15 Jan Bespoke luxury in Sicily
Sicily a la carte’s many luxuries
We read about luxury travel everywhere, but what does it really mean? At Sicily à la Carte, “luxury” is an invitation to cultivate the art of travel in Sicily.
For us, luxury means combining what we think is aesthetically pleasing and desirable whilst respecting traditional Sicilian sustainability. We love all things Sicilian and carefully ‘curate’ experiences. In Latin, the word “cura” means “to take care of “. It refers to the one who manages, selects, organizes or oversees”. We take care of our clients unique needs and personally nurture and oversee that they are getting the best value.
When it comes to planning unique experiences there is no substitute for loving care and personal experience. This cannot only be done by algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. We like to talk to people and find out exactly what they want, in order to find the perfect experience to meet their desires.
However, this relies on us having a pool of knowledge, a strong network and a high-level of expertise in our field. We have our own unique approach because you want a unique and unforgettable experience. This means that we are always up to date in a fast-moving socio-economic market place. At Sicily à la Carte we are building our brand on the integrity of our offering. The words of Le Corbusier resonate with us:
‘the luxury object is well-made, neat and clean, pure and healthy, and its bareness reveals the quality of its manufacture’
In the same way that a beautifully hand-crafted product appears to us in all its exquisite refinement to please our senses, travel can be crafted, tailor made and packaged. If we go back to a time of ocean liners, luxury was about the splendour of first-class travel and the glamourous lifestyle of the select elite. Travelling in style was very much a privilege available only to the wealthy few. Today travel is available to almost everyone and so is the notion of luxury.
There are those of us who have little time to source a destination, or are overwhelmed by the amount of data on line or who are simply not in tune with the latest tech. We advise in taking good decisions and in making new discoveries. We are more than a concierge service because we know that the high-net worth traveller does not necessarily always want to travel exclusively in a ‘luxury’ bubble. Since luxury for us represents authenticity and uniqueness, a processed and packaged offering simply will not do. We know that you care about the authentic, the sustainable, the organic and why you choose the food, the clothes and the products you use.
So, we weave into the design of a personal itinerary our exceptional local expertise, attention to detail, outstanding precision and care, to achieve remarkable results. Such quality is achieved by challenging and broadening established standards of travel and accepted practices in the travel industry. The result is highly innovative and respectful of local culture and traditions.
One could say that Luxury touches on the extraordinary, the non-essential and the exclusive in a practical tailormade solution. It is not always a question of price, but a question of choice and we are there to help with these choices and enrich the quality of travelling in Sicily.
We are very aware that Luxury is a hot topic and its ever-changing interpretation never ceases to surprise us.
We have embraced the notion of slow travel, where the essence is in less tangible forms of luxury, such as space and time. At Casa Talia, Marco Giunta’s philosophy “vivre doucement” inspires us to get off the grid, open our senses and be in the moment of experience be it visual, vintage, olfactory or organic.
Luxury can be about the unique emotional connections that are made between places, spaces and people. It is about knowing that seasonal organic products locally grown are at hand, exquisitely and simply prepared and served to make one feel whole.
An insightful traveller may want to mix our brand of luxury with artisanal craft and singular local experiences that provide a strong sense of place and uncontrived engagement with local people. In revaluating authenticity, preciousness, rarity, sustainability and traditional values, we see a desire for a less formal approach. There is an emerging niche for “lean luxury” combining essence with experience which is just as enticing as luxury experiences and surroundings.
In a similar vein, we see conscious travellers seeking sustainable and environmental considerations to be included in their holiday plans. Since these are not commonplace, and indeed more of a rarity, sustainability becomes an opportunity, a catalyst for us to explore new interpretations of luxury. Our approach is to collaborate with villa owners, designers, architects and locals who embrace the notion of sustainability in the built environment.
We have recently acquired new exclusive contemporary villas, each of which demonstrates Lean Luxury in a different way. Villa Majoli and Villa passo degli Aironi are situated in Baia Degli Aironi overlooking the Vendicari Nature Reserve. They offer a unique relationship with the ecology of the surrounding area of outstanding natural beauty. Here, the versatile landscaper Ivan Gallo, has masterfully created a union between the garden and the wider verdant landscape of Vendicari. He has created an extraordinary atmosphere conveying a true sense of the place reflecting the culture, customs and the endearing poetry of the area.
In fact, a whole range of ecological and holistic solo or group activities relating to the wider landscape can be conjured from this amazing configuration. Without disturbing the ecology; cycling or e-cycling, walking, bird watching, snorkeling, personalized yoga or cooking classes, guided wildlife tours are all available from these villas. As traditional Italian design components coexist harmoniously with modern and luxury comforts here, this creates an atmosphere that is, simply put, quite unique!
Villa Cozzo Coniglio, also in the Vendicari area, features distinctive sustainable features in its architectural design without compromising on comfort and style. This adds a new dimension of choice for the ecologically-conscious traveller seeking a holistic approach and a calm modern vernacular architecture.
It is important to realize that Luxury in travel is also about managing the pace of time effortlessly between check-ins and outs. It is about weaving into a personal travel plan a balanced sense of excitement and harmony without disruption from start to finish. This allows the client to feel connected to a place effortlessly. For this, we tailor seamless travel experience to suit each individual need. We cultivate a personal customer relationship and so we know what the customer wants whilst ensuring complete data confidentiality.
For us, Luxury in travel represents an investment in time. This applies not only to the time spent making a travel plan but also to the process of perfecting it. Traditionally makers of luxury are inspired by passion and curiosity for the intricate nature of objects, the potential of materials, and complex techniques where everything is at hand shaped by cultural concerns and personal dreams. Our motivation for high quality travel often exists beyond market demands. It challenges preconceived notions of value and provides an opportunity for adaptation to new paradigms.
Whatever your luxury, at Sicily à la Carte travel is always made personal.