The top 21 places to travel in 2018
This year will be one for the books, with new over-the-top adventures, spectacular hotel openings, and must-see events.
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Every year, Robb Report circles the globe to uncover the up-and-coming destinations that will make for a year of amazing travel. This year will be one for the books, with new over-the-top adventures from Iceland to Antarctica, spectacular hotel openings from Cambodia to Napa Valley, and must-see events from Buenos Aires to South Korea. Whether your wanderlust has you craving a new city experience, a stunning island escape, or a safari getaway unlike any other, these 21 destinations are sure to keep you travelling in style all year long.
## Napa Valley
It may sound foolish to call Napa Valley lucky. The revered wine country seemed anything but in October, when wildfires ravaged more than 200,000 acres in Northern California, claiming thousands of homes and dozens of lives. But when the flames were finally doused and the smoke at last cleared, the valley floor, as if by some divine intervention, remained virtually untouched. Though surrounded by seared slopes and scorched trees, Napa itself — along with its scenic vineyards and glamorous resorts — appeared, however implausibly, as picturesque as ever.
Luck aside, Napa Valley has the resilience of its dedicated citizens and first responders to thank for its good fortune. A passionate committee of leaders, vintners, and luminaries, including everyone from chef Thomas Keller to designer Ken Fulk, banded together to support the people and places affected by the fires. Now the illustrious valley has but one message for the world: We’re back — and with a host of new reasons to visit.
On the culinary front, the talk of the valley is, not surprisingly, Thomas Keller, whose Michelin three-star French Laundry recently debuted a sleek revamp by the Oslo-based architecture firm Snøhetta. But there are plenty of new arrivals demanding attention too, from Christopher Kostow’s elevated-casual Charter Oak to Chris Cosentino’s refined Acacia House. Adding to the momentum is Harlan, whose elegant new Promontory is the revered wine-making family’s first endeavor to offer public tastings.
Hot hotel happenings are in abundance as well. Las Alcobas Napa Valley, a Luxury Collection Hotel, is the brightest new spot in the valley, with 68 spacious oak-filled guest rooms and suites (all with private terraces). Yountville’s Vintage House is basking in the glow of a recent renovation that brings a French-country-house vibe to its 80 bungalow-style rooms. The notable debuts will continue into this year, with Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Napa Valley unveiling 20 homes — and eventually a neighboring hotel — among the vineyards of Calistoga’s Silverado Trail.
## Buenos Aires
Move over Miami — the Americas have a new art-world darling. This year, Buenos Aires is claiming the cultural spotlight as the first host of Art Basel Cities, a new global initiative from the giants behind the world’s biggest art fairs that will spotlight the Argentinean capital’s local arts scenes.
The multiyear partnership kicked off in November with the launch of the Art Basel Cities House, a venue set among the galleries and cafés of the chic Retiro district that will host events and workshops throughout 2018. The art cognoscenti are already marking their calendars for September, when Art Basel Cities will host a weeklong program directed by curator Cecilia Alemani of High Line Art in New York. The event will highlight more than 80 galleries across Buenos Aires, as well as emerging art and design districts like La Boca and Barracas.
Adding to the events are expansion projects throughout the city, the largest of which is a US$200 ($A251) million port improvement that aims to turn Buenos Aires into South America’s premier cruising hub. Next door, Puerto Madero is gentrifying with the Alvear Icon, a slick new hotel created by the owners of the city’s grande dame, Alvear Palace. And in Barrio Norte, the new 113-room MGallery by Sofitel is opening this summer between two 18th-century structures, embodying the city’s heady mix of old and new.
## Lake Lucerne
Something big has been brewing above Lake Lucerne. Nine years and more than US$500 ($A628) million in the making, Bürgenstock Resort — the historic Swiss hideaway that once lured the likes of Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn — has been reborn as a sprawling lakefront complex unlike anything Europe has ever seen. This spring, a grand event will celebrate the full-scale opening of the 148-acre project, which comprises four hotels, 12 restaurants and bars, a nine-hole golf course, private residences, and a state-of-the-art wellness center.
Among the options at Bürgenstock are the 19th-century Palace Hotel, which has been restored and renovated to its former glory; the gleaming Bürgenstock Hotel, whose 102 contemporary rooms and suites are dressed in Arana marble and American walnut; and the just-opened Waldhotel, which features one of Switzerland’s most comprehensive medical spas, with wide-ranging programs that span from preventive medicine to post-op recovery. For active types, Bürgenstock also offers championship tennis courts, a curling rink, seven helipads, a private lido, and 70 km of hiking and biking trails.
## St. Barts
St. Barts was shaping up to have a landmark 2017. New hotels were opening up left and right, giving long-established favorites like Eden Rock and Isle de France some friendly competition. The St. Barth Gourmet Festival was preparing for another impressive year, with an all-star chef lineup that would be presided over by Paris’s Eric Frechon. And next-generation restaurants like Guy Martin’s Aux Amis and Saint-Tropez offshoot Shellona were breathing new life into the island’s culinary scene. Then Irma happened. The Category 5 hurricane made landfall on the French Caribbean isle last September, wreaking havoc on its most beloved haunts and hideaways.
But St. Barts is banking on a victorious comeback in 2018. With most shops and restaurants already open for business and many of the top villa rentals currently taking reservations, the island’s glitzy nautical events — including March’s Bucket Regatta and April’s Les Voiles de Saint Barth — will go on as planned. Colombier newcomer Villa Marie Saint-Barth and Hotel Christoper St. Barth will reopen their doors in time for both events. More progress will come this summer, when Grand Cul-de-Sac’s Le Guanahani will unveil an upgraded look. The biggest openings, however, will come at the end of the year, when Hotel Le Toiny relaunches with eight new villas (each with its own private pool) and the hilltop Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf makes its highly anticipated debut with an outpost of France’s Le Fouquet’s restaurant and a Biologique Recherche spa. In true St. Barts style, every opening is sure to be a fashionable fête.
## Antarctica
Don’t fear the Drake Passage. The notorious stretch of sea that lies between the tip of South America and Antarctica is as legendary as it is mercurial — treacherous one day, smooth as glass the next — but a necessary evil for those who wish to see the Southern Continent. This year, however, new ships are taking travellers across the Drake in so much style, a little tussle with the waves might just go unnoticed.
Taking Antarctic adventures to new heights — and depths — is the 200-passenger Scenic Eclipse, which will debut in August with two helicopters, a seven-passenger submarine, and 12 custom Zodiacs for polar exploration, as well as onboard luxuries like a spa, an indoor swimming pool, and butler service. Meanwhile, Silversea’s new Silver Cloud Expedition is making waves of its own with a 1-to-1 crew-to-passenger ratio and a Relais & Châteaux restaurant. Also launching this year are French cruise line Ponant’s first two ice-class Explorers ships, Le Champlain and Le Laperouse, both of which will feature underwater lounges that immerse passengers in the views — and sounds — of the surrounding waters.
For those who wish to bypass the Drake altogether, a pair of new private-jet journeys is bringing travelers to the seventh continent by way of the sky. Naya Traveller’s high-flying adventure takes guests on an 8-day itinerary that includes stops in the South Pole and the emperor-penguin-filled Atka Bay, and overnight accommodations in luxe igloos. And for a quickie touchdown amid the White Desert, book Natural World Safaris’ One Day Antarctica Adventure charter, which jets travellers in for 8 hours of exploration among the continent’s epic landscapes.
## Cambodia
No visit to Cambodia would be complete without a trip to Angkor Wat, but this year you’ll want to venture farther into the country than ever before, from its remote rain forests to its isolated islands. The Koh Rong archipelago has earned its Cambodian Riviera nickname for its recent influx of luxury beach resorts, the newest of which are the Six Senses Krabey Island — a 40-villa retreat set to debut in August on a 30-acre private isle — and Alila Villas Koh Russey, opening later this year with 50 pavilions and 13 private residences. On the mainland, Cardamom National Park will be the rain-forest home of hospitality designer extraordinaire Bill Bensley’s Shinta Mani Wild, an ambitious and utterly over-the-top safari-style camp with 16 tents implausibly perched over a kilometre-long stretch of river and waterfalls. There’s news in the cities, too: Rosewood Phnom Penh will debut early this year in a glistening tower above the Mekong River, and for a luxurious option on your Angkor Wat stop, Bensley’s new Shinta Mani Angkor features 10 villas, each with its own private pool and garden.
## New Orleans
The Big Easy is turning 300 this year, and it’s celebrating in appropriately big style. The Southern Creole city — which was founded in 1718 by the French-Canadian explorer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville — will honour its Tricentennial with a year’s worth of events, openings, and citywide improvements, from a much-needed makeover of Bourbon Street and a US$100 ($A125) million riverfront revitalisation to the debut of the Sazerac House, a museum devoted entirely to the locally revered cocktail.
Celebrate by checking into the recently reopened Pontchartrain Hotel, the Garden District’s circa-1927 grande dame that has been reborn as an elegant blend of old NOLA and new luxury with restored Charles Reinike murals and antique furnishings. The local culinary scene is heating up, too, with Top Chef Nina Compton’s Caribbean-eclectic Compère Lapin and James Beard Award finalist Isaac Toups’s Cajun-fusion Toups South leading a smart revival in elevated dining. And keeping the tricentennial party going well into the future are two major developments: The Louis Armstrong International Airport’s US$917 million ($A1.15 billion) César Pelli–designed terminal and, across town, a Four Seasons hotel and residences that will revitalise the city’s former World Trade Center complex.
## Rwanda
Until recently, Rwanda wasn’t on many must-see safari lists. But this year, the beautiful country with a heartbreaking past is bursting onto the African travel scene with a trio of new luxury lodges — the first of which is Wilderness’s innovative Bisate Lodge — and a fresh approach to the safari experience.
## Mexico City
This year, Mexico City becomes the first destination in the Americas to be named the World Design Capital. The honor is not to be taken lightly: The yearlong event will not only draw world-class exhibitions and innovators, but will also cement the Mexican capital’s standing as a mecca for the arts.
The 2018 program will focus on socially responsible design, with an emphasis on creating more livable, international cities. Utterly international — if not always livable — Mexico City has given the design faithful plenty to hold dear in the last few years, with contemporary museums like the avant-garde Museo Jumex and fairs like Zona Maco adding to the long-revered local scene established by such institutions as Casa Luis Barragán and Casa Azul. Design is also part of the package at hotels like Las Alcobas Mexico City — a Yabu Pushelberg creation that will debut a host of renovations later this year — and Hotel Habita (hotelhabita.com), a sleek boutique in upscale Polanco. Even the culinary scene comes with a touch of the inventive, whether it’s “living mole” at Enrique Olvera’s recent revival of Pujol or mezcal cocktails topped with ants at Fifty Mils, the new speakeasy-style bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City.
## South Korea
South Korea may not be the Korea on your mind these days — but it should be. Next month, the country will claim the world spotlight as the host of the 23rd Olympic Winter Games. In preparation, the sleepy northern ski town of Pyeongchang has reinvented itself, spending US$10 ($A12.5) billion on futuristic new sporting venues and sleek hotels, including the 238-room InterContinental Alpensia Pyeongchang Resort and the nearby Richard Meier–designed Seamarq. A new high-speed rail line linking the mountain retreat tothe capital city of Seoul in less than an hour is also making it easy to access the games with a side of après-culture. But the reasons to visit South Korea won’t end with the last medal ceremony: This year also marks the debut of Jeju Shinhwa World, an expansive resort development on idyllic Jeju Island that will eventually be home to luxury residences, entertainment venues, and a new Four Seasons resort.
## Shanghai
Is there ever a quiet moment in Shanghai? China’s fabulously frenetic metropolis seems to be in a perpetual state of advancement, and this year it’s firing on all cylinders. From the leafy boulevards of the French Concession to the towering skyscrapers of Pudong, it seems every corner of this captivating city has something new for travellers.
## Iceland
You may know Iceland best for its volcanoes, glaciers, and geysers, but this year the country is cultivating a more cosmopolitan side. No longer a mere pit stop en route to the sky-dancing Northern Lights or brooding ice caves, Reykjavík is becoming an attraction in its own right.
Visitors to the Icelandic capital can choose from sleek new properties including the Sandhotel — a 52-room boutique with an eclectic style that fits somewhere between Scandinavian cool, Danish hygge, and Art Deco chic — and the exclusive Tower Suites, a collection of eight high-design accommodations decorated with furnishings by Tom Dixon, Fritz Hansen, and Moooi. Later this year, the Reykjavik Edition will debut, claiming a coveted location next to the sparkling glass Harpa Concert Hall.
A craft-cocktail scene has also taken hold in Reykjavík, with establishments like Apotek and Loftið leading a spirited revolution. And come spring, the forefather of New Nordic cuisine, René Redzepi, will open a pop-up of his legendary Noma in the city.
Of course, Iceland remains first and foremost the Land of Ice and Fire, and new offerings among the country’s many natural wonders are elevating the great outdoors as well. Set to open in April, the Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland will bring an upscale experience to the well-known geothermal hot springs of Grindavík, with 62 modern suites and a subterranean spa. Most intriguing of all is the exclusive-use Eldar Lodge, a hidden-away gem nestled among the geysers of south Iceland, featuring six suites, a private chef, a wine cellar, a helipad, and two geothermal baths.
## Toronto
Canada was the talk of the travel scene last year, when the country honored its 150th anniversary with 365 days of celebrations from coast to coast. But in Toronto, the party is just getting started. This spring, the Ontario capital’s well-established cultural scene will expand anew with the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada, a 5,100-square-metre institution set within a long-abandoned industrial building in the burgeoning Junction Triangle. Phase one of the city’s ambitious Bentway — an urban-park project combining art and exhibition space across seven neighborhoods — is also slated for completion this year. And come September, when T-Dot is flooded with celebs and cinephiles for the annual Toronto International Film Festival, three new hotels will be open for business: the 44-story Bisha Hotel, with its glamorous design and rooftop pool; the sprawling Hotel X (hotelxtoronto.com), an “urban resort” leading downtown’s lakefront expansion; and the Kimpton Hotel Toronto, set in the heart of upscale Yorkville.
## Hamburg
Forget about edgy Berlin and beer-loving Munich — Hamburg is the German city to see in 2018. For evidence that this northern port city is on the rise, look no further than the Elbphilharmonie, the striking Herzog & de Meuron–designed concert hall that opened last year on the Elbe River. After countless delays and controversial budget increases, the sail-shaped venue is finally making good on its promise to put Hamburg on Europe’s modern cultural map, presenting dozens of sold-out performances in the months since it opened.
But the Elphi, as locals refer to it, isn’t Hamburg’s only modern marvel. The late Zaha Hadid designed the city’s newly completed River Promenade, a rippling walkway that winds along the Elbe, connecting many of the city’s restaurants, shops, and cultural attractions. Just north along the sparkling Alster Lake, the Fontenay Hamburg — scheduled to open this month—is being heralded as Germany’s most anticipated hotel debut in recent memory, for both its spellbinding architecture and its top-notch amenities, including a 1,000-square-metre La Mer spa and a restaurant by the Michelin-starred chef Cornelius Speinle. Also new to the hotel scene, the Sir Nikolai opened in June, bringing a stylish vibe of its own — think bohemian chandeliers and Art Deco bar carts — to one of the city’s oldest canals.
## Valletta
Though it looks more like a Game of Thrones setting than a modern cultural hub, Valletta is Europe’s of-the-moment destination for 2018. The Maltese capital — whose winding 16th-century streets have indeed served as the backdrop for several of the HBO series’s scenes — has been named the European Capital of Culture 2018. The smallest city yet to earn the distinction, Valletta is no doubt deserving: The UNESCO World Heritage site is a seamless combination of old and new, its baroque churches and Renaissance piazzas balanced by modern masterpieces like Renzo Piano’s Valletta City Gate and the soon-to-open MUŻA museum.
The city, along with select locations throughout Malta, will host more than 140 projects and 400 events over the next 12 months, including February’s Carnival, April’s Design and Technology Expo, and June’s Valletta Film Festival and Malta International Arts Festival.
Making way for the influx of visitors this year are a number of new high-design hotels, the most impressive of which is the historic Phoenicia, which reopened last year after a renovation by hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray. Elsewhere, the city’s baroque mansions are being converted into stylish boutique properties, including the eight-suite Casa Ellul and the ornate Palazzo Consiglia. Not to be outdone, Valletta’s longstanding luxury stalwart the Corinthia Palace Hotel recently unveiled a collection of new Signature Suites with private terraces overlooking the city.
## Israel
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have long been considered Israel’s two poles: The former is embedded in its past, while the latter is hurtling toward its future. For 2018, however, the country’s major cities are trading places.
In Jerusalem, new hotels and emerging events are encouraging a savvy breed of pilgrims to look beyond its sacred sites. Just steps from HaTachana — a former railway turned trendy shopping and dining space — the new Orient Jerusalem is offering a chic boutique alternative to the city’s staid luxury hotels. Nearby, an Ottoman-era villa has been converted into Villa Brown, another fashionable property with its finger on the city’s modern pulse. That pulse will be racing in June, when the annual Jerusalem Design Week brings some of the world’s top creatives to the City of David.
In Tel Aviv, meanwhile, the city’s contemporary streak is taking a retro turn. In the revitalised port neighborhood of Jaffa, the new W Tel Aviv – Jaffa (starwoodhotels.com) will soon open within a former 19th-century convent and hospital. Nearby, the Setai Tel Aviv has claimed its own ancient abode in a carefully restored 13th-century structure set along the rugged Jaffa coast. Farther north, Dizengoff Square is getting the throwback treatment as well, with a meticulous restoration that will bring the Bauhaus landmark back to its beginnings as the city’s social hub.
## Botswana
Botswana’s abundant wildlife, private reserves, and stable political system have helped make the southern African country an eminently popular — and excessively expensive — safari destination. Now, new lodgings are bringing the country’s level of accommodation up to that of the on-the-ground experience, leaving no doubt that Botswana is Africa’s safari spot to beat.
Leading the charge is Great Plains Conservation’s Duba Plains, where a five-suite camp and an elegant two-bedroom residence opened last spring in a 77,000-acre private reserve rich with lions, Cape buffalo, and elephants. Luxury adventure at its best, the Okavango Delta escape complements Great Plains’ Zarafa, a five-suite retreat in the Selinda Reserve whose 2008 debut helped set Botswana on its upward spiral of exclusivity.
Another standard-bearer in southern Africa, Wilderness Safaris opened the eight-suite Qorokwe camp in the southeastern Okavango Delta in December. The company is also in the process of renovating its Mombo and Little Mombo camps — once considered Botswana’s definitive safari lodges — and reopening them in March in a prime location in the Okavango’s Moremi Game Reserve. Elsewhere in the Okavango, the outfitter andBeyond reopened its Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp last June, Belmond renovated its renowned Eagle Island Lodge, and Sanctuary Retreats reopened its Sanctuary Chief’s Camp with the new 620-square-metres — and as much as US$12,000 ($A15,070)-per-night—Geoffrey Kent Luxury Suite.
## Newport
The 13th Volvo Ocean Race will crisscross four oceans, six continents, and 83,340 kilometre before it reaches its final destination in the Hague this June. But the legendary around-the-world sailing competition will make only one North American stop, and that’s in the sailing mecca of Newport, R.I. For 2 weeks in May, the tony New England town will become ground zero for the seafaring extravaganza, playing host to the end of leg eight (a 10,556-kilometre journey originating in Itajaí, Brazil) and the beginning of leg nine (a transatlantic stretch culminating in Cardiff, Wales). In between, visitors to Newport’s race village can watch in-port practice sprints between the world’s most skilled sailors. For the best port views, stay at the new Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina on Goat Island, just opposite the race village.
## St. Kitts
The buzz around St. Kitts’s Christophe Harbour has waxed and waned for years. The 2,500-acre development has been promising since 2014 to turn its West Indies home into the Caribbean’s newest hot spot. That finally might happen this year, as the harbor at last reaches a critical mass thanks to recent debuts including a marina village and the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. The former is home to 25 berths (including a handful that can accommodate superyachts up to 76 metres), as well as new boutiques, galleries, and a beachside bar. The latter, which opened in November on a golden stretch of Banana Bay, brings to the island the Caribbean’s first Miraval Life in Balance Spa. There’s more to come this year, with a Tom Fazio–designed golf course, dozens of million-dollar villas and residences, and the 1,020-square-metres Customs House (a VIP port of entry for the yachting crowd that will include a fitness centre, lounge, and marina operations post), all ensuring that the St. Kitts buzz swells well into 2019.
## Marrakech
Marrakech doesn’t need a Bilbao effect — but it might get one anyway. The Moroccan city, which was already a hit for its enchanting medina and colorful Jardin Majorelle, welcomed in October the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, a 3,995-square-metre museum devoted entirely to the work of the fashion icon for whom it’s named. Located just a few steps from the Majorelle — Saint Laurent’s former estate that recently renovated its Berber Museum and Villa Oasis (the residence he shared with his partner in life and business, Pierre Bergé) — the ochre-coloured institution showcases thousands of sketches and couture designs. The new museum is sure to send the fashion set flocking to Marrakech, where they will have no shortage of places to stay, including the new Oberoi, Marrakech, slated for a spring debut, and the forthcoming Grace Marrakech.
## Russia
Current events aside, Russia is rife with reasons for a visit this year. As host of both the 2018 FIFA World Cup and an annual Formula 1 Grand Prix, the nation is working hard to remind travellers of the intrigue and appeal that lie beyond the heated headlines.
“Russia has been investing heavily in tourism, infrastructure, and renovations, spending a lot of time and money to get it ready for visitors,” says Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of the luxury outfitter Sienna Charles, which offers bespoke trips to the country. For U.S. travellers attending the World Cup, India notes that Russia’s typically involved entry process will become markedly easier — the country is waiving its visa requirements for attendees of the sporting event who visit between June 14 and July 15. Beyond that, booking with an in-the-know expert who has on-the-ground connections is imperative. Sienna Charles can organise such VIP experiences as after-hours museum and gallery tours, dinners in private palaces, exclusive visits to traditional bathhouses, and, of course, tickets to this year’s sporting events.
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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.
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.
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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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15/01/2025
09/01/2025
17/01/2025
Hole In One
The Citizen Kanebridge VHG Golf Open Returns to The Southern Highlands This February.
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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15/01/2025
17/01/2025
Ace Tennis Apparel
Bring your A-game this summer as you slip onto the centre court in style
Since the 70’s, and the advent of the professional circuit and tennis coverage on TV, players have recognised the value of looking distinctive and acting distinctively to attract an audience and sponsors. The male superstars of that era—Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, John Newcombe, Ilie Nastase and Vitas Gerulaitis—dazzled audiences not only with their athleticism and guile but also with their logo-laden plumage. Nastase’s bad-boy Adidas stripes, Borg’s headband and pinstripe Fila top and John Newcombe’s pastels and handlebar moustache were competitive points of difference that were as much a part of their weaponry as their serves. In the intervening decades, on-court apparel has served double fault after double fault and commercial interpretations of those looks have been even more egregious. But if today’s luxury purveyors have anything to do with it, ‘tennis fashion’ may no longer be an oxymoron.
Look and feel your best on the court with Robb Report’s selection of ace tennis apparel.
Gucci ‘Jannik Sinner’ duffle bag; $3,000; gucci.com
Brunello Cucinelli nylon sweatshirt vest in white or grey $3,043; brunellocucinelli.com
Brunello Cucinelli calf skin leather tennis bag in cream; $12,967; brunellocucinelli.com
Gucci terry tennis shorts $2,600; gucci.com
Ralph Lauren linen short sleeve shirt in white; $229; ralphlauren.com
Loro Piana logo baseball hat in cream, $1,200; loropiana.com
Brunello Cucinelli grained calfskin and washed suede runners, $2,200; brunellocucinelli.com
Penhaligon’s Racquets (recently discontinued so buy now), $249; penhaligons.com
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15/01/2025
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How Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian Learned to Bottle the Zeitgeist
The vaunted French nose has spent 30 years devising best-selling fragrances for the world’s leading luxury brands. Can he work his magic reimagining the world’s best-selling fragrance, Dior Sauvage?
The perfumer dips a tester into one of the tiny glass vials aligned on the desk in front of him. There are dozens of them, with labels identifying various dilutions of compounds such as methyl geranate, phenyl acetate, and akigalawood. He brings the paper to his nose and inhales. “Once in a while, I try to introduce my palette to new ingredients, to see if they’re interesting enough to create something with,” Francis Kurkdjian says. “Most of the time, they’re not.” With that, he tosses the strip into the trash.
To be a perfumer is to be a lifelong learner. Science advances, ingredients run out, regulations governing what you can use (or can’t) change. But Kurkdjian’s high standards and boundless curiosity have helped the 55-year-old become one of the industry’s best-known and most prolific noses, as those in the profession are often called. Since 2021, he has been Dior’s perfume creation director; before that, he cofounded his own house, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and spent more than 25 years helping other companies articulate their olfactive identities. His hundreds of commissions—Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Le Male, Kenzo World, and Carven Pour Homme among them—have generated many millions of dollars for luxury’s leading lifestyle companies. Along the way, his increasing renown has helped bring perfumers from behind the scenes and into the spotlight.
“It’s a profitable business when you make a name for yourself, without a doubt,” says Robert Burke, CEO of luxury consultancy Taylor/Burke Communications. “In the past, brands oftentimes didn’t talk about who their perfumer was—it used to be a little more like a private label. Now, it’s a selling point.” And selling is the operative word. According to Statista, a sort of Google for market researchers, the global fragrance market will reach nearly $60 billion in revenue in 2024. Last year, LVMH reported that its perfumes and cosmetics division, of which Dior is the biggest player, moved over $8.2 billion worth of products.
In September, Kurkdjian will unveil his most significant project to date, and his first men’s fragrance for Dior: Sauvage Eau Forte. It’s a follow-up to Sauvage, a sensual and uncommonly long-lasting men’s eau de toilette designed in 2015 by Kurkdjian’s predecessor, François Demachy. And the stakes for this new flanker (the industry term for an iteration of a flagship scent) couldn’t be higher. Since 2022, the original Sauvage has been the world’s best-selling fragrance, men’s or women’s, surpassing even longtime champ Chanel No. 5. It’s estimated a bottle of Sauvage is sold every three seconds.
Still, selecting a fragrance is a deeply personal, even emotional, decision. Kurkdjian’s challenge was to make a big tent even bigger by offering a new—but not radically different—vision of something millions of men around the world already wear.
He started the project—where else?—at a desk covered in vials. Though a team of two associate perfumers works just down the hall from his office in Paris, one gets the sense that Kurkdjian prefers solitude. When I later ask one of his friends if Kurkdjian is shy or just French, they respond, “He’s shy. And French. Double whammy.”
But one-on-one, Kurkdjian is supremely self-assured, armed with the type of confidence you expect to see in a surgeon or first responder. “I don’t feel the pressure, to be honest, because I decided not to feel the pressure,” he says, in reference to the various demands of his role, including devising bestsellers, overseeing the other perfumers, managing Dior’s relationship with its flower growers in Grasse (the raw-materials capital of the French fragrance industry), and even training store associates how to express his ideas. “It’s not a job you can handle if you’re afraid, because fear is unproductive.”
Fortunately for Kurkdjian, he comes from brave stock. On both sides of his family are relatives who immigrated to France from the former Ottoman Empire early in the 20th century to avoid political persecution; his maternal great-grandmother and grandmother only narrowly escaped the Armenian genocide.
To instill a sense of pride in their heritage, Kurkdjian’s parents took him and his two siblings to the Armenian Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paris every week. He still attends regularly. “When I’m in my final box, that’s where I’ll go,” Kurkdjian says, with a slight smile at his own gallows humour.
But the family also put a premium on a French sense of personal style and savoir faire. He remembers his mother buying fabric used in past-season Chanel collections to make her own suits. It didn’t hurt that one of her best friends, Françoise, was a petite main who once made dresses in Dior’s couture atelier. After Kurkdjian’s mother died in 2013, Françoise, now 87, became a surrogate aunt—but she has long been a link to the man whose memory Kurkdjian is now tasked with upholding. Because she worked closely with Monsieur Dior himself, Kurkdjian still calls her “whenever I need to fact-check something.”
As a teenager, Kurkdjian stole spritzes of his father’s small selection of classic colognes, which included the fresh, citrusy Dior Eau Sauvage, released in 1966 and unrelated (in the olfactory sense) to the 2015 scent, as well as the suave, vanilla-forward Pour un Homme de Caron. His mother wore perfume in what was then a novel way: different scents for different occasions, seasons, and moods, instead of a single signature. “She was loyal to my father, but she was never loyal to perfumes,” Kurkdjian jokes.
At first, he thought he’d be a ballet dancer—“I wanted to be Nureyev,” he says—but he failed the rigorous entrance exam to the Paris Opera Ballet School. Then, for a time, he thought he could be a couturier, until he came to grips with the fact that he couldn’t draw.
When he was 14, he became fascinated with a collection of perfume samples his sister had put together. A few years later, Kurkdjian saw a magazine article about fragrances that sealed the deal. He remembers feeling jealous of the perfumers on the page and wanted to join their ranks. “I was choosing my life,” he says, before paraphrasing a quote from Jean-Paul Sartre: “‘Choosing not to choose is still choosing.’ And this is, like, almost tattooed in my brain. I don’t know if I always make good decisions, but I make decisions.”
In 1994, two years after Kurkdjian graduated from ISIPCA, a fragrance school in Versailles, the industry was dominated by a small handful of huge companies. Designers in need of new scents would send out requests for proposals, and perfumers would enter a knock-down, drag-out fight to win the bid. Thirty years later, not much has changed.
“They still make perfumers compete against each other, even within the same house,” says Dawn Goldworm, an olfactive expert who has been friends with Kurkdjian for over 20 years. “So at Firmenich, you have a lot of perfumers competing against each other on projects,” she explains, referring to the leading French firm, “but they’re also competing against perfumers at Givaudan, International Flavors & Fragrances, and Takasago. It doesn’t really create a collaborative spirit.”
A chance meeting with the executive who owned Jean-Paul Gaultier’s fragrance license would produce one of the industry’s most consequential partnerships. At the time, Kurkdjian was just 25 years old and had enrolled in a master’s degree program at Paris’s Institute of Luxury Marketing. Gaultier was soliciting bids from the major houses for a new men’s fragrance. His brief was to evoke the seductive side of clean sweat, something Kurkdjian later described as “the idea of sensuality where you want to practically bite into a man’s skin.” The exec gave him three weeks to submit a formula as a sort of training exercise; Kurkdjian had never designed a fragrance outside the classroom. He took the assignment anyway—and won.
His composition used lavender, mint, vanilla, and a hint of cumin to conjure the musky aroma the designer was after—and it beat designs from far more experienced perfumers. Housed in a torso-shaped bottle clad in a striped sailor motif (Gaultier’s idea), Le Male quickly became a sensation, notable for how different it was from other men’s scents on the market, which generally conformed to generic ideas about masculinity: You could smell either clean, like a fraternity pledge getting ready for Friday night (à la Davidoff’s Cool Water or Issey Miyake’s L’eau d’Issey Pour Homme), or powerful, in the vein of an old-money financier (think Creed’s Green Irish Tweed). Le Male was far more nuanced—a little sweet, a little floral, yet undeniably masculine. Released in 1995, it was perfectly positioned for the metrosexual trend of the late ’90s and early aughts, which heralded changing ideas about what it meant to be a man.
“It was a unique combination of the freshness of lavender with the warmth of the vanilla and amber in the base—it was very modern smelling,” says Sebastian Jara, a fragrance consultant in San Francisco. Though Kurkdjian’s initial formula has since spawned 55 flankers, Jara notes that people still wear the original. “It’s one of the icons of the perfume industry,” he says.
Le Male also made Kurkdjian an overnight star in his field. “Most perfumers at 25 don’t have the breadth or the facility to do a global bestseller,” Goldworm says. “Francis is an anomaly, because he’s just brilliant.”
But Kurkdjian learned early that success can come at a cost. In short order, a rumour went around Paris that his formula was selected only because he was sleeping with Gaultier.
“It was not true,” Kurkdjian clarifies, obviously still hurt by the accusation, even if it was partly based on a simple misunderstanding: “Jean-Paul had a boyfriend at the time whose name was the same as mine—Francis.” He believes the rumour stuck because “in France, people don’t like success. Success is always suspicious.”
Though he should have been on top of the world, he began avoiding industry events, socialising only with a tight circle of trusted friends. Even now, decades later and at the height of his powers, the lesson still lingers. Kurkdjian will go as far as to confirm that he’s gay, but he won’t divulge anything else about his romantic life to the press.
His work is another story, and Le Male opened the door to plenty of it. It helped him land a job as a perfumer for Quest, a Dutch-owned company later acquired by Givaudan, where he created a string of best-selling and critically acclaimed bottles: Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea, in 1999; Lancôme’s Miracle Homme, in 2001; Narciso Rodriguez for Her, in 2003. He even devised two scents for Dior’s halo line of fragrances, La Collection Privée, in 2004.
It wasn’t just his early successes that made Kurkdjian stand out. Perfumers are a small community, by some estimates numbering as few as 200 professionals. “Many people use the analogy that there are more astronauts than perfumers,” says Linda G. Levy, president of the Fragrance Foundation, a New York-based trade group.
“There’s a stereotype of who [can be a perfumer], and perhaps a lack of welcoming into the industry,” she says. Though that has begun to change, when Kurkdjian’s star was on the rise, his peers were mostly straight, older men descended from families in or near Grasse whose members had made fragrances for generations. Kurkdjian was a young gay man with no connection to the industry, outperforming the other guys and making it look easy.
One factor has long leveled the playing field: Most perfumers aren’t widely credited for their work. It’s something that seemed unfair to Marc Chaya, a finance and strategy executive who was a partner at Ernst & Young in 2004, the year he met Kurkdjian at a birthday party for a mutual friend. “When I learned that he was the man behind some of these beautiful perfumes that I already had in my collection, I was very intrigued and surprised,” Chaya says.
They became fast friends, quickly learning they had a lot in common: They were both gay and wildly successful; Chaya, who’s Lebanese, saw overlaps in their families’ histories. And they were both hungry to work for themselves instead of making heaps of money for other people. “I guess we met at a time where we were both looking for something, and we found an answer in each other,” Chaya adds.
In 2009, the two formally became business partners, launching Maison Francis Kurkdjian, for which Chaya serves as CEO. From its inception, Chaya ensured Kurkdjian would receive credit for his compositions, because his name would be on every distinctively faceted bottle.
“We know fashion designers by their names, but we know fragrances by the name of the fragrance,” says Lana Todorovich, president and chief merchandising officer at Neiman Marcus, the first retailer to carry the maison’s fragrances in the United States. “They were both on a pretty significant mission to actually bring to light the incredible talent of perfumers.”
Chaya, who stayed with the company after LVMH acquired it in 2017, believes there’s still a way to go. “I’m not sure that many people know who Alberto Morillas is. I’m not sure that many people know who Calice Becker is, or who Jean-Claude Ellena is, or Christine Nagel,” he says, referring, respectively, to the creators of Calvin Klein’s CK One, Dior’s J’adore, Terre d’Hermès, and Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt. “It’s about time we respect what they’ve done.”
Kurkdjian has long compared what he does, especially for other brands, to being an actor. The briefs are like scripts, and exploring a new fragrance’s mood or avatar lets him step into identities he wouldn’t otherwise occupy—say, the modern London gentleman with a classic sense of style (Mr. Burberry) or the off-duty mogul just trying to put his workweek behind him (Armani Mania).
The job gives Kurkdjian a far bigger stage than he ever would have had as a ballet dancer. He calls leading Dior’s fragrance department the role of a lifetime—one he has been able to make entirely his own. “It’s not even work,” he insists.
Still, he takes pains to keep the businesses separate. Some of that is down to confidentiality, but other aspects stem from personal preference. Take flowers, for example. “I don’t put them so much at the forefront in my own house, but at Dior, they’re part of the founding act,” he says, referencing Christian Dior’s love of gardening and his practice of modeling dresses after various blooms. “They’re the DNA of the brand. So at Dior, I love working with flowers.”
He calls the Sauvage franchise “the story of lavender being the core flower of masculine perfume,” which he attributes to its use in traditional British shaving tonics. It’s the shared ingredient among all five iterations of the scent. (In addition to the fresh, citrusy, and woody original eau de toilette, François Demachy, Kurkdjian’s predecessor, made three more concentrated flankers that play up different elements of the flagship.) But if the original is smooth and urbane, Kurkdjian’s Sauvage Eau Forte is both fresher and more complex: a little green, a little peppery, with an earthy undercurrent like a warm breeze rolling through a desert oasis. Dior has leaned heavily into the imagery of water in its marketing for the scent, because Eau Forte uses water as its base instead of alcohol. The result—in addition to its opaque white appearance—is that the initial expression lasts longer than traditional scents, which tend to evolve over the course of the day.
During a span of about 10 months, Kurkdjian created 120 versions of the scent before arriving at the final formula. Though he won’t say which ingredients hit the cutting-room floor, the ultimate makeup includes a “cold spice” accord (it smells of elemi, cardamom, and black pepper), bleached lavender, and musky, woody notes. What he will say is that he rarely steps foot in the lab. He’s old-school, still writing out all his recipes with pencil and paper and handing them off to be mixed by one of his team. (“I am super lazy,” he admits. “And when you are lazy, you need efficiency, because you need things to run fast.”)
It’s one of several charming idiosyncrasies he has developed. He no longer drives because the traffic in Paris has gotten so bad that he can’t safely satisfy his need for speed. Every morning, instead, he’s driven to one of his two offices—Dior or Maison Francis Kurkdjian—around seven o’clock.
He hasn’t worn fragrances since he was in perfume school, where he was taught not to distract his nose from the formula in front of him. Occasionally, he’ll give scents he’s working on a test run or put something on for the odd party. Otherwise, his brain starts to work—and not in the good way. “Like, ‘Is that good enough? You should have done that. Why don’t you try this?’ So it’s not fun.”
He confirms the rumour that his nose is insured, though he won’t say for how much, which is one of many indications as to just how vital his role is to the bottom line. LVMH’s 2023 investor report lists four strategic priorities across its fragrance and beauty business. No. 2 is: “Focus on developing Parfums Christian Dior in harmony with couture.”
“I think it’s telling that that’s how important Christian Dior perfumes are in the entire portfolio of brands,” says Burke, the consultant. “For a brand like Dior, the fragrance category is absolutely key and a significant part of the business.”
So, yes, there’s serious money at stake. But despite the aggressive revenue targets, his ambitious schedule (he’s already working on fragrances for 2026), and the knowledge that thousands of people depend on his success, Kurkdjian tries not to take his work—or himself—too seriously.
“It’s important to put everything in perspective,” he says. “It’s just perfume. We’re not saving lives. We’re trying to make life even more beautiful.”
Scents of Occasion
Francis Kurkdjian is a firm believer in the olfactive wardrobe, the notion that you can be scented 24/7 for a range of moods and purposes. Here’s how five of his notable formulas square with what’s already in your closet.
The Wool Topcoat: Mr. Burberry Eau de Parfum
You might not wear this earthy, spice-laden fragrance year-round, but it’s an indispensable and versatile layer in the fall.
The Oxford-Cloth Button-Down: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Amyris Homme
Rosemary, cedar, and the titular Caribbean shrub combine to create an eau de toilette that’s as crisp and comforting as a clean white shirt.
The Peak-Lapel Tuxedo: Christian Dior La Collection Privée New Look
Kurkdjian’s only Dior project without flowers is filled with soapy aldehydes, amber, and frankincense—the scent of masculine chic, bottled.
The Cashmere Crewneck: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir
Soft, warm, and uniquely enveloping, this eau de parfum’s amber-vanilla accord has an alluring edge thanks to notes of resinous benzoin.
The Dressing Gown: Carven Pour Homme Eau de Toilette
A refined and relaxed blend of violet leaf, sandalwood, sage, and vetiver, codesigned with perfumer Patricia Choux.
Hero photo by Tiphaine Caro
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15/01/2025
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