Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Palm Springs

[trip style = sun + luxury]

{Editor’s Note: Two weeks ago I was in Palm Springs with the Bureau of Tourism and had the great pleasure of staying at The Viceroy. I will definitely be returning. It is ultra Trip Styler approved. Stay tuned for our Palm Springs Spotlight next week!}

What The sight and sound of water gently flowing over lava rock into a koi pond is the first note; the rocky mountains climbing beyond the pools and spa is the crescendo. From beginning to end, the 1930s-built former motor lodge that's welcomed the likes of Bing Crosby and Clark Gable charms and enchants all five senses. The Viceroy is fancy without being frou frou and whimsical without being overdone. Like its grand dame of design, Kelly Wearstler, it’s strikingly pulled together with a white canvas, black geometric lines and yellow splashes of colour.

A few calming steps through the secret garden entry reveal a 4.5 acre property that fans out like a gorgeous peacock tail on display. The lobby is tall, slender and cheery leading to Citron restaurant with a polished yet casual atmosphere and fresh Californian cuisine. Follow the lemon trees and topiaries to the 67 guest rooms, spa, three pools, courtyards and grassy patches seemingly made for an afternoon picnic.

Where Palm Springs, California. Ten minutes from the airport {PSP} and one block from downtown’s shopping district. Getting there from Vancouver is a cinch with direct and daily WestJet service.

When Year-round. Planning a fall, winter or spring retreat is a pretty good bet with Palm Spring’s 354 days of sun. For a spontaneous trip style = weekend getaway, check the weather and throw a few essentials in your carry-on.

Who/Why Your hotel match made in heaven marries high design with highly attentive service. Fido is welcome too for $100/stay {with a portion of pet fee donated to the local animal shelter}.

Cost Rates typically start at $150 in the off-season {late spring, summer, early fall}. A daily $28 resort fee includes morning coffee in Citron, gym, steam room, cruiser bicycle use, wifi & parking. {Trip Styler Tip :: Don’t miss the Breathe Easy Package (a steal of a deal) starting at $95 with an additional 25% off all food & bev, spa services and resort fee.}

More Roam+Board 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

Roam+Board :: Parker Palm Springs

[trip style = sun + luxury]

{Editor's Note: I chose this property as the first of two stays this week with the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism and it is Trip Styler approved! I will definitely be returning.}

What Harkening back to the Palm Springs Hollywood hideaway era, the Parker is a place of privacy and intrigue. Purposefully unnamed photo shoots and 70's rockers are lost in the grounds away from the public eye. And that was just yesterday. Palm trees towering above guide the way through curvy trails and quaffed, yet bushy foliage. Select openings reveal  grassy clearings with butterfly chairs surrounding a fire pit, a rope hammock {large enough for deux} hanging between twin palms and a chic lemonade stand beside the pool.

When you first arrive at the resort, a dramatic wall of white concrete geometric blocks leads to a grand entrance with tall orange doors. Very Jonathan Adler, the hotel's designer with a penchant for bold, playful, geometric and clashy. Everything is done well with extras like Hermès soap and a plastic access card designed with an antique bronze key and gold ribbon loop.

The Parker is a property that balances the almost impossible task of offering a no-stone-unturned stay with a sense of unfinished business, making first-time guests repeat offenders!

Where Palm Springs, California. Ten minutes away from the airport and three minutes outside of town.

When Any.time.of.year. Weekends are busy with LA's escape and recording artists, but nab a spot in the front row by booking in advance. Winter is popular with Jr. snowbirds and there's a select few who love a spring fling. Locals say the summer is unbearable, but if you can stand the heat and pool time is your only mission, accept it.

Who/Why You are a hat and sunglasses type who is only "seen" when you want to be. Your perfect afternoon is spent playing pétanque {bocci} and sipping spiked lemonade, followed by a rousing game of croquet. At night, lounge beside a circular mid-century mod indoor fire {all that's missing is the sunken living room} with a gin martini---shaken, not stirred.

Cost From approximately $200/night in the off-season, with a mandatory $30/room/night resort fee which includes wifi throughout the hotel, valet parking, gym, steam, sauna, local calls, sparkling water and a morning coffee wake-up call.

{Trip Styler Tip :: If you go to the hotel's spa {PSYC}, ask about the whisky, vodka or gin pre-treatment shot. Follow it up by brunch at Norma's.}

More Roam+Board 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 by @tripstyler]

Roam+Board :: Sorobon Beach Resort

[trip style = sun + beach + active & adventure]

{Editor's Note: In observance of the Canadian national holiday (Remembrance Day) on Friday, we will be publishing Roam+Board today, and taking tomorrow off. See you Monday.}

What Thirty clay-roofed and whitewashed oceanfront chalets {aka chalet-looking duplexes} are clustered around a white sand beach overlooking a knee- to waist-deep sandy bay that goes for three kilometers in each direction. The beach bar of your dreams serves as the central hub of activity, complete with bar stools, wooden banquettes with multi-coloured throw pillows and white triangular sails to shade from the sun. The basic rooms have everything you need for the tropics: a hammock, air conditioning, big fan, door and window screens, and to top it off, an outdoor shower that spouts water out of a conch shell. Life is good at the Sorobon Beach Resort, and having just stayed there, it is Trip Styler approved!

Where Bonaire. Sorobon is only 10 minutes from the Island's main airport, Flamingo International. The resort will pick you up if pre-advised of your arrival time, or you can take a taxi which costs $20. Getting into Kralendijk, the country's capital city, takes 13 minutes by car. Only European carriers have direct flights into Bonaire, so to get there from North America you must transfer through Aruba or Curacao, then take Insel Air or DAE {the two largest carriers bookable online} into Bonaire.

When The weather in Bonaire is inviting all year, but when you go will depend on why you're going! Bonaire is typically known for diving, which can be done anytime of year. Windsurfers love the island in June and July when the wind is strongest. The rainy season is in November, and this also happens to be when the mosquitoes are worst. You don't notice them in the day, but unless there's a big wind at night, dining al fresco can result in polka dot effect. Mosquitos are the least present January to March.

Who/Why Your idea of the perfect getaway is bringing more bathing suits than clothes, walking 10 steps from your cabin to the ocean and sitting at a beach bar with a bottle of Bright {The ABC Islands' local beer} watching the sun go down.

Cost Beach chalets start at $120/night on Kayak.com. Includes free wifi in the open-air lobby area as well as free parking. Note, the rooms have fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms, but you must bring your own soap!

{Trip Styler Tip :: Most people rent cars in Bonaire in order to drive to dive sites (with more than 87 official sites scattered throughout the island), go to restaurants and get groceries.}

More Roam+Board 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 by @tripstyler]

Roam+Board :: Kura Hulanda

[trip style = urban + sightseeing // beach + sun]

{Editor's Note: This property is Trip Styler approved. I just spent four days at Kura Hulanda, and did so on my own dime. Per our editorial policy, complimentary stays are always disclosed.}

What Two unique boutique properties; a city hotel and spa, and oceanfront lodge and beach club. Both members of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the Kura Hulanda properties offer the most ideal Curacao experience; city culture and country calm. Hotel Stay in a completely restored Dutch village, now a UNESCO world heritage site and hotel in the centre of Curacao's main city, Willemstad. Winding cobblestone streets connect each room with sturdy hardwood floors, antique furniture and marble bathrooms. Cool down after sightseeing under a waterfall splashing into a palm-covered eco pool, or on a cushioned lounger. Lodge At Kura Hulanda Lodge you don't stray far from overhanging trees and the coral cliff coastline. Offering a refined, tranquil beachside atmosphere versus hoity toity mega resort, the location, facilities and staff allow you to fully unpack your bags, body and soul. Leave your big jewels and fancy clothes behind, you won't need them when you're dining alfresco under a palm-roofed restaurant or snorkeling in the aquamarine waters below.

Where Curacao. The hotel is in Willemstad, the country's oceanside capital. The lodge is 45 mins from the hotel {30 mins from the airport} in the small town of Westpunt. A shuttle service {with two arrivals and departures daily} connects the two properties. Via taxi, to/from the airport to the hotel is $25, and the lodge is $60USD.

When Year round. How can you dispute an annual temperature of 27 degrees Celsius? With the humidex, 27 feels like 40! Sweaters aren't even required at night. The Caribbean's traditional hurricane season {june 15 - Nov 15} brings some rain, but because Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are below the main hurricane belt, the storms are normally short-lived---to the tune of 10 minutes or three hours. Note that November is typically the rainy season, though I was just there and the skies were blue. To secure the best prices, visit at the tail end of hurricane season and before Christmas {Oct 1 - Dec 15}, or after March. Case in point, the hotel was just offered on Jetsetter {my fave travel flash sale website, featured in TS Recommends} for $70/night---one of the best values in the Caribbean.

Who/Why You're part culture-buff and part sun-seeker who loathes standard-issue hotel stays.

Cost Rooms start at $137 in the hotel and $115 in the lodge with a low season discount. Includes free + {fast!} wifi {everywhere in the lodge & main square at hotel}, plus a daily transfer between the hotel and lodge. {Trip Styler Tip :: Stay at both the hotel and the lodge for the full Curacao experience. If you have a week, do a 2/5-night split.} 

More Roam+Board 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 by Kura Hulanda & @tripstyler]

Roam+Board :: Hotel Kakslauttanen

[trip style = glamping + active & adventure + sightseeing + ski]

What
There's the Arctic Circle and then there's 250km above it. With a suitcase full of thermal underwear and down-filled jackets, today's Roam+Board is traveling towards polar bears and polar dips. With 40 log cabins Hotel Kakslauttanen is open year-round, but if you're going to travel to the ends of the earth, you might as well trip style = glamp in an igloo! Open December/January---whenever it gets cold enough---to April, the Igloo Village has 20 thermal glass domes {read: that don't frost over or fog up} and a snowball fight's worth of snow igloos to give guests a frigid, first-hand experience.

Where
Finland. Hotel Kakslauttanen is 1085kms away from Helsinki. If you want to get there quickly, fly from Helsinki to Ivalo {via finnair or norwegian} and take a 35km {$33} transfer to the hotel. If you've got time and want to see the Finnish landscape---saunas and all---ride a train/bus combo.

When
During the Aurora Borealis viewing season {late August - April}. Though it's never guaranteed you're going to see the night skies flow like Joseph's technicolor dreamcoat, the hotel rings a signal bell when the Northern Lights are visible.

Who/Why
You're a modern-day Christopher Columbus, exploring the earth's far reaches in search of a green and pink-hued night sky and the world's largest smoke sauna.

Cost
Two people can stay in a glass igloo for $477 and a snow igloo for $472 in winter. Add $36 per person/day for breakfast and dinner. Don't worry, for this price, they won't leave you out in the cold, every glass igloo is equipped with a toilet, sink and luxury beds. Plus, in the words of the hotel: "on every evening a hot sauna and a refreshing ice hole are waiting for you." Hmm, ice hole. I can handle cold plunges, but polar dips are another story!

Trip Styler Tip: Most people choose to stay in a glass or snow igloo for one night and in a cabin, starting at $338/dbl occ, for remaining nights. Why? All cabins have showers and personal saunas...

More Roam+Board
The Met - Vancouver
Custom Hotel - LAX
Bitter End Yacht Club - BVI

[photos assembled by @tripstyler via Hotel Kakslauttanen]