Marc Blazer x OUTLIERS
MEET marc
Marc Blazer is a serial entrepreneur in the travel and hospitality sector. An ex-investment banker, he quit finance in 2007 to invest in businesses that fueled his interest in creativity and hospitality.
He became an owner and Chairman of world renowned restaurant Noma, was the seed investor and co-founder of the travel company PRIOR, and acquired the parent company of Boutique (formerly known as Boutique homes), the home rental platform, which he currently runs as CEO.
“I moved to the US as a teenager with my family, but I never felt truly American. At the same time, leaving Holland at such a young age, I also quickly realized the longer I stayed in the US, the less Dutch I would remain. So travel has always been the way that I could feel at home in the world.
Fast forward a few decades, and I decided around the time of the financial crises that I wanted to see if I could make a living doing what I loved, seeing the world, meeting fascinating and creative people, and absorbing great culture, food and design.
It turns out that by following my passions, and packaging them up so others with the same interests could invest in them, was a good way to make a living doing what I loved.”
photo by Henri Vares
MEMORABLE TRIPS
Kyoto, Japan
Topanga, USA
Seychelles
Puglia, Italy
Algarve, Portugal
Cape Cod, USA
FAVOURITE STAYS
Miyagawasuji — Kyoto
Saddle Peak House — Topanga
Four Seasons — Seychelles
Masseria Schiuma — Puglia
Villa Agosto — Algarve
Kohlberg House — Cape Cod
Miyagawasuji
I first took my family to Kyoto in 2014 when we were scouting locations for the first ever Noma pop-up, which ultimately ended up in Tokyo. But our stay in Kyoto was magical. Quite unusually, it snowed heavily and the city was blanketed in a quiet white silence, making the stay even more special. Since then, I’ve been back twice, most recently with my son, who has become an ardent food explorer.
We stayed in this lovely machiya house in the Gion district, with Geishas as neighbors. Falling asleep at night, we could hear the “clip-clop” of their sandals on the cobblestones outside.
Kyoto, Japan
Saddle Peak House
We often travel to Los Angeles, and consider it a second home. My wife’s childhood best friend and her family have become our, and our kids best friends too.
Last year we spent time at Saddle Peak House with the owner, Goktug Sarioz, who is a Hollywood art director. The property is other worldly. Perched on a hill overlooking the canyons below, and the Pacific Ocean in the distance, it is hard to feel like you are in the 2nd largest city in the US.
Topanga, California
Four Seasons Seychelles
Coming out of the pandemic, we took an epic trip to Africa, with stays in the Serengeti, Nairobi, and the Seychelles. The latter included a stay a short flight away from Mahe, the main island, to a 13km long spit of land called Desroches.
The island has a few government guest houses, a turtle sanctuary, and the Four Seasons hotel. The property is comprised of lovely individual villas, most with their own private pool. It is both perfect for honeymoons, with endless private white-sand beaches, and a multi-generational family gathering destination with those same beaches, and massive friendly tortoises that are cared for by a conservation center funded in part by the hotel.
Seychelles
Masseria Schiuma
A few years ago, we hosted our family from Amsterdam at this beautiful property in Puglia. The home, owned by a Danish couple I knew from the restaurant world in Copenhagen, was a brilliant Scando-Italian hybrid of modern and mid-century furniture, with the lovely ancient architecture of the region, with thick stone walls, dramatic arches, and a labyrinth of lots of rooms each with their own surprises. The new owners installed a spectular swimming pool, even though the house was a quick 5 minute bike ride to the beach.
Puglia, Italy
Villa Agosto
Mention the Algarve, and most people think of package holidays in mediocre 3* hotels built in the 1970’s, filled with British and German tourists. However, venture a bit further inland, in the hills surrounding Faro, and the region takes on an entirely different persona. Quiet villages, small scale farms and olive groves, modest vacation bungalows behind hedges and walls with glimpses of sky blue swimming pools dot the landscape.
One of those is the Pedro Domingos designed Villa Agosto. With the pool embedded in the wall surrounding the property, and the massive corten steel sliding doors covering its floor to ceiling windows, as well as the driveway entrance, this property was the first Boutique home I rented. It’s a stunning example of the modern architecture Portugal has since become known for, and my favorite place to return to often.
Algarve, Portugal
Kohlberg House
During the height of the pandemic, we escaped New York to stay in Cape Cod (and Big Sur). We had long been supporters and fans of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust, a not-for-profit foundation with a mission to preserve many of the modernists homes that dot the cape, many of which were owned by the famous architects who designed them, including most notably Marcel Breuer.
One of their homes, Kohlberg Cottage sits on the highest dune on the outer cape, with nary a neighbor in sight, and stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean and a short stroll away from Newcomb Hollow beach. It was an idyllic place to ponder life during the pandemic, and appreciate the isolation and restorative natural beauty. Even the kids, glued to their devices on zoom classes appreciated the setting and disconnect from the turbulent New York City world we left behind.
Cape Cod, USA
TRAVEL WISH LIST
I want to go to URUGUAY, and NEW ZEALAND. Both places I haven’t been to, but in my mind have this sense of utopia.
Speaking of which, I also want to go to SEA RANCH, in California, which was very much designed as a way for humans and nature to co-exist in harmony. I guess because of the disruptive move during the formative years of my childhood I’ve always been drawn to finding a place where I could feel at peace.
Discover places to stay in Uruguay and New Zealand on OUTLIERS.
More travel recommendations by people we admire here.