The Woodward, Geneva, a discreet all-suite lakefront hotel in a classical building

Darius Sanai checks in at The Woodward, Geneva, where luxury meets discreet elegance

The wow factor

The Woodward is situated in a lakefront building facing the Alps, like a few other luxury Geneva hotels, but there the similarity ends. You enter via a discreet door and are shown up in a lift to a mezzanine floor, where the receptionist sits behind a small table. It is all marble, light furnishings, art and views, like arriving at a beautiful home.

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People-watching

It was as if we were at a friend’s cosmopolitan party, with expensive-looking international couples on the mezzanine floor, but the main feeling was of space and privacy.

The hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, L’Atelier Robuchon

Show me to my room

The Woodward is an all-suite hotel and ours, one of 26, was like a private apartment. The design is by Pierre-Yves Rochon, a king of contemporary hotel and residence design. Furnishings are light, off-white and taupe; coffee-table books are artfully chosen; art is thoughtfully hung.

Read more: Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo, Review

Come dine with me (and other things)

At street level, the L’Atelier Robuchon is all dark lacquer and red leather. We sat at long bar, where we saw the chefs at work and our cocktails being mixed. The atmosphere was buzzing; a contrast to the tranquillity of the hotel above. The food was superb in the Atelier group’s weekend-gourmet style: line-caught turbot fillet poached with verbena, sea lettuce, cockles and clams had a fresh umami taste; farro wheat with mushrooms, black garlic, trompette consommé and Barolo vinegar was an all-time, all-star vegan dish. Then, a sliding door, and you disappear into your apartment and that view.

Find out more: oetkercollection.com/hotels/the-woodward

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2023/24 issue of LUX

Looking over Marina Bay from the Club Lounge, Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Singapore

In the third part of our luxury travel views column from the Spring/Summer 2023 issue, LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai checks in at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Singapore

What drew us there?

Some city hotels have spectacular views of nature – such as those in Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. Others have dramatic city views, as in Hong Kong and Tokyo. From our suite on the 26th floor at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Singapore, we had both. At night, the irregular oval of Marina Bay lit up before us, the spires and curves of its buildings encircling the bay, while the Apple and Louis Vuitton buildings floated on the water amid the ferries. Beyond the skyscrapers was the oil-tanker traffic on the Singapore Strait. We had the nature of an equatorial peninsula and one of the world’s most dynamic financial centres, all in one view.

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The refined living room of the Ritz Suite

How was the stay?

Stroll through the Ritz-Carlton lobby and you are in the centrepiece luxury hotel of a self-confident city. Ceilings are high, artworks are dramatic and well curated, and the energy levels suggest this is the place to be, in the place to be.

A perfect way to experience the hotel’s vista is from the Club Lounge on the 32nd floor. Here, we watched the sky turn orange, purple and blue (a mix of haze and effects from the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia), while drinking Rothschild champagne. The lounge has alcoves and a private room and feels very grown up.

Singapore has become a city that celebrates fine drinking as much as it does fine dining, as we saw later, downstairs in the Republic bar. The bar, voted one of the best in Asia, is 1960s themed. Decor is suitably period, and bottles of spirits and liqueurs from the era are available for drinking or mixing. You can order a Singapore sling, but that is considered a little touristic, and we weren’t brave enough to try a shot of Ramazzotti liqueur from 1960, but the stylish bartender mixed us two excellent dirty martinis. They say Singapore has taken some of the creative zing from Hong Kong. At the Republic, at least, that seemed true.

For a different experience and view, head to the hotel pool. Set in a tropical grove just below the entrance, it is sheltered from the rest of the city – a huge outdoor pool with a restful vibe.

Read more: Royal Riviera, Côte d’Azur Review

Our room was as peaceful as the bar is lively. A Club Deluxe suite, its large windows offer an ever-changing vista of the city and the Marina Bay. Decor is gentle: light pine and muted pastels, eminently suitable for a hotel that is both a high-powered business centre and a resort, which is a great strength in a hotel.

1960s cool at the Republic bar

Anything else?

The hotel is a stroll to both Marina Bay Sands – one of Asia’s most extensive luxury malls – and the hawker food markets in the other direction.

Find out more: ritzcarlton.com

This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of LUX