Spring2024.Ultratravel.com

THE JOY OF DISCOVERY

CRUISING’S NEXT WAVE

SARTORIAL ELEGANCE

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Welcoming

THE SIAM

BANGKOK, THAILAND

DEOS MYKONOS

MYKONOS, GREECE &

TO

AMSTERDAM | LONDON | CANNES | COURCHEVEL | MEGÈVE | PARIS | CORFU

MYKONOS | CRANS-MONTANA | GSTAAD | GENEVA | JERUSALEM | MAYAN RIVIERA

BANGKOK | SHANGHAI | BEIJING | CHENGDU | HONG KONG

THE JOY OF DISCOVERY

IN THIS ISSUE

13 • Founder’s Letter

On celebrating 20 memorable years. By Nick Perry

15 • Seeing Green

We check in with GHA’s ever-evolving Green Collection as it marks 12 months of sustainable success. By Julie Alpine

22 • The Shortlist

A tip sheet of must-haves, from futuristic apparel to whiskies matured to perfection. By Ultratravel editors

29 • More is More

When travelling in premium economy feels like going first class. By Coco Georgiou

31 • On the Pulse

The excess-all-areas watches for this spring. By Chris Hall

35 • Sensational Seascapes

Guaranteed wonder awaits on a voyage to some of the most spectacular places on the planet. By Gary Buchanan

SPRING 2024

42 • Berlin’s Bounty

Pack your bags for the German capital – it’s bolder, buzzier and more beautiful than ever. By Gisela Williams

50 • The Future of Tailoring

A new generation of sartorial talent is putting bespoke menswear back in business. By Christian Barker

56 • Sitting Pretty

Getting to grips with the Lexus RZ. By Will Hersey

PANORAMA OF BERLIN. © VISITBERLIN, FOTO: WOLFGANG SCHOLVIEN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Farhad Heydari

Farhad@ultratravel.com

@MrFarhadHeydari

SENIOR EDITOR

Nick Perry

Julie Alpine CHAIRMAN

Nick@ultratravel.com

@MrNickPerry

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Andrew Cowan

CONTRIBUTORS

Christian Barker, Gary Buchanan, Coco Georgiou, Chris Hall, Will Hersey, Gisela Williams

@Ultratravel ultratravel.com

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MARTIN KREUZER, ROBERT RIEGER

A proud milestone

The year was 2004 and it started with a bang. In January, NASA’s Spirit Rover landed on Mars, ushering in a new era for exploration.

But then, a month later, something else happened that would forever change our world: just as Myspace (remember that?) hit one million users, a band of renegade Harvard University students created an online platform that offered people a new way to connect. That platform was Facebook.

Of course, those of us in traditional media wouldn’t become aware of its needle-moving prowess until a few years later. For us, it was all about finding, and connecting with, the right audience. Which is why I launched later that year, to be a multiplatform showcase for the best and newest luxury travel experiences being constantly developed around the world. The idea was, and remains, simple: to curate content (as it is now known) for a discerning audience in an environment they trust and with a distribution that moves, um, the needle.

The first issue of magazine was published in the UK in November 2004 and, over the next two decades, would be followed by international editions, forums and awards events in multiple countries – and the launch of Ultratravel Collection in partnership with the ever-innovative Global Hotel Alliance.

It is that collaboration with GHA that gives its unique, present-day digital distribution, reaching over a million elite travellers around the globe, and allows us to produce a title that, I’m gratified to say, has special resonance with the luxury travel industry, our readers and our advertisers.

So I hope you enjoy this and the coming issues of celebrating 20 years with us in 2024, which will culminate in a star-studded ceremony on 7 November at London’s Kensington Palace where we will present The 2024 ULTRAs.

May the year ahead be as memorable as the last two decades have been.

“It is that collaboration with GHA that gives Ultratravel its unique, present-day digital distribution, reaching a million elite travellers around the globe”

Nick Perry

An Upper East Side Icon Reborn

Opening summer 2024

CORINTHIA.COM/NEW-YORK

SEEING GREEN

It takes a village to achieve sustainable success – a feat that Global Hotel Alliance has pulled off in the first year of its acclaimed Green Collection. Julie Alpine checks in

Sommeliers the world over have had their work cut out for them in recent months, ensuring cellars are stocked with sufficient champagne and fine wines to keep glasses topped up at a slew of travel industry celebrations. An auspicious year, 2024 not only marks Ultratravel’s 20th birthday, but is also the 20th anniversary of the Dubai-based Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) – the world’s largest partnership of independent hotel brands (with more than 800 properties in 100 countries, and counting). And, completing the hat-trick, GHA’s Green Collection – encompassing more than 220 hotels, resorts and palaces committed to creating a more sustainable future – turned one last month, with a year of success giving much cause for celebration.

NATURAL HIGHS Nestled in the heart of lush forest, Green Collection member Capella Ubud, Bali, caters to the eco-conscious traveller

The carefully curated Green Collection has grown by 15% over the past 12 months, which is no mean feat considering the criteria that must be met in order to be considered for inclusion in the future-facing programme: in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, properties must demonstrate that they have put in place practices and initiatives that protect the natural environment and benefit the local communities in which they operate, and must have attained at least one globally recognised certification from 18 leading entities, including EarthCheck, Green Growth 2050, Green Key and Green Globe.

Empowering the 26 million members of GHA DISCOVERY – the world’s largest loyalty programme for independent hotel brands – to make informed and responsible travel choices based on their values, beliefs and priorities, Green Collection represents a timely response to today’s discerning travellers’ desire to tread lightly and “leave only footprints”.

But it’s not only the planet that benefits. Since its inception, there has been an 85% higher average spend per stay at Green Collection properties compared to other hotels in the programme, proving that consumers are willing to spend more at accommodation that aligns with their values.

Recent additions to the sustainable cohort include NH Collection Dubai The Palm – an elegant new hotel on Palm Jumeirah’s prestigious West Palm Beach that’s brimming with local character; Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort – which enjoys a dreamy, beachfront location on an old coconut plantation in the Baa Atoll; NH Collection Buenos Aires Latino – a beautifully appointed 100-key stay in the city’s buzzy El Centro neighbourhood; and Lore Group and ASMALLWORLD outposts. Tried-and-trusted favourites continue to garner their fair share of bookings, too: all six Capella Hotels & Resorts properties participate in delivering outstanding service to eco-minded guests, while Kempinski Hotels, a founding member of GHA, also holds much-loved palaces, hotels and resorts within the group.

“Green Collection represents a timely response to today’s travellers’ desire to tread lightly”

“As we mark one year of success for this collection, which launched in March 2023, we applaud all the hotels, resorts and palaces who have come together to make a difference. Not only was Green Collection designed to help consumers, it was also meant to help hotels start or continue their sustainable journey by working together, sharing success stories and best practices, and providing guidance on additional initiatives to undertake to expand the collective impact,” says Jelena Kezika, Senior Director of Strategy at GHA.

To celebrate the Green Collection’s first birthday, GHA DISCOVERY will donate $1 for every Green Collection stay booked through ghadiscovery.com or via the GHA DISCOVERY mobile app throughout the month of April to the charities it supports as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, which includes initiatives dedicated to environmental protection, healthcare and wellbeing, children and youth, and animal welfare.

Visit ghadiscovery.com/explore-green-collection for more information on Green Collection, including the full list of globally recognised certifying bodies, and uplifting examples of how GHA hotel brands are making a difference.

For more information or to join the programme for free, visit ghadiscovery.com or download the GHA DISCOVERY mobile app.

Lore Group’s One Hundred Shoreditch in east London is a pioneer of sustainability

HOTEL CONFIDENTIAL

News from across the group

HOLDING BACK THE YEARS

Want to learn the secrets of the Blue Zones – the five regions of the world in which people live exceptionally long lives?

Hot-foot it to the Lungarno Collection’s Portrait Milano, where The Longevity Spa has recently launched. On offer are anti-ageing treatments based on cutting-edge biohacking techniques, alongside a stunning pool and wet area located under the vaulted ceilings of the 1564-built former seminary in which the hotel is housed. lungarnocollection.com

MADE IN TAIWAN

Set to open in winter 2024, Capella Taipei marks the hotel group’s first outpost in Taiwan, with the Dunhua North Road property promising to be a contemporary urban sanctuary. Cristiano Rinaldi, president of Capella Hotel Group, says, “Capella Taipei is not just a hotel; it’s an invitation to immerse in a culture rich in heritage and to create memories that resonate beyond a stay.” Watch this space. capellahotels.com

DROPPING ANCHOR

Taking shape on one of the last remaining plots of land in the highly coveted Dubai Marina neighbourhood, Kempinski Marina Residences is the latest jewel in Europe’s oldest luxury hotel company’s rapidly growing Dubai crown. A fresh and vibrant addition to the city’s skyline, the premium branded residences will boast a unique architectural design featuring spectacular vertical gardens and staggered outdoor terraces bursting with greenery. kempinski.com

LIFE-AFFIRMING

Visit Portrait Milano for the history; stay for the spa

LORE GALORE

The international hospitality company behind such beacons of style as Pulitzer Amsterdam, Sea Containers London and Riggs Washington DC, Lore Group has joined GHA, bringing its five hotels in Europe and the US to the alliance’s 800-strong portfolio. Committed to thoughtful design and interesting use of space, Lore Group hotels are inspired by the history of their buildings and neighbourhoods, making for an even greater choice of unique properties for GHA DISCOVERY’s 26 million members. loregroup.com

VIENNESE WHIRL

This spring, the Austrian capital welcomes Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna, set within a landmark listed palace built in 1873 by Theophil Hansen for the occasion of the World’s Fair, and within easy reach of some of the city’s top attractions. Guests will have their pick of 152 classically decorated bedrooms and suites, including the 270sq m Presidential Suite – the largest in Vienna. anantara.com

HELLO, AUSTRIA

The new Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna

MEET AND GREET Capella Taipei – incoming

FARM-TO-ROOFTOP

Left: experience Singapore’s iconic first “garden-ina-hotel” at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, home to a multitude of plants, trees and shrubs

HAPPY FAMILIES

For a stress-free trip to the British capital with the kids in tow, make Pan Pacific London your playground

Visiting the UK capital with the whole pride this spring? Families can be sure of a very warm welcome at Pan Pacific London, whose brilliant new Singa Cub Club has reimagined the world of luxury travel through the eyes of a child, offering a wealth of novel initiatives designed to spark wonder and joy.

Each and every VIYP (very important young person) arriving at the central London hotel – located just a two-minute walk from Liverpool Street station – will be greeted at a dedicated Cub Club Check-in, where they’ll receive a Little Explorers Pack jampacked with games, activities and a thrilling treasure hunt, at the end of which their curiosity will be rewarded with a special surprise. There’ll be no tears at bedtime, either, with a personalised turn-down service for little ones, complete with their own choice of goodnight treat and drink.

Outings to London attractions will also be a breeze, thanks to the Cub Club Concierge – on hand to help families dream up bespoke itineraries. Explore icons such as the Tower of London, home to the glittering Crown Jewels, or enjoy bird’s-eye views from the soaring Sky Garden, which, at 160m, is London’s highest public green space. Back down at street level, a wealth of bustling markets, parks, food stops and cultural attractions – including cookery, arts and crafts workshops – await discovery.

“When little legs get tired, the hotel has an abundance of wellness options to suit both grown-ups and children”

When little legs get tired, the hotel has an abundance of wellness options to suit both grownups and children, including unisex spa treatments using natural and hypoallergenic skincare products – a result of Pan Pacific London’s partnership with luxury French brand Bonpoint. Just don’t be surprised if Mum decides she wants a fairy tale with her facial, too... Then, there’s the magical SENSORY wellbeing floor, which offers generous daily splash and swim hours for children in the astonishing 18.5m infinity pool, plus a spacious, state-of-the-art gym boasting an interactive TecnoBody D-Wall.

At mealtimes, even fussy eaters will give the thumbs-up to the hotel’s children’s menus – baked mac ’n’ cheese, anyone? – while a dedicated Bonpoint children’s afternoon tea spread tempts with tiny sandwiches, scones and cakes.

Retire for the night en famille to one of the Double Double rooms, starting from 41sq m, or upgrade to the mighty Bishopsgate Suite, a two-room interconnecting suite promising 104sq m in which to play.

Either way, you’ll find a thoughtfully curated selection of books for all the family to enjoy, with soft mini bathrobes and a sustainably made Singa the Lion cuddly toy for each of your own cubs to cuddle up with – and which can be taken home as a treasured memento of your stay. Cue, big smiles all round. panpacificlondon.com

PAMPER PARTY

Soft toys, children’s spa treatments and mini robes will delight young travellers

celebrates one year of sustainable success

Green Collection, thoughtfully designed for today's discerning guests, celebrates its 1st anniversary.

With people and the planet at heart, our luxury hotels, resorts, and palaces ensure your stay contributes to positive change and responsible tourism, while supporting local communities and preserving natural beauty.

Join us in shaping a more sustainable future, one greener getaway at a time.

#GHAGreenerGetaways

Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore

CASTAWAY ISLAND FIJI TAKES GREAT CARE IN ITS STEWARDSHIP

A founding member of MES Fiji (Mamanuca Environment Society) and a leading advocate of environmental sustainability in tourism development, Castaway’s collective actions include coral planting, beach and underwater clean-up, fish house making and coastal tree planting, in addition to back-of-house goals such as reducing energy, water and waste while working alongside like-minded local non-profit organizations.

HAWAI‘I FIJI MAURITIUS THAILAND MALDIVES I Outrigger.com

THE SHORT

What’s hot, what to buy and what to know, as compiled by Ultratravel editors

ARROW OF TIME

The latest from Richard Mille is a throwback of sorts

ART & SOLE

They have been gracing the feet of stylish Romans and Milanesi for decades – sourced from a pocket-sized boutique tucked behind a market stall near Venice’s Rialto bridge. But the story of how Piedàterre’s velvet slipper shoe became synonymous with Venezia starts in the 19th century, north of Veneto, in Friuli, where, during a period of post-war austerity, resourceful Italian families began to stitch together sumptuous velvet curtains from closed theatres and flattened bicycle tyres. Before too long, denizens of La Serenissima, impressed by the versatile, chic and, most crucially, non-slip design (ideal for navigating the city’s cobbled streets), began to embellish and popularise them. Today, they are available in a myriad of colours and a handful of varying styles (some with contrasting trims; others with subtle, detailed motifs), but the one thing that has not changed is their DNA: they are still hand-stitched by Italian craftspeople, ensuring that Piedàterre’s slippers continue to be an ode to the ingenious Italian spirit that forever finds beauty wherever it looks. piedaterrevenezia.com

The RM 30-01 updates an idea first aired all the way back in 2011: that although an automatic watch offers maximum convenience for the wearer, it is something of a blunt instrument. As your motion charges the mainspring, it’s possible to over-wind, and damage, a watch: the measures most watchmakers take to prevent this happening can in themselves increase wear and tear and reduce the watch’s timekeeping accuracy. That won’t do for a Richard Mille owner, so the brand engineered an automatic winding rotor that is designed to declutch, i.e. completely uncouple, from the movement as soon as the mainspring is sufficiently wound. If this all sounds too much like an engineering textbook, the RM 30-01 has been designed to clearly show what we mean: with graphics reminiscent of a 1990s video game, the redorange-blue power reserve gauge shows when the watch is optimally wound (the blue section, between 40 and 55 hours) and an additional needle at 10 o’clock lets you know whether the rotor is engaged or not. For a watchmaker that usually makes headlines for otherworldly case materials, incredibly intricate chronograph tourbillons or record-breaking ultra-thin designs, it’s almost down-to-earth, but also proves that behind all the showmanship, Richard Mille still cares about the simple business of keeping good time. richardmille.com

Technical expertise meets sleek ergonomics in Richard Mille’s no-nonsense RM 30-01

BRIGHT IDEA

RED ALERT

Jo Malone London’s Red Hibiscus is an exotic solar floral inspired by a chance encounter with a rare and vivid flower in a tropical forest. The eponymous hibiscus is complemented by notes of jasmine sambac and a touch of sensual vanilla. Spritz some on for an instant hit of sultry sunshine. jomalone.co.uk

Infused with the perfumier’s Colonia fragrance – a beautiful balance of citrus and woods – Acqua di Parma’s Jumbo Cube Candle is a vibrant geometric centrepiece that epitomises sophisticated Italian style and timeless craftsmanship. acquadiparma.com

Material mavericks

The innovative duo behind futuristic apparel brand Vollebak share what’s new on their (planetary) horizons with Lucy Kehoe

What will we wear on the red planet? That’s the kind of question the twin brothers behind future-facing apparel brand Vollebak ask themselves on a daily basis. Those with a penchant for high-concept clothing will have no doubt heard of the London-based brand. Founded by Steve and Nick Tidball in 2015, Vollebak designs apparel fit for any planet, and any environment, using fabrics crafted at the cutting-edge of material science.

Both formerly in the advertising trade, the Tidball twins found inspiration for their visionary clothing brand while running ultramarathons across the Alps and in the Amazon. Conscious of the extreme environments – and challenges – they were putting clothes through, the two struggled to understand why the apparel industry continued to rely on old-school fabrics such as polyester and rubber when developing state-ofthe-art adventure attire.

Their vision crystallised: to revolutionise the world of technical apparel and redefine the possibilities of what clothing could achieve. To quote the Vollebak mission statement, they’re

here to “design the clothes of the next century, not the next season” – and that meant considering the needs of future space explorers, as well as earth-based humans seeking protection from nature’s wrath.

At the heart of Vollebak’s ethos lies a relentless pursuit of material innovation. Nick and Steve view clothing not merely as a form of protection, but as a means of enhancing human potential. From pioneering the use of laser-drilled aerogel – flexible, durable and waterproof – and graphene – made from a single layer of carbon atoms – in performance wear to creating garments inspired by the resilience of the natural world using DNA, Vollebak’s creations consistently push the boundaries of what’s possible, using materials that have previously only left the lab to parachute probes onto the surface of Mars, or build antiballistic vehicle armour.

“What it means to be human is going to change quite radically over the next decade,” co-founder Steve Tidball tells Ultratravel. “We’re entering a challenging period, and our clothes should help us survive.”

Tidball credits his and his brother’s “mad, childlike curiosity” as the driving force behind Vollebak. Taking the insurmountable challenges facing humanity as a starting point, they’ll research their way to scientists developing world-changing materials and consider how unconventional fabrics might best be used to create clothes as useful as they are aesthetic. “We’re entering a new age of clothing,” he says, “where it becomes a tool.”

Past projects have included a computer-programmable “invisibility cloak” jacket, a coat engineered to withstand flash fires, and the 100 Year Hoodie – loungewear made from military-grade materials designed to outlive its owner.

One of the brand’s latest launches, The Firefly Jacket is a tick-box example of this new apparel epoch: a high-

performance, weatherproof shell built with two colourshifting membranes, using fluorescent and phosphorescent materials inspired by the biofluorescent furs and skins of possums, sharks and frogs. The result is mesmeric: an outer layer that changes colour dependent on light conditions, switching from copper to orange to Day-Glo green.

Or, consider the Alien Hoodie – in Tidball’s words, “the craziest thing we’ve launched”. Described as “a cross between an isolation tank and a bed”, the sculpted 3D hoodie was designed by computers and built by robots. It features a multidimensional cushioned knit for comfort, plus a full zip-up hood with mesh visor to keep you entirely cocooned. “It’s very good for long-haul flights,” Tidball quips.

What the founders are most excited about, though, is the brand’s Full Metal Jacket: Copper Edition. Made from 60% copper, and arriving later this month, this disease-resistant

outerwear doubles as a sculptural triumph. “You get to wear an art exhibition,” Tidball says. Envisioned as protection from a pandemic-riddled planet, the soft, malleable and waterproof jacket, with internal fleece lining, puts the hero metal centre stage, piggybacking on the element’s proven bacteria- and virus-killing attributes to create a protective “halo” around the wearer.

As Vollebak continues to captivate the world with its groundbreaking designs, Nick and Steve Tidball remain at the forefront of the brand’s innovation, driving it forward with a relentless pursuit of the extraordinary. In an industry where conformity is the norm, the brothers are genuine trailblazers. “We design stuff that is futuristic, for people who are interested in the future,” Tidball says. Vollebak, a Flemish word, translates as “go for it”; few phrases could better surmise the space-age brand’s tenor. vollebak.com

ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD Clockwise from top left: Vollebak’s Alien Hoodie, 100 Year Hoodie and The Firefly Jacket – all of which employ high-tech materials to help the wearer combat every element

TROIKA OF TEQUILAS

AClase Azul Tequila Día de Muertos Aromas

Limited to only 3,500 decanters, this is the third instalment in an annual, limited-edition series called “Our Memories” that debuted in 2021. It pays tribute to the unforgettable scents that characterise Día de Muertos, including the distinctive essence of cempasúchil blossoms – a sharp, herbal fragrance central to this celebration’s long-standing beliefs and traditions. claseazul.com

Mijenta Añejo Gran Reserva

The most exclusive and refined expression of the award-winning, additive-free and sustainable tequila from the Jalisco Highlands, this specimen has been aged for approximately 18 months in four types of hand-selected casks to create its unique and sophisticated flavour profile. mijenta-tequila.com

Casa Rayos

Born out of a lightning-bolt moment, quite literally, this 100% agave blanco tequila is crafted in the heartlands of Mexico, harvested by hand by one of Mexico’s most established distilling families, and pays homage to a freak storm that sparked the discovery of that most rambunctious of spirits: tequila. The sleek bottle design pays tribute to the agave plant, with its defined leaves adorning the azure-tinted glass. brewdog.com

MEMBERS ONLY

In an effort to build long-term loyalty with a devoted fanbase and community of luxury consumers, oenophiles and spirits lovers, several brands, houses and maisons have recently launched exclusive members clubs. Fifth-generation Portuguese wine producer Symington Family Estates (symington.com) is the latest. Producing premium wines in three different regions of the country (the Douro, Alentejo and Vinho Verde), members of the Matriarca Club receive a curated selection of six wines and ports biannually, have access to a private online wine shop with special offers and new releases, and are invited to exclusive events and wine tastings. Then, there is Harrods (harrods.com). The iconic London department store has opened a new private club in Shanghai dubbed “The Residence”. Guests can sip, saunter and shop in the soigné space, which is a harmonious mélange of art deco detailing, contemporary finishes and bespoke elements that celebrate the building’s century-old heritage, complete with a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. For its part, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (smws.com), a global club that celebrated 40 years of sharing delicious drams with its members in 2023, continues to welcome new entrants to its ranks. The draw? Access to special releases such as the 40-year-old single cask whisky that debuted recently. Only 130 bottles were made available, created by distillers, artisans and curators to make it a collectable, just like the best of memberships.

DRAM ROLL

Building upon a rich history and tradition of excellence, the latest releases from leading wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd include some of the finest elixirs from around the world, including an exceptional selection of whiskies and rums from both emerging and iconic regions, including Sweden, South America, Speyside and the Scottish Highlands. bbrspirits.com

Longmorn 18 Year Old

A new chapter in the Speyside single malt’s 130-year-old history of craftsmanship is the introduction of a fresh, elegant new look and an 18-year-old cask strength single malt expertly matured primarily in American oak casks. chivasbrothers.com

The Macallan Cirque du Soleil

This year is the renowned single malt Scotch whisky’s 200th anniversary and to commemorate the occasion, it has come together with the storied Canadian entertainment company for an experience that raises a glass to an indefinable mastery in the performing arts. themacallan.com

Fans of the golden nectar have much to look forward to this season, with a back bar’sworth of new whisky releases that promise to put a spring in your step

METAXA Orama

Reflecting on the house’s dedication and expertise in craft brandy, the Greek distiller’s latest contains wines from sustainably grown Muscat grapes from Samos. Enjoy it as a digestif, serve neat over ice or use it to create a classic cocktail with a twist. metaxa.com

Royal Salute Richard Quinn

The master of exceptionally aged Scotch whisky has expanded its Fashion Collection, partnering for the second year with star of British fashion and longstanding brand collaborator Richard Quinn. The result? A bespoke blend with a deeper, mature character. royalsalute.com

Bladnoch Peated Collection

The 206-year-old “Queen of the Lowlands” has produced a remarkable collection of four new peated whiskies. Alinta is joined by four others to create a single cask collection that is sure to delight those who love a dram with some fire. bladnoch.com

Members of Symington Family Estates’ Matriarca Club receive a selection of six superlative Portuguese wines and ports twice a year, plus access to exclusive events

Emirates Premium Economy passengers can look forward to next-level comfort and style

MORE IS MORE

Looking for a premium economy offering that rivals many other airlines’ business class? Emirates has you covered, says Coco Georgiou

Is there a flyer out there who wouldn’t say yes to enhanced in-flight seating, dining and entertainment?

In Ultratravel’s 20-year history, we’ve yet to encounter one, and, with its Premium Economy offering, Emirates has raised the bar on all fronts, redefining luxury travel and ensuring passengers soar to new heights in comfort and style. Launched in August 2022, this pioneering cabin class is available on an ever-expanding host of routes, including to London Heathrow, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, New York JFK, San Francisco and Singapore. Throw in dedicated check-in desks, priority boarding and a generous baggage allowance, and you’re looking at a guaranteed flying start to any business or leisure trip.

Setting a new benchmark in sophistication, each seat comes decked out in cream leather with polished wood accents, offering personalised comfort via six-way adjustable headrests and calf rests. Kick back and prepare to savour regionally inspired menus and fine wines, with special meals catering to all dietary requirements. Celebrating a birthday or anniversary? There’s a cake and champagne package for that. The indulgence continues with attentive cabin crews who display an uncanny ability to preempt travellers’ every need, promising a journey like no other.

Emirates Premium Economy passengers can also, on certain routes, dependent on aircraft type and model, look

“EMIRATES HAS RAISED THE BAR ON ALL FRONTS, REDEFINING LUXURY TRAVEL”

forward to great-value high-speed WiFi, with complimentary WiFi on board for Emirates Skywards members. Complimentary headphones, sustainably made blankets and amenity kits crafted from recycled materials come as standard, while little travellers will delight in keepsake toys and Emirates-designed photo frames. The airline’s award-winning ICE entertainment system, meanwhile, boasts up to 6,500 channels, including live TV and sports coverage, catering to all ages. And, with its safety-first outlook – and HEPA filters that remove 99.97% of bacteria from the air – Emirates guarantees a pristine environment, ensuring peace of mind from take-off to touchdown. We’ll raise a glass (of sparkling Australian Chandon) to that. emirates.com

CONNECTING THE DOTS

NEW ROUTES TO ENTICE THE IMMUTABLE GLOBETROTTER

Having already announced plans to fly between Chicago and Athens this summer, and resuming its Shanghai-Los Angeles service from 29 August, United (united.com) will be debuting several new services later this year, including to Marrakech from Newark and to Medellín from Houston. Japan Airlines ( jal.com), meanwhile, has started its inaugural non-stop service from Japan to the Middle East, connecting Tokyo-Haneda Airport to Doha. For its part, Air France (airfrance.com) has reconnected its seasonal Paris to Denver route, with further plans to launch Paris to Minneapolis and Paris to Phoenix routes in May. Then, there is Lufthansa ( lufthansa.com), which has reinstated a route discontinued in 2011 between Frankfurt and Hyderabad, with a thrice-weekly service operated by the carrier‘s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. China Southern Airlines (csair.com), one of China’s three state carriers, is upping the ante even further, with plans to open 17 long-haul international routes, including to Amsterdam, London, Riyadh and Tehran, among others. FARHAD HEYDARI

ON THE PULSE

Stop the clocks: watches are upping the glam factor, with 1960s minimalism making way for next-gen bling. Chris Hall investigates

Not so long ago, the idea of a new “disco era” in watchmaking would have seemed farfetched. Solidly founded on the appreciation of racing chronographs and utilitarian dive watches, watch collecting – and, more pertinently, watch culture – was comfortable and unchallenging. But the wheel of fashion has turned, and perhaps as though connected by a high-ratio gearing (a metaphor even the most refusenik horological traditionalists will appreciate), it has turned the watch world with it. The connoisseur’s eye moved from 1960s sports watches to the angular, geometric styles of the 1970s; simultaneously, the slow embrace of blues and greens has given way to an eruption of colour across the entire spectrum; and, last of all, men once stubbornly wedded to watches of a certain muscular size have begun to embrace smaller and slimmer designs once more. Taken all together, these trends lead in one direction: to a return of all that is glamorous and indulgent. Here, if it glitters it most certainly is gold, and likely to be studded with diamonds to boot.

First to pass through the velvet rope is Piaget, which this year made good on years of speculation by rereleasing the original Polo watch. Originally created in 1979, the Polo was the first Piaget watch to be given a name of any kind, and was practically a wristband for entry into the most select circles of high society. It was worn by Andy Warhol, by Jackie Kennedy, by Björn Borg and Ursula Andress. It was expensive, at $20,000, and excessive – not in its sheer size, but in its bold form, with the thick, extruded stripes, known as “gadroons”,

THROUGH THICK AND THIN

Previous page: the Piaget 79 – a reissue of the smash-hit watch of the titular year – conceals a wafer-thin mechanical movement instead of the quartz calibre found in its predecessor

that ran straight through the dial. Today’s Polo 79 is bigger than the original, at 38mm across, and houses an ultra-thin mechanical movement rather than the quartz calibre that powered its predecessor (quartz at the time was the radical new thing, after all), but in all other respects is a faithful re-edition of an iconic design. Crucially, it is made entirely from yellow gold, the absolute emblem of 1980s excess, and after years of pivoting to the softer, less brash shades of red and rose gold, the watch industry is returning to yellow as the rehabilitation of that most divisive decade continues. It is the case at Bulgari, which this year released a non-limited version of its knockout success story, the Octo Finissimo, in yellow gold. Paired with a yacht-worthy blue lacquer dial, it isn’t anywhere near as obviously retro as the Polo 79 but hits all the same marks. Its bracelet shines and shimmers; the

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Bottom left: Bulgari’s new, non-limited Octo Finissimo comes in bedazzling yellow gold with an oh-so-glossy blue lacquer dial

THE FINAL FRONTIER

Left: Omega’s new Constellation in “moonshine gold”, its conversation-starter dial a gold-coated slice of meteorite. Yes, you read that right

FACE VALUE

Bottom right: his or hers? The shimmering Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon from Audemars Piguet defies old-school gender designations

“Men once wedded to watches of a certain muscular size have begun to embrace smaller, slimmer designs”

STAR-STUDDED

Wondering what could upstage a watch made with meteorite? Try the Zenith Chronomaster Sport on for size, featuring not only space debris but diamonds, spinels and sapphires, too

110 individual facets of its case are a mirror-ball of modern machining expertise. It is achingly thin – barely half the thickness of the Polo 79, whose weight is part of its appeal – and, thanks to the brushed satin finish applied across its larger surfaces, is every bit as sophisticated.

Textures and shades of gold are also front and centre for Audemars Piguet, which collaborated with couture designer Tamara Ralph to create a Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon limited edition earlier this year. The main case is in pink gold with a frosted surface finishing effect, while the deeply concave dial uses layers of bronze, yellow and brown to focus the eye on the tourbillon at six o’clock. The use of diamonds, colour palette and association with Ralph will lead many to paint the watch as a purely feminine creation, but its size (38.5mm) and shape say otherwise – besides, modern watch customers care little for narrow gender designations.

Maisons with a proud presence in the jewellery world, à la Bulgari and Piaget, and haute horlogerie titans like Audemars Piguet are where you would expect to find flamboyant, trend-setting party pieces. Less so the kind of makers better known for the aforementioned chronographs and divers, yet the wave of heady exuberance has swept widely across the industry. At Omega – whose heritage, in

“After years of pivoting to the less brash red and rose gold, we are seeing a return to yellow as the rehabilitation of the Eighties continues”

all fairness, includes plenty of arty, chic and playful designs from the 1960s into the 1980s, as well as the more totemic Speedmasters and Seamasters – we find the newly released Constellation 41mm in “moonshine gold”. This proprietary alloy is reportedly more durable and slightly brighter than 18k yellow gold. The bracelet has echoes of the Polo about it, and the Constellation is similarly committed to the all-gold look, but it has one trump card up its sleeve: a dial cut from a slice of meteorite and coated in a thin layer of – what else? – gold. What could be more disco than a literal shooting star on your wrist? Well, in a subculture of “more is more”, the answer would appear to come from Zenith, which this January brought us a Chronomaster Sport that not only packs a meteorite dial but a bezel set with diamonds, spinels and sapphires in a threesector design that mirrors the chronograph layout of the dial. At 41mm across, it’s bigger and bulkier than the others, but you have to admire the dancefloor-strutting confidence that has brought this kind of swagger to a brand that a few years ago was generally known only for its technical abilities. It’s a story that repeats wherever you look, from dab hands Cartier and its Crash to the fact that even affordable startup brands like Baltic are debuting lines of “cocktail watches”. Watchmakers are ready to party like it’s 1979.

SENSATIONAL SEASCAPES

Hoping to revel in a kaleidoscope of tantalising scenery in some of the most incredible places on the planet?

Look no further than these ambitious new cruise itineraries, writes

Gary

Buchanan

Every so often, the folks at the cruise lines in charge of charting new courses for their many ships decide to deploy them to a hitherto untrodden corner of our diverse planet. In doing so, they provide their devotees with not only bragging rights but priceless memories of an experiential sojourn that will last a lifetime..

Take the preternatural Galápagos Islands, 965km off Ecuador’s Pacific coast, as an example. The inspiration for Darwin’s famed study On the Origin of Species, this isolated sanctuary of biodiversity comprises 18 main islands formed five million years ago by erupting volcanoes. Today’s explorers can follow in Darwin’s footsteps on the brand-new 12-guest expedition yacht Galápagos Explorer (andbeyond.com), which offers off-grid sightseeing in the company of expert naturalist guides and close encounters with turtles, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and penguins, all of whom have no fear of humans. Zodiac expeditions also land on volcanic beaches for swimming with turtles and sea lions, as well as hiking to colonies of sea birds a beak’s length from their nests. Seven-night cruises visiting the eastern or western islands of this archipelago commence in June 2024.

There’s no disputing that French Polynesia is the siren of the South Pacific and a destination worthy of any travel wish list. Born of coral and fire, this cluster of islands, strewn like gemstones across a sapphirine sea, is eminently Instagrammable, with Tahiti proving every bit as seductive as Paul Gauguin found it in the 19th century. Detached from the ebb and flow of time on board the 708-guest Seven Seas Voyager (rssc.com), even the most jaded traveller will find islands such as Nuku Hiva, Fakarava and Rangiroa irresistible. Moorea, often likened to James Michener’s mythical island of Bali Hai, has a diorama of jagged green mountains rising from powder-soft beaches lapped by a cobalt-blue sea. Similarly edged by the pearly rims of coral atolls is Bora Bora, a destination both ineffable and hypnotic. Two days are spent here, allowing guests to soak up the luscious lifestyle and join forays including ATV off-road adventures, aqua-safaris and scenic helicopter flights. Meaning “distant sky”, Raiatea is the second largest atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago and is considered to be the cradle of Polynesian culture. A trip to Taha’a

SHIPSHAPE

Top: soak up views of the Pacific from a Jacuzzi aboard the new Galápagos Explorer

MYTHICAL COMFORT

Above: fall under the spell of French Polynesia on a Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage

G’DAY, KIMBERLEY

Above left: explore Australia’s last great wilderness aboard 264-guest Seabourn Pursuit

Coral Garden for drift-snorkelling in the company of black-tip sharks, stingrays and sea turtles is utterly enthralling. The 10-night “Tahitian Moonrise” cruise sails round-trip from the Tahitian capital, Papeete, on 26 February 2025.

By any yardstick, the 6,992kmlong Amazon is astonishing. Mother Nature’s “cradle of life” boasts astounding and unique biodiversity, with the Amazonian rainforest making up the largest collection of living plant and animal species found anywhere. A cruise aboard 670-guest Nautica (oceaniacruises.com) provides a sublime perspective from which to take in this mysterious realm of meandering narrow waterways concealed within an arboreal labyrinth. Manaus, on the northern bank of the Rio Negro in the heart of Amazonia, is nicknamed “Paris in the Jungle”. Undoubtedly, the most bizarre legacy of the city’s brief rubber boom is the neoclassical Teatro Amazonas, built in 1896. This voyage also visits Santarém, the site of a former Jesuit mission, where river canoes explore the “blue waters” of the Tapajós River, inhabited by pink river dolphins and elusive caimans. Indigenous caboclo people offer visitors an authentic taste of local culture at the jungle outpost of Boca da Valeria; equally remote, the village of Parintins, on Tupinambarana island, boasts the Cathedral of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, with its 50m-high clock tower. Alter do Chão, “Altar of Earth”, is a fishing village built on stilts in the turquoise Lago Verde, where macaws, toucans and scarlet ibis add a spectrum of vivid colours to dense mangroves. This new 24-day round-trip cruise departs Miami on 9 November 2024.

Remote, pristine and almost impervious to description, the Spice Islands are strewn across an infinity of limpid seas between the Celebes and New Guinea in the north-east of Indonesia. This archipelago was the holy grail for trading ships as far back as the seventh century; nowadays, a cruise aboard the bijou, 30-guest Aqua Blu (aquaexpeditions.com) melds a castaway vibe with lavish serendipity. The history of this region straddling the equator is as rich and heady as the spices it produces. There’s an option to sail these sultry isles in stealth style aboard a former private yacht of a European aristocratic family. The cruise sets a course across the Banda Sea to the Maluku Islands, a destination steeped in historical significance and endowed with both unspoilt nature and culture. Centuries of artisans’ creativity is evident in colourful artworks, while naturalists can marvel at the diversity of flora and fauna. At Banda Neira, visitors discover the active volcano of Gunung Banda Api, also known as “Fire Mountain”. Snorkelling explorations allow

THE ALL-CLEAR

Previous page: the coastline of Bora Bora, as seen from the all-suite Seven Seas Voyager

you to swim alongside lava flows, enormous fan corals, neon mandarinfish, scorpionfish and hammerhead sharks. The seven-night round-trip “Ambon & Spice Islands” cruise departs Ambon on 16 November 2024.

Sequestered along the spectacular northwestern corner of Australia, the 423,000sq km Kimberley offers a primordial tableau of unimaginable beauty. Epic landscapes range from billion-year-old rock formations and desert plateaux to sunken mangrove forests and stunning semi-arid savannah suffused with boab trees. This last great wilderness will become the habitat of 264-guest Seabourn Pursuit (seabourn.com) for the first time in 2024. Intrepid guests will board a fleet of Zodiacs to explore the King George Falls. Flanked by sandstone cliffs, the 76m twin cascades are the highest in Western Australia. The Talbot Bay Horizontal Waterfalls, where tides push intense currents between narrow gorges to create a horizontal surge, are also astounding. Montgomery Reef is a 400sq km marine ecosystem that is exposed when the tide drops 8m, creating a spellbinding spectacle. There are also trips to Bradshaw Rock and Jar Island to see Aboriginal cave art that predates the pyramids. Or take a scenic flight and soar over the awe-inspiring Unesco World Heritage-listed sandstone karsts of the Bungle Bungles. Or a helicopter trip across the thundering four-tiered falls at Mitchell Plateau. The 10-day “Waterfalls & Wandjinas” cruise departs Broome on 27 June 2025. The enduring appeal of the island mosaic that embodies the Caribbean is underpinned by captivating heritage and culture. Enjoy it all aboard the brand-new Explora II (explorajourneys.com). A potent blend of dropdead-gorgeous scenery ranges from volcanic peaks and lush rainforests to a mesmerising canon of reefs and beaches encircling smaller islands like dazzling necklaces of silken sand. None of these islands, though, has quite the joie de vivre of the tiny, 21sq km St Barthélemy. The Gallic capital, Gustavia, cascades down green hillsides dotted with sumptuously decorated villas and hotels. English Harbour in Antigua is quintessentially Caribbean, with

the superbly restored Nelson’s Dockyard dating back to 1745. Balconies of wrought iron draped in jasmine and trailing hibiscus adorn Basseterre in St Kitts. Encircling the island is a scenic railway, where a journey along the narrow tracks evokes the destination’s sugar-planting history. Gigantic dovegrey granite boulders create “The Baths” at Virgin Gorda. Inclined against each other, the rocks form a maze of grottoes and tidal pools where the ginclear water leading to Dead Man’s Beach is a nirvana for snorkellers. A sevennight “Journey to Yacht-Filled Harbours and Scenic Sail-Ins” from San Juan to Miami departs on 29 November 2024.

APERITIVO HOUR

Top: savour a cold drink aboard Aqua Blu as you cruise the Spice Islands

NAUTICA BUT NICE

Right: explore Amazonia with Oceania Cruises

ISLANDS IN THE SUN

Glide between dazzling Caribbean ports of call on the soon-to-launch Explora II

NEW HORIZONS

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Immersive Overnights collection invites guests to discover more

UNPARALLELED IMMERSION

Regent’s Immersive Overnights itineraries marry the best of both worlds, combining all the comforts of an all-inclusive cruise aboard one of the world’s most luxurious fleets with shore excursions in iconic cities offering privileged access to cultural treasures

For anyone who has ever sailed on one of the ships in the luxurious Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet, it might be hard to imagine voluntarily tearing oneself away from the plethora of on-board amenities on offer. From sublime spa facilities to glamorous boutiques, world-renowned fine dining to spacious, high-spec suites, no attention to detail has been spared in ensuring travellers enjoy an unrivalled cruising experience. And did we mention the crew-to-guest ratio of nearly one-to-one? And yet, with an ever-growing appreciation of slow travel, and the joys inherent in taking a deep-dive into a destination, the innovative cruise line has just – in an industry first – unveiled an exclusive new collection of 2024 and 2025 itineraries that will feature in-port overnights and multiple days in every port en route. Redefining luxury cruising for the discerning traveller, the Immersive Overnights collection – encompassing cruises on Seven Seas Splendor, Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Navigator – will allow guests to delve deeper into beloved destinations, allowing more time to uncover under-the-radar hidden treasures beyond the typical tourist trail. Promising an illuminating exploration of the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Asia, the thoughtfully curated itineraries invite guests to experience some of the world’s most iconic destinations in a completely new light, from exclusive, expert-led art tours in Stockholm to sunset wine tastings in Tuscany.

If the mention of Tuscan wines has piqued your interest, another cruise to consider is the seven-night “Mediterranean Tapestry” aboard Seven Seas Navigator One of the Immersive Overnights on offer will see guests transported to a glorious Tuscan estate – the former hunting ground of the Medici family in the 16th century. Following a day spent exploring the nearby town of San Miniato, famed for its much-in-demand white truffles, gourmands will enjoy a wine tasting and dinner at Villa Dianella, savouring the likes of handmade paccheri pasta with pecorino cheese, before retiring to the cellar to sample outstanding bins made with the area’s full-bodied Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

Heading further east, the 14-night “Blossoms, Towers and Temples” odyssey aboard Seven Seas Explorer will allow guests to experience Immersive Overnights in Kyoto (via Kobe), Japan; Seoul (Incheon), South Korea; Shanghai, China; and Japan’s tantalising capital, Tokyo. The “Seoul Night & Temple Cuisine” shore excursion promises to be a highlight, taking in ancient Gwanghwamum Square, the neofuturistic, Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemum Design Plaza, and Sebitseom – the world’s first floating cultural space, all fuelled by some exemplary Buddhist temple cuisine en route.

“Guests will uncover hidden treasures beyond the typical tourist trail”

The captivating sailings include Regent’s 10-night “Adriatic Elegance” adventure, on board Seven Seas Voyager, with Immersive Overnights in three of the region’s most picturesque cities – Trieste, Italy; Zadar, Croatia; and Kotor, Montenegro – before sailing to Athens (Piraeus) for two nights. On the Croatian leg of the voyage, guests will enjoy the multi-sensory “Zadar Sunset Serenade”, gliding across the calm waters of Zadar’s Jazine Bay as the sun begins its descent, before disembarking at the Sea Organ – a set of marble steps that plays melodic sounds when seawater rushes through pipes fitted with whistles beneath them. Just a stone’s throw from this is the 22m-wide, solar-powered monument Greeting to the Sun, the source of a dazzling nightly light show.

Then, there’s the 10-night “Majestic Mediterranean” cruise on Seven Seas Voyager, setting sail from Istanbul, Turkey, and docking – following calls in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – in Barcelona, Spain. A sample shore excursion? “Bocelli Music & Art”, which promises a taste of the finest the Eternal City has to offer. Guests can choose to enjoy a guided drive through Rome, taking in titans such as the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Circus Maximus, the hallowed stadium where chariot races once took place. The stadium will also serve as the venue for a private piano concert of Italian classics, accompanied by an accomplished singer, followed by an unforgettable meal paired with wines produced on the Tuscan estate of celebrated Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s family.

Another cruise sure to set hearts racing is Seven Seas Splendor’s “Flair, Flavour and Culture”, a 10-night sojourn that sets sail from Monte Carlo, with a two-night stop in Salerno, Italy, followed by overnighters in Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey and Athens (Piraeus), Greece. Picture boutique winery visits on the Amalfi Coast, exploring a unique terroir that encourages grapes such as Aglianico and Piedirosso to flourish. Or, as you reach the journey’s end, a drive to Greece’s Mikorlimano Harbour, where chef Lefteris Lazarou of Varoulko restaurant will wow diners with a fresh, seafood-focused menu made with whatever Lazarou deemed best at the market that day.

Rounding off Regent’s collection of voyages is “Enchantment in Northern Europe”, a 10-night Seven Seas Navigator sailing of discovery offering port calls in Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden. And who else but Regent Seven Seas Cruises could have conjured up the incredible “Private Evening at Prince Eugens Waldemarsudde”, which comprises a tour of the art collection at the former home of Prince Eugen, now a museum, followed by an exclusive after-hours evening event, with works by Picasso, Rodin and Munch vying for attention with views of the island oasis of Djurgården.

For travellers looking to enjoy the best of both worlds – the unrivalled luxury offered by an all-inclusive cruise line, plus privileged access to some of the world’s most highly treasured cultural wonders – Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Immersive Overnights collection is a win-win. The only hard part? Choosing which one to book first.

RSSC.com/immersive-overnights

Bringing gracious luxury to the City through contemporary design, Pan Pacific London o ers a sense of peace and calm.

Indulge in a distinctive London experience, from bustling market stalls to Michelin-starred eateries and iconic landmarks, all conveniently on our doorstep.

BOUNTY BERLIN’S

MITTE YOU THERE

Berlin’s political heart, the Mitte district is home to a wealth of cultural institutions, including the palatial Humboldt Forum

Germany’s cultural powerhouse is calling to be explored this year, with a host of culinary and artistic happenings to get excited about, writes Gisela Williams

More than a decade ago, Berlin’s official motto, coined by its former mayor Klaus Wowereit, was “poor but sexy”. And, while these days, with its growing international creative expat and digital nomad communities, the city is no longer poor, the good news is that it is still quite sexy. Even before the pandemic, Berlin was evolving from a legendary party city to one that is a bit more grown up. Companies such as Google and SoundCloud opened up offices here, joining dozens of growing startups including Enpal and CleanHub. Money is pouring in and architects such as 3XN and David Chipperfield are designing modern architectural landmarks – as well as renovating historic cultural institutions such as Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. More recently, postCovid, ambitious new restaurants are opening even in the grittiest neighbourhoods, finally giving the city a great local food scene that can compete with that of other European capitals. Formerly abandoned railways such as Gleisdreieck have been transformed into well-thought-out parks, and interesting small cultural institutions are being re-energised with new curators everywhere, including within the city’s leafy outskirts.

Despite recent gentrification – it has become almost impossible to find affordable rentals in the city – this is still a city flush with creative possibilities, sown with unexpected and experimental projects and places. It’s populated by countless world-class contemporary artists and designers, from Olafur Eliasson to Thomas Struth and Hella Jongerius. Despite all it has to offer, Berlin is not so easy to navigate, though, especially for first-timers. This is partly because it’s so large and spread out: the city is nine times the size of Paris; every neighbourhood is its own universe. And also because (if you’ve ever stood in line at Berghain, the city’s most legendary nightclub, you’ll know) whatever passes for cool in other cities –Instagramming the hell out of something, wearing head-to-toe designer fashion, flashing the cash – doesn’t cut it here. You still can’t buy your way into Berlin’s scene, and that’s how Berliners like it.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP

BOUNTY

The Harrods of Berlin is KaDeWe (store.kadewe.de), a legendary luxury department store that has been slowly reinvented over the last few years by its new owners. The massive gourmet emporium on the sixth floor is worth a visit in itself, and now boasts outposts of some of the city’s most trendy food enterprises – think BRLO Chicken & Beer and Brammibal’s Donuts. A lesser-known but very special shopping destination is Manufactum (manufactum.com) – a tasteful, well-curated, two-storey department store that features artisanal objects and heritage brands from Germany and surrounding countries. This is where you can find everything from the perfect gardening tools to old-school wooden toys and handmade soap crafted in an obscure Italian monastery.

For some time now, there have been two important fashion addresses for the city’s best-dressed: Andreas Murkudis (andreasmurkudis.com), which sells fashion-forward brands such as Dries Van Noten and Lutz Huelle in a very Berlin underground-style space – a loft-like emporium hidden in a courtyard just off the gritty Potsdamer Strasse – and The

Square (thesquareberlin.de), a less edgy, more traditional luxury boutique that has two locations in Berlin. (If Andreas Murkudis dresses the artists and gallerists, The Square is where wealthy international collectors shop). For the younger generation, there is Voo (vooberlin.com) in Kreuzberg, which offers alternative emerging and vintage labels including the Berlin-born GmbH and the Istanbul-based Cult Form. For the Matrix-meets-tech millionaire set, there’s the underground boutique Darklands (darklandsberlin.com), located in the same courtyard as Andreas Murkudis, which sells sleek leather and cotton unisex pants and tops, mostly in shades of black.

For independent shops that sell more traditional brands but have a cool eclectic mix, head to Schwarzhogerzeil (schwarzhogerzeil.de) or April First (aprilfirst.de), both in Mitte. Berlin is also much revered for its great little vintage shops, such as Das Neue Schwarz, “The New Black” (instagram.com/dasneueschwarz.vintage), which offers an excellent selection of gently used designer pieces from covetable brands such as Maison Margiela and Yohji Yamamoto. Berlin is still the kind of place where you can find stores that are so wildly eccentric that it feels like entering someone’s dream universe rather than a commercial space. The most recent example of this is the new boutique of the artist and milliner Maryam Keyhani (maryamkeyhani.com), who creates joyful, surreal hats in the shape of giant meringues or dollops of whipped cream. She only opens the shop when she feels like it (or when someone calls to make an appointment).

A CULINARY REVOLUTION

While traditional fine dining has plateaued, a brave new world of gastronomy emerged in Berlin after pandemic restrictions were lifted, with a focus on ambitious but easygoing bistros, natural wine bars serving small plates and upscale German pub concepts. One food trend that Berlin has emerged as a pioneer in is elevated vegan and vegetarian food, which was spearheaded by former club owner Heinz Gindullis, aka Cookies. His restaurant, Cookies Cream (cookiescream.com), a soaring space nestled in an alley just a few blocks from the Brandenburg Gate, was one of the first vegetarian restaurants to win a Michelin star. And while Cookies Cream was at the vanguard, the latest project that pushes the envelope even further is Oukan (oukan.de), a hidden restaurant in Mitte that serves Japanese and Buddhist temple food-inspired fare within a sleek, jewellery box of a space that feels part Japanese monastery, part nightclub. The liveliest restaurants in the city at the moment include several ambitious but laid-back bistros, such as the recently opened Trio (trioberlin.webflow.io), in Mitte. A dynamic modern reimagining of the “wirtshaus”, the German version of a pub, it’s overseen by respected local

RED HOT

Right: an open-fire grill takes centre stage at Restaurant Kramer, launched in 2023 by chef-ceramicist Fabian Kramer

chef Vadim Otto Ursus, with help from his partners Eva Alken and Clemens Roesch. The three previously worked together at Otto (otto-berlin.net), Ursus’ acclaimed small fine-dining restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg. Tucked away in a curved building in Mitte, near the iconic Babylon cinema, the food at Trio is very traditional and humble – dishes such as lentil stew, venison goulash and eggs in mustard sauce – but features only the finest local produce. The wine list is short, well-priced and mostly showcases bins from German producers, and the beers are on tap. Then, there’s Café Frieda (cafefrieda.de), an all-day neighbourhood hangout in trendy Prenzlauer Berg that was launched in 2021 by young Israeli chef Ben Zviel and his British partner (in life and in the restaurant business) Samina Raza. When it comes to the food, it’s all about perfecting

IN THE KNOW

Top left: Berlin’s best-dressed make a beeline for the vast Andreas Murkudis store on buzzy Potsdamer Strasse

Below left: top-notch bistro fare has made Trio a popular hangout

“THIS IS STILL THE KIND OF PLACE WHERE YOU CAN FIND STORES SO WILDLY ECCENTRIC THAT IT FEELS

“TRADITIONAL FINE DINING HAS PLATEAUED AND A BRAVE NEW WORLD OF GASTRONOMY HAS EMERGED”

the basics – sourdough bread baked in-house with handmilled flour, artisanal salted raw butter and homemade pickled vegetables – and working with local farmers to make use of whole animals and seasonal produce to offer a tight menu of modern bistro dishes. Also attracting a cool foodie crowd is Julius (juliusberlin.de), a small restaurant with an open kitchen and a weekly changing seasonal menu in Wedding that is run by the team behind Michelinstarred restaurant Ernst. Two promising recent openings include the tiny, energetic Teller (tellerberlin.com), an Israeli restaurant that serves delicious vegetable-forward dishes to share, and Ei-12437-B (ei-12437.berlin), a lively, women-led beer garden and café run by Jessica-Joyce Sidon and Alexandra Strödel, located in the just-debuted Eierhäuschen, a renovated 19th-century building that is part of the developing Spreepark, which is drawing crowds to the banks of the Spree. By day, the beer garden is already doing swift business for lunch, serving up German pub dishes such as a hearty potato salad and pickled herring and onion sandwiches; in the evenings, things get a bit more formal, with a sophisticated menu of elevated traditional dishes such as cabbage stuffed with Jerusalem artichoke and hazelnuts.

Another compelling trend happening in Berlin is chefs cooking with fire, on Argentinian or Japanese-style grills, or around fire pits or in wood-fired ovens. At wood-fired bistro ITA (ita-berlin.de) in Prenzlauer Berg, the passionate team led by Micaela Longo and Javier Barbosa is bringing their interpretations of Latin American dishes made with local farm-fresh ingredients to the table, often given a smoky and crispy edge in their wood-fired oven. Longo is a trained sommelier specialising in natural wines, so the wine menu is top-notch, too. Restaurant Kramer (kramerberlin.com) was opened in 2023 by the maverick restaurateur and ceramicist Fabian Kramer and is a stunning space filled with hanging plants and Japanese-style ceramics, an openfire grill and a bread oven front and centre. Make sure to book the chef’s table to watch the pros expertly – and theatrically – sear steak, fish and seasonal vegetables over the flames. Mischa-Amadeus Olma, founder of Woodcuisine THE NAME GAME

Top left: from the team behind Ernst, Julius serves up seasonal bistro fare worth making a detour for Below left: basics done brilliantly grace the menu at Café Frieda

THOMAS MEYER, ROBERT RIEGER

SWEET SPOT

(woodboom.de/pages/woodcuisine), arranges dinners in the wild (currently at Schlossgut Finowfurt, in a village about an hour north of Berlin), where he and friends offer a changing menu that is cooked on the sides of a steel fire ring forged by the Swiss sculptor Andreas Reichlin.

WHERE THE ART IS

While being home to many prestigious cultural institutions – Germany’s capital boasts three opera houses as well as two world-class cultural complexes, the Museum Island and Kulturforum, both being renovated by architect David Chipperfield – Berlin is a city still growing and evolving culturally. Most compelling, perhaps, is how many of Berlin’s industrial and historic spaces have been appropriated as venues for art. Take the Boros Collection (sammlung-boros.de), a five-floor private museum owned by

Christian Boros, advertising czar and art collector, and his wife Karen, and housed in an abandoned bomb shelter in Mitte. This private museum contains one of the city’s most singular family-owned contemporary collections, including works from Olafur Eliasson and Ugo Rondinone. Open by appointment only on the weekends, the English tours are often booked a month or two in advance.

Then, there’s the equally dramatic Feuerle Collection (thefeuerlecollection.org), a Second World War telecommunications bunker renovated by the British architect John Pawson that showcases the eclectic collection of Désiré Feuerle, from contemporary works to Imperial Chinese furniture and Southeast Asian art.

There’s always a hot-ticket exhibition worth seeing at the Gropius Bau (berlinerfestspiele.de/gropius-bau), a monumental historic building not far from Potsdamer Platz that has become a platform for international exhibitions both eclectic and progressive. This autumn, the new director, Jenny Schlenzka, will kick off her vision with a much-anticipated exhibition of the world-renowned Thai conceptual artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. Plus, it has a great bookshop and boasts one of the best lunch spots in town, Beba, located on the ground floor.

THE SEEDS OF CHANGE

There are more and more reasons to head out to the leafy green edges of Berlin and the most exciting, for those interested in contemporary culture, are all the great new art-related projects being planted there, from the art park at Schlossgut Schwante (schlossgut-schwante.de) in Brandenburg to the thought-provoking exhibitions at the Haus am Waldsee (hausamwaldsee.de) in the suburb of Zehlendorf. Spending a day in Potsdam, the former royal city where many historic buildings and parks have been awarded Unesco World Heritage status, is a must, and should include a visit to the impressive Barberini Museum (museum-barberini.de), which is housed in a replica of the classicist-baroque Palais Barberini that once stood here, before being destroyed in the Second World War. Inside, you’ll find examples of all stylistic periods, with a particular emphasis on Impressionism, including no fewer than 38 paintings by Claude Monet.

Further afield, the Wehrmuehle (wehrmuehle.com) in Biesenthal is a community-driven contemporary art museum that opened just a couple of years ago and hosts the annual Art Biesenthal exhibition, which is shaking up this traditionally conservative village in Brandenburg, about an hour north of Berlin.

“MOST COMPELLING, PERHAPS, IS HOW MANY OF BERLIN’S INDUSTRIAL AND HISTORIC SPACES HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATED AS VENUES FOR ART”

Left: Cookies Cream, one of the first vegetarian restaurants to win a Michelin star

Below left: the 2017-opened Barberini Museum in Potsdam

WHERE TO STAY

In an ever-evolving city, the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin remains reassuringly fabulous

Exploring Berlin, which continues to shapeshift and move into the future, is an exhilarating – if exhausting – experience, which is why it can be hugely gratifying to stay in one of the city’s most prestigious, comfortable and consistently well-run five-star properties: the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin (kempinski.com)

Enjoying a prime location right next to the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and the Tiergarten, it makes for an easy trip to the fashionable corners of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, as well as to the elegant streets of Charlottenburg. The Adlon is to Berlin what the Plaza Hotel is to New York – an iconic landmark on a grand avenue in the heart of the city that has hosted a who’s who of celebrities over the years. In the early 1900s, everyone from Thomas Edison to Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin slept here, to name but a few. Josephine Baker was photographed in front of the Adlon in a carriage pulled by ostriches.

Originally built at the turn of the 20th century, it was destroyed at the end of the Second World War but was completely rebuilt in the 1990s with exceptional care (and a lavish budget). Even the basic double rooms are generous and tastefully designed – think heavy drapes, polished wood and elegantly patterned bedspreads – and have sumptuous marble-clad bathrooms with deep ceramic bathtubs.

There is always excellent people-watching to be had in the grand domed lobby; it’s a great place to have coffee or tea even if you aren’t a guest here. In its way, the property is also evolving: this June, it will debut a newly redesigned wellness area complete with pool, saunas and fitness room.

ART TO ART

Above: a contemporary artwork at the Boros Collection in Mitte

Left: the collection’s visionary owners, Karen and Christian Boros

BY THE BOOK

Above: the beautifully curated shelves of the Gropius Bau bookshop

© NOSHE, STEVE HEROD

© GROPIUS BAU, PHOTO: ROBERT RIEGER

Sometimes, it is when you stop that the journey begins.

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THE FUTURE OF TAILORING

Bespoke is back, and a new generation of sartorial talent is taking the craft to new heights across the globe, giving us a heads-up on the cuts of tomorrow.

Christian Barker reports

During the pandemic, the demand for custom-made tailoring plummeted. That’s hardly a surprise. Who needed a new suit or dinner jacket or, for that matter, a morning dress when in-person business meetings, trips to the office, social events and formal occasions were out of the question?

According to the renowned New York men’s outfitter Alan Flusser, who dressed fictional financial titan Gordon Gekko and a host of real-life Wall Street tycoons, during the lockdowns, his clients were hiding out at their holiday houses in the Hamptons. “They’re telling me they haven’t put a pair of trousers on for months; they’ve been living in T-shirts and tracksuit pants,” Flusser said when we spoke in 2020.

His response was to down tools and offer protégé Jonathan Sigmon the chance to take over the business. By all accounts, Sigmon has been doing a terrific job, attracting a new generation of customers to the house, ramping up the calendar of trunk shows around the US, and bringing renewed focus to the Flusser Femme women’s tailoring line, which was launched in 2015.

Flusser isn’t the only old hand to have taken a final bow recently. There’s been much batonpassing across the sartorial scene of late, with many leading tailors retiring – or sadly, passing on – and a new generation rising to assume the mantle.

One such ascendant figure is Paolo Martorano (paolostyle.com), who got his start working for Flusser, before honing his skills at Paul Stuart and subsequently running the bespoke department at Alfred Dunhill. Five years ago, he hung out his own shingle, setting up a bijoux by-appointment atelier on West 57th Street in Manhattan. Things were going fantastically well before the pandemic hit. “By March 2020, we’d done about 80% of 2019’s revenue. Business was just exploding,” Martorano says. Then came the dip. Fortunately, as life returned to normal, demand for sartorial finery bounced back – bigger and better than ever, in fact. “Since the second half of 2021, the occasion-dressing business has skyrocketed. Everyone wants to go out; everyone wants to be dressed up,” Martorano says. “Weddings are almost all black tie now and we’re making a tonne of tuxedos.”

Now that most companies have returned to the office, at least on a hybrid basis, Martorano is also kept busy on this front. “People are coming to me for suits and they’re buying the most elegant suits I’ve ever sold in my career,” he says. “They’re going for pinstripes; they’re going for double-breasted; they’re going for peak lapels; they’re going for dressy jackets and trousers with braces. They’re choosing cloths like cashmere. They want luxury.”

And they want it from an under-the-radar purveyor with pedigree, as personified by Martorano.

MATERIAL WORLD Paolo Martorano has cultivated a devoted following among a new generation of power dressers

MADE-TO-MEASURE

line its rails

so on,” Sebag-Montefiore explains. “We approach what we do boldly and unapologetically,” he says. “We have more freedom to be creative in what we make than we have had in over 40 years.”

The sartorial world lost one of its greatest stars when Sexton died in July of last year at the age of 80. Now, his protégé bears the awesome responsibility of stewarding the business forward, honouring Sexton’s name and spirit. Sebag-Montefiore says he’s acutely conscious of the need to adhere to the oldschool values of exquisite construction and craftsmanship that Sexton built his name upon. “Legacies are hard-earned and easily lost,” Sebag-Montefiore believes. “A reputation is dependent on maintaining the standards that won it. A legacy is kept by pursuing higher standards.”

Case in point? The reputation of Australia’s oldest tailoring firm, JH Cutler (jhcutler.com), stretches all the way back to 1884. When John Cutler assumed the role of cutter at the family business in the 1970s, he became the fourth generation of his bloodline to run the company. Over the years, John expertly catered to the sartorial needs of a host of Australian prime ministers, business leaders, top professionals and internationally renowned entertainers. Unfortunately, none of John’s four children chose to follow him into the trade, so when he began pondering retirement, he was forced to look beyond his gene pool for a successor. Employed by John in 2008, Sam Hazelton trained to take the reins at JH Cutler for 14 years. Now, with John officially retired to Tasmania, he’s fulfilling that destiny.

“It’s an amazing opportunity. I’m truly honoured,” says Hazelton. “I’ve always known that the business had incredible potential, and I’d like to really explore that over the next few years.” He says he is working to refresh and slightly modernise the brand – taking steps such as moving to new, larger premises and commissioning a rebuild of the website, currently underway – while ensuring the standards John and his Cutler forefathers set are kept.

Across the pond in London, Dominic SebagMontefiore, cutter and creative director at Edward Sexton (edwardsexton.co.uk), is also observing customers taking real joy in dressing to the nines. “Bespoke tailoring is blooming into something beautiful and special,” he says, standing in an eye-catchingly smart flagship store, which opened its doors at 35 Savile Row in November 2022. No longer is traditional menswear viewed as a dour corporate uniform, reluctantly donned for the workday, he explains: “Today, the suit is free to be an icon of masculine elegance or something subversive.”

MARTIN KREUZER

The Sexton name is synonymous with subversion, Edward having earned legendary status as the cutter for Savile Row insurrectionist Tommy Nutter, tailor to 1960s London’s swingiest characters. Today, Sexton’s house honours Nutter’s legacy, not only by returning to the Row after a 32-year hiatus (occupying a stylish space that interior designer Daniel Hopwood describes as “a decoupage approach to art deco”), but also by remaining dedicated to making “clothes that are striking, bold and timeless that are true to our rebellious roots – dressing The Beatles, The Stones, Warhol, Hockney, and

“It’s more difficult finding and training people these days,” Hazelton says. “Sadly, there’s no government-supported tailoring apprenticeship programme in this country. But I’ve just hired a fantastic new tailor. It’s vitally important to recruit young talent to learn alongside the older guys we currently have, who are in their 60s and 70s, so that their skills are passed on. We need to ensure that we can continue to keep producing tailoring of the same or better quality 10 or 20 years from now.”

Famous Florentine tailoring house Liverano & Liverano (liverano.com) is working toward this same goal by actively educating a new generation of talent. The house has established a school where students are tutored by maestro Antonio Liverano, who first picked up a needle as a small boy in the 1930s. Select graduates join the team as Liverano Fellows, a cohort that currently includes men and women from Italy, Japan and Korea.

“Coming from different backgrounds, we share one common goal, which is to craft the most beautiful and comfortable tailoring for our clients,” says Korean Seung Jin An. “We work in a collaborative setting and we learn from each other’s culture while upholding what is a very Italian tradition and craft.”

Last year, An won the prestigious Forbici d’Oro (Golden Scissors) award, which is bestowed annually by Italy’s National Academy of Tailors to recognise the Italy-based sartorial craftsperson “who best interpreted the art of tailoring thanks to their technical ability, style sensitivity and manual skills”. Of receiving this honour, he said, “It was a dream in my heart – I still don’t believe it”.

Liverano sends its talented tailors out to conduct bespoke trunk shows all around the world. One of the countries An and his colleagues frequently visit to service Liverano’s customers is Singapore. In this equatorial nation, for the past 13 years sartorial culture has been championed and fostered by one individual above all others: Kevin Seah (kevinseah.com). In addition to classic suits, tuxedos and blazers, Seah traffics in forward-thinking bespoke attire tailored to Singapore’s steamy climate.

“Bespoke isn’t just about what a banker or lawyer might traditionally wear to the office,” Seah explains. “I encourage my clients to reconsider their preconceptions of bespoke. Why not commission a unique tropical shirt in beautiful Indian block-print cotton? Or some bespoke shorts or chinos? Individuality and self-expression – creating a wardrobe that reflects your lifestyle and tastes – that’s the future of tailoring.”

MAN OF THE CLOTH Right: cutter and creative director at Edward Sexton, Dominic Sebag-Montefiore

BOUTIQUE CHIC

Left: Edward Sexton’s 2022-opened Savile Row flagship store is as well designed as the timeless suits that

SUIT YOURSELF

An artfully curated celebration of the craftsmanship of bespoke British tailoring, The Savile Row Suit is a new release by Gestalten written by Patrick Grant, fashion designer, tailor and co-host of The Great British Sewing Bee, and is a must-read for anyone who wants to upgrade both their personal style and sartorial knowledge

TREND-SETTER

Left: tailor Kevin Seah encourages clients to think outside the box, mixing up textures, prints and styles in unexpected ways

“People’s mindsets around fashion have changed. They want longevity, durability and versatility”

Eternal style

“Today, the conscious consumer wants to invest in something that they can wear numerous times in numerous ways, dressing it up and dressing it down, rather than spending £2,000 on a dress they’ll wear once to a party, or buying disposable fast fashion that will quickly find its way into a landfill. People’s mindsets around fashion have changed. They want longevity, durability and versatility.” So says Daisy Knatchbull, founder of The Deck (thedecklondon.com), the first tailoring shop on Savile Row exclusively for women, by women. Established in 2019, the firm swiftly found a loyal fanbase among female consumers seeking to “buy less but better”, investing in perennial garments that can be mended when necessary and altered as required: trend-proof apparel of sufficient quality to survive a lifetime – or more. “Our tailoring is made to last,” Knatchbull explains. “We do free repairs for life. We construct garments in such a way that they can be adjusted for the rest of your life, and beyond. They truly can be passed down to the next generation.”

CLIMATE CONTROL

Right: a linen jacket and shirt combo by Singapore’s Kevin Seah, whose designs are perfectly suited to tropical climes

SHARPSHOOTER

The Deck’s Spade suit in blue pinstripe epitomises founder Daisy Knatchbull’s “buy less but better” philosophy

Celebrating Twenty Years

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Ready to slide into

the roomy driving seat of Lexus’ first all-electric vehicle? Will Hersey takes the RZ for a spin

It’s strange to think that the new RZ is the first purpose-built all-electric car from Lexus. Considering that this is the luxury arm of Toyota that gave us the groundbreaking hybrid technology of the Prius way back in the Nineties, you’d be forgiven for assuming that both marques would have glided effortlessly into the world of emission-free driving. Instead, they’ve had to watch their rivals get a decent head start.

There can, of course, be advantages in biding your time, as long as you’ve been paying attention. From the outside, Lexus has opted for a fairly familiar SUV-crossover style that will at least feel accessible to drivers who are now getting used to electric cars. While sharply styled, it’s not trying too hard to look different from the rest of the range. It’s inside, though, that things get interesting.

Lexus cabins have always been appealing places in which to while away some time, and the RZ manages to ride that tricky balance of feeling clean and clutter-free but also warm and inviting.

There’s also a pleasingly good balance of digital and analogue controls – without these being overwhelming. Although, looking at the number of features on offer, gadget lovers might need to sit down before running through the options list.

Even the standard package is pretty stacked: there’s the 14-inch HD touchscreen, of course, the heated seats, wireless charging, reversing camera, keyless entry and panoramic roof. Move up the range and you’ve also got infrared heating, ambient interior settings, 360-degree cameras and self-parking tech.

“There’s a soft, tactile and cosseting feel as you settle in, with seats that manage to be both comfortable and supportive”

Whether it’s a quick run to the shops or a long-distance road trip, the RZ promises superior comfort and plenty of legroom

The driving position is good and there are some nice details for the EV era, such as being able to change the level of brake regeneration via the steering column as you drive. To do this on some models requires heading deep into the car’s settings on the touchscreen as you try to keep an eye on the road.

There’s a soft, tactile and cosseting feel as you settle in, with seats that manage to be both comfortable and supportive. Rear passengers are on to a good thing, too, with limo-like levels of legroom enabling a decent stretch for the longer-limbed. Given how high – and similar –interior standards have become, it’s unusual to find a cabin that feels subtly different in a good way.

One interesting new feature in the pipeline is an airliner-style yoke control to replace the traditional steering wheel. Called the One Motion Grip system, it uses steer-by-wire technology but, alas, we’ll have to wait until 2025 to try it out.

Overall, the RZ offers the refined and smooth ride we’ve come to associate with Lexus, whether it’s on short trips or longer cruises. The underfloor battery stack adds weight, of course, and the RZ is pretty hefty, but acceleration is direct and very capable, powered by twin motors producing a combined 309hp and achieving acceleration from 0-62mph in a very swift 5.6 seconds.

The quoted range of 271 miles, however, feels a little low for a car in this class and some reports say that this is in itself hard to achieve in practice. But this car represents new ground for Lexus and, given the brand’s track record for innovation and learning fast, the RZ is an important first trip along a new road. (lexus.com)

SEBASTIEN MAUROY

IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

SITTING PRETTY