The Spa at Séc-he is more than another wellness center in Palm Springs, California. The spa is the cultural centerpiece of the strikingly modern Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza. Located on land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the six-acre complex includes the five-star spa and the new cultural museum that immerses you in the tribe’s history in this desert oasis. The plaza is one of only a few places in the U.S. where you can soak in a hot mineral water...
Myriad shades of blue wash over the walls of Chefchaouen, a remote village cradled in the rugged Rif Mountains of northeastern Morocco. Nicknamed Morocco’s “Blue City,” the town is one of the dreamiest places in this North African country. Smaller and calmer than frenzied Fez and Marrakesh, Chefchaouen’s arched doorways and maze-like alleys create stunningly blue photo backdrops. In the heat of summer, tourists snapping selfies can overrun the medina, or old city. However, when I added a winter weekend in Morocco’s...
“Taking of the Waters” is a sacred healing experience practiced for centuries by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs, California. Today, visitors can soak in the steaming water of the tribal hot springs at The Spa at Séc-he, the tribe’s new luxury spa in downtown Palm Springs. The tribe began sharing Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring with settlers in the 1800s, making it Palm Springs’s first tourist attraction–and namesake. The first bathhouse was a rough-hewn wooden cabin. Séc-he...
With more than 400 fortresses still standing, Wales has more castles per square mile than any other European country. Wales is the place to explore lofty towers, secret dungeons, and legends of Camelot. If you love castles, as I do, Wales should be at the top of your travel list. But castles are hardly the only reason to travel to Wales, which is part of the U.K. and shares the island of Great Britain with England and Scotland. Wales has its own story to tell...
Pagosa Springs may be challenging to reach, but this southwestern Colorado town is an amazing place to take a hot air balloon ride, soak in hot springs, and sample wine from grapes grown on a remote sheep farm. I’m exciting to share my article about my adventures in Pagosa Springs on the online travel website Rovology .You can also view my Instagram video of my hot air balloon flight. Pagosa Springs is encircled by the largest contiguous wilderness areas in the lower 48...
The colors, the furnishings, and the decor of the Fairmont Tazi Palace are reminiscent of an earlier time when an advisor to the sultan of Morocco built this hilltop retreat in Tangier. After a major renovation and expansion, the Fairmont hotel now offers modern luxuries still fit for royalty—and curious visitors like me interested in exploring magical Morocco. I stayed at the palace, which has 133 rooms and several eclectic restaurants, on a recent press trip to Tangier. To find out more about the...
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic last summer, a road trip to the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas, provided welcomed relief — even in the middle of a Texas heat wave. You can read about my road trip in the December 2020 issue of Food, Wine, Travel Magazine, starting on page 70.
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As a journalist, I’ve written about crime for newspapers, business deals for magazines, cruise ship ports for online travel publications and industry trends for websites. My focus now is exclusively on travel.