Keep calm and glow on
The ultimate luxury is coming home from a holiday feeling better than when you left. Thankfully, that no longer means confessing to your carbohydrate-guzzling sins and subjecting yourself to myriad tests at a medical retreat.
Wellness has ‘exploded into the norm,’ says James Bell, Turquoise Holidays founder and managing director. His highlights include Six Senses’s alchemy bars (where guests make their own massage oils), The Brando’s nest-like Fare Manu (Bird House) spa (above) in French Polynesia and Ladera’s Lévé spa, 1,000 feet above Sugar Beach in St Lucia.
Before check in, I used to peruse a hotel’s breakfast menu online. Now, I look to see what gym equipment they have. A poky room in the basement won’t suffice. My favourite is the one at Maybourne Beverly Hills in California — a light-drenched space with a wellness mineral pool.
World-class hotels Soneva Fushi in the Maldives and NIHI Sumba, Indonesia, have cottoned on and announced enhanced workout spaces — a real boon for sun-averse travellers like me who need something to do inside in the middle of the day, when the UV reaches stratospheric levels.
We also crave food that makes us feel good. Singita’s pantry concept means that, instead of sugary-snack-stuffed mini bars, guests have access to a communal 'delicatessant’ full of tasty, farm-to-table-inspired, sweet and savoury treats.
Then there is sleep, perhaps the most fundamental pillar of wellbeing. Sleep coaches, bespoke programmes, temperature-controlled beds and pillow menus are becoming as de rigueur as room service. At Gili Lankanfushi in the Maldives, guests can choose from 17 different types. After all, paradise is no place for a bad night’s sleep.
Cleared for take-off
British Airways has announced new routes and improved services on journeys to exciting winter-sun destinations, such as South Africa, Zanzibar, Brazil and Costa Rica.
Its Heathrow to San José service now operates three times a week, year round. Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica, on the dramatic cliffs of Punta Cacique, Hotel Fermata in Santa Teresa (it’s in front of one of the Pacific’s most consistent surf breaks), and Santa Lucia Jungle Hacienda in Carara National Park, are among the country’s notable openings.
The airline is also countering stiff competition by introducing a major refresh of its long-haul first-class experience. The ongoing mile-high arms race has spawned some of aviation’s most creative launches, including Qatar’s Qsuite Business Class, which was so successful that former CEO Akbar Al Baker suggested it had eliminated the need for first class.
The carrier has done a full 180 and, in the coming months, will introduce a private jet-inspired first-class suite. Look out for similarly opulent launches from Qantas, Air France and Lufthansa. AeroLOPA provides craft information and detailed, to-scale digital seat maps for major global airlines — so you can check exactly what you’re flying on before you book.
Off the beaten screen
The average person spends roughly 21 years looking at a screen over the course of their lifetime or more than 40% of their waking hours — a statistic that should horrify you as much as it probably does your optician. The good news is that, despite the rampant progress of addictive, brain-numbing technology, we still yearn, on a primal level, for human connection. Interacting with other people, in person, releases feel-good chemicals.
Last week, we reported on the boom in physical shopfronts in the capital, including Wiggy Kit, Loeffler Randall, Ulla Johnson and DeMellier this year alone. Now, Audley Travel is following in their fashionable footsteps. This autumn, the tour operator will launch its first-ever physical retail presence inside 12 John Lewis stores. Remember when tour operators dotted the high street, their posters of far-flung sunny shores a bright light on an otherwise grey commute?
These dedicated spaces will replicate that inspiration and give clients the opportunity to talk to Audley’s travel experts, face to face. After all, the algorithm can show you a picture of a beach, but it takes a person to get you there in style and comfort.