The Exquisite Guide
Making life
feel better.
Places to stay. Things to wear. Objects to live with. Brands to know. Experiences worth having. Selected through the lens of The Exquisite Standard.
- 01
São Lourenço do Barrocal
For discovering that restraint can feel more generous than excess.
Hotels · Portugal
- 02
Soneva
Soneva appears to begin with a different understanding of luxury.
Hotels · Maldives
- 03
Fowlescombe Farm
Fowlescombe Farm seems to begin with a simple principle: work with what is already there.
Hotels · Devon
- 04
Teranka
Teranka seems to begin with the island. Not as a backdrop, but as the source of the experience.
Hotels · Formentera
- 05
Kati Kaia
The most restorative things in life are rarely created by accident.
Lifestyle · Recognised
- 06
Le Sirenuse
Some places become icons because they are beautiful, others become icons because they understand how beauty is experienced.
Hotels · Positano
- 07
Patek Philippe
Some objects are designed for ownership, others are designed for stewardship.
Watches
- 08
Brunello Cucinelli
Some brands are built around products, others are built around principles.
Apparel
- 09
Borgo Santo Pietro
Cultivation has a different feeling from design. Design can be immediate, cultivation takes time.
Hotels · Tuscany
- 10
Loro Piana
Some forms of luxury announce themselves and others whisper.
Apparel
- 11
Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc
True luxury is rarely measured by what has been added. More often, it is revealed by what has been preserved.
Hotels · France
- 12
Cartier
Some brands create products and others create symbols.
Jewellery
- 13
Aquazzura
Some forms of luxury are remembered for their appearance and others are remembered for how they make people feel.
Footwear
- 14
Bompard
The finest luxury is often felt before it is noticed.
Apparel
- 15
Scorpios
Scorpios is often described as a beach club, a hospitality destination, a cultural venue or a lifestyle brand.
Beach Clubs · Mykonos
- 16
Floris
The most exceptional brands rarely become exceptional overnight.
Fragrance
- 17
La Residencia
Some places feel luxurious before you have consciously noticed a single detail.
Hotels · Mallorca
- 18
Frette
The quality of a place is often revealed in the moments when nothing is happening.
Linens
- 19
VIOLETTE_FR
There is a noticeable difference between beauty that seeks approval and beauty that expresses identity.
Makeup
- 20
Ffern
Some brands create products. Others create rituals.
Fragrance
- 21
ALMA | PROUST
The most beautiful flowers are rarely the most perfect.
Seeds
- 22
Anine Bing
The most influential style often feels effortless.
Apparel
- 23
Filippa K
The most enduring style is rarely the most attention-seeking.
Apparel
- 24
George Northwood
The best practitioners often leave the lightest footprint. Their work is visible, but their presence is not.
Salons · London
- 25
Heckfield Place
Some places feel less like they have been created and more like they have been cultivated.
Hotels · England
- 26
Hotel Santa Caterina
The most memorable places do not separate themselves from their surroundings.
Hotels · Amalfi
- 27
Les Roches Rouges
Some places encourage us to escape, others encourage us to arrive.
Hotels · Côte d'Azur
- 28
Liberty
Some places sell products and others cultivate discovery.
Retail · London
- 29
Lucy Laucht
The most compelling images rarely demand attention, they invite it.
Photography
- 30
Mama Praïa
The best design often feels effortless.
Footwear
- 31
Marbella Club
The most exceptional places rarely feel exceptional because they are trying to impress.
Hotels · Spain
- 32
Mason Pearson
The objects we keep for a lifetime are rarely the ones that shout the loudest.
Haircare
- 33
Nomasei
The most thoughtful design often begins with a simple question: how will this feel to live with?
Footwear
- 34
Petersham Nurseries
The most beautiful environments often begin with a simple act of respect.
Lifestyle · Richmond
- 35
Seb Brown
The value of craftsmanship is not measured by how quickly something can be made.
Jewellery
- 36
Smythson
Some objects become more valuable with use.
Stationery
- 37
Susanne Kaufmann
There is a noticeable difference between products designed to create the appearance of wellbeing and those rooted in the conditions that support it.
Skincare
- 38
The Royal Opera House
The most enduring cultural institutions do more than preserve excellence.
Culture · London
