There are trees, and trees. At FOUR SEASONS BANGKOK a mighty heritage tree provided laughter for hotel boss Lubosh Bartok, above – memories of all Four Seasons’ properties in Thailand involve trees, the trees on the slope that is FOUR SEASONS KOH SAMUI, the trees forming a horseshoe-shaped guard around the paddy fields that are such an essence of FOUR SEASONS CHIANG MAI, and the tall trees of Northern Thailand that provide ground cover at FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP.
Trees elsewhere. The English trees in the typically-English gardens of, say, CLIVEDEN, an Iconic Luxury beauty, and HECKFIELD PLACE. One thinks trees, too, in the waterside grounds of THE INN AT PERRY CABIN, Preferred (sit in an Adirondack chair to watch the sun set, peace and quiet after the political bustle of Washington DC, 90 minutes’ drive away). Oh dear, The Inn at Perry Cabin is losing its super-caring MD: Michael Hoffmann starts as MD of THE ARIZONA BILTMORE, WALDORF ASTORIA, on 1st April – finally, he and his family can relocate to the home in Carefree AZ that they have had ever since he ran THE BOULDERS.
The ultimate in tree talk must be treehouses, as at CHEWTON GLEN HAMPSHIRE, another Iconic property. Think also of TREEHOTEL near the Lule river in Sweden. It’s owned by Kent and Britta Lindvall and each of the five cabins is unique – some like the one that looks like a bird’s nest outside and sleeps four is a favourite.
Last word from Susie Ellis, Chair/CEO of Global Wellness Institute, says more and more research shows the value of nature, including trees, to wellness. And showing how the travel community is warming to trees, Marina Gouvea de Souza, CEO of Prime Travel in São Paulo, plants trees to offset clients’ carbon. There are trees, and there must always be trees.
