Today was supposed to be the day that I was going to tell you about the many Faster Lane readers who are so switched on when it comes to civil aviation that I had to empty the warehouse to dispense a bumper load of prizes off the back of last week’s quiz. Sadly, this is not quite the case. While some of you did reasonably well, no one scored 100 per cent and I’m struggling to decide if the highest scorer gets the promised prize (one of our Trolley totes) or do I make a little downgrade that’s more representative of the overall score? Just in case you missed it, here’s a speedy recap.
1.
Which airline has understood that the ground experience is integral to overall brand enjoyment and provided a lounge concept so good that you arrive early?
2.
Name the European carrier with the best make-up and hair?
3.
Which European airline wins for having the most masculine, capable crew and consistently good beards?
4.
Can you name the carrier that has a newish in-flight safety video in which the passengers who have been cast for this film are so dreamy, medicated and generally checked out that they don’t stand a chance of evacuating an aircraft that has done a belly landing?
5.
Which supposedly premium airline has made the very bad decision to remove all magazines (including Monocle) from the front of its long-haul aircraft?
6.
Can you name the Asian airline that has no sense of how to conduct service on a six-hour, north-south, overnight flight and thinks it best to just serve dinner, then go straight into breakfast and clatter the night away with the clanking of cutlery and crockery?
7.
Which carrier has had the good sense to build loyalty and create a sense of occasion by introducing a collectable series of destination-focused ceramics for its top customers?
8.
Name the G7 nation that is technologically advanced and a master of big infrastructure and innovative design solutions – but somehow continues to have the most arse-backward immigration and arrivals procedure.
9.
What airline has chosen to fill its home tarmac with decommissioned, sun-baked Boeings and Airbuses when these hulls should really be sitting mothballed in Jordan or Arizona?
10.
What is the most efficient, perfectly designed, best little hub in the Gulf and will be even better when the home carrier takes delivery of more long-haul aircraft?
P.S. Bonus question: Who used to fly 747s from London to their base at the far end of the Med and had Sunday roast beef trolley service, complete with dangerously long carving utensils? I’m talking very early 1990s here.
The good news is that almost all participants passed (the bulk scoring five out of 10), about three landed the bonus question and a lot offered up multiple answers to single questions with accompanying arguments. They were all disqualified. To break the suspense this Sunday morning, here are the correct answers.
1.
Cathay Pacific, with the help of Ilse Crawford, wins for best lounges. No one really comes close.
2.
The ladies of Aegean win for best hair and make-up in Europe.
3.
The best facial hair and overall in-flight air of masculinity in the aisles goes to the men of Portugal’s TAP.
4.
The threesome who star in the newish Swiss safety video are so blissed out and annoying that you hope they get lost on their alpine outing or Switzerland’s aviation authorities have the good sense to yank it – it’s unwatchable and not serving its purpose.
5.
Speaking of things yanked, Swiss has also pulled print from its planes, leaving a bunch of sad, empty racks. What did they miss? Print is the only premium channel that speaks to their top paying passengers.
6.
Many of you identified Asiana and Singapore Airlines for poorly timed overnight meal service but from my experience it’s JAL that needs a smart solution during a five-hour run from Southeast Asia up to Haneda.
7.
Etihad’s destination-based, collectable Arabic coffee cups are not only a smart marketing and loyalty tool, they’re just cute and clever. The carrier still has work to do at the front of the plane but they’re pulling ahead of their regional competitors.
8.
Japan! Sort out your immigration. Please. It’s overly complicated and out of step with the likes of Singapore and the UAE.
9.
Thai Airways. Time to remove all of those sunburnt hulls that greet departing passengers.
10.
Bahrain’s bijou little hub is the best in the Gulf. It will be even better when their new line-up of widebodies arrive.
And for the bonus question, it was Lebanon’s MEA that had a rolling carvery on its 747s in the 1990s. And smoking in the galley. Those were the days.
And the winner(s)?
Congratulations to Otto, Dirk and Bianca. Bravo. Treats airborne.
Happy travels readers.
Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns.
When Oribe co-founders Daniel Kaner and Oribe Canales were developing the hair-care brand, they took inspiration from Jennifer Lopez. Having collaborated with the American pop star for nearly two decades, Canales knew how her perfume would fill a room when she entered and linger long after she exited. “[Canales] snapped his fingers and said, ‘that’s what we’re after,’” says Kaner. The two entrepreneurs worked with scent developer Givaudan to channel that insight into Oribe’s signature fragrance, Côte d’Azur, which combines Calabrian bergamot, sandalwood and white butterfly jasmine.
After spending decades working in the hair care industry – with experience at Aveda as well as Bumble and Bumble – Kaner built a sharp understanding of salon culture and what consumers look for. In 2008 he launched Oribe with Canales, a renowned celebrity hair stylist behind some of the most recognisable looks of the 1990s supermodel heyday. Canales was known for the voluminous styles worn by the likes of Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford as they strutted down the runways for Versace, Chanel and Mugler, and posed across the covers of glossy magazines.
With their combined experience and connection to the wider culture, the duo positioned the label as a fashion brand rather than beauty brand. “Professional products were confined to salons, while mass products lacked aspiration,” says Kaner. “There was an opportunity to build something that combined professional performance with true luxury.”
Though Canales died in 2018, his influence still runs through the company, informing product development, education programmes and marketing campaigns. His stylist-first perspective and instinct for showmanship continue to guide how the label creates and presents its work, still committed to sending their teams to style the runways of fashion weeks around the world.
Today, Oribe is stocked in 3,000 salons and sold in more than 40 countries, with products such as its Dry Texturizing Spray having built a fiercely loyal following (one is sold every 60 seconds). As the brand expands further with the launch of a new curly-hair collection, Kaner speaks to Monocle Radio’s Brenda Tuohy on The Entrepreneurs about scaling a beauty business, brand integrity and the importance of timing in innovation.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Listen to the full interview on The Entrepreneurs from Monocle Radio.
When did you realise that hair care is serious business?
Everybody wants great hair but people don’t know how to [achieve] it. I spent a lot of time in salons with consumers and stylists. That’s how I noticed a gap in the market: every beauty category had a premium tier except hair. Professional products were confined to salons, while mass products lacked aspiration. There was an opportunity to build something that combined professional performance with true luxury. For that, the details matter – from the spray patterns and formulations to the fragrance and packaging. We thought that if we could come close to all of that then maybe we would have a chance of getting there.
Was Oribe’s positioning between fashion, beauty and luxury intentional?
Absolutely. From the outset, we saw the brand as part of the fashion world. Oribe [Canales] was such a cool guy. He was so embedded in that culture and the brand followed suit. In the beginning, we would hear ourselves saying, ‘We’re a fashion brand – not a beauty brand [and] not a hair-care brand,’ because it was so much about fashion, hair, makeup and getting the look. It was quite intense and intentional; it still is today.
How do you expand [the company] without diluting the exclusivity of the brand?
Not all press is good press and not all sales are worthy sales. We always wanted the right curator rather than chasing scale. We stayed with some of the best salon owners in the world and that was really the point of expansion. They [shared] a belief and similar values. They had education within their salons. They believed in beautiful hair and precision. So we’re broadly distributed in the right places, but we’re very selective in who we do business with.
Hairdressers have a special bond with their clients. How do you nurture that loyalty?
You have got to build trust with the team, and through that comes comfort. Once you have that you can do anything you need to do. Customers have such trust with their hairdressers, it’s unbelievable. No amount of social-media engagement can top that connection. A ‘like’ is superficial compared to the intimacy of a client sitting in a chair, telling you about their family.
What would you do differently if [you were to start Oribe] today?
Very little. Challenges with supply chains or partnerships are inevitable but my core approach would be the same: to hire great people, build a strong culture, identify a real need and execute at the highest level. I would still be married to the idea of value creation, where everyone walks away feeling like a winner.
How do you sustain success over time?
Don’t get complacent, keep evolving and experimenting. Success should enable reinvention and momentum creates the perfect opportunity to innovate. Too often businesses exhaust what already works instead of investing in what comes next. I read a book by James Kerr called Legacy and he argues that when you’re at the top of your game, you should change your approach.
As one of Southeast Asia’s most visited destinations, Thailand has hotels for every possible taste and preference.
In our latest travel title, Thailand: The Monocle Handbook, available to order now, we showcase the very best of this sunny nation, including the multitude of excellent hospitality hotspots on offer. Here we round up a few of the book’s hotel highlights – refined city stays and wellness retreats among them – to help you decide where’s best to rest your head.
1.
Capella Bangkok
Bangkok
Capella Bangkok has one of the most coveted locations in the city and each guest pad features a balcony with an unobstructed view of the Chao Phraya river. To further emphasise the expansive vistas, the interiors are finished in a colour scheme of whites, greys and blonde wood. A Himalayan salt scrub treatment followed by a visit to the Tea Lounge makes for the perfect lazy afternoon.
capellahotels.com
2.
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Bangkok
There are few spots better tailored to Bangkok’s business community than the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. Set in the capital’s Ratchaprasong precinct, the hotel is linked to the wider city via the BTS network. The I.Sawan gym and spa provides travellers with the ultimate jet-lag cure. To maximise rest, make sure to check into one of the signature Garden Villas on the building’s verdant fifth floor, which have private terraces perched high above the city.
hyatt.com
3.
Rosewood
Phuket
Of Thailand’s many island hotels, Rosewood Phuket is a standout. Days here are spent dozing on sundecks, being pampered at the Asaya spa and strolling on the shoreline of Emerald Bay. The main pool and its floating walkways are at the heart of the property. “Our job is to make you really slow down and unwind as completely as possible,” says managing director Andrew Turner.
rosewoodhotels.com
4.
The Barai
Hua Hin
The Barai is a sanctum of health and wellbeing. At the heart of the property – accessed via a subtly lit entry sequence – is the spa. Finished in ochre and burgundy tones, this maze of 18 treatment rooms is complete with soaking pools, rain showers and steam rooms. The eight exclusive suites are equally impressive. Sitting on almost 2 hectares (4.5 acres) of beachfront, they boast tailored butler service and pristine views of the Gulf of Thailand.
thebarai.com
5.
Chiva-Som
Hua Hin
Set on a lush, tropical beach in Hua Hin – known as the Hamptons of Thailand – Chiva-Som was one of the country’s first wellness resorts when it opened in 1995. Since then, it has remained a top destination for those looking to relax and reset. The offerings include fitness programmes, treatments (a papaya body wrap does wonders) and organic fare that often uses produce grown on site. Of the 54 teak-and-bamboo-decorated guest rooms, the Leelawadee Suite is ideal for long stays, allowing ample time to root out any leftover tension with a Thai boxing class.
chivasom.com
6.
Raya Heritage
Chiang Mai
Raya Heritage is an example of the magic that happens when contemporary style meets centuries-old traditional knowledge. For two years prior to opening, the design team worked closely with artisans across the region, whose handcrafted furniture, decorative artifacts and accessories were incorporated into the resort’s scheme. It’s all complemented by the modern architectural vision of Boonlert Hemvijitraphan.
rayaheritage.com
7.
Six Senses
Koh Yao Noi
The 56 villas here are decked out with private pools, sunken bathtubs and alfresco dining areas that immerse you in the surrounding natural environment. “Six Senses Yao Noi was born from a vision to let the island speak for itself,” says general manager Graham Grant. Tasteful nods to Thai culture can be found in the hotel’s use of vibrant colours that are typically seen on kolae fishing boats.
sixsenses.com
‘Thailand: The Monocle Handbook’ is available now on Monocle.com and in Monocle shops worldwide.
Friends suggested that we meet for a Sunday morning walk around Regent’s Park. They live close by and we must have done this walk with them hundreds of times over some two decades. It’s something of a weekend ritual if we are all in town. But for the past 10 weeks, since the dog died, we haven’t been to the park. It’s just felt, well, wrong without Macy careering through the gate to locate them, jumping up to kiss them. But we move ahead.
A city park can be a glorious thing and, on Sunday, the place was alive with people like us, doing little more than what the Victorians would have called “taking the air”. Folk wending through the new Queen Elizabeth II Garden, heading to the formal gardens, paying too much for bad coffee, letting children and dogs off the leash along The Broad Walk. There was life and renewal all around.
“Look at that goose!” I said as a hissing mother manoeuvred her flock of distracted goslings out of our way and on to a nearby stretch of grass. There was a general cooing. Then, after a few seconds, one of those questions from the other half – normally the wise owl in this relationship – that makes you wonder what’s going on in his brain.
“Sorry but how come all of you know that’s a goose and not a duck?” We all explained a few of the giveaways: size, the shape of the bill, that one honks and the other quacks. “I really don’t get it,” he retorted, his face sporting the sort of frustrated countenance that I normally produce in my long-suffering Spanish teacher. We might need to go back to basics: “Look at the pictures, which is the elephant and which is the lion?”
Living in a city, in the heart of a place like London, the shifting of the seasons is often gauged by looking at the weather app on your phone. Yet in a great park you see all the subtleties of the seasons arriving and departing up close. The first horse chestnuts – conkers to us Brits – falling from the trees signal that summer is closing down. The arrival of redwings from the Baltic on Regent’s Park’s football pitches let you know that winter is really here. As we walked around the park on Sunday, I realised how much I have missed doing this parade through nature. It felt like adjusting the dial on a radio and finally picking up the right signal.
During the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, the park was our saviour. The laps became a daily ritual, with all four of us when rules allowed. And in that park, the four of us have shared successes, discussed life with a frankness that I value and made each other laugh. There’s something about this promenade, this modest nature-infused perambulation, that gets you talking. And we are not alone in this feeling.
As we pass other walkers you hear snatches of their conversations – bastard boyfriends, ailing mothers, holiday plans gone awry, a problematic flan recipe – all being picked apart among the roses, below the boughs of ancient trees. Perhaps it’s the expanse of the place, the openness and the big skies, but parks are made for confessionals, assignations and problem pastry debates. A park can also offer a sanctuary. Teenage couples, away from parents’ eyes, canoodle on the grass. Women in abayas sit laughing and gossiping on park benches, young girls play football with no annoying boys around. Regent’s Park’s surrounds are home to all walks of life, it serves everyone, provides a forum, a place to play, a democratic space. And all delivered essentially by some trees and grass.
As we departed the park, we agreed to meet here again as soon as schedules coincide. And I made a promise to myself that I will buy the other half a gift, a book, Wild: A Child’s Guide to the Animal Kingdom.
To read more from Andrew Tuck, click here.
A few nights ago, I found myself in the audience at the Hammersmith Odeon, watching David Bowie perform his final gig as Ziggy Stardust. He was transcendent: his voice, more raw and potent than I’d ever known, sweat dripping as he bellowed “Rock‘n’Roll Suicide”. I didn’t head to the afterparty at Café Royal with Bowie and Mick Jagger because, well, it wasn’t July 1973. It was 2026 and I was standing in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, levitating from what could reductively be called an “immersive experience”.
I have spent the better part of five years fatigued by exhibitions and such that label themselves “immersive”. Not traditional art shows, obviously, or sculpture parks or even art islands. It’s more the modern pursuit of finding yourself in a cavernous, often freezing, space in an industrial part of town because somebody told you that it was a good place to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Perhaps you know the sort of thing: a projection of a once-great oil painting stretched awkwardly across four walls. A floor “transformed” into a low-res lilypond. And your hard-earned cash spent on the privilege of standing inside what is essentially a Powerpoint presentation. Humanity, once again, humiliated by the technology designed to make life better.
This push and pull between artistry and technology is nothing new, of course. Look at David Hockney. I loved the 2010 controversy around the then-septuagenarian Hockney creating vast exhibitions from images that he had drawn on an iPad. I also loved it when Hockney said, “Sometimes I get so carried away, I wipe my fingers afterwards thinking that there’s paint on them.”
The sentiment raised an interesting question: if an artist gets lost in the process of making art with a digital tool, as they had previously with a more traditional medium such as oil paint, why is the final output seen as less valid?
Well, frankly, because digital art is often not very good. AI is the digital tool du jour and is largely, in the context of creating art, seen as cheating. A dirty shortcut. A quick route to something human-seeming rather than the genuine article.
I have often wondered how I would feel if I cried at a lyric only to discover afterwards that it had been generated by AI. Fury? Betrayal? Embarrassment? The thought leaves me cold. It also explains why I have increasingly found myself fantasising about moving to the windswept Highlands, where technology or AI or immersive exhibitions are not deemed as necessary. I cannot tell you how many things need charging in my London daily life.
All this is to say that my delight at the new immersive David Bowie exhibition came as such a shock. You’re Not Alone is produced by Lightroom, designed by 59, a Journey studio, and directed by Tom Wexler and 59’s Mark Grimmer (creative director for the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition). It is so spectacular, such a feat of creative execution, that I realised I didn’t care if the entire thing was made from AI (as it goes, it was not).
I still don’t quite understand how they managed it but You’re Not Alone has pulled off something extraordinary. An immersive exhibition that left me feeling not as though I had watched a Bowie retrospective (through some clever use of tech) but as though I had actually attended a Bowie gig (through some clever use of tech). Absurd. Thrilling.
The whole show is dazzling from start to finish. An immaculate union of sound and vision. Across four towering walls and a great big ceiling, Bowie appears and disappears through kaleidoscopic collages and fragments that swoosh all around you. The concert footage is so vivid, so vast and so loud, you feel as though you are standing front of stage at Live Aid, 1985.
What delighted me most was the intimacy of it all. And the sense throughout that Bowie himself would absolutely love it. Despite the scale – the massive walls, the booming, swallow-you-up surround sound – the exhibition pulls you closer to our star as you journey through his many forms. At one point, Bowie discusses William Burroughs’s cut-up technique while pieces of handwritten lyrics scatter across the floor beneath your feet. It’s a clever reminder of the act of making things. No matter the tools, this level of creativity is distinctly human.
Emily Bryce-Perkins is a London-based writer. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
Want more?
– Can artificial intelligence make real art – or just great imitations?
– As AI threatens cushy desk jobs, it’s time to re-evaluate manual labour
– AI imitations could never replace the art of Studio Ghibli
It’s a bright spring morning when Monocle meets with Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin in their sunny studio, a former printing factory tucked between Milan’s Crescenzago and Cimiano neighbourhoods. The duo established the research-led practice Formafantasma in 2009, working on both client commissions and self-initiated research projects that explore ecological, historical, political and social forces.
Across more than 15 years of work, they have established academic courses at the likes of Design Academy Eindhoven, published books aimed at demystifying environmental science and developed design-led business strategies for furniture firms such as Finland’s Artek. They have also fulfilled no shortage of the more standard briefs, including spatial design for Marni’s Milan Fashion Week show this year, exhibition design for the newly opened Fondation Cartier in Paris and lighting for Italy’s Flos. The breadth of the portfolio is matched by the quality, which has earned them the nod as Designers of the Year in Monocle’s 2026 Design Awards. Here we dig into their approach and outlook to design.
Your practice spans everything from industrial and spatial design to curation. How do you ensure consistency across disciplines?
Simone Farresin: Design sits between economy, ecology, visual culture and the lives of people. So, why is it so strange that in our work we implement and explore all of these? Design has been described as a study and an aesthetic tool but the best designers never work in this way alone. Enzo Mari, for instance, was very political in his work; Charles and Ray Eames worked for corporations and films. These people have always been our references.
Andrea Trimarchi: There is a history of people who work across multiple media. It’s only in the past 20 years that we have become very set, with people only working on exhibition design, products or fashion.
How do you start to tackle problems and respond to briefs? Do you have a typical approach?
SF: We are visual people. We come from visual culture. We’ve always been interested in design, architecture and art – that’s our DNA. We have a sensitivity where we understand the world through that visual lens. But we also see the complexity that lays behind things. The two are not separate. Then there is the fact that there are two of us, so our work is conversational. Our world does not involve someone sitting down at a table in isolation and starting to draw something. We’re much more about these words that lead us toward the positioning of the design, rather than only an expressive act from an individual.
AT: We don’t think about our work insolation. Take the Superwire for Flos. It’s a beautiful lamp on its own but there’s deeper thinking behind it. It’s repairable and that stems from a project researching electronic waste that we did many years ago. Patterns start emerging between these works.
As a society, are we too scared of taking risks or being critical?
SF: Yes. There are a lot of people in our industry who will say ‘we can’t do that because people won’t understand’ – and that makes me nuts. Generally, the only people that don’t understand are in the room. There’s a perceived superiority over people in the streets. That’s why we watch horrible movies and have bad journalism – we underestimate the people.
AT: In any case, it feels like everything boils down to simplification – that’s in the cultural world and industry too. Sometimes this manifests in meetings where people want to remove details or even components, such as screws. But you don’t always need to remove the screws. It’s fine to see how things are connected. We don’t always need smooth and perfectly reflective surfaces. It’s a beautiful metaphor – if we smooth out all the friction, then eventually we will just fall asleep.
How do you remain motivated?
SF: The world is increasingly conservative right now, from politics to products. There is fatigue and a sense that we are overloaded with things. We see companies being bought by other companies being bought by corporations, so people go to work in the morning with the objective of making more money. If you have that as your objective, it’s not economy but culture – and that culture shapes our reality. So, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do something meaningful, which is probably why our practice is so expansive.
AT: In this specific moment in time, we should go beyond surfaces. Design should never feel superficial to me. The best designers have always worked in moments of emergency.
formafantasma.com
Further reading:
– All 25 winners of the 2026 Monocle Design Awards
One might reasonably quibble about some things UK prime minister Keir Starmer has or has not done in office, especially the things that he said he would or would not do before acquiring it. But if there is one thing that Starmer absolutely promised his watch would be blessedly free of, it is what is occurring right now: internecine psychodrama over the leadership of the governing party.
Starmer’s pitch to voters ahead of the general election of 2024 was, in essence: seriously, you’ll hardly know I’m there, you can just sort of have me on in the background. The country will be competently and above all quietly run, and you can all go about your days without worrying you’ve missed – or had your pension gutted by – the latest instalment of the interminable Westminster soap opera. Voters exhausted by a near decade of Brexit-related commotion among Conservative governments that had chewed up and spat out five prime ministers in the previous eight years duly delivered Starmer and his Labour Party the kind of landslide that would, in previous and less febrile eras, have set a prime minister up for a decade in power.
Instead, after not quite two years in Downing Street, Starmer finds himself attempting to quell mutiny in his own ranks. Last week’s local elections were more or less the massacre that had been widely anticipated, with Labour losing nearly 1,500 councillors, as well as 38 councils – and Wales, the politics of which Labour has long been accustomed to dominating.
It was known that Starmer and Labour were unpopular: everyone understood that the 2024 election was not a hearty endorsement of them but a vigorous, vindictive kicking of the other mob. But the local elections made it clear how unpopular and how real the threat is from the Greens and Reform UK, angry insurgents to Labour’s left and right. Leaders of political parties have certainly been ejected for less. It’s a common refrain felt in the halls of power from Paris to Berlin too.
But it does not necessarily follow that handing Starmer a silver salver bearing a revolver and a tumbler of whisky and suggesting that he take a walk in the woods would improve matters in Britain. In France, rattling through five prime ministers in the past two years has done little to placate populist seething. In Germany, unloading a chancellor in a similar position to Starmer – new to the job, already unpopular – would surely only concede further ground to the professionally furious fringes.
Aside from anything else, it is not like Labour boasts an obvious successor to Starmer or even a terrifically plausible one. All the bookmakers’ favourites appear dauntingly weighted. Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, is popular with the party but less so with the public and was compelled to resign from the cabinet for underpaying taxes on a property purchase. Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health, is reportedly disliked within the party and in the 2024 election went a whisker from losing his seat to a pro-Palestine independent. Andy Burnham, the (relatively) well-liked mayor of Greater Manchester, doesn’t even have a seat in Parliament, until or unless a convenient by-election can be orchestrated.
But there’s another argument beyond the lack of credible alternatives for leaving the incumbent where he is. It is to observe the wisdom attributed to a previous prime minister, Lord Salisbury: “Change? Aren’t things bad enough as they are?” Governing a country at the best of times is difficult. Reviving one that has had 14 years wasted by the previous bunch was always going to be bigger than a two-year task.
Starmer has, indisputably, been vague and indecisive: one rebel MP, Jess Phillips, was painfully correct when she resigned her ministerial post, sighing that “the desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument”. He is an uninspiring communicator and has made bizarre unforced errors – helping himself to free suits, as if he cannot afford his own, and appointing to the UK’s embassy in Washington a man widely known to be hopelessly compromised.
But if Starmer can hang on to his job – and as of this writing that’s what he says he intends to do – he now knows for certain that he has little left to lose. He should start governing accordingly.
Andrew Mueller is Monocle’s contributing editor and the host of ‘The Foreign Desk’.
If you name your business after the neighbourhood that it serves, you better be confident that you understand its peculiarities and daily rhythms. Terreno Barrio hotel in Palma de Mallorca is doing just that, tapping the energy of its locale to offer both visitors and residents a dive into the island’s design and culture.
Wealthy families began building summer residences on the hills of Terreno in the 19th century. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1970s, stars such as Alain Delon, Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich dropped in for drinks and dalliances at bars and clubs in the area. When mass tourism encouraged hotels to open along the Paseo Marítimo, the streets above fell from memory. During the 1990s, Terreno became the go-to for urban youth looking to party a little too hard. But now, after decades of inertia, the neighbourhood is experiencing a renaissance.
Noticing an uptick in interest, Lydia Piñero acquired an apartment block designed in 1935 by famed local architect Francesc Casas, as well as a plot next door to create a hotel. “You can see Bellver Castle from here,” she says, pointing at the turrets peaking out from the forest above. “It dates from the 14th century and is one of the only circular medieval castles in Europe. The forest begins right behind us and below is the newly renovated Paseo Marítimo, so it’s a beautiful area for walking.” Piñero called on her friends Jaime Oliver (who featured in our Mallorcan makers Expo of issue 154) and Paloma Hernaiz from Palma-based architecture firm Ohlab and built a masterplan for Terreno Barrio: a 41-room hotel with a gym, spa, cinema, rooftop pool and public amenities such as a coffee shop, co-working area and retail space at ground level.
Oliver describes the project in terms of integration: “We see the old building, with guest rooms and a restaurant, as the ‘stage’ and the new timber-clad edifice, which houses more rooms and the amenities, as the ‘bazaar’,” he says. “We have turned the private property between them into a public alley that connects the streets above to those below. We wanted the project to work for the neighbourhood. Not just for visitors but for local residents too.”
Ohlab compiled a roster of Mallorcan artists, artisans, designers and manufacturers to furnish and decorate the hotel. Rubble from the demolished building that once stood on the plot next door (which once housed an infamous nightclub and brothel) has been turned into terrazzo that is scattered throughout the hotel’s bathrooms and communal areas. Artist Sylvia Sánchez Montoya created a heavy curtain from unwanted Mallorcan sheep’s wool that now veils the inner workings of the restaurant.
Ohlab also commissioned regional firms to execute its designs. The hotel’s brass bar counter, bottle rack, cold station and DJ counter, in addition to the minibars, mirrors and open wardrobes in the guest rooms, were produced in collaboration with product designers 2monos. Lamps in the restaurant, nightclub and rooms were made with lighting designers Contain. “We never use external lighting consultants,” says Hernaiz. “We develop it all ourselves with local designers because we think it is one of the most important elements.” The list of Mallorcan collaborators goes on to include Adriane Escarfullery, Nico Guevara, Studio Islas, Introvl and Huguet among others.
Art can be found at every corner of the hotel, and again, local craftspeople were commissioned for them. Jaime’s brother Pedro Oliver hand-painted freeform motifs with accents in neon lights above every bed and, in the alley, guests will find Albert Pinya-painted murals and graffiti in addition to a public sculpture. Brazilian chef Gabriel Conti – another friend of Piñero and Ohlab who made his home in Mallorca more than 20 years ago – has created a menu for restaurant Destape where locally sourced ingredients such as monkfish, turbot, tuna and beef line the open grill.
In keeping with the egalitarian concept, Oliver explains the hotel’s approach to F&B. “Destape is elevated and refined but just below it there is a public thoroughfare where anyone can grab a coffee and sit,” he says. “We even have a takeaway window planned for the alley. The important thing is that we bring together the activators for the space and make it accessible for different budgets.”
Now that the rooms in the old building as well as the tables at Destape and the invite-only nightclub, Dos Rombos, are all open for bookings, the world is getting a glimpse at a hospitality concept that acknowledges the local economy. When the second phase of the project opens in June, Terreno will have a worthy new resident – one that deserves its moniker and place in the neighbourhood.
terrenohotel.com
Further reading:
The complete Monocle city guide to Palma
Ohlab’s House in the Mountains celebrates the overlooked beauty of Palma
As the Eurovision Song Contest marks its 70th anniversary in Vienna this week, there’s concern that controversy will play a more vocal role than the music at Europe’s carnival of camp. Five countries have decided to boycott this year in response to Israel’s inclusion in the event. Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland will not perform – notable absences considering Spain contributes significantly to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, and Ireland has won the contest seven times.
It’s the continuation of a theme after last year’s competition was mired in a similar controversy – many countries cried foul when the Israeli contestant finished with a surprisingly high number of votes. It was later revealed that the Israeli government, which had recently been accused of genocide by a UN commission, had unfairly influenced the contest through a wide-spread advertising campaign conducted in multiple languages, urging voters to use their maximum allocation on Israel’s contestant.
In response, the EBU has changed its voting system this year. “We’ve listened and we’ve acted,” says Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest. The changes include a reduced vote capacity to 10, the return of jury voting in the semi-finals and stricter regulation to limit third-party promotion. It’s a step forward but it’s unlikely to quiet the storm.
Having attended Eurovision a dozen times for Monocle, I can attest that the whole experience has become palpably more tense year on year. At the St Jakobshalle Arena in Basel 2025, the audience froze once it became clear that the big winner might be Israel. Inside, it felt as though a riot might ensue.
But let’s be clear, the song contest – no matter the spiralling politics around it – remains loved by millions. A whopping 166 million TV viewers tuned in for the 2025 final and it has even begun franchising too, with the very first Eurovision Song Contest Asia being held in Bangkok this November. For all the events this week, including the two semi-finals and dress rehearsals, more than 95,000 tickets have been sold. Fans are flying in from more than 70 countries and an ever-growing US fanbase now makes up the fifth largest group of ticket-buyers – more than the Italians or French.
As Monocle’s informally titled Eurovision correspondent, I can at least attest that when it comes to the music, your usual melange of extravagant Europop will be served up piping hot. We have the runaway favourite Finns with their energetic “Liekinheitin” and Greece might have a chance with the hyper-pop catchiness of “Ferto”.
The EBU is no doubt in a tricky situation, battling boycotts, protests and seemingly uncertain of its own moral guidelines. But no one will convince me that this is the end of the Eurovision Song Contest. It remains a delectable pop feast, so here are five songs to tuck into ahead of this Saturday’s final:
1.
Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen, ‘Liekinheitin’
This one will give you goosebumps. Renowned Finnish violinist Linda Lampenius shares the stage with singer Pete Parkkonen. It’s a classical-meets-pop mashup and, as the title suggests, there are plenty of flames onstage too.
2.
Greece: Akylas, ‘Ferto’
Don’t be fooled by the hyperpop beats: “Ferto” is a reflection on overconsumption and a touching tribute to the singer’s mother.
3.
Australia: Delta Goodrem, ‘Eclipse’
Australia decided to send one of its biggest pop stars to the competition this year with the enjoyable ballad “Eclipse”. After not qualifying for the final in the past two years, the Aussies are bringing out the big guns.
4.
Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund, ‘Før Vi Går Hjem’
Søren Torpegaard has played the leads in the Danish versions of West Side Story, Kinky Boots and Romeo & Juliet. Now he’s back with a great pop anthem. As you might have guessed, it’s rather dramatic and all about forbidden love.
5.
Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu, ‘Choke Me’
This electro-rock hit might not be for everyone. Despite the debate around the song’s title, you have to admit her performance is full throttle.
Fernando Augusto Pacheco is Monocle Radio’s senior correspondent. For more from Fernando, read:
– Why São Paulo should rethink its plan to give up its reputation as an ad-free metropolis
– Aitana, the new voice of Catalan electropop
The sixth instalment in our Handbook series is a practical and inspirational guide to this beloved corner of Southeast Asia. Order your copy today and start dreaming up your sunny getaway.
