Elite Traveler Winter 2023/24

Look out for the QR codes in this issue to take you to elitetraveler.com for more luxury lifestyle content

elite traveler WINTER 2023/24 23

Welcome

From Antarctica to Zambia, our Top 1 00 Suites invite you on a journey across the world. This year, we’ve had over 900 submissions (you’ll be able to see the entire list on our database at elitetraveler.com ) — whittling these exceptional suites down to just 100 is no easy

Elite Traveler around the world For daily updates, follow us on Twitter @elite_traveler and on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest @elitetraveler

task; the suites you will fi nd on page 80 are truly the best of the best and o ff er the most dazzling amenities — think: a salon with walls painted by Jean Baptiste, an in-suite basketball court and a bowling alley, a master bedroom submerged under the sea, and suites that break the $100,000-a-night mark. We’ve categorized the suites based on vacation type, from beach breaks to wellness weekends, and, new this year, we have included our legacy suites — those very special abodes that have featured in Elite Traveler ’s Top 100 Suites for the last fi ve years or longer. Elsewhere in this issue, we answer the question of what to get the person who has everything with our curated gift guide — 10 pages of delightful goodies from hi-tech gadgets to glittering diamond jewelry and the best in booze. In our Explore section, John O’Kelly makes a strong case for Hong Kong: “Though circumstances temporarily eradicated Hong Kong’s viability as a vacation destination, within a day or two of returning visitors will understand just why this city’s o ff ering is world-beating.” Read his in-depth guide on page 148. Emma Al-Mousawi overcomes her water aversion with a voyage to the Galapagos Islands — turn to page 152 for a day-by-day itinerary. So that’s a suite sorted and a potential destination sorted. Now — how to get there? Doug Gollan looks to the skies and delivers the latest in aviation news in our Top Jets feature on page 135. Alexandra Cheney gets behind the wheels of two hypercars — one electric, one internal combustion — to discover their power. More of a seafarer? Miriam Cain looks at classic yachts and their replicas. Or, if you’re looking to get away from it all, our Flight of Fancy on page 168 features a magical experience swimming in a gulf in Costa Rica among glowing bioluminescence.

Behind the scenes of our gift guide photoshoot

KimAyling embarks ona road trip through Scotland’s rugged landscape

Alex Martin attends The Distillers’ One of One auction at Hopetoun House, Scotland

Samantha Coles Editor samantha.coles@elitetraveler.com

Samantha Coles checks out the Sterling Suite at The Langham, as featured in the Top 100 Suites