The News Flash - Issue 10

3 min read

Your latest travel updates, from high-tech entertainment to traditional architecture.

Stories for... The Head

The spice of life

At first sight, you could be mistaken for thinking Six Senses La Sagesse is a traditional Grenadian village, but on further inspection you'll find a collection of new residences and a five-star resort, the brand’s first in the Caribbean.

Perched on a bluff, the rooms and villas are sensitively built no higher than a palm tree and deliver playful nods to this archipelago’s moniker of ‘Spice Island’. With doors opening in 2024, expect to see garden walkways made of repurposed nutmeg shells and cocoa skins, smell warm wafts of Creole dishes, and feel the soothing aromas of Caribbean healing traditions in the Six Senses spa.

Inner circle

It’s hard to know what is real and what is surreal in The Sphere. The ocean’s depths, spiralling fireworks or natural landscapes can be brought into vision instantly across the wraparound screen of this epic 18,600-seater venue.

Hailed to be one of the most costly entertainment arenas to be built in Las Vegas at an estimated $2.3 billion, it’s a technological marvel. Continuing into the new year, you can disappear into American director Darren Aronofsky’s high-definition exploration of sci-fi and nature, Postcard From Earth. Expect holographic images, sound displays, light shows and real-life humanoid robots who greet guests with their AI prowess.

Sphere on Las Vegas strip in Paradise, Nevada

New horizons

Silver Nova, the newest addition to the Silversea armada, embarked on her maiden voyage in August this year and doesn’t do anything by halves. Onboard, there are 10 signature bars, eight restaurants, a door-to-shore butler service, ocean-view suites and floor-to-ceiling windows for unobstructed views that allow people to ignite a deeper connection with each destination. But that barely scratches the surface around the kind of ground-breaking thought that’s taken to build this ship. Streamlined designs help to reduce its carbon emissions and onboard systems convert waste into thermal energy, making it the most energy efficient boat in the fleet.

Pistes de résistance

When high-octane sports are your passion in life, there are always ways to be stronger, better, faster. And for skiers heading to either Cervinia or Zermatt for the 2023/24 ski season, now’s the moment. For its first winter season, a brand new cable car will be linking the alpine crossing between the two, making it quicker and easier to chase the crisp powder across 360km of fresh pistes around the Matterhorn. The gondolas whisk afficionados up to nearly 3,900m for guaranteed snow on high-mountain glaciers from early to late season.

Flights of fancy

The luxury helicopter at Atzaró Okavango will be touching down in March 2024, to open up a new part of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. The camp is so remote that it relies entirely on solar energy. Canoe rides through the flooded grassland unearth unique encounters with wildlife, while leopards, giraffes and elephants can be seen on excursions with expert guides. Relaxation after wildlife spotting is also integral to enjoyment. Sinking into a lounger by the pool or drifting off in a chair surrounded by traditional crafts will be accompanied only by the captivating beauty of the locality.