FEBRUARY MARCH 2014 `150. Islands of Opulence. Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Phuket, Sri Lanka

Transcription

1 FEBRUARY MARCH 2014 `150 Islands of Opulence Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Phuket, Sri Lanka

2 Contents february march 2014 Volume 1 issue 1 36 islands maldives by lalitha sridhar seychelles by avtar singh phuket by janaki lenin mauritius by kalpana sunder sri lanka by sanchita guha A guest at the Shangri- La Villingili, Maldives

3 Contents rest of the book luxury in your backyard The best Indian beach breaks your money can buy hot list 20 of the world s best luxury island breaks retail therapy Travel the world with JJ Valaya Regulars 6 letter from the editor 8 contributors 10 front of the book 108 back of the book 24 COVER DESIGN: RUKMINEE GUHA THAKURTA/LETTERPRESS PHOTOGRAPH: ALAMY/INDIAPICTURE managing editor amit dixit CREATIVE director Bishwadeep Moitra deputy EDITOR venky vembu consulting EDITOR LALITHA SRIDHAR web EDITOR sanchita guha senior editors bibek bhattacharya, parvati m. krishnan assistant photo editor shruti singh staff photographer Puneet k. paliwal designers praveen kumar g., gulshan sharma production assistant kuldeep kalia editorial secretary suresh k.p. librarian Alka Gupta EDITORIAL CHAIRMAN: VINOD MEHTA BUSINESS OFFICE President indranil roy ADVERTISEMENTs GENERAL MANAGERS swastik banerjee Kabir Khattar (Corporate) regional MANAGERs Anthony Joseph (Bangalore), Megha Mishra MANAGER Ankeet R Bhayani deputy managers latha SWAMINATHAN (Chennai) Kaustav Mitra, sudhesh kumar BRAND & MARKETING SHRUTIKA DEWAN circulation NATIONAL HEAD L arokia raj (Circulation) general MANAGER B.S. Johar (Subs.) asst. general managers Anindya banerjee (West), G. RAMESH (south) zonal sales MANAGER vinod KUMAR (north) MANAGER vinod joshi deputy manager shekhar suvarna PRODUCTION CHIEF manager Shashank Dixit SENIOR managers Deshraj Jaswal, SHEKHAR KUMAR PANDEY ACCOUNTS general manager AG Subramaniam company secretary pradeep SINGH manager Diwan Singh bisht ADMINISTRATION asst. general Manager Rajendra Kurup HEAD OFFICE AB-10, S.J. Enclave, New Delhi Tel: ; Fax: Customer care helpline: outlook@outlookindia.com For subscription helpline: yourhelpline@outlookindia.com other offices mumbai Tel: ; Fax: , kolkata Tel: ; Fax: , CHENNAI Tel: ; Fax: , bengaluru Tel: , Fax: , HYDERABAD Tel: ; Fax: Printed and published by Indranil Roy on behalf of Outlook Publishing (India) Private Limited. Editor: Amit Dixit. Printed at Print House India Pvt. Ltd., R-847/2.T.T.C MIDC, Rabale, Navi Mumbai and published from AB-10 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi Released on Total no. of pages Covers

4 Front of the book Movers & shakers ISLAND Nothing conveys the languidness of leisure more luxuriantly than an island holiday. Meet some of the famous islomanes among us: these celebrities like nothing better than to lounge around in their LOVERS favourite island and live the Good Life. By Aarti Kapur Singh Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Actor I love Bora Bora. We spent a part of our honeymoon there, so there are special memories associated with it. I had no idea of the geography of the place, and I was bowled over by the spectacular beauty of the island. In addition, it gives you that overwhelming drop in the ocean experience when you look out into the waters from the beach and see nothing! I loved eating at Le Méridien there. 26 Outlook Traveller Luxe february march 2014

5 Robert De Niro Actor Bahamas is my first choice of islands, as it must be for many others. Island-hopping through this archipelago, you can lounge on pristine beaches, stay in elegant resorts, and enjoy myriad water activities from sailing to snorkelling among the coral reefs to deep-sea fishing to scuba diving. You get the most amazing pineapples in the Bahamas! I loved the Pink Sands Beach, where I snorkelled and tried reef fishing. On Harbour Island, I have wonderful memories of delicious meals at Sip Sip, a fun lime-green café; the menu features spicy conch chilli and frosty Kalik beer. I am also fond of Skiathos in Greece, where all you do is lounge on the beach with beer and stuffed vine leaves. Ah, bliss! Leander Paes Tennis Player My ideal vacation spot is a pristine beach with clear and warm blue waters surrounded by coconut trees. And Hawaii has the best of everything. I got to swim with dolphins there. It was late November-early December and they were coming back into the bay to nurse their young. Right after that I trekked down Mount Kilauea and into the volcano crater along with my guide. Kilauea is an active volcano, and as we were leaving, it began to rain acid. We started to run and I turned around to look for my denim jacket, which I had left on a stone, and saw holes burnt into it by the rain. That was some experience! february march 2014 Outlook Traveller Luxe 27

6 space cover for story sluge maldives Patio dining options overlooking the sea 36 at Shangri-La s Outlook Traveller Villingili Luxe february march Resort and Spa2014

7 The last horizon Lalitha Sridhar is indulged silly on Shangri-La s Villingili Resort and Spa in the Maldives. Willingly, of course I t s the only five-star resort in the Maldives with its own international airport and that s saying something in an archipelago with arguably the world s finest collection of superluxury hotels per square kilometre (or island). Guests may land in private jets chartered to their convenience, customs and immigration formalities are completed onsite, their luggage whisked off as they recline in a private lounge before being escorted to the waiting boat and plush villa. Indeed, some seriously celeb personalities, la haute Bourgeoisie wedding guests and political heavyweights are known to do precisely this but their privacy is guarded so diligently that I couldn t unearth any names. Even departures by commoner passenger airliners have suitcases picked up an hour ahead I was handed my boarding pass as I sipped tea, munched cookies and contemplat- february march 2014 Outlook Traveller Luxe 37