NOVEMBER ‘21
A. Six Senses debuted a stunning new property last month located within the walls of 14th-century Fort Bawara in India’s Rajasthan. Taking over two ancient palaces and temples, the hotel now features 48 suites, a Six Senses spa and several dining and drinking establishments which utilize seasonal ingredients from the hotel’s organic garden. Ranthambore National Park sits nearby, offering guests the opportunity to witness the local tiger population up close and personal.
B. NYC nightlife veterans Carlos Quirarte, Matt Kliegman, and Matthew Charles have taken the reigns at new hotspot The Georgia Room, located within the Freehand Hotel. Together with the interconnected Bar Calico, these Southwestern-designed spaces feature a color palette of warm reds, paying homage to painter Georgia O’Keefe and her artwork. The 8,000 sqft is already buzzing with club-goers, dancing all night long to the centerpiece disco ball.
C. This month, Chez Panisse chefs Alice Waters and David Tanis opened up new Los Angeles eatery Lulu, located within the Hammer Museum. The restaurant launched with lunch service to start, serving up both an a la carte menu and three-course prix fix menu featuring food sourced from local, regenerative farms. The daily-changing dishes offer simple preparations which highlight the ingredients themselves, Water’s signature style. Dinner service starts next year.
D. On November 1st, the new Soho House Rome debuted in the bohemian San Lorenzo district. The 10-storied Brutalist building features 49 bedrooms, 20 long-stay apartments, a Cecconi’s restaurant, rooftop bar and pool, deli bar, and 24-hour health club. With a focus on the visual arts, Soho House Rome also offers a screening room and gallery spaces for exhibitions and events.
E. The sustainability-focused hotel group Habitas opened up new eco-resort Habitas AlUla this month in the desert canyons of Saudi Arabia’s Ashar Valley. Surrounded by sandstone cliffs and palm groves, Habitas Alula offers guests an immersive desert experience along the original pilgrimage route to Mecca. Habitas' 6 brand pillars - music, wellness, adventure, culture, learning, and culinary - are embodied through the hotel’s programming. Local music will be featured via a concert series. Saudi and Middle Eastern cuisine will be served, sourced from local, fresh ingredients. Weekly outdoor cinema screenings will invite guests to learn about the region via films and documentaries, and on-site lectures will teach guests of the local history and culture. Not to be missed is a visit to the tombs at Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
F. Cristián Mohaded’s new exhibit ‘Territorio Híbrido’ opened on November 12 in the National Museum of Decorative Art in Buenos Aires. The 20-piece exhibit weaves together local, historical, craft techniques with contemporary design, utilizing endemic materials from different regions through out Argentina. The centerpiece installation features large-scale columns made of stacked basket-woven shapes, which pay tribute to his native Catamarca. Other pieces include carpentry made using native woods like missionary moor cedar or the fallen cardon cactus, baskets woven using the paint fibre simbol, and fabrics handmade on a creole loom. The exhibit is up until March 6, 2022.
G. After years of renovation, Egypt has finally reopened Luxor's 2,400-year-old Avenue of Sphinxes. The 2,700-meter-long walkway showcases 1,057 ram-headed and man-headed sphinxes lining both sides of the road. The Avenue, which once connected the temples of Karnak and Luxor, was used to commemorate the pharaoh during Opet Festival, when ancient Egyptians would parade along the road, carrying statues of patron deities Amun and Mut. A grand, televised reopening ceremony was held on November 28, a part of the Egypt's effort to lift tourism to this region.