Month: June 2022

The idea of wilderness plays a crucial and curious role in the ongoing evolution of travel. Conquering the wild was once central to our pioneer narratives of progress. Nowadays exploring the “frontier” can take on a myriad of meanings for different travelers. Whether the notion conjures remote lands, or the thrilling prospect of tracking apex predators, here are ways to get your wild on—from the South Pole to the South Sandwich Islands.

An entirely 21st Century upgrade in travel to the White Continent is finally here, ready to quite literally rock your world and properly blow your mind. White Desert’s newest camp, Echo, debuts this December. The new camp is located inland of Antarctica’s north coast, three miles from Wolf ’s Fang, a sister camp that opened in December 2021 on a glacier in Queen Maud Land.

A power player in the sustainable polar travel arena, White Desert is the only luxury hospitality company in the world to fly business jets to Antarctica. Their 9,800-foot runway is exclusively for private jets, either the company’s Gulfstream G550, a privately-chartered A340 or those of camp guests, which have included the likes of Prince Harry, Bear Grylls, and Buzz Aldrin.

Echo is the next best thing to a stag party on Mars. Intimately scaled, it’s ideal for exclusive use by affluent families, C-suite executives, and bachelors gone rogue. On arrival, a welcome cocktail chilled with 10,000-year-old ice awaits in the central lounge.

Accommodating up to 12 explorers in serious style, Echo’s high-end execution of deliriously thrilling expeditions raises the bar on next-gen “pop up” possibilities. As with all White Desert’s camps on the 7th Continent, Echo is designed to be completely dismantled, leaving no trace on the environment.

Inspired by the golden age of space exploration, the idyllic design of the “Sky Pods” is striking, to say the least, like superstructures from a parallel multiverse. Futuristic and nostalgic all at once, Echo is quite an aesthetic coup. Six heated pods were created using composite fiberglass with floor-to-ceiling windows—lose yourself in the lunar-like landscape from the comfort of your bed. Waking up at Echo, encircled by otherworldly geological formations, feels like you’ve lifted off the planet without actually leaving Earth.

Each pod features original photography by Colonel Terry Virts, former International Space Station Commander, taken from the ISS. Virts was an early guest with White Desert, and the terrain spectacle clearly made a massive impression. Take it from one of the few astronauts who can legitimately boast this frame of comparative reference; says Virts of the Echo camp landscape, “The mountains are the most beautiful I have seen across Earth, Venus and Mars.”

Patrick Woodhead, White Desert founder and CEO, tips his hat to pop culture in his latest passion project. “The inspiration behind the interiors of Echo Base comes from too many years of watching Star Wars as a kid,” says Woodhead.

“I loved the 1970s vision of what the future would hold. The real difficulty was trying to get the interior designers to fuse together the retro feel of the Millennium Falcon with the luxury of a boutique retreat!” The polar explorercum-camp entrepreneur finds the greatest validation from those who’ve ventured into orbit, divulging, “We’ve hosted a couple of astronauts over the years, and hearing them speak about the beauty of the Antarctic landscape is quite something.”

Fill your days with as much fat biking, skiing, and Ski-Dooing as you like. Or forge trails in a 4×4 arctic truck to ice-climbing and mountaineering sites. An expedition to the 28,000-strong Emperor Penguin colony is the peak bucket list moment for most guests. Be sure to avail yourself of the arctic-specific SPF100 on hand at camp or face the high-UV consequences, like the group of Saudi royals, who thought they were immune.

By nightfall, captains of industry sip snifters of Speyside Scotch served from a “snow bar” sculpted from Jurassic-era ice. A dining room serves up epicurean delights such as savory lamb shank, or velvety tagliatelle in a Parmigiano wheel, no small feat, considering you’re carb-loading this close tothe South Pole. Beam us in a hologram of Wonderwall-era Jane Birkin, we’re hooked. This five-day fantasy can be yours from $780,000, for up to a dozen of your friends.

Nearly a century after the heroics of early Antarctic exploration, the elusive continent remains largely undiscovered. We can’t think of a more thrilling frontier than the impassable Weddell Sea and imposing Larsen Ice Shelf. The big buzz on the high seas for the coming Antarctic cruising season? Ponant recently launched Le Commandant-Charcot, the world’s first luxury hybrid electric ice-class vessel, powered by LNG (currently the cleanest fuel on the market).

Le Commandant-Charcot is capable of sailing to parts of the Bellingshausen Sea that have been inaccessible until now. The volcanic Peter I Island—where fewer people have visited than have set foot on the moon—is suddenly an option, to put this auspicious launch into rather wild perspective. Navigating the route first explored by Jean-Baptiste Charcot in 1909, National Geographic enthusiasts will surely be smitten by the oceanographic laboratory onboard. Far from a mere pleasure cruise, take part in what Ponant dubs “participative science” by helping to set up a station on an ice floe or taking water samples. Ponant polar itineraries also include the South Sandwich Islands and the Ross Sea.

Our continental frontier remains the Lamar Valley—the Serengeti of North America—in Yellowstone National Park. If wolves are your spirit animal (or just on your boo’s wish list), the Four Seasons Jackson Hole unveils a new encounter this summer designed to dive deeper into this connection. The resort’s partnership with Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris allows for unrivaled access to view Greater Yellowstone’s apex predators in prime natural habitats. An expert naturalist guides you in safely tracking and photographing wolves, grizzlies and megafauna in a landscape right out of Jeremiah Johnson.

With Grand Teton and Yellowstone in their backyard, the Four Seasons Jackson Hole boasts a “Swiss Army Knife” of solutions when it comes to creative expeditions to Willow Flats, Pacific Creek, Hayden Valley within the parks—all with an upscale spin. To disappear into the wild at dawn, revel in an emotional epiphany with wolves by dusk (or at least a certain awe), then feast on dry-aged Piedmontese ribeye slathered in black-truffle bone marrow butter is pretty priceless.

If you value lashings of personal attention and handcrafted, five-star meals, nirvana awaits at Westbank Grill, overlooking the resort’s base camp. Many of this particular Four Seasons’ custom experiences are in some way geared towards physical and mental exploration, if not enlightenment. For those short on time, but big on rugged adventure with all the trappings of a posh holiday, this is as good as it gets.

One of Florence, Italy’s best and most beautiful hotels is all but hidden in a medieval tower built more than 800 years ago tucked into one of the city’s most exclusive shopping streets. Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni is as historic as it gets, yet the prestigious property is not lacking in luxury amenities, including one of the stunning city’s best-loved rooftop bars, which has a view of the iconic Ponte Vecchio among other landmarks.

It’s the perfect spot to enjoy one of Florence’s most famous inventions (around here anyway), the Negroni. As the story goes, in 1919 the aristocratic Count de Negroni asked a bartender at Florence’s Café Casoni to create the concoction. The café is long gone but the drink, like Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni, lives on in style.

This is understated luxury at its finest, where “original art harmoniously compliments contemporary craftsmanship and design-led interiors,” as the family-owned hotel puts it. “Here, guests enjoy a sense of timeless elegance set against a magnificent backdrop.” In addition to the original tower, the hotel also now occupies the stately 19th-century palazzo next door.

The hotel’s General Manager, Maria Rita Bellini, tells us they “wish to reinvent the concept of hospitality, and we have the inspiration to provide the warmth of home in every detail.” That’s in keeping with the historical record, as the tower-house built in the mid-12th century by the important Ruggerini family first became a hotel in the early 1900s, and “quickly turned into a privileged residence for aristocrats, writers and musicians.”

It first opened as Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni a century later. “Thanks to attentive restoration to preserve all its original charm, the evocative ambiance of the palace on Via Tornabuoni has regained life and warmth,” Bellini says. “To this day, it still preserves all its characteristic architectural elements.” Then as now it serves as a a lavish home from home for well-heeled travelers who wish to enjoy a taste of Florentine living.

She adds, “In this ancient tower, we have created a world of harmony, privacy, and attentiveness to our guests’ needs. Luxury, peace, and beauty are all in traditional Italian style, and give the concept of comfort new aesthetics.” Just as important as the design is service, and “our per personnel… are dedicated to satisfying guests’ needs and desires with constant and discreet assistance,” Bellini notes.

The hotel has just 27 rooms and suites, each one unique and featuring original details like wood-beamed ceilings and stone archways. The historic interiors were updated and enhanced by renowned designer Angelica Frescobaldi, who aimed for “an elusive mix of old school glamour and contemporary chic.”

Each room features hand-painted walls with “vibrant notes of color and artisanal finishes,” plus richly hued textiles, antique rugs, and natural wood floors. The larger suites rooms in the front of the palazzo have postcard views over the Arno River and some have private terraces as well. Our favorite is the cozy library suite with its wall of built-in bookshelves.

The bathrooms are adorned in Italian marble and there are cashmere throws on the oversize beds, while public spaces display fresh flowers, leather-bound books and antique furniture. Coupled with the hotel’s intimate reception area, and a front desk that feels like your private concierge, the overall ethos is more akin to staying in a private apartment than a typical luxury hotel.

As noted, Antica Torre Tornabuoni has some of the most exceptional views in Florence. The ancient tower’s rooftop terraces, which are for guests only, have panoramic vistas across Florence and beyond, and the picture-perfect rooftop bar is the ideal place to relax and watch the sun set over the city below. Breakfast is also served in a room with a terrace overlooking the famous river.

The restaurant is situated on the rooftop of the medieval tower and is “nestled elegantly between the 13th-century stone battlements,” as the hotel notes. During the summer, the restaurant switches to being al fresco on the lower of the two rooftop terraces, and in the cooler months it is set within a glassed-in winter garden which also has amazing views of the city.

The menu features the best seasonal and regional ingredients from Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside, as well as fish sourced fresh from the gulf of Follonica. Highlights include farm-reared Chanina beef and handpicked saffron from a nearby farm. And of course the wine list is a greatest hits of Tuscany’s famous vintages.

Before or after dinner, be it a Negroni or a Spritz, an experience not to be missed is a cocktail on one of the rooftop terraces. The hotel’s in-house mixologists are always eager to come up with a bespoke concoction to suit a guest’s tastes. They use exclusive local ingredients such as rose liqueur from the famous Officina Farmaceutica Profumo di Santa Maria Novella, a Florentine landmark for those in the know, or Rosolio delle Monache Benedettine, another local favorite that is impossible to find elsewhere. Cin cin!