You may have noticed the trend already: Domestic travel is up. Some aging travelers find it easier to fly a short hop rather than to overnight it to Europe; fears of Zika and terrorism are also supporting U.S. trips. The good news is there is plenty to do here. New York and Los Angeles have been wildly popular this year. Charleston, SC, an evergreen favorite, just opened The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, and the Grand Bohemian Hotel; plans are to open Hotel Bennett on one of the city’s squares next year.
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| Ruthanne Terrero, CTC Vice President–Content/Editorial Director |
Fans of Florida have reasons to return. Salamander Hotels and Resorts just launched The Henderson in Destin, FL, in November and in Miami Beach, Faena has virtually reinvented blocks of the city with not just a hotel but an enclave of restaurants and bars. In Florida, the hotels are all about wellness these days; Faena has a “wellness from within” philosophy and hosts speakers on the topics for guests. Executives from the Boca Raton Resort and Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort were just at our New York City office and they’re also focusing on wellness; the resort has also just added a neat bocce garden that has a bar attached to it. For luxury travelers there’s a new reason to go back to Hawaii — to see the new Four Seasons Resort O’ahu at Ko Olina and the reinvented Four Seasons Resort Lanai. New Orleans has had a number of boutique hotels open up over the past few years and now it’s sporting a new “CBD” (Central Business District) filled with new hotels, restaurants, boutiques and entertainment venues. There’s always a reason to go back to the Big Easy but now I really can’t wait.
The brand new Thompson Hotels in Nashville sits between Music Row and the downtown honky tonks along Broadway. We hear the hotel is in one of the most walkable areas in the city. Sounds like a very fun vacation to me.
On the horizon is the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, which opens in June; many of the rooms will have oversized balconies. If you go to the hotel’s website there’s a super-chic image of its rooftop pool and views of the L.A. skyline.
There are, of course, some fabulous new options for 2017 for international travel. Banyan Tree is launching in Bodrum, Turkey, and Capella opens in Shanghai. In London, Ten Trinity Square, The Residences at Four Seasons is on tap, as is The Ned and Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, which sounds like a pretty swell hotel in an emerging neighborhood. Hotel Barrière Les Neiges Courchevel in France is just opening now and Hotel Sensatori will debut in Dubrovnik, Croatia in the new year. In Dubai, the new Jumeirah Al Naseem looks to be a ground breaker for a hotel company that’s already familiar with over-the-top luxury offerings. And in Marrakech, Oberoi will open a spa resort in the first quarter of 2017.
If that’s not enough to tantalize your globetrotting clients, Six Senses opens on Krabey Island in Cambodia with 40 pool villas; later in the year, the luxury brand opens on Fiji’s Malolo Island. There’s much to look forward to here and abroad!