Art Deco tips

This article is part of our airport food survival guide, which includes tips and tricks—even a hot take or two—that challenge the notion that airport meals are always dull, overpriced, and tasteless.

In the ever-expanding wellness world, one of the latest trends is actually one of the oldest: soaking in, and sometimes drinking, therapeutic waters. In ancient Greece, physicians, including Hippocrates, prescribed mineral-rich baths to treat everything from skin diseases to insomnia. (According to one theory, the word “spa” is an acronym of the Latin phrase “sanus per aqua,” meaning “health by water.”) The practice has also been employed in Asia since at least the sixth century A.D., when nomadic Buddhists are said to have brought the concept of onsen (inns and bathhouses built around natural geothermal pools) to Japan from the Korean Peninsula. Now, with various forms of hydrotherapy, such as cold plunges and steam saunas, making a comeback, wellness entrepreneurs are debuting properties centered on bathing. Here, five places to take a dip.

Nashville might be known as a party spot—and a very good party spot it is— but the city also has an incredibly rich history and the museums and galleries to match. From walking through a country music-focused history to visiting Ancient Greece for the day (yes, really) there’s such an abundance of museums that you’ll likely struggle to fit them all into your itinerary.

Even in 2024, the question “can Americans travel to Cuba?” is still frequently asked among US travelers. Few destinations create such simultaneous longing and confusion as this crocodile-shaped island only 95 miles south of Key West. It has held a mythic status since the early 20th century for its vibrant mix of Latin and Caribbean cultures, its hundreds of miles of pristine beaches, its African-influenced music, and its vintage charm; today, Chevrolets and Buicks from the ’50s rattle down Spanish colonial streets in Old Havana that have hardly changed since Ernest Hemingway was knocking back mojitos there.

It's time to spread out. Avoiding over-touristed destinations isn’t just about steering clear of crowds  –  it’s also about ensuring that we’re not contributing to the problem and instead helping to support the livelihoods of people in less-trafficked regions. 

Based in Tucson, Ariz., the boutique Desert Vintage has specialized in rare designer clothing since Salima Boufelfel and Roberto Cowan took it over in 2012. Many of their offerings — a century-old Fortuny evening robe or an Azzedine Alaïa suede wraparound top, for example — “can be a bit demanding to wear,” says Boufelfel. So when she landed in New York to open their Orchard Street outpost in 2022, she set out to complement their period pieces with her own designs. The collection, which is named Ténéré (“desert” in Tuareg) in a nod to both Boufelfel’s Arizona origins and Berber heritage, is meant to be worn across seasons and settings: There are airy crinkled chiffon dresses, sleeveless caftans stitched with antique African trade beads and double-pleated Italian-linen trousers. The silk lounge sets — available in a range of sandy shades, as well as a poppy red — are modeled after Desert Vintage’s best-selling 1920s loungewear ensembles, which, Boufelfel notes, “always fly out the door and look amazing on everyone.”

The glamour of Hotel Martinez, Unbound Collection by Hyatt hits you even before you walk through its doors. Thanks to its prime location on the iconic La Croisette — plus a chic private beach club draped with gorgeous globetrotters, and candy-colored Lamborghinis and Ferraris parked outside — the 5-star heritage hotel is as synonymous with the fashionable French Riviera jet set as the Cannes Film Festival itself.

It’s been 16 years since actress and singer Eden Espinosa has been on Broadway, but now, she’s back in a big way as the lead in the new and highly acclaimed musical “Lempicka.”

For years, road-trippers whizzed right past Yamba, just south of Byron Bay at the mouth of the Clarence River in northeast New South Wales. The under-the-radar fishing town has long been blessed with wild beaches, rocky ocean vistas, and an easygoing surf scene, but a crop of openings has turned it into a place to linger awhile.

On a leafy stretch near Kolkata's Southern Avenue, the three-level designer store Bombaim is a hive of activity. Young locals breeze through its centuries-old doors, trying on silks and gowns, admiring the space's bones. Large windows allow ample sunlight to stream through, illuminating the mulmul curtains that fall from the ceilings. Outside, lush tejpatta, or bay leaf, trees grow. The Art Deco grills and the city's signature khorkhoris, or louvered windows, reflect the store's previous life as a turn-of-the-century residence. Bombaim's owner, Richa Kanoi, made a point of preserving its historic splendor. “The launch was more about celebrating the space than the clothes,” she says.

“They’re movable pieces of art,” says Budapest-born, London-based decorator Gergei Erdei of his new collection of hand-painted folding pinewood screens. Part of his Objects of Desires series, the six designs include trompe l’oeil columns, wing-footed mythological figures and interlinked geometric shapes. Erdei found inspiration for his pieces, which are over seven feet tall, in a recent retrospective of the Italian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli’s works at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs and in the lacquered screens of multimedia Art Deco creator Jean Dunand; Pompeii’s crumbling frescoes and ancient mosaics informed the mythological design’s soft, ocher hues, which were achieved through multiple coats of acrylic paint. “I keep coming back to Pompeii in my work,” Erdei says. “I find the layers faded by time so beautiful, like veils of history.”

MG Relations is delighted to announce its newest client, Riad Botanica, a five-suite sanctuary in the heart of Marrakech’s Medina. Owned by Australian and Moroccan couple Angela and Mohamed Mellak, Riad Botanica is a labour of love and a fusion of cultures. Having undergone meticulous renovations from the ground up, the historic 10th-century Riad is now a space that ignites the senses with traditional Moroccan craftsmanship and Australian style. Complete with a rooftop terrace, courtyard, and pool, and defined by its iconic Moroccan and Australian art deco design, Riad Botanica can be hired exclusively for up to twelve guests, or suites can be booked individually, making it the perfect place to retreat from the city buzz of Marrakech and soak up Moroccan hospitality and culture.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Martin, who previously worked in the aluminum industry, and his wife Beverly, both 60, who have been traveling the world since 2021. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

You may not have heard of Juan-Les-Pins, the charming seaside resort town on the French Riviera’s glamorous Cap d’Antibes. But if the brilliant blue waters, picturesque beaches, and megayachts anchored in Millionaire’s Bay aren’t enough of an endorsement to travel to this ultra-luxe destination, just look back a hundred years.

Presiding over Manhattan since 1930, the Empire State Building is as emblematic of New York City as the Statue of Liberty. Observatories are installed on the 86th and 102nd floors but the experience starts at street level where craning your neck up the length of the Art Deco tower is a traveler’s rite of passage. Skip the subway and stay at one of these Manhattan Airbnbs near the Empire State Building.

Palm Beach Cannes, an iconic destination on the French Riviera since the 1920s, is set to reopen during the Cannes Film Festival after undergoing a four-year renovation. The new launch will feature the first-ever waterfront saltwater pool on the Riviera, offering magnificent views of the Bay of Cannes. Additionally, there will be a fitness center, wellness area, luxury boutiques, and a large ballroom.

A renovated hotel restaurant harkens back to a beloved era in Paris, and a century later, it’s both a local gem and a social media star.

Now with its Art Deco furniture, uniformed doormen and glamourous décor, it’s hard to imagine The Beaumont in its previous life as a parking garage built in 1926. Tucked away on Balderton Street, behind London’s Oxford Street (the Selfridge’s end, of course), it was transformed into a hotel in 2014, yet a stay here is reminiscent of a time when flapper girls would be holed up in the bar and dashing gentlemen would be holding court in the lobby.

On Valentine’s Day, even the most elegant New York City hotel dining rooms raise the bar in terms of their culinary offerings.

When your wedding budget stretches into the millions, the possibilities are endless. So it’s no surprise that celebrities often choose to say their ‘I dos’ in exotic locales.

“Creating a new home for Café Boulud has been my focus and priority for the last year,” Chef Daniel Boulud explains. “Given the special place it holds in my heart, I feel very fortunate to be able to bring it back to the Upper East Side and look forward to sharing it with our guests, The restaurant will be a vibrant celebration of my French roots and love for New York.”