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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.
A Franco-Egyptian gem on the Purple Sea
El Gouna, north of Hurghada, is considered one of Egypt’s less-familiar vacation enclaves. However Cairenes (and in-the-know travellers) flock to second houses right here – it’s one of many area’s finest kitesurfing spots, in addition to the place to graze on tiradito and Lebanese mezze at budding nightspots. Its accommodations run the gamut: however the standout for 2025 is La Maison Bleue, an El Gouna stalwart that’s undergone a complete refresh.
It first opened in 2011, a 13-suite villa designed by Franco-Egyptian architect Olivier Sednaoui, with interiors by the late, nice inside designer Amr Khalil and gardens by French panorama designer Louis Benech. La Maison Bleue feels, really, like a vacation dwelling, albeit a extremely lavish one. “Folly” isn’t too far off the mark as descriptors go, given the colourfully tiled columns, oculus home windows and façade painted a pale grey-blue that’s extra Provençal than Pharaonic. There’s a wild mixture of decorative-arts epochs, starting from Byzantine to Ottoman to artwork deco. The suites have balconies overlooking the resort’s small lagoon and personal seaside and, past, the sea; their monumental dimensions are softened with suzanis, portraits and framed prints, and ornate Egyptian-glass chandeliers and sconces. The equally spacious spa has a hammam and simply two therapy suites.
Chef Vincent Guillou, who has put in produce gardens and a greenhouse (the latter homes a chef’s desk, for mild vegetarian lunches), majors within the type of francophile refinement you’d anticipate, however he additionally seems a koshary if one thing native and low-fi is extra your factor. There’s nothing stuffy right here; the prevailing temper, presumably because of the sheer generosity of area, is considered one of intimate ease. However, if that’s nonetheless too crowded for you, the resort’s classic motorboat and four-room yacht are on the able to take you off to Shadwan or Tawila, semi-deserted offshore islands, to reside the castaway dream for a day.
Labuan Bajo’s luxe new keep
Fifteen years in the past Laubuan Bajo was a small and pretty ramshackle village, recognized primarily because the gateway to the Komodo archipelago. Lower to 2024, and its streets, now largely freed from potholes, are dwelling to boutiques and eco-lodges, taquerías and craft espresso homes. New to city is Ta’aktana, whose suites and villas tumble photogenically throughout 40 acres of jungly hillside to a non-public seaside.
The suites are available in at a minimal of 69sq m and the seven overwater villas – Ta’aktana is the one central Indonesian resort to supply them – measure 185sq m with equally beneficiant wraparound terraces. A full spa, Olympic-sized pool and 5 eating places spherical out the image; however the ace within the resort’s pocket is perhaps its entry to the communities of distant Manggarai villages within the island’s centre, the place textile manufacturing and ritual dancing go on a lot as they’ve have for hundreds of years.
Seaside, blanket, bingo
Laguna Seaside is the Southern California seaside city excellent, well-known for its points of interest each urbane and pure. Do the pristine coastal paths and designated marine parks outnumber the artwork galleries, or vice versa? Onerous to say; however one factor that Laguna Seaside hasn’t had lots of on its storied boardwalk is cool accommodations. Casa Loma, recent off a multimillion-dollar renovation, sings with fashion because of the efforts of Venice Seaside-based design agency Electrical Bowery.
For inspiration the designers appeared to Laguna Seaside’s historical past as an arts haven and a bastion of surf tradition. Handmade tables and headboards owe their sinuous types to surfboard-shaping traditions; bedlinens come from Italy, and the natural cotton robes from Guatemala, with an total impact that reads strongly seaside boho. They appear to have considered every thing, from Casa Loma Radio, the devoted radio station (flip on that Tivoli Mannequin One in your room and have a pay attention), to the tapestries, murals and route signage commissioned from Texas-based muralist and textual content artist Joe Swec. Plus balconies overlooking the Pacific and seaside club-style service all through.
