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The Gant feels like your mountain home away from home. Tucked away on five acres at the base of Aspen Mountain, the Gant’s condos offer the comforts of staying in a home but with the service perks of a hotel. Guests can choose from one-, two-, three-, or four-bedroom condos, making this a great option for families and friends on ski getaways. Condos feature full kitchens so you don’t have to worry about booking reservations in town each night, and the staff can arrange for grocery and liquor delivery right to your door. Condos also have wood-burning fireplaces, large living rooms for lounging, and patios or balconies to soak in the fresh mountain air. A housekeeper comes to tidy up each day while you’re off hiking or skiing, and families have the option to book child care. The Gant is just steps from the Silver Queen Gondola and offers ski storage and overnight tuning. After a day outdoors, guests can relax weary muscles in one of the Gant’s three hot tubs.

After the great national and international success of the Ameal wines, a new project was born in Quinta do Ameal, the brand new Ameal Wine & Tourism Terroir. The renovation of several old houses of the property was completed in May 2014. These houses and suites are fully equipped and decorated so guests can enjoy of all comfort without leaving the Quinta. Quinta do Ameal has a total of 30 hectares within its granite walls where a little less than half, 12 hectares, is planted with a totally organic vineyard that produces exceptional grapes for the production of wine: The Ameal “Clássico ", Ameal “Escolha”, Ameal “Sparkling” and “Special Harvest”. The remaining area consists of a fantastic and unique forest of 8 hectares consisting of a huge variety of trees including stone pines and oaks aged more than 200 year’s old. Beautiful gardens and over 800 meters besides the river Lima complete this magnificent set.

Unlike many national parks, San Antonio Missions isn’t just one location. Rather, the park comprises a chain of centuries-old Catholic mission churches snaking along the San Antonio River. A daylong tour introduces travelers to several of these structures and highlights what makes each one unique, from the architecture of Mission Concepción to the aqueduct at Mission Espada. Private vehicles can be arranged for the Mission Trail, but active guests may prefer to follow the Park Service’s map via bicycle. Check your hotel for local bike rentals or guided tour options before hitting the trail, and expect to pedal around 8 to 10 miles.

Kids visiting the Westin will love the resort’s kiddie pool, featuring an enormous waterslide that will make adults envious. There’s also a large indoor-outdoor play area (packed with toys!), mini putting green, and sandbox.

The Viking Village Restaurant is right next to the Viking Hotel in Hafnarfjordur, Reykjavik area, about 11km from the center. We had our last dinner here and really loved it. Some people consider it a tourist trap. That may be, since the prices are not cheap—but the food is unbelievable. We had the Viking menu, which starts with the famous Hákarl - a piece of rotten shark. We were told that the taste varies and that dark meat is usually stronger than the white meat. Anthony Bourdain has described hákarl as “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he has ever eaten, but I am here to disagree. We had white meat and if you like strong cheese you will be OK with this too. It comes with a shot of “Black Death” schnapps. Main course was a huge leg of lamb cooked to perfection, the meat was simply falling off the bone and melting in your mouth. There are actors dressed as Vikings, playing different sagas, vocal and instrumental. They are allot of fun to watch as they interact with the people in the restaurant. There was a large German group inside and they put on quite the show for them and us too since we were all in the same room. I would prefer a bit more light inside the restaurant as it is pretty dark - they are trying to recreate the conditions of a Viking longhouse - but apart from that it was a great and delicious experience.

Snorkel, fish, relax and recover while you’re in Panama on Contador Island, in the Pearl Islands Archipelago. These beautiful boats are ready for hire (in hugely affordable fashion) once you’ve left Panama City and landed on this enchanting island. With Air Panama there appear to be two or three short (45 minutes) flights a day that will get you there from Panama City. Be sure to pack your swimsuit, a good book and some sunscreen. This is a very small island and you can explore land on foot or by a rental scooter to see it all. In Spanish, Contador means ‘the one that counts’, and it’s easy to make your day on the island count with a local rental boat. Your captain (that will inevitably also be fishing while you’re moving) are a reliable way to go and find nearby remote snorkel locations. Be sure to agree on the price before you head out for your big day on the water.

Oporto is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the oldest European cities dating back to the 4th c. “Oporto " means the port. Oporto is famous for among other things Port wine. Port wine is fortified wine. These wines are world renowned. They are produced in the Douro Valley in Northern Portugal. At harvest time, the grapes are picked from the vines on the steep steps of the Douro Valley and taken to the various cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. Until the late 1960’s the wines were carried down the river in flat bottomed boats called barcos rebelos. In the 1700’s, there were several hundred of these vessels carrying the Port. In the 1930’s there were about 300 plying the river. Today Port is sent by rail and road. You can still see the barcos with their sails with barrels on board in the river on the shores of Vila Nova de Gaia. They are there to show the history of the vessels and Port wine. You can sign up for tours of the various wine cellars. There are many such as Taylor, Graham, Croft, and Ramos Pinto. The tours are fun and offer different samples of Port and sometimes biscuits and chocolate. Your hotel desk clerk will help you or check out an information center. I crossed the D.Luis I Bridge on foot and descended to Vila Nova de Gaia. I checked out the history of Port wine. Great experience! There are several restaurants that serve traditional Portuguese food. After dinner enjoy an expresso and a glass or two of Port.

Opened in 2013 in a building that previously housed the University of Rome’s architecture department, JK Place is one of the newer additions to Rome’s growing number of high-end luxury boutique hotels. It is located near the intersection of Via Del Corso and Via dei Condotti, Rome’s most chaotic shopping nexus, but it is just far enough away from the action to maintain an air of seclusion, a rarity for the zone.

Behind the hotel’s unassuming doorway, classrooms and offices have been transformed into an effortlessly cool retreat. Like its siblings in Florence and Capri, the JK Place Rome is eclectically decorated and packed with artwork. Rooms feature canopied beds, sculptures, and sleek bathrooms decked out in Italian marble. The JK Café Bistro and bar attract well-heeled locals, giving the hotel a more down-to-earth vibe than its boutique neighbors, without sacrificing its unquestionable elegance.

This eco-friendly property is unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean. A 400-acre working farm built within a sustainable community on Mount Liamuiga, the low-key luxury resort has St. Kitt’s requisite gingerbread trim and banana-plant landscaping. Here, however, signs tell guests when the fruit is ripe enough to pick—even the golf course is designed to be harvested. Belle Mont’s 84 clapboard cottages have open-air baths and wrap-around verandas that look out on the neighboring islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, but the resort’s real draw lies in its six farm-to-table restaurants, where guests can enjoy global takes on West Indian specialties (think papaya lamb stew and wine-braised pork with coconut, pumpkin, and chocolate) under the stars.

What do Al Capone and Bruce Willis have in common? They both did time here at Eastern State Penitentiary. (OK, Willis wasn’t an inmate, but he did shoot the film 12 Monkeys here.) The facility’s first inmate was brought through these doors in 1829, and the prison was in use until 1971. After closing, it became a target for vandals and housed a sizable colony of stray cats. Real estate developers proposed repurposing it as condominiums (high-security, of course), but preservationists won out. They raised funds to stabilize the crumbling interior and remove trees that were growing inside some cells. Wander through its stark interior and learn about the fascinating history of this unique site and its previous tenants, including Capone. Don’t miss the special art installations that are on display here all year round.

Just a 45-minute floatplane ride from Anchorage along the banks of the Talachulitna River and Judd Lake, this multistructure resort combines a six-room flagship lodge, which was renovated in 2017, with a lakeside bar and dining room (and 500-bottle wine cellar); a private four-room lodge; and two smaller individual cabins, all with views of either the Alaska or Tordrillo ranges. But guests don’t come here to just ogle the mountains—they take them on. With Olympic gold medalist Tommy Moe and Alaska heli-ski pioneer Mike Overcast behind the resort, plus access to 1.2 million acres of untrammeled terrain with runs that top out at 7,500 feet, world-class heli-ski adventures are practically guaranteed. And an exclusive partnership with Winterlake, another notable resort nearby, allows guests to heli-ski even further north into the Tordrillo Range and Neacola Mountains.

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo has been the summer home for Europe’s jet set since opening in 1910. Over the past five years, the Como-based De Santis family, which has owned the lakefront hotel since 1975, has ushered the grande dame into the modern era by building eight rooftop suites, expanding the spa, and adding a hammam. Marble bathrooms and champagne-stocked minibars make the rooms feel fit for aristocrats, but the hotel is far from buttoned up. Guests can splash around in one of three pools, including one that actually floats on the lake. Locals join guests at Saturday beach parties. From $420. This appeared in the October 2015 issue.

Halo-halo is a popular everyday dessert whose name is a Tagalog word meaning “mix.” It’s composed of many ingredients, including various beans, fruits, and jelly-like coconut-based sweets. These toppings are put over a big bowl of shaved ice with milk; finally, the mixture is topped with a slice of leche flan (cream custard) and ube (purple yam). Some versions also incorporate gelatin, cheese, or pinipig (crispy rice), though nothing beats adding a scoop of ube ice cream on top. The proper way to eat halo-halo is to stir it up first so that each spoonful includes many ingredients and gives you a taste and texture explosion. Halo-halo is available everywhere, from public markets and local food chains to ice cream bars and the most luxurious hotel restaurants. But serious connoisseurs go for the classic one at the Milky Way Café. The eatery has been serving halo-halo for more than 40 years, and their iteration boasts 20 premium house-made ingredients and ice that is finely shaved using a hand crank.

This is one of the most stunning spa resorts I have ever seen in my life. From the lush greenery to the amazing water park with cascading waterfalls. You can spend your time by the pool and enjoying waterslides, trying for that hole in one or relaxing at the amazing spa which will leave you feeling like a whole new person! Make sure to book ahead for your spa treatments so you do not miss out on this amazing service. Definitely worth checking this one out!

The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club is one of the best horse-training centers in the world. From October to May the imposing gates of this state-of-the-art facility opens its doors to offer every Thursday, free of charge, horse racing events, thoroughbred Arabian horse shows, and auctions. With its luxurious grandstand, spectator seating capacity of 1400, vast children’s playground, number of restaurants, and the highest priced horses in the world, the Racing and Equestrian Club is a must see in Doha.