Five Frivolities: September 3
What luxury means to me, US wellness hotels, my in & out list, my top choice Rosewood hotels, and my year 32 bucket list
What luxury means to me
A word with many meanings. Here’s mine:
Space and time to think. To imagine. To appreciate. To live instead of exist.
Regardless of who you are, where you’re from, or your income, luxury has the means to make you feel special. Important. Unique. Powerful.
It doesn’t have to do with a specific price tag and definitely not a specific aesthetic. It has to do with the way it makes you feel. A way you wouldn’t at base line. A way you once aspired to, perhaps. Or even, a way that makes you start to look at life differently.
Whether it’s a dress or shoes, a resort, or a B&B. Luxury, to me, is likely not the same thing as it is to you. In my book, luxury should be defined by your own values.
In my work as a brand strategist, we’ve finally reached an era where we’ve (mostly) stopped using the word “luxury” in consumer-facing copy. Thank god. In my work as a travel agent and creator, it’s very much still a buzzword.
So, when I use it in travel content, know it’s with the above meaning. I figured, because I have a specific definition of this highly nebulous word, I should clarify what I mean when it comes out of my mouth or off my fingertips.
To give some examples: to me, a big suite at a Grand Hyatt isn’t luxury. It might be “nice” but it’s not special enough in my heart and mind. Same goes with a Loewe white tank. It doesn’t make me feel any differently than the one from Amazon or the Gap. Not luxury. A Vogue magazine isn’t a luxury publication to me anymore, but Cabana magazine is. The cheapest room at an iconic, historic hotel is often a luxury experience for me. The cheapest room at the trendiest new hotel is often not. I think you get the point - it’s all so varying and individual, but to me, it comes down to the way something makes me feel.
US wellness hotels for an extra dose of R&R
After European summer in many people’s rearview windows, a vacation that doesn’t make you come home tired sounds awfully nice. Why not go straight to the source: a wellness hotel. Whether that’s exercise, spa treatments, clean cuisine or a spiritual reckoning these are hotels that exist entirely to make you feel good. The agenda is typically not all that much, and that’s the beauty of it. Here’s a handful of where I’d send myself or clients seeking a wellness escape in the US:
Shou Sugi Ban House, Water Mill, New York
Golden Door, San Marcos, California
*Miraval Berkshires, Lenox, Massachusetts
*Mii Amo, Sedona, Arizona
Dr Wilkinsons, Calistoga, California
*Castle Hot Springs, Morristown, Arizona
Crestone Mountain Zen Center, Crestone, Colorado
*Lake Austin Spa Resort, Austin, Texas
Next week, I’ll share my top choice wellness hotels in Italy.
*Hotels with an asterisk mean that they are partner hotels with my agency, Fora, and I’m able to get clients complimentary VIP amenities
In & out, in my eye, at this moment in my mind
I am a highly opinionated individual. And it’s my birthday weekend. And I’m a Birthday Person. So, I’m sharing this list for fun and for no other reason. Do not take this seriously. Nothing is ever “in” or “out” - life is experienced through opinions, and opinions are grey matter.
IN:
Empathy, but not broadly proclaiming you’re an empath
Individuality
Life House Hotels
Ballet flats
Pinterest (was never out)
Long, unedited captions
Drinking real soda if you want to
Red
Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Using the word “yay”
Clothes that are unidentifiable as any one brand
OUT:
Dupes
Rosettes
Timestamps
Ace Hotels
Any shoe that makes it even slightly less easy to walk
Doing something for the picture
Captions with song lyrics
Barbie pink
Tulum, Mexico
Using the word “gatekeeping”
Clothes with logos
Remember, this is just for fun. It’s opinion only and subject to change!
My top choice Rosewood hotels
Rosewood consistently acquires properties that have storied legacies - The Carlyle, Hotel de Crillon, Mansion on Turtle Creek to name a few. But really, they have a way of weaving history with modernity in ways that don’t dilute either era. They have a lot of discretion as a brand, so they draw the biggest names in the world. They’re also the kind of luxury where it’s never one-size-fits-all, luxury travelers are typically able to find a Rosewood property they love. They’re almost always a yes for me. But, of course, I play favorites. See below:
Rosewood Miramar Beach, Santa Barbara, California
Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Austin, Texas
The Carlyle, Manhattan, New York
Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Los Cabos, Mexico
Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Rosewood Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Hotel de Crillon, Paris, France
Rosewood London, London, UK
Rosewood Vienna, Vienna, Austria
When you book with me as your travel agent, you get exclusive complimentary Rosewood Elite amenities that will top Virtuoso or any other program. They vary per property, but often include a guaranteed room upgrade, airport transfers, and property credit.
Bucket list for year 32
Remember, bucket list to-do’s don’t always come true. But, a birthday girl can dream. We all can dream. This year, it would be absolutely insane and also incredible if I did even a few of the below. I’ll be making a wish at 11:11 whenever I see it, and working as hard as ever to make some of the more untouchable ones closer in reach. Let’s dream together, shall we?
A ride on a Belmond train
A quick stay at the TWA hotel at JFK
Local California weekend getaways to: Post Ranch Inn & Deetjen’s, The Poetry Inn, Nick’s Cove, The Inn Above Tide, The Inn at Newport Ranch, Esalen, Auberge du Soleil
Mexico, twice: Cuixmala and Verana
Thanksgiving in Jamaica split between Jake’s and Goldeneye
A trip to Egypt, experienced on the Nour el Nil
As much Capri as humanly possible
A stay at my #1 bucket list hotel, Villa Feltrinelli
Finally go back to New York, split the stay between The Crosby Street Hotel and The Carlyle
Go to a concert or two at Shoreline, I miss them
Go to a Giant’s game and a Warriors game, but not a 49ers game
Go to MORE THAN ONE county fair and or carnival
Go to Dave & Busters, ideally often
Go to the Gilroy garlic festival
Go to Brimfield antique market
Start a Little Free Library
THAT’S ALL FOLKS.
As always, please do share any thoughts, opinions, requests, et cetera! I want to hear from you! Always. Oh! And I should probably mention that you can search the archive any time - use my page as a resource anytime you’re planning a trip :)
x Your Pen Pal,
Marissa