Time Sep

(Jeff_L) #1
77

Generator’s boutique


hostels feature private


rooms industrial-chic


decor and more


Setting records at sea
SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS

Reinventing


the hostel


GENERATOR MADRIDMADRID


As the world’s largest cruise ship
(twice as high as the Washington
Monument) Royal Caribbean’s
Symphony of the Seas certainly has
room to pack in the superlatives including the
world’s tallest at-sea slide (the 10-story Ultimate
Abyss) and the largest at-sea spa and itness
center. Designing those elements so they could
be enjoyed by the 6680 passengers on board—
without creating crowds—was no small feat.
Royal Caribbean built on lessons learned from
its other megaships like carving out distinct
“neighborhoods”—like the Boardwalk with its
full-size hand-painted carousel—and putting
Central Park the bigger-than-a-football-ield
open-air garden smack in the center of the ship.
It creates the illusion of being surrounded by
fauna even when guests are hundreds of miles
from the nearest sliver of land.—K.R.

Forget what you think you
know about hostels. In a bid
to appeal to today’s young
travelers more companies
are designing them to resemble
high-end coworking spaces. Think
private rooms industrial-chic decor
walkability to the city’s hippest
hot spots and live events like beer
tastings and DJs. Leading the charge
is U.K.-based Generator which has
13 outposts across Europe (and recently
openedits irst U.S. location in Miami).
Its latest European edition Generator
Madrid which opened in June sits
on the edge of the trendy Malasaña
district and boasts a bar a rooftop
lounge with whirlpool baths and even
a quirky origin story: the building
itself which was built in the 1930s has
also been a parking garage and a gas
station. As with all hostels though the
most attractive feature is price: beds
in shared rooms at Generator Madrid
start at $11 far less than traditional
hotels.—Kate Rockwood


AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD THRILL
ORIENTAL SCIENCE FICTION VALLEY
GUIZHOU CHINA


GLAMPING MADE GREATER
ECOCAMP PATAGONIA
TORRES DEL PAINE CHILE
China’s first virtual-reality
theme park which opened
in April is an extraterrestrial
enclave whose centerpiece is
a 174-ft.-high Transformer-like robot. But
the real magic happens inside: the park
will eventually feature 35 virtual- and
augmented-reality attractions enabling
guests to battle aliens on distant
planets ly through Guizhou and more.
It’s all part of founder Shi Xiangdong’s
mission “to inspire dreams in science
and technology.”—Casey Quackenbush


EcoCamp Patagonia has
won raves since its 2001
opening for offering guests
the ultimate glamping
experience: by night they sleep in luxe
domes based on ancient nomadic
designs; by day they go on guided treks.
More recently the hotel—which is fully
powered by renewable energy—has
focused on inclusivity adding hikes
for visually impaired guests and an all-
terrain wheelchair that can traverse the
Patagonia landscape.—J.Z.

STAY LIKE
A CHEF
CASA TEO
MEXICO CITY

DINNER IN 4-D
ULTRAVIOLET
SHANGHAI

When chef Enrique
Olvera moved his
famous restaurant
Pujol to a larger
location he couldn’t
bear to part with the
building where he
made his name. So
he turned the original
space into Casa Teo
a boutique bed-and-
breakfast designed to
house visiting chefs.
But nonchefs are wel-
come to book stays
too; perks include
sightseeing recom-
mendations from
Olvera’s team and the
option to organize a
tasting dinner in Casa
Teo’s private dining
room cooked by a
chef from his team.
—Abigail Abrams

Four-dimensional
dining? That’s the
aim of Ultraviolet’s
20-course dinners
set in a windowless
room outitted with
visual and audio
systems to create
an experience in
which every dish is
paired with different
sounds images and
scents—“psycho
tasting” as French
chef and founder
Paul Pairet calls it.
Opened in 2012 the
restaurant was just
upgraded from two
to three stars in the
2018 Michelin guide
to Shanghai.—C.Q.
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