The Hari Hong Kong Recognised as the ‘Best Upscale Hotel’ for Its Design
By Lifestyle+Travel
Debuted in December 2020, The Hari Hong Kong, a luxury hotel with cutting-edge design and modern hospitality, pays attention to every minute detail to curate the best guest experience in the beating heart of Wan Chai nearby the Causeway Bay. In just less than a year of its opening, the hotel has been awarded the ‘Best Upscale Hotel’ at the 17th Annual HD Awards, organised by Hospitality Design magazine, honoring The Hari’s creative design by Tara Bernard & Partners and Atkins.
The 210-key hotel’s design is created by Tara Bernerd, the Founder and CEO of Tara Bernerd & Partners, a London-based world-leading interior architecture and design practice, ingeniously conveying The Hari brand’s one-off DNA and bringing its aesthetic to create the most refined experience.
The Hari Hong Kong is the second The Hari hotel, the first one being The Hari London, owned by Harilela Hotels Ltd. Visit www.thehari.com to learn more.
By LIFESTYLE+TRAVEL
The Global Countdown: Four Definitive Stages
As the year’s final hours approach, the world’s great metropolises transform into vast, illuminated theaters of celebration. Clocking from the early pyrotechnics of the Southern Hemisphere to the midnight neon of the West, these four destinations remain the essential stages for a global New Year. ━━━━━━━━━━━━👇━━━━━━━━━━━━ Sydney: The First Spark Sydney holds the prestige of being among the first to ignite the global festivities. The harbor becomes a shimmering arena as world-renowned pyrotechnics cascade from the Harbour Bridge, reflecting off the iconic sails of the Opera House in a masterclass of maritime scale. ━━━━━━━━━━━━👇━━━━━━━━━━━━ Bangkok: The River of Light Along the Chao Phraya, Bangkok’s historic waterway serves as a majestic backdrop for the countdown. From the city’s soaring rooftop lounges to the traditional riverfront, the skyline erupts in a synchronized dance of light that blends ancient temple silhouettes with a high-octane festive energy. ━━━━━━━━━━━━👇━━━━━━━━━━━━ London: A Thames-Side Tradition When Big Ben strikes twelve, the South Bank becomes the focal point of European celebration. The London Eye frames a breathtaking display of color reflected in the dark waters of the Thames, while the city’s historic streets and grand ballrooms hum with timeless British charm. ━━━━━━━━━━━━👇━━━━━━━━━━━━ New York: The World’s Crossroads Few experiences rival the kinetic electricity of Times Square. As the crystal ball descends, a blizzard of confetti falls upon a global crowd in a moment of collective optimism. It remains the quintessential urban ritual—a high-energy finale at the center of the world.
By LIFESTYLE+TRAVEL
Sky-High Spirits: The Standard’s Boldest Season
Forget silent nights. The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon subverts tradition with a high-altitude festive lineup. Ditch the ordinary for a high-altitude festive takeover. Featuring quirky markets, Michelin-starred hairy crab, and Thailand’s highest countdown, this subverted, sky-high celebration redefines holiday glamour with unrelenting attitude. The Creative Kick-off The festivities ignite at The Parlor with Objects of Desire (Dec 19–21). This isn't your average market; it’s a curated playground of creative merch, fashion finds, and holiday drama. Expect live DJs, DIY workshops—think custom scrunchies and live drawing—and a pet-friendly policy that ensures no one is left behind. When the retail therapy peaks, head to Double Standard for comfort food and festive sips. A Culinary Odyssey The hotel’s dining icons are pulling out all the stops. Mott 32 brings back its cult-favorite Hairy Crab menu, while Tease offers a "Hypnotically Cool" afternoon tea (THB 1,100++). On Christmas Day, The Standard Grill serves a lush semi-buffet featuring roasted suckling pig (THB 1,800++), and Ojo delivers Mexican-inspired singular creations like King Crab Veracruzana against the city’s best backdrop. The Ultimate Countdown New Year’s Eve peaks at Sky Beach and Ojo for Thailand’s highest party. As 2025 fades, disco-house maestro Dicky Trisco and underground icon Seelie take over the decks 78 floors up. Whether you opt for a five-course dinner at the Grill or the all-in "Stay for Midnight" package (from THB 34,000++), you’ll be toasted by free-flow champagne and front-row views of Bangkok’s explosive firework display. The morning after? Recover at The Standard Grill with a "Morning After Brunch" designed to cure any festive hangover. For more information LINE Official Account @thestandardbangkok Tel: +66 (0) 2085 8888
By LIFESTYLE+TRAVEL
Unfolding the Art of Journey
The art of elevated travel has evolved the experience of air travel far beyond mere transportation. For the discerning passenger, it has truly become an art—a curated journey where comfort, exclusivity, and personalization transform the flight itself into a desirable destination. Traveling hits another level of sophistication as Jim Thompson and Thai Airways International (THAI) elevate their collaboration. The stunning new in-flight collection transforms the journey, draping passengers in contemporary Thai artistry with bespoke amenity kits and luxurious Royal Silk Class Comfort Wear. To celebrate the third year of their landmark partnership with a stunning, style-and-sustainability-focused in-flight collection. This collaboration elevates the experience for the modern traveler, blending aviation excellence with immersive Thai culture. Building on the success of premium amenity kits launched in 2023, the latest expansion introduces 14 exclusive new prints for amenity bags. Highlights include designs like House on the Klong and Orchids Bunch—reflecting Thai heritage and THAI’s emblem. For the first time, Royal Silk Class passengers on European routes will enjoy bespoke Jim Thompson Comfort Wear featuring the signature Origami Elephant motif, ensuring travel is "Smooth as Silk." THAI's CCO, Kittiphong Sansomboon, emphasizes the commitment to sustainability and authentic Thai identity. This focus is clear in the collection's eco-friendly fabrics and biodegradable accessories, including a toothbrush and shoehorn. The 2026 Collection invites travellers to "live the story" of Thai culture through rich fabrics and innovative design, solidifying Jim Thompson and THAI's shared passion for world-class hospitality and craftsmanship.