Dorsia’s 2025 Travel Highlights

So here we are again, looking back at twelve months of airports, lodges, villas, sand, dust, regret, joy and more wild dog propaganda.

Favourite Stay of the Year: Laucala

Shockingly, a private island built as a vanity project by its billionaire owner with an unlimited budget is actually ok.  Laucala remains in a category of its own.  There is truly nowhere else in the world like it.  But I am a miserable human being, so there is definitely room for improvement, which I hope comes as part of their big refurb taking place next year.  Yet, focusing on the now, as my therapist repeatedly tells me, Laucala manages to offer such a diversity of activities, privacy, and overabundance without making you feel ripped off (all-inclusive is truly my best friend).  There is so much freedom that the island starts to feel like you own it, just fortunately without the headache of the bills. And the Fijian people desperately want you to love it, which can convert even the most hardened bastards out there.  Like me.

Sign me up for the 2027 reopening.

Best New Opening of 2025: Suyian Lodge

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed Suyian Lodge, this isn’t quite the compliment it might initially sound like, mainly because there were remarkably few great openings in 2025.

At this point, I feel like I’ve just told Suyian Lodge their award means jack shit and they should be ashamed of themselves.  But not so.

It’s a stunning property in a new, sparsely populated area, and it creates another excellent safari option in Kenya that helpfully pulls people away from the Mara and gives it some breathing room. The design, the attention to detail, the rooms, the facilities, the activities—it’s all awesome. And it’ll only get better.

Although, as I write this, I’m starting to think Masiya’s Camp should probably be the winner, were it not for the fact that they’re essentially cheating by already having three other amazing lodges within driving distance.

Worst new opening

I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t fall in love with Cheval Blanc Seychelles. Which is a shame, because the Seychelles still doesn’t have the one truly standout property it deserves.

Best Welcome

When you’re spending four months a year checking in and out of hotels, very little about a welcome actually sticks. Most of them blur into one memory: a group of people singing at you, while you’re stuck in some kinda purgatory that feels like watching other people’s children in a school play.  Even places like Amanbagh, where they perform some kind of ceremony that probably means I’m legally married in Rajasthan, failed to leave much of an impression.

Velaa played it differently. The sneaky bastards.

We arrived by yacht, already assuming there’d be a orchestra waiting to perform Ave Maria and embrace our fifth stay. Instead, there was just one man. One glass of water. That was it. As we stepped off the boat, he apologised and explained that everyone was in a meeting and couldn’t come to greet us.

A few seconds later, the doors of the nearby office flew open and the entire team burst out.  Pricks.  But my kinda pricks.

Stand-Out Moment of the Year

Wild dogs attempting to steal my shoe.

Biggest Disappointment: Kateka

Kateka, the lodge that managed to feel tired at the grand age of two.  The entrance fills you with hope, and everything else immediately lowers those expectations.

Least Surprising Disappointment: Mnemba

I went in expecting not to like it.  I was correct.  Mnemba delivered exactly what it promised: rustic luxury.  But with that comes the spoiled views, the mass nearby tourism, and the lack of anything competitive to the Maldives, Seychelles or maybe Bognor Regis.

Biggest “I Could Have Written This Review Before I Went”

Atlantis The Royal.

Most Surprising Stay: Melote House

They didn’t want me to come.  I came.  I saw.  I loved it.  Melote House turned out to be a must-visit property.

Honourable Mention: Mwiba

Mwiba deserves its own line simply because the animal sightings were feral.  Every drive felt like entering a wildlife simulation set to “show-off mode.”  If the sightings got any better, I’d have assumed they were choreographed.

Biggest Surprise

Just how good Zimbabwe is for safari. Not the strongest on the luxury front, but the safari experience is something else. Especially if you like animals charging at you.

Proudest Moment of the Year

Joining Tusk’s Patrons’ Circle.  Becoming part of that group felt meaningful in a way no room upgrade ever will.  But I still want the upgrades.

Most “I’m Definitely a Parent” Moment

Taking the kids to Disneyland Paris.  And enjoying it.  Somewhere between the parades, the sugar, and the general chaos, I accepted my fate.

Best Hotels of the Year

The shortlist this year is brutal, in the sense that narrowing it down required emotional effort.  And I don’t like effort.

• Laucala
• North Island
• Velaa Private Island
• Melote House
• Tawana
• Masiya’s Camp
• Bulgari Tokyo