One for the Books
Ever dreamed of taking adventure travel to the next level? An actual record—or at least turbocharged bragging rights—could be in reach.
There was a time when trekking to the South Pole or surfing the world’s largest wave was a newsmaking challenge. These days, even rowing across the Atlantic has become passé. But intrepid travellers have not relented: the hunger to be first remains a powerful driver.
“We are constantly getting feedback: what is extraordinary? What is different?” says Jimmy Carroll, co-founder of Pelorus, which specialises in extreme and experiential travel. “How do you do something that no one else has done?”
Carroll and others in this adrenaline-fuelled segment of the industry have seen a rise in clients seeking to embark on boundary-busting adventures that could earn them a place in history. “The main reason is bragging rights,” says Larry Olmsted, author of Getting Into Guinness: One Man’s Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the World’s Most Famous Record Book. “[People] like to accomplish something and be a record-breaker.”
Feats that were once inconceivable are now entirely feasible. “Climbing, BASE jumping—sports that didn’t exist—are pushing the envelope of what’s possible,” says Olmsted.
Luxury operators are responding with access to unprecedented—or at minimum, exceedingly rare—excursions in far-flung corners of the Earth, along with the expertise to pull them off. Guinness might not be there to make it official on the 10 expedition concepts that follow, but that shouldn’t diminish your sense of accomplishment—or your ability to dine out on your tales of risk and triumph for years to come.
Perhaps more importantly, these journeys are designed to add value to your life—especially if you already have the car, the yacht and the plane. “They’re saying human connection and experience is the stuff that actually de-stresses us, gives us a longer, happier life,” says Henry Cookson, a record-breaking polar explorer and founder of Cookson Adventures. “Just trying to keep up on material things—that’s only gonna wear you down, because you can never win. So, we’re in the making-happy business.”
Camp in the World’s Largest Cave
FEAT: Be one of the select few to explore all 8.9 km of Vietnam’s Son Doong cave.
PRIME CANDIDATE: As a kid, you probably enjoyed digging as deep as possible, hoping to reach the other side of Earth.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: After trekking through remote Vietnamese villages, you’ll arrive at Hang En cave, which is smaller than Son Doong but still the third-largest known cave on the planet. You’ll spend one night there at a private camp next to a subterranean river before hiking over to Son Doong. After short-roping down into the cave system, you’ll spend four days exploring its chambers and rainforests. “It’s like nothing else on this planet,” Cookson says. “Just the scale of it, you really do feel dwarfed… This is something which is just such a departure from your day-to-day existence.” On the last day, you’ll cross a lake to arrive at the so-called Great Wall of Vietnam, which you’ll scale to exit the cave.
SKILL SET: You don’t need any special training to conquer Son Doong, but you should be a confident hiker. Technically, you’ll be underground the entire time, but the immensity of the cave and several places where sunlight filters in through gaps in the ceiling alleviate the sense of claustrophobia. At the same time, the vastness may be unsettling for an agoraphobe.
LUXURY COMPONENT: Cookson Adventures will set up an open-air cinema in one of the exposed parts of the cave, so that you can watch your favourite film on the big screen. The sonic experience may beat that of a real theatre or even your best at-home audio set-up.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: While others have hiked Son Doong, Cookson was the first company to do it and claims to know the cave system better than anyone else.
PRICE: Around $239,000 for a week for four people.
Cross Antarctica
FEAT: No one has ever traversed Antarctica from east to west during the winter season. “This is one of the last frontiers,” says Sune Tamm, director of operations at Arctic Trucks Polar.
PRIME CANDIDATE: You consider yourself the next Ernest Shackleton—seeking out a journey in the world’s most inhospitable place in the depths of winter, when not even a ray of light touches the continent for months.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: Training will start in Iceland, where you can develop your winter camping skills and try your hand at driving in icy conditions. Then it’s off to New Zealand, where you’ll hop on a cruise bound for the Ross Ice Shelf on the white continent. Because the ice shelf becomes inaccessible a few weeks before the start of winter, you’ll have to leave a week or two early and wait on the shelf for the season to officially kick off. Once winter begins, a helicopter will immediately zip you to the kitted-out Arctic Trucks, which will be your home for the next three weeks. The days and nights (who knows, because there’s no sun) will be spent travelling east toward Dronning Maud Land. A highlight will be stargazing at the dazzling night sky, an activity comparable only to seeing the stars from space. Once you’ve reached the destination, a charter will fly you up to Cape Town.
SKILL SET: You’re willing to forgo seeing the sun for about three weeks and exist in temperatures that hover around –80 degrees Celsius. You’re also happy to do so while living in a truck (albeit a comfy one) with no access to a shower—only wet wipes. Expert drivers will be available to take the wheel and/or supervise you, but an interest in driving is recommended.
LUXURY COMPONENT: Arctic Trucks AT44 6×6 vehicles built on Ford F-350 platforms, equipped with heating and memory-foam mattresses. Pre-arranged search-and-rescue team (including medics, airplanes and helicopters), just in case.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Arctic Trucks, which has 30-plus years of experience engineering vehicles that can withstand these harsh conditions. Most recently, the company has added technology that enables guests to travel during the winter across Antarctica—something many people have tried but failed to do.
PRICE: From around $10.8 million for six people.
Discover a Lost Ruin
FEAT: You could be the first human in modern times to set eyes on a centuries- or millennia-old ruin. “It also has the romance of being in the middle of nowhere,” says Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, co-founder and director of Cazenove+Loyd.
WHERE: Peru, Cambodia, Guatemala or Mexico.
PRIME CANDIDATE: You want to channel the Indiana Jones inside of you—or maybe just be able to say you discovered the “undiscoverable”. Better still, you might fund the excavation of the ruin.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: The expedition will be largely contingent on which country you choose to explore. Wilmot-Sitwell knows of pockets in a few countries in Asia and the Americas where ruins, which have been swallowed up by jungle, are almost certain to be found if you scour enough. Either the team can zero in on an area before you join for the recce, or Cazenove+Loyd can send a researcher in advance to pinpoint the exact coordinates and ensure a helicopter can land safely. Then you’ll stay on the site of the ancient settlement for a few nights.
SKILL SET: For the hardcore option, patience and stamina—you may be trekking for a while before uncovering anything. For the fly-in itinerary, all you need is the willingness to camp out in the middle of a rainforest.
LUXURY COMPONENT: Once you’re done marvelling at the ancient ruin, it’s straight to a well-appointed lodge, such as one of the Family Coppola Hideaways in Guatemala. Most importantly, though, you’ll have the expertise of a highly qualified researcher and/or archaeologist.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Cazenove+Loyd, a company that has previously helped a client uncover a lost Mayan ruin.
PRICE: From around $154,000 for two people.
Climb Tower Butte
FEAT: Not even members of the Navajo Nation, on whose land it stands, have climbed the sacred 1,611 m sandstone formation; only brief helicopter tours have been allowed. “Nobody has slept up there,” says Kevin Jackson, founder of EXP Journeys.
WHERE: The Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona.
PRIME CANDIDATE: Someone seeking the sound of silence—and whose idea of camping is sleeping in an expedition tent (not checking into a glamping hotel). Bonus: you’re curious about the Navajo Nation and its heritage.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: Following a night on a houseboat on Lake Powell, your group will begin the journey with a 4 km hike along a sandy path through the narrow Antelope Canyon. Then, the proper challenge will commence: you’ll spend three to four hours ascending Tower Butte, using a fixed rope (a.k.a. the jumaring technique) to propel upward. At the top of the empty flat-topped rock, a fancified mobile tented camp will await. While the sun sets, you’ll soak up uninterrupted views of the Moon-like landscape and Lake Powell. “There aren’t many places on the planet where you can feel this type of isolation,” says Jackson. The following morning, a helicopter will shuttle your party to Amangiri in Utah.
SKILL SET: At the very most, you’re fit, strong and extremely capable. At the very least, you don’t mind being hoisted by a rope system for a couple hours, because—if need be—the team can also haul you up. Most importantly, you aren’t afraid of heights.
LUXURY COMPONENT: A chef will prepare food that riffs on Navajo cuisine, and the team can engage a massage therapist, an astronomer for maximum stargazing, or even a Navajo storyteller to share tales about the land.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: EXP Journeys, a company that collaborated with the Navajo Nation to gain unprecedented access to the landmark.
PRICE: Around $61,500 per person for a group of six, including a one-night stay at Amangiri with the option to extend.
Ski Off-Piste in Seven Countries in Seven Days
FEAT: There’s no record of anyone having completed this globetrotting challenge.
WHERE: US, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Spain, India and Japan.
PRIME CANDIDATE: The word “slow” doesn’t exist in your vocabulary. You’re an ER doctor, an advertising executive or someone who can party until the wee hours. Because for this trip, you’ll need buckets of stamina. “There’s little rest,” says Jimmy Carroll, co-founder of Pelorus. “You’ve got to be pumped up to the max.”
WHAT’S INVOLVED: The journey will begin with ski runs in Alaska before you hop on a private jet bound for the glaciated peaks of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia to shred a few more. Then it’s over the Arctic Circle to Iceland, where you’ll hit the Troll Peninsula and overnight at Eleven Deplar Farm, an uber-luxe lodge in the Fljót Valley. The next leg is continental Europe—Sweden and Spain—to slide down the slopes of Riksgränsen (around 200 km north of the Arctic Circle) and the Pyrenees. Finally, it’s on to Kashmir in India and then Hokkaido in Japan, where travellers can finally take an extended break with sushi, sake and onsens.
SKILL SET: You don’t have to be a rebel skier, but an intermediate level is required. Experience in powder—so you can take advantage of the remote locations accessible only by helicopter—is also advisable. More than anything, you have enough energy to power through seven days while sleeping most nights on the plane, zipping across time zones, and dipping into foreign cultures.
LUXURY COMPONENT: A private jet, customs staff awaiting your arrival, and helicopters that shuttle you to the slopes upon landing. Top-notch ski guides and the option of additional
Trek Uncharted Bhutan
FEAT: Explore parts of the country, including sections of Royal Manas National Park, that have never been seen by the public before.
PRIME CANDIDATE: Someone who’s in touch with their spiritual side and doesn’t mind slowing down for a bit. Think of it as an abbreviated version of Eat, Pray, Love for the hardcore set.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: The main highlight is that you’ll have access to areas of the country’s oldest national park that are off-limits to the general public. Here, alongside a guide, you can keep an eye out for endangered royal Bengal tigers and Asian elephants. Elsewhere, though summiting the tallest peaks in Bhutan is forbidden (locals believe that spirits live up there), you can spend the night in a luxury tented camp on the side of a mountain, getting as close as possible to the very top. Other potential activities include meeting the royal family, visiting the Yeti Wildlife Sanctuary and exploring Laya Village—the country’s northernmost settlement. Bhutan is “that sort of mysterious kingdom in a world which is becoming more and more open and revealed to everyone”, Cookson says, noting that it remains an enigma even in our age of Instagram travel one-upmanship.
SKILL SET: You’ll be at altitude for much of the trip, so kick your aerobic and strength training into gear now. Be sure to break in your hiking boots ahead of time, too.
LUXURY COMPONENT: Using trees that have fallen in the forest, Cookson Adventures is able to build hot-stone baths that can be set up in any location. After a long day of hiking, you can lie back and relax while enjoying the breathtaking views of Tiger’s Nest monastery, which hangs on the side of a cliff beside a waterfall.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Cookson Adventures, which through its prior work in Bhutan has established strong contacts with those who know which areas of the country are still largely untouched.
PRICE: From around $500,000 for 10 days for six to eight people.
Climb Four Volcanoes in 24 Hours
FEAT: To the best of our knowledge, no one has ever tried it. “There are few places where you can do this,” says Carroll.
WHERE: Nicaragua.
PRIME CANDIDATE: You never take the elevator, only the stairs—even to your corner office on the 26th floor—and live by the saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
WHAT’S INVOLVED: You’ll begin with the mildest challenge: a one-hour hike up Cerro Negro, which has an elevation of about 728 m. After a quick descent (on foot or sliding on a board), you’ll hop a helicopter and whiz over to Telica, which takes about three hours to summit and half that long to get down. A 30-minute helicopter ride will flit you over to San Cristóbal, a 1,745 m volcano, where it’s about six hours to the peak, followed by a three-hour descent. The final climb is up Concepción, which requires another six hours to ascend. All in all, the quartet and transfers should clock in between 22 and 24 hours.
SKILL SET: You’d better be tough—physically and mentally. To meet the 24-hour deadline, you’ll have to climb through the night. Your only respite will be the brief moments in the helicopter.
LUXURY COMPONENT: While in the air, the team will have Theraguns to ease sore muscles and Therabody compression boots to boost recovery and performance. Energy-dense meals formulated by a nutritionist will be at the ready. A medic will be on hand, too. Other add-ons include a volcanologist. As the perfect wind-down, you can recover with a week at the private Calala Island.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Pelorus, a luxury travel company that excels in adventure travel.
PRICE: Around $146,000 per person for four people.
See the World’s Big Cats in One Expedition
FEAT: “We know for sure that no one has gone around the world to every single big-cat ecosystem,” says Behzad Larry, founder of Voygr. You’ll travel across four countries on three continents over the course of 40 days to find them.
WHERE: Brazil, Chile, India and South Africa.
PRIME CANDIDATE: Your idea of a vacation is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve also been on many safaris before—seeing wildlife isn’t about ticking animals off a list but really understanding their behaviour.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: India’s Pench National Park—the setting for The Jungle Book—is where the mission will begin, tracking tigers. From there, a private charter will deliver you to Suján Jawai, a luxury tented camp in Rajasthan, where leopards crawl across granite boulders and through acacia scrub. Then it’s back to Delhi to board a commercial flight (due to landing conditions) bound north to Leh in Ladakh to seek out the infamous snow leopard in the Himalayas. Next, it’s down to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa, an area renowned for leopards, lions and cheetahs. The plane will then head west to the Pantanal in Brazil to look for jaguars, followed by Torres del Paine in Chile, to search for pumas in the dramatic snow-capped mountains.
SKILL SET: Patience. Anyone can go on safari, but few people are willing to work like Sherlock Holmes to find specific animals.
LUXURY COMPONENT: The best accommodations possible in each location (Suján in Rajasthan, Lungmar—Larry’s camp in Hemis National Park—and Londolozi in South Africa) and expert guides with incomparable knowledge and tracking skills. Also, top-range scopes to view the animals, including your own personalised Swarovski binoculars.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Voygr, a travel company with expertise in spotting cats, namely elusive snow leopards and tigers. For this journey, Larry will team up with another guide and conservationist. Together, they’ll search for the seven species of cats. The nearly impossible-to-find clouded leopard in Borneo can be added on.
PRICE: From around $531,000 per person based on double occupancy.
Skydive to Dinner in the North Pole
FEAT: No one has attempted it, as far as we know.
PRIME CANDIDATE: You want what no one else can have. “In a world where everyone’s got the big boat, everyone can go and buy out a restaurant or take the biggest villa in the most expensive resort. That doesn’t really differentiate you anymore,” says Cookson. “If you really want to impress friends or colleagues or family and have that unique, F-you-type experience, dinner at the North Pole and skydiving into that—that certainly gives you bragging rights.”
WHAT’S INVOLVED: After boarding a Twin Otter jump plane at the northern tip of Canada, you’ll fly to the North Pole. Once there, you’ll parachute down to the ice, where a heated dining tent will await you, with all the cooking equipment having been air-dropped to the site a few days prior. The celebrity or Michelin-starred chef of your choosing (pending availability) will cook your dinner in the most epic of settings before you fall asleep in one of the world’s hardest-to-reach locations. The next day, you’ll get on the plane and return to Canada, where you can call up all your friends (or enemies) and take advantage of those bragging rights Cookson mentioned.
SKILL SET: As long as you’re willing to jump out of a plane, you’ll be fine. Experienced skydivers can go solo, but even if you’ve never mustered the courage before, you can train ahead of time or do a tandem dive with an expert.
LUXURY COMPONENT: Cookson Adventures will set up a sauna on the ice for a quick shvitz or a natural plunge pool to help you wake up in the morning.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Henry Cookson has a background in polar expeditions—plus a Guinness World Record earned at the Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility—so this sort of trip is Cookson Adventures’ bread and butter.
PRICE: Around $1.85 million for up to four people.
Sleep in the World’s Highest Treetop Camp
FEAT: Documentarians or scientists may have slept in these towering arbors before, but from what we understand, no guests have ever spent the night there.
WHERE: Borneo.
PRIME CANDIDATE: Your childhood tree house remains your favourite home—and maybe some days you find yourself speaking more words to your pet than to humans.
WHAT’S INVOLVED: Prior to the trip, rope riggers will have climbed up the over 30-m-tall trees to build you a camp in the forest canopy. You’ll remain up there for three or four days and nights, observing the birds and primates who share your temporary home. Expert researchers will accompany you, providing insight into their scientific and conservation efforts. “We tend to get distracted by day-in, day-out politics and things, but if we don’t have a livable planet, it doesn’t matter who’s in power or who’s trying to invade whoever else,” Cookson says. “It’s game over.” After you return to the ground, guides will lead the way through the jungle, where you can forage for food that will be prepared by a private chef.
SKILL SET: If you can climb a ladder, you can partake. That said, you will be spending up to 96 hours 30 m above the ground, so those with a fear of heights might want to rethink their vacation plans.
LUXURY COMPONENT: A comfy double bed with prime bedding and mosquito nets will be brought up to the camp, so you can get a good night’s sleep in the treetops. It’s “Rock-a-Bye Baby” taken to the extreme.
WHO CAN MASTERMIND IT: Cookson Adventures has a great relationship with expert rope riggers who often work on nature documentaries doing this sort of project in trees and other extreme locations.
PRICE: Around $400,000 for seven nights for four people.
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Omega Just Unveiled 9 Watches in Its New Constellation Observatory Collection
The line-up shows up a bevy of metals and colours, too, as well as two new calibres.
Omega’s latest watch is in a universe of its own.
The Swiss watchmaker just unveiled its new Constellation Observatory Collection today, the next step in its Constellation lineage and the first two-hand hour and minute timepieces to ever earn Master Chronometer certification. And if you were paying attention to any of the dazzling watches spotted at the Oscars this year, you would’ve caught a glimpse of the new line already: Sinners star Delroy Lindo rocked one of the models on the Academy Awards red carpet, giving us a pre-release preview of the collection.
Developed at Omega’s new Laboratoire de Précision (its chronometer testing lab open to all brands), the collection houses a set of nine 39.4 mm watches. The watches underwent 25 days of scrutiny there, analysed via a new acoustic testing method that recorded every sound emitted from the timepiece to track irregularities, temperature sensitivities, and more in the name of all things precision. (Details such as water resistance and power reserve are also thoroughly examined.) This meticulous process is all in the name of snagging that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance. The Constellation Observatory Collection has now changed the game, though, thanks to its lack of a seconds hand.
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of OMEGA, said in a press statement. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”
In addition to notching its place in history, the collection also debuted a new pair of movements: the Calibre 8915 and the Calibre 8914, each perched on a skeletonised rotor base. The former’s Grand Luxe iteration will appear on the 950 Platinum-Gold model in the collection, which offers up that base in 18-karat Sedna Gold alongside a Constellation medallion in 18-karat white gold with an Observatory dome done in white opal enamel surrounded by stars. The second Calibre 8915, the Luxe, will find its home on the other precious-metal models in the line, either made with the brand’s 18-karat Sedna, Moonshine, or Canopus gold seen across the case, the hand-guilloché dial, and, of course, the movement itself. (Lindo chose to rock the Moonshine Gold on Moonshine Gold iteration, priced at approximately $86,000, for Sinners‘s big night at the Oscars.) As for the Calibre 8914, it can be found in the collection’s four steel models.
Each model is a callback to myriad design features on past Omega models. That two-hand dial, for one, comes from the 1948 Centenary (the brand’s first chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch), while the pie-pan dial (seen in various blue, green, and golden hues throughout the line) and that Constellation medallion caseback both appear on watches from 1952. The star adorning the space above 6 o’clock also harks back to 1950s timepieces from Omega. And to finish off the look, you can opt for alligator straps in a variety of colours, or perhaps a gold iteration to match the precious-metal models; the brick-like pattern on the 18-karat Moonshine bracelet was also inspired by Omega watches from the ’50s.
We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for any other Constellation Observatory timepieces (or any other unreleased models from the brand) at the rest of the star-studded events headed our way this year—perhaps the Met Gala?
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Inside Loro Piana’s First Sydney Boutique
A first Australian address brings the Italian house’s textile-led approach to retail full circle.
On the fourth floor of Westfield Sydney, near the Castlereagh and Market Street entrance—in the space formerly occupied by Chanel—Loro Piana has opened its first Australian boutique. It is a significant address change for that corner of the mall, and a meaningful one for the Italian house, which has sourced Australian merino wool for decades but until now had no retail presence here.
The facade is understated—creamy, tactile, more about texture than theatre. Inside, the store unfolds across a single, expansive level divided into distinct men’s and women’s wings. The separation is clear without being heavy-handed: womenswear leads from soft accessories and leather goods into ready-to-wear, while menswear occupies its own assured territory, with tailoring and outerwear given proper breathing room. Footwear (supple loafers, luxurious slides, pared-back sneakers) is particularly strong, and the sunglasses are a quiet standout: mineral-toned frames with a disciplined elegance that feels entirely of the house.
That same restraint carries into the interiors, where the surfaces do much of the talking. Walls are wrapped in the company’s own linen and cashmere; carpets are custom, dense underfoot, softening the acoustics and the pace. Oak and carabottino wood add warmth without fuss; marble accents introduce a cool counterpoint. The effect is a composed space calibrated around material, proportion and restraint.
The Spring 2026 collection now in store underscores that sensibility. Silhouettes are elongated and fluid; cashmere, silk and featherweight merino move in sandy neutrals, creams and muddied earth tones, with flashes of marigold and pale turquoise breaking the calm. Tailoring is softly structured and projects confidence without aggression. Leather goods arrive in buttery skins that feel almost pre-lived, as though time has already worked its magic.
What distinguishes Loro Piana, particularly in a market that has grown noisier by the season, is its refusal to perform luxury in an obvious register. There are no oversized insignias telegraphing allegiance. Instead, the status is encoded in fibre count, in hand-feel, in how a coat hangs from the shoulder. It assumes the wearer knows and, crucially, does not need to announce it.
Sydney’s luxury landscape has matured in recent years; global houses no longer test the waters but commit to them. Yet Loro Piana’s arrival feels different. It is not trend-driven expansion but material logic. For a country whose sheep stations have long contributed to the house’s fabric story, this boutique reads almost as a thank-you note written in cashmere.
Photography: Courtesy of Loro Piana.
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This Stylish, Water-Resistant Dopp Kit Might Be the Last One You Ever Buy
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If all you’re going to do is look at it, a leather Dopp kit from a fashion house is a fine choice. But if you take travelling seriously—and do it often, for business, pleasure, or both—such a bag will inevitably end up blemished with droplets of water or stained by errant flecks of toothpaste. Get stuck with a cavalier team of baggage handlers, and it can even get soaked in your favourite fragrance or anti-ageing serum.
But Patricks, the high-performance Australian grooming brand stocked in Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman, has a solution. Its limited-edition bathroom bag, called BB1, is purpose-built to protect everything inside and out. Conceived by industrial designer George Cunningham with brand founder Patrick Kidd, the cuboid design is executed in a water-resistant recycled nylon you can rinse clean. It’s lined with a thin layer of shock-absorbing foam to safeguard your products, but if a bottle somehow gets cracked in transit, the two-way water-resistant zippers and sealed seams (which keep liquids from seeping in or out) ensure that whatever leaks won’t ruin your cashmere. Inside, two dual-sided zippered compartments are ideally sized to fit toothbrushes, razors, and other small essentials.
And though its clean lines and rugged construction make it undeniably masculine, its greatest feature is borrowed from women’s makeup bags. Like the best of these, BB1 unzips to lie flat, giving you unobstructed access to everything inside. Well, you and the 999 other gentlemen who move fast enough to snag one. $289
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1. Hanging Loop
The G-hook system isn’t just a stylish handle: You can also use it to hang the bag from a hook or secure it to your carry-on.
2. Two-Way Zipper
The closures are water-resistant in both directions, meaning liquids won’t get in or out.
3. Fold-flat Construction
BB1 opens to 180 degrees, letting you scan its 4.2-litre capacity at a quick glance.
4. Technical-Fabric Shell
The durable recycled-nylon is easy to maintain and woven to survive splashes and leaks from your go-to products.
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Mauve on Up
Brisbane boutique stay Miss Midgley’s offers a viscerally human experience—especially if you dig pink.
On a sun-bleached corner of Brisbane’s New Farm, where the scent of frangipani mingles with the clink of coffee cups, stands a building that has lived more lives than most people. Once a premier’s residence, an orphanage, a hospital and a private school, the 160-year-old stone structure now finds itself reborn as Miss Midgley’s—a boutique stay that teaches a masterclass in how to make heritage feel modern.
Designed and run by architect-mother-daughter duo Lisa and Isabella White, Miss Midgley’s captures the cultural confidence of a city in bloom. Nowhere is that new confidence more visible than along James Street—the leafy, slow-burn heart of the city’s fashion and dining scene—where Miss Midgley’s sits quietly at the edge, its shell-pink façade glowing in the subtropical light.
Built of Brisbane’s rare volcanic tuff, the building’s soft mauves and pinks are more than aesthetic; they are its identity. Locals still remember its 1950s incarnation as the Pink Flats, and the Whites have honoured that legacy with a contemporary blush-toned exterior, chosen to harmonise with the stone’s peachy undertones. Inside, those hues continue in dusty terracottas, russets and the faint shimmer of brass tapware. “Design can’t afford to be for the sake of fashion,” Isabella White has said. “It has to respond to what’s in front of you.”
That sentiment is tangible in every corner. Five apartments, each with their own idiosyncratic floor plan, occupy the building. Ceilings bloom with heritage plasterwork, 19th-century wallpaper fragments have been preserved in the kitchens, and tiny hand-painted notes left by the architects point out original quirks: a misaligned beam here, a hidden archway there. It’s a kind of adult treasure hunt for design lovers, where discovery feels personal and unforced.
Even the picket fence, a heritage requirement, has been reimagined in corten steel—a sly nod to regulation turned into sculpture. It’s this blend of reverence and rebellion that gives Miss Midgley’s its edge: heritage without starch, nostalgia without sentimentality.
True to Brisbane’s easy elegance, luxury here is measured not in marble or minibar but in proportion, privacy, and personality. Each apartment—from the Drawing Room and the Assembly Hall to the Principal’s Office—is a self-contained sanctuary with its own kitchen, large bathroom and outdoor space. The ground-floor units open onto leafy courtyards and welcome small dogs; upstairs, the larger suites spill onto verandahs shaded by jacarandas.
At the heart of the property lies a solar-heated pool hemmed with tropical greenery and fringed umbrellas—more mid-century Palm Springs than colonial Brisbane. Around it, guests share a petite laundry, a communal library and that rarest of urban luxuries: a car park per apartment. The atmosphere is quietly collegiate—a handful of travellers who might nod to each other on the stairs but otherwise inhabit their own creative bubbles.
The hotel’s namesake, Annie Midgley, lends the project both its name and its spirit. An ambidextrous artist and teacher, she famously instructed two students at once, writing with both hands simultaneously—a fitting metaphor for the dual vision the Whites bring to the building: one hand rooted in history, the other sketching toward the future. “Not famous, yet known,” goes the property’s understated tagline—and indeed, Miss Midgley’s has quietly become that most desirable of addresses: the one whispered about by people who know.
Sustainability isn’t an accessory here; it’s structural. The adaptive reuse of the heritage building is its boldest environmental act. Solar panels power the property; an electric heat pump warms the pool; recycled decking and tiles frame the courtyard. The metre-thick tuff walls regulate temperature naturally, and the amenities follow suit—refillable bath products, biodegradable pods, Seljak blankets spun from textile off-cuts, and compendiums wrapped in Australian-made kangaroo leather. It’s slow luxury in the truest sense.
In a world of carbon-copy hotels, Miss Midgley’s feels deeply human—a place where history isn’t curated behind glass but lives in the warmth of stone and the flicker of afternoon light. The lesson it offers is simple and resonant: that the most elegant modernity often comes not from reinvention, but from listening to what’s already there.
