You’re the 'World’s Best' Hotel. Now Comes the Hard Part

During my last hours at the beloved Blackberry Farm in eastern Tennessee, honored in this year's Readers' Choice Awards as the number six hotel in the South, I piloted my golf cart past a grassy hillock with a little white dollhouse of a church peeking over the top until I reached a trailhead. From there I plunged into the latticework of hiking paths that crisscross the southern swath of the property. I huffed and puffed up Horse Slide Trail, which is called that for a reason, until I reached Blackberry's boundary with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There was not a soul in sight—just sun-dappled forest, the whir of insects, and me alone with my footsteps and my thoughts.

Oct 2, 2024 • 7 min read

Amtrak is launching a new route between Chicago and Miami this fall that will whisk passengers from the Midwest to the Sunshine State in 47 hours.

Every year, Condé Nast Traveler readers weigh in on their favorite hotels, airlines, cruises, islands, and more in our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Luggage is also among the categories you voted on this year, applauding the brands you trust the most for durable, practical suitcase and bags. After all, no matter the trip—be it a safari, cruise, city escape, or weekend in the woods—you need something to carry your belongings. And for many of us, that same carry-on, duffel bag, or backpack becomes our trusty travel companion for years at a time. Below, find your fellow readers’ favorite luggage brands, plus a few of each brand’s most popular pieces of luggage, should you be looking to add a new roomy weekender or sturdy suitcase to your collection.

I've slept like a queen all over the world.

There’s never a wrong time of year to visit the Berkshires, the mountainous stretch of western Massachusetts located just 140 miles north of New York City. You can thank the fall’s vibrant display of foliage, summer’s Tanglewood music festival that draws crowds from all over the world, and a steady tide of new hotel openings to take advantage of as cozy winter getaways and for ski season. The region also has strong roots as an artists community, with a robust community of galleries, independent boutiques, and museums. And for city dwellers looking to stretch their legs, the Berkshires is also home to scenic hiking trails and winter slopes for every activity and ability level.

Summer vacations to Europe don’t have to mean sea and sand. Fresh water is equally as appealing, and the continent’s most beautiful lake regions are simply stunning year-round. Lake Como’s crystal clear water, dramatic scenery, picturesque villages, and five-star hotels — not to mention A-list celebrity visitors — have contributed to the region’s reputation for being the most romantic (and luxurious) lake in Europe. And while this is very true, Como is breathtaking, across the continent are other bodies of water that deserve attention. From the shores of Lough Corrib in Ireland, where you can stay in an ancient castle, to the limpid turquoise water of Lake Päijänne in Finland, where you can sleep overnight in a floating hotel made entirely of glass, these are the best lakes in Europe for a luxury vacation.

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.

Nowhere in the world embodies humanity’s living history quite like the Bosphorus Straight. Cutting 19 miles through Istanbul and northwest Türkiye, the straight is the only shipping channel connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and, eventually, the Mediterranean. As such, it’s an imperative lifeblood for West Asia and the Caucasus, and throughout human history has carried, celebrated, and cursed some of the most powerful armies the world has ever seen. Indeed, if only these waters could talk.

When most Americans think of cruises, they probably think of island-hopping in the Caribbean or cruising by glaciers in Alaska from afar. That may be appealing for some people, but for others, the idea of being lazy on a ship of thousands of people for a week doesn’t sound like much of a vacation.

In the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, lies Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) with a history that stretches back over 1,300 years. Founded in 705 AD, the hotel is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest hotel in the world.

Sep 22, 2024 • 4 min read