Dolly Parton’s 2nd resort is officially open

I've been visiting Dollywood regularly for over 10 years.

With the very recent opening of the Apes Hill resort, Barbados leaps onto the global stage as a golf travel destination. Now, for the first time, you can play all five of the island’s top courses from one very comfortable home base. And while many Caribbean islands have one stellar course, one course does not make a golf destination, and few have the critical mass that requires. Barbados now rises to what is likely second only to the Dominican Republic in terms of the number of standout golf designs open to the public.

Val Thorens, the highest ski resort in Europe at 2,300m, has again been named ‘Best Ski Resort in the World’ at the annual World Ski Awards, the only global initiative to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in ski tourism. 

Ski season is starting early in some places as resorts across Europe have welcomed bumper snowfall.

Vacation rental marketplaceHomeToGoreleased results of its annual 2023-24 Ski Season Report. The report assesses the top 48 ski destinations in North America, evaluating them based on traveler interest, affordability and other factors.

In the heart of Copenhagen, a culinary revolution is unfolding. The traditional Italian kitchen, one of the most revered in the world, is being reinvented by a group of young and innovative Italian chefs who have found their creative haven in the Danish capital.

Nothing could be further from the image most people have of Saudi Arabia than a winter wonderland. And yet the country is building exactly that within the mountains of Neom, its €461 billion ($500 billion) ‘city of the future’.

Jamaica is poised to welcome a brand new mega-resort, it was announced at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London last week.The country's Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett and his team met with international hotel group, Lopesan, which revealed it's seeking to develop a 1,000-room luxury resort on the island.Details about the resort remain scarce for now but Bartlett said the development would generate over 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, and positively impact farmers, manufacturers, small businesses and other stakeholders.Lopesan currently boasts more than 17,000 hotel rooms across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.The announcement comes ahead of the official opening of the recently renovated $30 million Royalton White Sands resort in Trelawny next month.Additionally, the island will celebrate the openings of two major resorts before the summer of 2024. The new Princess Resort in Hanover will open 1,000 rooms and the RIU Palace Aquarelle resort will add 753 more in Trelawny, creating around 2,500 new jobs.

Back in 1990, I had the privilege of attending the opening of the beautiful Grand Wailea Resort on Maui. I had dreamed, as a kid, of perhaps someday visiting Hawaii – and there I was, on my first trip, greeted by gorgeous grandeur, the likes of which I had never seen before. I was a Contributing Editor to The Robb Report magazine at the time, and the press trip was a “wow” every step of the way. The resort’s owner at the time had spent about a million dollars to bring in journalists just for a weekend. All invited travel journalists were given convertibles to drive, taken on snorkel sails to Molokini, trips to Haleakala, received spa treatments galore, and dined on ever-present – and perfect – food and beverage. My experience was, in a word, as spectacular as the resort itself.

Acqualina Resort & Residences is my favorite hotel in Miami for the perfect family vacation. My two children love staying there and always beg to go back.

The ancient peaks of Italy’s Dolomites are dramatic silver-grey canvases for the elements, reflecting the ever-changing hues of the skies. Come winter, fresh powder dusts the UNESCO World Heritage-listed mountain range and the area becomes a sprawling playground for snow-lovers. Encompassing 12 diverse ski resorts and over 745 miles of pistes, the Dolomiti Superski area enables visitors to combine picturesque skiing with the rich cultural heritage of South Tyrol, Trentino and Veneto.

We all know Greece is a good idea, and Marriott is making it an even better one by announcing a new Luxury Collection property in the Dodecanese islands.