MAY ‘21

A. The 17th edition of Venice’s Architecture Biennale has finally started after a year-long delay due to COVID. Running from May 22 to November 21, the Biennale features 61 national pavilions and 17 collateral events focused on the especially poignant theme this year, How Will We Live Together?. We recommend paying a visit to the U.S. Pavilion, Thai Pavilion, and SOM’s Life Beyond Earth.

B. Deciding where to go to next? With a flock of new hotels debuting in Madrid, and Spain's borders opening on June 7, we highly recommend booking a trip to the country's charming capital city. In 2020 Madrid welcomed a new Four Seasons, and this year there are many exciting launches in store. Hotel Ritz finally reopened in April as a Mandarin Oriental property after a 3-year renovation project to the 110-year-old structure. The hotel features a wellness facility in partnership with Spain’s The Beauty Concept, as well as 5 dining establishments overseen by three Michelin-starred Chef Quique Dacosta. Later in the year, Madrid will see the grand opening of Rosewood Villa Magna, as well as an Edition Hotel.

C. Skye Gyngell has taken her online shop to brick-and-mortar with the opening of her new Notting Hill farm store Spring To Go. Spring To Go is a one stop shop for all grocery essentials, selling produce, milk, cheese, jams, eggs and other specialties from local farms, plus flowers, prepared foods, naturals wines, skincare products, and more. The shop also features a take-out counter for coffee, cakes, buns and other delicious drinks and pastries.

D. Set in 35 acres overlooking the River Thames in Berkshire, England, Oakley Court is Alex Eagle's posh reimagining of what once was a Victorian gothic mansion dating back to 1795. The property features 118 guest rooms, a riverside restaurant, outdoor lounges alongside fire pits, extensive grounds perfect for garden picnics, nature trails for biking, and self-driving boats for relaxing cruises along the Thames. Doors are open for guests from May 17 and on.

E. A leader in sustainable polar expeditions, Le Commandant Charcot is the first electric hybrid icebreaker cruise ship powered by liquefied natural gas. Debuting this month, this vessel will offer travelers the opportunity to explore Antarctica within the comforts of the ship’s serene and modern accommodations. Arctic adventures offered include ice fishing, hot air ballooning, snowmobiling, and our favorite, exploration by hovercraft.

F. After a halted opening back in November, Sean Brock’s much-anticipated restaurant The Continental is finally ready to accept reservations for the end of May. Brock’s contemporary American menu will honor the era of hotel fine-dining as it once was. Expect elegantly crafted dishes such as pâté en croute, prime rib and king crab parfait. Also delayed yet set to open this year in East Nashville, Brock’s other new restaurant Audrey, will pay homage to his Appalachian roots.

G. Rocco Forte Hotels’s Villa Igiea will open June 5 in a historical Art Nouveau palazzo overlooking Sicily’s Gulf of Palermo. Built in 1900 as a private estate on the Tyrrhenian Sea, the dreamy property has, over the years, been a stomping ground of the glitzy and glamorous. Redesigned by Olga Polizzi in collaboration with Paolo Moschino of Nicholas Haslam Studios, Villa Igiea’s redesign nods to its classic Sicilian setting. The majestic history of the estate and its tiered villa gardens are sure to inspire guests' nostalgia for the property’s bygone days.

H. Further north in Italy’s Piedmont region, Casa di Langa will debut on June 6. Located near the border to France, the property features stunning views of the Alps, along with rolling vineyards and hazelnut trees. Milan-based design firms GaS Studio and Parisotto + Formenton Architetti (P+F) designed and constructed the 39 room property with sustainability in mind. The Casa di Langa team plans to extend this focus into its operations, with its commitment to carbon neutrality and zero use of single-use plastics, sole use of recycled water for irrigation, geothermal heating, solar panels, and high performance windows.

I. Working on your summer reading list? We recommend adding Barbarian Days, William Finnegan’s surfing memoir which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography. An old-school adventure story, the autobiography brings to life the author’s surfing obsession which takes him on adventures through California, Hawaii and far-away countries across the globe.