By Peter Jacob
Alphington Private Wealth
I wanted to share some of my own lifestyle planning. Wedding anniversaries are a real milestone and I’ve always believed that lifestyle planning, coupled with financial planning provides great experiences, even for myself and my family.
The Planning.
In 2018 I was attending a conference in Birmingham, UK focussed on this style of financial planning run by Paul Armson. At the dinner in the evening, I mentioned to one of the other financial planners, John Surgenor that I had a 30th wedding anniversary coming up. After a day of listening about how we can help our clients achieve their dreams he immediately said – “So what are you going to do to celebrate such an important milestone?”
I pondered this question over the next few weeks and realised that I needed to fulfill the dream that Lisa had of staying in Le Majestic Cannes.
I started planning.
The Logistics.
It would require a trip of more than a couple of days because we had to come from Melbourne, Australia. A good 30-hour trip with a 10-hour time difference. I decided that it should be two weeks with the central point being staying at Le Majestic Cannes.
Destination 1 – The Maldives.
I started thinking about the other things that would be memorable for Lisa. I knew she loved warm tropical locations so I searched for somewhere halfway between Australia and Cannes so that we could partly adjust to the jetlag. The Maldives was the ideal half way destination. 6-hour time difference to Australia and 4 hours to Cannes. The first destination had been determined.
Destination 2 – Paris.
On the backpacking trip we fell in love with France with its vibrancy, sophistication, class and its beauty. Of course we ended up in the Latin Quarter in Paris. But we had to stay in a small hotel on the 6th floor with no lift and which was not particularly clean. We had to sleep in our sleeping bags on top of the bed!
For the second destination I wanted to relive that wonderful time we had in Paris all those years ago but taking in the true sophistication of Paris. As such I booked a nice little boutique hotel (with a lift!) in the Latin Quarter.
The activities had to be memorable as well. The sort of things you don’t do because they are too expensive.
I booked:
– Champagne on the top level of the Eiffel Tower.
– Dinner at 2 star Michelin Jules Verne Restaurant on the second level of the Eiffel Tower and
– a dinner and show at Moulin Rouge.
Destination 3 – Le Majestic Hotel, Cannes.
Le Majestic Hotel was to be the main destination.
We arrived into Cannes on a beautiful sunny day (the same as the first day we saw the hotel). We walked the short distance from the train station to the front of the hotel and the view was just as spectacular as I remembered it.
We entered the lobby and were in complete awe with the sheer elegance of the hotel. It did not look like just any 5-star hotel which can often look the same all over the world. It had a very personal elegance to it that made it feel very different to any other hotel I have stayed in.
Pinar greeted us at reception and was very professional but personal. She checked to see if we could get a room upgrade which we were able to and we very much appreciated. She invited us to have seat and a drink in the bar while we waited for the room to be ready. The bar was exceptional. Beautifully decorated. We asked for a champagne and not just any champagne was provided but a Veuve Cliquot!
We just knew that this was going to be a memorable experience.
As we sat there, we admired the Parfum Comestible display and the creator of the concept came over to personally explain the scents to us.
We received a call from Pinar to let us know our room was ready. Lisa said “let’s just stay here in the bar for a little longer as it’s so nice!”
Eventually we were led up to our room by Pinar who showed us around. The hotel and room were so quiet. The sound proofing was not like anything I had experienced in any other hotel. When she opened the door to the room it immediately flooded with light. It was large, luxurious and exceptionally well appointed. We went to the window and a saw a view across Cannes and of the sea to one side. The room was perfect.
The next day after going for a run along the promenade and using the gym I received a phone call from Faye wishing me happy birthday. This was completely unexpected and showed the personal touches of the hotel and attention to detail. Thank you.
We had a wonderful dinner in Fouquet’s and again Le Majestic surprised us. Pinar and Fanny presented me with not only a birthday cake (with a fantastic fireworks candle!) but a Le Barriere cap with my name embroidered on it. Being bald I always need a cap when outside in the sun! Not only that, they also had Lisa’s name embroidered on the side of a “Majestic – mon amour” bag. They went to a level way above our expectations. Merci.
Destination 4 – Barcelona.
I had one more destination to book in order to round out the trip. Lisa adores art. She studied art in her final year of high school, worked in an art shop immediately on graduating from university and continues to make all her birthday cards by hand. We visited Barcelona a few years ago and she fell in love with the city and with Gaudi. Destination four had been determined.
We would stay in an apartment looking straight over Las Ramblas. Another of the world’s most famous boulevards. In Barcelona we soaked up all things to do with art and Gaudi.
I wanted to keep the trip a surprise for Lisa. So, each month leading up to the departure date I provided her a clue as to where she was going. There were 21 clues of 9. Covid meant the trip got delayed but the clues had to keep coming!
Here are the Cannes clues that I gave Lisa for reference.
Did the trip live up to our expectations?
Absolutely. It was beyond our expectations and this was following on from the Maldives and our first class experience in Paris.
A truly memorable experience that will remain with us for the rest of our lives.
Without diversion there is no joy, with diversion there is no sadness.
Life is all about experiences.
So in closing, I challenge the readers of the blog post to live life to the fullest. Celebrate the milestones! You won’t regret it I promise.
Important: This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.
