Some weeks, the hotlist writes itself around a single idea, and this week, that idea is the extraordinary.
It starts with a travel company built on making the impossible possible: The Luminaire, whose Guild of Experts designs journeys so personal that clients routinely arrive having been told elsewhere that what they wanted couldn’t be done. The theme carries through the rest of the edit, too. There’s a taste of the Riviera without leaving London, a last-minute jazz weekend getaway worth dropping everything for; and for the beauty-minded, collagen finally done properly, plus a serious upgrade to your at-home routine. Extraordinary places, extraordinary access, extraordinary results.
TRAVEL WITH THEM The Luminaire
For travellers who believe the best journeys can’t be found on a booking site, The Luminaire has redefined what bespoke really means. This is a travel company for the curious: every itinerary is hyper-personalised, designed from scratch by a team of Travel Designers in collaboration with The Luminaire’s Guild of Experts. Who are they? A network of photographers, chefs, artists, historians and explorers who open doors most of us didn’t know existed.
In Rome, that means seeing the city as a privileged few do: local experts revealing hidden treasures in private, from the Vatican’s sacred marvels to the Baroque splendours of Piazza Navona, with the stories of ambitious popes and patrons savoured over rare Italian wine. In Japan, a five-day journey from Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, trades the supersonic capital for the mountains of Fukui, where travellers sleep and eat within a temple community and learn the fundamentals of Sōtō Zen from master gurus. And in Laikipia, Kenya, Ol Jogi – a 58,000-acre private conservancy reserved for a single party – offers rhino sanctuaries, wilderness walks with expert rangers and dinners beneath equatorial starlight. Whatever the passion, the itinerary is built entirely around it – private exploration at its most thrilling, standing in an extraordinary corner of the planet that feels entirely yours. If you thought it was impossible, The Luminaire makes it possible.
TRY THIS AT HOME Geske
At-home beauty tech has a new benchmark. GESKE, the German brand billed as the most awarded beauty technology company in the world, with some 200 international accolades including Red Dot, iF Design and CES Innovation awards amassed since its 2022 launch — has now landed properly in the UK. Born in Germany and powered by AI, the range spans sonic facial cleansing brushes, microcurrent devices, warm-and-cool smart masks and anti-ageing skin renewers, each developed with dermatologists, clinically tested and Dermatest-certified. The clever part is the SmartAppGuided™ technology: every device connects to the free GESKE app, which performs an AI-driven Skin Scan from your smartphone camera, builds a fully personalised routine around the results, and adapts as your skin changes. With prices from £24 to £122, it’s professional-grade skincare tech at an accessible price point.
ENJOY A TASTE OF THE MED HERE La Môme London
The French Riviera has docked in Knightsbridge. La Môme, the see-and-be-seen Mediterranean restaurant beloved of the Cannes and Monaco set, has chosen The Berkeley for its first international outpost, brought to London by restaurateur twins Ugo and Antoine Lecorché and named in homage to Suzanne Vreurick, the 1920s flower-seller-turned-billionaire socialite nicknamed La Môme Moineau. The room channels pure Côte d’Azur glamour: Art Deco details, marble tables and Slim Aarons’ sun-drenched photographs of sixties Riviera life, all warmed by live music that lends the whole place a Gatsby-like glow. The menu is a sunny sweep of French and Italian – think crudo platters, lobster roll to share and nut-crusted rack of lamb alongside Josper-grilled fish and linguine gamberoni – with theatrical flourishes at every turn, from fresh thyme snipped into olive oil at the table onwards. Equal parts dinner and destination, it’s the closest London gets to mooring up on the Croisette.
TAKE THIS DAILY Rheal's new collagen launch
Collagen, done properly, that’s the promise from Rheal, the British superfoods brand founded by Sean and Charlotte Ali, whose gut-health journey (Charlotte’s coeliac diagnosis sparked the whole thing) has always kept the brand rooted in real, functional ingredients. Now, it has launched its first collagen range: Marine Collagen, an MSC-certified, wild-caught marine collagen, and Collagen Peptides, a European grass-fed bovine collagen. True to form, there are no complicated blends or unnecessary fillers – each delivers 10,000mg of hydrolysed collagen peptides per serving, a clinically relevant dose, alongside added vitamin C, the nutrient the body needs to kick-start its own collagen production. The two are designed for different goals: Marine Collagen targets skin hydration, elasticity, hair and nails, while Collagen Peptides supports whole-body wellness, recovery and joint health. Both are free from sugar, flavours and sweeteners, with a neutral taste that dissolves clump-free into your morning coffee, matcha or smoothie, making the daily habit (and consistency is everything with collagen) effortless.
ENJOY THE JAZZ FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND The Montreux Jazz Festival X The Woodward, Auberge Collection
If there’s one last-minute trip to book this month, it’s this. The Montreux Jazz Festival turns 60 this July, and The Woodward, Auberge Collection, the five-star grande dame on the shores of Lake Geneva, has teamed up with the festival to offer what might be THE ultimate VIP experience. Montreux has always been the anti-Cannes: no velvet ropes, no vanishing acts behind security, just an intimate lakeside atmosphere where fans, artists and A-listers wind up in the same bars, restaurants and backstage corridors. It’s a festival that has hosted David Bowie, Elton John and John Legend over the decades; this year’s diamond-anniversary line-up brings Sting, RAYE and Nick Cave to the lake. Guests staying at The Woodward get the full insider treatment: VIP tickets, backstage hospitality, after-party access, private transfers and a string of behind-the-scenes perks. In short, the closest you’ll come to doing Montreux like a headliner, with a suite over Lake Geneva to retreat to when the encores end.
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