New year, new beginnings? Or maybe you had it down all along and 2023 is all about continuing. Continuing to travel well, continuing to eat well, continuing to broaden your horizons and continuing to treat yourself well.
So our inaugural 2023 hotlist includes a little culture, a little wellness, a little self reflection and of course, a little indulgence. Happy 2023, let’s make this a good one.
VISIT THIS Schloss Elmau, Bavaria
As far as wellbeing retreats go, Schloss Elmau is an ultimate off-grid paradise. Perhaps not the first place you think of since it has played host to the G7 summit, and has a rather tumultuous history, but it has confronted its past, establishing itself as a “cultural hideaway”. The setting alone feels restorative: high in the Bavarian Alps, ringed by snow-dusted peaks and cloaked in dense forest – beautifully remote. What is now a fairytale castle, the Baroque building comprises over 100 rooms, replete with yoga retreat, impressive medical wing and the ‘Badehaus’: a fabulously old school spa with endless saunas, steam baths and an oriental hammam. While therapists excel at detoxifying, draining and pummelling you back to peak health, what makes Schloss Elmau truly special is its concert hall. They host more than 200 concerts a year, including the winter edition of the Verbier Music Festival. And in an unusual move for a luxury hotel, Schloss Elmau does not have air conditioning, instead, using a pollution-free cooling unit, relying on the fresh mountain air, of course.
WEAR THIS Alemdara Jewellery
Whether you are looking for the chance to reset, with the opportunity presented at New Year, or simply looking at each new day as a new beginning, Alemdara’s amulets are a gentle reminder that ‘you’ve got this’ with pieces like the crescent moon, linked to new beginnings; or the Hand of Hamsa, facing down, thought to bring answers to prayers and manifestations. The spirituality of the Evil Eye in Alemdara’s jewellery derives from Ottoman legend, where keeping a hand of hamsa or an evil eye on your person wards off any jealousy or ‘evil eye’ from others. Crafted in a small family-run workshop in the heart of Istanbul’s ancient market, Alemdara jewellery is hand-crafted from 100% recycled 14ct and 18ct solid gold, all intricately embellished with diamonds, precious stones or coloured enamel. The simple designs lend Alemdara jewellery its day-to-evening appeal: moving seamlessly between yoga class, cocktail party and black-tie occasion. They epitomise the art of versatile accessorising – subtle enough to be styled with other favourite jewellery pieces or layered together, yet striking enough in their simplicity to hold court as a single, intriguing necklace, bracelet or earring. Let this take place as your 2023 jewellery staple, protecting you this coming year.
GO HERE The Cinema in the Power Station
The beloved monument that is Battersea Power Station (or an eyesore to some) has been restored, as happens to so many historic buildings, into apartments, a shopping mall, and its newest installation, The Cinema in The Power Station. From the glamorous black and white Hollywood portraits from renowned photographer Greg Williams lining the corridors, to its sumptuous reclining seats coupled with individual brushed brass tables for guests to enjoy a glass of wine, cocktails and sweet and savoury treats, The Cinema in The Power Station takes the cinematic experience to a new level in London with all the latest releases. Movie-watching in style.
USE THIS Body Harmony: Nourishing, Plant-Based Recipes for Intuitive Eating
This is much more than a cookbook – let’s call it a lifestyle manual, with a guide to elevated living and self-care. Founder of cult plant-based website Bonberi, Nicole Berrie has had an illustrious career at some of the best magazines living a New York lifestyle, and looked to bridge her interest in wellness and plant-based living with her career in fashion and lifestyle journalism. Before launching her lifestyle book, she opened Bonberi Mart, a plant-based convenience store in New York. Now you can create your own at-home guide of delicious recipes that offer a simple, healthy alternative to fuelling your body wisely. The book outlines the founding tenets of the Body Harmony lifestyle, discussing topics ranging from plant-based cooking and intuitive eating to the importance of nontoxic beauty rituals and self care. Added to this, you’ll find more than 50 original vegan recipes for juices, smoothies, salads, and soups, and grounding grain-based dishes, all meant to cleanse and nourish the body and soul while keeping you both energised and full. We promise you, this book will quickly become a staple on your kitchen counter that you turn to time and time again.
TRY THIS Nike Fitness Club x Netflix
“Are you still watching …?” Netflix asks. Yes, yes, still watching. Now you can break it up, for guilt-free watching. Nike Training Club is offering over 90 workouts right alongside episodes of your favourite series. If you’re new to Nike Training Club, its app and fitness program offers live and on-demand workouts for all levels—from yoga to HIIT—features top trainers, guidance for nutrition, sleep, and recovery, and even a motivational feed to help keep you going, requiring minimal to no equipment, and spanning a broad range of workout types, lengths and intensities. So before you collapse onto your couch at the end of the day to zone out to Emily in Paris, you can do some intervals with some of Nike’s best trainers.
Any Questions or Tips to add?