Search results for

Easy beach access and a laid back vibe.

Hotels often say they’re “steps from the sand,” but here, it’s actually true. Location is everything at Malibu Beach Inn; it’s right on the water, with all of the 47 guest rooms and suites overlooking the crashing surf from private balconies, and a few hundred meters from the historic pier. There are about eight steps from the hotel’s restaurant terrace to its private stretch of beach underneath, where guests can order a chicken club sandwich or a glass of wine from the extensive list to enjoy on loungers.

The hotel changed hands in 2015 and has since been re-imagined by L.A.-based interior designer Waldo Fernandez; rooms and communal spaces alike feature purpose built, hand-made white oak furniture and furnishings that make clever use of space. Our suite had custom built liquor shelves tucked into a tiny corner alcove. Across the hotel, artworks include prints by Donald Sultan and Jasper Johns.

The rooms are designed to evoke a private beach house. And as you drift off among Italian linens, gazing at the stars and lulled by the white noise of never-ending waves, it’s easy to dream.

Outdoor and culinary adventurers alike are drawn to this 11-acre property situated at the entrance of a stunning seven-mile fjord in Kachemak Bay. Guests can kayak through hidden coves to glimpse otters and porpoises, hike past alpine meadows, or deep-sea fish for salmon. But where Tutka Bay really separates itself from other Alaskan lodgings is in its culinary offerings. Visitors dig for steamer clams or stop by a local oyster farm for their evening’s feast, and continue the hands-on approach with lessons in the resort’s one-of-a-kind cooking school, housed in a repurposed crabbing boat. The focus ranges from Kachemak Bay cuisine to global influences, prepared with regional seafood and homegrown vegetables. After dinner, you’ll retire to one of six comfortably furnished oceanfront cabins, the most exclusive of which has three bedrooms and is surrounded by old-growth Sitka spruce trees.

Hyperlocalism has fueled Portland’s Old Port District revitalization, with buzzy restaurants and shops with a deep sense of place opening in recent years. The stylish Press Hotel is no exception. A publishing motif runs throughout the 110-room property, which occupies a corner building that once housed the Portland Press Herald. Custom-made wallpaper printed with old headlines adorns the corridors, and desks inspired by those found in 1920s newsrooms are in each room. Works by local artists—including a dramatic installation of vintage typewriters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Portland artist Erin Hutton—and woven-wall tapestries by Portland home-goods designer Angela Adams also abound. (There are even a few notable—and welcome—nods to the global luxury market, including Frette linens from Italy atop the plush beds.) The focus at the 65-seat hotel restaurant, Union, is proudly farm- and sea-to-table, with dishes like house-smoked local mussels served with celery cream.

In a new(ish) location overlooking the bay, this perennial Big Island favorite weaves local, organic, and free-range produce into culinary alchemy. Deceptively simple dishes dance on the taste buds; the rich umami of the mushroom potpie and the spicy ahi poke do a particularly fabulous fandango, along with the jalapeño-hamachi-belly sushi roll. The peppered beef carpaccio has a dedicated following, pairing soft grass-fed beef with sea salt and fried capers—as does the half-pound burger that comes topped with Gorgonzola. Even vegetarians can indulge here, starting with the cauliflower grilled with black-garlic aioli and moving onto a taro-quinoa veggie patty beside hand-cut fries. Make sure to save room for the legendary chocolate lava cake!

Bear Mountain Lodge has had many lives since it was first built in 1928. Back then, it was a school for unruly boys from the East Coast; later it became a country club and hotel for the well-heeled; and before artist-turned-innkeeper Linda Brewer bought the property five years ago and turned it into a 10-room lodge, it was owned by the Nature Conservancy. It’s fitting, then, that nature is the main attraction at the lodge, which sits on 178 acres and has horses, cows, and chickens, plus birds and butterflies and a pond that’s home to the endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frog. The Gila National Forest—at 2.7 million acres, the largest wilderness area in the Southwest—is the lodge’s back yard. If you find yourself missing civilization, Silver City is just over three miles away, but escape is really the point here. And while there is Wi-Fi, there aren’t any televisions.

I hate wimpy hamburger buns--you know the kind: pickle juice and grill marks bleed through the sad white carbs...Downtown Flagstaff’s Diablo Burger rejects mushy bread in favor of hearty “db"-branded English muffins. Their beef patties are from just down the road a bit, where the cows are grass-fed, open-range, hormone & antibiotic-free...The cheese--local. Beer on tap? Almost always regional. The potatoes for their Belgian-style fries? From the local “food-shed” too. “Landscape-scale conservation that you can taste,” they say. Savor a beefy taste-of-place on your way to or from the Grand Canyon, or linger a while in this college-ski-town that defies Arizona‘s all-desert reputation. The outdoor seating area boasts a mural that is redolent of Hieronymous Bosch and Picasso. Chew on that at 7,000-ft. above sea-level... (Diablo Burger has also opened a second location a few hours south--down in Tucson...)

Flagstaff, Northern Arizona‘s winter-playground-college-town, is often overlooked as visitors drive through it on their way to or from the Grand Canyon. But if you have time to linger, this town will reveal its charms. In recent years, it’s become a regional mecca for farm-to-table dining, with new restaurants repopulating its 19th-century downtown. After getting your fill of locavore dining and microbrews, work it off by going for a run or a hike up on McMillan Mesa, an ancient lava flow with superb views of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona. Buffalo Park has a two-mile loop through grassland and ponderosa pine forest, connecting to trails that go up into the wooded slopes. Remember, though, that Flagstaff is over 7000 ft/2133 m. above sea level--give yourself time to acclimate to the lower oxygen levels...

After hiking, skiing, or Grand Canyon gawking, what better way to spend an evening than in Flagstaff’s oldest microbrewery? Wood-burning stoves in the entryway will keep you warm if the wait is long in this family-friendly brewpub. In addition to the handcrafted beers, you will find wood-fired pizzas, fondues, and apple cake made with oatmeal stout. I opted for the “Brewer’s Platter": bratwursts and spicy southwest sausage braised in their Railhead Red Ale, with caramelized onions, red cabbage, cinnamon apples, and skin-on mashed potatoes. So glad I listened to the guys in the mountain-gear-store up the street who recommended the place. For two decades, Beaver Street Brewery has been a Flagstaff institution, its sign a beacon on foggy winter nights... (Just remember, at 7,000 ft. above sea level, the brews go to your head much faster...so eat up!)

America’s second-largest desert is an unlikely place to find some of the world’s freshest seafood. But anything is possible in Las Vegas, and when chef Paul Bartolotta opened Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare in the Wynn hotel in 2005, he was committed to offering only the best. Bartolotta serves sea bass, snapper, and lobsters 48 to 60 hours after they’re pulled from the waters that surround Italy. On any given night, the menu features nearly 50 species of rare seafood. “I’ve never heard of another restaurant having live slipper lobster or blue lobster in their tanks,” says Bartolotta. The chef speaks daily with his fishermen and tracks shipments using thermal microchips. An in-house marine biologist monitors the live seafood from when it arrives until it is prepped to order. 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S., (702) 770-3463. This appeared in the October 2012 issue.

Los Cóbanos is a picturesque stretch of golden sand, framed by a fringe of palm trees, perfect for relaxation. The waters here are home to colorful reefs, which are protected by the government, so the beach is particularly popular as the point of departure for snorkeling and scuba trips with licensed outfitters. Expect to see sea snails and urchins, colorful tropical fish, and even some submerged ship wrecks. The best time of year to visit for snorkeling and scuba diving in the area is between November and February.

On the other hand, the reefs mean it isn’t a particularly good place to visit for surfing. Even so, it is one of the most beautiful beaches to visit while you’re in the town of Los Cobanos, a small fishing community just south of Acajutla in El Salvador.

Try something different and experience wildlife on board a traditional Icelandic schooner operated by North Sailing Húsavík.The crew is fun and very knowledgeable. They take you to Lundey, the Puffin Island, as well as the traditional whale watching areas. While on the tour we saw over 10 humpback whales, a few Minkey whales, dolphins, puffins and other arctic birds including Northern gannets which are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up to 2 meters. It was a gorgeous day too. It was an unforgettable experience and something I would do again and again. At the end of the trip the Captain is offering hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls.

Combining fine-dining flair with the relaxed ambience of a mountain resort town, Rata in Queenstown is one of the New Zealand eateries operated by well-known Kiwi chef Josh Emett. With a CV that includes cooking stints in the United States and London, Emett has crafted a menu that deftly marries a range of international influences to proudly local produce. Sharing plates include New Zealand octopus with saffron aioli or Marlborough salmon with horseradish and green apple, while local venison and merino lamb are standout main courses. The colors and feel of the forest inform the stylish decor—the eponymous rata is a tree native to New Zealand. Two- and three-course lunch menus are both a good value.

A little gem of a store located on a cobbled brick side street in Ballard, Horseshoe has a fun, casual hipster-boho-chic aesthetic and beautiful clothes and jewelry, whether you’re shopping for a professional work look or a wedding outfit. Their flattering clothes feature graphic prints, bold colors, and edgy, asymmetrical details, and if you’re feeling spendy, you can top off your look with timeless Frye western boots or a beautifully worn-looking leather tote. Want to represent your home state? They also carry Kris Nations’ charming state-name necklaces in gold and silver — a thoughtful present for a friend.

With a nickname like the “Cave State,” Missouri certainly isn’t short on impressive caverns. Of the more than 6,000 across the state, however, Meramac Caverns is the largest—and stays open year-round for tours. Said to have been a hideout for the outlaw Jesse James in the 1870s, the seven-level, 4.6-mile-long natural wonder was purchased by Lester Dill in 1933 and opened as a tourist attraction in 1935. Today, visitors can take guided tram tours past the cave’s complex mineral formations, stopping at a “wine room” (named for its grape-like botryoids and accessed by a long stairwell). While exploring, keep your eyes peeled for the resident tricolored bats that call Meramac home.

The Santa Monica Pier embodies what Southern California is all about: fun in the sun. Popular with tourists and locals alike, this iconic boardwalk adjacent to the Pacific Ocean—filled with all the amusement rides, midway games, fried food, ice cream and cotton candy you can dream up—is a fantastic place to spend a nice day. My favorite attractions are the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and the world’s first solar-paneled Ferris wheel, which provides breathtaking beach and ocean views as you ride ‘round and ‘round. Be sure to dip your toes in the soft Santa Monica sand, too. Nearby, you’ll find the Third Street Promenade, a bustling entertainment district filled with wonderful eateries and shops.