Image courtesy of @villa.palladio.jaipur

The new luxury isn’t about what’s on your wrist - it’s the passport stamps, the private transfers, the way your WhatsApp says “last seen 4 days ago” because you’re somewhere that doesn’t care about Wi-Fi.

After years of logo fatigue and influencer sameness, the true flex is mobility - being untethered, spontaneous, and elusive. The wealthy no longer buy to be seen. They buy to escape. Think longer trips, smaller suitcases, and wardrobes built for ease rather than status.

The modern icon isn’t the person seen front-row - it’s the one whose out-of-office reply feels like a lifestyle. The one quietly checking into a 12-room property in Puglia or taking a long residency in Jaipur - not because it’s trending, but because it’s time.

“Travel has become the purest expression of modern luxury: steering away from the desire to accumulate, but rather seeking the freedom to design a life rich in stories. Remote destinations, cultural insider access, and personal exploration are shaping a new kind of luxe consumer.” - Saheba Sodhi, Global Head of Strategy, MCH Global.

Here’s where the new luxury lives right now - five destinations redefining what it means to arrive…

Our Habitas AlUla – AlUla, Saudi Arabia

Set between sandstone cliffs and silence, Habitas feels more like a mirage than a resort. It’s barefoot luxury at its most poetic - where wellness means waking up to desert light and dinner happens under constellations, not chandeliers. No phones. No pretence. Just presence. Book here

Image courtesy of @habitasalula

Borgo Egnazia – Puglia, Italy

If Italian summer had a scent, it would live here - olive oil, limestone, sea breeze. Borgo Egnazia isn’t a hotel, it’s a cinematic village. Locals on bicycles, candlelit courtyards, and that intoxicating ease that only comes when you forget what day it is. Book here

Image courtesy of @borgoegnazia

Villa Palladio - Jaipur, India

If Wes Anderson designed an Indian dreamscape, it would look like Villa Palladio. This nine-room hideaway is a fever dream of scarlet walls, candy stripes, and Mughal-meets-Mediterranean fantasy. It’s a mood board for maximalist romance, designed for those who like their escapism with a touch of theatre. Book here

Image courtesy of @villa.palladio.jaipur

Patina Maldives – Fari Islands, Maldives

Design-led and sustainably built, Patina feels like the future of island luxury - glass, geometry, and a rhythm that syncs with the ocean. Think art installations at sunset, vinyl spinning at the beach club, and an absence of logos that feels quietly radical. Book here

Image courtesy of @patinamaldives

Amangiri – Utah, USA

The backdrop looks AI-generated, but it’s real. Amangiri is minimalism on Mars - architecture carved into desert canyons, private pools fading into rock, and guests who speak in whispers because it feels wrong to break the silence. Book here

Image courtesy of @amangiri

It’s not about arrival, it’s about escape. The new luxury doesn’t shout. It disappears.