Elite Traveler Fall 2021

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Welcome

@ELITETRAVELER AROUND THEWORLD The Elite Traveler team has been enjoying staycations and further-flung destinations, as well as looking behind-the-scenes at the creation of autombiles and yachts. For daily updates, follow us on Twitter @elite_ traveler and on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest @elitetraveler

This time last year, our Fall issue’s welcome letter began with the fatefully optimistic words: “As the world begins to ease out of lockdown…” Who’d have thought we’d be in a similar position some 12 months later. Oh, to have a precedented time again! While we’ve been aching for life to return to ‘normal,’ it is now clear that there is no such thing. But, to quote Morticia

Addams, what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly... This summer, I stepped onto an airplane for the first time in two years — something that used to be a monthly (give or take) occurrence that I certainly took for granted. Although visiting Sir Richard Branson’s serene private abode, Necker Island (now reopened with a number of sustainable updates after hurricanes and fires nearly leveled it; see pg 132), was worth every single Covid-19 test. It is normal to feel overwhelmed (as I did) now that travel, and indeed the world as we know it, has changed so much. If you are one of the many who still feels apprehensive about long-distance travel, look closer to home and cruise the open roads. Alexandra Cheney takes a Bentley Continental GT on winding roads through Arizona on pg 128, admiring the beautiful red-rock landscape and taking dips in natural pools along the way. Prefer the cold? Becca Hensley heads to glamorous Aspen on pg 124 to see all the wonderful things you can do on and off the slopes. Our resident timepiece editor and human horological encyclopedia, Roberta Naas, has once again compiled our Top Watches feature. Now in its fifth year, the extremely selective list has a brand new criteria based on what you — our readers — want to see on the pages. A new minimum price of $20,000 and only those released in the last year have made the cut. This magnificent curation looks at the skilled craftsmanship and meticulous, painstaking attention to detail that goes into every single piece. Elsewhere in this issue, Doug Gollan checks out the latest model from Cirrus, Luke Abrahams takes us on a style journey to Positano, Italy, and Sophie Killip speaks to renowned interior designer Stephen Sills. We round off our Fall issue with an absurdly romantic dinner in the middle of the ocean, just off Turtle Island in Fiji. Samantha Coles Editor samantha.coles@elitetraveler.com

Samantha Coles makes some new friends on Necker Island. The curious lemurs can often be found scurrying around the private island’s tennis courts.

Kim Ayling soaks up the dreamy nautical views at The Idle Rocks, Cornwall. The boutique hotel is in the traditional (and charming) fishing village of St Mawes.

Sophie Killip makes the most of the end of summer at The Goring, London with some succulent lobster and champagne. We’ll drink to that.

Alex Martin has the yacht of his dreams created by superyacht design studio Harrison Eidsgaard. Her name? Alba, after his baby daughter.

What better way to check out a new hotel than with a bubble bath and a glass of wine? Samantha Coles visits Mayfair’s latest opening, The Biltmore.

Kim Ayling visits the Bentley factory in Cheshire, England to witness the unveiling of the latest model, the Flying Spur Hybrid Odyssean Edition.