South America & Caribbean
To create your ideal luxury holiday, travel specialists have to be just that. Specialists.
What began as two friends with successful careers in finance and a penchant for lavish adventures at under-the-radar places, has become South America’s go-to luxury travel company. In 2003, founders Paul Irvine and Henry Madden found themselves longing for a life beyond the corner office. During a holiday in Brazil they realised that existing South American travel companies had a huge blind spot. Traditional travel agents simply weren’t catering to the type of traveller who, like themselves and their city peers, were looking for a high level of service and a degree of luxury, but were also yearning to get off the beaten track. Tourists on “luxury” package tours were invariably being funnelled in to just a handful of soulless international resorts, overlooking the huge potential of the region. They combined this insight with their existing business skills to create South America’s first experience-led luxury travel company.
They went back to London, and bid farewell to friends and family, “It felt like we were leaving on a steamer,” says Paul, “we were determined to make it work and we weren’t going to stop until we did.” They instinctively knew that the best place to be was on the ground, so they could be ahead of the curve, and on hand to personally create impromptu surprises and solve unexpected issues. For the next twelve months, they hired boats and seaplanes, got lost in the jungle, washed up on secluded beaches and discovered bijou 9-room pousadas. The field work paid off and word-of-mouth led to an early mention in Vogue.
Today Dehouche is an industry leader and consults the world’s leading luxury resort groups looking to enter South America. The company has expanded its team, united by a philosophy of local immersion and a policy of continuously testing, trying, and re-visiting to create experiences that are impossible to create from afar. After all, Paul and Henry didn’t leave the corporate world to offer a corporate experience. Dehouche’s aim is simple: To create unparalleled holidays for our clients, that are meticulously designed with the flexibility to change as inspiration strikes. We want our clients to experience the region with the same sense of wonder as we did, on that very first trip.
We have returned from our amazing trip yesterday. Thank you for organizing such a memorable vacation! Everything was superb without any hiccups.
We loved every place we visited and of course the beautiful Jose Ignacio was the highlight! The tour guides in Bueno Aires and Montevideo were excellent. The best empanadas were at Elena’s restaurant at the Four Seasons. Our favorite restaurant was ILatino in Bueno Aires – such innovative cuisine. The Narbona pasta dishes were fantastic. La Huella was a blast! We loved Bahia Vik and all the Vik properties – what amazing art. The Fasano property was breathtaking, an architectural delight. We loved the horseback riding there and also rode at the Estancia Vik. We stayed for the special dinner barbecue – WOW! We loved the visit to the Artchugarry foundation where we saw Pablo Artchugarry at work. We met his charming son Piero and will keep in touch with him for the upcoming gallery opening in Miami.
In Montevideo we passed by the president’s house and saw the first lady of Uruguay (María Auxiliadora Delgado San Martín) chatting outside. Our tour guide Gabriel asked if we can take a photo with her and she obliged. Such warm, friendly and down to earth people. Can’t wait to visit again in the near future!
Lots of awesome memories…Million Thanks! Looking forward for you to plan our next trip which will be Peru!
Regena, United States
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