Edition Ten
Reflections: On Luxury
Luxury is a convoluted and often misunderstood term, with many people associating it with different meanings. Is it price tag? Is it service? Is it location? Is it something else? This classic debate typically opens a pandora’s box, dependent on a perception of value for the expenditure of precious time and money. Ultimately, it’s all about taste (something we’ve talked about in the past), and taste is very personal. “Five Star” luxury has traditionally implied being baroque, ornate, expensive, formal, and opulent, made more confusing with various countries imposing conflicting tourism standards like “five star hotels must have a TV” or a “telephone by the toilet.” (In our vision of luxury, televisions are absent.) Dubai-inspired marketing schemes one-upped everything with a proclamation of “7 stars” to add to the confusion, so that when you ultimately arrive somewhere, you’re not quite sure what version of luxury you’re actually going to get. It might be a lot of nice decor, a dash of service, a smidge of good food, a whiff of personalization, or just too much gilt…but the mix may or may not be up to your own personal standard. In more recent years, luxury has meant providing all the creature comforts of home, and then some. It can connote space, freedom, privacy, quality, exclusivity, preciousness, and top-notch service.... Continue Reading the Editor's Note
Luxuriant Sicilian Hideaways
Quieter, plush alternatives to ‘The White Lotus’ hype in Sicily.
Download Our Recommendations 🗝️Stay: Bawah Reserve, Indonesia
Time Travel: The Great Smoky Mountains’ renowned Blackberry Farm
A New Year’s Visit to 2004’s #1 Resort in the United States
Listen to the Short Podcast Here 🗝️Map: Michelin Starred Restaurants
On Location: Mnemba Island, Zanzibar
Bill Gates had rented out the whole island just before we arrived…
Journey with us there 🗝️Stay: Desroches Island, Seychelles
Resources and Intel
Resource: Portugal’s Michelin-Starred Restaurants
Unveiled just last week, Portugal’s Newest Stars. See the winners.
Intel: Little Luxuries in Coach
Our favorite secrets for making flying tolerable. Read our tips.
Intel: A Luxury Visit, without the Price
Yes, you can visit the most luxurious hotels on the cheap. Learn how.
Beauty: Elsa’s Kopje, Meru National Park, Kenya
It was just the two of us on safari in the middle of the savannah, when we came upon a surprise, al fresco breakfast that our guide and porters had secretly set up: our own personal chef, fresh omelets and coffee, all in the luxuriant privacy of the vast Kenyan wilderness.
Musings
Read: Sleep is all the Rage with the Wealthy
For Dreaming of: A luxurious slumber. Read More.
Watch: “Viaggio Sola” (A Five Star Life)
For Dreaming of: A dream job reviewing hotels. Read More.
Beauty: Aman Venice, Italy
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Don't miss our previous publications:
Edition One - Featuring Marseilles and Provence, Alaska, 1997 Egypt, José Right in Portugal, Japanese film.
Destination Feature: Washington DC
Edition Two - Featuring the American South, Luxury Train Travel, and the culinary delights of Italy.
Edition Three - Featuring Barcelona, Brazil, and a Highway 1 Roadtrip.
Edition Four - Featuring the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mauritius, Shanghai in 2005, and a search for vanilla.
Edition Five - Featuring a weekend in Santa Fe, recap a trip to La Paz, Bolivia, reminiscing on our first memories of Paris, and highlighting movies featuring iconic roadtrips.
Destination Feature: Portugal Beyond Lisbon
Edition Six: Remoteness - Featuring Newfoundland, Ecuador, Cuba’s Viñales Valley, and Fiji.
Destination Feature: Cape Town, South Africa
Edition Seven: Taste - Featuring eats in Tasmania and Belgium, chocolate in São Tomé, favourite grocery stores, and a culinary obituary in Western North Carolina.
Edition Eight: On Cozy Traditions - Featuring the Italian Dolomites, Finland retreats, Switzerland, Montana, and the Ice Hotel.
Edition Nine: On Family Travel - Featuring all things kid-friendly, including our guide for first timers, Paris, plus hotels in Madrid, London, & Cartagena, a café in Amsterdam, and family traditions in Jamaica, 1998.
Destination Feature: National Parks of the American West
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