Hotels and Travel Lodgings

Subterms

    Latest story

    150 Shares19 Views

    Santa Lives in Rovaniemi, Finland. Some of His Neighbors Are Not Thrilled.

    by

    After dinner at the Bull Bar and Grill in the small Finnish city of Rovaniemi, Mariel Tähtivaara, a law student, popped into a supermarket to grab some dessert.As she perused the chocolate mousses, a short woman with dark hair walked up to her, shaking a milk carton.“Excuse me,” she said in English with a Spanish or maybe Italian accent. “But can you tell me if this has lactose?”Ms. Tähtivaara scanned the label — in Finnish — and told her no.Then, as Ms. Tähtivaara was moving through the cookie and cracker aisle, a man with his wife and small child, puffed up in heavy jackets for a winter holiday, held up a cracker package.“Do these have cheese in them?” he asked.She saw more tourists in snowmobile suits lingering by the cashier. Before they could make eye contact, she got out of there.“I was thinking: Here we go again,” she said.These were small impositions, but enough was enough. If you’re blond and therefore identifiable as a likely native of Rovaniemi, you can barely move around a supermarket during tourist season — and it’s all Santa’s fault.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 125 Shares187 Views

      in Elections

      Phuket, Thailand Has a Fine-Dining Scene That Rivals the Beach

      by

      Plus: the neighborhood to know in Athens, Japanese-made sunglasses and more recommendations from T Magazine.Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we share things we’re eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday, along with monthly travel and beauty guides, and the latest stories from our print issues. And you can always reach us at tmagazine@nytimes.com.Eat HereThe Restaurants That Make Phuket, Thailand, a Fine-Dining DestinationLeft: Terra, a new restaurant in Phuket, Thailand, serves Italian food in the former Ban Nai Hua Ang Mo (British Merchant Association) building, built in 1898. Right: Royd’s Phuket lobster tail with dipping sauce.Left: courtesy of House of Tin Baron. Right: courtesy of RoydLocated on the Andaman Sea at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, the tropical island of Phuket, Thailand, has long been known for its splashy beach resorts. But lately, its food scene has become just as much of a draw. It was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2015 and has evolved over the past decade with a set of fine-dining destinations. The most recent addition is Terra, a modern Italian restaurant in a renovated 1898 Sino-Portuguese mansion built during the island’s tin-mining boom. It opened in January with two tasting menus featuring dishes like langoustine and shellfish emulsion with chestnut quenelles, and sole and sea urchin in an Amalfi lemon beurre blanc. It joins Royd, which in 2022 began welcoming visitors to a 12-seat table in a stylish 1970s shop house, where the Phuket-born chef Suwijak Kunghae riffs on traditional southern Thai cooking with dishes like tofu skin tart with smoked pig’s head and tamarind sauce, and squid with Phuket pineapple and southern Thai sour curry. At Pru, founded in 2016, the Dutch chef Jimmy Ophorst cooks dishes like durian and caviar, roasting the notoriously odoriferous Southeast Asian fruit, then turning it into a mousse that he garnishes with local roe. When you’ve had enough courses, try one of Phuket’s many small, inexpensive restaurants specializing in just one or two dishes. Krua Baan Platong uses local ingredients to produce Phuket comfort food like steamed pork belly with a southern Thai budu dipping sauce made with fermented anchovies; and Niyom Salt Grilled Duck is a simple roadside place serving juicy charcoal-roasted duck with a choice of spicy sour or tamarind dipping sauce.Wear ThisGlasses That Combine California Cool With Japanese CraftsmanshipLeft: a selection of Garrett Leight Blue Kinney and Hampton glasses in various hues. Right: Kinney sunglasses with their case and packaging.Courtesy of Garrett LeightWhen it comes to manufacturing quality eyewear, no one does it like the Japanese. But finding and trying on great pairs outside of Asia can be somewhat challenging. As a daily glasses-wearer, I’ve long relied on Mr. Leight, the limited-edition range of luxurious, Japanese-made pairs designed by Garrett Leight in collaboration with his father, Larry Leight, who’s best known for founding the brand Oliver Peoples in 1986. But now there’s a new, slightly less rarefied option if you’re looking to pick up a springtime pair of optical or sunglasses handcrafted on the archipelago: Garrett Leight Blue, which upgrades two of the company’s most popular, California-inspired silhouettes (the Kinney and the Hampton) with premium details like adjustable titanium nose pads, subtly filigreed metal arm-detailing and quality acetate that’s less likely to whiten or fade over time. Offered in a few off-kilter colors — think light pink or opal frames, with tinted, UV-protective lenses that have contrasting shades of deep oceanic blue or moss green — they’re also just plain fun, down to the cerulean faux snakeskin case that’s so bright it ought to prevent you from misplacing them. From $465, garrettleight.com.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      In Portugal, a Farmhouse Hotel That’s a Short Walk From the Beach

      by

      Plus: the revival of opera pumps, a new gallery in Texas and more recommendations from T Magazine.Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we share things we’re eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday, along with monthly travel and beauty guides, and the latest stories from our print issues. And you can always reach us at tmagazine@nytimes.com.Stay HerePortugal’s Algarve Region Gets a New RetreatLeft: Casa Celeiro is one of five cottages that make up Quinta do Pinheiro, a new hotel in southern Portugal. Right: Casa Celeiro’s open kitchen.Francisco NogueiraSet in a natural park within Portugal’s Algarve region, the farmhouse hotel Quinta do Pinheiro is a 10-minute walk from protected dunes, oyster farms and barrier island beaches that can only be reached by swimming or boating. Initially built in 1870, the estate was purchased in 2021 by the Dutch couple Martijn Kleijwegt and Monique Snoeijen, who wanted to restore the property and turn it into a retreat. Now there are five stylish cottages designed by the Portuguese architect Frederico Valsassina and his daughter, Marta, all with two or three bedrooms, a dining room and a kitchen. Window frames were painted red, which is traditional to the region; floors were laid with local Santa Catarina tiles; and the old bread oven and distillery remain on the property. While there’s not a restaurant at the hotel, the staff can arrange for a chef. For a meal out, the town of Tavira — a Roman settlement founded in 400 B.C. that’s famed for its churches and bell towers — is a scenic 90-minute hike (or 25-minute ride on one of the property’s electric bikes) away. In May, it’ll become much easier for New Yorkers to visit this part of Portugal thanks to a new United Airlines direct flight between Newark, N.J., and Faro, the capital of the Algarve region. From about $380 a night in the low season (November to March), quintapinheiro.com.Wear ThisOpera Pumps for All OccasionsClockwise from top left: Arthur Sleep opera pump in black calf, $992, arthursleep.com; Valentino Bowow kidskin ballerina, $1,150, valentino.com; Suzanne Rae opera pump nappa, $475, suzannerae.com; Thom Browne opera ballerina, $850, thombrowne.com; Manolo Blahnik Toro, $945, manoloblahnik.com; and Bode patent opera pump, $760, bode.com.Courtesy of the brandsFor his spring 2025 Pavillon des Folies collection, the Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele, known for his gender-fluid bohemian spirit, tempered his brocades and ruffles with a historical element of men’s evening wear: the opera pump. Originally a component of men’s formal dress dating back to the Regency era, opera pumps, or court shoes, are characterized by a low heel, a grosgrain bow and a slightly higher vamp than a ballet flat (but one that’s low enough to show off a luxurious sock). In the Victorian era, they became the popular choice of footwear for gentlemen visiting the opera and have since been worn by everyone from Marlene Dietrich to Frank Sinatra to Colman Domingo. Valentino’s version, called the Bowow ballerina, joins an array of similar designs released lately. The New York label Bode, also known for its sartorial nods to the past, sells pairs for both men and women in patent and napa leather. Thom Browne, a champion of reinterpreting formal dress, and the New York designer Suzanne Rae both produce varieties for women. And Manolo Blahnik offers a velvet pair for men. A footwear relic, opera pumps have traditionally only been available for purchase at more old-school shoemakers like London’s Arthur Sleep — and have been notoriously difficult to find in women’s sizes. Though the silhouette has remained largely unchanged to this day — the biggest riff is Valentino’s cutaway detail near the bow — the way they’re worn certainly has. Domingo, for one, recently paired his with an embroidered evening vest, black trousers and pointelle socks.Covet ThisLoewe and Hennessy Make a Spiky Bar AccessoryA limited-edition leather case made by Loewe for the Hennessy Paradis bottle is inspired by the chestnut burr.Courtesy of HennessyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Universal’s Epic Orlando Theme Park Will Open in May

      by

      Initial ticket packages for the new area of Universal Orlando Resort, the first new Florida theme park in a generation, will cost as much as $521.When the Universal Orlando Resort opened its first Harry Potter rides in June 2010, people waited six hours in 90 degree heat just to get in the gate. Demand overran expectations for months, leaving some visitors with a gridlocked vacation they vowed never to repeat.Universal, hoping to avoid similar headaches when it opens a much splashier theme park in the resort on May 22, has decided to do things differently.Initially, tickets for the general public will be sold only for the new area, Universal Epic Universe, which is the first major park to open in Orlando, Fla., in 26 years, as part of multiday packages, the resort said on Thursday. The least expensive option, priced at $352 to $521, with the cost fluctuating based on the days chosen, will provide one-day admission to Epic Universe and two days of access to the resort’s older parks. The packages go on sale Tuesday.Universal said that additional ticket options, including single-day admission for the grand-opening period, would become available “in the months ahead.” (Current annual passholders can buy single-day tickets to Epic Universe starting Oct. 24.)Epic Universe is expected to attract roughly 10 million visitors in its first full year of operation, according to MoffettNathanson, a research firm.The company wants to avoid congestion — to leave visitors, some of whom may be experiencing Universal for the first time, wanting to return. But the multiday focus also underscores Universal’s primary mission in adding Epic Universe: It wants more families to view the resort as a weeklong destination and not just a one- or two-day add-on to a Disney pilgrimage.Comcast, which owns the Universal theme park chain, has poured billions of dollars into Epic Universe, which will feature 70 acres worth of attractions, dining and shopping. (To compare, the Harry Potter area that opened in 2010 covered 20 acres.) Epic Universe will have major rides based on Nintendo video games, films like “How to Train Your Dragon,” classic movie monsters and, yes, Harry Potter. The expansion also includes three new hotels.“Epic Universe signals a new phase in the theme park wars,” Craig Moffett, a founder of MoffettNathanson, wrote in a report this year. He estimated that Universal would siphon about a million visitors from the much-larger Disney World from mid-2025 to the end of 2026. More

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      Lie-Flat Seats and Chilled Champagne: Testing Eric Adams’s Upgrade Life

      by

      Life is grand in the Bentley Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul, with its marble floors and walk-in closet, its 24-hour butler service, and its views stretching all the way to the blue waters of the Bosporus.The Bentley suite at the St. Regis Hotel in Istanbul is named for the luxury car, and the light fixture over the bed is said to evoke the undulations of the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. The light sculpture suspended above the vast bed, where New York Mayor Eric Adams slept in 2017, is said to evoke the undulations of the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. The complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries on the coffee table are dusted with crushed pistachios and nestled on a bed of delicately crumbled cookies. The curved leather sofa has two built-in Champagne coolers that light up and open at the press of a button.The sofa in the Bentley Suite has two embedded Champagne coolers that open at the touch of a button.If you were to think about New York City (but why would you?) while reclining on your private balcony and gazing at the Gucci store across the street, you might be struck by the notion that the suite is roughly three times the size of your first apartment.The suite comes with a terrace with views over the city. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 88 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      A Local’s Guide to Chiang Rai, Thailand

      by

      Four insiders on where to stay, eat “micro-seasonal” dishes and shop for handmade pottery and textiles.T’s monthly travel series, Flocking To, highlights places you might already have on your wish list, sharing tips from frequent visitors and locals alike. Sign up here to find us in your inbox once a month, along with our weekly roundup of cultural recommendations, monthly beauty guides and the latest stories from our print issues. Have a question? You can always reach us at tmagazine@nytimes.com.Travelers to the northern provinces of Thailand have long been drawn by two things — elephant camps and campy temples. The most famous examples of each are within or near the 13th-century city of Chiang Rai, where the Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple, stands as an artist’s parable of the world’s ills, as depicted in the form of pop culture villains and other icons of kitsch. (If crossing a sea of grasping arms at the entrance doesn’t terrify you, beware the Freddy Krueger-themed hanging planters.) Chiang Rai is also where the Emerald Buddha, a national treasure now housed in Bangkok’s Grand Palace, was reportedly discovered in 1434. According to legend, a bolt of lightning cracked the stupa in which it had been hidden years prior.Chiang Rai — the city shares its name with the surrounding province — has gained a reputation as something of a tourist trap, thanks to the tour buses that ferry visitors from the White Temple to the equally gaudy Blue Temple and then to the very bleak Black House (which the artist Thawan Duchanee, who died in 2014, decorated with elephant skulls and antlers and a table runner made of snakeskin). But the city, having played second fiddle to the luxe-boho paradise of Chiang Mai ever since King Mang Rai moved the capital of the Lanna Kingdom — which ruled over most of what is now northern Thailand — to the “new city” in 1296, has more recently emerged as an unhurried haven for serious artists and other creative professionals seeking to escape the heat and sprawl of Bangkok.The third edition of Thailand’s roaming Biennale, which brought dozens of international and Thai artists to Chiang Rai this past winter and spring, shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of the city — its long history as a cultural crossroads. Owing both to its proximity to Laos and Myanmar and, to some degree, the Golden Triangle’s uncomfortable past as a center of the global drug trade, Chiang Rai has been the site of intermingling cultures for centuries.“The constant migration of people of different races and religions make this an interesting place both geographically and culturally,” says the Chiang Rai-born artist and gallerist Angkrit Ajchariyasophon. In 2023, Chiang Rai was also recognized by UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network for its sustainable architecture design and landscapes. “My house is near the city’s oldest Christian church, close to an Islamic mosque and a Buddhist temple off the same road,” says Ajchariyasophon. “This is where I grew up and learned about cultural diversity, which I find wonderful.”Today, multigenerational family-run restaurants featuring traditional Thai, Chinese and Myanmarese specialties likewise share a slow-movement sensibility with hipster cafes that serve coffee from beans grown on local farms, and stylish home stays that incorporate teak wood scavenged from nearby forests. Here, Ajchariyasophon and other Chiang Rai enthusiasts offer their recommendations on where to stay, eat, shop and sightsee in and around the city.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 175 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Motel 6 Is Sold to Oyo, an Indian Hotel Company Expanding in the U.S.

      by

      A roadside chain for more than 50 years, Motel 6 was owned by Blackstone, the private equity giant. Oyo will pay $525 million in an all-cash deal.Motel 6, the budget hotel chain that has lined American highways for decades, will be sold to Oyo, an India-based hotel operator, the companies announced on Friday.Blackstone, the private equity giant and the owner of Motel 6’s parent company, said the transaction would be an all-cash deal for $525 million. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, and would include the chain’s offshoot hotel brand, Studio 6.Oyo expanded into the United States in 2019, and has recently ramped up efforts to expand further. It currently operates more than 300 hotels domestically. The company, which specializes in budget hotels and proudly describes itself as “a start-up,” had received a large investment from SoftBank. But some troubling incidents in India in recent years raised questions about some of its business practices.Motel 6 was founded in 1962 in Santa Barbara, Calif., and has been an indelible part of Americana for its basic accommodations. The Motel 6 name originally came from the company’s offering of an all-cash $6-a-night rate. Motel 6 and Studio 6 currently have roughly 1,500 hotels across the United States and Canada, Blackstone said.Gautam Swaroop, the chief executive of Oyo International, praised Motel 6’s “strong brand recognition, financial profile and network in the U.S.” He added, “This acquisition is a significant milestone for a start-up company like us to strengthen our international presence.”Blackstone purchased Motel 6 in 2012 for $1.9 billion.“This transaction is a terrific outcome for investors and is the culmination of an ambitious business plan that more than tripled our investors’ capital and generated over $1 billion in profit over our hold period,” Rob Harper, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said in a statement. More

    • 138 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      Tony Robbins Backs the Estate, a Chain of Luxury Wellness Resorts

      by

      The self-help guru is joining the hotel mogul Sam Nazarian to open a chain of luxury preventive-medicine resorts, aiming for a slice of the $5.6 trillion wellness industry.The life coach and self-help guru Tony Robbins is teaming up with Sam Nazarian, a hospitality veteran known for brands like the Delano and the Mondrian, on a new luxury chain of hotels and wellness centers that focus on preventive medicine, longevity and wellness.The new brand, called the Estate, aims to tap into the $5.6 trillion annual global wellness market that’s currently dominated by hospitality brands like Sha Wellness Clinics, Six Senses, the Well, Lanserhof and the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort in Miami Beach.Mr. Robbins, Mr. Nazarian and the other investors, which include the singer Marc Anthony, plan to open 15 luxury hotels and residences, along with 10 longevity centers in major markets, by 2030, according to a statement from the company. The first four hotels are scheduled to open by 2026, on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, as well as in Britain, Italy and Switzerland. The brand’s first urban longevity center plans to open its doors in Los Angeles in late 2025. Membership at the longevity centers will cost $35,000 a year, while rooms at the hotels are expected to cost around $1,000 per night.Mr. Robbins is already an investor in Fountain Life, a preventive-health and longevity company, which will provide diagnostic and therapeutic offerings for the Estate. “Tony and Sam want to take technology out of the walls of the doctor’s office and embed it into the hospitality experience,” said Dr. Bill Kapp, the founder of Fountain Life, in a phone interview.Mr. Nazarian credited Fountain Life’s technology with saving his life last year after a full-body scan detected an asymptomatic brain aneurysm, which he underwent neurosurgery to repair.Guests staying at the Estate will have access to similar Fountain Life scans and procedures as well as spa treatments by Clinique La Prairie, a Swiss health resort. “Our No. 1 goal is to make sure people don’t die of something avoidable,” said Dr. Kapp. The offerings will include full-body M.R.I.s to search for cancer, CT scans to detect plaque in coronary arteries, neurocognitive testing, epigenetic screenings and more, using generative artificial intelligence to identify patterns.Mr. Robbins, known for books like “Awaken the Giant Within” and “Money: Master the Game,” as well as for his philanthropic work, was accused of sexual misconduct by several female fans and staff members in a 2019 BuzzFeed News investigation. He has denied the accusations.Dr. Kapp said he pictured the Estate properties as the vanguard of a new movement in which wellness treatments, including preventive medicine, become a pillar of the hospitality experience. “Health is the new wealth,” he said.Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024. More

    • 75 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      Scarlett Johansson Shares Her Beauty Regimen

      by

      Plus: a new hotel in Oxford, England, door knobs with personality and more recommendations.Step by StepFrom Sunscreen to Lip Balm, Scarlett Johansson’s Favorite Skin Care and Makeup ProductsLeft: Scarlett Johansson, actress, co-founder of the skincare brand the Outset and Prada ambassador. Right: clockwise from top left: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, $21, anastasiabeverlyhills.com; Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Makeup Remover, $39, lancome-usa.com; Goop Beauty Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo, $55, goop.com; Prada Beauty Monochrome Hyper Matte Lipstick in B05 Fauve, $50, Sephora.com; The Outset Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser, $32, theoutset.com; Dior Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer, $32, Dior.com; The Outset Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream, $54, theoutset.com. Left: courtesy of The Outset. Right: courtesy of the brandsIn the morning I wash my face with The Outset’s Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser and then I use the Firming Vegan Collagen Prep Serum and Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturizer. My last step is our sunscreen coming out this month. It’s super hydrating so you get the protection and skin care benefits. At night I use the cleanser and Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream. I wish I knew about dermaplaning sooner. I do it with a Tweezerman Facial Razor and my skin feels so soft after.I like Molton Brown body washes — my husband and I share the Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel one. I like the Goop Microderm Instant Glow Body Polish, too. Sometimes I use their Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo. I just switched over to using Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector because my hair has had a lot of breakage from getting it colored.I usually use Dior Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer, Diorshow Maximizer 4D Lash Primer and Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara. I sometimes mix a few drops of the Dior concealer with our serum as a sheer cover. I’ll do my brows with an Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. I don’t usually wear lipstick in the daytime but sometimes at night I’ll use Charlotte Tilbury’s lipstick in Very Victoria or Pillow Talk. When I went to the Prada show in Milan they handed out their new makeup and it’s gorgeous. The Monochrome Hyper Matte lipsticks are stunning. I loved the first Prada makeup back in the day, so I was pretty excited that they relaunched. I’ve been using Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Makeup Remover forever. I have very sensitive skin and that’s one product that doesn’t burn and removes all of my makeup after filming.My husband just bought me a great Gabriela Hearst perfume she made with the niche fragrance house Fueguia 1833 called Paysandú. The Outset Botanical Barrier Rescue Balm started out as a lip balm but I was using it on my cuticles and flyaways, so we made it enormous. In the summer, I use it as a moisturizer, lip balm, everything.I don’t really know how to do my hair that well. I don’t blow dry it or anything like that. I just started seeing Dana Ionato at Sally Hershberger for my color and I’ve liked working with her because the color grows out well.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More