At the annual Virtuoso Travel Symposium in Las Vegas this month, a new listing was announced, denoting the 25 most luxurious travel experiences in the world. Baroque Travel finds out all the details
We have a Michelin Guide for restaurants, a travel guide that rates hotels, and now, thanks to an innovative travel advisor, we have a Certified 25, a list of travel experiences that are exemplary. Compiled by US travel advisor Chad Clark, this brand new list rates the top luxury experiences to enjoy around the world. The new program will list the top 25 travel experiences to enjoy every year. Of course you need the funds, but if you’re one of the 1%, that privileged few who can afford it, here’s what you can experience in 2017…
What to experience in 2017 if money’s no object
Let’s start with what’s available in the US…
New York experiences include staying at the Chatwal Hotel, once home of the oldest theatrical club in the country. This luxury hotel is offering guests an opportunity to enjoy an insight into life on Broadway by actually being part of the cast in a Broadway show. Another New York hotel, the Greenwich, offers an exceptional complimentary selection of snacks in the guest rooms, including vintage favorites and trendy new snacks. They also offer all-natural, vegan and gluten-free options for those with special dietary requirements. If you’re heading for Wyoming, why not stay at beautiful Bush Creek Ranch? They offer an exclusive camping experience that includes private outdoor activities, gourmet meals and plush tepees with decks overlooking the North Platte River.
Wait, there’s more. Your experience at Colorado’s Dunton Hot Springs is “only limited by the imagination”, so you can enjoy a bespoke experience depending on your own interests and wishes, including cattle driving and horse riding. And if you head to Utah and stay at the Waldorf Astoria in Park City, aside from the breathtaking mountain views over the largest ski resort in the country, you get a complimentary signature vanilla mint chap stick to take with you on all of your adventures.
Italy offers two exclusive experiences to enjoy, including staying in one of the country’s most idyllic locations on the Amalfi Coast at the exquisite Hotel Palazzo Avino. Aside from being scenically breathtaking, perched on a cliff 1,000 feet above the Med, it’s also extremely romantic. The private candlelit dinner and boat trip, entitled the ‘Sea of Love dining experience’ is unrivalled. The Dolomite mountains in the summer months are just as exquisite when they’re not covered with snow, and the stunning Rosa Alpina Hotel offers a unique hiking experience in this exquisite setting, that includes gourmet food and wines.
There are so many more refined experiences to enjoy, including staying at the fairy tale Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland, where guests enjoy an authentic Irish experience, a chance to enjoy access to what goes on behind the scenes at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, and a delectable, over the top do-it-yourself ice cream sundae at the luxury Beaumont Hotel in the British capital. There’s spiritual luxe in Bhutan, where you dine in a rustic potato shed when you stay at the Amankora, opportunities to enjoy a photographic shoot in more than 200 worldwide locations with a professional photographer, helicopter rides to see the volcano up close on the Hawaiian island of Hualalai and stay at the Four Seasons Hotel there, a gourmet banquet on the Great Wall of China, gourmet French dining experiences in France, and equally rare and exciting experiences in Ecuador, New Zealand, Mongolia, Peru, India and Australia.