China has now announced visa-free entry for citizens of 5 countries — Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia starting October 15. With this move, nationals from these countries can now visit China for up to 15 days without needing a visa.
23.09.2024 - 21:25 / thepointsguy.com
For the last few years, TPG has been shouting from the rooftops that an all-inclusive resort renaissance was slowly starting and that, before long, we'd see more and more brands we love jump off into the space.
That time has finally arrived. At least it has for IHG, which is now taking reservations for the very first Kimpton-branded all-inclusive resort, the Kimpton Tres Rios on Mexico's Riviera Maya.
Related: Best all-inclusive resorts in Cancun
If the resort's plans stay on track, guests will be welcomed to the 355-room resort starting in mid-March, according to the booking calendar, which is now open for reservations. Rates, based on double occupancy, will start at $499 or 86,000 IHG One Rewards points per night for an entry-level mangrove-view room.
Booking a Kimpton all-inclusive vacation with IHG One Rewards points is a pretty good deal at the moment at 86,000 points (compared to a nightly cash rate of $499) inclusive of taxes and fees. Booking with points nets you a value of about .6 cents per point, slightly above TPG's September 2024 valuation of IHG One Rewards points at .5 cents per point.
The property is sure to be a shining example of future Kimpton- or IHG-branded all-inclusive resorts, and we're excited to see how the boutique hotel brand translates into the know-what-you-pay-upfront experience. The resort itself is not a new-build but rather a reimagining of a resort built in 2008 that is undergoing a total overhaul.
Once open, the resort will have 20 different types of accommodations, including adults-only suites, swim-out suites, and rooms with ocean views and plunge pools, all with fully stocked minibars, 24-hour room service, and fresh and modern designs.
Across the Playa Hotels & Resorts-managed property, guests can take advantage of four swimming pools, the Kej Spa and its signature treatments, a 340-acre nature park with trails to hike and explore, beaches with snorkeling, and tons of other entertainment options like dancing, cooking classes and Spanish lessons.
For younger guests, there's a kids club, a dedicated splash zone and waterslides.
As far as food goes at this all-inclusive resort, there are seven restaurants and five bars offering flavors from around the world. Raices is Kimpton's take on the classic all-inclusive buffet, Sabina offers traditional Mexican fare with a mezcal bar, Bacetto has rustic Italian, and Asian fusion is front and center at Kotori, while other options include Mediterranean, steakhouse classics and Mexican street food.
There's also an all-day coffee bar for caffeine, a sleek sports bar, an adults-only rooftop bar, a chic main lobby bar and a poolside bar.
While we'll still have to wait to get a feel for what a Kimpton all-inclusive resort really
China has now announced visa-free entry for citizens of 5 countries — Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia starting October 15. With this move, nationals from these countries can now visit China for up to 15 days without needing a visa.
Oct 3, 2024 • 6 min read
Oct 3, 2024 • 5 min read
For me, September is a hard one to see go. With it, those last little moments of summer slip away, the temperature starts to change and it's time to start pulling out your warm coats. My September was especially great, though. It started with cruising around the Mediterranean and checking out a few dreamy hotels in Italy, followed by a quick trip to Mexico to check out Hyatt's new all-inclusive brand.
In October 2022, I took a two-week backpacking trip through Europe, where I slept in shared train cabins and budget Airbnbs.
When Erin Hynes and Lucas Amormino quit their jobs in Canada to travel around the world for six months, most of their loved ones were supportive.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 27, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Aman is well known for its ultraluxury resorts and hotels found in some of the world's favorite cities, like Tokyo and Venice, Italy, as well as destinations as close as Utah and as far as Phuket, Thailand.
Mallorca continues to be one of Spain’s most popular tourist regions despite its recent large-scale protests.
As a fashion industry veteran, the men’s wear designer Jesse Rowe has been to countless stores. The one he can’t stop thinking about is Marcello, a hidden shop in Fukuoka, Japan. “You walk into a nondescript building, go up a couple of flights of stairs to the rooftop, walk along a stone path, then go down a fire escape to this completely transporting clothing shop,” says Rowe. The designer has brought that spirit of discovery to Zebra Room, a boutique in Germantown, N.Y., that’s equal parts coffee shop, cabinet of curiosities and listening lounge. Housed in a converted barn, Zebra Room devotes most of its square footage to a collection of midcentury Scandinavian furniture that Rowe’s brother imports from Copenhagen (highlights include an Inca chair by Arne Norell). There are also secondhand clothes and goods, from vintage marinière shirts to handmade leather dog collars. A coffee bar (which serves everything from Mexican café de olla to cold brew tonics topped with yuzu) is set up in a cube leftover from an exhibition held by the shop’s next-door neighbors Alexander Gray Associates. Rowe and his wife, the interior designer Loren Daye, clad the plaster installation with hemlock wood to keep with the natural feel of the space, which also has a 1970s cast-iron stove and retains the barn’s bluestone dirt floors. The cube houses Rowe’s record collection and sound system, which the designer has modeled after those in Japan’s kissa cafes. He alternates between vinyl and streaming, but the shop’s soundtrack is always played through a restored vintage SunValley/Dynaco tube amplifier and Klipsch LaScala speakers; similar tube amps, turntables and speakers are also for sale. “I want it to feel like someone’s living room — you might have to yell over the music,” says Rowe.
There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.
For Italians, Sardinia is synonymous with “Costa Smeralda” (Emerald Coast), the summer playground of the rich and famous. But the natural and cultural attractions of the second-largest island in the Mediterranean are available to many travelers, not just the glitterati who gather on their mega-yachts at Porto Cervo every August.