2025 NAVIS Curated Collection

Each year, the NAVIS Curated Collection brings together a rare assembly of properties that exemplify the highest expression of luxury across hospitality, gastronomy, wellness, and yachting. Selected through the NAVIS Curated Protocol, our rigorous in-person evaluation spanning more than seventy review points, these distinctions are awarded only to those experiences that achieve exceptional performance within our confidential scoring algorithm. Every recognized property earns its place with unwavering excellence, a mastery of craft, and a capacity to create moments that linger long after the journey ends.

The 2025 edition celebrates a portfolio that has elevated the global standard of refinement. From Dubai’s most compelling culinary stages to transformational spa journeys, from alpine elegance to island sanctuaries in the Maldives, from Tokyo’s sophisticated urban hospitality to the unique realm of yacht-based exploration, each honoree stands as the best in innovation and artistry at the pinnacle of its field.

Across these pages, readers will find the Golden Compass Rose recipients in Gastronomy; the standout achievements in Spa and Wellness; the distinguished hotels and resorts redefining hospitality; and the exceptional entry representing the apex of Yacht Hospitality. Each profile includes a concise portrait of the experience, its NAVIS in-person review grading, and the signature attribute that sets it apart within the global landscape of luxury.

This is the NAVIS Curated Collection 2025, an annual compendium of the world’s most remarkable places, shaped by enduring excellence.

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A Culinary Embassy in Dubai La Mar by Gastón Acurio

At Atlantis The Royal, where the skyline of Dubai stretches toward the surreal, one might expect an entrance of spectacle. And yet, the approach to La Mar by Gastón Acurio offers something else, an orchestrated pause. From the lobby, a cylindrical elevator, sheathed in cascading water, rises gently, offering a moment of stillness. The air shifts. A low mantra hums as the doors open, ushering guests into a dimly lit corridor that feels almost sacred. At its end, oxidized copper doors rise floor to ceiling, an homage to the temples of Peru, inviting you into a world shaped by memory.

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A New Era of Transformational Wellness at Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

“Where ancient wisdom meets cutting-edge innovation, wellness becomes an art form.”

Rising from the golden crescent of Palm Jumeirah like a vision from the future, Atlantis The Royal is a symbol of architectural audacity and opulent living. Yet within its shimmering facade lies a haven of calm, meticulously crafted for those seeking relaxation and profound transformation. AWAKEN, the signature wellness destination of Atlantis The Royal, is a sanctuary where ancient rituals, high-performance science, and intuitive design converge to offer a wellness journey unlike any other in the Middle East.

AWAKEN is a philosophy, an invitation to realign, recharge, and rediscover the self. Set across an expansive 5,000 square meters and curated with reverence for both global healing traditions and pioneering therapies, this wellness destination redefines the boundaries of self-care in Dubai’s ever-evolving luxury landscape.

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A Study In Refined Discretion The Peninsula New York

Even if the bright lights of Broadway never existed, New York would still be theatrical. Manhattan is a place where boutiques and department stores, museums, entertainment performances, bars, clubs, restaurants, and hotels all vie for attention with increasingly over-the-top gestures. A recent return here revealed all that in a gloriously vibrant northeastern autumn. A brief, much-anticipated stay at The Peninsula New York, reaffirmed the enduring beauty of subtlety with the hotel’s recently completed transformation. Orchestrated by the award-winning Bill Rooney Studio, it revealed something altogether more compelling than overt drama, namely a masterclass in understated excellence. After its comprehensive refurbishment completed in September 2024, this Fifth Avenue landmark has emerged not louder, but more assured, channeling the sophisticated restraint of some of this historic building’s prior incarnations through a decidedly contemporary lens.

The year-long project eschewed the predictable grandstanding one might expect from such an undertaking. The results whisper rather than shout, assured in the wisdom that astute guests who understand the facets of true luxury will appreciate the extraordinary attention paid to every surface, every sightline and, indeed, every moment of the guest experience. So when one returns to this New York City icon, the epic double-height entrance space still greets warmly, proffering the dramatic double staircase, but refreshed and magically brightened. The dramatic, nature-inspired triptych by Ricardo Mazal in the atrium reaffirms the hotel’s ongoing focus on contemporary artists.

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Alpine Redefined Kempinski Hotel Das Tirol

Nestled against the dramatic backdrop of the Kitzbühel Alps at 900 meters, the Kempinski Hotel Das Tirol is an alpine paradise combining traditional charm with modern décor and very sophisticated service levels. Located at the entrance to the charming town of Jochberg, in the middle of the Tyrolean Alps, it rests just 8 km from the allure of Kitzbühel. It’s also easily reachable in an hour from Salzburg and an hour and forty minutes from Munich. But this five-star property, under the seasoned leadership of General Manager Axel Bethke, offers guests an experience that transcends even elevated mountain hospitality. Since joining the prestigious Kempinski brand portfolio in 2011, the hotel has established itself as the region’s only ski-in, ski-out luxury property.

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Discovering the Maldives Soneva Fushi

A Sanctuary of Barefoot Luxury in the Maldives.

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, adrift in the blue vastness of the Baa Atoll, lies a whisper of land, Kunfunadhoo Island. It is a place where time has no dominion, the jungle hums its ancient songs, and the footprints in the sand disappear with the tide as if to remind us that nothing, not even our presence, is permanent. This is Soneva Fushi, though to call it a resort would be to diminish it. It is something else entirely, a mirage of luxury, castaway simplicity, and a reverence for the natural world.

Arrivals to this floating Eden are made by seaplane, a journey that feels less like transit and more like an initiation. The lounge in Malé serves as the first portal, where waiting is softened by the quiet indulgences of spiced watermelon juice, handmade chocolates, and the gentle, almost ceremonial process of easing into island life. By the time the seaplane takes off, tracing lazy arcs over atolls in impossible hues of turquoise, the world beyond ceases to matter. The first sight of the island, a dense tangle of green fringed by a strip of blinding white sand, is an apparition, too perfect to be real. 

There is no check-in desk, only the warm press of sand beneath bare feet and the feeling that one has finally arrived in paradise.

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Il Ristorante Niko Romito

A Journey Across Italy in the Heart of Tokyo

Metropolitan Tokyo is, of course, gastronomic heaven, home to more MICHELIN-starred restaurants than anywhere else on the planet. On our recent return, we had the pleasure of experiencing just one of these, a piccola enclave of Italian design and gastronomy in the heart of Japan’s capital on the forty-second floor of the sleek Tokyo Midtown Yaesu tower. At the top of the building’s 45 stories is the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo and its signature dining outlet, IL RISTORANTE - NIKO ROMITO, which garnered a Michelin star for two consecutive years mere months after its 2023 opening. Il Ristorante follows its sister establishments in destinations as diverse as Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris, Milan, and Rome, serving contemporary interpretations of authentic Italian cuisine. Simple dishes crafted from the freshest ingredients, flavorful reminders of why Italian cooking is beloved worldwide.

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Indian Ocean’s Most Exclusive Sanctuaries Soneva Soul

Spread across Maldivean islands, Soneva Soul is a meticulously crafted wellness universe brought to life by Soneva, where ancient healing meets advanced science. Floating in the turquoise expanse of the Maldives’ Baa and Noonu Atolls, these sanctuaries offer opulence. They are holistic hideaways where every sensory detail, every moment, is orchestrated with intention for those who demand rest and transformation. Accessible via private seaplane or by superyacht anchorage in the calm waters near each resort, both Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani are paragons of barefoot luxury. But it is Soneva Soul that lies at the heart of their most deeply personal offerin a curated wellness journey that reaches far beyond the spa. Here, wellbeing is a lifestyle, architected around each guest through personal consultations, bespoke programming, and the constant presence of world-leading wellness specialists.

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Italian Luxury in the Heart of Japan Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo

Crowning the top seven floors of an ultra-skyscraper in the prestigious Yaesu 2-Chome North District, the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo exemplifies the exquisitely opulent pairing of Italian style with Japanese craftsmanship. As the first Bvlgari hotel in Japan, and the eighth jewel in the Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts crown, this sanctuary offers discriminating travelers a uniquely refined experience in luxury hospitality, merging honored traditions of both East and West.

Open Setting

Bvlgari Tokyo opened in April of 2023, with its supreme heights affording guests expansive views of the serene Imperial Palace Gardens nearby, the Tokyo skyline, and, on clear days, the iconic Mount Fuji. The hotel’s location in business-focused Yaesu is conveniently near the historic distinctive red-brick façade of Tokyo Station, with its shinkansen bullet trains and bustling transit hub. It’s also within walking distance to the luxury shopping paradise of Ginza. This centralized location places guests amidst Tokyo’s finest attractions while providing a sanctuary far above the busy city streets. While the hotel is located in a vertical urban setting, outdoor spaces such as terraces and rooftop areas offer greenery, seasonal blooms, and peaceful vistas in elegant, organic contrast to the soaring Tokyo skyline.

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Luxury Travel, Dolphin Cruises, and Design Serenity at Soneva Jani

A Mirror of Sky

There are journeys that take you from one place to another, and then there are those that take you out of time altogether.

Our speedboat moved across water so smooth, it became indistinguishable from the heavens above. No ripples, no wind, no sound beyond the low hum of the engines. Just a stretch of infinite blue, blending sea and sky into one seamless horizon. We were floating, not sailing, through a weightless realm, suspended between what is real and what might be imagined.

Crossing from the Baa to the Noonu Atoll in the Maldives required a passage over open ocean. There, the boat began to cradle softly with the rhythm of the swells. Something shifted. Conversations faded. The few other guests on board each retreated into their own thoughts. The gentle rocking, the vastness around us, the absence of landmarks, it all conspired to lull us into a quiet trance.

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Reinventing Dubai Atlantis The Royal

A prevailing over-the-top status clings to Dubai, a destination we like to think of as “home” at least annually for the Dubai International Boat Show. With its bright lights, luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture, including impossibly high towers accompanied by incredibly fast elevators, the city is famous for its thriving energy and nightlife, captivating all the senses and inspiring awe unlike any other city on earth. Admittedly, our perception was slightly skewed as, just prior to our arrival, we had been basking in unabashed splendor and serenity on a sandy atoll in the Maldives, where everything is intimate, small-scale, and private.

In Dubai, everything is grand, opulent, and overwhelming. Positioned majestically on the outer Crescent Road along Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis The Royal Dubai is an ultra-luxury experiential resort representing not merely an accommodation option in the city, but a definitive statement in contemporary hospitality design. So definitive, in fact, that it has achieved a rare goal: the pure distillation of Dubai’s many qualities. Our four-night stay left us simultaneously overwhelmed by its scope and wealth of features, as well as captivated by its meticulous attention to detail.

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Signature Experiences at Soneva Jani

Arriving at Soneva Jani feels like stepping into a dream that lingers long after you’ve woken. The seaplane glides to a halt on a turquoise canvas, and as you walk along the boardwalk, the lagoon stretches into infinity, framed by villas that rise like sculptures of light and wood. Paradise reveals with its extraordinary beauty, but the true essence lies deeper.

At Soneva Jani, perfection extends beyond architecture and landscapes; it embraces the way every sense is nourished. Gastronomy becomes a language of care, translating the island’s philosophy into taste, texture, and ritual. Meals evolve into experiences, seamlessly woven into the rhythm of each day, crafted with the same devotion that defines every corner of the resort. From the first sip to the first bite, clarity emerges. Food is emotion, a philosophy lived and shared with every guest.

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The Maldives and M/Y Galileo

Sailing Into a Dream You’ll Never Want to Wake From

Author’s Note

Life, in its fleeting brevity, grants us only a handful of moments that are truly extraordinary the kind that awaken every sense that imprint themselves onto the soul like salt upon the skin. These moments do not arrive with fanfare, they appear unannounced, slipping into the quiet spaces of our days, often disguised as something ordinary.

This one began with a call.

Steve’s voice carried the certainty of a man who knew things others did not. One of the most knowledgeable figures in the yachting world and the Global Marketing Director at IYC, Steve was someone I trusted, a man whose advice always led to something extraordinary. “Pablo, you need to visit M/Y Galileo.”

I started to protest. I knew Galileo, had followed her since the moment she first touched the water, but Steve was insistent. His words, though simple, carried the weight of something inevitable.

“Trust me,” he said. “Just go.”

And so, without knowing it, I had already agreed. The next thing he told me was almost an afterthought, a small detail spoken lightly, though it would come to mean everything.

“Pack well. You’ll have to travel a bit.”

And just like that, one of the greatest journeys of my life had begun.

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Theatrical Time Travel on a Series of Plates Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dubai

Dining in Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dubai begins long before one samples a single morsel. Located within the Atlantis The Royal on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, itself a culinary cosmos with 36 world-class food & beverage offerings in addition to luxury accommodations in a destination famed for its opulence. This one MICHELIN-starred sanctuary is a drier and hotter – in terms of weather – and more theatrical version of its Knightsbridge, London sister.

Merely accessing this restaurant requires a theatrical entrance worthy of its well-established reputation. Debuting at the already dramatic Atlantis the Royal in 2023, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dubai earned its first MICHELIN star a mere four months after opening. Now in its third year, dinner here remains one of the hottest reservations to score in town and certainly within the Atlantis resort complex. We dined here on the last night of our stay at Atlantis and it made for a final, fittingly memorable conclusion.

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Unexpected Delights Emerge From Out of the Blue

Rising from the sparkling waters of the Baa atoll, Out of the Blue has been spoiling guests at Soneva Fushi since its debut in 2018. This overwater dining complex featuring no fewer than five distinctive dining offerings, provides guests with uniquely exceptional gastronomic experiences that harmoniously blend luxury and sustainability with culinary innovation.

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When Precision Becomes Poetry A Return to Le Louis XV- Alain Ducasse

I stepped into the Hôtel de Paris just before noon, but time seemed to loosen its hold at the threshold. The Monte-Carlo sun hung high outside, glinting off the marble facades of Casino Square, but within the quiet vestibule, light behaved differently. It flooded the space gently, diffused through glass and gold, illuminating a reception like an antechamber to a palace.

A hundred hydrangeas lined the corridor in towering arrangements, their scent faint but insistent, sweetening the air with a softness that blurred the boundary between artifice and nature. We were early, the first guests of service, and as we were led toward the dining room, I found myself slowing my step.

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