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While hotels close temporarily and occupancy rates plummet due to the coronavirus pandemic, properties look to inspire with messages of light.

The Four Seasons, the St. Regis, and the Yotel group were among the first to throw open their doors.

Kimpton’s “Stay Human Project” is the latest attempt at transforming a simple hotel stay into a deeper, more memorable experience.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we all have a very personal approach to which experiences we’re more comfortable with and how to minimize risks. Two AFAR staffers share their different takes.

Want to work from paradise (WFP) while your kids take a schoolcation? The new academic year is shaping up to be a buzzword-heavy global learning experience far from the schoolyard.

One year after hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread destruction on numerous islands, the region is gearing up for the high season with renovated properties that sparkle like the surrounding sea.

A guide to comfort foods from street vendors for cold days exploring Seoul

A robot named YO2D2 has the run of Boston’s Yotel, making room deliveries and schmoozing in the lobby.

Everyone appreciates a friendly experience at a hotel or restaurant—it’s what keeps us coming back. Here’s how to bring some of that magic into your own home.

The inside scoop on a hotel debut in New York’s NoMad neighborhood.

Escape the central business district and explore new neighborhoods

There are thousands of traditional Japanese inns with hot springs across Japan. This hot spring lodge is part of a decade-old Japanese pastime.

Switzerland certainly doesn’t lack for world-class chocolate, and Durig Chocolatier continues the tradition with a focus on organic and fair-trade ingredients. At the chocolaterie in the French-speaking Swiss city of Lausanne, master chocolatier Dan Durig leads demonstrations of chocolate-making techniques and treats participants to samples of rare varieties. You’ll want to stock up on sweet souvenirs before you leave, but because no artificial additives, colorings, or flavorings are used, Durig chocolate is best enjoyed within three weeks of purchase.

The 1926 brick building that houses Hotel Ändra has an interesting history: Originally built as efficiency apartments, it served as a transfer station for the Women’s Army Corp from 1945 to 1947. Although this downtown site has operated as a small hotel since the 1970s, it was fully redesigned in 2004 to become the Hotel Ändra, now a showcase of design using Pacific Northwest materials like wood and stone, combined with Scandinavian style—a nod to the city’s Nordic roots. Even though it’s at the nexus of the city, the hotel feels cozy. The fireplace in the living room–style lobby and the casual, inviting atmosphere make it a refuge from the buzz of the streets outside. The restaurant, Lola, is a partnership with one of Seattle’s best-loved celebrity chefs, Tom Douglas, making Hotel Ändra an excellent home base for those in town to experience Seattle’s abundant local restaurants.

As you approach Mina street, just south of the 20 de Noviembre market in Oaxaca, the smell of chocolate fills the air. There are several chocolate grinding shops along this street. One of the most popular is Chocolate Mayordomo, where you can almost always see cocoa beans being ground to make the Oaxacan chocolate that is frequently consumed here. The shop attendant puts the cocoa beans along with some cinnamon sticks and almonds in the top of the machine and out the bottom comes a thick, rich paste, which he mixes with sugar. This is the very simple process by which Mexican chocolate is made. It creates a somewhat gritty product which is more suited to making hot chocolate than to consuming on its own, but since they’re giving out free samples, you may as well have a few pieces while you decide what kind you want to purchase to take home with you.