South Beach Miami

To escape the winter a good destination is with no doubt South Beach. We make a stop over for few days on our way to Saint Barth. The best hotel to stay there is the Delano even if I can complain about the rooms and shower rooms which are ridiculously small for the price they charge. You also need to be award that they will charge you with every thing they can like the umbrella on the beach. And that you may have to share your room with a Cockroach like we experience and that they absolutely don't care...no apologize. And you need to be award that they will not reply to your complain.

However, the Delano lobby is amazing, after 10 years it is still very hip, glamour and trendy.

We visit the new Mandrian...no interest, the location is bad, the design very "plastic fantastic". If you have seen the picture on a travel review you had seen all.

The Satay looks like a Disney setting

The Victor Hotel is very very faded

The Shore club don't bother... looks nice only in the dark

All the other hotel have no interest.

If you travel during the Stone Crab period make sure you have some. You can go to Joe Stone Crab restaurant we did not it was closed on Monday. 

Best restaurant for Lunch: Satay restaurant on the beach

Best diner : Azul at the Mandarin oriental downtown Miami

Best shopping place and experience: Webster

What to do: people watching at the Delano swimming pool, Chill out at the D beach and of course run, walk on the front beach path.

Chamonix

The ski season is open, the snow is here all perfect. Chamonix has a major face lift. With the ringing out of the old year and in with the new comes an enormous change . Elsewhere shops are empty and closing in Chamonix there is an enormous amount of fantastic new shops and restaurant openings capturing the spirit of the place .
Lets start by mentioning a major restaurant and bar opening with Cap Horn ( related only by the owner being the cousin of the piste restaurant in Courchevel ) . It has a super sushi bar , fab tapas Jazz bar and excellent restaurant : opposite is Munchie also very cool and some of the most interesting food in Chamonix - move over Nobu this is much better

Other major changes are the Boardrider shop , completely in the freeride spirit of Chamonix . People talk about Chamonix in many ways but often mention extreme sports and purity of sport . To be clear its been updated - you can ski wild on skis so fat that they could be two snow boards ( black crow was born here ) but you can shop in Chanel , see the beautiful people 20 years younger than Megeve and beautifully dressed in cutting edge ski wear and now chic evening wear . Watch out Courchevel and St Anton and Verbier- Chamonix is changing the beautiful , the wealthy and those avoiding the change in the swiss franc will all be here this year with shopping , eating and skiing to match every range from world champion skiers , russian oligarchs ; english bankers ( usually French but working in London) to boys and girls in camper vans who just want to ski . An exotic mix - IT WORKS - be there or be square .
Best of the Alps it is!

Favourite adresses in Chamonix:
Restaurants: Munchie, Bistro, La Remise d'Argentière
For lunch on the slope: "eat shit " or go to Courmayeur....best place Maison Vieille.
Woman fashion: Chanel
For mens clothing by on line: Mr Porter
Sport Shop: for training shoes : Ravanel and co
For ski boots and fitting see Jules at Sanglard
For skis and all technical equipment : Snell
For ski google: POC
For sportswear: peak performance
Best bread: Saint Hubert
For traditional Butcher (one of the best in france) : Minié
Hairdresser: Le Salon

Paris

Before the ski season, and when the Christmas decoration are on Paris is a wonderful destination.
After having staying in some of the best boutique hotel in Paris we want back to the real Palace and I have to say it is much much better. The Plaza Athénée is a great place the service is as it would be and even better than expected. The breakfast is delicious. They have a very trendy bar. The location is excellent on Avenue Montaigne, right in the luxury shopping district (Montaigne and close to Saint Honoré) You can walk to  the main Museum (Le Louvre, Musé d'Orsay, Branly, Musée d'Art Moderne, Palais de Tokyo). Ask the Concierge for the entrance ticket it will save you from queuing up.
For a fine dinning Lasserre is a very good choice, very France cuisine and nothing molecular. It is in amazing building with a retractable roof !

Tanzania Dar El Salem & Serengeti

If you fancy a long safari week end in Tanzania I highly recommend Singita Sabora tented Lodge in Grumeti Reserves.

To get there you need to  spend a night In Dar El Salam. The unique choice for the hotel is the Kilimangaro Hyatt. Probably the best hotel in town : good services, fine diner. The guest are very mix , business people, safari tourist, hunters, NOG workers, Chineses, airline crews.... which make it very interesting.

The next day you will have to fly at least to small planes to arrived in Grumeti Reserves. The Sabora Tented camp is a fix camp. We all the luxury you can dream off. Bath, air conditioning, fine cuisine, excellent service, spa. Two games are schedule per day... a great pleasure. For the first time we saw some  tree Lions, very amazing. What it is fantastic in this camp is that you are surrounded by wild life all the time. You see  during the day some zebrs, Buffalo...and you hear them during the night.

You can also have diner in the two other lodge they have in the Reserves.

Venise, Redemption day and Biennale

Venise is one of my favorite place on the planet. This particular moment of the year is magic. We saw the most beautiful and longest (45 mm) firework perform on the Grand Canal. We stay at Cipriani which is the best hotel for the summer as you can profit from the swimming pool. We attend a special diner at the Cip's on the terrace which is the absolute best location to watch the firework.
On sunday, we did an early footing to enjoy Venise without the crowd and use the privilege of crossing the pop up bridge across the islands.
Follow by the Biennale at the Arsenal and Punta del Dogna.
Best summer lunch: Griffit's on the Grand Canal.

ZANZIBAR

Voted one of the best and more exotic beach island in the world by Condé Naste.
Located in the Indian Ocean the Zanzibar Archipelago has gorgeous white sand beachs.  Now part of Tanzania it has been before controlled by the Sultanate of Oman and part of the British empire. As a result  there is a strong influence from Arabs, Indians, Africa and British.
Which make it a very special and colorful place.

Highlight: the color of the sand and its special texture. Watching the local fishing poulp at low tide. The beauty of women in there colorful outfit. The market. The wood doors in Stone town. the hotel. The local boats.

Best place to stay: Hotel Baraza. Open recently this five stars hotel really bright luxury to is highest to Zanzibar. The location is outstanding. The hotel is look like an Oman Sultan Palace with a very particular attention to details. It is all very well done. The service is immaculate.
Thing to do: Visit Stone town and the market. Dive. Run on the white beach. Reef walking.
June is a good time to go the raining season is finish, the temperature is very nice and there is not to many tourist.

Up date on José Ignacio

We have been enchanted by the charm of this little village , last year  So we decided to go back , to escape for a few days from the cold european winter season.
 We tried a new place in town: "Playa Vik" which has been reviewed in all the luxury travel magazine , coming out as a must go destination. Unfortunately, the place absolutely did not meet our expectations.     First of all, it is not finished and as a result , the guests had to suffer a lot of inconvenience. Secondly, it is more a villa rental than its seven star hotel billing(without any kitchen facilities though)                     The design is also very disappointing. The main building , which they call "the Sculpture " looks more like an Airport Terminal and looks very strange among , the village houses in JI that are a beautiful blend of edgy design and local architecture   . The way the villas themselves are poorly situated and do not really take advantage of the amazing ocean front view , in fact they ignore it. They also dont appreciate that having internal facing glass walls , leaves either no privacy or the need to have the blinds permanently closed

However, the location is excellent, right in the village, on the beach. They have a very nice outside fire place , where you can enjoy the sunset. To conclude, I will not recommend this place. Casa Suaya is probably the best choice.

Lunch: the best place to go is La Huella, great service, good food, excellent ambiance.
We also recommend, if you want to escape a few hours from the beach, to drive to the small village of Garzon an enjoy a fine lunch at El Garzon. The chef and owner Mallmann is one of the best chef in South America.

Diner:
Los Negos: the pop up restaurant of Malmann set in the unfinished Setai hotel. The design is very edgy,  a mix of rough concrete and lemons suspended with signature lighthouses everywhere in designer style....a must see.


Butia: restaurant of Casa Suaya. The chef Clo Dimet is a disciple of Francis Malmann. Her cuisine is more authentic. We really enjoyed it and Adolfo the owner understands the social graces of guests unlike his Playa Vik neighbours.

Estancia  Vik : for a Parillada barbecue( you need to book). The Parillada room has been painted by an edgy street artist and it is stunning. 


La Huella... of course

What to do: visit Estancia Vik during a polo match. Shopping at la Barra and Bikini (Converse shop, Osklen, Nike) . Drive to the laguna. Visit Pablo Atchugarry Foundation. Horse back ridding. Bike riding. Running on the beach. Watch the horses and cows! Birding. Drink Caipirinha at la Huella. Enjoy life....

LOng week end in South Africa

We started this long week end with a stop in Johannesburg.
Best place to stay: is in the modern and super chic Melrose Arch , which is located in a very nice and safe district, surrounded by shops and restaurants.
Best place for dinner:  The Butcher Shop in Nelson Mandela Square.
What to do : hire a car with chauffeur and have a complete tour of the town including Soweto.

ThEn we took a small plane to head to my favorite destination Kruger park. This time we stayed at Singita Ebony Lodge. You will never be disappointed by any of the Singita Games lodges. The service is immaculate, the game safaris are amazing and the cuisine and wine are the finest.
We were there in July , so Winter  , for this part of the world.                              Ebony is a great choice for this time of year , as is it much more cosy than Boulder. Absolutely love the place.

A long week end in Dubai.
This is a very good place for a long week end just before winter time is upon us. The temperature is very nice and the sea water amazingly warm.
Where to stay: of course at Burj Al Arab. Treat yourself with a suite at the best hotel on the planet (7 stars) and immerse in the abundance of Ali Baba legends of the persian gulf. The smallest suite has two floors, and the decoration is very opulent  , in night blue and gold shades. You will have your own butler ane the bathroom offers a wealth of Hermes products.
The only weak point: we were not very impressed by the breakfast  and too many people being let in he hotel who are not staying, taking pictures.
Dubai is a gourmet paradise, all of the best chefs of the world have a restaurant here. Our favorites are: for Lunch Pierchic and one&only Mirage.
For diner: Nobu , Armani, AL Mahara, all have delicious fine food and amazing design.
Highlights not to miss: the water show in the new Burj Kalifa, shopping at the Dubai Mall . A must see at the same place is the water fountain with the diver sculpture and the aquarium.  The gold and spice souk for a persian feel , which is super very busy near the pier , with sailors smuggling products to Iran.

Of course, swimming in the bath temperature ,  Persian gulf and incredible skyscraper watching , rising out of the sand.