By Bennett Marcus

Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian was the most intense cyclone recorded to strike the Bahamas and the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. Dr. Michael Hall, who was in D.C. riding out a category five storm during its genesis, saw the news about the destruction in the Bahamas and felt motivated to help. He joined the Third Wave Volunteers to help run their medical component during the initial recovery a few days after the Bahamian aftermath. Dr. Hall said, “What was endearing was the stoicism of the people who had lost so much and showed great dignity during Mother Nature’s fury.”

Celebrity Clients

At the Hall Longevity Clinic in Miami Beach, Dr. Michael Hall, MD provides regenerative aesthetic, and anti-aging medical treatments, as well as general medicine, travel vaccinations and basic women’s health. Over the years, he has treated members of the Saudi Arabian Royal family, the King, and Queen of Swaziland, Simon Cowell and Blaine Trump. Drake, the rapper, gave Dr. Hall a shout-out on Instagram after a visit last year.

Social Justice Warrior

Dr. Hall is trained as a family physician and eye surgeon, a healthcare policy expert, and provided humanitarian services around the world, including to the survivors the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2010 Haitian earthquake, and the recent Bahamian hurricane. He is a published author and is certified in traditional Chinese medicine. As a social justice warrior, he has made it his cause to make health care affordable and more efficient with his medical software company, Wellskor. A helicopter pilot, Dr. Hall is a designated Aviation Medical Examiner offering FAA-required exams for commercial airline pilots. His life has been a journey of curiosity, learning and fighting for social justice.

NY Presbyterian & Weill Cornell Medical Center

As a young ophthalmology resident at New York-Presbyterian -Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Hall observed cases in which African American patients were treated unfairly, and sometimes became victims of malpractice due to racial profiling by doctors. He registered an official complaint with the hospital staff and was dismissed from his duties. “I was eight months away from finishing my residency, and I was literally just thrown out,” he says. He went to the US Southern District federal court and the New York State Department of Health which found the hospital was in the wrong, but his federal judge sat on the case for three years, forcing Dr. Hall to sue his judge for relief. He took it to the New York Times, which exposed the cover-up.

Dr. Michael Hall

Lower East Side Service Center

Dr. Hall next took a job as medical director at the Lower East Side Service Center, a substance abuse clinic, found that he loved it, and obtained a master’s degree in healthcare policy from NYU, transforming his career. “I wanted to look at the 30,000-foot view and really see what we’re doing; I had felt that medicine for me really was more at the global level because of Cornell. I was kind of forced into thinking differently about how to look at the patient.”

Volunteerism & Indian Ocean tsunami

He became a community and family physician, board-certified after a two-year residency and then moved to New Zealand to study their healthcare system. While working with the indigenous Maori, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit. He took two bags with gear donated from the community and flew on his own to Sri Lanka to join another doctor there. To help survivors, he worked with a church, visiting their multiple outreach centers and orphanages. Five of his Maori nurses from New Zealand also came at their own expense. “It was a beautiful experience,” he says.

Traditional Chinese & Maori medicine

While working with the Maori, Hall learned about natural and plant-based medicine, and then went on to work with indigenous peoples in Hawaii, Montana, and Maine. “I found that to be a pivotal point to understand our real human connection to one another, these tribes of people all over the world use local plants, sustainable diets and ancient implements to heal themselves. “That led him to a fellowship in traditional Chinese medicine at the University of Miami, combining a holistic component with Western medicine. “Then anti-aging just made sense because obviously it’s conscious awareness and real preventative medicine.” He attends conferences with top scientists who are “trying to crack the code on what goes on in the body as we age.”

Downtown Favorites

When Dr. Hall is in New York he likes to stop by Raoul’s for their Steak au poivre and Balthazar for their soft-boiled eggs and fresh bread and coffee. On a Sunday, you might find Dr. Hall at Lupes East LA Kitchen enjoying Margaritas and burritos with friends. hallongevity.com

Located just over a narrow waterway from Nassau, Paradise Island offers the best of the Caribbean—sun, sand, pampering resorts—but in a small, easy-to-explore package. Even better, a wide range of properties let you choose the experience that suits your personality.

Small Resort: The Four Seasons Ocean Club

It’s just about 5:00 pm when I hear an unexpected knock at my door. Peering through the peephole, I see what must be a mirage: a tuxedoed waiter holding a tray containing two flutes of sparkling wine and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. Turns out it’s not my imagination: each evening, at sunset, Champagne and chocolate are delivered to every room, along with a smile and wish for a lovely night. As the light deepens, I stand on my balcony, listening to the chorus of ringing crystal flutes from guests in nearby room and their quiet murmurs as they discuss their evening plans. Many will choose to stay on property for dinner at Dune, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s French-Asian restaurant. If you can, reserve a table next to the tall windows, which offer uninterrupted views of the ocean.

Open since 1962, this historic resort has, over the years, hosted A-listers ranging from Frank Sinatra and Daniel Craig to Beyonce and Jay-Z; Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett and Cindy Crawford. Rebranded in early 2018 as a Four Seasons, the resort’s classic Caribbean style remains. Broad green lawns dappled with hammocks, tall palms and Adirondack chairs overlook a wide, empty beach that fronts the electric blue Caribbean. Walking paths wind through the lush 36 acre estate and lead to the elegant colonial-style lobby building, where you can sip a martini at the same bar where James Bond ordered his in the 2006 movie Casino Royale. Be sure to make time for the tennis center and spa, which is comprised of individual treatment villas set within its own private walled garden. Three pools—including one set up for kids and one just for adults–mean you’ll never have to get up at dawn to save your chaise lounge with a paperback and a bottle of sunscreen. Both the Four Seasons and Atlantis offer access to the Ocean Club Golf Course, which was designed by Tom Weiskopf and features several ocean-view holes.

The resort is also home to one of the island’s unique features: the ruins of a 12^th-century Augustinian cloister that the original owner had taken apart, crated and shipped from France. It was reassembled, piece by piece, and stands on a sloping hillside overlooking the resort’s tiered Versailles-inspired garden, a dreamy space filled with koi ponds, marble statuary, hidden reflection gardens and emerald-green lawns. It’s a lovely spot for a picnic…or a wedding. Like the rest of the resort, it exudes a sense of peace and space, inviting guests to pause and enjoy their surroundings.

Most of the 107 rooms and suites have ocean views; all have private terraces and oversized marble bathrooms with double sinks. Comprising part of the original club, the Hartford Wing has a nautical theme with a bright, tropical vibe. Rooms in the newer Crescent Wing are decorated with traditional deep mahogany furnishings and rattan touches.

Big Resort: Atlantis

I was nervous about my stay at Atlantis. As a rule, I’ll choose intimate over sprawling every time. My first pleasant surprise arrived moments after my arrival. Assuming that my mid-morning arrival would mean that my room wouldn’t be ready, I’d booked a treatment at the spa, where I could hang out (and shower) before checking in. Although the spa was busy, I was welcomed warmly and led to a massive waiting area filled with magazines and comfy couches. I also had access to the hydrotherapy area, where I could indulge in a steam, a mineral bath or a sauna while I waited. And while the facilities were lovely, it was the staff that made a difference, providing an abundance of products for me to use when I realized I’d forgotten my own.

So what exactly is Atlantis? In a nutshell, it’s a 171-acre megaresort—3,000 guest rooms fill five hotels, each with their own personality–arranged around a water park featuring 18 water slides, two mile-long river rides, 20 swimming areas and 11 swimming pools. I didn’t expect to try any of the water features, but peer pressure won out and, after grabbing an inner tube, I spent 30 exhilarating minutes whooshing through rapids surrounded by families too busy laughing to even think about their phones. The open-air, ocean-fed marine habitat is the largest in the world; underground viewing areas transform parts into a giant aquarium, complete with scheduled feedings and opportunities for interaction, like snorkeling. An early morning run through the property turned out to be the best way to take in the mesmerizing exhibits: not only was the area deserted, but the cool tunnels provided a shady respite from the sun. It was impressive, too, filled with elegant manta rays, sneering Moray eels, ethereal jellyfish and otherworldly hammerhead sharks and sawfish.

Beyond offering a wealth of typical vacation diversions—shopping, gambling, sunning—the resort is surprisingly rich in cultural experiences as well. At the newly-opened Fish by Jose Andres, diners can taste (and learn about) lionfish, a predatory species that is decimating reefs throughout the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The ice-cream bar at the recently-renovated Coral Hotel celebrates traditional Bahamian desserts like Guava Duff and ingredients such as sea grapes, watermelon jam and allspice. There are also outposts of beloved Bahamian restaurants where guests can try traditional dishes and drinks, craft shops selling only items made in the Bahamas and a Bahamian story hour for kids. The most recent cultural addition is Sacred Space, a sculpture series featuring seven dancing women that was created by Antonius Roberts, a renowned Bahamian artist and sculptor. The piece was made withlocal Madeira wood and represents the intention of triumph, hope and determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian heritage.