Relax in luxury and rejuvenate in nature at Aqua, where some of the sustainable treetop villas include infinity plunge pools with dramatic mountain, forest, or Pacific Ocean views.
You'll find Old World style with a modern sensibility at Madison Hotel Memphis, set in a historic Art Deco building just 20 minutes from Graceland and the Orpheum Theatre.
New York's Dan P. Lee looks at the space tourism and notes, "There are at least ten companies seriously engaged in commercial space transport." But what should you pack? (Matt Haber)
This is for people braver than us: Slate directs us to this Atlas Obscura gallery of photos of tourists standing on Kjergabolten, a rock wedged between two cliffs in Norway. (M.H.)
Also for fans of high places, The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Michaels' looks at Belgium's Dinner in the Sky, which allows adventurous diners to enjoy (?) a meal while suspended 180 feet in the air on a crane. Sure, people have been doing this for years, but the advice remains the same: Don't drop your fork. (M.H.)
More space travel news, this time from Cannes: one unidentified bidder paid $1.5 million to join Leonardo DiCaprio on Virgin Galactic's inaugural flight into space. The auction took place at the tony Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, and proceeds went to a nonprofit devoted to AIDS research, as Rebecca Keegan from the LA Times reports. (Peter Schlesinger)
Speaking of Cannes, want to know where the celebs are staying during the festival? Tara Imperatore from The Huffington Post picks the top five hotels where you're most likely to ride the elevator with the likes of Nicole Kidman or Toby Maguire. (P.S.)
For the fashionistas wondering what to wear on their summer getaways, Elle's already done some digging: 100 swimsuits for your time in Tahiti, 30 dresses for dinner and beyond. (Maria Pedone)
One of the senior execs at Accor—the company that oversees popular brands from Sofitel to Mercure—gets caught red-handed for posting fake reviews (and lots of them) on TripAdvisor, Tnooz reports. But it wasn't TripAdvisor's much-hyped fraud detection tool that caught him, making us wonder how many other high-volume fake reviewers are still at large. (Nikki Ekstein)
Delta opens its new $1.4 billion Terminal 4 at New York's JFK, which includes an outdoor Sky Deck. CoolHunting got a sneak preview of the innovative lounge. One word: Bad*ss. (Amy Farley)
Summer is finally here and hotels are rolling out special programs to get your family on the road, which is music to our ears as we head into Memorial Day Weekend.
While most offers are gimmicky and wont get you much, Embassy Suites' new "300 Percent More" pledge looks legit—and appealing. The hotel brand has teamed up with mom and Travel Channel host Samantha Brown to offer activity recommendations in vacation hotspots and tips for easier family travel. You can personalize itineraries using Brown's city guides before your trip, so that you know the best restaurants, museums, parks etc. to visit with your kids. What's more, you get daily cooked-to-order breakfasts, two suites, so that you can actually get some rest, and free drinks and snacks in the late afternoon. It's definitely worth checking out if you're traveling within the US and are stuck on where to stay.
Clara O. Sedlak is a mother of two and special projects editor at Travel + Leisure.
Can you guess where this mountain scene is? Hint: It's located in a U.S. National Park. Do you know which one it is? Head over to our Facebook page and leave your guesses there. We'll be out on Monday enjoying Memorial Day weekend. Check back on Tuesday for the answer!
Lyndsey Matthews is an assistant digital editor at Travel + Leisure.
Every four years, 30 of the most talented musicians from around the world arrive in Fort Worth, Texas to participate in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, May 24-June 9. The young pianists, whose ages range from 19 to 30 and hail from Russia, Poland, Italy, Chile, China, and the U.S., among other countries, are gifted, of course, armed with prodigious technique, and musical personalities that belie their years. They also possess the energy of thoroughbreds.
Do you have epic plans for this Memorial Day weekend? Whether you do or not, Canon’s new Pixma Comix app—accessible through Facebook—will make your holiday snapshots just a bit more, er, heroic. The easy-to-use app lets you upload photos either from your computer or existing Facebook albums, making four-to-six photo compilations augmented by thought bubbles and call outs (to add pizzazz to your bellyflops and cannonballs). Choose from a variety of comic-inspired layouts and image filters, add your text, and publish straight from the app—it’s a natural way to make the story of your vacation come to life in a playful that’s admittedly more share-able than frame-able.
Nikki Ekstein is an Editorial Assistant at Travel + Leisure and part of the Trip Doctor news team. Find her at on Twitter at @nikkiekstein.
As I prepared for my Zambian safari last fall, it wasn’t so much the hippos and crocodiles that worried me; it was the prospect of fitting everything I’d need (clothing, boots, camera gear, binoculars, etc., etc., etc.) into a single 25-pound duffel bag. That’s the typical (I say cruel and unusual) baggage limit on the tiny planes that deliver you into the African bush. And if you already suffer from a chronic overpacking disorder, the whole predicament can send you into flop sweats. After much worrying and winnowing down, I somehow made it work—with 2 pounds to spare, no less. (See below for my packing list.)
My other concern on safari? Looking like a total dork. As any veteran can tell you, there’s not exactly a surfeit of stylish options for safariwear (good lord, the very word). It’s a bland-on-beige world of elastic waistbands, unflattering pleats, and “patented anti-wicking fibers” the texture of Hefty bags. Then again, wearing a J. Crew polo and jeans on a bush walk makes you look (and feel) even sillier. Surely there was some happy medium—comfortable, practical safari clothing without the doofus factor?
You know me: Always complaining about excessive fees aimed at travelers. I've kvetched about the worst rental car rip-offs. I've bemoaned the world's most outrageous hotel fees. I've griped, groused, growled, and grumbled about airline surcharges here and here and here. But before I have to rush back to my thesaurus again for another way to say complain, let me acknowledge that there are some travel companies that are doing it right: They're giving stuff away, free. May I just say, yay.
Set on 210 yucca- and cedar scrub-dotted acres in Texas Hill Country, Travaasa Austin has 70 streamlined guest rooms, an 11-room spa and infinity pool, an equestrian center, and two miles of hiking trails. This June, the resort will debut a three-and-a-quarter-acre farm anticipated to produce a whopping 30,000 pounds of food in its first year.
Need inspiration for a summer road trip? Look no further than The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue, by T+L contributor Daniel Vaughn. The new release is jam-packed with over 200 pit stops throughout the Lone Star State—as well as a guide to the different style of Texas ‘cue and the stories behind the pitmasters. To execute this true labor of love, Vaughn clocked an estimated 10,000 miles—but with chapters devoted to individual regions, it offers plenty of smaller itineraries that’ll ramp up your appetite. Need extra persuasion? See the Austin-based, BBQ-obsessed trip that Vaughn created for T+L right here.
Nikki Ekstein is an Editorial Assistant at Travel + Leisure and part of the Trip Doctor news team. Find her at on Twitter at @nikkiekstein.
