Ready for some globetrotting? Add these zip-lines, ‘dinosaurs’ and luxe resorts to your ‘to do’ list
What in the world is new for summer? The season promises lots to check out around the globe, from freshly redone and reopened hotels in Los Cabos, Mexico, and to a revamped Lizard Island in Australia to the addition of “dinosaurs†in Canada.
Mexico
Los Cabos took a big hit from Hurricane Odile in September, and some properties are just now reopening. Among them:
Esperanza, an Auberge Resort, on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of California and the Pacific, reopened June 1 after months of renovation and refurbishing. The 57 guest rooms have been transformed with a soft tan and gray color palette accenting driftwood and palapas, and artworks and furniture by Mexican crafts people. Doubles from $500 a night.
Info: (855) 331-2226, https://www.esperanzaresort.com
Start planning your summer vacation: What’s new to do in California and beyond
After $10 million in remodeling and redesigning, the adults-only Marquis Los Cabos is again ready for guests. All 235 suites have views of the Pacific and the Gulf of California. The entrance has a 40-foot waterfall, and art and sculptures by Latin American artists are on display around the hotel, its three pools and its 15,000-square-foot spa. Doubles from $450 a night, including meals and alcoholic beverages.
Info: (800) 745-8883, https://www.lat.ms/1JOKVZf
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Also reopening is the One & Only Palmilla. Its 173 guest rooms have been redesigned, and bright colors accent the warm beige color scheme. A Seared Steakhouse by Jean-Georges Vongerichten has been added, and the redesigned indoor-outdoor spa, beauty and fitness center now covers 22,000 square feet. Doubles from $455.
Info: (866) 829-2977, palmilla.oneandonlyresorts.com
Canada
Alberta’s Calgary Zoo has dinosaurs! Well, not real dinosaurs, although they look and sound like it. Sixteen life-size animatronic prehistoric reptiles will be lurking behind rocks and trees and roaring in the zoo’s Prehistoric Park through October. The zoo offers a question for visitors to ponder while posing for selfies in front of a clutch of soon-to-be-hatchlings: Which came first — the dinosaur or the egg?
Info: (800) 588-9993, https://www.calgaryzoo.com
British Columbia’s Intrepid Theatre is creating OUTstages, which it’s calling “Victoria’s first queer theatre festival,†designed to be thought-provoking as well as fun. The July 5-12 festivities will include daring performances, docu-theater, outrageous storytelling, rap-horror shows and plenty of electro-pop dance parties.
Info: (250) 590-6291, https://www.intrepidtheatre.com
A 1 1/4-mile mountain-to-mountain zip-line is scheduled to open in mid-July in British Columbia’s Whistler Blackcomb ski area. Participants will start high on Blackcomb Mountain and, 7,000 feet later, land halfway down Whistler Mountain. The new zip-line will be named the Sasquatch.
Info: (866) 935-0001, https://www.ziptrek.com/whistler-canada
Britain
Surfing in Wales? Surf Snowdonia is to open in August in Conwy, nine miles from the Irish Sea. A lagoon, about the size of an American football field, will create consistent waves around 6 feet tall every minute so beginners can learn the sport. More experienced surfers can challenge the Total Wipeout obstacle-filled part of the lagoon.
Info: https://www.surfsnowdonia.co.uk
Also in Conwy: Zip World Snowdonia, reportedly the world’s largest fully underground zip-line course inside — this one in slate caverns. The recently opened course is for those 10 and older. It includes tunnels, obstacles, rope bridges and zip-lines and takes up to three hours to complete.
Info: 011-44-1248-601-444, https://www.zipworld.co.uk/caverns
In London, the Laslett hotel opens in August in five adjacent Victorian town houses in posh Notting Hill. Its lobby will be more like a community center with a coffee shop, a bar-kitchen, a gallery and a lifestyle store. Doubles from about $333.
Info: 011-44-20-7792-6688, https://www.thelaslett.co.uk
The Gainsborough Bath Spa, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World group, is to open in July in Bath. It claims to be the only hotel in Britain with taps for cold, hot and thermal waters in the guest bathrooms. At Spa Village Bath, guests can get more serious treatments or enjoy thermal pools, a steam room, saunas, relaxation rooms and — if you can stand it — an ice alcove. Doubles from about $300.
Info: 011-44-1225-358-888, https://www.thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk
France
The decor reflects 1885, but Paris’ Les Bains Douches is a hotel and nightclub that bills itself as “a place attracting the stars and mavericks of today and tomorrow.†Apparently, well-heeled ones. Doubles from $555.
Info: 011-33-1-42-770707, https://www.lesbains-paris.com/en
Maison Souquet in Paris’ Pigalle quarter promotes the area’s bawdy past. Its website points out that during the Belle Époque, the building “served as a pleasure house†and that the hotel strives to “re-create the mystery, elegance, exoticism, sensuality and ostentatious luxury†of that period, “one of the most lavish and licentious pages in the history of Paris.†Doubles from $425.
Info: 011-33-1-48-78-55-55, https://www.maisonsouquet.com/en/
Designed in the shape of the sail of a boat, Meliá Paris La Défense hotel has 340 rooms plus 29 suites and sweeping views that include several of Paris’ iconic landmarks. Doubles from $200.
Info: 011-33-1-75-57-99-00, https://www.lat.ms/1L3GgkX
Australia
After being devastated by Cyclone Ita in 2014 and undergoing a multimillion-dollar rebuild, Lizard Island resort along the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland has reopened its doors. Guests can again visit the island’s 24 white-sand beaches and snorkel or dive along the coral reef. Back on shore, Lizard Island’s new Salt Water Restaurant boasts an interactive kitchen. Doubles from $985.
Info: 011-61-2-9538-0751, 011-61-7-4043-1999, https://www.lizardisland.com.au
Indonesia
A Ritz-Carlton with 313 suites and villas in Bali’s Nusa Dua opened in February. One section is atop cliffs; the other is down by the beach. The two sections are connected by a glass elevator. Among its five restaurants and bars is Bejana, which specializes in using local ingredients in Indonesian cuisine, with some international influences. Doubles from $480.
Info: (800) 542-8680, https://www.lat.ms/1GjDUNO
Later this summer in Ubud, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotel called Mandapa is to open where Bali’s Ayung River meets the jungle near terraced rice fields and ancient temples. With 35 suites, 25 villas with private pools, a fitness center, a spa, four restaurants and a separate play area for children, the hotel is calling itself a “sanctuary to relax one’s mind, body and soul.†Doubles from $670.
Info: (800) 542-8680, https://www.lat.ms/1cR0EKc
Fiji
In March, Vomo Island Resort reopened on the private isle after a major renovation, including a half-million-dollar refurbishment of the Reef Restaurant’s kitchen. Bathrooms in the 28 villas were gutted, and free-standing bathtubs and separate showers were added. The villas’ furniture is handcrafted teak, and the resorts’ Rocks Bar now has a teak deck plus luxe daybeds. Doubles from $1,100, including meals.
Info: 011-679-666-7955, https://www.vomofiji.com
Thailand
Outrigger has acquired a new property, the Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, which has 52 villas and suites, each with its own pool, although the resort itself is on the beach so the pool may not be necessary. Doubles from $270.
Info: 011-66-77-914-700, https://www.lat.ms/1Qu2YJJ
China
The Amandayan, an Ãman property that opened in February, sits on Lion Hill above Lijiang’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The hotel is decorated with local materials such as Yunnan pine and Dongbei elm and with locally made art such as Nakhi embroideries and detailed Dongba wooden carvings. Doubles from $700.
Info: (800) 477-9180, https://www.lat.ms/1MPWwan
The NUO Hotel Beijing, a 439-room luxury hotel, uses Ming Dynasty-inspired design and offers traditional tea ceremonies and spa treatments based on ancient philosophies. The hotel strives to be eco-friendly with its energy-efficient guest rooms and sustainably sourced organic foods. Doubles from $295.
Info: 011-86-10-5926-8888, https://www.nuohotel.com
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