Condé Nast Traveler

["During an Equus Horse to my side. When we\u2019re consistent in matching Experience Sense our behavior to our emotions, horses are more session at Four likely to work with us, she explains. Horses, Seasons Resort Nervousness, self-doubt, more than 56 million years old as a species and Rancho Encantado fear\u2014during equine equipped with sensitive nervous systems, are therapy, our four-legged prey animals designed to scan their environ- friends help us recognize ment for safety. \u201cThey sense what you\u2019re giving the vibes we\u2019re giving off off,\u201d Vette tells me. \u201cAre you scared? Is your mind racing?\u201d Horses uniquely deliver feedback I t\u2019s an early morning in May, and a low desert based on our emotional states, often serving as sun is rising over Purple Sage Ranch, a dusty a mirror for how we make choices, maintain sprawl surrounded by the saguaro-studded relationships, and see ourselves. \u201cThis work is Santa Catalina Mountain foothills. I\u2019ve come for somebody who wants to understand why to meet Lucinda Vette, the head equine facilitator they do what they do,\u201d Vette says, adding that at Miraval Resorts in Tucson, for a session with a the only prerequisite is curiosity. quartet of horses. My mother was supposed to join me, but the side effects of a cancer trial drug Humans have known about the healing power have left her napping in our room. of being around horses since 400 BC, when Hippocrates, the Greek father of medicine, lauded This wasn\u2019t my \ufb01rst time working with horses. its bene\ufb01ts. Today, occupational therapists pre- Over the past few years, I\u2019d visited Wyatt Webb, scribe time with horses to patients with autism Miraval\u2019s recently retired, Oprah-endorsed and cerebral palsy; it\u2019s also been useful for veter- \u201chorse whisperer,\u201d whose classes helped me gain ans with post-traumatic stress disorder. There insights into my self-doubt, and I\u2019d taken advan- isn\u2019t much scienti\ufb01c research around equine tage of other equine offerings at Miraval\u2019s Austin therapy, but several studies out of the University and Berkshires outposts. In 2018, a solo sojourn of Arizona show it can lower blood pressure and brought me to the Equus Experience at Santa heart rates and regulate the nervous system. Fe\u2019s Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado, where I spent time with Dante, a Cavalia horse. These days, as more people are tapping into My sole task was asking him to walk with me the natural world\u2019s healing powers, hotels are without a halter. I learned more about my com- taking note. The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge munication style in those two hours than I had in Resorts Collection, a 3,500-acre ranch in Utah, years of talk therapy. gives guests the chance to work with rescued mustangs and thoroughbreds. In 2023, a new This time, I\u2019d come to equine therapy with overseas program called Retreat and Conquer, anxieties around aging, mortality, and the immi- run by Operation Centaur, a UK-based horse- nent loss of my mom. A typical session starts therapy organization, will offer \ufb01ve-day equine with an expression of intent: why you\u2019ve come, retreats in remote locations, including the what you\u2019re seeking, and, importantly, how you revered Indonesian retreat Nihi Sumba and the carry yourself\u2014what equine facilitators refer to Cotton House on Mustique. as your nonverbal communication with the horse. Despite trying to be present, I can\u2019t focus. Last spring, I visited Zapata Ranch, a remote The horses sense this. Minutes after I greet and immersive Western-style working ranch in them, they walk to the other side of the arena. southern Colorado. My mother had just passed \u201cIt\u2019s hard to be vulnerable in front of others,\u201d away, and I felt a deep calling to ride the majestic Vette says, and gently asks me questions about animals who had given me so many personal how I\u2019m doing. Indeed, as soon as I\u2019m able to insights over the years. It was time to dust myself articulate my feelings, one of the horses returns off and get back in the saddle. kate donnelly COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 49","","","WHY WE TRAVEL \u203a wellness From left: Peeling curry leaves for a cooking class at Kayal Island Retreat in Kerala; a former artist\u2019s residency, Kayal Island Retreat sits on the shores of Lake Vembanad Change of Scenery A timely Ayurvedic journey across the mountains, beaches, and backwaters of Kerala, in southern India, has transformative results E ven in summer\u2019s high heat, Kerala\u2019s terra-cotta soil is bountiful, its the clinic has a minimal, elegant structure built PHOTOGRAPHS: ANA LUI trees heaving with jackfruit, bananas, papayas, cashews, and coconuts. with materials sourced locally; glass panels bring Bougainvillea festoons pathways in a riot of color, from coral and yellow to in warmth and light and views across the valley. magenta, Jaipur pink, and mauve. Here in this Eden, I sought a sort of pandemic self-prescription, \ufb01lled by naturop- My \ufb01rst morning, I woke to birdsong and a athy and slow living. I also planned to delve further into Ayurveda, which I\u2019d turned session to salute the \ufb01ve elements of nature\u2014 to more than a decade ago to cope with the emotional fallout of two physical earth, water, \ufb01re, air, and space. I dipped my feet traumas\u2014severe endometriosis, followed by unsuccessful fertility treatments. in the pool, then walked barefoot on the grass, gazing at the morning sun while doing breath I began my trip at Prakriti Shakti, a naturopathy clinic atop the Panchalimedu hills, work. According to Ayurvedic theory, the \ufb01ve part of the densely forested, mountainous Idukki district. A wellness center for purists, elements are represented in our bodies: Flesh 52 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","","WHY WE TRAVEL \u203a wellness Clockwise from left: Thrissur. After Prakriti Shakti\u2019s restraint, Sitaram Beach felt PHOTOGRAPHS: ANA LUI The writer passes like a maximalist indulgence: Opulent traditional architecture through the main framed a lush garden brimming with coconut palms, orchids, building at Prakriti and medicinal plants, while waves crashed on a nearby beach. Shakti; shallots, garlic, and curry \u201cChanging seasons are better for those who suffer from leaves are among the allergies,\u201d said Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic ingredients used in doctor who is Sitaram\u2019s magnetic founder and chief physician. the cooking lesson at \u201cThe monsoon is better for those who have painful joints Kayal Island Retreat and arthritis because it prepares them for winter.\u201d Just then, I was suffering from nasal allergies, which made it an ideal and bones signify earth, for example, while space time for me. I also have an overactive imagination (thanks to my is our entire length and breadth. And yet we are combined vata and pitta doshas, two of Ayurveda\u2019s mind-body disconnected from these elements even as we types), so I was prescribed treatments to ground my mind. live among them. The \ufb01rst treatment, a four-handed massage, used warm oil. Reconnecting with nature is the primary aim, It was followed by the podikizhi, in which my body was re\ufb02ected even in treatments: In my honey-and- stamped with hot pouches made with powdered herbs, banana-leaf body wrap, I was anointed with and the nabhi vasti, which involved a caldera of \ufb02our being Epsom salts and coconut milk\u2014the former to created around my navel and \ufb01lled with warm oil. Stress in my remove impurities, the latter to moisturize\u2014 shoulders was relieved with an herbal paste sealed with warm then swaddled in banana leaf and encased in leaves. I drifted in and out of sleep, listening to the ocean. cotton so the ingredients could penetrate deeply. My hair was drenched in coconut milk, my face While the treatments helped me to unwind, they also left lathered in wild turmeric and sandalwood. As me emotionally fragile. \u201cThe tapping movements of the I lay out under the bright southern sun, hotter poultices work like Emotional Freedom Technique to help you than a sauna, I felt like a caterpillar in a chrysalis. release suppressed feelings,\u201d explained Devraj. Traditionally, Ayurvedic treatments are best The next day, on the beach, I listened to the stories of administered in changing seasons or monsoons. Girish, a local \ufb01sherman who had lost friends at sea, and But the optimal window really depends on the Balakrishnan and Srikala, the couple responsible for the affliction itself, as I would later learn at Sitaram retreat\u2019s incredible greenery. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have children, so Beach Retreat, in Kerala\u2019s cultural capital of we treat the plants as our babies,\u201d said Balakrishnan, who is said to have kaipunyam, or gifted hands. I felt a lump in my throat and a pang of rec- ognition, touched by how the pair used their pain to create something beautiful. My journey ended in Kerala\u2019s serene backwaters, at Kayal Island Retreat on the island of Kakkathuruthu. Early one morning, I sat on the water- front waiting for the sun, lis- tening to prayers from the nearby temple.At that moment, I understood that \ufb01nding bliss doesn\u2019t have to be complicat- ed. Sometimes it just appears. vasudha rai A similar trip can be organized by Silk Route Escapes; silkrouteescapes.com 54 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","Why are we afraid of therapy? It\u2019s complicated. Here\u2019s some advice from a licensed therapist. betterhelp.com\/condenast","PROMOTION POST 2023 NEWS, UPDATES, AND EVENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER OF C OND\u00c9 NAST TR AVELER WINDJAMMER LANDING, WHERE AN ISLAND THE COVE AT ATLANTIS LUXURY MEETS TRANQUILITY OASIS AWAITS PARADISE ISLAND BAHAMAS Windjammer Landing is an unforgettable Escape to a tropical beachfront paradise The Cove, Atlantis Paradise Island\u2019s luxury hotel, vacation destination, with its fascinating complete with everything you need, including is nestled along a protected cove between two views colored by the exhilarating St. Lucian delicious dining, beachfront bars, and endless lifestyle and hospitality, setting the mood for activities. Here you\u2019ll stay at one resort but play private white sand beaches. The Cove offers 600 your complete relaxation and restoration. at two \u2014 with two connecting resorts on the elegant suites with balconies and floor-to-ceiling It\u2019s the perfect destination for couples, soft white sands of top-ranked St. Pete Beach, ocean views, and impeccable butler service. The honeymooners, families, and any travelers Florida. Whether you\u2019re looking for family fun, adults-only Cove Pool features 20 private beach seeking a beautiful Caribbean setting and a romantic retreat, a group getaway, or anything cabanas with Bahamian-inspired art and design. unparalleled service. Its stunningly designed in between, it\u2019s all here at TradeWinds Island and appointed villas are spread across 60 Resorts. There are so many ways to enjoy island Guests can enjoy gaming at Sea Glass Lounge, acres on one of the most lush islands in the life on our beachfront playground. Cruise the exceptional and world-renowned dining at Fish Caribbean, which brings a Mediterranean coastline on a stand-up paddleboard, plunge by Jose Andres, or shopping at Escape Boutique. character to life in a vivid atmosphere. The down our three-story water slide, lounge by one Visitors staying at The Cove also have access to result: a stunning island retreat with spacious of our nine heated pools, or indulge in a relaxing and secluded villas, five-star amenities, a beachside hammock. Whatever style of getaway Atlantis\u2019 Aquaventure with its various pools, state-of-the-art spa, sparkling swimming Atlantis Casino, pristine beaches, diverse dining, pools, a wide array of entertaining and you have in mind, you\u2019ll find it here. relaxing activities, and an exquisite fusion of spa, golf, and more. EXPLORE MORE AT local and international cuisine. JustLetGo.com\/CNT coveatlantis.com\/cn 888.551.5517 DISCOVER MORE AT 844.608.4544 W I N DJA M M E R-L A N DI NG.COM C N T R AV E L E R .C O M","STORIES & SOUNDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER WOMEN WHO T R AV E L LISTEN AND FOLLOW WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS","","Consider the Gold List the answer to the question our editors get asked more than any other: What are your favorite places to stay? Our 29th annual collection, passionately selected by our international team, reveals which seaside resort we return to every August and the cruise ship that gets everything right. Now all you have to do is pick the experience that\u2019s right for you\u2014and get traveling. For the full Gold List, visit cntraveler.com\/gold-list COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 59","the gold list RAVELLO, ITALY concealed hammocks, and citrus trees fanned beneath the palace PHOTOGRAPHS: CARUSO BELMOND, BEAU-RIVAGE GEN\u00c8VE like giant steps. Wisteria vines dropped petals from the pergolas, Back to outshone by the punch-pink, \ufb01rst-bloom bougainvillea. BELMOND CARUSO We slept in the hotel\u2019s Villa Margherita, designed by Eric Egan. I imagine artists who traveled to Ravello in the early 20th century THE FIRST TIME MY FAMILY WENT TO CARUSO, A BELMOND staying here as they waited for inspiration to strike. One of us HOTEL, which is an 11th-century estate in Ravello at a summit in opened a set of \ufb02oor-to-ceiling windows, exposing a clear sweep the Lattari Mountains that overlooks a 1,000-foot-plus plunge from the coastal slopes of Maiori to Minori, with the chapel-dotted to the Tyrrhenian Sea, my son Henry was almost six months old. uplands of the Lattaris rising in both directions, and the improba- It was late April, and Amal\ufb01\u2019s lemon trees were blossoming. bly empty Mediterranean \ufb01lling in the horizon. It is a view nothing The hotel, an austerely beautiful, scrubbed limestone palace can prepare you for. clinging to the side of a hill, was an appealingly easy escape. We carried cups of rich, not-too-sweet Sfusato Amal\ufb01tano lemonade Last May, my husband, Andrew, and I went back to the same into the grounds. Gardens arranged with lawns, rose borders, half- villa with the cowrie-shell chandelier. We aren\u2019t in the habit of repeating trips, but we both kept bringing up that lemonade. I was seven months pregnant with our second son, and if I had to be benched somewhere with a pack of antacids\u2014well, what a place. We mooched around the pool, an adults-only place in spirit if not by decree, edged on three sides by green hills and by the coastline to the south. Shallow terra-cotta bowls, full of pansies sat along- side huge white umbrellas, wide enough to shade two sun 60 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND Beau-Rivage Palace It\u2019s been more than \ufb01ve years since I last set foot on the grounds of the Swiss grande dame Beau-Rivage, presid- ing over Lake Geneva like some proud Belle \u00c9poque aris- tocrat. But the memory of my suite remains vivid\u2014of my feet on the thick padded carpet, of the fairy-tale terrace where I\u2019d watch the light hit the Alps at dusk, of pressing a single bedside button to bring up the blackout shades before I ordered a fresh carafe of coffee. The interiors were regal and restrained; the staff, many the product of the nearby \u00c9cole H\u00f4teli\u00e8re de Lausanne, were efficient and kind. I spent my days strolling the manicured water- front gardens; at night, after dining on artful plates of sole meuni\u00e8re at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic, I\u2019d retreat into the sleek darkness of the bar, cradling a glass of amaro while watching business- men conduct negotiations beneath Old World tapestries. In some ways, it was all a distraction\u2014a way to waste time until I could politely excuse myself and retire to my room, to step back into the fantasy. One I long to return to. From $510; brp.ch BETSY BLUMENTHAL loungers on the patio or, even better, on the soft lawn dented with the thing I love about ice buckets. On some days we never went farther than the pool- OCEANIA CRUISES\u2019 RIVIERA side restaurant, where we ordered scrape-the-plate paccheri with burst cherry tomatoes, and eggplant Parmesan that came in a At the ship\u2019s phenomenal puddle of bright passata. Culinary Center, I learned how to make the delicious pad Thai Food\u2014and the leisurely eating of it\u2014was the tentpole of our served at the onboard restaurant return to Caruso. We hovered over breakfast for an hour each Red Ginger, which I think of morning, scooping up rosemary omelets and fried tomatoes with as the best souvenir of all.\u201d soldiers of focaccia, tart rounds of caprese al limone, and sfogli- atelle santarosa, my favorite, a shell-shaped pastry \ufb01lled with \u2014JWH raspberries and cream. In the afternoons we would walk into town past the duomo for hazelnut and pistachio cones from Baffone Gelateria Artigianale, and in the evenings we stayed at the hotel\u2014a choice that usually would have smacked of laziness to me, but instead felt decadently unambitious. As I\u2019m writing this, the baby is due in a couple of weeks, and I hope our second trip ends up being the start of something. I hope we\u2019ll return to Caruso as a family of four, and open the windows in that villa, and remember why we keep coming back. From $990; belmond.com jo rodgers COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 61","ADVERTISEMENT INTRODUCING THE NEWEST PREMIER WELLNESS DESTINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Set within the majestic desert landscape of the Greater Palm Springs area, Sensei Porcupine Creek is a rejuvenating escape with a singular, science- driven approach to health and well-being. The transformation begins the moment you Sensei Porcupine Creek arrive at Sensei Porcupine Creek. Set on a sprawling, 230-acre estate in the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains in Rancho Mirage, California, the desert retreat delivers both total seclusion and immersion in the natural environ- ment. Regularly sought out by professional athletes, celebrities, and dignitaries for its unparalleled location and amenities\u2014including a challenging, beautifully sculpted 18-hole golf course, and a world-class tennis facility with courts modeled on those of the nearby Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which hosts the annual BNP Paribas Tournament\u2014the once-private estate is now open exclusively to guests of enriching, highly personalized itineraries Sensei Porcupine Creek, retaining its sense that not only draw on Sensei\u2019s science-based of intimacy with just 22 luxuriously appointed approach to well-being, but also deeply accommodations and the world\u2019s only private integrate the surrounding landscape. In the Nobu restaurant. It\u2019s a spectacular setting for state-of-the-art fitness pavilion, where glass the first true standalone property for the brand, walls invite expansive views of the desert, the whose unparalleled approach to revitalization expert staff employ functional movement tests shifted the standard when it opened Hawaii\u2019s and wearables to monitor guests\u2019 health data first high-end destination wellness retreat, in real time. Sensei-developed thermographic Sensei L\u0101na'i, a Four Seasons Resort, in 2019. technology, meanwhile, allows therapists to provide targeted massages and bodywork in Developed by technology pioneer and Oracle airy treatment rooms that open onto the co-founder Larry Ellison and leading physician spa\u2019s hushed, verdant garden. Inspiring guided and scientist Dr. David Agus, the retreat\u2019s guiding meditations, offered in the shadow of the philosophy, the Sensei Way, emphasizes three mountains, set the day\u2019s intention, and invigorat- core principles: Move, Nourish, and Rest. ing sunrise hikes along a desert ridge trail Informed by a dynamic pre-arrival questionnaire encourage a true reconnection with nature. that assesses their goals, guests work alongside This is the future of wellness: a revitalizing reset Sensei Guides and practitioners\u2014a suite of for both body and mind. trained experts in mindset, nutrition, and exercise physiology\u2014to achieve these tenets through Learn more at sensei.com\/porcupine-creek.","A wellbeing oasis awaits you Rancho Mirage, CA. Introducing SENSEI.COM\/PORCUPINE-CREEK PORCUPINE CREEK 760-254-0841","the gold list CRUISE Seven Seas Splendor All eyes are glued to the instructor, who is passionately demonstrating how to fry tomato fritters to maximum crispness. You follow along and \ufb02ip your own in the ship\u2019s sleek Culinary Arts Kitchen; your reward is a perfect- ly browned \ufb02avor bomb. This is just one little moment, among hundreds, that add up to an unforgettable journey aboard this ultra-luxe all-suite, all-balcony 750-passenger ship, on which even the smallest accommoda- tions feel roomy. Considered touches are everywhere\u2013like the handpicked rose petals used in the facial treat- ments at the spa. There\u2019s always something happening at the Constel- lation Theater\u2014musical revues or cabaret numbers\u2014but the best show in Splendor\u2019s house is late-night star- gazing at the stern end. Seven-night sails from $4,999 per person; rssc.com JANICE WALD HENDERSON SUN, SAND, AND SEA the thing I love about PHOTOGRAPH: JUMBY BAY ISLAND THE SAVOY, London It\u2019s a trinity that never gets old, serving as backdrop for some of the world\u2019s most enchanting hotels. Take the Marbella Club, a heritage property on the The Red Lift, also Andalusian coast that began as a hangout for Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe called the ascending and his friends in the \u201950s. Later it morphed into a sort of a rare\ufb01ed village room\u2014London\u2019s first- anchored by the Med, with a storied thatch-umbrellaed beach club perfect ever electric elevator\u2014 for post-dip glasses of ros\u00e9 (made possible by a fantastic kids\u2019 club). On is a Savoy legend. And Oahu, another legend beckons. Fresh off an 18-month redo, the Halekulani, it continues to make a an oasis of beachfront calm and elegance just off Waikiki\u2019s bustling main bold statement with its strip, transports guests back to Hawaii\u2019s golden era, when vacationers like gold-fronted doors, red Ernest Hemingway would come for sunset daiquiris at the hotel\u2019s bar. If the lacquer interiors, and family is in tow, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, just south of leather bench for two. Charleston, South Carolina, is catnip for little ones with its on-site ice cream In fact, I may have shop, wide Low Country beaches, and numerous children\u2019s activities. Keep ridden it a few times going south to reach the warm waters that surround Jumby Bay Island more than necessary.\u201d (pictured), a 300-acre private refuge that is one of the most exclusive in the Caribbean. A no-cars, no-keys policy brings a feeling of intimacy to this \u2014ARATI MENON kaleidoscopic retreat where emerald-green lizards dart past, tortoises have red legs, and blindingly white sands lead to a dazzling turquoise sea. 64 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","","the gold list RWANDA WATCH HILL, RHODE ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHS: SINGITA, OCEAN HOUSE, RHODE ISLAND, LINE KLEIN Singita Kwitonda Lodge Living the lore at With a mission as bold as its design, Singita Kwitonda OCEAN HOUSE Lodge is the only property abutting Volcanoes National Park. To arrive here is to tumble into the warm embrace IF YOU MOVE IN CERTAIN CIRCLES ON THE EAST COAST, the Ocean of intuitive service. From the nourishing food tucked House will reliably drift into conversation throughout the year. Loyalists\u2014 into your day pack to the hiking gear on standby, all and there are legions of them\u2014will anxiously share notes on how to the thinking is done for you, freeing you up to enjoy the score that Atlantic-facing suite again this summer; \ufb01rst-timers will experience of meeting animals that share 98 percent spend weeks recounting stories of cocktails on the resort\u2019s enormous of your DNA: gorillas. Nature walks are led by conserva- croquet lawn, lined by rocking chairs and with the tease of the ink-blue tionists who explain the value of rewilding; Singita has ocean visible down the hill; a new acquaintance may fondly reference planted more than 250,000 trees and \ufb02owers since summers spent there with grandparents. As such, this enormous yellow opening in 2019. Inside buildings chiseled from volcanic mansion towering like a watchman above a sand-swept Rhode Island rock are soft-edged interiors that champion local crafts; shoreline occupied space in my mind long before I visited. rooms have views of the rugged peaks protruding from the mist of the cloud forest. Equipped with books, art sup- When I \ufb01nally did approach the check-in desk this past spring, it all plies, wood-burning \ufb01replaces, and a heated pool, they\u2019re felt unreasonably familiar: the 69 room keys attached to plump wooden delightfully cocooning, especially during a rainstorm. chains, like prizes to be claimed on the shelf behind the reception desk; From $2,245; singita.com JANE BROUGHTON the antique clock ticking away the tranquil seconds before the high- the thing I love about THE LEELA PALACE BENGALURU, India Out in the gardens, a stream, shaded by dense foliage, gurgles down a mossy stone formation and into a lotus-filled pond. It\u2019s tropical perfection and the most calming spot to return to.\u201d \u2014PRASAD RAMAMURTHY 66 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","season rush. It wasn\u2019t from all the chatter that I\u2019d absorbed over the BOHEMIAN years, but rather from a quality I\u2019ve found increasingly elusive in a RHAPSODIES world moving inexorably toward the contactless, the modern, the new. Since opening its big wooden doors on the remote Watch Hill in 1868, If there were a little black book cataloging the Ocean House has remained resolutely committed to a version of hospi- sort of hotels discreetly whispered about by tality that simply makes people feel good. For all the resort\u2019s plush a certain clan of tanned and stylish wanderers, surroundings, it is the thoughtful, personal, easy service that keeps this all of these beachy bolt-holes would surely be grande dame top of mind year-round. featured. At the end of a shrine-dotted road, down in the deepest Mani, the middle tentacle For me, this meant having a toy cart pull up right next to my toddler as of Greece\u2019s Peloponnese, sits Kyrimai: immacu- we checked in and watching him delightedly rummage through the stash late and indulgent yet retaining the romance before claiming a shiny new ball. It meant being sent slices of cake in the of a place so remote it might have been over- mid-afternoon by the intuitive staff who\u2019d been watching us chase him as grown with brambles a week ago. It\u2019s a maze of he in turn chased that ball around the great lawn. When we weren\u2019t arches and stairways leading to rooms inside shell-collecting on the stripe of beach below, we moved between the pool the stone walls with white-linened beds tucked and our room, with its porthole windows, stacks of books nodding to in the eaves. A little restaurant perches above the area\u2019s nautical and whaling pasts, and a terrace that let us see out as perfectly clear water into which no one can far as New York State. When our son\u2019s nap forced us to miss our lunch resist diving. Nihi Sumba is undeniably a reservation, a trolley loaded with clam chowder, mounds of fries, club schlep: a \ufb02ight to Bali, followed by a turboprop sandwiches, and warm cookies was parked outside our door. And when hop to Sumba island, and then a jeep ride. we mustered the will to dress up one night for dinner, a table opened But as soon as you pass the wooden sign that inside the resort\u2019s members club, the ma\u00eetre d\u2019s wink letting us know that reads \u201cWelcome to the Edge of Wildness,\u201d you we\u2019d somehow made it past an invisible red rope to a place not everyone know you\u2019d happily do it all again\u2014for the view, sees. Staying at Ocean House feels special and effortless, which is a slam- the uncrowded surf, the Sandalwood ponies dunk formula for a vacation you want to repeat year after year. Assuming trundling down the beach at sunrise, and the you can get the room. From $445; oceanhouseri.com erin florio gardens frothy with hot-pink bougainvillea. The \ufb01shing village of Trancoso, in Brazil\u2019s Bahia, isn\u2019t the tourist-free enclave it once was, but Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa (pictured) still feels genuinely part of the community. Made up of 13 art-\ufb01lled casas, the rustic-luxe eco-retreat sits just off the town\u2019s grassy Quadrado, where kids \ufb02ock to play soccer. COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 67","IT\u2019S YOUR HEART THAT TAKES YOU PLACES We make your travels to the world\u2019s most magical destinations possible. But it\u2019s your endless passion for discovery that leads you there. EXQUISITELY CR AF TED CUISINE. CUR ATED TR AVEL EXPERIENCES. SM ALL SHIP LUXURY. CALL 855-OCEANIA (855-623-2642) | VISIT OCEANIACRUISES.COM \/CNT | CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL ADVISOR","","the gold list ICELAND another black timber farmstead on the drive up the valley, the PHOTOGRAPH: OIVIND HAUG 32-guest lodge is a lair of pure-grade hedonism. Everywhere there At DEPLAR are tactile invitations to play, like a shuffleboard table in a cozy FARM, a breath alcove, with its hidden game consoles and movie projector. of fresh air Grown-up comfort music\u2014think Fleetwood Mac\u2014plays gently at all times, creating an atmosphere where frazzled bigwigs can SOME PLACES DEFY, OR MAYBE TRANSCEND, the whole rediscover their inner children, aided by privacy and limit-pushing notion of what a hotel is. Deplar\u2014a turf-roofed former farm on adventures, from heli-skiing in the surrounding mountains to northern Iceland\u2019s Troll Peninsula, where sheep outnumber \ufb02y-\ufb01shing for char in nearby Lake Miklavatn. At times, the luxury people\u2014is one of those. It lingers in the memory as a series of borders on the comical: like wafting from the indoor hot bath sensations: the shuddering tingle of the icy plunge pool after to the steaming outdoor one, when one of the team appears in meditation in a 200-degree sauna; the sight of ephemeral sea the sunken swim-up bar, wondering if we\u2019d like the same negronis spray against the pinkish morning light on a silent sea-kayak trip as last night. The staff seem to be having a blast too. We are on among the seals; the shimmering, blissful half-sleep of a sound horseback when Beda M\u00f6rgeli, a Swiss-born adventure guide, tells bath, in a small candlelit room. This all might sound a touch woo- me, unprompted but very convincingly, \u201cFuck, I love my job.\u201d woo, but Deplar Farm\u2014like its parent company, Eleven , owned by My partner and I stop asking who has stayed here (a winking the skiing- and \ufb01shing-obsessed former Blackstone executive \u201cNo comment\u201d) and how rich or demanding they were, and give Chad Pike\u2014is anything but. Though it almost looks like just into the power of the place. We drive away on the single-track road the same as they probably all do: like happy goose-bumped children, made small and fresh again by the cold, silent valley. From $3,385; elevenexperience.com toby skinner 70 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","THE BROADMOOR An American Masterpiece AWARD-WINNING AMENITIES BOUNDLESS ADVENTURE INFINITE MEETING \u2022 5-Star Spa and Fitness Center \u2022 All NEW Broadmoor Manitou & CONFERENCE SPACE \u2022 2 Championship Golf Courses \u2022 Over 315,000 Square Feet of \u2022 3 Pools, including Seasonal Infinity Pool and Pikes Peak Cog Railway \u2022 5 Tennis Courts \u2022 The Broadmoor Seven Falls Indoor & Outdoor Meeting Space \u2022 3 Pickleball Courts \u2022 The Broadmoor Soaring Adventure \u2022 Convention Center at The Broadmoor \u2022 Falconry Academy at The Broadmoor EXCEPTIONAL DINING & RETAIL \u2022 Hiking featuring Bartolin Hall \u2022 An Abundance of Distinct Restaurants, \u2022 Mountain Biking \u2022 Easy Non-stop Service via Caf\u00e9s and Lounges on Property \u2022 Horseback Riding \u2022 19 Unique Retail Outlets \u2022 Fly Fishing Colorado Springs Airport \u2022 On-Site Bowling Alley \u2022 Estate Collection featuring Cottages, AUTHENTIC, ALL-INCLUSIVE WILDERNESS PROPERTIES Brownstones and the Estate House \u2022 Cloud Camp \u2022 Breathtaking Wedding Venues \u2022 The Ranch at Emerald Valley \u2022 784 On-Site Guest Rooms & Suites \u2022 Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Camp \u2022 The Broadmoor Connection 866-914-7363 1 LAKE AVENUE \u2022 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80906 BROADMOOR.COM","the gold list SOUTH AFRICA A homecoming at BABYLONSTOREN BABYLONSTOREN\u2019S GREATEST TRUMP CARD? It doesn\u2019t feel 13 little Cape Dutch farm workers\u2019 cottages beside the garden, PHOTOGRAPHS: CROOKES & JACKSON, CHRIS SCHALKX like a hotel. You reach it by driving off the dusty cape roads through each with a modernist glass \u201cbox\u201d kitchen in which guests could vines and fruit trees. Tractors trundle by, laden with grapes and cook fresh farm ingredients to enjoy by the \ufb01re in the spacious and peaches. The restaurant is in an old cowshed. Ducks waddle past. bright contemporary interiors. Next, Roos converted the barns A donkey puts out its nose for children to pat. It\u2019s a place where you and stables to add characterful guest spaces. In the past few years, instantly feel at home (albeit one surrounded by the towering the creative hotelier has added a smattering of equally charming Simonsberg Mountains, rolling vineyards, and miles of fragrant cottages among the fynbos, away from the public areas and sur- indigenous fynbos shrubland). This is in large part because the rounded by native landscaping, the better for admiring the rugged 500-acre 17th-century Cape Dutch estate is still an actual home\u2014 mountainscapes. I\u2019ve been \ufb01ve times, and each time I return, belonging to Karen Roos, the former editor of South African Elle there\u2019s something fresh and chic to explore: a farm shop stocked Decoration, who spent years creating an eight-acre Patrice Taravella- with tempting local cheese and Cape gooseberry jams; a bakery, designed formal garden containing more than 300 varieties of which at night is transformed into a wood-\ufb01red-pizza restaurant; medicinal and edible plants, and then wanted to share it with others. and, most recently, a wine cellar and museum. Having spent her life conceiving elegant new spaces, Roos You can take a zippy golf cart from your cottage down to the constantly changes things up. Babylonstoren opened in 2010 with public areas and walk in the sprawling gardens, with their chicken 72 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","TEL AVIV The Jaffa A single picture inspired my \ufb01rst trip to Tel Aviv. It wasn\u2019t a shot of the boardwalk heaving with bronzed roller skaters, nor of those iconic white Bauhaus buildings. It was of The Chapel lounge at The Jaffa, a Luxury Collec- tion Hotel\u2014a former convent that British designer John Pawson turned into an anachronistic masterpiece in 2018. It brilliantly melds the city\u2019s past with its turbo-powered present and is more arresting in person: the powder-blue ceilings, the altar turned marble-clad bar. This old-meets- new formula infuses the hotel\u2019s other spaces too, like the colonnaded walkways around the courtyard, where the deli Golda\u2019s serves bagels and lox. It\u2019s all an apt analogy for the rapid change happening outside the lobby, where the historic enclave of Jaffa, south of downtown Tel Aviv, has become one of Israel\u2019s most envelope-pushing hot spots. From $650; marriott.com CHRIS SCHALKX runs and beehives and rose-scented paths. Or you can have brunch, the thing I love about VIKING OCTANTIS or a long, lazy lunch, in the Greenhouse or Babel restaurant, then have a hammam and massage in the recently added spa. Or you can There are few travel experiences do as I did on my last stay and retreat into nature, quietly \ufb01shing that rival sitting in a steaming and kayaking on small dams, cycling amid fynbos in the hills, and hot tub as Antarctic air pricks lounging beside the new pool and hot tub, surrounded by rock your skin, with the glaciers gardens. Then, after a glass of wine at sunset, hang out in your looming just 100 feet away and a light-\ufb01lled, whitewashed cottage, cooking just-picked produce in silence broken only by the splash your kitchen, listening to music and reading by the \ufb01re on Italian of gentoo penguins paddling past.\u201d linen\u2013clad sofas, and soaking in a deep bathtub fragranced with fresh herbs before a nightcap on the little veranda, the air thick \u2014MEGAN SPURRELL with silence and lit by the moon and Milky Way. Babylonstoren paved the way for cool farm stays, but few of its successors can come close to matching the original. From $525; babylonstoren.com lisa grainger COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 73","the gold list the thing I love about PHOTOGRAPH: CHRIS SCHALKX THE MARK, New York City MALAYSIA At night, in bed, I THE DATAI dream about The Mark\u2019s LANGKAWI hot-dog cart, parked like a spiffed-up The Datai\u2019s most frequent guest has clocked more Sabrett stand under a than 50 visits since the hotel\u2019s opening in 1993. black-and-white Though my own tally isn\u2019t nearly as high, I feel a umbrella outside the similar affinity for this island classic every time hotel. Jean-Georges I descend its zigzagging staircase to the beach. Vongerichten did the It\u2019s the unfussy atmosphere that gets me. Kerry menu. Top a hot dog Hill\u2019s understated, tropical-chic design remains with his kimchi relish timeless, even after French architect Didier Lefort and you\u2019ll never reach zhuzhed up the teakwood-accented rooms with for mustard again.\u201d design in\ufb02uences from the area, including brass inspired by Malay warrior shields and specially \u2013ERIN FLORIO designed daybeds and stools. The indoor-outdoor spa never fails to impress, and the new sustainabil- CRUISE ity center, where I made soap from kitchen scraps, is a blast. But it\u2019s the simplest joys I return for, like Seabourn watching hornbills swoop past my suite\u2019s patio, Odyssey hearing langurs ruffle the foliage overhead, and joining the early-morning rain-forest expeditions. Take it from me: After a week of From $530; thedatai.com CHRIS SCHALKX white-glove service, spacious marble bathtubs, and on-demand in-suite 74 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 caviar and Champagne, it will be hard to leave this 11-deck liner behind. But even though it has all the trappings of extreme luxury, the ship doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously. Just head to the marina on deck 2, where kayaks, inner tubes, and banana boats beckon when the ship anchors for a breezy afternoon between Caribbean ports. In Roseau, Dominica, be sure to follow my lead and sign up for the Seven Waterfalls Canyoning afternoon. Back on board, The Grill by Thomas Keller reaches the height of glamour with its table- side Caesar salad. But my personal favorite spot is the hidden hot tub at the bow. The views across the cerule- an blues won\u2019t disappoint. Seven-day sailings from $3,500 per person; seabourn.com MADISON FLAGER","&DWKD\\\\\u00033DFL\u01ae\u0003F\u0003$LUZD\\\\V\u0003\/LPLWHG Delight in an elevated travel experience to the best hotels in Asia Voted Top-10 Best International Airlines Conde Nast Traveler Readers\u2019 Choice Awards 2022 Flights Hotels Credit Cards FDWKD\\\\SDFL\u01ae\u0003F\u0011FRP","the gold list LAKE COMO, ITALY CRUISE PHOTOGRAPHS: KASIA GATKOWSKA, THE INGALLS, CHASE DANIEL Grand Hotel Tremezzo Discoveryon the SILVER ORIGIN In an increasingly crowded Italian hospitality scene, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, which has been family-owned SQUALLS ON SAN CRIST\u00d3BAL, the easternmost island in the Gal\u00e1pa- since it opened in 1910, has a charm that most of its suc- gos, meant my fellow guests and I couldn\u2019t reach the Silver Origin until cessors can only dream of. Approaching the Liberty-style dusk, after a full day of travel that had begun in Quito. By then, the crisp building that overlooks Lake Como feels like wandering white lines of the ship\u2019s eight decks had transformed into a mere frame onto the set of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a sensation for the windows\u2019 re\ufb02ected drama of the cloud-\ufb02ecked sunset over calm that grows once you\u2019re inside the formal lobby, with its Paci\ufb01c waters. It looked like a sanctuary, and that\u2019s what it proved to be, sweeping red-carpet staircase and gilt-framed mirrors. unfailingly, throughout our weeklong voyage. But the hotel still feels intimate thanks to its smaller cozy spaces, like a cocooning spa with Santa Maria Novella Returning from an adventure among the blue-footed boobies and sea products and tucked-away bars and corner banquettes lions, we would be greeted with a smile from Juan Altamirano, the hotel in the restaurant. There\u2019s also a covetable shop with director, and a drink that always seemed to be what we needed right brands like Chez Dede, a beautiful vintage wood boat then: a perfect hot chocolate or a fragrant canelazo, a traditional drink for lake excursions, and the \ufb02oating pool sitting on the from the Ecuadoran Highlands made with cinnamon and cloves. Once lake\u2014cinematic grandeur incarnate with its orange- aboard, we found an avowedly unostentatious style of luxury: a com- and-white umbrellas and chic custom loungers. fortably expensive atmosphere of low-slung seating and a palette of From $743; grandhoteltremezzo.com ONDINE COHANE beige and taupe and cream, with lots of brassy accents; generous deck the thing I love about SANTA MARINA, A LUXURY COLLECTION RESORT, Mykonos, Greece Sipping a chilled glass of Assyrtiko and paddling the calm waves at the hotel\u2019s beach club as the yachts go by is the ultimate respite from the partying crowds.\u201d \u2014SHANNON MCMAHON 76 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","SHELTERS FROM THE STORM There are city hotels, and then there are urban oases, which provide everything you need in the heart of it all. Take Jumeirah Al Qasr, part of a compound that includes more than 40 restaurants and bars, and loads of Arabian \ufb02air like hammam-style bathrooms, with the Dubai skyline visible wherever you go. In a different desert 8,000 miles west, the sleek NoMad Las Vegas has one of the sexiest cocktail bars on The Strip, all velvet and dim lights. The 293 restrained rooms and suites have Carrara marble and Bellino linens. The design is slightly more zhuzhed up at Auberge\u2019s Commodore Perry Estate (pictured), where the legendary Ken Fulks transformed a Texas mansion into a whimsical palace of patterned wallpapers and local antiques across 10 acres, just a stone\u2019s throw from central Austin. space for leisurely alfresco lunches; 51 cozy suites, each of which the thing I love about comes with a balcony and a butler; a hardworking little gym and a AMANSARA, Siem Reap, Cambodia spa with a terri\ufb01c masseuse; a stargazing platform that is also a prime vantage point for those epic Gal\u00e1pagos sunsets, not to Built in 1962, it\u2019s a masterpiece mention the occasional dolphin sighting or distant lava \ufb02ow. of New Khmer architecture, low-slung and curvy. The lovely What the Silver Origin never does is divert guests\u2019 attention from modernist design offers a rare the true star of the show: the Gal\u00e1pagos themselves. Perhaps its window onto the joyful, culturally greatest asset is its deeply knowledgeable, deeply passionate vibrant moment between Cambodia\u2019s expedition guides, who take you onto these strange and wonderful independence and civil war.\u201d islands via the Zodiacs\u2014always using a sailor\u2019s grip!\u2014to share their expertise about the archipelago\u2019s creatures, landscape, \u2014REBECCA MISNER ecology, and history. Back on board, after the day\u2019s adventures are done, they dress up before delivering surprisingly engaging lec- tures about the islands, accompanied by cocktails and addictive bar snacks. Then it\u2019s off to dinner, perhaps a soak in the hot tub on an upper deck, a group sing-along with the piano player, and bed, before another island experience the next day. Throughout it all, the ship grounds its guests, never seeking to be an end in itself but rather a lens through which to view and understand one of the most extraordinary places on Earth. Seven-day sailings from $10,750 per person; silversea.com jesse ashlock COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 77","the gold list BUENOS AIRES into the heart of JARD\u00cdN ESCONDIDO BUENOS AIRES IS A LIVELY TANGLE of fantastic restaurants and Four rooms (So\ufb01a and Ellie, and the Francis and Roman suites) PHOTOGRAPHS: JARD\u00cdN ESCONDIDO, KATHY VAN DULLEMEN world-class museums\u2014but I feel truly connected to the soul of the retain the name of their former Coppola-family occupants. Besides city when someone I barely know offers me a sip of their mat\u00e9, or adding star appeal, this Hollywood history turns every guest into a when I spy glasses of red wine dangling loosely from gesturing member of the extended Coppola family. hands on the balconies of Art Nouveau buildings, precipitously close to being dropped to the sidewalk below. Jard\u00edn Escondido The candy-apple-red home, ensnared in foliage, is a big-city manages to capture that rare balance of cosmopolitan chic and hideout with wine-country \ufb02avor: Think terra-cotta tiles, thick small-town coziness\u2014all in a seven-bedroom hotel in leafy wool blankets, and colorful patterned throw pillows, an effortless Palermo Soho. Perhaps it\u2019s because the property was originally not aesthetic that extends to every room. There\u2019s no traditional lobby a hotel at all but the private home of director Francis Ford Coppola. but a foyer and a living room with plush couches and Coppola\u2019s He bought the place while in Argentina working on his 2009 \ufb01lm \ufb01lm collection. In the courtyard, a small emerald-toned pool is Tetro and never fully left: Even since he converted it into a member hugged by a tangle of elephant\u2019s ears and ferns. Nearby, a small of The Family Coppola Hideaways portfolio, staffers say, he still staircase leads up to the garden terrace, draped in trellis heavy returns when he needs a place to write (and a taste of Malbec). with vines and open for guests at all hours. There you can while away the hours sipping wines selected from the house bar by an 78 COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023","the thing I love about LA MAMOUNIA MARRAKECH Upon arrival, you\u2019re greeted with a silver plate of dates and a cup of almond milk mixed with orange- blossom water. The tiny ritual of eating and drinking delivers you into the enchanted world of the hotel and Marrakech beyond.\u201d \u2014JA on-call sommelier, or reading a book snagged from the main house. TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA The personalized attention that guests at Jard\u00edn Escondido Pumphouse Point receive is rare. Each morning, herbs were picked from the garden around me to top my eggs. When the team noticed my love of Cradle Mountain\u2013Lake St. Clair National Park protects mat\u00e9, they began presenting me with a thermos every morning to some of the rarest forest on Earth, dating from the epoch take out into the city, a calming ritual I soon yearned for after before Tasmania drifted away from the Australian main- checking out. When guests buy out the hotel, they can request land. On the lake\u2019s edge, connected to land by an exposed services like calling in a master barbecuer so they can host their 780-foot \ufb02ume jetty, sits this hotel. Most of its 19 rooms own parilla on the backyard grill. There is no on-site restaurant, and suites, which have low-key interiors with industrial- no spa, and no gym\u2014but that\u2019s what makes Jard\u00edn Escondido style lighting and \ufb01xtures, are located in the three-story special. Here, luxury is soft-spoken and demonstrated in the Pumphouse. My pick of the suites is The Retreat, a very quality of service. Every stay feels like a visit to a fabulous friend\u2019s private love shack featuring a plethora of Tasmanian home in one of the world\u2019s most culture-rich cities. From $288; ceramics. The meditation and yoga offerings inside a new thefamilycoppolahideaways.com megan spurrell glass- and wood-lined pod help tamp down the urge to use the Wi-Fi, as do the forest trails and rowboats that guests can take out to spot platypuses; you can often see wallabies from the breakfast room. After a brisk hike, I love cozying up to a blazing \ufb01re in the Pumphouse lounge, raiding the honesty bar stocked with hard-to-source Tasmanian wines, and watching the weather roll in. From $360; pumphousepoint.com.au HELEN ANDERSON COND\u00c9 NAST TRAVELER JANUARY\/FEBRUARY 2023 79","","Hot spring\u2013fed pools at the Ojo Caliente spa, midpoint between Santa Fe and Taos. Opposite: The snowy mountainscape around Ghost Ranch, the site of Georgia O\u2019Keeffe\u2019s former home and studio, located about 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe In winter, northern New Mexico\u2019s stark, soul-piercing beauty is on full display. Candice Rainey traverses the storied region, which has attracted generations of artists, and \ufb01nds it\u2019s still a hotbed of creativity\u2014as well as a great place to ski Photographs by Jack Johns 81","IT DOESN\u2018T ADD UP, proud morning shine high up over the deserts of COSMICALLY SPEAKING. Santa Fe something stood still in my soul.\u201d Yeah, I\u2019m not touching D. H. Lawrence. That\u2019s the only way I can describe the insane nature that came at me from all directions as I hiked with my family on a near-empty, pi\u00f1on-lined trail in Northern New Mexico\u2019s seemingly limitless land- northern New Mexico. One moment we were staring at the snowy barbed peaks scape is the kind that prompts mere mortals to ask of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range under a searingly blue sky; the next, our the big questions. This has made it a magnet for hiking guide Karen, a 30-something savant of the state\u2019s native fauna who writers and artists, perhaps most famously Georgia managed to make one of those wide-brim hats with a chin cord look cool, was O\u2019Keeffe, not to mention Agnes Martin, N. Scott pointing out some other topographic wonder. \u201cThere\u2019s the Rio Grande, and over Momaday, Denise Ch\u00e1vez, Willa Cather, Julia there is the Santa Fe National Forest. If you look west, you\u2019ll see the Valles Cameron, Judy Chicago, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer Caldera.\u201d The caldera is a 13-mile-wide meadow, all that\u2019s left of a massive (and this is the abbreviated list). Even now\u2014maybe volcanic eruption that took place 1.25 million years ago. The verdant depression especially now, as people rethink their priorities and stands in stark contrast to the otherworldly high desert surrounding it. work becomes more \ufb02exible\u2014the region is luring young creatives from Austin, LA, New York. The All to say, words fail. Well, for me anyway. The problem with trying to say fashion designer Raquel Allegra recently renovated anything about the region\u2019s beckoning sunlight, fathomless desert, and All. That. her dream home outside Taos, which she calls Many Sky is that so many artists have already done so. \u201cThe moment I saw the brilliant, Feathers Ranch and rents out on Airbnb when she\u2019s not using it. Jay and Alison Carroll, founders of the Joshua Tree\u2013based lifestyle brand Wonder Valley, bought and updated Santa Fe\u2019s El Rey Court, an 82","From far left: 86-room Pueblo Revival hideaway that opened in The word culture gets thrown around a lot when Textures on the 1936, installing a record player in the lobby and people describe Santa Fe. One reason is that it\u2019s patio at the draping Navajo blankets over wooden furniture by the rare American city in which you can feel the Inn of the Five artist Dan John Anderson. presence of centuries of human history\u2014\ufb01rst the Graces hotel, Pueblo people, who inhabited the area a millennium in historic Northern New Mexico has had a cool factor for or two ago, and later the Spanish, who moved in downtown Santa Fe; generations, though. A newer reason to visit is the during the early 17th century. This characteristic sun and shadow ski scene, which has none of the lift lines and traffic has led to a second aspect of Santa Fe culture: an at Taos Ski jams of Colorado or Utah. My idea for this trip was astonishing number of museums for a city of its size. Valley; at Paloma to pack up all of the family ski gear and head out for in Santa Fe, a week with my husband, Chris, and my daughter, On our \ufb01rst day we are blessed with a foot of fresh a Oaxacan Emma. We\u2019d start with a few days in Santa Fe, snow, which \ufb02oats like a souffl\u00e9 on our mud-brick Negroni and a hitting the slopes outside town and feeding our deck. We\u2019re supposed to head to Site Santa Fe, slice of guava- souls with art when our legs couldn\u2019t take it a nonprofit contemporary-arts space currently pi\u00f1on marzipan anymore. Then we\u2019d make the pilgrimage to Taos exhibiting large-scale installations by Helen Pash- tart with Ski Valley, a traditionalist\u2019s mountain that\u2019s had a gian. But the day\u2019s plans are quickly rearranged on guava sorbet recent facelift but managed to hang on to its com- account of powder. We head to Ski Santa Fe, a munal magic. We\u2019d also dip into Taos town proper, still-rugged locals\u2019 resort a half hour from town. where longtime resident Dennis Hopper famously Once you start making turns around this basin\u2019s invited Hollywood pals like Jack Nicholson to hang snow-tipped pines in that ubiquitous New Mexico out at his ranch and do, well, drugs. sun, you can\u2019t believe the place isn\u2019t more crowded. 83","\u201cMom, let\u2019s rip Muerte again,\u201d Emma shouts as The 21,000-acre Ghost she jump-turns in the feathery snow. Retirees living Ranch currently their best life, skiing on a Tuesday, some with ciga- operates as a retreat rettes dangling from their lips, make up the majority and education center of other skiers. Many know one another and congre- gate at Totemoff\u2019s Bar and Grill, a mid-mountain cafeteria that feels unchanged since the \u201980s. There\u2019s even Tram Car Bar, where all-day-apr\u00e8s types can keep the hot toddies coming without having to stand in line inside. \u201cIf we\u2019re not careful, we\u2019ll stay here all day,\u201d says Chris, grinning like an idiot between sips of cold draft beer. I wonder if museum-hopping is off the table today, and also whether I care. When the condi- tions of happiness\u2014heaps of snow, all that profound sunshine, warming cocktails\u2014are so irrefutably present, it seems karmically rude to deny them. The next morning, my daughter and husband abandon me at the last minute to return to the ski resort. I opt to do what we were supposed to do yesterday. To be honest, I\u2019m giddy at the prospect of seeing art all day without hearing, \u201cCool. How much longer?\u201d Most tourists start their art pilgrimage at Canyon Road, a half-mile, gallery-lined stretch of adobe buildings dating back to the 1700s. Those who prefer their art interactive and Instagrammable might instead head to Meow Wolf, a trippy perfor- mative installation birthed by a local artist collective in partnership with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, another notable Santa Fe resident. But I start at Site Santa Fe, an intimate contempo- rary-art space with global cred, to see the hard-to- come-by work of Pashgian, the most prominent female member of the 1960s Light and Space move- ment. I sit on a bench contemplating a hulking circular lens, a sculptural installation that brightens and dims, rewiring my brain a bit. \u201cIs that thing \ufb02oating?\u201d I ask myself before getting up to wander through 12 glowing columns. \u201cThe biggest misconception is that we are a tourist town,\u201d Louis Grachos, executive director of Site, tells me. \u201cThere is a very generous and sup- portive community in Santa Fe that artists have taken note of.\u201d He describes an exhibit he\u2019s working on with New York\u2013based Choctaw-Cherokee multi- disciplinary artist Jeffrey Gibson, which will include a performance piece and a mural. Santa Fe\u2019s reputa- tion as a bastion of historical and contemporary art is a draw for artists like Gibson seeking proximity to like-minded creators and a curious audience. Another fulcrum of this community is IAIA 84","85","From left: Ceramicist Kimmy Rohrs in her Santa Fe studio Whiskey & Clay; the contemporary-art space Site Santa Fe Opposite: A fire keeps things cozy at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi; the first glimpse of the mountains on the road from Santa Fe to Taos Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), a and Millicent Rogers. We spend the morning at the Agnes Martin Gallery at the downtown institution linked to The Institute of Harwood Museum of Art. Before her death, Martin, another Taos local, would American Indian Arts. As I stroll the hallways, visit frequently, sitting on benches made by fellow artist Donald Judd. Afterward, scoping out works like Sitting Bull and Einstein, a we scoop up chocolate bars at Chokola Bean To Bar for breakfast (we\u2019re on 1990 etching by the late Ojibwa printmaker Carl vacation) and make for the mountain. Beam, I meet Solomon Enos, an artist from Hawaii. He\u2019s saying hi to everyone from atop a ladder where I\u2019ve heard plenty about Taos Ski Valley\u2019s technically challenging terrain, the epic he is painting a sweeping mural, unselfconsciously snowstorms that have dumped 300-plus inches so far this season, and the warning doing what he loves. It makes me think of something signs plastered everywhere blaring that if you can\u2019t \u201cself-arrest\u201d\u2014i.e., stop\u2014don\u2019t the American visual artist Corita Kent, also known come around these parts. Founded in the 1950s by Ernie and Rhoda Blake, who as Sister Mary Corita, once said about making art: lived out of a camper at the beginning, Taos has always been known as an \u201cThe only rule is work.\u201d expert\u2019s-expert resort. Still, like many independent resorts, it was starting to show its age when hedge-fund manager Louis Bacon bought it from the Blake family in We head out in the dark to Taos Ski Valley, about a 2014. He invested $300 million in a much-needed facelift, upgrading the two-and-half-hour drive northwest. Everyone in the snow-making capabilities, thoughtfully expanding the terrain to make it more car is eager to get on the mountain, but I make an accessible for beginners and intermediate skiers, and introducing La Gondolita, executive decision to stop in Taos proper, an artsy which takes families to the ski school. \u201cOur mantra is better, not bigger.\u201d says town with its own unreal inventory of current and David Norden, Taos Ski Valley\u2019s chief executive officer, who meets me in a plush former residents, including Hopper, Julia Roberts, log cabin at the base of the resort. \u201cWe\u2019ve undergone a major revitalization, but we did it while maintaining the soul of the sport and of this place.\u201d 86","Norden explains how the iconic resort became the \ufb01rst in North America to go through the pains- taking process of becoming a certi\ufb01ed B Corp, a designation shared with other purpose-driven brands like Aesop and Patagonia. The new chairlifts and snow-making guns run entirely on solar power; Taos Ski Valley even has an electric snow cat. For its efforts, the resort earned a coveted CarbonNeutral\u00ae certi\ufb01cation in 2022. As Norden walks me over to a giant map of the property, he asks me if I like the steeps. \u201cYes,\u201d I reply. \u201cYes, I do.\u201d He shows me a few favorite hikes (where you throw your skis on your shoulders and hoof it to \u201cearn your turns\u201d) and \ufb01nally points to Kachina Peak. \u201cHave you been here?\u201d he asks. \u201cThat\u2019s de\ufb01nitely where you need to spend some time today.\u201d It used to take 45 minutes to hike up to Kachina Peak, the mountain\u2019s summit. From there, on any of the 300 days of sunshine that this area receives, you can clearly see the ancient Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site still inhabited by the Red Willow people that was, prior to COVID-19, open to visi- tors. In 2014, the resort installed a lift to the peak, making it feasible to lap one of the most dramatic vertical runs in the country. Cranky traditionalists didn\u2019t love it, but I myself am not one of those and gladly sidestep up toward the lift with Emma. Skiing Kachina is something we never would have done together, no matter how many peanut-butter M&Ms I tried to bribe her with, had we been faced with a crushing hike. We unload from the lift and look down, gripping our edges well above the treeline, giving us a straight shot of\u2026all of New Mexico? That\u2019s how high up we felt. The word exposed comes to mind. \u201cAre you ready?\u201d I ask. I think Emma nods. We hit the death moguls \ufb01rst because they are everywhere\u2014a trail of white dust \ufb02oating behind us. Then we skate down an open \ufb01eld, the snow softening up. We pick up speed, turning sharply, fueled by the kind of dopa- mine rush that can come only from scary fun. We make a few trips after that\u2014up and down, up and down. That kind of unfettered access to speed is addictive. By around one o\u2019clock we feel like we\u2019ve run a marathon and are in need of \ufb02uids. We\u2019re about to head to the Bavarian, which is exactly what it sounds like, a German-style beer hall that trades in steins and brats. \u201cOne more time?\u201d my daughter asks, as if she realizes, too, that this kind of rush is very much a \u201chere and now\u201d opportunity. \u201cJust one more,\u201d I say. But who are we kidding? T 87","NORTHERN NEW MEXICO IN WINTER SANTA FE Clockwise from top left: CHECK IN WHERE TO EAT WHAT TO SEE Morning light at El Rey Court hotel, Rosewood Inn Dolina Cafe The Georgia on old Route 66, about four miles of the Anasazi & Bakery O\u2019Keeffe Museum, outside downtown Santa Fe; The rare hotel that\u2019s Locals line up for the Site Santa Fe, the a refurbished water tower in the in the middle of \ufb02aky croissants and IAIA Museum city\u2019s artsy Railyard District; everything but isn\u2019t at delicate apple-walnut of Contemporary a curated selection of clothes, all touristy. Everything strudel, not to mention Native Arts, and the textiles, and art at Santa Fe Vintage feels authentic strong espresso gallery strip known as because it is, includ- that will gas you up Canyon Road are all ing the beamed viga for a day of museum- musts for art lovers. ceilings, kiva \ufb01replac- hopping or skiing, Make time for the es in every room, at this Eastern Alexander Girard col- and antique Navajo European\u2013in\ufb02ected lection (he was one rugs throughout. bakery. of the most in\ufb02uential textile designers of Bishop\u2019s Lodge, Cafe Pasquals the 20th century) Auberge Resorts They\u2019ve been doing at the Museum of Collection the local, sustainable International Folk This newly renovated thing here for 44 Art, and pop into century-old resort years in a split-level Shiprock Santa Fe, sits on some serious dining room with which specializes acreage, backing vintage Mexican tile in Navajo art and right up against the everywhere. Breakfast textiles. Santa Fe National is served until 3 p.m. Forest. It\u2019s only about (it\u2019s that good). Two WHERE TO SHOP a 15-minute drive to words: corn pancakes. Sub Rosa Mercantile Santa Fe, if you can stocks souvenirs tear yourself away Paloma with soul, like oracle from the outdoor \ufb01re- You\u2019d still come, even decks, ceramics, and pits and stargazing. if the Mexican food candles to ward weren\u2019t so unthink- off bad vibes. Stellar Ten Thousand ably good, to sip a silver jewelry can be Waves Tradicional\u2014mezcal, found at the Palace This Japanese- orange juice, cinna- of the Governors, inspired onsen is one mon tincture, and made by Native of those places you hibiscus-infused artists who set up book \ufb01rst, then plan Grand Marnier. Fair shop on the porch the rest of the trip warning: You will everyday. At Good around. Soak among never want to eat Folk there are locally the pi\u00f1on pines in store-bought tortillas made wood carvings one of several private after trying the blue and paintings. hot tubs, then keep ones here, made by the ryokan-themed hand every morning. night going by eating dinner at its restau- rant, Izanami. 88","TAOS CHECK IN WHERE TO EAT OFF THE SLOPES Taose\u00f1os artists on The Blake at Mucho Gusto Donuts When you need a the wrappers; they Taos Ski Valley Grab a dozen hand- break, take the make great gifts if If your plan while in made, powdered- 30-minute drive to they make it home. Taos is mostly to ski, sugar mini doughnuts Taos plaza, where For dinner, make you can\u2019t beat this at this little A-frame you\u2019ll \ufb01nd the Agnes a reservation at Euro-inspired slope- with outdoor seating Martin Gallery at The Love Apple, side lodge with next to La Gondolita. the Harwood housed in the on-call \u201cHausmeis- Museum of Art, the 154-year-old former ters\u201d who attend to The Bavarian second-oldest art Placitas Chapel, whatever you need The problem with this institution in the state. which focuses on via text; a saltwater old-world mid-moun- Be sure to stop at local, organic dishes pool; and \ufb02oor- tain spot at the base Chokola Bean like tamales and to-ceiling archival of Lift 4 is that once To Bar, which you\u2019ll Oaxacan-style mole. ski photos by you sit down in the likely leave carrying Dick Durrance. sunshine with a beer armfuls of their stein in one hand and small- batch bars that a bratwurst in the spotlight the work of other, chances of your getting back out are slim to none. 89","BACK AT THE TABLE A buzz has returned to Barcelona, percolating through progressive eateries and stylish boutiques in the city\u2019s emerging enclaves. Paul Richardson goes exploring Photographs by Maureen M. Evans 90","Berbena, chef Carlos P\u00e9rez de Rozas\u2019s simple but sophisticated 24-seat spot in the Gr\u00e0cia district Opposite page: Creative, contemporary Catalan fare at Deliri","bar-ce- -na ... The word has a natural lilt, a melody that builds to a pitch and gently subsides like a wavelet breaking on a Mediterranean shore. At melancholy moments, when skies are gray and the mood is glum, I murmur the word to myself and a tiny charge of dopamine \ufb01res inside my brain. I \ufb01rst fell for Barcelona as a teenage backpacker in the 1980s, when this was still a rough-and-tumble town, a harbor city that smelled of \ufb01sh and bad plumbing. But then came the Olympic Games\u201431 years ago, almost the total of my subsequent life in Spain\u2014and a process of urban transformation so sweeping and so successful (a cleaned-up water- front, downtown neighborhoods brought back from decrepitude), it made the city the envy of the world. The times since have felt like golden years: Gaud\u00ed and modernista masterpieces revealed and restored; a tree-lined avenue in the once-sleazy Raval to rival the famous Ramblas; a creative food scene; and an ever-expanding set of boutique hotels, each new entry more impressive than the one before. And now here I am again, strolling down the Ramblas in the spring sunshine, feeling as if I\u2019ve never been away\u2014and almost as if the pandemic never happened. I recognize in my fellow strollers 92","the particular rhythm of Barcelona walking, unhur- And post-COVID lockdowns, the city is already up Above, from left: ried but purposeful. I\u2019m reminded that here, even on its feet\u2014as I soon discover in Poblenou, the Chef Jordi Vil\u00e0 more than in most cosmopolitan cities, it pays to former light-industrial quarter behind Bogatell of Alkimia; look both downward, at the sidewalks with their Beach, where I\u2019m meeting up with Brian Gallagher. poolside cabanas curious and elegant designs, and upward at the An architecture graduate from Dublin, Gallagher on the rooftop watery blue sky, which curves to meet the dusky- settled in Barcelona in 2009 and now runs Barcelona of The Hoxton, green hills and the rooftops of buildings adorned Design Tours, a bespoke tour company specializing Poblenou with whimsical turrets and Art Nouveau fripperies. in showing\u2014as the name implies\u2014design-forward parts of the city, among them the up-and-coming Opposite, Turning off the main drag into the dark streets of district of Poblenou. We stand by the gherkin-shaped from left: the old town, however, I \ufb01nd that memory no longer Torre Gl\u00f2ries, a towering, kaleidoscopic skyscraper The undulating serves. This morning, the alleys around the Gothic designed by Jean Nouvel (in which a spectacular fa\u00e7ade of an Cathedral of Barcelona, usually a babel of global top-\ufb02oor lookout opened last year), while he tells apartment building voices, are uncannily quiet. Many of the shop fronts me all about the plans to further improve the area in Poblenou; are hidden behind metal shutters; some seem to be with parks and public housing as Poblenou grows classic, unfussy permanently closed. For several years the residents into its new role as a digital barrio bristling with tapas like of central Barcelona had been up in arms about tech start-ups. boquer\u00f3nes over-tourism, the cruise industry, and the deleteri- en vinagre con ous effects of Airbnb as it squeezed local life from Gallagher\u2019s tour takes in stately modern buildings aceitunas the city center. Then COVID-19 struck, and sudden- by big-name Catalan architects as well as repur- (anchovies in ly there was no tourism at all. Businesses quickly posed ones, such as the Can Framis Museum\u2014 vinegar with went bust\u2014most dramatically, the whole of Albert a former textile factory, the building now houses olives) dominate Adri\u00e0\u2019s molecular gastronomy empire, only recently philanthropist Antoni Vila Casas\u2019s collection of the menu at resuscitated with the reopening of Enigma in May. contemporary Catalan art; and Sala Beckett, a 1920s old-school trade-union HQ converted into a theater with haunt Gelida But Barcelona has endured far worse knockouts carefully preserved original interiors. We visit the than this. In 1348, as much as 60 percent of the old Encants \ufb02ea market, crowned with a gleaming city\u2019s population was wiped out by the Black Death. 93","mirrored roof by architect Ferm\u00edn V\u00e1zquez, soaring Back on Parlament, we pass Maleducat, a small restaurant with a black-green more than 80 feet above the bustling shoppers. All awning and the subtitle Casa de Menjars, or \u201cfood house.\u201d Maleducat (which over the barrio, new-wave coffee bars, bike-repair means \u201crude\u201d) exempli\ufb01es a major trend: the neighborhood joint with just a shops, and coworking spaces sit cheek by jowl with handful of tables. The dining room has a sober, workman-like look about it. When old-fashioned bakeries and vintage bars. \u201cI love the I stop by later on my own, the sizzling creativity of the lunchtime menu\u2014from hare way that modern Poblenou is somehow sewn into in a crispy phyllo pastry roll with a chocolate-infused dipping sauce to a sublime the existing fabric of the neighborhood,\u201d he says. \ufb01sh suquet in a re\ufb01ned, contemporary Catalan style\u2014takes me by surprise. It\u2019s a process that was underway well before the Gastronomic reinvention is afoot in other ways too. When I head to An\u00edmic, the pandemic, but this latest wave has \ufb01nally shifted current hot spot for esmorzars de forquilla (the traditional Catalan big breakfast the focus away from the tourist clusters at the center of grilled meats and rich stews, once again a thing), ma\u00eetre d\u2019 Jonathan Viol of the city and toward points further a\ufb01eld that are sits me down with a prawn croqueta and says something that stays with me all nonetheless brimming with local life. Barcelona in week: \u201cAfter what we\u2019ve been through, it\u2019s about renewing ourselves every day.\u201d its newest phase is about encouraging us to get out The sentiment captures everything about where Barcelona is at right now. more\u2014to branch out to barrios such as Gr\u00e0cia, just above Avinguda Diagonal\u2014once a separate town, Somewhat muted during the workweek, the city springs to life on Friday now a neighborhood that retains its charming village nights. In the crosshatched streets of upper Eixample, with their elegant apart- feel\u2014or Sants-Montju\u00efc, a downtown district behind ment blocks, well-turned-out sons and daughters of the Catalan bourgeoisie are the railway station of the same name, which still shopping, or sipping and laughing on the terraces of lively cocktail bars. This feels like a genuine, un-Instagrammed community weekend I\u2019m hanging out with a friend, Llu\u00eds Castellar, who was born and raised going about its daily business. in Eixample and still lives in the family home\u2014a top-\ufb02oor apartment with a view of the surrounding hills, Montju\u00efc and Tibidabo, and the soaring, ornate Another part of town begging to be explored is towers of the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia. Sant Antoni, by Avinguda del Parallel at the lower eastern end of Eixample. For an insider view of this lively, formerly working-class district, I call Tommy Tang, one half of the Australian couple who kicked off Sant Antoni\u2019s recent renaissance\u2014not to mention introducing Barcelona to the concept of brunch\u2014with their Federal Caf\u00e9 in 2010 (now with outposts in Girona, Sitges, Valencia, and Madrid). We saunter through the barrio as he points out the area\u2019s novelties. The intersection of del Parla- ment and del Comte Borrell is now traffic-free, with trees and benches\u2014an impromptu square for socializing. Tang explains this is one of \ufb01ve \u201csuper- blocks\u201d created by progressive mayor Ada Colau and another step forward for quality of life here. When Tang and his partner Crick King \ufb01rst bought their building on Calle del Parlament in 2008, there was no caf\u00e9 culture in the area. The Mercat de Sant Antoni, one of 39 produce markets in the city, was in chronic decline, with just a fraction of its dingy stalls still up and running. \u201cNow look at it!\u201d says Tang, grinning. On a street corner we admire the great pavilion\u2019s ornate ironwork, a rich shade of brick red, resplendent after a nine-year restoration. Then we dive into the market, which gleams with new tiles and stainless-steel counters, where locals make daily runs for vegetables and \ufb01sh, fresh meat and charcuterie. \u201cThis is a real community market, none of your fancy gastro stuff,\u201d says Tang. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s a huge draw for the neighborhood.\u201d 94","Chef Jordi Vil\u00e0 offers a single, seafood-forward tasting menu at Alkimia, his modernist fine dining spot Opposite: Inside Marea Verde, a flower shop housed in an early 20th-century former pharmacy","Saturday dawns clear and mild, with a brightness in the air that feels like a re\ufb02ection of the sea. We set off downtown on the gentle slope from Pla\u00e7a de Catalunya, threading through the legendary quar- ters of the Barri G\u00f2tic and the Born. Castellar peppers the walk with tales of his youth\u2014his moth- er\u2019s preferred bakery; the attic apartment of his \ufb01rst girlfriend. In the Pla\u00e7a Reial, its prettiness undimmed by years as a tourist honey trap, we sit beside the fountain before continuing toward the beach. In pre-Olympics times, my friend recalls, the old town was a virtual no-go zone, a grimy place of drugs and prostitution. In recent decades, it has metamorphosed into a barrio of boutiques and \ufb01ne- food emporiums, gastronomy, and culture. Passing the Museu Picasso, we see another gallery has opened in the medieval mansion next door: the Moco Museum, home to the fabulous contemporary haul amassed by Dutch collectors Lionel and Kim Logchies. Around the corner, on Carrer del Duc, we \ufb01nd the Kimpton Vividora, one of several fresh- faced hotels to have debuted around the pandemic. On the mezzanine of a tiny workshop in a narrow backstreet, a woman in her 20s is busy at a sewing machine. The Barcelona of creators and craftspeople has also experienced a recent revival, with a hand- made heritage dating back centuries. On our Saturday outing through the alleys of the Born, we \ufb01nd an entire ecosystem of jewelers, designers, painters, and leather- and woodworkers, busy in their studios. A steady stream of weekenders is drifting toward Barceloneta beach, already in shorts and shades, bearing impromptu picnics, cans of beer, and ice creams. We \ufb01nd a spot on the sand and lounge away the rest of the afternoon. \u201cThis place was horrible in the old days,\u201d says Castellar. \u201cMy parents wouldn\u2019t let us come here. The beach was full of trash, the water was dirty.\u201d I decide to strip off and stride into the water, as clear as a gin and tonic and almost as cold, looking back toward the beach and the city basking in the golden afternoon light. At sunset, we go back the way we came, stopping for a beer and a tapa in a spot that has just rolled up its shutters for the \ufb01rst time in a long while. Castellar buys a copy of La Vanguardia\u2014its weekend section leads with the year\u2019s choicest hotel openings. Outside the church Santa Maria del Mar, I see my \ufb01rst tour group, returning like birds after a two-year winter. Unhurriedly but purposefully, like the pedes- trians on its tree-lined avenues, Barcelona is on the move again. T 96","Clockwise from eat Casa Gispert top: Deliri chef Opened in 1851 but and owner David Casa Am\u00e0lia newly renovated, this Morera preps for For 70 years, the Lavina legendary grocer\u2019s shop service; outside family ran this neigh- is famous for its locally specialty shop borhood mainstay; the sourced nuts, which are Casa Gispert; a new owners have over- roasted on-site in an plate of squid hauled the decor and ancient wood-\ufb01red oven. carpaccio at Gats the menus but kept the casagispert.com relationship with the BAR\u00c7A BOUND nearby Mercat de la Gats Concepci\u00f3, serving the Elevated tapas like stay The Barcelona The Hoxton city\u2019s best jam\u00f3n-and- octopus carpaccio with Edition Poblenou b\u00e9chamel canelons olive and crispy diced Kimpton Vividora Set on an airy corner Hoxton\u2019s \ufb01rst Spanish and paella marinera. cod with romesco Barcelona between the Cathedral outpost offers a retro- Dinner for two, about emerge as if by magic Local design \ufb01rm El of Barcelona and hip take on Mediterra- $62; casaamalia.com from the kitchen of this Equipo Creativo clearly Santa Caterina Market, nean style\u2014all earthy loftlike space. Dinner for had a blast dreaming this sumptuous addi- tones, woven tapes- Ultramarinos Mar\u00edn two, about $68; encom- up this \ufb01zzy 156-key tion to the city\u2019s hotel tries, and zellige-tiled Behind an unassuming paniadelobos.com\/gats\/ spot, a stylishly chic scene favors the bold, bathrooms\u2014in one of shop front southeast new boutique hotel with gilded baroque the city\u2019s trendiest of Avinguda Diagonal Deliri that belies its address mirrors, Dal\u00ed-designed neighborhoods. The lies this spot from At his cozy, brick-walled in touristy Barri G\u00f2tic. armchairs, and modern rooftop, with its pool- chef Borja Garc\u00eda, who spot below street level, On display are a art by Eric Smith and side cabanas and hauls in fresh fare chef David Morera nods happy mix of millennial Carlos Coronas\u2014plus buzzy taqueria, has directly from \ufb01shing to his roots with dishes pink walls, quirky gorgeous interventions unmatched views of boats. Dinner for two, like macarras de l\u2019avia; lighting, and hydrau- like the spiral staircase the skyline\u2014including about $56; ultra the plate of macaroni lic-tiled \ufb02oors. Doubles in pearly white marble. the fantastical Sagrada marinosmarin.com stewed in tomato sauce from $237; kimpton Doubles from $320; Fam\u00edlia. Doubles from is inspired by his grand- vividorahotel.com editionhotels.com $179; thehoxton.com Compartir mother. Dinner for two, The team behind about $90 Disfrutar\u2014Spain\u2019s worthiest successor to Gelida El Bulli\u2014has opened This is a true local\u2019s spot, a bright and breezily where pints of Estrella informal tapas option wash down classic in the heart of Eixam- comfort dishes like fried ple. Dinner for two, sardines and beef with about $51; compartir chickpeas\u2014always barcelona.com served with country bread to sop up all of Alkimia the juices. Dinner for The Spanish-tile \ufb02oors two, about $24 that line this contempo- rary space hint at what Berbena chef Jordi Vil\u00e0\u2019s menu The robust wine list and is all about: the past, excellent tapas at chef present, and future of Carlos P\u00e9rez de Rozas\u2019s Catalan cuisine. relaxed spot make it Dinner for two, about all too easy to linger. $338; alkimia.cat Dinner for two, about $80; berbenabcn.com 97","Moved by the tales he heard from his father as a boy, Saki Knafo takes his family to Morocco\u2019s Anti-Atlas mountains to connect with his Jewish heritage"]