30/05/2022
What makes the perfect escapist retreat?
How do ultra-escapist getaways around the world offer sanctuary from frantic, everyday life? With a sense of wonder, fantasy or history – or with a complete immersion in simplicity and nature, writes Dominic Lutyens.
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Burying our heads in a book and our toes in a beach offers escape from frantic working lives for many of us. Yet, when it comes to some of the world's most beautiful escapist getaways, from hotels and private villas to entire resorts, a complex, multisensory raft of factors come into play.
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Storytelling is the buzzword in interiors for creating spaces that imaginatively reference a venue's location and history, giving it a unique atmosphere. For guests, such decors draw attention to the venue's interesting past, overtly or subliminally, and make their stay more memorable.
A sense of sanctuary and escape is increasingly in demand from travellers (Credit: Courtesy Azulik)
A sense of sanctuary and escape is increasingly in demand from travellers (Credit: Courtesy Azulik)
Storytelling was a central concern for interior design firm Champalimaud Design when remodelling the interior of Troutbeck Hotel in New York's Hudson Valley, a former inn with historical and literary associations. "We preserved the house's historic aspects, including its stained-glass windows and original fireplace," says Ed Bakos of Champalimaud. "Many of the fabrics used for the furnishings were collected over years. The idea is for guests to feel completely at home in a layered place they can wander around and discover."
Escapist getaways can also include creative, witty touches that depart from historical authenticity. These can still deepen guests' connection to them – and boost their wellbeing. According to Pauline Sheldon, professor at the University of Hawaii, "Wellness includes an aliveness connected to creativity. In the design of spaces, a surprise element is important. Something that sparks a sense of wonder or awe and brings the visitor to the present moment is mentally calming."
Surprise elements abound in the projects of California-born interior designer and landscape architect Bill Bensley, whose maxim is the Indonesian phrase Lebih Gila Lebih Baik ("the odder the better"). After studying urban design at Harvard, he founded his studios in Bangkok and Bali in 1989 and 1990 respectively. His new book More Escapism: Hotels, Resorts and Gardens showcases 12 of his projects in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos. One of these – beach resort JW Marriott Lamarck University in Phu Qoc, Vietnam – riffs off its former incarnation as a university (named after French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck).
