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Cave tubing is one of the most popular adventure activities in Belize. Like so many things in the country, it is another chance to learn more about Maya culture. In Maya mythology, caves were the entrances to the underworld, known as Xibalba. A rough translation might mean “place of fear,” but there’s no reason to worry these days. Cave tubing requires safety gear and is always done in groups with respected guides who are trained in safety and proper procedure. There are many options for cave tubing companies at Caves Branch and many have been leading tours since 1995. Pick one, go through the safety training, don a slick-looking helmet and life vest, grab an inner tube and you’ll be ready for your adventure down the river into a cave. Best conditions for the experience don’t involve heavy rainfall, so occasionally tours can be canceled, but your operator will judge whether it’s wise to still depart or not. As all companies have to adhere to safety requirements instituted by NICH, there’s no need to worry.

Here’s a novel concept; markets that pop up around the island in different locations each day of the week. I shot this while wandering the Monday Market near Saladan Village (the main settlement) on the northern tip of Koh Lanta. Despite the market’s proximity to the island’s main tourist hub, it was surprisingly void of foreign visitors. The Monday Market is run by locals and caters to local tastes - which makes it a fantastic place to explore with a camera. I don’t often make images of children (I scare them, I guess), but I couldn’t resist firing a few frames of this girl in the fruit isle. It’s a departure from the grittier market fare I often come home with - perhaps that’s why I’m so fond of such a simple picture. Insider tip: a smile takes you a long way in a Thai market - and often leads to more free samples than you find at Costco on a Saturday. Be polite, and try anything your gracious host offers you, including roasted beetles and/or funky durian fruit.

Guarded by the Hammering Man sculpture outside, this superb museum collection romps from native tribal art to African masks to carvings from Oceania. Highlights include the 16th-century wood-paneled Italian Room and The Studio, a portrait of the Seattle home of Jacob Lawrence, arguably the most acclaimed African American painter of the 20th century. Check the calendar for world-class temporary exhibits, not to mention lectures, performances, film screenings, and evening SAM Remix dance parties. If you need some air, head for the waterfront Olympic Sculpture Park to catch a glimpse of art in the wild. Free to visit, this green space offers stunning views of Puget Sound and the ferries trundling across it.

Why we love it: A historic property teeming with rich, Moorish style

The Highlights:
- Iconic architecture and bold interior design
- A serene pool area surrounded by lush greenery
- A focus on sustainability, with low-energy lighting and water-efficient landscaping

The Review:
Built by Frank Miller and Arthur Benton in the early 1900s, this regal stone building presides over Laguna Beach, echoing the area’s Spanish Mission roots with white stucco, red terra-cotta roof tiles, secret turrets, and spacious patios. Inside, renowned interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard enhanced the castle-like structure with hand-painted furniture, Moorish tiles and lanterns, and wainscoting worthy of a Marrakech palace, giving the hotel a bohemian vibe. He also added softer notes like oxblood-leather armchairs and cerulean velvet couches that echo the blue of the Pacific below. Despite being a registered historic structure, Casa Laguna became the area’s first hotel to receive the Green Eco-Leaf rating from iStayGreen.org. Its sustainable initiatives range from bulk amenities and soaps to low-energy lighting and water-efficient landscaping.

The 23 suites all feature custom marble vanities, handcrafted natural fiber mattresses, and Martyn Lawrence Bullard fabrics and wallpapers. Expect beautiful attention to detail at every turn, from Dean & DeLuca snacks to Cowshed amenities made famous by the spa in Somerset, England. If you’re visiting for a special occasion, book the Bungalow, a freestanding, 600-square-foot sanctuary that offers ocean views from the living room and jetted clawfoot tub. It also has a large private balcony with a hammock for two. When not relaxing in their rooms, guests can enjoy a complimentary European-style breakfast as well as Mediterranean small plates throughout the day, all of which are available in the lobby, by the pool, or packed up for a picnic on the beach. There’s also an intimate spa with an outdoor area, where you can enjoy ocean views from the soaking tub before indulging in a hot stone massage.

Designed by Thai architect Khun Lek Bunnag—who has garnered a reputation for building luxury resorts that highlight the natural beauty of southeast Asia (Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai; Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve)—the centerpiece of this peaceful boutique property is a 330-foot swimming pool that’s anchored by four massive gold-leaf columns and meanders through a forest-backed eight-acre garden. Vast domed and wood-covered rooms are controlled with iPads and express a fusion of modern Thai and Indian aesthetics—think sleek marble surfaces, whimsical panelled walls, and silk throw pillows. Guests are mostly couples and child-free travelers unfazed by the freestanding bathtubs that sit next to king-size beds and showers separated from sleeping areas by glass sliding doors. The many unfenced walkways over the swimming pool and other water features make the hotel unsuitable for very young children, though older kids might appreciate outdoor movie screenings.

Located across from Chapultepec Park in the upscale Polanco neighborhood, this 42-story hotel is one of the toniest addresses in Mexico City, boasting not one but three presidential suites that routinely host celebrities and heads of state alike—including President Barack Obama. All 700 guestrooms were refurbished in 2015 so even standard rooms boast sleek, modern appointments, while suites offer varying levels of space and luxurious amenities. Whichever you choose, be sure to ask for a room on the highest possible floor to better enjoy the jaw-dropping views over the park, skyline, and mountains beyond.

The hotel’s main restaurant, Au Pied du Cochon, is open 24 hours a day, just like the Parisian bistro from which it takes its name. Other on-site dining options include the Palm Steakhouse, a hip Mexican restaurant, and an Italian eatery with an outdoor terrace. Guests are also within walking distance of some of Polanco’s trendiest restaurants. When it comes time to unwind, there’s an intimate, Nordic-inspired spa on the hotel’s 10th floor.

You’d never know that this pueblo-luxe hotel was once the town penitentiary. It’s a credit to Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that the hotel group chose to renovate the existing structure rather than level it and start from scratch. And, if the rooms are on the smaller side, no one seems to mind, especially after the just-completed renovation by Jim Rimelspach, who originally designed the property when it opened nearly 25 years ago. Named after the lost tribe of the Anasazi, ancestors of the Pueblo, the hotel tastefully pays tribute to the Southwest. Adobe walls, kiva-style fireplaces, handwoven carpets, and throw pillows made from Pendleton blankets pair seamlessly with Italian linens by Rivolta Carmignani and toiletries by New York’s C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries. There’s also plenty of Native American art, including Arlo Namingha’s bronze sculpture Hano Mana and Ken Rosenthal’s silver gelatin print Seen and Not Seen, throughout the three-story hotel. The result: A vibe that is modern and sophisticated while still maintaining a sense of place.

With more than 125 years of history under its belt, the Brown Palace Hotel is one of Denver’s quirkiest landmarks. It was the country’s first fireproof lodging—built with terracotta floors, cast-iron railings, and onyx paneling but no wood—and though it has welcomed every president since Teddy Roosevelt, save Calvin Coolidge, it also hosts grand champion steer from the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo as they take a victory lap through the lobby each year.


Given its Italian Renaissance–style architecture and frontier legacy, English afternoon tea has become an unexpected institution in the hotel’s soaring nine-story atrium, with imported Devonshire cream, an exclusive blend of Assam-Ceylon tea, and live piano music. And instead of bottled Evian, contemporary-skewing guest rooms are stocked with natural artisan water from a well more than 700 feet underground.

Regular tours are offered to those who wish to uncover hidden details of the past—don’t miss the 26 stone-carved animal medallions that are perched outside seventh-floor windows.

Straddling Cancun’s sandy beach in the heart of the Hotel Zone, the CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort features 450 re-modeled rooms and suites with balconies with ocean views. The AAA Four Diamond-award winner houses a wide selection of restaurants and bars, offering Argentine, Japanese, Southwestern, Italian or Thai cuisine. La Isla-Pool Bar serves poolside snacks and drinks in a family setting, while Bahia dishes up fresh seafood on the beach. Las Ventanas Lobby Bar is the place to meet for drinks and appetizers and enjoy nightly entertainment, while Las Ventanas Gift and Coffee shop offers “grab and go” and late night snacks. A full-service fitness center, pool and onsite tennis and water sports complete the recreational package. The Marriott Kid’s Club offers entertainment for the younger guests. High speed Wi-Fi is available in rooms and public areas throughout the resort.

Tastemakers and A-listers abound at this East Village mainstay, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2017. Travelers feel like insiders the moment they slip through the door, thanks to over-the-top service, celeb sightings, and a lobby design that recalls salon parties of bygone eras. The cool factor only continues upon check-in, when guests receive metal room keys linked to lavish, oversized red tassels. Each of the 135 rooms offers visitors a mix of lived-in comfort and luxurious detail, with everything from mohair-upholstered chairs, Turkish Oushak rugs, and hardwood floors to iPod stereos, hi-def televisions, and marble bathrooms with deep-soaking tubs. When hunger hits, guests can head downstairs for authentic Italian plates at Gemma and a nightcap at the Lobby Bar, a lower Manhattan staple known for its timeless ambiance and clever riffs on cocktail classics.

New Orleans’ cemeteries are part of the city’s culture as well as its landscape—and St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest and most famous. Opened in 1789 on the edge of the French Quarter, the cemetery is home to the tomb of Marie Laveau, a free woman of color who earned a reputation as the city’s most powerful voodoo queen in the 1800s. Her tomb is littered with tributes (money, alcohol, candy, trinkets) left by those who hope the queen will grant their desires from beyond the grave. In the Garden District, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 made a cameo in several movies, including Interview with a Vampire and Double Jeopardy. Save Our Cemeteries, a non-profit dedicated to cemetery restoration and preservation, runs tours of both St. Louis No. 1 and Lafayette No. 1.

Just a short ride from the historic Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Cultural Center, Pestana Palace Lisboa is itself a designated national landmark. The 194-room hotel occupies a carefully restored 19th-century manor that once belonged to the cocoa baron Marquis of Valle-Flôr, and now caters to queens of pop like Madonna (she reportedly stayed in a Royal Suite).

“Lavish” is the key adjective here: The manor is set within an immaculately manicured private park filled with palms, subtropical plants, sculptures, a former pond-turned-swimming pool, and a spa with an indoor pool and Turkish baths. Palace interiors give the air of a gilded cocoon—all ornate ceiling frescoes, soaring stained-glass windows, and magnificent oil canvases—while the main restaurant, Valle Flôr, has Regency airs and Portuguese fare. Guests may linger on Saturdays for a “chic-nic” lunch on the lawn by the pool.

Formerly the private residence of Gioacchino Murat, king of Naples and Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Palazzo Murat has the mark of aristocracy—white-walled interiors are outfitted with elegant antiques, oil paintings, and decorative tiled floors—but also the welcoming atmosphere of a dear friend’s home. The 18th-century villa is tucked away behind cascades of bright bougainvillea and greenery-filled grounds fragrant with jasmine and citrus trees yet centrally located in Positano’s pedestrian zone, making it an ideal base for shopping holidays and seaside idylls alike. The pool is especially impressive, flanked by a lawn studded with chic sunbeds and backed by a storybook scene of pastel-hued houses stacked higgledy-piggledy along the hillside. Just steps away is the charming Al Palazzo restaurant, which incorporates ingredients from its vegetable patch and twinkles with candlelight in the evenings. As for the guest rooms, soothing white spaces are accented with pops of blue and lemon yellow, and French doors open onto lovely balconies with views of the gardens, town, or sea.

Hyperlocalism has fueled Portland’s Old Port District revitalization, with buzzy restaurants and shops with a deep sense of place opening in recent years. The stylish Press Hotel is no exception. A publishing motif runs throughout the 110-room property, which occupies a corner building that once housed the Portland Press Herald. Custom-made wallpaper printed with old headlines adorns the corridors, and desks inspired by those found in 1920s newsrooms are in each room. Works by local artists—including a dramatic installation of vintage typewriters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Portland artist Erin Hutton—and woven-wall tapestries by Portland home-goods designer Angela Adams also abound. (There are even a few notable—and welcome—nods to the global luxury market, including Frette linens from Italy atop the plush beds.) The focus at the 65-seat hotel restaurant, Union, is proudly farm- and sea-to-table, with dishes like house-smoked local mussels served with celery cream.

One of Florence’s grand cafés since its founding in 1733, Caffè Gilli is easily recognized by the Swiss clock hanging outside above its entrance and by the glass display case of multicolored confections inside. Enjoy your morning cappuccino or evening prosecco while standing at the marble-topped bar, or experience the café’s formal service by sitting at a polished wooden table under elegant chandeliers in the tearoom. For more-casual warm-weather meals, there is a large shaded patio with comfortable seating and a fantastic view of the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica.