5 Swell Surf Lodges

[trip style = beach + sun + active + steal]

We can't even contemplate summer right now without the tide of our minds lapping up against surf lodges. We dream of them constantly, in all their sand dollar-hued paint, starfish-print decor and sporty glory.

If, like us, you're seeking some summertime design inspiration or thinking of planning a surfari in the next year, here are five surf lodges worth cruisin' on into. 

The Surf Lodge 
Where: Montauk, NY {USA}
Deets: Around since 1967 and hanging 10 at the edge of Long Island, The Surf Lodge is a wellness retreat steeped in Montauk's upscale-boho charms. Visit this gem if you appreciate good design, good surf and driftwood towel racks. 

Ocean Village
Where: Tofino, British Columbia {Canada}
Deets: Nudged up against MacKenzie Beach, one of Canada's most popular surf spots, the woodsy collection of basic beehive-style cabins at Ocean Village face the ocean for ultimate wave spotting. Bonus: you're so "one" with the water, you can catch a swell before breakfast. 

The Harmony Hotel
Where: Nosara {Costa Rica}
Deets: Envisioned by two surf enthusiasts who visited and rode Playa Guiones year-round waves, The Harmony Hotel is an eco-lodge inspired by the tropical destinations of yesteryear for people who appreciate low-key glam and complete escape. 

Hotel Escondido 
Where: Puerto Escondido {Mexico}
Deets: With laid-back palapa bungalows spread across the beach in southern Mexico's surf Mecca, Hotel Escondido brings a dose of style—and a 50-meter infinity pool—to the swell scene. BYO straw hat. 

Crystal Pier Hotel
Where: San Diego, CA {USA}
Deets: Perched over the Pacific Ocean atop San Diego's most popular surf address, Pacific Beach, cottages lining the pier at Crystal Pier Hotel spell swell with a capital S. It's one thing to surf the break; it's another to sleep over it.  

[photos sourced online via properties listed]

How Carmen Sandiego Fuelled My Wanderlust

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: Read until the bottom. Our biggest-ever giveaway awaits! 

Pl-ease tell me you remember the computer game/TV show: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

When I was a kidlet, my dad surprised our family one Christmas with a Macintosh Classic II computer. The magical box' screen was the size of my hand and the keys clicked like crickets. For the late-1980s; this was the peak of at-home technology. 

Along with the Mac, my dad got us Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, a geography- and adventure-themed computer game for kids following a female heroine {Carmen} as she trekked from Toronto to Tokyo all while wearing her signature wide-brimmed hat and cherry-red trench. 

Looking back, this is my first memory of the world map. Earth was no longer a confusing green- and blue-hued art piece suspended over the green chalk board in my grade three class, but a real place begging to be explored. 

Besides family trips exploring the West Coast or meeting Mickey at Disneyland, armchair traveling with Ms. Sandiego was my first brush with global travel. She fuelled my wanderlust {something I've never been able to ignore}.

Fast-forward to my first job post-university. After tasting Ms. Sandiego's globetrotting lifestyle in study-abroad classes at school, it became crystal clear my faux-wood desk would never grow jet propulsion engines or dole out fresh-baked croissants, so I quit and went to Paris. Twice. A stint working on a cruise ship followed. Finally, my travel dance card was inching closer to Carmen status.

In early 2014, Expedia.com launched "storybook", a campaign centred around turning travel ideas into reality. In the opening video a mom reads her son fantastical fairy tales and shows him it can all be real in a trip uncovering vast kingdoms, castles and villages on water. In partnership with this, as one of 12 Expedia Viewfinders in North America, I was asked "What's your travel storybook"? Or, what fuelled your fire for travel?

I thought about the answer for a long time—even toyed with recreating the scene when I fell in love with Mr. Trip Styler on the Great Wall of China {no joke!}. Then it hit me. I have to give credence to Carmen; she played an early role in my wanderlust.

Realizing a story touching multiple coordinates on the map had to be visual, I made a video {including my own signature twist on Carmen's classic chapeau}:

This short reel recreates my early years of "Carm-chair travel" and follows my recent trip styled quests to San Francisco, Napa, Cannon Beach, Seattle, Canada's Sunshine Coast, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Mexico. 

While travel has a different impact on each wanderer, if I distill my cross-cultural adventures into one personal truth, it's this: Carmen-style curiosity is not quenched in a single country or trip, but in the stories we live along the way.

To my parents: Thank you for asking Santa to skip the neon scrunchies I asked for in 1989. The magical box ended up doing magical things in my life.

Trip Styled Travel: A Giveaway
The last scene of the video is shot in Mexico's Riviera Maya at one of my favorite hotels, the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, an all-villa resort where each abode comes with its own plunge pool {see my hotel photos + profile in TS' latest Roam+Board feature}. Having had my eye on this chic stay for the past five years, I wanted to share the TS love with the world explorer in all of us in our MOST EPIC trip styled prize package ever:

A three-night stay at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, and a US$750 flight credit toward your trip from Expedia.com {a value totalling more than US$2500}. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest Details
1/ You must be 18 or over and a legal US resident to enter. {To my Canadian friends: This is because the giveaway is in partnership with Expedia.com.} 
2/ The contest is open from Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014 at noon PST. 
3/ The winner, chosen at random by Rafflecopter, will be announced and contacted by 5pm on Wednesday, July 2nd, and has 48 hours to make contact once we email you with the good news. If we don't hear from you, we will do a second draw. 
4/ The Banyan Tree voucher is valid from May 1, 2014 – May 1, 2015 (excluding Christmas, New Year, Easter and Holiday periods). The US$750 flight credit from Expedia.com is valid July 1, 2014 - July, 1, 2015.

[Thank you to Expedia for making this project and this giveaway possible.]

Roam+Board :: Painted Boat Resort

[trip style = active + food/wine + luxe]

{Editor's Note: Since I was a kid, I've spent almost every summer on BC's Sunshine Coast, the location of today's R+B property. As a local, I'm excited to show off this iconic stretch, aka. BC's best kept secret!}

What
Tucked into a discreet cove along BC's 180-km Sunshine Coast, Painted Boat sprawls over a five-acre glade of redcedars and Douglas firs. Here, nature's not just a faraway vista, but in your midst.

Built over the shoreline, the one- to two-plus-loft villas come kitted out with gourmet kitchens, large dining rooms, cozy living rooms and ocean views. Saving the best sight line for the master bedroom, each cream-colored space features the dreamiest ocean vantage point in the house. In other words, pack your lingerie AND your stargazing binocs, because you'll want to sleep with the shades open to watch the sky turn from indigo to ink in your feather-topped theatre.

With the oceanfront as the resort's anchor, water beckons at every turn. During my late-May visit I was drawn to both the harbor {read: paddleboards} and the infinity pool as late as 7pm, when the temperature was 22 degrees Celsius/72 Fahrenheit. By 7:30pm, the sun was streaming so intently onto my villa's balcony that the only appropriate activity was sitting with a bottle of wine and watching the sun slather the sky in a cosmic print of pink, purple and orange.  

In an ode to all things seafaring, every night Mr. Trip Styler and I dined on local fish and foraged fare at The RESTAURANT, the Sunshine Coast's premier foodie address. Stay tuned for a special report on foraging with the chef next week. 

Trip Styler approved. 

Trip Styler Tip: Talk to the hotel about the their very instagrammable mason jar-packed breakfast baskets {from $17 per person}.

Where
British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, a 40-minute ride via BC Ferries from Vancouver on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route. Once in Langdale/Gibsons, Painted Boat is a one-hour drive, or a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride.    

When
Winters are typically west coast; moody, cool and sit-by-the-fire-romantic. Spring and fall provide a gorgeous summer crescendo/decrescendo showing hints of warm weather and stints of sun. During summer high season, the Sunshine Coast more than lives up to its moniker.  

Who/Why
Nature grounds you. So do infinity pools.    

Cost
Rates for the all-villa resort start around $175/night and include WiFi, large patios with a gas BBQ and complimentary parking. Bikes, kayaks and paddleboards can be rented from the resort from $30/$25/$15 respectively. Fido can tag along for $25/night. 

Photos

View over the marina

Infinity pool {find the hot tub and fitness center behind it}

An upper and lower villa, one of 31 at the hotel

Gourmet kitchen, standard in each villa 

Breakfast basket

Mr Nacho King, excited to go paddleboarding

Paddleboarding in Pender Harbor 

Sunset

Indigo night sky

More Roam+Board
Villa Samadhi - Kuala Lumpur
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
Four Seasons Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Hong Kong
Korakia Pensione - Palm Springs 
La Gazelle d'Or - Morocco
Mandarin Oriental - Las Vegas
Hotel Lone - Croatia
Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay - Lanai

[photos by @tripstyler, except first and last, taken while a guest of the hotel]

Roam+Board :: Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle

[trip style = luxe + glamping + adventure + spa + sun]

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Editor's Note: This R+B is the final part in a series on my trip style = luxury jaunt to Asia. Earlier not-to-miss posts include: flying Cathay Pacific's business class, exploring Hong Kong, checking into the Four Seasons Hong Kong, and a trip into Thailand's Lanna Kingdom {land of a million rice fields} at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. 
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What
From the lookout at the highest point of the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Thailand, I could see Myanmar and Laos in the distance. As if this scene in my Thai playbook wasn't exception enough, I had just come from meeting a herd of rescued elephants I would trek with the next day. In a state of geographic and animal awe, I stood in silence surveying the landscape—clutching a flute of Champagne {it is the Four Seasons after all}—wishing I had the power to freeze time.  

In the world of glamping, the Four Seasons Tented Camp crosses at the high point of luxury and experiential travel. As the ONLY all-inclusive Four Seasons, no service is spared, not even a trip to the tree house spa, open on two sides to the bamboo jungle below. 

Starting with a splash, your stay begins by boat. My captain picked me up an hour from the city of Chiang Rai and swished me along the Ruak River to camp in one of Thailand’s famous long-tail boats. 

Seven minutes later, over fresh papaya-guava smoothies served in handmade bamboo tumblers, I was greeted with three clangs of a gong {to health, happiness and prosperity}, and guided to my 581-square-foot tent perched over northern Thailand's lush plains. 

Each of the fifteen Bill Bensley-designed tents sit discretely scattered over a half-mile, hidden between palms and bamboo clusters. Inside, dark hardwood floors, elephant-inspired bathtub fittings and an outdoor shower make you feel as though you're a 19th century explorer on assignment for your kingdom.

Though, it was the bed that really beckoned me to take up permanent residence; positioned with a view of the roaming elephants below who would occasionally remind me of their presence by lifting their trunks and trumpeting their position.

When the sky turned from orange to ink, the camp custom I treasured most came in liquid form: Pre-dinner cocktails in the thatched-roof Burma Bar {not surprisingly, overlooking Burma (Myanmar) in the distance}. Here, over lemongrass martinis, I met other adventure-prone guests. Instead of discussing the weather or current events—typical topics when you meet a new friend—we shared our trekking tales and the best way to mount an elephant.

During the day, moments meander between learning how to ride elephants bareback, to practicing serenity-now by the oasis-like pool. Then came my spa appointment—part of the all-inclusive package—a 10-minute walk deep into camp for escape and privacy reasons. 

Inside the wooden-platform bungalow blending into the verdant valley like a chameleon, I changed into my spa robe in the open as if I was a Jane of the Jungle. The setting in and of itself was enough of a spa treatment, yet I welcomed my mahout recovery treatment {the perfect remedy after a day of trekking} with its au naturel soundtrack of chirping birds and wind-blown palms. And again, felt the urge to freeze time. 

Trip Styler approved.     

Where
At the northern tip of Thailand where the country meets Myanmar and Loas, about an hour from the Chiang Rai Airport {CEI}, a 75-min flight from Bangkok.

When
Weather in the Golden Triangle ranges from warm to hot year round. In this part of the world there are three seasons: hot {Mar - Jun}, rainy {July - Oct} and "cool" {Nov - Feb}. The cool season is the most popular due its lack of rain and average of 25-degree Celsius temperatures.   

Who/Why
Venturing "off the beaten path" is your middle name, but you like to do so with a dash of adventure and a spoonful of style.  

Cost
Rates start around $2400/night (for two people) and include Chiang Rai airport pick-up and drop-off, all meals and drinks, an elephant trek with mahout training and a spa treatment. Kids above the age of 12 are welcome.

Trip Styler Tip: I know this property comes with an haute couture price tag, but rest assured, in the realm of luxury trip styling, this experience is WELL worth the save-to-splurge investment.

Photos

Taking a long-tail boat to camp

The first sight I see when docking

Entering camp

Welcome drinks served in hand-carved bamboo tumblers

My tent

My tent's rope-secured veranda

Meeting a two-week-old elephant

Learning elephant-riding commands. Note the amazing denim getup: Traditional crop pants, a short-sleeve button-up shirt and a waist sash. If you spot Crocs on my feet, you're not mistaken. Each guest is given a pair to use while trekking. This is one of the ONLY instances wearing crocs is remotely acceptable in my trip stylin' lookbook. 

My elephant and mahout

Trekking

Nearing the end of the trek

The pool 

The spa

Burma Bar

Nong Yao, the camp's gorgeous restaurant

More Roam+Board
Four Seasons Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Hong Kong
Korakia Pensione - Palm Springs 
La Gazelle d'Or – Morocco
Mandarin Oriental – Las Vegas
Hotel Lone – Croatia
Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay - Lanai

[photos by @tripstyler taken as a guest of the hotel]

Morocco :: Essaouira

[trip style = urban + luxury]

Editor's Note: As Morocco Month comes to a close, we leave you with our final North African destination: Essaouira, an ancient and fortified city by the sea. For a look back at the rest of our Morocco series, see Casablanca,Savoring the Sahara, La Gazelle d'Or and hotels in Taroudant and a beauty lesson inargan oil.

The final hurrah in my Morocco itinerary pulled me back to shore from Taroudant by way of a four-hour, backcountry drive over grass-covered hills, past grazing goats, wineries, argan oil collectives and gas station-restaurants---a thing in Morocco (would you like a crêpe with your gas?).

Essaouira is a magic, moody place at the intersection of ancient and modern. Changing hands over centuries due to its strategic position on the Atlantic coast, there's a near-visible mystique that fills the air. At the same time, there's a playful spirit, given it's a beach town and popular weekend destination for the well-heeled from Marrakech.

Within the French-designed fortifications life teems with the energy of thousands of conversations and transactions. Outside the walls, a major fishing port gives way to a far-reaching beach decorated in dunes, kite-boarders and camels.

Every night after dinner, I'd retreat into the warmth and time-tested luxury of L'Heure Bleue Palais hotel, built into Essaouira’s medina walls. Feeling like I needed to match the old-school Africa allure---think: dark wood, mosaics, deep-red carpets, candlelight turndown---at cocktail hour I donned a draping blue dress and strolled past the palm-coated courtyard to the drink den, one of the most epic places I've ever sipped a spirit.

Accompanied by a tumbler of Jack Daniel’s and knowledge that the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley tested a tipple in the riad’s wood-paneled, leather-bound room, I came to the conclusion that Morocco has been luring luminaries since the Berbers walked through the Western Sahara some 5000 years ago.

Trip Styler Tip: When you go to Morocco, you'll hear the terms riad and dar a lot. The most simple way to decipher between these housing/hotel options is: A riad typically has a four-season garden and a fountain, a dar does not.

Photos

Visiting a women's again oil collective and learning to crush the kernel---which produces a peanut butter-consistency paste---with a granite spool. Find Assouss Argan producing organic and handmade products from argan shampoo to skin cream about 20 minutes outside of Essaouira.

Heure Bleue Palais

Gorgeous tassel-clad room keys

My room's safari-styled sitting space

I love it when my soap is presented as gift, you?

The palm-dressed courtyard, where I spent a lot of time.

The drink den of ALL drink dens

Fishing {then tourism} is Essaouira's largest industry

Port of Essaouira

Inside Essaouira's medina 

Age-old walls 

Souk

Fish market essaouira

Attempting to buy a vintage Moroccan carpet. To show its made with real wool, the shop patron burned the edge with a lighter to reveal it was not synthetic material.

I started with 30 carpets. They were all placed on the floor by the carpet master. I whittled the lot down to eight winners. Then, I learned the cost was a few thousand for all of them. Buying a carpet in Morocco is like buying art. It takes a lot of time, consideration, cash and you must evaluate the apple of your eye in multiple exposures and perspectives before making a confident buying decision.

Ladies at sunset

Meet James Bond. My sweet sunset ride.

As you do in Morocco: Ride camels on the beach at sundown.

[photos by @tripstyler taken a guest of tourism morocco]