Alice Mansergh is spending St. Patrick’s Day 2024 in Washington, D.C., to participate in a longtime tradition. It involves delegates from Ireland presenting the current U.S. president with a bowl of shamrocks to mark this Irish holiday.
26.02.2024 - 23:27 / forbes.com / Vita La-Dolce
It's hard to know when to call something a travel trend but one sign might be when current trends merge into one, particularly for the top 1% of travelers.
Private yachts can be fun, they don't give much opportunity to socialise with people you don't know and while cruises are making a comeback for the masses, they don't allow exclusive travel to those far-to-reach places. Enter the superyacht, owned by luxury hotel brands—a niche travel trend that is gaining pace.
It fits with another of 2024's travel trends, transitory exploring—instead of seeing the journey as the horror of plane travel before arriving in a place to start a holiday, the focus is on moving slowly through places, normally using multi-modal transport. Sleeper trains across Europe are seeing a resurgence at every price point and hotel chain, Accor, is launching its Orient Express La Dolce Vita luxury sleeper train to Italy this year.
More people currently want to move through borders slowly and in style. One good example is the Coquelicot (French for 'poppy') which is a high-end, Les Bateaux Belmond-operated barge that will take its luxury travelers through the canals of France across the Champagne region—it can be yours for $92,000 a week. The signature touch is the partnership with the world's oldest champagne house, Maison Ruinart. There's even an open kitchen with potted herbs and wildflowers on the deck.
Or try the Trailfinders Vietnam and Cambodia multi-modal 16-night trip including nights on a barge, sleeper train, boat rides along the Mekong Delta and cycling. Alternatively, if you have a bigger budget, you could try the 80-day round-the-world rail trip operated by Railfinders. For $114,000 per person, you can take luxury trains across four continents and 13 countries starting summer 2024.
Jonathan Goldsmith, head of product at Cazenove+Loyd, another luxury tour operator told The Telegraph that the attractive idea around using superyachts (or long-distance rail travel) is that people only need to unpack once and move through places while still saying in the same room. The advantage of a superyacht over a cruise and a train is that it's much more exclusive and you can get into hidden creeks and bays to spend your days. Goldsmith also adds that it's a no-brainer for luxury hotel brands—when they expand into superyachts they get to keep their clients for longer and won't lose them to luxury yacht charters. It's also a highly effective way of moving clients from one luxury property to another.
In late 2025, Four Seasons will launch its first superyacht, Mark One, with 95 suites, over four levels, with a wading pool and spa. It will also feature a 280-degree panoramic view through what will be the world’s largest single pane of
Alice Mansergh is spending St. Patrick’s Day 2024 in Washington, D.C., to participate in a longtime tradition. It involves delegates from Ireland presenting the current U.S. president with a bowl of shamrocks to mark this Irish holiday.
Southwest Airlines is promoting one-way fares for as low as $49. The flight sale includes travel to the continental United States, Hawaii, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, for travel in spring and early summer. But these flight deals will be ending soon.
“The house was already wonderful,” says Enrique Miró-Sans. He’s talking about the 17th-century residence that his family spent two years transforming into an intimate, lived-in hotel in the walled old city of Palma, Mallorca.
A destination rich in history and culture, Washington, D.C., has endless attractions. More than simply the nation’s capital, a politician’s escape or a school field trip destination, Washington has become a vibrant melting pot of excellent hotels, standout dining and ample cultural experiences.
Anna Payne holds more than 15 years’ experience in the luxury and hospitality sectors; having achieved success with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Firmdale Hotels, where she worked across multiple markets and hotel openings in London and New York.
A partnership with SLH marks a new chapter in the hotel’s journey, emphasizing its dedication to creating unforgettable guest experiences.
The work, due to begin in early March, is the first phase of the multi-million-pound redevelopment project at the five-star resort, as it seeks to reposition itself as one of Scotland’s top resorts and an international destination.
Meetings Industry Veteran to Help Further IAEE’s Strategic Plan
The National Cherry Blossom Festival brings hordes of visitors from around the world to the nation’s capital as the town gets bathed in pink. This year’s festival will take place in Washington, DC, between March 20 and April 14, 2024.
The Swiss city of Lugano is an outlier, radically different in feeling from counterparts like Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, or Basel. It has a 19th-century feel, a measured pace, and traces of the Belle Epoque. Situated on Lake Lugano with tree-lined promenades and a backdrop of domed mountains, the views might have been lifted from an Art Nouveau poster.
Southwest Airlines and Omni Hotels & Resorts are teaming up to offer a special "Solarbration" sweepstakes ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.The sweepstakes—which can be entered now through March 11—will reward two lucky winners with a prize package that includes air travel on a flight predicted to be in the direct path of the eclipse.The flight options include Southwest Flight 1252, which departs Dallas (Love Field) at 12:40 p.m. CT for Pittsburgh, and Southwest Flight 1721, which departs Austin at 12:55 p.m. CT for Indianapolis.Omni will do its part by putting the winners up in custom-designed guest rooms inspired by the celestial event. The special accommodations will be located at Omni Hotels in the departure cities of Dallas and Austin and the arrival cities of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.In addition to roundtrip flights and accommodations for two nights, winners will receive exclusive solar eclipse viewing glasses and fun inflight experiences aboard their eclipse flights.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jaclyn Sienna India, the founder of the luxury travel concierge Sienna Charles . The following has been edited for length and clarity.