Luxurious Takes on Pâté en Croûte

Ultra-luxury hotels — think of brands like Aman, One&Only, Rosewood, and The Peninsula — don’t always perform to their full potential. 

As a travel writer, I have been fortunate to visit mesmerizing places, from gorgeous seaside towns in Sicily to bustling city streets in Belgium.

If you know me, you know how much I love planes, and as an AvGeek to the core, it gives me joy to share my love of everything aviation.

As a former Disney World park employee, current annual passholder, and Orlando local, I've witnessed people make decisions during their visits that could impact their entire vacation.

Struggling airline Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced a proposed new ownership structure, with several surprising elements. Competitor Air France-KLM will take a one-fifth stake in the new-look ownership group, while current shareholders face the prospect of losing everything.

It's October, which means the leaves are changing, giant skeletons are taking over suburban lawns and people are apple-picking pretty much anywhere an apple grows.

Equipped with pristine white sand beaches, lush cloud forests, and a wide array of dazzling native creatures, Panama has earned worldwide recognition for its abundant natural beauty—but this Latin American nation is no slouch when it comes to urban tourism either. Visitors to the national capital can discover a fascinating array of high-end restaurants and storied landmarks all across Panama City, and as an added bonus, there’s no shortage of world-class hotels to choose from along the way. As you plan your next trip to the bridge between the Americas, be sure to save some room on the itinerary to explore these ultra-luxurious accommodations.

We're still several weeks away from turkeys appearing on supermarket shelves en masse and familiar holiday tunes playing on the loudspeakers in stores. However, now is the time to get serious about booking holiday travel — particularly when it comes to flights.

It’s that time of year when the night air cools, pumpkins appear on doorsteps and apples are ripe for the picking — sure signs that leaf-peeping season is on the horizon. If you’re hoping to spend a weekend marveling at fall foliage but haven’t yet booked a place to stay, the time is now. To help you on your way, here are five new properties for autumn adventures, including a pair of boutique hotels in Asheville, N.C., amid the Blue Ridge Mountains; a former textile mill turned hotel in Southern Maine; a reopened haven in Yellowstone National Park; and a luxury hotel in Boston that makes for a pampered departure point for New England road trips.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 25-year-old Elophia Mengestu, who is based in New York City, and it has been edited for length and clarity.

Visitors to Chile have another reason to make a stop in wine country, to visit the freshly renovated and ultra-luxurious new casitas at Clos Apalta - one of Chile’s most highly-awarded world-class wineries.Previously, this French-inspired winery’s collection of four casitas held the title of smallest Relais & Châteaux property in the world; now with the of debut seven new ones and fully reimagined interiors for the original ones they usher in a luxurious new take on luxury and nature.

For ultra-wealthy travel lovers, six-figure getaways continue to trend ever upward. Encouraged by the pandemic’s wake-up call to maximize life’s positive experiences, these vacationers are engaging luxury outfitters to brainstorm off-the-beaten-path itineraries that illuminate exclusive, eye-opening, one-of-a-kind adventures. Among the best of the best tour-planning companies, Abercrombie & Kent — founded in the 1960s by visionary safari pioneer Geoffrey Kent — just announced its latest pinnacle, Around the World With Geoffrey Kent: An Inspiring Expedition by Private Jet. Limited to 46 participants, this epic 26-day transit (October 13 to November 7, 2024) will touch down in Japan, India, Malta, Senegal, Saint Helena, Uruguay, Easter Island and French Polynesia. Kent, who will accompany the group from start to finish, explains to Forbes: “It’s true that the world is well-traveled, but there are still unexplored spots. My goal is to take A&K guests to places of immense beauty and rich culture, but where others rarely venture.” Indeed, many of the destinations are dazzlingly remote with unique behind-the-scenes encounters. To smooth this far-flung journey en route: a chartered Boeing 757, featuring all lie-flat, first-class seats, with a dedicated crew and executive chef. Price: $184,950 per person; see below for further details. (Perhaps you may be inspired by these highlights to tuck one or two intriguing ideas onto your DIY wish list.)