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Princess’ Serenity wins The Crossing

13/09/2020

Princess Charlene has led her team to victory in the gruelling 24-hour water bike relay from Corsica to Monaco against her brother’s team ‘Notorious’, who was notably missing one of its star members.

Princess Charlene and team Serenity officially crossed the finish line at the Yacht Club of Monaco at 11.31am on Sunday, 22 hours and 33 minutes after setting off from Calvi.
Her children Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques joined Prince Albert in cheering home their mother, together with a crowd of supporters.

The Notorious team, led by her brother and General Secretary of her Foundation Gareth Wittstock, crossed the finish line 14 minutes later.

Team Serenity (left), Prince Albert (centre), and team Notorious (right). Photo courtesy Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation

The Crossing: Calvi to Monaco saw two teams of four internationally renowned athletes take turns to cycle 180 kilometres from Corsica to Monaco.

It kicked off in Calvi on Saturday amid “extreme” weather conditions, as Princess Charlene and her brother Gareth Wittstock led the charge, with the lead crossing between the two teams at various times throughout the race.

But within the hour mark of Monaco, Serenity took the lead and kept it right until the end.

The challenge wasn’t without controversy, however. World fighting champion Conor McGregor was forced out of team Notorious after he was arrested in Corsica on suspicion of alleged attempted sexual assault and alleged indecent exposure. The Irishman denies any wrongdoing.

“Conor Mcgregor vigorously denies any accusations of misconduct,” a representative for the MMA fighter told TMZ Sports.

McGregor was released on Saturday without being charged, his lawyer said.
He was replaced at the last minute by Guido Belinskis, who joined team Notorious with Gareth Wittstock, Jérome Fernandez and Kevin Crovetto.

Team Serenity was composed of Princess Charlene, David Tanner, Mathew Bennett and Brandon Green.
The aim of the challenge was to raise awareness of and money for the various projects of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.

© Photos : Eric Mathon / Palais princier, Manu Vitali / Direction de la communication`

Click on the photos below to enlarge…

Photos: Monaco retrofits Grace Kelly’s famous convertible

by: Cassandra Tanti

12/09/2020

Prince Albert has unveiled a hybrid version of the Sunbeam Alpine driven by Grace Kelly in ‘To Catch a Thief’, a retrofit undertaken right here in the Principality.
The 1954 Hybrid Sunbeam Alpine Mark III was the star of Ever Monaco on Friday 11th September, as Prince Albert and actress Brigitte Auber uncovered the stunning retrofit hybrid car.
As a light rain fell during the ceremony, the Prince held the arm of the 95-year-old actress and protected her with his umbrella. Brigitte Auber played Daniella in the Hitchcock classic, a teenager with a crush on Cary Grant’s character John “The Cat” Robie.

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The Smart Electric Monaco Association has equipped the sapphire blue convertible with two 15 hp electric motors, which complement the original petrol engine.
The conversion was carried out in the garage of the The Cars Collection of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco and forms part of the museum exhibition.
With Cary Grant by her side, Grace Kelly fled French police in the Sunbeam Alpine during a daring car chase along the Moyenne Corniche in the 1955 cult film.

While not the exact car that was driven by Grace Kelly, this retrofit is the first one involving an historic vehicle connected to Monaco.
After Friday’s unveiling, the Grimaldi Forum hosted a screening of the film To Catch a Thief, which is this year celebrating its 65th anniversary year.

Photo gallery: click on the photos below to enlarge…

Gymnast completes team Notorious

by: Cassandra Tanti

04/09/2020

Monegasque gymnast Kevin Crovetto is the fourth and final member of team Notorious, led by Gareth Wittstock, for the fast approaching water bike challenge ‘The Crossing: Calvi to Monaco’.
Kevin Crovetto won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Games of the Small States of Europe and participated in the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
He will be joining fellow athletes Mathew Bennett, Guinness World Record holder for rowing across the Atlantic with the fastest time, and Conor McGregor, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight champion, for the 12^th to 13^th September crossing. The team will be led by Princess Charlene’s brother and General Secretary of her Foundation Gareth Wittstock.
Team Notorious will go head to head with team Serenity, led by Princess Charlene of Monaco. She will be relaying the 180-kilometre journey with French swimmer and Foundation Ambassador Yannick Agnel, and Australian cyclist David Tanner. The fourth and final member of team Serenity is yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation is now taking donations for the charity event, with money going towards water safety awareness and anti-drowning campaigns worldwide.

Related stories:

The Notorious teams up with Princess Charlene for training

Is this €280,000 TV the future of home entertainment?

by: Cassandra Tanti

06/08/2020

I was recently invited to the Luxury Living Lounge in Monaco to witness The Wall by Samsung, a jaw-dropping modular MicroLED television that is set to change the future of home entertainment. Well, at least for those who can afford it.
At a whopping 3.7 metres in size, The Wall certainly commands attention as soon as you walk into the room. The Luxury Living Lounge’s moody interior and apartment-style layout confirm marketing specialist Joe Ghannam’s promise that this is no showroom. Viewings are by appointment only and the decor has been cleverly designed by Monaco’s own Daniela Boutsen to mimic the ultimate cinema room.
Will Faimatea, Director and Founder of Bond TM and consultant for The Wall, takes me through the technicalities of the mammoth display, which I cannot take my eyes off of for a second. Its size, brightness and contrast are undeniably captivating.

Kris Hogg, Samsung Electronics European Business Manager, Daniela Boutsen, President Boutsen Design, and Will Faimatea, Director and Founder Bond Technology Management

“This is not a normal screen,” reveals Will. “There are 24 million tiny LEDs creating the images directly, and there is no glass which means no reflection.”
MicroLED, explains Will, is the first new screen technology in a decade and is more akin to OLED than LCD. “It is a totally different viewing experience,” says Will. “You can’t compare this to any TV you’ve ever seen in your life. Customers are saying it’s like discovering colour television all over again.”
The result is eye-popping viewing with perfect colour distribution, intense blacks, rich brightness and incredible contrast. It is an experience so immersive and high-definition that you can identify the smallest sculptures adorning the Petra in Jordan and admire the intricate architectural features of the Taj Mahal.
In fact, the screen is bright enough that you can watch a movie, in daylight – something that can’t be done with a projector system.
If tech is your thing, then you will appreciate that The Wall is powered by Samsung’s Quantum Processor, which upscales the image to suit the screen size.

Will Faimatea with Monaco Mayor Georges Marsan at the Luxury Living Lounge in Monaco

“There are predictive algorithms in here taken from the bases of hundreds of thousands of pictures, so there is very clever pre-emptive technology behind this,” says Will.
But The Wall’s biggest advantage is its modularity. If 3.7 metres isn’t enough, you can add more LEDs to expand the screen size.
“This particular display is made up of 16 modules, each measuring around 800 x 450mm and 39mm in thickness,” says Will. “This makes it possible to scale up to 7.4 metres.”
And that means a television of mammoth proportions can easily be brought into an apartment or yacht, without the need for heavy lifting equipment or the removal of windows.
There is a reason why it is called The Wall, and not just because it can literally cover an entire section of a room. It is also intended to imitate a wall, to blend in seamlessly with the wall upon which it is mounted, or become a feature decorated with digital art.
The Wall is, in fact, a commercial-focussed product, used by luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Hermes to promote their equally prestigious products. In a place like Monaco, where showroom space is limited, it would be particularly useful.
But for those individuals who have €280,000 to spare, The Wall makes for an enticing new luxe toy.

Monaco Life Editor in Chief Cassandra and Will Faimatea

“The display is here in Monaco because people walk in and say ‘I will take it now’, like they do when buying a Ferrari. This is priced in that bracket, where you have to see it and like it that much, because it is an expensive piece of equipment.”
The Wall is one of a number of projects that Will Faimatea is involved in through his company Bond Technology Management and Consultancy. The Australian native began his career as an electronics engineer on boats, fitting out some serious heavy-hitters in the superyacht and megayacht world. For 14 years, his company has been responsible for managing audio visual, IT and communications systems in superyachts across the globe. It is through Will that Samsung saw an opportunity to reach the high-end yachting clientele.
For the rest of us, the good news is that The Wall marks the beginning of the mass adoption of this technology. These micro LED screens will start to trickle down into normal TV products and as the LED’s get smaller, we will start to see the technology in things like the dashboard of our cars or the face of our smart watches. In other words, welcome to the future.

A&K appoint Michael Wale as new CEO

by: Cassandra Tanti

30/07/2020

Geoffrey Kent and Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio have named Michael Wale as the new President and CEO of the Abercrombie & Kent Group.
Michael Wale joins the luxury travel company from Kerzner International, the owner of Atlantis and One and Only Resorts, where he was CEO. Before joining Kerzner, his career spanned almost 40 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, culminating as President for Europe, Africa and Middle East, directly overseeing the operations of 250 hotels and resorts, for its 10 brands, in 60 countries. His new role will be effective 1st October 2020.
“With Michael, Abercrombie and Kent will start an exciting new chapter,” said Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. “When guests book a holiday with us, they know we will guide them to amazing places, but the destination is a given. What they expect from us – and what keeps them coming back – is how we go the extra mile. Michael’s extensive experience in guest services and operations will take what A&K is known for to the next level.”
Geoffrey Kent added: “Michael Wale has a remarkable track record of steering leading luxury brands towards unequalled heights. We look forward to working with him to elevate Abercrombie and Kent’s profile and achieve even higher standards of excellence.”
Michael Wale is currently based in Dubai and will be relocating to Monaco. He will continue his association with Kerzner International as he joins the Board of the company.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Abercrombie and Kent at this pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Michael Wale. “I have travelled with A&K before and understand its distinctive approach to luxury experiential travel. I also look forward to working with Geoffrey and Manfredi, two titans of the travel industry, to build a bright future for our guests, partners and staff.”
Abercrombie and Kent is the world’s leading luxury and adventure travel company. Founded by Geoffrey Kent and his parents in 1962 as the first luxury safari outfitter, A&K’s award-winning travel services now extend around the globe to more than 100 countries on all seven continents.
Recent innovations include Inspiring Expeditions by Geoffrey Kent and Wings Over the World, regional journeys that combine the advantages of luxury small group travel with the comfort of privately-chartered flights.
Related stories:

Interview: Geoffrey Kent on the future of luxury travel

Interview: Geoffrey Kent, founder of Abercrombie & Kent, on how it all began

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Experience: New pop up terrace at Le Louis XV

by: Cassandra Tanti

15/07/2020

Just when you thought the award winning, three-Michelin star restaurant Le Louis XV had reached its pinnacle, it goes and offers something new and exciting for its privileged guests.
It was the perfect evening to launch the new pop-up terrace of Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV restaurant at the Hôtel de Paris. The warm glow of an early evening sun glistening off of a bustling new Casino Square, the hum of contentment radiating from the Café de Paris, a crescent of supercars lining the legendary Casino … for the first time in a long time, it felt like Monte Carlo was whole again.
This evening, we have been invited to experience something special. The Louis XV restaurant, famous for its gilded interior and terrace with compelling views, is cleverly offering extra space for guests this Covid year.
The terrace of the Salle Empire, normally reserved for events hosted in the glamorous ballroom, is now available to guests of the three Michelin-starred restaurant, exclusively for the summer.

It is the perfect setting for our evening, which begins theatrically with an array of seasoned morsels of seafood steamed a la table upon a bed of hot rocks.
The narrative continues to unfold with a delightful blue lobster in chilled melon broth and hints of lemongrass and ginger. This is perfectly paired with the pear and citrus aromas of a Côtes de Provence Clarendon white – a refreshing ascent for a five-course meal on this warm summer’s night.
The full flavours of a Provençal garden shine through on the second course – the chef’s interpretation of a vegetable minestrone, celebrating the spectacular simplicity of summer vegetables and the punch of crushed basil.

To follow, perhaps my favourite dish and wine of the night – Mediterranean bass coupled with a pop of sea cucumber, a silky purslane puree, sweet summer tomato, and a deliciously rich jus. The wine: a crisp and clean Chassagne-Montrachet white.
By this stage, my palate and appetite are both full and undeniably content, but it would be rude of me not to indulge in the fourth course of the evening: Guinea fowl from les Landes with baby girolles and potato foam. Its richness is cleverly matched with a 2004 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru red.
It is now that we are introduced to Head Chef Dominique Lory. The quietly spoken Frenchman has worked his way through the ranks of Alain Ducasse restaurants since 1998, taking full reign of Le Louis XV in 2013 and wholeheartedly embracing the long-standing philosophy of this world-famous institution: Mediterranean cuisine that is generous, simple and sincere.

Restaurant Director Michel Lang and Head Chef Dominique Lory

He is accompanied by Restaurant Director Michel Lang who orchestrates an impeccable service to the delight of a very demanding clientele. His dedication to Alain Ducasse and Le Louis XV for more than 27 years now is reflected in a staff who knows how to deliver the very best of French service with just the right amount of warmth to create a truly magical experience.
To end our menu this evening (although it is never really the end, is it?) is the famous Le Louis XV soufflé served with a creamy lemon thyme ice cream and a granita-laced panna cotta. A fruity Sauternes-Barsac from Château Coutet rounds out the degustation.
Finally, a bright green herb garden is wheeled to the table and we are invited to choose our infusion, freshly picked for our tea, accompanied by a selection of rich dark chocolates and homemade candies.
It is a fine end to what can only be described as an extraordinary evening, in an exceptional setting, with impeccable service and a cuisine that celebrates everything about the Mediterranean.
The fact that even more summer guests can now enjoy this privilege with the exhilarating atmosphere of the new Casino Square is simply genius.
See below for a full gallery of the evening, click on the pictures to enlarge…