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Opened in 1915 as Tent City—a string of luxury canvas tents along Lac Beauvert, with vistas of Whistlers Peak and Pyramid Mountain—the iconic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge was possibly North America’s first “glamping” site. The destination proved wildly popular, and in 1922 a main lodge was opened, as well as a series of luxury log cabins spread across 700 acres in the heart of Jasper National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Bristling with Douglas firs and pine trees, the property sees herds of elk nibbling the grass, chipmunks scurrying through the trees, and even the occasional bear. The 442 rooming options—all of which were renovated between 2015 and 2017—include cozy spots in the main building, fireplace-equipped Junior Suites, and bring-the-whole-family Signature Cabins, all with views across the lake or the forest and mountains. The newly introduced Estate Cabins, located near the golf course, feature a private gated entrance for a more residential feel. Classic lodge-style interior design is the order of the day in the cabins, with wood beams and a combination of earthy and granite tones, while rooms and suites are clean-lined and decked out in fresh white bedding and light wood accents.

Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, no longer lacks small, design-driven hotels. Located in the city’s Old Town, Amapa has 55 guest rooms that display Mexican weavings by fiber artist Mariella Motilla and hammocks handmade in the Yucatán peninsula. From $200. This appeared in the May/June 2018 issue.

Just southwest of Astoria, Fort Clatsop replicates the encampment built by Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery soon after they reached the Pacific. From December 1805 to March 1806, they hunted and gathered food, distilled salt, traded with the local tribes and documented their surroundings. The center includes the log fort (staffed by costumed rangers), an exhibit hall, a gift shop and films, plus trailheads for the Fort to Sea Trail and the Netul River Trail.

Sit down to dine at The Mansion, and you may come face to face with a spread that looks like this: Skagit River sockeye salmon with green risotto and confit tomatoes; Snake River flat iron steak with beet sauce; and sprigs of fresh lavender in a dainty vase. Certainly you can be sure you’ll be sampling the finest Pacific Northwest bounty, given the restaurant’s commitment to sourcing most ingredients—including stone fruit, mushrooms, oysters, Mangalitsa pigs, and greens—from Orcas Island and its environs. The restaurant occupies the waterfront veranda of historic Moran Mansion, part of Rosario Resort & Spa and named for shipbuilder and former Seattle mayor Robert Moran.

It’s got trendy cocktails, DJs, and a fashionable crowd, but the real reason to head to this swanky lounge is for the views—of the sea, the sky, and the whole of Barcelona below. Located 26 stories up, on the topmost floor of the renovated oceanfront W Hotel, the sleek bar is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass; there’s simply no better spot to watch dusk fall and the lights of Barcelona twinkle on than from a coveted window seat here. The cocktail menu changes seasonally, but mainstays include the watermelon martini and passion fruit martini; there’s also a rather good sushi menu. DJs start spinning at 11 p.m. on weekdays, midnight on weekends, and that’s when the party really gets started—after all, nothing happens in Barcelona before 10 p.m. Be sure to reserve a table in advance, and dress smartly.

This ice field—named for the Baltimore university—numbers among Alaska’s most picturesque; it’s also one of the planet’s few advancing tidewater glaciers. On a clear day, sunlight ignites the turquoise blue of its 76-meter-tall face (called “a snout”), which is backed by the snow-gilded crags of the Fairweather Range. Stretching 20 kilometers in length, this river of frozen water flows more than three meters each day and has a cave where it kisses the ocean.

As of May 2018, El Conquistador Resort and Las Casitas Village are closed indefinitely, due to damage sustained during Hurricane Maria.

Situated atop a 300-foot bluff on the eastern tip of Puerto Rico, El Conquistador Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, spreads across 500 acres overlooking the converging waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. A stay at El Conquistador is a transformative experience. Guests can relax at the Eucalyptus steam room, enjoy exotic cocktails while gazing at the El Yunque Rainforest, or even kayak around a private island. Guestrooms and suites are divided into five villages, and feature ocean views, 23 restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, a state-of-the-art aquatic playground/water park for families, and the resort’s private island, Palmino Island, featuring water sports and white sand beaches.

Located on a craggy cliff jutting between Meads Bay and Turtle Cove Beach, Malliouhana has views of the glittering aquamarine sea that will hypnotize guests from the moment they arrive to its chic porte cochere. The bright, cerulean open-air lobby with mirrored mosaic-tile flooring tumbles out to a deck where tiered infinity pools are punctuated by ruffled yellow umbrellas, and a cliffside restaurant serves fresh seafood and farm-to-table fare. Built in 1984, this is Anguilla’s original luxury resort, which reopened in December 2018 after a complete restoration following Hurricane Irma. While guests may find it hard to take their eyes off the dazzling Caribbean, the 46-room boutique hotel’s interior design offers its own portal to the sublime with an aesthetic that can best be described as tropical eclectic. Guest rooms are painted sorbet yellow or robin’s-egg blue and feature white lacquer four-poster beds, mural panels by Haitian artist Jasmin Joseph, Venetian glass lamps, and sea-green marble bathroom vanities. All of this somehow swirls together for a look that’s both regal and untamed. Beyond the rooms, guests can look forward to an extended pool deck with fresh cabanas, as well as the Bar Soleil, which offers a prime spot to watch Anguilla’s famous sunsets.

Named for the beach it sits on and famous for its views, Moonstone Grill is set at the junction of Little River and the Pacific, with a patio and large windows overlooking both. Given its full bar and specialty cocktails, many visitors like simply to enjoy a drink and take in the sunset. That’s a shame, because the food is good, too. The menu consists of local appetizers, seasonal seafood plates, and top-notch steaks. It’s not cheap, and you’ll want to make a reservation: Word has gotten out about this high-end, low-key Humboldt classic.

Chef Laurent Tourondel’s LT Steak & Seafood, located inside the historic Betsy Hotel on Ocean Drive, is popular not just with hotel guests but locals as well, who stop in for an afterwork cocktail or a nice night out. The restaurant does what its name indicates, and the menu is evenly divided between prime cuts of porterhouse and rib eye and fresh seafood from local waters and elsewhere, as well as sushi, sashimi, and ceviche. At dinner, there is often live entertainment such as jazz in the conservatory or a performance by an opera singer.

Why would a local visit a tourist attraction? Because Kualoa is a beautiful escape and a place to appreciate Hawaiian culture. Building sprees that began in the early 1900s spread across Hawaii with no concern for desecrating places of cultural significance or taro farmland, making it more remarkable that this land system running from the mountains to the sea, known as an ahupua’a, still exists. The Morgan family, descendants of Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, land-owner after King Kamehameha III, have diligently kept the integrity of the area intact while providing a financial base to preserve Kualoa’s 4000 acres on Oahu. Drive out to the ranch on your own or arrange a Waikiki pick-up, then take in a full or half-day of tours, a beach day, and dinner show. Kualoa Ranch has been a scene-stealer in many movies and a tour will drive you through some of the locations. If horseback riding is your thing, experienced wranglers can set you up on well-kept horses. While your gentle mount does all of the work, magnificent vistas will leave you breathless. For those preferring their horsepower with four tires, there are ATV rides or, a jungle expedition in a Pinzgauer up mountain trails stopping for a stunning view of Kane’ohe Bay, an 800-year-old fishpond and a tiny island called Mokoli’i. There are easy options like the garden tour and fishpond boat ride. Everyone will enjoy the authentic Hawaiian show featuring ancient dances about Kualoa while dining under the stars.

Part of the spectacular wind- and ocean-eroded shoreline of the Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve, Cathedral Cove, on New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, is reached via an undulating coastal track that takes around 40 minutes to hike. To avoid the inevitable crowds, it’s best to visit the massive stone arch early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and the natural shower of the arch’s waterfall is a refreshing option after the walk. The stunning beach is also popular for swimming, and en route there’s good snorkeling at Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay. To arrive at the cove by sea (a short hop from the nearby resort town of Hahei), contact Cathedral Cove Water Taxi.

Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock as many know it, is one of the most recognized landmarks anywhere in the world. This strange giant rock in the middle of the Australian Outback has long kindled imaginations, going back millennia. It may be an important tourist site today, but it also holds immense cultural value for the original inhabitants of the area, something I learned all about on the very unique Anangu Tour of Uluru.
In the Pitjantjatjara language, anangu means person or human being, and the tours are designed to teach newcomers about the native peoples. The tours are given in the Pitjantjatjara language, with interpreters translating for the guides. It’s not that the guide didn’t know English, he certainly did, it’s that they want visitors to hear the nuances of a language most of us have never before encountered.
The walk around the rock was an enlightening experience, learning all about traditional culture and the extreme importance Uluru holds in the Tjukurpa or Dream Time. Tjukurpa is Aboriginal law, culture, history, and their worldview all bundled into one. It is expansive, impossibly ancient and much of it is shrouded in mystery, transmitted only to certain people at particular times in their lives. To be a part of that was a humbling experience.

This restaurant in northwest Tasmania—defined by a blond wood wall, white bucket chairs, and stoneware dishes—wouldn’t feel out of place in hip Hobart, or even in Sydney or Melbourne. It’s Scandinavian in style, but the food veers more French and Italian: pork, chorizo, and pea risotto; seared scallops with pickled fennel; duck rillettes; a lemon brûlée tart with raspberry chantilly cream. But seven-course degustation dinners and acoustic-guitar sessions are very, well, Tasmanian. Degustation dishes could feature everything from mint-cured ocean trout and sous vide squid for starters to entrées of slow-cooked lamb belly and confit duck served over charred peach purée and prosciutto.

You can easily spend an entire day exploring the various attractions at this vast ocean-themed casino resort, which sits just over Nassau’s harbor bridge on Paradise Island. Purchasing a day pass to the property lets you access, for instance, its gigantic aquarium and marine habitat; shallow-water swims with sea creatures at Dolphin Cay; and a 57-hectare (141-acre) water park, which includes wave pools, swimming areas and—most famously—a six-story waterslide that plunges you into a lagoon seemingly filled with sharks (actually a glass-bottomed pool where sharks swim underneath).