Trips by Simone

10/22/2026

🥳 Can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday this year Estancia Pilolil This special family property is located on the banks of the prolific Aluminé River in the Province of Neuquén, Argentina. 🇦🇷

10/21/2026

Part of my job is tracking every big hotel opening in Europe. Here's one worth bookmarking for your next Mallorca trip.

Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, the brand's Mallorca debut, opened in June on its own pine-covered peninsula along the Costa d'en Blanes, and the dining alone would justify the trip. Nobu Matsuhisa and Dani García each opened a restaurant here, one serving Nikkei-style plates against the sea views, the other built around fire, smoke, and local tradition.

Away from the table, it gets even better. A spa with nine treatment cabins pairing Mallorcan traditions with the brand's famous Oriental wellness philosophy, interiors by Laura Gonzalez, one of the most sought-after designers working today, and two private coves for a swim steps from your room. Puerto Portals and Palma are both minutes away.

Mallorca in shoulder season is Europe at its easiest. Message me to start planning!

10/20/2026

The hotel currently ranked #9 in the world isn't on a beach. It's deep in the Yucatán jungle.

Chablé Yucatán, a restored 19th-century hacienda outside Mérida, holds the #9 spot on the World's 50 Best Hotels list and was just named the Best Hotel in North America for the third year in a row.

The claim to fame is the spa, built around a natural cenote, one of the underground pools the Maya considered sacred. It was the first spa in the world designed that way.

Every casita comes with its own private pool and jungle views. Dinner is its own event too, with menus shaped by Jorge Vallejo of Mexico City's famed Quintonil and a tequila library so deep it earned a Guinness World Record.

Advisor tip: pair it with the ruins of Uxmal and a day in Mérida's colonial center. Mexico beyond the beach is one of my favorite trips to plan. Let's talk.

10/20/2026

For travelers who plan their trips around unforgettable meals, Lima deserves a place on the itinerary for your next getaway. Chef Pía León maps out three days of dining across Peru’s vibrant capital, showcasing the ingredients, traditions and creativity that make its culinary scene so distinctive. 🇵🇪✨

Read the guide, then reach out to plan a Lima journey of your own.

📷: Camila Novoa

The award-winning chef and owner of Kjolle (and Central Restaurant Lima alum) shares her favorite spots for Peruvian nikkei cuisine, coffee, pastries, and more.

10/19/2026

Here's a fun seasonal flip. While I rake leaves, New Zealand is heading into spring, and its lodge season is just beginning.

Blanket Bay tops my list every time. The lodge looks across Lake Wakatipu to the Humboldt Mountains, scenery so cinematic the valleys nearby stood in for Middle-earth on screen, and Queenstown's restaurants and w**eries are only 45 minutes away.

The itinerary here runs on helicopters and rivers. Heli-fishing on water no road reaches, flyovers of Milford Sound, w**e tasting in Central Otago, or nothing at all in the great stone-and-timber lodge room with a fire going.

New Zealand takes long lead times, and planning now means the trip of a lifetime next year. Reach out!

10/18/2026

Quick question. When photos like these stop your scroll, where does your mind go?

The trips people actually take usually start as a picture they couldn't shake. And fall happens to be the smartest time to act on one, with peak seasons ahead, calendars still open, and the best guides and rooms not yet claimed for next year.

My job is the part between the photo and the plane ticket. Which of these looks like your next trip? Drop it in the comments or send me a message.

10/17/2026

Do you really need a private guide? Sometimes no. Sometimes it transforms the entire trip. Here's how I call it.

Worth every penny: layered ancient sites like Egypt, Rome, Kyoto, and Machu Picchu, where the stones don't explain themselves and a great guide turns rubble into a story. Food cities, where the best stalls have no sign and no English menu. Wildlife, where a trained eye spots what you'd walk right past. And your first day somewhere intense, like Cairo or Delhi, where a guide turns chaos into context.

Skip it: beach weeks, cities you already know well, and days you've deliberately left open to wander.

A brilliant guide is the difference between a tour and a memory, and I keep a short list of the brilliant ones. Ask me about them.

10/16/2026

This is what October is supposed to look like.

Golden fields, a ridgeline in full color, wood smoke drifting between the cabins. Wildflower Farms, Auberge's retreat in New York's Hudson Valley, delivers all of it about 90 minutes from the city.

The 140-acre working farm spreads out below the Shawangunk Ridge, with 65 freestanding cabins and cottages designed to frame the view, and Travel + Leisure readers just voted it the #1 hotel in New York State, with a Michelin Key to go with it.

In fall, the whole property leans into the season with harvest dinners, hikes through the Gunks in full color, bonfires, c***r, and mornings cold enough to justify the fireplace.

Fall weekends here disappear quickly. Message me before they do.

10/15/2026

Agave for days, Baja-inspired wellness, and service with a sixth sense are just a few reasons to stay at Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood Resort. From the first margarita to the smallest thoughtful touch, here are five reasons this San José del Cabo oasis is worth a visit. 🌵✨

Read more, then connect today to make your travel plans a reality ⬇️

In San José del Cabo, Mexico, thoughtful service, standout dining, and Baja-rooted spa rituals set this resort apart.

10/15/2026

Most Portugal trips head straight for the Algarve. My favorite itineraries go almost everywhere else.

Lisbon: the natural first stop, with hilltop viewpoints, a world-class food scene, and the fairytale palaces of Sintra a short drive away.

The Alentejo: cork forests, sprawling w**e estates, whitewashed villages, and some of the darkest night skies in Europe. This is Portugal at its slowest and most soulful.

Comporta: rice paddies running into pine-backed Atlantic beaches, barely an hour from Lisbon. The understated coast Europeans have kept to themselves for years.

The Douro Valley: terraced vineyards stacked above the river, tastings at historic quintas, and lodges with valley views that stop conversation.

Madeira: dramatic cliff walks along centuries-old levada trails, a surprisingly serious dining scene in Funchal, and spring-like weather nearly every month of the year.

Wherever Portugal takes you, I'll make sure it goes past the obvious. Let's start planning.