Global Traveler - March 2022

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March 2022

ABU DHABI p. 56 ADELAIDE p. 62 ANCHORAGE p. 54 BUENOS AIRES p. 68 COLORADO p. 64 GLASGOW p. 58 GUAYAQUIL p. 48 THAI ISLANDS p. 72 THESSALONIKI p. 60

GT TESTED READER SURVEY AWARDS EVENT RECAP p. 32

FABLED FJORDS

Mythic waters overflow with beauty and legend in Scandinavia. p. 70

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ®

On an Adventure: Kimberly traveling PHOTO: © KIMBERLY KROL INLANDER

Ready to Roam

A

s I stood at the entrance to The Peninsula Beverly Hills’s Verandah room to welcome our guests to the 18th annual GT Tested Reader Survey awards, I could sense everyone’s excitement and smiles (even under masks!) at being back to the business of in-person events. Reuniting together at a favorite, familiar space after two years apart brought a special energy to the party. I think that buzz is evident in the photos from the night, which you can enjoy on the following pages. Turn to page 32 for more on the night’s festivities.

You can also view more photos, videos and interviews from the night on our social media channels.

Find us on Twitter (@gtmag), Facebook, Instagram (@globaltravelermag), LinkedIn and more to check them out. If you are already a devoted follower on our social media, you’ve noticed we’ve made changes to our accounts to allow us to better serve you — stay tuned for more. We hope you also explore the social

media channels of our sister brands, trazeetravel.com (@ trazeetravel) and wherever family.com (@whereverfamily).

And if there’s more you’d like to see us do across social media — even if that means coordinating a company-wide TikTok dance — send your suggestions to our social media coordinator, Mary Melnick, at mary.melnick@ globaltravelerusa.com.

I think you’ll all really love our article on page 42 highlighting influential women in the travel industry; I know I did. Learn more about the inspiring stories of women such as Harriett Chalmers Adams, Jeanne Baret, Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, Freya Stark, Krystyna ChojnowskaLiskiewicz and more. March marks International Women’s Day, and as always, I am in awe of the amazing women I come across in my daily life. My travels have introduced me to some savvy fellow female travelers, many of whose work you will read on the following pages. It’s an honor to work at a women-led company. I’m proud to lead an editorial team of smart, strong, exceptional women: Tracey, Jan, Patty, Katie, Mary and Aoife, thank you for inspiring me every day. As the famous quote says, Here’s to strong women: May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.

—Anonymous We also take off around the globe in this issue to Guayaquil, Ecuador; Anchorage, Alaska; Abu Dhabi; Glasgow, Scotland; Thessaloniki, Greece; Adelaide, Australia; Colorado; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Scandinavia; and the Thai islands. Join us next month as we look at the best credit cards for travel in 2022 and take a bucket-list journey through some of our national parks. Until then, keep traveling and inspiring!

EDITORIAL Editor In Chief Kimberly Krol Inlander kim.krol@globaltravelerusa.com Vice President/Digital Director Katie Skrzek katie.skrzek@globaltravelerusa.com Senior Editor Janice Hecht jan.hecht@globaltravelerusa.com Associate Editor/Copy Editor Patricia Vanikiotis patty.vanikiotis@globaltravelerusa.com Social Media & Editorial Coordinator Mary Melnick mary.melnick@globaltravelerusa.com Associate Editor Aoife O’Riordan aoife.oriordan@globaltravelerusa.com ART Art Director Tracey Cullen tracey.cullen@globaltravelerusa.com Staff Photographer Christopher P. Ottaunick christopher@globaltravelerusa.com Special Events Video Editor Vance Piccin

COLUMNISTS Jack Guy Kelly Magyarics WRITERS Kristy Alpert Susan Barnes Ron Bernthal Teresa Bitler

Debra Bokur Marlene Goldman Jack Guy Eugenia Lazaris Kelly Magyarics Greg McCluney Sheryl Nance-Nash Richard Newton Terry Ward

For complete bios visit globaltravelerusa.com

CIRCULATION Special Projects Manager John Wroblewski Specialist Louie Atsaves Managers Jayhawk Evans, Mark P. Ford, Teresa Jackson, Anthony “Scraps” Dimera Circulation Director Michele Shannon Circulation Manager Anna Pudzianowski Research Consultant Sharon Sterne ADVISORY BOARD Chairman Michael Donahue COO Michael Kiely President Carlos Cappuccio Deputy Vice President Aviation Edward Jefferson Deputy Vice President Accommodations Stephen Doherty Deputy Director Destinations Wayne Tallman Vice President Special Events/Photography Christopher Ottaunick Secretary Mark Lane Research Director Frank LoVerme Director of Technology Bob Hancock Director of Digital Advancement Jared Torgan Vice President of Corporate Giving Jim Bolger Director of Emerging Markets & New Business Frank Wood

GENERAL COUNSEL Thomas F. Goldman CONTACT US General Inquiries/Issue Requests/Reprints info@globaltravelerusa.com Subscriptions tel 818 286 3134 | gbtcs@magserv.com

Kimberly Krol Inlander Editor in Chief

Public Relations kim.krol@globaltravelerusa.com Letters to the Editor letters@globaltravelerusa.com Global Traveler is published monthly by FXExpress Publications, Inc., 309 Floral Vale Blvd., Yardley, PA 19067. The U.S. subscription rate is $42 for one year, $79.95 for two years, $121.95 for three years.

As of publication, the destinations and venues mentioned in this issue were planning to reopen or are currently operating, but many may have restrictions or limitations in place to address current public health concerns. Always check in advance to confirm current requirements and restrictions.

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Postmaster: Please send changes of address to Global Traveler, 309 Floral Vale Blvd., Yardley, PA 19067

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER ®

ADVERTISING Publisher/CEO Francis X. Gallagher tel 215 919 8988 | fran.gallagher@globaltravelerusa.com Advertising Manager Haley Fogarty tel 215 932 0284 | haley.fogarty@globaltravelerusa.com Account Executive Western Region and Asia Maria Angeles tel 215 932 1621 | maria.angeles@globaltravelerusa.com Account Executive Southern Region and the Caribbean Carrie Cox tel 215 932 0861 | carrie.cox@globaltravelerusa.com Account Executive Mexico Mariana Zenizo tel 52 55 6560 1152 | marzenizo@gmail.com Advertising and Production Manager Yasser Ogando tel 267 884 1650 | yasser.ogando@globaltravelerusa.com

Hit or Miss: Francis enjoying a round of golf (left), and a room service meal that wasn’t up to par PHOTOS: © FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER, © MIKE RUSSO

Christyn Pek tel 215 932 1472 | christyn.pek@globaltravelerusa.com

Back on Track

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f exemplary service and luxury travel are to survive, we will need to demand them. Globility Board member Mike Russo recently sent me a picture of his room service meal during a five-night stay at El Conquistador Tucson, A Hilton Resort. He said the rest of the hotel was terrific, but the room service left much to be desired. Although the quality of the food was high, the service and presentation were poor, to say the least. This reminded me of my stay last July at Hilton Los Angeles Airport. The room service was similar if not worse — hardly edible. Time for the industry to address these standards and make improvements.

I was pleased this was not the case in December at The Peninsula Beverly Hills. I ordered room service the final day, and it was delivered as one would expect, on china and by friendly staff — on par with a fine restaurant.

This makes a nice segue into our GT Tested Reader Survey awards gala at The Peninsula Beverly Hills Dec. 14, when we gathered to honor the reader-voted winners, who pride themselves on their attention to detail and service. As we come out of the COVID-19 crisis, it is a fine time to return to fine service. As airlines return to better in-flight catering, menus and wine, we hope this is a signal the Global Traveler Wines on the Wing business- and first-class wine competition can resume in 2022. We are fielding airlines’ participation.

The Peninsula put on a superb spread for our event, and a perennial favorite, Peking duck, proved a big hit.

Please see the recap article on page 32 featuring great photos of the winners and, well, everyone having a good time — evidence of our dedication to get back to

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Business Development Executive

REPRESENTATIVES

face-to-face meetings and events. Be sure to check out our videos of the event and interviews with winners on our social media platforms. Our team worked tirelessly to produce them for your enjoyment.

We feel 2022 will see a further resumption of travel, especially as countries work on reopening and more people around the world are vaccinated. In the past several weeks I have had many meetings with top players in the business and luxury fields, including IHG Hotels & Resorts, United Airlines, oneworld and others, indicating we are learning to deal with and work around issues to turn the flow of travel back on.

Tourism Ireland launched the theme “Press the Green Button” to welcome back tourism. Who does not want to travel to Ireland?

I am pleased to announce our launch of a more user-friendly digital edition of Global Traveler, which nicely complements our print edition. We will also add a special WhereverFamily digital edition in May and a Trazee Travel digital edition in October, designed to complement their respective websites, whereverfamily .com and trazeetravel.com. More than 500,000 subscribers will enjoy access to these two special digital issues.

So let’s applaud the industry’s return to great luxury and service and, as consumers, let’s demand it. Enjoy your next destination!

Australia Charlton D'Silva tel 61 2 9252 3476 | charlton.dsilva@pubintl.com.au France Géraldine Roger tel 33 1 88 32 62 61 | cell 33 7 81 22 02 36 | groger@asset-media.com India Vimal Anand tel 91 124 4932020 | cell 91 98100 71000 | vimal@gmnindia.com Indonesia Sarah Hutabarat tel 62 21 29704008 | sarah@mediaman.co.id Japan Yoshinori Ikeda tel 81 3 3661 6138 | yoshinori.ikeda@pacific-business.com Korea Jeff Hwang tel 82 31 702 7782 | cell 82 010 6347 9117 | gng@gngcom.co.kr Malaysia Ester Chai tel 60 3 7722 1968 | esther@fitzgerald.com.my Singapore Peggy Thay tel 65 83768345 | peggy.thay@pubintl.sg Slovak Republic (Eastern Europe) Zorka Sipkova tel 421 948094611 | zorka.sipkova@pubintl.eu South America and the Caribbean (excluding Peru and Colombia) Ana Torres de Navarra tel 305 205 3303 | ana@colibri-media.com Spain Olga Martínez tel 34 91 320 0497 | cell 34 669 10 12 73 olga.martinez@aboutim.es Taiwan Keith Lee tel 886 2 2523 8268 | leekh@ms4.hinet.net Thailand Janya Limmanee tel 66 2 0514694 | janya.l@jpp-thailand.com Turkey Elif Mengu cell 90 532 255 83 24 | elif@catalyzismedia.com United Arab Emirates (UAE) Rosy Kachouh Nawfal cell 971 55 607 8163 | rosy@i-repme.com

Francis X. Gallagher Publisher and CEO fran.gallagher@globaltravelerusa.com

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March 2022

CONTENTS

PHOTO: © NICOLAS BATES

32 features

on the cover globaltravelerusa.com | $4.99

PLUS:

March 2022

ABU DHABI p. 56 ADELAIDE p. 62 ANCHORAGE p. 54 BUENOS AIRES p. 68 COLORADO p. 64 GLASGOW p. 58 GUAYAQUIL p. 48 THAI ISLANDS p. 72 THESSALONIKI p. 60

GT TESTED READER SURVEY AWARDS EVENT RECAP p. 32

32

Above and Beyond Global Traveler celebrates the 2021 winners of the GT Tested Reader Survey awards.

42

FABLED FJORDS

Mythic waters overflow with beauty and legend in Scandinavia. p. 70

COVER PHOTO: SOGNEFJORD IN NORWAY PHOTO: © ALEFRA1994 | DREAMSTIME.COM

Inspiring Journeys Follow in the footsteps of adventurous women who made travel history.

business destinations 48

Destination One: Guayaquil Transformational projects boost Guayaquil’s international allure.

54

58

9–5: Glasgow Engage business contacts with culinary and cultural adventures in Glasgow.

60

After 5: Thessaloniki When the sun goes down, Thessaloniki comes to life.

Stateside: Anchorage Anchorage opens the door to all that is wild in Alaska.

56

MICE: Abu Dhabi Ambitious, adaptable Abu Dhabi brings people together in a big way.

MARCH 2022 globaltravelerusa.com

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March 2022

CONTENTS

in every issue 10 14 16 18

Mail Call News Reviews One on One Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills Technology Wine & Spirits Spas Golf Chefs Cruising Diversity Airport Update Ecotourism Sports Preview

20 21 24 26 28 30 76 78 80 81 82

70

70

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leisure destinations 62

Neighborhoods: Adelaide Adelaide’s West End thrives as a hip urban hub close to nature.

64

Friends & Family: Colorado For family ski fun, Snowmass and Beaver Creek steal the show.

68 70

Bucket List: Fjords of Scandinavia Mythic waters overflow with beauty and legend in Scandinavia.

72

Kicking Back: Thai Islands Discover plenty to smile about in Thailand’s exotic islands.

FX

EXPRESS

P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C .

Global Traveler and Globility are registered trademarks of Global Traveler magazine and of its parent company, FXExpress Publications, Inc. Global Traveler is not affiliated with any commercial interests within the travel industry. The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor can the publisher accept responsibility for errors or omissions. The magazine cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited articles, photographs or other material. AAM member 04-0361-2. AAM audited circulation 111,517. ISSN 1551-7187 ©2022 FXExpress Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of text, photographs or illustrations without permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

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PHOTO: © LUKASZ JANYST | DREAMSTIME.COM

Tours: Buenos Aires Hit the highlights with online itineraries and the city’s free app.

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MAIL CALL

Q&A WITH JANICE HECHT, SENIOR EDITOR With the anticipated return to international travel, many people once again plan special trips they postponed during the pandemic. I, for one, dream of returning to Ireland and seeing Scotland for the first time. Are you planning to visit a bucket-list destination or celebrate a milestone by traveling abroad this year?

Tell us. Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com

In our January/February 2022 issue, we asked: Are you planning any travel for special events this year? A few readers wrote in: My wife and I scheduled a trip to Bermuda this summer as we have both wanted to go there for several years and experience Bermuda Carnival. We love vacations near the beach and always dreamed of seeing the famous pink-sand beaches of Bermuda in person.

I also love to see marine life up close, so I hope to take a few snorkeling trips to spot some colorful fish and reefs. My wife has had a fascination with caves since she was a kid, and when we discovered Bermuda is home to some of the most beautiful, we made a plan to see these spectacular caverns. We are beyond excited to not only relax but also to explore the island and create amazing memories.

TIMMY DAVIS, VIA EMAIL My niece is getting married this summer and, to my delight, decided to have a destination wedding with her closest family and friends. She and her fiancé decided to host an intimate ceremony in Hawai’i on Waikiki Beach. They have always loved the beach and wanted to do something extra special for their wedding.

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My husband and I will fly over and stay at Hilton Hawai’ian Village Waikiki Beach Resort along with some of our other relatives. My niece plans to have her wedding on the very beach she and her fiancé once walked several years ago, and the ceremony venue will be decked out with flowers and elegant fabric. I have never been to Hawai’i and am thrilled to be able to see the beauty of the state.

ALYSON HESS, VIA EMAIL

Q&A TIME — AGAIN In our December 2021 issue we asked: As the holidays approach and many of us plan on spending time with family, what are you most excited about for the holidays this year? A reader wrote in after our last issue went to print, but we still wanted to share her thoughts: My husband, children and I booked a threeday Bahama cruise for the end of December with Royal Caribbean.

We initially planned this cruise for last December, but the pandemic put a halt on all travels. Now that cruises are back up and running and require passengers to be vaccinated, my entire family not only had a safe trip but were so excited to visit the Bahamas for the first time.

STACIE PHELPS, VIA EMAIL

CONTACT GT DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE? THOUGHTS ON A RECENT GT ARTICLE? Email: letters@globaltravelerusa.com Write: Letters to the Editor 309 Floral Vale Blvd.

Yardley, PA 19067 Letters must be written exclusively to Global Traveler and must include your full name, mailing address and contact phone number. Letters become the property of Global Traveler. We cannot respond to every letter.

Global Traveler reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in Mail Call are not necessarily those of Global Traveler, and Global Traveler cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

Globility \glo ‘bility\ n: 1. The quality of being open to a world of cultures and experiences

PHOTO: © JANICE HECHT

Q&A TIME