Overseas hotels from Amalfi to Singapore, Paris and New York
With quarantine-free overseas travel (probably) kicking off in November, these luxury establishments are essential inclusions on any itinerary.
RAFFLES, SINGAPORE
I really do need to get back to “the new” Raffles. During my 2019 visit for the restoration relaunch, dining facilities weren’t fully open after the hotel’s 18-month revamp. But La Dame de Pic, overseen by Michelin-starred French chef and restaurateur Anne-Sophie Pic, was revealed in a puff of soft pink and it continues to wow diners and critics alike. The original parquet flooring was back in place at the reimagined Tiffin Room, with table service joining the legendary northern Indian buffet spreads. Now the hotel’s branching colonnades are home to BBR by Alain Ducasse, taking its initials from Bar & Billiards Room, a hallowed Raffles institution. Then there’s Yi by Jereme Leung, a chef well-known for his riffs on local classics, such as chilli crab xiao long bao dumplings. The two-storey Long Bar is still in place, with refreshed plantation décor, improved Singapore slings and floor deliberately littered with peanut shells, which is very non-Singapore. The hotel’s neo-classical grandeur is immutable but those 115 suites have had matronly nips and tucks, with iPad technology installed to operate lights and, of course, to call a butler. Touring? As they said in the colonial days, “While at Raffles, why not visit Singapore?”
Next in line: La Reserve, Paris; Aman Kyoto.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
LE ROCH HOTEL & SPA, PARIS
I’m dreaming of Paris. Of sipping a Lillet while sinking into a squishy sofa in the homely library of this delightful pied-a-terre popular with the fashion set. Paris is full of charming little hotels, but this is a favourite, tucked away on a quiet street off Rue Saint-Honoré, with just 37 guestrooms, tiny day spa, leafy courtyard garden, even an indoor pool. Effortlessly chic thanks to Parisian interior designer Sarah Lavoine, the hotel is ideally located, an easy stroll to the Tuileries and Louvre, but hidden in an artists’ enclave. You’d walk right by the discreet front door if not for the nattily attired young doormen. The chamber I’m dreaming of is small but perfectly formed with a window opening on to the street where I can hear the clatter of a tailor’s sewing machine and an opera singer trilling from an upstairs window. There are luxury details galore; Codage soaps, monogrammed linen, French candy and a private Wi-Fi network for each guestroom. It’s all very Parisian but entirely unstuffy. Everyone knows my name and exactly how I like my tea. A home away from home, if only my home were this smart.
Next in line:Ham Yard, London; Belmond Hotel Cipriani Venice.
CHRISTINE McCABE
LA MAMOUNIA, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
Marrakech is as chaotic as it is sensual, and yet the exquisite gardens of La Mamounia, covering more than 3ha and divided by a wall from the city’s busy medina, feels like one of the most tranquil places in the world. The hotel, just reopened after a further design refresh, was built in 1923 on the grounds of an 18th-century palace and was extravagantly renovated by French designer Jacques Garcia in 2009, who endowed the private suites and grand public spaces, including a palatial Moorish style spa and hammam, with a dreamscape of sumptuous settings, lavishing guestrooms with velvet swags and tassels and beautiful traditional touches such as brilliantly-coloured zellig tiles. It’s all swooningly romantic, from the red-caped doorman who greets guests, to the glorious riad-style restaurant pavilion set in a fragrant courtyard garden, where the Moroccan specialities, especially the pigeon pastilla, are sublime. If I’ve yearned for anything during this period of staying home, it’s for a few hours on the balcony a La Mamounia garden suite, sipping mint tea and snacking on Arabic pastries, and gazing across the tops of palm trees, while the poetic sound of the call to prayer rises tremulously above the walls.
Next in line: Zaborin, Niseko, Japan; Amangalla, Galle, Sri Lanka.
LEE TULLOCH
PARKER PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
Suffused with sunshine, encircled by mountains and garlanded in candy-coloured foliage and furniture, The Parker Palm Springs is the funhouse hotel we need right now. Staying at this whimsical oasis in the desert, two hours’ drive from Los Angeles, is akin to visiting the rambling estate of a madcap aunt – if your aunt was Carol Burnett. The property sprang to life in 1959 as a Holiday Inn, was lassoed by the “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry in 1961, and avidly rejuvenated by design maven Jonathan Adler in 2003. I first stayed at the Parker on its revival, and have returned half a dozen times since. The ebullient mood is apparent on arrival. Guests enter through towering orange doors, saunter through an eclectic lobby arrayed with armour, hookahs and sequined pillows, and eventually arrive at their dazzling technicolour guestrooms. My first stop is always Norma’s, its open-air restaurant, for brunch offerings you would never prepare at home, such as blueberry pancakes and lobster frittata. Next, I might hike up a nearby canyon or hunt for mid-century modern treasures at the town’s legendary vintage stores. Back at the hotel, perched beneath a lemon-striped umbrella, I would savour a spiked lemonade before relocating poolside. Next in line: Four Seasons at the First Residence, Cairo; The Standard, High Line, New York.
GEORGE EPAMINONDAS
SHANGRI-LA AT THE SHARD, LONDON
This hotel in the clouds had me at two words: Sky Pool. It feels like floating in the stratosphere when you’re in the infinity pool up near the top of Renzo Piano’s architectural landmark, The Shard, a member of the 10 tallest European skyscrapers club. The 202-room Shangri-La at the Shard occupies the highest levels, 34 to 52, and London is laid out below and beyond, whether viewed from bath or bed, over breakfast, high tea, dinner or cocktails. Over there, St Paul’s. That way, the Tower Bridge. Look, there’s the London Eye. The Thames and London Bridge railway hub are immediately below, making for an ever-changing scene. The Shangri-La doesn’t rest on its panoramic laurels, however. Cocktails at Asian-inspired Gong, London’s highest bar, are a real event, while quintessential London is on the doorstep. The vibrant Borough Market is Cockney stallholders by day and great restaurants and bars at night. The Old Operating Theatre Museum is virtually next door and a glimpse into the surgical world of yore brings me down to earth before ascending once more to my sky domain.
Next in line: The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin; Bolton Hotel, Wellington, NZ.
JANE NICHOLLS
THE GLENBURN PENTHOUSE, KOLKATA, INDIA
The hotel I’d most like to revisit is where I was to stay in March last year, when the world shut down. The Glenburn Penthouse in Kolkata (Calcutta) captures the history and grandiosity of the former British capital of India both in its lavish interiors and views from its terraces. Opened in late 2018 by hotelier Husna-Tara Prakash, the boutique gem crowns her husband Anshuman’s modest office tower on central Chowringhee Rd, opposite the Maidan parklands. The Penthouse’s nine guestrooms occupy the top two floors, their windows positioned to capture city landmarks. Five are suites with balconies; all have been meticulously decorated by expat Melburnian designer Bronwyn Baillieu-Latif using old crafts such as marble inlay, parquetry and mirror-work that recalls a Raj-era mansion. The opulent restaurant features pink chandeliers and wallpapers custom-designed in Paris depicting fairytale scenes of, say, a Mughal princess walking her leopard. The chequerboard marble terrace with its panoramic outlook to the Victoria Memorial is ideal for tea service and sundowners. A rooftop infinity pool, seemingly cantilevered above this metropolis of 15 million, is the icing on this extravagant confection.
Next in line: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok; Hotel de Russie, Rome.
KENDALL HILL
THE WHITBY HOTEL, NEW YORK
Opened in 2017, this is the second property outside Britain for the London-headquartered Firmdale Hotels group. Its Crosby Street Hotel sibling launched in SoHo, NYC in 2009. These two relatively small gems are colourful showcases for the design of creative director (and co-owner) Kit Kemp and have become dining, drinking and socialising favourites in their respective neighbourhoods. The Whitby has just 86 guestrooms and stands small in the canyons of upper midtown Manhattan on West 56th St at 5th Avenue, almost within the shadow of Trump Tower. Kit’s mantra is that “every room tells a story” and, considering the exotic sources of her decor items, these are true travellers’ tales. There’s nothing routine or identikit here. Woven African light fittings hang like tribal hats, there are striking murals and richly hued textiles layered in unexpected combinations. Even afternoon tea rewrites the rules in The Whitby Bar or the greenhouse-inspired Orangery; bring on those pineapple meringues and lychee cheesecakes. On my first stay, I wrote that The Whitby “feels like a fashionable townhouse” as I channelled Edith Wharton and The Age of Innocence. But it’s much more fun than that. “Welcome back,” said the receptionist when I arrived from JFK airport, as if I’d just returned from a walk around the block. It was actually the first time I’d set foot in the hotel. I’ve been plotting to return for another warm welcome ever since.
Next in line: Raffles Makati, Manila; Azerai La Residence, Hue, Vietnam.
JO MAKITO
HOTEL SANTA CATERINA, AMALFI, ITALY
Sometimes, amid endless travel restrictions, the memory of Hotel Santa Caterina has felt like a wisteria-draped dream. For more than a century, the Gambardella family has run this Liberty-style hotel that teeters on the Amalfi cliffs like some high-heeled Baroque beauty. Constructed from 1880 to 1904, Santa Caterina is characterised by airy spaces, bougainvillaea-clad archways and gleaming floors laid with tiles from nearby Vietri Sul Mare, a centre of ceramics since ancient times. The town of Amalfi, tourist central at summer’s height, thanks to its medieval streets and iconic, candy-striped cathedral, holds a more raw appeal in cooler months. But at any time, all paths lead to the sea, including at Santa Caterina, where you can descend on foot along terraces of citrus trees to the salt-washed rock platforms far below, or via an elevator that cuts dramatically down the cliff face. Here you’ll find a pool and all the Aperol you could wish for, but come early northern spring I hope to find myself, post-bracing swim, in the main building’s La Terrazza bar, home to an excellent selection of spirits and a warming fire.
Next in line:Hotel Lutetia, Paris; Kulm Hotel, St Moritz.
EMMA VENTURA
