Villa on View.
Your weekly up-close view of those wow factor extras that make our villas outstanding. After all, attention to detail always makes a difference.
Fabulous Christmas Menus in Niseko
Powder snow, the finest in the world. Après-ski cocktails, mixed by skilled bartenders. Dining? Only the very best. Welcome to Niseko, where luxury and high-quality is the starting standard for everything. If you’re planning to spend Christmas here, we confess that the most decadent feasts are those that can be delivered to your chalet by Niseko Gourmet. However, if you want to step out and are looking for options in town, we’ve hand-picked our three favourite places for Christmas dining, just for you.
KAMIMURA
Chef Yuichi Kamimura spent his formative years in his parent’s restaurant. He worked with Chef Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney for ten years and then returned to his hometown Hokkaido to open Kamimura. The Michelin-starred Kamimura restaurant is famous for its exquisite dishes and quality ingredients. For Christmas, this iconic fine dining restaurant serves a special nine-course degustation menu, matched with an array of wines.
LA VILLA LUPICIA
La Villa Lupicia combines fresh Japanese ingredients with European recipes to create dishes that are a melting pot of continents. French and other European cuisines reflect in each dish, served here with special tea and bread. For Christmas, La Villa Lupicia’s menu includes Oyster and Crispy Seaweed served with fresh cheese, Soup with Smoked Scallops and Chinese Ham, Turkey marinated with herbal vinegar, and Roast Hokkaido Venison with Wild Grape Sauce, all for JPY 12k per person.
THE VALE BAR & GRILL
The Vale Bar & Grill, as the name suggests, is a steakhouse, grill and seafood restaurant. It is renowned for using premium ingredients and for hearty portions that satisfy even the most ardent meat lover. You may also pick from the vegetarian and seafood options on the menu.
You might be interested in
The Most Festive Bali Beachclubs on Christmas
You’ve arrived in glorious Bali for your Christmas holiday and your villa is perfection defined. All your needs are catered to and every second is a moment spent in paradise. When it comes to celebrating Christmas, there could be nothing more exclusive than a special feast cooked for you by your villa chef. However, if you prefer stepping out for a change of scene, you may celebrate in style at any of these beach clubs, which have special menus planned for Christmas.
OMNIA BALI
Originally from Las Vegas, Omnia’s Bali outpost is every bit as decadent. The cliffside club, located in Uluwatu, is stunning in blue and white, offering a social space like none other. International DJs perform regularly and Sake no Hana, its signature restaurant overlooking the club, is known for its delicious menu. This season, Sake No Hana offers a ‘joyful and suprising Christmas special’ with starters, makimono, agemono, yakimono and dessert for IDR 1,800k. Come and relish a Japanese feast in Bali this Christmas.
FINNS BEACH CLUB
You might be interested in
Discover Gourmet Cuisine in Koh Samui
Thailand’s leisure island of Koh Samui holds a priority position on the bucket list of every chic traveller. With Mick Jagger, Richard Branson and the Beckhams drawn to the divine destination, the island’s enviable reputation for barefoot luxury is set in stone.
Powder-soft white sand beaches dotted with swaying palm trees and a glittering turquoise sea set a spectacular scene.
Private coves and hidden beaches abound, and can be easily discovered by hiring a boat or a luxury yacht. Alternatively, you can marvel at exquisite marine life and colourful coral by putting on your snorkelling gear and heading into the blue water.
Exclusive holiday villas are always the preferred style of accommodation among the rich and discerning, and many already own a private property on the island. However, the well-versed traveller knows the joys of simply renting a private luxury villa to experience the ultimate holiday.
Personal Chefs
Chefs attached to these luxury villas are unique professionals with a vast repertoire of dishes fulfilling all dining moments – snacks, kids’ choices, a broad western menu, specific diets and five-star flavours.
Order a stunning poolside seafood barbecue, a formal degustation feast for 12 people or an intimate dinner for two at a perfectly set table on the beach at sunset. It is all possible and seamlessly executed.
Chefs enjoy showcasing regional specialities and dazzling guests with their culinary magic. Start the day with a trip to the local wet market, a great cultural immersion, and launch into a crash course in Thai cooking.
Learn to identify and select fresh ingredients to be pounded into the paste that you will turn into a creamy and lush coconut curry. Or as the afternoon heat sets in, climb into a comfy hammock with a cool signature cocktail and have a chat with the villa manager about possible trips to one of the pretty waterfalls in the hinterland, a traditional sea gypsy village or a visit to one of many Buddhist temples whilst your personal chef surprises you with yet another Thai masterpiece.
Dining at any one of our luxurious Koh Samui villas is a gourmand’s dream come true. It is a pleasure to leave behind the stresses of locating a touristy stall in town,
You might be interested in
Chef du jour: Villa Ban Suriya
A huge wooden deck nestling a lavish swimming pool and spilling out onto the palm-shaded garden is the focal point of the absolute beachfront Villa Ban Suriya, located along Lipa Noi Beach in Koh Samui. Each of the six elegant bedrooms has large glass doors, leading onto the pool deck or lawned gardens. The villa features lavish living spaces, both within the air-conditioned pavilions and outdoors, surrounded by tropical beauty.
Guests at Villa Ban Suriya are spoilt for choice, with their own gym, a spa room, an astonishing sunken library which allows underwater views into the large infinity-edge pool, and an outdoor projector screen for movie nights. It’s the perfect villa for swimming the day away and counting the stars in the evening–making for a luxurious and relaxing vacation in paradise.
We sat down with the villa’s Chef Max, who told us a bit about his culinary journey.
Elite Havens: Hi Chef Max, do you helm the kitchen here at Ban Suriya?
Chef Max: We have five chefs who rotate between nine villas, so I have to move around.
EH: What do you like to cook?
CM: I like cooking Thai food. But many chefs here specialise in Thai food, so I try to be different. If you really ask me what I like to make—it would be sushi, which also happens to be one of my favourite foods. I used to work in a Thai restaurant, but they offered sushi on their menu.
EH: For how long did you work there?
CM: I worked in the restaurant for five years, but I was the one in charge of sushi for three years.
EH: Tell us about your culinary journey before you joined the restaurant.
CM: My journey is unique as I was a private chef with a Russian family and lived around the world.
EH: Where did you stay?
CM: They have homes in Cypress, Austria, Moscow, and they also have a villa in Thailand. So, I would follow them around and got to stay in so many countries around the world.
EH: That sounds intriguing. What did they like to eat?
CM: My sushi was their absolute favourite thing to eat.
Keep Fit with Elite Havens’ In-villa Personal Trainers
Do you wish you could have it all: great food, binge nights, and none of the weight gain? When you indulge in a fantastic holiday at one of our elite havens in Bali, we can assure that you leave your villa without any extra pounds. Just arrange for one of our in-villa personal trainers and work off those vacation calories. Say hello to a few of our best trainers on the island, highly recommended by our expert Concierge team.
ELITE HAVENS TRAINERS
FIKRY
Firky is your man when you want to keep up your fitness routine while on holiday. It goes without saying that overeating, drinking and all-round indulgence can take a toll on your waistline.
Fikry, our in-house personal trainer, will come to you so there is no need to leave your luxury villa. He is a qualified Muay Thai coach and offers a variety of different training options including boxing, bootcamp, TRX and circuit-style along with specialised and bespoke weight loss programs. He’ll bring all necessary equipment with him and if you have the advantage of staying in one of our villas which has an onsite gym, he can plan your personalised routine basis the equipment available.
KOMANG
Our internationally qualified yoga and healing practitioner, Komang is highly skilled and has taught around the world. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table and specialises in combining spiritual healing techniques with physical fitness.
Komang teaches a range of classes- vinyasa flow, hatha, chakra, power yin and yang, as well as aqua yoga, for all skill levels. She also offers alternative healing sessions such as chakra balancing and Balinese blessing and cleansing ceremonies.