Beneath the awning at the entrance to the Wellesley, a new boutique hotel built on the original site of the Hyde Park Corner tube station, there are still vestiges of the old red subway tiles, and it is not difficult to imagine the many cigars puffed by waiting passengers so many decades ago. Just off the lobby, inside the hotel’s stylish cigar lounge, the sweet, thick smoke of well-aged Havana leaf proves that cigars are still very much a part of the city’s present-day culture.  
Just seven years after …

The New York–based firm AvroKO, which has designed everything from lofts in Brooklyn to the Kid Robot store in Los Angeles, collaborated with Bombay Sapphire East to create this home bar item ($500). Inspired by a lazy Susan, the walnut Gin Wheel can house everything needed—bottles, bar tools, glassware, and more—to make a classic gin and tonic. A removable central aluminum sleeve serves as an ice bucket for the device, which is available exclusively through the Future Perfect. 212.473.2500, www.thefutureperfe…

The Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts applies the term “sportster” to its newest launch, Galatea. The 131-foot motor yacht is indeed sporty and features a low profile, and it retains the builder’s famous emphasis on speed. The all-aluminum vessel, which features svelte naval architecture and exterior design by Van Oossanen and Heesen, is engineered for a 27.5-knot maximum speed (while at half load) thanks to its twin MTU engines, which its owner will likely be putting to the test following its delivery at the end o…

In spring 2012, Meissen unveiled its new Villa Meissen headquarters (+39.02.894.237.25, www.meissen.com) in a restored 16th-century palazzo on Milan’s Via Montenapoleone. This January, the German porcelain house presented a 23-piece furniture collection at the historic villa that speaks to the company’s future. The opening of Villa Meissen was part of a rebranding effort intended to transform Meissen—established in 1710 by the Saxon king Augustus II—into a comprehensive design enterprise offering tableware, je…

The Icon A5 amphibious light sport aircraft(LSA) has been in the works since 2006, and now that the company is close to starting deliveries, a slew of similar amphibious aircraft (those able to operate from both and water) are emerging to compete for this market niche. Icon Aircraft was founded by Kirk Hawkins, a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and a graduate of Stanford Business School. He and his team designed the A5 to be appealing and easy to fly for first-time pilots, hoping to capture the attention o…

Davos, Switzerland’s new mascot—the egg-shaped, golden InterContinental—is out of this world.
Why Go:Among Swiss Alpine towns, Davos earns the gold medal for largest resort and highest city—it is the highest city in Europe, in fact, and it hosted the 2014 World Economic Forum. There are 58 ski lifts among its well-maintained pistes, known for having consistent snow cover. The town is a proper city rather than a quaint village, with a wide range of restaurants, shops, and outdoor activities in both the winter …

Known for its luxurious men’s clothing and accessories, Zilli has developed its first collection of skiwear and skis this winter. The company enlisted the French companies Degré 7 for the skiwear and Lacroix for the skis. The new products combine performance materials and the latest technology with Zilli’s design elements. The stylish black bi-stretch Gore-Tex ski jacket ($17,200) has matte crocodile shoulders and a chinchilla-and-cashmere-blend collar; the pants ($5,400) are made in Schoeller technical fabric…

Honolulu’s Kahala Hotel and Resort will celebrate its 50th anniversary throughout 2014 with a variety of special perks and vacation packages. The unquestionable standout among these is the Imperial Golden Jubilee Vacation Experience, a $50,000 five-night travel package for two in the resort’s Imperial Suite penthouse. Highlights from the package include a private multi-island helicopter tour with a picnic lunch, a sunset catamaran sail, a five-course dinner at the resort’s Hawaiian-fusion restaurant Hoku’s, an…

Norman Carr established the first safari camp in Luangwa, Zambia, in 1950. In an era when African safaris were hunting expeditions, Carr persuaded visitors to observe and photograph animals instead of shooting them. Throughout its history, Norman Carr Safaris has been a pioneer. Its most recent milestone is the launch of a new luxury bush camp, which opened in June 2013: Chinzombo.
In celebration of Chinzombo’s debut, Norman Carr’s family invited Robb Report readers on a curated journey to get to know Zambia’…

Robb Report and Frosch transported guests to the “land of smiles” for a voyage to the kingdom of Thailand. The local guide and television personality Dan Frasier, of the Smiling Albino tour company, led an itinerary from the capital city of Bangkok to the cultural hub of Chiang Mai and the natural wonders of northern Thailand’s Golden Triangle.
At each destination, a Four Seasons hotel provided sumptuous accommodations for the group. In Bangkok, a contemporary tower with gardens, world-class cuisine, and lavi…