Regina Winkle Bryan

Monaco’s famous 150-year-old Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo will close its doors on October 6, 2014—but brief endings give way to bright new beginnings. The historic hotel is preparing to undergo a vast four-year renovation, which it expects to be 100 percent complete in September 2018.
The hotel’s iconic facade, opposite the Café de Paris, will remain untouched. Inside, however, a total transformation of public areas, service facilities, and hotel rooms and suites will take place. In the center ...

In early 2015, the recently unveiled 338-foot expedition cruise ship National Geographic Orion will set sail for a number of remarkable destinations. The 102-passenger ship is equipped with scuba gear, kayaks, and a state-of-the-art remotely operated vehicle that can reach depths of 1,000 feet.
Through a partnership between Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, the new Orion cruises will include a journey to South Africa, Mozambique, and Madagascar. This 23-day experience (starting Ma...

In 1914, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc along the waterfront in Cap d’Antibes, France, created its now famous Eden-Roc Pavilion seawater swimming pool. The historic hotel—which inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night and was a hangout for Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and many other artists—is now celebrating the Pavilion’s 100th anniversary with a lineup of festivities from May through September. On May 9, a gala banquet will kick off the four-month bash with a feast to include signatur...

There are three ways to get to the new Minam River Lodge: private airstrip, horseback, or on your own two hiking-boot-clad feet. It’s 8 miles one-way to the secluded and off-the-grid retreat folded into the heart of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness.
Set on 126 acres, the lodge once served as an outpost for hunters headed into the Wallowa Mountains, nicknamed the “Alps of Oregon” for their stunning beauty. In 2011, Oregonian Barnes Ellis bought the property and began crafting a boutique hideaway ...

With the opening of his Hotel Monteverdi, Michael Cioffi is something of a minority stakeholder in the town of Castiglioncello del Trinoro. The American attorney and developer, who in 2010 completed renovations of three villas in Castiglioncello, now owns one-quarter of the property in the village, whose population tops out at 20 in the winter months. This summer, however, Castiglioncello was bustling with locals and visitors alike, who enjoyed concerts, a lively café, and more at the town’s ...

The motto at Castell Son Claret, a new country resort on the Spanish island of Majorca, is“the luxury of silence.” Opened in late April at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, the centuries-old castle—which is set within 325 acres of fringed palms, fragrant gardens, and Mediterranean maquis—is indeed a hushed refuge from Majorca’s crowded beaches and bars. But the inland retreat’s isolation only accentuates the natural sounds and sights of this beautiful Balearic isle.
Resting on a ...

The Monaco-based luxury cruise line Silversea launched its third expedition ship, Silver Discoverer, on April 2. The 338-foot, 120-guest ship is scheduled to sail all over the globe, including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, East Asia, Russia, Southeast Asia, the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, and subantarctic New Zealand.
For Silver Discoverer, Conrad Combrink, Silversea’s director of expedition planning, elected many ports of call that have never been visited by other cruise ...

An every-leaf-in-its-place French garden would seem out of place at the new Domaine de la Baume in Provence. The 99-acre resort—formerly the country estate of the 20th-century French expressionist painter Bernard Buffet—instead embraces the natural beauty of the surrounding garigue, with the wild and colorful landscapes that once inspired the artist now serving as an inspiring milieu for a handful of guests.
Opened at the end of June by the French hotelier Jocelyne Sibuet, Domaine de la Baume...

‘‘Asturias is the real Spain,” says Bárbara Callisto as she points to the region’s misty village of Covadonga. “The rest is just reconquered land.”
Looking out over the emerald landscape—which is conspicuously void of flamenco dancers, bullfighters, and sun-drenched beaches—I realize my concept of Spain might be a bit skewed. But if Asturias is indeed the real Spain, then why has no one heard of it?
Callisto, our private guide aboard the tourist train El Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, soon leads ...

Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella, or old town, has for centuries been the seedy and grimy neighbor to the grand and fashionable Eixample district. But the ancient Roman walls of Barcino, as the Romans referred to the Catalan city, once housed the local elite. “Many palaces were built along the Roman wall for noblemen in medieval times,” says Pedro Molina, owner of the new Mercer Hotel Barcelona—a stylish 28-room retreat at the heart of the neighborhood’s recent renewal.
One of three boutique hotels t...

Surrounded by the steamy, pastel-hued waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, the Retreat is located on the island’s most well-known and oft-Instagrammed destination. A stay at the hotel sweeps guests away from the tourist fray into a new peaceful extension of the geothermal water attraction (known for its healing properties), complete with a subterranean spa excavated into the lava, fine dining restaurant, and the first 5-Star digs in the country.
The angular building merges with the idyllic landsc...

Opened June 2019, the newest property from Sir Hotels—Sir Victor—has a prestigious address and an unexpected moniker. The Barcelona hotel’s namesake was not a Sir or a Victor, but author Caterina Albert i Paradís, a Catalan writer active in the early 1900s, who opted for the masculine nom de plume Víctor Català.
A photo of Albert hangs on the inky walls of a library-cum-event area, where texts written exclusively by women line the shelves and a deeply green sofa lures readers in. Sir’s in-hou...

This northwest location of Palihotel has been popular with tourists and business travelers since opening in late 2018, and with a vantage point so near the water in the core of downtown Seattle, it’s no surprise. Set in a historic landmark building, the property debuted in 1900 as the Colonnade Hotel before it was revived by Avi Brosh, CEO of the Paligroup, as the Palihotel Seattle. “The hotel has a lot of history attached to it, and we were lucky enough to be able to dig up numerous historic...

It all began with tea biscuits for hotelier Kristinn Vilbergsson. The first Kex, which means biscuit in Icelandic, opened in 2011 at the site of an old biscuit factory in Reykjavik. Fast-forward to 2019 and Vilbergsson was ready to launch a second Kex, this time in Portland. “I moved to Vancouver BC in 2012,” explains Vilbergsson, “and fell in love with everything about the Pacific Northwest—nature at my doorstep, all the friendly people, and of course all the food and beer!”
Vilbergsson work...

Oregon’s Willamette Valley significantly upped its game with the addition of the Atticus Hotel, a hyper-regional property in McMinnville, the epicenter of Oregon wine country. Trendsetting owners Erin Stephenson, Brian Shea, and Ben Perle—all hailing from the area—launched the petite hotel in April, offering a product relatively unknown in the hinterlands surrounding urban Portland: luxury.
Although Atticus appears to date back to the 1900s when most of the town’s Main Street was erected, it ...