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For more than two decades, Chef Volker Romeike’s standout restaurant has charmed patrons at the Sheraton Grand Los Cabos Hacienda del Mar with its Pacific Rim concept, ocean views, and dramatic design. Pitahayas—both space and the menu—got an updated look in 2015. A newer focus on blending Mexican and Asian flavors has allowed Romeike to show off his culinary creativity. Duck lumpia (like a spring roll) is served with a papaya salsa; a taro tostada comes topped with carnitas (braised pork); and tuna poke comes with watermelon and chili powder. For special occasions, consider the Cava de Santiago wine cellar, which houses some 400 vintages. The restaurant’s bar also offers Social Fridays, when limitless drinks can be had for a not unreasonable tariff.

The Hermosa Inn, first opened in 1936, has the kind of history that a cowboy keeps under his hat. With 43 rooms and casitas spread across six acres of Arizona desert in the upscale Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, the inn was originally the home and studio of cowboy artist Lon Megargee. A $5.5 million renovation completed in March 2017 updated the hotel for the modern era. It still retains a historic feel, but without the possibility of escape it had when Megargee, a welcoming host clearly uninterested in background checks, built a tunnel from the main building to the stable in case a visit by the sheriff made it necessary for less law-abiding guests to execute a quick getaway. But then, with Camelback Mountain as a backdrop, few guests nowadays are in a hurry to leave.

Have you been here? Tell us about it below!End your day in Old San Juan with a pre-dinner stroll along the water, alongside the Old City Walls. It’s that time of day when everything seems to slow down, even the waters of the Caribbean Sea begin to ease into a glassy stillness - perfectly reflecting the midnight blue sky and the incandescent glow of the street lamps. Start from Paseo de la Princesa, at the Raices Fountain, and wind your way around the walls. Take in the views of the setting sun from the benches that line the walkway. Reminisce about the day and linger. There’s no need to rush into the night and tomorrow will come soon enough.

One of Cancun’s newest restaurants, Julia Mia (My Julia) serves Mexican nouvelle cuisine, with traditional favorites at affordable prices. This downtown restaurant is definitely worth a trip from the Hotel Zone. Julia Mia reflects the belief of sisters Lupita and Irma Chavez that: “A woman is not afraid of anything or anyone. She enjoys life and her traditional Mexican drink, tequila, as well as the best selection of recipes from Mexico that integrate tastes and smells, always respecting and honoring each ingredient.” The menu features favorites with a twist, such as sea bass tacos, blue crab taquitos, roast corn soup, and salmon and garlic octopus fettuccine. For dessert, try the chocolate volcano or the chocolate truffles with mole and churros. On Fridays, Julia Mia features live Mariachi music, and in September, a special menu and events celebrate Mexican Independence.

Foodies (and those simply interested in local color and a good meal) should head to San Lorenzo and its covered Mercato Centrale. Florence’s main market for edibles is housed in a 19th-century glass-and-iron building. On the ground floor, delis, stands, and butcher counters sell a fantastic array of local fruit and vegetables, cheeses, dried porcini mushrooms, baked goods, balsamic vinegars, and olive oils plus fresh fish, poultry, and meat. Upstairs, a modern food hall has opened: Stalls sell prepared foods and meals for happy and immediate consumption at a central seating area.

This novel walking tour combines a power work-out with sightseeing. You’ll climb a steep hill to reach a look-out spot with sweeping views of Vallarta and Banderas Bay, then descend to see Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton’s former homes (and the bridge that connected them), a tortilla factory, Cuale gardens, and a chocolate shop. Lots of samples and healthy snacks are included, as are plenty of photo ops.

In 2011, one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants, Longman & Eagle, expanded into an inn with the creation of six rooms. The owners, two of whom run the music venue Empty Bottle, built and outfitted the whole place. Each of the rooms is different, but all are stylishly simple and feature details such as wood floors, exposed brick, original art work and site-specific installations by local artists, cassette players with mix tapes, well-curated minibars, and Aesop toiletries. For the noise averse, the hotel reminds potential guests that the rooms are located above “an occasionally raucous, whisky-fueled tavern.”

After Toronto, Montréal is the Canadian city with the largest population of residents of Italian descent. For more than a century, the community has been centered in one of the city’s most charming neighborhoods, Little Italy. The way to the heart of this neighborhood is arguably through its stomach or, rather, the Jean-Talon Market, where residents have come to buy produce and stock their pantries since 1933. Even if you aren’t shopping for fresh vegetables or fruits, it’s a good place to come to sample Québecois products and buy gifts like local jams, jellies, and maple products to take back home.

La Ménagère is simultaneously a breakfast spot, a tapas and cocktail bar, a flower shop, a café, a housewares store, and a restaurant. The large space, once home to a famous Florentine home-goods emporium, is now a ramble of beautiful rooms that serve many needs. The bright and airy bar area is the site for breakfast, lunch, aperitifs, and cocktails, while dinner can be eaten in several of the other charming rooms, including a narrow passage set with a long communal table. There’s even a downstairs space where live music is played a few nights a week.

There’s something almost cheeky about the Prince Charles Cinema. Tucked in a little alley behind Leicester Square, it seems to thumb its nose at the great swathes of visitors who go to the square to spend silly money in its vast multiplexes. If you don’t want to drop $20 on a second-rate blockbuster, the slightly dilapidated but always charming Prince Charles will offer you an eclectic mix of nearly new and utterly classic films for a fraction of the price. If you’re free to go to a daytime screening, it’s even cheaper. Then there are its famous marathon screenings, where you can spend an entire weekend geeking out on John Hughes movies, or staying overnight for a Harry Potter sleepover. It’s more than a cinema, really—it’s a community center for movie geeks.

The success of the TV drama Borgen has piqued international interest in the building that houses the Danish government. Christiansborg Palace (from which Borgen takes its name) is also the tallest tower in the city center, and it’s free to visit though you will have to go through airport-style security to get in. There’s a viewing platform or, better yet, go to the casual restaurant in the tower. One of the most unusual and memorable places to dine in Copenhagen, the belfry-like eatery has a Harry Potter–like charm, with casts of sculptures left over from the time the space was used as a storage room.

Why we love it: A business hotel offering upscale comfort and unconventional charm

The Highlights:
- Elegant guest rooms with dashes of whimsy
- A pet-friendly policy
- An on-site art gallery with original paintings and historic images

The Review:
A 10-minute drive from Buffalo Niagara International Airport, this swanky property is named for Frank and Dolly Reikart, a vaudevillian couple who became the nearby town of Amherst’s “first family of hospitality” in the 1900s. A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, it won “Hotel of the Year” from its parent company, JW Marriott, in 2018. The 92 guest rooms and 12 suites blend classic decor with distinctive style. While no two are alike, each one features some mix of wood and leather furnishings; a neutral palette of white, beige, and brown accented by bold blue; and 50-inch flat-screen TVs wired for streaming content. Guests can also expect complimentary bicycles and a warm welcome for pets, though a surcharge does apply if you want to bring your furry friend.

When not in your room, explore the lush, campus-style grounds; work up a sweat in the club-style fitness center; or browse the on-site gallery, which features original paintings by local artist Peter Fowler. There’s also the Main Lobby restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the Fireside Lounge for drinks. Should you be traveling for work, know that Reikart House especially excels as a conference host, thanks to its fully equipped executive boardroom and new Jazzboline Restaurant and event space, which includes a lounge, restaurant, and ballroom—and draws its name from the guitar-like instrument invented by the hotel’s namesake, Frank Reikart.

This riverfront Main St. strip is scattered with historic buildings from the 1850s and while a bit sleepy has points of interest like the movie theater and the beginning of the Stone Arch Bridge. Start your crossing from here to get the full effect of walking from the quaint past into the modernized Minneapolis skyline.

Located in the charming neighborhood of Colonia Lafayette, Hotel Demetria is among Guadalajara’s trendiest boutique hotels. In addition to stylish rooms, a rooftop pool, and a popular restaurant, the hotel features a contemporary art gallery and bookstore on its mezzanine level. Even more impressive, however, is the fact that the steel-and-glass structure is sandwiched between two pieces of architectural history—Casa Franco and Casa Quiñones, designed by Mexican modernist masters Luis Barragán and Pedro Castellanos, respectively.

Siem Reap’s emergence as a somewhat unlikely destination for fashion lovers is largely due to the efforts of one individual: Madagascar-born Eric Raisina. Inspired by the Khmer artisanal silk weaving he witnessed on a trip to Cambodia back in 1996, Raisina decided to base himself in the country and hasn’t looked back since. He opened his original haute couture outlet in 2005, and his daring designs, colorful and often inspired by ancient Cambodian culture, have earned acclaim worldwide. Admirers of his work can find it for sale at two locations in Siem Reap: at his couture house on Charles de Gaulle Avenue and at the FCC Angkor hotel.