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The Japanese-inspired Nobu Ryokan Malibu, located on the ocean just north of Los Angeles, sets the tone with its smooth teak exterior. An entrance gate leads to a garden where water flows over honey-colored rocks into a pond, and palm trees shade stone paths lined with black Japanese grass. In the 16 guest rooms, there are no exposed nails or screws, just smooth surfaces of teak and Jerusalem limestone and linen. The art on the walls is original—a watercolor of sparrows in muted tones, a panel of delicately carved black lacquer depicting waves and leaves. The furniture is oak, all right angles and brass fittings, and the bedside lamps look like lanterns. The bathrooms feature skylights, rain showers, and deep teak soaking tubs.

Hotel guests get first dibs on reservations at Nobu restaurant, just two doors down. If that seems too far away, you can get Nobu food delivered to your room: think scallop tiradito, salmon sashimi, and smoked duck with cherry and hibiscus. Another highlight of a stay here are the well being experiences, including yoga with partner studio ALO and an affiliation with Malibu Fit Concierge that offers private fitness classes and guided hikes.

Nobu has partnered with Surf Air to transport guests from various cities in California and Texas. Surf Air flies small planes out of regional airports (if you’re coming from the Bay Area, for example, it’s a 90-minute ride). A car in L.A. takes you on the 40 minute ride north on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.

When Texans think about shopping on a grand scale, they think of Galleria Dallas. The expansive, multi-level retail hub is shopaholic central, with more than 200 stores and restaurants ranging from budget-chic shop H&M to Nordstrom. Go for a spin on the ice rink, then rest your feet and dive into a Mambo Taxi at Mi Cocina.

The royal capital for more than 140 years during the 19th and 20th centuries, Hue is a not-to-be-missed stop on any itinerary in Vietnam. It was a political, religious, and cultural center for the Nguyen dynasty, the last to rule the country before Vietnam proclaimed itself a republic in 1945. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, features a dizzying array of tombs, pagodas, and monuments—but perhaps the most impressive, and certainly grandest, sight is its citadel. Surrounded by a moat and hefty stone walls, the citadel contains the Imperial City, with fortified ramparts, brightly painted pagodas and gateways, beautiful carved-stone dragons, and a palpable sense of the history that unfolded here.

At Island Sole in Lahaina, the authentic, locally made gifts are designed to help shoppers “find their aloha.” Head here for shirts and flip-flops in tropical colors, home decor like jellyfish coasters and ukulele-shaped table clocks, and the shop’s signature longboard letters, which function as one-of-a-kind signs with customizable letters, icons, and characters attached to a wooden surfboard base. If you’re looking for some wall art, pay special attention to the palm-and-wave paintings on birchwood by Danielle Groff and the larger, laser-engraved maps of the Hawaiian Isles.

Gal Ben Moshe’s brand new venture picks up where his former restaurant, the celebrated Glass, left off. The concept is still European-meets-Levantine fine dining, but the game has been raised yet further with a more seductive—dark-toned walls, leather chairs, and low-key lighting—which allows space for the food to shine. As before, guests can choose from six, seven, or eight courses, including a wine-matching option for each; expect a series of immaculately presented taste explosions that include foie gras frozen in nitrous oxide, dukkah pulpo foul with chickpeas, and lamb served with eggplant and sour cherries. We recommend you save room for dessert.

The waters surrounding Bequia beckon scuba divers with everything from brilliant sponges, colorful fish, and deep-water corals to shallow reefs, sheer walls, caverns, holes, and wrecks. While the area is home to 30 or so easily accessible diving sites, you should head to the designated marine park, which occupies seven miles along Bequia’s leeward coast. Family-run outfitter Dive Bequia (located on Belmont Walkway in Port Elizabeth) offers three dive trips to the park each day, along with instruction, certification, and rental gear. Divers must be at least 8 years old, but snorkelers of all ages are welcome as well.

Perched like an eagle’s nest in the lower Alps, just steps from Italy, this 1930s landmark restaurant faces a stunning rainbow of blues in the expansive view of ocean and sky just beyond its vertiginous glass walls. Taking inspiration from his own heritage and his international kitchen staff, Italo-Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco is making a name for himself for colorful cuisine that plays with contrasts of flavor and texture. Dishes often include an uncommon ingredient—the chamomile broth, for instance, or a combination of oysters, pears, and caviar; the bread served with a poem. The food is both pretty on the plate and a pleasure for the palate.

A loud mix of hipsters, college students, and professionals enjoy three floors of entertainment and fun at this traditional-themed British pub. Nosh on favorites like fish and chips, bangers and mash, and the “Brixton Burger” with bacon and fried egg on its first floor restaurant. Down a pint of Fuller or St. James at the second floor’s Lodge Bar adorned with wood paneling, brick walls, antler lighting fixtures, and leather furniture. Or head upstairs one more level to bask in the panoramic views of D.C. and the surrounding U Street neighborhood on its rooftop deck.

Hotel Atarazana is a simple, airy, and clean hotel a stone’s throw from Plaza España at the north-east of Santo Domingo’s Zona Colonial. There is a cute walled courtyard where you take breakfast, and an open rooftop (with some shade) for sunbathing, reading, and rum; drinking water is included; and the staff are friendly and some speak English. All the Zona Colonial’s sights are within easy walking distance; the pedestrianized El Conde is a ten minute saunter south. (Note: The hotel is so close to the bars / clubs off Plaza España that it can get noisy at night.)

Not too long ago, the Palms Casino Resort, just west of the Strip, was synonymous with “Oops! I Did It Again”-era Britney Spears and the Playboy Club that attracted porn stars from all over the world. That changed when the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians bought the place in 2021, and the property became the largest Native American–owned hotel-casino in town. Since then, the San Manuel have restored the coolness factor the Palms enjoyed in its early aughts heyday. The Playboy Club is gone, but the famous themed suites got a refresh and are as mind-boggling as ever. The Hardwood Suite famously has an NBA-caliber basketball half-court and a full locker room, while the Kingpin Suite is designed around two bowling lanes. The Cinema Suite contains a screening room with theater-style seating and a full movie screen.


In addition to the specialty suites, Palms has 1,365 guest rooms, all recently renovated. Accommodations in the Fantasy Tower were designed with muted tones, while the ones in the Ivory Tower are more colorful and feature modern art on the walls. Ghost Bar, a cocktail lounge on the 55th floor, offers epic views of the Strip; it’s not as hopping as it was in the 2000s, but it still offers live entertainment every weekend.


Related: 7 Hotels to Book for “Non-Vegas” People

“We hope you adapt to our bohemian philosophy,” say the staff at Hotel La Semilla, by way of explanation when guests ask why rooms have no televisions (there is, however, Wi-Fi and AC). With distressed walls and furniture, the hotel has a shabby chic feel (or, as they describe it, “rough luxe”), and owners Alexis and Angie treat all guests as friends. Part of the room rate is earmarked as a donation to the Friends of Sian Ka’an, a conservation group dedicated to the preservation of the nearby Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.

Each evening as the sun sets, Stone Town’s Forodhani Gardens park transforms into an open-air food market. Skip the fish kebabs and head straight to the vendors selling urojo, a thick mango-and-tamarind soup served alongside chickpea fritters, boiled potatoes, cassava flakes, chutney, and as much hot sauce as you dare. Follow it up with hand-pressed sugarcane juice with ginger and lime.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Red Fort, located in New Delhi, is a treasure trove of cultural history. You can spend hours wandering among the various buildings, learning much about the history of India. Tucked away within the walls of the Red Fort is the Hall of Public Audience. Don’t be fooled by the modest red exterior, for once you cross the threshold you are greeted by intricately detailed inlaid-paneled walls that run from the floor to the canopy-ceiling. It is within this chamber that the emperor would receive people from the community and hear their complaints. (I entered this building to whine about the 104-degree heat, but alas, there was no emperor available, as it was far too hot.)

They say Hemingway used to drink at La Venencia. If that’s true, you wouldn’t know it: there are no photos of Don Ernesto on its walls, no placards identifying Papa’s favorite table. La Venencia isn’t the kind of establishment to talk about its clientele; rather it holds their confidences tightly in its faded brown folds like any good bar should. The amber glow emanating into Calle Echegaray attracts you to La Venencia, much like a moth to a flame or perhaps, more appropriately, like a barfly to good sherry and sherry is all they serve. Posters of jerez festivals from the 1930’s paper the walls and share that same brown patina of the background as if to say that these aren’t replicas, they are originals with the scars of time to prove it. There are no menus. If you ask for one, the bartender will point to a listing hung over a table or one behind the bar. La Venencia is a wonderful place to enjoy a drink if you follow a few rules. Squeeze into the bar top. The bartender will jot in white chalk figures as you order. Order a copa of manzanilla fine and a tapa of queso and of chorizo. The bartender will slide you a small bowl of olives. Try them. Don’t take pictures inside; remember, the confidences described above. Pet the black cat sleeping on the table. When you ask for the cuenta the bartender will tally your order and then after you pay he will then wipe away your chalky notation with a quick swipe of his hand. I always found that very moment left me a little saddened.

The Newseum is an interactive, ever-evolving tribute to our First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Powerful exhibits such as eight sections of the Berlin Wall (the largest display outside Germany) provide historical context for the importance of free press, while timely exhibits about the civil rights movement provoke reflection on the progress of achieving equality. The daily-updated “Front Pages” gallery of local, national, and international publications is a comparative study on current events, while the archive of headlines highlighting momentous events from the 1400s through today is an engaging history lesson. Peruse Pulitzer Prize–winning photography, enjoy panoramic views down Pennsylvania Avenue, and test your journalistic skills with a recorded mock-broadcast—reading a teleprompter is not as easy as you may think!