A Women-Only Search for Gender Equality
Jamie Sims Coakley reflects on women’s rights both at home and abroad, and shares her experience traveling without her husband to a country that’s still struggling with gender equality.
Interview with the Hot Stone Massage Model
There’s no shortage of transcendent spa hotels, but when it comes to spa photography, it can be a struggle to capture the euphoric feeling a spa provides. We spent some time with the woman most responsible for helping spa photos rise to the challenge — plus a look at eight of our most enchanting spa hotels.
Of Ceilings and Sustenance in Spain
Photographer Jane Hu recently visited the Spanish cities of Sevilla, Granada, and Barcelona, where she found her lens drawn up to awe-inspiring ceilings and down to mouth-watering meals.
The Worrying Rise of Doomsday Tourism
If climate change has taught us anything, it’s that nothing lasts forever. As ice caps melt and coral reefs die, tourists are rushing to see the world’s most precious treasures before they’re gone. Those visits can raise much-needed awareness, but the extra attention isn’t always for the best.
Elevated Hotels That’ll Never Let You Down
There’s a lot to love about hotels on stilts. Unlike your past romantic partners, when your hotel room leaves you high and dry, it’ll leave you with nothing but positive memories.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East
Imagine a teenager deciding to hitchhike their way from London to Kabul. Now imagine thousands of them. What sounds crazy for 2019 was happening with surprising frequency in 1969, on a route known as the Hippie Trail.
The Story of a Pope and His Elephant
The Vatican is no stranger to scandal. And one shameful legend in particular epitomizes the religious, political, and economic realities of a 16th-century papacy. Hilary Bockham, expert guide with Context Travel, tells the twisted tale of Leo X and Hanno the elephant.
The Bounty Beneath the Streets of Rome
The more you burrow down beneath the surface of Rome, the more history you unearth. Theresa Potenza, expert guide with Context Travel, plunges the depths to show us a city that’s eternal both above ground and below.
Freedom Is a California Cottage Hotel
The American West has always represented a certain freedom of movement. It’s no wonder then that California has so many hotels that offer freestanding accommodations: bungalows, cottages, cabanas, or full-on houses that give guests more privacy, more space, more independence — in other words, more freedom.
How the Vacation Came to Be
Martin Luther King said that “the line of progress is never straight.” When it comes to the history of tourism, the line swerved past 99% of the world’s population before it finally delivered the vacation as we know it today.
Georgia Comes Out From Behind the Curtain
Laurent Vernhes, Tablet’s co-founder and CEO, recently visited the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where he discovered unique wines, incredible mountains, and a country that is finally getting the attention it deserves.
A Quintessential American Finds Ugliness Abroad
Mark Twain wrote one of the 19th century’s most popular travel books. But the ugly ways in which he described the world say more about him — and perhaps America — than the places he visited.
A Father and Son Celebrate Self-Love in NYC
After Paul Fishman came out, his relationship with his dad wasn’t quite the same. So he decided to take him on a father-son trip to Pride NYC for the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, and to learn the history of LGBTQ+ rights.
Magnus Nilsson Prepares His Next Steps
What do you do after closing the world’s most interesting restaurant? If you’re chef Magnus Nilsson, you go back to where you came from.
Struggling With Our Social Media Obsession
One of the most talked-about trends in travel today is how the pursuit of beauty, or, more baldly, the pursuit of social media cachet, might be destroying the world’s most amazing places.
Concrete Isn’t Just for Brutalists Anymore
The Brutalist architecture movement of the 1950s and 60s grew out of “béton brut,” the French idea that concrete in its raw, unfinished form is a powerful expression of beauty. Quite a few modern hotels agree.
200 Years of Tourism in the Catskills
Twice the pinnacle of American tourism, the Catskills have ebbed and flowed in popularity over the past couple of centuries. But the cradle of modern comedy is standing up once again — for the same reasons as always.
The Year’s Most Singular Hotel Designs
As we near the halfway point of 2019, it’s a good time to look at the hotels that have gotten us the most excited so far this year. Since January, we’ve added a crop of thrilling new hotels to the Tablet selection that are especially remarkable for their diversity and range of styles.
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Moai
For centuries, explorers and archaeologists have tried to solve the riddle: how did Easter Island’s tiny population build the massive, big-headed stone statues known as moai? And how did they move them?
The Forgotten Women of Hemingway's Paris
Ernest Hemingway’s time in Paris is the stuff of legend, but key players in his story are often overlooked. Samuél Lopez-Barrantes sheds light on a group of pioneering women who had a lasting influence on the young writer.
What Ever Happened to Space Tourism?
News of an upcoming space hotel obviously got our attention, but it also got us thinking: will space tourism ever live up to expectations?
Sydell Group Is King of Their Corner
It’s hard enough to find success with one line of boutique hotels. To be responsible for three of them, like the Sydell group, is extraordinary.
Portugal’s Cutting-Edge Countryside Hotels
Portugal is one of the world’s hottest tourist destinations, due in no small part to the number of exciting new hotels opening throughout the country.
How to See the City in 24 Hours
It’s not uncommon for our memories from a short trip to be stronger than those from a long one. When a vacation is brief, we want to fill it with as much action as possible. It’s a whirlwind, and it’s how Erika Suban first experienced Lisbon.
Art Deco Quietly Returns Again
Art Deco has been back in fashion before, most recently in the 1980s, but its latest return to visibility is quite different from its last.
Ludwig II Was Crazy for Castles
If Neuschwanstein Castle looks familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it at Disneyland. The inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s palace was the obsession of a 19th century king whose untimely death is still debated today.
The Shinola Hotel Puts Detroit on Display
Detroit is as much of an icon as the brands that built it. Since the Seventies, it had been a city in steep decline, but hotels like the Shinola are helping to lead a dramatic revitalization by celebrating their surroundings.
The Real Heaven on Earth in Hawaii
In 1933, James Hilton introduced the world to Shangri La in his novel Lost Horizon. Not long after its publication, the “richest girl in the world” decided that it wasn’t good enough for heaven on earth to exist on the page, it also needed to exist in Hawaii.
2019's Most Desirable Art Events
Consider timing your travels for the purpose of attending a major art festival or biennial exhibition. These events are a unique chance to be truly immersed in the local art and culture, and 2019 features an impressive slate of opportunities.
When Tablet Plus and Michelin Stars Collide
In basketball, a heat check is when a player takes an extra-difficult shot in order to show off how ‘on fire’ they are. These nine hotels are the hospitality equivalent.
