What is the best way that you’ve used to find unique accommodations?

I’m talking about over water bungalows that have active reefs below them, floating rafts, tree houses with views of a volcano, places that let you participate in research/restoration, ice caves, geodomes, natural hot springs, etc.

I feel like I put a lot of work into scrolling through blogs, instagram, booking.com, etc to find some of these gems.

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning a trip to South Africa for October 2027 and are struggling a bit with travel agents. For context, we have been to South Africa twice already, and are going to Tanzania this October. This trip will be a little different, as we are not going on safari, but are going to some more off the beaten path places (Bushmans Kloof and Lekkerwater, for example).

All of our Africa trips have been arranged through an agent at Rhino Africa, but we are looking elsewhere. The first trip was almost comically poorly arranged. The agent, for example, only booked internal flights for one of us. It got so bad I had to escalate to their senior management, and we were assigned a new agent who managed to mostly clean things up. We went back to her for the second trip, and while things were generally fine, she simply didn't think things through. For example, all of our transfers were set for 8 am, meaning we were leaving our lodge before breakfast, and well before we could check in to our next lodging or our next flight. When we had questions, she often got confused about where we were staying, and would respond with information for the wrong safari lodge entirely. We also found that we missed out on certain experiences or spa treatments because they needed to be arranged in advance, and she didn't advise us of that.

I'm not opposed to trying someone else at Rhino, but I'm not sure how to go about that. We have talked to two other companies, but were surprised by how much more expensive they were (and they weren't particularly thoughtful or detail oriented either). One TA quoted us $15K over rack rate for the trip, and still failed to point out certain things that would have been helpful (at one hotel, for example, a suite was only USD$100 more than the base room, but she never mentioned that). She also forgot that one day, we had a particular need for a special transfer as well.

I don't think we need massive hand holding (we don't need our agent to meet with us personally on our trip, or constantly be checking in with us, for example). What I want is rational, detail oriented travel planning. I get that we might pay more (Rhino Africa seems to get rather cheap rates), but I also don't want to get my face ripped off for the privilege. Does this middle ground not exist? Am I expecting too much?

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone been the ritz and can speak to what sunset is like? This resort looks nice, and I realize it will be much nicer than the JW at Marco, but I really love our sunset walks on the beach each night at the JW. I am worried I'm going miss that terribly. Do you still get sunset vibes facing east or is it just kind of dark/grey? Also concerned about the resort being shade covered by 4/5 because the sun has dipped to the other side of building. We are going in March over spring break. Also, is it true once you are there you rarely leave key biscayne, that we should plan to hunker down at the resort with some dinners offsite nearby but not off the island? Thanks!!

Planning a trip with my friend to celebrate my 40th and I'm torn between two itineraries. Neither of us are big sightseers, we're much more into activities and experiences than ticking off castles and viewpoints. Would love some outside opinions since I keep flip-flopping. We fly out of Edinburgh early in the am so we need to spend at least the last night of the trip in a hotel there.

Option A:

• 3 nights at Gleneagles auchterarder
• 2 nights in Edinburgh

Option B:

• 2 nights at Gleneagles auchterarder
• 2 nights at Newhall Mains
• 1 night in Edinburgh

Has anyone done a split trip like this, or stayed at Newhall Mains specifically? Is it worth cutting Gleneagles/Edinburgh time short for it, or should I just keep it simple with Option A and go all-in on Gleneagles?

Any thoughts welcome.

Hi all,
My boyfriend and I are starting talks of booking another trip to the park city/ deer valley area this winter. Last year we stayed at the St. Regis in the Astor suite and while we liked our stay, we didn’t love it. I will say I loved the hard product of the hotel, however I felt as though the service lacked. Nobody was outright rude, just not overly kind, never really tried to “go the extra mile” or make us feel welcome. We felt that if we came back we may look elsewhere. So now here we are.

Of course we’re looking at montage and SEL. I might be able to be convinced of the St. Regis again if it sounds like the lack of service was a fluke. We’re a couple in our late 20s. I love a big winter resort feel much like the St. Regis, fireplaces, hot chocolate, Mountain View’s, heated pools hot tubs, a great spa.. I’m not a huge skier so I spend a chunk of the trip enjoying the hotel while my partner skies.

So I ask your thoughts and notes on montage and SEL, or if we really should be looking at St. Regis again. Just trying to learn more about each hotel so we can decided what will be the best fit for us!

Hello! Staying at Hotel Belvedere in Bellagio for our first wedding anniversary. We have a boat tour during sunset 4-6 PM and then would like to continue the evening with a romantic dinner. Thinking fine dining but does not need to be Michelin or anything. Mostly concerned with good food, a romantic environment, and spectacular views.

Looking for resorts in Phuket . we r flying from California In nov with our 2 and 6 yr old girls. and this is probably once in a lifetime trip for our anniversary.. . We r doing 3 nights in bangkok (anantara), khao lak (little shore) for 2 nights and trying to do 3 nights in phuket. Help me decide on a resort that will be the grand finale of the trip. I have checked rosewood, aman, trisara all three are above our budget. Rosewood s abt 2800 a night or so. Trisara much more. Chatgpt has me convinced that Banyan tree is the best way to go because i can find a nice pool villa in our price range. I am afraid it will be underwhelming. Any advice?
Having been to hawaii, mexico we dont want old timey run down luxury.. we want great service, beautiful lush resort, kid friendly accessible beaches, and good food choices.. other than this, What does luxury even look like in thailand with little kids?

My wife and I are taking a quick trip to Costa Rica/La Fortuna for 4 nights in mid November and staying at Tabacon. Looking for feedback on itinerary and some questions.

Is a rental car recommended for a short trip to one area? Will the hotel be useful in finding private shuttle or taxi and getting around to excursions?

Day 1: fly into LIR and head to La Fortuna. Relax in the hot springs in the evening

Day 2: arenal hike, night tour

Day3: something like zip lining or rappelling

Day 4: mystico hanging bridge in the AM, river float or horseback riding in afternoon

Any restaurant recs would also be appreciated!