Wick tease - you know you want it
The summer holiday season is upon us and fabulous London perfumer, Ormonde Jayne, has released a set of scentsational travel candles and perfumes that pass the practical hand carry and style test. Not only are they chic and highly portable, it’s also a guarantee that you’ll always smell as fresh as frangipani, or osmanthus, or jasmine, whether in Bali, Beirut or en route.
Class eco glass at Grasshopper 510
Bucktown, Chicago, it’s a solid, no nonsense name for a once gritty neighbourhood built on the backs of Eastern European immigrants, now tapped with the gentrification wand. Hipsters, yuppies and artists have moved in, century-old clapboard cottages are making way for low-rise lofts and farms have long gone, replaced by funky, out there and independent stores burning bright in the retail and design scene. The main boutique strip of Nth Damen cleaves Bucktown right down the middle, but get your walking boots on for this half-mile of women’s and home style.
Purrrr... Hello, gorgeous
Introducing the ultimate luxury travel accessory. To celebrate the Year of The Tiger, Shanghai Tang and LUXE City Guides have launched the stunning limited edition, heirloom White Tiger Chest – the epitome of style for the discerning and sophisticated traveller. Each individually numbered and engraved collector’s box is handmade in maple and ebony veneer marquetry, lined in kumquat silk satin and contains thirty fabulous LUXE City Guides. Go get it, Tiger!
FREE internet in the desert at Amangiri
As you know, dear reader, if there’s one thing we hate more than being ripped off, it’s being ripped off for life’s essentials. Rather than climbing back onto our high horse following our piece on extortionate hotel and internet charges, we’ve decided instead to shower bouquets on major hotels that do provide free internet. After all, these days, internet = oxygen, and it’s no longer a matter of being able to pay, it’s that hotels shouldn’t be charging in the first place. Kudos then, to the very few major hotel groups that don’t gouge you for getting online.
What a viewtiful world we live in
A great hotel bar is a joy to behold, and even better with your poison of choice in hand. It’s a salve for weary travellers and an escape for local denizens, all tinged with the frisson of a chance international encounter. Of course, there are any number of factors which make a hotel bar great, not least of which are the cocktails, but to really make you feel like you’re connected to the city, it’s hard to beat a knockout view and setting. So, sorry Bar Hemingway, we love you, but sometimes a gal’s gotta give a little extra, and these babies really put the oh AND the aah into panorama…
Stagger-fab views at Khayangan Estate
The Bali season is almost upon us and for LUXE, it’s all about villas; 24-hour hot and cold staff, privacy, luxury and value. For years however, it’s been out with the old and in with the new as owners and visitors fell big time for the minimalist Bali modern look – heavy on stone, glass and un-eco concrete, and all too often looking like a million moddy gaffs anywhere in the world. We’re thrilled to see then, that the latest crop of our favourite properties on the Isle of the Gods celebrates local craftsmanship and detail in the form of rebuilt antique wooden Javanese joglo houses, many of which were saved from demolition. Think unique architecture, exquisite fretwork, lashings of teak with no nasty nails, and all without compromising on modern comforts. The new Bali joglos put the tongue in groovy carpentry…
Squid Caramelized, Onion Puree and Ink Croutons
Hot on Shanghai‘s foodies’ lips aren’t Sichuan chillis, but the opening of casual, convivial Mod Euro resto Table No. 1 by Jason Atherton. Why? Well, it’s in The Waterhouse at South Bund, one of the city’s newest design hotels, but it’s Jase’s name that’s tickling gastronomes’ palates. He’s done the rounds in the kitchens of Pierre Koffman, Marco Pierre White, Ferran Adrià, and most recently was Gordon Ramsay’s man for maze and maze Grill, as Executive Chef for this gastro empire that spans London, Prague, New York, Cape Town, Melbourne and Dubai.
Ooh la la – even better on your own velo [Photo by Grufnik/Flickr]
It’s nearly summer in Europe – Londoners are cracking smiles, Parisians are putting extra ooh into their bonjours, Barcelonans are back on the boardwalk, Berliners are baring their baps und wursts and the fashionable Milanese, well, their sunglasses never came off, but they’ve shed their furs. Each of these fab five also has a simple bike-sharing public transport program that’s affordable, hassle free and as easy as, um, riding a bike. Simply buy a subscription, choose your bike and off you go. When you’re done, just return your pedals to any of the stands conveniently scattered around the city. It’s easy, eco-friendly, butt-firming, hair-ruining fun, with some sightseeing thrown in, so pop on your matador pants and go.
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