A working holiday? Not really – this is the best place on earth to see endangered gorillas and stunning birdlife in the natural tranquillity they crave. And Bisate Lodge, opened just over a year ago, oozes opulence while avoiding the garish trappings of modern life. But… there are fulfilling ways in which you really can help boost Rwanda’s national treasure trove.
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The Arabian desert is where the very idea of a night under canvas originated. Now luxurious and delightful Magic Private Camps across the region can be set up just for you and your friends or partners – skilfully pitched so you can savour an authentic, centuries-old lifestyle. You may feel slightly ruffled by day but the soothing process begins at sundown…
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Rosewood has opened a nature-rich hideaway in Laos, sumptuously crafted by designer Bill Bensley in a style that would have been familiar to travellers 120 years ago. It’s an intriguing new part of a little-known country coming to terms with its past, and keen to beguile today’s pleasure-seekers. A keen appetite for discovery is essential, mind.
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Time spent at Sheldon Chalet in Alaska is an experience once reserved only for the hardiest mountaineers. You’ll feel the tingling intimidation of being a human speck in an astounding, glacial wilderness… but come back each night to cosy luxury. And a helicopter there and back – the only transport – just adds to the surreal atmosphere.
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Plan a ‘Bonaparte dinner’ at the Shangri-La, a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower, for your favourite friends and you’ll be transporting them straight back to the magnificence of 19th century entertaining. You’ll feel like, and probably taste, the upper crust!
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In Iceland, the locals started noticing the amazing effects geothermal seawater – naturally harvested for domestic water heating – had on their bodies in the early 1980s. The stuff in it is pretty wonderful for you, scientists had concluded by 1995, and today this calming destination lets you benefit in the most exclusive of environments.
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