Travel News this Month

Where to stay, souvenirs, foodie events, and more!

Go the Distance

Foodie Events this Month

Food University at Caesars Palace
Francois Payard and other superstar chefs teach food prep and cooking at this intense boot camp.
March 27–29
Caesars Palace
fooduniversitylasvegas.com

Great Arizona Beer Festival
Sample 24 different craft beers and take home a free mug.
March 2
Tempe Beach Park
azbeer.com/tempe

Big Island Chocolate Festival
A second annual celebration of chocolatey goodness on the Kohala Coast.
March 21–23
The Fairmont Orchid
bigislandchocolatefestival.com

Growing in Temecula

This month marks the debut of South Coast Winery Resort & Spa’s new 50-suite building with a 10,000-square-foot rooftop garden for parties. Each suite has a fireplace and lanai. South Coast is also expanding with a whole new winery, Carter Estates—a resort with a tasting room, pool, spa, and more. Cheers to that! wineresort.com

Where to Stay

European Charm

Inspired by an inn in Prague, historic L’Auberge Carmel may be the most storybook hotel on the California coast, and now—thanks to a $1 million facelift and additions like a cheese cave—it’s even more luxe. Guestrooms unveiled in January have been redone in rich red and brown hues and feature handmade bedding, fine linens, and custom furnishings. The hotel’s award-winning Aubergine restaurant also got an overhaul, including a glittery gold tile wall, new furniture, and a fish tank for keeping live spot prawns, sea urchins, and abalone until seconds before serving. The inlaid brick and stucco “cheese cave” is at the entrance to the dining room, and houses the chef’s fromagerie collection and baby barrels of Negroni. Seafood lovers shouldn’t miss the restaurant’s Rediscovering Coastal Cuisine event on March 9, when some of the best chefs from around the country will prepare a 12-course tasting menu featuring ingredients from the central coast. Monte Verde at Seventh, Carmel-by-the-Sea. laubergecarmel.com // Casey Chiotti

Souvenirs

Vacation Scrapbook 2.0

The newly renovated OPUS Hotel Vancouver is offering quite the memento to its guests. Contemporary artist Alana Rothstein will turn your vacation photos into a 1-foot-square plexi piece of art, and you’ll receive it within three weeks after checkout. The hotel, located in the city’s Yaletown neighborhood, will offer the ART + IDENTITY + TRAVEL package through the end of this year ($539/night). opushotel.com