Day: July 25, 2024

Maine is well-represented in the prestigious Travel + Leisure magazine’s top 100 hotels in the world.

To make the list at all is remarkable. To make it twice is a very big deal. The featured hotels are based on customer reviews, so the guests who have stayed there know what makes them amazing. Which Maine hotels are ranked among the top 100 in the world?

#52 The Norumbega Inn – Camden, Maine

Originally built in 1887, Mainebiz says that it was bought two years ago by a New York City architect for a price they didn’t disclose. It was listed for $3.5 million. The description in Travel + Leisure says,

Formally restored in May 2023, this 11-room inn is a year-round escape housed within a fairytale chateau originally built in 1887. The perfectly-executed cocktails, luxe rooms, and attention to detail from the staff stood out to our readers.

I live in Maine, and I want to go to this castle in Camden!

#85 Quisisana Resort – Center Lovell, Maine

Last year the Quisisana Resort came in #22 on Travel + Leisure‘s list. It’s no wonder this made the list. This resort sits on Kezar Lake, and there is a lot to do in the great outdoors. Travel + Leisure described it:

Sleep under the Maine pines, take in live performances by the talented staff, or grab a stand-up paddle board at the all-inclusive Quisisana.

The words “all-inclusive” got my attention, as the food looks as spectacular as the view! This is a picture from Tripadvisor of a Sunday Brunch.

The hotel (it’s actually a luxury retreat) that came in first was in India. But Camden and Center Lovell, Maine, are a whole lot closer. Congrats to both!

While all eyes might be on Paris this summer, it’s London that’s stealing the spotlight. The British capital was just crowned the best city in the world by global consulting firm Resonance, which releases one of the most prestigious and comprehensive rankings of the 100 most popular urban areas to live, work, and visit globally. 

“London still reigns over all global cities. Despite crippling COVID lockdowns and economic devastation. Despite Brexit. Despite a war in Europe. The city is more indomitable and part of the global discourse than ever,” the company’s report states.

Resonance’s methodology examines data from more than 400 cities with a population of more than one million and ranks each in three core categories: livability, lovability, and prosperity. These categories comprise multiple subcategories relating to a city’s ability to “attract talent, visitors and/or businesses.” 

Two of London’s highest marks were in the educational attainment and culture subcategories, but the city also topped the overall livability and lovability categories. After Dubai and Doha, London had the third highest tourist spending in the world — a whopping $16.07 billion. With new metro stations added to The Tube, Resonance points out that public transit in the city has improved, which is great news for visitors.

However, London, just like New York City, which topped the ranking for best cities in America, is also facing challenges. The city’s banking district is currently experiencing a rising office vacancy rate of 17 percent.

Paris is second on Resonance’s list of the best cities in the world. The French capital scored perfect for walkability and landmarks but performed much worse in the prosperity category, ranking 14th, which tracks the poverty rate among its full-time residents. However, Paris remains the most visited city globally, with 44 million travelers passing through it in 2022.

Resonance named New York City the third best place to live, work, and visit in the world. 

Tokyo and Singapore round out the top five, with the Japanese capital highlighted for its excellent shopping and dining scene. Dubai, which Resonance has dubbed the “Vegas of Arabia,” is sixth, and San Francisco is seventh. The company points out that, in recent years, the Golden City has suffered economically, as well as from a lack of affordable housing and rising crime rates. Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Seoul are the last three cities in the top 10 best cities in the world.

You can read the full report on worldsbestcities.com.

Whenever I think of Kerala, the faces of my grandmothers appear before me. These two women, centers of goodness and strength in our family, frame how I see the land of my parents’ birth. I close my eyes and I’m once again seated in my maternal grandmother’s kitchen, the pampered grandchild back for the holidays, watching clay pots simmer over wood fires and inhaling the aroma of roasted cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, red chilis, and pepper. It is a soothing and quintessentially Kerala daydream, because spices are at the heart of this one state that feels so different from India’s other states, almost like another country. 

The “Spice Coast,” as it has been known since the days of ancient Greece, is a ribbon of territory on the southwestern edge of India. Just 360 miles long and 75 miles at its widest, the state sits sandwiched between the Western Ghats — a mountain range that runs parallel to the coast — and the Arabian Sea. A wonderful alchemy of geography, temperature, rainfall, wind, and soil composition allows pepper, cloves, cardamom, and other spices to grow wild on the mountains’ lower slopes. Roman soldiers brought that pepper home from the Spice Coast; later, Arab and Indian sailors made small fortunes selling the seasoning in Venice and Genoa. By the 13th and 14th centuries, the craze for spices — not only pepper but also ginger, cloves, and cinnamon — was sweeping Europe. 

Astonishing medical claims fueled the frenzy, including the assertion that ginger smeared on flagging body parts could restore virility. For all that, no one in Europe seemed to consider dry-roasting and powdering the spice, then frying it with mustard seeds, shallots, and perhaps cumin, turmeric, and coriander, to make a masala, the first step in so many Indian dishes. 

What made these spices so valuable was not so much their flavor as the difficulty in procuring them. The urgent desire to find their source (which the Arabs naturally kept secret) eventually brought the Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British to India. England enslaved and plundered the country for two centuries, first through the East India Company and then through crown rule. So many of the magnificent edifices of government and education in Britain were built on this loot. (Even the word loot is stolen from the Indian vernacular.)

My older brother and I were born in Ethiopia, where my parents were hired to work as teachers. Our holiday visits to their ancestral homes in Kerala felt like a return to a land that existed before time. At dusk, in the years before electricity arrived, the gentle glow of oil lamps enhanced the night. The unforgettable meals were all sourced from our family’s properties and nearby streams, prepared and consumed that day. During my medical-school years in Madras (now Chennai) I visited regularly, but after my grandparents’ passing and the sale of their homes, there was little reason to return. Still, over the course of the past 10 years, while I was researching and writing a novel set in Kerala, I went back multiple times. Soon after The Covenant of Water was released in May 2023, I set off on one more visit, this time to fulfill a vow. 

Related: Our Readers’ Favorite Hotels in India of 2024

My partner, Cari, and I landed at Kerala’s southern end, in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), and planned to travel north through the length of the state. It was Cari’s third trip to India, but her first to Kerala. She grew up in Hawaii, a place whose lush green foliage, coconut palms, and beaches I find so reminiscent of Kerala. 

Despite major growth and development, Thiruvananthapuram retains a sleepy, small-town feel. For centuries, maharajahs from one lineage ruled from here over “Travancore” — present-day central and southern Kerala. They worshipped at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, an awe-inspiring and beautiful shrine, making lavish offerings to the temple’s deity, especially when invaders from the north threatened. In 2011, a court-ordered inventory of the temple vaults revealed hillocks of gold jewelry, precious stones, gold coins, and stone-encrusted idols weighed down with diamonds and gold chains. The value of the temple’s treasures is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars.

We chose to stay two nights outside the city in Kovalam, a popular beach town, at the splendid Leela Kovalam, a Raviz Hotel. This sprawling property is perched on a cliff, with panoramic views of the ocean and a private beach below. Upon our arrival, the Leela’s chef took us to the hotel’s organic garden to pick produce for our thali lunch. A thali is a complete meal: rice with many small dishes, including dessert, served on a single dish or banana leaf. Ours came in a round stainless-steel tray embracing an inner circle of stainless-steel cups. These held bitter gourd in a coconut curry; red spinach and green chiles in a fiery red curry; okra fried with onions — which we had picked that morning — along with yogurt, lobster curry, fish curry, and pickle. 

The second night, the chef set a table for us near the beach. The water lapped close by as he plied us with delicacies including karimeen, or pearl spot fish, a great Kerala favorite, which he prepared by marinating it in a paste of onions, chiles, and spices, then steaming it wrapped in a banana leaf.

Related: Why Rajasthan, India, Is a Perfect Family Trip

We drove north from Kovalam to my father’s hometown of Mannar, and the nearby Parumala church, a famous pilgrimage destination for the Christian community in Kerala — my community. Dad was an altar boy at Parumala; his father, who is buried there along with my grandmother, was a deacon. Legend has it that Christianity came to India in A.D. 52 with the arrival in Kerala of Saint Thomas, “Doubting Thomas” of the 12 apostles. He converted a few Brahmin families. Today that community, the Saint Thomas Christians, has grown to 6 million, though they make up just 18 percent of Kerala’s population. Parumala holds the tomb of the first saint of our church, Mar Gregorios (1848–1902). 

Christians from Kerala put great store in prayers to Mar Gregorios, and visiting the saint’s tomb was the main reason for this trip. At one point during the 10 years I spent writing The Covenant of Water, I broke my contract with my original publisher — I felt they didn’t get the story. It was a scary time, with the fate of my manuscript uncertain, and an advance to repay. I took a vow then that I’d come to this tomb if the novel ever got published. It did. Indeed, it succeeded beyond anything I could have hoped for — a miracle, as far as I was concerned. And so now, as I stood at the saint’s tomb, shoulder to shoulder with Cari and so many others, all of whom had their own reasons for being there, I was overwhelmed with gratitude, and the tears welled up. I felt one with the faith of my forefathers; the spirit of my late mother, so instrumental to the genesis of my novel, was present. My prayers had been answered. My vow was fulfilled. 

We drove on to Kottayam, a town in central Kerala that is the epicenter of the state’s Christian community. Kottayam has many churches, some so close together that the sermon in one could serve both congregations. It is also the home of my college friend Jacob Mathew, or “Chacko,” who is part of the fourth generation of the family that has published Kerala’s Manorama newspaper since 1890. The Manorama, a daily staple of my grandparents’ lives, now has 17 million readers. Chacko’s late mother published 27 cookbooks; it’s a rare Keralan house that doesn’t have at least one of them. Chacko’s wife, Ammu, continues the great culinary tradition. At her table we feasted on my favorites: appam (a pancake made from rice flour) and fish curry; erechi olarthiyathu (a beef dish); and some dishes that were new to me, such as a dessert of tapioca and coconut milk crowned with tender toasted coconut. 

Chacko had generously arranged — indeed insisted — on having his car and driver meet us when we arrived in Kerala and stay with us on every leg of our journey. It was a huge help. Saying our goodbyes to Chacko and Ammu, we got on the road again. From Kottayam, we headed to the backwaters, hundreds of miles of natural and man-made canals, which in the pre-automobile era were Kerala’s highways, transporting goods and people across the state. Our destination was Kumarakom, a village on the shore of the vast Lake Vembanad — India’s longest and South India’s largest lake. Homestays, small hotels, and vast resorts hug the shore; bird-watchers come to visit the Kumarakom sanctuary nearby. 

We stayed at Kumarakom Lake Resort — or “KLR” — a Paul P. John property. John, a Christian from Kerala, is best known for his single-malt premium Indian whiskey, which shocked connoisseurs by winning medals internationally and capturing a sizable world market share. I think Paul John whiskey is better than any single malt (but I won’t tell my Edinburgh friends).

KLR is a “heritage” resort, at the heart of which are two large, repurposed family homes that have been transported to the property; one houses KLR’s signature restaurant, the other its superb ayurvedic spa. The buildings showcase the classic features of traditional Kerala architecture: peaked roofs with exquisitely carved and decorated wooden gables; inner and outer courtyards and broad verandas; windows, doors, and wall vents designed to maximize airflow. The guest villas are miniature versions of the two larger homes. Ours had teak walls polished to a beautiful finish, heavy wooden doors with ornate locks, and cement floors painted with red oxide. Each of these villas also has a private swimming pool. The interiors felt so familiar that on my first night I dreamed about my grandparents — their house was built by a skilled carpenter, or Ashari, following ancient Vedic principles in terms of the house’s position on the plot, its orientation to the sun, and the prescribed ratios for the support beams and roof timbers.

Chacko and his family keep a motorboat on Vembanad Lake, and he had made arrangements for us to get a backwater tour. The next morning, just before the sun rose, we met the boatman on the KLR jetty. Vembanad was as smooth as glass, and would have seemed endless had we kept going north. But we soon steered away from its center, toward a shore that unfolded to reveal the entrance to a broad channel. There were raised mud embankments on either side of this passage, beyond which flooded fields stretched away in the distance. These are the rice paddies of Kuttanad, where, for more than two centuries, rice has been cultivated below sea level, making use of ponds, reclaimed swamp, and lagoons and using an elaborate system of irrigation and drainage. 

We were lucky to spot a toddy tapper climbing down from a tall palm tree, his tools hanging from his belt. Toddy is the sap from the palm’s flowering top. Each day the tapper “taps” on the fruiting body to soften it, makes a few incisions, then inverts a clay pot to collect the sap. The next day he empties the receptacle, and repeats. We purchased his fresh toddy, which ferments at once, its taste for now sweet and tangy. By lunchtime it would have the potency of an IPA. Toddy shops abound all over Kerala, housed in nondescript shacks. They famously serve a fiery cuisine — which requires you to drink more to douse the flames.

We passed several houseboats during our excursion. These converted rice barges are air-conditioned floating suites, complete with pilot and chef. We would have loved to have spent a week on a houseboat, exploring the far reaches of the backwater, and a second week relaxing at KLR. But we didn’t have enough time, and Cochin (or Kochi, its new name) beckoned.

Kochi — “The Queen of the Arabian Sea,” as it is called — is a congregation of islands where backwaters and ocean meet that, once a modern harbor was built in 1920, anchored the spice trade. Most visitors will choose, as we did, to spend their time exploring Mattancherry and Fort Cochin, neighborhoods where the city’s rich history is most evident.

Negotiating the gridded streets of Fort Kochi, we arrived at Brunton Boatyard. As the name implies, this classic colonial building, with its tall arches and pillars, was once a prosperous boatyard owned by an Englishman. It has been beautifully transformed into a hotel, its hallways and walls decorated with colonial artifacts. On the broad veranda you can close your eyes and imagine the privileged life of a British expatriate as you stretch out on a teak-framed recliner, sip a gin and tonic, and let yourself be cooled by the shore breeze.

Brunton Boatyard is steps from the seawalk; from there we watched the ferries shuttling between the surrounding islands. Stalls selling fresh fish offered an education on the species that abound in the Arabian Sea: sardine, mackerel, pomfret, mullet, seer fish, prawns, and mussels. In the early mornings you might see fishermen bringing in a fresh catch, including crabs, lobster, and tuna. Our stroll brought us to the iconic “Chinese” fishing nets, cantilevered over the water by wooden beams like giant cranes; no tourist leaves Kochi without photographing these structures. 

The St. Francis Church was also on our walking route. Built in 1503, it was the first European church in India. We stood alongside other tourists and stared numbly at the vault where Vasco da Gama is not buried. (He was, briefly, entombed here, but then his body was taken back to Portugal.) This Catholic church became Protestant in the Dutch era, and Anglican when the British came. 

Our last stop was Mattancherry, once home to the large spice markets where traders came to bid and barter. Now this quaint part of Kochi is famous for its antiques shops, many of them selling wonderful artifacts recovered from old ancestral homes, such as doors, arches, decorative panels, and locks. Mattancherry once had a large Jewish community, but most left after the creation of Israel. The neighborhood of Jew Town remains — its label is not derogatory, but a designation given over time as more Jewish people arrived in the area. The synagogue is the main attraction. On a visit I made in 2000, a congregation of fewer than five people remained. Now the congregation is nonexistent; its members have all either died or emigrated to Israel.

Once the sun set, we were back in Fort Kochi, which now took on a different character, the returning sea breeze having brought about a revival. The foreign backpackers who had been tucked away in hotels in the side streets emerged, looking pleased, as though they might stay forever. Families came out to stroll, teens to meet friends. Kochi is host to the popular Kochi-Muziris Biennale, which began in 2012. It has had an effect on the city that lasts all year: art galleries buzz with visitors, and coffee shops and elegant restaurants light up the street. The ocean was dark and invisible, illuminated only by the lights of ferries crisscrossing between islands like fireflies. 

Our time in Kerala had run out. There was so much more to see: the wildlife sanctuaries in the jungle preserves of the Western Ghats; the cities of Kozhikode (formerly Calicut) and Kananur (formerly Cannanore) farther north; visits to the estate regions of Wayanad, or Munnar, where tea and rubber are grown on mist-shrouded slopes; perhaps a stay in one of the many individual estates —properties that encompass thousands of acres — where the original planter’s home has transformed itself into luxury lodge or hotel, far from the crowds of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. We planned to come back again, next time for a longer, more leisurely stay. Cari, an anthropologist, had loved learning about the history and culture of Kerala, and meeting my friends and extended family, seeing my roots. 

When Vasco da Gama landed in Kerala in 1498, he claimed he was there to bring Christian salvation to the heathens. Little did he know that Christianity had been extant there since A.D. 52. And here I was, a descendant of those first Indian Christians, returning to fulfill my vow. It felt good. 

Where to Stay

Brunton Boatyard

The 26 rooms at this Kochi hotel, once a British shipyard, draw on colonial style and overlook the point where Lake Vembanad meets the Arabian Sea.

Kumarakom Lake Resort

This luxurious heritage resort on the shores of Lake Vembanad has a number of villas modeled after manas, the traditional homes of the region — as well as larger pavilions and even houseboats.

The Leela Kovalam, a Raviz Hotel

From its clifftop location, this 188-room resort has superb views of the Arabian Sea. Ask for one of the four suites in the former Halcyon Castle, a 1932 royal building that has been restored.

A version of this story first appeared in the August 2024 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “Still Waters.”

Philadelphia, the city that birthed American Democracy and a mascot named Gritty, will soon be home to a swish new boutique hotel — one with a hidden courtyard that channels a Mediterranean holiday. The 50-room Hotel Anna & Bel — brought to life by Philadelphia-based real estate development firm Foyer Project and operated by Life House, which also counts properties in Palm Springs and the Berkshires — is slated to open in August in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood. The property has roots in the 18th century and was once home to a communal living home called the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women.

“Throughout the renovation process we worked with the Preservation Society of Philadelphia to emphasize and honor the property’s rich architectural history while breathing a new design life into the space with modern amenities and features,” Dor Berkovitz, co-founder and managing partner at Foyer Project told Travel + Leisure.

That new design life takes ample inspiration from the property’s history, with curved lines,  pastel colors, and other elements that lean into the “inherent femininity of the property,” Berkovitz said.

Beyond its history, the hotel’s space comes to life with a host of local artists and makers: custom robes are by Philadelphia-based Printfresh, beloved Fishtown grocer Riverwards Produce is the mastermind of the in-room minibar snacks, and neighborhood independent bookstore Ulisis stocked the hotel’s reading nook. Throughout the property, oil paintings, illustrations, and mosaics by a mix of local, female, and international artists were curated by another Philly-based firm, Paradigm Art Advisory, including prints capturing scenes of the city by hometown photographer Gab Bonghi.

Rooms range in size from studios to two bedrooms, each with either a kitchenette or a minibar with a Nespresso maker, plus custom-made wooden bed frames and vintage-inspired decor. On the top floor, a two-bed, two-bath primary suite has expansive views of the city skyline and loads of natural light thanks to a series of skylights. On the second floor, interior rooms have French doors that open to a balcony overlooking the courtyard with perhaps the most dazzling aspect of the property: a leafy courtyard with umbrella-shaded loungers trimming a heated outdoor pool.

The outdoor space was designed “to feel transportive,” Berkovitz said. “We wanted the area to feel like an escape from the city. Reminiscent of New Orleans, the courtyard is surrounded by iron balcony railings that draw from both French and chic Mediterranean influences to make the area feel like a coastal oasis.”

While the oasis is for guests only, Bastia, the on-site restaurant helmed by local chef Tyler Akin, will be open to the public. The cafe and coastal Mediterranean restaurant will center around seafood dishes, and will also provide in-room dining. The same team is behind Caletta, the property’s lounge, which will also serve poolside spritzes and Italian snacks, bringing guests that much closer to the Med.

Located northeast of Center City, Fishtown has historically lacked in the robust range of lodging options compared to the downtown neighborhood. But with so much happening in the stretch of the city, including welcoming some of the city’s buzziest restaurants of late, it’s a prime time for a new hotel to open its doors.

“As residents of the neighborhood, we don’t have anything similar that appeals to both visitors to the area and locals alike,” Berkovitz said. “In recent years, Fishtown has seen a surge of new restaurants and shopping, so we felt the neighborhood would be perfect for travelers who are looking for a destination that combines a sense of community with full amenities and boutique offerings.”

Nightly rates start at $300. Learn more or book your stay at annaandbel.com.

SAN DIEGO — It may have taken a quarter century to develop a luxury waterfront hotel in Oceanside, but it’s apparently paid off. The Mission Pacific Beach Resort, which made its debut three years ago, has been named the No. 1 resort in the continental U.S. by Travel and Leisure’s readers.

The 161-room, seven-story hotel, which boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant on the premises, was also named the top resort in California. It outranked many long acclaimed properties, including Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe, which frequently garners recognition in national rankings. It came in at No. 11 in this year’s reader survey of best resorts in the U.S., although it was fourth in 2021.

“I think everyone was completely surprised,” Tim Obert, area managing director of Mission Pacific Beach Resort, said of Tuesday’s announcement. He also manages the hotel’s sister property, The Seabird Ocean Resort & Spa, which was ranked 14th.

“It’s our guests who voted for us, and they’re well traveled and experienced. They know what great is, so it’s flattering that they were kind enough to take the time to vote for us. We had hoped we would score well, but I don’t think any of us expected that we would be No. 1.”

Travel and Leisure’s article announcing the top resorts is headlined, “The Resort Voted Best in the Continental U.S. Overlooks an Underrated California Beach and Has a Michelin-star Mexican Restaurant.”

It describes the resort on N. Myers Street, as “a place you never really need to leave to have a good time. It’s home to both a Michelin-starred restaurant (Valle, which serves tasty Mexican bites) and a rooftop bar serving craft cocktails that are ideal at sunset.”

The resort, it points out, is also home to the original “Top Gun” house, a 19th century Victorian cottage that appeared in the original Top Gun film released in 1986.

Mission Pacific Beach also made it onto Travel and Leisure’s Top 100 Hotels in the World for 2024, ranking No. 11. The only other California hotel to rank higher was the Pendry Newport Beach.

To compile the list of top resorts, Travel and Leisure asks its readers each year to weigh in on their travel experiences, not only for hotels and resorts, but also for cities, cruise ships, airlines and other hospitality segments. More than 186,000 readers completed the 2024 survey, the magazine said, and more than 700,000 votes were cast across all categories.

Hotels were specifically rated on such criteria as rooms and facilities, location, service, food and value.

The two sister resorts in Oceanside had something of a tortured history as the city sought to bring a destination resort to the oceanfront site since the 1970s. It began courting developers in the 1980s for the two-block site bisected by the western end of Mission Avenue, with boundaries at Pacific and Myers streets, Pier View Way and Seagaze Drive.

Back in 2005, the city of Oceanside chose S.D. Malkin Properties from a field of three finalists. It was Oceanside’s fourth try in 25 years to land a luxury hotel for the site. The project would eventually break ground in 2019.

“When it opened in May of 2021, it opened during COVID, a difficult time to launch any hotel,” Obert said. “So it started slowly and now has gained its footing and competes very well in the market. We run around 67, 70 percent occupancy for the year, but this year we’ll be closer to the low 70s. Like all resorts during the summer through Labor Day, we run well north of 80 percent occupancy.

“Our owners continue to reinvest in the property on a regular basis. They have a luxury retail background and they continue to reinvent the product to be current and relevant.”