I am often asked what I think are the most luxurious experiences the world has to offer. So here, in no particular order, are my TOP TEN ULTIMATE LUXURY TRAVEL EXPERIENCES.
A gin and tonic at sunset in the bush of a private African game reserve. Your Land Rover has stopped mid-game drive, food and drink have miraculously been produced, the sun is a red ball filling half the sky (only in Africa have I seen sunsets like that) and there is roar of lions in the distance.
Offering the ultimate experience: www.londolozi.com, www.ccafrica.com
Being treated like royalty in a real palace. Nowhere does this better than India where the old forts and palaces of the maharajahs have been turned into exotic hotels, for example the exquisite wedding-cake white Lake Palace Hotel reached by water launch in Udaipur or the stylish Devi Garh near the village of Delwara.
Offering the ultimate experience: www.tajhotels.com, www.deviresorts.com, www.abercrombiekent.com.au
Staying on you own private paradise island, complete with platinum-white sand, Tiffany blue water and complete privacy. You will of course have the ultimate in luxury bures too. Follow Bill and Melanie Gates to Fregate island, Seychelles, seven beaches are yours alone or drop anchor at Dhoni Mighili the only island in the Maldives that can be booked exclusively.
Offering the Ultimate Experience: www.fregate.com, www.dhonimighili.com
Having a personal butler for the duration of your vacation. The fabulous rich and famous often travel with their own staff, but for the rest of us the ultimate in service can be experienced if we stay at the right places. For example on Soneva Gili in the Maldives your Crusoe Residence can only be reached by water and the butler has to row out. Take a signature suite at The Ritz London and your butler comes complete with waistcoat and tails.
Offering the ultimate experience: www.theritzlondon.com, http://www.theritzlondon.com
Being transferred to your hotel in extraordinary style. The Peninsula Hong Kong has a fleet of bottle-green Rolls Royce to make sure you glide through the traffic in style or pick a hotel with a helipad, like the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, or for making a real entrance try tandem Hang-gliding into the hotel grounds from the cliffs above Evason hideaway Zighy Bay, Oman.
Offering the ultimate experience: www.peninsula.com, www.burj-al-arab.com, www.evasonhideaways.com
Staying where the spa is the experience. These days no self-respecting resort can truly call itself luxurious without a spectacular spa. For example Huvafen Fushi in The Maldives, has an underwater spa where you can watch the tropical fish as you unwind, Four Seasons Chang Mai, Thailand has a three-storey spa building as exotic as many hotels, Pangkor Laut in Malaysia has its own Spa Village.
Offering the Ultimate Experience: www.fourseasons.com, www.pangkorlautresort.com, www.huvafenfushi.com
Seeing the wonders of the world without the crowds. ‘Must see’ lists are full of sights, like the Taj Mahal or Machu Picchu in Peru that you have to see before your die but seeing them in style is the real key. For example Sanctuary Lodge, a five star hotel in the shadow of Machu Picchu, offers private tours of the monument early in the morning or late afternoon when the hoards of day-trippers aren’t there. Bespoke travel agents can also organise this kind of thing.
Offering the Ultimate Experience: www.orient-express.com, www.virtuoso.com.au
Staying in luxury somewhere truly remote. Somewhere you’d never expect to be pampered. For example you bump down a dirt road to get to Banyan tree Rhinga in China’s remote, high altitude Shangri-La region but among the villages and the yaks you’ll stay in a re-built antique Tibetan house, with a vast bathroom and a bed swathed in silks and exotic fabric. High altitude isolation also awaits you at the ultra-luxurious COMO Shambhala at Uma Paro, Bhutan.
Offering the Ultimate Experience: www.banyantree.com, www.como.bz, www.uniquetourism.com
Having the world come to you. Cruising from port to port means you see a whole range of places without having to unpack more than once. Personally I’d prefer my own yacht and crew but many people like the space and company aboard some of the world’s most luxurious liners. Book the captain’s suite for the ultimate onboard stay.
Offering the Ultimate Experience: www.silversea.com, www.traveltheworld.com, www.cunardline.com.au
Sleeping in the same bed as the famous (although not at the same time, which is an entirely different ultimate list). Those with obscene amounts of money look for privacy and exceptional luxury so following in their footsteps means you’re on the right track. Knowing where they go is the key, so subscribe to a magazine like Luxury Travel Magazine for insider information. Obviously you’ll be checking into some of the world’s top suites or you could simply rent their houses directly; for example stay in HRH Princess Margaret’s old villa, Les Jolies Eaux on Mustique in the Caribbean or Richard Branson’s retreat on Necker Island.
Offering the ultimate experience: www.lhw.com, www.neckerisland.com, www.caribbeanway.com
Everyone’s idea of luxury is different so what do YOU rate as the World’s Top Luxury Travel Experience? Where have you been you will never forget? What is on your wish list? Send me a letter and let us know. The best letter to the Editor published in the Luxury Travel Magazine Autumn edition will win a Mandarina Duck duffle bag.