BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Luxury Travel What would you like to see on this page?

Hi everyone, from your new Luxury Travel Editor --
I'd love to know what you all would like to see under Luxury Travel. I can tell you right from the start that you don't need to ask for great restaurants and fine dining, because my travel world revolves around food. To me, that's the tops in luxury.

I like a lot of other luxuries, too, so you're likely to hear my take the posh hotels, exotic resorts, great shopping and exciting experiences I enjoy in my own travels. But there are a lot more options, and I need to know what your favorite luxuries are, so I can be sure the articles reflect your interests.

I love food too! I would also like to hear how the luxurious trip is different than the regular one-something for us to aspire to. I got a brochure a while back for a "luxury cruise" and hadn't known til then that there was such a thing. On a luxury cruise there are fewer people and more space per person as well as stepped up service. Sounds great.

forbes magazine puts out a "world's most expensive" list too for hotels, etc that is very interesting. I'd love to travel to some of those places!

Travel with pets. Because we don't want to kennel our dog we always travel with her when possible. We enjoy luxury accomodations and have had great luck finding outstanding private home vacation rentals. There isn't the same service as a hotel, but if you want verrrry nice accomodations (privacy, gourmet kitchen, any type of location - nature to urban - that you can imagine, high end linens, electronics, dishwasher, washer & dryer, bike trails, on the water, swimming pool, etc.) they're out there.

Great ideas! Especially about pet-friendly places. We were once headed for a family weekend at a posh ski resort (I can't tell you where here -- you'll see why in a minute) and as we all piled into the car with skis, boots, kids and luggage, we realized that we hadn't made plans for Memphis, our new dog. There was nothing to do but let her jump in with the kids in the backseat. We got there, claimed the key to our slope-side condo and signed the registration forms that clearly read "no pets are allowed in the condos."

We kept her leashed and in the car until we checked the hallways and got the door open, then hurried her in before anyone could see her. She clearly knew she was in forbidden territory, because she never barked -- even when the kids in the condo upstairs were raising a ruckus, and she looked furtively around every time we had to take her out, finished quicky and scuttled back in.

We left a generous tip for the cleaning staff in case there was any dog hair to vaccuum up, and ever since have been careful to make sure she'll be welcome when we travel -- or at least make plans for her to visit a friend while we are skiing.