Roam+Board :: Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas

[trip style = luxury + spa + sun]

{Editor's Note :: I was first introduced to the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas a year ago when I did my spa marathon along the Strip. At the time, I was with a group of international journalists and we unanimously agreed the Mandarin's aesthetic and discreet decadence was so heavenly, we would each return. So, I did last week.}

What
At the risk of going all-in in my opening remarks; the Mandarin Oriental is my version of a Las Vegas jackpot. It's boutique, it's gorgeous, it's calm and it's non-gaming, summoning the traveler who visits Vegas for style over slots.

In a departure from all things glittery, the 392-room resort—small for Vegas' usual brand of 4,000-6,000-room hotels—sits quietly and confidently in a sea of sequins. Check-in doesn't follow the crowd either. Upon arrival, I'm met by a smartly suited gent in the uniform equivalent of tails, who escorts me to an elevator made for photo shoots. Clad in black marble, gold accents and a plush red velvet bench, I sit {because I can} and enjoy the short ride to the glass-encased Sky Lobby, perched high above Las Vegas Blvd on the 23rd floor.

Rooms are decorated in the same Five Diamond detail as the hotel. A touchscreen panel controls every moving part, a valet closet means a hotel attendant can drop anything off without disturbing you, there's a TV embedded in the bathroom mirror, and my personal favorite: The towels are thicker than a wooly blanket. Yet, nothing impressed me more than this rarity: Each room is accented with fresh flowers.

Outside, the 8th-floor sundeck continues the Far East tranquility theme. Unlike many a Vegas pool sporting a dawn-till-dusk scene, spa sounds woo loungers into sun-soaked relaxation, and two lengthy lap pools guilt me into swimming a few lengths before heading out on the town. Trip Styler approved.

Where
Las Vegas, Nevada, about 15 minutes from the McCarran International Airport {LAS} by car/taxi, or a four-hour drive from LA.

When
The sun shines on the Neon City year-round; rain is rare. Vegas is hottest in summer {40-45 degrees C} and coolest in winter {17-24 degrees C}, while spring and fall are most palatable for those accustomed to four-season climates.

Who/Why
You're a luxury travel enthusiast who craves a high roller slice of Vegas—famed restaurants, world-class shows, non-stop shopping—without the dice.

Cost
Rates start at $225/night in low season, plus a daily $28 resort fee {note: this fee is standard at most hotels dotting the Strip}. Rates include WiFi, complimentary coffee from 6-8am, a salon-grade hair straightener in the room, bottled water by the pool, gym access, yoga and Pilates classes, and a Mercedes-Benz S550 drop-off service within two miles of the hotel {airport drop-offs based on availability}.

Trip Styler Tip :: Don't miss the spa's Tian Quan Thermal Experience, an all-day escape combining personal experience showers, a vitality pool, heated lounges, an ice fountain, an aromatherapy steam room, and unlike any other spa in Vegas, a view overlooking the entire Strip. {$50 m - th / $60 f - sa / $80 for non-hotel guests}

Walking past the Sky Lobby's feature wall

Room

Room detail

Bathroom

Fresh flowers

The first welcome at the Mandarin Oriental Spa: Warm oshibori towels and peppermint tea

Spa's heated-from-within tepidarium chairs

Pool

More Roam+Board
Hotel Lone - Croatia
Templar Hotel - Toronto
Encuentro Guadalupe - Mexico
The Ampersand Hotel - London
The Wickaninnish Inn - Tofino
Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay - Lanai

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

Tropical Escapades

[trip style = all-inclusive + beach + foodie + adventure]

This time last year I sampled several Air Transat, itineraries in Puerto Vallarta, a destination I'm drawn to for its swaths of sand, cobblestone streets and authentic Mexican flavors {like the guacamole I handmade at a cooking class in the photo above}. The trip was not my first Transat voyage with the Canada-based and operated airline; in the past I've traveled under their wing via packages and direct flights to Europe and the Caribbean.

Given my Transat experience and travel expertise, they've asked me to be a Canadian spokesperson for the all-important winter season {read: jetting to the South!}. While this opportunity does not afford me weekly jaunts to Jamaica to savor jerk chicken or float down the Rio Grande river in a bamboo raft, it does mean I will lend my know-how as a traveler who is particularly passionate about experiencing a destination through a number of vacation lenses, which I term trip styles {all-inclusive, adventure, sightseeing, foodie, etc.}.

Starting in mid fall, Canada's leading holiday travel airline begins a wave of direct flights from Vancouver and other Canadian departure points to beachy locales like Mexico and Jamaica, in addition to their staple European outposts like London. While Europe calls my name d-a-i-l-y, and I would like to do all my Christmas shopping at Harrods {as well as get a peek at petite Prince George}, the vacation collections I'm most drawn to are trip styled with beach lovers and culture vultures in mind.

Enter Transat Holidays' DUO and Escapade vacations. In the DUO scenario, a two-in-one vacay combines opposite corners of a country. For example, sample Veradero's oh-so-sultry sand and Havana's historic rhythm in one vacation. Escapades are for those who want to infuse some added flavor into their all-inclusive getaway. For two days and one night you leave the resort---without even checking out!---and dive into the destination's sense of place. For example, in Jamaica spend 80% of your trip lounging under a palm and 20% taking a cooking class, dipping into a waterfall and sojourning at an eco-spa. Culture and coastal life, accomplished.

If you're involved in the travel biz and want to learn more about Transat trips to the South, join me at an upcoming event I'm co-organizing with a group of travel professionals and Air Transat in Vancouver on November, 20th, 2013. Details here.

[photos by @tripstyler brought to you in collab with transat holidays]

Spotlight :: A Trip Styler Guide to Lanai

[trip style = sun + luxe + active/adventure + beach]

You go to the Private Island to decompress and to replenish. Unhindered by glitzy boutiques, be-seen hotspots or camera-toting crowds, Lanai lets you be---be with nature, be your own explorer, be with your loved one{s} and, most importantly, be yourself.

Hawaii's answer to a far-flung escape accomplishes this pure vacation cocktail by keeping it simple and slow. With only 3,000 people and 29 miles of paved roads, there are no stoplights; only stop signs. The speed limit in town is a mere 20mph; on the 'highway' the limit inches up to a roaring 45mph. One gas station fuels the island. One car rental agency---same owner as the gas station {someone's a savvy business person}---offers Jeeps to visiting explorers. One town square hosts the hub of activity. Two grocery stores and a string of cafes feed the locals. Three hotels house guests.

Staying true to its tone, there are no big-operation tourist attractions. The island's natural assets are the attraction. In fact, the closest thing to a tourist activity I did was take a ukulele lesson {pronounced ooo-koo-le-le} from Aunty Irene, a longtime local, who taught me my favorite song, "somewhere over the rainbow," and to be in the moment---one of Lanai's richest exports.

Stay
In every destination I visit around the world, it's my job to select hotels based on service, style, amenities and location. In a never-before move, I'm recommending all three Lanai hotels for different reasons. Consider dividing your time between at least two for a distinct experience.

1/ Hotel Lanai
An 11-room boutique property perched above Lanai City's town square, aka Dole Square. As the former guest house of visiting Dole executives during the island's near 80-year stint in pineapple production, it's a slice of Lanai history dressed in original timber floors, cottage-aloha decor and paintings by local artist Mike Carroll who gave up his mainland life as an in-demand illustrator to paint Lanai's landscapes. Stay here to connect with Lanai's history and observe local life outside your doorstep. Includes breakfast, wifi and use of cruiser bikes. From $149/night.

2/ Four Seasons Resort, Lodge at Koele
Just a short walk from Dole Square, the Lodge at Koele overlooks a sweeping horse pasture contoured by rows of Lanai's distinct Norfolk Pines, which glow as the sun sets. Walking in, I was taken aback by the Lodge's stature and woodsy-chic design. Sprawling at least half a soccer field in length, the Lodge is anchored by two crackling fireplaces, clusters of leather couches and creamy wingback chairs worthy of an haute couture safari lodge. It's the kind of place where I could spend all day reading a novel and sipping scotch. Out back, a rectangular, estate-esque pool beckons alongside hammocks and a croquet plot. From $280/night. {TS update 2015; this hotel is currently closed.}

3/ Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay
Fanning across the island's desert-climate southern shore, the Four Seasons at Manele Bay is posh without being proud. While the grounds are manicured to majestic status with orchids and plumerias peeking out of every corner, the environment is natural and beachy. Bigger-than-average rooms the size of backyard pools are decorated in muted tropical tones and each room has a lanai upon which to savor Lanai. From $400/night.

Play
To make the most of your vacation, divide your stay between hiking, exploring and pool/beach time. Because I was there for four days, I split my stay between doing and being. My first two days were spent in town, where I popped into shops and galleries, went for runs along the country roads and hiked up to Kolo’iki Ridge in the Lanai highlands to revel in the valley vistas giving way to the ocean.*  When I wasn't on foot, I engaged my Jeep's 4x4 capabilities {and my driving skills} and cruised around the island to the likes of Shipwreck Beach, an 8-mile stretch of sand and reef where a World War II cargo ship rusts offshore; Garden of the Gods, a wind-swept, near-lunar landscape stacked in red-hued spires and boulders carved by the elements {gorgeous at sunset}; and the Lanai Animal Rescue Center, staffed a group of kind-hearted locals who love on and rehabilitate a rag-tag collection of 370 cats, each of whom has a name! Note: hotel guests can pop in by appointment to spend time with the cats and learn about the sanctuary. *Two hours return from the Lodge at Koele---speak to the concierge for a detailed map.

For my two seaside days, I floated between Hulopoe Beach and the Four Seasons at Manele Bay's pool and spa. By morning I'd clear my mind crunching along the shell- and lava-lined shore on Fisherman's Trail, and by evening I'd live every second of golden hour and scale the easy climb to Sweetheart Rock, an 80-foot cinder cone ridge towering over the ocean. From here---my current earthly happy place---I had prime seating to the greatest show on earth: a Lanai sunset, which plays nightly, around 6pm.

Eat
There are a few musts when it comes to munching in Lanai. Most of the upscale restaurants are attached to hotels, while local stops like Cafe 565 or Blue Ginger Cafe dotting Dole Square are good bets for grabbing a plate lunch or picnic. For the following selections you'll notice a tuna theme because I believe in eating local and fresh wherever I travel. For upscale indulgences, I recommend savoring a black Hawaiian lava salt-crusted ahi---so fresh it melts in your mouth---in the glow of tiki torches at Kailani at the Four Seasons at Manele Bay. Do NOT miss dining in the grand gathering place of the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele at Terrace, where I nibbled on a tuna and avocado terrine with taro chips. So taken by the crackling fires burning at either end of lodge, I asked my server if I could move to a leather chair by the fire. He gladly obliged and agreed my plan was fitting. Finally, designed by celeb chef Bev Gannon {who visits frequently}, the Lanai City Grille is frequented by locals as much as visitors for its warm service and local catch with a worldly twist. Case in point: I still dream about my ahi poke tacos served in a crisp wonton shell with goat cheese and wasabi crème fraiche.

Trip Styler Tips
1/ An efficient shuttle system transports guests between the hotels, to/from the airport and port and into town. Talk to your hotel about any applicable one-time fees for use. If you'd rather hail a cab instead, you'll be waiting awhile, as they don't exist on Lanai.

2/ If you rent a car, and I suggest you do for a day or two to explore the island off-road, read the sign in the rental agency about the current condition of the backcountry paths. On occasion, the weather can hinder these routes. Jeeps from $125/day.

3/ Lanai, like most of Hawaii, orients its activities around the day versus the night. On Friday nights, the Lanai City Grille is the biggest ticket in town, where local talent belts it out for Friday Under the Stars; otherwise, expect to spend your evenings watching the sunset, dining at your hotel, or grabbing a bite from one of the cafes in town.

[photos, videos & graphics by @tripstyler, taken while a guest of the Hawaii Tourism Authority]

Spotlight :: A Lesson in Lanai

[trip style = sun + luxe + active/adventure + beach]

Like a supermodel, Lanai is splashed in mystique. From afar she's private and exotic; up close, she's approachable and genuine. To be intimidated by her otherworldly beauty and seemingly hard-to-approach position is to miss one of the most unique islands in Hawaii.

Trip Styler Tip :: Lanai is reachable via 40-minute passenger ferry from Maui or a short flight from Oahu or Maui.

I'm a lover of all things aloha, and Lanai has been at the top of my Hawaiian vacation list for awhile {read: nine years}. I don't have a very good excuse for failing to visit, either. From the West Coast, reaching Maui is an easy, direct flight, and from there, I never calculated how simple it is to take a small step over to the Private Island until my visit in September. It's so close to Maui that some hotel staff commute, as does the Fedex truck for its once-a-week drop-offs.

I arrived by air from Oahu and hopped on the inter-island guest shuttle system---there are no cabs---past the iconic and pointy Norfolk Pines lining the road. The shuttle took me to the only car rental agency on the island, Dollar Rent-a-Car, where I picked up my Jeep for the week. You don't need a rental car for your whole stay, but renting one for a day or two allows you to navigate the near-abandoned beaches and lunar landscapes. Plus, there are only 29 miles of paved roads covering the island's 141 square miles, so the Jeep's 4x4 capabilities lend themselves to the bumpy stretches leading to these stunners.

Lanai is in a unique position. It's one of the only Hawaiian islands that's privately owned. Back it 1922, James Dole {of pineapple fame} purchased part of the island to grow pineapples. As his business grew, so did his island holdings. For years, Lanai was known as the Pineapple Isle, at one point producing 75% of the world's pineapples. On Shipwreck Beach---one of the remote places I took my Jeep off roading---I found beach huts built back in the "pineapple days." These basic but dreamy Swiss Family Robinson-style structures served as family gathering places for fishing and surfing. People still use these abodes today, evidenced by the housewares hanging from the rafters and the surfboards leaning against the roofs.

Once pineapple production was sent overseas, David Murdock purchased the island plot in the mid-eighties with the vision to shift the fledgeling fruit production {and profits} into tourism. He built two hotels, a grand and woodsy lodge near the town of 3,000, and a waterfront property, now both Four Seasons resorts.

In 2012, news broke that Larry Ellison, one of the USA's most wealthy CEO/playboys, purchased Lanai. With the help of a local leader, he's invested in local services like rebuilding the community center and pool, as well as tourism, updating both hotels, and even going so far as adding Island Air, one of the main airlines serving Lanai, to his arsenal.

With this change in ownership, direction and cachet, Lanai has a new name: the Private Island. As a result, some publications will tell you it's full of jetsetters who drink martinis at 10am, golf with pros and use their private jets like most people use their cars. This tale, while partially true but barely visible, is not an accurate representation of the island's soul. It's one of the most down to earth destinations I've ever visited.

It's a place you go to experience a different Hawaii, to dip your toes into seawater lapping onto deserted beaches, to hike up to soul-searching viewpoints and, at night, decide if you want to savor a picnic and the sunset from Sweetheart Rock or nibble on sashimi at Nobu. Like I said, this supermodel is as approachable as she is exotic.

Stay tuned for Thursday, when I'll go into where to stay, where to eat and what to do.

[photos and video by @tripstyler]

Oahu's Best Shave Ice

[trip style = beach + foodie]

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

Shave ice is to Hawaii as gelato is to Italy: completely acceptable to eat every day. While exploring Oahu last month, Trip Styler Trish and I were on the two-shave-ice-a-day diet. What better way to enjoy the island than a shave ice tour? Follow the map for our top picks of iconic Hawaiian heaven in a cup.

Did you know? Shave ice arrived in Hawaii in the early 1900s, brought over from Japan by plantation workers.

1. Shimazu Store, Honolulu This hidden gem is no more than a small storefront overlooking the freeway. What it lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in taste. Homemade flavors include red velvet, peaches and cream, milk tea and peanut butter chocolate. At this locals' favorite, portions are large and service is no nonsense. {link}

2. Matsumoto Shave Ice, Haleiwa Any trip to the North Shore calls for a stop at Matsumoto for Haleiwa's most popular sweet treat. This 60-year-old icy institution serves up a rainbow of traditional flavors like strawberry, pineapple, lime, guava, and my personal favorite, lilikoi. On a busy day, they serve 1,000 shave ices to camera-toting tourists and barefoot locals. {link}

3. Island Snow, Kailua This delicious shave ice counter is tucked into the back of a skate shop, a block from one of the most beautiful beaches on Oahu. It's also the number one choice for Trip Styler Trish and President Obama, who stops by with the First Family every winter. Trish recommends getting one with ice cream or condensed milk on top. {link}

4. Uncle Clay' House of Pure Aloha, Hawaii Kai My top pick is also the most guilt free of the four. Uncle Clay's uses all-natural, homemade syrups that have none of the artificial flavors or colorings found in most shave ice. Flavors here include mango, coconut, green tea, lychee and my favorite, kale-spinach-apple. It was the only place we didn't get a heavy-feeling sugar buzz. Extra points for the most aloha staff on the island. {link}

Trip Styler Tip: I highly recommend paying the extra $0.50 for the plastic cup holder unless you can eat your treat in less than three minutes {brain freeze!}.

[map by @heatherlovesit, photos by @tripstyler & @heatherlovesit]