How about Cape Town? Or the Maldives? If you haven't quite figured out which plane you'll catch to your next travel destination, MASTERS tips some trips that characterize themselves as the best of the best. For an unforgettable experience...
The Silo Hotel, in the heart of Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, is housed in a renovated grain silo and occupies six floors above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA). In doing so, renowned architect Thomas Heatherwick has created a building that is an icon on the skyline of South Africa's capital city. Particularly striking are the pillow-like glass panels as windows. As if the building has been "blown up. Featuring a restaurant, bar, library, spa and rooftop pool, The Silo Hotel offers a unique blend of industrial architecture with luxurious interiors. It has a total of 28 rooms, including a spectacular penthouse: with panoramic views of Cape Town and including a cinema room, spa treatment room, two walk-in closets, two marble bathrooms and two private balconies. The price varies, depending on the season, between about 5,000 and 8,000 euros per night.
It's a trend: celebrity residences restored to their former glory and opened to the public. New in this series is Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's country home, just outside Oslo. He bought it after suffering a nervous breakdown. By his own admission, this became the only place where he found peace. No wonder, since there is little but wild nature all around, with rocks and sea on the horizon. The least peaceful is the yellow of the walls that restorers put on after researching exactly what the original color was when he lived there - a color Munch had mixed himself. Much of the original furniture is still there, including the outside toilet (but don't worry: there are toilets inside, too). All courtesy of the wealthy Olsen family - in possession of one of the largest private Munch collections in the world - who bought and restored the dilapidated lot. They did so partly from the proceeds of one of the real Screams, which was hammered off at Sotheby's for $120 million. Best of all, you can spend the night there. Price: a sloppy 10,000 euros a night (four double bedrooms), including butler, cook, sommelier, chauffeur, 24-hour service and all the food and drink.
This is where you want to be: surrounded by the clearest and bluest waters, the softest and whitest sandy beaches. This paradise named Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi is a 45-minute boat ride from Velana International Airport. A culinary paradise moreover, with a host of great restaurants including Zuma Maldives, Terra (unique: dining in a handmade bamboo nest in a treetop) and The Ledge by Dave Pynt, the chef of Singapore's star restaurant Burnt Ends. When it comes to lodging, there is also plenty to choose from. Will it be a "beach villa," a "reef villa" or an "overwater villa with private pool"? Our suggestion: opt for one of the two 'stella maris villas with pool', your own villa in the middle of the Indian Ocean, including its own barbecue and infinity pool. Only accessible by boat. The ultimate romantic getaway.
The most luxurious yet basic way to experience Costa Rica, Chile or Panama is to stay at Nayara Tented Camp. The tents are 160 square meters and equipped with a plunge pool, air conditioning, outdoor shower and Wi-Fi, among other amenities. A spacious stay in the middle of the rainforest, with a view of Arenal, a recently reactivated volcano in northwestern Costa Rica. Morning yoga, a spa treatment with volcanic mud and fruit picked fresh from the tree provide a healthy start to the day. Committed to sustainability, Nayara Tented Camp is the perfect place to feel at one with nature. Don't worry about meaningless things, enjoy pure life - pura vida!
March 2024, Janu, Aman's sister brand, will open its first hotel: Janu Tokyo. Translated as "soul" in Sanskrit, Janu will offer an elevated guest experience similar to Aman, while providing a vibrant social scene in contrast to the whisper-quiet seclusion of Aman. Through its appreciation of cuisine, art, design and service, Janu Tokyo is expected to reflect and celebrate the city's rich cultural fabric. Situated in the much-anticipated Azabudai Hills, a "modern urban village" in the heart of the city, the hotel will feature 122 rooms and suites ranging in size from 55 to 284 square meters, most of which will have private balconies overlooking the iconic Tokyo Tower or the surrounding green space. In addition, the hotel includes six restaurants, a bar, patisserie, lounge, garden terrace and one of the largest wellness facilities in the city: 4,000 square meters.
LXRY List 2024, the annual wow magazine with innovative items and surprising addresses, a list that inspires and points to the future. A future in which the physical world threatens to run aground and the virtual world increasingly finds its niche. Digital initiatives are popping up everywhere, from works of art painted with data to Louis Vuitton's first saleable NFTs. Fortunately, there are also plenty of initiatives to keep the physical world from getting worse. Like the production of plant-based cheese by a stainless steel cow and the exhibition Spacefarming at the Evoluon, which heralds the beginning of a food revolution. Barricades are also being climbed on the climate front. For example, artist TINKEBELL makes negative prints from Tata fabric of the flora doing its best to survive in the heavily polluted area around this factory. A horrific story, beautifully depicted. This edition of LXRY List also pays plenty of attention to beautiful stories. Like that of Reinier Kempenaar who, convinced that the way of farming as his parents and grandparents did it was not future-proof, transformed the family farm into a restaurant. Thus was born De Dyck, where 95 percent of what is served comes from his own vegetable garden and orchard. You can also celebrate life without leaving too deep a footprint in the clay. Be inspired by the carefully selected 186 addresses and items in this LXRY List 2024.
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