< PreviousAL MAHA, A LUXURY COLLECTION DESERT RESORT & SPA DUBAI, UAE Part of the 225sqkm Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, Al Maha’s origins are inextricably intertwined with sustainability and conservation in the emirate. Ever since its birth at the turn of the century, the resort has been deeply involved in the protection of the native flora and fauna of the region, including the once-endangered Arabian Oryx – many of which can be spotted, along with desert gazelles, foxes and birds, on wildlife tours with the knowledgeable in-house Field Guides, on foot, horseback, camelback or riding a 4x4. The Desert Resort itself is LEED-certified for its sustainable design and structural elements, which in the latest refurb added LED lighting, solar panels, sewage treatment facilities and better water-management systems. The design and activities also serve to shine a light on traditional Bedouin culture, bringing guests more knowledge of local culture. Individual, tent-inspired guest accommodations come with private plunge pools and are filled with authentic antiques and local artefacts, and early morning falcon shows tell the history of the sport in the region while delighting guests of all ages. Local culture shines bright also in the treatments at Timeless Spa – its outdoor pool has endless calming desert views – and in the Middle East-inflected flavours at the restaurant. It’s an indulgent yet feel-good stay with a conservation bent. – RS Doubles from AED 2,890; 00971-4-832 9900, marriott.comFebruary 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 111 FOGO ISLAND INN JOE BATT’S ARM, CANADA This ruler-straight white rectangle cuts a strong silhouette on the edge of Canada’s eastern-most shoreline. Jutting over the Atlantic coast, with 29 rooms and five art studios, the inn is in fact a change-making social enterprise. Its build had everything as locally sourced as possible. Finding that the only nails that suited its needs were from China, it made its own. The steel frame of the wooden-clad construction is insulated to the max; rainwater is collected for the toilets; and wood-fired boilers and solar panels power the hot water and underfloor heating. – JK Doubles from AED 5,575; 001-709- 658 3444, fogoislandinn.ca LEFAY RESORT & SPA DOLOMITI PINZOLO, ITALY Sister to Lake Garda’s chi-chi spa retreat, this new stay is just outside Pinzolo’s Madonna di Campiglio ski resort. It’s impressive to see “bio-architecture” exist in such harmony with the wooded mountain landscape. As appealing in summer as in the snowy season, hiking, biking and climbing make five-star Lefay Dolomiti a year-round wellness destination. It’s rare to be able to give the assurance that advanced spa, detox and well-being programmes – from osteopathy to Ayurveda – are not just good for you but also the wider world, but having hosts so committed to using renewable energy sources makes that possible. – JK Doubles from AED 1,310; 0039-046-576 8800, dolomiti.lefayresorts.com ITC KOHENUR, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL HYDERABAD, INDIA The ITC Hotels group is standing out in India as a green pioneer, especially shining true in their new Hyderabad property. Inspired by the infamous Koh-i-Noor diamond, each room totes a different gemstone colour with dark woods and lush fabrics. The jewel-inspired hotel is also home to 13 new wellness rooms outfitted with vitamin-C showers, in-room plants to improve air quality and a sleep ensemble to induce a good night’s rest. But what really sets it apart is its use of high-tech green initiatives like 100 per cent LED lighting, a green roof and a unique building structure that captures maximum sunlight – setting the standard in the country. – HD Doubles from AED 660; 0091-406- 766 0101, marriott.comSONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND KOH RONG ARCHIPELAGO, CAMBODIA There’s a pervading sense of calm that radiates from Song Saa, two private islands off Cambodia’s once-overlooked southern coast. It starts with sunrise Buddhist blessings from tangerine-robed local monks and lasts until the candlelit suppers soundtracked by the splashes of leaping fish. Australian owners Rory and Melita Hunter are accidental hoteliers – he was a Saatchi executive, she an interior designer – who had an epiphany while sailing a rented fishing boat along the mangroves and white-sand beaches of the Koh Rong archipelago in 2005. The couple bought tiny Koh Ouen and Koh Bong and spent six years crafting overwater villas with upcycled furniture and salvaged wood from abandoned boats. They also set up a foundation to protect and support the surrounding rainforests, sealife and communities such as the stilted Prek Svay village on neighbouring Koh Rong, even establishing the kingdom’s first marine reserve. Six Senses and Alila Villas have since arrived on nearby Cambodian islands, but Song Saa is the original; a living, breathing passion project that has that intangible essence – a soul. – Toby Skinner Doubles from AED 3,655; 0085-59-260 9488, songsaa.com Snug within its own Soho enclave, London’s Ham Yard (doubles from AED 1,700; 0044-20-3642 2000, firmdalehotels.com) still feels as fresh as when it opened in 2014 with its procession of fabrics, textures, collector’s pieces and fizzy commotion that rebooted the whole concept of boutique. Just as appealing is its commitment to being eco-friendly, with a living green roof, and toothbrushes and fabrics made from natural and recycled materials, all of which helped it earn a BREEAM Excellent rating. – Rick Jordan On Benguerra Island (doubles from AED 6,905; 0027-11-809 4300, andbeyond.com) off the coast of Mozambique, a wonderful renovation of the once-rustic lodge by andBeyond – one of African’s best safari outfits – elevates while retaining its low- key soul. With 140 species of birds, world-class snorkelling and diving within a protected marine reserve and lagoon that is home to one of the last remaining viable populations of dugongs, it’s hard to beat as a natural retreat. – FK PHOTO: SIMON BROWN PHOTOGRAPHYFebruary 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 113 SHARJAH COLLECTION BY MYSK – KINGFISHER LODGE SHARJAH, UAE A far cry from the glitzy, more-is-more resorts of its neighbouring emirates, Kingfisher Lodge, in the more low-key emirate of Sharjah, is home to a rich cultural history and a biodiverse environmental playground. Situated in Kalba, the east-coast enclave within Fujairah, this eco-lodge provides a glimpse into the natural soul of the region, with exclusive access to the pristine wetland ecosystem. Twenty modern tents were built using sustainably sourced materials, offering Gulf of Oman and mountain views as well as private pools, all the while weaving in elements of traditional Arabian heritage. Refined interiors of soft beige, blues and desert browns meld seamlessly with the natural landscape. A gateway to conservation and culture, guests can partake in beach clean-ups, watch sea turtles hatch, nest and swim, or catch a glimpse of rare bird species in the mangrove reserve. Beyond that, there’s an array of water-to-land activities that set the tone for an adventure vacation with nature walks, stand-up paddle-boarding and cycling through rugged terrain. This is the spot to disconnect from stress and truly reconnect with nature. – HD Doubles from AED 2,360; 00971-9-201 1900, myskhotels.com MATAKAURI LODGE QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND It’s possible New Zealand’s early settlers spotted the mountains that would later be named The Remarkables from the lakefront where this retreat now sits. You could wager a case of Otago Pinot Noir that the word “remarkable” will come to mind, too, when gazing out at that magnificent crown of peaks standing like steely soldiers through the glass walls at the Matakauri Owner’s Cottage. What makes the country’s favourite smart lodge truly stand out, however, is not so much the epic beauty it frames from its sun-flooded rooms, but rather the comfort, service and food to match. And the bar is very high. Freshwater Aoraki salmon from lakes up in lofty Mount Cook stars alongside local mushrooms and crispy- skinned duck legs at dinner. Head chef Jonathan Rogers welcomes deliveries from local suppliers practising sustainable agriculture, reducing Matakauri’s carbon footprint while offering an authentic taste of the country. Wash it all down with an Amisfield Chenin Blanc; should the vintage move you, the team can arrange tastings at the nearby Gibbston Valley, one of the country’s hottest boutique grape districts. Of course, there’s plenty to be done on those peaks as well. Go heli-skiing or head out on an all-day hike in warmer months for phenomenal views down to Lake Wakatipu. From the design to the setting, Matakauri is the embodiment of New Zealand’s own brand of epic luxury. – Erin Florio Doubles from AED 3,900; 0064-3-441 1008, robertsonlodges.com DORADO BEACH, A RITZ–CARLTON RESERVE DORADO, PUERTO RICO Shoulders drop inches a half-hour into dinner at Positivo Sand Bar; by that time the table is covered with tangy ceviche, crispy duck salad and ice-cold Albariño, sleeves are rolled up and sandals slipped off. Unlike other properties on the resort-heavy north shore, the emphasis here is on the setting. The hotel has undergone many transformations (most recently a robust refresh after Hurricane Maria in 2017), but it has been all about sea, sand and green spaces since the Fifties, when Laurance Rockefeller, son of the famed financier, built a sanctuary here. Following his legacy, there’s an impressive level of dedication to environmental education, sustainability and marine conservation seen throughout, protecting the bay, forests and local Taino culture. Rooms, sprawling across 50 acres, are bookended by beach-facing terraces and outdoor showers, and Biennale-worthy art is scattered on tree branches and even across the golf course. But it’s the Spa Botánico, a tropical wonderland that’s much more than the usual cluster of treatment rooms, that really sticks to Rockefeller’s brief. Months after returning you’ll remember the 95-year- old knotted ficus marking its entrance most clearly. That or the treehouse hidden in the canopy where you had the greatest massage of your life. – Lauren DeCarlo Doubles from AED 3,900; 001-787-626 1100, ritzcarlton.com PHOTO: HECKFIELD PLACE HECKFIELD PLACE HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM It’s taken years to get this Georgian manor house ready for visitors, but it was worth the wait. The interiors are perfection, and the gardens are a lesson in long-sighted conservation. Almost every morsel in either of the refined dining rooms here is sourced from its biodynamic farm. What makes this estate so marvellous is its reverence for nature and the fact that its media-shy billionaire owner never scrimps on the back- of-house eco-activity. The biomass, advanced permaculture system, aerobic digester and thousands of litres of water sourced from their own borehole attest to this. – JK Doubles from AED 1,690; 0044-118-932 6868, heckfieldplace.com TAJ EXOTICA RESORT & SPA, ANDAMANS ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA From the water, Havelock Island looks utterly uninhabited – beachfront properties are prohibited to preserve the natural ecosystem – but hidden among the mangrove forests and wildly intertwined vines, Taj Exotica lies on a stretch of Rahdhanagar Beach. A ban on single-use plastics and a mangrove restoration programme are just some of the ways the hotel strives to protect its pristine environment. A contemporary haven built without harming a single tree, 54 sustainably designed villas are inspired by the local Jarawa tribe, raised on short stilts and topped with curved thatched roofs. With 80 per cent of the island still untouched, there’s no shortage of wilderness to explore and one of your biggest discoveries may be that you won’t want to leave. – HD Doubles from AED 1,340; 0091-31-9228 3333, tajhotels.comFebruary 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 115 SAFFIRE FREYCINET TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA A Herculean effort is already required to travel to Australia from nearly everywhere else in the world. Then add an extra hour’s flight to Tasmania and a three-hour, serpentine drive from Hobart – during which doubt will inevitably creep in as to whether this could possibly be worth it. Relief sets in as this retreat’s main lodge comes into focus, with its modern, undulating roof and glass walls that bring the outside in while keeping sustainability in mind with natural-cycle air-flow systems and energy-efficient water and lighting. Built on a small portion of what was previously a degraded caravan park, some 30,000 native plants have been brought in to regenerate the site’s natural beauty. On the fringes of one of the island state’s oldest national parks, there are 20 sleek, villa-style rooms that stud the coastal bushland sloping down toward Great Oyster Bay and the craggy Hazards mountains beyond. Each one looks on to the water – it’s the kind of view that lures the staunchest night owl out of bed at 5am to watch the sunrise turn the bay a mercurial pink-silver. And there’s more to do once awake, such as kayaking on Pelican Bay while birds swoop overhead, fly fishing for red spinners on Lake Leake and visiting the nearby oyster farm to pluck, shuck and slurp on the spot. At supper, chef Iain Todd – cooking almost exclusively with Tasmanian ingredients, including ones from his own garden, and seafood caught within sight of the hotel – again proves why this tiny island, very far from home, is causing such ripples on the world stage. – ME Doubles from AED 5,360; 0061-36-256 7888, saffire-freycinet.com.au HOSHINOYA TOKYO TOKYO, JAPAN Before opening in 2016 in Tokyo’s business district of Otemachi, this home-grown hotel group drilled almost a mile under layers of concrete to tap into a subterranean hot spring and draw its mineral-rich water. With a metal casing that resembles the pattern on a traditional kimono, the 17-storey tower has 84 rooms but feels more like a dozen separate ryokan inns than it does one hotel. Each floor is accessible only to guests staying on it, with a central, communal ochanoma sitting room for relaxing with a pot of genmaicha tea and one of the books that are swapped out throughout the day. Cleaning is more conservative with an eco-friendly approach that minimises swapping linens and the like to only when the guest requests it. Toothbrushes, too, have a green bent and after use are recycled into other items. Each bedroom is airy with sliding, latticed washi-paper screens, bamboo wardrobes, tatami mats that have fragrant sandalwood woven in and fluffy futons. While the subtle interiors and almost monastic silence of this hotel might baffle first-time visitors to Japan, it will resonate with the regulars who have come to crave this cultivated sense of calm over the slick high-rises and hip boutique spots. Tokyo’s popping izakaya bars and steamy ramen houses will rightly call, but book a table at the in-house restaurant, which serves classic ryokan dishes turned out with French techniques. The menu also focusses on serving less-vulnerable fish, helping to give overfished species, like tuna, the chance to repopulate. Every evening should end at the open-air, top-floor onsen bath – the reason behind the heroic drilling – for soaking while stargazing. – Adam Graham Doubles from AED 2,630; 0081-36-214 5151, hoshinoya.com 116 Condé Nast Traveller February 2020WAVE-RIDING HIPPIES WERE THE FIRST TO STUMBLE UPON THE BARRELLING BREAKS OF TANGERINE-DREAM TAGHAZOUT. THE MOROCCAN TOWN IS NOW A SCRAPPY MASH OF SURFERS, FISHERMEN AND LOCAL RHYTHMS WRITTEN BY TOBY SKINNER PHOTOGRAPHED BY OLIVER PILCHERClockwise from top left: A terrace at Munga Guesthouse; a cottage on Banana beach; a seating area at the guesthouse; Tayourt Lodge at Olo Surf; surfers. Previous pages, from left: The chef’s salad at Munga; Killers PointFebruary 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 119 N LITTLE T AGHAZOUT , ON M OROCCO ’ S CLAY - BAKED WEST coast, life has an immutable rhythm. Every sunrise, the call to prayer rings out across the ragged cluster of fishermen’s houses, which rise from the beach like bad teeth. The low, quivering syllables of the mu’adhdhin wake the stray dogs, who bark in stereo through tight alleyways, where frayed pastel walls are daubed with psychedelic surf murals. The beach camels wake and rise in their oddly robotic way. The fishermen push off in identical blue wooden boats, followed on flat days by young men with rubber rings and flippers, spear guns in hand. Most afternoons, after selling redfish and humpbacked dorado under Coca-Cola parasols, the fishermen play cards beneath the walkway. In the gloaming, the town’s kids often appear for football on the sand, racing toward tiny goalposts, all shouts and stretched shadows. Goats clamber into the little argan trees in the scrub around town, eating the bitter fruit but unable to digest the nuts. Berber smallholders collect their precious piles of excrement, ready to grind them into argan oil. The call to prayer also wakes the surfers and yogis, the town’s new lifeblood. Mats are unrolled, the prostrations at the mosque echoed by lissom yoga teachers on roof terraces, lingering in the cobra pose, essentially the surf take-off position. “Allahu akbar.” “Let it be.” After dawn prayers, long-bearded Fahd El Mania will look at the swell forecast and decide if he’s going to shape and fix surfboards – always alone, entranced by the wave-like incantations of the Qu’ran. Or if he’s going to put a handwritten sign in front of his scrappy workshop and head for Killers, to surf under striated ochre cliffs, above seabed stones that creak beneath the ocean-heave. Locals will simply leave broken boards on the rocks for him to pick up when he’s done. The 32 bus, renamed the surf bus, arrives from Agadir and disgorges Moroccan dudes with Sideshow Bob hair, surfboards and dreams their parents never had. Vans and battered Renaults load up for the drive toward Killers, Donkeys, Draculas or Boilers; Banana Point, Camel Point or Anchor Point. If the swells are pumping along the yellow coast, business will be good in Taghazout: in the hole-in- the-wall surf shops selling second-hand boards, dusty board wax and fake Ray-Bans; in oceanfront restaurants that serve spear-gunned calamari to girls in harem pants on floor cushions, who yawn and nod to boombox beats, happy to drink only mint tea. The fishermen fear the barrelling swells the surfers dream of. I first came here six years ago, and fell for Taghazout’s rhythms; the raw otherness of the dusty landscape, just a four-hour flight from my home in London. One orange morning, I surfed at the famous Anchor Point, by the rocky spit just west of town, graced by two sagging palm trees. A group of Australians strayed here from the Marrakech Express hippie trail sometime in the Sixties, and found that they could ride the peeling right-hander for more than a kilometre, almost into town. I remember one wave, which became a little shifting wall of glassy, orange-inflected blue, gently ushering me forward, easing and then building again with magic energy. It was barely 15 seconds, but I can still see and almost feel it. During long, soft-focus afternoons on the blue-tiled terrace at the Panorama restaurant, manager Charif would greet me with a vertical handshake, wearing a “Work sucks, go surfing” T-shirt. The mint tea always took a while; one day, as a swell rolled in, the calamari simply didn’t arrive. The same stray dog would lead me back to my spartan room in an old fisherman’s apartment, and I’d be offered kif by the same man in a mosaic doorway. When I come back this year, the Panorama restaurant is just tiles and rubble. From its abandoned terrace, I look out over Taghazout Bay, a long beach to the south of town which has been given over to foreign-brand hotels and whitewashed apartments. Poking through the palm trees and construction dust, they appear like a faintly absurd mirage from sea-worn Taghazout, where there’s still no ATM. The development has meant a slick new tarmac road through town, though that hasn’t prevented the goats’ gormless wanderings. There are a few more Maroc-style cafés serving flat whites, and an elegantly curving Cali-retro skatepark overlooking town. On a spring Friday morning, I’m picked up by Yassin Bellqber, widely considered the area’s best surfer, for a cruise up the dry reddish coast – passing heat-fuzzed camel herds and lonely lighthouses, and perhaps the world’s greatest concentration of right-handed point breaks. At 26, Yassin has a shoulder-length frizz, a model’s pout and a gently laconic air. Faintly rueful at the lack of swell, he starts to tell me his story, which in some ways is the recent story of Taghazout. Yassin grew up in a simple home facing Mysteries, a reef break just north of Anchor Point, where surfers – “hippies”, in local parlance – would park their camper vans. With his Arabic father working in a now-defunct fish factory, Yassin’s job was to sell his Berber mother’s wares to the surfers, who knew him simply as Doughnut Boy. He learned to swear in six languages, and told the hippies that the doughnuts – some banana-filled, others sprinkled with cinnamon – would bring them energy, and waves from the lunar gods. “If you got a laugh, you might get a sale,” he recalls. When he was 12, an Australian broke his surfboard fins during one of those days when Mysteries sucks and slams. Yassin offered him six doughnuts for the broken board. As the goods were traded, he asked in his kindest voice if he could have the plate back when the man was finished eating. Yassin learned to surf as instinctively as he had learned salesmanship. And, one day, his customers included Ben O’Hara and Ollie Boswell, friends from Swansea University, who’d first come here in the late Nineties, and had become regulars at Mysteries. In 2003, they opened Surf Maroc, Taghazout’s first surf camp, cleaning up a series of old fishermen’s apartments, adding hammocks and Fes-style pouffes. It spawned imitators, and today there are almost 30 camps in town, trading in omega-rich communal suppers, rooftop yoga and surf lessons from locals. Surf Maroc’s fourth property, Amouage, is one of a few recent openings that have smartened the place up, with its breezy all-white Soho Beach House vibe. Along with the elegantly eccentric Munga Guesthouse down the road – a fantastical feat of wild carpentry, with a lantern-lit terrace restaurant and driftwood rooftop bar – it has helped to draw a more grown-up, design-conscious crowd. As Surf Maroc expanded in the Noughties, Ben and Ollie noticed that Doughnut Boy was tearing up the local breaks. They began buying Yassin boards, paying for him to go to surf competitions and giving him a fair wage to teach increasingly upmarket guests. “SURF MAROC’S FOURTH PROPERTY, AMOUAGE, HAS HELPED TO SMARTEN THE PLACE UP, WITH ITS BREEZY ALL-WHITE SOHO BEACH HOUSE VIBE”Next >