Search results for

For anyone who believes that truly historic architecture doesn’t exist in the states, Mesa Verde National Park will make you think again. Still standing in the park are cliff dwellings built in 600 CE by the ancestral Pueblo people who once lived in the area. A transformative day trip, Mesa Verde is nearly two hours from Telluride but well worth the drive to see its 5,000 archeological sites, from Cliff Palace (a ranger will guide you on the hike up, which involves climbing ten-foot ladders) to Balcony House (which you’ll enter via a 12-foot tunnel).

Gal Ben Moshe’s brand new venture picks up where his former restaurant, the celebrated Glass, left off. The concept is still European-meets-Levantine fine dining, but the game has been raised yet further with a more seductive—dark-toned walls, leather chairs, and low-key lighting—which allows space for the food to shine. As before, guests can choose from six, seven, or eight courses, including a wine-matching option for each; expect a series of immaculately presented taste explosions that include foie gras frozen in nitrous oxide, dukkah pulpo foul with chickpeas, and lamb served with eggplant and sour cherries. We recommend you save room for dessert.

Why we love it: A charming European-style inn right in downtown Clayton

The Highlights:
- The kind of friendly service you only get at small hotels
- Complimentary breakfast with farm-fresh eggs and country bacon
- An outdoor patio with fire pits and heat lamps for colder weather

The Review:
Housed in a Tudor Revival–style building from 1926, the Seven Gables Inn sits in the heart of downtown Clayton, surrounded by quaint boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. It stands out among the surrounding buildings, however, for its sloped roofs, large chimney, narrow windows, and decorative half-timbering. Developer Restoration St. Louis recently bought the property and set about revamping the interiors, so now all 32 guest rooms and suites merge historic charm with modern luxuries (think hardwood floors and stately wall coverings complemented by Bissinger’s chocolates, Jonathan Adler bath amenities, and plush robes).

Mornings here start with a complimentary breakfast of homemade pastries, farm-fresh eggs, and country bacon—a nice touch, as are the warm cookies at check-in and the evening cocktail reception, held Monday through Thursday. The charming courtyard is the perfect place to enjoy an afternoon break, while the Restaurant at Seven Gables is ideal for when you’re craving a cozy setting and upscale pub fare like chicken pot pie and filet mignon.

The Morris family’s roots are among the deepest in colonial Pennsylvania. Anthony Morris settled here in 1685 and would become one of the city’s first mayors. A century later, his grandson Samuel served as a captain of the Continental Army’s Philadelphia City Calvary. Though the Morris family’s red-brick mansion on 8^th street was built in 1787, it upholds a pre-Revolutionary colonial style epitomized in the stately Independence Hall, and members of the family would live in this large corner property for the next 120 years. A painstaking restoration in the mid-1960s earned it a spot as a National Historic Landmark, and the current owners renovated the property in 2000, transforming the distinguished address into a 17-room boutique hotel without compromising original architectural details. With a leafy courtyard garden, gourmet farm-to-table restaurant, and a focus on personalized service, the latest incarnation of this home lives up to its storied past.

Each room is tastefully decorated in Colonial-era decor and reproductions. Despite the history and limitations inherent in any historic structure, guestrooms are large and uncluttered with all the modern conveniences, splashes of natural light, and sparkling bathrooms, some with Jacuzzi tubs. Adding to the allure are a complimentary continental breakfast and a cocktail, beer, or glass of wine on the house.

Since it opened in 2009, the Aria Resort & Casino has been a leading example of the post-kitsch, post-theme-hotel era of Las Vegas luxury accommodations. As the 61-story centerpiece of CityCenter—a cluster of hotels, residences, and shops on the Strip—the Aria impresses with its scale, its up-to-date technology, its glass-and-light favored design, and, for a hotel with 4,004 rooms to look after, its surprisingly good service. Even the Aria’s standard rooms, and their marble bathrooms, are large, and the drapes on its floor-to-ceiling windows know when to open themselves. It also boasts eco-credentials: Along with Vdara, another CityCenter property, the Aria was the first Las Vegas hotel to achieve LEED gold-certified status. Its 150,000-square-foot casino dazzles even those who only occasionally look up from the tables. The nightclub, Jewel, is among the hottest on the Strip. And the video Game Room is state of the art.

Positioned right on the historic Freedom Trail in downtown Boston, this discreet 19-story hotel caters to guests who appreciate both classic architecture and of-the-moment amenities. The building initially became a hotel in 2002; in 2006 the Kimpton chain took over the property and added its personalized boutique touch.

Though the lobby is all dark woods and polished marble floors, the rooms are chic and urbane, with high-back seating, and skyline views. The hotel’s Cloud Nine Suite and Inspired Suites offer guests space to spread out with separate living and dining areas, as well as enviable high-tech extras, including the Cloud Nine Suite’s state-of-the-art iris scanning security system. Kimpton properties also take pride in their pet-friendliness: complimentary dog beds await all four-legged visitors, and pet sitting, grooming, walking, and even massage services can be booked through the concierge.

Guests congregate in the lobby each evening for complimentary wine, and the general manager hosts morning runs twice a week. The central location also means visitors can easily immerse themselves in the city’s shopping, dining, and nightlife scenes.

Why we love it: A photogenic inn that draws design aficionados to Saguaro National Park

Highlights:
- Design-forward suites with fireplaces and private patios
- A scenic location right on Saguaro National Park
- Unique amenities like a chef’s kitchen and yoga room

The Review:
This five-suite inn, set on 40 acres bordering the western side of Saguaro National Park, comes courtesy of Sara and Rich Combs, known for their popular Joshua Tree House rental. Just 30 minutes from Tucson, the whitewashed adobe property draws the desert sunshine indoors, where it dances with rough-hewn beams and terra-cotta-hued textiles. A variety of potted plants help connect the chic, design-forward interiors with the surrounding desert, while a 5,000-square-foot patio blurs the lines between indoors and out. Available to rent through Airbnb, all rooms feature fireplaces and refrigerators, and most have private patios or balconies.

Book a single suite or buy out the whole property for an event, workshop, or reunion, then take advantage of amenities like a pool, rooftop lounge, chef’s kitchen, dining patio, fire pit, yoga room, and projector for movie nights. While Posada intends to add a chef-in-residence program, it doesn’t currently offer food service, so plan to pack groceries and grill outside, cook in one of the kitchens, or head out to a local restaurant like the Ocotillo Café at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, just 10 minutes away.

The description may sound daunting: a 2,000-vertical-foot gain in less than a mile. OK, it is a little daunting—but the trick is to take your time. This nearly mile-long wooden stairway was converted from a funicular railway that washed out in a rock slide in 1990. Averaging a 24-degree slope, it has a few “false summits,” where it looks like you’re about to get to the top only to discover there’s still more to go. The reward for this effort is an incredible view looking out from the foothills over Colorado Springs. Up for the speed challenge? The current record was set on Sept. 25, 2015, by U.S. mountain-running team member Joseph Gray, who did it in 17 minutes, 45 seconds. Good luck.

Ever heard of a bonut? Neither had we until we visited Biscuit Love, a cult-favorite breakfast spot in Nashville‘s happening Gulch neighborhood, where morning queues often exceed an hour on weekends. And bonuts—deep-fried biscuit dough slathered in lemon mascarpone and balanced on a sticky heap of blueberry compote—are just one of the many hits on the menu. The restaurant had its origins in 2012 as a food truck, where husband-and-wife team Karl and Sarah Worley’s made-from-scratch biscuits made them an overnight success. In January 2015, they opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant, where Karl mans the stoves and Sarah runs the front of the house, making sure patrons get their Southern classics while they’re hot. Be sure to order a bonut, along with the sweet-and-spicy Chronic Bacon, shrimp and grits, and the off-menu Nasty Princess, a biscuit topped with Nashville-style hot chicken, gravy, pickles, mustard, and honey.

My wife, Robin, and I have been camping, fishing, and hiking in the Lakes Basin area, near Sierra City, since we met. These days, our usual home base is a tiny log cabin at the edge of Packer Lake, pictured here. From trailheads around Packer you can hike to many other lakes--Saxonia, Deer, Lower and Upper Tamarack, Young America, Upper and Lower Sardine. Most of the hikes are relatively easy, and on some trails you’ll rarely encounter other hikers. In early October 2007, a brief, unseasonable storm passed through and carpeted the area with an inch or two of snow, which made for an especially invigorating walk along the Pacific Crest Trail to the lookout at the top of the Sierra Buttes.

At Island Sole in Lahaina, the authentic, locally made gifts are designed to help shoppers “find their aloha.” Head here for shirts and flip-flops in tropical colors, home decor like jellyfish coasters and ukulele-shaped table clocks, and the shop’s signature longboard letters, which function as one-of-a-kind signs with customizable letters, icons, and characters attached to a wooden surfboard base. If you’re looking for some wall art, pay special attention to the palm-and-wave paintings on birchwood by Danielle Groff and the larger, laser-engraved maps of the Hawaiian Isles.

Laguna’s very first restaurant, the White House opened way back in 1918. It’s been updated several times over the years so the menu feels fresh, but you come here for the cocktail lounge anyway. Head straight to the bar for well-made drinks like the Casa Blanca Organico (tequila, lightly muddled organic blackberries, agave, and club soda) and the house Old Fashioned, made with Bulleit bourbon and orange bitters. Some nights bring live entertainment, but there are always several flat-screens going so you can catch the game while you throw back a few drinks.

Just steps from the beach, Sapphire offers outdoor dining year-round on its cozy patio. Run by executive chef Azmin Gahreman for more than a decade, the restaurant is certainly a Laguna institution, but one that’s constantly evolving to stay fresh. Though Sapphire is worth a visit for every meal, it really shines at brunch, when such indulgent dishes as buttermilk pancakes, fried chicken and cheddar biscuits, and eggs Benedict with roasted jalapeño hollandaise are on the menu. Pair your breakfast with bottomless mimosas in flavors like orange, mango, and grapefruit and you’ll have the makings of a perfect morning.

For something different from Laguna’s typical California fare, head to Starfish, where you can get dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Korea, and India. The menu ranges from sushi and satays to dumplings, noodle dishes, whole fish, and more—all perfect for pairing with signature cocktails like the Whiskey Blossom, with bourbon, orange bitters, clover honey, and egg whites. Beyond the delicious food, Starfish is known for its upbeat atmosphere. DJs spin well into the night, while guests linger on the outdoor patio, sipping drinks amid tropical foliage.

For the most authentic Mexican food in Laguna Beach, head to Carmelita’s, where the kitchen works tirelessly to prepare each dish from scratch using as much local produce as possible. On the menu, diners will find favorites like made-to-order guacamole and fire-roasted street corn alongside traditional options like veggie-stuffed poblanos, carnitas tacos, and tampiqueña (skirt steak served atop enchiladas with guacamole). Pair it all with handcrafted margaritas in flavors like pomegranate, cilantro-cucumber, and pineapple-jalapeño and you might just find yourself planning a trip 85 miles south to the border.