Scenic Escapes

  Bicycles, Segways, rowboats, trams, and golf carts are some of the many ways you can explore the Versailles Gardens.   Why Travel to Versailles, France? Versailles was once the hub of French royalty; its beauty and French history continue to be a cultural force. Many parents might be fans of the recent shows, Versailles, Outlander, or Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. The ...

Although there are many bucolic areas in New England, only the Berkshires can boast spectacular hikes, revered art collections, internationally acclaimed performances, foodie restaurants, and historic architecture to enjoy all in one day. Where are the Berkshires and why visit them? The Berkshires is the collective term for the Western-most area of Massachusetts and is equidistant to New York and ...

Every resort has a giant chess board—yawn. What about hungry human hippos? Or life-size foosball?   Smugglers Notch Resort is a true four season vacation like no other in New England. It’s not easy offering a truly year-round destination for families in New England. We have something called mud season. But Smugglers Notch has it in the bag. Meriden, the Luxe Recess ...

Texas has no shortage of world champion BBQ, big hair, baseball champions and really long road trips. The Lone Star State is filled vacation options filled with water park hotels, lazy rivers, theme parks, zip lines, and horsing around.   From luxury dude ranches like the Inn at Dos Brasis to 5-star city hotels, Texas has it all. Are you ...

What do you do for the ultimate Red Sox fan in your family? Gather your 24 closest friends or family and book the Jim Beam Dugout Suite that just opened at Fenway Park and book the Fenway Suite at Hotel Commonwealth.   The intimate view from your own dugout at Fenway Park. The Jim Beam Dugout Suite: VIP Fenway Park How would ...

A family break to visit the Newport Mansions What to do and Where to Stay I've traveled to Newport so many times over the years, first as a young twenty-something enjoying the parties and bars and later to savor its history on multi-generational trips with my grandparetns. One of my passions has always been Gilded Age architecture, so, I have visited the ...

Families traveling to Florence have found Hotel Grand Minerva, a boutique 4-star hotel with a rooftop pool, outstanding restaurant, and comfortable rooms that sleep four or five. The Hotel Grand Minerva Location Hotel Grand Minerva is located steps from the train station, which is almost problematic in that it’s too close to take a taxi but can still be a ...

Performers dancing down lively city streets, Capuchin monkeys calling through dark, leafy canopy, rays of sun lighting up Machu Picchu: kids will never forget their first encounter with Peru.  Peru travel is on the rise. Traditionally touted as a backpacker Mecca, Peru is one-of-a-kind blend of vibrant culture, tangible history, and ultra-diverse wildlife. Mery Calderon grew up in Cusco ...

Florence with kids is really all about gelato. A Room With A View came out when I was thirteen years old. My best friends and I watched it on VHS tape dozens of times, and we quoted the film’s brilliant wit doing our best impressions of Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter. Most of all we each longed to ...

  The sleigh driver asked the words my son was longing to hear: “Who wants to do some DONUTS?”  And horses whipped the sleigh in figure eights as my little guy cheered “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” The Montage Deer Valley Located at the top of the mountain, The Montage Deer Valley Resort (check for rates) provides unrivaled ski in ski out ...

We stayed in a wide variety of accommodations over this five-week period: homes of friends, Airstreams, quirky inns and luxury hotels. Some experiences we’ll remember for a lifetime. A family meanders up the California Coast to Victoria, Canada This year was the year, our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a long drive with the kids and experience some of the most ...

This was our first vacation at an estate resort. We traded walks on the beach for strolls through wooded fairy villages, hunting crabs for holding falcons, and flip flops for wellies. We’re hooked. The K Club Have you ever had a happy owl shake her tail feathers back and forth perched on your wrist? Add it to your bucket list. The K ...

For families wanting to explore Charleston with ease, it provides a unique hybrid vacation formula of resort fun by day, Charleston sightseeing at night. The new Beach Club is beautifully designed. Imagine you owned a favorite Gretchen Scott jersey tunic that you loved so much, you wished you could sleep in it. Well, you sort of could. If those ...

Reaching Family Bliss by Boat and Bicycle Combining the Southern traditions of Lowcounty with the brand's signature California casual luxury, Montage Palmetto Bluff hits a sweet spot. It was our third day at Montage Palmetto Bluff  slowing down from hot and heavy August air in Lowcountry. We stood waiting for one the resort’s boats to tour and enjoy lagoon views of the ...

The Belmond Charleston Place hotel puts you in the heart of the Holy City's historic district with five-star family touches. The Belmond Charleston Place is a relatively young hotel in one of America’s oldest cities. Despite the impression the grandeur of the hotel's common areas makes where classic Southern style reigns, it opened in the 1980’s. Charleston Place has been ...

Ireland’s West Coast boasts some of the country’s most photogenic and awe-inspiring landscapes where County Kerry is King. Winding roads lined with stone walls lead to expansive, often empty beaches. Panoramic views from high above sea level reward explorers with emerald pastoral scenes that have created the iconography of Ireland’s tourism literature. When the sun comes out prepare to ...

Sitting over looking this Atlas mountains from our villa at the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech with chilled bottles of Rosé, fresh dates and walnuts, is the reason l love girls trips.  It’s exotic, indulgent, and oh. so. fab. The souks of Marrakech provided some of the best shopping in all of my travels The Ultimate Girls' Getaway to Marrakech I’m a big ...

Cape Cod's only Five-Star Resort. My web diet gives me a daily dose of luxury hotel websites and their social media. There is a pretty predictable language and look to how high-end properties attempt to lure well-heeled guests. The Wequassett in Cape Cod has a slogan, “You’ve arrived.” I admit I harrumphed just little when I read it. All of my ...

With one of the best ski schools in Colorado, the Beaver Creek ski resort offers families ample ways to enjoy Colorado snow with skis and without, and the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch adds an additional layer of family luxury to an already luxe mountain. The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch was one of the first mountain resorts I visited out west with ...

These 11 hotel cooking classes designed for children range from a few hours to a week's commitment. In more exotic destinations, the kitchen is an excellent place for easy cultural immersion and to pique children's curiosity and their appetites. Kids should learn to travel and cook well. The Grand Wailea is a Waldorf Astoria property known for some of the best family pools in Hawaii. ...

There's a reason why MASS MoCA should be on your family's bucket list. MASS MoCA is not your typical museum. The Berkshires offers a scenic New England weekend like no other; the concentration of cultural experiences amidst breathtaking scenery is the reason why I have been a regular to this area for over thirty years. The "Brooklynization" of the Berkshires has ...

The Cranwell Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts is an ideal family base for adventures in an area mostly visited by parents with kids away at summer camp, empty nesters and retirees. There are about two dozen historic Berkshire cottages remaining from the Gilded Age—many of those have been converted for lodging purposes. Cranwell is the most historic and upscale of these properties that also welcomes ...

When I think back of all of the places we explored in New England this summer, I have a very deep soft spot for the Inn by the Sea, just south of Portland, Maine in an area called Cape Elizabeth. I'd never been to Cape Elizabeth, which is a charming community filled with Maine summer residents and Portland commuters. ...

The Harborview Nantucket is a fantastic hybrid of renting one of the most beautifully designed Nantucket cottages you can while enjoying a boutique hotel. Offering multiple on-site concierge services to its few pampered guests, it's Scout Hotel's premiere Nantucket property. Nantucket is a unique market for accommodations for families. There are several bed-and-breakfasts and smaller inns not welcoming families, and is, ironically one ...