DAYS LIKE THIS | ISSUE 09

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Travel in style What turns a good holiday into a spectacular one? For Fiona Bruce, great local food is the vital ingredient, as she reveals in her Travel Album on p84. For others, it’s adventure and nature. For some it’s the sheer comfort of a great hotel. And for me… I’m beginning to accept that I’m a bit of a design junkie.

If I don’t find the place I’m staying in pleasing to the eye, I can’t really enjoy it. We once rented a house in Cornwall that was so depressingly brown-and-beige, I did a mercy dash into town to buy white throws to cover up the horrible sofas. By contrast, the house we stayed in this summer in Hydra in Greece was a building of copious beauty, brimming with paintings and family treasures collected over generations.

It seems I’m not alone. Maybe it’s down to Instagram. We’re all art directors now, with our carefully curated posts. Is it training us to see the world with a more design-conscious eye? The founder of edit58, Lisa Mehydene, certainly thinks so. She filled her own home with beautiful finds from her travels, and based a business on it. If you’re of a similar bent, you’ll love the exquisitely restored Finca La Donaira in Andalucía (p90), and Francis Ford Coppola’s chic properties in Belize and Guatemala (p74). But it’s not all design nerdery in this issue. For satisfying those wanderlust cravings, nothing quite hits the spot like a US road trip, which Chris Moss writes about on p58. If you’re a ski fan, read Giles Whittell’s love letter to snow (p65). And lastly, we head to Cape Town for Access All Areas (p70). Great food and wine, extraordinary landscapes – and one of the best-designed new hotels in the world. Get me there.

GILL MORGAN EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

GILES WHITTELL

F I O N A B RU C E

J E N N Y C OA D

After leaving university, Giles Whittell worked a ski season for Scott Dunn before becoming a journalist. He has written for The Times for 25 years, from Moscow, LA, Washington and London. In this issue, he celebrates snow, the subject of his new book.

One of the most familiar faces on British TV, Fiona Bruce joined the BBC as a researcher on Panorama and went on to present some of its flagship programmes, including News at Ten and Antiques Roadshow. For us, she shares her travel inspirations.

As the Deputy Travel Editor of the Daily Mail, Jenny has her finger on the pulse of the latest travel trends and destinations. For Days Like This she writes about the technological revolution happening in travel, from booking apps to in-room robot butlers.

5

CO N T E N TS

Zeitgeist

8 T R AV E L B R I E F I N G

Destinations 2 9 FO O D I E S PA I N

The destinations, trends, books, apps and holiday fashion we’re excited about right now

Rob Crossan embarks on a mouth-watering gastronomic tour 3 6 CA M B O D I A

People

Long a favourite with backpackers, Cambodia is now a luxury travel hotspot

3 2 L I SA M E H Y D E N E

Meet the former ad executive who turned her passion for travel into a thriving online homeware brand 8 4 T R AV E L A L B U M : FIONA BRUCE

The BBC News at Ten and Antiques Roadshow presenter on the journeys that have shaped her world

Life and Style 2 0 B E AC H P LU S

Our cunning combos offer the perfect compromise between city and sea 47 W H AT T E E N AG E R S R E A L LY WA N T

Wise words on keeping teens happy on holiday

4 2 C O U RC H E V E L

There’s so much more to this superglam resort than just world-class skiing 5 0 P H OTO S TO RY: E S SAO U I R A

Morocco’s easy, breezy coastal gem is a jewel-box of vivid colours 5 8 U S ROA D T R I P S

Chris Moss on why the only way to discover America is on four wheels 70 CA P E TO W N

Scott Dunn’s local expert reveals his inside track on this hip and vibrant South African city

Above: the spa at Andalucían retreat Finca La Donaira, p90; Below: Lisa Mehydene, founder of travel-inspired homeware brand edit58, p32

74 B E L I Z E A N D G UAT E M A L A

Claire Wrathall visits Francis Ford Coppola’s trio of eco-luxe retreats

65 THE WHITE STUFF

Giles Whittell on his love for snow 8 1 T R AV E L T EC H

Jenny Coad wonders if technology is enhancing the hotel experience or taking the soul out of travel 90 INTERIORS: F I N CA L A D O N A I R A

Rustic chic is perfected at this exquisite Andalucían retreat 9 6 T H E P L E AS U R E P R I N C I P L E : THE MORNING DIP

The invigorating charms of the earlymorning holiday swim

Editor Gill Morgan Editor-at-large James Collard Art Director Sara Redhead Sub-editor Damon Syson Design Lesley Evans Picture editor Emma Hammar Project manager Sarah Glyde Colour reproduction PH Media – Print Taylor Bloxham © Copyright 2018 Uncommonly 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. Uncommonly Ltd Thomas House, 84 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1PX, +44 (0) 20 3948 1506. Advertising enquiries to info@uncommonly.co.uk

6

DAYS LIKE THIS

A YEAR FROM NOW, YOU’LL BE HAPPY YOU CAME

At COMO Hotels and Resorts, we want to enrich the journey you’re already on. By nourishing your curiosity, we leave no room to regret the opportunities you didn’t take. The doors you didn’t open. The experiences you didn’t embrace. Take time to be with family and friends. Find the space for your wellbeing on adventures to remember, in places you’ve never been, revealing depths you didn’t know existed.

ZEITGEIST T H E S E A S O N ’S LOW- D OW N O N E V E RY T H I N G WO RT H K N OW I N G I N T RAV E L R I G H T N OW

I N D O N E S I A N PA R A D I S E

ISLAND GETAWAY What makes Bawah Reserve so special? It’s partly the setting: six lush green Indonesian islands set in three lagoons, with 13 white-sand beaches.

Sprinkled across the islands are 35 handsome villas – some on stilts over the ocean, others overlooking one of the beaches. All of these are constructed using locally available materials, from flotsam to palms, with lattice bamboo walls designed make the most of the sea breezes. Crucially, there’s no television and no phone signal. Instead, guests are encouraged to commune with nature. So you can go hiking through the rainforest and visit the monitor lizards, or go snorkelling in turquoise seas teeming with parrotfish and turtles. And alongside the flora and fauna, this new eco-resort delivers barefoot luxury at its quietest, with excellent but low-key dining, a good spa, and above all else, tranquillity.

Clockwise, from left: an aerial view of one of Bawah Reserve’s 13 white-sand beaches; barefoot luxe redefined at the Beach Suite; the resort’s romantic jetty

9

SEA AND SKI

THE GREAT ADVENTURE Going on a skiing or a sailing holiday is usually an either/or. But with the Firebird, you do both. In this luxurious Oyster 885 RS yacht, you sail north Norway’s spectacular coast, passing Tromsø, the Lyngen Alps and fjords, then head ashore for some of the world’s best off-piste skiing, led by an IFMGA-accredited mountain guide. The Firebird accommodates up to seven passengers in three doubles and a single, all en-suite, with a crew of three to sail her and serve you. Itineraries can be tweaked to include ice-climbing, dog-sledding and, for a touch of culture, museum visits. Or you could just take it easy in the raised saloon, enjoying panoramic views of the epic Norwegian landscape, the odd passing whale or the Northern Lights.

10

DAYS LIKE THIS

WORLD OF INTERIORS

FRENCH LESSONS AND INDIAN TAKEAWAYS From the 1930s to the 1970s, every classroom across France was bedecked with educational maps and posters. With their classic midcentury typography and illustration style, they evoke a lost world – of colonial territories now renamed, industries long gone, and perfectly dressed French nuclear families. Now, courtesy of Retro Maps, they are available to add that little dash of pre-Brexit midcentury charm to your walls.

For something a little more ornate, nothing beats India. Two UK-based companies are specialising in upcycling vintage Indian fabrics and homewares to superb effect – everything from old saris to postcards is given new life. Samarkand, founded by two friends, Hilly Grumbar and Carrie Hart, is based in Tiverton, Devon, and one of their specialities is sourcing beautiful old sari fabric to make silk lampshades. They also have a great range of kantha quilts – the stitched patchwork throws found across northeastern India.

Scaramanga, meanwhile, is based in Fife, Scotland, and is the brainchild of Carl Morenikeji, who runs the company with his wife Emma.

A former corporate marketing boss, he set up the business after a trip to India, initially selling leather satchels. Now he scours the subcontinent for a range of vintage homewares. Our favourites are the antique printing blocks, old postcards and Bollywood posters. Scaramanga also supplies pieces for film sets, most recently Paddington 2. retromaps.bigcartel.com; scaramangashop.co.uk; samarkanddesign.com

Above: homeware brand Scaramanga sells a wide range of authentic Indian products, like these vintage postcards.

Left and below: kantha (traditional Bengali patchwork) quilts and pleated silk lampshades made from antique sari fabric, both available from Samarkand

Left: vintage French maps of Europe from Retro Maps bring a touch of midcentury style to your walls

11

H O L I DAY P H OTO M AS T E R C L AS S

FLYING PHOTOGRAPHER

The work of photographer Jon Nicholson (above) includes these exquisite shots of Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet; a schoolboy at the Glenburn Tea Estate in Darjeeling; and fishermen in Myanmar

12

Whether we’re snapping away on an iPhone or doing things analogue-style with a “proper” camera, coming home with a detailed visual record of our travels is a big part of the pleasure of holidays for many of us (not to mention facilitating a bit of showing off on Instagram). But don’t you sometimes wish that your photographs were just that little bit... better? Enter Scott Dunn’s Flying Photographer, Jon Nicholson. Nicholson has shot for many of the world’s top publications, including National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Magazine. You can book him – either to join you for a few days, or for an entire trip – to provide a personal photography masterclass covering composition, exposure and lighting. Let’s face it, mobile selfies are just so last year...

DAYS LIKE THIS

Skip-gen travel

– granny and grandpa treat the nippers… who needs parents anyway?

Comporta, Portugal

– where the cool crowd are heading off to next.

Move over Tulum.

Japan ski – the world’s

best powder snow and karaoke après-ski... get it on the bucket list

Vegan menus

– suddenly they’re everywhere and supertasty to boot

Abu Dhabi – beautiful uncrowded beaches just a short flight away: perfect for winter sun

GOING UP & GOING DOWN Pom-poms – just

because we’re on holiday, it doesn’t mean we need them on everything

Welcome message on your in-room TV – sorry, it just doesn’t make us feel that special. Give us a nice handwritten note any day

Long-haul nuptials

– can’t we just go to a wedding in the Costwolds and have the hols we really want later?

Airbnb – Berlin, Palma, next-up Paris: some of the world’s key cities are pushing back Aperol spritz

– Yesterday’s tipple. All hail the Negroni!

ZEITGEIST

13

Above: Arctic Bath, a floating spa hotel off the coast of Sweden. Right: The Retreat, a new luxury hotel and spa at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon geothermal baths

N O R D I C S PA O P E N I N G S

COLD COMFORT

The Nordic spa scene just gained two spectacular additions. Arctic Bath – don’t be put off by the name – is a floating spa and hotel off the coast of Sweden. Well, it floats in the summer and is frozen into the pack ice in the winter. And that’s when one particular detail in the design of this spectacular, rather mythical-looking project comes into its own: skylights in the ceilings of the hotel’s six cabins mean that guests get to enjoy the Northern Lights while sprawled cosily in bed, warmed by the heat from wood-burning stoves. The eponymous Arctic Bath is in the centre of the structure – warmed to just 4°C. All the better for delivering that bracing contrast when you plunge into it from your sauna. Meanwhile, up and over in Iceland, the celebrated Blue Lagoon geothermal lake – long a favourite with visitors who like to take its therapeutic waters – has gained its own luxury hotel and spa.

The Retreat is built into solidified lava and has its own private lagoon and Moss Restaurant serving Icelandic haute cuisine, whatever the temperature outside. Expect volcanic-themed spa treatments, an eerie landscape and Nordic design at its most austerely beautiful.

14

DAYS LIKE THIS

ZEITGEIST

15

C H I L D - F R I E N D LY H OT E L S

BOUTIQUE CALL Parents of small children who look back longingly to pre-progeny holidays and minibreaks in bijou design hotels need not despair.

For the phrases “family-friendly” and “boutique hotel” are not always mutually exclusive, with a growing number of the latter welcoming children at certain times of the year, notably during school holidays. Casa La Siesta in Spain’s Costa de la Luz is one such property; likewise São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal, and Kasbah Tamadot in the foothills of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. They might not have fully-blown kids’ clubs but they do offer activities that will keep the young’uns occupied – while you’re busy imagining a life with more downtime – such as cooking or language lessons, child-only breakfast clubs, or, at the Kasbah, the opportunity to ride a mule called Paprika.

16

Above: a guestroom at Morocco’s Kasbah Tamadot, one of the new wave of child-friendly boutique hotels

mexican wave Mezcal is having a moment, as the rest of the world learns to love the agave-based spirit, which Mexicans have long enjoyed.

This moment is partly about quantity – sales are up from around 50,000 cases a decade ago to seven times that figure today – and partly quality, with more artisanal, single-estate mezcals emerging as the equivalent of a good Scotch or a fine cognac. It’s surely no accident that the trend for high-end mezcal and tequila coincides with the modishness of Mexican cuisine, as visitors discover there’s far more to the food scene than taquerias (much as we love tacos). In taste terms, mezcal is typically more smoky in flavour than tequila, but with both spirits, the revelation is that these are drinks to be savoured, not just knocked back as shots. One standout brand, Ilegal, gets its name from its louche origins – a speakeasy that served smuggled mezcal across the border in Guatemala. But today Ilegal is totally above board, collaborating with Mexican makers who work to the highest standards and pay living wages to their workforce. So it’s an ethical tipple as well as a tasty one.

DAYS LIKE THIS

nature trail

Have you ever spotted an exotic bird, beast or flower on your travels and wondered what it is? iNaturalist – a virtual David Attenborough in your pocket – is ready to come to your aid. Described by some as a Shazam for nature, the app in fact works rather differently from the musicidentifying service. Where Shazam operates by digitally recognising music tracks, iNaturalist – a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society – puts you in touch with a community of knowledgeable naturalists, enabling you to crowdsource identifications. You simply upload an image of what you’re trying to identify and ask your fellow citizen scientists what it might be.

Almost a million people globally have already signed up to the service, with over 13 million “observations” made to date. Get spotting!

SMALL WONDERS

I L LU S T R AT I O N : DA M I E N W E I G H I L L

CLEVER STUFF FOR KIDS The latest solution to that perennial question of how to keep children occupied on a long journey is Timeout Bags. Founded by mum Alix Porter, a former Harvey Nichols marketing executive, the basic idea was to put together a rather more sophisticated version of a goodie bag, targeted at girls and boys and at specific age groups, to keep your kids entertained, engaged – even fed – while they’re travelling. Each bag, made from hypoallergenic cotton, contains a hand-picked selection of books, toys, puzzles, snacks, and a refillable water bottle. The Timeout Bags e-commerce store launched earlier this year with a percentage of its proceeds going to charity.

Kit & Kin is another innovative company doing clever things for kids – from nappies made from sustainable materials to organic baby skincare. Kit & Kin is now supplied in all Scott Dunn villas and chalets.

If you’ve ever had a child cut their foot on a rock while swimming or – horror of horrors – stand on a jellyfish, you need Duukies beach socks in your life. An alternative to jellies, these brightly coloured neoprene zip-up water-shoes are sleek and sporty. And best of all, they even come in adult sizes!

From top: best foot forward with Duukies beach socks; bespoke travel activity packs from Timeout Bags; Kit & Kin’s eco-friendly nappies

ZEITGEIST

17

Been

THERE,

DUNN THAT

Scott Dunn’s founder, Andrew Dunn, tells us where he’s off to next…

I really enjoy England in the summer, especially when it’s like this last one, but the moment the days start getting shorter I find myself thinking about going south to the Mediterranean, which I much prefer out of season. And then of course, further afield. It can be tricky going on holiday when you work in the business – I’m what could be described as horribly observant.

But I’m really looking forward to going to the Kamalaya Koh Samui resort in Thailand. Not only do I adore Thai food, but I’m looking forward to trying their wellness programme – including yoga, which I’ve never tried, but which I think will be good for me. Then of course there’s St Anton, for the skiing, which I do every year without fail.

And then the other place I’m keen to try is Ozen in the Maldives. It’s allinclusive, which is unusual for me, but I think it can be really relaxing sometimes, not having to watch how much you’re spending.

And I’m looking forward to going to Costa Rica – where we’re staying in a seriously special eco-lodge – which you can only get to by canoe.

I think places like that, which are that tiny bit harder to reach, are often the best.

18

turkish delight For some travellers, Aman hotels exert an appeal so intense that members of this most well-heeled of fanbases have been dubbed “Aman junkies”. It’s easy to see why. Every Aman property is a thing of beauty, period. But each has its partisans: Amanbagh, with its stunning Mughal-style pavilions, is Rajasthan at its most pastoral; Aman Venice combines minimalist luxe with 16th-century interiors; and then there’s Amangiri, an architectural marvel in the Utah desert. But now there’s a new contender: Amanruya in Turkey, overlooking a secluded bay on the Aegean sea – and cranking up nearby Bodrum’s luxury credentials considerably. Its handsome stone buildings reflect the local vernacular traditions, but needless to say the service, spa and Mediterranean cuisine are anything but rustic.

DAYS LIKE THIS

Y E A R- R O U N D S T Y L E

HOLIDAY FASHION COLLECTIONS It used to be that if you wanted new holiday togs, you only had a tiny sliver of time in which to buy them. By late July, the rails were empty. How times have changed. The holiday fashion market is booming (some reports claim year-on-year growth of 25 per cent) catering for a more sophisticated market in which many of us take multiple trips a year. At the vanguard of this change, of course, is Net-A-Porter, whose Vacation Shop is a source of year-round cool beach and swimwear, and equally chic ski/outdoor gear (after all, you might want to hit the slopes in Chile in June). Matches is another great source of year-round holiday gear, and reports the rise of a number of niche brands specialising in vacation-wear, like LA-based Dos Gardenias and accessories brand Cult Gaia. But for now, feast your eyes on some of our favourite new skiwear, which looks as good on a chilly day back home as out on the slopes.

Opposite: the pool at Amanruya. Left: red jacket

by Moncler Grenoble; ski pants by Perfect Moment; boots and hat by Moncler

PAG E T U R N E R S

TRAVEL READING LIST

THE ARTY ONE Françoise Gilot. Three Travel Sketchbooks (Taschen) Best known as Picasso’s muse and lover, Françoise Gilot, now 96, is an artist in her own right – and a great traveller. Her sketchbooks from Venice, India and Senegal are exquisite.

ZEITGEIST

THE STYLISH ONE Mykonos Muse (Assouline) Hot on the heels of its Ibiza book last year, Assouline has turned its attention to superglam Mykonos. The result features envy-inducing shots of turquoise seas, chic homes, outdoor feasts and jet-set aficionados.

THE TASTY ONE Casablanca: My Moroccan Food (Octopus) Nargisse Benkabbou is a Moroccan-born, Londonbased amateur cook whose food blog, My Moroccan Food, really caught the zeitgeist and led to Casablanca, her mouth-watering first book.

19

Above: the Church of St Peter Claver and Bocagrande district, Cartagena, Colombia.

Right: the pristine white sands of South Beach, Miami

+

WORDS JAMES COLLARD

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS 20

DAYS LIKE THIS

I

t’s a dilemma, isn’t it – just how restful should a holiday be? And how much lazing around on a beach and splashing around in the ocean is good for us? For some, the answer to that would be: as much beach as we can get, thank you very much. For others, well, perhaps you can have too much of a good thing; the beach can get boring – and we want to explore and experience something beyond flying and flopping on a lounger.

The answer to this dilemma – and the solution for couples and families who find themselves arguing about all of the above – is Beach Plus, combining the perfect beach stay with anything from a safari to the most exotic of city breaks. It’s easy enough, as the following examples show – but there are many more options. The Maldives, for example, is less than a twohour flight from southern India’s temples and palaces, while the island of Langkawi is but a short hop away from the bright lights of Singapore. Problem solved.

It’s hard to keep everyone happy on holiday, especially if you’re longing for the lounger but your partner finds the shore a bore. Thankfully, there are some clever combos that offer the perfect compromise: Beach Plus

BEACH PLUS

21

+

T H E U R BA N B E AC H C O M B O

SOUTH BEACH, MIAMI CARTAGENA

Above right: historic Cartagena. Below: a Miami lifeguard station.

Opposite, from top: Kaya Mawa; lions in South Luangwa National Park

22

L E F T/ B E LO W : G E T T Y I M AG E S

South Beach is the ultimate urban beach destination. The broad stretch of sand is superb, but that’s just part of the pulling power of Miami. For this fascinating city is where North America meets the Latin South – a pan-American playground replete with a great nightlife and restaurant scene. Miami also punches above its weight culturally, with a yearlong buzz around the chic Design District and new Faena District, and it plays host to one of the world’s most important art fairs. Combine a stay at The Tides in the heart of art deco South Beach with a visit to Colombia’s Spanish colonial port, Cartagena de Indias. Here the architecture is older and grander, and the pace is slower. But the Anandá boutique hotel is well-placed for exploring Cartagena’s historic old town, while the roof deck can be your venue for a sundowner while enjoying a sea breeze.

PERFECT FOR couples, families with children aged eight or over.

BEACH PLUS COMBINES THE PERFECT BEACH STAY WITH A SAFARI OR EXOTIC CITY BREAK

DAYS LIKE THIS

+

T H E SA FA R I B E AC H C O M B O

ZAMBIA LAKE MALAWI The walking safari was pioneered in the 1960s in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park and is arguably the best way to get up close to wildlife. The most remote camp in the park, Luwi, is an oasis of comfort in a grove of mahogany trees, with great views across a floodplain to the Luwi riverbed – and the ideal base for a walking safari.

Close to hand are two permanent lagoons, home to numerous hippos and crocodiles, and walking in the company of expert guides, you can expect to see prides of lions, elephants and other big game. By contrast, many of the creatures you can get close to at Kaya Mawa – a pristine island on Lake Malawi – will be underwater, such as Cichlid fish, 700 species of which can be found in this freshwater lake. This understated but stunning resort is a great spot for diving and snorkelling – likewise sailing, kayaking or paddle-boarding. Or, of course, just a plain old paddle or dip, followed by a doze on the beach.

PERFECT FOR couples, including honeymooners, and adventurous families with children aged eight or over.

BEACH PLUS

23

+

T H E C O M B O O F C O N T R AS T S

BHUTAN THE ANDAMANS The Andaman Islands is a hot destination right now. Situated in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, between India and Myanmar, this archipelago is mostly part of India, but until recently has largely been the preserve of a small indigenous population and adventurous backpackers.

But improved connections and luxury hotel openings are changing that – and a few years ago the Jalakara boutique hotel opened to rave reviews, right by what’s surely one of the world’s finest and quietest beaches. Bhutan, on the other hand, is a Buddhist mountain kingdom where you can visit ancient monasteries, including the famous Tiger’s Nest – with a quick stop in Calcutta to round off a holiday of extraordinary contrasts.

PERFECT FOR couples, families with teenage children.

24

DAYS LIKE THIS

+

T H E BA L K A N B E AC H C O M B O

ISTRIA, CROATIA LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA Croatia’s Istrian peninsula is one of Europe’s most spectacular coastlines: a beguiling mix of coves and islands, bays and distant mountains – and just the occasional beach, like the one at Monte Mulini, just a short walk from the historic town of Rovinj. Istria is great for combining a seaside break with something more cultural and a little less lazy. Just up the coast in Italy is Trieste; just down, Pula. And to the north-east lies Slovenia, with its mountain scenery – and Ljubljana.

The Slovenian capital is an unsung gem, with baroque churches and palaces, and Viennese Secession architecture, which reveals the fact that, like Trieste, this was once part of Austro-Hungarian Empire.

You can enjoy superb views of the city from the terraces, 18th-floor pool and suites of Ljubljana’s new InterContinental hotel, just a 10-minute walk from the old town.

PERFECT FOR couples, families with children of all ages and multigenerational parties.

Opposite: Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest Temple; Jalakara Boutique Hotel, the Andaman Islands. Above: crystalclear waters on the Istrian coast. Below: a street in Ljubljana

BEACH PLUS

25

+

T H E V I E T N A M E S E B E AC H C O M B O

HO CHI MINH CITY CON DAO

History fans will love exploring Ho Chi Minh City – formerly the capital of French Indochina and then South Vietnam. Its centre retains a strong French flavour: broad boulevards, elegant colonial buildings, even a cathedral of Notre Dame.

But equally fascinating is the street-life and buzz of this modern Asian metropolis.

The food – whether at a fancy restaurant or at a food stall – is superb, and the welcome warm. After sightseeing in the capital, the Con Dao archipelago – just a 45-minute hop away by plane – is the perfect place to unwind. Made up of 16 islands, most of Con Dao is a nature reserve, and the new Six Senses Con Dao eases guests into the quiet and slow pace of island life while endeavouring to keep this habitat pristine. There’s a good spa, of course, as you’d expect from a Six Senses outpost, while every villa has a pool. But the star turn is surely that stunning private beach.

PERFECT FOR couples, families with children aged eight or over.

26

Above: a Vietnamese street vendor. Below: beach paradise in the Con Dao Islands.

Opposite: the pool at One&Only The Palm, Dubai; dunes near the Al Maha desert resort

DAYS LIKE THIS

+

T H E D E S E RT C O M B O

G E T T Y I M AG E S

AL MAHA THE PALM, DUBAI

BEACH PLUS

Dubai is a byword for a certain type of opulence – for superb shopping in luxury malls and fantastical souks, for gleaming towers and a buzzing nightlife scene.

The perfect foil to this lies in the desert that surrounds the bustling metropolis.

Al Maha is an oasis at the heart of a vast conservation reserve some 225 square kilometres in size, with tented suites combining privacy with panoramic views of the desert. From your terrace and private pool you can enjoy the extraordinary light and atmosphere of the desert, as Arabian oryx gather at a watering hole during the heat of the day. Astonishingly, it’s less than an hour from Dubai, with its iconic Palm – and the luxurious One & Only The Palm, which will be your base there.

PERFECT FOR couples, families with children of all ages.

Call the Scott Dunn team on 020 8682 5000 to start planning your Beach Plus holiday

27

Luxury River Cruising with

Aria Amazon, Peru Aqua Mekong, Cambodia and Vietnam

Design Suite on the Aqua Mekong

Biking Excursion in Vietnam

Cruise with us on the 16-cabin Aria Amazon or 20-suite Aqua Mekong in relaxation and comfort enriched with cultural learning, nature, and active adventures.

SPECIAL THEMED DEPARTURES Chef Hosted Departures on the Aria Amazon with Pedro Miguel Schiaffino

Chef Hosted Departures on the Aqua Mekong with David Thompson

Be entertained in style with 5-star cuisine and a 1:1 staff-to-guest ratio, along with our infinity pool or jacuzzi, spacious lounges and onboard massage facilities for your special guests.

Enjoying twice daily offboard excursions, including biking, kayaking, fishing, swimming, wildlife spotting and more!

Founder Hosted Departures with Francesco Galli-Zugaro

EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & AMENITIES Special Summer Rates on the Aqua Mekong Solo Traveller Offer: Single Supplement Waiver Honeymoon and Anniversaries Amenities

www. scottdunn.com

WORDS ROB CROSSAN

D

Beyond Tapas

4CORNERS

Spain’s innovative cuisine has been wowing diners – and critics – for decades, but a private tour of three foodie hubs reveals that Iberia’s chefs and producers are still pushing the limits of culinary excellence

S PA N I S H G AST RO TO U R

usk in San Sebastián, and in lieu of a dinner reservation I’m in need of fulsome vocal chords, sharp elbows and no small degree of Basque charm if I’m to eat tonight. Lacking all of the above, I’m relying instead on Eli, my tour guide of the “pintxos” bars of this venerable city.

“Forget everything you think you know about tapas,” she tells me as, with a flick of her glossy black hair and a deft weave in among the throng of diners standing at the bar counter, she locates a table the size of a doormat for us to lean on while consuming one of Spain’s most exquisite and rapidly evolving culinary experiences.

“Tapas is really just small versions of a main dish,” Eli elaborates as two bijou dishes of off-thebone lamb – artfully arranged on top of a duvet of creamed potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes and samphire – are placed in front of us. “Pintxos dishes, on the other hand, are created explicitly to be this size,” she continues as we mournfully scrape our spoons around the empty-all-too-fast bowl. “So the flavours are often much more bold and rich, as you’re only going to be eating a few mouthfuls of each one.”

Velvety sheep’s milk cheese with shiitakemushroom risotto, lusty and spicy piquillo peppers, and “torrija”, a Basque take on the ancient British dessert of bread-and-butter pudding, are just some of the dizzying array of dishes we consume while hurtling in and out of the bars lining the cobblestone alleyways of the Parte Vieja, or Old Quarter.

A private food tour of Spain requires not only reconciling oneself to gaining a few pounds, but also burying a few stereotypes; chiefly, that Spanish cuisine is ubiquitously rustic and simple fare. A certain Ferran Adrià changed all that with his late restaurant elBulli, in the seaside town of Rosas. Described by Juan Mari Arzak (another game-changing chef at the vanguard of the new Spanish cuisine) as “the most imaginative cook in all history”, Adrià, though not preparing typically Iberian food, did more than anyone to propel the notion that Spain is now more innovative and dynamic in its native cuisine than anywhere else in Europe.

Spain’s moment in the global culinary sweet spot didn’t end with the closure of elBulli.

And flying from San Sebastián to Seville opens

Left: racks of ham are a familiar sight in Seville’s many eateries

29

SA R A H G LY D E

Clockwise, from top right: a selection of pintxos at San Sebastián’s Bar Sport; anchovy and Iberico ham, also at Bar Sport; award-winning cheesecakes at La Viña; chargrilled quail with mango coulis at Astelena 1960 bar

WITH PINTXOS DISHES THE FLAVOURS ARE OFTEN BOLDER AND RICHER, AS YOU’RE ONLY GOING TO BE EATING A FEW MOUTHFULS OF EACH ONE 30

DAYS LIKE THIS

up another element of this Spanish culinary odyssey for me, namely the sheer bonhomie that is concomitant with any meal taken after nine in the evening. For a nation that regularly takes its evening meals close to the midnight hour, the diners of Seville are perhaps the latest diners of all, owing largely to the furnace-like heat which make dozing, not dining, the preferred option until the fierce sun abates.

As the pale yellow sun finally dips behind me, I shuffle into the doorway of La Artesana de Triana, a caravan-sized grocery store in the centre of Triana, the proudly blue-collar neighbourhood where flamenco was created by gypsies and freed slaves five centuries ago. After the culinary experimentalism and organised chaos of the pintxos bars of the Basque region, this is a profound contrast. Serene and contended, customers in this Lilliputian hideaway laugh and chat sonorously while sipping glasses of sherry, each glass passed over the counter with a silky pink sliver of Iberico corn-fed charcuterie resting on top of the rim.

Bartender Felipe explains to me, leaning against the bar with a rack of hams hanging on hooks behind him, that this combination is the very oldest of tapas dishes, the ham laid on top of the glass to stop the flies getting into the sherry.

Simplicity, clearly, is still present and still revered in Spanish cuisine. But to see how the innovations of San Sebastián and the classicism of Seville have coalesced, I take a short flight to a mountainous olive grove on the north coast of Mallorca for the final part of my tour. The Son Moragues estate has been harvesting olives since the 14th century. With 80 per cent of the olive groves along this coastline abandoned in favour of more economically viable flat-land groves, the trunks of these trees still display pruning marks made by farmers centuries ago.

Joe Holles, an Englishman who has lived almost his entire life in Spain, takes me in an ancient, open-topped Citroën to a tiny “caseto” mountain hut where, in days past, shepherds and labourers would stop for their lunchtime jug of wine. Without using any chemical pesticides or fertilisers, Joe and the team are slowly reviving the groves by combining ancient and modern techniques.

“Look at the way Picasso painted,” Joe comments as I dip a hunk of bread into a small dish of the olive oil, which is redolent of spices, lemons and smoke. “Not everybody fell in love with his work instantly. He had battles to fight in order to gain recognition. Spanish food is exciting. But sometimes you have to be patient.

Real love does take time.”

Scott Dunn offers gastronomic tours of Spain from £2,200pp. To find out more, call 020 8682 5080

Your art collection will get jealous.

The difference is Gaggenau.

Grand architecture demands grand interior pieces. Your wine climate cabinet, much like your collection, speaks to who you are. Every Gaggenau piece is distinctively designed, crafted from exceptional materials, offers professional performance, and has done so since 1683.

For more information visit www.gaggenau.com or telephone Gaggenau London on 0344 8928988 Product displayed is the RW 466 364 | Energy efficiency class: A | at a range of energy efficiency classes from A+++ to G.

I N T E RV I E W

A TASTE FOR TRAVEL WORDS GILL MORGAN

One of the joys of going abroad is seeking out treasures to bring back for your home. Former ad exec Lisa Mehydene has gone a step further, transforming her passion for travel-inspired homeware into a thriving business

W

alk into Lisa Mehydene’s lovely home in south west London and you’re struck by a sense of life lived, countries visited – and an unerringly stylish eye. There is a layered richness to the rooms, filled with rugs, pots, paintings and baskets. Everything looks like it has a story.

Mehydene is the founder of edit58, an online homeware store that takes its inspiration from travel. Launched three years ago, the company now has a presence in Soho House, The Conran Shop, Selfridges and Liberty, in addition to its burgeoning online business. So how did it all start? A career in

32

advertising led to years of travel: “In 2007 we moved to Dubai, where I worked for Young & Rubicam. I was always shooting abroad, and I’m a natural magpie, so I was constantly spotting things and bringing them home.

Then we moved to Singapore, and we did lots more travelling – weekends in Bali and so on.

Friends would see things in our home and ask where I got them, so I’d say that next time I was there I’d bring them one back.”

After giving birth to twins, Lisa carried on working, but knew that when the family moved back to the UK, she didn’t want to carry on with agency life. Restoring a house from overseas for their return, she realised

DAYS LIKE THIS

DAYS LIKE THIS

33

“I THOUGHT, I’M GOING TO DO A SHOP OF THINGS I LOVE THAT I FOUND ON MY TRAVELS, WHICH I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE WILL LOVE TOO”

this was what she loved: creating beautiful interiors, filled with interesting finds. “I thought, I’m going to do a shop of things that I love that I’ve found on my travels, which I know that other people will love too.”

Her eye is spot-on. “I knew I wanted a tight edit,” says Lisa – initially baskets, blankets, cushions and wall hangings. “I used to shoot all the time in Morocco for work so a lot of things came from there. And right from the start I specialised in Berber rugs – they’ve been having such a moment for a while now, but it just keeps going.” Alongside the online edit58 business, Lisa takes on bespoke rugbuying in Morocco for clients. “People feel if they’re going to spend a decent amount on a rug, then why not invest just that little bit more and get something really special?”

Although she now goes on very targeted buying trips, it wasn’t always like that, as with one of her early finds, the hugely popular animal heads. “I was visiting a friend in Porto, and I always make time to have a hunt around. We went into a bookshop and this lady was making these lovely papiermâché animal heads in the corner. I bought some, and they did really well right from the start. We had a big order last Christmas from The Conran Shop, and Liberty have them too.

They’re unique, kids love them and you can match the animal to what the child is into.”

It was the animal heads that led to Lisa’s involvement with Soho House. Alex Eagle,

34

the London-based creative director, stylist and tastemaker, bought some animal heads from edit58 after she’d had her baby, Jack, which led to her inviting Lisa to do a pop-up at her concept store in Soho, and from there to collaborate on some bespoke pieces for Soho Farmhouse and Soho House Berlin.

What’s clever about Mehydene’s edit is that her own home doesn’t scream “holiday buys”, or feel like someone’s got carried away in the souk, but there is a feeling of a curated home, filled with unusual finds from all around the world, without it being located in one particular place. “That’s the most thrilling thing you could say to me,” Lisa beams. “It’s true that part of what people are buying is the travel aspect. When we travel abroad, part of what we enjoy is the aesthetic and design of that place. But although lots of us love the idea of bringing things back, most people don’t want the hassle. And no one wants to look like they’ve transported an entire holiday look back home, whether it’s an Ibizan cabana or Moroccan bazaar.”

Which is where Instagram comes in. Lisa describes it as her shop window, and it drives her business. But rather than just showing the pieces, she also offers regular styling tips, showing how to combine things in a way that doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard. She uses her own house to do this – as she says, a normal family home with two kids, albeit a stylish one – which functions as a rolling

DAYS LIKE THIS

lifestyle location to feature new products and styling tips. The morning we meet, edit58 has been featured in The Times as one of the top 10 design blogs to follow. Instagram also gives her a direct connection to her customers and to the design community – it’s how many of her collaborations have come about.

We take a walk around the house and she points out where everything comes from: “The wire words are from France. My in-laws live there so they found these, and we also do bespoke ones. You’ll see baskets everywhere; they’re still our biggest seller. We do them with bespoke embroidery, names, messages, whatever. The green Tamegroute pottery comes from Morocco – so beautiful. The rag rug runners are from Sweden – they’re great for family life. The cushions are made in East London, but using old fabric from Morocco.”

In the bedroom, she shows me her new pride and joy: a lovely cotton eiderdown made as a collaboration with the designer Molly Mahon using hand block fabric printed in India. Increasingly, this is how Lisa is developing the business: getting more involved in the design process, finding people to collaborate with, then working with local artisans to develop the product. The other range she’s really excited about is her new scalloped-edge woven wicker lampshades.

“There’s a workshop collective in Bali that I discovered years ago when I was living in Asia. I’ve been wanting to work with them ever since. They do the most beautiful work with amazing skill.” This is the core of what she loves: “Seeing how you can apply local skills to something very current that I know people here would want in their home.”

Lisa’s close connection to her clients gives her a very strong sense of what kind of interiors we’re collectively lusting after. She’s noticed a big shift these last couple of years towards “more is more… more pattern and colour. I even see it in Berber rugs: a few years ago everyone wanted the classic Beni Ourain style – white with the black geometric shapes. But now Azilal rugs are getting really popular. They’re gorgeous and colourful. It’s that eclectic thing that people want, a global mix, and the stories that go with the pieces.”

So where is she planning to travel to next?

“I definitely need to get to India – I’ve visited Kerala and Goa but there’s so much more to discover. And I want to see more of the Scandi countries, like Finland.” She laughs. “I have various ideas of what I’m looking for in these places, but the reality is, I’ll probably come back with something completely different.” edit58.com

CAMBODIAN COOL W O R D S BY J E F F M I L L S

Delicious cuisine, blissful beaches and awe-inspiring wonders like Angkor Wat have made Cambodia a firm favourite with backpackers for many decades. But now, thanks to a new wave of high-end openings, this fascinating country is a bona fide luxury travel hotspot

I

t is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it... since it is like no other building in the world, [with] towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of.” So wrote a Portuguese friar who, in the 1580s, was an early European visitor to the temple complex of Angkor Wat. Centuries later, these magnificent ruins still inspire a feeling of awe.

Cambodia has endured some dark chapters in modern times – colonisation by the French, bombing by the Americans during the Vietnam War, the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, and then the war with Vietnam, which finally brought that darkest of chapters to an end. But throughout everything, the ruins at Angkor Wat have remained a symbol of the country’s illustrious past and of the Khmer people’s identity. The temple’s silhouette appears on the country’s flag and is instantly recognisable the world over.

So it’s easy to understand why Angkor Wat and the nearby town of Siem Reap have long been a destination for backpackers.

What has been gathering steam in recent years – in Siem Reap and elsewhere in the country – is the emergence of Cambodia as a luxury destination, able to compete with the best of Asia, characterised by the buzz around a spate of hotel and resort openings.

My introduction to what has been dubbed “contemporary Khmer cool” is a stay at one of a handful of villas at the boutique-style Shinta Mani Angkor, the first in a new

collection of super-stylish hotels opened by celebrated Bangkok-based American hotel designer, Bill Bensley. Each villa is made up of three distinct areas: an entrance terrace behind high walls with dining area and private nine-metre pool, a bedroom with French doors and a small garden through which a path leads to a state-of-the-art bathroom/dressing room complete with indoor/outdoor shower bath. The end result is a private, self-contained sanctuary in which you can really relax after a day’s sightseeing.

Continuing our journey, we head south for the coast, passing through paddy fields stretching as far as the eye can see. We stop off at small towns – each of which seems to be having a market day – where we dodge the mopeds that are the favoured transport of rural Cambodia. Arriving at the coast is bliss after the frenetic energy of the towns.

Turning off the main road, we are soon driving along tiny lanes that could well be in rural France until I spot the sparkling sea, with glimpses of Vietnam in the distance.

Cambodia was a French colony from the 1880s to 1946, and even now French is the preferred second language of many older people, while the young tend to choose English. During the colonial period, fashionable resorts such as Kampot, on the Kampong Bay River in the south of the country, flourished. Once French Indochina’s answer to resorts like Deauville for homesick French settlers, today Kampot is a charming art deco town where expats sip gin and tonics outside stylish but faded little bars and watch the fishing boats heading out to the sea or returning with their silvery catch.

Just along the coast, the village of Kep was known as Kep-sur-Mer during the colonial era. But it reached its heyday during the 1960s, when many of Cambodia’s ruling elite built beautiful villas here in the modernist style which would be called the New Khmer Architecture. Practically destroyed during the Khmer Rouge’s rule, the resort’s return to form is one of the most heartening aspects of Cambodia’s emergence as a luxe travel destination. Three restored villas form the core of the new Knai Bang Chatt Resort,

Opening pages: monks in Angkor Wat. Clockwise from left: riding an ox cart; fabric market in Siem Reap; trees interwoven with the ruins at Ta Prohm; the beach at Kep

38

DAYS LIKE THIS

P R E V I O U S PAG E S / L E F T: G E T T Y I M AG E S . R I G H T: G A L L E RY STO C K , A L A M Y

“

JORDAN

39

which, with its infinity pool, the abundance of hammocks slung from trees along the private beach and the Sailing Club right next door, is the ideal place to revive after hectic sightseeing – an idyllic spot for a lazy day spent savouring the calm and the sea breezes.

There’s one more treat in store before I fly home from Phnom Penh: the new Rosewood hotel, which, as both the country’s latest luxury opening and the capital’s tallest building, has become an instant landmark, its many restaurants a hit with well-heeled locals – which makes for a great evening spent enjoying delicious French and Cambodian cuisine and people-watching at the buzzy Brasserie Louis. Head up to the deck on level 37 and the Sora Bar for views of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap and Bassac rivers, the Royal Palace and the Central Market. Housed in a vast art deco building, the latter is also well worth a visit – not only as the place where you can buy virtually anything, but also as a popular meeting place for locals.

The Rosewood is soon to be joined by other keenly awaited openings, such as Alila Villas Koh Russey in the Koh Rong archipelago, just minutes from Ream on the mainland – think stunning scenery, powdersand beaches and tropical rainforest. And the long-awaited Six Senses Krabey Island, which is due to open its doors later this year to reveal 40 stunning pool-villas, not to mention some top-class restaurants and bars, and even an ice-cream parlour. As if visiting Cambodia wasn’t cool enough already.

SCOTT DUNN SUGGESTS

G E T T Y I M AG E S

Below: a robed statue of Vishnu in Angkor Wat’s West Portico. Above right: the infinity pool at Cambodia’s exquisite Knai Bang Chatt Resort

40

Your journey through Cambodia begins with a visit to the magnificent temples of Angkor that pepper the jungle-clad landscape surrounding Siem Reap. Explore these incredible ruins with a specialist guide, avoiding the crowds and accessing the lessvisited corners. Stay at the exclusive Shinta Mani Bensley Collection, 10 private luxury villas each tended to by their own Bensley Butler. Then travel in style with a trip on the luxurious Aqua Mekong, Indochina’s most high-end river cruising experience.

Spend three nights making your way south across Tonlé Sap lake and down the river to Phnom Penh, where you can make use of a one-night stopover to enjoy some time in Cambodia’s riverside capital, with visits to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, two of the city’s most famous sites. We

DAYS LIKE THIS

recommend staying at the Rosewood.

Soaring high above the heart of Phnom Penh, it’s the city’s only highrise hotel, and has unbeatable views.

Leave museums and tour guides behind and travel three hours south to Shinta Mani Wild, the fabulous wildlife tented camp located near Kirirom National Park. Consisting of 16 gorgeously decorated tents all located around a central river and waterfall. For your last three nights, hop on a speedboat to the luxurious Six Senses Krabey Island. Located on a private island in the almost untouched Koh Rong Archipelago, this spectacular property is one of the most exclusive beach resorts in Asia.

Scott Dunn offers an 8-night tour of Cambodia from £2,800pp including flights and transfers. For more information, call 020 8682 5060

AD P. 41

WORDS K AT E G R E E N

THE HIGH LIFE C

ourchevel first enchanted me nearly 30 years ago, when I spent a blissful season working in 1850 (the resort is divided into four towns, named for their respective altitudes) as a chalet girl. Despite the huge developments that have taken place since then, it still feels like coming home.

When I think of Courchevel, it’s the big skies, wide valleys, and mellow evening sunsets that come to mind. I spent the eve of the millennium in Courchevel 1550, rushing out onto the piste at midnight to watch the new century heralded by fireworks erupting in tiny villages all around the valley.

There’s also the fantastic feeling of space.

Away from the wide nursery slopes which enable the novice and leg-weary to get safely home in the most efficient fashion,

42

Courchevel has some wonderful wild fringes.

Take the Chanrossa chairlift out of the Creux valley and into 1650 (Moriond) and you will find a brave new world of silent slopes. The Chappelet red run, in the far west valley of the resort, feels like a proper adventure.

Where the resort excels is in its brilliant lift system and painstaking piste preparation.

Look up the mountain at night, and you will see a host of comforting lights as the pistebashers prepare the slopes for your delight next morning. Being one of the higher resorts in the French Alps, Courchevel has some of the best snow in Europe.

Continual development has also made it one of the best-linked resorts in Europe; the ingenious lift system means you can get from a morning swooping down the treelined slopes of La Tania to a sunny lunch

DAYS LIKE THIS

4CORNERS

Exquisite hotels, super-luxe chalets and an abundance of world-class cuisine – there’s so much more to Courchevel than just outstanding skiing

INTERIORS

43

Clockwise, from above: chalet chic at the Six Senses Residences Courchevel; a snowshoe hike leading to the beautiful Lake Rosière; the hot tub at Portetta’s wonderfully cosy Petite Marmotte lodge

at friendly La Casserole in Moriond within minutes – and with minimal queuing.

Some pistes, like the reds adjacent to the Plantrey chairlift in 1850 and the satisfyingly steep Suisse black, are so glorious you’ll want to ski them again and again. But the wellplanned system also means that skiing the Trois Vallées circuit in one day, which makes for an exhilarating adventure, is nowadays well within the reach of an intermediate skier (the return from Val Thorens into the Mottaret valley used to be unpisted).

Courchevel was always the most French and sophisticated of the Trois Vallées villages, and the upper end of the accommodation on offer is now among the most luxurious in the world. There are traditional chalets and gorgeous hotels as well as what is, for many, the perfect compromise – the luxury apartment. This combines the comfort of a hotel with the friendliness of a chalet and provides blissful independence to boot – no pressure to get dressed for breakfast or done up for dinner.

The new Six Senses Residences in the heart of Courchevel 1850 are a bastion of

44

such comfort. You only have to float past the reception area for a friendly member of staff to pop out and offer a lift somewhere. And the ski hut at the foot of slopes, where Chris or Amandine will help you escape your boots as you collapse on a furry seat, is sheer bliss.

The apartments are beautifully appointed.

We loved the iPad music system on which we found a wonderful 1970s channel, and there were thoughtfully provided provisions and a daily bread and croissant delivery.

There’s also a supermarket underneath the building as well as a Club Lounge for breakfast, evening drinks and light suppers.

If your children are too tiny for the slopes – or need a break – you can book childcare for mornings, afternoons or whole days at the Scott Dunn Explorers kids’ club, while the Stargazers club offers an evening childcare service. And if you fancy a break from skiing yourself, you can head for the glorious spa – with its magnificent swimming pool, Kneipp foot-bath therapy and juice bar – which offers a wonderfully soothing retreat from a white-out.

Kate Green is Deputy Editor of Country Life

DAYS LIKE THIS

SCOTT DUNN SUGGESTS The skiing in the Trois Vallées is justly famous, but there are plenty of activities and experiences that can be enjoyed away from the slopes – as well, that is, as the superb après-ski. Scott Dunn will take you snowshoeing with an expert guide into the beautiful, eerily quiet backcountry around Courchevel. You can ride in a piste-basher – or learn to drive one, while anyone who has ever tried hot-air-ballooning above the Alps will confirm that it’s an aweinspiring experience. Skydiving is also on offer, though not perhaps for the faint-hearted. Luging from 1850 to 1550 will thrill speed-freaks of all ages – perhaps with a hot chocolate at the other end by way of reward.

Or you can get into your swimmies to ride the flume at Aquamotion.

And after any of the above, or a day’s skiing, a spot of luxury is called for – in one of Scott Dunn’s chalets, perhaps, the Six Senses Residences in 1850, with its superb spa, or Portetta in 1650, both of which have Explorers kids’ clubs.

There’s more to Courchevel than just great skiing. Call Scott Dunn on 020 8682 5050 to start planning your tailor-made ski holiday

For more information and booking

The power retreat The Giardino Mountain is known as one of Europe’s most beautiful mountain hotels with contemporary style.

The ultimate winter wonderland, this five-star Swiss retreat is located in the picturesque village of Champfèr, near St. Moritz, overlooking the breathtaking panorama of the Upper Engadine and Lake Silvaplana. giardino-mountain.ch

Part of Giardino Hotel Group

Hotel Giardino Mountain • Via Maistra 3 • 7512 Champfèr-St.Moritz • Switzerland

www.scottdunn.com T. 020 8682 5050

What teenagers really want

WORDS G I L L M O RG A N

Moody teenagers can wreck a family holiday. But with a bit of lateral thinking, says mother-of-three Gill Morgan, even the sulkiest of teens can enjoy themselves

H O L I D AY S W I T H T E E N S

47

B

ad news first: if, as a parent, you’re on the brink of entering the hormonally-fuelled psychodrama that is your children’s adolescence, your holidays are about to get a whole lot more complicated. Family trips with teenagers can be a dispiriting business. I’ve had so many conversations with friends over the years bewailing the fact that the longed-for family summer break has been wrecked by whichever offspring is at the epicentre of their temporary personality disorder.

So how to avoid having a bored and borderline hostile teen in tow? How to achieve a holiday that somehow delivers what everyone wants. I’ve had my own share of hits and misses, so here are 10 things I’ve learned after 10 years of holidaying with teenagers.

1. Don’t underestimate them. They don’t just want screens and underage cocktails (well OK, sometimes they do). They also have dreams and intense interests and obsessions, if you can only tap into them. They’re just different from yours. The key is finding a trip that connects in some way to their passions. Whether it’s football, fashion, art or skateboarding, think laterally. One stand-out experience at the start or end of the holiday that really inspires them can make all the difference. When my eldest daughter was doing art A Level, we often ended up in the edgiest of galleries, from upstate New York to Venice – it was as fun for us as it was inspiring for her.

2. About those underage cocktails… Holidays are about freedom for all of us, so think of it from their point of view. Just at the stage when they’re pushing against the

G A L L E RY STO C K

THAT RURAL FRENCH GITE WITH BAD WI-FI JUST DOESN’T CUT IT WHEN THEY’RE 14

48

DAYS LIKE THIS

boundaries and wanting to go under the radar, they’re stuck with their wretched parents 24 hours a day. I’m talking, of course, about older teens here, but a sneaky drink in a bar sans parents is a very particular holiday thrill when such things are still out of reach at home.

Other parents may feel differently but I think a bit of leniency on holiday at 16 goes a long way.

3. Don’t make the mistake of trying to repeat the thing they loved when they were eight... the thing that you still love. That rural French gite with bad wi-fi and a lovely artisan market down the road just doesn’t cut it for two weeks at 14, even if the pool’s quite nice. Neither does the gastro-tour of Tuscany. Not unless there’s another couple of families with teens in tow that they really, really fancy.

4. Holidays are about fantasies… and no one is more committed to fantasy than teenagers. They’re life’s romantics – play to this. They don’t want ordinary or sensible. So do the crazy thing: lie in the snow gazing at the stars in Iceland; swim at midnight in the moonlit phosphorescence; let them sit on the steps of the Met in New York and pretend they’re in Gossip Girl. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be thrilling.

5. Be aware of their sensitivities. If one of your teenagers is going through a period of feeling horribly self-conscious about their body, then maybe give the beach holiday a miss this year and do something intrepid that takes their mind off how they look. Telling them not to be so silly and that no one is looking at them anyway won’t work.

6. A bit of jeopardy can be a good thing... and doing the scary thing together as a family is amazingly bonding.

Obviously we don’t recommend putting anyone in harm’s way, but – within reason – jump off the rocks, attempt the red ski run, let them go on the highest zipwire, hire the moped that you wouldn’t countenance back home. It’s all part of what makes them feel they have lived.

7. Don’t be too absolutist about tech. A gaggle of siblings watching Love Island on an iPhone in a strangely inappropriate location can be a lovely sight to behold, and it puts them in a very good mood. Once they’ve got it out of their system, they can join the Human Race again.

8. Let them see you a bit… jolly. Older children love seeing their parents ease off on the sensible mum-anddad act. Ours have especially enjoyed witnessing their otherwise vehemently anti-smoking father enjoy the odd slightly sozzled post-dinner holiday Gitane.

9. And the quid pro quo for all this jollity… force them to attend one obscure cultural event each holiday. Make sure they know it’s just the one, but the deal is, they don’t moan about it. The chances are they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives. I once had to endure Molière IN FRENCH with my parents. To this day I have no idea what was going on, but I can absolutely summon a feeling of frivolity and farce and utter foreignness from the evening.

10. If in doubt, take a hostage. If your teenager is going through a phase of finding it impossible to treat you as a fellow human being, consider taking their friend with you. Their behaviour tends to improve overnight and you may start to recognise what their mates see in them. You might even remember that you quite like them yourself.

LEFT: GETTY IMAGES. RIGHT: GALLERY STOCK. OVERLEAF: 4CORNERS

Sea-bleached fishing boats and jewel-box shades – Essaouira is Morocco at its laid-back best

50

DAYS LIKE THIS

PORTFOLIO – CHILE

51

52

DAYS LIKE THIS

Opening pages: Essaouira is a city of vivid colours, from the dusty pink plaster on the walls to the deep Majorelle blue of local fishing boats These pages: the city’s bustling 18th-century medina is enclosed by fairytale sand-coloured ramparts

PORTFOLIO – CHILE

53

4CORNERS

Above: the historic port is famed for its many stone gates or “bab” leading to the fortified medina

JUST A THREE-HOUR DRIVE FROM MARRAKECH, THIS RELAXED SEASIDE FISHING TOWN HAS A CHARM ALL OF ITS OWN, WITH OLD STONE BUILDINGS, SUN-FADED PAINTWORK AND A SOUK FULL OF TREASURES

54

DAYS LIKE THIS

4 C O R N E R S ; G E T T Y I M AG E S

Opposite, clockwise from top left: Essaouira’s broad sandy beach; colour is a way of life in this charming city, where azure skies contrast with graceful white architecture and vibrant paintwork

PORTFOLIO – CHILE

55

Clockwise, from left: the souk is a treasure trove of traditional Moroccan ceramics; the city’s doorways are painted in eye-catching shades; gulls enjoy Essaouira’s breezy seafront

BEAUTY IS EVERYWHERE - FROM THE INTRICACY OF THE TILES TO THE BLUE AND WHITE MEDINA - THERE IS A REASON WHY ESSAOUIRA IS REFERRED TO AS A PAINTER’S DREAM 56

DAYS LIKE THIS

G E T T Y I M AG E S ; G A L L E RY STO C K

Scott Dunn offers tours of Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains and Essaouira from £2,100 per person.

Call 020 8682 5080 to start planning your holiday

PORTFOLIO – CHILE

57

Whether you’re a honeymooning couple or a family looking for adventure, you’ll never truly understand the romance of America until you hit the tarmac, says Chris Moss. From the legendary Pacific Coast Highway to the autumnal glories of New England, we round up the ultimate bucket list US road trips WORDS CHRIS MOSS

ON THE ROAD 58

DAYS LIKE THIS

US ROAD TRIPS

59

Opening spread: the epic landscape of Monument Valley, best enjoyed with the roof down and the wind in your hair. This spread, clockwise from above: a roadside motel; Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, California; surfin’ USA

60

DAYS LIKE THIS

A CAR IS NOT SIMPLY A CAR IN AMERICA, A ROAD IS NEVER JUST A ROAD

O P E N I N G PAG E S ; G E T T Y I M AG E S . T H E S E PAG E S : G A L L E RY STO C K

D

esert highways, dead-straight Interstates, Route 66, Highway 61, the coast roads of California and New England – in the universal imagination, the USA is an open road. The rise of this great nation coincided with the purring arrival of the automobile, a shiny new piece of tech that forwardlooking Americans took to their hearts.

Where the railroad linked up the cities and factories, the asphalt let in the towns and hamlets, the mountains and dustbowls.

In a society driven by choice, geared to the needs and urges of the individual, Americans declared the right to stop wherever they wished. Or not to stop at all – as so many road movies and novels and poems and rock ’n’ roll songs insisted.

Celluloid fantasies have merged with fact. For many of us, the first flashes of garish neon signage, the first moody diners, the first great domes of soaring blue sky and of towering buttes and rocky steeples, came from movies. Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces,

Badlands, Thelma & Louise all celebrate the potency and power of a way of escape. The journey from east to west undertaken by Sal and Dean in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road echoes the shifting frontier of cowboy times and foreshadows the hippy dream of rolling oceans and free love. Take the curve to Big Sur and you’ll know exactly what so many writers and artists fell in love with: the sandy coves, the turquoise surf, the cascading waterfalls, the impossible sunsets.

America has a road for everyone. Family groups, in RVs or something smaller, will love the Southwest – idyllic campsites, shady forests, a bit of luxury here, a national park there. The radio speaks in the Navajo language as every distant corner uncovers a vast canyon, a legendary film set, a cool meandering river. Florida, too, has popular appeal. The road trip along the Keys is a rite of passage for many travellers. Hop at will from theme park to yachting harbour to a family meal in Miami Beach. A car opens up the wild beauty of the Everglades as well as the manicured perfection of Tranquility Bay. The Northeast has special allure for nature-lovers – whether they’re drawn by the turning leaves of fall or the budding flowers of spring. New England can feel almost homely, with its quaint villages and university towns, tea-shops and gardens. But sooner or later the journey takes over and the familiar gives way to something different, even exotic. Stand on an empty beach at Cape Cod out of season and feel the Atlantic blowing in – there’s something lonely about this old edge of America.

Road trips often mean romance. Any road will do. How about Vegas? Come from any direction, via desert, pine forest, ski resort or Grand Canyon, and you suddenly find yourself cruising along The Strip. The lights splashing on the hood. The roof down. The evening breeze blowing. The night young.

US ROAD TRIPS

61

62

LA’s freeways, the New Jersey Turnpike, Manhattan’s yellow-roofed avenues.

Ultimately, the reason we love driving holidays – as well as the ease of stopping and staying where we choose and the access it gives to a myriad sights – is the basic freedom to make up our own little story as we go. Travel, at its best, is a creative endeavour. Hikes, bike rides, sea voyages, train trips and balloon rides have all inspired artists. Great American writers, from John Steinbeck to Hunter S Thompson to Paul Auster, traced their words along the nation’s mighty highways. Songsmiths have waxed lyrical about arriving in Phoenix, driving little red Corvettes and being on a road to nowhere. Painter Edward Hopper turned the backroads, gas stations, telegraph posts and open spaces into diffused dreamscapes.

American culture has a unique ability to turn everyday realities into something verging on religion. A car is not simply a car in the US; a road is never just a road. Truth is, you won’t fully understand the place until you take to four wheels. Plug in an MP3 of your favourite songs, roll down the window and watch the world, the movie that is everyday America, unfold as you go.

DAYS LIKE THIS

Clockwise, from above: the Overseas Highway, Florida – one of America’s most unusual drives; embarking on a family adventure; the bright lights of Las Vegas; sunset in the Rockies; a barn in the Midwest

G A L L E RY STO C K ; G E T T Y I M AG E S

Prefer a lakeside drive? Take your pick.

Ontario, Tahoe, Great Salt, Superior. America has epic landscapes, mountain ranges, big skies. You get the fullest sense of this from behind the wheel. There are more than 4.12 million miles of roads in the US. That’s a lot of room for wonder and inspiration.

The notion of “iconic” comes alive on American highways. Photographers from Walker Evans to Robert Frank to Inge Morath captured the drama, strangeness, quirks and quiet spaces that border the ribbons of asphalt. Old petrol pumps, over-the-top commercial advertisements, crazy-looking restaurants and low-slung motels still linger on the roadside, pushing back against homogeneity and modernity.

Nowhere else will you feel that tingle of being in “another” America.

Memphis to Nashville, New York to The Hamptons, Downtown LA to Malibu: commutes and hops that have become something greater. Then there are the great American migrations and destiny-seeking drives: Chicago to New Orleans, Detroit to Mississippi, the Midwest to New York City.

Every journey is a defining American story.

Even the shortest trips freight narratives:

DRIVE THROUGH THE WIND-CARVED CANYONS OF MONUMENT VALLEY AND END YOUR EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY IN VEGAS

sushi and ramen. After exploring Boston’s thriving food scene, next up is Maine, famed for fine beaches and great seafood, especially lobster – and a stop at Kennebunkport, which, once again, enables you to dip into American history. Vermont is all about taking in ravishing countryside while visiting family-run farms and tasting the superb local produce, as well as the great beer brewed in the state’s many microbreweries.

The journey ends in Newport, with its Gilded Age mansions, maritime associations and, of course, clam chowder – to be enjoyed harbourside.

3. GO WEST IN STYLE

FOUR ICONIC US ROAD TRIPS 1. CALIFORNIAN CLASSIC It is the surely the most celebrated of American road trips: starting in San Francisco, ending in LA, and taking in Yosemite National Park, the Pacific Coast Highway and Big Sur along the way. But this classic can be served up a number of ways. It can be done in a leisurely, family-friendly style, allowing time to explore San Fran, to hike around Yosemite while staying in a log cabin among the Redwoods, plus a ranch stay at Carmel Valley – with cycling and horse-riding. Then, from your final destination, Santa Barbara, your family road-trip is rounded off with a Hollywood studio visit, shopping in Santa Monica or the culture-fest that is the Getty Center. But if that’s a two-week family holiday, couples with less time on their hands can do a short-and-sweet version in just a week and a day. Alternatively, add Lake Tahoe to the classic route and you can get some skiing in too.

2. GOURMET NEW ENGLAND We’ve all heard about New England in the fall – a feast for the eyes as you drive through landscapes displaying autumnal colours at their most vivid.

But year-round, the journey from Boston and Maine to Vermont and Newport, Rhode Island, takes in fine scenery and America at its most foodie. Begin in Boston and stay at the Eliot – which has two of the city’s best dining experiences, one offering experimental cuisine, the other, great

US ROAD TRIPS

This trip combines the West’s dramatic mountain and desert landscapes at their most epic with stays at some of America’s most stunning luxury properties. Start by exploring Denver, where the views of the Rockies from the Four Seasons’ windows give you a sneak preview of what’s to come. Then drive into the mountains for a stay at Dunton Hot Springs, a superb resort in a former mining town which is a great base for fishing and hiking mountain trails. Then drive into the wind-carved mesas and canyons of southern Utah, through Monument Valley, a rugged landscape that makes the contemporary icon that is the Amangiri resort, close to Lake Powell, all the more striking. Then end this extraordinary journey with the bright lights and buzz of Vegas.

4. FAMILY FLORIDA Florida is a vast state, and starting out in Orlando and flying home via Miami allows for a two-week, multi-stop, family-friendly road trip that takes in everything from theme parks and sightseeing to the white sands, art deco elegance and urban buzz of South Beach. In Orlando, the Waldorf Astoria provides an elegant counterpoint to a day of excitement at Disney World, while the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, is wellplaced for exploring the Everglades National Park and enjoying the quiet sophistication of Old Naples.

Vaca Key is one of the string of tiny islands that make up the Keys – one of America’s most unusual drives – while at the end of the journey, South Beach is anything but an anti-climax.

To find out more about these and other great North American road trips, visit scottdunn.com/americanroadtrips

63

Surprisingly dif ferent ...

LUXURY I S A STATE OF BEING . . .

Sublime natural beauty abounds on the enchanting island of Koh Russey, a tropical jewel blessed with stunning coastlines, dramatic headlands, powder-sand beaches and tropical forests, framed by the emerald waters of the gulf and the azure sky. To celebrate our opening, enjoy your third night on us!

OFFER INCLUDES

• Accommodation in a Pavilion or Villa • Complimentary speed boats to the island • Complimentary yoga classes • Complimentary non-motorised water spor ts

T ER M S & CO N D I T I O N S

Rates are applicable to 12% government tax and 10% service charge • Booking period from now until 18 April 2019 • Stay period from 1 November 2018 until 21 April 2019 • Promotional blackout periods may apply • Reservations are subjected to availability.

BOOK NOW Please contact +44 20 8628 5060 or visit www.scottdunn.com www.alilahotels.com

THE WHITE STUFF WORDS G I L E S W H I T T E L L

Complex and miraculous, snowflakes continue to elude scientists’ attempts to fully explain their creation. Snow aficionado and former Scott Dunn seasonaire Giles Whittell explains his lasting obsession with these mysterious crystals T H E B R E A K FAST T E ST

65

Below: a young Giles Whittell in action on the slopes

SNOWSTORMS ARE

KEEPSAKES THAT LAST IN THE MEMORY FOR DECADES

66

DAYS LIKE THIS

Snow irrigates. It slides. It covers mountains like thick icing. It’s the only thing on Earth that brings peace to New York City, and it makes curlicues out of molasses.

My pleasure in watching snow fall has never been fleeting.

Snowstorms are keepsakes that last in the memory for decades. They can be recalled and savoured like Proust’s madeleines, which is a good thing, because the odds against snow falling at any given time or place are high.

To form, it needs dramatic upward movements of moist air, rising over ground or other air masses. This uplift has to lower the temperature of the moisture to freezing or below, and the air has to be seeded with billions of dust particles around which ice crystals can form.

Those crystals have six sides, because that’s how water freezes. They grow by branching (when water molecules cluster at a corner and make it protrude) and by faceting (when they stick to one of the sides instead).

For reasons no one fully understands, branching and faceting don’t happen at once. It’s one at a time, according to air temperature and humidity, and branching can be accelerated by a process called knife-edge instability that helps to account for the miraculous complexity of a fully formed, six-sided flake.

How this works is another mystery. “I think the instability exists, but why?” asks Kenneth Libbrecht, a Californian physicist who grows flakes in his lab and coined the knife-edge phrase. “Who knows?” We do know that no two flakes are alike, because no two flakes since the dawn of time can have taken exactly the same path to earth through exactly the same layers of air. Despite this, there are a lot of them: 315 billion trillion flakes a year, Ken estimates; enough for seven billion snowmen (at 100m flakes per snowman) every ten seconds, all year round.

I’ve spent time studying snowfall maps to judge for myself if this can possibly be true, and I think it can: despite global warming, 40 million square kilometres of the northern hemisphere still spend most of the winter under snow. Most of us don’t think of the world as quite that snowy, because most of us don’t live in Manitoba.

A couple of years ago, a forecast of big early season storms sent me scrambling for tickets to Geneva. By the time we got to Chamonix the snow had come and gone and a ferocious föhn wind scoured the slopes like a hair dryer. Through the Mont Blanc tunnel, though, the same wind had turned the north end of the Val d’Aosta into a scene of snow perfection. Overcome with gratitude, I decided then and there to write a biography of snow, or at least a suitable appreciation. The book has turned into a quest for the snowiest place on earth, which I think I’ve located in a place I’ve never been.

I do have my memory of that bus ride, though, which was historic in its way. It carried the first full complement of Ski Scott Dunn guests to Courchevel. I was their resort manager, and they were a forgiving bunch. As we ground to a halt, the windscreen-wiper motor caught fire and the bus filled with smoke. So I wasn’t the only one to stumble out into the storm. We all did – we had to – but no one seemed to mind. When it’s snowing, nothing else matters.

Giles Whittell’s book, Snow, is published by Short Books

P R E V I O U S PAG E : G A L L E RY STO C K

T

his has to start back in December 1991, the time of the best traffic jam I can remember. I was in France, on the new four-lane highway up the Isère Valley. For a week, a parade of Atlantic storms had been blowing across France to the Alps and dumping two metres of snow on them. Between Albertville and Moûtiers they brought the highway to a standstill, and I was in that standstill, in a bus.

Even in the floor of the valley, the snow was fabulous.

Coin-sized flakes arrived like paratroopers from the fullblown blizzard higher up, plastering the windscreen faster than the wiper could sweep them off. For long periods that wiper seemed to be the only thing moving, but eventually the traffic eased. The bus started to climb, and after eight hours on the road, in the middle of the night, it sighed to a halt in a drift. We were stuck, so I stumbled out into the storm. A few years later I found myself interviewing one of my heroes at his private ski ranch in Utah, and he offered some advice. “Follow your bliss,” he said. I think he meant follow your dream, but I already had.

By the time of that embouteillage on Route nationale 90, snow had been an obsession for two thirds of my life. The other third – the first – had been spent in Africa, where snow was scarce but not completely absent. My mother would spend hot afternoons in Nigeria reading to us from Little House in the Big Woods, in which Laura and Mary make “curlicues and squiggledy things” out of molasses by pouring it onto pans of snow. For me, that description was as good as air-conditioning, and it fixed in my mind the idea of snow as a thing of bounty.

WILD AT HEART B RITI S H C O LU MB IA I S A L AND O F DR AMATI C L ANDSCAPES , VIB R ANT C ITIES AND STU NNIN G C OASTLINE . A U NI Q U E C O MB INATI O N O F WILDLIFE , SC ENERY AND G O U RME T C U I S INE AD DS U P TO AN U NFO RG E T TAB LE H O LIDAY FO R ALL AG ES

British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province, is a place where chic urban playgrounds, world-class skiing and outdoor adventure are all within easy striking distance.

The region’s most populous city, Vancouver, is home to waterside walks, restaurants and rich cultural life – all framed by dramatic vistas – while its capital, Victoria, is rated among the top 20 world cities for quality of life.

But aside from the province’s many metropolitan attractions, it is nature at its grandest and most unspoiled that draws visitors here: a Pacific coastline flanked by dramatic mountain ranges; nature reserves offering hiking and biking trails; and Whistler Blackcomb – the world-renowned ski resort that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The ideal way to get a flavour of how much this province has to offer is by embarking on a journey through its diverse regions and lesser-known attractions. Whether you’re seeking mountain wilderness, lush forest or an adrenalin-sports itinerary designed with teenagers in mind, there’s a wealth of options.

On the west coast of Vancouver Island, perched on the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, lie the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet. In spring, pods of whales migrate along this coast; in summer it’s a magnet for surfers. A different but no less rewarding experience can be found inland in the Cariboo Mountains. This is Canada’s Cowboy Country.

But while the landscape may be rugged, there’s no compromising on comfort. Echo

Valley Ranch & Spa, for example, boasts a Thai spa and luxury log cabin accommodation.

Some of British Columbia’s most extraordinary natural attractions are found in the Thompson-Okanagan region, which offers wineries and boating adventures on Shuswap Lake in the east and the picturesque Thompson River valley to the north. Wells Gray Provincial Park is home to Helmcken Falls, one of Canada’s highest waterfalls, while at the canoe-only Murtle Lake you might catch a glimpse of moose, mule deer or bears.

For the ultimate wilderness, head for the Rockies, where the best way to explore is by helicopter. With CMH Heli Adventures you can get well off the beaten track amid some of the most stunning scenery in the world.

“ S U P E R , N AT U R A L B R I T I S H C O LU M B I A” A N D “ S U P E R , N AT U R A L” A N D A L L AS S O C I AT E D LO G O S / T R A D E M A R KS A R E T R A D E M A R KS O F D E ST I N AT I O N B C C O R P

A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E

A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E

excitement and new experiences for teenagers, and parents looking for an epic summer family road trip. Combining city, beach, mountain and wilderness, it is designed for families with a sense of adventure and a love of the great outdoors.

Activities range from learning to horse-ride at Echo Valley Ranch to mountain biking and white-water rafting in the adventure playground of Whistler. Famous for its alpine skiing, it’s even better in the balmy summer months.

Clockwise, from above: enjoy incredible wildlife watching on Canada’s West Coast, where you can spot black bears and orca whales; canoeing on Vancouver Island; get off the beaten track with a heli-hiking experience; Garibaldi Lake, Whistler

The road less travelled Discover the ver y best of British Columbia with Scot t Dunn’s superb choice of itineraries

WEST COAST CANADA IN STYLE Explore Canada’s untouched wilderness, staying in the most luxurious accommodation and spending a day with a helicopter at your disposal to reach glaciers, waterfalls and mountains – for a truly unforgettable experience.

Enjoy a variety of adventurous activities including surfing, fishing, heli-excursions and of course wildlife-watching – at Nimmo Bay, look out for orcas, dolphins and bears – while private and exclusive tours allow you to enjoy the raw beauty of Tofino and the Great Bear Rainforest.

And when you’re ready for a taste of urban life , tables can be booked in the best restaurants so you can check out the culinary scene in Vancouver.

WEST COAST CANADA FOR TEENS This two-week adventure is action-packed with bear and whale watching, surfing, zip lining, rafting and mountain biking, making it full of

THE PACIFIC YELLOWFIN Describing itself as a “floating wilderness lodge”, this luxury charter yacht provides a unique opportunity to experience the unspoiled beauty of the British Columbia coastline from the comfort of an elegant wooden ship, built in 1943.

The Pacific Yellowfin allows you to explore off the beaten track, while offering accommodation for 11 guests, gourmet cuisine and fine wines.

There are fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities in remote untouched areas, and you can choose your own itinerary. Guests on board have access to kayaks, paddle boards, wakeboards, water skis, fishing gear, snorkels, and mountain bikes – not to mention inflatable tubes, trampolines and a 40-foot water slide.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WESTERN CANADA Tick off all the must-see attractions of British Columbia on this first-timers itinerary to Canada.

Visit the beautiful city of Vancouver, marvel at waterfalls in Whistler and keep your eyes peeled for bears before heading to the spectacular Rocky Mountains. There’s action at every turn on this fast-paced 12-night trip.

Begin your Western Canada adventure in the gateway to the great outdoors, Vancouver, where you can zip around the harbour in a zodiac and go hiking on Grouse Mountain. By night, the streets come alive with atmospheric bars and independent restaurants. Included in your itinerary is a private sightseeing tour of the city.

To book your tailor-made holiday to British Columbia, visit scottdunn.com/bc

ACC E S S A L L A R E A S

Cape Cool Cape Town is already a magnet for sun-seekers, but now – says Scott Dunn’s man on the ground, Rodger Bowren – the South African city has plenty to offer art-fans, foodies and cool-hunters WORDS DAMON SYSON

T H E B E AC H

GLEN BEACH

Cape Town has so many beautiful beaches. The Cliftons (known simply as First, Second, Third and Fourth) are very famous, and there’s a real scene there: lots of pretty girls and ripped guys. But my favourite has to be Glen Beach. It’s much quieter, fewer tourists go there – mostly locals. It’s very clean, there are no hawkers, there are massive boulders and the scenery is beautiful. It’s a great spot to watch the locals surf and enjoy a sundowner.

70

I L L US T RAT I O N S C H A R LOT T E A G E R

C

ape Town has long been loved by visitors for its dramatic scenery, its vibrant restaurant scene and its proximity to one of the world’s greatest wine regions. But in the last few years, the city’s appeal has expanded yet further, with the regeneration of former industrial areas into super-cool hotspots filled with designer stores, coffee bars, street art and restaurants.

The opening of the Silo (which houses both a hotel and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa) has added to the buzz. “Cape Town is now a really exciting place,” says Rodger Bowren, who specialises in showing Scott Dunn guests around the city and surrounding areas. Brought up on a farm near Durban, he’s full of enthusiasm for his adopted home: “There’s so much going on here. The first Thursday of the month, for example, lots of galleries and cultural events are free and open late. People walk between locations and it has a kind of festival feel – it’s a very cool vibe. I’ve

DAYS LIKE THIS

been here two years, and things have changed a lot. Cape Town is actually a very small city, and the centre is very saturated. So people started moving out to these old industrial areas, such as Woodstock. When I do a city tour for people who don’t know Cape Town at all, we start in the main heart of the city and work our way down to Woodstock, then to the suburbs and beaches like Camps Bay. People get a whole perspective of how the city is changing.”

Scott Dunn can organise anything you want in the city and surrounding countryside, from foodie experiences to art tours and walks on the wild side. “We like our guests to experience things a bit differently,” Bowren says, “so if we do a hike to a well-known mountain, we have our own individual spots and routes, so you feel like you’re there all by yourself.”

If it’s a full moon, he suggests joining the walk up Lion’s Head. “People climb the mountain with headlamps, so you see a spiral of lights going up to the top. It’s very beautiful.”

T H E D I ST R I C T

WOODSTOCK

This is one of the most lively areas of the city. It used to be full of old dilapidated factories and buildings, but now they’re all being converted into cool design stores, galleries, hipster cafés. Some of South Africa’s top restaurants are here, in the Old Biscuit Mill building, like The Test Kitchen and The Pot Luck Club. There’s also some epic street art around. Often it has political or social meaning but in Woodstock it’s mostly these beautiful pictures of people’s faces and massive elephants and giraffes and wild animals.

We do art tours for guests with me and a well-known street artist called Mark1. It’s a great one for teenagers – they’re always fascinated. Then we end the tour with a handcrafted beer or gin tasting, all produced locally.

T H E TO W N S H I P TO U R

IMIZAMO YETHU

A township tour can be an authentic, memorable, eye-opening experience. We work with a local resident called Siphiwe, who has lived in an informal settlement called Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay for the past 18 years. Because I was brought up on a farm, I speak Xhosa, which is the language here, so that tends to put everyone at ease. Siphiwe shares stories and talks about the community’s struggles, but also about its positive plans for the future.

THE WOW TRIP

CAPE POINT NATURE RESERVE

A helicopter trip is an incredible way to see the rugged coastline of the most southwestern point of Africa. We land at Miller’s Point and do a private ocean safari with marine biologist Steve Benjamin, who has worked with David Attenborough – ending up at a secluded cove in the reserve for a tapas-style barbecue. Then we drive back to town, spotting baboons and ostrich on the way.

So you experience Cape Point by air, water and land.

71

T H E A RT G A L L E RY

THE SILO

This is such a cool gallery. The building was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and it’s worth going to for the architecture alone.

It shows work by artists from all over Africa, and to get the best out of it you should take a guided tour, which we can organise.

A friend of mine, Anna Rosholt – one of the top jewellery designers in Cape Town and someone who really knows her art – will show you round. There’s also a great rooftop bar there with amazing views of the city.

THE CRAFT SHOP

BO-OP/THE WATERSHED

Cape Town is a great city to buy crafts; there’s some awesome stuff. The Watershed is a massive warehouse filled with work by artisans from all over Africa: wood sculptures, clothes, beadwork, art. Everything is unique, a proper makers’ market, and you don’t get hassled at all. Then down at Greenmarket Square there are the pop-up stalls selling very traditional African pieces – masks, drums and so on. But one of my favourite places is BO-OP, a small shop that sells work by local artists and makers, really unusual stuff: sunglasses made from upcycled materials, clothes, jewellery (including Anna Rosholt’s). It’s in a really characterful area called Bo-Kaap, which is full of brightly coloured houses and definitely worth visiting.

THE WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE

LEOPARD TOUR

One of my favourite experiences is a morning hike with a researcher from the Cape Leopard Trust. Not many people know that the mountains surrounding Franschoek, the wine and culinary heart of South Africa, are home to an apex predator, the Cape Leopard. Immerse yourself in their natural habitat and assist the guides in monitoring a camera trap. After the hike, enjoy a well-earned lunch at one of the wine estates, where you’ll have the chance to see what the hidden camera picked up.

72

DAYS LIKE THIS

THE SUNDOWNER

OPPELSKOP

There’s a place I love to take guests to for a really magical sundowner. It’s a 40-minute hike up onto this little rocky outcrop, Oppelskop, which has amazing views of the city, the mountains, the ocean and Robben Island. There’s no one there, just the odd trail runner. The sun sets behind Lion’s Head, which becomes a silhouette – that and Table Mountain are among the most iconic sights in Cape Town.

It’s really worth the hike; you feel like you’re the only people up there, and when you arrive, another of our guides will have set up the drinks – which is the cherry on the cake!

To arrange your tailor-made holiday in South Africa call us on 0208 682 5070

THE MARKET

ORANJEZICHT CITY FARM MARKET

There are lots of markets in Cape Town but my favourite is Oranjezicht. It’s on a Saturday at the V&A Waterfront and it’s where local independent farmers and artisanal producers go to sell their stuff. It has a lovely relaxed vibe and it’s a very cool place to wander around with family and friends. There’s another food market on the Waterfront and there’s also a very old flower market at Trafalgar Place in Adderley Street that’s been going for more than 150 years.

T H E R E STAU R A N T

CHEF ’S WAREHOUSE, BEAU CONSTANTIA

This is a tough call as we’re spoilt for top restaurants in Cape Town. But my absolute favourite is Chef’s Warehouse in Beau Constantia, just 25 minutes’ drive away, round the back of Table Mountain, and home to some of the oldest wine farms in the country. It’s in a beautiful location, with lovely views of False Bay. The food is sensational, the wine is delicious, the service is great. It gets very busy, so we’d always book ahead for guests if they’re interested.

There’s also another branch in the city itself.

ACCESS ALL AREAS – CAPE TOWN

73

Francis Ford Coppola isn’t just an Oscar-winning director and highly regarded winemaker, he also knows a thing or two about creating great hotels. Claire Wrathall travels through the central American jewels of Guatemala and Belize, stopping off at the director’s trio of idyllic properties

Left, from top: Francis Ford Coppola’s properties – La Lancha in Guatemala, and Turtle Inn and Blancaneaux Lodge in Belize. Above: Sofia Coppola in Belize, where one of the beach houses at her father’s Turtle Inn resort is named after her

74

DAYS LIKE THIS

THE COPPOLA TRILOGY WORDS C L A I R E W R AT H A L L

G U AT E M A L A A N D B E L I Z E

75

Above: a beach house with private pool at Turtle Inn. Opposite, clockwise from top left: the waters around Turtle Inn are teeming with marine life; al fresco dining at La Lancha; taking it easy at Turtle Inn; guests at Blancaneaux do without phones – to contact reception, there’s a “shellphone” hiding an intercom link

76

DAYS LIKE THIS

P O RT R A I T O F S O F I A C O P P O L A BY A N D R E W D U R H A M / C P I

N

ot many manatees – perhaps a thousand – survive in the Caribbean. So we hadn’t expected to see one, though you have a better chance off the coast of Belize than anywhere else.

But suddenly the boatman cut the engine of our dinghy and pointed. There, in a circle of ripples, a wrinkled whiskery snout appeared above the placid surface of the sea, followed by a pair of doleful eyes. Another smaller head appeared nearby: a calf! Then another, and another. And soon these shy, elephantine mammals, some of them several metres long, surrounded us, swishing their mermaid tails.

We were in Belize, staying on the coast at Turtle Inn, one of a trio of gorgeous hotels in the portfolio of the film director Francis Ford Coppola. The situation of the other two properties – Blancaneaux Lodge, three hours inland from Turtle Inn and the first of the three to open, and La Lancha, deep in the Guatemalan jungle over the border – means you can put together a compelling Coppola Odyssey through Central America.

Wildlife is the big draw in Belize, a Commonwealth realm about the size of Wales, tucked between Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west, one fifth of

which counts as nature reserve, sanctuary or conservation area. That morning we’d set out to explore the Deep River Forest Reserve, where the main waterway leading to it, Monkey River, is named after the howler monkeys that live near its banks.

Puttering upstream, we’d heard them long before we saw them: their reverberating roar is a sound so threatening that Steven Spielberg used it as the dinosaur call in Jurassic Park. But the deeper we went into the jungle, the more we spotted howlers – and spider monkeys too, swinging with breathtaking alacrity through the trees, some with young on their backs. There were actual spiders too, with glittering webs of golden silk, while at one point a tarantula, burdened by its eggs, ambled across our path. (You want to be wearing proper shoes when that happens.) Even more amazing were the clouds of butterflies – huge, electric-blue morphos among them. And the birds! Motmots, toucans, egrets, night herons, hummingbirds no bigger than your thumb… We may not have glimpsed a jaguar, armadillo or tapir, but we soon became blasé at sightings of deer and coatimundi.

Monkey River Town lies 12 miles southwest of Placencia, a little resort of candy-coloured wooden houses on a narrow strip of land flanked by a lagoon to the west and the Caribbean to the east, a stretch where whale sharks congregate at full moon between April and June. Otherwise, it’s probably best known for Turtle Inn, a mile up the beach. It’s a heavenly place: 28 thatched wooden cabanas, some more palatial than others, strung out along a palm-sheltered white-sand shore that Coppola built from scratch after Hurricane Iris razed the area in 2001. The newest and most spectacular villa is Sofia’s Beach House, designed in strikingly contemporary style – in contrast to the Balinese look of the other houses – for FFC’s daughter, Sofia Coppola, by the French architect Laurent Deroo, whose work she’d encountered in Tokyo while shooting Lost in Translation. Another addition is Coral Caye, a two-acre islet that Coppola acquired in 2016, eight miles offshore but protected by the Belize Barrier Reef, which sleeps 10 in a couple of simple clapboard cottages, where guests can enjoy an even quieter, simpler life for a wonderful night or two.

G U AT E M A L A A N D B E L I Z E

77

While the coast is Belize’s chief appeal, it’s worth heading inland too, to Blancaneaux Lodge, deep in the dark heart of the 107,000acre Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, three hours by road from Placencia, and the first of Coppola’s hotels. During the two years he spent shooting Apocalypse Now in the Philippines, he grew to love the rainforest and “was searching for the same jungle paradise [he’d] enjoyed” there, in which to build “somewhere to write”. Asia was too far from California to be practical as a regular holiday destination, so he’d begun to look closer to home, and in 1981 came upon what was then a rundown guesthouse.

A decade or so on, he decided to turn it into a “little inn”. Nothing glitzy or luxurious – the rustic décor still favours local textiles and brightly painted wooden animal masks – or that overtly celebrates his career as a filmmaker, though the ceiling fan in the bar is the very one Martin Sheen gazes up at in the opening sequence of Apocalypse Now. “I am not just a person who licenses my name,” he once told me. Stay in his hotels and you get a real sense of his, and his wife Eleanor’s, impeccable tastes. She chose the furniture, he makes the wines served in the restaurant, and the menu features family recipes and those of their friends. (If Mrs Scorsese’s lemon chicken is on offer, it’s well worth ordering!)

As at Turtle Inn, Blancaneaux does without air con, televisions or telephones.

There is an infinity pool, but you can also swim in the river – which has been dammed

to form glassy pools. Otherwise there are horses to ride, waterfalls to bathe under and rugged landscapes to hike through.

Blancaneaux is also well-placed for Caracol, a ruined Mayan city that, at its peak in AD700, was home to perhaps 200,000 people. The 42m pyramid of Caana is still the tallest man-made structure in the country.

It’s well worth a day trip, even if it pales in comparison with Tikal, 125 miles west across the border with Guatemala, and perhaps the most impressive of all the ruined Mayan cities in Central America – where Temple IV rises above the treetops to a height of 65m.

It’s therefore worth pressing on, especially as Coppola has another jungle retreat less than an hour’s drive from Tikal. Located high on the steeply sloping edge of Lake Petén Itzá, La Lancha is a cluster of 10 hillside casitas on stilts, all with balconies strung with hammocks. If you can’t face the steep schlepp down to the water there’s a little funicular that descends to a small sandy beach, where we watched enchanted as a family of howler monkeys tested the water. There’s also a temazcal, a traditional Mayan sweat lodge, which renders your skin silky and your spirit energised, while the chanting and ritual reinforce the feeling that although you haven’t travelled that far from the border, you are in a very different country. English is no longer the lingua franca and there’s a quetzal, Guatemala’s rare and exotically plumed national bird, rather than the Queen’s head, on banknotes. This is Latin America proper.

Right, from top: Francis Ford Coppola with his wife Eleanor and children in the 1970s; the jetty at Coral Caye, Coppola’s two-acre islet eight miles from Turtle Inn, which sleeps 10 guests in three cottages

To arrange your tailor-made trip to Guatemala and Belize, call us on 020 8682 5030

78

DAYS LIKE THIS

THE CEILING FAN IN THE BAR IS THE VERY ONE MARTIN SHEEN GAZES UP AT IN THE OPENING SEQUENCE OF APOCALYPSE NOW

AL BALEED RESORT SALALAH

BY ANANTARA

ANANTARA AL JABAL AL AKHDAR RESORT

For more info visit scottdunn.com or call 020 8682 5000

WORDS JENNY COAD

I L L US T RAT I O N S JOEY YU

Robot room service? In-room Alexa? Jenny Coad wonders if technology is enhancing the hotel experience – or taking the soul out of travel

COMPUTER SAYS HELLO

How would you feel if your room service order was delivered by a robot? Awkward?

Affronted? Amused? If you’re still in your dressing gown, fresh out of the shower or simply too jet-lagged to hold a conversation, finding a robot at your door could actually be a relief.

A robot, after all, won’t mind if you aren’t feeling up to cheery chat, your hair is a mess or your towel is slipping down dangerously. You can relax and return to bed with your chicken

TECH

club sandwich, dignity intact.

You also won’t be left with that uncomfortable feeling that you haven’t tipped enough. Perhaps robots really are the future.

Certainly they are being employed in hotels across the world to engage in repetitive tasks or even greet guests.

Pepper, a 1.2m-tall humanoid robot with big Disney eyes

by SoftBank Robotics, works in the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas as the hotel’s “Technical Ambassador”. Pepper’s job is

to answer questions about the hotel, give directions and tell stories, but it can also dance or pose for a selfie.

Meanwhile, New York’s LUMA Hotel introduced the first robot butler to Manhattan at the end of last year. Alina, a Relay robot made by Savioke, designed to “deliver food, amenities and a powerful guest experience”, “walks” at human pace and is able to wirelessly operate the hotel lift and bring bits, bobs or birthday cake to

81

ROBOTS ARE STILL A NOVELTY BUT IT’S ALREADY STANDARD FOR HOTEL GUESTS TO ORDER ROOM SERVICE OR MAKE A SPA BOOKING VIA AN APP

your room. Unlike Pepper, Alina has no pretences to be human and looks more like a dehumidifier with flashing lights.

The hotel, however, describes Alina as “shy yet friendly” and encourages guests to share their #AlinaMoments on Instagram, which does make you wonder if robots are just a gimmick, albeit a money-saving one. Given our increasing obsession with social media, who can blame hotels for trying to cash in on the selfie business. Most of them have Twitter and Instagram accounts and are swift to respond to public praise or complaints.

Sometimes making the case online can be more effective than a chat with reception.

Robots are a novelty for now but it’s already standard for hotel

82

guests to order room service or make a spa booking via an app.

If you know what you want, it can be more convenient than picking up a phone and working through a series of options.

Of course it would be madness for hotels not to keep up with the emerging technologies we’re becoming accustomed to living with at home. Many of us, for example, have welcomed virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant into our lives and they’ve quickly become members of the family.

They’ll switch on Radio 4 in the morning, tell us what the weather is doing, or plot our day’s travel while we’re still under the covers. Marriott is running a pilot scheme

with Alexa in ten of its hotels this summer. Such a service should be particularly useful for business travellers who are breezing in and out and could do without the hassle of working out how to turn down the air conditioning temperature or switch off the floor lighting at night. The hotel group is also planning to give guests the option to design their own rooms. So you could Feng Shui things as you please, and really make it a home from home.

But how much technology do we really want or need when we’re travelling for pleasure, on holiday? Personally I think it depends on the context. In buzzing, innovative metropolises like New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong or Las Vegas, experiencing the latest technology is exciting and feels in keeping with the ethos of such constantly evolving cities.

In rural Tuscany or Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, robots would be an anomaly. Even iPads seem a touch invasive. Yes, we’d probably all like wi-fi, even if it’s intermittent, but why look at an illuminated screen when you

DAYS LIKE THIS

could be admiring the view? I’d certainly rather order an Aperol spritz from a vintage poolside telephone than try to swipe right on a sun-cream-greasy screen.

Part of the joy of travel is chatting to people face-to-face, trying the odd phrase in the local language, getting to know the staff and hotel-owners.

Some, like Kevin and Louisa Begg at Estancia Los Potreros near Córdoba, Argentina, host in the most traditional way, dining with their guests. While Riccardo Baracchi, who, with his wife Silvia, owns Il Falconiere in Tuscany, discusses his passions – hunting, falconry, wine – over an aperitif. There’s no better way to learn about a place.

Feeling part of the family when you’re staying in a hotel is a very special thing indeed. It’s what makes us patrons for life, returning again and again – not just because we love a place, but because we love the people.

It’s impressive when staff anticipate what you want – a lime soda and then a gin and tonic – without your needing to ask, or remember how you like your eggs each morning. It’s an art. If that was all simply recalled electronically it wouldn’t be nearly as impressive. And when does knowing what you want and storing a vast database about your preferences become a touch… creepy?

Then of course there’s the notion that holidays represent an escape, a chance to leave behind our day-to-day cares.

These days, we’re so technologyweary, we’ll travel to places specifically to escape our bad habits. Digital detoxes, mindfulness holidays, remote cottages and sleep clinics are popping up all over the place to cure our addictions. “I’m out of the office and will NOT be checking my emails.”

It’s a tricky balance. Hotels must be seen to move with the times – while still retaining their power to transport us.

TRAVEL ALBUM FIONA BRUCE

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE The BBC newsreader and Antiques Roadshow presenter on early intrepid travels, family adventures – and why she never forgets her sunhat

84

DAYS LIKE THIS

Dispatches from the front line We all get a bit softer as we get older – I was definitely more intrepid when I started at the BBC. As a researcher on Panorama in my early twenties I had to travel alone to some fairly dodgy places around the world with no idea of any kind of risk assessment. Spending weeks on my own in a military zone inside Kurdistan was pretty challenging.

Petal power There are certain scents that immediately take you back to a particular time and place. I was born in Singapore, and the scent of frangipani instantly transports me back to my childhood.

I’ll never forget...

The family of elephants that gathered by the swimming pool at our villa in Chongwe, by a tributary of the Zambezi river in Zambia.

Gap year revisited I backpacked around Thailand as a student and loved it. We recently went back as a family, 30 years on.

It felt very different, much busier, but I managed to show the kids the Bangkok I remembered when we took a boat along the quiet canals and backwaters. The food was just as delicious: the mango and sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf was exactly the way I remembered it.

G E T T Y I M AG E S

Sense memory My earliest memories are the sights, smells and tastes of Singapore. When I ate papaya for what I thought was the first time in my late teens, I suddenly remembered that unique taste. It was like déjà vu – or rather déjà goûté.

T R AV E L A L B U M – F I O N A B RU C E

85

My favourite city San Francisco is the only city I’ve ever visited as an adult where I could imagine living. Buzzy but laid-back, fun, sophisticated, good culture, wonderful restaurants, easy access to great countryside – and you can walk around it.

I hate having to drive everywhere.

Family adventures Our favourite family holidays involve physical experiences or adventures. My daughter [pictured with Fiona, overleaf] is up for that too, but the rest of my family not so much – so it’s always a compromise.

A couple of years back, we did a sailing course holiday in Croatia, which felt pretty intrepid. We spent a week training for our sailing licence. It was hard work but honestly one of the best family holidays we’ve ever had.

Ultimate travel finds I love bringing back authentic crafts or fabrics from my travels – the kind of things that aren’t touristy and that local people would have in their homes. When I was last in Thailand, I hid some pork floss in my suitcase that I found in a street market in Koh Samui. It looks disgusting but to me it’s manna from heaven. My family wouldn’t touch it so I ate every delicious last bit myself.

86

View finder I have so many favourite views and journeys, but I think the view from the Rocks café on a ski slope at the back of Flims in Switzerland takes some beating.

Mountains all around and not another building to be seen.

STUNNING BEACHES. INSPIRED CUISINE. QUIET TRANQUILITY. MEXICO. CONTACT YOUR SCOTT DUNN TRAVEL ADVISOR

My next trip There are so many places I long to visit.

Japan is at the top of my list, followed

by Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, Patagonia, Uruguay, Madagascar, Antarctica… I’ll hopefully get to them all eventually.

Travel must-have The one thing I absolutely have to take with me when I travel is a hat. I hate the sun on my head!

Unforgettable moment My most memorable travel experience is probably travelling in a motor boat the length of Venice’s Grand Canal under a brilliant cloudless sky with not another boat on the water. There was a general strike at the time and nothing was running.

An unrepeatable experience in the world’s most beautiful city.

Good food is one of my key demands on holiday so I have lots of favourite places. A definite would be a restaurant in a tiny Tuscan hamlet called La Piazza where they make their own biscotti and you can watch the sun sink behind the vines stretching out before you.

88

G E T T Y I M AG E S

My favourite restaurant

FINCA DELUXE Set high in the rolling Andalucían countryside, Finca La Donaira is a magical boutique eco-luxe property where the exquisite interiors are matched by spectacular views

WORDS GILL MORGAN

90

P H O T O G RA P H Y ALEKSANDRA OLEJNIK

DAYS LIKE THIS

INTERIORS

91

92

DAYS LIKE THIS

FINCA LA DONAIRA IS THE BOUTIQUE HOTEL LOVER’S HOLY GRAIL: A RUSTIC IDYLL THAT FUSES BEAUTIFUL NATURAL SURROUNDINGS WITH OUTSTANDING FOOD AND DRINK AND UBER-STYLISH DECOR

INTERIORS

93

T

ucked away in the gorgeous mountains of Ronda, above Málaga in Southern Spain, Finca La Donaira is the boutique hotel lover’s holy grail: a rustic idyll that fuses beautiful natural surroundings with outstanding food and drink and uber-stylish decor. Such is its artful take on contemporary design, it’s as if a mini-Soho House has somehow been transported to Andalucía (but with epic mountain views instead of a city skyline – and minus the laptops and try-hards).

For Austrian owner Manfred Bodner, the restoration of this lovely old cortijo (farmhouse) has been a decadelong labour of love. His design team worked closely with local artisans to bring a simple authenticity to the project, combined with deep comfort. Beautiful stonework, exposed wooden beams, worn leather seats

and sheepskins are set off against whitewashed plaster walls with injections of deep russet reds on floors and furnishings. Creamy Berber rugs, low sofas and chrome lamps add to the mood of laid-back glamour.

La Donaira is a perfect example of the agriturismo model. Essentially a biodynamic farm with rooms, it sits in 1,700 acres of forest and organic land, which supplies the hotel with fruit and vegetables, honey, herbs, olive oil and wine. Each of the nine rooms is individually designed and there’s a hammam as stylish as the rest of the hotel, complete with wood-fired sauna and mountain-fed freshwater pool.

But Finca La Donaira’s greatest glory is its sublime location. Huge letterbox picture-windows frame the mountains: the ultimate view to revel in while nursing a drink and watching the sun go down.

For this and other holidays in Andalucía, call 020 8682 5080 Opening spread, left to right: the view from the terrace; the living room of the Laura suite.

Previous: the hammam with freshwater pool.

These pages, clockwise from left: the Ana suite; the Magnolia suite; Finca La Donaira’s equestrian centre has more than 70 Lusitano horses; inside one of the hotel’s luxurious yurts

94

DAYS LIKE THIS

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

No 3

THE MORNING DIP You venture out of your villa, bleary-eyed and blinded by the morning light. It’s hot, but not too hot. And while sleeping bodies begin to stir inside, you seize a rare, precious moment to enjoy that ultimate holiday pleasure alone: the early-morning dip.

The journey to the beach is a tricky one. You make your way down to the sea over uneven cobbled steps, rocky paths and sand strewn with chips of shell and seagrass.

It’s all worth it. There it is – a perfect horizon and a patch of water, as still as a millpond, inviting you in.

Towel flung aside, you dip a tentative toe – or, more daringly, plunge straight in. Whatever the approach, the hard part is over. Now you can revel in the cold water,

96

soothing yesterday’s sunburn, the splashes of saltwater washing sleep from your eyes. Awake at last, you choose a spot to investigate – an island, perhaps, an intriguinglooking rock pool, or a yacht moored just that bit too far away. Or you simply flop back and bob about in the water.

It doesn’t matter either way – no one is watching.

Back home, others are up and you share your VIP preview of the day ahead. Yes, it’s warm outside, going to be hotter than yesterday, and yes, the snorkelling to the left of the bay looks particularly promising. While you dry off in the sun, others hang off your every word, and you try to resist muttering the smuggest of phrases. Yes, it really is the best part of the day...

DAYS LIKE THIS

G E T T Y I M AG E S

W O R D S C H A R LOT T E H O G A R T H -J O N E S