NETJETS EU VOLUME 17 2022

MEXICAN MARVELS
Hotel news from
city to beach
ANNUAL BENEFIT
A London charity
making a difference
LOUISIANA STYLE
The culinary scene in
New Orleans rebooted
BY DESIGN
Salone del Mobile’s
best creations
GREEN DREAM
The Ozarks plays host
to a golfing paradise

TAKING OFF
THIS MAGAZINE GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY to share details about wonderful
places to travel. In this issue we highlight countries and cities that inspire
the mind, awaken the senses and captivate the soul. From the latest
restaurant openings in the Big Easy to a portfolio of new and noteworthy
stops in Mexico, each feature reminds us to discover new destinations.
Travel aside, we also take a moment for self-care, as wellness continues to be an area of focus.
Our editors expound on the benefits of spending time outside each day – especially in
green spaces. Whether you look to an outdoor wellness retreat or an app that tracks your time
in nature, you can reduce stress and lower blood pressure with even a simple walk.
Finally, we look at the triumphant return of NetJets events with a very special dinner at
Alchemist, and we share profiles of outstanding Crewmembers.
Wherever your travels take you this season, we hope they are extraordinary.
Adam Johnson
Chairman and CEO
C O N T R I B U T O R S
JENI PORTER
The Copenhagenbased
writer met
up with Anders
Kirk Johansen,
a scion of one of
Denmark’s most
notable families, and
discussed collecting
vintage cars,
restoring opulent
villas and more for
A Dynamic Approach
(page 32).
BRUCE WALLIN
In Mexico Now
(page 60), the
experienced travel
writer, who is based
in the country,
finds it blossoming
with new resorts
on its Caribbean
and Pacific coasts,
bijou boltholes in
the vibrant cities
and fresh culinary
options aplenty.
FIONA McCARTHY
Salone del Mobile
returned after a
pandemic-induced
hiatus and with it
came designs of
graphic shapes,
whimsical sentiment
and indoor-outdoor
style, according to
our lifestyle scribe,
who reports from
Milan for Thoughtful
Furniture (page 54).
MATT SATERNUS
In Not the Usual
Suspects (page 38),
the expert on all
things from tee to
green and editorin-chief
of Plugged
in Golf takes a look
at some innovative
manufacturers
creating clubs that
differ from the norm
and balls that bend
the rules.
JÖRN KASPUHL
The German
illustrator creates
images of the
great outdoors
for Nature’s Cure
(page 44), which
examines the
healing qualities
of forests, fields,
beaches and more
for ailments from
depression to
diabetes.
This symbol throughout the magazine denotes the nearest airport served by NetJets to the
story’s subject, with approximate distances in miles and kilometres where applicable.
6 NetJets

CONTENTS
8 NetJets

DESERT ESCAPE
Little Kulala, Namibia,
page 44
44 16 64 60
HELPING HANDS
The annual dinner of The
October Club is a boon for
up-and-coming charities
pages 12-15
IN THE NEWS
Must-visit cities, desirable
drinks, technological
wellness and more
pages 16-27
NETJETS UPDATE
The magic of Alchemist,
growing the fl eet and
staff in profi le
pages 28-30
BUILDING A LEGACY
Anders Kirk Johansen is
making his passions
very much his business
pages 32-35
FAIRWAY FLARE
Golfing in the Ozarks
is taking a step up, plus
the latest equipment
pages 38-43
CALL OF THE WILD
The great outdoors can
provide a healing balm
for body and mind
pages 44-52
DESIGN FOR LIVING
Salone del Mobile’s return
was marked by a plethora
of inspired creations
pages 54-59
MEXICAN EVOLUTION
From the Pacific to the
Caribbean, new hotels and
culinary options abound
pages 60-67
BIG EASY EATS
The restaurant scene
in New Orleans is tasting
better than ever
pages 72-75
LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
West Sonoma Coast’s
vineyards keep producing
wines of distinction
pages 76-81
COUNTRY PRIDE
The Whitney Museum in
Manhattan is a remarkable
chronicler of America art
pages 82-89
THE LAST WORD
A cutural oasis is coming
to California thanks to
Toyozo Shimano
page 90
TEAGAN CUNNIFFE, ISTOCK, ARTUR BEGEL, THE INGALLS
BOUNCING BACK
Rubber straps play a fi ne
supporting role in the latest
reel of sporty watches
pages 68-71
9

NETJETS, THE MAGAZINE
FRONT COVER
An aerial shot from the
Yucatán Peninsula
(See page 60).
Image by Tom Hegen
SPRING 2022 // VOLUME 17
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Thomas Midulla
EDITOR
Farhad Heydari
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Anne Plamann
PHOTO DIRECTOR
Martin Kreuzer
ART DIRECTOR
Anja Eichinger
MANAGING EDITOR
John McNamara
SENIOR EDITOR
Brian Noone
STAFF WRITER
Claudia Whiteus
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR
Vicki Reeve
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Albert Keller
SEPARATION
Jennifer Wiesner
WRITERS, CONTRIBUTORS,
PHOTOGRAPHERS AND
ILLUSTRATORS
Jim Clarke, Lauren Ho,
Jörn Kaspuhl, Fiona McCarthy,
Jen Murphy, Jeni Porter,
Julian Rentzsch, Josh Sims,
Robin Skjoldborg, Elisa Vallata,
Bruce Wallin, Jeremy Wayne,
Xavier Young
Published by JI Experience
GmbH Hanns-Seidel-Platz 5
81737 Munich, Germany
GROUP PUBLISHER
Christian Schwalbach
Michael Klotz (Associate)
ADVERTISING SALES
Katherine Galligan
katherine@metropolist.co.uk
Vishal Raguvanshi
vishal@metropolist.co.uk
NetJets, The Magazine is the offi cial
title for Owners of NetJets in Europe.
NetJets, The Magazine is published
quarterly by JI Experience GmbH on
behalf of NetJets Management Ltd.
NetJets Management Ltd
5 Young Street
London, W8 5EH England,
United Kingdom
netjets.com
+44 (0)20 7361 9600
Copyright © 2022
by JI Experience GmbH. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part without the express written
permission of the publisher is strictly
prohibited. The publisher, NetJets
Inc., and its subsidiaries or affi liated
companies assume no responsibility
for errors and omissions and are
not responsible for unsolicited
manuscripts, photographs, or artwork.
Views expressed are not necessarily
those of the publisher or NetJets Inc.
Information is correct at time of
going to press.
10 NetJets

NEW BOND ST. ROYAL EXCHANGE SLOANE ST. WESTBOURNE GROVE
SMYTHSON.COM

DUNCAN SOAR
GOODWILL
The October Club
With mid-sized charities in their sights, this City of
London foundation – named after the month of its
gala event – is making an outsized difference to a huge
range of disadvantaged people// By Josh Sims
IT’S PERHAPS INEVITABLE that when you pitch a
business plan to a bunch of investment managers,
they’re going to ask some taxing questions.
“We’re all data geeks so look for evidence
of the impact that an investment might
have,” laughs Henry Knapman, previously an
Investment Banker for 20-plus years at Swiss
Bank UBS who has spent the last two years as
a senior industry adviser to HM Treasury. He’s
also the current chairman of The October Club,
a City of London-based group of fellow experts
in equities – those focusing on trading and
investing in shares – which for more than three
decades has been supporting charities with their
next big leap forward. These are the charities
that get a brunchtime grilling. But each year, one
of them comes away with a sizeable pay day.
It all culminates with a grand dinner at The
Savoy each October – a much-loved annual
get-together for around 400 of the City’s equities
professionals and what has, in effect, become
a hot-ticket trade event. “Everyone wants to be
in the room, so we have a lot of pricing power,”
says Knapman, putting it in suitably business-like
terms. “More people want to come to the event
than we have capacity for because it’s the main
event in the calendar where senior participants in
London’s equity markets come together”
But there is more to this black-tie do than
a good party. Thirty-five years ago, a group of
equities professionals held a charity dinner to
raise money for a colleague diagnosed with
leukaemia. It was such a successful event
that it became an annual fundraiser – though,
notes Knapman, it’s only in recent years that
what came to be known as The October Club
has become a registered Community Interest
Company and professionalised its governance.
And, seeing as the dinner now raises close
on £1 million, and has several major banking
brands as key sponsors, that is just as well.
What hasn’t changed is the focus with which
The October Club – so-called, though it doesn’t
have any members per se – then gives away
such a sum. It’s always to a single charity and
to one of a certain size, with revenue between
£500,000 and £2.5 million.
“The feeling is that the Club can have a bigger
impact when the money is directed to just one
charity, which sounds obvious, though the proof
is in the fact that many charities have done
fantastically well since we backed them,” explains
Knapman. “But the money also goes to a charity
of a size that means it tends to get ignored. A lot
of funders out there give money to charity, but
there’s rarely the appetite to support the size of
CAPTURING THE MOOD
Photographer David Yarrow (with mic)
donated one of his works, The Barber
off Fairfax, for an October Club auction
12 NetJets

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GOODWILL
charity that is beyond the tin-rattling phase but
not big enough to attract the big funders either.
The October Club doesn’t want to swamp a charity
with the money, nor give the money to a charity to
whom it just doesn’t mean that much.”
Selecting said charity can sound akin to
testing recruits for the SAS. The October Club
receives up to 100 applicants each year, and its
sub-committee is charged with whittling these
down to just 12. The full committee - just 19
people, all City professionals who volunteer their
time, keeping the Club’s overheads to the bare
minimum – then narrows these down to three,
independently verifies their applications, and then
gives each a half- hour slot to make their pitch.
From these, just one is chosen. Among those
supported in the past are the diverse likes of the
Spinal Injuries Association, WellChild, Auditory
Verbal and the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. But what
draws The October Club to these winners?
In part, it’s about the potential for
transformation: one key quality the Club is
looking for is a charity whose work can really
make genuine progress thanks to this large cash
injection, and a charity that knows how to bring
this transformation about.
“After all, this is the biggest single amount of
income we’ve ever had, and that enables us to
plan, to think in terms of staffing, to take a much
longer-term vision in a way we haven’t been able
to before,” explains Alex Smith, founder of The
Cares Family, last year’s October Club charity of
choice, which applied unsuccessfully in 2020
but, after the appointment of its first CEO and an
effort to put its operational planning on a more
professional footing, struck gold on its second
attempt. It’s a group of local community networks
connecting young professionals and older
neighbours in a bid to tackle rocketing reports of
loneliness at both ends of the age spectrum.
“We realised we couldn’t scale ourselves up
indefinitely. We needed a new model,” adds
Smith, explaining how The Cares Family outlined
its plans to The October Club. “We know that
model needs to be one that teaches people to do
what we already know how to do, that identifies
bridge-builders all over the country and supports
them in a leadership programme, but which also
allows us to develop the toolkit to find people who
can apply our model of intergenerational social
clubs locally, under their own name. That’s how
we aim to transform what we do.”
But, Knapman says, instinct also plays a
significant role in the Club’s choice: “Every year
there’s a couple of charities applying that just
WINNING SMILES
A race day at Ascot
is a precursor to the
annual dinner
press our buttons,” he says, explaining that
these are often the ones that seem particularly
pertinent to the times. The looming publichealth
and social crisis around loneliness – and
hence the work of The Cares Family – became
much more apparent over the pandemic, for
example. Another October Club charity, James’
Place, with its mission to stop men dying by
suicide, similarly seemed notably relevant during
the UK’s first Covid lockdown, with reports that
suicide numbers consequently spiked.
“Just as intuition can play a part in
investment, so it can play a part in selecting the
charity each year,” explains Knapman. “Likewise,
just as when the committee members invest
in shares, so they put a lot of importance on
assessing the quality of the charity’s management
team, whether it has a good product, and
whether that product looks to be of growing
importance over years to come. Identifying those
attributes is the training of everyone in the room
– and they apply the same philosophy here in
selecting a charity to support.”
It’s not just a transformative cash pile that
this group of finance industry insiders is able
to offer, either. Mentorship, encouragement
“Just as gut feeling can play a part in
investment, so it can play a part in selecting
the charity each year” – Henry Knapman
14 NetJets

and connections can prove transformative too.
Through the doors that The October Club could
open, the Honeypot Children’s Charity, which
helps young carers of parents and siblings,
was able to become Downing Street’s charity
of the year – which in turn greatly helped raise
its profile, of course – while one sponsor was
so impressed by their work they gifted an extra
£50,000. James’ Place was able to find a new
City premises through October Club contacts.
“Those kinds of connections can prove
enormously useful when a charity is going
through a growth phase – just becoming
an October Club charity suggests a positive
direction and helps build momentum,” Knapman
argues. “And the more we can get The October
Club’s name out there, so more and better
charities will hear about it and maybe apply.”
It’s connections that help The October
Club raise the money too. The Savoy dinner
raises the bulk of the Club’s funds (an event
at Ascot also helps) through sponsorship
from the equities world’s big players, the likes
of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and
Schroders, as well as through table sales.
Some half of the money is generated on the
night through bets on a fun 10-horse race – the
winner gets their name inscribed on the October
Club Stakes’ trophy, made by the goldsmiths
behind the Cheltenham Gold Cup trophy – but
also through an auction of art works, holidays
and luxury experiences compiled through working
the committee members’ little black books.
Among recent lots has been a huge photo by
one-time hedge-fund manager turned acclaimed
wildlife photographer David Yarrow. Alex, The
Telegraph newspaper cartoonist, provides an
original work each year too – indeed, The October
DUNCAN SOAR
CHOSEN ONES
The Cares Family, which tackles
loneliness in society, was The
October Club’s charity for 2021
Club dinner always gets a mention in the paper’s
Alex cartoon on the day of the event.
Since the chosen charity doesn’t know how
much money will be made on the night, “it
makes for a deeply exciting evening,” says Alex
Smith of his experiences, with just a hint of
irony. “Of course, you’re always aware that some
people in the room might be more motivated by
the cause than others. And by the end of the
evening I was exhausted.”
Certainly, bringing together a collection
of tempting lots is not the only way in which
the work of The October Club is intimately
connected to London’s equities sector. Knapman
concedes that the money it raises each year
does seem to go up and down with the broad
sentiments of the market, “so the week that
Lehman Brothers went bust in 2008 there was a
mood that wasn’t quite so giving,” he chuckles.
“In fact, one of the problems in having the
dinner in October is that historically that’s been
a month of market volatility.”
Not that this seems to really hamper the
enthusiasm for backing a good cause. Last
year, The October Club raised £910,000, with
diners expressing their post-pandemic pent-up
desperation to get into their dinner suits and
frocks and hit the town. “You could feel the
overexcitement in the room,” Knapman recalls.
So, indeed, why not just make it a bigger room,
with more tables to sell?
Much as The October Club targets an
overlooked sweet spot in the charity world, so
it operates within a sweet spot too. Keeping
the annual event at the size that it is allows
it to retain the cachet that drives the desire to
be one of the lucky diners in the first place. A
much bigger event, Knapman argues, would
not have the same mystique. Sure, he says,
raising even more money “would be a nice
problem to have”, but right now The October
Club raises just the right amount to help the
kind of charities it wants to help.
It’s just the sort of strategic financial thinking
that one might hope to get from, well, an
investment banker – and the sort that has
kept the club going strong over the years.
theoctoberclub.co.uk
COURTESY THE CARES FAMILY
NetJets
15

THE SMART GUIDE
DISPATCHES FROM ROUND THE GLOBE
From the creative vibes of Tinseltown and Africa’s Mother City to the hotels that have
revived the Spanish capital, the places that need to be on your must-visit list kick off
our guide to the brightest, the best, the newest and the boldest // By Lauren Ho
WITH ITS EVOCATIVE cityscape
of ancient ruins, impressive
basilicas and elaborate
piazzas, alongside an
astounding artistic heritage, it’s
easy to see why Rome is one
of the world’s most captivating
cities. Now its allure has
reached new heights, thanks
to the arrival of a clutch of
new hotels that started with
the opening of The Hoxton
(thehoxton.com), followed
closely by W Rome (marriott.
com), and then Soho House
(sohohouse.com), which
launched in November 2021.
Here, 49 bedrooms and 20
long-stay apartments, along
with the brand’s signature
club offerings – including a
rooftop pool – are housed in
a ten-storey building in the
San Lorenzo neighbourhood.
Coming soon, the historic
jewellery brand Bulgari
(bulgari.com) will make a
grand homecoming with the
opening of its latest hotel in
a 1930s building on Piazza
Augusto Imperatore, while
other global luxury brands
putting a stamp on the Eternal
© THE HOXTON
GIULIA VENANZI
LA DOLCE VITA
Brunch at Cugino at The Hoxton, Rome,
above; view over the Eternal City from
the rooftop pool of Soho House
ROME
16 NetJets

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MADRID
© MANDARIN ORIENTAL
THE SMART GUIDE
FRANCISCO NOGUEIRA
IBERIAN EXCELLENCE
Clockwise from above: the spa at the
Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid; Pedro
Pena Bastos (left) in CURA, in the Four
Seasons Hotel Ritz, Lisbon; Kimiyo
Mishima’s Work 18-CS5, 2018, in the
Portuguese capital’s Sokyo gallery
City are Anantara (anantara.
com), Six Senses (sixsenses.
com), designed by Milan-based
Patricia Urquiola, and The
Rome EDITION (editionhotels.
com).
Up first for The EDITION’s
European collection, though,
is a 200-room property in the
heart of Madrid, near Puerta
de Sol, which will feature
a rooftop terrace and pool.
Madrid is, in fact, experiencing
something of a revival, thanks
to the arrival of a host of topof-the-line
hotels including the
recently launched Rosewood
Villa Magna (rosewoodhotels.
com), the Mandarin Oriental
Ritz (mandarinoriental.com),
which now occupies the
city’s iconic 110-year-old Ritz
hotel, and The Four Seasons
(fourseasons.com), which is
part of the Centro Canalejas
project, a mammoth eight-year
undertaking that has revived
a city block of seven historic
buildings in the city centre, a
few steps from Kilometre Zero.
On the west coast of the
Iberian Peninsula, meanwhile,
Lisbon is seeing exceptional
development as well: the
© FOUR SEASONS
Four Seasons Hotel Ritz
(fourseasons.com) recently
launched a series of newly
refurbished guest rooms and
also just gained a Michelin
star for CURA, where head
chef Pedro Pena Bastos draws
inspiration from Lisbon’s rich
palette of seasonal ingredients.
The city’s gastronomy scene
LISBON
18 NetJets

continues to flourish with
the recent opening of Dear
Breakfast (dearbreakfast.com),
and Ofício (oficiolisboa.pt),
a “tasco” or street restaurant
serving elevated traditional
Portuguese dishes – from
stuffed spider crab to firecooked
skate – in a newly
designed setting by local
studio, Spacegram. Elsewhere
in Portugal’s capital, Sokyo
Gallery, the contemporary
ceramics art gallery from Kyoto,
has launched Sokyo Lisbon
(sokyolisbon.com), while
Barcelona-based designer
Lázaro Rosa-Violán has taken
his maximalist style to the next
level with an outrageous design
for The Ivens (theivenshotel.
com), a new hotel that takes
its inspiration from Portugal’s
history of exploration. The
city’s hospitality landscape will
be further boosted this year
with the opening of a series
of new properties, including
the much-awaited Palácio
Ludovice (palacioludovice.
com), Hotel Hotel
(hotelhotel.pt), The Curator
(curatorhotelsandresorts.
com), and an outpost from the
supremely hip Mama Shelter
(mamashelter.com) brand.
Much farther west, the
Four Seasons Napa Valley
TASTE AND STYLE
Linguini de Lavagante from The Ivens,
Lisbon; comfort in a cottage at Auberge
Resorts’ Stanly Ranch, Napa Valley
(fourseasons.com) brings
a delightful boost to North
America’s food and wine
capital, which will soon see
the return of its Truffle Festival
(napatrufflefestival.com) as
well as the Napa Lighted Art
Festival (festivalnapavalley.org)
which is a celebration of
creative arts. Coming soon is
the opening of Stanly Ranch
(aubergeresorts.com), a
285ha working private ranch
on the banks of the Napa
River, which is the latest
offering from Auberge Resorts.
The Los Angeles culinary
scene continues to move
apace with the upcoming
launches of an abundance of
much anticipated restaurants
including an offering from
Tommy Salvatore (instagram.
com/tommysbeverlyhills),
who spent years cultivating
relationships at celebrity
hotspot Craig’s, and is now
opening a place of his own in
the former Bouchon space,
with chef Vartan Abgaryan.
Chef Lincoln Carson,
meanwhile, is opening a
French-inspired bistro called
Mes Amis (mesamisla.com) in
the recently opened Thompson
Hollywood (hyatt.com),
which has been designed by
London-based Tara Bernerd &
Partners to feature a bold West
Coast modernist aesthetic. In
other hotel news, designer
Kelly Wearstler blends vintage
and modern at the recently
opened 147-room Downtown
Los Angeles Proper Hotel
(properhotel.com), which
has a city-view rooftop pool
alongside two destination
restaurants in partnership with
James Beard Award-winning
local chef Suzanne Goin and
NUNO CORREIA
© STANLY RANCH
NAPA VALLEY/LA
NetJets
19

NEW YORK
THE INGALLS
THE SMART GUIDE
Caroline Styne. Later this year,
Soho House is set to land with
its fourth Los Angeles opening,
Little House West Hollywood
(sohohouse.com), a 34-room
bolthole set over three floors
with a courtyard bar, a new
restaurant concept and views
of the Hollywood Hills and
Downtown Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in North
America, New York’s NoMad
District and neighbouring
Flatiron District have already
been making waves in the
culinary department with a raft
of new restaurants including
The Gallery (odogallery.nyc)
and Sushi Muse (sushimuse.
com) – a sushi delivery
service – from chef Hiroki
Odo, Evgeny Zhuravlev’s
L’Adresse (ladressenyc.com),
and Tortazo (tortazo.com) from
Rick Bayless. Soon-to-open
is the Ritz-Carlton New York,
NoMad (ritzcarlton.com) as
well as a new offering from
Virgin Hotels (virginhotels.
FROM THE CITY TO THE SEA
From top: The Proper Hotel in
Downtown LA; sunloungers at
Cabo Beach Club, Cape Town
com), The Fifth Avenue Hotel
(thefifthavenuehotel.com)
designed by Martin Brudnizki,
and a stateside outpost of
London’s The Ned (thened.
com), which will, like its
British sibling, be housed in an
iconic, heritage-imbued space.
Cape Town continues
to prove its worth as
South Africa’s prime urban
destination, with the
launch of The Rockefeller
(newmarkhotels.com), a
new hotel in Foreshore
with a rooftop pool set
against a backdrop of Table
Mountain, Canvas Collective
(canvascollectiveafrica.com),
an ultra-luxe glamping
experience that can set up
© CABO BEACH CLUB
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THE SMART GUIDE
camp across any number of
epic locations across South
Africa, and a top-to-toe refurb
of the city’s iconic Winchester
Hotel (newmarkhotels.com) on
Sea Point Promenade. Here,
alongside the newly overhauled
signature Harvey’s Bar, is
Shoreditch House, a smokeand-fire
restaurant, which
serves up sharing plates like
the smoky braaied corn and
seared tuna tacos alongside
meat dishes such as the Dirty
Ribeye with chimichurri. At
ëlgr (elgr.co.za), chef Jesper
Nilsson serves a modern
offering that focuses on fresh
seasonal produce with dishes
like toast with lardo and
anchovy, or the cucumber and
celery salad dressed with fish
sauce, lime and coriander,
in a low-key Scandinavianinspired
setting that takes
its cues from his Swedish
background. Meanwhile, chef
and restaurateur Andrew Kai
has launched Tomson, a bijou
Asian restaurant inspired by
the Cantonese classics – think
crispy pork belly and wonton
– that he grew up with. This
sits next to his other venture,
Max Bagels (maxbagels.
com), which now transforms
CAPE TOWN
into Leo’s Wine Bar at night.
On the wine front, urbanist,
curator and publisher Zahira
Asmal has recently launched
Cultivate (cultivatecollective.
co.za), an oenophilic initiative
that is redefining the future
of black South African
winemakers. Over at the V&A
Waterfront docks, Ryan Cole
– former head chef at The
Test Kitchen and co-founder
of Salsify at The Roundhouse
– has pulled out all the
stops with Cabo Beach Club
(cabobeachclub.co.za). This
new hotspot, with its all-day
beach vibes, has a number
of cool hangout spaces,
including an indulgent caviar,
CAPE TOWN COOL
From top:
The Winchester
Hotel’s pool; the bar
at The Rockefeller
NICHOLAS VAN DER TOUW HEIN VAN TONDER
22 NetJets

Monaco
Marina of Fontvieille
Stunning duplex penthouse
with spacious terrace and
private swimming pool
offering over 500 sq m living
space and panoramic views
of the Prince’s Palace and
the Marina.
Ref. BQMC-AD5001V
Price on Application
France
Roquebrune Cap Martin
Superb, south-facing, fully
renovated 127 sq m duplex
penthouse with panoramic
views of the Mediterranean
and Monaco.
Located moments away
from the Principality and
the beach, the apartment
is spread out over two floors
and counts 97 sq m living
area and 30 sq m terraces.
Ref. BQFR-SB404V
Price on Application
20 avenue de la Costa - Principality of Monaco
Tel: +33 6 80 86 47 09 contact@berry-quinti.com
www.bq-internationalrealty.com

KEVIN MAK
THE SMART GUIDE
champagne and oyster deck as
well as two restaurants.
Hong Kong is another
global capital that has been
busy, most prominently with
the West Kowloon Cultural
District (westkowloon.hk),
one of the largest cultural
projects in the world. Based
on a Foster + Partners
masterplan, it has been
nearly a quarter of a century
in the making and blends
art, education, performance,
exhibition centres, green open
spaces, hotels, and dining and
entertainment venues over 40
hectares of reclaimed land.
Already open is Freespace,
a venue for contemporary
performance; the Xiqu
Centre, a space dedicated to
traditional Chinese theatre; Art
Park, an open-air exhibition
destination; and the standout
M+ Museum, which is the
most recent to debut. Most
anticipated in the months to
come is the Hong Kong Palace
Museum, a space dedicated to
Chinese art and culture, which
will house over 800 Chinese
national treasures across nine
galleries. Elsewhere, Hong
Kong’s food scene continues to
thrive with the recent opening
of both Aqua (aqua.com.hk)
and its sister brand Hutong in
the stylish new H Zentre, and
the relaunch of the renovated
Central Market (centralmarket.
hk), which occupies a 1939
listed building. Also at the
forefront of sustainable dining,
Hong Kong just received its
first Michelin Green star thanks
to the efforts of Michelinstarred
Roganic (roganic.com.
hk) for its commitment to
provenance of ingredients from
local farms.
ART RISING
Installation view of “Individuals,
Networks, Expressions,” above,
and Fang Lijun’s “1995.2” at
M+ Museum, Hong Kong, right
ROME CIAMPINO AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE: 8miles/13km
MADRID-BARAJAS AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE: 11miles/18km
LISBON AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE: 4miles/6km
NAPA COUNTY AIRPORT TO FOUR SEASONS NAPA VALLEY/STANLY RANCH:
34 miles/7 miles; 55km/11km
HOLLYWOOD BURBANK AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES: 3miles/5km
HOBOKEN AIRPORT TO NEW YORK NOMAD: 6miles/10km
CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO V&A WATERFRONT: 12miles/19km
HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO WEST KOWLOON: 21miles/34km
© FANG LIJUN
24 NetJets

LEGACY OF LIFESTYLE
For 50 years, Quinta do Lago has established its reputation as one of the most desirable locations for prime real
estate and a world-leader in luxury lifestyle. In its semi-centennial year, there is no better time than now to invest
in this world-class destination.
Surrounded by three immaculate golf courses, including the €7 million upgraded South Course, world-class sports
and fitness hub, The Campus, and sublime gastronomic experiences, in Quinta do Lago, a luxurious lifestyle of
wellness is enjoyed beside a protected coastal nature reserve and the breath-taking shores of Portugal’s Algarve.
With its sustained investment securing the future for generations to come, Quinta do Lago’s stunning properties
and coveted plots are now available for discerning buyers looking to make a truly life-changing investment in a
timeless destination.
T. +351 289 392 754 | E. realestate@quintadolago.com
wwww.quintadolago.com

THE SMART GUIDE
All-Round Living
Enlivening elixirs, an ambitious project, technological marvels and
must-read books on how to explore the Continental way of life
Spirits of Adventure
1
3 5
6
7
4
2
1 THE GLENDRONACH AGED 50 YEARS The oldest and rarest whisky from the Highland distillery has been aged for five decades in rare Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry
casks. Just 198 bottles of the single malt will be available worldwide. glendronachdistillery.co.uk // 2 THE MACALLAN THE REACH Another single malt breaking the age
barrier, The Reach, presented in a decanter cradled on a bronze sculpture of three hands, was laid down in 1940, a smooth-tasting remnant of turbulent times. themacallan.com
// 3 THE SINGLETON 39-YEAR-OLD Master of malt of The Singleton Maureen Robinson has taken a vintage matured in a variety of casks and finished it in French Bordeaux
ones, ensuring a taste that captures single malt scotch with a hint of exquisite European wines. thesingleton.com // 4 GRAND MARNIER RÉVÉLATION A subtle twist is
placed in the mix as only a dash of bigaradia essence is added to XXO cognac to produce a liqueur in which primary flavours are heightened as the sweetness is curbed.
grandmarnier.com // 5 L’OR DE JEAN MARTELL ZODIAC EDITION The first in a range celebrating the Chinese New Year and available in just 700 decanters, Assemblage du
Tigre is a rich and complex cognac to mark the Year of the Tiger in 2022. martell.com // 6 ARTINGSTALL’S GIN From the creative minds of Hollywood director Paul Feig and
Wisconsin’s Minhas Micro Distillery comes a gin made from 11 botanicals, including orris root, coriander, cassia bark and cardamom. artingstallsgin.com // 7 COMPASS
BOX VELLICHOR The latest limited-edition blend from the iconoclastic whiskymaker aims to evoke the nostalgia associated with second-hand bookshops, using rare, sherrymatured
blends with malt whiskies from Highland Park and Macallan, together with a smidgen of very old whisky from the Caol Ila Distillery. compassboxwhisky.com
CALIFORNIA
DREAMS
A MAN WITH A PASSION, Toyozo “Toyo” Shimano is creating a very special one in the Golden State. 1921 is a state-of-the-art space
in Thermal, California, where Shimano is both honouring the past and ushering in the future. The name marks the year that
Shimano’s grandfather, Shozaburo, opened Shimano Iron Works in Sakai, Japan, and 1921 will be a haven for arts and culture
– a passport to ultimate luxury and a performance lifestyle. It will provide patrons with a selection of facilities for work and play,
and will bring together people of shared interests, serving as a hub for philanthropic endeavours as well as developing worldclass
experiences, tailored for its select clientele (see page 90).
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES
26 NetJets

GAME ON
Bang & Olufsen has upgraded its
Beoplay Portal wireless gaming
headphones, with increased
connectivity and compatibility
with the world’s leading platforms.
Originally envisaged to create the
ultimate personal experience for
all forms of use, thanks to the
Dolby Atmos for headphones, they
offer virtualised surround sound,
adding layers of depth and texture
to movies and music, as well as
games. bang-olufsen.com
ALL IN THE MIND
AT A TIME when mental health has never been more
prominent or important, US design fi rm Layer has
produced an ingenious device to encourage and enhance
the experience of immersive meditation. The Resonate
LightVision headset features an LED light matrix that
translates videos of the natural world, such as fi sh
swimming or trees swaying in the breeze, into an everchanging
sequence of biomorphic patterns that activate
the brain’s frequency-following response. Starting with
patterns of light at a rapid frequency, over a 20-minute
session, these slowly sync with the user’s circadian
rhythm, accompanied by a soundtrack of monaural and
binaural beats. Along with a minimal design, the easy-touse
interface ensures that even a newcomer to meditation
can reap the benefi ts in a short time. layerdesign.com
GETTING
AWAY
With some of the most
spectacular scenery in the world
as a backdrop – beautifully
captured in this tome –
Angelika Taschen explores the
hotels of Europe’s premier
mountain range, telling tales
behind storied hostelries and
uncovering some more unusual
places to stay among the Alpine
splendour. taschen.com
DOMESTIC
BLISS
Furniture and interior designer
Gesa Hansen, lifestyle
journalist Estelle Marandon
and stylist Charlotte Huguet
combine to share their
experiences of moving from
Paris and embracing rural
France, with tips on getting
away from the urban rat race
and embracing a more rustic
way of life. flammarion.com
NetJets
27

NOTES FROM NETJETS
Latest happenings, onboard updates,
companywide news and profiles
SOREN GAMMELMARK
AT ALCHEMIST
One of the most exciting changes for NetJets this past year was to be able to host in-person events again – and
Owners seem equally enraptured with the increasing opportunities. This was shown in early November, as NetJets
welcomed select Owners to Alchemist in Copenhagen. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant has a year-long waiting
list and has long been on the radar as one of the world’s finest, so we were thrilled to be able to offer this exclusive
experience to our Owners. It was a holistic dining experience like no other, with a 50-course menu sampling
of chef Rasmus Munk’s magical dishes and select wine pairings. Alchemist aims to transcend conventions and
challenge culinary boundaries while offering a multi-sensory dining experience. Owners enjoyed the pinnacle of
the experience in the iconic Dome room of the restaurant where a projection of aurora borealis danced above their
heads. The event was a great success, and it was wonderful to be able to host our Owners again in person.
28 NetJets

INSIDE TRACK
DIANA ORECK
Vice President, Service
Representatives and Philanthropy
WHEN DID YOU START AT NETJETS?
After 12 years leading the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center,
I was introduced to a new role at NetJets focused on
assisting with a culture transformation. After accepting the
position and starting in January 2016, I soon conducted
80 courses related to NetJets’ strategic plan to ensure
its proper launch and implementation. In April 2019, I
was honoured to be asked to set up the fi rst Philanthropy
Department at NetJets, as well as oversee the NetJets
Service Representatives (NSRs) located at many of our
top destinations to ensure our Owners have exceptional
fl ight experiences.
WHAT DOES YOUR NORMAL DAY CONSIST OF?
Each day varies quite a bit. I start with an update on
our daily operations, followed by a check-in with the
NetJets Service Representative Leadership Team. I meet
frequently with our employee Sustainability Committee
Captains, our philanthropic partners and the Berkshire
Hathaway Sustainability Leadership Council and Ohio
Sustainability Network, of which I am proud to be a
member. I continue to educate our organisation on
NetJets’ strategic plan and philanthropy, as well as handle
the logistics for the NetJets Scholarship Program, in-kind
donations, and the signifi cant number of requests for aid
to charities received throughout the year.
JULIAN RENTZCH
NETJETS BY THE NUMBERS
GROWING
THE FLEET
$2.5 BILLION
2021-2022 aircraft investment
55 NEW AIRCRAFT
Added to the fleet in 2021
75+ ADDITIONAL AIRCRAFT
Will be added in 2022
THE GLOBAL 7500
Our new flagship (below) arrived in 2021
– with more to come in 2022
UP TO 100 PHENOM 300Es
Being delivered to the US and Europe
THE GLOBAL 5500
Adding five within the next two years
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACE
IN YOUR ROLE?
I am fortunate to have an incredible group of NSRs, with
more being added to our team in 2022. Coordinating
NSR coverage to best service our Owners, considering
heightened demand, special events and seasonal
destinations, is my biggest challenge. These individuals
have incredible resilience and they embody the concept
that service is everyone’s job. In October 2021, they
earned a combined service score of 97% – absolutely
incredible heart and determination. We know our Owners
see our NSRs as a value-add and a true differentiator
in the private aviation industry. Ensuring that they have
appropriate coverage, and also a sustainable schedule, is
one of my top priorities.
© NETJETS
NetJets
29

JULIAN RENTZCH
NOTES FROM NETJETS
ONE THING OWNERS PROBABLY WOULDN’T
GUESS ABOUT ME IS... I have a twin sister.
CREWMEMBERS IN PROFILE
LAURA BLAIR
Cabin Crew, Falcon 2000EX
MY FIRST EXPOSURE TO FLYING WAS… when
I was a child on a family holiday to the south of
Spain. This opened up a new world for me and
I was extremely lucky that I got to travel from a
young age. I caught the bug early.
THE BEST PART OF FLYING IS… making
Owners feel welcomed so they leave the aircraft
with a smile. No day is the same as cabin crew
will face many challenges, allowing us to grow
and to learn from each experience. Flying to
many different countries around the globe allows
us to experience a variety of cultures, try local
cuisine and meet lots of interesting people.
BEFORE JOINING THE NETJETS TEAM,
I WAS… fl ying for a commercial airline in
Scotland for many years, which also operated
private charters. This opened my eyes to
the wonderful world of private aviation. I left
commercial fl ying for another private operator
before the doors opened for me at NetJets.
ON MY DAYS OFF I… run and ride my road
bike around the beautiful country of Portugal
where I live. I spend quality time with my loved
ones and go horse riding on the beach whenever
I can. I’m also learning to speak Portuguese.
WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR I WOULD LIKE
TO… improve my swimming technique and
compete in my fi rst triathlon.
WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS I... would
still like to be doing the job that I love, while
enjoying life in Portugal.
MY BEST ADVICE FOR STAYING SANE
ACROSS TIME ZONES IS … breathe some
fresh air, exercise, don’t focus on what time it
should be, sleep when you can, eat well and
stay hydrated. But most importantly, enjoy the
moment as much as possible.
MY PROUDEST MOMENT AS A
CREWMEMBER WAS… becoming a cabin
crew fl ight trainer at NetJets.
THE ONE DAY AT NETJETS I WON’T FORGET
WAS… my fi rst day ground training in Lisbon,
feeling incredibly honoured to start my dream job.
30 NetJets

STAY AT VILLA CANADA COPENHAGEN
Visit Copenhagen and explore the Danish capital’s renowned gastronomic scene, iconic attractions,
cultural life, and vibrant city vibes while staying at Villa Canada – your intimate luxury home experience.
For more than 60 years, the grand villa belonged to Canada and was the residence of the
Canadian Embassy and Canadian ambassadors. Today, it is owned by one of Denmark’s most prominent
families and is entirely restored with state-of-the-art designs and facilities of the highest standards.
Villa Canada is the ultimate experience of luxury and privacy. The in-house staff will take care of
all your needs 24 hours and welcome you with 5-star service. Up to 14 guests can share any occasion in this
bespoke villa with two luxury suites and five deluxe double rooms, all with ensuite marble bathrooms.
Villa Canada offers you the essential feeling of being yourself.
Enjoy a memorable and homey atmosphere in utmost privacy with the highest level of security.
This is luxury reimagined. In Villa Canada you are not visiting you are living.
WELCOME TO VILLA CANADA
Your home away from home, where stories were told for generations and memories are created.
villacanadacopenhagen.com · contact@villacanada.dk

OWNER’S PROFILE
A DYNAMIC
APPROACH
32 NetJets

Anders Kirk Johansen has followed his passions at every turn,
ensuring that business and pleasure almost always mix,
from car collecting and green energy to home refurbishment
// By Jeni Porter Photography by Robin Skjoldborg
FARMING AND BUSINESS may have been the
subjects that Anders Kirk Johansen studied, but
his truly formative years were those from the age
of 12 to almost 18, spent with his grandfather,
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen. The third son of
the founder of LEGO, Godtfred transformed
the Danish toymaker into the world-famous
brand it is today. By the time Anders was 12,
his grandfather was 70, winding down a little
and happy to have his grandson keeping him
company as he went about his business which,
besides LEGO, included expanding Billund
Airport to foster his international ambitions.
Godtfred was a true entrepreneur with a zest for
adventure and a passion for cars, both of which
he passed on to his grandson.
“He is my biggest idol, both business-wise
and as a person. He was a great entrepreneur,
understanding many things and bringing people
together. He was also a real petrol head and
liked to collect vintage cars from the 1920s and
30s which he could not afford in his youth,”
says Kirk Johansen. His father, on the other
hand, was not interested in cars. The family
villa did not even have a garage when Kirk
Johansen was growing up.
When the teenager pestered his father
about getting a sports car or a vintage model,
something for fun, his father would say, “No,
no, then we would need a garage,” remembers
Kirk Johansen. Some two decades later, when
he was planning a new car-related business
and trying to work out what to call it, these
memories coalesced.
“It has to be named My Garage. When
people ask, ‘Where is your car?’ The answer is,
‘In My Garage’ – the one we didn’t have space
for and now we have it,” he says with a laugh.
Kirk Johansen made up for those teenage years
by building a large garage at his rural estate to
house his car collection, which includes several
inherited from his grandfather. His brothers kept
DRIVEN MAN
Anders Kirk Johansen at
his desk in Villa Canada
NetJets
33

OWNER’S PROFILE
“I want My Garage to be a rallying point
for like-minded people, whether it is car
owners, motorcycle specialists, mechanics,
salesmen, or any other motor connoisseur”
cars there too; visitors would frequently come by; and they
ended up holding several events in and around the site,
like a private club. The concept of My Garage, a high-end
facility for storing, selling, servicing and socialising around
cars, stemmed from those shared experiences.
Begun in 2015 in Vejle in eastern Jutland, My Garage
comprises a vast, 20,000sq m space with glass-box
storage for 92 cars, service facilities, sales of luxury
marques from Rolls-Royce to Dallara Stradale and
spaces for social events. A restaurant and wine bar are
next on the agenda, and soon there will also be more
on-site partners selling tyres and other accessories. Kirk
Johansen expects sizeable profits in 2022 and is looking
to expand beyond Denmark, infusing Scandinavian
style into more traditional car centres to create vibrant
destinations for car lovers.
“It’s not a museum or a normal car shop. It’s more
like a gallery or maybe if you imagine a shopping mall
just for petrol heads and then add a restaurant, you have
My Garage.” He tries to make it accessible not just to
people like him who can afford supercars and hypercars
but also for others with treasured vintage vehicles or just
a passionate interest.
“What keeps me going is that My Garage is for
everyone,” he explains. “I want it to be a rallying
point for like-minded people, whether it is car owners,
motorcycle specialists, mechanics, salesmen or
any other motor connoisseur.” This inclusiveness is
something else he learned from his grandfather and
tries to live by – a down-to-earth relatability that belies
the charmed life that has come, in part, thanks to those
LEGO billions.
Now 44, Kirk Johansen grew up knowing that he
would not work in the LEGO Group. His grandfather had
instituted a governing rule under which one member of
each generation would take the role of the most active
owner. This fell to his mother’s brother Kjeld, and then,
in turn, Kjeld’s son Thomas.
“My grandfather asked me all the time, ‘Anders, how
is it going with your finances? What are your thoughts
about your future?’ It was his way of telling me we
cannot all be in LEGO when we grow up,” says Kirk
Johansen. His grandfather encouraged him to follow his
heart, which, as a teenager, meant farming and cars. At
26, he bought Rohden Gods, a forestry and agricultural
estate on the edge of the Vejle Fjord where he still lives
and which now encompasses 850 hectares.
Since 2007 the Kirk Johansen family interests have
been run through Kirk Kapital, an investing company and
family office set up with the proceeds that came when
they sold their portion of LEGO. Based in an architectural
wonder designed by standout Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur
Eliasson and his studio, Kirk Kapital is a powerhouse in
its own right. Kirk Johansen is a board member and also
works with the executive team on projects such as green
energy, a topic that interests him greatly.
It is passion projects that truly drive Kirk Johansen.
Villa Canada in Copenhagen gives him an urban base
as well as an opportunity to earn income. A beautifully
restored early-20th-century neoclassical residence, it was
initially set up for Kirk Johansen’s exclusive use before he
decided to make it available as a full-house luxury rental.
“It’s a home away from home also for me because
my first home is my estate in Jutland, therefore I hope
people will keep coming back. If they want to leave
something special, wedding photos or a pillow or
something for their dog, they can store it in a box in the
basement.” (In honour of Pippi, Kirk Johansen’s Swedish
farm dog and constant companion, dogs get special
treatment at Villa Canada.)
Built for a wealthy bourgeois family in the late
1920s, it housed the Canadian embassy for 62
years before Kirk Johansen bought it in 2011. Since
then, he has renovated and revamped the spaces
to recapture their former glory – with a touch of
contemporary pizzazz. Original features from the grand
carved staircase to elaborate cornices and wooden
wall panelling have been restored to a gleaming
patina, overlaid with a touch of Italian palazzo
glamour. Although he worked with an architect, it is
a deeply personal project, imprinted with a style far
removed from the muted palettes and natural materials
of Scandi minimalism.
“It was very important it should be my style of
home, and while there are many beautiful Danish
homes, I wanted more of an international feeling,”
says Kirk Johansen, adding that he is a fan of blues
and greens and plush velvets. “One of my style
34 NetJets

CANINE FRIENDLY
Kirk Johansen with
his beloved pet Pippi
on Villa Canada’s
restored staircase
inspirations is Valentino because I love his colourful
thinking: It makes you happy.” This is most evident
in the moody living room, rich with textures and
tones that are especially notable in the deep sofas
and hand-painted French wallpaper. The dining room
has a chinoiserie feel with aqua-toned wallpaper
and the house’s original dining table and 24 chairs
resplendent in midnight blue lacquer with gold
detailing. He travelled to Verona in Italy to choose the
marble, in varying tones of russet and dark coffee,
that lines the eight bathrooms.
Kirk Johansen likens sharing the villa to being a
NetJets owner, where you also become a member of a
community. “I’m travelling a lot, and half of it is with
NetJets. It is fantastic because you don’t feel guilty
about the planes being idle when you’re not using
them, and it’s the same with the house. I will love
it if I am at home on the estate or on vacation and I
know that there’s a family in the house, discovering
Copenhagen.” Knowing that it is being used and
sensing that people have been there when he returns
keeps it alive, he says.
NetJets
35

PRIVATE PARADISE
IN GREECE
Nested on a gorgeous private sandy beach, Porto Zante Villas & Spa on
the Greek Island of Zakynthos is an award-winning hideaway of worldclass
villas, considered to be the most private beach resort in Europe at the
moment and offering unique experiences for families and couples alike.
Porto Zante Villas & Spa
Selected as one of the 34 Ultraluxe Resorts in the World by Virtuoso for
2022 and one of the World’s Best Hotels & Resorts for 2020 by Condé
Nast Traveller’s Gold List, Porto Zante Villas & Spa is a wonderfully discreet
hideaway, choice of famous clientele from all over the world. A member
of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, this private beachfront paradise,
located on the magical Greek Island of Zakynthos, has perfected the merging
of finest personal services, exclusive open-air facilities and bespoke activities,
satisfying even the most discerning guest. Escape to one of its nine worldclass
beachfront villas.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Call +30 210 8218640 or +44 (0)20 8882 6767, email reservations@portozante.com or visit portozante.com

HOW TO REACH
Escape to Porto Zante Villas & Spa in under two
hours from most major European cities either by
private jet or via one of the direct non-stop flights
to Zakynthos island during the summer.
WORLD-CLASS VILLAS
Imagine your own private beachfront estate,
nestled between the magnificent natural beauty
of lush tropical gardens, azure skies and set on a
serene turquoise sea. Nine stunning world-class
villas are built amphitheatrically over a secluded
sandy beach and boast private heated pools and
stunning views of the Ionian Sea, creating an
escape in the truest sense of the word. Inside these
super-luxe havens, selected Armani/Casa and
Kettal/Gervasoni furniture add to the laidback
glamorous aesthetic; the divine marble bathrooms
are equipped with Bulgari guest amenities, while
cutting-edge technology is represented by Bang &
Olufsen entertainment systems and iMac desktops.
BESPOKE EXPERIENCES
In case you wish to emerge from your private cocoon
and the 24-hour in-villa dining service – ideally
complementing the Club House Greek & Mediterranean
Restaurant and the Maya Contemporary Asian
Restaurant – an array of luxury experiences and fun
activities for adults and children awaits. Delicious dining
in one of the resort’s open-air restaurants, private training
in the resorts’ Gym by Technogym, yoga sessions on the
tip of the water, both motorised and non-motorised
water sports for all ages, private yacht excursions, to the
famed Navagio beach, Marathonisi protected area for
the caretta sea turtles, or local landscapes like Ancient
Olympia, birthplace of Olympic Games, sample fine
wines at the local vineyard, or – naturally – a signature
zen spa treatment. Awarded Greece’s Leading Hotel Spa,
the Waterfront Spa is situated in front of the cobalt waters
of the Ionian Sea and excels in over 20 therapies inspired
by Greek nature. And while parents unwind under the
care of experienced therapists, the staff at the Kids’ Club
oversees children’s entertainment and organises fun
activities. It is all dedicated to fun!

TEEING OFF
BRANSON’S
NEW GAME
Nestled amid the stunning landscapes of the Ozarks, the golf courses
in and around the burgeoning Missouri city pair distinguished
pedigree with top-tier challenges // By Farhad Heydari
EDWARD C. ROBISON III; FACING PAGE: © MATT SUESS
GREEN SCENES
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Top
of the Rock par-3 course, above.
Facing page: the remarkable
19th hole at the recently opened
Payne’s Valley by Tiger Woods
FOR A CERTAIN GENERATION of Americans, the
Missouri city of Branson has been synonymous
with music, variety, comedy and theme shows
for the better part of half a century, ever since the
likes of Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson
and Andy Williams decamped to this corner of
the Ozarks and their showbiz friends and devoted
disciples followed in droves. But nowadays,
another pastime is quickly eclipsing all the glitzy
productions and entertainment offerings here in
the heartland – and that’s golf.
Thanks largely to the vision of one native,
conservationist and founder of Bass Pro Shops,
Johnny Morris, the Show-Me State has quickly
established itself as a serious golfing haven,
courtesy of his outsized and expansive Big Cedar
Lodge resort (golfbigcedar.com): a sprawling
1,800hs retreat situated in woodland alongside
Table Rock Lake, which he acquired in 1987.
Twenty-five years later, having established it
as an unsurpassed conduit to the great outdoors,
Morris turned his attention to another of his openair
passions: golf. He took ownership of the former
Branson Creek Golf Club on 180 nearby hectares,
brought in the noted architect Tom Fazio, who
gave it a wholesale renovation, and opened it a
year later as Buffalo Ridge: a brawny 7,036-yard
routing surrounded by hillsides and prairie grasses
where herds of roaming bison graze.
Today, alongside Buffalo Ridge, which in
2019 was ranked as the No. 1 Public Golf Course
You Can Play in Missouri by Golfweek, Morris’s
38 NetJets

NetJets
39

TEEING OFF
Midwestern golfing lotusland features a pair of
other superlative 18-hole championship tracks
(more on those shortly) as well as a couple of
absolutely terrific “short” or par-3 courses, one
conceived by Jack Nicklaus in 2014 and another
completed by Gary Player in 2017. These are
not the chip-and-putt venues of yesteryear. The
Nicklaus-designed nine-hole Top of the Rock Golf
Course was the first-ever par-3 layout included in
a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, while Mountain
Top by Gary Player is a bonsai-perfect 13-hole
track through ancient rock formations, both
featuring some of the best vistas in the region.
But most who make the pilgrimage to this part
of the world will do so for the 18-hole loops – and
few venues can compete with the natural majesty
of Ozarks National, by renowned architects
Bill Coore and former Masters champion Ben
Crenshaw. The duo, who work selectively and
only on the best of projects, have sketched a
7,036-yard masterpiece that almost levitates
above the beauty of the region on a series of
wooded ridgeline tentacles. No surprise, then,
that in addition to the stunning views in every
direction, since its debut in April 2019, it’s been
showered with endless praise – first as Best New
Public Course in 2019 by Golf Digest and a year
later in 2020 as Best Course You Can Play in
Missouri by Golfweek.
As if this emerald tableau (which, come
the autumn, is framed by a vibrant fall foliagescape
akin to a burnt-umber Bob Ross-coloured
landscape) wasn’t already alluring enough,
hackers and low-handicappers alike can now
avail themselves of the first fully public-access
course in the world completed by Tiger Woods:
Payne’s Valley. Named in honour of the late
PGA TOUR player Payne Stewart, the 19-hole
course (you read that correctly) opened for
play in September 2020 and is routed around
monumental waterfalls, wandering creeks, ponds
and lakes stretching to 7,370 yards. Its add-on
final hole is a knee-knocking, bet-settling 136-
yard par-3 playing into a 200ft cliffside island
green surrounded by a flowing stream running
down exposed limestone.
The entire five-course offering is anchored
by the sprawling encampment that is Big Cedar
resort, consisting of a collection of rustic-chic
(think: taxidermy, exposed beams, handmade
throws and locally sourced toiletries) rooms and
suites plus standalone log cabins, lodges and
villas with working fireplaces and kitchens that
draw families and friends to this corner of the
Hackers and low-handicappers alike can
now avail themselves of the first fully publicaccess
course in the world by Tiger Woods.
© LEDGE STONE
EDWARD C. ROBISON III; OUTSIDE RIGHT: © OZARKS NATIONAL
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Ozarks for its unparalleled variety of nature-based
experiences including fishing, boating, hiking,
shooting and more. For those 36-a-day types
who wish to stay on the links, a trio of outsized
lodges have just debuted, all done up to topspec
and available for small groups, corporate
retreats or multigenerational families. There is,
of course, a full complement of no fewer than
a dozen restaurants and bars, plus shops, cafés
and even a sprawling museum dedicated to the
natural history of the area and Native American
artifacts and artwork.
Not all the golf, however, is demarcated
within Big Cedar. The state’s No 1 ranked
course, according to GolfPass, is Branson Hills
(bransonhillsgolfclub.com): a tight thriller of
a track conceived by Chuck Smith and Bobby
Clampett that deserves the accolade, wending its
way through valleys of mature trees that require
forced carries over rock outcroppings and deep
bunkers; and LedgeStone (ledgestonegolf.
com), one of the area’s most popular and eyecatching
courses, which highlights the region’s
mountainous terrain. In all, there are now no fewer
than ten courses to challenge golfers, with a few
more already on the drawing board – guaranteeing
that Branson’s next influx of enthusiasts will be
devotees of the great game.
BRANSON AIRPORT TO BIG CEDAR RESORT: 12miles/19km
GOLFING NIRVANA
Clockwise from top left: Mountain Top;
Ozarks National; Buffalo Ridge;
Branson Hills; LedgeStone
© BRANSON HILLS
© BUFFALO RIDGE
NetJets
41

TEEING OFF
N O T T H E U S U A L S U S P E C T S
EDISON GOLF
Terry Koehler refers to himself as a “wedge
contrarian.” While many OEMs were filling racks
with different sole designs, Koehler created the
one-size-fits-all “Koehler sole” that is so often
imitated today. In contrast to wedges with weight
concentrated in the club’s sole to get the ball
airborne, he was designing wedges with a higher
center of gravity. Why? Because his decades
of experience and testing have shown that it’s
the best way for recreational golfers to hit their
short shots more consistently. And now other
club designers are following suit. Founded in
2018 by Koehler and fellow golf industry lifer
Trace MacDougall, Edison allows Koehler to push
short-game innovation, even when it cuts against
the consensus. The brand recently expanded its
line to cover the entire gamut of wedge lofts.
edisonwedges.com
SWAG
Swag is the hottest company in golf. Nick Venson
launched it in 2018 with the goal of creating a
“truly badass” putter. He and his team have
since applied their inimitable visual style to
everything from headcovers to skateboards to
pickleball paddles—and sold out every item
in seconds. With its bold, in-your-face graphics,
you might think Swag is all style and no
substance. Take a closer look at its putters,
and you’ll see that isn’t the case. Before
launching the company, Venson worked for
Scotty Cameron and Bettinardi where he developed
an unparalleled eye for detail. This comes
through in the way that his refinements elevate
traditional putter designs. Each putter comes off
the CNC mill nearly 100% complete, removing
any room for inconsistency or imperfection.
swag.golf
GEOM
Nothing in Garret Krynski’s background would
lead you to believe that he would become a club
maker, which may be why Geom’s clubs look
like nothing else. A graphic designer by trade,
Garret started Geom in 2018 after sculpting a
putter to fit both his unique aesthetic and playing
preferences. Fast- forward to 2022 and Geom
has become a fixture in the minimalist golf
movement for its Moe and Lee irons. These
ultra-clean designs are sold primarily in short
sets—3 or 4 irons—to allow players to carry
less weight and focus on shotmaking. The
absence of badging and branding lets players
customize the look of their irons with unorthodox
finishes, flashy ferrules, and personalized
stamping. geomgolf.com
R E B E L B A L L S
PIPER GOLF
Founder Mike Gottfried played
golf for 30 years but was still
confused about which golf ball
to buy. His solution: Launch
Piper Golf and make choosing
the right ball easier. piper.golf
SUGAR GOLF
Sugar’s signature golf ball
does the most impressive
Pro V1 impression that I’ve
seen, and for a price that
makes losing one a lot more
palatable. sugar.golf
1
42 NetJets

These niche golf club manufacturers offer a different perspective on the game—
from exceptional customization to avant-garde design // By Matt Saternus
JP GOLF
James Patrick “JP” Harrington takes the phrase
“rise and grind” literally. His career started with
a bang in 2006, grinding a set of MacGregor irons
for PGA Tour player Aaron Baddeley. From there,
Harrington created his own line of wedges in his
parents’ Wisconsin garage. After four years and
a tidal wave of internet buzz, he was approached
to create “JP by Titleist” wedges. Harrington left
Titleist in 2018 to create JP Golf, this time in the
sunnier climes of San Diego. His latest creations
are some of the most visually stunning clubs in
golf. They also take a unique approach to the sole:
JP puts the focus on camber, an under-discussed
aspect of sole design, with the goal of creating
perfect contact from any lie.
jpgolf.com
NATIONAL CUSTOM WORKS
When most people say “custom golf clubs” they’re
talking about choosing the best off-the-rack
options. At National Custom Works, “custom”
means a lot more. Every NCW iron starts as a
blank slab of metal before it’s put into the hands
of master club builders Don White and Jeff McCoy.
Both men have created clubs for professional
Tour winners—Don White has 14 majors to
his credit—and they take into account each
customer’s preferred look, sole shape, and ball
flight when making these bespoke clubs. This level
of personalization isn’t cheap or fast (the lead time
can be between two and ten months), but if you’d
like the same hands that built Jack Nicklaus’s
irons to make yours, this is the only game in town.
nationalcustomworks.com
EDEL
Most golf companies like to position themselves as
groundbreaking, but few can back that up like Edel.
Created by David Edel in 1996, his eponymous firm
has a long history of taking chances on big ideas.
Bryson DeChambeau came to Edel when he first
decided to play single-length irons. Edel was one
of the first to create a putter with zero torque, an
idea that’s become more common in the last few
years. Edel’s latest innovation brings them back to
the short game. The brand’s new SMS wedges take
the unique sole designs that Edel’s wedges were
always known for and adds movable weights. While
most golfers have seen these in drivers, Edel has
shown that they can have an equally big impact
in wedges, where the correct fit can increase spin
rates and shrink dispersion. edelgolf.com
CLEAR
While many new ball companies
promote lower prices, Clear goes
in the opposite direction, claiming
super-premium performance at a
higher-than-Pro V1 price.
cleargolf.com
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES
SNELL GOLF
WIth 29 years of experience and 40
patents to his name, Dean Snell brings
unprecedented credibility to the
direct-to-consumer golf ball market.
snellgolf.com
ONCORE
Perimeter weighting is common in
golf clubs, but OnCore applies this
technology to its golf balls in search
of tighter dispersion and enhanced
wind performance. oncoregolf.com
NetJets
43

LIVING WELL
NATURE’S CURE
JÖRN KASPUHL
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Body and mind are both improved with time in the great
outdoors – it’s a truism that dates back to ancient proverbs
and is backed up by cutting-edge science // By Jen Murphy
IT WAS PARACELSUS, the 16th-century German-Swiss physician,
who presciently declared, “The art of healing comes from nature,
not from the physician.” Fast-forward to an era of urban living
and non-stop screen time and doctors are now prescribing time
outdoors as the best cure for ailments ranging from depression
to diabetes.
Japanese culture has long believed in the curative powers of
nature. Research by Japanese scientist Dr Qing Li, an expert in the
powers of “shinrin-yoku”, or forest bathing, has shown 50% of the
positive health effects of forest bathing come from the chemistry of
the forest air, which has a higher oxygen content compared to an
urban setting. Health benefits are also linked to plant chemicals
called phytoncides, natural oils that are part of a plant’s defence
system. Human exposure to phytoncides have been shown to
reduce physiological stress, blood pressure and heart rate.
The concept of forest bathing is as simple as slowly walking
through a tree-filled area, quieting the mind and breathing deeply.
NetJets
45

LIVING WELL
THE CONCEPT OF FOREST
BATHING IS AS SIMPLE AS SLOWLY
WALKING THROUGH A TREE-
FILLED AREA, QUIETING THE MIND,
AND BREATHING DEEPLY.
Great thinkers and creatives such as John Muir, Hippocrates,
Henry David Thoreau and Nikola Tesla found inspiration on walks
in the woods. But forests aren’t the only natural landscapes that
yield benefi ts. At a time when humans are more nature-deprived
than ever before, any outdoor fi x, be it a walk on the beach or
ramble through urban gardens, will do. Studies have shown
exposure to any natural stimuli can lower blood pressure, boost
immune function, reduce stress hormone levels, improve mood
and promote immune-system function.
People evolved in natural environments, but urbanisation, the
industrialisation of agriculture, and a shift to a sedentary lifestyle
have destroyed our relationship with nature. In 1950, around
30% of the world’s population lived in urban areas. By 2018,
that number was 55%, and, by 2050, it is projected to be 68%.
And the work-from-home, Zoom-meeting culture has us spending
more time than ever indoors. On average, Americans spend
93% of their day inside. A rapidly growing body of evidence
shows restoring access to nature can alleviate some of the most
signifi cant public-health problems, including obesity, stress,
violence and social isolation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for naturebased
therapy. During the lockdown in England in 2020, a survey
FREDRIK BROMAN
46 NetJets

showed 85% of adults reported that being in nature makes them
happy and those who visited natural space in the last seven days
reported being happier than those that hadn’t.
A free miracle drug sounds too good to be true, but there is
a growing movement of medical centres and doctors around the
world prescribing nature remedies ranging from general advice
to get outside at least three times a week to specifi c instructions
such as walking in a park for one hour a day. The US now has
over 100 provider-based nature prescription programmes, while
countries like Scotland now have trained ecotherapists, and doctors
in Australia have been prescribing greener workspaces to improve
both health of workers as well as productivity and job satisfaction.
A pill-free answer to a happier, healthier lifestyle is as easy as
walking out your front door. Read on for more inspiration that will
get you outside.
Peter Wohlleben
The German forester is the author of
the new book The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing
Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature
JULIAN RENTZSCH
What is driving the
divide between humans
and nature?
We have been taught to
see ourselves as apart from
nature rather than part it.
We spend so much time
away from it that we have
forgotten how exquisitely
attuned we are to the
natural world.
What might surprise us
about trees?
Trees pass their life
experiences on to their
children in their seeds,
teaching them how to deal
with fl uctuations in the
climate, including heat and
drought. This is why old
trees are irreplaceable
allies in our fi ght against
climate change.
Deforestation is at an alltime
high. What is at risk?
When we lose trees, not only
do we lose ways to remove
carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, we also lose the
forests’ abilities to cool the
air and bring rainfall to the
interior of continents.
What happens to us
physically and emotionally
when we step into a forest?
Spending time under trees
really does relax us. Our
brains developed to associate
green with food in the form
of nuts and berries on trees
and to see forests as places
that offered us shelter.
What are your top places in
the world to be in nature?
Apart from my own forest in
Germany, I especially love
the old-growth forests in
Sweden, Poland, Romania
and coastal British Columbia.
“Spending time under trees
really does relax us”
NetJets
47

LIVING WELL
ISTOCK
GADGETS TO GIVE YOU A DOSE
OF THE OUTDOORS INDOORS
HATCH RESTORE
SUNRISE ALARM CLOCK
Morning sunlight affects your circadian rhythm
and signals to your body that it’s time to wake up.
Research suggests when you wake up due to sunlight,
your body will naturally shake off sleep grogginess
and be more alert. This smart sleep device’s sunrise
alarm mimics morning light and pairs it with gentle
sounds like lapping ocean waves. hatch.co
WAVE PREMIUM SLEEP THERAPY
SOUND MACHINE
The sounds of city sirens and noisy
neighbours don’t produce sweet dreams.
Drown out the distractions with a choice
of six soothing soundtracks, including
the lullaby of rain pattering and streams
burbling. An optional sleep timer shuts off
the machine after 15, 30 or 60 minutes, and
it’s compact enough to fit in your carry-on
bag for travel. pureenrichment.com
NATURESPACE APP
Calm anxiety or fuel creativity with this free app that transports users to
serene natural environments. Cutting-edge recording technology recreates
natural soundscapes ranging from a rainforest in Hawaii at sunset to a
north woods lake with soft waves and crickets chirping at night, with
remarkable accuracy. Choose from over 120 natural spaces, averaging
12-plus minutes. naturespace.org
Must Reads on Nature as Medicine
INTO THE FOREST
How Trees Can Help You
Find Health and Happiness
by Dr Qing Li
A deep-dive into forest medicine
by one of the foremost experts
in the Japanese art of “shinrinyoku,”
or forest bathing.
THE NATURE FIX
Why Nature Makes Us Happier,
Healthier, and More Creative
by Florence Williams
A compelling investigation into
whether time spent in nature
can improve both the quality
and quantity of life.
THE HEARTBEAT
OF TREES
Embracing Our Ancient
Bond with Forests and Nature
by Peter Wohlleben
The follow-up to the German
forester’s bestseller, The Hidden
Life of Trees, draws on new
scientific discoveries to show
how humans can rekindle their
connection to the natural world.
NATURAL REMEDY
A Story of Depression and Healing,
by Richard Mabey
A powerful memoir that relates
distance from nature to a larger
problem in modern life and a
tale of how the author’s reengagement
with nature leads
him out of his depression.
48 NetJets

Move Your Workout Outdoors
INSTEAD OF THE EXERCISE BIKE
Book a self-guided or group cycling trip in the Swiss Alps with
luxury bike tour operator Butterfield & Robinson. Electric bikes
make Tour de France-worthy climbs accessible to all.
butterfield.com
INSTEAD OF THE TREADMILL
Hit the ground in the Dolomites (left) on a guided trail-running
vacation with outfitter Dolomite Mountains. Run along the Alta
Via N.1, one of the region’s famous high routes, over five days
sleeping in mountain huts or boutique hotels along the way.
dolomitemountains.com
INSTEAD OF THE ROWING MACHINE
Get out on the water in a kayak with adventure outfitter OARS.
Itineraries in Baja, Mexico island hop around the Sea of Cortez and
promise wildlife encounters with seals and whales. oars.com
INSTEAD OF THE SKI ERG
Explore the wilderness of Banff National Park in Canada on Nordic
skis. Base yourself out of Skoki Lodge, which can only be reached
by gliding along a 11km ski trail. Once there, you’ll have five
adjoining valleys to discover on skis. skoki.com
Jared Hanley
The co-founder and CEO of NatureQuant,
a new company based in Bend, Oregon,
which optimises technology to track, assess,
and promote nature exposure
JULIAN RENTZSCH
There are apps that track
steps, sleep quality, heart
rate, and more, but an app
that monitors time spent
outdoors is novel. How exactly
does it work? Doctors are
already prescribing time
outside, but there’s no way
to monitor or quantify it.
Our app, NatureDose, acts
as a personalised nature
prescription tracker that
monitors your aggregate time
inside, outside and exposed
to nature.
The US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
(CDC) recommends we get
10,000 steps a day. How
much nature exposure should
we be aiming for? There is no
consensus, but most doctors
writing nature prescriptions
suggest getting outside for
two hours a week. That is
what we’re using as our base.
Research shows if you get that
amount of nature per week it
will improve your mental and
physical wellbeing.
How do you quantify nature?
We’ve created NatureScore, a
mapping system that captures
every tree, body of water,
grassland and other natural
elements as well as human
elements, like buildings, down
to 10 metres. This allows us
to determine the quality and
quantity of natural elements
for a location. A score of zero,
for example, is a largely built
environment, where 100 is a
largely natural environment.
We’ve mapped and created a
score for every census tract in the
US and Canada, and Europe will
be finished later this year.
Can these scores serve as
health predictors for cities?
NatureScores are superpredictive
of a lot of health
outcomes. We know, based
on data from the CDC, that
there is a correlation between
obesity, cancer, asthma and
mental stress based on location.
Research shows that for every
10% increase in greenness
within a 0.5-kilometre radius
of where you live, your chance
of all-cause mortality death is
reduced by four percent.
What implications do these
scores have for urban
planning? Right now, the
Arbor Day Foundation is
using our data to determine
“There is a correlation between
obesity, cancer, asthma, and
mental stress based on location”
where access to nature isn’t
equitable in cities. They can
take those nature-deficient
scores to donors and then
use our data to show how
tree planting in certain
neighbourhoods could affect
the rates of obesity as much
as five percent in 30 years.
Is a walk in Manhattan
equivalent to a hike in
Colorado? If you’re in a park
or formal natural area you are
scored 100% credit for your
time there so every minute
you spend in the park counts
as a one-minute dose of
nature. If you’re walking in
downtown Boulder, Colorado,
versus the foothills, you may
get credited 40 seconds of
nature for every minute. In
Manhattan or the Las Vegas
strip, one minute outside
might only be equivalent to 10
seconds of nature.
Do different types of nature
have more powerful benefits?
For example, is a walk in a
forest better than a walk on
the beach? We’ve found that
desert is not as beneficial
as water and water is not as
beneficial as live vegetative
biomass, like trees and forests,
but all of it is better than
anything human modified.
Will you gamify the app?
We have plans to add features
like reminders to get off your
screen because you haven’t
been outside in two days.
We hope to partner with
different organisations to create
challenges with motivations
like a coupon for REI if you hit
a certain number of minutes in
nature per month. We foresee
insurance companies and
employers using the technology
to incentivise healthier living.
naturequant.com
NetJets
49

LIVING WELL
TOP RETREATS
TO SOAK IN NATURE’S
HEALING POWERS
These off-the-grid escapes complement their wild landscapes
with five-star comforts and amenities
© WEBER ARCTIC
1 2
CELINE FRERS
1. ARCTIC WATCH WILDERNESS LODGE, CANADA
The most northerly fly-in lodge on Earth has 16 private
cabins and your only neighbours are polar bears, muskox
and Arctic foxes. Explore the surrounding tundra by ebike
or ATV or take to the water on paddleboards or kayaks. For
the ultimate whale-watching experience, visit in summer
when thousands of beluga whales congregate in a bay
just a 15-minute walk from the lodge. weberarctic.com
ARCTIC WILDERNESS LODGE AERODROME: 1mile/2km
2. EXPLORA EL CHALTÉN, ARGENTINA
Experience the wilds of southernmost South America
at this 20-room lodge set within Los Huemules Reserve,
a private 5,700ha parcel devoted to the preservation
of native flora and fauna. Guided activities range from
ice hiking on glaciers to treks to dazzling Desert Lake.
explora.com
EL CALAFATE AIRPORT: 135miles/217km
3. GANGTEY LODGE, BHUTAN
An all-suite adventure base overlooking Phobjikha Valley,
Gangtey Lodge delivers an experience steeped in both
nature and culture. The valley is laced with trekking trails
that wind through blue pine forests and past endangered
black-necked crane roosting grounds. Mountain biking is
also top-notch, with trails that lead to local villages and
far-flung monasteries. At day’s end, reward your efforts
with a traditional hot-stone bath. gangteylodge.com
BATHPALATHANG AIRPORT: 89miles/143km
4. THE GREEN O, GREENOUGH, MONTANA
A new adults-only hideaway from the owners of luxe
glamping outfit Paws Up is tucked away in a dense
patch of towering pines on the southern edge of its
15,000ha sister property. Twelve architecturally striking
accommodations include treehouses perched eight
metres in the air and curvy round houses that have
bedrooms with 180-degree forest views. thegreeno.com
MISSOULA AIRPORT: 38miles/61km
50 NetJets

Searching for your next
superyacht getaway?
Visit today and ask about special benefits available to NetJets Owners.
www.northropandjohnson.com/netjets

LIVING WELL
3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10
5. KASIIYA PAPAGAYO, COSTA RICA
With just nine spacious tented suites set on 50 hectares of
untouched jungle between a hill and two dreamy beaches,
this 100% off-the-grid eco retreat feels like your own
private island. Floor-to-ceiling windows make it easy to spot
monkeys from your bed, but you’ll eventually want to get up
to snorkel, kayak and hike around the grounds or venture
further on surf safaris and boat expeditions to marine-rich
reefs and wildlife-filled mangroves. kasiiya.com
LIBERIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: 24miles/39km
6. LITTLE KULALA CAMP, SOSSUSVLEI, NAMIBIA
The closest base to the renowned dunes of Sossusvlei, Little
Kulala Camp is set within the 27,000ha Kulala Wilderness
Reserve. Nicknamed “the Living Desert,” this region is home
to desert-adapted wildlife like ostrich, aardwolf and dune lark.
One of the darkest places on Earth, stargazing is unrivaled
and each of the camp’s 11 suites features rooftop beds for
starry sleep outs. wilderness-safaris.com
HOSEA KUTAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: 237miles/380km
7. RIFFLIN’ HITCH LODGE, LABRADOR, CANADA
Immersed in the solitude of deep wilderness, Rifflin’ Hitch
Lodge is an angler’s paradise located steps from the Eagle
River, one of the top Atlantic salmon-producing rivers
in North America. Seven rustic, yet elegantly appointed
rooms feature paintings from Canadian folk artists and
goose-down comforters. Over-the-top meals might include
your catch of the day cooked on an open-fire riverside or a
wine-paired evening feast showcasing the regional bounty.
rifflinhitchlodge.com
GOOSE BAY AIRPORT TO HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY:
6miles/10km (then helicopter transfer to Rifflin’)
8. AURORA SAFARI CAMP, SWEDEN
This Arctic glamping experience in remote Swedish Lapland
offers the unique experience of hot-air ballooning under
the aurora borealis. Snowshoe and fatbike quiet forest
trails in winter; kayak and swim out to a floating sauna
in summer. aurorasafaricamp.com
KIRUNA AIRPORT: 165 miles/266km
9. 3 SPEAR RANCH, DUBOIS, WYOMING
Located in the small cowboy town of Dubois, this eightcabin
luxe ranch is a 90-minute drive from the grandeur
of Yellowstone National Park and an hour from the majesty
of Grand Teton National Park. Nestled on 485 hectares,
the property has plenty of natural attractions to keep you
on site, from warm springs to hiking and horseriding trails
and two lakes for fishing. 3spearranch.com
DUBOIS WYOMING MUNICIPAL AIRPORT: 5miles/9km
10. ARDFIN, JURA, SCOTLAND
George Orwell described Jura, an isolated island in the
Inner Hebrides, as “an extremely un-get-at-able place”.
Ardfin, a 4,900ha estate on the southern tip of the island,
is worth the effort to reach. Outdoor pursuits include
golfing on what’s been called the greatest course on the
planet, kayaking, deer stalking and exploring endless
trails, including one that passes Barnhill, the house
where Orwell completed 1984. ardfin.com
ISLAY AIRPORT: 19miles/31km
11. CAP KAROSO, SUMBA, INDONESIA
Opening in September, this eco-haven situated on
pristine Karoso beach in southwest Sumba Island boasts
47 rooms, 20 oceanfront villas and a sustainable farm
run by a local Sumbanese team. Local-led excursions
include snorkeling the calm waters of Karoso Lagoon,
hiking to waterfalls, and getting schooled in the island’s
signature sport, Sandalwood Pony riding. capkaroso.com
TAMBOLAKA AIRPORT: 30miles/48km
© GANGTEY LODGE (3), © THE GREEN O (4), © KASIIYA PAPAGAYO (5), TEAGAN CUNNIFFE (6), ROB CANNING (7), FREDRIK BROMAN (8), SYLER PERALTA-RAMOS (9), KONRAD BORKOWSKI (10)
52 NetJets

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place to get away from it all.
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DESIGN DIGEST
A sofa and mezze
from the Salon
Nanà collection
by Annabel Karim
Kassar for Moroso;
below: Patricia
Urquiola’s
Dudet armchair
for Cassina
THOUGHTFUL
FURNITURE
Stuck at home during the pandemic like the rest of us, furniture designers
were busy – and their new ideas for how we can live range from
delightfully whimsical to hyper-functional // By Fiona McCarthy
AFTER A TWO-YEAR hiatus, the design world converged on a warm,
blue-skied Milan last September for the 59th edition of the famed
Salone del Mobile furniture fair. Here, the world’s best designers,
manufacturers, and industry movers and shakers in furniture,
lighting, homewares and interior fixtures and fittings were welcomed
by a city delighted to be back in business and to prove that, after
months of being cooped up at home and communicating via
Zoom, creativity still thrives. Here we share are our hot investment
picks from the fair for freshening up your post-pandemic interiors.
GEOMETRIC GRAPHICS
Bold, graphic shapes teamed with sharp, smart edges and
geometric patterns marked many of the standout pieces at Salone,
especially those influenced by 1970s design like Cassina’s Dudet
armchair by Patricia Urquiola (cassina.com), made of two curved
arms and a padded seat that can all be disassembled for easy
recycling. The same rounded edges appeared in Driade’s Tottori
seats and tables designed by the Ukrainian industrial designer
Kateryna Sokolova (driade.com), where the clean-lined bucket
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES
54 NetJets

shapes of the chair, armchair and sofa echo the polypropylene
injection moulded shells of Robin Day’s chairs in the 1960s
(although Sokolova’s come upholstered in fabric or leather).
Christophe Delcourt’s folded origami-style Keren armchair and
Fany table for Baxter (baxter.it) also followed a similar aesthetic.
The retro 1970s lived on too in Cristina Celestino’s Gala seating
for Saba (sabaitalia.it) – where the designer, who loves to draw on
fashion for inspiration – channelled the way plissé fabric folds and
Pierre Cardin’s sculptural silhouettes to create a modular system
where the backrest flows in a pleated shape with structured curves
that can adapt to seating poufs of different depths back and front.
Similarly, Lebanese designer duo david/nicolas developed Victoria
for Tacchini (tacchini.it) – a modular system of long, rounded
armchairs, sofas, chaises longues and ottomans with shapes like
puffy marshmallows, supported by a zigzagging, tubular frame.
The assorted chaise longues of Antonio Citterio’s Noonu for B&B
Italia (bebitalia.com) – named after an atoll in the Maldives – were
designed to fit together in different graphic configurations, forming
your very own floating archipelago sofa retreat. French designer
Constance Guisset also took inspiration from far-away places –
this time Iceland, and its landscape’s geometric forms shaped by
lava – for Pierre Frey’s Dolmen seating system (pierrefrey.com).
Designed to evolve with need and desire, the individual elements
of footstools, benches, backrests, tables and armrests can be used
alone, separately or in multiple versions. Modularity in graphic
form continued with Annabel Karim Kassar’s Salon Nanà collection
for Moroso (moroso.it), where the London-based French-Lebanese
architect developed seating in clean, simple shapes (which can
be upholstered in primary-coloured linen, cotton or velvet, or
Moroccan-inspired stripes), supported by oversized rounded
bolsters, and side tables decorated with bold Moorish motifs.
Graphic woodworking came to the fore with pieces such as the
hexagonally faceted Château chair and side table, made in
solid oak, mahogany or walnut, by LA-based Atelier de Troupe
(atelierdetroupe.com) and French interior designer Dorothée
Meilichzon’s Panarea armchair. The latter’s shape is informed
by the classic Adirondack chair, but with a rounded back and its
detailing contrasted in ash and mahogany with its slats affixed with
“butterflies” by master craftsman Morelato Ebanisteria. It was made
in collaboration with Doppia Firma (doppiafirma.com), a project by
Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’arte with Living Corriere della
Sera devised to marry designers with artisans to create unique
and original works (presented at Salone by the Michelangelo
Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship). Influences of
Japanese modernism, 1970s curves and just a tiny hint of Frank
Lloyd Wright came to fruition in Hannes Peer’s Paesaggio collection
for SEM (Spotti Edizioni Milano, sem-milano.com), where pieces
such as the Alea chair, Muir sofa and Butterfly dining table, were
finished in richly hued solid woods (walnut, mahogany-stained ash).
Geometric pattern brought GamFratesi’s pigmented woven-leather
Plot room divider to vivid life for Poltrona Frau (poltronafrau.
com), as did the woven cotton and paper horizontal stripes
and elongated cylindrical shape of the limited-edition Royal bar
cabinet by Armani/Casa (armani.com). Meanwhile, Moroso’s
Secret Cubic Shelves are at a distance a filigree of rhythmic
zigzagging lines but up close, a play on Icelandic-Danish artist
FURNITURE FOR THE FUTURE Clockwise from top left: GamFratesi’s Plot room divider for Poltrona Frau; a Ringer dining armchair from Kettal, designed by Michael Anastassiades;
sofa from the Lido Cord Outdoor collection by GamFratesi for Minotti; Antonio Citterio’s Noonu chaise longue for B&B Italia; Christophe Delcourt’s Fany table for Baxter
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DESIGN DIGEST
Olafur Eliasson’s long-term work with stackable rhomboid modules
(like the stainless steel Less ego wall, 2015, and the towering
sculptural installation How to build a sphere out of cubes, 2018).
OUTDOOR IMITATING INDOORS
It was unsurprising that outdoor furniture – parading as indoor
furniture – proved a highlight during last year’s Salone. With the
garden well and truly now considered a key additional room to any
home, there is an increasing interchange between what we can use
outside and in. New technologies are bringing exciting innovations
to not only the look but feel of weather-resistant materials such
as the woven polypropylene cord used by Parisian designer
Christophe Pillet for Flexform’s Echoes outdoor seating (flexform.
it), in both an armchair and chaise longue, which intimated the
same aesthetic appeal of vintage rattan. That same 1950s Riviera
vibe also flowed through GamFratesi’s Lido Cord Outdoor collection
for Minotti (minotti.com), where Danish architect Stine Gam and
Italian architect Enrico Fratesi brought an undulating asymmetric
form to the shape of a sofa, supported by a sculptural bronzehued
aluminium base, or nest-like seating with wooden legs for
the chairs (there are footstools and tables also in the collection).
It was easy to see how these pieces would work just as well
inside – especially where being subjected to the rough and tumble
of children and pets – which was certainly not an idea lost on
Poltrona Frau (poltronafrau.com) with the inaugural launch of its
Boundless Living collection, and particularly The Secret Garden
range, created to go from terrace to conservatory, spa or poolside
to yacht. With pieces such as the solid teak, Scandi-style curved
armchair and stoneware-topped table by Roberto Lazzeroni, the
rope-woven high-backed Solaria armchair by Ludovica + Roberto
Palomba, and the Sparkler portable and rechargeable lanterns by
Milan-based Japanese designer Kensaku Oshiro (which instantly
inspire summer days spent by the sea but would look just as great,
in groups of three or five, on tables or the floor inside), it was a
sophisticated welcome to blurring the boundaries of in/out design.
Advances in eco-friendly fabrics for upholstery and rugs – made
from recycled plastic bottles or recycled polyester fibres, among
other materials – are changing the way designers look at how
we live and how they want to design for us in the future. Take
Piero Lissoni, B&B Italia’s artistic director and his new Borea
outdoor collection (bebitalia.com), made from recyclable tubular
aluminium structures, cushions and sewing yarns fashioned from
plastic bottle fibres, tops poured from melted slabs of Mount Etna
volcanic lava stone and glazed with recycled glass (made by
crushing and grinding the glass of discarded TV and PC monitors).
The post-modernist geometric edge of teaming a square seat
with a rounded horseshoe-shaped backrest brought Ringer, the
London-based designer Michael Anastassiades’s first collection
for Spanish brand Kettal (kettal.com), a fresh take on outdoor
café dining. Similar explorations of aluminium fabrication brought
a light touch to Ludovica + Roberto Palomba’s HiRay welded
wire collection for Kartell (kartell.com), where the fine metal
lines flowed together to create sensual, sculptural – but alluringly
transparent – chairs and sofa, as well as bistro and side tables.
In a more oversized version, the generous, rounded lounging
forms of Venexia, Venetian-born, Stockholm-based designer Luca
Nichetto’s latest collection for Ethimo (ethimo.com), where the
thin metal slats were inspired by old-fashioned railings, provided
a romantic contrast to the brand’s other additions, including the
minimalist and streamlined Allaperto pieces by Matteo Thun
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES
INSIDE AND OUT Clockwise from top left: Marco Lavit’s Hut for Ethimo; a Componibili storage container from Kartell; Flexform’s Echoes armchair by Christophe Pillet; Borea
sunbeds by B&B Italia. Facing page top, clockwise from left: lamps from George Sowden’s Shades collection; fabrics created by Peter Savile for Kvadrat; Patricia Urquiola’s
Simoon tables, designed for Glas Italia; bottom: De Sede’s 602 sofa
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and Antonio Rodriguez, and Marco Lavit’s teepee-style outdoor
lounge, Hut (with its slatted surround made from Siberian larch).
PLAYFULNESS PREDOMINATES
Lifting the pandemic-pounded spirits lay at the heart of many
of the collections shown at Salone, and no more so than in the
magical world of Alcova (alcova.xyz), an independent design
platform developed by Italian multidisciplinary studios Space
Caviar and Studio Vedèt, which is always a fair highlight. Here,
within the setting of three historical buildings – peeling paint
and romantically derelict spaces inside, overgrown with greenery
and surrounded by verdant urban parkland outside – the New
York-based lighting designer Lindsey Adelman (lindseyadelman.
com) offset a room of pastel walls and intricately patterned tiled
fl oors by fi lling it with her punk-meets-couture Murano glass
and brass link Paradise lighting, which was reminiscent of
Chanel and wouldn’t go amiss on the latest fashion catwalks.
Equally enchanting – with the colour turned to full volume – was
British designer Bethan Laura Wood’s Ornate collaboration with
renowned Nilufar gallerist Nina Yashar (nilufar.com), bursting with
Memphis-inspired hues, intricate curves and allusions to myriad
infl uences, from Wood’s love of kimonos to embracing high- (CNCmilled
anodised aluminium) and low-tech (veneer marquetry)
craftsmanship. Art director, graphic designer and Factory Records
co-founder Peter Saville brought the same daring eye he once
deployed for Joy Division and Roxy Music album covers into a new
collection of multicoloured fabrics for Kvadrat (kvadrat.dk). Inspired
by the vibrant colours used to mark fl ocks of sheep, the range of rugs,
upholstery and curtain fabrics were interwoven with rainbow hues,
some subtly imbued with tiny fi laments intimating computer pixels,
others woven in wafting ombre swathes to cotton candy effect.
The 1980s Memphis infl uence resonated elsewhere too,
particularly in many of Spanish-born, Milan-based architectural
designer and creative director Patricia Urquiola’s new pieces,
including the candy-striped inlaid marble legs of her Architexture
table collection for Budri (budri.com), the cartoonish graffi ti
squiggles of the hand-knotted Himalayan wool Venus Power rugs
she had designed for cc-tapis (the same mood too echoed in the
rug brand’s block-coloured Ombra collection by Muller Van Severen
which launched at the same time, cc-tapis.com), and the extralight
low tables, Simoon, made from recycled and chopped Murano
glass that Urquiola designed for Glas Italia (glasitalia.com).
Abet Laminati (abetlaminati.com) – and its design curators
Giulio Iacchetti and Matteo Ragni – also celebrated the 40th
anniversary of the Memphis movement with Superfi ciale, a
collection of intensely graphic laminated furnishings, accessories
and lighting, as part of the exhibition “Super Superfi ci – The
Spirit of Memphis (reloaded).” Meanwhile, George Sowden
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DESIGN DIGEST
(one of Ettore Sottsass’s Memphis co-founders, georgesowden.
com) launched SowdenLight’s gelato-hued Shades collection,
fashioned from silicone in a myriad of confi guration possibilities.
Playfulness also manifested in the invitingly soft, rounded and
low-lying shapes of new designs such as Draga & Aurel’s 1970sinspired
Barret curled leather armchair for Baxter (baxter.it);
Cassina’s reissue of the Soriana sofa and armchair designed by
Afra and Tobia Scarpa in 1969 (today redeveloped to include
eco-friendly BioFoam fi lling and recycled blown fi bre padding,
cassina.com); Adam Goodrum’s Big Talk snaking, swirling boldly
striped modular lounge chair (inspired by the Victorian loveseat)
for Swedish furniture brand Blå Station (blastation.com); and
De Sede’s DS-602 back-to-back island seating, upholstered in
marbled magnifi cences (desede.ch). All proved ideal for recreating
a hint of the psychedelic plush sunken living rooms of yesteryear.
At Rossana Orlandi’s eponymous gallery in Milan’s hip and leafy
residential San Vittore district (rossanaorlandi.com), fi rst founded in
2002 in an old tie factory and now a leading global authority in the
best of new, innovative, and daring design, Diederik Schneemann
drew on discarded collections of matchboxes, pins, postcards, or toy
fi gurines (including hundreds of Smurfs) to fashion Cherished vases,
mirrors and cabinets in a bid to reframe how we value materials.
Other materials joyfully reimagined included Hermès’ organically
shaped Sillage d’Hermès armchair by Indian architect Bij oy Jain
and his practice Studio Mumbai, where a wooden chair handcrafted
in Puglia was then hand-coated with a papier-mâché compound
made of cellulose microfi bres, before being varnished and hand
painted with graphic stripes (hermes.com). The pretty hues
and crackled fi nish of London-based Nature Squared’s CArrelé
eggshell tiles (naturesquared.com), created by the brand’s chief
material innovator Elaine Yan Ling Ng, also showcased at Rossana
Orlandi, ingeniously reconsidered an everyday by-product of the
food industry (sourced from local bakeries and farms based near
Nature Squared’s factory in Cebu in the Philippines) as an excitingly
sustainable, strong and UV-resistant construction material.
MARBLE & STONE
While vividly veined marbles and jewel-toned stones have
been enjoying their moment in the designs of show-stopping
bathrooms and kitchens over the past few years, their use
in furniture has remained largely confi ned to tabletops and
fi replaces. The Bolzano-born architect (and current designworld
darling) Hannes Peer aimed to change all that during
September’s Salone when he showcased Lamina, a marble
tabletop set on interlocking, intersecting triangular-shaped marble
slabs which supposedly also all packs fl at, as well as Marmini,
a chaise longue and armchair, each composed of juxtaposed
triangular shapes. Both were produced in collaboration with
Paris-based studio La Chance (lachance.paris) in his own
elegantly modernist apartment in Milan’s Politecnico district.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES
COLOUR COORDINATIONS Clockwise from left: a piece from Bethan Laura Wood’s Ornate collaboration with Nilufar; Adam Goodrum’s snaking Big Talk lounge chair for Blå
Station; Studiopepe’s Ritagli table
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American industrial designer Stephen Burks’ Friends table mirror
and Neighbors wall-mounted mirror for Salvatori (salvatorioffi cial.
com), the third-generation Italian stone specialist, took a more
humorous approach to demonstrating the company’s almost
70-year history of admired craftsmanship by also refl ecting
Burks’ hope for us all to be reunited again post-pandemic (where
the use of stones such as Rosso Francia, Giallo Siena, Verde
Guatemala and Nero Marquinia abstractly represented “the
diversity of faces in the world”). For other designers, marble or
stone provided an added layer of texture, elevating the simplicity
of silhouette and form, as in Patricia Urquiola’s Sengu dining table
for Cassina (cassina.com), where the layering of wood, marble
and ceramic together created a subtle but tactile textural effect.
Sweeping planes of Palissandro marble, relying on gravity as
a structural force where separate cantilevered shelves can be
moved according to need (to form a shelf or table), featured in
Australian furniture maker Fred Ganim’s Mass functional objets
d’art for London-based studio Agglomerati (agglomerati.com). In
the same spirit, after Poltrona Frau (poltronafrau.com) discovered
a large, rare piece of deep sage green Rosso Lepanto marble,
marked by red and violet tones, the leading Italian brand invited
the designer Roberto Lazzeroni to create an object to further
amplify the beauty and uniqueness of the stone’s character.
The Infi nito table, with feet carved from single blocks of white
Carrara marble, milled by a robotic arm to Lazzeroni’s special
dimensions, imitating opening tree branches, did exactly that.
Meanwhile, with sustainability increasingly on every designer’s
mind, Studiopepe’s Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto
(studiopepe.info) fashioned a set of Dadaist-inspired coffee and
side tables from patchworked slices of scrapped marble and
terrazzo, so named Ritagli after the Italian word ritagliare” (to
cut out). In collaboration with Italian design innovator Mille997
(mille997.com), young Milan-based design duo Cara \ Davide
(headed up by South African Cara Judd and Italian Davide
Gramatica) created two small Archivio tables by repurposing
single sheets of archived Verde Lapponia granite and Calacatta
Viola marble, simply slicing the material into smaller pieces
and reassembling it in a grid pattern of solids and voids.
For Dutch designer Stefan Scholten’s fi rst solo project since
separating two years ago from Scholten & Baij ings, the design studio
he ran with his wife Carole Baij ings, he masterminded The Stone
House (stefanscholten.com). Celebrating the beauty and versatility
of upcycling stone waste, he worked in collaboration with Stone
Made Italy and Morseletto to marry traditional Italian stonemason’s
techniques (such as terrazzo, mosaic, and marmorino) with
marble and travertine saw residue, broken chunks and grit to
produce chairs, tables, benches, and even a stone “carpet” while
avoiding the use of non-degradable adhesives to bind the stone.
Truly a marvel – and representative of the wonderfully outsidethe-box
thinking that is suffusing the post-pandemic design world.
CAST IN THE STONE Clockwise from top left: The Sengu dining table by Patricia Urquiola for Cassina; Fred Ganim’s Mass Medium (configuration b) for Agglomerati;
Marmini lounge chair by Hannes Peer for La Chance
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ON LOCATION
MEXICO
NOW
RUPERT PEACE, © HOTEL TERRESTRE (INSET)
Soulful, sunny and sophisticated, the country’s hospitality scene
has never been better, with coastal enclaves and cities alike
turning into world-class destinations // By Bruce Wallin
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AMID THE GREEN
A Cliff Villa at One&Only Mandarina.
Inset: a terrace at Hotel Terrestre
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ON LOCATION
PACIFIC HEIGHTS
Clockwise from far left: a One&Only
Mandarina pool; one of Four Seasons Resort
Tamarindo’s 157 rooms; One&Only Mandarina’s
spectacular location; Ana Martínez of Conrad
Punta de Mita’s Agave Studio; the restaurant
at Casona Sforza; one of that resort’s Alberto
Kalach-designed villas; on the beach at Four
Seasons Resort Tamarindo
MEXICO IS HAVING a moment. Impelled by escapist yearnings – and,
not insignificantly, an open-door policy – travellers have flocked to
the country’s shores throughout the tumult of the 2020s. But as
the decade settles down, the growing appeal of this geographically
and culturally diverse nation promises to spread far beyond the
Cabos and Cancuns. From the surf-pounded coast of Oaxaca to the
colourful streets of Querétaro, new hotels, resorts and restaurants
– and even alternatives to tequila – are making Mexico more of an
essential destination than ever before.
PACIFIC COAST
Nature and culture collide in spectacular fashion along the
mainland’s west coast, where Mexico’s upscale evolution is surging
full speed ahead. The incomparable Costalegre – a sprawling and
still-wild region dotted with sublime (and surreal) resorts like
Careyes – is restaking its claim as Mexico’s most exclusive stretch
with the April opening of the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo
(fourseasons.com). Blessed with a spectacular setting between
Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta, the 157-room resort – and the
property’s David Fleming-designed golf course – unfolds over 1,200
hectares of jungle and three swimmable beaches. North of Vallarta,
meanwhile, the Riviera Nayarit has made a sybaritic splash with
recent debuts including One&Only Mandarina (oneandonlyresorts.
com) on a dramatic coastal ridge, and the Conrad Punta de Mita
(hilton.com/en/conrad) on a made-for-families sandy beach. The
new Susurros del Corazón from Auberge Resorts (aubergeresorts.
com), opening this summer, promises to extend the region’s streak.
Kayaking, snorkeling, surfing and other ocean-based activities
are all close at hand thanks to the resort’s setting on a nearly
600m-long beach. Three pools located just up from the sand
anchor the 59-suite property, which will also include 30 Aubergebranded
residences plus four restaurants, an 11-room spa, and
a children’s club. Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, a
collection of 15 luxury tents, will also open later this year. Along a
pristine stretch south of Zihuatanejo, the regenerative resort Playa
Viva (see Extreme Green, page 64) just unveiled six manta-rayinspired
treehouses to add to its collection of highly creative – and
thoroughly sustainable – accommodations. The nearby Hotelito
by MUSA (stayatmusa.mx) opens this year as part of what’s
planned as a minimalist, self-sustaining community of homes
and contemporary surf shacks on a 67ha beachfront site flanked
by palm groves. A member of Design Hotels, the 13-room Hotelito
will reflect the eclectic nature of the community’s founders – the
Mexican-Canadian couple behind LOOT, a local architecture,
construction, retail and surf-lifestyle brand. Mexican architect
Alberto Kalach is behind two new retreats in the Oaxcan coastal
town of Puerto Escondido. The adults-only Casona Sforza (see
Oaxacan by Design, page 66) opened last year on a forested
perch where the Colotepec River meets the sea. A collaboration
between Kalach and Mexico’s Grupo Habita, Hotel Terrestre
(terrestrehotel.com) debuts this year with 14 wood, brick and
concrete villas, each with private pool. The Design Hotels member
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RAICILLA REVOLUTION
Tequila is still king in Jalisco, but another agave-based spirit
– raicilla – is staking its claim in connoisseur circles. Long the
moonshine to tequila’s bourbon, raicilla finally received its due in
2019, when the Mexican government bestowed upon it a Jalisco
Denominación de Origen. More refined versions of the spirit – which
can be made from any agave variety except for tequila’s blue weber
– soon followed. “There’s artisanal raicilla and ancestral raicilla.
Raicilla from the mountains and raicilla from the coast,” says expert
Ana Martínez, who leads the tasting programme at the Conrad
Punta de Mita resort’s Agave Studio. “It’s amazing the quality that
we have now, in just a couple years.” Here, Martínez shares a few
of her favourite pours, which she suggests enjoying as they do in
Mexico – as besitos, or little kisses.
LA REINA hails from the town
of Atenguillo, at nearly 1,600m
elevation in the Sierra Madre.
The 100% organic distillery
crafts artisanal and ancestral
raicillas, the latter made with
pre-Hispanic stills. “It’s the
same agave maximiliana, but
the ancestral is more intense
in flavour because of the still.”
raicillalareina.com
HACIENDA EL DIVISADERO
makes raicillas from a range
of agaves, including one that
requires 14 years to mature.
“It’s very traditional, very
herbal.” The distillery, set
in the mountains outside
of Puerto Vallarta, also
produces versatile agave
blends ideal for cocktails.
haciendaeldivisadero.com
LAS PERLAS DE JALISCO
is a raicilla de costa made
from single-origin amarillo
and verde agaves cooked in an
underground oven for 72
hours. Its “very intense”
character – marked by citrus,
vegetal, and floral flavours –
distinguishes this spirit from
its mountain counterparts.
raicillalasperlas.com
LA ESTANCIA is made from
agave maximiliana in the
historic mining town of San
Sebastián del Oeste. The
agave ferments in old Jack
Daniel’s barrels before being
bottled in hand-crafted
vessels made from recycled
Coca-Cola bottles.
estancia-raicilla.com
THE AGAVE STUDIO is
experimenting with its own
raicillas – of Martínez’s
making. “I have one ageing in
brandy barrels and another in
sherry barrels. We’re not
selling them; it’s only for
the tasting experience.”
hilton.com/en/conrad
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: RUPERT PEACE, CHRISTIAN HORAN, RUPERT PEACE, © CONRAD PUNTA MITA, JPARK STUDIO, ALEX KROTKOV, CHRISTIAN HORAN
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ON LOCATION
RISING UP
Breakfast at Habitas Bacalar and,
far right, a view over its lake; a
freestanding bath at Etéreo, centre
was built entirely with local materials and will operate completely
off-grid.
YUCATÁN AND THE CARIBBEAN
Crystal-clear cenotes, white-sand beaches, jungle-shrouded
Mayan ruins – the Yucatán Peninsula is awash in both natural and
man-made wonders. The latter include some of the planet’s most
popular tropical resorts, many of which can be found along the
Riviera Maya. Stretching south from Cancun to Tulum, the region
is augmenting its already considerable crop of luxury properties
with an influx of idyllic upstarts in 2022. First up is Auberge
Resorts Collection’s Etéreo (aubergeresorts.com), which opened
in December as the inaugural hotel in the new Kanai development.
The 75-room retreat is set amid mangroves along a pristine section
of the community’s 2km-long beach. The world’s second-largest
barrier reef is just 75 metres offshore, while five restaurants,
two swimming pools, a children’s club, and Kanai’s two 18-hole
golf courses support life back on land. Also coming to this new
Riviera Maya resort community is the St Regis Kanai (st-regis.
marriott.com), which is scheduled to open by year’s end with 124
rooms and suites plus 32 villas with private pools. Inspired by
Mayan astronomy, the resort’s connected semicircular structures
will maximise views of both sea and stars from private terraces.
The Kanai’s collection of elite retreats continues with the opening
of the Riviera Maya Edition (editionhotels.com) in late 2022.
The property – the Edition brand’s first in Mexico – will feature
180 rooms and suites plus a sprawling outdoor deck made for
epic events and parties. The party never stops in Tulum, which
welcomed its first international luxury brand in January with the
opening of the Conrad Tulum (hilton.com/en/conrad). With 11
restaurants and bars and more than 4,500 square metres of event
space, the beachfront property promises to honour the bohemian
beach town’s revelrous roots. Offering a secluded escape from the
party scene, Casa Chablé (chablehotels.com) will debut later this
year in the Sian Ka’an reserve outside of Tulum. Sibling property
to the beloved Chablé Yucatán outside of Mérida, the 10-residence
boutique hotel is set on a white-sand islet where guests can watch
the sun rise over the Caribbean on one side and set over the Sian
Ka’an lagoon on the other. The Yucatán’s Lake Bacalar has become
another insider alternative to Tulum, with its implausibly blue
EXTREME
GREEN
David Leventhal is the founder
of Regenerative Travel, a
global collection of hotels
and resorts committed to
going above and beyond the
concept of conservation.
Among the group’s properties
is Leventhal’s own PLAYA
VIVA (playaviva.com), a luxe
eco-retreat 50 kilometres south
of Zihuatanejo that just debuted
six mind-blowing manta-rayshaped
treehouses.
WHAT IS REGENERATIVE
TRAVEL? The simple answer is
a move from doing less damage
to doing more good. How did
this place get to be the way it
is? What was the role of man
in degrading what was once
here? And what’s our role in
bringing back the abundance of
what was once here? That can
happen anywhere.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK
LIKE AT PLAYA VIVA? It’s
everything from mangrove
restoration to reforesting the 80
hectares of what was once a
coastal forest and got degraded
into a coconut, mango and
tamarind grove. And that’s
just on our property. In the
community we’re focusing on
education, health and economic
development – it’s not just
about providing jobs. And now
we’re doing an entire watershed
regeneration project. Playa
Viva is set at the base of this
lagoon, which is formed by
the Juluchuca River. If that
watershed is dirty, Playa Viva
is dirty. Most people think
they’re only responsible for
what’s happening within their
four walls. We understand
that we’re responsible for the
downstream effect and the
upstream effect of what we do.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR
NEW TREEHOUSES. I don’t
like doing Bali in Mexico. It’s
important from a regenerative
standpoint that we honour
place, and that what we do
here is of here. The treehouses
were inspired by manta rays
– it’s like a mama manta ray
coming out of the water and
getting stuck in the trees as
she comes back down.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TANVEER BADAL, THE INGALLS, TANVEER BADAL, RODRIGO GARCIA
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waters and wellness-themed retreats. Habitas Bacalar (ourhabitas.
com) elevated the area’s eco-spiritual vibe when it opened last
summer with 35 cabanas, some perched along the lake’s iridescent
shore. Temazcal ceremonies, floating meditations and stand-uppaddleboard
yoga sessions embrace both the beauty and quirks of
the Bacalar region. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Cancun
will see its most anticipated debut in decades when the 150-suite
Waldorf Astoria Cancun (hilton.com/en/waldorf-astoria/) opens
this fall on a 40ha beachfront site.
BAJA PENINSULA
Nowhere is the move beyond Mexico’s tried-and-true beach towns
more evident than in the southern reaches of the Baja Peninsula.
The Los Cabos corridor – the wild and wildly popular stretch where
the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean at peninsula’s tip – still
beckons with its unmatched arsenal of ultra-luxe resorts. But savvy
travellers are straying north, east and west in search of laid-back
locales with an upscale streak of their own. Long the anti-Cabo
option for artists, surfers and spiritualists, Todos Santos is taking it
up a notch in 2022. The area, which spills down from a hilltop town
to a series of smaller beach communities, will see its finest resort
reopen in November when Rancho Pescadero (ranchopescadero.
com) reemerges from a nearly four-year-long rebuild. Essentially all
new, the beachfront retreat will be home to 103 rooms including
12 ocean villas, 10 penthouses and a hacienda suite. A beach club
and lounge will bring a Greek Island vibe to Todos Santos, while an
“ethnobotanical” culinary programme will offer guests the chance
to harvest their own ingredients in an organic garden. Guests of
Habitas Todos Santos (ourhabitas.com), opening by mid-2022,
can visit the resort’s onsite dog sanctuary or head to the adventure
lodge for surfing, biking and hiking excursions. Set amid coconut
palms and cacti on an oceanfront dune, the property will feature 35
desert-hued rooms, a beach club and a communal space designed
for small concerts and screenings. Across the peninsula from Todos
Santos, on the serene East Cape, the resort community of Costa
Palmas is a world apart. Already home to a beach club, a superyacht
marina, a Robert Trent Jones II golf course, and a Four Seasons
resort, this Sea of Cortez stunner will soon welcome Aman’s first
hotel in Mexico. Scheduled to open in 2024, Amanvari (aman.
com) will break the Baja mold with its collection of suites and fourto
seven-bedroom residences, anchored by a main pavilion with
restaurants, a library and a 25m infinity pool. An easy hop north
A NEW DAWN
A treehouse
at Playa Viva
KEVIN STEELE
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ON LOCATION
MEXICAN SCENES
From left:
whitewashed
alcoves in Casa
Polanco; Monte
Uzulu, San
Agustinillo;
Habitas Bacalar
on its eponymous
lake; Enrique
Olvera’s Carao
at One&Only
Mandarina,
Riviera Nayarit
by superyacht from Costa Palmas, the historic port town of La Paz
is the jumping-off point for epic excursions ranging from whaleshark
diving in the Sea of Cortez to sandboarding in the coastal
dunes. The 1950s-era Perla (hamakhotels.com) – John Steinbeck’s
novella The Pearl is set in the city – is reopening in October after
a top-to-bottom refit. The landmark property sits on the malecón
(esplanade) at the base of the Queen’s Pier, named in tribute to
Queen Elizabeth II’s 1983 visit to La Paz.
THE CITIES
While their beach-resort brethren have long been the favorite
ones – especially in the era of social distancing – Mexico’s
myriad metropolises are primed for a popularity boost, anchored
by a new wave of eye-catching hotels from Monterrey to San
Miguel de Allende.
The capital kicked things off last October with the debut of The
Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City (ritzcarlton.com). Perched high in a
tower above Paseo de Reforma and Chapultepec Park, the financialdistrict
newcomer affords inspiring views from every room, most
of all the sprawling terrace of the nearly 2,000-square-foot Ritz-
Carlton Suite. Opening this spring, Casa Polanco (casapolanco.
com) provides an alternative view of the capital, occupying a
1940s mansion in the city’s luxury-retail-and-restaurant epicenter.
The neocolonial villa underwent an exhaustive restoration and
conversion led by architect Claudio Gantous and mother-daughter
interior designers Monica Romo and Monica Novelo. The result
is an exclusive 19-room retreat filled with period antiques and
intimate amenities like a private restaurant and honour bar.
The perennially – and deservedly – popular city of San Miguel
de Allende is also witnessing a compelling conversion with the
OAXACAN BY DESIGN
Indigenous textiles, black pottery, colourful wooden alebrijes – Oaxaca’s inimitable arts and crafts have long lured professional decorators to this culturally
rich southern state. The region’s revered artistic traditions are on display at a trio of new boutique hotels, from the cobblestoned colonial heart of the
capital city to the rugged tropical shores of the Pacific coast. Set in a 17th-century mansion near Oaxaca City’s central plaza, HOTEL SIN NOMBRE
(hotelsinnombre.com) opened as a 22-room retreat in 2020 after a meticulous restoration led by Portuguese architect João Boto Caeiro. A central
courtyard connects to a grand staircase lined with Teotitlán del Valle textiles by Oaxacan master Rey David. Elsewhere, discover a contemporary (read: neon)
interpretation of a traditional Mixtec goldsmith design by local artist Sabino Guisu and black-and-white nudes by photographer Alberto “El Negrito” Ibáñez.
Marketers have rendered the phrase small Mexican fishing village meaningless over the years, but San Agustinillo is the real deal. The languid Oaxacan
coastal town unfolds over a series of three bays backed by the jungles of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. MONTE UZULU (monteuzulu.com), which
debuted in 2020, offers views of both jungle and sea from its 11 bohemian suites. Mexico City studio Taller LU’UM sourced works from throughout the
country for the wood-and-stone spaces, which include macuili furniture by local carpenters and hand-woven bedspreads from Teotitlán del Valle.
Opened last year in the surf city of Puerto Escondido, CASONA SFORZA (casonasforza.com) features rugs from Teotitlán del Valle, textiles from
Oaxaca Valley, and glassware, pottery and cabinetry from the local workshops of Pueblo del Sol, a sustainable community project that the hotel helps
support. Eleven suites are set within an elegantly asymmetrical amalgam of arches and vaults by the Mexican architect Alberto Kalach. Head out from your
suite for surfing, whale watching and other Pacific-based pursuits, as well as immersive full-day art tours of Pueblo del Sol.
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FROM LEFT: © CASA POLANCO, © MANUEL ZUÑIGA, TANVEER BADAL, RUPERT PEACE (2)
opening of La Valise San Miguel de Allende (lavalise.com) in
May. Set amid San Miguel’s spired churches, leafy zocalós,
contemporary art galleries and colonial mansions, the six-suite
hideaway offers a haven in the city’s heart. An expansive garden
area includes a swimming pool and an installation by Mexican
surrealist Pedro Friedeberg.
Positioned both geographically and culturally between
San Miguel and Mexico City, Querétaro is typically ignored by
international tourists. But the city of some one million residents
– and ample colonial charms of its own, including a pink 18thcentury
aqueduct – is raising its profile in 2022 with the debut
of two game-changing hotels. Marriott’s Luxury Collection will
introduce its first Hacienda property outside of the Yucatán with the
opening of Hacienda Carretas (the-luxury-collection.marriott.com).
The 16th-century estate is undergoing a renovation by Legorreta
Arquitectos and, when completed later this year, will feature 61
residential-style rooms with aqueduct views. Displaying Querétaro’s
contemporary side, the Hércules (hamakhotels.com) is part of a
new retail development with restaurants, boutiques and galleries.
The hotel, scheduled to open in October, will include its own craft
brewery – apt for a city with one of Mexico’s best beer scenes.
Some of the country’s finest wineries are also close at hand, and
the Hércules will offer viticultural tours of Querétaro and surrounds.
Similarly overlooked by most foreigners, Monterrey is a stunning
contemporary city squeezed amid three rugged mountain ranges in
Mexico’s arid north. Outdoor adventures are aplenty, but Mexico’s
wealthiest per-capita city also offers first-rate barbecue, historic
neighbourhoods and world-class museums. The new JW Marriott
Monterrey Valle (marriott.com) is a hub for excursions both natural
and cultural, with Chipinque National Park and the Museum of
Contemporary Art, MARCO, each within a 10-minute drive. Opened
last May, the hotel features 250 rooms and suites with views of the
surrounding peaks. JW Marriott is also coming to the Jalisco capital
of Guadalajara – home to tequila and mariachi music – with the
opening of the JW Marriott Hotel Guadalajara later this year.
ENRIQUE
OLVERA’S
QUICK
BITES
Enrique Olvera catapulted
Mexico City’s food scene into
the future when he opened
Pujol at the turn of the 21st
century. A couple of decades
on, and the 46-year-old chef
and restaurateur continues
to shatter preconceptions
of Mexican cuisine. His
latest effort, Carao at
ONE&ONLY MANDARINA
(oneandonlyresorts.com),
pairs his forward-thinking
fare with the rich culinary
traditions of coastal Nayarit.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE
DISH FROM THE
RIVIERA NAYARIT?
The zarandeado fish is a
classic of the region. It is
marinated in an adobo, a
mixture of spices and chilis.
I like that it usually goes to
the centre of the table – it
is a dish to share with friends
and family, with cold beer,
and hopefully with the ocean
right in front of your eyes.
Of course, we have our
version in Carao at One&Only
Mandarina.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST
EXCITED ABOUT WITH
MEXICO CITY’S FOOD
SCENE RIGHT NOW? Mexico
City is fantastic because there
are always a thousand things
going on; there are always new
projects brewing in every way.
For me, that’s the incredible thing
about the city. I’m more into
classic restaurants in the city
– I really like Rosetta by Elena
Reygadas and Máximo Bistrot
by Eduardo García and Gabriela
López. For drinks at night I really
like Tokio bar in Colonia Juárez
and, of course, Ticuchi, our agave
distillates bar.
YOUR AFFINITY FOR
OAXACA IS WELL KNOWN.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT
OAXACAN CUISINE THAT
YOU LOVE, AND WHAT ARE
A FEW FAVOURITE SPOTS?
I love the richness and above
all the generosity that there
is in Oaxaca, in every sense
– in its landscapes, in the
vegetables and fruits of the
region, and the flavours offered
by its different cuisines. In
the warmth of the friends who
always welcome me there.
I love to visit the markets.
Casa Oaxaca is always a stop
in Oaxaca and, of course,
Alfonsina, a restaurant with
amazing local food – simple
with no pretensions but deep in
flavours.
WHERE ELSE DO YOU LIKE
TO GO FOR AN ESCAPE
IN MEXICO? I love Baja
California. The beauty of the
desert meeting the ocean is
something that captivates
me every time I have the
opportunity to go.
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ON THE PULSE
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RUBBER
SOUL
Along with the intricate mechanics of this season’s
sport watches, the smartest of straps add a sublime finishing touch
Photography by Xavier Young // Production by Elisa Vallata
Above, from left:
Facing page, from far left:
HUBLOT
Big Bang Unico
Titanium Blue
Ceramic, with 44mm
satin-finished and
polished titanium case;
microblasted blue
ceramic bezel; waterresistant
to 100m;
blue rubber strap
PANERAI
Submersible Bianco,
with 42mm brushed
steel case; brushedsteel
anticlockwise
rotating bezel with
graduated scale;
water-resistant
to 300m; military
green rubber strap
PIAGET
Polo Chronograph,
with 42mm steel
case; silvered dial
with luminescent
indexes and blue
counters; self-winding
movement; date
at 6 o’clock; blue
rubber strap
BREITLING
Superocean Heritage B01
Chronograph 44, with
44mm stainless steel
case; unidirectional bezel
with polished ceramic
ring; self-winding
movement; waterresistant
to 200m;
blue rubber strap.
ZENITH
DEFY El Primero 21
Ultrablue, with 44mm
microblasted titanium
case; self-winding, highfrequency
chronograph
movement; powerreserve
indication at 12
o’clock; blue and black
rubber strap.
OMEGA
Seamaster Aqua Terra
150m Co-Axial Master
Chronometer Small
Seconds, with 41mm
stainless steel case;
brushed silvery beige
dial; water-resistant
to 150m; beige rubber
strap.
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ON THE PULSE
Above, from left:
Facing page, from left:
PATEK PHILIPPE
Aquanaut ref. 5168G,
with 42.2mm white
gold case; khaki green
embossed dial; gold
applied numerals
with luminescent
coating; khaki green
rubber strap
BREGUET
Marine Date 5517
Titanium, with 40mm
titanium case; sunburst
slate grey dial; Breguet
signature hour and
minute hands; waterresistant
to 100m;
black rubber strap
CHOPARD
Mille Miglia GTS
Automatic Speed black,
with 43mm scratchresistant
DLC-coated
blackened steel case;
rubber strap inspired
by 1960s Dunlop
racing tyres
AUDEMARS PIGUET
Royal Oak Offshore
Selfwinding Chronograph,
with 43mm stainless
steel case; smoked
light brown dial with
“Méga Tapisserie”
pattern; light brown
rubber strap
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CLOCLWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © COCHON, CHRIS GRANGER, RANDY SCHMIDT, © PAPRIKA STUDIOS
GOURMET GUIDE
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CLOCLWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © BESAME, PAPRIKA STUDIOS / JAMES COLLIER, CHRIS GRANGER
NOLA
IS BACK,
AGAIN
The food scene in New Orleans
is hotter than ever, with a raft
of new restaurants and
bars upping the culinary ante
// By Jeremy Wayne
BIG EASY, BIG CHOICE
Top row, from left: Donald Link’s Cochon; côte de boeuf from Chemin à la Mer;
tapas restaurant Bésame; Mister Mao’s chef and restaurateur Sophina Uong.
Bottom row; from left: Kashmiri Hot Chicken Benedict from Mister Mao; Eric
Cook of Saint John; grilled oysters from Cochon
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73

RANDY SCHMIDT
GOURMET GUIDE
NO CITY IN NORTH AMERICA respects its food
heritage quite as much as New Orleans. Its
rich Louisiana Creole traditions are kept alive
in po’ boy shops and laid-back jazz cafés – and
especially in its storied restaurants, many of them
well over a century old. But while that tradition
continues and notwithstanding the pandemic (or
perhaps because of it – “resilient”, after all, is
New Orleans’ middle name), new restaurants of
real quality are opening at an almost furious rate.
Take Miss River (missrivernola.com), the
signature, lobby-level restaurant in the swish new
Four Seasons hotel, which chef Alon Shaya says
is his “love letter to New Orleans, Louisiana”. It’s
already a very hot ticket, with duck and andouille
gumbo, an indecently rich blue crab au gratin,
and an even richer clay pot dirty rice – with blushpink
duck breast, duck-egg yolk and creamy liver
pâté – among the showstoppers.
For its second restaurant, meanwhile, Chemin
à la Mer (cheminalamer.com), with panoramic
views of the Mississippi River, Four Seasons has
snagged the renowned Louisiana chef, writer
PICTURE PERFECT
Booths at Saint John, Eric
Cook’s “new restaurant
with an old soul”
and James Beard Award winner Donald Link. At
Chemin, he thickens the seafood gumbo with okra
and stock, as opposed to a traditional roux, and
prepares a superb duck confit with white bean
pistou. A massive côte de boeuf here serves four.
Passionate about Cajun cooking, Link,
whose other restaurants in the city include
Herbsaint (herbsaint.com), Cochon Butcher
(cochonbutcher.com), Pêche (pecherestaurant.
com) and Gianna (giannarestaurant.com), has
spent time in Haiti discovering its origins. At
Cochon (cochonrestaurant.com), his restaurant
in the Warehouse District, where crowds waited
online for tables pre-pandemic, folks are already
coming back in droves for the restaurant’s
soft, pillowy boudin, which Link describes as
“basically a farmer’s snack”, and following it with
gulf fish or rabbit from the wood-burning oven, or
the eponymous Louisiana “cochon” in a variety
of iterations.
A notable newcomer, one which also takes
Haitian-Creole traditions as its inspiration, Fritai
(fritai.com) started life as a stall in the refined St
There’s room for everybody if the quality
is good. Or as Eric Cook succinctly puts it,
“A chessboard needs all pieces”
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Roch Market. Half-Haitian chef and patron Charly
Pierre’s short but punchy menu includes a tasty
avocado and plantain sandwich, alongside Haitian
“legim epina” (smothered greens with mirliton)
and braised shrimp with a richly textured Creole
sauce. He serves many of his dishes with pikliz, a
tangy Haitian pickled cabbage condiment.
Located in the new Virgin Hotels, with its selfstyled
Funny Library Coffee Shop and –honestly
– a humanoid white bunny rabbit reclining in
an armchair, the Commons Club restaurant
(commonsclub.com) is where longtime NOLA
chef Alex Harrell is now wearing the whites,
receiving plaudits for dishes like gulf shrimp
pappardelle and confit chicken leg with squash
ragout and ricotta gnocchi.
And in a glorious 18th-century building on
Decatur Street, in the heart of the French Quarter,
Saint John (saintjohnnola.com) is the recently
opened restaurant from the well-named, selftaught
New Orleanian chef Eric Cook. “It’s a new
restaurant with an old soul,” says Cook, who also
owns the city’s acclaimed restaurant Gris-Gris
SEAFOOD SPECIAL
Ssam-style charmoula
octopus at Mister Mao
© PAPRIKA STUDIOS
(grisgrisnola.com), and who positions himself as a
custodian of traditional New Orleans cuisine. With
his chef de cuisine Daren Porretto, he has scoured
old cookbooks to develop Saint John’s mouthwatering
menu, with dishes like sensuous oysters
done three ways (poached in double cream, crispy
fried, and in a vol-au-vent with oyster sauce), and
luxurious shrimp étouffée – shrimp smothered in
brown butter with Louisiana popcorn rice.
Of course, it doesn’t always have to be Creole.
Other significant recent openings include the
long-awaited and elegant Saffron (saffronnola.
com), in the Touro district, which fuses modern
Indian cooking with Southern influences; Thaihey
(thaiheythaifood.com) in the French Quarter, for
curried frogs’ legs and Louisiana crawfish curry;
and Bésame (besame-nola.com), in the Arts
District, for Latin American-styled tapas. And
yet another neophyte, which locals have good
reason to be excited about, is groovy Mister Mao
(mistermaonola.com), where the schoolroom
meets the jungle in terms of decoration, and a
Catalan fideuà meets Kashmiri fried chicken on
the chutzpah-filled menu.
The takeaway? There’s room for everybody if
the quality is good. Or as Eric Cook succinctly
puts it, “A chessboard needs all pieces.”
All food and no drink would make for a very
dull stay, but the Big Easy’s bar scene is also
very much alive and kicking. Then again, it
would have to be, in the city that gave the world
Sazerac, the French 75 and the Ramos Gin Fizz.
On a bibulous crawl of new and nearly new
bars, you might take in a Jardin de Mémé (green
chartreuse, St. Germain, absinthe and aquafaba)
at Bar Marilou (barmarilou.com), located in the
deliciously louche Maison de la Luz; a Peach
Smash (peach-infused bourbon, vigne liqueur,
ginger and mint), at the oh-so-cool Lobby Bar
at the Ace Hotel (acehotel.com), or a McKittrick
Old Fashioned (bourbon, sherry and bitters) or
even Tom of Finland on the rocks in the garden
at Seaworthy, another Ace Hotel outlet next
door. And don’t miss out on a visit to handsome,
jewel-like Peychaud’s (maisondeville.com), at
Hotel Maison de Ville, with its beautiful marble
fireplace and sumptuous modern art, for New
Orleans classics like the Sazerac, Ramos Gin Fizz
and Vieux Carré.
Back at the spectacular square bar at Virgin
Hotels, a Dragon Smoke (Montelobos Mezcal
Joven, Cinzano 1757 Rosso, Benedictine and
rosemary-infused Campari) is not for the novice
cocktail drinker. And last, but by no means least,
at the glamorous, oval-shaped Chandelier Bar
at the Four Seasons, run by Hadi Ktiri (an alum
of Arnaud’s French 75 Bar), a classic and very
dry martini comes with all the accoutrements
presented separately in a cut-glass dish. With
lemon for a twist, onion for a Gibson, and olives
for a dirty, for you to assemble as you please, this
is a very stylish presentation – but in stylish New
Orleans you expect nothing less.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE: 15miles/24km
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TASTING NOTES
CALIFORNIA’S
NEW CRU
JAK WONDERLY
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The forthcoming West Sonoma Coast appellation is
putting the spotlight on a handful of ambitious winemakers –
and their remarkable terroir // By Jim Clarke
MISTY MANOR
The fog-covered Peay Vineyards,
a leading member of
West Sonoma Coast Vintners
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© FLOWERS VINEYARD & WINERY
© FLOWERS VINEYARD & WINERY
TASTING NOTES
NORTH OF SAN FRANCISCO, just a few miles from the cool breezes
of the Pacific Ocean, vineyards adorn the mountaintop ridges that
poke through the dense fog below, the vines basking in the bright
California sunshine. This is the Sonoma Coast, or, as at least some
locals are accustomed to calling it, the “true” or “west” Sonoma
Coast. Local wineries think that’s a distinction worth making.
“In 2011, six wineries got together and we founded the West
Sonoma Coast Vintners group,” says Andy Peay of Peay Vineyards.
His 21ha property lies in Annapolis at the northern end of the
region; they were the very first to plant vineyards there. “We
had a belief that the coastal part was quite different from the
inland areas, and we were determined to discover more about
that and see what the differences were, in both the wines and
the growing regions.” In 2015 the group took that information
and submitted it to the government, applying to have the West
Sonoma Coast designated an AVA (American Viticultural Area),
the official designation for US winegrowing regions. After
many delays – the Trump administration put a hold on all new
regulations, for one – approval is imminent. The resulting AVA will
stretch from Annapolis down through Fort Ross-Seaview (already
an AVA in its own right) and into the Occidental Freestone area.
If the word “west” seems redundant, the problem is that a
Sonoma Coast AVA already exists. However, it encompasses not
just the area along the coastline but also a large swathe of inland,
decidedly uncoastal places, like the Russian River Valley. “It's so
misleading,” says Chantal Forthun, winemaker at Flowers Vineyard
& Winery. “The Sonoma Coast appellation is so large. I think
calling out the western far reaches of the appellation is incredibly
important because the wines have so much more coastal identity
and they're so distinctive from the inland Sonoma Coast wines.”
In the early 1990s Joan and Walt Flowers’ experience with
nurseries and two years of climate and soil studies convinced
them the coastal area was right for pinot noir and chardonnay,
but the wine industry looked askance at the remote location.
Hirsch Vineyards had been established nearby over a decade
earlier, but when Bronx-born David Hirsch bought a disused
BLOSSOMING BUSINESS
Chantal Forthun, winemaker at
Flowers, and the vineyard’s tasting
room, above. Facing page: Hirsch
Vineyards’ coastal setting
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© HIRSCH VINEYARDS
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TASTING NOTES
WEST IS BEST
The tasting room at
Occidental vineyards
© OCCIDENTAL VINEYARDS
sheep ranch in 1978 he was primarily looking for a place
to retreat from the day-to-day work of running his clothing
company. Two years later he planted vines at the suggestion of
a friend, and only in 1987 did his pioneering, entrepreneurial
spirit take over and he began developing the vineyards full-time.
Around the turn of the millennium came an influx of new
properties, all founded with winemaking in mind, such as Failla
Wines, Peay Vineyards, and Freeman Vineyard & Winery. But large
wine concerns have not invaded these mountaintop sanctuaries.
“The big corporate guys want flat, no hills; they want to use
large equipment,” says Carroll Kemp, owner of Alma Fria and
committee chairman for the AVA submission process. “Aside from
a few small spots that’s simply not possible on the West Sonoma
Coast. So the family farmer is always going to define the region
in the long term.” Pinot noir makes up about two-thirds of the
region’s 600 hectares acres of vines, followed by chardonnay. “The
reputation of the area rests on the success of those two varieties,”
Kemp says. Several wineries are also working with syrah.
Local conditions may demand a boutique mindset, but that wouldn’t
mean much if the grapes and wines themselves didn’t stand out.
Freeman Winery’s Yu-ki vineyard in Freestone is just five kilometres
from the coast, but founder Ken Freeman can contrast the fruit it gives
them with their estate vineyard, Gloria, inland in Green Valley. “In
Green Valley we hope to get three tons per acre, but we only get two
tons per acre in Freestone. At harvest, fruit from the vineyard on the
coast comes in almost a month later. It’s more distinctive fruit, with
more acidity. At Gloria we get more fruit-forward notes, a little bit more
cherry, and out on the coast we get an umami, forest-floor character.”
“You have a longer growing season at
more moderate temperatures so you’re able
to develop flavours and intensity”–Catherine Kistler
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COASTAL PIONEERS
From top: Ehren Jordan
of Failla Wines; a
chardonnay from Freeman
Vineyard & Winery
The coastal fog – and the inversion layer it creates – plays
a major role in creating a cool but sunny environment for
the vines. “If you’re used to coming to Napa and basking in
40-degree temperatures, this is not your neighbourhood,” says
Ehren Jordan, founder and owner of Failla Wines. He says on
days when Napa temperatures exceed 40, a coastal site he’s
developing will be struggling to reach 24. “A smoking-hot day
there is 29 degrees.” The elevation and the resulting wind also
minimise disease pressures, so almost all the region’s vineyards
practise some form of organic or biodynamic winegrowing.
The area’s soils bear the impact of human and superhuman
influences. “If you clear cut and bring in sheep and cattle,
there’s tremendous erosion,” says Jasmine Hirsch, who took
over winemaking responsibilities at the family property in
2019. “You’re farming on shallow soils lifted up by the San
Andreas fault and then shorn away by the rain. That is a big
part of why the wines have so much structure.” The fault is
just a kilometre from Hirsch and influences all the wineries on
the coast; its activity has created a hodge-podge of different
soils, resulting in varied, complex expressions in the wines.
That structure and the potential for complexity and balance
attracted Steve Kistler of Kistler Vineyards in the 1990s. He
purchased several sites and in 2011 founded Occidental
Vineyards; all but one of their vineyard sources will lie in the
new AVA. “You have a longer growing season at more moderate
temperatures,” says his daughter, Catherine Kistler, “so you're able
to develop flavours and intensity and get to actual, full ripeness
of the grapes at lower sugar levels while preserving natural
acidity. So the wines have all of this freshness and intensity
and brightness to them without distractingly high alcohol.”
“The pinots have a nice structure to them,” says Jose Delgado,
wine director at San Francisco’s Mourad restaurant. “A lot of them
are pretty intense in terms of tannin” compared to other California
regions, where he says pinots often show soft tannins or none
whatsoever. On the nose, the wines offer a mix of fruit, savoury and
floral aromas. “You get this darker fruit profile, like black cherries or
black raspberries. There’s also just a lot more perfume than in pinots
from the valley.” Other areas may develop some of that perfumed
quality with age, “but never that intense perfume you get up there.”
Andy Peay says it was precisely this combination that drew him
to the area: “The ability to have fruit, floral and earthy components
all in the same wine.” He also says the remoteness, the low yields
and the other challenges all act to keep the winemakers focused.
“I think I can speak for the group by saying that they're wines
that speak of place. Otherwise why go there? You have to be
out there because you feel the wines are distinct and distinctly
good. So anybody who's gone out there is pretty passionate about
what they're doing: ‘I feel like the best pinot noir and chardonnay,
and syrah can be grown out here and I'm going to go do that.’”
© FAILLA WINES
© FREEMAN VINEYARD & WINERY
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INSIDE LOOK
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MODERN
THINKING
The new Moco Museum in Barcelona
– like its sister museum in Amsterdam –
is dedicated to the art world’s here and now
// Photography by Adrià Goula
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83

INSIDE LOOK
PAGE 74-75
People Walking by
Julian Opie, 2018
ABOVE
From top: KAWSxCampana
sofa Man’s Best Friend,
2018, left, features Snoopy;
a room dedicated to the
works of Guillermo Lorca
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ABOVE
From top: Banksy’s Laugh
Now 2003, and Stained
Glass, 2011.
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INSIDE LOOK
A TALE OF
TWO CITIES
Barcelona and Amsterdam – two contrasting cities divided by the ballast of Continental
Europe. Different atmospheres, different aesthetics maybe, but in many ways united
by more than the things that divide them. Both are inextricably linked with giants
of the art and cultural world: the Catalan city is marked by the stunning designs of
Antoni Gaudí, all the while celebrating the works of masters such as Pablo Picasso
and Joan Miró; the Dutch capital revels in the genius of Vincent van Gogh, strongly
supported by the likes of Rembrandt and Vermeer. A more physical art, football, is also
a strong link between the two cities, united by Johan Cruyff, the beautiful game’s most
beautiful artist. But these are not places obsessed with their past. Both Barcelona and
Amsterdam are very much rooted in the now – modern metropolises that continue to
evolve into ever-more enticing destinations. It’s this forward thinking that enticed Moco
Museum of Amsterdam to open a second iteration of its brand of accessible modern
and contemporary art in the Catalan capital. The DNA of the museum is clear both in
location – as the original is set in Villa Alsberg, a privileged dwelling in the heart of the
city, so Moco Barcelona inhabits Palacio Cervelló, home to aristocratic families since
the Middle Ages – and in philosophy. The first exhibitions of Moco Barcelona reflect
a desire to salute what is most relevant in today’s art world: Laugh Now represents
a seminal selection of work from the enigmatic street artist Banksy; Moco Masters
Modern features work from established names such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel
Basquiat; and perhaps most importantly Moco Masters Contemporary is a celebration
of “rising stars” such as David LaChapelle, Hayden Kays and Harland Miller. Combined
with a desire to explore, experiment and exhibit an artistic landscape that increasingly
blurs the line between technology and art, the Moco museums will continue to mine a
vein of rich cultural gold. And if Amsterdam does it with the more pragmatic edge of a
Northern European capital, while Barcelona retains a certain sense of Latin flair, both
museums will uphold a commitment to the ideal of Kim and Lionel Logchies, founders
of Moco. “We represent the voice of the street, and we trust in art as the amazing
vehicle to help get us there.” Two cities, one ideal with art at its heart. mocomuseum.com
FACING PAGE
Rubik James Bond Girl
by Invader, 2008, in the
foyer of the museum
PAGE 80-81
Nick Thomm’s
Metamorphosis, 2021
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INSIDE LOOK
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THE LAST WORD
FUTURESCAPE
NetJets Owner Toyozo Shimano’s 1921 is a new kind of venue –
one that is the result of a very singular ambition
THE PREMISE
1921 will be a state-of-the-art space in
Thermal, California. “The overarching
idea is to bring things together that have
been separate parts of my life,” say the
man behind it, Toyozo “Toyo” Shimano.
“We have activities for cars, then there
are philanthropic activities, then golf, then
there’s music, and we can bring all these
things together into one business. Then if
I am in the business I am doing all those
things all the time,” says Shimano of his
latest master plan.
THE ORIGINS
Shimano is both honouring the past and
ushering in the future. The name marks
the year that Shimano’s grandfather,
Shozaburo, opened Shimano Iron Works
in Sakai, Japan, the start of an empire
that would encompass the manufacturing
of cycling components, fishing tackle and
rowing equipment, among other things.
Toyo Shimano spent many years in an
executive role for his family company, but
is looking to create his own legacy with a
strong sense of community. “We have to
go out of our way to build something with
a sense of community and grandeur and
purpose – otherwise there is no sense,”
he says.
THE OFFERINGS
A haven for arts and culture, 1921 will
be a passport to ultimate luxury and
a performance lifestyle. It will provide
patrons with a selection of facilities for
work and play, and will bring together
people of shared interests, serving as
a hub for philanthropic endeavours
as well as developing world-class
experiences. “This is not a vanity project
for Toyo. This is a business, you know,
we’re trying to build something here
that people are going to see a massive
amount of value [in] and are willing to
spend money to join us on this journey,”
says Kevin Root, Shimano’s close friend
and finance manager
THE BUILDINGS
All of this will take place in a space
designed by Arizona-based architects
Wendell Burnette, perhaps best known
for its work on the spectacular Amangiri
resort in Utah. 1921 will consist of
two structures. The main building will
host a flexible variety of event spaces,
catering for events ranging from vehicle
presentations to music concerts. Across
the street, via a palm grove, an auxiliary
building offers an additional courtyard
among its other amenities.
JULIAN RENTZSCH
90 NetJets

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