INTIMATE AND REJUVENA BY DESIGN

FROM UBER-SECLUDED VILLAS AND REMOTE ISLANDS IN THE ATLANTIC AND THE INDIAN OCEAN, TO A SOON-TO-OPEN RENOVATED BUILDING USING ANCIENT JAPANESE LAVA STONE AND CRAFTS IN THE HEART OF KYOTO, FROM HEALING IN A FOREST SURROUNDED BY TIGERS, TO A QUIET RETREAT IN THE AUSTRIAN ALPS, TRAVEL IS ABOUT AN AUTHENTIC, LIVED EXPERIENCE, WITH PRIVACY AT THE HELM.

- BY PRIYA KUMAR

EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL is on the rise. The luxury hospitality market has risen 4% this year to €242 billion, according to Bain & Company, with wellness-driven retreats and safari resorts being extremely popular. While UHNIs with more than $30 million in assets prefer quiet luxury with personalised services, targeting remote, private destinations, those with up to $30 million in assets will want local ambience and tranquility, says a survey by McKinsey & Co. A look at some of the resorts that best epitomise luxury travel in 2025 and beyond.

ARTISTIC VILLAS@ THE SEYCHELLES

In the heart of the Indian Ocean, The Seychelles casts its own spell with vibrant jungles, pristine white-sand beaches, and crystal-clear waters. And offering the perfect French joie de vivre is the Maison Cheval Blanc Seychelles (the brand's first in Africa, the newest property in LVMH Hotel Management's portfolio), which opened in December. No wonder, it's hosted the likes of Britain's Prince William and Princess Kate, and tennis legend Roger Federer.

The 52 villas that curl Around the Anse Intendance beach on Mahé Island, designed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, are spacious, modern and follow the geometric lines of local Creole architecture, offering uninterrupted views of the ocean. Each villa is adorned by a textile artwork by Malagasy artist Joël Andrianomearisoa.

Dining options are aplenty—from vibrant Italian Vivamento to Sula, for Creole specialities to the Japanese Mizumi, to French gastronomic haven Le 1947 (named after the most precious vintage of Chateau Cheval Blanc).

The spa, with its six treatment rooms is in collaboration with Guerlain, offers tailor-made treatments after a special skin diagnosis. Signature treatments include a 90-minute face and body massage using warm shells and a 120-minute sound-bath infused drainage massage.