Whilst the subscription/retainer-based models are popular today, the concept is not. This form of health care is also about to become more popular, states Dr Chichi Menakaya, founder of Annomo Health, a UK-based global concierge medicine company.

“Personalised healthcare and wellness is here to stay.”

“I think that’s where medicine is going anyways. It’s all about personalised health care and wellness in the whole world at the moment.”

“I was always the person that people would call and say, ‘I want to go and see a doctor in London. Do you know anyone I can see?’ And then I would do that,” Dr Menakaya said during our conversation. But then I think what really made me start the business was when a few years ago – like 13 years ago, that was when the dream started – I had a relative that was in the UK and he had to see a particular doctor. So I went in, found someone I thought was the best person to see [and] referred them to that person. This relative even though they were paying cash to the doctor, turned up 15mins late to that appointment, and the doctor refused to see them even as they were coming from abroad. So what the hospital did was find the next available [doctor] and refer him to the person. And even though the person he was referred to had the best manners, did really, really well; when it now came to their surgical option, what that person offered them was not the best practice option. So they offered them an open surgery when there was already a robotic option for the surgery. What then happened – because obviously, I am a doctor, so I can easily detect – [I realised] that this is not the right thing for this person, because there is more advanced treatment.”

“I was upset so I found the best surgeon to handle the surgery, who also happened to be on the queen’s medical team. The day we eventually went to that appointment with the relative, this professor, even though he is one of the best in the UK, came downstairs to welcome the patient. And for me, that was literally an eye-opener, because it meant that although you could get the best, their manners are also very important.”

“And after that time, I said to myself, ‘I need to start a place where people can get the best care that they need.’ A lot of people are coming from abroad and they can afford it. They get given some mediocre doctor just because they think you’re coming from [another country]. They’re going to get you the cheapest doctor for the hospital … while the hospital is making the most money.”

“And obviously, there is another story to it about other people saying to me, ‘Listen: let’s get this done as a business, right?’ But I think that is the reason, like for me, I just wanted to make sure people got the best care that they needed. And I think that story is actually what triggered me to get in. And … literally 2 years later, we got the business up and running.”

“Medical concierge is not health insurance.”

Starting any business is difficult, and even though it’s in the health industry, Annomo Health was not without its challenges in the beginning.

“I think the biggest challenge I faced starting the business was explaining to people that Harley Street does not mean everything on Harley Street is good. I think that is [still my biggest challenge]. Because everyone comes to the UK and goes, ‘Oh my doctor is on Harley Street’, and I am like ok yeah, whatever. There are people in Harley Street that don’t know what they’re doing and I don’t want to use that word exactly, but there are people that are not that great and they’re on Harley Street.”

“What was also difficult for us is explaining to people that a concierge company is not an insurance company. Every time I have a meeting, no matter how educated they are, they say to me, ‘Is it health insurance?”

“Someone would say ‘I am coming from Nigeria, and I just want to see anybody because it is better than Nigeria.’ But that is not the point. The point is that they’re not doing it for you for free. Therefore, what you need to be asking for is ‘I want to see the best person because I am going to spend money seeing that best person. So it does not matter whether it’s me … it’s best to see the best person. And I think that is really difficult to explain to people. And as a company, we are still explaining that every day.”

“Concierge medicine is … having an advocate in your corner … constantly fighting for your health”

So, what exactly, in layman’s terms, is concierge healthcare, at least through the lens of Annomo Health?

“So I think there are very simple ways to explain Annomo Services, right? What Annomo Services does is simple: all we want to do is put the patient first. And all we want to do is get the private patients to see the best doctors, be treated in the best hospitals and have access to the best technologies. That’s all. And literally, we want to introduce them to the doctors’ doctors and make sure they are treated the way they need to be treated and get value, not just because of the money they have, but also because they’re using their money to get the best out of the service. That’s a summary of what we do.”

“I think for a lot of people, especially Africans, we see health as something we have to think about when it gets bad, but that’s the whole idea of having preventive medicine: you don’t have to wait till you’re sick. I think we’re getting to a point where people would need to start thinking that what they need to spend the most money on is making sure their health is right, and every other thing is secondary.”

“I think at some point we will get there obviously because it is like a learning process, everybody is trying to understand that and that is what we’re trying to do all the time by saying to people, ‘listen, make your health your priority.’ and that’s just the truth. I think that for every single person, whether you’re a child, an adult, you’re old, a concierge is important for everybody; personalised health care is for everyone: it’s not like for anyone in particular.”

“At Annomo Health, it is not all about money”

While we say concierge medicine is for everybody, in reality, not everyone can and would have access to it. There are various reasons why this would happen, with finance being top of the list, but according to Dr Chichi, this is not even always the case.

“When I say concierge is not about money, people don’t understand me sometimes. We had a pregnant, one-off client who wanted us to provide her with accommodation amongst other services. But, unless you have a maternity package where we’re constantly looking after you, it is a one-off service: we get you to the [OB/GYN who] is going to look after you and your baby. We settle you in and we walk away.”

“But because the woman was coming with a child [and] had no assistance … we offered to give a complimentary concierge service for free. [Unfortunately] from day one that she arrived, it was all abusive, everything was wrong [and] we could never make her happy. And trust me, it wasn’t the hormones. So we then discontinued the complimentary service that we had offered her, and we did instead hand her over to her gynaecologist to look after her.”

“I know this sounds a bit arrogant for us, [but] we don’t care how much you’re bringing into the business. If the relationship is not working we will refund. And we refunded all her money, to be honest. We refunded every single service that she had paid for, and let her gynaecologist look after her while we just hovered to make sure she was ok.”

There’s another instance where Annomo Health could decide not to extend its concierge services to a client. “If we look at [the medical reports we get from the patient’s country]  and think that making an out-of-country trip is a waste of time for the family in terms of the prognosis, whether they’re in the UK, in Nigeria, Ghana, wherever else; we will call the family and advise them not to come abroad because it is a waste of money. Because what you don’t want is people spending all this money and the outcome is still the same. Over the last 10 years, we’ve turned down about maybe 5 patients. Maybe more than that actually … it’s us saying that we don’t think it is going to work.”

“People think [personalised healthcare] is a luxury service, [but] it actually saves you a lot of money”

Speaking about membership tiers and benefits at Annomo Health, Dr Chichi clearly states that, “at the moment, we have 5 tiers of membership for the private members club. One is called the ‘travelling membership’ and it gives access to health care in both the UK and the US, including emergency services in the US. And it is actually only available to travelling executives through their companies; it is not for individuals.”

“Then we have the ‘individual membership’, the ‘family membership’, the ‘corporate membership’ and also something called the ‘student membership’. In each of those memberships, there are different cadres of membership. So it starts out with silver to gold to platinum and something called bespoke. And literally what bespoke means is you handpick what services you want, depending on what you want.”

“The family membership at the moment is actually for a husband and a wife, or a couple with 2 children, and the children are add-ons. When you come to corporate membership, it is also for high-level executives. The company has to have at least 3-10 members to be able to access this package. And obviously, each time you add a different person, you get a bit of a discount. And these memberships are targeted at preventative medicine and also give you access to having a personalised doctor, your own personal nurse and a personal health consultant … which means in this case a concierge health consultant who basically can do stuff like your luxury concierge for you, and also do your health things and be your advocate. But then you have a doctor you can call anytime, text, [and] message when you are really stressed out, whatever you want to talk about. And then also you have a nurse that can go out to you.”

“Then we have something called the student membership. Literally, the student membership is for people based in the UK only. And what that does is that if your child is here on private education, we have a pediatric consultant that actually looks after the students. Of course, depending on their ages: if they are more than 18, they don’t have a paediatrician, they now have a general practitioner that looks after them. And again, it’s a personalised service so they can hold them when there is a problem, give them advice, come out and visit them, whatever they want to do and it’s just a yearly membership for the kids also. Because obviously, when kids are abroad, you want to make sure that they are having the best care that they can get.”

“The other thing I didn’t mention with the corporate membership is that we also offer them health education services a few times a year depending on what they want, and this is training people on things like stress management, how to cope with workload, and masterclasses that we do for an hour just to support them. And like I said, each of these memberships can be made bespoke. We have families with three wives, four children: they can just pick what they want and create a personalised package. Because … there is no one fit for everybody in medicine we’ve tried make sure that people can handpick what they want and mix and match, till they get what they need.”

“Now I think that I spoke about the health bit of the membership, but what I forgot to mention is the luxury concierge that comes with it also. So, with the membership, you get access to a concierge assistant who literally would do all the other things you need them to do for you. So if they have to do personal shopping for you, airport pickups [they’ll do it]. Some people might say to me, ‘Listen, I need someone to come and help me pack my bags because I’m travelling’: they can do that also for them.”

“And that’s it, that’s just how it works. That’s the membership..in a nutshell.”

“Concierge Medicine is like having health care in your pocket and walking around with it”

It may appear that concierge healthcare involves moving from one point to the other in search of excellent healthcare. But actually, this is not the case. This niche in medicine is only concerned with one thing: giving the patient real value for their money. And while it may involve travelling, especially if the options the patient seeks are not close by, it does not mean concierge health care cannot be local.

“While we do not offer our services in every single country we can localise our services in the client’s home country. So I’ll give you an example: the services we offer in Nigeria are mostly rehabilitation. If someone has had an operation in the UAE, if they go back to Nigeria, we have a team of people that would manage their aftercare, including a doctor that would go out to see them.”

“And we do that a lot with cancer patients because chemotherapy is really expensive in the UK. So someone comes to the country because they have lymphoma, they come to the UK, they have all their scans done, [and] we do a treatment protocol for them that says they need chemo for 6 weeks. Doing chemo in the UK would cost like, I don’t know, 70,000 pounds. But in Nigeria, it may cost 4 million naira. We would plan the treatment plan in the UK, they would go back to Nigeria. We would find a professor in oncology that can give them the chemo in Nigeria, [and] when they need to have their scans or follow up, [they] come back to the UK to see their professor [who has all the while been] speaking to the one in Nigeria.”

“So we do those types of services for people in their home countries to 1) help them with cost. 2) to help them be able to stay around loved ones when they’re being treated. But they are really handpicked cases, we don’t do it for every single service. The only other way we also do it is that sometimes we’ve flown doctors from here to like Nigeria; we’ve done that a lot with UAE. So we fly doctors from here to go do operations in those countries for patients. So like somebody can say, ‘Listen, I’m in Dubai. I don’t really want to come to the UK, I don’t want to be treated in the UK.’ Because we have partner hospitals we work with, we fly a surgeon from the UK to do the operation for them, because obviously, they can do it in their home country. We have a lot of that also.”

Annomo Health has shown that concierge medicine is clearly a fantastic option for just about anyone seeking more flexible and effective healthcare. But potential subscribers should beware: it is not entirely flexible.

“So let me be honest with you: we’re really not that flexible. We’re very, very strict with rules, not because we’re difficult, but because there is regulation for different things. And we have to be strict about the regulations.”

“Concierge healthcare can work in Africa”

Can concierge medicine become ubiquitous in Africa? Dr Chichi thinks so.

“Actually, we were planning to offer the same services in Nigeria in 2019, [but] then the pandemic happened. And I think Nigeria is the first market for it; that’s my honest opinion. I think it would work in Nigeria: you just have to get it round people’s heads to do it. And I think in the future, yes we will. For me, my ultimate goal is to make sure healthcare in Africa is better and to be honest, I don’t like people coming abroad for healthcare. When I say it, people don’t believe me. What I want is that if Nigeria had those services, then we should be able to utilise them in Nigeria.”

“The problem we have in Nigeria is that people think that nice-looking hospital means they know what they’re doing. It’s all about handpicking people and I know that there’s a lot of groups now in Nigeria saying we can do this. The problem I worry about is … we need to have regulations, we need to have policies in place that actually censor what people are doing. But I think we’re getting there because I am now seeing court cases in Nigeria won by families because doctors screwed up. And I think it is really important because these are human beings. We need to be asking questions.”

“And I think healthcare in Nigeria is fantastic, I think Nigeria has a lot of experienced and seasoned doctors. But I think that we need to put in rules and good regulations to be able to sieve out [the rest]. Like if I was sick in Nigeria, I would go to the teaching hospitals easily, I won’t even be worried because I know that they are very good at what they’re doing. But people don’t see that … there are very good doctors in Nigeria; I know a lot of them and I have spoken to a lot of them.”

“Annomo Health is taking concierge medicine to Turkey”

What then is next for Annomo Health?

“Turkey.”

“So I think we’re going to do business in Turkey. It’s going to take us like one or two months to set it up because there is so much that needs to be done. We’re going to send a few people as [part of a] pilot and then get our board’s approval.”

But of course, expanding any business comes with its unique sets of challenges and learning curves.

“I think scaling the business part is easier because of the people we want to try and get. I think one of our biggest challenges is 2 things.”

“For a long time, you know pre-pandemic, we ran membership by invitation only. Now, there is a one-off service but initially, when we started, we struggled to ensure that we were not offering the same service to people in this category because we were used to our premium healthcare packages. 

“Now that we are scaling even further, we want to be able to ensure that we never dilute the brand or make a mistake with the brand. Because if you’re going to expand and go into new markets, you need to have better options that offer wider, more varied payment options. So not everybody can afford the very expensive people that we work with, but some other people can. We’re trying to navigate that by opening up other countries that are more affordable. We would never stop working with the best people, right? And obviously, the best people cost more money, but what we could do is get the best people in places where the entire health service is cheaper. And that is what we are trying to do. But it’s a bit hard sometimes to navigate all of that.”

Dr Chichi Menakaya: the human behind Annomo Health Services

I cannot leave home without

“My mobile phone and my Macbook. If I don’t have my Macbook my life is not normal.”

I cannot go into a meeting without

“My Macbook. I love it so much, it’s like my best friend. It’s so bad, my Macbook sleeps on my bed.”

A typical day for me would be

“Fun with a bit of stress, and also exciting. I normally get up about 5:30am. If I am operating on that day, I am at work at 7, just to see my patients. Then I operate the whole day: my operating days are an all-day operating day. If I have a clinic day, then it’s not really that busy. But in between, I could have a business meeting or meetings with people. I also love watching movies, that really helps me relax. And I say my prayers and I go to sleep and the next day starts.”

“It’s always different every day. Sundays I do less business work. I spend a lot of time with family over the weekend, in the evenings mostly. My weekends are also full of business meetings for the businesses.”

What are your 3 absolute best cities to visit?

“Paris – it is the love of my life. I’ve been about 1 billion times a year.”

“South Africa – I love South Africa a lot. I’ve been to Cape Town which I really loved.”

“Sicily – I’ve never been to Sicily but Sicily is like the love of my life also. And I am not going to go to Sicily till a special time.”

My most expensive buy is

“I have to confess: I am addicted to shoes and bags. I buy a lot of shoes and bags, like you don’t even want to know. But the most expensive thing I own is a wristwatch I have. It’s nothing that anyone uses. It’s an Italian brand and it’s got real diamonds in it. I can’t remember the name, but I bought it in Italy like 12 years ago. I bumped into Milan and I bought it.”

What are 3 things most people don’t know about you?

“I have a relationship commitment phobia.”

“Even though people think I’m very confident, I still get scared when I have to do a presentation, but people don’t see that. They only see the fact that I am so confident when I’m doing it but deep down I’m scared. I don’t want it to go wrong. But once I say my name, the fear leaves me. My mum used to say to me, you need to remember who you are, whose child you are. So whenever I say my name and hear my name, it makes me remember who I am and it helps me take away that fear.”

“My best friend when I was a child was a dog called Oscar. Till I was 21, my best friend was Oscar, but he died of hepatitis.”

If you were not a doctor, what would have been a natural career path for you?

“It would have been one of multiple things. My natural career path would have been to do charity or missionary work. I love meeting new people because I think life is all about your relationships, your network with people. And I feel like if you can make one person smile if you can take away pain from one person, it works. That’s why I did medicine in the first place.”

“Two, I would have wanted to do fashion which I still do as a doctor. I design clothes. The other thing I would have really wanted to do is business full-time, like buying and selling or owning a shop.”

The post ASPIRE CEO: Dr Chichi Menakaya is Delivering the Ultimate Concierge Medicine Experience first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

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The ‘little something’ is none other than SIA’s first-ever amenity kit for individual passengers in its business cabin. Made in collaboration with British perfumer Penhaligon’s, the kit is a skincare and wellness affair consisting of a hand lotion, a facial mist, a balm and while stocks last, a 5ml roll-on perfume oil Luna, all infused with Quercus, a refreshing and citrus and basil scent.

Yet, Singapore Airlines is hardly the only carrier offering amenity kits filled with skincare and wellness products to premium passengers, nor does it have the most extravagant offering.

Awards in this category will perhaps go to Taiwan’s Eva Air who in the past used to offer Rimowa-branded amenity kits but now gives its premium cabin guests Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits when the former was discontinued, and Emirates Airlines whose partnerships with Byredo and Bulgari since 2018 has seen them produce some of the most luxurious kits above ground level, including a pair of pyjamas designed to hydrate the skin.

But amenity kits are not the only options airlines offer their premium passengers in their quest to ensure that their journey across the sky is as comfortable as possible. Emirates, for example, has a ‘shower spa’ for its first-class passengers travelling aboard their A380 Airbus.

As it is above, so it is below

The skincare and wellness trend is not just restricted to the skies. Last year, British Airways launched the Forty Winks Lounge with sleep pods designed to help premium passengers nap properly ahead of their flight.

Air France’s business lounge in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris features a wellness area, a rest area with lounge chairs, a detox bar, and saunas with facial treatments from Clarins Spa. Just last month, the airline opened a new airport spa with luxury French beauty brand Sisley. The spa, called La Première Sisley Beauty Institute, offers skin rehydration treatments for men and women.

At the Madrid airport, the SHA Wellness Clinic has erected an outpost where travellers seeking better options can go for spa treatments, healthy foods, and drinks.

With an ongoing global health challenge courtesy of the Coronavirus, and with the Ukraine-Russia situation, international travel has become rather daunting. If you’re going to be moving in between countries and regions, it only makes sense to seek out airlines that will offer you the best services all around, including in the skincare and wellness categories.

Source: Barrons

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Thankfully, a recent study seems to have the answer we have all been inadvertently searching for. Apparently, the best time to call it a day and go to bed if we are looking to dodge cardiovascular problems in future is between the hours of 10 and 11 p.m. Not a moment before or after.

Why not earlier, you may wonder?

Interestingly, the researchers in the course of their experiment discovered that going to bed before 10 p.m. or at midnight or later might raise the risk for heart disease by nearly 25 per cent, a situation that may be traced to the altering of the body’s circadian rhythm — its internal clock, the study authors said.

“The circadian system controls daily behavioural and physiological rhythms. Disruption to the circadian rhythm has wide-ranging implications, resulting in poorer cognitive performance and increased risk for various physical and mental conditions, including cardiovascular disorders,” explained lead researcher David Plans.

The central clock in the brain controls the circadian rhythm throughout the body. This central clock is calibrated by exposure to light, particularly morning light, which is detected by receptors in the eyes, Plans said further.

“When this morning light is detected, the clock is recalibrated. Therefore, if a person goes to sleep very late, they might oversleep and miss this critical period of morning light. If this occurs over an extended period of time, the circadian rhythm will become disrupted. As a result, there will be effects on other behavioural and physiological rhythms, which can be detrimental to health.”

Plans however cautioned that this study can’t prove that the time one goes to sleep causes heart disease, but it might, if confirmed, be a possible risk factor.

The researchers had information on when participants went to sleep and woke up over a week by using accelerometers worn on the wrist. Participants also completed questionnaires about lifestyle and health.

Over an average follow-up of nearly six years, 3.6 per cent of the participants developed heart disease. Most of those who developed it went to sleep at midnight or later. People who were least likely to develop cardiovascular disease went to sleep between 10 p.m. and 10:59 p.m., the researchers found. Those who went to sleep between 11 and 11:59 p.m. had a 12 per cent higher risk, and those who went to sleep before 10 p.m. had a 24 per cent higher risk.

As for gender, the study revealed that the risk was greatest among women. Among men, only going to sleep before 10 p.m. remained significant, the researchers noted.

While acknowledging that further studies are required to prove that sleep times have a direct effect on whether not we are at risk of developing heart diseases in future, Plans has the following advice for us: “Go to sleep at a reasonable hour and wake up early enough to get some outside time in the morning; avoid blue light late at night; no caffeine late in the day; avoid naps after about 4 p.m.; use the bedroom only for sleeping, and, only go to bed when you feel like you are ready to sleep.”

Source: WebMD

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Six remarkable spa suites

Dior Spa Cheval Blanc – which is the name this facility goes by – was designed by Peter Mariano to evoke the spirit of a Parisian apartment with a cosy living room as the centre around which every object revolves in a tribute to Christian Dior’s life.

The spa is promising visitors “happiness in the heart of Paris” with treatments in its six themed suites designed for your physical, emotional and psychological wellness.

The six suites — Bonheur, Bonne Étoile, Granville, Mitzah, New Look and Sauvage are as different as they are unique with each assuring different levels of healthy delights. The Suite Bonheur, with its timeless gold and Dior Rose, as well as its sauna and hammam shower, is a perfect private escape for two.

The New Look suite on the other hand depicts the avant-garde look created by Christian Dior in 1947. Here, the customised bed allows you to enjoy the six-handed ritual for a simultaneous transformation of your body, face and hair.

The natural decor of the Sauvage suite will immerse you deep into nature with materials like an alpha-quartz covered massage bed. But, if you would prefer the feeling of the outdoors, then the Bonne Étoile suite, with its starry ceiling, is the place for you.

Exceptional signature treatments

Dior Spa Cheval Blanc combines manual skills with cutting edge technology to deliver excellent, bespoke and delightful treatments.

There are 48 in all, and these range from the signature treatments such as the sensorial choreography and singular interlude, to the exceptional treatments like the L’Or de Vie Miracle and the Expert Protocols which include the active hydration and deep purification treatments.

There is also the Dior sapphire crystal micro-abrasion and the Happiness shots that are concentrated treatments of either 30 or 45 minutes of indulgence and efficacy that can be combined as desired with any other treatment.

A beauty boutique

What is a Dior Spa without an opportunity to shop exclusive high-quality products from the luxury fashion house?

After a relaxing day at the spa, stop at the boutique to shop for all the essential beauty products you need to perfect your treatment at home.

The finest Dior treatment, makeup and perfume sets nestle alongside the very latest Dior Maison collections, flagship Couture accessories and treatments developed especially for Cheval Blanc Paris, such as the Dior Face Baths, the Professional Solutions and the Dior Spa Cheval Blanc Paris Exclusives celebrating the union of the two Maisons.

And when you are done, do not forget to take a relaxing dip at the hotel’s pool designed by Micheal Mayer to put a majestic end to a glorious day.

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Designed by Tucson-based Rick Joy Architects and executed by a team of local designers and craftspeople, the resort comprises 105 standalone treehouses and villas elevated above the canopy and perched cliffside, all designed for indoor and outdoor living with outrageous views of the ocean, the surrounding Sierra del Vallejo mountains, and rainforest.

At the heart of the hotel is an open-air outdoor living space arranged around a black swimming pool. “Reminiscent of the open porches of traditional Mexican haciendas, the outdoor living area features cosy woven settees and cradling rocking chairs made of Mexican tropical woods, such as Parota and Teak,” explains the hotel operators.

Accommodation options are split between Villas and Treehouses, both of which can be booked either perched on the cliffs or nestled into the dense rainforest.

Notable villa options include Villa Pacifico, a 3,700square foot sanctuary with two private swimming pools, extensive living space including a full-screen cinema and outdoor covered dining terrace with barbeque grill; Villa Jaguar, a stunning 2,900 square foot space offering two bedrooms, with a gorgeous infinity pool perched on a rugged cliff overlooking the beach.

Topping them all is Villa One which sits on almost 19,000 square feet of expansive space and boasts three bedrooms, an infinity pool, private spa and gym, full-screen cinema, wine cellar, and huge outdoor dining terrace.

All the larger villas feature earthen walls that reference historic buildings once constructed on the site by the indigenous Cora people. Funnel-shaped tiled roofs are lined in tropical wood and narrow to glass skylights, adding to the natural light that pours in from glazed retractable walls, while sheer curtains help to control glare and privacy, matching the neutral-toned furniture and accessories.

There are also outdoor showers coated with earth plaster which heighten the experience of staying in the rainforest.

The treehouses, on the other hand, are elevated 12 metres off the ground, engulfed by tropical foliage that encroaches their private outdoor decks and plunge pools. Some have ocean views, and a select few at the highest elevation enjoy panoramic vistas of the coastline.

The floor-to-ceiling glazing of the bedrooms can be fully retracted to create indoor-outdoor spaces. Open-air bathtubs are partially enclosed by wooden slats, while showers inside are tiled with dark stone.

The One&Only Mandarina, which opened 1 November 2020, also offers several dining options for guests that are spread across its expansive site. Beside the communal pool, there is the Alma restaurant that has a diverse menu of “garden-to-plate” dishes, while Mexican cuisine reimagined by celebrity chef Enrique Olvera can be sampled at the cliffside Carao.

There is also the Treetop bar which offers cocktails and light fare to be enjoyed during sunset, while down by the sand is the Jetty Beach Club, named for the semi-circular structure that arcs from the cliff into the water. This casual restaurant serves seafood to tables and beach cabanas that all face the ocean.

With regards to activities at the resort, there is a lot to do. You can get involved in the family-oriented Canalan Beach Club, with its infinity-edged child-friendly pools and tons of activities for the family, including zip-lining through a jungle course. You could also look out for the resort’s own Crocodile Butler, who has the exciting job of monitoring the adjacent Mangrove lagoon crocodile residents, including one that is 17 feet long.

The Mandarina Polo & Equestrian Club offers horseback riding lessons and trail rides to waterfalls and swimming holes, but since it will also host several international events each year and weekly Mexican charro nights featuring local riders, live music, and festive cuisine, you can participate if you would be around during this time.

Furthermore, you have the options of a guided mountain bike ride through dedicated trails in the rainforest, surfing the various swells, or horseback riding along the beach. You can go bird-watching in the adjacent jungle – which is home to several exotic birds including the Elegant Trogon – or take a hike to a 500-year-old Higuera Blanca tree called La Abuela. More activities include a visit to a beautiful butterfly sanctuary and a remarkable 42,000sq foot Kids Club complete with a Swiss family Robinson style compound of treehouses and connected bridges.

But if you are too tired to go on an adventure, the One&Only Spa is open for visitors who need to be pampered. It features a collection of six isolated, enclosed treatment rooms, offering experiences cocooned beneath a canopy of large Higuera trees. They have enlisted skincare brand Tata Harper for a holistic wellness immersion that goes beyond traditional spa experiences. The spa also includes the most amazing mud baths and a memorable Temazcal experience. The spectacular gym with all new machines overlooking the jungle is a must for all fitness junkies.

To learn more, visit the resort’s website here.

Source: Dezeen and Forbes

The post When Next You’re in Mexico, Visit the One&Only Mandarina Hotel first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post When Next You’re in Mexico, Visit the One&Only Mandarina Hotel appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Called Co, this new incense collection is inspired by the Japanese tradition of Koh-do, a refined and elaborate ritual of ‘listening to incense’ that is somewhat similar to traditional tea ceremonies but with emphasis placed on smell rather than taste.

The collection includes five different incense packs created by Japan’s oldest incense supplier, Kungyokudo. Within each pack is a download link to an album that has been composed to accompany that particular incense. The albums have been made by experimental musicians based in Japan and Europe, who vary greatly in style but are united in their idiosyncratic, genre-blending approach.

The jasmine-scented Fernweh incense, for example, comes with a soundtrack by Hatis Noit, a Japanese vocalist currently based in London, whose eclectic music is inspired by influences including Gagaku (music from the courts of ancient Japan), Gregorian chants, contemporary pop, and opera.

Led by a Blue Bird Through a Mountain is an aquatic sandalwood scent with a corresponding soundtrack by Japanese vibraphone musician Masayoshi Fujita. The vibraphone is a more mellow-sounding version of the xylophone, and Fujita has developed his own unique sound on the instrument, often by attaching metal, strips of foil, or other objects to its metal bars.

Then, there is Under Clouds, Ascending – a mixture of sandalwood and vanilla with a soundtrack composed by Daniel Thorne, a Liverpool-based composer, saxophonist, and founder of Immix, the ensemble of artists from around the UK whose works “slips between the cracks of style and genre.”

Outlines of a Distant Memory is a burnt sugar and wood fragrance in the Co incense collection that comes with music by London-based synth producer Rival Consoles. And finally, To Your Borders and Back is a scent that blends cedar and lavender with music by multimedia artist, composer and vocalist Rosa Anschütz.

The project is the most recent in a growing number of initiatives that blend fragrance and sound to create a soothing, immersive environment. As one new study argues, we will be seeing a lot more of such products in the coming years, as our tech-saturated lifestyles encourage people to find solace in sensory forms of relaxation.

Source: Wallpaper

The post This Incense Actually Comes with Its Own Soundtrack first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post This Incense Actually Comes with Its Own Soundtrack appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

So, it only made sense that if he was going into the cannabis market, it is because 1) it is profitable, and 2) it appeals to the luxury market.

And he is right on both counts, although he is not the first to notice that cannabis can be termed an aspirational product and marketed as such. In 2017, when Lord Jones – also known as the Louis Vuitton of the CBD world – launched, it was as a chic luxury brand for health and wellness enthusiasts interested in cannabis and cannabinoids, not an underground, secretive operation for potheads that was the stereotypical image associated with the plant in the past.

Last year, the cannabis market was valued at an estimated USD20.5billion. It is expected to go up to USD90.4billion in the next 5 years.

The evolution of cannabis

A recreational and medicinal plant, cannabis has come a long way from the traditional ‘joint’ or ‘blunt’ to a product whose derivatives provide many benefits, including managing chronic pain in adults, epilepsy, treating acne and dandruff.

Cannabis contains at least 120 active ingredients or cannabinoids, with the most popular being cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The latter is the one that gives the euphoric or psychoactive effect. As a result, while THC-infused cannabis is beginning to gain traction among the elite class in countries where it is legal, it is CBD that is gradually dominating the health, wellness and skincare industry globally for its many benefits.

Today, CBD products range from edibles like gumdrops and teas to capsules and oils used in skincare and haircare. Lord Jones offers a range of CBD skincare products but other brands like Kiehl’s and Sunny Isle also do.

It is time for luxury brands to get high on cannabis 

The uses of cannabis are so vast that it is almost impossible for a single brand to dominate the market. And since it is a growing industry, untapped opportunities abound, especially in the luxury segment, where brand studies have proven that there is a ready and willing market.

Brands like Lord Jones and Jay-Z’s Monogram have proven that with the right branding and marketing, luxury brands in the health, wellness and even beauty industry can move into the world of cannabis and successfully create products that would cater to the discerning and distinctive tastes of the wealthy. The fashion industry is not even left out, as shown by MoonCloth Designs that uses hemp to create soft, luxe fabrics for some of the biggest businesses in the hospitality industry.

If the predictions about the growth and viability of the cannabis industry do end up coming to pass, then luxury brands cannot ignore it or be left out. Individuals who indulge in luxury goods will definitely gravitate towards cannabis, especially as its benefits continue to rise, and they would be on the look out for products that cater to their tastes. The earlier luxury brands start to take cannabis seriously, the better.

The post Cannabis is the New Luxury first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Cannabis is the New Luxury appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

We have put together below a list of foods recommended in How Not to Die to help prevent memory loss. But please note, as with all foods and dietary changes, do consult with your physician first.

Beans

The book recommends eating three servings of beans a day. Now, that doesn’t mean spooning a bowl of lentils for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Beans come in the form of soymilk, black-eyed peas (brown beans) and white beans, and can be made into different dishes. They’re pretty much a miracle food, as they contain both the benefits of the meat and vegetable food groups. You get your fix of protein and iron like you would from meats, while simultaneously consuming fibre, folate, and potassium.

Blueberries

Berries are by far the most superior of the fruits in the market. Berries have nearly ten times more antioxidants than other fruits, like apples and bananas, and blueberries take the winning spot with 380 units of antioxidant power, followed by raspberries (350), cranberries (330), and strawberries (310).

Cruciferous vegetables

What’s the difference between cruciferous vegetables and other vegetables? Well, for one, cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, a component known to prevent lymphoma, target breast cancer stem cells, and boost liver detoxification enzymes. Vegetables in this category include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage.

Other vegetables

It’s important to diversify your vegetable intake. You might be thinking: “If broccoli is the powerhouse of the vegetables, why eat anything else?” The answer to that is each veggie offers something unique that others don’t. Your body needs a little bit of everything to complete a well-balanced diet, so make sure to get a good fix of pumpkins, onions, and carrots in your meals.

Ground flaxseeds

The keyword here is “ground.” Mother Nature packed these babies in well, and if you eat them whole, they’ll simply pass through your entire system without providing you with their benefits. This super seed is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to a functioning brain. Think of them as the oil your brain needs to run smoothly. Sprinkle them onto your morning oatmeal, or bake them into a muffin, and aim to get at least a spoonful a day.

Whole grains

Switching to a plant-based diet does not mean abandoning carbs. It just means you need to consume healthier versions of them. Sure enough, Dr. Greger recommends having at least three servings of whole grains a day. These include brown rice, oatmeal and whole-wheat flour.

Saffron spice

Back in ancient times, saffron was used as a healing spice. Modern science has since proven that it does, in fact, have antidepressant powers similar to the drug Prozac. But fair warning, saffron is the most expensive spice on the market—a great alternative, therefore, is turmeric, which has many of the same components as saffron.

Coffee

Coffee isn’t just the delicious, life-giving beverage that starts many of our days but can also improve concentration, boost your serotonin levels, and, of course, keep you alert throughout the day.

Source: Coveteur

The post These Foods Will Help to Improve Your Memory first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post These Foods Will Help to Improve Your Memory appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.