More than just about new and remote destinations, the new decade of travel focuses on unique & bespoke experiences and hotel stays that offer a fresh perspective on the familiar.
TCS WORLD TRAVEL UNCHARTED SERIES EXPEDITIONS
Seattle-based TCS World Travel has operated just shy of 300 luxury jet expeditions to more than 200 destinations around the world for nearly 25 years. It’s recently launched Uncharted Series – an all-new collection of small-group (about 60 travellers per aircraft), 15- to 20-day regional journeys. One recent, fast-moving, 25-day excursion kicked off in Seattle and weaved its way through Kyoto, Japan; Hoi An, Vietnam; and the Maldives.
Travellers will experience the ease of flying on helicopters and midsize private jets on life-list adventures. These include visiting emerging destinations like Mongolia and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. It also takes travellers through under-the-radar destinations like Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Oman, where storied pasts mingle with intriguing futures. TCS will sort out your customs paperwork, haul your luggage, arrange for any sort of gourmet meals, spa or wellness treatments and other special arrangements for a truly unforgettable journey – you just have to make sure to not miss your jet!
KAKSLAUTTANEN ARCTIC RESORT
Situated in Saariselkä, on the Finnish Lapland, this family-run resort has every type of dwelling from the Arctic region. Choose from traditional log cabins and chalets, glass igloos – to comfortably watch the aurora borealis from indoors – and even snow igloos. The resort serves as a good base to explore the surrounding areas and indulge in activities like trout or Arctic char fishing, hiking with huskies, and cross-country skiing. The resort also has a large art gallery exhibiting works by various Lapland artists.
In order to make each dwelling unique, various Scandinavian architects including Norwegian architects Snöhetta, Tham & Videgård Arkitekter from Sweden, and Finnish-Icelandic-Norwegian studio Rintala Eggertsson Architects have featured designs there. Meanwhile, a related floating open-air cold bath, the Arctic Bath, has just opened on the nearby Lule River this year.
THE ROYAL CHAMPAGNEÂ EXPERIENCE
Ever wondered about the stories behind your favourite champagne? Well, this exclusive travel opportunity will bring you to the heart of the vineyards around Champillon in France for you to discover some wonderful back stories about your bubbly of choice. The Royal Champagne hotel’s Le Royal restaurant has a Michelin star, and the menu a fine match for the region’s beautiful champagne. Every detail is thoughtful and well chosen, from the bubbly glass light sculptures in the lobby to the housemade croissants in the morning to the fully stocked yoga studio. Hightech facials and languid massages feature at its spa, but wellness extends to the indoor and outdoor pools and a 24-hour fitness centre for international guests on myriad time zones. Natural light infuses the resort’s many spaces via glass walls, and this is exactly what weary, perhaps slightly tipsy, travellers need in between regular vineyard tastings!
TREETOP TRANQUILLITY – AWASI IGUAZÚ WILDERNESS LODGE
Just at the entrance to Iguazu National Park, in Argentina, the lodge occupies a 25-acre plot of rainforest. Hundreds of different butterfly and bird species buzz between branches, plus the hillside location with that 200ft walk from the lobby to the restaurant put guests at forest canopy level! Ruins of Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana, while the more adventurous can kayak from Awasi Iguazú downriver to the majestic Iguazu Falls.
Everyone on-site is an expert in their field. From ecologists and botanists, to tourism degree graduates and well-travelled bar and restaurant staff – needless to say that you’re in extremely good hands here! The guiding is exceptional – making your head spin with facts and figures, on par with the best anywhere in the world. There’s no gym, sauna or Olympic-sized swimming pool, but who needs them when you’ve got the heat of a vast rainforest to warm you up as you explore on foot, in a 4×4 or by kayak?
relaischateaux.com/us/argentina/awasi-iguazu-puerto-iguazu
ARCTIC LUXURY
Deep in the Swedish Laplands lies a brand new hotel experience for the coming decade. The Arctic Bath is a floating cold bath spa and wellness hotel that lies on the Lulea River in Harads, Sweden. Scheduled to open mid-January 2020, the Arctic Bath will be a year-round destination, frozen in place during the winter, and free-floating in the summertime. It’s architecture is inspired by imagery of timber floating. The circular shape of the Arctic Bath creates a protected environment within, making the centre perfect for sunbathing and winterbathing, as well as keeping the four-degrees cold baths at the perfect temperature. The spa also offers warm baths, saunas and treatments to help you relax. The 12 rooms are located both on water and land within the two buildings that make up the Arctic Bath hotel. The hotel’s focus on health and wellness makes it not just a unique destination, but also the perfect place to unwind and heal from the stresses of daily life.
KINGLY COURT
Fancy a stay at the Château de Versailles, where France’s kings and queens reigned over the land for centuries? Airelles’ latest property, Le Grand Contrôle was built in 1681 and designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the famed 17th century architect. Le Grand Contrôle was first intended as a space for the Duke of Beauvilliers but the building was then joined to the castle, and is made up of three main sites; Le Grand Contrôle, Le Petit Contrôle, and the Pavillon des premières cent marches, all which lies within Château de Versailles’ compound. Le Grand Contrôle once played host to the offices of France’s then finance ministry, and within those storied walls the independence of America was negotiated. Guests will be part of the castle’s history, and gain exclusive access to the compound. With a total of 14 rooms, a wellness centre and an Alain Ducasse signature restaurant, a stay here will be luxurious French living to a royal extent. Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle opens in Spring 2020.
STAY AMONG THE STARS
Get ready for a grand re-opening of one of the City of Angels most iconic and glamorous hotels, as the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel is finally ready after closing for renovation in 2016. The Century Plaza Hotel’s history goes all the way back to 1966, and in its more than 50 years has played host to foreign dignitaries, Hollywood A-listers and some of high society’s most prominent names. The crescent shaped hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, is a landmark of Los Angeles’ Avenue of the Stars and is surrounded by glitzy Hollywood and Beverly Hills, while being in close proximity to three of LA’s main airports. The rejuvenation project is led by architects from Gensler with interior design by Yabu Pushelberg, and all 400 guest rooms, 63 residences units, spa and fitness centre, rooftop pool and retail and dining establishments are on schedule to reopen in April 2020.
