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Ningbo’s Old Bund was the place where historic British and Dutch traders lived and you can still see remaining architecture. The swooped lines of Chinese-style buildings are replaced by old stone buildings with familiar details. Also known as Laowaitan, the area is now a lively street full of bars and restaurants. In the evenings, find bamboo sticks of vegetables, seafood, and meat grilled over big chunks of charcoal and smothered in spices—the perfect snack after a few drinks at the Old Bund.

Delhi Darbar is an excellent Indian restaurant in Xi’an. I usually order palak paneer and malai kofta when trying a new Indian restaurant, because unlike curries, it’s really hard to make these without fresh ingredients. (In China, you either need to make your own paneer or serve something with shelf-stable cheese in it.) The dishes were perhaps a bit bland and safe, but they unambiguously passed the quality test. We also had some veggie raita and garlic naan, both of which were highly delicious. We knew this place was legit when we asked for some pickles and they brought us a half-full jar of imported spicy Indian pickles.

One of the most traditional restaurants in Madrid with lovely, attentive waitstaff, and ambiance that is reminiscent of old Madrid. Heavy curtains pulled to the side reveal massive oil paintings next to ornate gold carved light posts which stud the walls. The menu fluctuates with the season and local offerings, but some standards always remain: their most popular being cochinillo (roast suckling pig) and the lamb. When I last visited, I had the broken eggs as an appetizer and they were the best of my life. But, what stole the show was the sommelier who navigated us through the wine list (over 1000 labels) from Verdejo to Vermouth and back again. Dress your best, it’s not unusual to mingle with the highest of Madrid’s society here! Image courtesy of Zalacain.

Opened in 2017 as the first Fairmont property in Turkey, this 209-room hotel is inside a 41-story luxury high-rise in the Mecidiyeköy business district, close to high-end shopping and dining. Gaze past the hotel’s landscaped gardens to the city and all the way to the Bosphorus from your private balcony—every room and suite has one, along with a 48-inch smart TV, pillow-top mattress, rain shower, Le Labo Rose products, and your choice of tub or traditional Turkish bath (complete with heated pedestal). More Turkish flair—and flavors—are on offer at Aila restaurant and Demlique café, while Stations serves dishes from around the world and the Marble Bar pairs small bites with an international selection of wine. While these Turkish touches can be found throughout the property—most notably at the expansive Willow Stream Spa, with its selection of herbal products and authentic hammam treatments—the hotel has a decidedly contemporary vibe and style, and feels part of today’s buzzing Istanbul. Case in point: the Ukiyo seasonal outdoor infinity pool, envisioned with Instagrammable whimsy by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.

Follow the twinkling sconces down a path framed with pink bougainvillea and gnarled olive trees into the complex of stone dwellings that is Kapsaliana Village Hotel. Once an 18th-century village tucked quietly in the hills above Rethymno, the site was abandoned and left to crumble before being renovated by architect-owner Myron Toupoyannis into a low-key resort with 19 luxe yet understated guesthouses in 2008. Surrounded by one of Crete’s largest olive groves, the property is arranged around a turquoise pool that stretches toward the Aegean, providing beautiful backdrops at every turn. Nearby, couples gather on the restaurant terrace with a glass of rosé or licorice-scented raki. Pitharia, or large clay storage vessels, are sprinked throughout the public spaces, while accommodations display historical elements like arched doorways, exposed timber beams, and stone walls. For a real trip back in time, stay in the 1763 olive mill suite, where a breakfast of homemade bread and local eggs and honey is served in front of the fireplace, then visit the village’s 17th-century church and sit in on olive-oil tastings.

If the romance of a vineyard sounds appealing, several wineries offer you the chance to dine among the vines. Locals choose the Vega Manchón Winery (pictured here), where former Rosewood chef Carlos Segura pairs entrées with the vineyard’s wines. Restaurante de la Santísima Trinidad, nestled within the grounds of its namesake vineyard, is open only on weekends but can provide a relaxing daylong respite, especially if combined with the winery’s other diversions like polo matches (and polo lessons for all levels of expertise), yoga, or massages. For best romantic results, follow the recipe of poet Omar Khayyam, “A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou….”

Instead of worrying about who will be the designated driver, purchase tickets for the hop-on, hop-off Franschhoek Wine Tram—the easiest way to explore the vineyards of the Franschhoek Valley. Choose from one of six color-coded tram routes, each of which stops at eight different wine estates. The earlier you arrive to the tram depot in the morning, the more vineyards you’ll be able to visit throughout the day. The trams arrive and depart each farm hourly, so if you decide you’d like to linger longer at one stop, you can simply wait for the next ride. Just don’t forget to catch the last tram back to the depot.

The Wine House Hotel of Quinta da Pacheca is the ideal retreat in the Douro, where peace, tranquillity, elegance and comfort are just some of the adjectives to describe the unique facilities prepared for you. Inserted in a 51 ha. (126 ac.) farm full of vineyards stretching down to the Douro, the Wine House Hotel Quinta da Pacheca is an intense and soulful hotel that surprises for its history, combined with an innovative and sophisticated style.


The main building is a typical 18th century house that was completely restored respecting its traditional architecture and original values. The common spaces and its fifteen unique rooms benefit now of a modern and avant-garde image, with sober and elegant features. This is a boutique hotel totally devoted to gastronomy and wine tourism, where well-being and comfort are omnipresent values and where vineyards and wine play a crucial role.


Quinta da Pacheca is the poster child of an ancient winery being adapted to the modern demands of the modern wine traveller. The main houses in the centre of the estate was recently renovated into a chic - boutique - luxury wine hotel. It very elegantly mixes some modern and contemporary elements in a way that one can understand that the owners never lost touch with the Quinta’s heritage. The restaurant is proudly served by Chef Carlos Pires, a man from the interior Northwest of Portugal (Trás-os-Montes - my favourite part of the country) so traditional bold Portuguese flavours are in the main driver in an elegantly plated menu.

Six Senses is known for top-tier, sustainability-focused resorts in far-flung locales like the Maldives but, in 2015, the Bangkok-based hospitality brand opened its first European resort in Portugal’s wine-producing Douro Valley. Housed in a 19th-century manor house with a terracotta-tiled roof, the property features a contemporary interior, outfitted in shades of muted gold, gray, and white. Set high on a hill, the 57 rooms, suites, and villas offer stunning views of rolling vineyards, lush forests, or the property’s courtyard.

For what are undoubtedly the best vistas, choose one of the fifth-floor Quinta Panorama Suites, each with floor-to-ceiling windows that look straight onto the meandering Douro River. A wine cellar and library showcase the best of the region’s vintages, while three restaurants make use of vegetables and herbs harvested from the resort’s own organic garden. Apropos of a spa in wine country, nail treatments come with wine and cheese tastings, and scrubs and masks are individually blended with grapes, salts, herbs, and other natural ingredients.

Celebrity chefs Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala serve brightly spiced dishes at their flagship restaurant—often hailed as one of the world’s finest for Indian food. Their wine-marinated lamb popsicles are legendary, but their menu has other stars, too, like jackfruit in cumin-black-cardamom curry, boneless chicken wings on ricotta-sweet-potato cookies, and Punjabi-style goat meat with spiced vegetables. Thankfully, the lines have calmed since Vij’s 2015 move to bigger digs on Cambie Street, where guests can also enjoy a great rooftop patio.

Cheap house wine for sale on the side of the road outside of the village of Pyrgos. Santorini is famous for its tradition of small vineyards that produce fruity wines. Visitors can easily spend the day winery-hopping around the island.

Portland isn’t exactly the kind of city that’s known for being “fancy,” which was why it was so bold for the Starwood Luxury Collection to add a sleek 15th floor to the top of the iconic Meier & Frank department store building downtown—and turn the top nine floors into the swankiest hotel in town. Who would’ve thought that Louis XVI chairs, tufted white leather and teal velvet, crystal chandeliers, and ornate wallpaper would work so well in the city of plaid, beards, and twee bird patterns? In true Field of Dreams fashion, Starwood built it and the travelers came out of the woodwork, hungry for a luxury hotel that embodies the Rose City with everything from environmentally conscious practices and farm-to-table restaurants to an extensive art collection and rooftop honey bee colony. All that’s to say nothing of the private club-like Library, a collaboration with Portland icon Powell’s Books (the world’s largest bookstore) that allows hotel guests to borrow from a curated collection of 3,000 books during their stay. As it turns out, it’s not all that hard to dress Portland to the nines.

Local chef Donnie Masterton long ago refined the art of matching sensory experience to fine food, and The Restaurant, on Sollano in the Centro, offers thrills on every level. Dinner here is an occasion for shirts with collars for men and shoes otherwise reserved for dancing for the women. (Dancing, by the way, often erupts in the bar in the wee hours, so it’s good to be prepared.) And while every night at Donnie’s proves a visual treat, Thursday nights are the see-and-be-seen scene, when locals stop in for gourmet burgers—available that night alone—with their Chateau Puy Blanquet St. Emilion Grand Cru.

On the North Fork of Long Island, Shinn Estate Farmhouse Inn is tucked away on a peaceful vineyard. Rooms are in the estate’s historic 1880s homestead, and guests get to experience life on the vineyard—and taste the final product in the winery’s tasting rooms. There is also a lovely front porch and gazebo for kicking back with a glass of wine. A cozy wood-burning stove in the reception area is an ideal spot on a chilly day. Breakfast here is a slow and civilized affair, starting with hot coffee and finishing with a full farmhouse hot breakfast from chef David Page, made from farm-fresh ingredients. This is the pastoral North Fork at its best, designed for lazy afternoons, sleeping in, and one too many glasses of wine.

Quinta do Portal is a Portuguese and independent family company that has embraced with passion the concept of Boutique Winery, and is dedicated to the production of DOC Douro wines, premium quality Port wines and Muscat. The family MansilhaBranco, owner of Quinta do Portal, is a producer of wines in the Douro Region since immemorial times (the first reference we have dates back to 1477) and has always been linked to its key moments, such as the establishment of the General Company for the Agriculture of the Alto Douro Vineyards on the 10th September 1756, which originated the first demarcated region in the world, led by Frei (Brother) João de Mansilha. At present, the agricultural heritage consists of five Farms (Quinta do Portal, Quinta dos Muros, Quinta do Confradeiro, Quinta da Abelheira e Quinta das Manuelas), located in The Pinhão River Valley, adding up more than one hundred hectares of vineyards (247 ac.).