Spend the New Year at Enchanted Island in Seychelles
The UAE-based company JA Resorts & Hotels, which manages the Palm Tree Court, Jebel Ali Hotel and Oasis Beach Tower in Dubai, will open its first international property on the private Round Island in Seychelles in January. The exclusive five-star Enchanted Island Resort has just 10 villas that are designed to reflect the regional Creole-Seychellois architecture. In the middle of a National Marine Park and close to the neighbouring islands of Sainte Anne, Moyenne, Long and Cerf, the resort is a 15-minute motorboat ride from the main island of Mahé, and the whole property can be exclusively rented for up to 24 guests.
For prices and more information, visit www.jaresortshotels.com or call 04 814 5500
Learn five-star culinary secrets
Spice Spoons by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is a cooking school concept that the group will introduce in its resorts across the world, including at the two latest properties, Anantara Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia and Anantara Chiang Mai, Thailand. Gastronomy enthusiasts who sign up for the day-long programme will start with a local activity - choosing fresh fish at the market, harvesting coconuts for a curry, a rice planting session - depending on where you're staying. A theory lesson with the head chef follows, with information on indigenous ingredients, traditional cooking equipment and the characteristics of the dish you're going to prepare. The actual cooking is a simplified, step-by-step process at an individual work station, after which you can savour the meal you've made, and return with a Spice Spoons shopping bag - which has a chef's hat, apron and a box of recipe cards - and a certificate. If you are visiting the new 39-room Cambodia property, and aren't interested in a cooking lesson, sign up for a private tour with the resort's "Streetwise Guru" anyway, for a trip through the former French colony's vibrant markets and historic grounds and a visit to the Angkor Archaeological Park.
For more information, visit www.angkor.anantara.com
Free stay for artists through Onefinestay's Creative Residencies programme
Onefinestay, the rental specialist group, has announced the launch of a Creative Residencies programme across its four cities - London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles - which offers artists a chance to apply for free stays in a local family's home. Open to artists of any discipline - performer, poet, painter, writer - the programme will require the guest to donate an original piece of work to Onefinestay's art collection in return for the temporary accommodation. The three creative residents who will launch the programme, which begins in 2014, are: Gavin Turk, who was part of the Sensation exhibition and whose works have found a place in Charles Saatchi's collection; Polly Morgan, whose taxidermy-inspired works of art have received international acclaim; and the writer Emma Forrest, who is adapting her memoir, Your Voice in My Head, into a film starring Emma Watson. Turk, who is considered to be one of the original Young British Artists, will be staying in Paris. "I was interested in this different spin on a traditional artists-in-residence programme. Being immersed in a neighbourhood rather than institutionalised was particularly attractive," he said. Not an artist? You can still sign up for a homestay, albeit at a price - or put your residence on offer while you're out of town - with Onefinestay, which aims to redefine luxury city travel by organising holidays in a foreign city or country in an "unhotel, full of comfort and character", and inclusive of high-end services such as housekeeping, luxury toiletries and other hotel-style amenities.
Visit www.onefinestay.com for more information
Point Yamu by COMO opens this month
Located on the Cape Yamu peninsula on the unspoiled east side of Phuket, Point Yamu is the luxury hotel group COMO's second hotel in Thailand. The 106-room resort overlooks the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay - a Unesco World Heritage Site - and the Andaman Sea. Designed by Paola Navone, who is also working on the group's upcoming Miami Beach hotel, Point Yamu sees COMO's signature clean and contemporary style united with the Italian interior designer's eclectic, colourful approach using locally sourced materials - the result is traditional wood tiling in the rooms and woven rattan textures in the public areas. The 100-metre pool and the eight massage, yoga and beauty treatment rooms, part of the sprawling Shambhala Retreat spa area, are a welcome addition to a day spent snorkelling, diving off remote islands or biking through nearby villages and plantations, all organised by the resort's English-speaking guides. As an opening offer, the resort is giving credit of between 1500 and 3,000 Thai baht (up to Dh350) per night depending on the room type, which can be used against food and beverages, spas and excursions.
Visit www.comohotels.com/pointyamu for more information or to make a reservation
Eco-friendly entertainment in Bahia
Butterfly House, the brainchild of the British environmentalist Chloe Gibbs, has just opened in Bahia on the serene Maraú Peninsula in north Brazil. The eight villas are all made from thatched grass, treated Colombian bamboo and salvaged Brazil nut wood. But the similarity ends there as the well-travelled Gibbs has sourced the interiors from around the world - a combination of antique French ceramics, whimsical Indian objects d'art, Arabic silks, South American jungle fibres and homespun Moroccan rugs, lend each villa a distinctive look. The lodge also has provisions to recycle non-organic matter, compost organic waste and a sewer system that doubles as a biofertiliser plant. Surrounded by World Heritage-listed rainforests, white-sand beaches and coral reefs, Butterfly House offers surfing, snorkelling and whale-watching excursions as well as day trips to the Tremembé waterfall and walks through the jungle-next-door that's teeming with anteaters, armadillos and marmosets. Return to enjoy a Brazilian fusion dinner whipped up by the local chef Elias Feitosa - the papaya and lobster salad is a must-eat.
Butterfly House is 90-minute drive from Ilhéus airport, reached by a 30-minute flight from Salvador or a two-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro. Villas start from £150 (Dh886) on a B&B basis. Visit www.butterflyhousebahia.com
New lodge launched in Bhutan
Take a step back from the bustle of modern life in Gangtey Goenpa Lodge, located in the serene environs of Phobjika Valley, home to Bhutan's largest Nyingmapa (a school of Buddhism) monastery. The country-style lodge has stone fireplaces, internally heated floors and exposed brick walls in its 12 rooms, each with views of the valley. It's a long trip given that there are no direct flights from the UAE to the nearest airport, Paro, which is a six-hour drive from the lodge. But this is made up for in part by the hot balloon rides - the first-ever in Bhutan - over rivers, dzongs and pine forests that the lodge organises, weather-permitting. The balloon also passes over Phobjika village, at the edge of the Black Mountain National Park, but only when the rare black-neck cranes that winter here are not in residence so as not to disturb the birds, which, legend has it, protect the land. The soft launch was in July, but the Gangtey Goenpa Lodge officially opened this month.
Double rooms till December 31 from US$600 (Dh2,200) from $888 (Dh3,262) in 2014. Visit www.bhutan.com.au/gangtey-goenpa-lodge
Book a maison in the Maldives
From the French Alps to the Maldivian archipelago, Cheval Blanc Maison from the LVMH (Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton) Group, launched the Cheval Blanc Randheli on the undisturbed Noonu Atoll in the Maldives earlier this month. The second Maison - the first is in Courchevel, France - sticks to the themes of a relaxed and private atmosphere within a stylish set-up. Think a bespoke seaplane service from Malé, daily turndown gifts, multi-cuisine restaurants including one with a Japanese-Iberian fusion-food experience and playrooms and clubs for children of all ages. Created in collaboration with the award-winning architect Jean-Michel Gathy, the 45-villa property has several accommodation options, including water, garden or island villas and one "owner's villa" with its own spa, outdoor pool and a fleet of dhonis. The island's crystal-clear waters, varied marine life and colourful coral reefs provide splendid diving and snorkelling opportunities, while pampering comes in the form of a Guerlain boutique (the first in the Maldives), a Leonol Greyr hair spa and a yoga studio with a hot bath.
Double rooms start from US1,500 (Dh5,510) per night including taxes. Visit www.chevalblanc.com
W Hotels Worldwide debuts in Switzerland
Part of the Starwoods Hotels & Resorts, the W Hotels group will launch its first ski resort in the Swiss Alps on December 1. Situated at the foot of the slopes beside the Médran gondola, the 123-room W Verbier resort has juxtaposed traditional Swiss design - four wooden buildings with overhanging eaves and grand fireplaces - with the group's signature New York-style urban cool - leather and fur upholstery, sleek furnishings, contemporary light fixtures, even animal footprints on the corridor carpets lest you forget the way to your chalet. A glass atrium that connects the four buildings will highlight the views of the valley below and the ski slopes in the mountain above. Ski-in, ski-out facilities aside, the resort has a menu designed by the two-Michelin-star Spanish chef Sergi Arola, a tapas bar, the cocoon-like Away Spa as well as the W brand's signature Whatever/Whenever service, providing guests with whatever they want - from state-of-the-art ski equipment to a private jet service.
Rooms start from SFR200 (Dh807) per night, but several early-bird discounts are available at www.wverbier.com
pmunyal@thenational.ae