Innholdsfortegnelse for Feb/Mar 2020 i DestinAsian

As I write this from a desk in Amsterdam, one of my favorite European cities, I’m mindful of the fact that in some ways, the dawn of a new decade feels no different from the opening weeks of 2019 or the year before it. As the 19th-century French novelist Alphonse Karr famously wrote, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This might also say something about the quality of the many repeat winners in the 15th edition of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which celebrates the Asia-Pacific region’s best hotels, destinations, and for the very first time ever, cruise lines. The full rankings are published within these pages, as are three engrossing feature stories. If you’re a foodie, you’ll want to dive straight into New York–based photographer…

The Chao Phraya River is one of Bangkok’s most underrated attractions, its curving banks lined with skyscrapers and gold-tipped temples all too often overlooked by even seasoned travelers. All the more reason to applaud the debut of a pair of bijoux cruise experiences, each designed to take full advantage of the Chao Phraya’s mix of modern and ancient riverine tableaux. The Banyan Tree Bangkok hotel’s new Saffron Cruise (banyantree.com) involves a sleek double-deck riverboat that raises anchor from either the Icon Siam or Asiatique piers and then plies its way along the watercourse to take in scenic highlights such as the Grand Palace and the ever-fabulous Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn. Conceived by Banyan Tree’s founder Ho Kwon Ping as a sybaritic floating restaurant and bar, the 38-meter-long Saffron can…

Built in the early 1900s as the home of the noted suffragist and salonnière Countess Gabriella Rasponi Spalletti, Villa Spalletti Trivelli has hospitality in its bones. Now run as a boutique hotel by her great-great-grandchildren, the stately former residence on Rome’s Quirinal Hill still exudes much of the same old-world elegance and congeniality that the countess’s illustrious guests (who included the likes of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore) would have enjoyed. Its high-ceilinged drawing rooms are decorated with Flemish tapestries, Persian carpets, an original Rubens, and other family heirlooms; in the library (now an elegant reception area), gleaming bookcases sag under an impressive collection of antiquarian tomes. The vibe is hushed and residential—a small brass plaque and door buzzer are all that announce the property’s discreet entrance on a plane tree–lined…

Taking in the Northern Lights may be a memorable experience from any vantage point, but what could beat seeing it from a brand-new floating spa hotel in Swedish Lapland? Located just south of the Arctic Circle, and less than 90 minutes by car from the coastal city of Luleå, Arctic Bath (arcticbath.se; cabins from US$1,014, half-board) celebrates both the area’s history and the magnificent scenery along the Lule River. Connected to shore by pontoon bridge, the circular main lodge is clad in a cat’s cradle of pine logs, nodding to an erstwhile timber industry that saw felled trees floated downriver to sawmills in Luleå. A cold pool at its heart allows guests to plunge into the waterway for an invigorating dip, whether the Lule is bathed in the rays of…

THE SPA BY EQUINOX HOTEL HUDSON YARDS Luxury fitness brand Equinox turned heads when its first hotel debuted last July in the Hudson Yards development on Manhattan’s west side. While the 212 rooms and suites may have temperature-regulated bedding and minibars stocked with dozens of healthy snacks, supplements, and other wellness items, the main attraction is undoubtedly the two-story spa and gym. A highlight? Regenerative facials created in collaboration with celebrity facialist Thuyen Nguyen, whose skin-lifting FaceXercise treatment is trusted by Uma Thurman and Natalie Portman. Jet-lagged travelers should try the Wave Table, which uses soundwave relaxation therapy to induce the feeling of three hours’ sleep in just 30 minutes (equinox-hotels.com). THE WELL Though technically a members’ club, this next-level wellness center in the Flatiron District is also open to…

The incredible beauty of the Cook Islands comes into view even before I arrive. As the plane approaches Rarotonga just after sunrise, the sea, like a vast Mark Rothko canvas, floats in luminous hues of blue—cyan, sapphire, deep indigo. Then, descending toward the island’s airport, we pass jungle-thick peaks that look like something out of Jurassic Park. The brochures have promised a “last heaven on earth,” and for once, the hype seems justified. Named after Captain James Cook, who charted the group of 15 islands and atolls in the 1770s, the Cooks were first settled by voyagers from what is now French Polynesia a thousand years ago. They’re right in the middle of the South Pacific, scattered across more than two million square kilometers—an area as large as Western Europe.…

Cancún is all well and good for a beach break, but with a 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son in tow on our first family holiday in Mexico, my husband and I want them to experience more than just sand, sea, and resort buffets. So after a brief stay on the crowded coast, we rent a car and head inland, where the hinterland of the northern Yucatán Peninsula promises historic haciendas, ancient Maya ruins, authentic culture, and water-filled sinkholes called cenotes, perfect for a subterranean swim. Following Mexican Federal Highway 180, which stretches from Cancún to Yucatán’s state capital, Mérida, and from there all the way up to Texas, we pass through mile upon mile of unbroken scrubland. With no visible waterways, it’s hard to imagine this arid territory once supported…

“Wednesday. On Wednesday they will be mature,” FRANÇOIS-XAVIER DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY SAYS as he pops another waxy cabernet franc grape into his mouth. Joining him, I pluck a bluish-purple berry from the vine and bite down. The skin bursts with a satisfying spurt of grapey sweetness. And as I’m in the Bergerac wine region of France’s Dordogne Valley —during harvest season, no less—I fancy I can also detect an early expression of what wine aficionados refer to as goût de terroir, the unique flavor imparted to a wine by the soils, climate, and geology of the vineyard where the grapes were grown. Is this what sunlight tastes like? Saint-Exupéry, a distant cousin of Le Petit Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, has no doubts about the distinctive terroir of the sloping vineyards…

MATT DUTILE Wrote and photographed “Close to the Land,” p. 78 Appreciating languid explorations in France’s Dordogne Valley came with little effort for Dutile. “There’s something intangibly sublime about the Périgord way of life,” says the New York–based photographer. “You meander without a care or reference for time, passing between monuments to the ages of humanity. There on the right: a 12th-century chateau. To the left: rudimentary shelters carved into the limestone bluffs some 13 millennia ago. Ahead: a Michelin-starred restaurant that’s practically a temple of contemporary gastronomy.” Dutile’s culinary road trip took him from Bordeaux along the western banks of the Dordogne to fairytale Rocamadour high in the east. “I could easily see my wife and I settling in a town like Marquay. That feeling of home was enveloping.…

Design-minded travelers will no doubt be familiar with the jewelry brand John Hardy, which has been making waves ever since its eponymous Canadian founder established an artisan collective in 1975 to preserve Bali’s rich jewelry-making heritage. His successors have stayed true to his vision while expanding its global footprint with stores in Hong Kong and across the United States. Now, visitors to the Indonesian island where the company’s story began can drop in to the recently opened John Hardy Boutique & Gallery at Seminyak (johnhardy.com), located 20 kilometers from the brand’s main workshop outside Ubud. Housed in an airy building that steps up from a front garden on bustling Jalan Petitenget, the showroom is no ordinary boutique. John Hardy jewelry collections such as Tiga, Spear, Dot, and Chain—and Bali-made artisanal…

1 / Brazil SUGARLOAF CABLE CAR One of the world’s oldest passenger cableways, and the first to be built in the Americas, the aerial tram up to Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain continues to draw crowds of visitors more than a century after it was inaugurated in 1912. The two-stage, six-minute ride via the lower hill of Morro da Urca reveals a jaw-dropping tableau of jungled granite monoliths, skyscrapers, and golden-sand beaches, crowned by the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer. bondinho.com.br 2 / Japan HAKONE ROPEWAY It takes roughly half an hour to glide across the mountainous Hakone area, some 80 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, on its namesake ropeway, which resumed services last October following a six-month closure. Come on a sunny morning and you’ll be rewarded with uninterrupted…

At a former church in London’s Mayfair district, visitors can still partake in bread and wine, though less in the spirit of Holy Communion than in the form of Turkish pide and chardonnay. That’s because St. Mark’s, built by the Church of England in 1822 but deconsecrated due to dwindling congregations in 1974, has been given a new lease on life as Mercato Mayfair (mercatometropolitano.com), an offshoot of the hip South London food market Mercato Metropolitano. Fresh from a two-year, 6.5-million-dollar restoration, the Greek Revival building and its original stained-glass windows and reredos now provide a sublime backdrop to one of the buzziest food halls in town. Diners can order a G&T or craft pale ale at the altar, and margherita pizza or spicy tuna maki in the high-vaulted nave.…

Just a few years ago, the only reasons for visitors to hop across to the Thonburi side of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River were for a quick tour of Wat Arun or to check in to one of the area’s waterfront hotels. Thonburi was a simple, short-on-sights Bangkok suburb whose sleepy residential neighborhoods belied its brief 18th-century tenure as the Siamese capital. In recent years, however, the area has stepped into the spotlight with the debut of mega-mall Iconsiam and a smattering of old warehouses rejuvenated as creative hubs. And now that the months-old extension of the MRT Blue Line has put Thonburi within easy reach of popular neighborhoods like Silom and Yaowarat, there’s even more reason to cross the water and discover its charms, both old and new. • WHAT…

EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL Founded in 1885 on the waterfront of George Town, Penang, the Eastern & Oriental was the first property built by the legendary Armenian hoteliers the Sarkies brothers, who went on to open such celebrated establishments as the Raffles in Singapore and Hotel Majapahit in Surabaya. Despite the famous personages who once trod its halls, from Rudyard Kipling to Somerset Maugham, in recent years the E&O’s original Heritage Wing veered more toward dreary than dazzling. Reopening just before Christmas following a US$10 million, 10-month renovation, the wing’s 100 suites have been seriously spruced up with hardwood floors, shades of lemon and steel gray, and Malaysian botanical prints. Each include well-stocked minibars, access to a lounge for breakfast and cocktails, and use of the hotel’s upgraded seaside swimming…

With hundreds of limestone islands and outcrops rising like giant chess pieces from its turquoise waters, Ha Long Bay in northeastern Vietnam is among the most photogenic seascapes on earth. The conventional way to see this utterly beguiling World Heritage site is on one of the multiday cruises that weave through its karststudded archipelago. There are more than 500 registered vessels to choose from, ranging from backpacker-friendly rust buckets to small ships replete with butlers and day spas. But there’s a more immersive (and less expensive) way to experience the area at Cat Ba Island, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that sits in Lan Ha Bay, a relatively unknown body of water just to the west of Ha Long. Cat Ba is the largest of Lan Ha’s 367 islands, a Jurassic…

/Maldives/ LUX* NORTH MALE ATOLL It might be a few months too late to book the opening promotion at the sophomore Maldivian property by LUX* Resorts & Hotels, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get a good deal. Valid for stays through October, this ultra-modern retreat’s ongoing Fabulous Offer comes with a 20 percent discount on accommodation and a half-board meal upgrade, and applies to all villa categories except the multi-bedroom Beach Retreat and Overwater Retreat residences. Complimentary round-trip speedboat transfers from Male’s Velana International Airport are included when you stay at least seven nights. But you’ll have to move fast: bookings are only open until March 31 (luxresorts.com). Australia THE FULLERTON HOTEL SYDNEY March 17 marks the end of the opening special for The Fullerton Hotels’ first outpost…

SEVEN DIALS MARKET With six markets across the city, business incubator Kerb is a stalwart of the London street-food scene. Its latest project, which made its debut last September, is set in a former banana warehouse in buzzing Covent Garden, with 12 independent traders dishing up global flavors ranging from Jewish and Italian to Chinese and Japanese. Headliners include Club Mexicana for its vegan comfort food (think jackfruit burritos and smoked tofu tacos); Claw, which specializes in sustainable seafood rolls; and Pick & Cheese, the world’s first cheese conveyor-belt restaurant. For edible souvenirs, stop by Cucumber Alley, where vendors purvey artisanal produce such as Lithuanian rye bread and English jams and preserves (sevendialsmarket.com). MARKET HALL WEST END Opened in November in a former department store just off Oxford Street, this…

As surreal landscapes go, Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni may as well belong on another planet. It’s the largest and highest salt flat in the world, a 10,582-square-kilometer basin in the Andean Altiplano broken only by cacti-studded islands of fossilized coral. The area’s elemental beauty is accentuated during the rainy months of January to March, when shallow floodwaters mirror the sky’s changing colors to dazzling effect. Another reason to go? Kachi Lodge (kachilodge.com; all-inclusive two-night stays from US$2,280 per person), which debuted last May. Conceived by luxury camping outfit Amazing Escapes, it’s a futuristic vision of geodesic domes raised on a wooden platform. Guests sleep in six tents adorned with pieces by Bolivian artist Gastón Ugalde, while meals are catered by Gustu, the restaurant that put La Paz on the culinary…

FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A THREE-NIGHT STAY AT AVANI+ SAMUI Couples and families alike will find a measure of tropical bliss at Avani+ Samui, an upscale hideaway that immerses guests in the rural charm of one of Thailand’s most famous island destinations. Located on Phang Ka Beach and steps from a beautiful bay, the resort has just 25 guest rooms and 33 pool villas set in verdant tropical gardens. Low-key relaxation is the name of the game here: activities like beach yoga, stand-up paddle-boarding, and slow bike rides through the nearby villages beckon, as do customized treatments at the on-site Avani Spa. Elsewhere on the property, the beachfront Essence restaurant serves up nutritious Thai and international fare made with fresh local ingredients. Beyond the resort, snorkeling and beach-hopping excursions…

BEST CITIES & ISLANDS After losing its crown to Singapore last year, Bangkok has once again reclaimed its title as the favorite city for readers. Bali, meanwhile, remains unchallenged as the region’s top island destination. CITIES ISLANDS BEST AIRPORTS & AIRLINES IT MAY COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT SINGAPORE STILL LEADS THE PACK, WITH BOTH ITS FLAG CARRIER AND AIRPORT PREVAILING ACROSS THE BOARD. AIRPORTS AIRLINES OVERALL FIRST & BUSINESS CLASS ECONOMY CLASS LOW-COST AIRLINES FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT BEST CRUISE LINES A new category in this year’s listings takes the measure of the top five operators running large-scale luxury vessels in Asian waters. BEST HOSPITALITY BRANDS While Shangri-La continues to get top marks from business travelers for the fourth straight year, Four Seasons has triumphed in the leisure category,…