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An antidote to hectic modern life, Travaasa Hana, on Maui’s remote eastern coast, feels like a step back in time. There are no televisions, radios, clocks, or air-conditioning (ceiling fans and panoramic sliding doors capture ocean breezes) in nearly all of the 70 cottages and suites, but you won’t miss them. Your days will be spent soaking up Hawaiian culture, whether that means fishing with throw nets, making traditional ti leaf leis, or enjoying an open-air ukulele lesson. Of course, no visit to these parts is complete without a journey along the legendary Road to Hana, which lies to the north and west and promises primordial views of waterfalls, gardens, and secluded swimming holes. Upon your return to the resort, savor the fresh-caught specialties at the Preserve Kitchen & Bar, overlooking Hana Bay.

Why we love it: A boutique property with a strong sense of place

The Highlights:
- Cleanly designed rooms hung with local art
- A prime location in one of Duluth’s coolest neighborhoods
- Friendly owners who are ready with restaurant suggestions

The Review:
Opened in the fall of 2018, Hotel Pikku has quickly become one of Duluth’s most sought-after stays. With a name that means Little in Finnish, the boutique property has just three suites, decorated in clean, Scandinavian style with vintage couches, brass side tables, and paintings by local artist Patricia Canelake. Bathrooms feature walk-in showers and cedar-and-citrus-scented bath products, and suites 1 and 3 come with kitchens, which the hotel owners suggest stocking with snacks from the Dovetail Cafe or the Corktown Deli, across the street.

While there’s no permanent on-site staff at Hotel Pikku, the owners are available by text or telephone from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Rooms are bookable on Airbnb and guests check in themselves, making for a seamless stay. Out the front door, the burgeoning Lincoln Park Craft District is home to some of Duluth’s best restaurants and breweries. The hotel is surrounded by several studios and galleries, and is within easy walking distance of the Superior Hiking Trail, Lincoln Park, and entrances to the Duluth Traverse mountain biking trail system.

On the north coast of Donegal, take a drive on part of the Wild Atlantic Way around the Fanad Peninsula and Rosguill Peninsula for some spectacular coastal scenery. There’s a mix of golden beaches, rolling farmland, and dramatic rocky headlands before you reach Fanad Head itself, where the Atlantic waves often bash the rocks of the photogenic Fanad Lighthouse, built in 1817. On the adjoining Rosguill Peninsula, an exhilarating seven-mile route called the Atlantic Drive has more spectacular views of cliffs, headlands, and white sandy bays around every hairpin bend. Stop along the way to take in the views over Tranarossan Bay, one of the drive’s highlights.

Blue Lagoon Beach is a small but beautiful beach with clear water and white sand a couple of minutes walk past the end of Padang Bai’s main strip. When the tide is in there is hardly any beach at all so you have to time your day accordingly, but there are also a few little restaurants where you can sit and hang out if you happen to arrive when the tide is high. There are a few hawkers but they are usually pretty nice if you don’t want to buy anything, although if it’s a slow day they might just hang around for a chat. Snorkling is really lovely at the Blue Lagoon, but do be aware the tides can be strong. The stairs going down to the beach are pretty steep but you can stop to admire the view and catch your breath on the way back up.

• Location: County Clare, Ireland
• Why we love it: A regal 19th-century castle that feels like stepping back in time—with all the comforts of today
• Loyalty program: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels and Resorts)
• From $3,800
• Book now

Dromoland Castle, located in Ireland’s County Clare, was built in the early 1800s and served as the ancestral home of the Irish Gaelic O’Brien clan for eight generations. Today, it’s a luxury hotel offering a range of refined experiences across its stately grounds—from hawk walks and boating on Dromoland Lake to golf, archery, and sporting clays lessons. Inside, original oil paintings, stained glass, antique furnishings, and the historic Ornamental Walled Garden evoke the castle’s storied past.



Recently refurbished rooms, such as the Grania O’Brien Suite, offer charming details like a hidden bookcase that opens into an adjoining room. The octagonal cocktail bar, once the O’Brien family library, now serves drinks named for Celtic deities. New to the 500 acre grounds is Dromoland Lodge, a five-bedroom private residence along the golf course for those seeking extra seclusion. If you’re looking for a royal stay that whisks you back in time, Dromoland is a great option, located a mere 20 minutes by car from Shannon Airport.

Why we love it: Atelier Ace’s first luxury property in New Orleans, with antiques and other unique design details to lust after

The Highlights:
- The guests-only library bar, hidden behind a bookcase at Bar Marilou
- Colorful marble floors in the bathrooms
- High-end service, but plenty of privacy when you want it

The Review:
Atelier Ace partnered with Pamela Shamshiri of L.A.-based Studio Shamshiri to design this 67-room property, which opened in April 2019 in an old City Hall annex in the Central Business District. Shamshiri decorated the distinctive guest house with a mix of antiques she collected from around the world, plus custom art and design elements like colorful marble floors, French wallpaper, and vintage-inspired glass light fixtures. Keep an eye out for a reoccurring snake motif throughout the hotel, from sculptural snake shower-door handles in the bathrooms to cobra lamps in the hallways and slithering ceramic elements in the fireplace of the lobby lounge. It’s a little bit Garden of Eden with a hint of the occult, making you feel as if you’ve checked into the private home of an elderly socialite—maybe Iris Apfel—that’s filled to the brim with fabulous souvenirs from her worldly travels over the years.

Maison de Luz is located just across the street from the Ace Hotel New Orleans and guests are encouraged to pop over to the sister property to enjoy the rooftop pool or grab a crawfish roll at Seaworthy. Back at Maison, however, the common areas—including a hidden library bar—are just for overnight guests, creating the feeling of a calm refuge within the city.

Open from first light until late in the evening, this relaxed bar, just around the corner from La Piazzetta, has an entirely different vibe from the fancier options there. You can have a quick caffè (espresso) standing at the bar with the locals or sit under the striped awning and watch the sunset over the Bay of Naples while drinking a spritz. This bar also serves as one of the island’s best bakeries. Try a flaky breakfast pastry with a morning cappuccino, then swing by later to order a lemon or chocolate version of the island’s famous dessert torta caprese, a flourless cake.

A good used bookstore is a glorious thing and Myopic is one of the great ones. They have a giant selection of new, used, rare and out of print books on 3 floors, they’re well organized, they’re open until 11pm and there’s a store cat! There’s also a small reading room on the top floor with a big wooden table and chairs and they host poetry readings and live music. They’re open until 11pm all week long but there’s no public bathroom so factor that in to your afternoon of browsing.

In an all-white open-air dining room that spills out onto the sand overlooking Meads Bay on Anguilla’s west end, Jacala serves just 35 guests a night. Chef Alain Laurent’s French-inspired menu includes dishes such as fennel-spiked conch chowder, snapper meunière, and a steak tartare prepared tableside upon request.

Whatnot and China Town is a hoarders dream. If you can’t stand chaos, maybe it’s best you wait outside. This antique shop is located just up from Main Road in Kalk Bay. Follow the yellow brick road painted on the sidewalk to the front porch, which usually holds the sale items. The first two or three rooms have antiques and the whole right wing of the house is full of porcelain china. Even if you’re not in the shopping mood, it truly is a sight to behold.

(Note: Google insists this is Kamuela, it is Kohala) The lava coast of Kohala on the Big Island is dramatic. Waves dash against the black rocks relentlessly until eons from now they will be sand. True, there are fewer white-sand beaches per square foot of land on the Big Island than others in the Hawaiian chain, but the island is huge. Beaches here often hold secrets, are the sources of legends, and are part of the circle of life for creatures indigenous to Hawaii. There have been lava flows since the ahapua’a land divisions were formed, but from the very tops of the mountains running to the sea, most beaches remain intact. One of my favorites is in a little inlets fronting the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on Makaiwa Bay called Keiki Beach. Not for much swimming, it is a sandy-bottomed dipper’s delight or, as the name states, a place for children (keiki) to play in. A tree for shade, sand, tide pools to explore, a canoe house (hale) covering a koa canoe nearby, and a friendly turtle (honu) who feeds here are all part of what could be a perfect day. There is surf off the point in winter and snorkeling in other seasons. You might even want to rinse off and have lunch at the Mauna Lani pool restaurant. Parking is a good 15 minute walk via a trail. Follow signs to public parking off Mauna Lani Drive, bring water and beach gear, and get there early. Of course you could stay at the Mauna Lani Hotel and Bungalows too. http://www.maunalani.com/

Housed in the former archbishop’s palace, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours features one of France’s most extensive art collections, with works by everyone from Rubens, Rembrandt, and Rodin to Monet and Degas. Outside, the courtyard is dominated by a splendid cedar of Lebanon, planted in 1804, and Fritz, a stuffed elephant who was killed in 1902 after a bout of madness during a Barnum & Bailey circus parade in the streets of Tour. After you’ve seen the museum, from its Italian, French, and Flemish galleries to its modern art collection, head across the park and refuel with a coffee and pastry at Aux Délices des Beaux Arts.

With amazingly clear emerald waters, the calm sea off of Santa Margherita and Portofino is perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving (May-September is the best season, although it has been known to stretch!). Il Grande Blu provides all you need to enjoy the waters - instructors, equipment, even towels! And if you prefer to stay on top of the water, they have kayaks for rent, as well as a beautiful full-service beach. (If you are up for even more of an adventure - head even further around the bay to San Fruttuoso to scuba dive - there is a sunken Christ figure just a few meters out into the bay that is really gorgeous to view up close!)

Adventurous souls should plan on a moonlit dip in the bioluminescent Glistening Waters, also known as Luminous Lagoon. Boats leave from a marina, located an hour north of Montego Bay, on scheduled night tours. As your tour boat speeds out into the dark of night, you’ll spot fluorescent blue streaks in its wake—bioluminescence that’s created when living microorganisms (in this case, dinoflagellates) are disturbed. You can jump in for a swim, too, and glow in the dark as you splash about. It’s an amazing phenomenon to witness, and it’s said to exist in only five lagoons or bays in the world. Back at the marina, the Glistening Waters restaurant offers beautiful views, as well as pre-cruise drinks and food.

Few visitors venture to Duncans Bay, a small town in northern Jamaica, halfway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. But its public beach, called Fisherman’s, is one of the best for a local vibe. The scenery is straight out of an old Caribbean postcard: kids play in the distance, colorful fishermen canoes rest on shore, and a ramshackle bar along the wide golden sands attracts the usual neighbors. Show up mid-afternoon, when the grill and some background music get started, while the waves splash and the sun prepares to set. The slow rhythm of this area, away from the resorts, vendors, and tourist trails, will make you want to stay for hours. No problem—there are local guesthouses a stone’s throw away.