Spotlight :: Modern Honolulu

[trip style = sun + beach + urban + weekend getaway]

Maybe you love crowds, duty-free shopping galleries, two-hour restaurant waits and garden-variety hotels, but I don't. It's not my idea of a tropical affair. So, this past weekend I custom-tailored a trip style = sun + beach + urban + weekend getaway with a modern mantra. You have to know what you're doing to enjoy Waikiki like you're the only guest at the luau.

First order of biz: find a cool hotel just off the strip with a sense of space---not an easy task in Honolulu until recently. In late 2010, a hotel opened that ruffled the feathers of traditional beachside resort cash cows and beckoned a forgotten breed: discerning travelers with an appetite for cool.

The Modern Honolulu is sleek, spacious and social, hanging between Waikiki and Ala Moana beaches. A massive surfboard installation hangs above reception and the rest follows this abstractly composed aesthetic: neutral rooms decorated with tropical accoutrements; a wood-deck pool surrounded by beach beds for two; an outdoor bar with picnic and yellow bistro tables shaded by overhanging trees and lit at night by strings of twinkly wine-bottle luminaries---the list goes on. {See my detailed Trip Advisor review here.}

Rethink Honolulu. Your curated, DIY luau is waiting {without the crowds and watery mai tais}.

Eat

• Breakfast: Cream Pot {in the Hawaiian Monarch hotel}. I was a little skeptical about this breakfast factory with a cult following, but once I tasted the food, I was converted. Don't let the grandma's-kitchen-meets-French-countryside decor throw you. The service is slow, but with a smile, and the food is sinfully good. Dishes like the homemade vanilla custard cream-filled crepe with salted caramel sauce and the ahi carpaccio eggs benedict with a grilled rice cake, avocado and orange miso shoyu sauce are exactly the kind of meals you want to avoid before lounging poolside. But if you go for an early-morning surf, SUP or run, it's all good!
• Dinner: Morimoto {in The Modern Honolulu hotel}. If celeb Iron Chef Morimoto's self-titled restaurant is good enough for Obama {who dined there over the holidays}, it's good enough for me. A stark white interior with splashes of green and purple accentuates the open kitchen. Those who want an al fresco experience while soaking in the warm climate can sit outside in the covered dining area. Make a reso in advance and try the tuna pizza. I don't like anchovies, olives or jalapenos, but I LOVED this inventive appetizer.
• Drinks: La Mariana Sailing Club. Sandwiched between shipping yards and boat repair hangars in Honolulu's pier district, La Mariana is a museum-quality ode to all things tiki. The lush grounds facing the marina lead you into 1950s exotica with wooden carvings, preserved puffer fish lights, netted ceilings and multicoloured glass fishing floats in every corner. Go for umbrella drinks here and dinner elsewhere, and stay long enough to croon to the live piano music. Ron, the longtime {and blind} pianist plays songs like "I just called to say I love you..." {Thanks for the recommendation Steve & Kelly!}

Getting There Getting to Honolulu is easy with a multitude of nonstop flights and departure points. WestJet and AirCanada fly from Vancouver {approx $700 return}, Alaska flies from Bellingham {approx $400 return}, and Alaska, Hawaiian and Delta fly from Seattle {approx $500 return}.

Related A Tropical Experiment High/Low :: Booking A Vacation In Maui

[photos by @tripstyler]

Spotlight :: A Palm Springs Holidette

[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note: This month we've featured two of Palm Springs' swanky resorts for Roam+Board, as well as explored the history and mystery of the Palm Springs Pull in our four-part Spotlight series. Today is the icing on the cake: our must-eat, -sleep and -do suggestions for the savvy traveler seeking trip style = sun + (extended) weekend getaway or holidette (aka three- to four-day getaway, usually occurring over a weekend).}

Both starlets and snowbirds have been drawn to the desert for the better part of 60 years. But after its heyday, just when it looked like Palm Springs was losing its pull, something happened: retro became rad, crooners became cool and mid-century design became divine. Hot hotels popped up in tired old motor lodges, stylish restaurants took over bygone corner bistros and entire city districts devoted themselves to design or artisan rebirth.

With this shift came a younger visitor enamoured with the iconic desert lifestyle. Tacking an extra couple days onto the weekend was justified by bike riding in the morning, eating a snow cone by the pool in the afternoon, browsing boutiques at dusk and dining out at stylish restaurants in the evening.

I think Audrey Hepburn would approve, though she may swap the spiked snow cone for wine. So let's get into it. A Palm Springs holidette:

Do

• Tour the city's mid-century modern masterpieces on your own {nab a $5 Map Of Modern Palm Springs at the Visitors Centre} or in style with Robert Imber for $75/person {e-mail psmoderntours@aol.com or call 1 (760) 318-6118 to book}.
• View Warhol, Wyeth and other celebrated artists at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
• Hike the Indian Canyons {$9 adults, $7 children & students] and ask if Raven is available to be your guide {$3 extra for tours at 10am & 1pm daily}.
• Bike towards the Palm Springs Visitors Center {built in an old gas station} and then up the long and winding road to the Palm Springs Tramway...and back.
• Browse the Uptown Design District on North Palm Canyon Drive for mid-century finds and cool boutiques.

Eat

• Breakfast: Norma's in the Parker. Brunch in a high-end diner on Bertoia-inspired chairs and Saarinen-esque tables under orange, white and yellow shades and pearly globes. With a strong French-pressed coffee, a shot glass of a heavenly smoothie and a breakfast quesadilla big enough for two, you'll be satisfied until five!
• Lunch: Jake's. The perfect petite lunch spot serving brightly coloured salads and inventive sandwiches in an open-air, Paris-meets-Palm Springs courtyard. For the record, if I was a snowbird, I'd be a regular.
• Dinner: Citron in the Viceroy. Refined without stuffiness; where food, beverages and design experts have worked in tandem to create a warm desert dining experience.

Sleep

• The Viceroy: A strikingly pulled-together retreat that's fancy without being frou frou and whimsical without being overdone.
• The Parker: A Hollywood hideaway where towering palm trees guide the way through curvy trails to pools and posh pads.

Getting There Getting there is a cinch. Here's a full list of direct flights to the Palm Springs Airport {PSP} from both Canadian and US destinations. From Vancouver, there's direct and daily WestJet service. Or fly from Bellingham with Allegiant or Seattle with Alaska.

Related Content Spotlight :: The Palm Springs Pull Winter Heat Palm Springs Cool Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Roam+Board :: The Parker

[photos by @tripstyler taken while exploring PS with its CVB]

Roam+Board :: Nevis

[trip style = beach + sun]

{Editor's Note: This is our last Roam+Board of 2011 (next Friday is Fashion Friday), so we thought we'd go out with a bang with an exclusive hideaway sans the exclusive price tag. I've never stayed here, but it's on my hot list.}

What Sitting atop a lush hill in an old sugar mill, the Golden Rock Inn is the quiet, confident type who doesn't need to be the centre of activity. With six pastel cottages painting the grounds like the Inn's bouquet of tropical flowers, 11 rooms occupy this beautifully restored property.

The escape from escapes, and surprisingly more approachable than posh, the property is more of a hideaway than hotel. Case in point, Anna Wintour, her monsieur and their kids vacationed here over last Christmas and New Year's. You'd think she'd want to jetset to a Missoni or Armani property, but maybe she lets her guard down---or takes her sunglasses off on vacation---hence the gorgeous, yet modest location that's more TOMS than Tom Ford.

A mix of old, new, country and modern, the hotel is owned by artists and the photos communicate just that. Restored rock buildings, juxtaposed with mod pool loungers, splashes of colour and plantation-style furniture.

Where Golden Rock Estate, Gingerland, Nevis. Fly there via San Juan, Puerto Rico, St Maarten or Antigua.

When Nevis is in the Caribbean's hurricane belt, so unless you're the adventurous type who likes a great deal, stay away June - November. If you want to chance it a little, August - October are usually the worst culprits.

Who/Why You're artsy and value a tranquil, secluded, boutique escape paired with lush grounds. You like an ocean view, but don't need to be oceanside.

Cost Cottages from $175 in off-season {apr 15 - dec 22} and from $240 in high season {dec 23 - apr 14}.

More Roam+Board The Ace NYC - New York The Viceroy – Palm Springs The Parker – Palm Springs Sorobon Beach Resort – Bonaire Kura Hulanda – Curacao Hotel Kakslauttanen – Finland The Met – Vancouver Custom Hotel – LAX Bitter End Yacht Club – BVI Sleep On The Water – London A Woodsy Hideaway – Big Sur, CA

[photos via golden rock inn]

Spotlight :: The Palm Springs Pull

[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note: Today is the LAST DAY to enter to win a $200 credit for zozi, an online hub for local experiences in 63 cities in Canada and the US. Perfect as a Christmas gift for the person who has everything.}

{Don't miss next Thursday's Spotlight :: A Palm Springs Holidette}

It's sundown in 1950, and you're waiting for the signal. As the day fades into the night, an invitation is delivered. Not by mail or messenger pigeon, but by the raising of a Jack Daniels flag in the distance. Cocktail hour has arrived, and so have you. You're headed to Frank's---Sinatra that is---for his almost nightly happy hour. With a Jack on the rocks in hand, you chinwag with the Rat Pack crooner at his Twin Palms Estate in the Movie Colony neighborhood.

That was then. But who says you can't carry on Frank's tradition now? Trip style = sun + weekend getaway anyone?

Palm Springs is full of crooners, characters and community. Its pull spans generations, movements and time, with the first inhabitants being the Native Americans followed by an influx of Hollywood's elite. Audrey, Cary and Marilyn first flocked to the desert oasis to lounge and let their hair down. It was the perfect location outside of Hollywood's limelight, and fell within their 100-mile clause set by the studios, meaning they had to be within two hours of LA while filming.

A few of these 50s and 60s-era Hollywood actors still call Palm Springs home, as does a brood of artsy types who color the landscape. Robert's one of them, and so is Raven. Dressed in a fedora and retro-cool outfit, Robert leads modern architectural tours around Palm Springs neighbourhoods. His knowledge is encyclopedic, but he's the real attraction; a celeb unto himself with stories that are as entertaining as his tours. {More info on this next week}.

Raven was my Native American Ranger/guide in Palm Canyon, the world's largest fan palm oasis with m-i-l-e-s of easy to rugged hiking terrain. What I thought was going to be a one-hour nature walk turned into an hour of power as Raven dished out sage advice like "A man either leads, follows or serves. Serving is the greatest honor." He's obviously a man of wisdom, but when he told me what he does in his "free" time, the deal was sealed; he's a medicine man, raiser of scorpions for arthritic relief, flutist with a few CDs, speaker {at the same events as Deepak Chopra}, counselor to kids in prison and youth ranger leader. For all I know he also walks on tightropes, but I'll have to return to confirm this...

These individuals and 49,998 others make up the desert retreat's fun-loving, modern-thinking and art-collecting community. Include the winter and weekend swell and these numbers heat up like the hot-to-trot town's 354 days of sunshine per year. This impressive average---which makes my Vancouver soul cry/rain a little inside---is part of what pulls people to this oasis of relaxation and activity. The other reason is the community; the locals, young weekenders {aka "the margarita crowd"} and greying snowbirds mix like a cool gin and tonic with a twist.

The Palm Springs pull is as relevant today as it was in the mid-century mod boom. Sinatra's nightly cocktail hour invite nailed it. Don't wait for an invitation to come in the mail---the Jack Daniels flag is always flying in Palm Springs.

PS - Walk in Frank Sinatra's shoes at his former home---complete with living room recording studio, piano-shaped pool and twin palms---now a vacation rental. While many of the original fixtures are included, the Jack Daniels flag pole is not. Rent it for $2,500/night.

Related Winter Heat Palm Springs Cool Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Roam+Board :: The Parker

[photos by @tripstyler, taken when I was invited to explore Palm Spring with their CVB in November]

The Savvy Traveler :: Christina

[trip style = sun + beach + weekend getaway + urban]

Christina has more frequent flyer miles than anyone I know. To put this in perspective, she could give George Clooney's character in the movie Up In The Air a run for his money. In a job that requires a lot of travel, she uses her book and street smarts to make the most of her conferences and office time abroad---professionally and personally---flying with ONE airline alliance and staying with ONE hotel group. When she's not in an upgraded hotel suite, airline lounge or business class at 37,000ft she can be found playing tennis, hosting parties and making the best seven-layer dip known to humankind. Introducing my very dear friend and December's Savvy Traveler, Christina!

1/ Pick your top three trip styles and why?
[trip style = sun + beach] There is nothing more relaxing to me than laying poolside/beachfront with a good book, a cold beverage, the warm sun and a light breeze.

[trip style = weekend getaway] Living in Vancouver means I have an endless supply of weekend destinations within a one to five-hour drive which I take advantage of most weekends in the summer.

[trip style = urban] I love exploring new cities and checking out the restaurants, shopping and nightlife---fave urban spots are NYC, Boston and San Francisco.

2/ What items are always on your packing list?

• lug Nap Sac Travel Blanket + Pillow set – keeps me warm on the plane and provides head or low back support depending on how the pillow is used.
• Skoah travel-sized skin care products – small enough for carry-on luggage and ensures my skin stays healthy and balanced even when the rest of my body isn’t.
• A good book is essential for both business and pleasure travel – there is always time to read when on the road.
• Earbud-style headphones – these can be worn during takeoff and landing {more time to watch movies} and also save you from purchasing airline headphones or wearing free headphones [avec germs].

3/ Last trip, next trip and destination{s} on your radar?
I just got back from Washington, DC for a business trip. The city was absolutely gorgeous in early November when all the leaves were in full color-changing mode and surprisingly still on the trees. I found myself spending long periods of time watching the rowing club practicing in the Potomac River with Georgetown University glistening in the background. Next up is Portland, OR---this time for pleasure! I'm taking the Amtrak Cascades from Bellingham, WA down to Portland, OR to spend five days and four nights enjoying the city, culture and tax-free shopping! I’m looking forward to checking out some of the hotspots featured in previous TS posts! Finally, my top 2 wish list destinations are: Ireland, to investigate my heritage and my incredible obsession with potatoes; and New Zealand, which I’ve been wanting to visit ever since their 100% Pure New Zealand ad campaign launched several years ago---now that’s what I call good advertising!

4/ You travel for business a lot, what are some of the strategies you use to make travel more comfortable and beneficial?
For me, travel comfort is key and the way to get there is status! Whenever possible I fly within the Star Alliance family of airlines to collect Aeroplan points. My Elite status gives me free upgrades, access to all Star Alliance lounges in airports worldwide, and points that can be redeemed for free flights and merchandise. I selected Marriott as my hotel partner because of the numerous perks. My platinum status gives me a check-in gift {typically a bottle of wine and snacks}, automatic room upgrade, access to the hotel concierge lounge complete with food and beverage, as well as points that can be redeemed for free nights {so far, I have stayed for free on vacations in New York, Maui, San Francisco and Portland next!}. I also swear by my Nexus card---skipping the customs line and getting priority security screening saves minutes to hours each trip. All of a sudden business travel doesn’t seem so bad!

5/ You spent time in Africa as a child. Looking back, did this shape any of your views on travel?
Living in Zimbabwe as a young girl gave me exposure to a wide range of cultures, lifestyles and environments. I’m sure this impacted my desire to continue traveling and exploring the world. Knowing that there is so much out there to learn gives you the motivation to get out there and see it.

6/ Do you have a ritual you follow after checking into a hotel?
The first thing I do is unpack my bag: clothes get hung in the closet, toiletries are displayed on the vanity, etc... This helps me feel at home when on the road, and also takes the wrinkles out of clothes that have been held hostage in my suitcase for hours on end.

{If you know anyone who should be featured in our once-monthly Savvy Traveler series, drop us a line!}

More Savvy Travelers
Charles, The Global Travel Influencer
Rachel, The Suitcase Siren
Tiffany, The Luxury Travel Inspector

[photo via Christina]