Search results for

The large, leafy patio of this mezze restaurant in bohemian Exarchia was once the local schoolyard. Now cozy couples and animated gaggles of friends gather beneath the flowering bowers to enjoy some of the most honest and comforting food in town. Order as many dishes as you can fit on the table and share them all. Rather than traditional Greek fare, the menu is a tasty Mediterranean pick-and-mix. Try the cracked wheat salad with green apple, mint, and dried figs; meatballs seasoned with cinnamon and clove; and mini lamb kebabs. The high-ceilinged, well-lit classrooms make charming dining rooms in cooler weather. Service is unfailingly friendly and relaxed.

A school-turned-mezedopoleío serves delicious meze including bakalyaro (walnut-crusted fish fillets) and pita topped with yogurt and smoked eggplant. Bonus: a patio surrounded by bougainvillea.

A tribute to the zinfandel grape, which originated in Croatia, this restaurant and bar features a zin-centric wine list but also showcases regional favorites like Plavac and Dingač. Of its 100 wines, it offers about 30 by the glass, encouraging guests to taste their way through Croatia’s wine heritage. Pair your drinks with one of the restaurant’s three-tiered platters, which come loaded with Dalmatian bites, then settle in on the terrace for some live music. If you’re hungry for a full meal, opt instead for the five-course “Taste of Dalmatia” menu, which includes everything from seared Adriatic tuna and homemade oxtail ravioli to calamari stuffed with ricotta and sun-dried tomatoes. Come morning, Zinfandel also serves breakfast, which diners can pair with champagne or fig-flavored travarica, a local herb grappa.

Nestled into the base of Mount Sturgeon, at the southern entrance of Grampians National Park roughly three and a half hours from Melbourne, the Royal Mail Hotel combines a bush experience with world-class food and wine. The property is a slow-paced reprieve at the site where the town of Dunkeld was first settled. Accommodations range from minimalist mountain-view rooms bedecked with furniture and light fixtures by Melbourne designer Jardan to the Mt. Sturgeon sheep station, home to a six-bedroom homestead as well as eight dog-friendly sandstone cottages with bathrooms built inside old water tanks. Gardens play a prominent role in the Royal Mail experience; the hotel has the largest kitchen garden in Australia, which supplies the restaurant with nearly all its organic produce, and a 24-acre private garden is home to many rare indigenous and non-indigenous plants. With the Grampian Mountains and their year-round waterfalls right at the hotel’s back door, the Royal Mail is also a prime base for exploring the wilderness and its native wildlife. After a day in the woods, guests can indulge in an eight-course tasting menu with matched wines from one of the top-ranked cellars in the world.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa is located in one of the Philippines’ most popular vacation spots. And while it has all the musts—the turquoise waters, the powdered-sugar shores, the lush hills—what it doesn’t have is the crowds. And therein lies the resort’s beauty, or at least some of it. Tucked into an eco-reserve with its own shimmering beach, the Shangri-La is also home to a canopy-cloaked dining aerie, sunset-surveying clifftop cabanas, and a peninsular spa on a private bay. Accommodations are impeccably appointed with local touches (think woven abaca rugs and lamps bedecked with capiz shells), and several of the lodgings feel more like private vacation homes. Take the aptly named treehouse villa, for example, where the canopy-level second story commands stunning sea views (best enjoyed from the hot tub on the balcony), or the pool villas, where the lure of en suite swimming almost overpowers the sea just outside.

Offering something more immersive than classic resort dining, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru has a four-course menu that can be served right on the beach. Watch a chef prepare your gourmet Maldivian lobster dinner right in front of you while you listen to the soothing sounds of waves lapping at the shoreline and enjoying the fresh sea air. Alternatively, choose the Sharkpoint option and tuck into sea scallops and lobster on a secluded stretch of sand. For a dose of culture, head to the open-air Naiboli Bar on a Friday night and take in a traditional bodu beru performance on the beach.

Peace, relaxation, beauty, and a tasty menu—the Beach Tree Bar is a fabulous place to watch the sun close out the day past the Pacific Ocean. With swaying palm trees and a large tree right on the beach, the casual lounge is perfect for pupus (appetizers) and a cocktail to celebrate sundown. Located at the Four Seasons Hualalai Resort, the bar sits on a pretty stretch of sand on the Kohala Coastline. Flavors are fresh, creative, and from the Island when possible.

Qibao, in Chinese, means ‘seven treasures’. And a treasure it is. The closest water town to Shanghai, it holds both the charm of an ancient, canal-traversed village as well as one of the most famous food streets in Shanghai. Head to Qibao Old Street for a culinary tour de force. And while you shouldn’t leave without sampling the Hai Tang Gao (rice cakes with a red bean filling) or--if your nose can handle it--the stinky tofu, there’s more to this little water town than the snacks. Round out your cultural venture with a shadow play show, a trip to the Qibao Temple or even a cricket fight. How to get here: Jump on Line 9 to Qibao Station and take exit 2 to reach the old town.

It’s an uphill walk to get to Glo’s, and, once you get there, you’ll have to wait because it’s pocket sized. But let’s say you sit on the benches outside, watching the busy intersection under grey stormy skies (the only kind you get in Seattle) and 15 (20, 30) minutes later your table’s ready. The buttery hash brown, bacon, coffee aroma and warmth hits you as you walk in the door to a room so bright and alive with those yellow tables. Your tattooed bearded waiter asks, “Would you like a coffee?” You say, “Definitely!” And then, as you settle in with a menu and a steaming cup of local joe, you think, “I could stay here all afternoon.” And maybe you should.

The most stunning dining room in celebrity chef Neil Perry’s restaurant empire has got to be Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney. Seated amid soaring green marble columns and Art Deco windows in a space designed by Emil Sodersten, diners can choose between the finest steaks, seafood, cocktails, and wines—more than 3,000 of them—that Australia has to offer. Dry-aged beef and sustainable fish are simple yet succulent, cooked over an open flame or in the wood-fired rotisserie. Start with the signature Four Raw Tastes of the Sea before savoring the Wagyu or Cape Grim steak, or opt for classy appetizers and cocktails in the candlelit bar, adorned with 2,682 hanging Riedel riesling glasses.

A Sunset Strip retreat that blends high design with sustainable practices

• A sustainable design that employs reclaimed timber, recycled carpeting, and lush native greenery
• Healthy extras like yoga mats, kombucha, and local snacks in every room
• Four separate dining options serving California cuisine and craft cocktails, plus a lobby farm stand with fresh fruits

After a brief stint as The Jeremy, this Sunset Strip property opened as L.A.’s first 1 Hotel in May 2019 with a strong focus on sustainability. As soon as you drive up to the valet (which offers electric charging stations), you’ll be enveloped by a biophilic world of plants, reclaimed wood, and rough-hewn granite. The reception desk is made from a massive tree that fell in Mendocino, while the cozy lobby is filled with wood and linen-covered furniture made locally by J. Alexander. Also on the ground floor is a farm stand with fresh produce for the taking; 1 Kitchen, which serves sustainably sourced California cuisine among tables that resemble sliced trees; and Goodthings, a retail shop selling Earth + Element pottery, organic cotton clothing, and a selection of all-natural face serums and tonics.

The 285 rooms feature earth tones, floor-to-ceiling windows, multiple plants in volcanic rock planters, and unfinished wooden wardrobes filled with hangers made from recycled paper. Guests can also look forward to extras like yoga mats, comfy cotton robes, and minibars stocked with kombucha and local snacks like Fat Uncle Farms Cajun-Flavored California Almonds, plus all-natural dog bones and candles with the hotel’s signature scent. Bathrooms have deep marble tubs and full-size bath products—no single-use plastics here. Elsewhere in the hotel, the heated pool features a plant-filled deck with plenty of loungers and views of downtown, while a fitness center by Performix, a rooftop bar, and an organic garden with a beehive offer more places for guests to gather. From $518

People see beautiful rice paddy photos before they visit Bali, and often they arrive not knowing how to seek out those gorgeous landscapes. A guided cycling tour is a lovely way to take it in. This company takes you into the hills by car, then you wind your way back down, village-to-village, on your bike.

Once called Hulk Bay after the prison ship that was moored here, the Sydney suburb is now known for stately homes and amazing harbor views. This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

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.

Formerly Belcampo.

Each of the 16 rooms at Copal Tree Lodge is a spacious villa-style suite set on the edge of the jungle, which gives a sense of privacy and peacefulness. Guests shouldn’t be surprised to see coatimundi, agouti, and other wildlife while showering in the spa-style bathrooms with their floor-to-ceiling windows. Tile floors, comfortable beds wrapped with gauzy mosquito nets, and private verandas are standard in every suite, as is Wi-Fi and complimentary laundry service, and the hotel has a pool and a restaurant/bar. The numerous outdoor activities include exploring Copal Tree Lodge’s chocolate trail and kayaking or canoeing on the Rio Grande River at the base of the property; various trips can be organized off-site, too. The hotel is closed from mid-September to late October.

The Rose Garden at Emmarentia Dam is a favourite spot for locals to hangout and relax under the shade of a tree and have a picnic. Did you know: There are approximately 4500 rose bushes in the garden! The best time to go is in Spring or Summer when everything is green and there’s a good amount of foliage on the trees for shade.