Clinique La Prairie has established itself as a leading name in longevity research, offering wellness programmes for over ninety years. For its inaugural escape far away from its traditional Alps and Lake Geneva landscape, the brand has set base on North Island Resort in the Seychelles to create a complete Clinique La Prairie experience

Clinique La Prairie’s philosophy on anti-aging grounds itself on a holistic system, balancing the body and mind with a longevity method supported by four pillars: medical science, nutrition, well-being, and movement. Curated by experts flown in from Switzerland, the week-long detoxification programme at North island is composed of heavy metal screenings, regenerative wellness, and detox nutrition to purify the body. The island’s wildlife sanctuary provides the backdrop for the physical segment of the retreat, offering a range of activities from yoga and tree planting to bike riding and snorkelling.

The resort hosts 11 hand-crafted villas, all surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Nature is a huge part of Clinique La Prairie’s philosophy, with sustainability at its core. The brand accentuates that small steps taken by individuals are the building blocks of global impact.

Clinique La Prairie’s Sonia Spring explains “sustainability for us is making sure that when people leave, they are making the right choices; whether that’s how to live, with regards to what they eat and also how they manage stress. This is related to sustainability because if you learn how to deal with stress, you can nurture yourself properly and make good choices such as having the right quantity of food, in the right way, looking more into local foods around you. By spreading these and in turn spreading these lessons that you have learned because its made a good impact in your life. Conveying these values to others, for us, also brings in the element of longevity.”

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Internally, the brand aims to educate staff on more sustainable ways of operation, such as reducing waste, but also engraining more considerate decision-making in all areas.

Read more: Luxury Travel Views: Brenner’s Park-Hotel & Spa, Baden-Baden

The collaboration between Clinique La Prairie and North Island is in itself an ode to nature, borne from the serendipitous meeting of both owners, whose shared vision of exquisite hospitality delivered in surroundings of natural beauty is woven into the core of the retreat.

The partnership sees a symbiotic marriage of science and nature, hosted on an island that is both exclusive and private while retaining a “barefoot luxury” approach.

Priced at €68,000 for single occupancy and €85,000 for double occupancy

Find out more:

cliniquelaprairie.com

north-island.com

The Royal Champagne is built into south-facing vineyards on the Montagne de Reims

In the final part of our luxury travel views series from the Autumn/Winter 2021 issue, LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai checks into Champagne’s newest and most luxurious hotel: the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa in Épernay

If the devil is in the detail, the Royal Champagne is a devil of a place. In the best possible way. What detail to pick on? The barista-style Italian espresso machine in the room? The pale-leather welcome box containing a bottle of boutique Leclerc Briant champagne in an ice bucket, two champagne glasses and some fruit slices? The delicate mesh on the light wood occasional table? So many.

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In truth, Champagne has been in need of this hotel forever. I have been visiting the region on business and pleasure for years, and the choice has been between a couple of old-school country luxe hotels with little in the way of contemporary pleasures, and an array of functional places wholly out of keeping with champagne (the drink) and its image of indulgence.

From the very start, it’s plain that the Royal Champagne is something else: an indulgent hotel created with extreme love and style (and budget) by deep-pocketed owners wanting the best and hang the cost. (That is my impression, and I challenge them to prove me wrong.)

The pool overlooks the champagne vineyards of Épernay

You approach from Reims by driving up the Montagne de Reims, the forest-topped big hill with vineyards on both sides that demarcates the territory between Reims and Épernay, the two capitals of Champagne. Through the forest at the top of the hill, onto a lane through the vineyards, and the hotel entrance appears out of nowhere.

The Royal is built into the hillside, a contemporary building and a feat of engineering beside the historic building that gives it its name.

Read more: LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai on Effective Climate Action

Inside, everything is light, open. The welcome is professional and swift, and our room, like all of them, faced out over the vineyards, with a big balcony and vista down to Épernay and to the hills of the Côte des Blancs beyond. The balcony table shaped as a hollow-sided mini-barrel was particularly cute. Inside, everything was generous, light grey, cream, gold: the big bathroom has a sliding wooden screen to the bedroom so you can bathe with a view.

The temptation to hang out in the beautiful bedrooms is extreme but should be resisted. A couple of levels below, an indoor pool stretches the length of the main building of the hotel, all with picture windows out to the vista; there are beds on pedestals at either end to relax on, as well as more conventional loungers all around, and on an expansive terrace outside there are more chill-out spaces and an outdoor pool, warmed to cope with the north European weather, on the edge of the vines.

Then there’s the aptly named Le Bellevue restaurant, with a vast terrace with a view, where you can choose from an array of specialist champagnes and – amazing for the region – choose from a light, modern, organic-based menu. Bulgur and coriander tabbouleh, baked monkfish with chard risotto, that sort of thing. And do yourself a favour and allow the sommelier to choose for you from one of the small-grower champagnes: you may never have heard of them, because they only sell locally and make in tiny amounts.

The Royal Champagne is so good that it could be a destination hotel and resort for someone not interested in drinking champagne. It manages the trick of being desirable for couples, friends or families without overwhelming with one. The service is brilliant without being corporate (it’s not part of a group) and like another LUX favourite, the Alpina Gstaad, it redefines contemporary hôtellerie. It really is that good.

Book your stay: royalchampagne.com

This article was originally published in the Autumn 2021 issue.

One of Molori’s recent and largest projects is this 2,100 sq m home in California, remodelled as a resort

Molori Designs takes the concept of bespoke to a whole new level. Answering all your lifestyle needs, whether you’re on safari in South Africa or settling down in Santa Monica, they specialise in tailoring everything to the individual client. LUX speaks with founder Kirk Lazarus

Super yachts, private jets, sleek urban apartments, tropical beachside villas, endless vistas and infinity pools – global architecture and lifestyle company Molori Designs is in the business of dreams (‘molori’ means ‘to dream’ in Tswana, a southern African language), or rather, the dream. This is the one where you, essentially, have it all. Founded by South African-born, Sydney-raised entrepreneur Kirk Lazarus, the company owns a safari lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, several resorts in Clifton and Cape Town, and Port Douglas in Australia and a superyacht called Told U So. They also develop and design luxurious, turnkey homes for the ultra-rich which are carefully curated to the individual’s needs and tastes, from the art hanging on the walls to the types of spirits stocked in the bar. “Usually when people think of resorts, it’s connected with the idea of going on holiday. Our goal, from a design perspective, is to create a lifestyle where you don’t need to take a vacation from it,” says Lazarus.

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As such, their design approach is focused on not only achieving the highest possible standards of luxury living, but also anticipating the future owner’s day-to-day needs. They often ask clients to talk them through their daily routine from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed so that they can pinpoint moments which could be made more seamless. Of course, this is also the appeal of branded residences, which are kitted out head-to-toe in, say, Giorgio Armani or, in the case of hotel-branded residences, come with all the expected five-star amenities and services: private chefs, valet parking, housekeeping, a 24-hour concierge. The key difference, however, is that with Giorgio Armani or Four Seasons residences, you’re buying into a lifestyle defined by that brand, but with Molori’s homes, every aspect of the design is tailored to the specific individual or family. All furniture is custom-made in Italy and the company collaborates with luxury brands to create bespoke fixtures such as Murano glass × Molori chandeliers, and Missoni Home upholstery.

The living room (top) and formal dining room of an apartment in New York City overlooking Central Park designed by Molori

There are, however, a few design principles that define every Molori residence. “We make sure that every corner of your home has a purpose regardless of how big the property is,” says Larissa Makkonen, one of the company’s designers. “Amazing views are also always a priority for us. We often use mirrors to reflect the ocean or landscape so that you feel surrounded by nature.”

The pool area of a California beachfront home, designed by Molori in 2018

As the company is relatively small, the team is directly involved in every stage of the project, which allows them to continuously adapt their designs and push for greater levels of personalisation. With yachts, for example, that means going to the shipping yard where the boat is being built and discussing how much they can manipulate the basic structure to include bigger windows or more spacious bedrooms.

Read more: How Andermatt became a leading luxury destination

The ability to adapt is also fundamental to the company’s approach to sustainability. They try to “create the greenest environment possible” while also anticipating changes in climate and landscape. According to Lazarus, beachside residential projects have been particularly challenging in recent years due to global rising sea levels and how the need to accommodate this will impact the coastline in the future.

The master bedroom in the New York apartment

For now, though, his sights are set on Miami – “one of the places to be for luxury” – where Molori currently has several turnkey projects in progress. “It’s exciting to see how far we can push the envelope in luxury-style living,” Lazarus says.

Find out more: molori.com

This story was originally published in the Autumn/Winter 2021 issue.