Insider Tips From the T+L 500

After work, concierge Fernando Penachino grabs a caipiruva (crushed grapes, sweet syrup, and sake) at nearby Puerta Uno. The lounge is so discreet it doesn’t have a sign. His advice: “Ring the bell—don’t knock—and the doorman will let you in.”

Insider Tips From the T+L 500

“Pick up some Pouchkine truffles—vodka- and orange-infused chocolates—at the family-run Pâtisserie Bigot, a bakery at the foot of Château d’Amboise,” advises co-owner Pierre Alain Bonnigal. “Then head up to the castle grounds, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried.”

Insider Tips From the T+L 500

Chief concierge Pam Haban suggests hiking Koloiki Ridge, a five-mile loop north of the lodge. “You’ll walk among guava and eucalyptus trees until the trail unexpectedly opens up onto the Pacific.”

Insider Tips From the T+L 500

Just 10 miles from the resort, Kagazi Mohulla in Sanganer is a centuries-old artists’ colony that specializes in papermaking. “The handmade diaries make great gifts,” reveals concierge Ameya Arun Mandke.

Insider Tips From the T+L 500

“A pride of six male lions lives on our acreage,” head field guide Alan Yeowart says. “Visit at dusk with a tracker and you may catch them roaring in unison.”

Insider Tips From the T+L 500

Activity coordinator Catharine Reed takes her fly-fishing rod five miles south to Applebury, a prime spot for rainbow trout that “looks just like a scene out of A River Runs Through It.”

Insider Tips From the T+L 500