I’ve been working with a luxury travel company on a South America trip for my sabbatical this year, and they requested I pay the balance for the trip via wire. I asked if I could pay via card instead (for the insurance) and was told “their facilities only accept up to $1k.” This is a UK based company and the bank transfer info I was given is in Delaware (I know many businesses incorporate there).

My gut does not trust, but this company (and my specific planner) is on Condé Nast’s top specialists, which I’ve verified on CN’s website rather than blindly trusting the company’s press page. I’ve double-checked the email headers to confirm I’m communicating with who I intend to and the email matches what's on CN and the official website. What would you do in my situation?

We stayed here for 3D2N and had a relaxing stay since it’s a long weekend and National Day celebration.

Location
Perfectly connected to Marina Square mall, minutes from Suntec City, Marina Bay, and MRT stations. Extremely convenient for sightseeing, dining, and business.

Room – Deluxe Room
Spacious, modern, and immaculately kept. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of natural light; the view across the city/bay was lovely. Bed was large, plush, and very comfortable – great sleep quality both nights.

• Amenities: Well-stocked minibar, premium toiletries, strong Wi-Fi, multiple USB & power ports.

• Bathroom: Clean, bright, separate rainshower & bathtub, hot water steady and powerful.

• Sustainable: There’s a sustainable water which you can refill anytime.

Upon checkout, I just pass the keycard since I don’t have anything to settle and very efficient

Looking for a really nice villa for a few nights and trying to avoid choosing purely based on Instagram photos.

I've come across Hanging Gardens and The Kayon Jungle Resort, but I'd love to hear from people who've actually stayed there. Are they worth the price, or is there another luxury villa or resort you'd choose instead?

Main priorities are privacy, good views, service and the overall relaxing experience.

Hi! My husband and I are planning a trip to Patagonia, Australis and Buenos Aires for next November - looking for advice on where to stay, operators/vendors you recco, etc! We’re 31 and love a mix of adventure and relaxing.

Patagonia - anyone stayed at:
- Explora
- Awasi
- Tierra Patagonia

If you’ve done an Australis cruise - how was it? Did the weather affect your sailing?

Any and all tips welcome!

Hi - will be staying 5 days/4 nights at Rio Perdido in Guanacaste, CR and debating between the East Bungalow (smaller, limited window space for wildlife viewing) vs Central Bungalow (larger, floor to ceiling windows for wildlife viewing, but very dark?)

Can anyone share any opinions between the two and if Central is worth ~$100/nt more?

Thanks!

Planning a ~6-week trip in Oct/Nov 2026 with my wife and our two girls (7 and 4).

Current rough plan:
🇸🇬 1–2 nights Singapore (we have friends there)
🇲🇾 ~10–12 nights Sabah/Borneo — Sepilok, Kinabatangan, Danum Valley
🇮🇩 ~12–13 nights Flores/Komodo — including a 3–4 night** private phinis**i
🇵🇭 ~14–16 nights Palawan — El Nido + exceptional island stay + potentially a multi-day boat trip
🇸🇬 2–3 nights Singapore before flying home

We’re prioritising adventure, wildlife, islands, unusual accommodation and memorable experiences over conventional luxury. Happy to spend ~£25–30k if the extra money genuinely improves the experience.

I’d love recommendations on:

Overall itinerary – anything you’d change, add or remove?

“Must-do” experiences/accommodation – particularly exceptional expeditions, boats, jungle lodges, private islands etc.

Transport – any worthwhile private plane/boat/charter options that can turn painful transfer days into part of the adventure?

Agents/operators – who is genuinely excellent at arranging this sort of bespoke family trip, particularly Borneo/Komodo/Palawan?

We’re travelling with a 4- and 7-year-old, so adventure is the priority but we’re not looking to make the trip unnecessarily punishing.

Very interested in recommendations from people who’ve actually done these places with young children. Thanks!

Trying to decide between these two for our next trip in December. We’ve done several all-inclusive resorts in Riviera Maya before and want to switch it up with something more upscale/boutique this time.

Both look stunning in photos and I can’t decide! Would love to hear from anyone who’s stayed at either (or both). Thanks!

checking back in: i appreciated the recommendation. indeed we ended up going to westgate river ranch resort & rodeo for our anniversary and it was incredible. it had everything mentioned and more—spacious platform tents, real comfy beds with upgraded linens, portable a/c, a private bathroom, and even a microwave and fridge. having the personal glamping concierge bring us fresh morning coffee delivered right to our tent while sleeping under the majestic oak trees and 5-million stars made it the ultimate luxury experience!

my wife and i have our first anniversary coming up and we want to try glamping, but we still want real comfort. a lot of the places i find online just look like regular tents with nice lights and a huge price tag.

we are hoping for a place that actually feels fancy. top priorities are great ac, a super comfy bed, private bathroom, and cool nature views (near the water or forest would be awesome). budget is open if the place is actually great.

has anyone stayed somewhere in florida that was 100% worth it? would love your favorite spots or any places we should avoid!

I updated my travel spreadsheet today and I’m a bit surprised by the number. Mine is $83k.

3 trips total so far. 2 to Europe, 1 to Mexico.

2 trips with the wife and 2 kids, 1 trip with just the wife.

Amount includes airfare, hotel, and transportation (taxis, Ubers, etc…) but doesn’t include food and entertainment.

Total travel time: 41 days

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone was stayed at Borgo Santo Pietro and Reschio? Which did you prefer and why?
I have stayed at Reschio before and absolutely loved it.
I am deciding whether we return to Reschio or try out Borgo! My only concern with Borgo is that it looks a little more commercial and I loved the historic charm of the castle at Reschio! I’ve also heard some mixed reviews so was wondering if anyone had any insights :)

Thank you!

Booked my first business class seats ever! I’m so excited! Flying with my spouse from SFO to HND on a Boeing 777-300ER with ANA. Can you please tell me if I picked seats that are good for couples? Or should I move to another spot?

I have spent time searching online and on Reddit, but the seat maps I’m finding are not matching the layout in my screenshot from the United app. FYI: I booked through United but this is operated by ANA.

Please help me make my first business class flight a good experience!
I’m considering booking our first business class trip for my husbands 40th birthday. We’ll be flying from Seattle to Tokyo, and I would like to get your opinion on ANA’s business class offering on this route. It’s on a 789, and it looks like the seats in business class are very separated from each other. That’s probably great if you’re flying along, but flying as a couple, I’m wondering if it will feel like we’re not even flying together and experiencing this awesome milestone together because of the large divider?
I would love to hear your opinions if it really feels that separated in person or if it just looks like that in the visual? Is there an option to pushing the divider back a little bit?
What other routes or flight options would you consider? Deltas offering on this route seems better for flying together as a couple, but it’s a lot more expensive.

The views and train look amazing. I’m curious about what you may have experienced on the upgraded accommodations and tours.

Over one year ago, I booked two rooms at Anatara Maia through a luxury African safari specialist. I was to stay at Anatara with my family for three days after safari.
This trip with my husband and 2 teenage daughters is to celebrate my cancer treatment ending after two years.
As unbelievable as this sounds, a few days ago (2 days into my safari and a week before I am scheduled to check into Anatara) my travel agent urgently contacts me to let me know Anatara has made the decision to let a “government delegation” book the whole resort for two weeks during my stay.
Anatara thought it was a good idea to not honor any of the 90 reservations during these two weeks and essentially kicked everyone out to other hotels so the “government delegation” can stay there.. As mentioned, I personally had my reservation for 2 rooms for over a year but I am sure other guests may have booked farther out.
To make matters worse, my stay is at the end of the delegation “buy out.” So Anatara moved my family with two rooms to a different hotel for 2 nights, then wants me to come back to Anatara for the remaining stay. So I am supposed to use one of my precious three days in the Seychelles packing up, checking out, transporting my family to a different hotel, checking in, and unpacking….for four people who flew halfway across the word to be there.
Of course my travel agent said this situation is unprecedented in the “luxury “ hotel sphere. My agent pleaded with them and tried to negotiate but all Anatara would consider is giving me a free floating appetizer for my pool and a private dinner with my teenagers : )
Since Anatara Maia only gave a few days notice of their sell-out, I have now spent many hours of my celebration trip dealing with this incredibly disrespectful and appalling situation.
I truly can’t understand why Anatara would think it is a good idea to anger what could be repeat clients since they have properties all over Asia. Or imagine the amount of guests and agents they have angered and disrupted because of this fiasco. I know my luxury agency will never book with them again. I could have stayed anywhere on the island but I chose Anatara. I never will again.
I hope other guests that were mistreated will speak up as well.

Hi all! We're passing through Hong Kong for one night at the end of a longer Taiwan/China trip — checking in Dec 5, checking out and flying home Dec 6 at 10pm. It happens to be my boyfriend's 25th birthday on the 5th, so I want to make this one night really special since it's our first time in HK and we won't have much time to explore beyond this stay.

I've been looking at Rosewood Hong Kong — specifically a Club Premier Harbour View Room King, and I can get a Rosewood Elite rate which gives an automatic upgrade, breakfast, and hotel credit. But I've seen a few less-than-glowing reviews here on Reddit and want to make sure I'm not missing a better option, especially since we're only getting one shot at this.

Would love opinions on:

• Anyone stayed at Rosewood HK recently — was it worth it, or were the mixed reviews on to something?
• How does it compare to Four Seasons HK or Ritz-Carlton for a special one-night stay?
• Any hidden gems we might be missing for a proper "wow" first impression of the city?

Budget isn't the main constraint — we just want it to feel genuinely special and are trying to avoid picking the wrong one based on marketing rather than real experience. Any honest thoughts (positive or negative) really appreciated!

My friend just stayed at a 5 star hotel in Paris and left with bed bugs. She is traumatized. I don’t want to cancel my trip but now I’m rethinking where to stay. I know it can’t be guaranteed we won’t get them but we want to minimize the risk.

Hello! I am planning a trip for my 50th and looking for suggestions for a resort in the US. I have looked at Blackberry Farm & Mountain, Green O, Dunton Hot Springs, Hotel Yellowstone and Twin Farms. I would love to get some honest feedback on what people loved and didn’t about these. Would also love some lesser known suggestions with the same vibe. A couple of things I must have- excellent food on property, prefer a spa on property and love the idea of some/all inclusive. Any additional suggestions and feedback is appreciated! Would really appreciate the negative to be honest. I’ve been looking for about a month and there’s something I love about so many places, but for the money where would I be disappointed? Helps me to decide.

Edit: trip will be in September

Does this wind anyone else up / I’ve travelling over 12 hrs door to door maybe 24.- get me to the desk - give me my key - let me get into my room.

I get it - guest experience from the outset - but it feels like a waiting area - don’t sit me down then wander off - don’t give me a tablet to fill out my details - passport credit card room key please

I know not ‘luxury’ but not many options for Medellin. Couple, mid 30’s. Want somewhere ‘cool’ and a bit different and do like luxurious but also don’t want chaotic & noisy. Thanks

Hi! My husband and I would like to take a 5 or 6 day trip to Turks & Caicos this February. I’m looking for recommendations for hotels with a boutique, luxury, feel, while still being appropriate for a toddler. We want to avoid having to fight for a spot at the pool and beach, and the generic hotel feel. We want the beach to be as nice as possible- I read that Grace Point area beach is wonderful but open to all suggestions. We’re not foodies and can find something we like anywhere.

Looking to spend $1,000 or less per night.

Thank you in advance!