My definition of luxury travel
Sense of uniqueness:
Luxury travel is no easy thing to describe. I think it is some kind of mindset. You look for some form of exclusivity that not everybody has access to. Of course money is an issue in this context, but sufficient financial resources alone are not enough.
When traveling, I seek uniqueness above all. I want to go to places that not everybody has been to, I long for experiences that are not only new to me but also to many others, I wish to stay at trendy hotels that has not been discovered by the masses yet, I would like to eat at hip restaurants where only insiders go. For me, many things need to be right in order to give me a truely luxury travel feeling.
When traveling, I seek uniqueness above all. I want to go to places that not everybody has been to, I long for experiences that are not only new to me but also to many others, I wish to stay at trendy hotels that has not been discovered by the masses yet, I would like to eat at hip restaurants where only insiders go. For me, many things need to be right in order to give me a truely luxury travel feeling.
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| Viewing wildlife in Botswana from private houseboat |
Destination with positive image
First of all, the destination must have a positive image for me. In the first case I have been to a place in the past and liked my experience here. In the other case I do not know it yet, but I have heard good things about it and I am curious about it. I feel an urge to discover the destination. Yet as a luxury traveler I have another approach than a backpacker or someone who is not averse to mass tourism. Some destinations are out of the question for me from the beginning because they do not meet certain conditions. On the one hand, they are not developed enough because they lack the necessary infrastructure in form of adequate hotels and restaurants. On the other hand, there are regions that have been overrun by mass tourism. They come with the wrong facilities geared for package tourism, i.e. too many mediocre hotels and restaurants. What remains are destinations that are enough developed but not overdeveloped.
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| Game viewing in Botswana from private houseboat |
The right experience
When the destination is fixed, the objective is to find the right activities, hotels and restaurants. The average traveler probably invests a certain amount of time in finding suitable tours and accommodations. As dining is concerned, he most certainly only decides where to go when he is on site. Chances are that he goes to the next best restaurant or asks the concierge for tips. For me, such an approach is unthinkable. Good food is essential while vacationing and in my view, it cannot be left to chance! As a luxury traveler I spend vast amounts of time on finding the most promising activities, the perfect hotels (upscale, in pristine condition, offering value for money) and restaurants ensuring culinary delights. This involves a lot of research as checking travel sites as TripAdvisor, food guides as Michelin and Gault-Millau, newspaper articles in the context of travel and guidebooks. Furthermore, the whole trip needs to be planned and organized. When the time has come to start the journey, all the activities, hotels and restaurants are fixed. The only thing to do is to lean back and enjoy the vacation!
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| Arranging dishes in front of guests in Liberty Private Works/Hongkong |
The luxury way
One last thing to do is to define what constitutes luxury in terms of activities, hotels and restaurants. As far as the first point is concerned, I think it has a lot to do with experiences to which the access is somewhat limited, e.g. enjoying the wildlife in Botswana in the form of cruising along the Chobe River in a private houseboat. As to hotels there must be some some surplus value apart from all the amenities discerning travelers take for granted. This can be an unexpected benefit such as a cake with your child’s name waiting for you in the hotel room. With regard to restaurants it is important that they do not only offer well prepared quality food, but also surprise the diners, e.g. let the guests witness the arrangement of a dish before their eyes. In sum, a luxury traveler strives for exclusivity and looks for novel experiences, and this far from mass tourism.
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