Locanda in Tuscany: luxury country retreat

Locanda in Tuscany is a luxury country retreat in Val d’Orcia (Tuscany), a UNESCO protected area, filled with tiny hamlets and medieval villages, atmospheric churches and castles. Guests at Locanda in Tuscany are guaranteed a quiet, exclusive stay in a Tuscan country house with stunning views over the landscape. There are only nine rooms and […]

Le Couvent des Minimes Hotel and Spa in Provence

Le Couvent des Minimes Hotel and Spa L’Occitane is located in an ancient renovated convent founded in 1613 in Mane, a small village, close to Forcalquier, in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. This Relais & Chateaux hotel opened in 2008 and has 46 rooms and suites, all of which are decorated in a modern, elegant style: walls are painted in […]

Guatemala Travel Guide

This is my Guatemala Travel Guide based upon the 10 days I spent in Guatemala, a beautiful country in Central America. I found the country to be overall safe, the people very friendly, and the infrastructure good for travelers. Guatemala (and Bolivia) have the highest percentage of indigenous people in Latin America; Mayan languages are […]

Riding the California Zephyr Train San Francisco to Chicago

I recently decided to abandon temporarily the sardine-canned airplane travel experience and take the train from San Francisco to Chicago.  The California Zephyr train, which departs daily from Emeryville, CA near Oakland (San Francisco has no Amtrak station, but a bus shuttle is provided from the SF Ferry Building to Emeryville), is truly one of […]

Juvet Hotel Norway: setting of Ex Machina movie

Juvet Landscape Hotel in Northwestern Norway is a synthesis of raw Norwegian nature, cultural history and modern architecture. The first landscape hotel in Europe, Juvet Hotel is situated in the farmstead of Burtigarden farm at Alstad in Valldal, on a steep, natural levee amongst birch, aspen, pine and age-old boulders. In this little village in rural Norway, […]

The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort Hotel in Hokkaido Japan

The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort Hotel is an excellent place to relax and enjoy the magnificent views of Lake Toya, which is a volcanic caldera lake, an hour’s drive from Hokkaido’s capital, Sapporo. One of the highlights of the hotel is the onsen on the top two floors: the infinity pool on the roof […]

7 Top Hotels Around the World

From time to time, we come across outstanding hotels and locations that are difficult to beat. Here are our current 7 top hotels around the world: Nakamanda Resort, Krabi Thailand – Contemporary Thai interiors and perfect service make this our favorite Thai beach resort. Quiet, intimate and relaxing. Son Brull Mallorca – Modern design in a restored […]