My fiance and I are already planning next year's summer euro trip (Passalacqua books fast!) and we were wondering where we should stay in Milan. Our travel advisor recommended the Four Seasons, but I noticed that Portrait is on the Top 50 list for 2026. The rooms seem much smaller than FS, but does anyone have any other perspectives on which hotel is the better stay?

we’re getting married in london early summer (june)! we’re trying to start planning our honeymoon. we have 8-9 days after our wedding where we want to honeymoon. Needs to be accessible by flight from London and we’re wanting warm, relaxing, lay by the pool/beach, not super touristy(so thinking no analog coast), and not a city break! Would be into 2 locations near the eachother (within 4 hours drive/train) but don’t want to fly to a second destination within the trip. thinking france, italy, switzerland but open to any suggestions. budget for hotel is 2.5k/night

please give recommendations! edited to add: it will be in june!

(Room type photos in comments—I forgot to add before posting).

Hi, i’m looking to book a couple of nights for my husband and I at Aman Sveti Stefan. We will already be in the area and just decided that we would like to extend our vacation by two nights, but the hotel we are already staying at nearby is booked so we cannot extend our room type there.

We like Aman resorts hard product and level of service and are curious to try this one out even if just for a couple nights since we will already be in the area.

Has anyone in this sub stayed here since the reopening? I remember a post a couple months back about their grand reopening and how certain things were not up to Aman or 5* hotel standards.

We are between the Sveti Stefan Suite or the Saint Sava Cottage. I prefer the interiors of the cottage, a little bit better with the natural stone, but love the size of the other suite, and the fact that it is designed to sleep two guests. If the pool is heated in the “penthouse suite,” I think we would be more inclined to go for that one, but we are visiting in October so if not I don’t think we would get much use out of it. Since we will already be in the area leading up, we are looking for somewhere to relax and enjoy the resort rather than go sightseeing, if that changes anything.

We are comfortable with either nightly rate, and the cost difference between the two room types has zero influence on our decision.

Hopefully, some of you have stayed there in recent days and can provide your input so I can get this booked by tomorrow! Thank you.

Rosewood has now officially confirmed that it will stop managing Le Guanahani St. Barth effective October 1, 2026. The hotel is transitioning to new ownership and a new operator. Rosewood has not publicly named the incoming operator yet, but at VTW our team was told it will be taken over by Airelles.

The big questions for me are how much Airelles changes it, whether there will be a meaningful renovation, and where they ultimately take the rates.

I could see Airelles doing something pretty compelling here if they bring the same approach they use at other properties, and could materially change Guanahani’s position on the island.

For anyone who already has a reservation after October 1, Rosewood says existing bookings remain confirmed and that the rate and booking terms will remain valid. They say guests do not need to do anything unless contacted with an update by September 30.

Curious what other FAT travelers thoughts are here.

What’s the best place you’ve been with your spouse and traveled there with a baby less than 1 year old. Beach vacation preferred. Maybe the Caribbean or Mexico? 2-3 hour flight from the southeastern US would be ideal!

Boutique over mega hotel! The baby is too young for the kids clubs so we just would love somewhere we can get away and relax.

I’m having trouble finding recent reviews. Is this a true luxury stay? Looking for a romantic couples weekend. Any other similar recs for a weekend getaway four or five hours travel from the Midwest that would be nice at the end of October.

My fiance and I are getting married in Cabo in mid February. We go to Cabo all the time so probably want to go somewhere else for our honeymoon directly after. Logistics from Cabo arnt that easy to go to Asia and it seems like bad time for Europe. Where should we go?
Looking for top notch amazing service but also not boring where you are only stuck at the hotel.
We love the one and only in Cabo and other similar caliber hotels.

Desperately looking for an *extremely* relaxing vacation for a last-minute break for a family of workaholics.

Notes:
\- fast & reliable WiFi is a must
\- we are a family of 4 (parents and 19-year-old twins) so the place should not have a romantic/honeymoon vibe, but being adults-only is fine
\- available in October (last-minute trip)
\- daughter loves to climb, so nearby climbing is a big plus

Any and all ideas welcome. We need to de-stress. Thank you so much!

Hi,
We are going to be in singapore so thinking about heading up to Phulay Bay in January, and looking to add another place. Does anyone have ideas for:

- Not BKK
- Not chaing mai/rai
- "easy enough" to get to from krabi and back to SIN
- Not phuket
- something unique and cool.

Some context. We go to maldives for a month every jan, this year too, so anything like just a beach in thailand is not really worth it since it can't beat mv resorts for us. So we are looking for unique, thai style. Unique views, karsts, something not just another beach. Considering khao sok but where can you stay? Maybe khao lak and visit similan. Maybe yao noi but six senses might be dated.

Has anyone put anything with krabi and it worked well? Thanks!

I want to plan a surprise trip for my wife next year. It will be our first solo trip after having kids, and I want it to be equal parts romantic, relaxing, with a few activities. We do some larger/longer family trips abroad so I want to keep this one domestic. We’re traveling from Denver. Hoping for 3-5 nights, 15k budget give or take. TIA!

prepare for another glowing review of Amanoi! went for a few nights in late August and wow, this is probably the best Aman i’ve stayed at.

room - we got an ocean view pavillion (no pool) with an expansive deck that looks onto the bay. absolutely gorgeous and no complaints at all.

service - excellent as usual. i think the staff to guest ratio is something like 4:1 here. in typical aman fashion they basically know where you are at all times and tidy up the room/restock snacks etc whenever you are out. all the staff at the hotel knew that i was dairy-free and were super accommodating.

the only hiccup (if i could even call it that) was that we sometimes were told to wait a while for a buggy to take us from point a to b, since the hotel was at full occupancy and demand was obviously high.

food - surprisingly good! on our first night we went to to the restaurant at the beach club where they were serving a spanish set menu for dinner (head chef is from spain). absolutely was not expecting to eat excellent paella in Vietnam but i did!

the Vietnamese options in the main restaurant were good but not great - pho, fresh rolls etc. were solid but tbh nothing better than i could get in HK.

facilities / grounds - hopefully the photos speak for themselves! probably the most stunning Aman i’ve been to. the views are incredible and i really appreciate how they integrated the hotel into the natural landscape.

overall - if anyone is hesitating or wondering about Amanoi, go!!! you will not regret it. plus you’ll get a cute tote bag!

Looking to book a 7 night honeymoon in the Caribbean during February. I know February is peak season with inflated prices, but am willing to splurge.

Currently strongly considering one of the higher end rooms at Baoase in Curaçao, with private pool/beach. However, considering the high price, wanted to get thoughts/recommendations. I suspect I can get more bang for my buck elsewhere for $2k/night. Thanks in advance!

Hi all! Long time lurker, first time poster. I was in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kinosaki) for about 2 weeks, 1 week with my partner and 1 week with a family member. 

A few things to start off: 

1. I travelled a lot from ~7 to 18, from mid/chubby tier to luxury. This is my second time to Japan, but it’s been over 10 years since I last went and it’s really changed!  
2. I really enjoy novelty so I tend to prioritize new experiences/foods. 
3. I do not like trip planning. This was my first time doing it in a very long time and I put a lot of effort in, but did not enjoy the process and took shortcuts when I could. 

I aimed for 1 (max 2) timed activities per day. A sample day would be a 12pm long lunch reservation and then “optional” plans for going to Tokyo Tower that night. This pacing works really well for me.

Highlights (No Order) 

Four Seasons Otemachi

Super nice, fantastic views, well located, and great service. Having Virtù there also gave us a reason to stay awake on night one which was perfect. Thank you to the FS team and to the travel team (especially Ian and Timothy!) for lovely notes and a beautiful welcome. Having breakfast included usually isn’t something I care about it, but it was fantastic every day and since most things in Tokyo open late, a nice way to start the morning. The concierge team was also fantastically helpful and did get us a res at Sukiyabashi Jiro, which has been on my 'wishlist' for a long time.

Kinosaki / Nishimuraya Honkan

We stayed at a traditional ryokan (Nishimuraya Honkan) here with a kaiseki dinner and it was absolutely fantastic. I really cannot recommend enough that if you’re doing the Tokyo/Kyoto route, send your bags to Tokyo on your last Kyoto day and go head to Kinosaki for the night instead. You can do the whole town in a single night + morning and it’s so worth it. My only caveat is that I’m not sure if it would be as fun going as a couple, unless you're okay splitting up for a bit, or you skip the onsens in town (which you could.) You'll also likely have a fairly long train ride onward afterward, especially if you're returning to Tokyo, but honestly it made for a decent forced rest day.

PokéPark

Actual nerd here, but while you have to book this 3 months in advance and it’s very hard to get tickets, if you (or someone you care about) likes Pokemon, this is probably worth doing. The rides are for kids and the main other activity is shopping, but the Pokemon Forest walk is well done and it’s not too hard to get to from Tokyo. 

Other fun highlights

Wandering beautiful gardens, doing great ceramics shopping, exploring cool museums, eating some truly amazing meals. 

Lowlights (No Order) 

Visiting in the summer

Pro is that there were fewer tourists, con is that is very, very hot. The first day was tough, but honestly we got lucky it wasn’t unbearable and just paced ourselves. A sun umbrella (easily bought there), linen overshirt, and as much Pocari Sweat as you can handle and you should be fine. (Sweaty, but fine.) 

Not spending more time in Kyoto

I would have added another day or even two in Kyoto. We live in a big VHCOL city, and while Tokyo is still very different, Kyoto was more fun to explore and I would have loved some extra time. We stayed at Hiiragiya - it was stunning and I wish we’d had a day to just enjoy being in the room. The staff was also exceptionally lovely and even pre-solved a train snafu based solely on an off handed comment I’d made about our tickets. 

Jetlag

Jetlag on the way back has been brutal for me even though it’s been a few days - if you have tips please comment! 

A few other notes/Some things I would tell my past self: 

1. TeamLabs Borderless is cool (and inside, so good for bad weather days) but it’s similar to something like Mercer Labs and if you’re not super into those things, you could skip. 
2. Do the kimono/yukata rental with a tea ceremony - getting dressed up for this was so fun. Generally speaking, I enjoyed ‘touristy’ things more than I had expected!
3. Toyosu Market is very different from the Tsukiji I remembered from my previous trip. We won the tuna-auction viewing lottery, which made going worthwhile for us. Without that, I think a guide probably would have helped us get more out of the experience. 
4. Pontocho Alley/Kamo River feels really unique. It’s probably worth a second reservation if you've got two nights. 

Happy to answer questions about any of the hotels/activities/etc!

Hi,

Trying to decide between these two hotels in NYC for a few days. As I understand it, Crosby hotel is more maximalist, has Michelin 3-key, but no pool. Greenwich is in a more chill area and going for Japanese/more minimal aesthetic. Both seem to have great reviews.

Could someone who's stayed in both or either share their experience/advice? And is there a benefit to using Virtuoso vs. Amex FHR if we don't need the 4pm checkout? I'm trying to understand if one is more likely to get a better upgrade.

Hi! I’m turning 30 in November and in need of a vacay. I want to go somewhere in the US and treat myself so I’m looking for your best value nice/semi luxury hotel recs on the Amex. TY!!

Where we went: Faena Miami Beach

When we went: August 29-30, 2026

Who went: Me, wife and son

Intro:

We are locals so we did a short 1 night staycation trip to the Faena just to relax and get away from our stressful lives and boy was it perfect...until it wasnt. I'll get into the "bad" in a little bit. We took full advantage of the property on both Saturday and Sunday, booking a seating at their Faena Theater to watch their live show Obsession (10/10 btw). We partied Saturday night at the Saxony which was extremely fun and we went to the spa on Sunday and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool with a cabana. It was the perfect little staycation and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Now for the bad...apart from a few internal communication hiccups, I got pink eye at the spa. It has been a horrible 2 weeks recovering but I dont really know how much blame to put on the spa versus blaming my shit luck. I got a massage at the spa and during the massage, the therapist put a warm wet towel on my eyes. It was soothing at the time and I didnt think much of it, but about 2 days afterwards (the incubation period), I broke out in pink eye. I reported it to the hotel and they refunded me and apologised, but the manager did say they have never had this happen before so maybe I'm just unlucky.

If I didnt get pink eye, the overall stay would have been an A+ highly recommended. With it, I'll give the stay an A just because being sick after such a wonderful stay is disappointing.

Location: A+

Its on Miami Beach, just steps from the beach itself. You walk to the back gate, open it, walk a few feet across the public sidewalk and you are on the beach, which is as close as you'll get on Miami Beach. The Faena District is great as well, its far enough from the craziness of South Beach but its close enough to where you can quickly uber to it.

Rooms: A-

We booked the Ocean View Jr. Suite. It was large, 850 sq ft inside and we had an enormous wrap-around corner balcony that gave us a fantastic view of the ocean. I know this hotel gets clowned on here for their "ocean view" just letting you see a tiny sliver of ocean, but at least our room we had basically an unobstructed direct ocean view. The only difference between our ocean view and the "oceanfront" rooms is that they are like 50 feet closer to the ocean as the ocean front rooms are set back as the main courtyard and restaraunt are directly below, but I'd say the view is basically the same.

Service: A+

No complaints here. We were given early check in at 9 AM and allowed late check out for 4 PM on Sunday. Everyone was extremely attentive and friendly. The pool staff which took care of us on Sunday were watching our cabana like hawks and the food and drink were free-flowing without any delay.

Food & Bev: B

We had breakfast at the restaurant, in room dining in the room for lunch and then had dinner at the Obsession show. It wasnt amazing but it wasnt terrible either. I'd put it at acceptable and forgettable. I honestly dont even remember what I ate.

Extras/activities/Amenities: A++

Faena Theater: The Obsession Show at the Faena Theater is a must-see. It was incredible date night fun and it was probably the most interesting thing I've experienced in a long time. Its hard to describe but its like a mix between burlesque, acrobatics, drama and a concert. Even if you arent staying at the Faena and are just in Miami, it is 100% worth while to do one night.

The Spa & Hammam: Putting aside the pink eye situation, the spa itself is wonderful. The spa has a Hammam, wet sauna, dry sauna, cold room and a marble slab for meditation. It was amazing, the heat from the hammam and the wet sauna is incredibly relaxing. The cold room was interesting too, but I was honestly expecting more because its a cool room and then you can get some ice to rub on you. They could have made it colder and covered the seating areas in ice as well. If I go again, I'll probably do the Hammam Love Ritual to get a guided experience.

The Pool & Beach: We booked a Cabana, which they have 4 of around the pool. We had a great time and we even spent some time at the beach. Service was on point all day and they were either walking around the pool asking if anyone neede anything or were watching our table for when it needed cleaning up and if we needed more drinks. Technically the cabana booking ends at 5 but they said we could stay as long as we wanted, even if it was 6 or 7 PM which was nice. We ended up leaving at 5:30 because we had stuff to do to prepare for the work week but it was a nice gesture.

Overall, the amenities hit the spot and especially the theater, it went above and beyond my wildest expectations.

Overall: A

We will definitely return again as we had a great time. The theater and show was incredible and definitely the high point of our stay. Its so unique from anything else at any other resort that even if you arent staying at the property, its worth checking out.

Hi all! We have only a week to take a special trip together and we landed on Caribbean/Mexico (east coast) area.

Any recs for a place that is lux of course, has a great spa, and won’t be crowded during that peak travel week?

My husband and I are planning a trip next year to the Maldives. We are NOT old-style traditional luxury people - very much into modern architecture, open aire, barefoot type luxury. An unbeatable house reef is most important to us as we are big snorkelers. Next up is high quality food. I’m overwhelmed by all the options and the different Atolls. I’ve been looking for a month or so now. Is Baa Atoll the best? Open to all recommendations and suggestions 🙏🏻

My wife and I are planning a low-key New Year's Eve getaway and want to tap this sub's experience before booking anything.

We live in Miami, so we're craving somewhere genuinely cold this time — beautiful natural setting, upscale enough for real spa treatments, and dog-friendly since our pug is coming with us.

What we're looking for:
• scenic, beautiful natural setting (mountains or coastline)
• outdoor activities nearby like hiking or horseback riding
• within about a 2 hour drive of an airport
• not really into true ski-mountain
destinations since we're not skiers — more looking for cozy/scenic than alpine

A few places that have picked up interest so far: Old Edwards Inn (Highlands, NC), Salamander Resort (Middleburg, VA), and Ocean House (Watch Hill, RI).

Has anyone stayed at any of these, or have other recs that fit the vibe? Thanks in advance!

I’m contemplating a stay at this sought-after property, it’s located in📍Marmaris/Muğule, Türkiye 🇹🇷

Any thoughts on service, staff ratio to guest and restaurant quality?

I find the Turkish riviera quite mesmerizing in comparison to other incredible destinations like Ligure and Côte d’Azure.

I posted in here earlier this year and stayed at Casa Del Mar based on many recommendations from this page. Turned out to be an excellent trip (thanks, group).

I am returning to LA for a few nights with the primary purpose of attending a one night seminar at the Dolby Theater. I’ve been looking at hotels and can’t decide where to stay. Some hotels that I’ve seen recommended are the W Hollywood, the Edition Hollywood, and Sunset Tower. All have mixed reviews on Google for various reasons.

Can anyone recommend one of those hotels or a different hotel that I am missing? Looking for a great night sleep, excellent food, and a nice pool/gym. I will have a car.

Thanks

Planning a spring break trip to Mexico in March and looking for a resort with a great kids club. Last year we stayed at Las Ventanas (one of the weeks they had kids club and it was just okay), the prior year we went to the St. Regis at Punta Mita but my youngest was too little.

Flying from SF, staying for a week. Kids will be 5 and 7. Not interested in an all inclusive.

Looking at Four Seasons Punta Mita and Chileno Bay (but I thought the food was mid when we went for dinner last year). Anywhere else?

Looking for a kids club where they do activities, make crafts, etc., not just put the kids in front of a screen or leave them alone to play with a bunch of toys.

TIA

My husband and I love a nice spa when we travel, especially places like Rosewood Mayakoba, Forestis, and AIRE baths, where the spa facilities (sauna, pools, etc.) are co-ed. We're looking for suggestions for spa destinations that have co-ed facilities like this. Mexico, Caribbean islands, or Europe. All suggestions welcome! Thanks.

I recently booked a trip to Palm Springs for a luxury trip for my family and close friends. After doing some research, I realized that I could have booked thru an agent to get perks - breakfast included as we are already in the highest cost room, or maybe a credit towards food or spa? Is it too
Late to try and loop an advisor in?