Slideshow :: Best of 2014

[trip style = all] 

I know, I know; today we *should* be focusing on post-travel detox juices or healthy getaways to jump-start TS 2015, but in the name of zigging where others zag, and *hopefully* inspiring your 2015 travel plans, we're taking a step back before we move ahead.

Reminiscing about 2014 over the Christmas holidays, I was struck by how I'm keen to re-visit a bevy of the hotels and destinations that colored my year-in-travel. Waking up in Mexico on January 1st, and clocking my last set of air miles when visiting California in early December, 2014 saw me take about 40 trips.

Some were big, some were weekenders. Some were luxe, some were rustic. Some were zen, some were busy {with the addition of Baby Styler to the TS crew}. True to the Trip Styler mission, we covered every category of trip styling: active+adventure, beach+sun, food+wine, weekender, glamping, urban, luxe, steals, spa. 

Here's the best of the best. Stay + play details in each photo. 

Mexico. First trip of 2014 to Huatulco. 

Huatulco.

Huatulco. See my story on the destination's best beaches.

Huatulco. Picking up textiles for the Trip Styler Store.

Huatulco. I swear, guac tastes so much better when consumed in Mexico while sitting at a poquito table on the sand. Location: MediterraneO.

Hulatulco. The coolest restaurant of all on Maguey beach. 

Huatulco. Sundowner drinks at Maguey beach. 

Lake Tahoe. Finding a snowy hiking trail off the side of a road---sans guidebook or insider tips---leading to the area's namesake lake. 

Lake Tahoe. One of my top trip style = steal stays of 2014: Basecamp Hotel in South Lake Tahoe. 

Vancouver. Playing tour guide in my own city, and sharing my top bites, bevs and boutiques in a video. 

Vancouver. Eating a fresh catch of sushi at the Fairmont Pacific Rim's RawBar. 

Vancouver. Filling my stomach with haute fare at La Pentola della Quercia for Dine-Out Vancouver, a once-yearly restaurant festival. Note: La Pentola's Dine-Out menu is one of my festival hot picks.

Palm Springs. Spending my birthday in one of my destination muses. Pictured here, the must-stay Korakia Pensione. 

Palm Springs. The outdoor movie theatre at Korakia Pensione showing yesteryear flicks nightly. 

Palm Springs. One of two pools at Korakia Pensione.

Palm Springs. Playing petanque with Mr. Trip Styler at Korakia Pensione. 

Flying aboard Cathay Pacific---without question, one of my top three airlines worldwide.

The made-to-order noodle bar at Cathay Pacific's flagship {and trip-styled-to-the-max} lounge: The Wing in Hong Kong International Airport.  

Hong Kong. Luxuriating at the Four Seasons Hong Kong.

Hong Kong. Hitting as many restaurants, food stalls and sights as I can see in 48 hours. 

Thailand. Learning the art of Thai hospitality and Northern Thai cooking at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai.

Thailand. One of the best desserts I've ever tasted: Sweet coconut soup with taro pearls at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai.  

Thailand. Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. 

Thailand. Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. The rice paddy parade, an end-of-day procession happening every night at 4.50pm to commemorate the end of the work day on the resort's working rice field. 
 

Thailand.  Breakfast in the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai's {ritzy} rice barn.

Thailand. The Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai's main pool.

Thailand. Elephant-trekking and glamping where Thailand meets Laos and Myanmar at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. 

Thailand. Welcome beverages served in hard-carved cups at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.

Thailand. One of the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle's 15 luxury tents {this was my abode}.

Thailand. Trekking at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.

Thailand. Learning how to ride an elephant at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.

Thailand. My elephant and his mahout {elephant handler} at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.

Thailand. On my last night at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle we lit lanterns and sent them into the sky. The perfect ending for a standout stay. 

Visiting Walt Disney World with my mom to eat my way around the world at Epcot. 

Walt Disney World. Where cream and crunch have a baby and birth this chocolate ice macaron. Find it in the France Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase. 

Kuala Lumpur. Visiting Mlaysia's capital city and finding a gorgeous villa-hotel, Villa Samadhi, tucked into a treed district just outside the city.

Kuala Lumpur. Petronas Towers. Bonus points if you remember them featured in the movie Entrapment! 

Bali. Seminyak beach. 

Bali. Scoping out the best beach hotels in Bali. Pictured here, one of my beachside stays, the Anantara Hotel Seminyak. 

Bali. Seminyak beach.

Bali. Seminyak beach.

West Bali. 

West Bali. The Menjangan {read about it here}.

Bali. 

Bali. Near Jimbaran Bay. 

Bali. Sundara restaurant {and beach club} at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay. 

Bali. The Michelin-level fare at Sundara in the Four Season Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay. 

Bali. Sundara.

Bali. RIMBA Jimbaran Bali hotel.

Bali. RIMBA.

Bali. RIMBA.

Bali. RIMBA.

Bali. Watching the sun set from the cliff-carved infinity pool at AYANA Resort. 

Tokyo.

Tokyo.

Tokyo. Maison Ladurée. 

Tokyo. Sitting at the eight-seat sushi bar manned by Chef Yasuda, one of the world's most famous sushi chefs.

Tokyo. Sushi Bar Yasuda. 

Tokyo. Where art and food fuse at Sushi Bar Yasuda.

Tokyo. 

Tokyo. Omotesando Koffee, found on a Tokyo coffee crawl.

Tokyo. The baked custard {my new go-to dessert} at Omotesando Koffee. 

Tokyo. The Trip Stylers joining in Japan's obsession with craft coffee.

Tokyo. So glad I was able snap this apropos scene. 

Canada's Sunshine Coast. Painted Boat Resort.

Canada's Sunshine Coast. The best breakfast baskets known to man at Painted Boat Resort. 

Canada's Sunshine Coast. Mushrooms, which I picked in the forest on a foraging mission with Chef Michael Riley from THE Restaurant at Painted Boat Resort. 

Canada's Sunshine Coast. Dog Styler at Painted Boat Resort.

Seattle. Road trip from Vancouver to San Francisco to finish getting footage for my Expedia video about what fuelled my wanderlust! 

San Francisco. Scoring a hard-to-get seat at State Bird Provisions. 

San Francisco. One of the most bold and beautiful coffee shops in town: Sightglass Coffee. 

Mexico: Investigating the luxe side of the Riviera Maya at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba.

Mexico. Bayan Tree Mayakoba. 

Mexico. Banyan Tree Mayakoba. 

Mexico. A spicy hot chocolate and stylish churro to start the day. Is there any other way? {Banyan Tree Mayakoba}

Mexico. Every suite comes with a personal plunge pool at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba.

Mexico. The I-could-live-here bathrooms at the all-villa Banyan Tree Mayakoba. 

Mexico. Tulum!

Mexico. Glamping at Papaya Playa Project in Tulum. 

Mexico. The simple and perfect bedspreads, designed by the hotel owner at Papaya Playa Project. 

Mexico. Walking to the beach at Papaya Playa Project. 

Mexico. Beach vibes at Papaya Playa Project. 

Mexico. Where I ate breakfast every morning at Papaya Playa Project {and yes, the meal did include papaya}.

Mexico. Beach club at Papaya Playa Project. 

Mexico. Picking my signature scent at Coqui-Coqui perfume house in Tulum. 

Mexico. Walking into Gitano, an open-air restaurant so eye-catching, I wish was my backyard. 

Oregon. Chasing the last bit of summer in Cannon Beach. 

Oregon. EVOO Cooking School. 

Oregon. Mr. Trip Styler and Dog Styler on Cannon Beach. 

Oregon. Attending the uber-informative and wildly fun cooking show at EVOO Cannon Beach Cooking School.

Oregon. Walking along the dunes at Pacific City beach.

Oregon. Dining in Portland {always a treat}. Pictured here: Maurice, one of the Top 10 New Restaurants in America {2014 edition} by Bon Appetit Magazine.

Whistler. Last trip before Baby Styler, aka "babymooning" at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler.

Whislter. Cornucopia. Whistler's {WAY fun} celebration of food + bev. 

Whistler. More Cornucopia festivities at Araxi Restaurant. 

Baby Styler arrives and seven weeks later we take our first big trip to California.

California. Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, our base for LA exploring. 

California. This beaut:  SUPERBA restaurant in LA. 

California. Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs. 

California. Our desert digs: Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs. 

California. Baby Styler, stylin' in the sun. 

California. Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs. 

California. Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs. 

PS - I case you missed it, Trip Styler Sis went all Scandi on me, and wrote travel guides to Denmark, Finland and Sweden. 

[photos by @tripstyler]

Canada's Snow Globe Escapes

[trip style = active + adventure]

I'm not sure when and where snow globes were invented, but I'd like to think the creator was inspired by what he or she saw in Canada. In the "true North strong and free" our near-magical winter scenes should be immortalized in a collection of snow globes and sent around the world to remind travelers how gorgeous sub-freezing temperatures can be.

Having experienced winter across the country {wrapped in a down jacket, of course}, I recently wrote where to find some of the best Jack Frosted frontiers—think: Log castles, dog sledding, ice fishing and cross-country skiing in an Olympic park—in the Expedia Viewfinder Travel Blog. Here are a few highlights. {Read the full article by clicking the link above.}

Quebec
Hiding away in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains between Ottawa and Montreal, Montebello guards a cozy Canadian secret: It is home to one of the world’s largest log cabins. In fairness, “cabin” is an understatement—the cedar-built ode to the outdoors also doubles as a hotel and winter playground situated in 65,000 acres of wilderness. Here, the Fairmont Le Château Montebello takes winter travel into legendary territory, offering 16 miles of cross-country ski terrain, ice fishing, curling, tobogganing, and Canada’s only Land Rover Off-Road Driving Experience. Welcoming everyone from royalty to U.S. Presidents to winter enthusiasts such as moi, Montebello is the ultimate storybook setting for a snow globe getaway.

The Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies offer peaks of exploration and valleys of calm for winter seekers of the extreme and tame variety. While most first-time visitors flock to Banff’s postcard-perfect setting, nearby Canmore should not be overlooked for its local approach to winter. Sporting more Olympians per capita than any other town in the world, Canmore’s powder keg of ski hills and land protected by national parks draw Jack Frost fanatics in droves. Pair the outdoor fun with an abundance of organic chefs {each with their own restaurants} who ski by day and cook by night, and you may even come home from your winter vacation a few pounds lighter than when you left. {In this region, I like to stay at the Paintbox Lodge, an Olympian-owned, five-room retreat in the center of Canmore.}

Whistler
Constantly hailed as the No. 1 ski resort in North America by the likes of SKI Magazine (and the pile of pro skiers who call it home), Whistler’s winter wonderland is not all adrenaline junkies vying for first tracks. Beginners seeking runs called “cruiser” or “easy street” flock to the hills, too. Beyond every winter pastime you can imagine—including snowmobiling up to a mountaintop hut for fondue!—spas, farm-to-table dining, and the world’s coldest (-25 degrees Fahrenheit) vodka tasting room round out the chilled out environs, making Whistler the ultimate destination to sip <insert your favorite winter bevvie here> while taking in the charms of Canada’s frosted frontier. 

[photos by @tripstyler except whistler and quebec sourced online]

If The Shoe Fits

[trip style = sun + urban + adventure]

I recently met some fellow travel connoisseurs whose custom-fit footwear company was inspired on the road. As a lover of shoes and sojourning abroad, I had to share Justine and Kendall's story and show off their ethically made soles {I have a pair (below) and wearing them is like walking on air}. 

While shopping along the boho-chic blocks of Bali's Seminyak stretch, Justine popped into a leather goods store and settled on a pair of boots. Unfortunately, they didn't have her size {normally making the shoe purchase a no-go}. "No problem, I’ll measure you and make you a custom pair!" the cobbler said as he pulled out a measuring tape. A week later, the idea for Poppy Barley came to her while thinking about her experience in the shoe shop: "Why can't women everywhere have the same custom experience?" 

When Justine arrived home from the tropics, she and her sister Kendall {below} set their sights on pairing the traditional business of handcrafted shoemaking with a modern-day online twist. That was 2012. Today, Poppy Barley receives orders online {and at pop-up shops}, a dedicated team of craftspeople hand-make the shoes at a studio in Mexico, and the finished product is shipped to customers all over the world. 

Trip Styler Tip: Custom-fit footwear is the ultimate personalized Christmas gift. Buy a gift card, or sneak someone's measurements and send in the order. If the shoe doesn't fit, they remake them. 

Curious how Poppy Barley continues to pair travel and shoes, we asked co-founder Justine how she settled on Mexico for her company's production, how she extends her work trips for pleasure, and which shoes she doesn't leave home without.

What drew you to Mexico for shoemaking?
We chose León, Mexico for its rich history in manufacturing footwear. For the last 400 years the city’s main industry has been shoemaking—giving us the deep talent pool of artisans we need to build a scalable custom footwear company, and a short 36 kilometre supply chain. Further, because Mexico is relatively close to Canada and the USA, it makes product development trips and shipping easier. Plus, our product falls under NAFTA, so it's duty-free!

How often do you go to Mexico for work?
I go to León three to four times per year. Most of the time, I stay at Nueva Estancia, a simple yet styled hotel with all the fixings close to where I need to be for work. On my last trip I tried AirBnB, which gave me a deluxe apartment for $75 per night {I could have brought the whole Poppy Barley team}. At least once per trip, I make a point of eating out at Argentilla, one of León's poshest eateries drawing the who’s who of the city. León has a lot of Spanish, Italian and Argentinean restaurants due to the immigrants who have come to work in the footwear industry. After my first trip I realized that you have to make a special request for Mexican food, otherwise most people go out for Italian food. {They eat Mexican food at home!}

Leon, Mexico

Do you ever extend your Mexico work trips and tack on a vacation?
Yes, so far I have visited Guanajuato {45 minutes from León} and San Miguel de Allende {2 hours from León}. Both are colonial-era towns that achieved great wealth in the 1850s due to the region’s silver mines, and as such, left an amazing heritage of Baroque architecture. The towns are set in valleys framed by mountains and have narrow and steep cobblestone callejones {alleyways}, shady plazas dotted with monuments and cafes, pastel-hued buildings and techni-colored flowers. Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende were re-discovered and settled in the 1930s and '40s by artists and writers from around the world; now they are home to students, retirees, and creatives. 

Guanajuato, Mexico

What trip styles do you favor?
My ideal vacations combine the Urban and Active/Adventure trip styles. I love to explore, and I get bored quickly on the beach. For my last big trip my husband and I traveled to Turkey, spending time in Istanbul, hiking the Lycian Way, and wandering the underground cities in Goreme. My next trip is a work-play combo heading back to Guanajuato and San Miguel, but this time I am bringing my husband!

Carry-on or checked bag?
Checked. I hate the rush to board the plane to secure room in the overhead containers for my carry-on. 

Which shoes always accompany your travels?
My go-to travel shoes are the Poppy Barley Black Python Classic Point, the Poppy Barley Chelsea Boot {above right} and my running shoes.

[photos via poppy barley]

Preggy Styler

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: Have you checked out the online Trip Styler Store? Stop by for handpicked finds from around the globe. 

In case you missed last week's surprise there's-a-new-Styler-in-town-post, I've added a new member to the TS flight crew: Baby Styler.

To say that Baby Styler is well traveled is an understatement. Logging almost as many miles as an airline captain, he jet-set and road-tripped to more destinations in my womb than I visited in my first 20 years on planet Earth {too bad he couldn't start collecting frequent flyer miles nine months ago...}.

While I was a little {read: a lot} nervous to travel with him in my belly when it came to common considerations such as turbulence, adverse reactions to foreign foods or constant mountain-to-tropic climate changes, I got the go-ahead from my doctor for every trip, so I went. Since I travel frequently and am acclimatized to the lifestyle, I was fortunate enough {and very careful} to avoid any major issues on the road {unless you count the time I came within one meter of a boa constrictor in West Bali} though I always made sure I had access to medical care in case I suddenly needed it.

Doing every trip style—active/adventure, beach/sun, weekend away, food-focused, glamping, urban, steals, luxe, spa—over the course of my journey into babydom, I learned that traveling while pregnant is not about what you can't do {i.e. food restrictions, drink restrictions, spa restrictions, exercise restrictions, etc.} but tweaking the trip styles you love to fit your preg 'n' traveling comfort level. 

Here's how I made each trip style work during my womberlust:

• In Tokyo at one of the best sushi restaurants in the world, I chose the vegetarian omakase menu over the raw fish menu. 
• In Northern Thailand, I had a facial instead of a massage at the spa. 
• In Bali, I lounged under a palm tree versus in the direct sun. 
• Also in Bali, I consumed fresh-pressed fruit juices over poolside cocktails.
• In Mexico, I stayed in a shorefront glamping hut with air conditioning instead of one naturally cooled by the beach breeze {because midday temps reached 41 degrees C}.
• In Kuala Lumpur, where temperatures hovered in the 43-degree-C range, I stopped into malls and restaurants every 30 minutes to cool down, rest, re-hydrate and nibble while exploring the city on foot.
• On a road-trip from Vancouver to San Francisco, I became well acquainted with Washington, Oregon and California's highway-side rest stops.

Preggy Styler Photo Gallery

One month. Mexico.

One month. Lake Tahoe. 

Two months. Palm Springs.

Three months. Hong Kong. 

Three months. Thailand.

Three months. Thailand.

Four months. Kuala Lumpur.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali. 

Five months. Tokyo.

Five months. Tokyo.

Six months. Seattle. 

Six months. San Francisco. 

Seven months. Mexico. 

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon. 

[photos by @tripstyler]

Travel Splurge :: The Great Migration

[trip style = active + adventure + glamping + luxury]

I recently wrote an article in the Expedia Viewfinder about one of USA Today's New Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Migration from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, a time of year {July to October} when stadium-sized masses of zebra and wildebeest roam close to 1,800 miles from Tanzania to Kenya in search of water and lush grazing ground.

Standing in my safari lodge's Land Cruiser in the midday African heat watching The Great Migration take place {tail end of the river crossing pictured above} was easily one of my top five travel-wow moments. And while getting to and from Africa is a trek, it's SO worth putting "African Safari" on your once-in-a-lifetime, dream-trip list. 

See my first-hand account of viewing the Migration, getting {almost} intimate with a baboon and glamping beside the Mara River, here. 

PS: The above photos were snapped with my point-and-shoot Sony camera. I wish I'd splurged for the occasion and brought a fancy camera. 

[photos by @tripstyler]