Casitas Royale, Riviera Maya, Mexico

No hidden taxes or fees? No shocking drink tabs? No tipping at every turn? Plus all the food you can eat, included? The idea of all-inclusive pricing sounds almost too good to be true. But it’s only worth it when the food is truly great and the service makes you feel like a star. That's rare. Here are four of my favorite Mexican resorts in the Riviera Maya that truly get it right, offering excellent à la carte dining (where you’ll actually want to eat all day) and first-rate service with an all-inclusive price tag.

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I'm excited to announce that I won First Place in the OC Press Club Awards for my travel article La Dolce Grotta, a story about the ancient cave village of Matera, Italy. Matera was once considered the shame of Italy. But not anymore. You can read the article here.

Park Hyatt Shanghai
1. Park Hyatt Shanghai 
Shanghai, China
This is simply the most sublime city hotel in Asia. It also happens to be the tallest hotel in Shanghai, so the views are insane. The modern design will take your breath away, starting from the moment your taxi enters the driveway. The 91st floor restaurant, 100 Century Avenue, serves some of the best Chinese food and the Western-style steaks in China. Easily the best rooms in Shanghai.

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An elusive Bengal tiger in Ranthambore

“He’s watching us,” says the guide, leaning out of our idling Jeep and pointing to the soft-dirt road in the jungle that we’ve been traversing. Monkeys screech overhead, swinging from the Banyan trees. “He’s circled back behind us, and he’s watching us. He’s here—listen to the monkeys, they’re warning the other animals of an imminent danger.”

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(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

1. A fascinating glimpse of North Korea. Would you want to travel here?. The Atlantic
2. Pies! Awesome recipes for end-of-summer fruit pies, crisps and cobblers. Saveur

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Bathrooms can make or break a hotel. Here are some of my favorites. Don't these bathrooms just make you want to take a hot, um, bath?   

Amangiri
Canyon Point, Utah, USA

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n/naka 
Where to eat now in Los Angeles. Four-pork pizzas, star chefs, an 80s flashback, a hushed kaiseke hideaway, and the best burger in town. These are the 10 restaurants that should definitely be on your radar this month. 

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André Chiang

The roads begin twisting and the architecture shrinks as my taxi snakes through the weathered shophouses of Singapore’s Chinatown. The historic neighborhood was almost demolished last decade to make way for more of the skyscrapers that sparkle in the distance on all sides. But these colorful remnants of a colonial past survived, and now they contain the city’s trendiest independent restaurants and designer boutiques, standing shoulder to shoulder with outdoor food courts that scent the air with curry and charred banana leaves. The taxi pulls up to Restaurant André, 41 Bukit Pasoh Road, a heritage house whose pristine white walls, blue door, and ancient olive tree set it apart from its neighbors.

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The St. Regis Mexico City

The Location: The 31-story St. Regis Mexico City, designed by Cesar Pelli, overlooks the Diana Fountain on the famous Paseo de la Reforma, the city’s grandest old boulevard and promenade, between Polanco and Zona Rosa. 

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Photos by Peden + Munk

These french fries are insane. I’ve been binging on french fries almost daily for the past couple of decades, and I have never come across anything quite like these. First off, they’re huge. Colossal. Giant. I’m not exaggerating. The first time I see a waiter carrying an order of these beasts through the dining room, I mistakenly think they’re some sort of mini baguettes. Each fry measures about eight inches long with a girth as fat as a carrot. I can’t begin to imagine what one of these potatoes looks like whole before it’s carved into six or seven of these truly monstrous frites.

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San Miguel de Allende

I love the sunset in San Miguel de Allende. I shot this photo of the San Miguel skyline from the rooftop bar of the new Rosewood San Miguel just as the sun was beginning to set over the city.

Banh Mi in Vietnam, National Geographic/Tim Hall/Photo Library

1. This makes me hungry. This is why I travel. Wanderlust alert! National Geographic
2. This is probably the coolest underground street art you'll never see. Been Seen
3. Sacre Bleu! Are Paris’ notoriously gruff waiters becoming less gruff, more cordial? Jarrett Wrisley
4. Tokyo Metro like you’ve never seen it before. Fubiz
5. Damn, this makes me want to go to Hawaii! Now. A La Mode
6. OMG! LMAO! The world’s shortest train? LOL. Devour

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