
And the winners are...
Dear ravenous hearts, time to tame those grumbling tummies — live from London, the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2012 results are in! Will Noma savour its third consecutive win? Has our hometown Hong Kong scored more than one spot on the list? Click through for the full list of winners!

Green with envy
Looking for a little Turkish delight in Dubai? Well stop, it’s hammam time. Jumeirah Zabeel Saray‘s Talise Ottoman Spa is the decadently tricked out, black marble-slabbed babe that will leave you scrubbed, rubbed, kneaded and smooth as a baby’s. Girls get a Thallasotherapy salt pool, guys can get Russian and Finnish saunas, and everyone gets absolutely pampered to the hilt with a huge array of Carita Paris beauty services. Get rubbed and kneaded with the cleansing hammam ritual, using handmade pure olive oil soap, which can be paired with ethnic and therapeutic massages, body scrubs, polishes and mud wraps, as well as facial treatments that rejuvenate and defy age. True opulence as only the Middle East knows how.

For those who can stand the heat...ed marble beds
Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah. T: +971 453 0456. W: jumeirah.com
For more tips on what to do and where to get pampered in dazzling Dubai, check out our LUXE Dubai guide, or download our handy app with maps!
LUXE Link Roundup: Inside NYC’s NoMad Hotel, ‘A Taste of Noma’ news, and a jet-away to Marrakech
BY The LUXE Editors
Destination: Palais Namaskar, Marrakech
Welcome back to our weekly LUXE Links, in which we source some of the week’s best reads from around the web and around the world. This week, a chance to try Noma if you’re in London for the Olympics, a look inside New York City’s new boutique hotel NoMad, and a spotlight on Mexican fine dining at Pujol restaurant in Mexico City. Get clickin’, chickens!
Plan a getaway to a palace in Marrakech, complete with private jet service from Casablanca. Or should we say jet-away… [How To Spend It]
Super Chef René Redzepi to bring two-time World’s Best Resto to Claridge’s in London with ‘A Taste Of Noma’ pop up, taking resys now. [Eater]
A look inside New York City’s (finally open) boutique NoMad Hotel, plus an interview with its designers. [Cool Hunting]
What’s in DJ/model Leigh Lezark’s beauty closet? Hint: An enviable Chanel perfume collection. [Into The Gloss]
Fine dining in Mexico D.F. at Pujol restaurant, with nary a truffle or foie in sight. [A Life Worth Eating]

Mod concept store + historical Duomo = amore
A mod shop chock full of goodies from fashion gods Balmain, Altuzarra, Maison Martin Margiela and Isabel Marant? How could anyone with a pulse say no; off to Milan we go – where else? Centrally located in the Duomo, the Excelsior Milano is a seven-storey concept store designed by starchitect Jean Nouvel and helmed by Italian retailer Gruppo Coin. With five floors of runway-worthy brands and two more for drool-tastic nosh, we think the Excelsior Milano has just redefined “retail therapy”.
Galleria del Corso, 4, Milan, Italy. T: +39 02 7630 7301. W: excelsior-milano.it
For the complete guide to what’s fab in Milan, check out the LUXE Milan guide!
LUXE Link Roundup: News from elBulli, hotspots in Havana, and summer’s best island retreats
BY The LUXE Editors
We have found heaven, and it's here in Havana
Welcome back to our weekly LUXE Links, in which we source some of the week’s best reads from around the web and around the world. This week, news from the elBulli team, hot hotels in Havana, and an inside look at Helsinki, this year’s design capital. Get clickin’, chickens!
Ferran Adria’s right-hand men, a.k.a. the chefs from now-defunct El Bulli, to open new resto Compartir [Eater]
Coming Soon: Hemingway Hotel(s) based on the life and travels of the legendary writer [Hotel Chatter]
Havana-happy accom options and advice for the Cuba-curious [How To Spend It]
3.1 Phillip Lim finally joins world of e-commerce, fashionistas rejoice [W Magazine]
Purse-friendly private island retreats from Belize to Croatia, just in time for summer [Wall Street Journal]
What to see, hear, touch and taste in the 2012 world design capital, Helsinki [Travel + Leisure]

A view to warm every heart
If you’re the romantic type, or just the type that enjoys cocktails and sunsets, you’ll be delighted to discover The Bungalows Sunset Bar, the be-all-and-end-all of sunset tipple joints in the Cambodian capital. The Bungalows offer up heart-stopping views of the Phnom Penh sunset from a perch on the banks of the Mekong River – check your pulse. To sweeten the deal, all the prep work is done—all you have to do is step aboard The Butterfly Cambodia for a 20-minute river cruise, ferry over to The Bungalows, indulge in a few sundowner cocktails and a plate or two of shareables, before cruising back with a sappy smile on your face. You wild romantic, you!

Sweet dreams are made of these...
Sitting pretty at the heart of Singapore’s haute-cuisine scene is Restaurant ANDRÉ, a three-story 1920s shophouse that houses chef’s tables, main dining room, private atelier and wine cellar. Man of the moment André Chiang turns out dégustation lunches and dinners following a self-developed “octaphilosophy,” meaning that each meal revolves around eight key characteristics: unique, texture, memory, pure, terroir, salt, south and artisan. If that tells you nothing, picture dishes like rabbit loin with pancetta and mustard seeds (terroir) and chef staple foie gras jelly with black truffle coulis (memory). It’ll cost a pretty penny and something like a month’s wait to get in, but you just can’t resist, can you?
41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore. T: +65 6534 8880 W: restaurantandre.com
For the complete guide to what’s sweet in Singapore, check out the LUXE Singapore guide or download the handy mobile app with maps.

Why camp when you can GLAMP
Dear nature-loving hearts, has anyone else noticed a global explosion of luxury tented resorts? LUXE loves the great outdoors, but the idea of getting out in the elements with a flimsy, barely weather-proof tent and a Garden of Eden-esque loo situation has always made us decidedly queasy. But that all seems a thing of the past now, with ‘glamping’ spots cropping up all over the place. Check out Montana’s rustic-chic Paws Up ranch. City slickers can get away from it all without leaving behind ‘bare necessities’ like a king bed, heating/fans, slate bathrooms, WiFi, housekeeping and a ‘camping butler’. There’s a range of seasonal activities and hands down some of the most spectacular scenery you’re likely to find anywhere in the world. So what are you waiting for? Go see a man about a horse.
Or, try tiger-spotting at Aman-i Khas, Rajasthan, or elephant-riding at Four Seasons’ Tented Camp, Golden Triangle.

Sure beats a flimsy two-man

Not a port-a-loo in sight

Delish dining and a damn fine view, yes please

Starry, starry night

From Roppongi to the 101st floor of Hong Kong's ICC
Good news for Hong Kong foodies: triple Michelin starred RyuGin from Roppongi, Tokyo, has landed in the landmark ICC. Chef Seiji Yamamoto has transferred his top apprentice Hideaki Sato and five chefs from the Tokyo original to head RyuGin’s first overseas branch. Diners can try the famed 10-course Kaiseki menu ($1,980 per pax), which offers traditional dishes like premium monkfish liver from Hokkaido and special miso sauce (pictured below) alongside molecular dishes like the chef signature “-196 degree candy strawberry served with +99 degree strawberry jam”. All premium ingredients are flown directly from Japan, plus there are exclusive Japanese liquors hand selected by the in-house sommelier. Mmm… Kanpai, we say!

Best bring your appetite, as you've 8 more courses to go!
RyuGin Hong Kong. 101/F, ICC, 1 Austin Rd West, Kowloon. T: +852 2302 0222.

Still making noise after all these years
Amsterdam’s haute-est hotel has arrived, risen from the ashes of the iconic music academy Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The Conservatorium Hotel is all that jazz plus a design conscience, a groovy pad fit for businessmen and fashionistas alike. Conceptualised and designed by visionary owner Georgi Akirov and Milanese starchitect Piero Lissoni, the hotel pays homage to the hallowed halls of its history, but revamps the interiors with Dutch-meets-contempo-Italian gusto.

A modernist’s natural habitat goes glam
Step inside to 129 sleek suites and duplexes bathed in cream and brown, with wooden-planked floors and oriental embellishments like tribal masks, delft plates and vintage Asian rugs. Ranging from 30 to 170 sq m, each suite has comp Wi-Fi, espresso machines, mirror TVs and funky custom-made Lissoni furny.

Swank central at Tunes by Schilo
Goedeavond, hungry? Trot on down to Tunes Restaurant by Schilo for Dutch delectables whipped up by chef Schilo van Coevorden. If you prefer a casual nibble or tea and cake, head towards the hotel’s Brasserie and the Lounge. Too stuffed for food? Simply get comfy on the oversized plushy sofas at the Atrium and soak up the delightful ambiance.

Mix business with pleasure
Let’s say you’re not in Amsterdam for the dykes, bikes, waterways or cycleways. Bizzy-bees get perks like six meeting rooms equipped with state-of-the-art devices, signature Schilo cocktails and jam sessions at the intimate Tunes bar, and the largest cigar humidor in Europe, La Casa del Habano.

Time for a serene swim
The canal capital worn you out? Head to the spacious Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Retreat, a 1000 sq. m escape where you can eat organic at ‘Earth’, sweat bullets at ‘Fire’, ohm the day away at ‘Air’, and lather and dive at ‘Water’. Finally, proceed with the signature hammam treatments for stress relief. Bliss!
Van Baerlestraat, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. T: +31 (0) 20 570 0000 W: conservatoriumhotel.com
To discover more of Amsterdam’s fabulous stays, check out our LUXE Amsterdam guide.



