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Huichol beaded masks and animal figurines, yarn paintings, ceramics, and bright oil and acrylic paintings are the specialties at this art gallery in San José del Cabo. Practical ready-to-take-home items include bowls and other kitchen items, jewelry, and vases.

This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

Set directly across from the Art Institute of Chicago, this former members-only men’s gymnasium is now the Chicago Athletic Association, which is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. Enter at street level off Michigan Avenue and walk toward the back to find a staircase that leads to the old swimming pool, now a venue for parties and pop-up concepts. Take the nearby elevator to the restaurant, Cindy’s, easily the best rooftop scene in the city, with highly Instagrammable terrace views overlooking Millennium Park, the swooping Frank Gehry–designed bandshell, and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (aka the Bean).

Park yourself in the second-floor lobby and hang with locals as they tap away on their laptops and sip lattes by the two oversize fireplaces. Walk through that expansive by Roman & Williams–designed room, where light beams in through ornate stained-glass windows, and you enter a warren of table games and darts, all festive and typically open to the public. There’s also the secret six-seat bar, the Milk Room, a relic of Prohibition, and the James Beard Award–winning Cherry Circle Room—a sexy, dark restaurant with a circulating martini cart and a meat-centric menu.

Upstairs in the 1893 landmark, 240 guest rooms reflect the building’s former life, with gym horses as foot beds, working fireplaces in some rooms, plasterwork ceilings, ornate carved wood wainscotting, and a clubby vibe. Some of the rooms are rather small, but the location is hard to beat, and the cozy, wintry ambiance makes it a popular (and fun) place to spend a weekend. And because the CAA keeps an eye on its water conservation, sources its food locally, and adheres to strict recycling standards, eco-conscious travelers can feel good sleeping here.

One of the city’s oldest teahouses, Insadong Chatjip hand-makes everything on its menu, from drinks to desserts. Unlike China’s and Japan’s traditional leaf teas, many of the Korean teas on offer here feature herbs, spices, or fruits like quince and plums that are believed to have medicinal properties. Don’t be surprised if some taste sugary sweet—it’s common to add heaps of honey or syrup to the blends. If you prefer a more delicate flavor, stick to the buckwheat or Ujeon green teas. In addition to drinks, this two-level teahouse has a lovely open-air courtyard where guests can enjoy their tea alongside cookies and rice cakes.

The lifeblood of modern Istanbul is the two-mile-long pedestrian street Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue), running from Taksim Square to the Tünel train station. It’s equal parts touristy and local, commerce and culture, and strolling down the avenue to shop, dine, or just socialize is a favorite pastime of many Istanbullus. (The beloved red-and-white tram is out of service for the foreseeable future while the street gets some much-needed maintenance.) Though many complain about encroaching international chain stores and shopping malls taking the thoroughfare’s distinct character away, there are still plenty of gems if you follow the backstreets and duck into the historic passages. Don’t forget to look up: Many of the art nouveau and Ottoman-era buildings house rooftop cafés and businesses above street level.

One of South Africa’s most famous sights, Robben Island is located four miles to the west of Cape Town. Its history as a prison is almost as old as the first Dutch settlement on the cape, dating all the way back to the 17th century. Today, the island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and museum, offering guided tours by former prisoners. After visiting the graveyard and maximum-security facility, guests can finish with a stop at the cell of the island’s most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela. The half-hour ferry ride to Robben Island includes breathtaking views of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Just note that the ferry only runs three times a day in the low season; in the spring and summer, there’s an additional departure in the late afternoon. Book your tickets far in advance.

After exploring Chichén Itzá, hop in a taxi at the site’s main entrance and head to lunch at Hacienda Chichén Itzá. The restaurant offers two different menus, one focusing on indigenous dishes and the other featuring fusion plates. Consider ordering some from each and sharing with your tablemates. One of the standouts is the pollo pibil, featuring chicken instead of the region’s more traditional pulled pork. But if suckling pig appeals, don’t leave without trying the house specialty of cochinita pibil.Marinated in annatto paste and citrus juices, the pig is is wrapped in banana leaves, and cooked underground. Seating options range from antique tables and chairs inside elegant dining rooms to the more casual tables on the terrace overlooking the gardens where much of the restaurant’s produce is grown.

A larger, more luxurious alternative to an inn-style getaway, the ocean-facing Gurney’s Montauk Resort offers gorgeous views, plush accommodations, and top-notch amenities, including a whopping 2,000 feet of private sandy beach. The spa is the star attraction and includes a Finnish sauna, steam room, Roman bath, and saltwater swimming pool, all of which are only open to guests to maintain a quiet, exclusive ambience. Other property highlights include a salon, fitness center, and selection of restaurants, ranging from Scarpetta Beach (which serves Italian cuisine) to Tillies (a more casual bistro with hearty American fare and brunch specialties on weekends). Not surprisingly, the guest rooms and cottages are especially luxe, with lovely wooden floors, walk-in rain showers, and big windows with sweeping sea views.

Set in a historic building renovated by local architects Hild and K and Albert Weinzierl, Munich’s Louis Hotel has a prime location on the edge of the vibrant Viktualienmarkt. Stylistically, it mixes the Baroque with the contemporary, complementing detailed stucco, French balconies, and walnut bed frames with luxurious Italian fabrics, oiled oak floors, and designer furnishings. In addition to 72 chic rooms, guests can look forward to a lobby with a large fireplace, an in-house gym and sauna, a trendy Japanese restaurant, and a rooftop terrace with sweeping views over city landmarks like St. Peter’s Church.

Become a Paniolo (Hawaiian Cowboy) for a day and do an actual cattle drive while on the Big Island of Hawaii. Even though it was a rainy, moody day, it was the perfect unique experience to have in Hawaii. Hawaii is much more than beaches! More information about my experience at Dahana Ranch: http://www.ottsworld.com/blogs/cattle-herding-in-hawaii/ Dahana Ranch P.O. Box 1293 • Kamuela, HI 96743 • toll free: (888) 399-0057 • p (808) 885-0057 • f (808) 885-7833 • [email protected]

Lovers of Vienna’s homegrown early-20th-century Wiener Werkstätte design style will want to visit the Café Schwarzenberg: It was the preferred haunt of Josef Hoffmann. The illustrious architect who cofounded the Werkstätte drafted many ideas there that came to fruition. Opened on the Ringstrasse in 1861, the café takes its name from the nearby square that is itself named for the Prince of Schwarzenberg, a prominent Austrian field marshal in the Napoleonic wars. Guests are treated to huge vaulted windows under high ceilings and those who sit outside on the terrace enjoy views of the illuminated Karlskirche dome while they sip their Einspänner coffee with its dab of whipped cream on top.

This stylish wine bar, bottle shop, and all-day restaurant is the brainchild of two food and wine world forces: Jessi Singh, the chef from San Francisco and New York City’s acclaimed Babu Ji, and James Beard Award–winning sommelier Rajat Parr. Opened this year, Bibi Ji, which takes its name from an Indian term of endearment, pays tribute to the women in the cofounders’ lives who cultivated their love for food and hospitality. The seafood-focused menu with Australian and Indian influences changes regularly, depending on what’s available at the Santa Barbara farmers’ market. Oysters are accompanied by pickled green mango butter, sea urchin is featured in the uni biryani dish with fried rice, and the seafood coconut curry can include prawns or vegetables. The presentation is almost so pretty you don’t want to disturb it, but let that moment pass and dig in. Pair your meal with any of the limited-run, small-keg draft beers; the rotating new beers in the beer fridge; wine from the bottle shop—or surrender to the experts and let them do the pairing for you. Whether you sit indoors or outside, the California spirit blends with Singh’s and Parr’s beloved India, making the restaurant what the owners call a “good-time place.”

The historic MV Liemba is the oldest functioning ferry in the world, and a voyage down Tanzania’s Lake Tanganyika on this landmark is a colorful experience. Your fellow passengers will include traders loading and unloading cargo (anything from pineapples to flip-flops) and locals using the ferry for transport. On the southbound journey, the boat departs from the town of Kigoma and travels 300 miles to Zambia, where its makes its first port of call on land. But in between those two stops, while still on the water, travelers can transfer to smaller ships in order to reach places like Lagosa (a jumping-off point for the Mahale Mountains National Park) or the peaceful beach area of Kipili.

Now this is truly a place you never want to leave. The infinity edge pool at the Marriott in Wailea, Maui. The pool reached right out to the Pacific Ocean, and you almost felt as if you were in the ocean itself. Grab an umbrella drink, swim over to the edge, and stay there for a couple hours to take it all in. The wonderful staff will also bring you the freshest fruit you have ever had too. And, as you watch the sun go down on the horizon from this exact spot, you can join the Luau by the beach below...or simply stay here all night.

The resplendent Raffles Hotel reopened in late 2019 to great fanfare after two years of restoration. Originally built in 1887 as a 10-room hotel, it now features 115 suites with oriental carpets and teak floors to complement four-poster beds and colorful Peranakan-tiled bathrooms. An in-room tablet controls everything from the mood lighting to calling your butler for a glass of bubbly. All have a private veranda to enjoy balmy evenings outside.




The building was declared a national monument in 1987, so the façade has changed little, but the hotel’s food and drink concepts have been revamped with a focus on marquee restaurant collaborations with the likes of Jereme Leung (yi) and Hawaiian-born Jordan Keao (Butcher’s Block). Not forgetting Singapore’s rich food culture, the hotel offers a self-guided Raffles Singapore Hawker Food Trail video hosted by hawker champion and Makansutra founder KF Seetoh. Raffles also offers an exclusive private tour of the Intan, a home museum filled with more than 1,500 objects from Peranakan culture.





The famous Singapore Sling continues to be a draw at the evocative 1920s Malayan-style Long Bar and its peanut shell-covered floor. The iconic drink now has sustainable twist: the hotel plants one native tree in the Kalimantan or Sumatran rain forest for every 25 Singapore Slings ordered.

Very few of the newer bars in San Sebastián hit the mark on ambience, food, drinks and service. Sirimiri, in the heart of the old part, does it all. The wooden beams make the narrow bar feel cozy, and the attentive young waitstaff draws a crowd, creating one of the Old Town’s buzziest atmospheres. The big draw is the cocktail list, which is ever-evolving and features about 50% vermouth-based cocktails. Not feeling a cocktail? Try a sweet, red vermouth on the rocks...it will take you an entire vacation to work your way through the list. The bar food is pintxo fusion at its best, from squid croquetas to pork buns.