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This is a cool clothing store in the Pearl featuring gear and fashion from a variety of mainstream and boutique brands. The Lizard collections coalesce into a catalog of functional apparel with style and sustainability at the heart of their designs. While the Lounge has a great selection of brands, the real draw for me is the Nau gear. From natural and recycled materials in the fabrics, to the cut and fit of clothes designed for people who move, Nau is an essential part of my packing routine. Their designers once told me they want their clothes to be comfortable—whether the wearer is reaching for a hand hold in a 5-9 pitch or reaching for the top shelf tequila behind the bar. The Nau down shirt was the first of what’s become a ubiquitous piece of all-season gear. The Lounge is also known for its own style of events, supporting local, social and environmental causes with food, drink, music, and mingling. Nau also donates a small percentage of each sale to select nonprofits fighting the good fight at the local and global levels. The Lizard Lounge is not just about retail. It’s about wearing your way into a better world and so Portland in the process.

A colorful working-class neighborhood near downtown that had fallen on hard times, Woodstock has been revitalized with a mix of galleries, artists’ studios, boutiques, and restaurants. Much of the area’s original vibe remains, however, thanks to the long rows of colonnaded shops that edge Albert and Victoria roads. Among the nearby storefronts that are open throughout the week are Espresso Lab Microroasters and Luke Dale-Roberts’s award-winning restaurant, the Test Kitchen. Continuing down Albert Road, you’ll find spots like the Woodstock Co-op and the very trendy Woodstock Exchange, with a great array of places to eat and stores selling local goods. At the end of Albert Road, there’s a concentration of galleries, including the Stevenson, Goodman, and SMAC. On Saturdays, Woodstock draws crowds to the Neighbourgoods Market, a prepared foods extravaganza in the Old Biscuit Mill.

Hampden is known for beehive hairdos, cat-eye glasses, kitchsy decor like the pink flamingo, and ladies who call everyone “hon.” Now, though, Hampden is Baltimore’s hipster neighborhood with an array of thrift stores, antique shops, boutiques, and restaurants. It’s worth taking at least a half day to browse the many shops, grab a great meal, and maybe buy some Baltimore souvenirs. On First Fridays (of the month) many shops serve wine, stay open a little later, and offer special deals. John Waters’ Baltimore, from the musical Hairspray, manifests itself in Hampden, specifically on 36th Street, which is simply called “The Avenue.” The proprietress of Cafe Hon (featured on Kitchen Nightmares) has worked to maintain the John Waters-inspired vibe as a tourist attraction, which can really be seen during Honfest where beehives and kitsch take over in early June. Some favorites in the area include: Trohv for Baltimore souvenirs; Ma Petit Shoe for shoes and chocolate (can’t go wrong there); Wine Source for an impressive array of beers and wines; Daniela Pasta and Pastry (for pastries); Spro for coffee; and the Golden West, Grano (Grano Emporio and Grano Pasta Bar), Corner BYOB, or the Food Market for dinner.

Shanghai’s arts and crafts enclave, Tianzifang, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes bursting with diminutive shops, restaurants, and bars. Most of the shops here are located inside shikumen, stone gatehouses dating to the early 1930s. Gear up for your shopping spree with a coffee alfresco at Kommune before checking out Xingmu Handicraft’s gorgeous handmade leather notebooks or Shanghai Code’s vintage Chinese glasses and watches. Pick up delicate stationery at Dongxi Workshop, Shanghai‘s very first boutique, and head to Sky Music Box for—you guessed it—music boxes from all over the world.

Just across the street from Montréal’s City Hall (or Hôtel de Ville), the Château Ramezay has been witness to almost three centuries of history. It was first built in 1705 by Claude de Ramezay, then governor of Montréal, as his official residence. While the building principally served as the home of later governors, it was also briefly the headquarters of the Continental Army when American troops occupied the city. (Benjamin Franklin spent a night in the house during that period.) In 1895, it began its current incarnation, as a portrait gallery and history museum. The collection includes prints, drawings, photographs, and other works of art, as well as humble household objects, that shed light on the daily life of the city’s residents and First Nations peoples in Québec over the centuries. Be sure to leave time to explore the small kitchen and pleasure gardens, as well as the orchard, for an introduction to the horticultural practices of settlers in New France and residents of 19th-century Montréal.

Why we love it: An iconic spa resort remade as a chic, eco-friendly retreat

Highlights:
- A digitally disconnected philosophy that allows guests to unwind and engage
- Meals at the fantastic on-site restaurant included in the room rate
- Dark sky–friendly lighting and other sustainable design elements

The Review:
Once the preferred haunt of the American aristocracy, Castle Hot Springs, located just an hour’s drive northwest of Phoenix, attracted families like the Pews, Wrigleys, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers. In 1945, John F. Kennedy even convalesced here, hiking the high-desert trails and soaking in the hot springs that have served as a place of healing for the native Yavapai tribe for millennia. A 1976 fire set the resort on the path to decline, but as of 2019, it’s back and wowing guests with old glamour and new green elements.

The resort, now freshly renovated, comprises a main lodge, 12 contemporary bungalows, and 19 cabins (complete with telescopes for stargazing), all designed by the team behind Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Hotel Valley Ho. Following the property’s “digital detox” ethos, rooms don’t have TV or Wi-Fi, but more than make up for it with luxurious bedding and deep-soaking tubs. When not relaxing in privacy, guests can dine on fresh, local fare at on-site restaurant Harvest (which works with more than 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables grown on the hotel’s organic farm) or take a dip in the 125,000-gallon swimming pool fed by the surrounding hot springs. Also on property are two natural soaking pools, a rock grotto, and a serene spa right next to the spring. For those who wish to venture off-site, the staff can arrange hikes or horseback rides through the Bradshaw Mountains.

Who would’ve thunk I’d ever tell anyone to go to a strip club? The Clermont Lounge, located at the back of The Clermont Hotel, Atlanta’s oldest ‘adult’ club, is a landmark you cannot miss! The drinks are strong, the entertainment interesting, and the general scene happening, especially late nights on weekends. Having been featured on a number of TV shows, including Anthony Bourdain’s layover, it’s no longer a secret. You may bump into a celebrity or two, aside from the fabulous ladies on stage, that is. Past guest sightings have included Bill Murray, Robert De Niro, P!nk, Carey Hart, Kid Rock, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman and many more. Absolutely no photography.

Warm thanks to the fun and fabulous Hotel Clermont for hosting me while I explored Atlanta, a city that keeps getting better with each visit.

Near the southwestern edge of Snow Canyon State Park is this wellness-oriented resort, a sprawling 55-acre property filled with fragrant mesquite trees, black lava gardens, and 106 rooms and villas. Stays here can be as low-key as a swim under the desert sun in one of two outdoor pools or an exfoliating red clay treatment at the renowned Sagestone Spa & Salon, but most visitors come for the full range of adventure offerings, from hiking and kayaking to sunset rappelling and horseback riding deep in red rock country. While the “consciously-planned entrée portions” at the hotel’s Canyon Breeze restaurant are all 500 calories or less—with most well under—dishes like grilled grass-fed strip loin steak with cheesy potato au gratin will leave you feeling anything but deprived. As of 2017, the resort is easier than ever to get to, thanks to new daily flights by United Express from Los Angeles to St. George.

The Wauwinet makes the most of its coastal setting between the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Bay. Next to the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, the resort has 32 rooms, plus four cottages with separate living rooms and the three-bedroom Anchorage House across from the main inn. In addition to private beach access and bikes to explore the island, guests can take out a kayak, play a game of tennis, or watch a movie in their room with hot buttered popcorn. A spa offers sea-inspired facials, massages, and body treatments. TOPPER’S restaurant is known for its Retsyo oysters, harvested only 300 yards from the restaurant, and offers transfers to and from White Elephant Hotel’s Brant Point Grill on its 21-passenger boat, Lady Wauwinet. The inn also provides regular shuttle services to the ferry and Nantucket town (about 10 miles away), and outside of peak summer season will drive guests to the village of ‘Sconset in its 1947 Woody station wagon.

A departure from the pastel villas that dominate the Amalfi Coast, Parco dei Principi is a modernist edifice enveloped in tropical gardens and set on the outskirts of Sorrento. The work of famed Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti, the boxy white structure bears his signature at every turn, from the furniture and fixtures down to the blue-and-white floor tiles (each of the 96 guest rooms features a different pattern). Beyond the eye-catching geometry, accommodations are minimalist in style, featuring midcentury chairs and crisp white beds. Even the saltwater pool looks like an art piece, its angularity punctuated by a diving board that sits swanlike above the water. Tunnels cut through the cliffside lead to a private beach, where an alfresco restaurant on the waterside deck serves up fresh-caught seafood in the summer. For a bird’s-eye view of the scene, opt instead for the panoramic vistas from the terrace of the hotel’s Gio Ponti restaurant.

Arriving at Viceroy Los Cabos (formerly Mar Adentro) is like getting a glimpse into the future of hospitality. Linked by a seemingly boundless plane of water, a series of minimalist white cubes—housing a rooftop bar, spa, world-class fitness center, movie theater, and more—rises from the desert landscape like a mirage, the work of Mexican architect Miguel Angel Aragonés. The view is memorable at Nido, a ceviche restaurant that sits under a nestlike dome of twigs. Equally striking are the 104 modernist guest rooms. Unlike the region’s traditional stucco and terra-cotta haciendas, they’re serenely spare, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Sea of Cortez and tablets that guests can use to create their own lighting concept.

Charleston’s French Quarter didn’t earn its title until the 1970s, when a group of preservationists started touting the area’s historic concentration of French Huguenots to protect buildings in danger of demolition. Opened in 2002, the French Quarter Inn took its neighborhood’s name and used it as inspiration for the hotel’s opulent decor and signature services. Guests arrive to an atrium with an elaborate wrought-iron staircase that rises in a spiral from the ground level and is topped with a large skylight. Champagne awaits guests upon check-in, and the rooms are decorated in vibrant shades of red, gold, and black, with toile bedspreads and damask upholstered furniture.

While it may not have the historic character of many Charleston properties, the French Quarter Inn provides all the amenities travelers could require: a continental breakfast each morning, bike rentals for cruising around town, and nightly wine-and-cheese receptions.

While many area hotels offer a subtle interpretation of Southwestern design (adobe walls, kiva fireplaces, local art), there’s nothing understated about the Inn at the Five Graces. The inn is a showcase for designers Ira and Sylvia Seret’s far-flung finds: Navajo bedspreads, Uzbek and Pakistani rugs and tapestries, iron and woodwork from Mexico, Peru, and India. It’s the epitome of East-meets-West. First opened in 1996 as Serets’ 1001 Nights, the hotel is located on one of the country’s oldest inhabited streets and is comprised of 17th- and 18th-century adobe buildings connected by a maze of courtyards. In 2002, the inn was renamed to reflect Afghan and Tibetan artifacts in its collection and the eastern idea of the five graces (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste). In 2009, it became a Relais & Chateau property.

The award for most prized piece of Sydney real estate must go to the Park Hyatt. The hotel is tucked directly beneath the Harbour Bridge, and many rooms showcase head-on views of the Sydney Opera House, perfectly framed in floor-to-ceiling windows and doors. In 2011, the Park Hyatt was layered with sandstone and marble to reflect the local Rocks neighborhood, which was built from sandstone in the Georgian period. Carvings, sculptures, paintings, and photographs by eight renowned Australian artists—including Robert Billington and Bruce Armstrong—further connect guests with the hotel’s setting. Travelers get what they pay for here; every room, no matter the price, comes with a balcony, butler, and harbor views from the tub. Guests also have access to the coveted rooftop pool deck—where a sunset cocktail is highly recommended. The Park Hyatt is unbeatable for New Year’s Eve, the Vivid Sydney festival, or really any time of the year.

Chef Cristian Angiolin heads up the kitchen at this Venetian lagoon institution, which is open year-round except for January and Tuesdays. The restaurant is no longer a part of the Cipriani franchise, which began in Venice and has since expanded to places like New York and Miami.

What you come here for is the restaurant’s garden, which is open from late spring to early autumn and is one of the best places in the lagoon to visit with a large group of friends and celebrate into the evening. The bartenders make the best negronis and have an extensive wine list that includes pours from most regions on the Italian peninsula. If you don’t want to be marooned on Torcello Island, come for lunch. But it’s another one of those amazing dining spots with rooms, so that if you do come for dinner and miss the last boat back to Venice, you can always check into the hotel.