I’m off to Sydney on the new Qantas A380 in a few hours. I’ll be there for 10 days– primary purpose of my trip is to speak at the Circus Festival, February 23-25th 2011. Come stop by and say hello if you’re in the area. As usual any tips, drop me a line!

I’ve been off the grid attending the World Economic Forum in Davos with The Forum of Young Global Leaders. Sorry for the lack of updates– back to scheduled programming soon! I’m live on Twitter with occasional tweets.

Vacation was great. If you haven’t been on this thing people call vacation, I highly recommend trying it. It’s worth the small disconnection from daily life for a long breath of fresh air. I feel like a new man, more relaxed, fit and even tan. Now I’m in Istanbul working for the week– poking around for awesome things to share (already found quite a bit), and speaking at the Marka Conference on Thursday and Friday. If you’re in town, come by and say hello. More soon!

Despite the high speed wifi in my villa perched 1000 feet out into the India Ocean, I wont be doing much blogging from here (or so I say now). I’ll be reviewing the two resorts I’m staying at when I’m back home in a few weeks. So far, this truly is a paradise.

I’ve spent literally months of my life in London, shacked up at every hotel known to man, but I’m rarely truly satisfied. The nicest five star places in town are usually full of fanfare and an explosion of luxury cars in front– a scene that’s fun from time to time but hard to live with for more than a couple of nights before you can’t stand the glitz.

The boutique size hotels are usually missing something when it comes to service and hospitality, unable to clench a true five star experience. They’re small and quiet, but lack a certain kind of service you’d expect in a city with some of the best hotels in the world.

Well, my whole thought process changed after I stayed at The Halkin for a week.

The Halkin Hotel is part of the Como Group the team responsible for The Metropolitan in London and Bangkok, Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos, the COMO Shambhala Estate in Bali, and few other incredible luxury destinations. Usually known for their Spa experiences– an associate of Como once told me the Shambhala Estate is a spa that just happens to have a hotel.

The Halkin is a short distance from Hyde Park, in the otherwise residential neighborhood of Belgravia. Boutique in size (just 41 guest rooms and suites) but huge in service, this place was truly special.

Simple design themes throughout the hotel, obviously influenced by the elements of Feng Shui. While most hotels spend a fortune on their public spaces, The Halkin decided to spend the money (and the space) on the guest rooms themselves.

I stayed in a couple of different room types during my stay, from a King Double (shown) all the way through to a Studio Suite (which was just perfect). Rooms are modern, simple, closet space ample and most importantly the beds were perfect for me (firmer rather than softer). Everything electronic in the room is controlled by a Crestron like system including a butler call (which I never used, but in retrospect should have, just to say hello).

Wifi is plentiful and free (if you are using an Apple be sure to tell them so they can give you an Airport for your room.)

I also managed to dine at Nahm– the first Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in Europe. And if you like Thai food like I do, it’s a must try during your stay.  Having it on call for room service was divine– and Chef David Thompson knows his food. I preferred lunch much more than dinner, as Lunch included all the good street food options and some of the staple Thai classics, as well as more seafood options (as someone who doesn’t eat pork, chicken or beef that was crucial).

If you’re considering hotels in London and want five star treatment in a boutique enviorment, this is the place. When I check out of a hotel and the front desk asks me ‘how was your stay’, I usually have some comment. An issue with something during my stay, a noisy night in the hallway, a broken some-thing-or-other. This time when the front desk of The Halkin asked me, I could honestly tell them with no question– my stay was totally great.

I was able to find good rates from the folks at Tablet, and Tablet Plus members receive a complimentary room upgrade, among other small perks.

A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure visit to Ksar Char-Bagh in Marrakech courtesy of my friends at Mr and Mrs Smith. Truthfully, calling it a hotel would be like calling your best friends palace a hotel. Your best friend has a palace, right?

Well, a palace it is indeed. Ksar was one of the finer experiences I’ve had in quite some time, a welcome oasis of calm from the busy, noisy and sometimes crowded Riad scene down the road in the Medina.

The hotel, or, guest palace as they call it is 14 distinct suites located in the calmer Palmeraie Gardens district about a fifteen minute ride from the center of town. A ride that you take in an original London Taxi that is– the moment that piece of work showed up I knew I was in for a treat.

Aside from the incredibly beautiful pool, which I spent plenty of time by, one of the true highlights was the full organic farm on property where the staff thoughtfully grow herbs, vegetables, wheat for fresh bread– and even make their own olive oil. Not to mention the orchard for fresh fruit that was simply exquisite.

The architecture was unusual, but really special. They spared no detail in the construction of this palace. A mix of Moroccan and modern design blending into one solid, thoughtfully laid out property. The stairs on the left wind up to the library with thousands of books, spiral staircase framed like a picture on the wall. The doors on the right lead to the billiards table.

We spent a lot of time at night lounging in this room– for drinks, for dinner, for fun, meeting other guests and laying around with the Hookah (when in Rome, right?).

Bedrooms were clean, simple, and comfortable. Not much to say about them except everything you would expect at a five star palace. Ours had it’s own roof terrace, while others have their own pools. One thing to note was even the toiletries were hand mixed, in hand blown glass bottles, with customized labels. Nothing mass produced here.

And last, but not least, we had a visit to the Hammam for a good scrub. If you haven’t had a traditional Moroccan Hammam experience before, get to it. A singing therapist literally removed a layer of skin through thoughtful movements with her hand scrubber as I lay engulfed in steam. Afterwards, I felt like the dirt and grime from the trip was a thing of the past– and I (or my skin) was at least a few years younger. Thanks Mr and Mrs Smith!

Keeping the Spearlocator up has been almost impossible. I’ve been ping-ponging around the globe for a few months now. If you follow me on Twitter you know that and hopefully enjoy reading the mini-updates. I’m settling in for 3 days (gasp) in Capri right now though– speaking at an event. I’ll have some free time while I’m here though. Anything I can’t miss? Seafood and sun, here I come.

inter // states from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

One of my favorite cities shown off beautifully. Photography by Samuel Cockedy and music by Paul Frankland. Via Hypebeast

Congrats to my friends at Cool Hunting on the launch of Cool Hunting Local! If you’re visiting Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York or San Francisco, check out their recommendations.

Sorry for the radio silence, work at Undercurrent has been taking up all waking hours. I’m in Switzerland right now for the week working on a special project with a certain watch brand. Any tips for Zurich must-see’s or must-do’s, please drop me a line!

If you’re in or around Toronto June 10th to June 20th, you should check this out. Looks fantastic and hilarious!

FriendsWithYou is heading to Toronto this week to bring the Wish Come True Festival to life! Commissioned by Luminato, this Disney-like theme park experience will be the largest installation to date for the FriendsWithYou artists who are well known for their fully-immersive interactive installations. With 10-days of FriendsWithYou programming and over 300K estimated attendees, June 10 – June 20th in Toronto, Ontario Canada is the place to be! In the words of FriendsWithYou artist Samuel Borkson, “We’re taking over Toronto and covering it with color and magic!

Thanks to some local friends one of the stops during my tour of Bahrain yesterday was the new Bahrain International Circuit– the first track on the Grand Prix tour in the Middle East.

I figured I was just going on a quick tour to see the ground, go to the control tower, hear about the construction (it was a massive project) and snap some photos.

So I started snapping away…

We visited the race tower…

And some great VIP viewing spots and saw the track from above…

Definitely the best place to watch from…

The control room is incredible. Completely electronic, the whole track is wired in every way imaginable. They can zoom these cameras onto the serial number on a car part– and change aspects of the track at the touch of a button.

While I was there one of the control room guys admitted playing Playstation on the massive screens once!

Map of the track. They can actually run two races on it at once (and have before) as there are two circuits, one inside the other. The track has a fully functional hospital capable of even heart surgery– equipped with two heliports in case a patient needs to be moved quickly.

Back up on the top of the tower..

Off in the distance there was a little car buzzing and squealing around the corners. I asked about it… My guide looked at me and said, he’s coming to get you!

Sweet! Laps on an F1 track!

Suited up with what turned out to be a very crazy driver, and a good one.

Open track was amazing. And when I told him I loved cars, he knew he could push it. It was probably 110° on the track, plus the engine heat. Very surreal.  Two laps on this F1 track will never be forgotten.

This little thing goes way faster than you imagine. I promise.

BIC goodies. An incredibly impressive facility. Absolutely top notch everything. I look forward to coming back one day to see a race there.  Big thanks to those that made this possible!

Last year, Michael Lewis found himself traveling quite frequently from New Jersey to Santa Barbara, CA. You see, as the Director of Product Development for a tech company that was being acquired by a west coast SAS company, trips to California’s central coast were becoming a commonplace occurrence. During this time he discovered two things – how beautiful SB is and how frustrating and annoying packing and carrying toiletries was becoming. Even a person like Lewis who was becoming well-versed in FTA rules and regulations would face the occasional mishap – a dopp kit full of shampoo from a bad packing job, a missing razor due to simply forgetting, or missing toiletries altogether because his checked in bags were arriving on a different plane half a day later.

After the acquisition was complete, Lewis quit his job, sold his car, and moved to SB to start Suite Arrival. The company provides a service to fill a very particular, and in my opinion, needed niche. Before you embark on your trip, you simply visit their website and choose among dozens of items, ranging from body wash to sunscreen, anything you might need for your time away from home. All the most popular brands are represented and Suite Arrival adds new partners all the time. On a recent visit, I noticed they now carry premium label Billy Jealousy and even offer snacks and gum now. Currently, Suite Arrival operates in the continental US and delivers straight to your hotel so the package is ready for you when you check-in. Concerned about strict hotel policies, I asked SA if they ever had any issues with delivery and Lewis assured me they have always been able to work it out. He also let me in on a few things they have up their sleeves – city guides relevant to the city you are visiting, additions to the partners list, and even a pilot program for international service. Personally, I am waiting for the last item to be checked off as I am traveling to Montreal next month.

Bright and early this AM I went to an event at the Museum of Islamic Art here in Doha. The architecture was completely breathtaking.

Beautiful skylight…

Gorgeous details..

This building was Art-chitecture.

Staring straight up at the opening in the ceiling. Simply stunning.

The Doha Skyline from the edge of the Museum in three shots. One.

Two.

Three. *With Reflecting Pool

I had to snap this, fascinating to see two women working on computers in the office wearing the traditional black dress covering everything but their eyes. (Called an Abaya).

I couldn’t sit still long. I’m off tomorrow on a quick trip through the Middle East. Visiting Doha for business, followed by some fun in Bahrain, Cairo, Beirut and perhaps a swing through Damascus if time allows.

As usual, tips welcome.

P.S. Pictures from Africa coming soon. Promise!