by award-winning architect Peter Marino.

Kitchens will have either oak or copperclad cabinetry, marble worktops and builtin appliances by Wolf, Sub-Zero or Miele, while ceiling heights in the principle living spaces go up to as high as three metres.

The property’s location at the gateway to Belgravia, on Grosvenor Place opposite Wellington Arch, means that residents will have glorious views across the most celebrated parts of London, including Buckingham Palace Gardens and the iconic skyline.

WORDS: JACQUELINE DANAM.

Price: upon request via Knight Frank

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RESIDENCE 36A AT JOLIE NE W YO RK CI T Y, T HE U S

This four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom, 2,277 sq ft residence is located in Jolie, an ecofriendly tower on Greenwich Street in the Financial District. While all residences at Jolie feature energy-efficient electric heating and cooling with variant refrigerant flow, Residence 36A also captures the light and views of the site’s unique footprint at the southernmost tip of Manhattan. This home was designed by Deborah Berke, an American architect and academic and dean of the Yale School of Architecture. An open floorplan creates a functional flow between the living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen. Two bedrooms have walk-in closets and full en-suites. Poliform is used in the kitchen, which also has Grohe taps and Wolf, Sub Zero and Miele appliances.

Pets are welcome at Jolie, which also offers over 10,000 sq ft of lifestyle amenities such as a rooftop observation deck and outdoor kitchen.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : B I N YA N S T U D I O S .

Price: US$5.5 million via Serhant

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PENTHOUSE AT WATERFALL

BY CROWN GROUP S Y D NE Y, AU S T R A L I A

There are few opportunities when one can boast of owning a residence next to one of the world’s tallest man-made waterfalls, but that’s just what the owner of this penthouse can do. Towering eight storeys above Green Square’s town centre in Waterloo, four kilometres from Sydney’s central business district, Waterfall’s cascade is the tallest in the southern hemisphere. This three-bedroom penthouse is spread across two levels with 147sqm of internal space, a 42sqm balcony and an exclusive rooftop area. High-end finishes and fixtures include Miele appliances, Japanese smart toilet-bidet hybrids, stone worktops, integrated sound systems, zoned air conditioning and a Platinum Home Automation package providing the ultimate smart home functionality. In addition, residents will have access to Waterfall’s tranquil gardens, a cantilevered gym, rooftop infinity pool, 49-jet jacuzzi for up to 16 people, an outdoor cinema, and music and function rooms.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : T R E N T S Z M O L N I K / C R O W N G R O U P.

Price: from A$3.9 million via Crown Group

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : S A O TA .

The Resource | MONEY

Heights Of Achievement This US$7.8 million penthouse in Cape Town has five floors and stunning views of Table Mountain.

Words: Joan Tapper

IN MIAMI, DUPLEX and triplex penthouses may be the latest and greatest, but in South Africa’s Cape Town, one architectural team has quietly bested them with a five-level unit overlooking the ocean. SAOTA (Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects) designed the striking stepped-back architecture of the 10-apartment Clifton Terraces, built in 2018, to take full advantage of the clifftop location on Lion’s Head. Indeed, the panoramic views from penthouse 601 extend from the city’s iconic flat-topped Table Mountain and the 12 Apostles range to the white sands of Clifton’s

Above: the open-plan sitting and dining areas with the dramatic bronze and glass staircase.

Facing page: the 10-unit building is built into the cliffside.

sheltered beaches edging the Atlantic. The drama of the setting is echoed in the bold contrasts of the 10,000-sq-ft interior, between the stunning double-volume entertaining/living area and the serene intimate spaces: a family lounge, four en suite guest bedrooms and the 1,200-sq-ft primary bedroom suite on the top floor. Throughout the villa, the luxurious appointments in stone, metal and wood are enhanced by bespoke furniture

by Cape Town studio Okha and a well-curated collection of paintings and sculpture by South African and international artists. The furnishings are included in the asking price of US$7.757 million, with more information available from the developer, Taupo Holdings Ltd. The open-plan main level has an inviting, sensuous feel, thanks to the sitting area with a curvilinear Repose sofa, circular rugs, contoured armchairs and a Textra coffee table made of three separable ‘tectonic plates’. A geometric Martin Doller chandelier illuminates the marble Morpheus dining table, while the Poggenpohl front kitchen, emblematic of the home’s state-of-the-art appliances and technology, is complemented by a back kitchen and scullery with a service entrance – ideal for catering the large parties the residence is designed for.

With 3.7m-high glass doors, the living area naturally extends to the 2,000-sq-ft patio with a heated pool and another dining and barbecue area perfectly located to enjoy Cape Town’s colourful sunsets with a cocktail in hand. The architects preserved and enhanced the environmentally sensitive hillside, planting native flora that doubles as a lush divider between this unit and its neighbouring twin.

Penthouse 601’s next two levels accommodate spacious guest bedrooms and a family lounge that opens to a back yard with private access to the hiking and running paths of Clifton’s scenic Biskop Steps.

Crowning the home, the primary suite occupies the entire uppermost level, where the custom bed – flanked by carved walnut nightstands and Lee Broom pendants – enjoys an ocean view. Unusual pine-green French panels, timber cladding, brass screens and book-matched marble add texture and warmth to the ambience of the suite, which includes a marble-clad bath and a capacious walkin wardrobe.

Two additional spaces on the reception level may be transformed into a theatre, wine cellar or private gym and spa, according to the owner’s wishes. A tinted bronze-glass staircase connects this floor with the two above it, and a private lift unites all the levels, which rise to the heights of haute living.

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The Resource | ART & DESIGN

Cooking Up Calm Le Bernardin’s famously serene chef, Eric Ripert, built a minimalist kitchen that has maximal efficiency.

Words: Janice O’Leary Photography: Conor Harrigan

AT NEW YORK’S Michelin threestar Le Bernardin, that lone lobster claw sitting in a lime-green remoulade upon a sea of porcelain might seem the essence of simplicity, but because French chef and restaurateur Eric Ripert is behind it, you know better.

Its minimal presentation belies the intricacies that went into its creation.

No surprise then that the celebrated chef would apply the same spare aesthetic to the renovation of his personal kitchen. Sleek efficiency was what he craved. “It looks like nothing,” he says, “like a table and a wall.” But that sparseness is all about performance.

“It’s the Formula 1 of kitchens. I can cook for 20 people by myself.”

Ripert likes the clean look of a wall of cabinets concealing dishes, spices and cutlery but with plenty of space for it all. He went to German manufacturer Siematic for the cabinetry and worked with its experts on placing the various essentials just so.

When Ripert cooks at the 3.6m island, he can reach an arm to the refrigerator to retrieve the butter without taking his eyes off the scallops searing in the pan in front of him. That easy reach is no accident: it was measured to suit his arm’s length. “Two feet behind me, I have the fridge and access to the wine and freezer,” he says. “I’m not moving; I’m cooking. It’s ultra-efficient.”

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Chef Eric Ripert at ease after achieving kitchen nirvana.

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The kitchen is also customised for his – and his family’s – height. Ripert and his teenage son are both over 1.8m, and his wife is also tall, so they had the Ceasarstone counters built to higher specifications. This was the advantage of starting fresh, rather than retrofitting an older kitchen. He opted for Ceasarstone, rather than marble or granite, because it resists scratching and staining, even with red wine. And it’s a breeze to clean. Ripert says: “It’s important to have a kitchen that’s easy to maintain when there’s no one to clean up after you.”

To that end, he installed two dishwashers, because when he entertains, there are always multiple courses with wine pairings. “When the guests leave, I have one for the glassware, one for the plates. I put everything in the machines, press a button and go take a nap,” he says with a laugh. And the efficiency of the postmeal clean-up was instrumental when selecting a cooking surface: a fiveburner glass induction hob and a larger side burner for stockpots. “A bit of spray, sponge, wipe it up and it’s done.”

A quick wipe down isn’t the main reason for choosing this kind of stove – by Gaggenau – however. In addition to Le Bernardin, he also uses it in his Manhattan apartment.

“What I like about induction,” Ripert says, “is that first it’s very economical, in terms of energy. When you use gas, you’re using a lot of heat that’s not needed, so energy-wise it doesn’t make sense. It also creates a lot of heat in the kitchen.” Induction does not give off the same kind of heat. It works magnetically, warming only metal placed on its surface. “I can be boiling water and put my hand next to it, and it’s cold,” he explains. Plus, induction is powerful. That pot of water will boil in just one minute.

His appliances are about not only efficiency but also precision. The other cooking surface on the island is his rectangular teppanyaki grill. “The heat is exactly the same from corner to corner and to the middle,” he says. “If I’m having a big party and want to cook 50 pieces of scallop, the heat will be the same everywhere on it.”

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The Resource | ART & DESIGN

From left: Ripert’s combi and classic ovens; wood inserts protect the chef’s knife collection.

Facing page, from top: Ripert demonstrates the safety of an induction hob; the sleek, high-tech vent whisks smoke and smells away, then slides down into the island.

“It’s important to have a kitchen that’s easy to maintain when there’s no one to clean up after you.”

One other design element of the island that he borrowed from his professional life is the 25cm of worktop space between the cooking surfaces and the edge. “I can put plates in front of me and do it exactly like we do in the restaurant,” Ripert says. “It’s the way we compose dishes.”

He turned to Gaggenau for all his personal appliances even though he doesn’t have a professional relationship with the company because, in his opinion, it seemed the most technically advanced. That includes a venting system that pops up from the counter and another that sucks air down into the basement and funnels it outside – keeping smells and smoke away from guests and chef while not obstructing his line of vision to his friends and family. Ripert also wanted more than one oven: a combi, as well as a regular one. A combi oven can mix steam and convection heat. “You can put in halibut at 220 degrees for 12 minutes and it’s perfectly cooked,” he says. “You can put

a whole cauliflower head in and steam it, then sear it. It’s very fast and gets the right crispiness.”

Within the cabinets are spaces designed for exactly how Ripert and his family use the equipment. “Siematic asked us how we entertain, and they came up with the ideas.” That includes pull-out cutting boards, a waste bin beneath the grill he can open with a knee, and drawers of varying heights to accommodate larger pots.

The previous kitchen in this space was cut off from the dining and entertaining area of the house, something that Ripert was eager to reverse. Now he can see 7.6m to the hearth at the other end of the living room, while friends can sit at the island as he cooks. “When I see houses being built with the stove against the wall and know the person who is cooking has to turn their back to the room, it drives me crazy,” he says.

His space, by contrast, was well studied. He says some architects

think about only design, not actual cooking and flow. Some like to hang pots and pans and block your view. The secret to avoiding such glitches when constructing your dream kitchen? “Go to a specialist and explain how you will use your kitchen,” he says. “Do not let them do whatever they want.”

While his social need was baked in, so was one other request from Ripert – to feel connected to the nature outside the big picture window.

“From the kitchen, I feel I’m in the middle of a forest. In the summer, when you open the doors, you have the birds singing and the smell of the wood. Last winter there, during a blizzard, I was making soup and stew and looking at the snow and bird feeders by the window. It was very entertaining and soothing,” he says.

And for a perfectionist, he’s surprisingly satisfied. “I wouldn’t have done anything different. I’m very happy to walk into this house and be reunited with it. It’s my dream.”

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Blurring The Lines Outdoor furniture refined enough to make the leap into your living room.

Words: Marni Elyse Katz

Signature, Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades Terraced fields in Yunnan, China, and the undulating terrain of Arizona’s Antelope Valley inspired the space–age-flavoured silhouette of the Signature armchair (US$42,000) designed

by Frank Chou for the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection. While the indoor version is covered in leather and a fabric by Paola Lenti, the outdoor one is upholstered in a colourful combination of waterproof canvas and a dotted textile also

by Lenti. Park a pair of these seats on a covered terrace or in a pool house media room so wet bottoms can be shrugged off.

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Block Outdoor, Minotti Inspired by Brutalist architecture, the Block Outdoor side table (from US$3,365) is sturdy, sculptural and stylishly functional.

The solid, wood-block base comes in an L-shape as well as this upside-down T-shape. On the deck under a cabana, the glossy, white lacquer top makes sense, but opt for the moody Pietra del Cardoso stone top paired with a leather sofa to make a statement in the den.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : F B C L O N D O N , M I N O T T I , L O U I S V U I T T O N , K E T TA L , A L E S S I O D ’A N I E L L O / P O LT R O N A F R A U .

Giro, Kettal Kettal’s Giro collection (from US$10,375) by Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen offers the opportunity to go modular outdoors (or in). Here, it’s the back that provides the bang.

Recycled polypropylene rope wraps the soft swoosh of the natural teak or cinnamon-tone base. Part nautical, part chunkyknit, the textural pieces work in any atmosphere. Back and seat cushions come in taupe, ivy, chestnut or smoky brown that matches or contrasts the frame.

The Secret Garden, Poltrona Frau This teak two-seater bench (from US$8,490) may be meant for the garden or the veranda, but it would feel equally at home in your entryway. Rather than adopt the all-toooften chunky forms of outdoor furniture made from wood, Italian designer Roberto Lazzeroni went spare. The back is constructed with polypropylene webbing. The removable seat cushion and pillow covers are made from fabric that drains and dries quickly. Colours include earthy shades of taupe and terracotta, along with hazy greens and navy.

Angelina, FBC London Fiona Barratt-Campbell’s Angelina chair (US$7,830) has the artful and alluring vibe of a Brancusi sculpture, and its slipper-chair shape is ideal for restful repose. That the British interior designer and founder of FBC London named the piece after her mother somehow solidifies its comforting appeal. The metal plate at the base comes in bronze, brass or brushed aluminium. Finishes can be further customised, as can the size.

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Membership Perks Up High-end hotels aren’t just courting travellers – the red carpet’s out for locals, too.

GLENEAGLES IS ABOUT to spread its wings. This spring, the golfing resort in the Scottish Highlands will add a second site, its 33-room Townhouse, in a conversion of the Bank of Scotland (formerly the British Linen Company) in Edinburgh’s city centre. This will be more than just a luxury hotel, though: 1,000 locals will also be invited to join its members club, paying annual dues of around US$2,900 for the privilege.

And while one restaurant on the property will remain general access, all other on-site offerings, including the rooftop bar and extensive gym and wellness facilities, will be available only to current guests and those select in-towners; members will also receive priority in-room booking and discounted rates. Gleneagles managing director Conor O’Leary tells Robb Report it’s a natural model for a hotel that started out as a golf club.

There’s also a gap in the market in the Scottish capital, he adds, since there’s no standalone members club or Soho House outpost there. “We know a lot of members who come to Gleneagles live and work in Edinburgh,” he explains. “So we think the 33 rooms will be taken up by people we know already, one way or another.”

Gleneagles Townhouse isn’t an outlier.

Increasingly, high-end hotels worldwide are creating similar programmes aiming to appeal as much to nearby residents as to visitors. The soon-to-debut 35-room Aster Hotel in Hollywood will follow the Gleneagles model of selling memberships as well as rooms; stay at one of the 65sqm suites at this adults-only hotel and you become a temporary passholder to its amenities alongside 3,000 handpicked locals, each paying US$3,600 per year. Aster’s operator is Salt Hotels, a boutique firm co-founded by David Bowd, an alum of André Balazs’s empire, which includes Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. (Some may remember that Balazs had announced plans to

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P H O T O G R A P H Y : C O M M O D O R E P E R R Y E S TAT E , A M A N , S A M F R O S T/A S T E R H O T E L .

Words: Mark Ellwood

Above: Lutie’s restaurant at Commodore Perry Estate in Austin.

Facing page from top: Aman New York will welcome local members as well as guests; the pool at The Aster in Hollywood.

reconfigure that de facto celebrity clubhouse into a formal, members-driven programme by the end of 2020, though it hasn’t happened yet and there’s no word on when the transformation will take place.)

The Ned, the London-based hotel-slashmembers club co-founded by Soho House’s Nick Jones, will soon arrive in New York City, commandeering the one-time site of the NoMad hotel. Aman will trial a new member programme via its New York City outpost, too, which will then roll out to other sites; just 100 people will be chosen as founder members, paying a US$100,000 joining fee and US$15,000 annual dues covering up to five people. Meanwhile, in Austin, there’s no limit on the number of locals who can turn Commodore Perry Estate into their clubhouse, scoring perks like complimentary valet parking and up to 20 per cent off nightly room rates there and elsewhere across the Auberge Resorts portfolio. Joining fees are US$12,500, with annual dues set at US$2,400.

Why are luxury hotels embracing this business model now? Gleneagles’ O’Leary says it’s smart

to diversify revenue streams in the wake of the pandemic, during which local visitors proved vital to offsetting global shutdowns. “It’s about hedging your bets and it allows them to utilise their space much more throughout the day,” says Austinbased travel specialist Keith Waldon of Departure Lounge. The widespread shift to partial work from home is a factor, too. “People need a place to escape – it’s a social, sanity thing.”

Plus, those dues-paying neighbours act as welcoming human window dressing for visitors.

“Hotels aren’t meant to be empty,” says consultant Jeff Gurtman of Coyle Hospitality, who agrees that packing common spaces with dues-paying locals is a canny, vibe-creating concept. He expects memberships to sell not only to those living nearby but also to wealthy visitors keen on ensuring easy access at peak periods, since most programmes confer priority when booking rooms, among other benefits. “Everyone wants Aspen at Christmas or Tuscany in the summer, and not everyone can get it,” Gurtman says. “Availability is key.”

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This Month’s Feed Only the best eating and drinking spots in Singapore.

Words: Andrew Leci and Justin Choo

Native Native has made quite a reputation for itself, thanks to Vijay Mudallar’s uncompromising approach to creating cocktails with regional and local ingredients. And now, you can experience its philosophy in the form of a full-service restaurant built on the same principles. Conveniently located on the first floor, just below the cocktail bar, the unimposing, casual setting is perfect for nostalgic, comfort food with a dash of adventure and the usual experimental segues.

Head chef MJ Teoh, who has previous stints at Pollen, Nouri and Appetite, has conjured up a hearty menu with homegrown vibes – and plenty of vegetarian options.

Really Cold Somen is Teoh’s take on Japanese cold noodles and naengmyeon that is equal parts spicy, savoury, sweet and tangy.

We heartily recommend that you follow that by assembling your own Miang Kham. The wonderfully tart and rich pineapple shoyu is the perfect base for this bite-sized ‘rojak’, and the sprinklings of crispy borlotti tempeh will leave you craving for seconds.

If you’re up for soup, the umami-rich Petai-So Clams and crispy youtiao will scratch that itch and leave you thirsting for more. In our case, ‘more’ came in the form of Nose to Tail Chicken Pao Fan, undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser. It’s a study of contrasting textures, marrying soft and tender chicken thigh with crispy gizzards, poached rice with rice crispies in a hearty broth. To complete the ensemble, add a dash of Teoh’s homestyled Ah Moy’s Chilli Sauce to send you back to your childhood. And to scratch your gula melaka itch, the Sticky Jackfruit & Sugee Cake is what the doctor ordered, plus a little more. It’s as intense as the name suggests, so sharing is recommended.

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Above: Petai So-Clams is an umami-rich soup that will leave you thirsting for more.

Left: Sticky Jackfruit Sugee Cake is a treat that satisfies any sweet tooth.

The Resource | SAVOUR

P H O T O G R A P H Y : N AT I V E , J O E L L I M / M E A D E S M O O R E , I M A M U R A .

Meadesmoore Who doesn’t love eating a pig’s head? Who wouldn’t enjoy tucking into a steak from a cow that died of natural causes? Despite the deliberate intention to make these questions somewhat mischievous and controversial, they are being asked by a new restaurant on Boon Tat Street that is very different, and boldly going where not many steakhouses in Singapore have gone before.

According to Victor Loy, the chef behind Meadesmoore, tastebuds and mastication units have become (to an extent) inured to what’s constantly being trotted out by those with a stake in a steak. We all want, it seems, the soft mouthfeel of a succulent, fat-laden slab of meat that melts on the tongue and almost enables us to suck our food rather than chew it.

But what of the other, not-so-well-known cuts that may not be quite as fashionable but have an abundance of taste and a texture?

Meadesmoore does just that, showcasing cuts of meat and challenging the diner with the unexpected. If tucking into a prime rib from a cow more than twice the age of regular cattle doesn’t appeal, think again and give it a whirl. Chef Loy will prepare it perfectly – he and his team know exactly where and when to turn up the heat and they’re most adept in the seasoning department.

The onglet or ‘hanger steak’ as it is known is highly recommended. There is a reason why it’s also known as a ‘butcher’s steak’ since those wielding the cleavers appreciate its goodness and reserve the cut for themselves. Despite containing very little fat, it’s as flavoursome as it comes, with a satisfying obduracy in the bite. The prime rib from a five-odd-year-old cow is also delicious with a structured grass-fed meatiness that will never fail to satisfy, while the full-blood Wagyu MS7/8 rib cap (the outer muscle of the beef ribeye) is luxuriously marbled with a delightfully beefy intensity.

There is plenty more on offer at Meadesmoore on a menu that never fails to engage – it’s a smart play to open proceedings with the breaded pig’s head and preserved lemon mayonnaise (sounds dodgy, tastes very good), and there’s a bone marrow starter with Hokkigai clams that will send your taste buds scurrying.

This is a great fun restaurant with as clear a vision and intent as you’re likely to get in Singapore these days, with some excellent culinary chops to back everything up.

Right: in Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate, you’ll get chocolate ganache, custard, crumble, tuile paired with a chocolate whisky sorbet.

Below: the HandChopped Beef Tartare Wagyu is a mix of horseradish, shallots and preserved radish.

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A feast for the eyes as much as the taste buds, immaculately sliced milky raw white fluke fish is layered with yellow uni, glistening shoyu jelly, black caviar, green menegi scallions, lilac shiso flowers and gold flakes.

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Imamura A degree of reverence is required when dining at Imamura, a free-standing enclave within Sentosa’s Amara Sanctuary Resort. Firstly, because the restaurant is set in a former chapel, and secondly, because there’s some seriously good food to be had that might just make lovers of Japanese cuisine genuflect at the altar of a very creative culinary mind.

Michelin-starred chef Hirofumi ‘Hiro’ Imamura has gone out on his own with an eponymous restaurant that’s been a while in the making and embodies the Philosophy of Five. Gomi, goshiki, goho is, strangely enough, a food philosophy that dates back to the Eastern Zhou dynasty in China, around 770221 BC. There are five flavours, five colours and five cooking techniques, and Imamura uses them all in his aesthetically pleasing presentations that eschew the really big (that is, expensive) guns that seem de rigueur these days in the omakase experience, in favour of a complication of processes and a precision of taste.

On the permanent signature menu you will find an extraordinary sashimi course that features fluke, uni, caviar and a shoyu jelly (that takes days to make and is as

fascinating to feel in the mouth as it is to taste). The Sakura Trout with burdock and yuzu in ichiban dashi is quite sumptuous, as is the pressed/ironed Kagoshima Wagyu with butterbur and gyoja garlic – the beef is waferthin and perfectly medium-rare.

The association of ingredients is quite without peer in terms of balance, and the cooking process is a captivating performance in itself.

Imamura’s culinary tour de force is vegetable-driven and seasonal. There are times when you feel the proteins are almost superfluous, such is chef Imamura’s ability to extract the very best that a resplendent variety of vegetables can offer. Provenance is key and the chef’s acolytes clearly know where to find the good stuff.

The menu is invariably both healthy and delicious, while the surroundings are simply gorgeous and restaurant manager Sam Teoh is a delightful presence.

Everything about Imamura is fastidiously thought-out and superbly executed, already giving this new restaurant every right to be considered highly in Singapore’s current omakase pantheon.

The Resource | SAVOUR

Size Matters Here’s why big wine bottles are all the rage at auctions.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : TA I T T I N G E R , C H AT E A U D E B E A U C A S T E L , C H AT E A U L A F I T E R O T H S C H I L D .

Words: Jeff Jenssen and Mike DeSimone

WE ALL KNOW that bigger tends to be better when it comes to the things we covet, be it a television, a home or a yacht.

The same holds true for wine bottles, but it’s not just about the flaunt factor – there’s science involved as well. “The benefits of large formats go far beyond volume,” explains Michaël Peltier, senior fine-wine specialist at Millesima USA, which has the most expansive large-format library in Europe. “The ratio between the volume of wine in the bottle and the air between the wine surface and cork is much greater, so the oxygenation of the wine takes place at a much slower rate than in the standard bottle. This means that wines in large formats can age more gradually and for a longer period of time.”

Perhaps that’s why the big bottles have been so popular at auctions this year, including at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in Florida in January, Napa Valley Vintners’ Library Wine Auction in February and ongoing sales from Sotheby’s. As Jamie Ritchie, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Wine and Spirits, notes: “The market has continued to focus on (the) greatest and the rarest wines and spirits,” while, providentially, “the larger sizes are made in much smaller quantities than regular-sized bottles”. In addition to normal production of 750ml bottles and a few double-sized magnums, wineries celebrating a special vintage may release only a couple of threelitre jeroboams – the equivalent of four bottles – or one Balthazar, which runs a full 12 litres, or 16 bottles of wine.

That means collectors around the world are picking up older big bottles, which generates interest in current-

release large formats. Lowered production in premier regions over the past several years has also fuelled rising demand; both Bordeaux and Burgundy were hit with output-decreasing weather even as fires in the California wine countries of Napa and Sonoma damaged the vineyards of several toptier producers in 2020. New releases from Europe are now on ships headed to the US and will be available for sale this spring and summer.

While some buyers view larger bottles of wine as merely an investment, others look for a more impressive pour. “A combination of the rarity of

large formats and the fact that they’re celebratory (means) you can share them with more guests,” says Sotheby’s Ritchie. “People are ready and want to plan parties and have fun with their family and friends.”

Peltier, of Millesima USA, echoes that sentiment. “After the stress and isolation of the past two years, people are looking to enjoy life more again and celebrate great moments,” he says, calling large-format bottles “perfectly suited” for grand soirees and “the occasions that mark the most special moments”. In other words: big bottle, big impact.

Big Boys To Buy Now 12 litres

3 litres 1.5 litres 750ml

STANDARD

MAGNUM

Château Lafite Rothschild 2009 A premier cru from a legendary vintage, this Cabernet Sauvignon– based Bordeaux (US$3,250) is the gold standard in magnums and perfect for sharing now – though under the right conditions, it will continue to mature gracefully for another 45 years.

JEROBOAM

Château de Beaucastel 2011 Hommage a Jacques Perrin Châteauneufdu-Pape Made only in years that favour varieties that ripen late in the season, this Rhône red (US$2,994) is mostly Mourvedre, known for its long ageing potential, blended with Syrah, Grenache and Counoise.

BALTHAZAR

Champagne Taittinger Brut La Française The ultimate party pour, this equals 80 glasses – perfect for a large birthday bash or even an intimate wedding.

Compared to many of the large formats that are available, this nonvintage bottling (US$1,700) is a relative bargain.

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Digital Label Art, Firstrelease Rights, Elaborate Magnums. Has the Emperor Got Some New Clothes?

NFTs might be all the rage, but should they have a place in your cellar?

Words: Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen Illustration: Celyn

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The Resource | SAVOUR

PRODUCED BY HUMANS for around 8,000 years, wine is slow to change. That said, there has been a lot of innovation recently. Low-sugar wine is a fast-growing category, production of rose Prosecco is now allowed, canned wine is crazy popular and wine releases paired with NFTs are exploding. Ever since that last item caught our attention, we have replaced checking vintage charts for best qualityto-price ratio with finding out what Ethereum is worth in US dollars, as many wine-NFT release prices are quoted in cryptocurrency. That said, most of the offers we’ve seen will accept traditional currency as well.

We’re familiar with NFTs by now, right? If not, a quick recap: a non-fungible token is essentially a rather clumsy term for a digital asset representing a real-world item that can include music, art or video. Non-fungible means that it can’t be traded for or replaced by another item of equal value. Any one bitcoin is worth the same amount as any other bitcoin.

And while two US$50 bills can be traded for a US$100 bill, NFTs are one of a kind. All NFT transactions are recorded on a blockchain, creating an inexpungible record.

For authentication purposes, wine NFTs actually make sense, but wine brands’ initial forays into the non-fungible realm have included enough gimmicky offerings to obscure any real value.

Take an NFT drop from British chat-show host Graham Norton’s He-Devil, which included annual first release’ rights to He-Devil wine (hmm, sounds like a typical wineclub allocation) and a physical print signed by the winery’s co-founders. Or Sarah Jessica Parker’s Invivo X brand’s NFT, which featured digital art representations of two of her wine labels. (Meh.) Even the highly regarded Bordeaux house Château Angelus offered 3D label art along with a barrel of its 2020 Angelus. Robert Mondavi Winery pivoted to a hybrid model, making both the wine and the art something unique.

It created a limited edition of three special wines, putting them in commissioned porcelain magnums handcrafted by French porcelain house Bernardaud. The price at the time of writing was 1.20 Ethereum, or approximately US$3,510.

Other recent wine and NFT releases of note include former professional basketball player Yao Ming’s Yao Family Wines offering 200 bottles of its 2016 The Chop Cabernet Sauvignon along with an NFT. These bottles could be bought only with Ethereum, and 137 have sold so far. No gimmicky art attached, just the wine, albeit with a splash of buzzy cryptocurrency.

Australia’s Penfolds released two NFTs, one in November featuring a barrel of its 2021 Magill Cellar 3 Cabernet Shiraz, which sold in 12 seconds for US$130,000. Again, all wine, no digital label art. Perhaps this sold so quickly because it was offered in dollars; potential buyers may not want to embrace using a currency they don’t fully understand or trust. A second release in January offered 300 bottles of Penfolds Magill Cellar 3 2018 via BlockBar, an online marketplace for wine and spirits NFTs, and all 300 sold within 10 hours.

If you look past the buzzwords and art projects, attaching an NFT to a bottle or barrel of wine seems like a smart move, especially to fight counterfeiting. As Guillaume Jourdan, a consultant for the luxury and wine industries at VitaBella

Paris, told us: “NFT tokenisation of the digital identity and real-time tracking of wine bottles are possible. The integration of these solutions into mainstream trade and commerce is a way of eliminating counterfeits. With an NFT, a bottle of wine becomes phygital, meaning physical with a digital identity: for every single bottle, a unique NFT is created to provide authenticity and verification.”

NFTs also allow the winery or original issuer to continue to make money on the secondary market, something that hasn’t really been possible before. The highest price a bottle of wine fetched at auction was US$558,000, for a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti sold in 2018. However, the winery did not make any money on that sale – but the reseller and auction house sure did. If NFTs had existed 77 years ago and the winery had attached one to that bottle, Domaine RomanéeConti could have had a share in the profit. As Jacob Ner-David, co-founder and CEO of Vinsent, a digital marketplace for fine wine that has pioneered the tokenisation of wine, explains: “With many blockchains such as Ethereum or connected chains like Polygon, the NFT can be programmed to continue to pay a percentage of each secondary-market transaction to the winery or NFT creator. This is programmed into the NFT itself and cannot be changed.”

Where that doesn’t necessarily hold true is with a barrel. If the whole barrel were later sold at auction, Chateau Angelus or Penfolds, for instance, would be able to have a share in the profit if that was baked into the code (which it wasn’t for the 2020 Angelus). But once the liquid within the cask gets poured into bottles, the ability to validate it evaporates, unless the winery does as Penfolds did, where the single-barrel NFT will be converted into 300 bottle NFTs at the date of bottling in October 2022, with each vessel then being identified with a barrel and bottle number.

It’s easy to see the advantages of NFTs for wine, especially expensive, rare bottles, the kind that are often counterfeited and later go to auction. But what’s the deal with wineryreleased NFTs having digital artwork attached? It may have something to do with the fact that the first generation of NFTs were linked to digital art, so wineries (rather unimaginatively) simply continued that trend. One wine CEO pointed out that limited-edition artwork provides something of lasting value to the buyer because the wine will eventually be consumed.

Sure, but for wine-based NFTs to have lasting momentum and worth, winery executives may want to remember that the liquid itself should be considered the work of art. Also, most tangible art does not have a shelf life. Wine does. Unlike an oil painting, once a vino deteriorates, it can never be restored.

Eventually even the most highly rated vintage will decline in quality, making wine a limited-return investment vehicle.

If there is to be value in wine NFTs beyond authentication, someone needs to come up with an idea more compelling than a byte-sized bit of art. Anyone?

When they are not at home in Manhattan or Spain, Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, also known as the World Wine Guys, chase the grape harvest around the globe.

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Robb Reader

PRINT IMPERATIVES Following the opening of the Singapore Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, we catch up with artist Shubigi Rao on her love for books and why print is (still) not dead in the digital age.

Words: Joel Chua Photography: Alessandro Brasile

CONTRARY TO POPULAR opinion, print is not dead. At least not to Shubigi Rao, the first solo woman artist to represent Singapore at the ongoing Venice Biennale. Tracing the trajectories of book and library destruction, Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book – part of an extensive, decade-long project – delves into “the dichotomies of human stories and erasure”.

The exhibition comprises three elements: a paper maze, a book documenting contemporary language loss and a multivocal film elegising the waning communities of print. Not content to let the atrocities committed against “the languages, books and cultural repositories of others” go unseen, Rao testifies – in a personal yet profound manner – of “the inherent power of the written and spoken word”; and in doing so, stands in solidarity with all those who will continue to defend it.

Books have immense power. The loss of books is related to the loss of language and that is how silencing and erasure happens. When a language erodes, we lose all the knowledge, ways of thinking, culture and philosophy accumulated across generations.

The best gift I have received was a set of encyclopaedias my parents bought for me as a child. The set was so tattered they had it rebound in blue leather, with my name etched in tiny gold letters on the spine. It was whimsical, (mis) informative, wildly unfashionable and crammed with everything under the sun. Those volumes changed my life. I fell in love with discredited and

outdated knowledge, with the energetic zest of human curiosity and endeavour. I still keep them and read them from time to time.

I was fairly young – a pre-teen – when our house was burgled and robbers took hundreds of books from my family’s library. What they could not take with them, they vandalised. For several years after that, my family and I would visit the Sunday book market in Old Delhi, spotting our lost books among the wares on the pavement and buying them back if we could afford it. We experienced multiple forms of loss, but that was possibly the worst.

People sometimes ask me: “Your project is about books. But we are past books now, aren’t we?” I don’t privilege books above the virtual, nor do I think technology will save us. Technology is quickly obsolete. There are many examples of this: microfiche, floppies, VHS tapes, DVDs, Bluray... In the rush to digitise, we’ve relied on file formats that will not last as long as the physical book – which in some cases, has lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. The Internet is incredibly fragile too, with content disappearing all the time, problems of link rot, paywalled information, punitive licensing and so on. I believe in redundancies and back-ups of back-ups – and often, the best back-up is the physical copy.

Anger and humour are the best bulwarks against the bedfellows of apathy and despair. I’m trying to find my place in the world – or what it is I can say and do about the injustices that make me angry and upset.

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The Duel

THE URGE TO SPLURGE This summer might be the first time in a while that you get to think big and make it happen.

Two recently revealed hospitality heavyweights will offer very different takes on the luxury experience: Raffles Doha in Qatar will have the bold architecture, style and service that have turned the Middle East into a top travel destination, while Xigera Safari Lodge in Botswana is everything you’d want for that once-in-a-lifetime safari experience.

So which will it be?

Xigera Safari Lodge

DEFINING ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE The hotel’s extraordinary curve looks like something from the props cupboard of the Avengers – perhaps a device that opens a wormhole to the next galaxy – but it actually symbolises the crossed scimitar swords on Qatar’s national seal.

DEFINING ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE Suites and walkways are built on steel stilts, raising everything above ground and preserving the ecosystem of the delta. It also means you won’t step on the hippos (or vice versa).

ACCOMMODATION suites on the Doha waterfront along with butler service, shopping, restaurants, cinemas and a cigar lounge.

ACCOMMODATION suites with private access to 6,070 hectares of the Moremi Game Reserve.

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BUT THE ROOM YOU WANT IS The two-storey, 929sqm Royal Duplex Suite has its own gym, plunge pool, billiards table and hammam. And a private butler, of course, in case you have no one to play billiards with.

WHAT MIGHT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT Doha’s all-hours nightlife at the city’s rooftop bars and clubs, located in the international hotels.

BEST AMENITY The Royal Duplex Suite has its own hair salon. Which you’ll need before heading to the suite’s private cinema.

YOU’LL BE EATING Italian, oddly (though peppered with local produce and spices). The hotel’s main restaurant is run by Michelin three-star chef Enrico Crippa.

AND DRINKING The Royal Duplex Suite has a private wine cellar that will be stocked in advance with your requested selections.

YOU’LL BE WEARING HEADPHONES FOR Paratriking, where a small dune buggy with a giant fan and parasail slapped on will surprise you by actually flying – up to 305m high.

WHAT’S THAT IN THE WATER? That’ll be Privee, the hotel’s 2,230sqm private floating island, complete with a saltwater pool, sundecks, a bar and a restaurant.

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BUT THE ROOM YOU WANT IS To access the baobab tree house, you must climb up to the open-air bedroom and observation deck, where you can watch wildlife and sleep under the stars. It’s like your childhood dream tree house, but with actual giraffes.

WHAT MIGHT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT Just those lions. But they’re miles away, aren’t they? Aren’t they?

BEST AMENITY Human-sized woven nests on the decks, by South African artist Porky Hefer, that you can sit in and channel your inner weaver bird.

YOU’LL BE EATING Outdoors. Enjoy bush breakfasts and al fresco open-fire spreads at The Boma with a menu that would inspire any Michelin-star chef. Think tamarind fish curry and rooibos panna cotta.

AND DRINKING This is a safari lodge with wine game. Enjoy classic Bordeaux from Xigera’s cellar – Château Pétrus 1998, anyone?

YOU’LL BE WEARING HEADPHONES FOR Helicopter safaris, where you pay a lot to make all those huge, majestic creatures look really small – but the vistas are worth every cent.

WHAT’S THAT IN THE WATER? That’ll be a crocodile. Hop into a glass-bottomed mokoro (a dugout canoe) and get (uncomfortably) close to the aquatic party that’s happening beneath the surface.

P H O T O G R A P H Y : R A F F L E S , X I G E R A S A FA R I LO D G E , A P, H E L E N F I L AT O VA / J A C O B LU N D / N ATA L I A / S T O C K A D O B E .

Raffles Doha

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