Marking the American Revolution, relaxing in Caribbean luxury, and keeping your stuff dry in a duffel
Extend your visit with a meal and a stay at the Inn at Hastings Park, located steps from the Lexington Battle Green, where the 'shot heard round the world' took place. The 22-room luxury boutique hotel, the Boston area's only Relais & Châteaux property, was recently awarded a coveted Michelin One-Key — the equivalent of Michelin's restaurant star ratings for hotels. In advance of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, the hotel is offering a series of Revolution-themed packages. Soar by helicopter over Revere's route with the One If by Land, Two If by Sea, Three If by Air package; take a chauffeured tour of historic sites with the Revolution 250 package; or treat your sweetheart to Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries with the Revolutionary Romance Package. Early reservations are recommended for special dinners at the onsite restaurant, Town Meeting Bistro, including Spirits of Revolution Farm to Vine Dinner (March 27); 250th anniversary Paul Revere Midnight Ride Dinner & Candlelight Procession, with a 30-minute theatrical reenactment at the Hancock-Clark House (April 28); and the Patriots' Day Champagne Brunch (April 19). Winter rates from $325, including breakfast. Packages are priced separately.
718-301-6660 (reservations); 781-301-6655 (dining).
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Be among the first to stay at the recently opened JOIA Aruba by Iberostar, a family-owned European hotel chain committed to sustainability and responsible tourism.
Iberostar
Advertisement
THERE:
LAID-BACK CARIBBEAN LUXURY
Be among the first to stay at the recently opened JOIA Aruba by Iberostar, a family-owned European hotel chain committed to sustainability and responsible tourism. All 240 luxury suites have private balconies and terrace Jacuzzis with panoramic views of the white sands and turquoise waters of Eagle Beach. Accommodations boast a contemporary coastal design, with colors inspired by coral reefs, parrot fish, the sand, and the Caribbean Sea. For dining and imbibing, choose from three unique restaurants and four bars, including a relaxed pool bar and aqua bar for sipping cocktails or mocktails without ever leaving the pool. Indulge in rejuvenating massages, revitalizing body and facial treatments, hydrotherapies, and nail and hair services at the Spa at JOIA Aruba. Like to golf? Guests can access the nearby Iberostar Tierra del Sol Golf Course, the island's only 18-hole championship course — designed by Robert Trent Jones II — with views of the sea on three sides. For those considering a destination wedding, the resort offers a romantic gazebo for ceremonies and a bridal suite complete with salon stations for the big day. Rates from $580.
833-399-7888,
Advertisement
The new Highwater Duffel by Bote is 100 percent waterproof-submersible to keep your stuff dry when rafting, surfing, paddling, and other water activities.
BOTE
EVERYWHERE:
STYLISH AND STURDY WATERPROOF DUFFEL
For adventures that require more than a water-resistant bag, consider the new Highwater Duffel by Bote, the innovative outdoor living company specializing in paddleboards, kayaks, skiffs, and more. The 100 percent-waterproof-submersible luggage will keep your stuff dry when rafting, surfing, paddling, and other water activities. The sturdy and spacious 39L duffel's nylon seam-welded construction features double-sided TPU coating and a fully waterproof main zipper; a side mesh pocket organizer; compression molded bottom panel (for structure and protection); two side grab handles and top handle; and a removable padded shoulder strap. It will fit easily into overhead storage bins on your flights. Available in six stylish colors. $249. Smaller, waterproof backpacks, sling packs, and belt packs are also available. $70-$175.
888-855-4450,
NECEE REGIS
Necee Regis can be reached at
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business of Fashion
an hour ago
- Business of Fashion
Chinese Tourists Ramp Up European Summer Trips as Americans Cut Back
Newly cost-sensitive Americans may be hitting the breaks on their big European vacations this summer, but another group is taking up the slack: Chinese travellers. According to a survey about long-haul trips the European Travel Commission (ETC) is publishing on Jun. 10, which was previewed exclusively with Bloomberg, 72 percent of Chinese respondents say they plan to travel to Europe this summer — up 10 percent from 2024. The figures reflect the highest demand from Chinese travellers since the pandemic. That should elicit a sigh of relief for hoteliers, restaurateurs and other business owners across the continent who depend on big-spending foreign tourists. Before Chinese outbound tourism ground to a halt in 2020, it represented a particularly lucrative sector in Europe, with Chinese travellers coming in second to Americans in spending. Chinese tourists spent $251 billion abroad in 2024, according to UN tourism, surpassing pre-2020 levels. That makes China the largest market in terms of overall tourism spending, even if until recently most of this revenue was spent on trips within Asia. But there's a significant catch in ETC's findings: Chinese tourists do not plan to spend like they used to. That's notable, given the group's previous propensity for luxury shopping. In fact, just 29 percent of respondents say they plan to spend more than €200 per day, a 44 percent drop compared to last summer, and a majority of Chinese travellers — 54 percent — plan to limit their budgets between €100 to €200 a day. Even still, at least 53 percent of Chinese respondents in ETC's report indicate shopping will play at least some role on their trips, and budgets are more generous among business travellers, 36 percent of whom expect to spend more than €200 a day. Overall, Chinese tourists are being tighter with their budgets than most of their global counterparts. The ETC's survey queried 7,100 long-haul travellers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and the US about their summer travel intentions—and results show that a total of 11 percent of travellers to Europe will be lowering their spending this summer. The overall ratio of travellers spending only €100 to €200 per day (40 percent) was lower than the Chinese traveler percentages. The reality is that in a climate of economic uncertainty, few travellers are splurging — regardless of their origins. That's echoed in data from the World Travel & Tourism Council showing that tourism growth is expected to slow sharply in 2025. Only a third of the ETC's American respondents are planning trips to Europe this summer, which is 7 percent fewer than in 2024. And yet another three markets surveyed in the ETC report — Brazil, Canada and Japan—are on the decline, to a lesser degree. High travel costs and plans to vacation locally are the primary deterrents. Eduardo Santander, chief executive officer of the ETC, sees reasons for optimism. 'While recovery from China has been more gradual than other long-haul markets, momentum is clearly building,' he says. Building back business with these travellers, he adds, 'remains a top priority for many European destinations.' In other words, it's a relief that Chinese travellers are coming at all. By Lebawit Lily Girma Learn more: Opinion: A Luxury Travel Bubble Is Swelling Hotels and airlines are chasing aspirational vacationers willing to shell out big bucks. What happens when they stop spending?
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Eurostar to launch routes to Germany and Switzerland
Eurostar said Tuesday it would launch new direct train routes from London to Frankfurt and Geneva, as potential competitors threaten to break its three-decade monopoly on cross-channel rail travel. The new direct routes would open from the early 2030s, in addition to new services from Amsterdam and Brussels to Geneva, the international rail company said. Announced at the back of positive year-end results, Eurostar said in a statement that it would invest two billion euros (£1.6 billion) in the new services to major European cities and 50 new trains, bringing its total fleet to 67 trains. The announcement comes amid "continued demand for international rail travel across Europe", according to Eurostar, which currently operates in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. While it currently has connecting services to Cologne, the new routes will directly serve the German financial capital and global diplomatic hub Geneva. "Our new fleet will make new destinations for customers a reality -- notably direct trains between London and Germany, and between London and Switzerland for the first time. A new golden age of international sustainable travel is here," said Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave. According to the rail company, passenger numbers rose to over 19.5 million in 2024, marking a five percent increase from the previous year. It has a target of ferrying 30 million passengers annually. The Eurostar Group merges operations of Eurostar which operates in the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, and Thalys, which runs high-speed rail services from Paris to Amsterdam and German cities. Eurostar also said it would increase daily services between London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam starting later this year. "I am pleased to welcome this exciting investment into Eurostar services, which is a huge step in promoting green travel across Europe and boosting our international rail connections," UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said. The announcements come as Eurostar's three-decade monopoly in the Channel Tunnel looks likely to end. Earlier this year, Britain's Office of Rail and Road opened access to a maintenance depot along the Paris-London route to other firms, removing a hurdle to competitors offering services. Italian railway operator Trenitalia and British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group have since signalled plans to open their own services on the cross-Channel line. aks/jkb/lth
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Horrid flight as passengers stuck on 32-hour trip to nowhere — and wind up right back where they started
It was quite the odyssey. Passengers endured a mind-numbing, 32-hour flight to nowhere after a Condor flight to Greece was forced to turn around and return home following multiple failed trips. The Sisyphean journey occurred on May 24 when Condor flight DE1234 was embarking on what was supposed to be a routine 1,198-mile flight from Zurich to Heraklion in Crete, Greece, One Mile At A Time reported. Despite departing around 30 minutes late, the flight appeared to be going swimmingly. After a short two hours, the plane began its initial descent to the idyllic Greek isle. Unfortunately, the aircraft's landing was hampered by powerful winds, which forced it to circle around for a prolonged period before the pilot decided to divert to Athens and refuel. They touched down at the Greek capital at 11:24 a.m. local time — three hours after they'd originally departed Zurich. Around two and a half hours later, the crew made a second attempt to ferry the 137 passengers to Heraklion, only to be boomeranged yet again. The weather conditions were still quite severe. After circling around again, they decided to divert to Kos, a nearby Greek island, to refuel, landing at 3:28 p.m. after a 1.5-hour flight. As the aircraft was once again running dangerously low on fuel, the decision was made to divert to Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, which the crew felt was a good place for the passengers and flight attendants to spend the night. They reportedly touched down at 6:04 after an approximately one-hour flight — a whopping 11 hours after they'd initially left Zurich. The following day at 9 a.m., the crew decided to make one last attempt to get to Crete, but found themselves in a holding pattern yet again due to the wind — like de ja flew. Again, they were forced to divert to Athens, whereupon the crew decided to call it quits and fly back to Zurich, arriving a full 32 hours after their initial departure. Condor reps said that 'due to extreme weather conditions and strong winds, takeoffs and landings at Heraklion Airport were only possible to a limited extent.' During the fruitless journey, they had reportedly landed a total of five different times. To make matters worse, flyers were only given a glass of water and nothing else during the whole flight while many passengers vomited during the approaches to Heraklion because of the powerful winds. Upon arriving at Thessaloniki, meanwhile, flyers were forced to float their own hotel rooms, although they are entitled to reimbursement under European aviation guidelines. This isn't the first time passengers have experienced an inadvertent round trip. Last June, British Airways passengers flew for hours across the Atlantic Ocean — only for the plane to turn around and return halfway through their trip due to a technical issue.