Fari Islands in the North Malé Atoll of the Maldives, a 45-minute speedboat ride or a 10-minute seaplane flight from Malé International Airport.
The resort’s design by Kerry Hill Architects was inspired by the Maldivian sun and the Indian Ocean. It consists of a series of 100 villas, including the Ocean Villas, which seem to float above a turquoise lagoon like a masterpiece of design. With its white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons and coral reefs, this place is rich in marine life. Guest villas at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands range in size from one to three bedrooms and offer the renowned Ritz-Carlton service, taken to a new level by an island butler, Aris Meeha.
The property offers a choice of outstanding restaurants led by Executive Chef Pedro Samper, who prepares and serves dishes from every continent and local cuisine. Guests also have access to a comprehensive range of fitness and leisure facilities, including Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program and the Ritz-Carlton Spa, featuring products from the English brand Bamford.
“I am very honored to be part of The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, a place that combines luxury and hospitality at the highest level. My focus is on developing the potential of our team and creating unforgettable moments for our guests.”
said Eller.
During this time, he took on management positions at the world’s most famous hotel brands and was, among other things, General Manager for the Adlon in Berlin and responsible for the opening of the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Moscow and Wolfsburg.
In his new role at the Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Faroe Islands, Oliver Eller will lead a dedicated, international team and promote a corporate culture based on quality, innovation and individual service. Eller’s expertise will be reflected in the implementation of strategic initiatives to drive operational efficiency, revenue growth and positioning of the resort in key markets:
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands is part of an archipelago that includes three world-class hotel brands, including The Ritz-Carlton. Guests have access to the picturesque Fari Marina – the heart of the archipelago. Fari Marina is built around a lively beach club and offers charming boutiques and a hand-picked selection of restaurants.
After a happy landing in Hong Qiao International Airport (SHA)
I enjoyed the drive with the airport express train (455 km/h, wow!!!) to Pudong
10 minutes later I arrived.
Yes, I am a Shanghai fan.
I love it to be here.
Are you a Pudong or Puxi boy?
Big question.
Shanghai is unique in its cultural division between Pudong and Puxi, the city’s two main neighborhoods.
These opposing parts of town—named after their location in relation to the Huangpu River, with “dong” meaning east and Xi meaning west—are different culturally as well as geographically.
Pronounced “poo shee,” Puxi is the historical heart of the city.
In former foreign concession times, this was the area that hosted the multitude of foreign nationals from the mid-19th century to the World War II.
The area had a French and an International Concession as well as a walled Chinese area.
On one side is the new neon skyline of Pudong, home to the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower and China’s tallest structure, the twisted glass 632m Shanghai Tower.
On the other is the famous Bund, lined with early 20th century Art Deco and neoclassical buildings, which helped give the city its nickname of the Paris of the East.
And it was the first wave of miigration which was responsible for many of these mansions being built.
At the end of the Opium Wars in 1845, Shanghai opened up to foreign trade and Sephardic merchant families from Baghdad and Bombay — including the Sassoons and the Hardoons — arrived to do business here.
Victor Sassoon completed his landmark Cathay Hotel in 1929 and Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward all stayed there.
It’s now been renamed the Fairmont Peace Hotel and the famous old jazz band plays in the art deco lobby on most evenings.
Strolling along the riverside I get to see the Bund’s historical buildings up close.
Many were home to banks and trading houses from the United Kingdom, as well as the rest of the world, and the several consulates eg. Britain were situated here.
It is in this area that the historical houses and buildings the Bund, and the famous Art Deco heritage architecture are found.
The landscape here is almost infinite.
Stretching from the eastern banks of the Huangpu River, Puxi blossoms outward in all directions.
If you’re driving from Shanghai to Jiangsu Province or Hangzhou (in Zhejiang Province), you may even feel like you never left the city.
As you move west along the Yan’an Elevated Highway, you’ll pass by the clusters of skyscrapers around People’s Square, along Nanjing Road, and then further out toward Hong Qiao.
Puxi is a never-ending mass of office towers and residential places.
It’s also where the Hong Qiao International Airport (SHA) is located as well as the two train stations and the long-distance bus terminals.
Just a few decades ago, Pudong was home to a slew of warehouses as well as farming and fishing communities.
Now, it is home to some of the tallest buildings in China, such as the Shanghai Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center.
Whereas Puxi is somewhat of a blast of Shanghai’s past, Pudong is a glimpse into its future.
The distinction between the two cities is almost alarming as you look out across the Huangpu River at the opposing skyline.
Pudong’s landscape differs from Puxi’s in that it’s more compact.
The river actually cuts it into a virtual island so that if you keep driving, you’ll eventually end up at the sea.
There aren’t any beaches, Pudong’s tall buildings are clustered around the financial center in Lujiazui and it’s here that you’ll find many of Shanghai’s most luxurious residences and hotels.
Further out, you can still find some small farm operations that haven’t been bulldozed into residential compounds.
Pudong is home to Shanghai’s biggest and main airport, the Pudong International Airport (PVG). It is connected to the rest of the city via a number of tunnels, bridges, metro lines, and ferries.
You’ll want to concentrate your trip on this side of the river if you’re interested in having a big city vacation while in Shanghai.
Place to stay: Shangri-La
My hotel, the Shangri-La Jing An is located on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River.
It features a design inspired by Shanghai’s past, present and future.
The 508-room hotel is the centerpiece of the Jing An Kerry Centre.
Upon entering the lobby, guests are greeted by a 19 x 10-foot oil painting by Zeng Fanzhione of two renowned contemporary artists who were commissioned to create pieces for the hotel.
The other is Zhou Chunya, whose series of five paintings for Jing An are inspired by Shanghai’s Yu Garden.
The hotel art collection includes around 200 pieces by 50 artists, representing 12 countries.
Fourteen of the 50 artists represented in the collection are Chinese. It includes sculptures, paintings, works on paper, photography, textile art, and decorative objects. Each work pays homage to Chinese culture. Hand-tufted silk carpets found throughout the hotel were designed to resemble paintings and take inspiration from traditional chinese watercolors, lotus, auspicious fish, and colorful blooms.
The hotel is very Shanghainese, it is a balance of the new and the traditional.
Shangri-La hotels use Shangri-La as a fictional place described in the 1933 novel “Lost Horizon” by James Hilton.
He describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, finds inner peace, love and a sense of purpose in Shangri-La, whose inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity.
Thats why Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, and particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land. The hotel’s four bars and restaurants reflect Shanghai’s eclectic and cosmopolitan nature. Summer Palace’s contemporary design takes inspiration from Chinese traditions with golden yellow, orange, green, and blue furnishings, and artwork and accessories inspired by the peacock. In the 1515 West, Chophouse & Bar, premium beef and American-sized desserts are served in a classic New York steakhouse interior. The Artifacts from Shanghai’s historic movie productions gives the place glamor. We saw already a few celebrities and enjoyed the crystals, more than four million crystals. The bling-bling crystals are used as architectural elements, from the thick canopy of lighted rods covering the porte-cochere to the drapery anchoring the double-height reception area and lobby lounge.
Shangri-La hotels are alwyays fun and do not forget to read the book – the story behind “Shangri-La” as a night cap.
Restaurant tips in Shanghai:
Three on the Bund
Its in one of the glorious 1920s colonial buildings, converted into an art gallery and designer shopping emporium, with four restaurants. The 7th floor roof terrace has a fabulous view over the river and Pudong. The restaurants are Laris, New Heights, the Whampoa Club, and Jean Georges (outpost of the New York chef Jean Georges Vongvichteren). On the top of the building is a little cupola, which has been cleverly converted into two private dining rooms, each with just one table. The upper cupula has a table for two, the lower one a table for up to eight. In these you can eat a menu prepared by any of the restaurants, or indeed even mix and match courses if you wish. We had lovely Sea Scallops and Lobster Tartine, Lemongrass, Fenugreek Broth, Pea Shoot. It was fantastic.
The chef Jean Georges is known for its use of spices with more classical dishes, and indeed this was on show tonight e.g. the lobster had very distinct spices. The Desserts were an excellent mix of chocolate dishes, including a fine chocolate fondant.
Overall a yummy lovely exerience on the bund, the great thing here is the setting. YYou have the sense from this that it is a bit of an unusual novelty rather than a pure dining destination, but it is a seriously romantic setting.
Tip #2: Absolutely fun. Restaurant “Ultraviolet”
OK you need a budget, the dinner will be around 400€ with wines.
A revolutionary 10-seat multi-sensory experience restaurant Ultraviolet. It will evoke a ‘bold and exclusive dining experience that engages all the senses to create the ultimate luxury.
Ultraviolet, a sort of dress rehearsal for the final draft of the restaurant which has finally rolled out. And after this, admittedly invited, tasting, we can say definitively that yes, Ultraviolet is radical and it was very much worth the wait.
Ultraviolet is located in a secret location in an old Shanghai neighbourhood.
After being driven to the restaurant by their private driver, you enter a set of inconspicuous double doors and cross into Pairet’s fantasy restaurant: a mixture of James Bond style and mad scientist laboratory.
Mesh metal doors slide open without any visible human attendants. Your chilled drink awaits on a bar counter of raw wood.
After a few sips, another door slides open, beckoning you down a hallway lit by a Baccarat crystal chandelier. Then, a final set of doors slides open. You can’t help but laugh:
A Space Odyssey opening chords play while you step into the all-white dining room: a plain rectangular table flanked by 10 white adjustable chairs.
The dining experience begins.
Each course is paired with 360 degree video projections, surround sound music (a different song tailored to each course) and even custom scents: sometimes they waft from a pressure cooker which is hand carried around the room, sometimes from a scent machine installed in the ceiling and with one course, the scent of cigar smoke captured in a glass dome is held up to your nose by a waiter.
The full dinner includes 20 ‘avant garde’ courses, for other courses, many of which are paired with drinks ranging from dessert wine to peppermint tea, projections include crashing ocean waves, ancient trees in fog or Indonesian masks.
A ‘micro fish and ship’ course is actually a single giant caper berry deep fried in batter and paired with anchovy tartar sauce. The food is central to the night, never just a prop; each meticulously crafted bite amazing and a lovely finsish.
This lovely hideaway is perfectly situated on Southwest Peloponnese.
Costa Navarino-Peleponnes is framed by spectacular scenery.
The resorts founder Mr.Constantakopoulos was a shipping tycoon who wished to give back to the region where he was born sustainable tourism.
After his death his sons took over the Costa Navarino project – truly a extraordinary development in one of the most attractive parts of Greece.
Its offering magnificent views of the Ionian Sea and incorporating luxurious accommodations with two outstanding golf courses including “The Dunes” one of Bernhard Langer’s most impressive designs.
In my words, it is hard to imagine a better place in Europe for golf than Costa Navarino.
Furthermore it offers an untouched beach, lovely pools, two five star hotels managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, partner of Marriott. Lets say “The Westin” is for golfers and families while “The Romanos” (a Luxury Collection Resort), offers romantic hideaway villas for couples.
I played “The Dunes”, a gem in Costa Navarino’s crown and to be honest it was fun.
Designed by the german golf pro Bernhard Langer, this course offers breathtaking views over the nearby sea and the river that snakes it way through the resort.
The Dunes Course is coupled with a number of more sympathetic tee positions to ensure every golfer a suitably enjoyable challenge.
Positioned close to the sea, a number of the holes on the Dunes Course have a links like feel to them with the remaining inland holes offering a taste of a more traditional Greek landscape with olive trees and citrus groves flanking the gently undulating fairways.
Furthermore Costa Navarino is one of the most culturally-rich regions of Greece with 4,000 years of history including Olympia, the sanctuary of Zeus and site of the ancient Olympic Games.
Time seems to have stood still in much of the Peloponnese.
Cyrstal clear water, beautiful mountains conjure up a picture postcard idyll. Costa Navarino is about elegance and tends to attract a chic, mostly European guests. It’s an attractive haven for those after a sophisticated, peaceful getaway and the ambiance is suitably chilled out with amazing sunsets.
Anazoe Spa boasts a varied spa menu and the speciality treatments are based on health and beauty practices of ancient Greece. I chose one of the signature massage treatments, the Spirit of Honey.
Wow, I still can feel it.
The nearby town of Pylos is a great place, with its pretty harbour, bright blue tavernas, local boutiques and terrace cafes in the main square where you could easily spend a few days.
I am in love with the rhythm and music of this city.
Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains smaller in population, but richer than ever in cultural treasures.
Forced to justify its very existence, the city doubled down on venerating its charming customs and neighborhood gems.
Today, there are new ways to engage with the city’s history, arts scene and natural beauty, including the Lafitte Greenway, a biking and pedestrian path linking the French Quarter to the lovely and less-touristed area around City Park.
Mardi Gras season is underway, with its street-level carnival traditions ranging from satirical to cheeky to strange and sublime. As usual we checked in at the Waldorf Astoria.
Start with the history, the luxury hotel was opened in 1893.
Later the hotel was purchased by a group of investors and renamed in The Roosevelt Hotel.
It was a honor for former president Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1965 it was bought by Fairmont Hotels.
The Grand Hotel, has over 500 rooms, of which 125 are luxury suites, some named for celebrities who visited the hotel live Frank Sinatra and Madame Monroe.
It offers signature fine-dining and state-of-the-art meetings.
Furthermore a lovely spa and fitness center.
Eggs Bendecit, typical american food and chandeliers in style gave us joy.
For generations, New Orleanians and visitors from around the world liked The Roosevelt because of its glamour, excitement and comfort. Wow.
The Roosevelt is exciting and we enjoyed.
Its fun to stroll around in the city and enjoy food, music and bars.
Try the legendary Sazerac Bar
In the golden era of supper clubs from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Blue Room played host to some of the best-known names in entertainment and big bands – including Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong and Cher – as well as to elaborate floor shows.
With gleaming chandeliers and polished architectural details, the Blue Room once again hosts live entertainment that appeals to all ages.
As an indication of the hotel’s beloved role in community life, the hotel reprises the extrava- gant lobby holiday decorations and experiences that enchanted children and adults for decades and served as a destination for families.
The Sazerac Bar, a Roosevelt landmark for decades, again serves its signature Sazerac cocktail and Ramos Gin Fizz – both invented in New Orleans and made populaworldwide by The Roosevelt – The Roosevelt also is known to hotel aficionados the world over as having inspired Arthur Haley’s best-selling 1965 novel »Hotel.«
Its worth to check in.
Restaurant tipp in New Orleans: Dragos Osyters
The chef de cuisine Drago served them »raw« or »charbroiled«. The Charbroiled version was the best one we ever had, first the oysters are filled with butter and garlic. Then it’s time for the next step, the grilling of the oysters, later on Parme- san and Romano Cheese. Yummy. Mother Nature made the oysters.
Wow, wow …Drago just perfected them. The best bite of food in New Orleans. It was joy to be in New Orleans.
