Culinary Masters Winners

We eagerly plate-up nine positives to come from a chaotic year in hospitality – introducing the impressive class of 2021.

By Robb Report Staff 10/01/2022

What a year. After the most challenging 12 months in hospitality in living memory, Australian hospitality has – somehow – produced a bumper crop of alluring new places to eat.

The class of 2021 would be impressive in a regular year, but in the face of the havoc wrought by the pandemic, their achievements are even more remarkable.

Whether it’s veterans rolling the dice on another round or young guns sharpening their focus, whether paying homage to the Francophile classics (if not with the odd cheeky antipodean twist) or forging new ground with less familiar plays of flavour, the talent is running hot.

In acknowledging this heady collection of talent, we’ve made changes to the distribution of the coveted Culinary Masters crowns. No longer the reserve of just young chefs making inroads the past 12 months, we’ve expanded to include all behind the burners (whether new or established), extending further to the overseers and restaurateurs serving up exciting new ventures and without whom so many wielding the knives wouldn’t have an opportunity to flourish.

And so, introducing the Robb Report Culinary Masters of 2021…

Khanh Nguyen, chef, Aru and Sunda, Melbourne

Khanh Ngyuen. Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen.

Rare is the chef who has done a better job than Khanh Nguyen of diagramming the through-line from ingredients native to Australia to the food traditions of our nearest neighbours up in Southeast Asia. Fewer still have made that lesson taste so damn good. To eat his food at Sunda, or at Aru, the new fire-focused spin-off he opened in 2021, is to slap your forehead over and over – of course these flavours work together; this is all the same part of the world! – before diving back in for more. And the flavours we’re talking about are not small. Pepperberry and betel leaf frame grilled wagyu tongue in a nod to the bo la lot of Nguyen’s Vietnamese heritage, while a flurry of sweet spanner-crab meat and white kampot pepper make a luxury of fried rice. Desserts are no less lavish – pandan perfuming a roast-potato cream caramel, say, or coconut and cultured cream conspiring to take passionfruit pavlova in a bold new direction – and cocktails driven by that same more-is-more approach make for a meal that comes out swinging, whatever the occasion.

aru.net.au 

 

Luke Burgess, chef/restaurateur, Seven and a Half, Hobart

Seven and a Half chef, Luke Burgess.

It wouldn’t be quite right to say Luke Burgess rebooted the Tasmanian restaurant scene on his own. But if you were looking for an individual who you could credit with transforming Hobart from a place of only passing interest to the destination diner into, well, a dining destination, he’d be right at the top of your list. Garagistes, the fine-dining restaurant Burgess ran to international acclaim from 2010 to 2015, raised the stakes for ambitious, locavore cuisine in Tasmania, and his brand-new project, Seven and a Half, has changed the game again. Perched in a jewel-box of a room on top of a tower in downtown Hobart, it offers rarefied omakase-style dining for just 10 diners at a time, once a week. Burgess works without a menu and without a parachute, just he and the guests and some excellent handpicked wine and sake. The intimacy of the setting gives him the freedom to tweak the menu as he goes and to showcase superb niche produce you’re not likely to see anywhere else.

Wild venison might appear as salami in an array of snacks alongside sashimi of banded morwong and a ‘sando’ of salted radish at one sitting, for instance; asparagus teamed with an ajo blanco made of hempseed and goat’s ricotta and with lovage and a sauce of nori and walnut the following week; a pecorino flavoured with native pepper makes the surprising accent for egg noodles with venus clams. There’s nothing quite like it, on or off the island, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most sought-after tables in town.

lukeburgess.com.au

Rosheen Kaul, chef, Etta, Melbourne

Etta chef Rosheen Kaul.

Blame it on the pork rib. Sure, when Rosheen Kaul landed at Etta she had plenty of other good things on her menu – the crunchy, spicy little pop-in-the-mouth fried school prawns with curry leaves, for one thing. But the pork rib, a foot-long hunk of a thing served on the bone, its smoky, succulent heft balanced by an oyster cream and pickled baby turnips – well, this was a statement of intent. It said ‘here is a chef who likes to cook with fire, who is clear-eyed enough to take inspiration from a dish like Korea’s bo ssäm, and remix it, riffing on that dish’s traditional accompaniments of kimchi and freshly shucked oysters, while making it completely her own’. It also said, ‘this person can really, really cook – this is ridiculously tasty’.

In landing on her feet at this hip, smartly appointed east Brunswick wine bar, Kaul has given diners the gift of a one-plus-one-equals-three situation. Owner Hannah Green keeps an enviable cellar and sets a lively, welcoming tone on the floor, and together with Kaul’s surfeit of bright, clever ideas in the kitchen, you’ve got a package that’s so much greater than the sum of its (formidable) parts.

ettadining.com.au

 

Chris Lucas, restaurateur, Society, Melbourne

Restaurateur Chris Lucas.

The road to Society for Chris Lucas has been long, hard and paved with serious investment. But to see the room thronged with the good and the great of Australia, some serious table-hopping and people-watching playing out at the booths under the vast, glinting chandeliers, it must feel like the years of heartache, and the last-minute curveball of a parting of ways with Martin Benn, the former Sepia chef enlisted to open the restaurant, have all been worth it.

Take a look around Society’s elegantly muted Collins Street dining room and you’ll see diners laying down substantial cash for a wine list that goes long on Romanée-Conti and other five-figure bottles, diving deep into a cocktail bar rich in vintage offerings (hello $125 Martini made with 1950s spirits) and of course plunging into the menu with a fervour sharpened like never before by lockdown. And what does all that outlay get the happy guest? Plates that combine a tightly edited, almost Midcentury Modern aesthetic, sharpened with the occasional Japanese accent. Raw tuna has seldom been more melting than here, wrapped in buttery ribbons of jamón Ibérico, while crème fraîche shot through with wasabi, a plate of Japanese-style pickled cucumbers, and a shio koji jus accompany the epic smoked wagyu prime rib. Heady stuff. Culinary Masters might historically have been all about chefs, but in Society today we find the triumph of the vision of the restaurateur.

societyrestaurant.com

 

 

Nik Hill, chef/restaurateur, Porcine, Sydney

Nik Hill (left) and Harry Levy (right).

Speaking of Sepia, Nik Hill certainly can’t be said to be following blindly in the footsteps of his alma mater. After he left the Sydney fine diner, he got into smoking eels, then did a turn cooking pub food at Woolloomooloo landmark The Old Fitzroy, then swerved again with Anglo-Italian food at The Milan Cricket Club pop-up before settling at Porcine. You might struggle to find intimations of Sepia or anything Anglo-Italian in Hill’s menu, but his smoked eel appears right at the top – albeit in the form of a smoked-eel vinegar accompanying rock oysters.

A bistro above a bottle-shop, Porcine is as lusty as the name would suggest, channelling the gutsier side of the French culinary canon. Grilled ox tongue will appear one night au poivre-style in a glossy pepper sauce, and on another cooked en croûte, swaddled in pastry and foie gras. As rich as it all sounds, Hill has the palate and the technical finesse to keep it all in balance – and there’s always another dip into the exceptional drinks list if the occasion demands a corrective.

porcine.com.au

 

 

Ben Russell, chef/restaurateur, Rothwell’s, Brisbane

Ben Russell, chef Rothwell’s.

Who better to lead the bistro renaissance for the Brisbane CBD than Ben Russell? Having cut his teeth as a young chef in the 1990s at Est Est Est, the famously tough Melbourne restaurant known for producing some of the greatest kitchen talent of a generation, he did the obligatory stint in Europe before returning to Australia to become one of Matt Moran’s most trusted lieutenants. Russell moved to Queensland to open the Brisbane outpost of Moran’s Aria flagship, and after a stellar run at the top echelon of the city’s finer dining, he’s back with a bang at Rothwell’s.

Inside the Rothwell’s dining room.

Opened with Dan Clark, of the celebrated Addley Clark Fine Wines import company and 1889 Enoteca, the restaurant is the kind of meeting of kitchen talent, a building with great bones and a backer with a frankly exceptional wine cellar that big-city diners dream of. Is Rothwell’s going to stake the sort of claim on the big end of town that Rockpool Bar & Grill holds in Sydney? With Russell plating up perfectly polished renditions of steak tartare, prawn cocktail and a seafood platter worth pushing the boat out for, the indications are positive. And if the offering from the grill – a full chorus of big, juicy rib-eyes and T-bones complemented by onion rings, watercress salad and a full battery of condiments – doesn’t get you reaching happily for the Barolo section of the wine list, the beef Wellington, resplendent in a golden jacket of fine pastry and served to share, will definitely get you over the line.

rothwellsbrisbane.com.au

 

Daniel Pepperell and Michael Clift, chefs/restaurateurs, Bistrot 916, Sydney

Michael Clift (left), Daniel Pepperell (centre) and Andy Tyson (right) by Jason Loucas

Daniel Pepperell is the master of the knowing twist. You wouldn’t call him a deconstructionist – not for Pepperell the blobs, foams and smears. No, his signature move is more a savvy spin. The dish he plays with will remain recognisable, true to its roots, yet the flick Pepperell (and now his friend and chef-at-arms Michael Clift) gives a given classic as it leaves his pass makes it distinctively, recognisably his own. At 10 William Street he enriched his Bolognese with a swig of fish sauce, and daubed caviar on his carpaccio. At Restaurant Hubert he plated his escargots with XO sauce butter and laid a shimmering maple-syrup jelly over his satin duck liver parfait. And now, here at Bistrot 916, the venue he opened with Clift and sommelier savant Andy Tyson, that same joie de vivre remains at the fore. There’s a zesty, give-the-people-what they want spirit here that’s entirely fitting for the bistro genre and for the raffish Potts Point setting. Among the main courses Clift and Pepperell offer not just a classically crowd-pleasing steak frites – there’s also a duck frites, a mushroom frites and, for the truly OTT option, a market-priced lobster frites to boot. It’s exuberant, it’s packed with flavour, and it’s a lot of fun.

bistrot916.com

 

Blaze Young, chef, Nieuw Ruin, Perth

‘Good food. Good cocktails. Weird wine.’ Nieuw Ruin’s name might seem a bit curly on first glance, but the mission statement is very straightforward. And while the wine part of the equation will elicit different reactions depending on which side of the minimal-intervention fence you stand, Blaze Young’s brief is to the point and a delight to all. She fashions garfish into rollmops, serves her crudités with French onion dip and curries her fries. Her gift for handling offal has brought many a formerly hesitant diner into the fold, not least for her Wagin duck livers, which she serves on toast, tossed in a cream sauce spiked with a dose of hot mustard that judiciously cuts the livers’ intensity. Best of all, her food is wine-friendly, even the spicy stuff, from the oysters and mignonette (just made for a lush Fanny Sabré aligoté) to the Torbray asparagus and zucchini with goat’s curd (the perfect alibi for a bottle of Sebastien Riffault Sancerre). Here’s a young chef very much on the up – and you’ll want to be there for the ride.

nruin.com

 

Clare Smyth, chef/restaurateur OnCore, Sydney

Michelin starred chef, Clare Smyth.

How do you follow up a career that takes in experience under Alain Ducasse and Gordon Ramsay at their respective peaks, that has earned an MBE, and the first and only three-star rating from Michelin for a restaurant run by a woman in the UK, not to mention being named The World’s Best Female Chef by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants? If you’re Clare Smyth, your encore is OnCore, planting the flag in Sydney with a sister restaurant to London’s Core.

What sets Smyth apart from the rest of the Franglais fine-dining pack? There’s the clever, playful weave of British classics and Australian ingredients, for one. Playful, that is, but underpinned by serious craft. Fans will be thrilled to learn that ‘potato and roe’ has made the journey with her. The Core signature dish pays homage to Smyth’s Northern Irish roots with a potato cooked long and slow to a perfectly luscious texture before being topped with roes of herring and trout. Not for nothing did Bloomberg call it “the world’s best potato”. The plush room commands views across the harbour to the horizon, and while the ‘casino’ setting might put cynics in mind of a cash-grab from a chef domiciled on the other side of the world, dishes this flavoursome and elegant can only be executed by a team with total commitment. It’s the real deal.

crownsydney.com.au

Join us for an exclusive evening of fine dining at Society Melbourne – a Robb Report Culinary Master for 2021. To secure your ticket, book now via the Robb Report Shop.

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Forget a Bow Tie. Here Are 3 Black-Tie Accessories to Rock Instead

Stylist Tom Stubbs on ditching the bow tie this festive season—and what to wear alternatively.

By Tom Stubbs 21/01/2025

Black tie, that essential marker of an increasingly rarefied ceremonial style, is inspiring. Nothing coaxes men into upping the sartorial ante quite like reading those words on an invitation. I say amen to raising the bar, but I can’t bear wearing a traditional bow tie—and haven’t done so for over a decade.

Around the turn of the millennium, I was enthusiastically dress-code obedient, but two unstoppable forces put me off: Fashion moved on, and I got old. Where abiding by hallowed traditions once felt exalted, it suddenly began to seem restrictive and stuffy. And while it was extraordinary to be a bow-tied 30-something, in my 40s, the convention made me feel like a pompous, conservative square. Now, menswear has changed so much that bow ties register as pedestrian garb better suited to waiters than to revellers.

Fortunately, there are several black-tie alternatives that excite and inspire me now that I’m well into my 50s—many espoused by stylish guys on the red carpet and innovative designers in London, Paris, Florence, and Milan. And though I might take a bow on nonconformism as I step into my 60s, I still plan to steer clear of the bow tie, that ultimate symbol of gentlemanly customs, for as long as I can. Here’s what I’m replacing it with.

Form and Function

I got excited seeing Lemaire’s slim metallic modernised bolo ties in the house’s fall 2024 show. A favourite of men as varied as Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Snoop Dogg, the bolo is perhaps best remembered as the chosen neckwear of John Travolta’s surly hit man, Vincent, in Pulp Fiction. Originally, Native American tribes including the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo used these accessories used to fasten bandannas with plaited-leather cords. High-end versions double as a bit of jewellery, with silver slides set with turquoise and often engraved with animal motifs, including buffalo skulls and eagles. Contemporary takes abound, but vintage sleuthing can turn up some particularly beguiling options.

From left to right: Lemaire’s bolo on the runway; Bruce Springsteen ditching the bow tie in 1988; Lemaire’s silver bolo-tie necklace, $640. Getty Images/Courtesy of Lemaire

Gambling Man

A gambler from London’s La Bowtique, about $516 Courtesy of La Bowtique

Varying in size, flounce, and attitude, ribbon ties—also called gambler or Kentucky neckties—have long been a legitimate black-tie alternative. Actor Cillian Murphy has worn Saint Laurent’s take to various award shows, looking stand-alone chic and authentically cool. They have a distinct Western energy—Kirk Douglas donned one as Doc Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as did Robert Vaughan in The Magnificent Seven. But they’re as much rock star as they are gunslinger: The late Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls and Bauhaus front man Peter Murphy (style role models of mine) also wore them with panache. Take a note from the runway and wear them with a pair of boots—cowboy, Chelsea, or with a Cuban heel—to really step away from the standard.

Fit to Be Tied

From left to right: Lemaire’s bolo on the runway; Bruce Springsteen ditching the bow tie in 1988; Lemaire’s silver bolo-tie necklace, $1024.
Getty Images/Courtesy of Lemaire

If you want to give yourself some breathing room, consider scarves and neckerchiefs. This fall, Tom Ford proposed a louche take on evening style, using black, slim-plaited, or delicately sequined scarves whose long tassels provocatively dangle at the hips. For maximum effect, the brand styled them with open satin shirts, recalling rockers Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. London’s La Bowtique also does beautiful outsize bows. On a smaller scale, the Twilly—a short silk scarf pioneered by Hermès—works in much the same manner. The French maison makes gorgeous options with angled ends for extra verve, whether hanging loose or more discreetly knotted.

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Show Stoppers

The Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance—a beauty pageant for priceless classic cars—returns for another instalment at the city’s most intriguing, and unlikeliest, venue.

By Vince Jackson 15/01/2025

The logic behind staging a prestige automobile show on an island may, at face value, seem warped—history tells us that cars and water do not play nicely. The rationale twists further when said piece of land is a former shipyard that is, aesthetically, more workhorse ute than classic Ferrari. 

Scratch beneath the surface, however, and the decision to plant the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance on Cockatoo Island for the second year running begins to make locational sense: the steel arch of the emblematic bridge acting as photogenic backcloth; the UNESCO World Heritage site’s previous guises as 19th-century penal colony and eminent boat-building facility fleshing the show’s historical bones; the theatre of watching collectors delicately coaxing their four-wheeled artworks off a rusty roll-on/roll-off barge in the islet’s wharf before showtime. (After all, if owning a car in this stratosphere isn’t about projecting drama, then what’s the point?) 

Throw in an endless endowment of free Champagne for guests and VIP transport from the mainland via superyacht, and it barely matters that the three-day jamboree is, in the words of founder and curator James Nicholls, “a logistical nightmare”.

“People love the energy, the adventure” says the Anglo-Italian, a broadcaster, writer and photographer whose extensive resume includes various stints as a concours judge across the world. “There’s a great contrast between the luxurious motor cars and the industrial environment. The Turbine Shop [a timeworn, hanger-like space used to display the vehicles] is where ocean-going liners and propellers were built. People interested in cars are also interested in that kind of thing but it’s just a backdrop. Cars are the main focal point.”

The concours d’elegance concept (“concours” means “competition” in French) can be traced back to 17th-century Paris, when aristocrats would flaunt horse-drawn carriages in local parks during summer months. Animals eventually gave way to automobiles, and the gatherings mutated into more organised contests in which these new-fangled contraptions were, in somewhat prescient fashion, judged solely on the appearance. The trend spread throughout European high society, before reaching America in 1950 with an inaugural pageant at Pebble Beach, California—a concours which has since evolved into a behemoth of the species, now billing itself as “the world’s most prestigious car show” and drawing 214 vehicles and spectators in the low five figures at the last annual meeting. Other concours are thriving globally, from spectacles in Lake Como in Italy (the longest running event, launched in 1929) to Udaipur in India. Vanity, it seems, remains in vogue.

Among this storied company, Sydney’s interpretation is playing catch-up. But Nicholls insists the local variant—launched in 2019, having occupied three other citywide locations—has no intention of locking horns with competitors. Not numerically, at least. 

“In 2024, we had 500 people over the three days; this year we’ll aim for 750. But we’re never going to become a 20,000-people show,” he says. “We want it to be bespoke and beautiful, so people don’t have to queue for a glass of Champagne. You can talk to the car owners, and everyone feels like a VIP.” The overarching aim is to become a “destination event” on the socialite calendar, on par with the Melbourne Cup or the Australian Grand Prix.

While keen to keep paying visitors guessing, Nicholls offers Robb Report a sneak peek into some of the 44 objets booked to occupy the coarse, exposed-brick viewing hall, ranging from turn-of-the-century rarities to modern-day exotics: a 1905 Eugène Brillié 20/24 HP Coupé Chauffeur, believed to be the only one of its ilk left; a 1955 Porsche Speedster 356 “Pre A”, examples of which are valued in excess of $750,000; a Lamborghini Miura 3400, a model famed for its starring role in the opening sequence to 1969’s The Italian Job movie; a 2021 Audi R8 Spyder, an iteration that is no longer being produced and thus quietly accruing kudos.

Up to seven “classes” will be open, including categories solely for Porsche Speedsters and pre-war Australian coachbuilt cars. Two 1930s Bugattis are slated for appearance, one of which is, as this article is being written, on a boat somewhere, on its way to Australia. A panel of seven judges, led by the first ever female concours head assessor, who also adjudicated in 2024, will select the overall “Best in Show” winner—scored last time out by a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, a model line with a $24 million price tag attached. And in a progressive play designed to lure the oil-shunning generation, an “electric elegance” section will debut. Nicholls estimates the combined value of all this precious metal at around $80 million.

While it would provoke an illicit thrill to discover that frenzied super-collectors were slyly puncturing rivals’ tyres or keying priceless bodywork—skulduggery has plagued other pageants, from dog show Crufts (canine poisoning) to Miss World (rigging allegations)—the entrants are, in keeping with the show’s refined, English-garden-party profile—a gentlemanly bunch. To a point. “They like meeting up, the community that’s here, but they do get competitive,” says Mark Ussher, the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance managing director, and on-the-ground organiser. “They care about their cars but they’re investors as well as collectors. If they win a concours anywhere around the world it adds value to the car.”

Which makes it doubly important that, surrounded by all that deep Harbour water, everyone remembers to put their handbrake on.

The Sydney Harbour Concours D’Elegance runs from February 28th-March 2nd 2025; sydneyharbourconcours.com.au

Book tickets now and take benefit from the RR 15% discount code: ROBB15

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Jannik Sinner Is the First Tennis Player to Take a Luxury Bag Onto Wimbledon’s Centre Court

The 23-year-old Italian flaunted a custom Gucci duffle bag on center court.

By Rachel Cormack 21/01/2025

Jannik Sinner aced the style game at last year’s Wimbledon Championships.

The Italian tennis star turned up to his match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo with a custom Gucci duffel bag on his shoulder. It marks the first time a designer bag has been carried onto centre court in the history of the prestigious, centuries-old tennis tournament, as reported by Women’s Wear Daily.

The duffel, which Sinner describes as a “timeless classic,” showcases the house’s signature beige and ebony colorway, the iconic GG monogram, and a contrasting green and red web stripe. It also features the athlete’s initials near the straps. Ironically, the rather traditional design has called into question a 150-year tradition.

“For sure this will create a conversation,” Sinner told WWD before defeating Cerundolo in straight sets. “Bringing sport and luxury fashion together in this way is something that’s never been done before and I feel extremely proud to be a part of it. I hope people will love it as much as I do.”

Wimbledon’s dress code is extremely strict: Players have been required to wear white at the event since 1877, with not even off-white or cream permitted on the court. Tennis whites were originally instated as it was believed the ensemble showed less sweat, as reported by Time. The tradition has continued out of respect for the sport’s history and a desire to maintain formality.

The rules are enforced, too: Our own player Nick Kyrgios was allegedly fined $25,000 for rocking red Air Jordan trainers at 2023’s tournament. Interestingly, the decidedly non-white Gucci accessory was reportedly given the all-clear by the powers that be. A spokesperson for Gucci told WWD the house worked with Sinner’s team “for the approvals from the ITF (International Tennis Federation), ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), and Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, to ensure the bag met the necessary requirements.”

The 23-year-old, who turned pro at age 18, became a Gucci ambassador in 2023 in his first luxury fashion endorsement. “Gucci for me represents Italian excellence around the world, excellence which is rooted in tradition as much as in innovation,” Sinner said. “This is the kind of message I am proud to convey when I represent my country wherever I am in the world.”

The Italian player was capture in action last week during his 1st round men’s singles match against Nicolas Jarry (from Chile) on day two of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park with more Gucci gear. Sinner carried a custom duffle bag crafted by HEAD and designed by Gucci to the men’s singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

Sinner will play Australian Alex de Minaur tomorrow 22 January at the Australian Open.

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We Cherrypicked the Best Elements of Luxury Resorts to Create the Ultimate Fantasy Hotel

Everyone has a favourite hotel—but what if you could create your own? We envision the ultimate place to stay, combining elements of the world’s most noteworthy openings. 

By Mark Ellwood 15/01/2025

Forget fantasy football—what about a heavenly hotel? Imagine you could create one from scratch, cherrypicking the best aspects of the world’s most noteworthy recent openings and reopenings, combined into the perfect, impossible property. That’s what we’ve done, from the best rooftop restaurant for supper to the only beach club where’s it’s truly worth basking in the sun, this is the world’s ultimate hotel. The only thing we can’t arrange: the chance to check in.

FACADE                                                                                                                     Capella Sydney
Australia

It took seven years to turn this local landmark—the building once housed the departments of education and agriculture—into a luxury hotel. A honey-coloured jewel in a precinct awash with appealing sandstone facades, its crowning glory, literally, is the gleaming, four-storey glass addition that perches atop the structure like an architectural tiara.

SUITES
The Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel
New York City


After a full reimagining by Martin Brudnizki and its new operators, Malta-based Corinthia Hotels, this Upper East Side stalwart’s signature suites now include a quartet inspired by Central Park bridges. Mouldings nod to the structures’ architectural details, while hand-painted sketches inside the grandes armoires evoke the Ramble-adjacent Bow Bridge. 

RESTAURANT
Le Rooftop at Royal Mansour Casablanca
Morocco


Relax on the 23rd floor of this Art Deco-inflected skyscraper hotel and you’ll not only enjoy astonishing views over the water and toward the towering Hassan II Mosque, but you’ll also find yourself rubbing elbows with the coolest crowd in the city. Snag a sofa on the terrace before sundown and linger all evening. 

LOBBY
Peninsula London
England


Hong Kong’s Peninsula hotels are renowned for their fleet of high-end classic cars—a personal passion of billionaire owner Sir Michael Kadoorie. No wonder he struck a deal with Surrey’s Brooklands Museum for his latest opening in London: not only is the Claude Bosi-operated restaurant named in its honour, but the institution also makes available a rotating selection of outstanding vintage vehicles—most recently, a Bentley Blower and a Napier-Railton—for display in the eatery’s dedicated lobby, close to the Concorde nose installed overhead, sourced from Kadoorie’s personal collection.

BEACH CLUB
Borgo Santandrea
Italy


The dearth of standout beaches is the Amalfi Coast’s dirty secret, so this is a remarkable asset: walk down through the terraced, lemon-tree-filled gardens of this Gio Ponti-inspired hotel bolted to the steep cliffs by Conca dei Marini, and you’ll stumble upon its own beach club attached to the property. The restaurant sits in a renovated boathouse; feel free to snip some herbs from the mismatched pots filled with sage and basil.

SPA
Meritage Resort and Spa
Napa Valley

The naturally formed 2,044 m² Estate Cave, located 12 m underground, was already spectacular—its extensive menu of treatments includes both cave-stone massage and guided breathing and meditation sessions—but the $37 million rehab of this establishment thankfully doubled the size of the adults- only pool in front of Spa Terra. 

POOL
One&Only Za
abeel Dubai
UAE


This gravity-defying infinity pool, sitting atop the cantilevered link between the hotel’s two towers, has a clubby vibe, swim-up bars and sunken seating pods—and the fact that it’s Instagram catnip doesn’t hurt either. 

Photos by ADRIAN GAUT; BORGO SANTANDREA; PENINSULA LONDON; WILL PRYCE.

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Hole In One

The Citizen Kanebridge VHG Golf Open Returns to The Southern Highlands This February.

By Robb Report Team 09/01/2025

The third annual Citizen Kanebridge VHG Golf Open Day is happening again this year at Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in the Southern Highlands on Friday, February 21. Players will tee off from 8 am for a day of unrivalled bucolic hospitality in the spirit of friendly competition.

The Open unites forces with the operators of Mount Broughton in Sutton Forrest to stage the popular day, in which teams of four enter to enjoy 18 holes of unadulterated fun.

Players will meet at the clubhouse, where—golf aside—they will be served breakfast, lunch and liquid refreshments throughout the day before heading back to Citizen Kanebridge Lodge for a special dinner, fun awards ceremony and more drinks.

Located just 10 minutes from the Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in Berrima, the stunning Mount Broughton course gives players—male and female, and ranging from amateur to semi professional—the chance to compete in a golf day with plenty of high-jinks and food along with way.

The event is part of the new offering from Citizen Kanebridge, a private membership club based in Sydney. Citizen Kanebridge allows members to have access to the Robb Report Club(RR1) based in the United States of America, Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in the Southern Highlands of NSW, and The Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA) in Circular Quay, Sydney.

Members interested in Golf Open Day, may enquire by reaching out to leanne@citizenkanebridge.com.au. For more information on Golf Open day, you can download the information brochure here.

Love golf? jump to our golf connoisseurship package from the Spring 2024 issue of Robb Report ANZ.

 

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