hier komt de zon
Because you might have accidentally missed a magazine: this is one of our favorite articles that you want to dive into. Fire on, warm cocoa in a mug or a bubbly in the glass (that’s fine too) and just enjoy reading.
Celebrity summer holiday hotspots
You strike a pose on a more than average super-deluxe yacht, are 24/7 Instagram alert, your entire lifestyle breathes luxury and glamour, the camera loves you and is always nearby. Just some ingredients that are characteristic of an A-lister from the world of music, fashion, and film. Being on the road a lot is part of their life: a fashion shoot on a tropical island, a concert in Las Vegas, filming somewhere in the jungle… With a life in the spotlight, you might imagine that these celebrities long for a relaxed staycation. Just floating in your own pool and paparazzi-proof lounging in your hammock. Anonymous and without cameras. Not at all. A day without spotlights feels like a day not lived.
No.1 Saint Bart
The Saint Tropez of the Caribbean
The fact that this Caribbean island is part of France explains the mix of the laissez-faire feeling of the Caribbean lifestyle and the cosmopolitan jet-set life that we know from Saint-Tropez. Parties on multimillion yachts and Michelin-starred restaurants where champagne bottles are emptied as if they were mineral water, make celebrities, models, and it-girls like Bella Hadid and Jessica Alba keep coming back to this tropical paradise. Be warned: landing by plane is a trial, I know from personal experience. Brace yourself: the landing is super fast and frighteningly steep because the 650-meter-long runway is just behind a high mountain. Taking a ferry from Sint Maarten seems to me a better alternative for scaredy-cats like me.
The high season in Saint-Barth takes place between Christmas and New Year. The island then transforms into a kind of summer camp for celebrities who party on their expensive yachts or at locations that are a contemporary version of Studio 54 in the open air. During that period, there is a good chance that you will run into celebs like Beyoncé (and Jay-Z of course), Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Heidi Klum, Jessica Alba, Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, or Simon Cowell.
Tip: Outside the season, not much happens, keep in mind that many shops and restaurants are closed then. It may seem relaxed and pleasant because the prices are friendlier, but realize that this exciting island in winter is nothing more than a somewhat sleepy, uninteresting
little island in the tropics.
No.2 Dubai
Disney in the desert
When you say Dubai, I think Disneyland for grown-ups. No bigger than our province of North Brabant, hidden in an endless sandy desert, Dubai is considered the ultimate playground for the snobbish well-to-do tourist. Everything is big, bigger, biggest. For example, it has the tallest building in the world: Burj Khalifa (828 meters high). Furthermore, Dubai has the only seven-star hotel in the world, Burj Al Arab, with prices starting from 1250 euros per night, and you will also find the largest shopping mall in the world, the Dubai Mall. And what about Palm Jumeirah, an artificially created island in the shape of a palm tree? All of this drenched in a hefty dose of gold and marble gives Dubai a magical allure to the international jet set.
If you talk about spotting celebrities, then Dubai is where you need to be. Despite all these imaginative hotels, beaches, and attractions, Dubai has never been high on my personal wishlist, although that largest shoe store in the world in the Dubai Mall made me quite curious. What drew me over the line and made me decide to take a trip of glitter and glamour was everything to do with the recently opened Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. I saw a documentary about the creation of that project and immediately knew that I wanted to see this incredibly designed building – designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel – with my own eyes. The distance between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is just under 150 kilometers. A transfer including tickets for the museum can be arranged on-site.
No.3 the Hamptons
Ralph Lauren's Lifestyle
The Hamptons is the collective name for a number of popular seaside resorts on Long Island. For decades, it has had a huge appeal to the American elite who retreat for a weekend or longer to escape the hectic life in New York. Since I regularly work in NY, I thought it would be a good idea to combine my visit with a few days on Long Island. Once I arrived, I was overwhelmed by the unpleasant feeling of being part of an iconic Ralph Lauren setting: country-style houses with porches, the scent of potpourri, neatly mowed grass, and endless beaches. Crisp and clean. Fine, but in my opinion, a bit too tame Zonnatura content. Fortunately, the vibrant, always inspiring Manhattan is less than two hours away, so you understand: it was a short escape. I realize that this visit would have gone totally differently if I had been there with family or friends. The coziness on Long Island mainly takes place in and around the summer houses and on the private beaches.
Conclusion: Go, if you want to see with your own eyes where the New York jet set drinks their latte macchiato. But don't expect to easily make contact as an outsider.
No.4 Saint Tropez
French Riviera
The French Riviera has been the favorite hotspot for the rich and famous and creatives since around 1850. Artists like Picasso and Van Gogh were inspired by the nature and the mysterious light, while Coco Chanel made sure that a tanned skin became the bon ton among the jet set around 1926. Until around 1920, old beach photos show that bathers covered themselves from head to toe and sought protection in the shade. It was the French fashion queen Coco Chanel who changed that: by getting a tan during a South French cruise on her lover's ship, that tan became fashionable among the jet set through her fashion shows.
When the film And God Created Woman was released in 1956, it was not only a breakthrough for Brigitte Bardot as one of the most seductive and sexiest movie stars ever, Saint-Tropez (where the film was shot) was also transformed from a sleepy fishing village in Provence to the town we know today: super glamorous, packed with celebrities, and with a harbor where the most beautiful, largest, and most expensive yachts in the world are docked. Since then, countless Hollywood actors, international stars, crowned heads, models, and designers from the fashion world have chosen the French Riviera as their summer residence.
No.5 Croatia
Celebs who love nature and culture choose the newest hotspot
Hvar is undoubtedly the trendiest and most decadent island in Croatia and the ultimate destination for anyone who loves a life in the public eye. If your heart races at the thought of elegant parties, chic clubs, and design hotels combined with a rich history and culture, then this is the perfect spot to spend the summer. If you are looking for peace, you are also in the right place on Hvar. Relax on the beaches of the Pakleni Islands or at one of the pristine bays around the island.
The enormous number of famous visitors (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Sharon Stone, Tom Cruise, the Beckhams, George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Goldie Hawn, and Kurt Russell, and yes, yes, Kevin Spacey) naturally provides constant fodder for the entertainment press. The story goes that Beyoncé posed in a bikini for a blue tree during a morning walk, announcing that she would name her daughter after that tree. Indeed, the girl now goes by Blue Ivy, and loads of tourists visit the spot where the pregnant Beyoncé posed for the tree.
