Roam+Board :: Hotel Lone

[trip style = luxury + spa + foodie + sightseeing]

{Editor's Note :: Recently, Trip Styler's Fashion Friday contributor, Heather, visited Croatia. Here, she gushes about one of her favorite Croatian hotels.}

What
Croatia's first five-star design hotel rises from its lush forest setting like a gleaming white ocean liner. The minimalist, curvy waterfront hotel was conceived and crafted by Croatian creatives. Everything from architecture to art to furniture to light fixtures to uniforms are Croatian design. I was wowed from the moment I stepped inside, greeted by a two-story living wall and a 9-metre art installation.

While Hotel Lone is only a 15-minute walk from Rovinj {pronounced roh-VEEN}, one of Croatia's most picturesque hilltop towns, you may never want to leave the property. It boasts excellent restaurants {I highly recommend "L"}, a Croatian design store where you can find unique gifts for others or yourself, a wine shop, indoor and outdoor pools, full-service spa, Finnish-style baths, saunas and steam rooms. If you're not accustomed to European spas, take note: the saunas and steam rooms are co-ed and clothing optional {emphasis on the optional}.

Rooms are large, decorated with tasteful textiles and furniture in greys, greens and blues, and all have big balconies with ocean or park views. Sixteen rooms have their own balcony infinity pool. Forget never leaving the property; you may never want to leave your room! I confess that we spent one night in our room, wearing robes, eating room service and watching Italian television. Perfecto! Trip Styler approved!

Where
The hotel is a short walk from the center of Rovinj on Croatia's Istrian peninsula. Rovinj is the country's most Italian city and only a three-hour ferry ride from Venice. If you're driving, it's 40 minutes from Pula or 3 hours from Zagreb.

When
A year-round destination popular with Italian, Slovenian and Croatian weekenders, Rovinj is hot -- both in temperature and busyness -- during the summer, but you can count on milder temperatures and smaller crowds in late spring and early fall. The hotel fills its 248 rooms with conference goers during low season. Foodies take note: October is white truffle season, with festivals and hunts celebrating the delicacy known for its aphrodisiac characteristics.

Who/Why
You consult the Design Hotels guide when selecting a place to stay. You appreciate a full-service resort that has everything you need, but doesn't feel like an all-inclusive mini city. You need a relaxing escape in the midst of your European vacation -- and you're not afraid of a nude spa.

Cost
Rates start around $150/night in low season for a premium double room {the same room will cost you up to $500/night during the summer}. Rates include full breakfast buffet, spa access, WiFi and free arrival-day minibar. Free street parking or paid valet. Note: single occupancy {vs. double occupancy} can save you up to $100/night.

Photos

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

[photos by @heatherlovesit]

Vintage Miami

[trip style = sun + beach + urban]

Last week, Mr. Trip Styler and I spent a handful of hot 'n humid days in Miami. As avid architecture and design fans {of the modern and vintage variety}, we did not let go of our cameras the entire visit. Here are just a few retro gems we captured on a walkabout along Ocean Drive, a '20s- and '30s-built, 10-block stretch some call "America's Riviera." Stay tuned for a bigger slice of South Beach's TS-approved eats, stays and plays coming soon.

PS - Of all the hotels captured below, I dig the Diesel Jeans-owned, 25-room Pelican Hotel.

Hotel Breakwater

Colony Hotel

The Carlyle

The Cavalier

Leslie Hotel {under renovation}

Congress Hotel South Beach

Casa Grande Suite Hotel

Pelican Miami Beach

A stretch of the 15-mile beach across the road.

[photos by @tripstyler]

Listen Up: A Travel Sleep-Saver

[trip style = any]

Newsflash: unless you're staying in a sound studio or a dungeon, no accommodation is 100% soundproof.

Maybe it's the street noise or the guy coughing in the room beside you, maybe it's the night-owl couple stumbling in at 3am or the service staff chatting in the hallways in at 7.30am. Whatever it is, when you're hanging at a hotel, noise happens, and there's nothing a Do Not Disturb sign can do about it.

Enter my cheapest and most comforting travel find: earplugs. It's amazing what a pebble-sized piece of foam can do. For me, it means both peace of mind, and the difference between a rude awakening and a good sleep.

Over the years I've used a gazillion forms of foam to stop sound. One set stands out as the MOST comfortable and foolproof. They cost less than a chocolate bar, and are made by 3M, the brainiacs behind the world's first foam earplugs.

Earplugs are far from sexy {to wear or discuss}, yet, the reason I'm singing their soundproof praises is on my recent trip to Miami, I was staying at an updo hotel, aka: a vintage property made over as au courant. With soundproofing, or lack thereof, stuck in the dark ages, noises traveled.  For example, when someone walked by my room talking at a regular decibel, I could hear the conversation like I was part of it {even though my door was closed and my window was shut}. Strangely, this didn't freak me out because I was armed with my earplugs, aka, the $1 insurance policy I take out on a good night's sleep.

Trip Styler Tip :: Stash earplugs in your carry-on to "keep your peace" at 35,000 feet.

Buy them in bulk online at 3M or on Amazon, or in one- or three-packs at your neighborhood drug store or Staples.

[graphic assembled by @tripstyler]

Fashion Friday :: High/Low Fall Trends

[trip style = any]

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

If you're going to get one piece this season, get a big coat. That's the advice of FLARE Magazine's senior style and market editor, Truc Nguyen, who was in Vancouver this week presenting fall fashion trends at the FLARE World Runway Tour Presented by TRESemmé.

The clothing trends seen on the runways for fall/winter were mid-century silhouettes, pastels, oversized coats, 90s revival punk, new structuralism, strapless or off-the-shoulder, jumpsuits and plaid. The accessory trends included novelty bags, thigh-high boots, functional flats, t-straps, short leather gloves and fur mittens.

Think of trends as something fun, not something prescriptive you have to follow. But also know that we're usually following trends whether we know it or not. There's a great scene in The Devil Wears Prada where second assistant Andy Sachs laughs at a few editors deciding between similar-looking belts until she---and her sweater---are schooled by fashion editrix Miranda Priestly:

"You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back, but what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis; it's actually cerulean.... It's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry, when in fact you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room."

Here are a few of my picks for the season, at both high and low price points, inspired by the three things to remember for fall: Big coat! Cool flats! Fun bag!

Big Coat

An oversized coat may feel like a burden when you're travelling, but it never has to fit inside your luggage. Wear this coat style with a fitted silhouette underneath, like skinny jeans and a t-shirt, along with one of my own favourite trends of the season: sneakers. from left: ASOS oversized wrap front coat, Rick Owens Lilies quilted sail coat, Zara masculine coat, Forte_Forte coat

Cool Flats

Here's the perfect excuse for not packing heels in your carry-on. Instead, bring along interesting, functional and comfortable flats. left column: Isabel Marant lilo ballerina flat, Dieppa Restrepo laura oxford, Pour La Victoire zandra monk strap flats; right column: Urban Outfitters t-strap flat, Topshop mave metallic points, DV by Dolce Vita monk strap oxford flats

Fun Bag

Novelty bags are meant to add whimsy and colour to an outfit, and they're not meant to be an investment item. They're great treasures to bring home from your travels that will always take you back to wherever you bought them. clockwise from top left: Alice + Olivia zebra clutch, Zara iridescent messenger bag, Santi pom pom clutch, Kneeland Mercado Meché Correa lucky milagros bag

More Fashion Friday
Western Spirit
The Summer Staple

[graphics assembled by @heatherlovesit]

Epcot's Wide World of Eats

[trip style = sun + foodie]

My first trip to Disney was in grade four. At the time, frosted malts, jawbreakers and cokes held royalty roles in my food and beverage hierarchy {my parents made sure I  ate pretty healthfully, so vacations meant I got to eat sweets every.single.day}. Thankfully, my palate has ripened with age.

Enter a more decadent Disney, one where I join celeb chefs, attend food and wine seminars, and sample canapes and cocktails from around the world at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. And in true Disney form---they don’t do anything without Tinkerbell's magic touch---the festival isn’t just a weekend or week-long nosh-fest, rather a 46-day foray into everything food and beverage.

The cherry on top of my tasting weekend was BY FAR the only-in-Disney novelty of eating Polish kielbasa and pierogi at the foot of a gondola in Italy, or drinking Florida's own Key Lime Wine beside a pagoda in Japan. Twenty years later, I'd say my tastes have come a long way since malts and cokes.

Some of my recommended bites and sips from this year's festival include: - chocolate ganache waffles from Belgium - kimchi dog with spicy mustard sauce from South Korea {Mr Trip Styler's fave} - warm chocolate pudding topped in Bailey's custard from Ireland - spicy tuna and salmon hand roll from Japan - Xingu Black Beer from Brazil - Key Lime Wine from Florida

Trip Styler Tip :: In a few days, look for more information about the festival in my post on the Expedia Viewfinder Travel Blog.

How It Works - The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival takes place every year from late September to November; this year it runs Sept 27 - Nov 11. - Three dozen countries have booths scattered throughout Epcot's World Showcase. Each serves food and bev native to the country. Items range from $2.50 to about $10. - If you want get a taste of the food fest, simply buy an Epcot park pass and browse the stalls and festival center. If you want the full meal deal---ie: seminars, demos, evening galas and celeb chef meet and greets---specific events require a festival pass. To give you sense of cost, a culinary demo or wine seminar would be $14 + an Epcot park pass.

What To Know - Visit in the morning to sail through the stalls and avoid lines. Food kiosks open at 11am, so start with a croissant and a mimosa from 9am at the Parisian Bakery. - Weekdays see the fewer crowds, especially in the morning. - If you aren't used to Florida's heat, take frequent breaks in the shade and drink a TON of water. - Due to Walt Disney World's scale, stay close to the event for quick in-and-out access. The BoardWalk Inn is one of the closest hotels to Epcot.

Photos

[photos by @tripstyler taken as a guest of Walter E. Disney]