Beyond, The St. Regis Magazine Issue 4 - Fall/Winter 2014

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T H E S T. R E G I S M A G A Z I N E

B E Y O N D , T H E S T. R E G I S M A G A Z I N E

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CONTributors Adrian Dannatt Having been a New York and then Paris-based actor, writer, editor, curator and artist, Dannatt was an obvious choice of writer for our feature on the Manhattan life of Salvador Dalí. Described by the Louvre as a “dilettante and flâneur”, the eccentric Englishman is co-author of Surrealism in Wales. His most memorable recent journey was “finding myself by mistake pedaling through the midst of a London nudist bicycle rally while formally fully dressed in a seersucker suit and tie”.

Anne Deniau After collaborating with fashion designer Alexander McQueen for 13 years, a Beyond assignment for this Paris-based artist to photograph a trunk collector was a refreshing challenge. Of all the journeys she’s made, her favorite is into Manhattan. “There is this big sign on the road saying, ‘Have a dream’, and on the other side, ‘Nothing happens unless first a dream’. It always reminds me that nothing is impossible, and with a mix of talent, luck, good encounters and hard work, you can achieve almost everything.”

Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni The author of Sam Spiegel: The Biography of a Hollywood Legend, Fraser-Cavassoni started her career working for Karl Lagerfeld in the Chanel studio. Since then, between interviewing designers for Beyond, the daughter of royal biographer Lady Antonia Fraser has written several books, her most recent about Yves Saint Laurent muse Loulou de la Falaise.

Her most memorable trip was last year to Abu Dhabi: “I felt like I was in a mirage when visiting the future Louvre museum, and a mosque that can house 38,000 worshippers.”

Jason Goodwin The award-winning novelist and historian has not only visited Istanbul dozens of times to research his Ottoman mystery novels, but also spent six months walking to the city from Poland: a journey he describes in this issue. The long hike was “one that kindled my fascination with the Ottoman Empire, as we walked through a world touched by its lingering influence: a minaret in northern Hungary or a gulp of very strong black coffee, or the sight of gypsy women in glorious swirling colored skirts”.

Gemma Soames The great granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill was the ideal writer to analyze the style of some of the world’s best-dressed mothers and daughters. Now resident in Hong Kong, the former features editor of The Sunday Times Style travels regularly throughout the East on assignment. She recently sailed on a traditional Indonesian phinisi around the Mergui archipelago in southern Burma, where she saw one other vessel in ten days.

“There can’t be many places left on earth where you get that sense of escape,” she says.

Julie L. Belcove The New York-based arts journalist and former deputy editor of W contributes regularly to publications ranging from The New Yorker to Architectural Digest.

For Beyond she interviews the American artist Fred Tomaselli, whose psychological journeys are represented in wild kaleidoscopic collages. The most memorable journey of her own? “Getting up at dawn in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and seeing a cheetah having its breakfast. Here was nature, unfolding before my eyes.”

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Fall / Winter 2014 Photographed by Danny Cardozo, with thanks to Nikolai Ursin, Carolina Insignares and the team at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Miami

Editorial Editor-in-chief: James Collard, Editor: Lisa Grainger Sub-editors: Tim Pozzi, Andrew Petrie Design: Carolina Otero, Santiago Vargues, Vanessa Arnaud Fashion: Nadia Balame, Picture editor: Lyndsey Price Assistant picture editor: Emma Hammar , Editorial director: Gill Morgan Publisher: Crispin Jameson, Project manager: Sarah Glyde

Creative and Publishing Brave New World Publishing Ltd, 19 Beak Street, London W1F 9RP T + 44 (0)20 7437 1384

Advertising Advertising director: Sian Roberts, Represented by: Couture Marketing (couturemarketing.com) in USA Cesana Media (cesanamedia.com) in Milan, São Paulo and Zurich MyBubbleCom in Paris (cdemonbrison@mybubblecom.com)

Reproduction Color reproduction by: PH Media; Printed by: Logical Connections

© Copyright 2014 Brave New World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of

this publication may be reproduced without prior permission from the publishers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain

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CONTENTS 14 The Magnificent Seven – The World in Seven Objects –

From the most coveted vintage motorcycles on Earth and the resurgence of vinyl records to classical Chinese porcelain, we focus on desirable things with a story to tell

30 City of Our Dreams – The Journey –

Trekking overland from Poland to Istanbul, acclaimed author Jason Goodwin finds the city of bazaars, backgammon and the Blue Mosque worth every step of his pilgrimage

39 Hidden treasures

56 Strike a Pose

– A Little Place I Know –

– Fashion –

Tastemakers share with us their secret haunts, from the Brooklyn restaurant favored by actress Emily Mortimer and the bakery visited by the Florentine jeweler Carolina Bucci to the antiques emporium loved by Beijing’s Bau Bau Wan

This season’s tailored silhouettes and handsome lines, shot against the sleek architecture of the St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami

42 Puppy Love

66 Box Clever

– Trends –

– The Connoisseur–

Once, they were a man’s best friend. Today, they’re not just family, but as spoilt as any child, taken to dog yoga classes and looked after by pet nannies. Pooch-lover Helen Kirwan-Taylor explains our craze for canines

When Ramesh Nair isn’t designing handbags for cult brand Moynat, he’s scouring Europe for antique trunks. Photographer Anne Deniau captures him in his Parisian atelier, while fashion writer Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni meets him

47 Smart Packing

68 The St. Regis Atlas

Whether you’re skiing in Deer Valley, visiting galleries in New York, lying on the beach in Saadiyat Island or on the Chinese Riviera, we know the essential pieces to take on a trip

Our international network of hotels and resorts, from Mexico to Mauritius, Florence to Florida, plus the Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis, to help you make the most of your stay

– Vacation Style –

— The Directory —

Cover: Mesh jacket, $568, Elle Tahari. Striped crop top, $513, A.L.C. Trousers, $676, Stella McCartney. Photographed by Danny Cardozo

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Contents

84 The Surreal Life of Dalí in New York – The Backstory –

Salvador Dalí came back to New York time and time again, creating and courting celebrity from his capacious suite at The St. Regis. Adrian Dannatt revisits some surreal days

70 The Style Gene

90 The Art of the Rug

Whether they live in China or India, Hollywood or Buenos Aires, some dynasties have glamour in their DNA. Hong Kong-based Gemma Soames analyses a breed of women who wear everything well

Rugs are once again on gallery walls, as well as floors, as art-lovers start to appreciate the lure of the woven picture. Oliver Bennett reports

– Style –

– Collectibles –

94 Kitchen Confidential

74 The Wild One

– Food –

– Art –

The head chef of The St. Regis New York talks to Damon Syson about lessons at an early age from his greengrocer grandfather, starting a cooking career at 29, and the most delicious dish in the world: Veal Milanese

Brooklyn artist Fred Tomaselli talks to New York art critic Julie L. Belcove about his dizzyingly colorful canvases that splinter contemporary life into kaleidoscopic collages

80 Carolina Herrera

– A Life in Seven Journeys –

– Interview –

The best-selling author tells us about the journeys that have shaped her life, from her first foreign adventure to Russia and a squid-hunting trip around New Zealand to an ashram in India

How the iconic Venezuelan-born fashion designer started designing at the age of 40 – and why she never takes work home after five

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty images

96 Elizabeth Gilbert

M I K I M OTOA M E R I C A .CO M

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THE WORLD IN SEVEN OBJECTS Photography by Louisa Parry

Extraordinary, beautiful objects tell the stories of their age, from champagne sabers to chinese ceramics. here we curate a ‘magnificent seven’ from around the world. feast your senses

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The World in Seven Objects

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Artisanal honey There’s something magical about honey. It’s natural, sweet, created by one of nature’s more extraordinary alchemical processes – and it’s great on toasted sourdough. Small wonder that honey is a food around which myths swirl, and that it is increasingly highly prized in a culinary world which obsesses over source and seasonality.

Steve Benbow, who started the London Honey Company 14 years ago, points towards a new honey connoisseurship, whereby enthusiasts talk about the sticky nectar “in the same way we talk about different varietals of wine”. Thyme honey from Greece, he says, is very popular (“really dark and flavorsome”), while lime-blossom honey has floral, citrussy top notes. As well as contributing to a new vein of gastronomy, honey made locally is said to be good for allergies like hay fever.

At The St. Regis San Francisco, bees are kept in rooftop hives and provide honey for the hotel, courtesy of executive chef Olivier Belliard.

Around the rest of the world, much of the artisanal honey revival has been led by urban beekeepers. It’s the mark of a progressive city.

However, in the US one third of bees have disappeared since 2006, and in Europe it’s a similar story. So when considering a hive on your roof, remind yourself that it’s pro-planet as well as on-trend. Although for travelers, there is a sting in the tale. “Bees really do need your attention,” says Benbow. “I hardly have time for holidays.” www.thelondonhoneycompany.co.uk

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New vinyl When Led Zeppelin released remastered, deluxe editions of their first three albums this year, they weren’t just streamed digitally or produced on CD. They were released, too, as old-fashioned vinyl records: that circular mold of plastic that for decades had been the favored medium of thousands of music-mad teens. This is no anomaly: last year dozens of groups released both digital and analogue sounds, resulting in sales of more than 6 million vinyl albums in the American market alone (considerable growth given that fewer than 500,000 were sold in 1993).

As a result of the boom, record labels that were on the brink of closing are busy again, and new factories are pressing records, working overtime to fill demand. In an interview last year, Chad Kassem, owner of Quality Record Pressings, which is pressing about 900,000 discs a year, told The New York Times, “We’ve always had more work than we could do. When we had one press, we had enough orders for two. When we had two, we had enough orders for four.” As you’d expect, a growth in vinyl also means a growth in sales of record players: both new and old.

Music Direct, one of America’s biggest music retailers, reports selling thousands of models ranging in price from $249 to $30,000 – and more than 500,000 vinyl albums besides – last year.

Why do they believe the resurgence is happening? Because children’s parents play CDs. And why would you want to use the medium enjoyed by your mother and father when you can handle the über-cool object revered by DJs? www.henleydesigns.co.uk

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The saber Some pop their bottle open, others twist. But there’s only one way to open champagne with true brio: beheading the bottle with a ceremonial saber. It’s a practice with Napoleonic roots, and many saberagers even carry their own swords for the purpose.

One such enthusiast is Nicolas Krafft, president and CEO of French silverware company Christofle. “I have an extensive collection of antique sabers, and each has its own character,” he says. “I always have one saber with me in case of an unexpected sabering occasion.” Krafft’s smallest saber is 22 inches long and fits neatly in a suitcase. “It’s perfectly balanced and long enough to perform sabering with panache,” he observes.

So what’s the appeal to fans, including the many guests who enjoy the St. Regis Sabrage Evening Ritual? “It’s the wonderful moment of anticipation before the saber connects with the bottle,” says Krafft. “And it makes that first sip of champagne all the more satisfying and delicious.

People love to watch a bottle being sabered. It adds drama to any occasion.”

In case you were worried, glass doesn’t get into the champagne because bottles are made in two parts: body and head. It’s a clean decapitation.

Sabering is becoming more popular, according to fellow saberager Tom Tuke-Hastings, founder of luxury company Henry Tuke, which offers a saber through Harrods in London priced at $46,000. “There are whole brotherhoods of sabering,” he says. “It’s particularly popular with military fraternities.” Henry Tuke designed its saber to be a little shorter than a cavalry saber, forged it from stainless Damascus steel, and finished it with a solid-silver guard and shagreen grip. It claims the Guinness World Record for most bottles sabered in a minute: 35. And yes, that is a challenge. uk.christofle.com

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Vintage sunglasses Jacqueline Onassis was renowned for leading many fashion trends: the pink Chanel suit, the Lilly Pulitzer dress, the Hermès scarf. But there’s one item that truly became her signature – those paparazzi-confounding, jet-setting sunglasses. Half a century after she popularized them, Jackie O’s favourite “bug-eye” Nina Ricci 3203 shades are not only coveted by fashionistas from Lady Gaga to model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, but are being reissued by the French fashion house and L’Amy America.

Retro specs are flying off shelves from Hollywood to the Persian Gulf.

As a result, a growing number of emporia have sprung up selling original retro frames. Los Angeles can claim to be the vintage shades capital of the world, with specialists such as Russ Campbell’s Old Focals dressing the film industry (it furnished Mad Men’s Don Draper with Olympians by Bausch + Lomb). Also scouring yard sales and buying up “dead stock” from old optometrists around the world are the Vintage Frames Company in Montreal, which has 100,000 frames; Klasik in London, which has sold vintage eyewear for 13 years; and Berlin’s Vintage Sunglasses: so enormous it’s become known as a sunglasses superstore.

Contemporary sunglasses lost their allure in the mid-1990s, when mass production made them disposable. Vintage eyewear offers quality, durability and solid technology, which is why you’ll now hear the fashion crowd talking of the classic shapes worn by such icons as Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn and Steve McQueen in reverent terms: tear-drop “aviators”; top-heavy “browlines”; slinky “cat eyes” and round “tea shades”. Never before has it been so fashionable to look through old glass darkly. www.vintagesunglasseslondon.co.uk

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Chinese ceramics Earlier this year at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong a 500-year-old Chinese ceramic known as a “chicken cup”, due to its decoration featuring a rooster, a hen and her chicks, sold for a record-breaking $36 million. The purchase enhanced the sense of vertigo in the auctioneering world caused by a 2013 sale when a Song dynasty bowl went for $2.23 million (incredibly, this 1,000 year-old piece had been bought for $3 at a garage sale).

Chinese ceramics are booming, and as Stacey Pierson, a specialist at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, says, “The interest comes particularly from the Chinese.” The university offers the world’s only dedicated course on the subject, which is packed with Chinese students because so many Chinese collectors are starting their own museums. Typical is the Long Museum in Shanghai, started in 2012

by Liu Yiqian, who bought the chicken cup.

But the tastes of enthusiasts are changing. “Qing Song Emperor-ware, which was extremely popular a few years ago and highly-decorated and blingy, is dying down,” says Dr Pierson. Her current tip is for Songperiod ceramics – uncluttered and graceful – and for the muscular, earthier ware from the Yangshao culture in the Neolithic period.

Would-be collectors should be wary, however. “It’s a minefield. Pieces are hard to identify and there are many forgeries,” says Pierson. Which means that in southeast China’s “Porcelain Capital” Jingdezhen you’ll find plenty of fakes – while a flea market find in the West might yield the real thing. www.chinese-porcelain-art.com

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The World in Seven Objects

6 IKB

There’s often a chasm between conceptual art and the rest of the world.

But International Klein Blue (IKB), a color devised in 1957 by French artist Yves Klein, is having a high-tide moment in couture and décor.

This blue flurry may have been prompted by a 2010 Klein retrospective in Washington, D.C. (the artist died in 1962). Later that year IKB featured on Oprah, and since then fashion has pulsated with this fathomless indigo hue, with designers from Giorgio Armani and Jil Sander to Prada, Kenzo and Stella McCartney falling for it. Last year actress Marion Cotillard wore an IKB dress for a Lady Dior campaign.

You can even buy IKB sunglasses from Etnia Barcelona.

Klein exhibited monochrome paintings, later patenting his formula and famously using it in his Anthropometries – filmed performances in which naked women rolled in IKB paint.

Perhaps the world’s greatest IKB fan is artist-designer Valeria McCulloch, also known as ValBlu, who has worn IKB every day for the past 15 years and regards Klein as “a genius – the first artist to use a whole human being as a brush. Lots of designers have used IKB for inspiration: look at Yves St Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle in Morocco.”

Part of IKB’s allure, she believes, is that deep blue has always been expensive. Ultramarine, made by grinding lapiz lazuli mined in Afghanistan, was prized in the Renaissance. And in the Christian tradition, dark blue has often denoted divinity. Meanwhile, McCulloch’s love of IKB is unabating.

“One of my dreams is to be in a hotel that is entirely blue,” she says.

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Classic motorcycles There’s a reason why Jay Leno is crazy about pre-war motorbikes: so few survive from the period that those that do exist are highly prized and hugely collectable. In April 2014 the highest price ever achieved for a 1930s Brough Superior SS100 was reached at the Bonhams annual vintage motorcycle sale: £253,500 (about $430,000), almost double its estimate.

In April 2015, an even rarer machine will go under the hammer: the beautiful 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Series-A Rapide, only 78 of which were produced between late 1936 and the summer of 1939, and only 50 of which still remain. This one, says Bonhams motorcycle expert Ben Walker, is “in concours condition, and one of those models that collectors and enthusiasts dream of: owned by one family since 1959, and the second-last ever to be produced”.

Not all motorcycles, though, are quite as good investments, according to Tennessee vintage bike broker Somer Hooker. “Buying a bike is like buying art,” he warns. “It’s worth buying something you like because you may have to live with it.” The most solid investments, most dealers will advise, are pre-war bikes, or those that were produced in limited numbers.

Where to go if you fancy putting money into two wheels, rather than Wall Street? Bonhams’ international salerooms (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London) are a good resource, dealers say. And even if the bike you buy doesn’t go up hugely in price, the pleasure that comes with owning one is enormous, says Hooker. “People get tired of paper assets. It’s more fun to go out in the garage, see what you’ve got and take it for a ride.”

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The journey

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On the Trail of Shangri-La

city of our dreams Words by Jason Goodwin

with its GRACEFUL minarets and bustling bazaars, majestic waterways and vivacious cafes, istanbul exudes a magic that has entranced visitors for centuries. at the end of an epic walk from poland, the award-winning author of on foot to the golden horn falls under its spell

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The journey

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City of our Dreams

Previous page: Gallery Stock, Getty images, Franco Pagetti/VII

he first time I crossed the border into Turkey, I was on foot, on a long walk from Gdansk in Poland. My final destination was the glorious city of Istanbul, but on reaching Erdine I found it hard to leave. Right on the border with Greece and Bulgaria, the ancient city founded by the emperor Hadrian was for a while held by Greek troops thanks to some sharp military maneuvering before the outbreak of World War I, and known as Adrianople. The Turks won it back, but it was destined thereafter to be an outlier, a city on the road to nowhere; and that, to be honest, is why I love it so. For me it is the soul of Turkey – and a perfect preparation for Istanbul itself.

After our journey by foot through the grey, drab cities of postCommunist Eastern Europe, Erdine was also a gateway to the marvels of Turkish enterprise: food stalls and coffee kiosks, restaurants and bazaars, and spicy food and minty tea; a cornucopia of possibilities. On our first day, we found a room in an old hotel, with doorknobs polished by a century of use, and woke to the sound of a cockerel crowing like a muezzin. For breakfast we ate yogurt and honeycomb, and went out to explore the second capital of the Ottoman Empire.

There aren’t many tourists in Edirne. As we wandered through its charming Ottoman district, with its collections of 19th-century wooden houses, if we half-closed our eyes we could be back in the world of pashas and viziers, and splendidly accoutred armies on the move to conquer Europe.

The next day, entering the courtyard of the great Selimiye Mosque, we stood before what is, perhaps, the most perfect and ambitious mosque ever raised in Turkey. It is the masterpiece of that 16th-century architect of genius, Sinan, rival not only to the glorious mosques of Istanbul but to the mother of them all, the great church-cum-mosque of Aya Sofya – of which more later. Aside from a few weekday worshippers, I had the place to myself, a moment to reflect on my smallness in the grand arch of the cosmos. A few moments later, I was in the 16th-century hammam, or baths, also built by Sinan, enjoying a leisurely steam soak.

Partly European, partly Islamic, Edirne is comfortably modern yet

steeped in the traditions of the past, and above all slow, expansive and relaxed. Life doesn’t bustle in Edirne. Old men play backgammon in the square, and drink their tea. Once, it’s true, the Ottoman armies would gather here to begin their campaigns into Serbia and Greece, even to the walls of Vienna, 1,000 miles away. But with the departure of the armies, the place would revert to its usual unruffled calm, and sultans would descend to hunt in the royal parks, away from the pressures of populous Istanbul.

It’s worth paying a visit here to the Ottoman medical museum, close to the railway station, which recalls the sensitivity of early Islamic medicine, with its particular care for the sick in mind. While Europeans locked their madmen in bedlams, to be jeered and stared at, the Ottoman doctors used gentle and effective treatments – aromatherapy, music and the sounds of water – that could alleviate, if not cure, a patient’s condition.

Some of the city’s cobbled streets, not to mention the odd café, have an almost Central European air. Edirne was linked to Central Europe by trade and war, and many of the languages of Southeastern Europe were once spoken there: Greek and Bulgarian, Serbian and German, and all the mountain dialects of the Pindus and Rhodopes mountain ranges.

Edirne is a little lost vision of what once was, and I like it for that. It’s also a taste of things to come.

For what comes next – a few hours away by bus or car – is Istanbul, a city of such grandeur and complexity, a city so freighted with meaning and possibility, rich, bewildering and exciting, that it cannot be comprehended all at once.

Our journey to get there was unremarkable: two days’ walk across the hot Thracian plains, trying to find byways that avoided the main road, and its hum of dusty trucks. Our reward was the sea at Tekirdag, our first sight of the sea for many months, and thousands of miles. We lay on the sand, in the shadow of a minaret, hearing the muezzin’s call to prayer echo across the water and watching a sky crowded with migrating storks. Men in tea shops waved and invited us to join them, but we only smiled. A few more miles, a few more hours, and we would reach the city of our dreams.

High and mighty Left: erecting a canopy at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali, aka the Blue Mosque. Above: the interior of the Aya Sofya. Previous page: fishing on the Bosphorus near the Ortakoy Mosque

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Gateway to the Orient

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City of our Dreams

Ashley Gilbertson/VII, Gallery Stock

We stood at the very edge of Europe, looking East across the straits to Asia. Perhaps, as one overawed ambassador put it in the 16th century, it is a city devised to be the capital of the whole world

“You walked? From Poland?” The reception clerk shook his head.

“You must have been carrying a Kalashnikov.”

I’m glad he said so: it made me feel rather brave. It was nonsense, of course: all the way from Poland we had been fed and hosted by kindly souls in villages and farms, and when I once brandished a stick it was only to repel a Carpathian sheepdog. But his remark was of a piece with something we had already learnt. “You’re in good hands here,” people always said, as they invited us across their threshold. “But don’t go on.

Stop here.” Over the ridge, beyond the river, or in the next town, they said, “They’ll rob you, cheat you, or eat you alive.” And in the next place, of course, they’d say the same.

Along the shore of the Sea of Marmara, where the great ships wait like patient cattle in the roadstead, we had walked, still dreaming, through the stripy walls of the old city of Istanbul – double walls, triple walls, of rubble and stone and bands of brick, punctuated by towers, most fearsome on the landward side. No one, the Byzantines believed, could take the city from the sea. In the shadow of the massive stones, we passed small market gardens that once fed the mightiest city in medieval Europe, with a population of well over a million.

Constantinople, as the rechristened city of Byzantium became known, was founded by Constantine the Great in 330AD to be the second Rome, and much has been made of the fact that it encompassed seven hills, as did Rome. We failed utterly to identify them: Istanbul is simply a hilly city, full of steep streets and even stepped streets, though none rival the splendid Camondo Stairs completed in Art Nouveau glory in the late 19th century.

As we tramped into the city, our belongings on our backs, we passed some of the hamals, or porters, who carry vast loads on their backs secured by a band around their foreheads. Bent almost double, they put our chafing shoulders to shame. But the hills kept us cool, encouraging a breeze, and giving glimpses, from the top of an alley, or a window over the street, of the extraordinary Bosphorus, twinkling and choppy in the summer sun.

Still to this day one of the busiest waterways in the world, the Bosphorus meanders through the very heart of Istanbul, and it puts the city on one of the most astonishing crossroads in the world. Too many cities are known as the place where East meets West; in Istanbul, as we soon discovered, it’s no idle boast. We stood at the very edge of Europe, looking east across the straits to Asia, and the Turkish heartland. Perhaps, as one overawed ambassador put it in the 16th century, it is a city devised to be the capital of the whole world.

His 16th-century world was smaller, of course. But Istanbul felt immediately like the turnstile of a world, whose size we could measure through a few hours at lunch beneath the Galata Bridge, dining on fish plucked from the waters at our feet: the exquisite lüfer, or bluefish, simply grilled. From there we watched the ships that glide along the Bosphorus West to East, and East to West.

The Bosphorus is not a river but a flooded chasm, created thousands of years ago when the Black Sea burst into the Mediterranean, almost a mile wide and several hundred feet deep. Jason and the Argonauts passed by here, and Xenephon’s shattered army of ancient Greeks, and even now it is where the people and the products of Southern Europe meet the Eastern world of the steppe and the far shores of the Black Sea. Oil tankers, Russian warships, battered freighters from China, cruise ships from Naples and Southampton, all file through the straits, dwarfed by the hills of Istanbul, and sliding easily beneath the great suspension bridges that have been flung across from the European to the Asian shore.

Wherever I walked in the city, I found myself knee-deep in history; the past guiding my steps, and its relics scraping my shins. Wandering towards the Grand Bazaar up Divan Yolu – the old Imperial Road from Constantinople to Rome – I trod in the footsteps of Byzantine emperors.

Dropping down from Topkapi to Eminonu, I ambled along the road that wound past the Sublime Porte, the seat of Ottoman government, where the Grand Vizier governed, in a sultan’s name, an empire that stretched from the borders of Iraq to the river Nile, and from the Crimea to the Danube. On my way to the Aya Sofya I stopped at the Milion, now just an obscure stump of stone, from where, more than a thousand years ago, all distances within the Roman Empire were measured.

Before actually going into the fabled church-cum-mosque, we descended, via a dark stairway, into the astonishing Yerebatan cistern.

This subterranean forest of beautiful marble columns, rising from a shallow underground lake, was built by the emperor Justinian, as was the Aya Sofya just beyond. This was constructed to be the temple to beat all temples and it is said that when, in 535AD, the emperor first entered the building, he murmured, “Solomon, I have outdone thee!”

Aya Sofya’s architects were the first in history to figure out a way of placing a vast dome, with a circular rim, on a building that was essentially square. Square on the earth, for the world below, and domed above, for the divine world. “We knew not whether we were on Earth or in heaven,” a group of 9th-century Russians declared when their Byzantine hosts

Worship, relaxation and commerce Clockwise from top: backgammon, a time-honored way to relax; dervishes whirl at the train station; the fish market’s catch of the day; a tribal dress from Central Asia for sale; outside the Aya Sofya

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City of our Dreams

Here comes the sun

Serrano Anna/Hemis.fr, Gallery Stock

Left: the Old Mosque in Edirne at dawn. Above: a café-cum-art-project in the Nisantasi area on the European side of Istanbul

ushered them into the building – and adopted Christianity on the spot.

It was, it is true, also a piece of imperial bling: I couldn’t help smiling when I saw, at the top of every column, the initials of Justinian and his saucy wife, Theodora, entwined in marble: I and T. And upstairs, in one of the galleries, I was startled to find a marble inscription on the floor that read, simply, Enrico Dandolo: the tomb of the blind nonagenarian Doge of Venice who, in 1204, masterminded the first successful assault on the walls of Constantinople in almost a thousand years. For the great empire of Byzantium, which ruled from this city, it was the beginning of the end.

The city that lies before our eyes is now primarily Ottoman. When their great armies stormed the city for a second time in 1453, raised the crescent of Islam over the dome of Aya Sofya and made the city the capital of their new empire, they set about restoring its glory. Successive sultans indulged in a frenzy of building, paid for by the trade and peace they brought to Istanbul. Great new mosques decorated the skyline. At their feet, the famous Grand Bazaar dropped down the hillside to the Golden Horn, a huge creek.

I always enjoy visiting the bazaar, the original shopping mall, a glorious warren of tunnels and arcades offering everything from old books to jewels, where you can always find a pleasant café and sit for a moment drinking in the atmosphere. The Grand Bazaar has two mosques, more than 5,000 shops and innumerable secrets, and perhaps no one in Istanbul really knows them all.

The streets around are worth exploring, too, not least for the amazing old caravanserais, where caravans of camels from the Asian side or of mule-trains from Europe would be stabled, and their goods unloaded and stored, while the merchants haggled and ate and slept upstairs.

Nor should the sultan’s palace be missed. Unlike Versailles or Buckingham Palace, Topkapi is not a monolithic building with a façade designed to make you feel small, but more like a luxurious encampment, a sequence of pavilions and tents raised in marble and stone, spilling down the hill of Seraglio Point to the Bosphorus below. It is formed of

three increasingly intimate, and secure, courts: the first public, and the last for the enjoyment of the sultan and his family alone. To one side are the harem apartments, built and rebuilt over the centuries to house the sultan’s many concubines and women attendants. Walking through, it charms and outrages in likely equal measure.

Looking out from the palace are views of a conical tower across the waterway known as the Golden Horn. Not as majestic as the Bosphorus, into which it flows, the Golden Horn is a substantial creek, and it divides old Istanbul from the district known nowadays as Beyoglu, which leads on to other, more modern districts of the city. Once known as Galata, it was originally a small walled city of its own, run by Italian merchants; over the centuries it has kept its European character, and today it is where the consulates and the restaurants, the bars and many of the hotels of Istanbul are found. The area around Topkapi, Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque is good for sightseeing, but Beyoglu is where modern Istanbul hangs out.

Indeed, below the heights of Galata, below the famous Genoese tower (worth a lift to the top, for the stunning views), is Istanbul Modern, a former brutalist warehouse converted into a smart contemporary art gallery. One moment, then, you are in an arcade of the Grand Bazaar, in a café out of the Arabian Nights, and the next you find yourself in an achingly cool diner straight from New York or San Francisco. Such is Istanbul.

Whenever I return – which I have done, almost annually, for the past 20 years – I find myself standing in mute astonishment at the sight of a city caught so dramatically between the continents, between the ages and the faiths, between the ancient and modern. I see first-timers stepping out, wary and expectant, clutching their guidebook, wondering which way to go, and envy their discovery.

The Baklava Club by Jason Goodwin, an Inspector Yashim mystery, is published by Sarah Crichton Books Your address: The St. Regis Istanbul, opening 2015 37

A Little Place I Know

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A Little Place I Know ADdress-book secrets from luminaries of the worlds of fashion, design and film

Rong Bao Zhai, calligraphy gallery in Beijing

by Bao Bao Wan 19 Liulichang West Street, Xuanwu District, rongbaozhai.cn

Along one particular street in the historic area of Beijing close to the Forbidden City are dozens of tiny old shops, mostly selling antiques and classic Chinese pieces. My favorite is this gallery which is more than 300 years old and built in a traditional Chinese architectural style from back in the Qing Dynasty.

Inside, though, it’s not fancy at all, but more like an old Chinese market that specializes in traditional china, vases, sculptures and artifacts: in particular pens and bamboo paper for calligraphy and block printing. The artisans who run it are real specialists: if you want to know about calligraphy and Chinese ink art, this is where you come.

I used to visit with my mother and, when I was very young, my grandfather, both of whom love ink painting and calligraphy. Even now my mother still sends me to get paper for her. There are very specific types of varying thicknesses and styles: some bamboo, some rice, some layered, some that make the ink spread.

You can find things here that cost very little or a Qing dynasty vase for hundreds of thousands. Not everything is displayed; real treasures only come out if the stallholders know that you understand what you’re going to see, once they’ve ascertained how much you know about old art forms. I just love seeing these ancient crafts being kept alive, and people enjoying and appreciating them.

Frank Smythson Ltd stationery shop in London

by Katharina Flohr 40 New Bond Street, smythson.com

I love the refined and sophisticated smell of leather you get when you walk on to the lush carpets of this beautiful stationery and accessories shop on New Bond Street, a stone’s throw from where Frank Smythson opened his original store in 1887. It hits you the minute you walk in, as do the bright colors. Although the Smythson boutique sells practical things – diaries and notebooks, travel accessories and handbags, jewelery boxes and stationery – it doesn’t feel in any way practical; it feels fun.

There’s a wonderful “notebook wall”, for instance, of leatherbound notebooks in a kaleidoscope of different shades, which I love because they bring such glamour and femininity into a woman’s working wardrobe. In my handbag you will find a Smythson iPad cover, glasses case, diary, make-up bag and address book. My favorite notebook right now is covered in gorgeous emerald-green croc leather with enamelled clasps. It’s also fun that you can have initials, witty messages and titles embossed on to books and gifts, such as “Blue sky thinking”, “Live, love, laugh”, “Queen bee” and “Make it happen”; they make everything feel more personal.

I bought my daughter a red leather notebook when she was 12 years old and, on a trip to India, she filled it with wonderful memories, photographs and souvenirs and kept it as a treasured travel book. In our digital world, I think there’s something special about writing on old-fashioned paper; it’s the main reason I like the products so much.

Bao Bao Wan is a designer of fine jewellery based between Beijing and Hong Kong Your address: The St. Regis Beijing

Katharina Flohr is the creative director of Fabergé Your address: The Lanesborough, London 39

A Little Place I Know

The River Café, waterside restaurant in Brooklyn

by Emily Mortimer 1 Water Street, Brooklyn, therivercafe.com

I love The River Café because it is like restaurants I was taken to by my father when I was a child. It’s one of those really proper, oldfashioned places where men have to wear a tie; where the waiters are career waiters, who wear proper suits and there’s a professional maître d’ and a piano player. It’s feels like part of another era, which is particularly refreshing in Brooklyn, where you now can’t move for artisanal restaurants, and places pretending to be old-fashioned, with wooden floors covered in sawdust and men with handlebar moustaches wearing butcher’s aprons. This is the antidote. It’s right on the waterfront, under the Brooklyn Bridge, in a kind of houseboat attached to the land. You have to go over a little bridge to get to it.

Once you’re inside, you can look out over the water, and get the most incredible views of the Manhattan skyline.

You can take a ferry or water taxi to get here from Wall Street. And because the waterfront near here has now been done up, and there is a beautiful park and a carousel, and playgrounds, if you’re with children, coming here becomes a real day out. The food’s not trendy: you can have good steak, or fresh fish, or delicious pasta with lobster, or really good brunch. And my children almost always order a chocolate dessert with a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on it, which they then want to take home, because they don’t want to ruin it by eating it. My father [the English dramatist, screenwriter and author John Mortimer] used to say that there was nothing that couldn’t be solved by a glass of champagne in a restaurant with a nice linen cloth.

This is that sort of place.

Cantinetta dei Verrazzano, the traditional bakery in Florence

by Carolina Bucci Via dei Tavolini, Florence, verrazzano.com

This old-fashioned bakery is right in the middle of Florence, but in a street so tiny that most people have no idea it’s there. It’s narrow and cobbled, off one of the main shopping streets, and hidden among the newspaper shops, the coffee shops, the ice-cream parlors.

The only sign is one saying “Forno” over its stone and glass exterior.

It belongs to the owners of a castle, the Castello di Verrazzano, in Chianti, which was once owned by Giovanni da Verrazzano, the explorer who discovered the bay of New York even before Christopher Columbus planted his flag there.

It’s very simple and practical, but very charming, with lovely old photographs of the castle on the walls, and the original woodburning oven in a corner. Some people come for the wine – they have a surprisingly good wine list. Others come for honey or olive oil, which is produced locally. I love their iced tea.

I’ve been coming here since I was a child, with my father, and recognize most of the staff: the male waiters, and the women behind the counter, including a very feisty lady at the till, with whom you place your order and pay. The bread and pastries here are like nowhere else: very Florentine, home-made, and made with the best produce.

My husband and I often take our children for lunch, and order pizza and focaccia cut into little squares. Sometimes the waiter will bring a board with Italian charcuterie – salami, prosciutto – and sweet bread made since the Middle Ages, which he drizzles with honey and then shaves orange peel on to. The combination is delicious: sweet, savory, bitter, and so Italian and ancient. It’s all simple, but true, which is how I like my food to be.

Illustrations: Emily Robertson

Actress Emily Mortimer’s latest film, Ladygrey, with Peter Sarsgaard, is released this fall. Ten Thousand Saints with Ethan Hawke is released in 2015.

Your address: The St. Regis New York

Carolina Bucci’s latest collection can be viewed at carolinabucci.com Your address: The St. Regis Florence 40

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Puppy love

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Puppy Love Once dogs were creatures used for work. Today they’re an extension of the family: child surrogates that are treated like royalty by their doting human “parents”. meet the urbanite’s new best friend

Words by Helen Kirwan-Taylor Photography by Barbara Anastacio

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hen we first ordered (on the internet) our Cairn terrier, a diplomat friend of mine asked, “Where will you be sending him to school?” Thinking she was joking, I laughed. Who would have thought, a mere three months later, that Wilson (the aforementioned Cairn, who now travels freely across the Atlantic between London and Long Island) would be attending the most exclusive boarding school in the world?

The Dog House, situated in deepest Wales, not only educates the royal European canine community (who fly their dogs over in private jets from Geneva and Monaco), it also sends weekly updates and progress reports. Wilson came back with a four-page report card (“He excels at swimming” it read, “but is a bit food-centric”), a class photo – and a rather large bill. He also returned with a manicure, pedicure and of course, a blow-dry.

Dogs are the new children.

The current generation of twentysomethings has been labeled “Generation Rex” due to the enormous proliferation of dogs in cities such as New York, London, Moscow, Beijing and Paris. The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published data that suggests young women are forgoing childbirth in favor of “doggy children”. And while the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15-29 has plunged by nine per cent, research by the American Pet Products Association shows that the number of small dogs in the US has risen from 34.1 million in 2008 to 40.8 million in 2012. Rich kids like Paris Hilton and Petra Ecclestone (who bought an $83m mansion in LA so her dogs could have more space) might have kickstarted the trend, but today celebrities from Natalie Portman to Rihanna to Marc Jacobs are never seen without a furry accessory.

Dog ownership has grown dramatically around the world, including in China, where panda dogs – actually fluffy chows whose coats are clipped and dyed to make them resemble pandas – are all the rage. “We used to

eat dogs,” says Hsin Ch’en, a pet shop owner in Chengdu. “Now we all want one as a companion.” In Japan, where strollers for dogs are as common as leads, some pooches even have their own closets in their owners’ apartments full of changes of outfit – including wetsuits for those heading for the beach. In post-Communist Russia, dog ownership is a sign of affluence: billionaire Andrey Melnichenko’s superyacht has even been specially approved as a quarantine facility, enabling him and wife Aleksandra to take their beloved Maltese, Vala, to foreign shores without having to negotiate the bureaucracy encountered by lesser canines. Brazil is the home of one of the world’s first dog restaurants, Pet Delícia in the Copacabana neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, which even offers a home delivery service.

Dogs have moved from dog houses and kennels to share our most intimate spaces, not only in city apartments, but increasingly also in hotels and offices. “When I first moved to New York you simply didn’t see dogs,” says art consultant Jill Capobiano. “Now you have luxury dog hotels, dog cafés and dog fashion. It’s acceptable to take your dog everywhere, even to dinner parties. When I was growing up dogs were kept outside. Now they sleep, if not in your bed, then in one made especially for them.”

We are no longer dog owners but dog “parents”, now choosing such civilized names for our canine companions as Wilson and Ava rather than Fido or Lassie. “For all the seemingly unbridgeable distance between them and us, dogs have found a shortcut into our minds,” wrote Adam Gopnick in The New Yorker in 2011. “They live within our circle without belonging to it: they speak our language without actually speaking any, and share our concerns without really being able to understand them.”

We treat our dogs exactly like children, if not better, not only investing in interactive feeding bowls to stimulate their brains while they eat, but even going to the trouble of having their intelligence tested by canine cognition experts. Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist from

Pampered pooches Left: Manhattanite Alison Nix takes her dog Milla for a stroll.

Above: There are now more than 40 million small dogs in the US

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Trends

We treat our dogs exactly like children, if not better, not only investing in interactive feeding bowls to stimulate their brains while they eat, but even having their intelligence tested by canine cognition experts author of Rabid: Are You Crazy About Your Dog or Just Crazy? “I see plenty of helicopter dog-parenting and dogs in snuggly carriers and strollers around Manhattan.” (One pet-owner mentioned in the book spent $15,000 on a specially-made Cartier dog necklace.) Political correctness has of course edged its way into dog life, too. “Can you imagine what would happen if you said, ‘I don’t like my dog?’” she says.

“That’s even worse than saying, ‘I don’t like my children’.”

Canine companions also offer endless shopping possibilities. Amy Harlow, a former model and the founder of Wagwear in Manhattan, sees “dogcessories” as the newest fashion growth area. “We’re all design-mad these days,” she says.

“When I started my business in 1996 I couldn’t even find a decent lead. Now we think of dog paraphernalia in the same way we think of sunglasses or belts.”

Harlow’s bestselling product is the Boat Canvas Carrier ($114), which allows owners to take their dogs with them wherever they want to go. “We’re just as paranoid about dogs now as we are about children,” she adds.

In Paris, jeweler Karin Fainas Martin, founder of Puppy de Paris, creates palatial embroidered dog beds that cost around $15,000, and gold water bowls that will set you back around $12,000. “Why are we all dog mad? In my opinion we are either prolonging family life or delaying childbirth,” she reasons.

“Dogs are essentially a continuation of ourselves. In Paris, women think, ‘I am going to walk my dog now. What shall he wear?’”

We know dogs have feelings and dream just like we do. I would go so far as to say they are even artistic. Wilson is not only the inspiration for my own artwork (which he regularly interacts with), but he is welcome in most London galleries. And why shouldn’t he be? As the part-time Cambridge University professor Hardin Tibbs says, “Dogs are intuitive and empathetic, highly attuned to human emotions and feelings. So it is natural for us to ask the question, ‘What does art mean to dogs?’”

Duke University who studies dogs can even tell you (through one of his nifty personality tests) if your dog is a “socialite”, a “maverick” or a “renaissance dog” (just plain stupid is not a category). In Mr Hare’s book, The Genius of Dogs – co-written with his wife Vanessa Woods – he says, “Natural selection favored the dogs that did a better job of figuring out the intentions of humans”. Of course my dog Wilson knows when I’m grumpy (and moves to another part of the living room).

I haven’t tested his IQ yet, but I have sent him on a social skills course.

When my children were small, I often struggled to find babysitters.

Today, dogs not only have “dannies” (dog nannies, some of whom even move in to toilet-train) and sleep-away camps, they also enjoy a whole raft of stimulating activities including pet socialization classes, iPad and iPhone lessons (taught at School for the Dogs in New York), doga classes (dog yoga) and dog-walking services that include regularly updated digital maps of the dog’s movements.

Some dog owners can’t be parted that long from their pets. “Let someone else walk Wiley? Never!” says the Manhattan-based former model Bronwyn Quillen. “Wiley [an adopted German shepherd mix] and I go to the park every day for one to two hours. We have a running commentary and Wiley can even spell. When we spell out w-a-l-k he sort of gets excited but when we spell b-e-a-c-h, he goes mad.” Wiley was a shelter dog, which Dog Snobs (or “Dobs”) rate above all others. “There are four categories of dog owner,” says Quillen.

“First there are people who buy multi-poos – yorkipoos for example – from pet stores, which are basically mutts. There are those who buy golden retrievers and labradors, which are so overbred they’re not really dogs any more. One rank above that are people who spend money on a good breed. But at the top of the tree are people like me who get a rescue animal.” Wiley knows where he belongs in the family – he is top dog.

“Dogs are simply more reliable than people. I’ve certainly never seen any statistics on dog divorce,” says writer Pamela Redmond Satran,

It’s a dog’s life Above: sales of “dogcessories” have rocketed in recent years, and in certain cities around the world well-dressed pooches have their own closets filled with fashionable outfits

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Puppy Love

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Women’s leopard-print calf hair pumps, $795, Gucci, gucci.com

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Cross-Terrain Sunscreen, $25.50, Kiehl’s, kiehls.com Women’s Freestyle down gilet, $275, Canada Goose, canada-goose.com Men’s ski jacket, $899, Toni Sailer, tonisailer.com

Men’s rabbit-trimmed trapper hat, $125, Woolrich, mrporter.com

Women’s leather and sheepskin boots, $220, UGG, uggaustralia.com

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Fisheye camera, $55, Lomography, lomography.com Blue backpack, $30.00, Mi-Pac, mi-pac.com

Blue and white cotton dress, $70, Petit Bateau, petit-bateau.co.uk

Sailboat swimming trunks, $139, vilebrequin.com

Coral turtle print swimsuit, $134, Vilebrequin at alexandalexa.com

Neon yellow and orange sandals, $160, Stella McCartney Kids, stellamccartney.com

Blue Brazil sandals, $21.50, Havaianas Kids, havaianas-store.com

Straw trilby with red and blue trim, $88, Hackett, hackett.com

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Blue and green ‘SoundTrue’ headphones, $179.95, Bose, bose.com

Women’s striped bikini, $235, Heidi Klein, heidiklein.com

Green and white linen towel, $161.86, Frescobol Carioca, frescobolcarioca.com

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Ocean Mist texturizing spray, $28, Sachajuan, barneys.com

Men’s blue and white striped shorts, $185, Hentsch Man, mrporter.com

Women’s embroidered cotton dress, $360, Zimmerman, us.zimmermanwear.com

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Interview

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Fashion

Strike a pose Photography by Danny Cardozo Styling by Danny Santiago

with sharp tailoring and strong silhouettes, and DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM MIAMI’S BUZZING ART AND DESIGN SCENES AND THE URBAN CHIC OF THE ST. REGIS BAL HARBOUR, THIS IS FALL FASHION FOR THE WOMAN WHO MEANS BUSINESS

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Previous page: Snakeskin print trench coat, $3,750, Lanvin, lanvin.com Sunglasses, $166, Michael Kors, michaelkors.com; Right: Black cropped leather jacket, $1,690, Adam Lippes adamlippes.com; White sweater with black spots, $300, Alice + Olivia aliceandolivia.com; Black skirt, $950, Proenza Schouler, proenzaschouler.com

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Interview

This page: Black full skirted coat, $3,395, Alexander McQueen alexandermcqueen.com; High-heeled boots, $475, Michael Kors michaelkors.com; Studded belt, $1,300, Donna Karan donnakaran.com;

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Left: Striped top, POA, Issey Miyake mds.isseymiyake.com; Tasselled skirt, $1241, Tamara Mellon tamaramellon.co.uk; Studded belt, $1,300, Donna Karan donnakaran.com; High-heeled brogues, POA, Charles Jourdan charles-jourdan.com/en; Beaded necklace, $68, Erika Pe単a erikapenashop.com; Above: Mesh jacket, $568, Elle Tahari elletahari.com; Striped crop top, $513, A.L.C alcltd.com; Trousers, $676, Stella McCartney stellamccartney.com

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Above: White collar dress, $545, Robert Rodriguez robertrodriguezcollection.com; Right: Black ballgown, POA, Fernando Garcia Hair & Make-up: Euridice Martin at Artist Management, Miami; Model: Melody Le at Wilhelmina Miami; Stylist Assistant: Alfred Barrera

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The Connoisseur: Ramesh Nair

box clever Words by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni Photographed by Anne Deniau

Not many executives of high-end accessories companies cycle to work in the morning. But Ramesh Nair, the Indian-born creative director of Moynat trunk-makers in Paris, has a different sense of what “normal” is.

“I was an army brat and traveled all over the world with my father to places like Burma,” the 48-year-old says. “Wherever we went we’d take at least 25 trunks. To me, that was how people traveled.”

When the designer joined Moynat in 2011 from Hermès, where he’d worked for ten years under Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier, the LVMH accessories brand offered the perfect link between private passion and professional career: Nair owns more than 200 antique trunks. Moynat, which was launched in 1849 by Pauline Moynat, who sold travel goods, and trunk-making brothers Octavie and François Coulembier, was one of France’s oldest trunk-makers, with a reputation for innovation. “In 1870, it brought out a lightweight trunk using a wicker frame instead of a metallic one,” Nair explains. It was also, he adds, the first to use hardened guttapercha waterproofing as well as varnished canvas and leather trimming.

What appeals most to Nair, though, is the manner in which trunks were customized. “There were all sorts of styles made,” he explains. “The limousine style was curved to fit on to a car roof; the cabin trunk opened in front and slid under the berth; while automobile trunks attached to the back of the car, before the trunk as we know it today was devised.”

The first trunk Nair ever bought, in Chantilly in France, was “a real fluke”, he admits. Although it was in fantastic condition, its owner was desperate to get rid of it. “Because it was arched, she couldn’t use it as a table and it was just gathering dust in the garage,” he says. “So I got it for only around $270.” A contemporary Moynat trunk, on the other hand, will set you back several thousand dollars.

Other unexpected finds have been a 1907 cabin trunk from Marseilles, with its key still in the lock, and an ugly black trunk found in Rennes.

“After stripping and cleaning it, it turned out to be a lovely dark green, which, I then discovered, matched the car that it was originally designed for.”

“I am fascinated by the idea of the customer asking for a certain color and a certain number of locks, and the reason they wanted them,” he continues. “I always wonder what adventure they were going to have.”

His favorite models are those from the Belle Epoque, which he describes as “real couture pieces, because no trunk is similar to another”. But these are becoming increasingly difficult to find. “I have contacts all over Europe – France and England are the best sources. But really lovely ones are becoming a rarity, which makes the ones I already have even more precious.”

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The style gene Words by Gemma Soames Illustrations by Berto Martinez

Style

from China to India, paris to rome, you’ll find sophisticated and powerful women who inherited beauty and glamour as well as brains from their mothers. we salute them

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mother’s style as “very Coco Chanel with a touch of I Love Lucy”, she cites Sheila Camera Kotur’s brave approach to dressing as one of the most formative elements of her upbringing. “My mother has a strong sense of self and very much believes in individual style and expression. I learnt to value individual character over public opinion, with a bit of irreverence and humor tossed in.” Sheila still illustrates her daughter’s collections each season, encouraging her to push the boundaries of creativity, much as she has been doing since Fiona was at school. “I do remember one outfit she wore, in 1980,” says Fiona. “She arrived at my conservative girls’ school dressed in a completely deconstructed and ripped Comme des Garçons black sack and looked amazing.

I was, even then, proud of her lack of self-consciousness.”

Even among the non-fashion set, whose thoughts are set perhaps on loftier matters, the use of fashion as a tool to express values is not lost. Both Hillary and Chelsea Clinton know the power of a well-cut jacket, as demonstrated at countless public occasions over the past decade, not least on the campaign trail. Each also has the confidence to indulge in her femininity without fearing it might damage her ability to be taken seriously. Take the then-Secretary of State, resplendent in fuchsia Oscar de la Renta at the wedding of her daughter, in custom Vera Wang, and you see two formidable women equally willing to indulge in fashion.

Likewise, Amal Alamuddin, George Clooney’s fiancée – and more pertinently, an eminent human rights lawyer – and her newspaper-editor mother Baria also display a fun approach to dressing. A glance during the World Islamic Economic Forum at Amal’s mismatched shoes and bright pink Balenciaga coat followed by her mother in a bright purple suit and pearls, and a common appreciation for the colorful is clear.

One family where you would certainly consider exceptional influence to be wielded would be in the Wintour-Schaffer household. Although American Vogue editor Anna Wintour is often quoted as saying that she had wanted her daughter to follow her into fashion, her daughter Bee in fact works in television. However, in ways of style, the apple has fallen rather less far from the tree. Choosing such statement-making designers as Alexander McQueen, Bee is to be found on the Met Ball red carpet each year alongside her Chanel-clad mother in looks that are dramatic yet feminine, tasteful yet push the envelope just enough to be interesting – in other words, pure Wintour.

In families where the resemblance is more literal, you can

hen assessing traits that run through families, physical resemblance, values and attitudes are all up there with things we can expect to inherit from our parents. What is not often high on the list is personal style. One look, however, at some of the world’s most glamorous mother-daughter duos would show you that mothers are in fact as capable of impressing a sense of style on their offspring as they are good manners. Look at elegant women across the globe, and their daughters, and you will find women whose distinctive approach to fashion sings from the same songsheet. Style, it turns out, can be a mother-daughter thing.

In the case of Georgia May Jagger, daughter of Texan supermodel Jerry Hall and Rolling Stone Mick, an approach to style learnt from her parents shines out. Equal parts rock chick and vamp, as likely to be found in Vivienne Westwood as Jerry, she has explained, “My mum has taught me a lot about fashion in terms of what looks good and developing my own sense of style. One thing we both agree upon is that oversized black sunglasses, high heels and red lipstick are the key to dressing up any outfit.” Beyond handy accessorising tips, Hall has also taught her model daughters the power of theatricality in fashion. “I gave them all these films to watch. Actually, they both shot with Karl Lagerfeld, and he was saying to them, ‘OK, be Bette Davis in The Letter.’

And they knew what to do. He said to them, ‘Oh, my God. I never work with girls who know what I’m talking about.

Your mother trained you so well!’ ” If it is indeed possible to be trained in the ways of elegance and style, then surely Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco and granddaughter of Princess Grace, ought to have had about as good a grounding as one could get. The spitting image of her glamorous mother, 28-year-old Charlotte and Princess Caroline are often photographed side by side, both dressed in Chanel Couture by their friend Karl Lagerfeld. Take one look at the sky-blue Giambattista Valli confection Charlotte wore to dinner celebrating her uncle’s marriage in 2011, the picture of demure yet youthful fashionability, and the maternal influence upon her is impossible to ignore.

Sometimes a mother’s sense of style is so marked, it moves beyond the influential to the fundamental. For the American accessories designer Fiona Kotur, her fashion-illustrator mother provides an endless well of inspiration when it comes to designing her signature evening bags. Describing her

Opposite: Carine Roitfeld and Julia Restoin Roitfeld are both known for their style – but they’d never share a wardrobe

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Style probably thank location as much as maternal influence in the development of personal style. Hence the look modeled

by Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn, each the poster girl for their particular generation’s take on SoCal chic: the boho approach synonymous with the sort of Malibu-living, Aspen-holidaying, beach-frequenting life both actresses lead.

Head to Brazil, and you’ll find the Dellals, supermodel mother Andrea with her two daughters, accessories designer Charlotte and model Alice, all proponents of a particularly Latin approach to fashion. The trio may now live in London, but you’re as likely to find Andrea and Charlotte in their signature leopard print as you are in a warm winter coat, matching red lips and film-star coiffed hair to boot.

Similarly, in the case of the Missonis in Italy, grandmother Rosita, mother Angela and daughter Margherita all display a certain free-spirited approach you would expect from a life lived in Varese, amid the rolling Italian countryside north of

Milan where the family business is located and where all three women work. As Margherita explained once, “I grew up in the same place as my mother, seeing the same trees my mother saw when she was at work. The flowers I picked were the flowers that my grandma planted. We have different styles, I wouldn’t make the same clothes that my mom made, or my grandma, but we have the same taste.”

Certainly for Dee Poon, the Hong Kong-based managing director of shirt label Pye and daughter of fashion mogul Dickson Poon, her mother’s influence crossed not only sartorial boundaries but cultural ones, too. With a grandmother who grew up in 1940s Shanghai wearing traditional cheongsam dress, Poon’s mother Marjorie Yang, chairperson of Esquel shirt manufacturers, acts as a bridge between her family’s history in China and their Hong Kong life today. “I remember trips to the fabric stores with my mom and grandma, and the tailor coming to the house to

In families where the resemblance is more literal, you can probably thank location as much as maternal influence in the development of personal style

Above: Amal Alamuddin and her mother Baria combine hard-hitting careers in law and journalism with an effortless elegance

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Style

measure and fit cheongsams for them that they would wear out to dinners or to daytime social events.”

Cross over to India, and you will find family duos like dynamic mother-and-daughter Rajshree and Aishwarya Pathy, co-founders of the India Design Forum, whose secret to style also lies in the melding of traditional elements of dress with a much more modern approach. “Mixing traditional with contemporary is something my mother has mastered,” says Aishwarya. “Traditional South Indian jewelry like our family heirlooms are extraordinarily beautiful and well crafted, and pairing them with something contemporary, Western and chic makes for a very eclectic look.” Not that that means her mother sticks to the traditional. “I think it’s fun to combine a pair of ancient gypsy earrings with a trendy blaring yellow cashmere jacket over an AllSaints purple shift, paired with slimming black pants and a busy fur print Dreyfuss sling purse,” says Rajshree. And her daughter?

“She would shudder at the very idea!”

It’s not just families from countries with distinct cultural traditions who display tendencies identifiable across national seams, however. Take the French, and you’ll find dynasties whose innate take on something as simple as a pair of jeans marks them out as their own unique tribe. In the case of Jane Birkin (French in spirit, even if Englishborn) and her daughters Lou Doillon and Charlotte Gainsbourg, a trio of women synonymous with the sort of

insouciant, less-is-more sexiness of which Jane herself was the first icon, their singular approach to fashion is so similar it must surely be in their DNA. Or try the former editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld, and her daughter Julia Restoin Roitfeld, both known for their sexy take on dressing. Carine points out that, while one can have the same fashion sense as one’s daughter, there are important differences to be found in actual wardrobe choices. “I would never share my daughter’s wardrobe,” she has said. “Every five years you have to go through your wardrobe and say, ‘This is possible, this is not possible.’ But you have to be happy with yourself.” As far as she is concerned, the secret to style is a way of dressing that doesn’t overwhelm the personality, an approach to fashion that is all about showing the woman rather than showing off the clothes. “The letter is more important than the envelope. But if you feel good in your envelope, then you will feel better about yourself.”

And therein, perhaps, lies the key to the sort of style mantras that should be passed down through generations.

Less about wardrobe choices so much as an attitude to fashion, a mother can instil in her daughter confidence when it comes to the way she dresses. Confidence to make her own choices and to follow her own sartorial rules. Confidence to be her own woman and express her unique point of view. And surely that is something which we would all be glad to inherit.

Above: Goldie Hawn and her daughter Kate Hudson have both become poster girls for laidback California style

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Art

Fred Tomaselli, seated in front of his artwork Us and Them, 2003

THE WILD ONE Words by Julie L. Belcove

Getty images

collage and paint collide with fierce energy in brooklynbased Fred Tomaselli’s compositions. inspired by news stories, they present a natural world of kaleidoscopic beauty

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Fred Tomaselli

Gyre, 2014 Current events frequently find their way into Tomaselli’s paintings. Here, he considered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: floating debris from plastic trash and chemical sludge estimated to be spread over thousands of square miles. Tomaselli describes his subject as “a new Darwinian struggle… The fish you could interpret as inhaling or expelling garbage.”

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Art

T

he New York-based Fred Tomaselli is acutely aware that as an artist – particularly one who makes a very comfortable living as such – he is privileged to enter his own little world every time he steps foot inside his Brooklyn studio, even as the world outside seems to be spinning out of control. “The studio is almost like paradise,” the 58-year-old California native says.

But he is also a self-described news junkie, reading The New York Times, checking the web and listening to the radio. “The news is constantly penetrating the environment I live in.”

That tension – utopia versus cold, hard reality – pervades Tomaselli’s oeuvre. In his intricately patterned, obsessively assembled – or, as he says, “relentlessly handmade” – “hybrids” of collage and painting, he seems alternately to be inviting the world in and shutting it out. There are elegant, unabashedly beautiful images of birds, but look closer and see that they comprise tiny pictures snipped from magazines; there are fish, trees and flowers fashioned not only from paint but from pills and organic matter like insects and leaves, encased in layers of resin. The New York Times art critic Ken Johnson has compared his hybrids to “windows into the mind of someone in a state of visionary rapture”.

At first glance, his subjects might look placid. On careful inspection, they can veer to the violent: is the bird with its beak thrust into the snake’s mouth in Penetrators (Large), overleaf, feeding the serpent or fighting it? Has the eagle in Avian Flower Serpent just killed the snake wrapped around the tree branch?

Although he lives in Williamsburg, an urban hub of creative types, Tomaselli is actively connected to nature. He is an avid bird-watcher, fly fisherman, surfer and gardener.

But his art historical influences also run deep and are as disparate as Japanese Edo prints and Joan Miró’s Constellations

series of cosmic-themed paintings, executed at the outbreak of World War II. “I felt like Miró was saying the world is going to hell, but this need for culture continues,” says Tomaselli. “Art needs to be made.”

Tomaselli’s ongoing series, The Times, in which he alters the lead photo on the The New York Times front page, is in the same political vein. He has tweaked images of Ponzi-villain Bernie Madoff, bombed rubble in Syria and children sledding in Central Park. “I decided to become another editor and impose my subjective decisions,” he says. Lawrence Weschler, a wellknown cultural critic, has described the series as an “act of witness, a Book of Days across an age of tumultuous transition.”

The series, which has heavily influenced his recent hybrids, will be featured in a solo exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Art in October, and in California in February 2015. A selection of his bird paintings will also be on view from October to February as part of The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. His dealers, he says, are adept at insulating him from business affairs. At one time, a while back, uncomfortable with the growing commodification of visual art, Tomaselli tried to stop making it. “But I was really unhappy,” he admits. Now, “I’ve made an uneasy peace with it. Few jobs have no dark night of the soul. I do feel I can do anything I want in the studio. That’s incredible.”

Fred Tomaselli: Current Events is at Michigan Museum of Art October 4 to January 25, 2015; Orange County Museum of Art from February 2015. Fred Tomaselli: The Times, by Lawrence Weschler, is published by Prestel.

Your address: The St. Regis Washington, D.C.

Nov. 11, 2010, 2010 In this instalment of his series The Times, Tomaselli took the original photograph of students protesting tuition hikes in the UK, or, as the artist says, “anarchists smashing stuff ”, and made an abstraction of brightly colored shards, like an explosion of stained glass.

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Fred Tomaselli

After Oct. 16, 2010, 2014 Tomaselli’s Times pieces sometimes serve as studies for larger compositions, such as this one, inspired by a photo of a machine drilling a tunnel for a Swiss rail system. “There’s this zooming in and zooming out happening,” he says of the painting, which pairs Earth’s flaming core with a kaleidoscope of humdrum man-made products.

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Art

Penetrators (Large), 2012 Tomaselli’s extracurricular interests, including bird-watching, fly fishing and gardening, frequently invade his artworks. Here, the exact nature of his exquisitely detailed creatures’ interaction is ambiguous. The bird could be jamming food in the snake’s mouth, or their encounter might be sexual or violent. “I was playing around with various levels of Freudian issues,” he says.

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Fred Tomaselli

After Nov.11, 2010, 2014 Playing off Nov. 11, 2010 (previous page, left), this work marries bold acrylic paint in sharply geometric shapes with real leaves and fragmented photographs of teeth and the like over a night sky, to disturbingly chaotic effect. Tomaselli’s works of late have eliminated the top coat of resin, letting the colors retain their brightness.

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Interview

‘If the world’s most beautiful dress doesn’t fit, it’s a mistake’ Interview by Hilary Rose

carolina herrera has for decades been high society’s designer of choice. Here she talks of her love of new york and rome, dressing Michelle Obama – and looking stylish whatever your age

Y

ou waited until 1981, when you were 42, before launching your fashion house. Why? There comes a time in your life when you need to do something new, and that was the right time for me.

I’d never done anything before. I asked my friend Diana Vreeland what she thought about me designing some materials and she said, “That’s so boring. Why don’t you design a fashion collection?”

She gave me the idea.

Why did you choose to live in New York?

I’ve been in love with New York since I was a child. It’s a very glamorous city, and one of the few cities in the world where there are so many events every night that you always see men looking handsome in black tie and women in evening gowns.

What are the best and worst things about the city?

The best is the weather: when it’s very cold and the sky is blue.

The worst is the traffic.

What did your husband think of you starting work?

He believed that I should do it, and that was very important for me. You have to have the support of your family, because if you do something they don’t agree with then it’s hell.

Apart from New York, which is your favourite city in the world?

Rome. It’s so chic, the Italians are so delicious and the Romans are divine. You can be walking in a small street and suddenly you find something grandiose in front of you, something out of this world. And the Italians are always in a happy mood. They ask you things with a smile, so you can’t refuse. I love London, too, but I don’t like the weather too much.

Did you ever feel any self-doubt?

Sometimes everything’s fantastic and you think you’re on top of the world; other times it’s more difficult. Fashion, and dealing with the egos in the industry, is a very difficult business.

Where is your favorite place to go on holiday?

Patmos in Greece. We stay with our great friend [interior designer] John Stefanidis, who has a lovely house there. The island is really beautiful, and not so crowded.

Were you ambitious?

You have to be ambitious in fashion, otherwise you won’t get anywhere. You have to persevere and realize that you are designing for many different tastes, not just your own. I design things that I wouldn’t wear, but I know they’re going to sell.

How often do you visit Caracas, where you were brought up?

I haven’t been in a long time. I love my country, and I would love to be there all the time, but we became a left-wing country. It’s difficult. Our family house is still there – it was built in 1590 and has always been in the hands of the same family – but we don’t live there any more.

You had no formal design training. Did that matter?

No, because in design, the most important thing is to have an eye: for proportion, for mixing colors. You can go to fashion school and learn how to cut a pattern and how to sew, but if you don’t have the vision you won’t know how to put it together.

I sketch very badly, but I know exactly what I want. I can’t sew on a button, but I know how it should be sewn on.

What is the key to looking well-dressed?

Your clothes have to fit properly. You can be in the most 80

Interview

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The Tastemaker: Carolina Herrera

Wall of fame Clockwise from top left: Carolina Herrera at her daughter Ana Luisa’s New York wedding in 1989; in red-carpet mode; with daughter Carolina Adriana, 1999; in her New York office last year; a portrait from 1974; summoning the muse in her atelier

Do you burn the midnight oil at the office?

No. If you can’t do what you have to do between 9am and 5pm then there’s either something wrong with you, or something wrong with the organization.

beautiful dress in the world, but if it doesn’t fit, it’s a mistake.

Sometimes women say, “I want to look sexy”, and for them, sexy is three sizes too small. That’s also a mistake.

You’re a regular on the best-dressed lists. Do such things matter?

It’s very flattering, and it’s very nice of people to say that you are well-dressed, but you cannot think about it all day long.

Can women have it all?

Yes. Women are very lucky because we can do many things at the same time. Men can’t.

What is the biggest mistake celebrities make when dressing for the red carpet?

They wear clothes that don’t fit or don’t suit them. And their shoes are three sizes too big, because they’re on loan.

You dressed Jackie Onassis in the last decade of her life. Is her style still current?

Look at photographs of her now: she looks so modern. She was an amazing woman, so cultivated and intelligent, and a great inspiration for me. I have dressed Michelle Obama, too, and she has a different style to Jackie. She mixes it up a lot and wears a lot of young designers. She has created her own style: more informal I suppose. But the world is getting less formal.

You have had a long working relationship with Renée Zellweger. How important to a brand is celebrity endorsement?

Renée is great because she doesn’t use a stylist. She comes to me and we discuss what she wants. She knows exactly what she likes, and that’s very rare.

What is the most important thing a woman should have in her closet?

A full-length mirror.

Condé Nast Archive/Corbis, Christoper Little/Corbis, Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte/Corbis, Bettman/Corbis

Who in the public eye would you like to wear your clothes? The Duchess of Cambridge, perhaps?

Well, why not? Of course! She has a fantastic figure and she is always properly dressed for her role. I know some people say she’s too serious, but what they don’t realize is that she is representing something.

Do you find yourself looking backwards now, rather than forwards?

I like the future much more than the past. If you just sit and think about the past, you’re lost.

Have you made any concessions to age in the way you dress?

Of course. Sometimes you see a woman with a fantastic figure in a mini-skirt, and when she turns around she’s ancient. That doesn’t look right to me. You need to be soigné – or at least more soigné than you were when you were 20. The key thing is to dress according to your age, your style and your figure. It doesn’t matter if something’s fashionable or not – if it looks good, wear it.

Is it true that you can get ready for a black-tie ball in ten minutes?

I can get ready for anything in ten minutes. In my mother’s time it was very different, because none of them worked. These women today who take two hours to get dressed – what are they doing after the first 10 or 15 minutes? If I had to spend two hours getting dressed, I’d be so tired by the time I arrived at the party I’d want to go home.

Does your husband notice what you’re wearing?

Yes and that’s great, because he has a very good eye and he’s not going to lie to me.

You’re 75. Are you ever tempted to retire?

No, I adore my work. Nobody’s forcing me to do this.

Two of your four daughters work for your company. Does that ever cause friction?

It’s fun to work with both of them because they have a different approach to what they do and a different eye. They both have a lot of style, but they’re different. Carolina lives in Madrid and is responsible for the perfumes. Patricia lives in New York and is on my design team.

You’ve been married for 46 years. What is the secret of a happy marriage?

Love, respect, friendship and a sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh together.

If you had your time again, what would you change?

I wouldn’t change anything. I would do it all exactly the same way. Even the mistakes.

Do they find it difficult to combine working with motherhood?

No. They are very well-organized. To be a working mother you have to have a lot of discipline and some help.

When and where were you happiest?

When I had my first child. I loved it. It’s a fantastic experience.

Did you ever struggle to combine work and home life?

No, never, because I stop talking about work the moment I leave the office.

What advice would you give to a fashion designer starting out today?

Love what you’re doing, believe in it, find your own style and like fashion a lot. Nobody knows what fashion is. It’s a mystery.

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Back Story

THE

SURREAL LIFE OF when SALVADOR DALI Arrived in manhattan in 1934, he found his spiritual home. over the NEXT 40 YEARS

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DalĂ­ in New York

DALI IN NEW YORK he SPENT HIS winteRS at the St. regis NEW YORK, DELIGHTING, bewildering and outraging a captivated city

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Back Story

Words by Adrian Dannatt

D

ALÍ… IS… HERE!” For 40 years this gutteral cry announced that the greatest artist of the 20th century, certainly in his own estimation, had arrived in New York at his own private fiefdom, the fabled St. Regis. And whether it was in the hushed acreage of the restaurant, the lofty grandeur of the lobby, the dark enclave of the King Cole Bar or his gilded suite with adjoining studio, Salvador Dalí adored turning this hotel into the stage of his celebrity, his one-man theatre, his private palace and zoo.

Every winter from 1934 Dalí would appear like clockwork, or rather like some distorted cog from his own surreal timepiece, to occupy Room 1610, accompanied not only by his wife and muse Gala, but also a bizarre retinue of associates and animals, including his pet ocelot named Babou. Here he would happily swish around in his golden cape of dead bees or “accidentally” let loose a large box of flies. With arms stretched wide, cane held high, moustaches pointing to the heavens, nobody knew better how to make the grandest entrance. Soon not just fans but also tourists would congregate around the hotel hoping for a sighting of him on the steps of East 55th Street, growling his war cry, each loud sung syllable: “Da-lí… is… he-re!”

No city was better suited than New York to Dalí’s unique brand of showmanship and entrepreneurial hustle, “brand” being the mot juste for this groundbreaking artist who managed to turn himself into a business model and a limited-edition luxury product endorsed by the rich and famous. And no venue suited Dalí better than The St. Regis. (In fact few

hotels are as closely associated with one particular artist as The St. Regis and Salvador Dalí.) For New York has as voracious an appetite for culture as for celebrity and commerce, and Dalí was the first to conquer the city by combining all these into one irresistible package: high art and high finance, and every sort of hijinks in between. Dalí’s true celebrity, his serious worldwide fame, was entirely due to the Manhattan media machine. There was an almost symbiotic relationship between the artist and the city’s press, feeding off each other in a mutual frenzy of outrage, a tornado of publicity stoked by Dalí’s pranks and posturings, as if neither could ever get enough of the other.

None of this was an accident, Dalí having plotted it all from the first time he stepped off a boat in New York. He understood that to be a truly modern artist in this one truly modern city he had to become a mainstream star. Which is why, when he arrived in Manhattan before World War II on the steamship Champlain, at the end of an expensive marine expedition from Le Havre subsidised by Picasso, nothing was left to chance. He had even prepared his own publication for the occasion, a broadsheet with the splendid title New York Salutes Me!, which was distributed on the ship and then to the awaiting newsmen when he stepped down the gangplank into New York for the first time ever, on November 14, 1934. Dalí had well and truly arrived.

The mutual attraction between the artist and the media when he stepped off the ship was immediate. In fact, when asked to single out his favorite work of those he had brought on the ship with him, he had one

The surreal life Clockwise from above: Salvador Dalí photographed in New York by the legendary photojournalist Weegee in the 1950s; at work on two birds as part of a large oil composition; celebrating Russian New Year with the French artist Ultra Violet at The St. Regis in January, 1969; wielding a paint gun at a young fan on a sleigh ride through Central Park; surrounded by admirers in New York in the 1960s; returning to New York in 1936 with wife Gala on board the SS Normandie. Previous page: Dalí poses for a portrait as only he could at The St. Regis New York in February, 1962

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Getty Images, Bradley Smith/Corbis, Bettmann/Corbis, WireImage

DalĂ­ in New York

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Back Story

Maestro and disciple Dalí first met Andy Warhol in his suite at The St. Regis New York in 1965. According to David McCabe, who took this photograph, “Dalí turned the whole event into theater. Andy was petrified.”

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Dalí in New York

David McCabe

‘Dalí knew exactly what he wanted and he got it. The doormen had to pay his taxi fare. Dalí fitted New York like a glove, it was made for him. He even kept a special room at The St. Regis as his studio’

already prepared. Theatrically ripping away the wrappings, he revealed his chosen masterpiece: a portrait of his wife Gala with lamb chops on her shoulders, which made not just the next day’s papers, but that evening’s edition. By the end of his very first day, Dalí was already a hot gossip item.

And so the adulation continued. His debut exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery proved an instant success, and he gave a hugely successful talk at MoMA. Soon, he was being photographed wherever he went. His famous “Bal Onirique” costume ball in honor of his return to Europe, organized by the bohemian Bostonite Caresse Crosby, was so outrageous that the next day there was a maelstrom of publicity, with photographs of his head bandaged in hospital gauze as he danced under a giant cow’s carcass.

Not that the artist stayed away too long. He soon set a pattern of travel, returning every winter, starting in December 1936 with another Julien Levy show that coincided neatly with the MoMA show Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism. This was accompanied by the ultimate accolade: a portrait by Man Ray on the cover of Time magazine, which dominated the newsstands and ensured that Dalí would have to sign autographs in the street for as long as he stayed in the city. As Time put it, “Surrealism would never have attracted its present attention in the US were it not for a handsome 32-year-old Catalan.”

Just as successful as his art-pieces were Dalí’s windows for Bonwit Teller department store, where crowds jostled six-deep on 5th Avenue to admire his surrealist woman with a head of roses complete with red lobster telephone. It was in these windows, in 1939, that Dalí staged possibly his most famous New York stunt, climbing into a bathtub in a window and then crashing through the plate glass – with the bath – to thunderous applause.

For Dalí, the best thing about this event was actually to be arrested and to spend time in a real New York prison with real American criminals, before being given a suspended sentence for disorderly conduct. As he admitted, it was “the most magical and effective action” of his entire life.

In spite of this, the artist was soon asked to create one of his most important commissions: his own pavilion at the World’s Fair of 1939, which he called Dream of Venus. In typical style, he came up with an outrageous plan, featuring semi-naked swimmers, and when sponsors objected, he wrote one of the best works of his life, Declaration of the Independence of the Imagination and the Rights of Man to His Own Madness, copies of which were showered over the city by aeroplanes as a full-scale public protest.

There was nothing more he loved than being noticed. As Nicolas Descharnes, the world’s leading Dalí expert, and son of his official personal secretary, Robert Descharnes, explains, “I remember my father recalling a walk with Dalí near The St. Regis Hotel in the 1970s, during which he was dressed in a black coat of panther skin, trying in vain to attract the attention of passersby while gesticulating with his stick.

‘Descharnes, have you seen?’ the artist apparently said. ‘It’s incredible how one can pass unnoticed in this city!’ ”

New York represented absolute energy for Dalí in his annual circuit between Paris, New York and his home in Port Lligat on Spain’s Costa Brava. It’s the city where he dynamized his career, whether during his long residence in America from 1940 to 1948 – when his and Léonide Massine’s ballet Labyrinth was shown at the Metropolitan Opera House, and he had a full retrospective at MoMA – or the winters near the end of his life.

Most of his meetings were in his “résidence d’hiver en St. Regis”, where he’d often hold court looking down on visitors from his 7ft chair, installed on the backs of four turtles. It was here that some of his most important engagements took place, whether that was receiving Helena Rubinstein’s commission to create her frescoes, or meeting for the first time the collectors Eleanor and Reynolds Morse, who went on to create the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was in this suite, in 1965, that he first met the young Andy Warhol, that ultimate New York artist. On a subsequent encounter he dressed Warhol up in an Incan headdress before tying him to a spinning wheel and pouring paint all over him.

It was also in 1965 that a remarkable film, Dalí in New York, was made, capturing all the magic and madness of the maestro in residence.

Directed by a young Englishman, Jack Bond, the documentary captures Dalí and his circus preparing for his largest exhibition yet, at the Huntington Hartford Gallery. Bond himself stayed in a suite at The St. Regis and in the film we see much of the hotel of the era and Dalí’s “special relationships” with its residents and staff, including the famous waiter Stanley. We also see just how difficult Dalí could be. During one scene, he is filmed demanding 5,000 large black ants (having previously insisted on a sequence of exploding swans, much as at the World’s Fair he had initially conceived a set of exploding giraffes).

As Bond explains, “Dalí always knew exactly what he wanted and he got it. The doormen had to pay Dalí’s taxi fare. He was ‘grand’ in the real meaning of the word. He fitted New York like a glove, it was made for him, and The St. Regis was, and still is, the best hotel in the whole city. He was even able to paint there – he kept a special room as his studio.”

Bond’s film about New York is on permanent show at the Dalí Museum in Florida, a fitting homage to the importance of that one city, and one hotel, in the artist’s life, the place where he turned even his social world into one fantastic happening. As Hank Hine, director of the museum, puts it, “One of our greatest Dalí works is from 1976 and is entitled Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko). This masterpiece was painted in the studio that Dalí kept at The St. Regis. The hotel is a living reminder of the vitality of the life of the city and the special vibrancy of great hotels.”

The Dalí Museum is at 1 Dalí Boulevard, St Petersburg, Florida; dali.org Your address: The St. Regis New York; The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort 89

The Collectibles

the art of the rug Words by Oliver Bennett

From PICASSO TO alexander calder, there has long been a tradition of artist-designed rugs. Now a new wave of creators is picking up the thread

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he grand British art historian Kenneth Clark, once the director of the National Gallery in London, owned a lot of art. But among Lord Clark’s favorite works was a piece made by Duncan Grant – a precious and much-loved artwork that he stepped on almost every day. Sacrilege? Not at all, because the artwork in question was a rug: designed especially for his eminence by the Bloomsbury Group artist, and frankly, far from the average humble floor covering.

Which goes to show that a rug can be a work of art and usable. There’s certainly a lot to love about a great rug. Like “slow food”, rugs are perhaps the ultimate “slow” art form. They take months and even years to complete, are usually made of natural fibers, last for centuries if kept properly and can be rolled up and transported. They are also warm and tactile.

Which is probably why the artist-designed rug is having a renewed moment in the art and fashion worlds. Pioneering the revival is the Rug Company, which has showrooms across Europe and North America, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Middle East. It has placed itself firmly in the vanguard of artist and designer-made rugs by commissioning and selling rugs created by such fashion figureheads as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Furstenberg, as well as a

series of one-off tapestries from contemporary artists including Kara Walker, Fred Tomaselli (whom we feature on p.74) and Sir Peter Blake.

“Artists and designers’ contemporary rugs have become really collectable in recent years,” says Christopher Sharp, CEO and co-founder of the Rug Company together with his wife Suzanne. “The nature of their production – they’re knotted and woven entirely by hand by a small group of skilled craftspeople – means that their production is limited, and that demand outstrips what we’re able to produce.” So they’re also an investment, one reason why artists’ rugs are flying off the floors of the Rug Company’s stores, everywhere from San Francisco to Mexico City.

The swell of interest is not limited to New York. Earlier this year the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris hosted Decorum, an exhibition featuring more than 100 rugs and tapestries created by artists ranging from Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso to Le Corbusier and Louise Bourgeois. This summer in London there’s been an exhibition called Form through Colour, both showing and selling rugs produced by Bauhaus designers Josef and Anni Albers, as well as contemporary British artist Gary Hume.

The organizer of that exhibition, textile and rug-designer Christopher Farr, whose eponymous company has offices in London and Los Angeles, 90

The Collectibles

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The Collectibles

Breaking the rules Untitled rug by German artist Anselm Reyle in Himalayan and New Zealand wool and silk, in collaboration with Henzel Studio. Previous page: Poppy Night by Alexander McQueen, handwoven wool aubusson, for the Rug Company

was a frontrunner in the current rug boom. “When we started making artist-designed rugs [in the early 1990s] people laughed at us,” says Matthew Bourne, Farr’s business partner. “Nobody else did it at the time.

But we’ve always asked, ‘Why can a sculpture be a work of art and not a rug?’ ” Christopher Farr now sells rugs by a roster of big-name artists and designers that includes Andrée Putman, Jorge Pardo and Sarah Morris.

As Bourne notes, artistic rugs have seen previous high-water marks: “In the 1920s the groundbreaking Myrbor gallery in Paris, led by Marie Cuttoli, sold rugs by Picasso and other artists.” Then, into the 1950s and 1960s, rugs came on to the market bearing designs by artists including Ellsworth Kelly and Alexander Calder. But it took until the 1990s to feel the real heat of revival, which Bourne attributes to “a search for new and durable art forms that are useful as well as beautiful”.

Cast around, and you’ll find plenty more manifestations of the new art rug. Notable in the genre are Michelle Evans’s wool and silk rugs, which have just been exhibited at the J+A Gallery in Dubai; ChiChi Cavalcanti’s graphic, Brazil-influenced rugs, which are prized by architects and interior designers; and Tania Johnson’s meditative rugs based on

photographs of natural phenomena such as water. “They take months of painstaking work,” says Johnson, whose clients have included Calvin Klein Home.

There’s even an avant-garde strand in artistic rug-making. In May, at Barneys in New York, an exhibition called Volume #1 showed the results of a limited-edition art-rug project from luxury rug-makers Henzel Studio, which included a Juergen Teller portrait of a nude Vivienne Westwood in rug form, a rug by Helmut Lang, and an astonishing floorpiece by Marilyn Minter called Cracked Glass.

Several of these rugs broke out of the classic rectangular format, and used differing weave heights to create complex images. “This collection was a way to show the rug in a broader context,” says Joakim Andreasson, curator of the project. “The idea was to bring the art rug to a new audience that doesn’t make such a distinction between applied and fine art.” It’s also worth noting that compared to much contemporary art, the rugs were relatively affordable: with prices ranging from $16,000 to $20,000, they are cheap enough, almost, to induce a serious rug habit.

We still have some way to go, however, before precious rugs and 92

The Collectibles

A touch of class The Eclat 2 rug, handknotted in silk, designed by Turkish-born Esti Barnes for Top Floor. “I try to achieve threedimensionality either by a very suble color-shading or by extremely precise surface sculpting,” says Barnes

tapestries are as appreciated as they were in their heydey, during the Middle Ages. “Tapestry was then judged as a higher art than painting and was more expensive,” says Matthew Bourne. So prestigious was it, adds Christopher Sharp, that “aristocrats would roll up their tapestries and take them to other people’s castles to show them off. Henry VIII had a lot of his wealth wrapped up in them.”

It was probably industrialization that led to rugs, wall-hangings and tapestries being downgraded. “In the 20th century, makers’ skills started to disappear in the West,” says David Weir, director of Edinburgh weavers Dovecot, which itself was revived ten years ago after a period in the doldrums. “Previously we’ve commissioned artists such as David Hockney, Graham Sutherland and Frank Stella, and we’re now returning to the artist-designed rug idea – we’ve recently brought out a series of hand-tufted rugs in collaboration with artist Than Hussein Clark.

Weaving translates well to contemporary art.”

Rug-making remains a slow and labor-intensive endeavor, but producers have found plenty of artisans happy to take on the challenge of making art rugs in the developing world. Christopher Sharp uses

weavers in Nepal, for example, while Christopher Farr employs Indian craftsmen, and is even making rugs in Afghanistan as part of the US-led AfghanMade initiative.

The one question Matthew Bourne is always asked by buyers is whether they should, like the aforementioned Lord Clark, actually walk on their beautifully designed rugs.

“Well, rugs are made for use, and assuming they’re made well, they are very robust,” he says. “But if people want to put them on the wall, that’s also fine.” It probably depends, as much as anything, from which perspective you like to encounter your art: head on, or from on high.

WHERE TO FIND FINE-ART RUGS The Rug Company, therugcompany.com; Christopher Farr, christopherfarr.com; Michelle Evans, aykadesign.com; Tania Johnson, taniajohnsondesign.com; Henzel Studio, byhenzel.com; Dovecot Studios, dovecotstudios.com; AfghanMade, afghanmade.com; Top Floor, topfloorrugs.com Your address: The St. Regis San Francisco; The St. Regis Mexico City 93

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John DeLucie: Made in Manhattan

Kitchen confidential Interview by Damon Syson

New york chef John DeLucie, who made his name at The Waverly Inn and is now working with the st. regis new york, discusses cooking with grandma, the comforts of pizza – and why simplicity rocks

A born-and-bred New Yorker, John DeLucie was a late starter in the culinary world, discovering his calling at the age of 29. Since then, he has become a major figure on New York’s restaurant scene, making his name as the executive chef and partner of the Waverly Inn, the Greenwich Village restaurant that became the ultimate hangout for the city’s glitterati.

DeLucie is now proprietor and executive chef of the Lion, Bill’s Food & Drink and Crown, three of Manhattan’s most celebrated restaurants.

His latest project has been to reimagine the culinary offering at the refurbished King Cole Bar & Salon at The St. Regis New York.

What’s your earliest food memory?

When I was a child we lived with my grandparents, who were Italian immigrants, and one of my earliest memories is of being in the kitchen with my grandmother. My grandfather sold fruit and vegetables, and he would bring home any produce that didn’t sell that day. It was grandma’s job to make dinner with it. So it could be things like dandelion greens or broccoli rabe – food that was pretty unusual in America at that time. I remember having dinner at a friend’s house in my teens and eating iceberg lettuce. I didn’t even know what that was.

What was the first thing you ever cooked?

Ditalini with tomato and celery leaves and chickpeas – basically pasta fagioli. I’d seen my mother make it a thousand times and one day when I was about 13 I thought, “I want to do that.” I remember painstakingly taking the delicate light-colored leaves from inside the celery, not the big overgrown darker leaves – just like I’d seen my mother do.

Who taught you to cook?

My mother, my aunts and grandmothers were all instrumental. My dad had 11 siblings and

my mom had four brothers and sisters, so every Sunday we would gather somewhere with a lot of people. There was always tomato sauce and pasta or ravioli and some kind of meat. It was a very food-oriented family.

What’s your favourite Italian-American dish?

Veal milanese. I just love a pounded veal cutlet drenched in egg and breadcrumbs and panfried. It’s the most delicious thing in the world.

What made you become a chef?

I had a lot of different jobs after college. I was a musician. I sold advertising, I represented fashion photographers, I worked as a headhunter in the

Fish is my favorite dish

How would you describe the menu you’ve created at the King Cole Bar & Salon at The St. Regis New York?

Over the years there have been some amazing chefs at The St. Regis New York, like Gray Kunz, Christian Delouvrier and Alain Ducasse.

So when it came to creating the menu, we felt it had to be a real departure from the past. We took a simple approach: super-accessible dishes such as trout wrapped in prosciutto and grilled merguez. We were thinking about the modern traveler who would relish the splendor of the place but not want to get bogged down by food that was too traditional or too complex.

Where’s the best city in the world for food at the moment?

There are so many hotspots – Spain, Italy, the Nordic countries – but Brooklyn is really interesting right now. It’s a very exciting time.

Trend-wise, vegetables are pretty hot – dishes such as carrots wellington and parsnip steaks. I think it’s great that we’re paying more attention to stuff that’s growing.

What’s your ultimate comfort food?

A great pizza with a delicious chewy crust – there’s nothing better. I like it best with just tomatoes and chilli and oregano.

Grand Royal Seafood Platter at the King Cole Bar & Salon

insurance-brokerage industry. Around the time I was 29 I realized I wanted to cook for a living, so I enrolled on a masterchef class at the New School, and it turned out I had some aptitude.

When the course finished I got a job making salads in a very busy restaurant on Third Avenue.

Did you ever have any cooking disasters?

One of my first jobs was at Dean & DeLuca.

They asked me to make a potato salad and I got so excited that I forgot one vital ingredient – the potatoes.

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What’s the most memorable thing you’ve ever eaten?

I stumbled upon a bakery in Naples with an old pizza oven that had been there for centuries.

They were making flatbread, so we bought some, along with some buffalo mozzarella and a bottle of wine, and we sat in the park. It was just glorious – an incredible sensory experience.

If you could fly off right now and eat at any restaurant in the world, where would it be?

Shiro’s Sushi Restaurant in Tokyo. Simple, fresh, honest – that’s the kind of food I like.

Your address: The St. Regis New York

A Life in Seven Journeys

Elizabeth Gilbert

The BESTSELLING author of Eat Pray Love reflects on the seven physical, emotional and spiritual journeys that have shaped her life

The Soviet Union, 1986 This was my first overseas trip. I’d been saving my babysitting money for five years, and found an anti-nuclear war organisation that took students to Moscow and Leningrad. Although it was controlled and pretty grim – there was nothing to buy, and it was a gray November – we did get to talk to Russian teenagers and professors. One asked if we could name any Russian cities other than Leningrad or Moscow, or any living Russian authors. And we couldn’t. I discovered then that you could learn about places without going there. When I got home I enrolled in Russian and International Relations college courses. That was a mistake: it was like marrying the first boy you ever kissed. I wasn’t in love with Russia; I was in love with travel.

2 Wyoming, 1992 After college I did a road trip with my then boyfriend to the Rocky Mountains.

It was so exotic; after Connecticut, where I grew up, Wyoming was the real Wild West. People had guns. My job as trail cook was to take up to ten people into the mountains on horses, hunting and fishing and exploring glacial lakes.

I had no experience, but I had more capacity than I thought. And my first story was based on those experiences, and launched my career as a writer.

3 Texas, 1994 I’d heard about these rodeo groupies called Buckle Bunnies, and so pitched

an idea to an editor about doing a piece on them. It was my first paid assignment and the pressure was huge.

I had to learn to walk up to strangers and get them to tell me about their lives; in this case, their sex lives. I learnt something I have used ever since: if you are straight with people, tell them what you’ve come for and what your boss expects from you, and confess to your stupidity, they’ll often tell you what you want. I learnt then I could be a journalist.

4 China, 1998 At that time, journalists weren’t allowed into China. But I was naive and cocky. I said on my visa form that I was a housewife and bribed people to take me to the Three Gorges Dam, so I could write a story. It was only on the plane on the way back that I realized how stupid I had been. I knew then I didn’t have the stomach for hardcore reporting. Sometimes you have to make a journey to realize you’re on the wrong journey.

5 New Zealand, 2000 This time I thought: forget about global politics, let’s do something fun.

So I went on a research vessel with scientists off the coast of New Zealand to go in search of giant squid.

Although looking for a sea monster was exciting, on the ship I realized that I could not have children and that I did not want to be married to the person I was married to. The results 96

of that personal journey were so devastating that I didn’t go traveling for quite a while.

6 India, 2004 When I went to an ashram in India, I was at a real crossroads. It was a point at which I changed enormously: there was me pre-India, and there was me after-India. I stayed in the same ashram for four months, and the greatest lesson I learnt was to be still.

It wasn’t fun, but it was a great spiritual journey. There are many reasons to travel: to have adventure or to run away or to be exotic or to learn about another culture. Sometimes only a pilgrimage can help you find out about yourself.

7 French Polynesia, 2012 This last journey was glorious: traveling around islands to do research for my most recent novel, The Signature of All Things. Up a volcano, in the rain, on a remote island, I suddenly realized, at the age of 43, that I was exactly where I wanted to be in my life: collecting fascinating pieces of information to write up. It’s a great position to be in.

The quote I love is, “It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live a perfect imitation of someone else’s life.” In 2000, when I was married, I wasn’t. So it’s gratifying to see I’ve learnt those lessons.

The Signature of All Things is published in paperback by Penguin

Illustration: Jesse Harp

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The St. Regis ATLAS The St. Regis story around the globe, from the first hotel opening in Manhattan in 1904 to the latest in Moscow

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1. The St. Regis New York 2. The St. Regis Beijing 3. The St. Regis Rome 4. The St. Regis Houston 5. The St. Regis Washington, D.C. 6. The St. Regis Aspen Resort 7. The St. Regis Monarch Beach 8. The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort 9. The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel Under renovation 10. The St. Regis San Francisco 11. The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort 12. The St. Regis Singapore 13. The St. Regis Bali Resort 14. The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort

15. The St. Regis Atlanta 16. The St. Regis Mexico City 17. The St. Regis Princeville Resort 18. The St. Regis Deer Valley 19. The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico 20. The St. Regis Osaka 21. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort 22. The St. Regis Bangkok 23. The St. Regis Florence 24. The St. Regis Tianjin 25. The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort 26. The St. Regis Shenzhen 27. The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi 28. The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort 29. The St. Regis Doha

30. The St. Regis Mauritius Resort 31. The St. Regis Abu Dhabi 32. The St. Regis Chengdu 33. The St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace 34. The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya

COMING SOON IN 2015 35. The St. Regis Istanbul 36. The St. Regis Zhuhai 37. The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central 38. The St. Regis Changsha 39. The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

A Message from St. Regis

A TALE OF THREE CITIES

T

he St. Regis story began in New York’s celebrated Gilded Age in 1904, when John Jacob Astor IV, scion of one of America’s most storied dynasties, set out to build the finest, most luxurious hotel in the New World. He succeeded, creating a hotel which became a byword for service and sophistication.

The standards Jack Astor set remain the benchmark for every St. Regis, and we are delighted to be able to tell you that in the coming months three new properties will open, all bearing the name our founder chose for that first address on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue – and they are opening in three of the world’s most extraordinary cities.

Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province was a magnet for travelers long before Marco Polo marveled at its beauty back in the 13th century; today it is one of the most exciting cities in Asia. Istanbul was the splendid capital of two great empires, and continues to fascinate and amaze, while the very thought of Venice makes many of us want to embark on a Grand Tour.

Combining classic sophistication with a modern sensibility, The St. Regis brand is committed to delivering exceptional experiences at more than 30 of the best addresses around the world. Our hotels and resorts are settings for exceptional moments, where signature rituals such as enjoying a Bloody Mary or taking afternoon tea draw on the brand heritage and create emotional connections with guests. These time-honored traditions reflect the distinct cultural influences and local flavors of each unique destination.

Personalized, anticipatory service and luxurious pursuits are the hallmark of our brand history, as well as the essence of The St. Regis Aficionado program, where exclusive access is tailored to each guest – from an entrée to the world’s premiere private collections to swimming with dolphins in Mauritius.

Past and future, rare and refined, this is the signature of St. Regis.

Yours faithfully

Paul James Global Brand Leader, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts

The Aficionado’s Guide

An introduction to St. Regis Hotels and Resorts around the world, in alphabetical order by region Page #

AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

The St. Regis Abu Dhabi The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi The St. Regis Doha The St. Regis Mauritius Resort Coming Soon Cairo, Opening 2015 Amman, Opening 2016 Dubai, Opening 2017

THE AMERICAS

The St. Regis Aspen Resort 9 The St. Regis Atlanta 10 The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico 11 The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort 12 The St. Regis Deer Valley 13 The St. Regis Houston 14 The St. Regis Mexico City 15 The St. Regis Monarch Beach 16 The St. Regis New York 17 The St. Regis Princeville Resort 18 The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort 19 The St. Regis San Francisco 20 The St. Regis Washington, D.C. 21 Coming Soon Riviera Maya, Opening 2015

ASIA PACIFIC

The St. Regis Bali Resort The St. Regis Bangkok The St. Regis Beijing The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort The St. Regis Chengdu The St. Regis Lhasa Resort The St. Regis Osaka The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort The St. Regis Shenzhen The St. Regis Singapore The St. Regis Tianjin Coming Soon Kuala Lumpur, Changsha, Macao and Zhuhai, Opening 2015 Jakarta, Lijiang and Quingshui Bay, Opening 2016 Haikou and Sanya Haitang Bay, Opening 2020

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EUROPE

The St. Regis Florence The St. Regis Istanbul, Opening 2015 The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel, Under renovation The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya The St. Regis Rome The St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace

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The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Africa & the Middle East

The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Enduring Legacy, Arabian Sophistication

Ask us about The ornate Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which can house up to 41,000 worshippers, making it the eighth-largest mosque in the world.

Arrive around 4:30pm (except Fridays) to catch the afternoon sunlight glinting on the mosque’s 82 domes of differing sizes.

Mangrove kayaking. Explore a uniquely beautiful marine ecosystem and its stunningly rich birdlife, including herons, sandpipers, cormorants and pink flamingos.

Putting your pedal to the metal at the home of F1, the Yas Marina Circuit, which offers driver experience days. Adrenaline junkies will also love hitting the dunes in Liwa.

The guestroom of the Al Hosen Suite; the Nation Riviera Beach Club

In 2013, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi opened in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is fast developing a major arts and cultural scene, turning the city into an ever more sophisticated metropolis. Add cuttingedge architecture and world-class sports, and it’s easy to understand Abu Dhabi’s appeal. Part of the prestigious Nation Towers complex on the Corniche, a five-mile stretch adjacent to the Arabian Gulf where you’ll find walking and cycling paths and children’s play areas, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi is the ideal home-away-from-home. The hotel is near several major corporate headquarters and embassies and is convenient for shopping malls. After a day exploring, relax and soak up the sun with a refreshing cocktail on the private beachfront at the exclusive Nation Riviera Beach Club, before enjoying dinner in the hotel’s destination restaurant, Rhodes 44, overseen by British chef Gary Rhodes – his first venture in Abu Dhabi.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Yas Waterworld on Yas Island, where funseekers pour in from far and wide looking for thrills all day long at this state-of-the-art theme park. It’s an adventure of a lifetime, with 43 rides, slides and attractions – the Bandit Bomber rollercoaster alone is an awesome 550m long.

The sand dune and camel farm visit.

Take a trip out to the Al Khatim desert for a thrilling ride, then on to a camel farm to meet the ‘ships of the desert’. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

Rhodes 44, Best New Abu Dhabi Restaurant in What’s On, 2013

Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates u T. (971) (2) 694 4444 u info.abudhabi@stregis.com 283 guest rooms and suites; 8 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; private beach; children’s club stregis.com/abudhabi 5

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Africa & the Middle East

The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi Visionary Destination, Seductive Address

Ask us about Playing a round at the championship Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, just a few minutes away. The beachfront course was designed by Gary Player.

Three saltwater lakes, dunes and the beach itself are challenges along the way of this par-72 course. Lessons can be arranged.

A visit to a date farm. Discover the ancient story of a quintessential Middle Eastern delicacy, harvested from what the Arabs know as “The Tree of Life”.

The Private Abu Dhabi City Tour.

The perfect way to discover this vibrant metropolis, with the option to customize your trip. You may wish to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, linger at the fascinating Central Market or spend more time on amazing Yas Island.

The exterior of the hotel at night; the Majestic Suite

Saadiyat is an island of only ten square miles, but it packs a lot into that space. Just 15 minutes’ drive from the center of Abu Dhabi, it has a white sand beach, a designer golf course and, very soon, offshoots of both the Louvre and Guggenheim museums. It’s a chic retreat from the bustle of the city, and The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi (which opened in late 2011) has been welcomed here by regulars and new visitors alike. The architecture and interior design are stunning, showcasing the bold design principles of the award-winning architecture firm Woods Bagot and Johannesburg-based Northpoint Architects. Each room has panoramic vistas of the Gulf or golf course and interiors that meld Spanish and Arabian elements with a contemporary edge. In addition to business facilities, the resort has an Iridium spa, four swimming pools, a dedicated children’s club and the state-of-the-art St. Regis Athletic Club. Dolphins frolic in the blue waters, while nearby Saadiyat Beach is a nesting site for hawksbill turtles.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Ferrari Fun. Explore the world’s first and largest indoor theme park, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. It has more than 20 unique rides and attractions including the world’s fastest rollercoaster, dedicated entertainment, themed stores and restaurants. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 8pm. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

Included in Robb Report’s Top 100 Hotels, 2013 Included in Condé Nast Traveler’s HOT list, 2013

Saadiyat Island, P.O. Box 54345, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates u T. (971) (2) 4988888 u saadiyat@stregis.com 377 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; beach; golf; children’s club stregis.com/saadiyatisland 6

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Africa & the Middle East

The St. Regis Doha The Finest Address in Qatar

Ask us about A private guided shopping trip to the Souq Waqif for some Middle Eastern spices and souvenirs. This is the premier souq in the city for locals as well as tourists and is within walking distance of the Corniche, Doha’s waterfront promenade. Small cafés and restaurants, many with shisha, will give you a break from haggling, and they make entertaining stopping-off points en route.

The Museum of Islamic Art, home to one of the world’s most complete collections of Islamic artifacts is on a purpose-built island just off Doha’s Corniche. Our concierge, should you wish, would be delighted to organize a private tour with one of the curators of the museum.

The hotel’s postmodern Arabian exterior is both bold and welcoming; enjoy the cool ambience of the Sarab Lounge Terrace

Doha has transformed itself in an incredibly short time. Now the media and arts capital of its region, a major player in the aviation stakes and the host of the 2022 World Cup, it’s an ultra-cosmopolitan capital.

Victorian travellers needed to visit Florence, Paris and Vienna, but any 21st-century Grand Tour would definitely take in this city. The St. Regis Doha, with its postmodern Arabian architecture and panoramic views of the Persian Gulf from all rooms, is a fitting address for a stay. Five miles from the main diplomatic and financial districts and close to several of the big energy corporate headquarters, it makes business sense to base yourself here. The hotel’s new Hakkasan Doha restaurant opened in January 2013, and its modern Cantonese fine dining restaurant has already won two awards. Thanks to the hotel’s Jazz at Lincoln Center venue, which has made Doha the jazz hub of the Middle East, you are in the right place for the best evening’s entertainment, too.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Private dhow cruising.

Along the Corniche you will find traditional fishing boats that offer guests dinner and music aboard.

It’s a delightful way to see the sweep of the bay from the land, and the sea breezes as the sun goes down are especially refreshing after the heat of the day.

Desert Safari. In the south of Qatar, this family trip is a thrilling ride into the dunes. Enjoy a picnic lunch, sand boarding, camel riding and desert quad biking. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

winner, QATAR’S LEADING HOTEL SUITE, PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, WORLD TRAVEL Awards, 2014 WINNER, QATAR’S LEADING RESORT, WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS 2014

Doha West Bay, Doha 14435, Qatar u T. (974) 44460000 u stregisdoha@stregis.com 336 guest rooms and suites; 10 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; tennis; private beach stregis.com/doha 7

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Africa & the Middle East

The St. Regis Mauritius Resort Island Sanctuary

Ask us about Horse racing. Founded in 1812, the Champs de Mars is one of the oldest racetracks in the world, and every Saturday it fills with racegoers.

Blue Marlin fishing from the legendary Le Morne Angler’s Club in Black River. Some of the world’s best game fishing lies within a few miles of Mauritius’s coral barrier reef. Watch out for blue and black marlin, mako sharks, dorado, barracudas, swordfish, yellowfin tuna and others.

Rhumerie de Chamarel Distillery.

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of this distillery, and taste the rum for which it is justly celebrated. Then partake in local delicacies over lunch at L’Alchimiste restaurant.

The Manor House; a St. Regis Grand Suite Terrace just steps away from the beach and turquoise lagoon

The Indian Ocean is famed for many things: blissful beaches, indigo seas, sublime diving and a vibrant culture that melds Asian and African traditions. Mauritius brings all these together, then adds a few more.

Sheltered from the open sea by the world’s third largest coral reef, the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” also harbors, inland, some of the planet’s most beautiful mountain scenery: lofty waterfalls, lush forests and wildlife that you won’t find anywhere else, such as the Mauritian flying fox. The St. Regis Mauritius Resort has a beachfront setting at Le Morne, a seductive peninsula at the south-western tip of the island, and will indulge you with fine food and wine, spa experiences, world-class kite surfing, activities and excursions to excite the senses. An epicenter of culture and history, the peninsula has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008, and is less than 60 minutes’ drive from the capital and 20 minutes’ drive from the famed Black River Gorges National Park.

L’Aventure du Sucre Sugar Cane Factory. Discover how Mauritius’s culture, heritage and traditions are tied to its historic sugar industry, and when your hunger for knowledge has been satisfied, enjoy a specially prepared lunch.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Casela Nature & Leisure Park. Home to monkeys, giant tortoises, zebras and lions – with visitors given the unique opportunity to actually walk with the lions. For the energetic, there are also quad bikes, Segways and zip lines. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Included in Condé Nast Traveler’s HOT list, 2013 FEATURED in Tatler’s 101 Best HotelS, 2013

Le Morne Peninsula, Le Morne, Mauritius u T. (230) 403 9000 u stregismauritius@stregis.com 172 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; children’s club stregis.com/mauritius 8

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Aspen Resort Majestic Spirit of the Rockies

Ask us about Fly fishing with Aspen Outfitting Company. For any level of angler, experienced or novice, the resort’s private trout fishing lake provides a sumptuous setting for a battle of wits with what lies beneath. The surrounding mountain streams have been designated Gold Medal Water, while our certified guides know the wily ways of your fishy foe as well as anybody in Aspen.

White-water rafting. Enjoy the thrill, from gentle float trips for beginners to Class V rapids for the more ambitious. Throughout the summer months, a variety of excursions are offered on the beautiful waters of the Colorado, Roaring Fork and Arkansas rivers.

The hotel viewed from the base of Aspen Mountain; the living room of the Presidential Suite

Aspen is a special place where people can lose themselves in nature, as views of the Rockies are rarely more than a turn of the head away, yet find great pleasure in the many sports on offer. Beyond skiing, there is the arts scene and of course great spa-based activities. Yoga, fly fishing, rock climbing, jeep tours, paragliding, ballooning, winter skiing, summer hiking… the menu of lifestyle options rivals the food and drink you’ll enjoy here. One of the restaurants, Trecento Quindici Decano, has a vibrant blend of contemporary Italian and American cuisines for the whole family, including handmade pastas and pizzas. And there’s something about the raw, unspoilt setting that visitors find inspiring.

Comprehensively redesigned in 2012 by acclaimed architect Lauren Rottet, The St. Regis Aspen Resort is in downtown Aspen, between the mountain’s two primary ski lifts and within walking distance of Aspen’s shops, restaurants and entertainment, while the celebrated Chefs Club

by FOOD & WINE adds America’s most innovative cuisine to your resort experience.

Hot-air ballooning. There’s no more breathtaking way to experience the splendor of the Rockies than from high up in a hot-air balloon. The views of majestic 14,000 foot peaks and glorious sweeping meadows will stay with you forever.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Backcountry sunset Jeep dinner. Great food – spare ribs, salmon, S’mores – starlit mountain skies and live music make this four hour excursion to Burlingame Cabin on Snowmass Mountain one for the whole family to savor. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Winner, Top 40 Resorts in the West, in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013 Winner, Best Ski Resorts & Hotels category in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013

315 East Dean Street, Aspen, Colorado 81611, United States u T. (970) 920 3300 u info@stregisaspen.com 179 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; golf; ski stregis.com/aspen 9

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Atlanta Refining Southern Tradition

Ask us about A helicopter flight to see the bas-relief at Stone Mountain. The largest carving in the world, sculpted into the face of this massive natural quartz dome, is magnificent. Stone Mountain is surrounded by a park with scenic trails and plenty of attractions for families. Hire a private guide to show you around the Antebellum Plantation, a collection of 18th- and 19th-century dwellings that bring history to life.

Saks Fifth Avenue. Travel in style via a chauffeured Mercedes-Benz to Atlanta’s premier shopping destination, Saks Fifth Avenue. Then enjoy a style consultation with a Saks Personal Stylist, and refine the look that best suits your personality.

The hotel entrance; the dining room of the Empire Suite

Atlanta is known for its breezy, Southern, uncomplicated approach to life, business, culture… and just about everything else. It’s a perfect city for getting things done and for enjoying some great boutique shopping, cuisine, art, jazz and sports: major league baseball, basketball and football teams are based here. When you need to wind down or catch up with friends or business colleagues, then the perfect spot is this grand, home-away-from-home hotel in the center of Buckhead, a neighborhood just a few miles from downtown. The neighboring streets, lined with oak trees and Georgian, Tudor, Italianate and Greek Revival mansions, are pedestrian-friendly. The King Center, the CNN headquarters (which is open for tours), the Atlanta Ballet and Symphony Orchestra are all a short drive away. Inside the hotel, you’ll find an “in-town resort,” including the 40,000 sq-ft Pool Piazza. And if the mood takes you, try the hotel’s first signature tequila, The St. Regis Atlanta Herradura Private Selection Tequila, hand-crafted in Mexico’s legendary Casa Herradura distillery, served in The St. Regis Bar & Wine Room.

Private Swan House Capitol Tours.

The Swan House at the Atlanta History Center was used as a set for the movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This experience offers exclusive behind-the-scenes access, and the chance to discover more about Atlanta’s burgeoning film industry.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Whale encounters. At Georgia Aquarium (225 Baker St NW) try the new Beluga & Friends Interactive Program, which offers a two-hour wetsuit encounter with its extraordinary beluga whales. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Best U.S. Business Travel Hotel in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013 Voted IN THE Top 5 U.S. Hotels for Service in Travel + Leisure, 2013

Eighty-Eight West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, United States u T. (404) 563 7900 u stregisatlanta@stregis.com 151 guest rooms and suites; 4 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym stregis.com/atlanta 10

An Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis Hotels & Resorts: The Americas

The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico Caribbean Indulgence

Ask us about Hiking in El Yunque National Forest. A sub-tropical rainforest on the east of the island that boasts plenty of well-marked trails for an experience which is sure to thrill the more adventurous traveler with extraordinary sights and sounds.

Tucking into the flavorful local cuisine, known as cocina criolla: try traditional dishes such as arepas (corn patties), arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans, the delicious local staple), empanadillas (small patties with various fillings) and the favorite, mofongo (stuffed plantain).

The resort’s extensive Koi Ponds; the balcony of the Governor’s suite

Puerto Rico is where American and Latin American cultures meld and clash and get up to dance. A key center of the salsa music revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, it is still the home of many star performers. The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico the first St. Regis property in the Caribbean, opened in 2010 on a former coconut plantation and is the only Five-Diamond resort on the island. The expansive 483-acre property boasts views of El Yunque National Forest (with trails galore through the forest) and the Atlantic Ocean, and its low-rise plantationstyle buildings have been designed with the natural surroundings in mind.

There’s a two-mile secluded beach, a bird sanctuary, a Remède spa and a golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Puerto Rico is a muchloved beach destination, but its tropical waters are also perfect for seakayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing and fishing. The island is known for its distinctive cuisine, culture and Caribbean vibe.

Culinary U is an evening event designed for food lovers and wine connoisseurs. Enjoy culinary classes given by some of Puerto Rico’s top chefs and sommeliers, followed by live entertainment. The event will be held in August 2015 at the hotel. Please ask the concierge for details.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Organize a kayak tour to the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo or Vieques; where the water contains billions of single-celled organisms called bioluminescent dinoflagellates that emit light at night. Best viewed on an evening without any moonlight.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

One of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Hotels, 2014 The only property in Puerto Rico with a 5 Diamond award, AAA, 2014

State Road 187 kilometer 4.2, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico 00745, United States u T. (787) 809 8000 u reservations.bahiabeach@stregis.com 139 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; tennis; beach; children’s club stregis.com/bahiabeach 11

An Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis Hotels & Resorts: The Americas

The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort Miami Beach’s Most Exclusive Enclave

Ask us about Old Miami: rent a vintage car (opentop, of course) and drive around the historic Art Deco district. Or make a day of it and, afterwards, head out to the Keys.

Hiring a private guide to show you the coolest film locations. Miami has been a movie set for celluloid classics, such as Goldfinger, Scarface and There’s Something about Mary. It’s a hugely entertaining trip to discover the real places in front of Hollywood’s lens.

Tours of Pérez Art Museum Miami.

Discover the city’s exciting new cultural attraction, a home for international art of the 20th and 21st centuries, with one of PAMM’s experts. With its focus on works that reflect Miami’s diverse roots, it’s a great way to get an instant handle on its dynamic identity.

The resort’s oceanside pool; the bedroom of the Imperial Suite

Suddenly and superlatively, Miami is very exciting again. Art Basel, South Beach’s effervescent social whirl, the global chic of sophisticated urbanites, the rediscovery of Art Deco: all these have focused the world’s attention on one of the cities that will define America’s future. Exclusive Bal Harbour, on Miami Beach, has a rich history as a hotspot attracting jazz musicians, including those Rat Pack legends. It’s now one of South Florida’s premier retail arenas, with more than 100 boutiques and dozens of superb bistros and cafés. With the Atlantic right on its doorstep, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, which opened in 2012, has become one of the key sites of Miami’s buzzing social scene. Last year the hotel launched a comprehensive Wellness Program, offering more than 25 different fitness classes and optimally balanced menus. In addition, its poolside and beachfront dining venue, Fresco, has been reimagined to offer enchanting dining experiences based on chef Tom Parlo’s desire for the freshest seasonal ingredients.

The unique Neiman Marcus Closet service. Tell the personal shopping team about your style preferences, and they will stock your hotel closet for you. Genius.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: On the Jungle Island VIP Safari Tour you come very close to some of the world’s most exotic animals: red ruffed lemur, a tame cassowary and red kangaroo from Australia. It’s a day to remember. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

AWARDED AAA FIVE DIAMOND, 2014 AWARDED 5 STAR AWARD BY FORBES , 2014

9703 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, Miami Beach, Florida 33154, United States u T. (305) 993 3300 u info.balharbour@stregis.com 227 guest rooms and suites; 4 restaurants and bars; spa; gym; children’s club stregis.com/balharbour 12

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Deer Valley Slope-side Sophistication

Ask us about World class fly fishing. Deer Valley is blessed with many prized Blue Ribbon fly fishing rivers and streams, including the exclusive Thousand Peaks Ranch, only minutes from the hotel. Chefs at the J&G Grill will gladly prepare your catch for dinner.

High West Distillery. Enjoy a tour of the first legal distillery to open in Utah since the end of Prohibition.

Go behind the scenes and learn about Rocky Mountain whiskies and other mountain-crafted spirits.

Utah Olympic Park. Test your mettle on the bobsled or skeleton rides on the Olympic track. Afterward, why not wind down with visits to the fascinating Alf Engen Ski Museum and the 2002 Eccles Olympic Winter Games Museum?

The pool at the St. Regis Deer Valley; a guest bedroom with a spectacular view

Ski the champagne-powdered Deer Hollow run or sip champagne while you watch everyone else rushing about. Catch a cool arthouse movie or a largemouth bass, relax with a hot-air balloon flight over the peaks or feel the exhilaration of a high-alpine trek… The St. Regis Deer Valley is surrounded by the majestic Wasatch Mountains, a hop away from three world-famous areas for downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, ice-skating, snowshoeing, tubing and horse-drawn sleigh rides. When the snow melts, it reveals an all-season playground: walking and mountain biking trails, golf courses, art galleries, shops and restaurants.

During winter enjoy a truly unique experience by arranging to ski with our very own Ski Ambassador – two-time Olympic medalist Shannon Bahrke.

Situated slope-side, the two buildings of The St. Regis Deer Valley are connected by a funicular rail line, the only one of its kind in the US, which makes for easy access from the base of the mountain to the resort.

Saddling up for a horseback ride into the Rockies to take in some of America’s most ruggedly beautiful scenery, including memorable views of Hunter Creek and the Continental Divide.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Bobsledding at Utah Olympic Park. Reach speeds of up to 70mph with professional bobsled pilots who take three passengers along the route. All you have to do is enjoy the ride, or shut your eyes. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

gold list 2014, Condé Nast Traveler best ski resorts and ski hotels in the us 2014, condé nast traveler

2300 Deer Valley Drive East, Park City, Utah 84060, United States u T. (435) 940 5700 u deervalley.reservations@stregis.com 181 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; ski stregis.com/deervalley 13

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Houston Explore Houston’s Best Address

Ask us about Saddling up and playing a chukka or two at Houston Polo Club (8552 Memorial Drive) after a private lesson. If that’s too energetic, Sundays are when the pros play, and you can sit on the sidelines sipping bubbly and admire the fast polo ponies.

A tour of Bayou Bend, the Museum of Fine Arts’ house museum of decorative arts and paintings. Set amid 14 acres of gardens, the former home of philanthropist Ima Hogg showcases superb American furnishings, silverware and ceramics.

Playing the role of oil baron at the Oil Ranch (23501 Macedonia Road, Hockley), a 50-acre theme park just outside the city, where there is paintball, pony rides, miniature golf, fishing and even gemstone mining.

The destination swimming pool; the master bedroom of the Presidential Suite

Energy and power, Texan pride and individuality, open space and outer space, Houston is the big-muscled business capital of the Lone Star State. If the city has a reputation for getting things done and no messing around, The St. Regis Houston, in the tranquil, residential neighborhood of Post Oak Park and River Oaks, is the perfect complement. It is gracious, opulent and discreet. It’s also conveniently located only half a mile from the Galleria and six miles from Houston’s central business district. In July 2012, the celebrated design firm ForrestPerkins created a warm and welcoming Tea Lounge with a library so that guests could punctuate their outings with morning coffee, afternoon tea or pre-dinner cocktails. The spectacular outdoor pool and sundeck, located on the mezzanine level and adjacent to the spa and fitness room, draws guests back time after time. It is open from 5am until 11pm daily, for guests who love to work hard and play hard as well.

Houston Culinary Tours are led by the city’s top chefs, keen to introduce guests to Houston’s neighborhood restaurants. Including tastings, complimentary drinks and gift bags, they’re a great way of seeing the city.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: George Ranch Historical Park (10215 FM 762 Rd, Richmond) is the essence of Texas, a living-history museum tracing the Texas story, with exhibits including a prairie home, a mansion and a ranch complex with cattle demonstrations. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Awarded AAA Five Diamond, 2013 Gold Medal winner voted by Global Business Travel Association, 2013

1919 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston, Texas 77027-3408, United States u T. (713) 840 7600 u res247.stregishouston@stregis.com 232 guest rooms and suites; 2 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; exercise room stregis.com/houston 14

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Mexico City Grace and Distinction Uncompromised

Ask us about Visiting a traditional Mexican market. Join J&G Grill chef Maycoll Calderon in search of Mexico’s unique culinary ingredients, and later enjoy a cooking class with Maycoll back at the restaurant.

Ballooning to ancient Teotihuacan.

This complex of temples and pyramids lies 30 miles north of Mexico City and is a UNESCOlisted wonder of the world. Built between the first and seventh centuries, it was first excavated in the 19th century. A particularly magical way to view this extraordinary site is by a guided hot-air balloon adventure from Mexico City.

The sleek hotel dominates the Mexico City skyline; one of the suites’ living rooms

The St. Regis Mexico City is the main resident of the Torre Libertad, an architectural masterpiece built by César Pelli. It sits on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma, a grand thoroughfare modeled on the Old World’s iconic boulevards, and a bridge between the city center and the Imperial Palace in the Chapultepec Forest. In the heart of the world’s biggest city, you can, from the helipad, take in views of the most mind-boggling urban sprawl. Down on La Reforma, you’re a taxi ride away from Polanco and Condesa, the smart, leafy ’burbs, and from the Aztec temples, art galleries and cool bars and clubs of the resurgent downtown. Guy Santoro at Restaurant Diana and Maycoll Calderón at the J&G Grill, two signature restaurants within the hotel, are among the very best chefs at work in this city. Plus, our signature Cultural Curator service offers curated experiences and exclusive access to the city’s most intriguing cultural destinations, which can also be tailored to families.

San Miguel de Allende. This “Pueblo Mágico” (magical town) a few hours north west of Mexico City is now included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. Its perfectly preserved Mexican Baroque architecture is matched by the quality and diversity of its handicrafts.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: The El Papalote Museum is a children’s museum with exhibitions of science, technology and art. Young visitors will enjoy the 228 interactive exhibits, while grown-ups will love the Mayanthemed garden next door. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Included among the Top 15 hotels in Mexico in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013 Mexico’s Leading Hotel winner at World Travel Awards, 2012

Paseo de la Reforma 439, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, Mexico City, Federal District 06500, Mexico u T. (52)(55) 5228 1818 u mexico.city@stregis.com 189 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; tennis; children’s club stregis.com/mexicocity 15

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Monarch Beach A Spectacular Setting

Ask us about Your surf expert. The hotel employs a wave expert, someone who can teach you everything from the bare basics of surfing to where to find the hairiest breaks, depending on your ability.

The Mission at San Capistrano (26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano). Visit this lovingly restored Alta California mission, founded by Spanish Franciscan monks in the 1770s. There are picturesque ruins of the Great Stone Church, which was destroyed in the 1812 earthquake, as well as a fascinating little museum.

The main pool at dusk; an Ocean View Executive Suite

With its high bluffs, sheltered coves and long, inviting beaches, Monarch Beach at Dana Point, only a short drive from Los Angeles and San Diego, is one of the romantic addresses on the California coastline. A legendary surf spot, it is also recognized as one of the lifestyle hubs of southern California. Monarch Beach gets its name from a bay backing on to hills clad in sagebrush and manzanita, where the Monarch butterfly was found.

The St. Regis Monarch Beach at Dana Point is a 172-acre estate with elegant signature rooms and suites as well as the multiple award-winning Spa Gaucin. Its innovative spa menu includes the latest from Intraceuticals™ and The St. Regis Monarch Beach’s own Signature Mediterranean Spa Scent, created by Darcie DeBartelo, the spa director. The acclaimed 18hole golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., while the hotel’s private beach has memorable views. But with everything from vintage car gatherings to whale watching and even a tall ships festival in September, this is so much more than the ultimate Californian beach destination.

Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Enjoy the unique blend of luxury designer and speciality boutiques with a personal shopper before relaxing in one of the many fine and al fresco dining options.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Dana Point Harbor cruise.

Take in the extraordinary sight of migrating dolphins and whales in herds up to 5,000 strong, in a boat with a glass viewing pod, allowing you and your family to see this, one of nature’s great sights, up close, personal and in comfort.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

AwardeD FORBES travel guide five-star award, 2013 Awarded AAA Five Diamond, 2013

One Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, California 92629, United States u T. (949) 234 3200 u reservations@stregis.com 400 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; tennis; golf; children’s club stregis.com/monarchbeach 16

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis New York The Address Is The Experience

Ask us about Private art tours. Explore New York’s finest galleries – MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art – and discover the history of some of the world’s greatest and most highly prized treasures.

VIP shopping at Dior and Tiffany & Co. The Parisian fashion house of Dior has been a favorite with well-heeled New Yorkers ever since the New Look, while Tiffany & Co.’s iconic status in the city was confirmed by the store’s starring role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Both brands are justly renowned for their personal service.

The Concierge can arrange for you to enjoy the VIP experience at these two luxury emporia.

The hotel’s custom-built 2013 Bentley Mulsanne courtesy car; the living room of the Royal Suite

New York City is a collection of exceptional experiences, from the natural beauty of Central Park to the bustle of Broadway, from contemporary art at MoMA to the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District. In the heart of this great city is The St. Regis New York, the ultimate Manhattan hotel, which completed a stunning renovation in September 2013, infusing contemporary style with great heritage. Since opening its doors in 1904, cementing Fifth Avenue’s status as the ultimate address, the hotel founded by John Jacob Astor IV has been synonymous with bespoke service, innovation and luxury. The St. Regis New York celebrates a rich history that includes famous residents (Salvador Dali, Marlene Dietrich) and the invention of the “Red Snapper” – more commonly known as the Bloody Mary – by legendary barman Fernand Petiot in 1934. The classic cocktail can still be enjoyed today in front of the same Maxfield Parrish mural at the hotel’s King Cole Bar.

The Fischbach Food Tour is a way to discover New York City’s great food culture. With five different itineraries to choose from, you will try bagels, cheesecake and pizza from renowned restaurants and delis across NY’s five boroughs.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Central Park Escape.

Discover the largest park in Manhattan with our family fun expert guides. They will show you the best of the park’s culture, public art and gardens before you relax and enjoy a picnic lunch prepared by the hotel’s chef. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

Included in Condé NasT Traveler’s Gold list, 2014 Included in Travel + Leisure’s 500 World’s Best Hotels, 2013

2 East 55th Street at Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10022, United States u T. (212) 753 4500 u stregisny.res@stregis.com 238 guest rooms and suites; 2 restaurants and bar; spa; gym stregis.com/newyork 17

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Princeville Resort The Address for Life’s Celebrations

Ask us about A round on the 18-hole championship Makai golf course, designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. in 1971, who returned some 30 years after its construction to make revisions, adding length to some holes and reshaping bunkers.

Just try not to be distracted by the mountain and ocean views!

Stand-up paddle boarding. Hawaii has to be one of the best locations to take a lesson in the watersport that’s sweeping the world. It’s not hard to get your balance, but speed you have to work at.

Tropical Taste at family owned Moloa’a Sunrise Juice Bar. Try the delicious, freshly-prepared juices with fun names such as Passion Fruit Hoot, and discover the fabulous flavors of local Kauai farm produce.

The stylish dining area of the Royal Suite; the view over the magical Hanalei Bay

The first thing you’ll notice on arrival on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is the remarkable collage of natural beauty wherever you look. Lush tropical foliage is set against a deep blue ocean with a backdrop of majestic mountain peaks. The St. Regis Princeville Resort, which reopened in October 2009 following a multi-million-dollar renovation by the hotel design firm WATG and local Hawaiian architecture firm Group 70, pays homage to this beautiful setting. The clean, modern exterior is unfussy yet sophisticated, and the lobby is dominated by a cascading chandelier of more than 4,000 pieces of Murano glass, representing the waterfall on Na Molokama mountain. Four restaurants serve locally farmed and produced ingredients, and the hotel’s infinity pool overlooks the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Niihau is a privately owned island just off the south west coast and a great place to snorkel via a catamaran sea tour. The marine life in these waters includes stunning manta rays and charming sea turtles.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Jungle Valley Adventure.

From the spectacular Uluhe Fern Ridge, ride our two magnificent, 400ft-plus zip lines and connecting bridge over a pristine waterfall and swimming hole. Learn more at stregis. com/familytraditions

Featured in Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold list, 2014 One of Travel + Leisure’s 500 World’s Best Hotels, 2014

5520 Ka Haku Road, Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii 96722, United States u T. (808) 826 9644 u travelspecialist@stregis.com 251 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; tennis; golf; children’s club stregis.com/princeville 18

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort Paradise Revealed

Ask us about A lesson with a pro at one of the hotel’s two breathtakingly beautiful, 18-hole, par-72 Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses, Pacifico and Bahia, a challenge to golfers of every level.

Rest and relaxation the Remède way: the 10,000 sq ft Remède Spa features views of the landscapes of Punta Mita from every angle, making it the perfect setting for pampering both body and spirit.

Sayulita. Explore this bohemian enclave just 20 minutes from the resort, filled with art galleries and restaurants, and perhaps take a surfing lesson or go horseback riding.

The living room of the Presidential Suite; beach life with a touch of luxury

On the same latitude as Hawaii, and blessed with year-round balmy sun and ocean breezes, Punta Mita on Mexico’s Pacific Coast is where Mexico City’s high society comes for its beach-side retreats. The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort is in the Riviera Nayarit, a 1,500-acre resort and residential community, looking out on to a flawless white sand beach and surrounded by luxuriant tropical flora. There are three infinity pools on the beachfront, and the pool butlers can arrange snorkeling tours as well as excursions in the region, while La Tortuga Children’s Club provides an exciting schedule of creative and energetic activities for children aged between 5 and 12. There are two Jack Nicklaus golf courses, three full-service restaurants, villa residences, a Beach Club and the luxe Remède Spa on site, but this is no gated island experience: nearby seaside villages are kept vibrant by fishing and agriculture and by the indigenous Huichol, who maintain their artisanal traditions.

Diving in the waters off the Marietas Islands. The ecosystem of this sanctuary for marine and bird life offers a good chance of seeing manta rays, dolphins, sea turtles, humpback whales and beautiful reef fish, while above the surface you can see extraordinary birds such as the blue-footed booby.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Surf ’s Up surfing lessons are available for all ages and abilities.

Alternatively, why not try stand-up paddle boarding. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Awarded AAA Five Diamond, 2014 third PLACE in Travel + Leisure’s, World’s Best Resort in Mexico, 2014

Lote H-4, Carretera Federal 200, KM 19.5, Punta Mita, Nayarit 63734, Mexico u T. (52)(329) 291 5800 u puntamita.butler@stregis.com 120 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; 3 pools; beach; spa; golf; diving; tennis; gym; children’s club stregis.com/puntamita 19

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis San Francisco An Icon of Elegance and Artistry

Ask us about The San Francisco Giants Package is a treat for baseball fans with accommodation in a Metropolitan Suite, two St. Regis baseball hats, a St. Regis stadium blanket and two premium tickets to a game.

Enjoy wine tasting and lunch at Darioush, Napa. Set within 95 acres, the estate is known for its Bordeaux style wines and has received many awards from Decanter and Wine Spectator.

If time is limited, please let our concierge know as they can always arrange a helicopter transfer.

The magnificent mural in the lobby lounge; a view across the city from the Astor Suite

The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars, beaches, beautiful city vistas, the Beats, the breezes… it’s little wonder San Francisco tops the list of many people’s must-see cities. The St. Regis San Francisco is on the corner of Third and Mission, a short walk from the financial district, but when you have downtime, the city is a great playground for cultural days and nights on the town. On your doorstep you’ll find the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the African Diaspora, worldclass shopping in Union Square, and the Yerba Buena Gardens. Take a trip out of town to enjoy Napa Valley, the coastal towns of Carmel and Monterey, or the redwood trees in Muir Woods. Relax in the Remède Spa, where the innovative Beauté de Terroir treatment is now on offer, a partnership with Matanzas Creek winery, pairing a body scrub and massage with a three-course wine-and-cheese menu. Or simply unwind and enjoy this extraordinary property, with its spa, infinity pool and Michelin-starred Ame restaurant.

Celebrate antiques in October.

Famed for being the West Coast’s oldest continuously operating international antiques show, more than 60 dealers from America and Europe will showcase their collectibles at the Fort Mason Center. Please ask the concierge for more details.

The California Academy of Sciences. The world’s greenest museum is four destinations in one: an aquarium, planetarium, naturalhistory museum and giant rainforest.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: A family horseback trail ride through the stunning vineyards of the Chalk Hill Estate in Sonoma County, followed by lunch on the Estate’s pavilion with its panoramic valley views. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

Ame Restaurant awarded one Michelin Star, 2014 winner, Best San Francisco hotel, Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013

125 3rd Street, San Francisco, California 94103, United States u T. (415) 284 4000 u sanfrancisco@stregis.com 260 guest rooms and suites; 2 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym stregis.com/sanfrancisco 20

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: The Americas

The St. Regis Washington, D.C. Where Glamour Meets Tradition

Ask us about The Mythology Modern Chop House/Lore Lounge is the “hot” new opening in the Atlas district for 2015. Todd Luongo is aiming to create a sophisticated and sexy vibe, offering modern American cuisine with a quality wine program and rotating craft beers.

The Mingering Mike Collection at the Smithsonian. View the artwork of this self-taught artist from D.C., whose identity was a secret for decades. His work represents the boom times of black radio and his youthful fantasy of being a soul singer.

The hotel exterior at night on K Street; one of the elegant suites

In the city of powerful addresses, the grand, gracious St. Regis Washington, D.C., two blocks north of the White House, remains the powerbrokers’ hotel of choice. It was opened by President Coolidge in 1926; Ronald Reagan used to drop in to see his barber, Milton Pitts; and Jacqueline Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor were loyal guests. Over the years, redesigns by Henry Wardman and Sills Huniford have enhanced the legendary status of this, one of America’s most iconic hotels. Business and politics are right on the doorstep, but the hotel is also close to the cultural heart of D.C., a short stroll from the splendors of the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center. Eat at the hotel’s new signature restaurant, Decanter, which serves the freshest seasonal ingredients by executive chef Sebastien Rondier, influenced by the cuisines of France, Spain, Turkey and Italy, and served in a landmark restaurant designed by the architect David Rockwell.

Monuments by moonlight. Explore the city’s major monuments when they are gloriously illuminated at night. Historic sites to visit include the memorials of World War II, the Vietnam War, Abraham Lincoln, the Korean War, FDR and the city’s newest addition, in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Traditions at St. Regis program: A D.C. scavenger hunt with 11 mind-bending riddles and a special bonus challenge, this scavenger hunt will surely test the skills of intrepid young guests. The concierge team has prepared an official St. Regis scroll, replete with rhymes, clues and riddles. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

One of Travel + Leisure’s 500 World’s Best Hotels, 2013 Included in Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold list, 2012

923 16th and K Streets, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia, 20006 United States u T (202) 638 2626 00193 u reservations@stregis.com 182 guest rooms and suites; 2 restaurants and bars; gym stregis.com/washingtondc 21

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Bali Resort Beachfront Elegance

Ask us about Seeing one of the island’s beautiful temples. The 17th-century HinduBuddhist Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple (Candikuning) has a stunning lakeside location in the highlands and is best visited in the early morning when the air is cool and the manicured gardens are empty of visitors. Around the south-western coast, seven sea temples form a chain within sight of each other.

Scuba diving. Experienced divers can explore wrecks such as the USS Liberty at Tulamben, to the north-east of the island, while novices can enjoy learning in warm tropical waters that are home to manta rays and small reef sharks.

The private sandy beach at the southernmost tip of Bali; the exterior of Strand Villa

Bali is the best known of several thousand Indonesian islands and has been inhabited since 2000 BC. Its natural wonders are the main draw: beautiful beaches, colorful coral reefs, a central mountain range and dense tropical rainforest harboring many species of flora and fauna, including orchids, butterflies, ferns, birds and monkeys. The St. Regis Bali Resort is in Nusa Dua, on the southernmost tip of the island overlooking the Indian Ocean, with a private sandy beach, a saltwater swimmable lagoon and the sublime Remède Spa with its hydrotherapy pool. It’s the perfect base for a Bali break. In its own tropical park, the Children’s Learning Center has intelligent, fun-filled activities for the youngest connoisseurs. From your journey around the island, take back souvenirs of local crafts, such as woodcarving, weaving, and colorful batik textiles, which make wonderful gifts. In the evening, dine in style at Kayuputi or enjoy the traditional live gamelan music along with Indonesian specialities at Dulang.

A canang sari is an offering of flowers and herbs presented at Balinese temples, with each color in the canang having a different meaning. Families are invited to visit the Children’s Learning Centre to learn more about these delicately crafted Hindu baskets, and create their own.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: The Pirate Camp offers children (and adults) the chance to be a pirate for the day! Complete with a pirate ship, tree houses and a watchtower, here families can enjoy activities such as treasure hunts, fishing with nets and kite making.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

gold list 2014, condé nast traveler best luxury destination spa in indonesia, world luxury spa awards 2014

Kawasan Pariwisata, Lot S6, PO Box 44, Nusa Dua, Bali 80363, Indonesia u T. (62) (361) 8478 111 u stregis.bali@stregis.com 123 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; children’s club stregis.com/bali 22

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Bangkok Vibrant Location, Discreet Hospitality

Ask us about The hotel, together with the Blue Elephant Cooking School, offers private cookery classes tailored to any skill level, from complete beginner to professional. They take place in an atmosphere of warm encouragement to inspire you to get creative in your own kitchen.

Learning Thai massage. Wat Po is an important center of Thai arts, where in-depth massage courses are offered to a professional standard.

Vimanmek Mansion. The world’s largest golden teakwood structure was once the palace of the Royal Family.

Today it is a museum, filled with precious artifacts that offer a rare insight into its former owners’ lives.

The St. Regis Bangkok overlooks the Royal Bangkok Sports Club; the living room in the John Jacob Astor Suite

Tuk-tuks, trucks, riverboats, bicycles, boats and buses... the Thai capital is a whirling mass of energy that will surprise returning visitors as much as first-timers. But Bangkok is a warm and friendly place, thanks to its people, and you can always follow up that sweltering morning’s outing, business meeting or hike around the spectacular 18th-century Grand Palace with a slow meal of the most fragrant cuisine on earth. The soothing décor of The St. Regis Bangkok immerses guests in luxury from the moment they arrive. It might be in the fast-beating heart of central Bangkok, but it is also just moments from the peaceful Lumpini Park, with its lawns, trees and boating lake. What could be better than starting your evening with cocktails in the Sky Lounge, watching the sun set on another eventful day?

Hiring a guide for a visit to Bangkok’s markets, especially the flower market and the Asiatique night bazaar on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. The sprawling Chatuchak weekend market has everything, from ancient books to herbal remedies.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Caring for elephants is an inspiring experience at Elephant World, a rehabilitation facility in the Kanchanaburi province, 110 miles from Bangkok. During your visit learn how to feed and bathe elephants.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Named second Hotel in Thailand in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, 2014 One of Smart Travel Asia’s Top 25 Business Hotels in Asia, 2013

159 Rajadamri Road Bangkok, 10330 Thailand u T. (66) (2) 207 7777 u stregis.bangkok@stregis.com 227 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym stregis.com/bangkok 23

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Beijing Beijing’s Most Prestigious Address

Ask us about The art districts. The neighborhoods of 798/Dashanzi and Caochangdi, both in the Chaoyang area of the city, are not only fascinating for their contemporary art shows but also have a laid-back village feel, with lots of coffee shops and cozy bars.

Entertainment at Laoshe Tea House.

Enjoy a diverse performance of everything from acrobatics to puppetry, kung fu, hand imagery and even a little opera. A great way to experience the lighter side of Beijing’s cultural heritage.

The porte-cochère at night, just a short walk from the Silk Market; a Diplomat Deluxe Room

Beijing is the capital of a great power once more, and The St. Regis Beijing is ideally positioned close to the diplomatic quarter, business district and the Forbidden City, as well as being surrounded by some of the city’s finest restaurants and bars. The signature St. Regis Butler Service, private-dining suites and mansion ambience reflect the values of old China, preparing you for your next foray into local business or culture and the dizzying experience of Chinese cuisine, including the highly-esteemed Celestial Court restaurant, serving authentic southern Chinese cuisine in a traditional setting. Afterwards, take time to unwind in the hotel’s Iridium Spa, one of Beijing’s most luxurious, and one that has its own natural hot spring water for soaking in. On the spa menu you will find as many as 40 Western and Chinese therapies, a comprehensive list that is sure to soothe the spirits and rejuvenate the senses.

Park life: spend a morning on the lawns of the Temple of Heaven among today’s tai chi students, opera singers and musicians. They gather here at the base of a cluster of 15th-century buildings to practise their arts in the open air. An ancient pine forest still surrounds this architectural masterpiece.

Family Traditions at St. Regis progam: One night in Beijing is a special six-hour family experience. Ride a traditional Chinese rickshaw to historic Houhai Lake, climb the ancient Drum Tower, join a local family to make dumplings and then watch a Houhai kung-fu spectacle.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

gold list 2014, condé nast traveler Hotel of the Year in China Business News, 2013

21 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Beijing 100020, China u T. (86) (10) 6460 6688 u stregis.beijing@stregis.com 258 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym stregis.com/beijing 24

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort Paradise Perfected

Ask us about Snorkeling in the hotel’s private lagoon. The crystal-clear waters surrounding Bora Bora are home to a rich variety of marine life including beautiful coral, manta rays, white-tip reef sharks, turtles and dolphins.

Discover the secrets of Tahitian cultured pearls. This is an unmissable chance to gain a fascinating insight into the world of pearl cultivation and to try pearl diving for yourself in one of the world’s most beautiful lagoons.

If you are lucky enough to find one of these fabulous creations, it is yours to keep.

One of the over water villas facing Mt Otemanu; a Master Bedroom overlooking the ocean

Bora Bora, discovered by Captain Cook in 1769, is a 16-square-mile tropical island surrounded by coral reef and lagoons. This muchmythologized South Pacific island is some 5,000 miles west of Lima and almost 4,000 miles north-east of Sydney, its remoteness matched by its year-round warm climate and outstanding beauty. A step away from the picture-perfect beaches are rugged volcanic mountains covered with lush tropical vegetation. At the secluded 44-acre St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, all rooms have private dining areas, daybeds and state-of-the-art entertainment systems, and are elegantly decorated with Polynesian arts and crafts. Rooms either have direct access to the beach or are thatched villas built over water; views are of the extinct volcanoes, the lagoon or the reef. For the utmost privacy, the three-bedroom Royal Estate has four bathrooms, its own beach, a pool and a spa with sauna and hamam. If you are in search of perfect pampering, go to the resort’s Miri Miri Spa

by Clarins, a place of deep relaxation on its own private island.

Skimming across the waves out to a private island retreat for a picnic.

Your motorboat skipper will whisk you away to a deserted motu, a coral-andsand speck in the ocean. Here you experience a true Robinson Crusoe hideaway, but one where you never have to forgo fine food and wine.

Taking a history-themed 4x4 safari of the island. During the Second World War, Bora Bora was home to 7,000 U.S. troops, who used the island as a supply base. The surviving cannons make an eerie contrast to the tropical landscape.

Voted first hotel spa and fourth resort in the South Pacific in Travel + Leisure, 2013 winner, Top 25 hotels in the South Pacific, TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice, 2013

MotOme’e BP 506, Bora Bora 98730, French Polynesia u T. (689) 607898 u reservations@stregisborabora.com 100 guest rooms and suites; 4 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; tennis; children’s club stregis.com/borabora 25

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Chengdu A Modern Legacy of Storied Luxury

Ask us about Getting fired up. Sichuan is rated as one of the four great Chinese cuisines, but the region’s delicious food is not only spicy; it’s a careful balance of different tastes and textures. Try gong bao ji ding (chicken with peanuts) or yu xiang qie zi (sweet and sour Sichuan eggplant).

Jinsha Site Museum (277 Qingyang Dadao). The impressive nine-acre site showcases a dazzling array of historical pottery, jade, gold and elephant tusks from the Jinsha culture.

A Grand Deluxe Room; the Grand Staircase and Drawing Room

The capital city of Sichuan province is flourishing as a business hub, in part because of the excellent links to the rest of the province. But this is nothing new for Chengdu. It was one of the first places in the world to issue paper currency and the starting point for part of the Southern Silk Route, from where merchants would take the region’s renowned wares to the wider world. Yet for all its importance, this ancient metropolis, founded in 316 BC, retains a remarkably relaxed atmosphere. You’ll find delicious Sichuan food being served at the hotel’s signature restaurant Yan Ting, numerous of tea houses and, for downtime, parks and temples to explore. Thanks to its location, The St. Regis Chengdu, the newest St. Regis hotel, is perfectly placed for business meetings, yet within easy reach of prestige boutiques and cultural highlights, including temples, museums and parks. If time allows you a trip out of town, visit the world’s largest Buddha statue or visit Dujiangyan to see the ancient irrigation system built in 256 BC during the Qin Dynasty.

Buddhist Temples on Mount Emei.

Rising to more than 10,000ft above sea level, Mount Emei is the highest of China’s four holy Buddhist mountains. In this spectacular setting there are around 30 hauntingly beautiful temples to discover and explore.

A personal shopper. Chengdu is known for high quality crafts such as silk and embroidery or lacquer ware as well as tea. Our conceirge can hire a personal shopper for you.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: National treasures. The Chengdu Panda Base, 6 miles north of Chengdu, is a spacious park with lakes, lawns and bamboo forest that’s home to 120 giant pandas and other endangered animals.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

99 Tidu Street, Qingyang District, Chengdu 610016, Sichuan, China u T. (86) (266) 287 6666 u stregis.chengdu@stregis.com 279 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; indoor & outdoor pools stregis.com/chengdu 26

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Lhasa Resort Pinnacle Address

Ask us about The Potala Palace. One of the most famous architectural works in the world and a symbol of the Tibetan people, just 15 minutes from the resort. See it after hours, in an atmosphere of peace and sanctity.

Tibetan painting. Wall painting originated in Tibet in ancient times, and many of the glorious examples found in Lhasa’s temples are hundreds of years old. Depicting weddings and religious and sporting events, they offer a precious insight into Tibet’s history.

Visiting the celestial lake on the Tibetan Plateau. There are hundreds of high-altitude lakes; among the most popular with visitors is Yandro Yumtso Lake, 80 miles from Lhasa.

The magnificent Potala Palace overlooking Lhasa; the Khailash Suite’s living room

Set 12,000 ft above sea level, Lhasa is surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, with air as clean as you’re likely to find anywhere in the world. This extreme location will most likely take your breath away in more ways than one – you may need time to adjust to the altitude. For centuries, Lhasa has been the spiritual and political home of Buddhism, and the city is booming as tourists and pilgrims alike search for enlightenment and peace in the Place of the Gods, the name given to the city by the ancients. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort is a luxury five-star property in the city’s bustling old quarter where the Jokhang Temple, frequented by Buddhist pilgrims, is found. The resort’s spectacular Iridium spa offers specialist Tibetan treatments, or you might find healthy inspiration at the hotel’s cooking school. A must for lovers of good food, the Si Zi Kang Restaurant is one of the first gastronomic Tibetan restaurants in the world and through cooking and décor, will bring you closer to this fascinating culture.

Touring the Jokhang Temple (Balang North Street, Chengguan). This 7th-century temple is Tibet’s holiest site. Go in the morning when Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims arrive, and stay until the afternoon, when the interior is opened to non-Buddhists.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Seeing Namtso Lake, the largest in Tibet and one of the highest-altitude saltwater lakes in the world. Yaks and horseback riding are available for families in this threehour excursion. Learn more at stregis.com/ familytraditions

readers’ choice awards, condé nast traveler 2014 One of the World’s 10 sexiest swimming pools, international traveller magazine 2014

No. 22, Jiangsu Road, Lhasa, Tibet (Xizang) 850000 China u T. (86) (891) 680 8888 u reservation.lhasa@stregis.com 162 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; yoga; pilates; cookery school stregis.com/lhasa 27

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Osaka Cosmopolitan Distinction

Ask us about Kuidaore: the food-lovers’ pastime.

Osaka is the foodie capital of Japan, and you should spend an evening exploring neon-lit Dotonbori trying delicacies such as takoyaki octopus balls and puffer fish sashimi. The Midosuji festival takes place next to the hotel and is packed with gourmands from different corners of the world.

Walking the seven slopes of Tennoji, and visiting a handful of the 200 temples and shrines on the south side of Osaka Castle. The route, along Kamimachi-suji street, is lined with ancient cherry trees laden with blossom in spring and filled with the fragrance of incense.

The St. Regis Osaka Zen Garden; the master bedroom of the Royal Suite

For many travelers, Osaka has all the urban energy and lively vibe of Tokyo with the heritage and historical riches of Kyoto. On Midosuji Avenue, where The St. Regis Osaka is located, you will find examples of the city’s long history, in the form of architectural masterpieces dating from the Taisho Era (1912-1926) and the following Showa period. The avenue has been dubbed the Champs Elysées of the Orient. The St. Regis Osaka is within a 27-storey building, the tallest in the urban renewal zone. It provides striking views over the city and is perfectly positioned for you to explore Osaka’s multi-Michelin-starred restaurant scene, cultural life and Buddhist shrines. The hotel’s garden terrace is lush with plants and has a stone garden around which to take a stroll, or you can sit and take time out from the streetscape below.

Yamamoto Noh Theater. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the home of Japanese musical drama, with its impressive collection of masks and costumes, and experience what it feels like to take the stage.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: My Cup Noodle Factory makes for a fascinating excursion.

Learn about ramen noodles, create a custom noodle soup, design your own cup and explore the museum.

Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

five-pavilion award in Michelin Guide Kansai region, 2014 Japan’s Leading Hotel, World Travel Awards, 2013

3-6-12 Hommachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0053, Japan u T. (81) (6) 6258 3333 u stregis.osaka@stregis.com 160 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; excercise room stregis.com/osaka 28

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort China’s Most Coveted Beachfront Address

Ask us about Visiting Nanshan Temple. The sprawling Buddhist temple at the foot of Nanshan mountain, 25 miles from Sanya, was completed only in 1998 (2,000 years after the arrival of Buddhism in China), and comprises replica Tang Dynasty architecture.

Diving or snorkeling. You can see coral reefs and colorful tropical fish in the calm waters surrounding the small island of Wuzhizhou, which lies in Haitang Bay, just north-east of Sanya. On the island itself, up to 2,700 individual plant species exist.

Lagoon View bedroom; the hotel’s marina

The tropical island of Hainan, China’s smallest province, has clean air, tropical vegetation, pristine beaches and offers the perfect escape from the bustle of the mainland cities. Located in the exclusive Yalong Bay on the south coast of Hainan Island in South China, The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort’s contemporary architecture was inspired by the concept of two intertwined dragons. The hotel opened in November 2011 and is the perfect choice for guests looking for a deluxe, relaxing vacation. It has access to more than half a mile of coastline on Yalong Bay (also called Asian Dragon Bay), where guests can stroll or swim. The bay has the island’s only sail-in, sail-out access for yachts, through an exclusive partnership with the Sanya Yalong Bay Yacht Club (and the only golf driving range on the coveted beach side of Yalong Bay), and guests can charter a fully staffed Yacht Club vessel for a sunset cruise.

Learning to sail on the South China Sea. The Yalong Bay Yacht Club is directly adjacent to the resort, and provides excellent short sailing courses. The coastline of southern Hainan is quiet and clean and offers many peaceful havens for a beach picnic.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: The Mangrove Forest Kayak Tour. A guided trip taking you to nearby mangrove forests by kayak, a ride that lasts for up to three hours, where you can see egrets, cormorants and pink flamingos. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

gold list, condé nast traVELER 2014 best resort hotels, travel + leisure magazine 2014

Yalong Bay National Resort District, Sanya Yalong Bay, Hainan 572016, China u T. (86) (898) 8855 5555 u reservations.sanya@stregis.com 401 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; private beach; water sports; tennis; children’s club stregis.com/sanyayalongbay 29

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Shenzhen Towering Sophistication

Ask us about Shenzhen’s art scene: visit the galleries in Dafen Oil Painting Village (Dafen Village, Buji, Longgang District) and buy something that will last. This place trades literally millions of artworks a year.

Lychee picking. Take a trip beyond the bustle of the city to get better acquainted with China’s favorite fruit.

The Window of the World, a theme park with models of sights from around the world, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Angkor Wat of Cambodia. Continue your visit in the world’s largest fossil forest, Fairy Lake Botanical Garden and Shenzhen Palaeontological Museum.

Malt, serving single malt whiskies and cigars on the 100th floor; the Iridium spa pool

Shenzhen, a commercial hub in southern China just to the north of Hong Kong, is one of the country’s most dynamic supercities. The hotel, which opened in 2011, was designed by the renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell, and occupies the top 28 floors of the landmark glass-and-steel 100-story Kingkey 100 tower in the heart of the Luoh financial district.

Take advantage of the height at The St. Regis Bar on the 96th floor, which serves sushi and sashimi and has stunning panoramic views of Shenzhen city. Business travelers like to unwind with a treatment in The St. Regis Shenzhen’s Iridium Spa, or meet colleagues in Decanter wine bar or in Malt, the whisky bar. Shoppers are spoilt for choice and make straight for the upmarket KK Mall. Otherwise, head off to explore the city’s local theme parks, gardens and historical attractions.

Discovering Dapeng Ancient Town.

This fortress city, overlooking Daya Bay in the east of Shenzhen was built during the Ming Dynasty at the end of the 14th century and offers visitors a powerful connection to China’s imperial past.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Happy Valley. Shenzhen’s most famous theme park, with almost 100 exciting rides and attractions in nine themed areas, including Cartoon City, Mount Adventure, Shangri-la Woods and Sunshine Beach. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

One of Travel + Leisure’s Top 100 Hotels in China, 2013 One of the Hot 25 Business Hotels by Smart Travel Asia, 2012

No. 5016 Shennan Road East, LuohDistrict Shenzhen, Guangdong 518001 China u T. (86)(755) 8308 8888 u stregis.shenzhen@stregis.com 290 guest rooms and suites; 5 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym stregis.com/shenzhen 30

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Singapore Timeless Elegance

Ask us about Gillman Barracks is one of Asia’s newest contemporary art destinations.

Visitors may wander around this former military stronghold and enjoy regularly changing exhibitions in the international art galleries.

Bollywood Veggies in the Kranji countryside enables visitors to experience the rustic side of the island through cooking classes, walks around the 10-acre farm, or simply by relaxing in the excellent restaurant.

Kampong Glam. Exploring the prettily colored and wonderfully preserved old Arab shops in this conservation area is a true delight.

A Penthouse Room on the 20th floor; the pool with its sculpture Floating to Sukhavati, by the Taiwanese artist Li Chen

Singapore isn’t all skyscrapers: close to The St. Regis Singapore, in the embassy district, the Singapore Botanic Gardens offer a respite from the city’s angular modern architecture. Stroll around its themed gardens, and enjoy lakes, sculptures and displays of exotic flora: orchids, mature kapok and rain trees. The hotel is also close to the financial district, the famous shopping on Orchard Road, and Dempsey Hill, a revitalized colonial neighborhood with restaurants, clubs, bars, boutiques, antiques stores and art galleries. And if you want more of the latter, The St. Regis Singapore is home to one of the finest private art collections in Asia, with works by Miró, Chagall and Fernando Botero. For dining, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, Yan Ting, has new interpretations of classic dishes, or experience contemporary French cuisine at Brasserie Les Saveurs or Italian at LaBrezza.

Hop on a Duck Tour and enjoy a land and sea adventure in a converted WWII amphibious vehicle. The hourlong ride will enable you to see Singapore’s famous skyline, historical landmarks and gorgeous bay view from this unique craft.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: River Safari, Asia’s only river-themed safari park. Enjoy a natural adventure inspired by eight of the world’s greatest rivers, which also has two resident giant pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

INTERNATIONAL RECEPTIONIST OF THE YEAR, 2014 10 BEST HOTELS IN SINGAPORE, ELITETRAVELER.COM, 2014

29 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247911 u T. (65) 6506 6888 u stregis.singapore@stregis.com 299 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; tennis stregis.com/singapore 31

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Asia Pacific

The St. Regis Tianjin Tianjin’s Premier Address

Ask us about A private guided tour around Tianjin’s Shenyang Road antiques market. This is one of the most significant collectors’ markets in the whole of China, with more than 300 stalls. The region is known for its carpets and clay figurines, but it’s fun just to browse. Look out for pottery and Chairman Mao memorabilia.

XiangSheng, a tea house tradition.

XiangSheng, meaning cross-talks, is a much-loved Chinese comedy and one of the country’s most popular art forms. Experience this in a Tianjin tea house and gain a fascinating insight into traditional Chinese culture.

The hotel’s spectacular exterior – part of the city’s march skywards; the Presidential Suite bedroom

China’s fourth-largest city, the coastal metropolis of Tianjin has a fascinating history as the entry point for foreigners visiting and trading with Beijing and the rest of northern China. The city’s history is well explained at the Tianjin Museum. The European-style houses of the French and German concessions add a dash of grandeur to the metropolis, and original turn-of-the-century architecture can still be seen in the Wudadao district. The hotel is on the bank of the scenic Hai River (cruises can be arranged), near the craft shops along Ancient Culture Street; the Jinwan Plaza and ferris wheel are also nearby. All rooms have city views, but if it’s a special trip, book the Presidential Suite, which has Chinese antiques, its own dining room and whirlpool bath. Also try the St. Regis River Lounge, the only chic riverside lounge bar in the city, where there is a monthly gathering for cocktails and a daily fresh BBQ grill, with great food to accompany the breeze from the river.

The Porcelain House. Originally a French-style villa in the old French Concession. Enjoy a visit to this extraordinary building which has been adorned with more than 400 million pieces of ancient porcelain and 20 tons of natural crystals.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Ancient Chinese Family Mansion Tour. This ancient single family home, called the Shi Family Courtyard, dates from the late Qing Dynasty and is a great place to find out about the history and traditions of Northern China. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

best hotel in north china, ttg travel aWARDS, 2014 supreme business hotel, trends magazine, 2014

158 Zhangzizhong Road, Heping District Tianjin, Tianjin 300041, China u T. (86) (22) 5830 9999 u stregis.tianjin@stregis.com 274 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; gym; cookery school stregis.com/tianjin 32

An Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis Hotels & Resorts: Europe

The St. Regis Florence Premiere Location, Renaissance Grandeur

Ask us about A chauffeur-driven Bentley to take you up into the Florentine hills.

Combine sightseeing and mountain air with lunch at Ristorante Omero (Via Pian dei Giullari 47, Località Arcetri), which specializes in traditional Tuscan cuisine. Farther afield you can visit the deservedly popular ancient walled city of Siena, or Pisa – both are just an hour’s drive from the city.

Kitchen School at Desinare. Housed in the showroom of interior designer Riccardo Barthel, Desinare offers morning, evening and customized themed courses in everything from wine-tasting to table decoration.

The Duomo and the rooftops of Florence; the Presidential Suite

A palazzo designed in 1432 by Filippo Brunelleschi, the architect of the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, The St. Regis Florence was converted into a hotel in the mid-1800s. When Queen Victoria took a Grand Tour, she stayed here. Extensive restoration in 2011 included the addition of a designer suite by Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta, and the public areas are just as dramatic. The fine-dining Winter Garden by Caino restaurant has a 19th-century illuminated colored-glass ceiling; and in keeping with the Tuscan capital’s Renaissance heritage, there are classic frescoes and antiques throughout the building. Florence is a compact and, in the right season, relaxing city. After you’ve seen the world-class Uffizi Gallery and Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia, make the most of the hotel’s location on the Piazza Ognissanti in the city’s historical heart: order an aperitivo, and sit back and watch as dusk falls over the city’s churches, hills and belltowers.

The St. Regis Dan Brown Package is a treat for fans of the bestselling author – and of the great poet Dante Alighieri. The tour takes in sites that are featured in the book Inferno, including the Badia Tower, the palatial home of the Dante Society, the Dante Church and the Signoria Palace.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: The Secret Florence Treasure Hunt. A three-hour discovery of the hidden gems via a privately guided treasure hunt, both magical and revealing. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

gold list, Condé Nast Traveler, 2014 reader award, travel + leisure, 2014

Piazza Ognissanti 1, Florence 50123, Italy u T. 0039 055 27161 u stregisflorence@stregis.com 100 guest rooms and suites; 1 restaurant and bar; spa; gym stregis.com/florence 33

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: europe

The St. Regis Istanbul Contemporary elegance, historical heritage

Ask us about Turkish coffee and baklava. Coffee shops across Turkey are rarely quiet.

In the mornings you’ll often see businessmen conducting meetings while at night the chairs are filled with a younger crowd intent on socializing.

Whatever time of day, the balance of strong bitter coffee with super-sweet sticky baklava delivers a perfect caffeine and sugar combo.

Antiques shopping. Enlist a personal guide to help you navigate the city’s best shops selling Turkish, Islamic and Ottoman art, carpets, books, textiles and ornaments.

The hotel exterior; the Empire Suite Bedroom

Istanbul has long been the place where Europe and Asia met and exchanged goods, philosophies, cultures and credos. In the last decade, it has become a confident, modern city and has witnessed booms in the art scene, in the quality and range of its nightlife, and in business. Ancient meets modern with confidence in Istanbul. Once you’ve ticked off traditional landmarks including Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar, explore modern must-sees such as contemporary art at Istanbul Modern and Galerie Nev, hip fashion boutiques in Cihangir or nightlife in Ortakoy or Beyoglu. Sisli is a quiet neighborhood adjoining bustling Beyoglu, so you get the best of both worlds.

Beyoglu. Hang out with the hipsters and arty crowd, browse the boutiques and studio-galleries that are housed in rejuvenated historical buildings in the higgledy-piggledy streets of the neighbourhood near Taksim Square and Istiklal Caddesi.

Bathing. Few things revive a jetlagged body more efficiently than a vigorous scrub and massage in a steamy Turkish hamam.

A private cruise. Sightsee the Istanbul skyline Sultan-style from the Bosphorus aboard a chartered yacht.

Mim Kemal Oke Cad. N° 35, Nisantasi, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey u T. (90)(212) 368 0000 u stregis.istanbul@stregis.com 118 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; gym stregis.com/istanbul 34

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Europe

The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel A Regal Address

Ask us about Afternoon Tea at The Lanesborough.

Enjoy this centuries-old, muchloved English tradition, done in great style, overseen by the UK’s first Tea Sommelier.

Arranging a personal shopping experience at the nearby department stores, Harrods or Harvey Nichols.

Highly-skilled personal shoppers will help you select purchases, which will then be delivered to your room by your personal Butler.

Booking a private guide to take you to see the Old Masters in the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, home to some of the world’s most celebrated paintings, including works

by Titian, Vermeer and Monet.

The hotel exterior with The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery passing by; afternoon tea

Overlooking London’s Hyde Park, The Lanesborough is perfectly positioned in the heart of London, just minutes from the luxury boutiques of Sloane Street and Knightsbridge. Also nearby is Mayfair, with its art galleries, fine dining restaurants and celebrated addresses such as Savile Row, home of London’s celebrated custom tailoring tradition, Jermyn Street and Piccadilly. A handsome Regency building built in 1829, that combines modern facilities with the ambience of a 19th century aristocratic townhouse. The Lanesborough is a short stroll from the grandeur of The Mall and Buckingham Palace and the leafy urban retreat that is St. James’s Park. But for all the attractions of this exciting city with its world-class theater and art scenes, sometimes it is tempting to remain within the luxurious confines of the hotel – to dine, enjoy a relaxing spa treatment, or simply to experience the worldrenowned service and attention to detail.

The Body Blitz for Ladies at Grace Belgravia. Grace Spa’s team of experts will give you an overall health and fitness check to optimise your levels of wellbeing. Grace Belgravia, a female-only spa directed by Dr Tim Evans, Apothecary to HM the Queen, takes a 360-degree approach to wellness, with a mantra of inside-out beauty. The Body Blitz includes nutritional and fitness assessment, personal training, skin assessment, full body scrub and access to all of Grace Belgravia’s facilities and services.

gold list, Condé Nast Traveler, 2014 Awarded 5 stars, Forbes Travel Guide, 2013

Hyde Park Corner, London SW1X 7TA, England u T. (44) (20) 7259 5599 u info@lanesborough.com 93 guest rooms and suites; 3 restaurants and bars; spa; gym stregis.com/london 35

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Europe

The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort Mediterranean Sanctuary, Privileged Address

Ask us about Wine-tasting. Binissalem is a much-admired wine DOC (official wine-growing region), long appreciated in Spain, but with a growing reputation among wine fans from farther afield. There are 13 important wineries in the area: combine cellar visits with lunch in lovely, unspoiled towns such as Alaró and Santa Maria del Camí.

The Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation. Take an after-hours tour of this great and much-loved artist’s studio, where he worked from the 1950s until his death in 1983.

A day out in Deià. Long associated with intellectuals, writers and artists, this tumbling, terraced village, now home to celebrities, makes an idyllic setting for a spot of lunch.

The resort’s swimming pool; palm trees enhance the traditional-looking Spanish architecture

All the pleasures and treasures of the Western Mediterranean are found in Mallorca, the main island of the Balearics. The beaches get a lot of attention and some are pretty stunning, but inland are olive groves and vineyards, mountains and rural mansions, cozy old restaurants and tourist-free towns and villages. Long before the mad rush for the sand and the sea, the wealthier and wiser islanders preferred to build their estates high up and away from the coast to avoid pirates – follow their lead to get a real insider’s view of the place. In the south-western corner of the island on the Costa d’en Blanes there are turquoise waters and a sense of being apart from the hubbub. This is also where you’ll find The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, whose guest rooms were designed by Claudio Carbone. It is a lovely hideaway and a perfect base for exploring the best of the island. Continue your relaxing stay with a session on the new wooden yoga platform, which has a tranquil sea view.

Música Mallorca. Enjoy a series of classical concerts in Palma between October 11 and November 8, featuring the likes of Gary Martin, Betsy Horne and Kevin Conners.

Family Traditions at St. Regis progam: The Tramuntana Mountains, close to the hotel, are one of Mallorca’s greatest natural assets and UNESCOlisted as a World Heritage Site. Walks and treks to suit all take place in this exquisite landscape. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

RestaurAnt Es Fum awarded one Michelin Star, 2011

Carretera Palma – Andratx 19, Costa d’en Blanes, Mallorca 07181, Spain u T. (34)(971) 629629 u info.mardavall@stregis.com 130 guest rooms and suites; 4 restaurants and bars; spa; pool; beach; gym; private jetty; children’s club stregis.com/mallorca 36

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Europe

The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya Historical heritage in the heart of Moscow

Ask us about A trip to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Visit the once top-secret Russian astronaut training center in Star City, near Moscow, where you can explore full-size models of Russian spacecraft, training craft for simulating weightlessness, and the world’s largest centrifuge.

Visit Suzdal and Vladimir. Traveling with an expert private guide, discover the two towns considered the most alluring of the famous Golden Ring.

On a tour of Vladimir, visit the beautiful Assumption Cathedral, then head to Suzdal for a walking tour along the Kremlin ramparts.

The bedroom of the Presidential Suite; the luxurious L. Raphael spa swimming pool

One of the world’s greatest cities, Moscow is a powerhouse of business, culture and tourism. Situated in the historic center of the Russian capital, within easy walking distance of the celebrated Bolshoi Theater and the Kremlin, you’ll find the St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya. A stone’s throw also from major business centers and the Duma – Russia’s parliament – the hotel’s well-equipped business center provides outstanding conference facilities and responsive service for business travellers – with the opportunity to unwind in the stylish L. Raphael spa and fitness center.

For leisure travellers, the hotel promises a heady mix of high culture and world-class retail in the boutiques of Nikolskaya Plaza, the city’s new luxury shopping destination. When it comes to dining, the hotel’s Mosaik restaurant features an open kitchen and a menu comprising exquisite dishes inspired by international trade routes – not to mention a top-floor lounge offering unforgettable views across the Moscow skyline.

A private guided tour of the Bolshoi Theater. Marvel at the dramatic history and ornately decorated interiors of this celebrated national treasure, where world-class ballet and opera have been performed for more than 250 years.

An early-admission guided walking tour of the Kremlin. Beat the crowds that build up later in the day by entering the Kremlin at the earliest admission time. Visit some of this iconic building’s most popular attractions – inclduing the Armory, Diamond Fund Exhibition and Assumption Cathedral – on a fascinating guided walking tour.

Nikolskaya Street 12, Moscow, 109012, Russian Federation u T. (7)(495) 967 7776 u info@hotelnikolskaya.com 210 guest rooms and suites; 6 restaurants and bars; pool; spa; fitness center stregis.com/moscow 37

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Europe

The St. Regis Rome Patrimony of Art & Legacy of Service

Ask us about Viewing the spectacular sculptures and paintings inside the Borghese Gallery (Piazzale del Museo Borghese 5). Afterwards, why not rent a bike to explore the celebrated gardens, one of the glories of the Eternal City.

A private after-hours tour of the Vatican. Avoid the entrance lines and explore the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s extraordinary art, away from the crowds who throng the Vatican during the day.

La Grande Belleza. Paulo Sorrentino’s glorious homage to the Eternal City, translated as The Great Beauty, won this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Why not take a tour of the timeless landmarks photographed so ravishingly in the movie?

The hotel’s façade, next to the historic Fountain of Moses; the living room of the Couture Suite

For history, beauty, style, culture and romance, Rome has few rivals as the world’s most compelling metropolis. Here ancient palaces, temples, churches and monuments sit alongside all the contemporary attractions of a modern European capital. Such a city deserves a hotel of classical proportions, and The St. Regis Rome, built right beside the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian, more than lives up to those expectations. Rome’s first grand hotel, this palazzo was opened by celebrated hotelier César Ritz in 1894, and it retains its majesty and prominence in the life of this great city to this day. The hotel, with its luxurious interiors, beautiful ballroom, chandeliers and hand-painted frescos, makes for a majestic base from which to explore the Eternal City.

Elizabeth Minchilli’s Insider Food Tour is an expert’s guide to gastronomic Rome. The author takes you on a day-long culinary walk through Rome’s neighborhoods, eating and drinking en route.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Wonders of Rome. For younger guests may we suggest a special customised Ancient Rome legendary sites tour with an expert. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

top 500 world’s best hotels, travel + Leisure, 2014 winner, Best Italy Luxury Hotel, in TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice, 2012

Via Vittorio E. Orlando 3, Rome 00185, Italy u T. (39)(06) 47091 u stregisgrandrome@stregis.com 161 guest rooms and suites; 2 restaurants and bars; spa stregis.com/rome 38

The Aficionado’s Guide to St. Regis: Europe

The St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace Unexpected Enchantment. A Private Venetian Retreat

Ask us about Adriatic Style. Venice now has its own fashion week, which is a mark of its increased standing in the style world. Around the city you’ll find not only the biggest names in fashion including Max Mara, Gucci, Armani, and Prada but also local Venetian designers such as Roberta de Camerino, Gabriele Gmeiner and Antonia Sauter.

Romance on the water. Enjoy a sunset cruise in a traditional Venetian boat through the lagoon, followed by a candlelit dinner prepared with local ingredients.

The Acquerello Restaurant overlooking the lagoon; the hotel’s private jetty and boat

First settled in the 12th century, the island of San Clemente lies in the Venetian Lagoon between the city and the famous lido, and was historically known as ‘the gateway to Venice’. Its Renaissance palace traditionally provided accommodation for distinguished guests of the Venetian Republic and is now home to the newest addition to the St. Regis family of luxury. Just ten minutes by boat from St. Mark’s Square, the island boasts a lush garden of linden, cypress and elm trees, making it both your perfect point of entry to the magical city of Venice and an oasis of calm and luxury. Hotel guests can enjoy a dip in the pool, a game of tennis, jogging on the dedicated path, or a round of golf on the three-hole course. Don’t miss the Acquerello Restaurant, the signature restaurant by Roberto Dal Seno, which enjoys magnificent lagoon views.

Venice is the perfect city in which to get pleasantly lost. The endless maze of canals and bridges will always yield another hidden courtyard or undiscovered vinoteca. As the suns sets, savor the hotel’s views across the lagoon to Venice’s stunning panorama of palazzos and belltowers.

Visiting film locations. It’s a long way from Hollywood, but the incomparable Venice cityscape has been the setting for many classic movies. Follow in the footsteps of the stars of films such as Casino Royale and The Talented Mr Ripley.

World-class culture. Italy’s wealth of cultural history is there to be explored at Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia and the Doge’s Palace. Or if your tastes are more modern, try the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.

Family Traditions at St. Regis program: Culinary perfection. We invite your children to come and master the ultimate Italian art of pizza-making with one of our chefs. Learn more at stregis.com/familytraditions

Isola di San Clemente 1, Venice 30124, Italy u T. (39)(041) 4750111 u sanclementepalace@stregis.com 146 guest rooms and suites; 4 restaurants and bars; pool; excercise room; tennis; private jetty; helipad; private church stregis.com/venice 39

www.dior.com

ROSE DIOR BAGATELLE COLLECTION White gold, diamonds, fancy pink diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, Paraiba tourmalines and tsavorite garnets.

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