THE ROBB REPORT STAFF

Whether you’re a design diva, a connoisseur of culinary delights, or just want to end the year in style, we have you covered.

Something Wild Two female lions, appearing only marginally concerned with our presence, laze around the carcass of the young impala they killed minutes ago. Lions spend as many as 23 hours each day dozing, and these two, not unlike many of us, cannot decide which is the more enticing option: to sleep or to eat. […]

Water World The 161-foot Feadship Teleost, docked at the 3-year-old Wharf Marina, cuts a distinct silhouette. In the Caribbean, this vessel would not appear particularly remarkable, but here she is the only megayacht in the only marina in the Seychelles that can accommodate boats her size, and she is 100 feet longer than any other […]

The 99-room Mandarin Oriental, Prague (+420.233.088.888, http://www.mandarinoriental.com) sits in the heart of the Czech city’s Malá Strana, or Little Quarter, on a slope that rises from the Vltava River to Prague Castle. Dating to the 13th century, the neighborhood is a maze of cobblestone lanes lined with restaurants, art galleries, and foreign embassies. The Mandarin […]

When the U.S. military closed its supply base on the South Pacific island of Bora Bora after World War II, many American personnel reportedly were hesitant to leave, and some had to be removed by force. “We are in one of the most beautiful places on the planet,” says Milton Sgarbi, general manager of the […]

Considerable out-of-the-box thinking went into the Lazzara 75 LSX Quad (813.835.5300, http://www.lazzarayachts.com). In a unique configuration, four Volvo Penta IPS 600 engines, aligned across the stern, deliver 2,400 hp to eight counterrotating, forward-facing propellers. Using a joystick, you operate the propulsion units in unison, experiencing a degree of maneuverability that no other shallow-draft vessel offers. […]

In February, the Fairmont Mayakoba resort’s new El Camaleón Mayakoba (888.252.5020, http://www.mayakoba.com) hosted the first-ever PGA Tour event in Mexico. Perhaps it was appropriate that, on a golf course filled with one delightful quirk after another, the tournament victor was named Funk. Fred Funk triumphed in a playoff at El Camaleón, despite a final-round drive […]

Ad Hoc (707.944.2487), as its name suggests, was conceived by Thomas Keller for a very specific purpose: to generate some cash flow from the former Wine Garden restaurant in Yountville, Calif., while the French Laundry owner grappled with the challenge of transforming the building into his then-latest culinary brainchild, Burgers and Half Bottles. When Ad […]

The Davidoff Aniversario Robusto 100 (800.232.8436, http://www.davidoff.com) was the third and final cigar that Davidoff produced in 2006 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the late Zino Davidoff’s birth. The 5 x 50 robusto’s blend includes the same well-aged rare tobaccos found in the two limited-edition perfectos that Davidoff released earlier, the 6 3/4 x […]

The new Poro Poro community on Costa Rica’s Papagayo Peninsula demonstrates how Exclusive Resorts (800.447.8988, http://www.exclusiveresorts.com) distinguishes itself from every other destination club. Consisting of 21 four-bedroom homes and a 20,000-square-foot beach club (with two pools, a fitness center, a game room, and a restaurant), the 20-acre, $75 million development is open only to Exclusive […]