Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Taking an outdoor adventure vacation doesn’t always mean staying in tents and cooking over a campfire. Housed in Banff National Park, on the eastern shores of the emerald waters of Lake Louise, is an oasis of luxury.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise was built in the heyday of train travel by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The goal was to attract wealthy travelers to Canada’s west with opulence, elegance, and of course, killer views of the lake.

It succeeded, and people continued to visit long after the era of train travel was over. Nowadays, the Chateau is a hotspot for nature-lovers, luxury travelers, and wedding parties.

Japonais Restaurant, Chicago

A chic decor and extensive menu are what attracts diners to Japonais Restaurant in Chicago. A full sushi bar and creative entrees set this restaurant apart from the many Asian inspired eateries in the city, making it a top choice for those who love traditional Asian food with innovative twists.

Chefs Gene Kato and Jun Ichikawa try to keep guests guessing with a myriad of flavors and enough menu items for even the most discerning patron to choose something that sounds appealing.

Olivomare Restaurant, London

Known almost as much for its innovative and modern design as the thoughtful and delicious seafood offerings on the menu, Olivomare Restaurant in London is an eye-catching and sumptuous spot to dine.
Featured in design magazines, Olivomare’s bold dining area sets the perfect mood for fresh and innovative dishes. Timeless ingredients like lobster get paired with more daring treats like sea urchin to form balanced and interesting entrees.

Body and Soul Adventures, Brazil

For some people, a spa getaway means lying in a hammock, sipping iced tea between yoga class and a massage appointment. Body and Soul Adventures is not for those people.

Set in the impossibly beautiful coastal mountains of Paraty, a few hours’ drive from Rio de Janeiro, Body and Soul Adventures calls itself an “adventure retreat.” Its six-day programs offer an intense physical and mental detox based around healthy eating and active pursuits like rainforest hiking and ocean kayaking.

We know the local area sounds suspiciously like “Party,” but forget your image of the Brazilian high life. At Body and Soul, you won’t find alcohol, caffeine, meat, or anything else harmful to the body’s metabolism. But you’ll be so awe-struck by the natural beauty on all sides, you won’t miss it.

Find Luxury Camping with GlampingHub

You love the great outdoors, but aren’t interested in eating baked beans from a can or bedding down on the ground in a sleeping bag. Lucky for you, glamping (short for glamorous camping) is a trend on the rise, with options popping up all over the world.

And a new website, GlampingHub.com, is helping travelers sort through the world of unique luxury camping alternatives.

GlampingHub offers a range of accommodations, such as tents, yurts, cabins, and other one-of-a-kind dwellings. And while the site has its fair share of $500+/night accommodations (the site’s most expensive property is the Four Seasons Golden Triangle Thailand, at $2,817 – $3,121 a night with a two night minimum stay) it also has a nice range of less expensive options that let you experience a place in a new way.

Spend Nights in Rodanthe

Summer is right around the corner. And when the mercury rises, we can’t help but daydream about some of our favorite summer getaway spots. The one on our minds right now: the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

While most visitors cross the bridge and immediately start unpacking in tourist-heavy Kill Devil Hills, we prefer the quiet sands and surf of the sleepier southern town of Rodanthe.

Even if you’ve never been here, you’ve probably heard of it, thanks to the Nicholas Sparks book-made-movie, “Nights in Rodanthe.” In the movie, a woman oversees a bed and breakfast visited by a troubled doctor.

Atlantic City’s New Revel Resort

There’s new buzz about the Jersey Shore, and luckily it has nothing to do with reality TV. The talk is about Atlantic City’s recently debuted Revel, a new $2.4 billion, 20-acre resort situated on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Revel ups the ante in Atlantic City, betting on a new type of tourist not geared towards gambling. While the resort does sport a casino (designed by the Montreal firm responsible for Cirque de Soleil’s sets), add to that swank lounges, Vegas-style nightclubs, indoor and outdoor pools, live entertainment, trendy boutiques, and a 32,000-square-foot spa complete with hammam and salt rooms.

D.O.M., Sao Paolo, Brazil

With a steadfast determination to remain true to his Brazilian routes, Sao Paolo native and head chef at D.O.M., Alex Atala, showcases Brazilian ingredients in each dish with creativity and exuberance.

Atala is often a frontrunner in experimenting with new ingredients from the Amazon forest, crops from local farmers and edible flowers and plants grown in Brazil.

D.O.M. consistently ranks as one of the top restaurants in the world because of Atala’s ingenuity in the kitchen and sustainable practices. Menu items include ingredients like heart of palm, cambuca fruit and tucupi juice. Food is executed to perfection, mixing European culinary techniques with an unmistakably Brazilian touch.

American Club Resort, Kohler, Wisconsin

For most people, the name “Kohler” means kitchen and bathroom faucets. For those who know Wisconsin, “Kohler” also calls to mind one very genteel hotel. Built in 1918, The American Club Resort once provided housing and meals to impoverished immigrant employees of the Kohler factory.

Reborn as a resort, it is one of only 57 destinations worldwide to earn a five-star rating from Forbes magazine and is the only AAA Five Diamond Resort in the Midwest.

Of course there’s fancy Kohler plumbing in the bathrooms. But the American Club offers a whole lot more. There’s championship golf, gourmet dining, and a five-star resort spa. There are regular family activities like Friday night story time and Saturday movies, plus special resort activities like ice skating and snowshoeing.

The Sofitel Spa, New Zealand

The Sofitel Hotel and Spa in Queenstown, New Zealand offers up relaxation at its finest. LaSpa at the Sofitel features services to awaken the mind, body and soul. This luxury hotel gives weary travelers a chance to unwind and reboot before taking on the world, and LaSpa is just the place to do so.
Among the services offered are European massages and beauty treatments, a jacuzzi, Hammam steam room and a special Far Infrared Room.

Rose Island Lighthouse

Tired of staying in cookie-cutter hotels when you travel? Looking for something a little bit more unique than a standard beach vacation rental? Visitors to Rhode Island now have the option to stay at the Rose Island Lighthouse when visiting the scenic Narragansett Bay.

This working lighthouse was built in 1869 and sits just outside the town of Newport. Guests can choose to stay overnight in the keeper’s quarters on the first floor, or become an actual keeper of the lighthouse for a week and stay on the second floor quarters.

Although you’d most likely be visiting Newport or Narragansett Bay on vacation, if you stay at the lighthouse as a keeper, you’ll be expected to work! Duties include raising and lowering the flag each day, listening to marine weather reports, greeting visitors to the lighthouse museum and even learning how to operate the wind-powered electric system.

After a brief orientation by by the full-time lighthouse staff, you’ll pretty much be given the reigns to act as official lighthouse keeper for the week of your stay.

Sleep Under the Stars at NYC’s AKA Central Park

You don’t have to leave Manhattan to sleep under the stars, thanks to AKA Central Park. The five-star luxury hotel/residence is offering a night spent on the 1,000-square-foot terrace for guests of its 17th-floor penthouse suite.

The outside digs are setup with a wood-burning fireplace, telescope, large LCD TV, flowers, candles and of course a king-sized bed covered in 400-thread-count Frette sheets. To add to the ambiance, AKA also throws in cocktails, champagne, s’mores from Jacques Torres, and a Nook e-reader filled with campfire stories.

The Hyatt Spa, Bali

When you think of Bali, you no doubt imagine lush landscapes and thatched roofs. The Spa at Bali Hyatt is no exception to this rule.

Designed in the traditional Balinese courtyard style with villas and outdoor pavilions, the Hyatt Spa is a picturesque location for luxury spa services and treatments. The spa sanctuary utilizes calming aromatherapy along with traditional Balinese and European spa techniques and treatments.

Among the most alluring spa treatments offered at the Hyatt Spa is the Lulur Royal Javanese Spa Treatment, a spa ritual begun in the 18th century to pamper women in the royal Javanese family.

Spa of the Rockies, Glenwood Hot Springs

Hot springs abound in Colorado, and the Spa of the Rockies at Glenwood Hot Springs has captured their essence like no other resort in the area.

Reviving the name that was once used by 19th century aristocrats, the Spa of the Rockies is now a full service spa offering some excellent spa treatments in addition to dips in the natural, therapeutic hot springs.

A Traditional Taste of the Tropics at Florida’s Oldest Restaurant

Beloved magazine Southern Living has listed it among its nine favorite romantic restaurants in the southeastern United States; Distinguished Restaurants of North America has given it an award of excellence; USA Today has called its 1905 Salad “One of America’s Top 10 Salads;” and its fourth-generation owner/operator and founder’s great-grandson, Richard Guzman, has been named a humanitarian of the year by the National Restaurant Association.

Backyard Drinks at Lustre Pearl in Austin, Texas

When Travel + Leisure names its 30 favorite outdoor bars in all of the United States and two of them can be found in the same city, perhaps that town is onto something. Sliding into a languorous summer afternoon full of adult beverages in Austin, Texas isn’t hard to do by any means; it’s a place known for its laid-back, bohemian lifestyle and appreciation for the simple pleasures in life.

Ventana Inn Spa, California

It’s virtually impossible to feel anything but serenity at Ventana Inn & Spa in Big Sur, California. The Central Coast retreat has top notch amenities that will melt stress away, and is adults only, so no need to worry about kids screaming at the two heated swimming pools. Choose to stay in a guest room, suite, village or cottage depending on your wants and needs.

Tree House Lodge, Costa Rica

Traditional accommodations in exotic locations are definitely a thing of the past. Why would anyone want to stay at a Hilton hotel chain when you could stay in a luxury tree house in the middle of the Costa Rican forest? That’s right, a tree house.