SanDiego1K

It's fun to read a summary of 2023 luxury travel at the highest level. I'm an avid reader of his newsletter, though he now travels well beyond where I'll ever indulge. His word crafting keeps me engaged, educated, and amused.

https://dorsiatravel.com/best-moments-2023/

SanDiego1K

We just had an absolutely unbelievable blow out remarkable stay at Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia. I was tickled to see that it made the list of 50 top suites in the world by Robb Report. The property has 15 suites. We were in suite 8. The report focuses on suite 7.

https://robbreport.com/travel/hotels...wild-cambodia/

KatW

Not our usual understanding of luxury but I am VERY interested in Glacier Lodge Eqi in Greenland. Accessible only by boat or helicopter best accommodations (deluxe comfort) about $800 per night. All sorts of mostly strenuous excursions but also a rugged tank-like snow bus thing that tours you around on the glacier. That glacier, by the way, is calving which is the big draw.
https://worldofgreenland.com/en/glacier-lodge-eqi/

Kagehitokiri

hope everyone is well

since this is the lounge thread >
eatjoon.com
great upscale persian restaurant that opened last year in northern virginia. amazing brunch, with unlimited small plate option, made to order. the plates/amounts are not small at all. french toast also terrific. reportedly well regarded and authentic. other diners when i was there seemed to support that.

philfna

I would add in San Francisco if people need help getting into:

SSAL (1 star) -- Korean food
Nisei (1 star) -- Japanese food
Quince (3 stars) -- California local / Italian cuisine

I can help trying to secure reservations. (we're members of the restaurants)

KatW

Review snippets of new (ostensible) luxe hotels to open this spring, including a Royal Mansour in Casablanca:

https://www.afar.com/hotels/new-luxu...in-hotels-2024

KatW

Don’t even want to think about the cost (no pricing given) of this custom flying journey but, omg, does this itinerary speak volumes to me! Canada’s Three Oceans!

St. John’s Newfoundland to Fogo Island (yes, stay in the requisite inn) to Nunavut/Resolute Bay (500 miles north in Arctic Circle) to Jasper, Alberta to Lake Louise to Tocino, BC to Nimmo Bay (yes, THAT Nimmo Bay) to Vancouver to Victoria. THIS is luxury plus.

SanDiego1K

I might have to sell my house to take this trip but it certainly appeals.

KatW

Happily would carry your bags and make tea/coffee.

levilevi

Had never heard of Nimmo Bay ( I lurk here aspirationally ) - and that looks incredible, adding to my list to research the area!

richarddd

For want of a better place to post this. We booked Portrait Firenze and Baglioni Hotel Luna in Venice. I emailed both some stay preferences.

Portrait Firenze replied within a few hours, essentially confirming most of my preferences. They also promised to send a list of recommended restaurants, but have not. No attempted upsells, not even transport from the train station (there are always a lot of taxis and the fare is low).

EDIT: Email from "lifestyle team" asking when I'll arrive (already acknowledged in stay preference exchange) and offering to arrange transport.

Baglioni Hotel Luna also replied within hours. I mentioned that we intended to arrive by water taxi. They offered a hotel water taxi (extolling its virtues) for €220 and mentioned I could get my own for €70 but couldn't reserve (which isn't true). They do get points for mentioning the less expensive alternative. They provided a list of restaurants. They then spent another few paragraphs attempting to sell various services. No real response to my stay preferences.

EDIT 2: and now Baglioni writes confirming most of our stay preferences, essentially eliminating the contrast between the two.

KatW

richarddd, I like this comparison of service delivery … let us know how you fare.

Meanwhile, pretty photos of pretty Michelin restaurants from Hotels Ave Par:
https://hotelsabovepar.com/the-prett...und-the-world/

offerendum

Here a quite interesting article from a German newspaper:
Instagram-Hotspots
Unfortunately, it is only in German, but there are translators. It reports on which hotels have been mentioned most frequently since Instagram was founded (which is why fairly new hotels such as the Passalacqua are not mentioned) and takes a critical look at the Instagram hype. It's definitely interesting to see, I wasn't aware of Villa D'Este as an Instagram hotspot.

RichardInSF

Here are the hotels mentioned most as documented by the article mentioned above in order of the number of references (starting with the most)::

1. Burj al Arab, Dubai
2. Atlantis, the Palm, Dubai
3. Soneva the Jani, Maldives
4. Villa d'Este, Como, Italy
5. Bellagio, Las Vegas, USA
6. Beverly Hills Hotel, USA
7. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya

That's all that are mentioned in the article, much as I am sure we would have liked to see more.

Wonder if these will become an avoid list for the astute members who follow this forum? Seems to me that all except the Villa d'Este and Beverly Hills hotel are already on such a list.