One of my favorite North American retreats, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort on the west coast of Vancouver Island, has opened a spectacular new fly-camp. Located at 4,500 feet overlooking a mountain lake, Cloud Camp is accessible by a 15-minute ride aboard the property’s private helicopter. As at the main resort, guests stay in spacious and luxurious tents that have been erected on wooden platforms and are connected by elevated walkways. Interiors feature Adirondack-style beds with down duvets, thick rugs, antique furniture and propane stoves. The camp comes with a guide for hikes, plus a massage therapist. And each evening, a private chef prepares a five-course gourmet dinner accompanied by appropriate wine pairings. Perhaps the chief glory of the camp, however, is the panoramic view across the glacial peaks, cloud-filled valleys and coastal rain forest of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve. After a brief sojourn in this natural penthouse, guests head back to the main camp to pursue activities such as kayaking, salmon fishing, bear-viewing and whale-watching. I very much hope that my summer schedule will permit a return visit to this blissful sanctuary.
Despite recent travails over the company’s ownership, Amanresorts continues to expand. The group’s latest (28th) property is Amandayan, located in the picturesque and ancient town of Lijiang in China’s scenic western province of Yunnan. Set atop Lion Hill, a forested enclave at the heart of Lijiang, the resort comprises 35 suites housed within a series of dwellings arranged around tranquil courtyards. These have been designed in the traditional architectural style of the Nakhi, the indigenous people of northwestern Yunnan, and feature stone floors, elm furniture, regional fabrics and distinctive carvings by the local priestly caste, the Dongba. Amenities include a Chinese restaurant, Western restaurant, tea house, library and spa with six double treatment rooms overlooking the heated 65-foot outdoor swimming pool.
In the past three or four years, The Goring hotel in London has become increasingly popular with Andrew Harper subscribers. This is surprising only because the fourth-generation, family-owned 69-room hotel, just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, has been in business for more than a century. It is a wonderful example of time-honored values succeeding in the modern world. Aside from its splendid location (within walking distance of much of the West End), extremely comfortable accommodations, solicitous staff and fine British cuisine, the property has a serene garden in which to linger on a warm summer evening. Recently, The Goring closed for the first time in its 105-year history for a “top-to-toe designer renovation.” Many of London’s other leading hotels have discarded their distinctive English sensibility in favor of an international contemporary style. I am confident that The Goring will not have made the same mistake.
Longtime Hideaway Report subscribers will know of my deep affection for the idyllic private island Petit St. Vincent in the southern Caribbean. Last September, I reported on improvements and innovations introduced by the resort’s new owners. I now learn that Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the legendary filmmaker (and co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung) Jacques-Yves Cousteau, has opened a diving center on the island, staffed with resident naturalists and marine biologists. PSV is surrounded by some of the finest scuba diving in the Caribbean — notably in the nearby Tobago Cays Marine Park — and Cousteau’s venture is, in part, an attempt to raise awareness about the threats now facing these exquisite coral ecosystems. I profoundly hope that his mission is a success.
April brings two more of my personal guides: Africa & Middle East and Great Britain & Ireland. Updates feature our latest discoveries, regional notebooks, touring maps, restaurants and, of course, my recommended hotels. Booklets are now available for individual purchase here. They are also mailed bimonthly to Premier subscribers.
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