Italy Or Bust

[trip style = sun + luxury] Azure ocean, rock-cut steps, steep cliffs, narrow roads; I'm longing for Italy's landscapes. It happens every May as the Euro travel season heats up, and I say to myself "I really need to get to Europe this year."

While I've hit up the Cinque Terre, Milan and Venice, there's SO much more to explore. And like most Italiaphiles, at some point in my life, I'd like to the live La Dolce Vita for a year-long stretch. My immersion would start on the Amalfi Coast.

In case you're also pining for pasta, limoncello-on-ice and {daily} gelato, here's some gorg-e-ous hotels {I've spent way too long researching} to lock you on to Italy's coordinates.

Ciao!

Amalfi Accoms Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi

Casa Angelina Lifestyle Hotel

Capo La Gala Hotel & Spa

Mezzatorre Resort & Spa

[photos via each hotel listed]

Spotlight :: Desert Decadence in Dubai

[trip style = luxury + beach + urban +sightseeing]

A few months ago I went to Dubai for a four-day, jetset journey into the Middle Eastern desert {see deets RE my direct Emirates flight from Seattle here}. Aside from sharing 30 photos in December, I never wrote much about the flashy City-State on TS, struggling to find the words to describe my experience and the mind-boggling town that turns sand into palms-shaped islands and concrete into cloud-skimming skyscrapers. Note: the below photo is taken from the world's tallest building on floor 124, looking up.

Dubai turns impossible into nothing---a mere petite feat that can be easily surmounted, like a small hill. Except that hill is Mt. Everest AND the odds of reaching the top unscathed are fraught with an army of skilled workers {a whole topic in and of itself}, and worldwide recognition. Looking at Dubai projects---an indoor ski hill, the world's largest mall, the world's only seven-star hotel and the world's tallest building---it's like the Emirate empire has conquered Everest 100+ times, on a Wednesday morning. And then went out for lunch.

The oil-rich town is the greatest destination marketing story of our time. The projects are big, blingy and boisterous; international experts are brought in to execute them, and the result is something that's landed on most globetrotters'  bucket lists. Fueled by curiosity and a desire for the exotic, travelers are seeking Dubai's decadent desert in droves.

Here's a starter kit to Dubai I wrote for Fodor's.

More Dubai
My Flight
My Hotel
The Spa
30 Photos

[photos by @tripstyler taken as a guest of emirates]

Spotlight :: Hawaii (The Big Island)

[trip style = beach + sun]

As my flight descends towards the Kona Airport over an 1890s lava flow, I'm welcomed by Hawaii Island's bubbling beginnings. This is not your average sandy beach vacation; it's so much more.

At 11:50am I settle into my sweat box of a rental car and open my TomTom GPS app---my travel BFF---ready to tackle the island on two wheels. Problem: trusty Tom does not include Hawaii's Big Island {note to self: download Tom's newest version, doh!}. Before I have a molten meltdown, I realize that while the Island is big, it only has a few major roads. Old-school exploration it is; map in hand, we start the car.

Pulling out of the open-air airport with the air con blasting at arctic levels, my eyes are glued to the window instead of the map. Wispy grasses sprout between the shiny, course lava---indicating different flow generations---as we motor to our first of five hotels on the youngest Hawaiian Isle.

En route I notice a bunch of highway-side parked cars and lava ash roads leading to what seem like secret spots. Out yonder, oceanfront palm oases brighten the inky landscape. The trusty map shows no evidence of such places, and I quickly learn Hawaii 101: have a guidebook, and Hawaii 102: go off-book and explore like Captain Cook.

At first I skip Kona and do what ANY sun-starved winterite would do: beeline to the Kohala Coast Resort, don my bathing suit and dine while watching the sunset. P-r-i-o-r-i-t-i-e-s. Over the next 10 days, I make my way around the island, descending into sacred valleys and going on DIY turtle safaris along the way.

The Big Island has four of the world's five major climates zones, and it shows; the landscape changes by the minute. Look left and find cow pastures, look right and find a Tarzan-thick tropical forest, look ahead and there's flowing lava, look back and there's a frosty fern gully.

Between frequent roadside stops for everyday sights like breaching whales and cascading waterfalls, my eyes stay glued to the window the entire journey. While this results in what most would call a series of wrong turns, I come to realize that the far reaches of this world were discovered by wrong turns. In Hawaii, wrong turns are right.

Here's your trusty Trip Styler guide to Hawaii Island:

Eat

Da Poke Shack - Reeling in a boatload of freshness, Da Poke Shack chops the Pacific's bounty seven days a week in a standing room-only lunch market visible only by a neon sign and two picnic tables. Try the $10 dynamite poke bowl with island avocados. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life.

Punalu'u Bake Shop - If you're in the area {and you will be if you visit the Punalu'u black sand beach}, stop by the southernmost bakery in the USA to taste some of Hawaii's famed malasadas---Portuguese sugar buns that often come with pudding or guava jam in the center. Heaven help me! I bought way too many.

Other faves: Merriman's for homegrown Hawaiian food and Brown's Beach House for seaside dining and locally sourced delicacies.

Do

Beaches - Almost side by side, the Kohala Coast's Hapuna Beach {or Mauna Kea Beach} are some of the island's nicest white sand stretches. On the south side, check out Punalu'u black sand beach.

Hikes - Trek down Pololu Valley's steep and palm-packed cliffs to the rocky {and rolling} beach below or head to the Waipio Valley Lookout to shimmy down a 25% grade paved path to a black sand beach, a bevy of waterfalls and the boyhood home of famed Hawaiian King Kamehameha I. Note: do not drive, the steep decline is not covered in many rental car agreements!

Spa - My job affords me a bounty of spa treatments, and while I don't mention most of them---I only mention the best---I must tell you about one of my best ever at the Fairmont Orchid's Spa Without Walls. I had the Ali'i Experience, which started with a lomi lomi hot stone massage in a beachfront cabana and ended with warm coconut oil slowly trickling down my head for what seemed like 20 minutes. It felt so Hawaiian it was as if I was dancing the hula at Mauna Kea's summit. Note: most massages take place in spa huts that sit beside the ocean or babbling brooks.

See - Finally, the hot-ticket items: volcanoes and lava. An hour from Hilo, Kilauea continues to broil below the earth. An active cauldron of lava bubbles at the peak, while at its base the Pu'u 'O'o vent slowly flows, adding more mass---500+ acres since 1983---to the biggest Hawaiian isle.

Stay

Lava Lava Beach Club - A four-cottage beach retreat we profiled in our most recent Roam+Board. Love!

Fairmont Orchid - A 540-room, bang-on beach resort with all the fixings.

Holualoa Inn - A six-room inn hidden in a 30-acre coffee estate perched high above the ocean's spray in Kona coffee country.

Puakea Ranch - While we didn't stay here, this five-house property comes highly recommended by many publications we trust! It's on our list for our next visit.

Wear Hawaii is casual---even more so than Maui. When I wasn't hiking, I spent my entire trip in a bathing suit and sarong, jean cut-offs or a simple dress. Guys and gals, here's what we recommend you wear.

Know This - Parts of the island are uber lush for a reason; it often rains {in pockets, so don't assume it's raining on the whole island just because it's raining where you are}. - Don't touch the turtles; they're endangered and you could be fined $10,000. Would you want people touching you while you're sleeping on the beach? - You can do Hawaii one of two ways: use one hotel as your home base/jumping-off point, or hop around the island. The hotels I mentioned above provide that opportunity. - Renting a car is a must. - To get a lay of the land, check out my Fodor's article on How to Tackle The Big Island.

[photos by @tripstyler taken while a partial guest of Hawaii Tourism]

Roam+Board :: The Wickaninnish Inn

[trip style = luxury + beach]

What An iconic, wind-swept inn perched so near the Pacific Ocean that rooms are often splashed in sea spray.

Trip Styler Tip :: Book room 109 in The Pointe building if you want the highest chance of sea foam surging toward your window.

It doesn't really get more wild West Coast than The Wickaninnish Inn, a Relais & Chateaux-member hotel constructed on a rocky outcropping that feels more surf than turf. Straddling the 49th Parallel and the divide between a centuries-old coastal rainforest and the open ocean, the Travel+Leisure hall of famer---the only one of its kind in Canada---delivers low-key luxury on a gold-plated, douglas fir platter.

At once woodsy and radiant, the 75-room retreat is like a billionaire's cabin where highfalutin friends come to unwind for the weekend. Miles from pretence or posh, guests favor jeans and Gore-Tex jackets over leather and Lanvin, while stature and titles are quickly washed away by the multi-meter swells.

Inside, there's not a bad surf-spotting seat in the house. Every room is adorned with a large viewing window, a balcony with Adirondack chairs, a dual soaker tub, a fireplace and a sultry set of Canadian songbirds to sweeten the mood. Wink wink!  {And at the risk of getting too risqué with bedroom talk, the beds are near heavenly---so pillowy-soft you could sleep all day.} Trip Styler approved.

Where Tofino, BC, on Canada's westernmost coast. The best way to reach Tofino is through a combination of car and ferry from Vancouver or Tsawwassen. After taking the 1.5-hour car ferry to Nanaimo, follow the signs for Tofino, a 2.5-hour drive away. Due to the distance, plan to spend at least two nights.

When Tofino's weather is misty, moody and magnificent any time of year. Summer is the destination's high season thanks to warmer temperatures gracing its sprawling beaches, yet people visit year-round to surf {yes, even in winter}, storm-watch and hibernate with a book in front of the fire.

Who/Why You're in the market for a coastal hideaway with all the bells and whistles {from a standout spa to restaurant surrounded by 240 degrees of ocean views}---a place to pen your memoirs, crack open a book or simply rest your mind while aimlessly walking along the multi-kilometer beach.

Cost Rates start at $260 per night and include parking, WiFi and head-to-toe rain gear. Furry fellows can stay with you for $40 per night. There is a $10 fee per guest to use the spa's eucalyptus steam facilities.

More R+B The Burrard – Vancouver Hotel de Glace – Quebec Alcazar Palm Springs – California Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – Dubai Makena Resort – Maui Nita Lake Lodge – Whistler Fairmont Banff Springs – Banff Thompson – Beverly Hills The Sorrento Hotel – Seattle The LIT! Bangkok – Thailand From ice hotels to Anna Wintour’s steal-of-a-deal holiday escape, find all featured R+B properties here.

[photos (except for bedroom shot) courtesy of The Wick Inn, assembled while I was hosted as a guest of the hotel.]

Roam+Board :: Hotel de Glace

[trip style = adventure]

{Editor's Note: I'm currently in Eastern Canada for Carnaval de Quebec---the world's largest winter celebration---and part of the arctic experience is staying one night in the Hotel de Glace. See more photos on TS's Instagram!}

What Bucket list buffs, this stay's for you. Statuesque and stunning, the 44-room Hotel de Glace is an impressive structure on its own; add to this the fact that the entire thing---all 32,000 sf of it---is built and hand sculpted from ice and snow, and this frozen facade is by far the coolest stay around {pun intended}.

Open only during Quebec's most frosty season, it takes six weeks and 50 people working around the clock to manhandle this masterpiece. Once complete, the 1.2-metre walls and 5.4-metre arches are checked multiple times a day for stability {this assurance came in handy when I went to sleep in my candlelit room, and for some odd reason wondered if the walls would cave in.}

To say sipping a cocktail from an ice glass while mingling in an ice bar {capable of handling 400 people} is a novelty doesn't do the experience justice---it's otherworldly and, in many ways, represents the true reason we travel: to find inspiration and wonder.

Wonderstruck is the only word I can use to the describe my overnight stay in the arctic abode. Apparently it's not enough to build a giant igloo, e-v-e-r-y surface is styled {!}, and in a strange moment of travel bliss, all I wanted to do is hug my ice cocktail table and take my ice glass {carved from a 500-ton block} home as a souvenir. A picture will have to do.

Elsewhere on the snow-covered grounds there's a chapel---complete with deer fur-lined ice benches---designed in fairy tale proportions {I'm pretty sure Snow White would get hitched here}, a snowy spa to warm your core temperature before bed and an entire room devoted to an ice luge. Only in Canada.

Want more details? Check out the nitty-gritty below.

Where Fifteen minutes outside Quebec City, Canada by car.

When Hotel de Glace coincides with the region's winter wonderland and is usually open early January to mid March, weather permitting. This year's dates are January 5th - March 24th.

Who/Why Hotels made of wood or concrete are way too blasé for your tastes. Plus, against the white and clear backdrop, your faux-fur hat and Canada Goose jacket pop in photo shoots.

Cost Rates start at $199 per person, per night and include a welcome cocktail {served in an ice glass!}, a specialized minus 30 degree Celsius-rated sleeping bag, Wifi and breakfast.

FAQs 1. Did you sleep? No, but I tried really hard to. After two hours trying to warm my feet---the rest of me was warm---through vigorous movement and strange contortions, I retreated to the 24-hour inside space and found a corner to cuddle up. Note: I have very bad circulation; every other guest seemed to sleep well. 2. What do you sleep on? Your bed's base is a block of ice, followed by a wooden frame, and a foam mattress wrapped in a blanket. 3. Where do you go to the bathroom? There is a basic 24-hour indoor facility where you check in. In it, there's also lockers, a changing room, bathrooms, showers and hot bevvies. 4. What's the temperature? The temperature in the Hotel de Glace is a constant minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). 5. How should you dress? Dress warmer than you can even imagine, and then some. Think thermals, down and hand/toe warmers. And bring a scarf. Basically, cover every single inch of your body. A balaclava is not out of the question. 6. When should I visit the arctic spa? Visit the hot tubs and sauna before bed---it'll warm your body temperature prior to jumping into your sleeping bag. 7. Would you go back? YES. YOLO. Next time, I'll attach toe and hand warmers to my extremities or litter my sleep sac with thermal hot packs!

More R+B Alcazar Palm Springs – California Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – Dubai Makena Resort – Maui Nita Lake Lodge – Whistler Hester Creek Winery – Oliver, BC Fairmont Banff Springs – Banff Thompson – Beverly Hills The Sorrento Hotel – Seattle The LIT! Bangkok – Thailand Hotel De La Paix – Thailand From ice hotels to Anna Wintour’s steal-of-a-deal holiday escape, find all featured R+B properties here.

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