Let’s take a minute and picture two beach resorts. One on a private island, with gleaming sandy beaches and a perfectly turquoise blue lagoon, and the other along a striking coastline, with rugged cliffs leading to breathtaking, glistening waters. One has lavish rooms starting at 2000 sq. ft., with private pools and sea views, while modest entry-level rooms in the other start at a mere 350 sq. ft., with garden views. 

By all accounts, the former would be more luxurious than the latter, but when it comes to pricing, we often see the latter hotels outstrip the former quite considerably. This prompts us to ponder the dubious correlation between expense and luxury—“Does more expensive, mean more Luxurious?”

While traditional definitions of the word “Luxury” revolve primarily around comfort, excess and costs, in the modern context where comfort is taken for granted, luxury relates most to rarity and exclusivity. 

Paradoxically, some of the most expensive destinations today are also the most overrun, sometimes to the point of becoming overcrowded. Paris is by far the world’s most visited tourist city, and consequently the most expensive, with sky-high demand outstripping supply to unsustainable levels. Similarly, the Amalfi Coast and the South of France feature rates far over what one would expect based solely on the experiential value they offer.

On the flip side, it's impossible for “Luxury” travel to be cheap. All of my favourite moments of travel, from diving off a yacht to luxury safaris, and private villas in the Maldives were expensive, but because they needed to be. They were justified by the exceptional and exclusive experiences they provided and it is far more worth having fewer such trips over the ones frequented.

For the savvy modern traveller, the most important question one needs to ask is:

“Is this expensive because it is truly rare, high quality and exclusive?" or "Is this expensive simply because of demand?”

Thoughts? The comments section is all yours!

— Keshav Arya, Founder, PureLuxe by KFT