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Leave your flip flops at the stern and spend four days and three nights of blissful relaxation with Captain Ahmet and Chef Sunny aboard Before Lunch cruises from Fethiye. This Turco-Australian eco-friendly company will cater to your every blue cruise whim as you journey from one Mediterranean idyllic bay to another aboard Ros - a traditional wooden gulet. Take in the panaromic view of lush green cliffs that cascade into turquoise seas and secluded coves of clear tepid waters - ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Lay out your towel on the wooden decks to sunbathe with friends or have some ‘me-time’ on the shaded lounges near the stern. For privacy, retreat to your personal cabin where bedding and bathroom facilities are provided. There’s space for up to 18 people to holiday as they wish! Deciding what to do on the journey is easy. Intrepid travellers can walk the ruins of local islands, whilst leisure-seekers float on the Med. Grab the latest best seller to read, play cards or board games or savor a cold beverage or two. The only stress is deciding what to eat from the delicious cuisine Sunny prepares onboard using the freshest produce from local markets. The highlight of the cruise though comes in the evenings. Watch phytoplankton illuminate the sea or peer to the Milky Way to count shooting stars as you fall asleep in the moonlight. Many companies may offer similar cruises out of Fethiye, but Before Lunch certainly sails ahead of the fleet for blue cruise hospitality.

Propped up on stilts, each of Jungle Bay’s 35 cottages feels like a private tree house, complete with an open-air shower. Overlooking Point Mulatre Bay, the hillside resort offers a full schedule of outdoor activities, from walking along the White River to swimming at the base of roaring Victoria Falls.

Luxury yoga retreats are one of the hottest trends in travel—experience it firsthand at Jungle Bay. This award-winning boutique wellness resort seamlessly blends adventure, relaxation, and creature comforts, like a pampering foot massage at the Spa du Soleil—an ideal way to unwind after a day of hiking. Practice yoga in two expansive outdoor studios overlooking the Caribbean Sea, dine on local specialties made with freshly caught fish and organic ingredients, and stay in one of 30 eco-villas outfitted with bamboo furnishings, hand-painted beddings, and jungle spa bathrooms.

—This appeared in the November/December 2010 issue.

Why we love it: A boutique hotel that puts guests in the heart of it all

The Highlights:
- Allergen-free Pure Wellness rooms
- A convenient location right downtown
- An award-winning steak house on site

The Review:

A boutique stay in the heart of downtown Boise, Hotel 43 seamlessly blends cozy charm with urban style. Works by local artist Amy Westover enliven the cathedral-like lobby (its ceiling soars to 60 feet), while vibrant drapery and bathrobe-clad teddy bears on each bed make the 112 guest rooms feel both chic and homey. If you need more than William Roam bath products and a jetted tub to feel pampered, book one of the Pure Wellness rooms, which offer purified, hypoallergenic accommodation for even the most sensitive of guests.

Hotel 43 also provides travelers with a free pass to the Boise Art Museum, plus loaner bikes for cruising to the Shakespeare Festival or farmers’ market. Come dinnertime, however, you’ll want to stay put for a meal at on-site Chandlers Steakhouse, where Kobe-style beef and fresh seafood are accompanied by live jazz each evening. In the morning, head to Metro Café for Caffé D’arte coffee, freshly baked pastries, and house-made granola, or grab the complimentary airport shuttle to catch your flight home.

The Faroe Islands’ newest boutique hotel, Hotel Havgrím sits on the shore just outside of Tórshavn. Formerly known as the Commodore’s House, the property has been lovingly restored to preserve its sense of history and connection to the sea—plaques with the names of all 21 commodores that have lived in the building since the 1950s hang in the lobby. The 14 airy rooms are equally inspired by the surrounding fjord, with a blue-green-and-white color scheme and sweeping ocean views. Some also have private terraces for taking in the scenery en plein air, as well as adjoining doors to create family suites. En-suite bathrooms include L’Occitane products and glass box showers that look out on the bedroom and the ocean beyond—just know that they don’t afford much privacy.

Every morning, guests should head down to the charming breakfast room, where they can enjoy freshly baked Danish rye bread, smoked salmon, Icelandic skyr yogurt, and more while watching sheep graze on the farmland next door. Be sure to ask for the ginger shots, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and French press coffee, all of which—along with your breakfast—are included in your stay.

If you find yourself in Asheville, NC (and you should, as AFAR’s recent feature pointed out - there’s a lot to love in Asheville); stay at The Grove Park Inn. This historic hotel is part art deco/part arts and crafts with rambling porches and a view of the mountains to rival other properties in town. The Horizons restaurant serves up Michelin-worthy meals and their sommelier will not steer you wrong. The spa buried in the depths of the property has salt water pools and heated waterfalls, with trained masseurs who can erase any ill your body is suffering. Rooms are spacious and comfortable with updated bathrooms. The elevator is built into a massive fireplace. It’s an incredible place that does an excellent job of showing off the quirky character of the Southern town it calls home.

As you enter Barcelona‘s famous Mercat de Sant Josep de La Boqueria from La Rambla, one of the first stalls you encounter is Tocineria Marcos, purveyors of Iberico ham and a stunning array of other cured, cooked, and fresh meats. It’s just one of the dazzling displays of delicacies in this, the most famous of Barcelona‘s 40 or so food markets. (Another favorite, and slightly less touristed, is the beautifully remodeled Mercat de Santa Caterina, short walk away.) La Boqueria dates back to 1217; a pig market was conducted here starting in 1470; and the current metal roof was built in 1914. There’s no better place to shop for a taste of Catalan culture.

A great dining experience can be found at the foot of the iconic Orlando Towers in Soweto in the form of Chaf-Pozi. Chaf-Pozi, is a traditional Shisa nyama. Shisa nyama is a Zulu phrase literally meaning “hot meat”. It is a term used to describe an informal barbecue or braai near a butchery to grill meat in an open fire. The site is usually provided by the butcher owner and only people who buy meat from the butcher are allowed to use the facility. In the photo, a group of friends who were out for a good time are enjoying their freshly picked and prepared meal together, The dining spot is perfectly situated being close to both the FNB and Orlando Stadiums, offering pre and post show meals and entertainment. The services of local taxis are also on offer. This allows guests to be transferred from other major centres to Chaf-Pozi to enjoy a stunning meal, followed by a sporting event or music concert. The extensive menu covers local cuisine including mutton, beef, chicken, wors, samp, pap, chakalaka as well as a variety of tasty side dishes. These meals are chosen fresh from the butchery and then prepared for guests’ enjoyment! Since it’s opening in 2010 the venue has hosted many dignataries and celebrities, and also works well as a spot for company year-end functions and birthday parties.

Located above Explore Booksellers off of Main Street, Pyramid Bistro is Aspen‘s first restaurant serving sustainable food with integrity. Martin, the head chef and owner, prides himself on preparing the freshest food from raw, nutrition-dense ingredients. This is the optimal place to eat if you are gluten-free or vegetarian. You can’t go wrong with one of their amazing salads, delectable stir fries, or house specials like Indian Spiced Red Lentil “Gallette” or Caraway Dusted Petaluma Duck Breast. Dining in a historical Victorian House only enhances the experience.

It’s about a ten-mile round-trip, but a summer hike up to Goat Lake in the Central Cascades will reward you with a glacially-colored mirror of snow-clad crags and distant waterfalls. An easy day-hike from Seattle (if you get up early), it’s also just low enough in elevation so that the trail is usually snow-free by late spring. The day I went, my friend and I had the trail almost to ourselves...Switchbacking up through the dark woods, the roar of McIntosh falls lets you know you’re almost at the top...and then you emerge from the woods into the lake-filled clearing--ethereally colored by the glacially-ground rock particles in the water... We met a couple of guys who’d spent the previous night camping above the alpine lake. Then a crew of Forest Service summer workers arrived, with good spirits, ready advice, and machetes for trail-maintenance. It’s about a 1hr45min drive to the trailhead from Seattle.

“Alon and I are regulars for Friday breakfast. We love their take on the Arab dish shakshuka. In the original, eggs are poached in a sauce of tomatoes and red peppers, but here they use green peppers instead of red, and they add goat cheese.” —Architect Irene Kronenberg

No hotel in Jamaica blends better with its surroundings than the aptly named Rockhouse, a string of villas clinging to the top of a sea cliff at the western tip of the island. Local stone, timber, and thatch are the building materials, and a harmony of design and setting is the result. The feel is rustic, but not rough (the showers might be outdoors, but the rooms are air-conditioned), and the feeling carries over to the pool, which sits on a rock platform halfway down the cliff face, from where sunbathers can don snorkel and mask and clamber down into a usually calm Caribbean. Even the restaurant hangs over the water, adding emphasis to the promise of dishes being fresh from the sea.

As does practically every hotel in Jamaica, Rockhouse has its celebrity stories, going back to the early ‘70s when Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones added their names to the guest register. But it wasn’t until 1994, when a group of Australian owners took over, that Rockhouse began to evolve its reputation as one of the most Jamaican of Jamaican hotels. It happened in part because Rockhouse has none of the formality that some of the island’s best-known hotels, with their British colonial roots, still possess. And in part because of its active role in funding local education projects, it’s a valued, and popular, part of the community. That, and the restaurant’s homemade jerk sausage is legendary.

When a place has not only the longest wooden bar in Texas (100+ feet) and is the oldest watering hole on the Riverwalk, you just know it’s worth a visit. But rather than rest on the above laurels, Esquire Tavern churns out some terrific and thoughtful scratch-made eats and drinks. From starters like pink peppercorn-flecked deviled eggs and mashed potato-filled tacos con papas to heartier fare like burgers, chicken mole and shepherd’s pie, the food takes comfort foods to the next level with fresh, well-sourced ingredients and modern executions. And as the icing on the culinary cake, the craft cocktail program here is award-winning and endlessly interesting. Plan for some enjoyable late nights at the Esquire on your next stop in SA.

On the steep hills above the truffle-obsessed town of Livade in central Istria, Croatia, a man named Vlado Tomažič makes olive oil on his family’s farm. When my husband and I rented the apartment, Casa Maršić (casamarsic.com), adjacent to the farmhouse, we found it the perfect base for exploring the nearby medieval hill towns. We visited Motovun-Montona and Oprtalj-Portole, where we ate fuži, traditional Istrian pasta, with fresh mushrooms and grilled lamb chops at the fantastic Tončić agritourism (agroturizam-toncic.com). We happened to be at the farm during the October harvest and helped Vlado’s friendly crew rake the olives from the trees, taking frequent breaks for gemišt—white wine and sparkling water. Classic Journeys offers seven-night tours of Istria. This appeared in the August/September 2014 issue.

Chill out from the sun at the Blue Hole Mineral Spring, a 50-foot deep turquoise natural pool sitting 20 feet below a cave opening. Jump off the cliff edge like the Jamaican divers on site, if you’re feeling brave. Otherwise, head down slowly on the ladder and let go from a closer distance (like I did). There’s a small entrance fee to this park--located about a half-hour drive south of Negril in the town of Brighton--which includes access to an on site bar and restaurant, as well as an outdoor traditional swimming pool. But my guess is you’ll be too tempted by the underground shimmering and therapeutic fresh water.

With the smallest room a sprawling 400 square feet, and suites and public spaces filled with original 18th- and 19th-century art and antiques, the George V, flagship of the Four Seasons chain, lives up to its billing as a palace, an official tourism category introduced in 2010 requiring establishments to “embody French standards of excellence and contribute to enhancing the image of France throughout the world.” Set in a 1928 art deco building, the Four Seasons Hotel George V boasts a regular clientele of bona fide royals, including Saudi princes who rent entire floors for six weeks at a stretch. The staff includes a team of flower designers led by an art director who worked on Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. There’s also a dedicated concierge for children ordering up pint-sized bathrobes and private pastry-making lessons in the Michelin-starred kitchen.