Town & Country

2019 FRANK GEHRY’S MEETING HOUSE When the late architect Frank Gehry collaborated with Disney, the results were mammoth, from the Anaheim Ice Rink to Disneyland Paris. (The Walt Disney concert hall was technically a Disney family endeavor rather than a corporate one.) But when the company’s former CEO Michael Eisner asked Gehry to build a house in Aspen, he went small. David Netto wrote about the Meeting House, as the one-room building was christened, for T&C back in 2019. Rather than a place to sleep, Netto says, it’s “a conference room for discussions (such as may relate to the Aspen Festival), a hot chocolate stop for skiing, and a pavilion to stop and have lunch in during a hike.” As Eisner and Gehry discussed in the accompanying interview, the space…

Here, the hotel’s General Manager, Vincent Guironnet, shares what makes these five-star accommodations and amenities truly exceptional. What do you consider to be the best room on the property and why? The crown jewel is the Apurva Prestige Ocean Suite. Perched along the cliff’s edge, it feels more like a private oceanfront residence, with expansive living and dining areas, a private infinity pool, and interiors inspired by Indonesia’s regal heritage. Its balance of grandeur and serenity makes it truly special. How would you describe the general atmosphere and vibe of the hotel? The Apurva Kempinski Bali is a modern tribute to Indonesia’s history and culture, inspired by the Majapahit era and Pura Besakih temple. The cascading staircase, water features, and open corridors blend heritage, spirituality, and contemporary luxury. What are…

As you are reading this, I will just be back from a jewelry event in Milan, or on my way there again for the Salone design fair. That comes after two trips earlier this year. What’s behind all of this, my friends are starting to wonder. We told you about the city’s new artistic energy and ambition two years ago (Jason Farago’s piece on the Milanossance is at townandcountrymag.com), and it is even more palpable in the post-Olympics glow. I love when a city that is not actually home starts to feel like one, when routines and rituals take shape from the moment you land. In Milan, mine include morning walks from the Bulgari Hotel to either Cova or Cracco for a double macchiato; lunch at Il Salumaio or Le…

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Few things are as transporting as a juicy thriller set somewhere fabulous. (See: The Talented Mr. Ripley, obviously. Or, more recently, 2023’s The Guest, which was all any Hamptonite could talk about that summer.) This season’s book club winner: The Plunge, Lila Raicek’s gripping debut, which flits between Manhattan and Lake Como. When you’re ready to turn wanderlust into reality, see page 49. WHAT ARE WE WEARING? How can you tell a performative intellectual from the real thing? Check her wrist. Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is a holy grail status symbol, sure, but it signifies more than just deep pockets and good taste. It connotes belonging to a club of fellow watch snobs who appreciate singular craft and the legacy of Gérald Genta (#IYKYK). The moral…

Leave the shiny newcomers to artistic arrivistes. Right now, it’s established favorites that are impossible to ignore. As the unstoppable trend machine cycles through our national archive of old-fashioned sweetmeats, we’ve enjoyed a reprisal of flamboyant bananas Foster, torched baked Alaska, well-coiffed lemon meringue pie, and even prune whip. But the biggest comeback story of the moment might be one particular downy, creamy cloud of a dessert: the coconut cake. Like many of this country’s cakes, the coconut is a part of America’s vast Black culinary legacy. It was developed by enslaved people, whose knowledge of the fruit had been handed down by their African ancestors. “I would say it’s Southern,” says cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor. She surmises that you would have been likely to find it originally in…

Airelles may not be a household name (yet), but you already know what it is capable of. One word: Versailles. This is the hotel group that took a former courtier’s residence on the palace grounds and turned it into Le Grand Contrôle, a Marie Antoinette reverie with costumed staff, theatrical Alain Ducasse feasts, and, the pièce de résistance, private tours of the palace after everyone else has left. Soon enough the Airelles name will be known to millions: Season four of The White Lotus is filming at its St.-Tropez property, Château de La Messardière. Now that we have established the why, on to the where: Venice, where Airelles is debuting its first hotel outside France this month. The original property—a complex of buildings on quieter, artsier Giudecca Island—was built in…