![]() ![]() ![]() When new operator Finca Cortesin took over this estate and resolved to transform the everyday hotel that was then on-site, there were many challenges, most notably the lack of a stand-alone spa. The rest of the rooms are dotted around the property-try to snag the two-bedroom villa, which has its own pool, and be sure to book a meal at the alfresco private dining room, a tiny spot hidden behind a vine-wreathed archway that looks out over the countryside. His deft maximalism is evident in every detail, from the blue-and-white floor tiling to the clashing patterns on the overstuffed sofas and four-poster beds. The main building’s 25 guest rooms have been lavishly decorated by Spanish interior designer and antiques dealer Lorenzo Castillo. But the standout-and standard-setter-of the island’s upgraded accommodations will be the 31-room Grand Hotel Son Net, a 17th-century finca high on a hill above the village of Puigpunyent in the center of the island. Mallorca’s making way for a multitude of new luxury hotels in the next 18 months: Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental are scheduled to arrive next year, while Richard Branson’s restored Son Bunyola opens this summer. Image Credit: Courtesy of Grand Hotel Son Net Mediterranean Retreat: Grand Hotel Son Net, Mallorca, Spain.His daughter and her husband are already planning a trip to Wimbledon, with the offer of a knockabout against a top-flight player the day before. One gave his longtime assistant a Capri getaway last summer, while another, as a holidays gift, opted for open-ended, all-expenses-paid vacations to the destinations of choice for close family members. New York City–based Fischer Travel’s clients have started tasking its team with devising trips as gifting moments. Travel has become such a priority that it’s now even a gift to give, a rare gesture just a few years ago. Michael Hewell, who runs the leading high-end Disney-focused concierge, Michael’s VIPs, says that, pre-pandemic, he rarely if ever worked with more than one family traveling together today, at least 20 percent of his bookings are for two or more families, or for friends taking a trip in a large group. These properties have grown in popularity with the rise of travel as a tool to reunite or reconnect, convening friends or relatives from around the world. Granville has seen a 225 percent increase in bookings of so-called supervillas-homes with 10 or more bedrooms and costing upwards of $75,000 per week-versus four years ago. “They’re making travel integral to their lives, planning the next trips whilst clients are still on the current one.” “They don’t necessarily book it all but put the plans in place,” he says. Red Savannah chief operating officer Edward Granville has noticed the same, with many clients looking to sketch out their lives on the road for the next five years. “They have negotiated specific terms with their employers to facilitate a trip where they can work from another country for a set number of months,” he says, with South Africa and Morocco popular among American executives with European clients, as the time zones synchronize. Multiyear plans are not uncommon, he says, often allowing clients to live in a far-flung locale for one to six months. This hunger for travel has given rise to the semi-nomad, an emerging customer niche for Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, co-owner and director of Cazenove & Loyd. This type of traveler doesn’t just charter planes to and from a destination but keeps aircraft on call-the plan for a six-week journey Cookson is designing around the Tropic of Cancer. On one recent Cookson booking: a chief of staff, a personal assistant, a social-media manager, a chef, two security specialists, and a pair of nannies. The retinues clients bring have grown, too, including the many employees who facilitate their day-to-day lives. Indeed, elite specialist Cookson Adventures now often bundles in services such as Starlink for itineraries to hard-to-reach sites. The new ease of working from anywhere has helped put affluent travelers on the road more than ever. ![]() Tanya Dalton, managing director of Greaves Travel Limited, says that around 30 percent of her clientele now contact her outside of regular office hours, a rarity pre-pandemic. One indication of this trend: Just ask any high-end agent about how much more frequent their communiqués with clients have become. In the wake of the pandemic, many of us have come to see travel very differently than we did before: It’s no longer an escape from the routine but rather a respite within it, an element of our everyday. ![]()
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