What My Safara Stayed List Says About How I Travel

Tell us a little about yourself and your travel background.

In the last year and a half, I’ve stayed at 33 hotels I can officially account for — and those are just the ones on my Safara list. As a travel journalist, I’ve spent the better part of a decade checking in and checking out of five-star stays, writing about tasting menus and thread counts and whether the poolside menu includes dry rosé and chilled Sauvignon Blanc (the best ones do). Most I’ve written full features on, and some I’ve returned to on my own time.

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Have you noticed any patterns in the hotels you gravitate toward?

When I started logging my Stayed List on Safara, I wasn’t thinking about patterns; I was simply keeping track. But looking through the collection now feels like opening a well-stamped passport. I can see my preferences — and my evolving sense of what makes a hotel actually great. Ahead, three of my favorites across the globe.

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Where would you send someone looking for a hotel in the Hamptons?

When someone asks me for the best hotel in the Hamptons, Gurney's Montauk is always my answer. Sitting on 2,000 feet of private Atlantic beach at the easternmost tip of Long Island — known to locals as “The End” — it’s where lazy days on the sand meet a refined kind of luxury.

Gurney’s has 158 rooms, suites, and beachfront cottages, every single one with an ocean view. The beachfront cottages are the move if staying awhile; they have full living rooms, kitchenettes, and decks that practically spill onto the sand.

The Seawater Spa is one of the best on the East Coast, with ocean-fed saltwater pools, eucalyptus steam rooms, and contrast bathing pools that make me feel like a new person.

Dining at Gigi’s, the resort’s newest flagship, is a highlight, thanks to seafood towers, handmade pasta, and shareable plates (the angry lobster is worth the hype).

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What does a typical day at Gurney's look like for you?

Something like this: sunrise from my deck, followed by a quiet walk along the beach. A morning treatment at the spa, breakfast outside, and hours on a lounge chair with a book I’ve been meaning to read for months. A lobster roll and sweet potato fries arrive right to my towel, broken up by dips in the Atlantic.

At night, it’s fire pits, a cashmere blanket, and a glass of wine in hand. Gurney’s is the hotel I recommend to anyone who says they need a real break.

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When's the best time of year to visit?

My top travel tip: Gurney's is the only four-season resort in Montauk, so go in the shoulder season. Late September through October is my favorite time to visit. The beach is still beautiful, the crowds have thinned, and rates drop considerably. For winter visits, they do "Igloos by the Sea" on the oceanfront deck, which is exactly what it sounds like and entirely worth it.

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What's a hotel you love in the Caribbean?

St. Barths is one of my favorite places in the world, and I realize that's an obnoxious thing to say, but it's true. The island is small, beautiful, and manages to be both luxurious and laid-back — a balance that’s harder to strike than it sounds. Eden Rock captures that duality perfectly.

The hotel was built on a rocky promontory over the bay of St. Jean in the 1950s by French aviator Rémy de Haenen, who apparently looked at a rock jutting out over the Caribbean and thought: Yes, I'll build my house there.

The 37 rooms, suites, and villas are all individually designed, dining is helmed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Sand Bar (which does laidback beachside menus by day and proper fine dining at night), and the Eden Spa has some of the most relaxing treatments I’ve ever tried.

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Walk us through a day at Eden Rock.

My St. Barths routine at Eden Rock is a ritual to me now: a matcha delivered to my balcony, then out to Colombier for the morning hike — a gorgeous trail down to one of the island's most secluded beaches. I come back to the hotel for a very leisurely breakfast at the Sand Bar, a treatment at Eden Spa, and some time on the beach.

With Nikki Beach a few feet away, I make sure to come here for a rowdy, Champagne-fueled lunch. And for those wondering, it lives up to every bit of its reputation.

Afterwards, I head to Shell Beach to watch the sunset, followed by a lovely dinner in Gustavia, and a late-night drink at the cabaret club, Le Ti. Ending the day back at Eden Rock, in a plush bed with the sound of the sea just outside, is quite simply a dream come true. 

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Anything first-timers to St. Barths should know?

My top travel tip: Rent a boat, even for half a day. The island is full of sea turtles, especially near Grand Cul-de-Sac, and sunsets from the water are unforgettable.

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What about a stay you loved in the English countryside?

The first time I arrived at Ellenborough Park, I was immediately convinced that I should move to the English countryside. I had this feeling the first time I visited the Cotswolds, but something about this property solidified it.

A 15th-century Cotswold manor house on 90 acres at the foot of Cleeve Hill, Ellenborough Park is as dreamy as English dreams get. There's a spa with an outdoor heated pool, roaring fireplaces throughout, a brasserie for casual meals, and a more formal restaurant where the food is downright excellent.

The rooms are spread across the main house and surrounding buildings, all different, all charming in the way that old English properties are.

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What did you get up to while you were there?

I was there on assignment, writing a destination guide on the Cotswolds, and ended up staying longer than planned. Walking the grounds before breakfast — when the mist is still sitting over the hills, and no one else is up — was one of my favorite things to do.

During the day, Ellenborough works perfectly as a base for proper countryside exploring. You can head to cute Cotswolds towns like the cute Bourton-on-the-Water, the stunning Castle Combe, or the historic Burford.

If you want to stay local, you can also stop into a pub for lunch somewhere, and then go back to five-star comfort at night, with dinner at Ellenborough, concluded with a tea by the fire.

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When should someone plan a trip?

Go during horse racing season. Ellenborough has a private track to Cheltenham Racecourse next door, and the Gold Cup Festival in March is worth planning around.

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Looking at all three, what do they say about how you travel?

Ultimately, when I look at my Safara Stayed List, it isn’t just a record of where I’ve been — it’s a reflection of how I travel. It shows my preference for beautiful design, great service, thorough amenities, and hotels that are connected to their regions. Thirty-three properties and counting, and I'm already thinking about the next one.

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What about Safara excites you most or resonates with you?

What resonates most is the idea of treating hotels like a personal travel archive. Being able to see patterns (which destinations I return to, what styles I gravitate toward, and how my preferences evolve) makes travel feel more intentional. It turns a decade of hotel nights into something that tells a story.

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