Tatler Weekend Hong Kong: What’s changing in travel in 2025 and how Asia’s best hotels are keeping up with the times
Editor’s note
The vibrant red and green serpentine trails of Snakes and Ladders dominate my childhood board game memories—each glossy snake poised to strike, each wooden ladder promising escape. This simple yet visually striking game, with its winding paths and dramatic rises and falls, captivated us for hours during balmy summer afternoons before the era of digital screens.
Even today, Squid Game’s success owes much to its masterful visual design. Childlike wonder collides with dark reality as candy-coloured playgrounds contrast with deadly stakes. Pink-suited guards tower over green-clad contestants, their uniforms establishing clear power hierarchies. The setting itself becomes a character, with dizzying stairways creating mazes that underscore the players' entrapment.
In this weekend's Editor’s Pick, we explore how Squid Game became a global cultural phenomenon.
Speaking of design, we also feature Naoto Fukasawa, the influential Japanese industrial designer who has helped shape contemporary design worldwide.
In this age of Artificial Intelligence, one truth endures: human ingenuity in design will continue to enrich our lives. While AI tools enhance the creative process, our uniquely human capacity for emotional connection and cultural understanding remains irreplaceable.
Enjoy Tatler Weekend!
Parminder Singh
Parminder Singh
Chief Operating Officer
What’s changing in travel, and how Asia’s best hotels are keeping up with the times
Tatler spoke with some of Asia's best hotels to find out what travel trends will dominate in 2025, and what these properties are doing to stay on top
From sober (and sober-curious) guests to a growing appetite for community and connection, there are a number of interesting trends driving the travel industry in 2025.
“Travel is now seen as essential, not just a luxury,” says Manish Puri, COO of Desa Potato Head in Bali. In the hotels section of the inaugural Tatler Best of Asia awards held in November, Desa Potato Head took home the prize for Best Innovation—an accolade that recognises the hotel’s approach to sustainability, which not only seeks to preserve the environment but also supports and champions the Balinese community.
See also: These 10 hotels took home Best in Class awards at the Tatler Best of Asia event in Bangkok
It’s safe to say the hotel knows a thing or two about being adaptable to the ever-evolving challenges and factors that drive the hotel industry. “We’re not just here to meet expectations—we’re here to set new ones,” says Puri. “Our mission is to go beyond exceptional service, creating memorable experiences that inspire our guests and show them what regenerative hospitality can be. We hope to sow a sense of purpose that stays with them, encouraging them to make positive changes long after their stay.”
Noriko Tanaka, general manager at Janu Tokyo, which was named Best New Hotel, agrees. “Observation, action and flexibility are key. We focus on understanding our guests’ needs by asking, ‘Are they happy? Are they comfortable?’,” she says. “These questions guide our daily operations and are instilled in our team. By maintaining this mindset, we ensure that we adapt and stay aligned with our guests’ evolving expectations.”
Tatler spoke to a number of other representatives from our Best in Class award-winning hotels about the trends that are shaping travel, and how they are evolving to align with guests’ ever-changing desires and values.
Super human: Naoto Fukasawa talks design
Renowned Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa discusses mastering minimalism and human-centred design
Naoto Fukasawa, the esteemed Japanese industrial designer, has had a profound influence on the global contemporary design landscape. At the core of his ethos lies the “Super Normal” philosophy: a pursuit of harmony where design achieves a delicate equilibrium—neither obtrusive nor unassuming—but seamlessly integrates into everyday existence.
Fukasawa’s work elegantly merges aesthetic beauty with practical utility, resulting in designs that intuitively resonate with their users, and have come to define modern design discourse.
His creations encompass electronic equipment, furniture and interiors for leading brands in Italy, Germany, the US, Switzerland, Spain, China, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Portugal, Sweden and Finland. He is also a consultant to a number of major Japanese corporations.
Read more: Upcoming Not A Hotel Setouchi fuses Scandinavian and Japanese design values
Why Desa Potato Head is at the peak of cultural and environmental influence
Daniel Mitchell, creative director of Desa Potato Head, on how the Bali-based creative hub is shifting the global needle in art, music, design and sustainability
The art of surprise is something Desa Potato Head in Bali has mastered. The designer chair you’re sitting on? Crafted from recycled plastic waste collected from Bali’s shores. Why yes, that is Erykah Badu teaching a meditation class. Thirsty? Open up the modular coffee table in your room to find a secret, fully-equipped cocktail bar.
Dubbed a “creative village” by founder Ronald Akili, Desa Potato Head is a unique, living, breathing ecosystem that’s been cultivated by an eclectic band of creative talent. One such talent is Daniel Mitchell, who has worked as Desa Potato Head’s creative director since 2014. “When I joined, we knew we wanted to elevate the cultural aspect of music, art, design,” he says.
In the last decade, his unique approach to cultural programming has brought the likes of Erykah Badu—who did, indeed, host a week-long wellness retreat at Desa Potato Head—to the island; introduced sustainable yet stylish designer furniture by the likes of Max Lamb and Faye Toogood; to Headstream, a live streaming platform that champions local DJs and musicians, delivering Potato Head’s sunshine-soaked sounds to listeners across the globe.
You might also like: Potato Head founder Ronald Akili talks sustainability, hope and pride of place
But Desa Potato Head has always maintained a quiet cool—here, it’s show, not tell. Which is probably why most people haven’t heard (yet) about one of its latest additions—Klymax, a nightclub conceptualised, designed and built by some of the most respected names in the music industry.
“Of course it’s beautiful dancing under the stars here in Bali, but we wanted to create a box where you could escape from paradise and come into, essentially, a place of transcendence where you can lose yourself to music,” says Daniel Mitchell, who has worked as Potato Head’s creative director since 2014.
How ‘Squid Game’ cemented its place in pop culture and why it will be remembered
The ‘Squid Game’ franchise took K-drama to a whole new level—but its influence extends beyond entertainment. Here’s why
In 2021, Netflix’s survival series Squid Game amassed 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first 28 days, attracting massive viewership across 94 countries to become the streaming giant’s most-watched series ever. Not your average K-drama, Squid Game’s admittedly bizarre premise involves desperate contestants playing deadly versions of children’s games for a grand cash prize of KRW45.6 billion.
Read more: Netflix: The making of ‘Squid Game’, the global sensation
Despite being primarily in Korean with subtitles, it resonated with audiences worldwide, transcending linguistic boundaries and proving that compelling storytelling can overcome language barriers. This has been proven to be true as the second instalment, Squid Game: Season 2, clocked 125.2 million views in just 11 days, ranking No. 2 most-watched non-English series, second only to its predecessor.
Not only has the global phenomenon fundamentally altered the landscape of K-entertainment and pop culture in profound ways, but it has also stirred a deeper understanding of Korean culture and opened up necessary discussions and hard conversations about societal issues.