Becca Hensley

1 week ago | elitetraveler.com | Becca Hensley

“I’ll try the peacock,” says my friend as we study the menu at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni’s much lauded gastronomic restaurant Mistral, which overlooks the glimmering waters of Lake Como. It seems an apt choice. After all, this gasp-worthy hotel, the only five star property in tony Bellagio turns heads as surely as a glorious peacock fluttering its iridescent tail feathers. Like the peacock, a favorite dish prepared for nobility in the Renaissance, 152 year old Villa Serbelloni has history.

1 week ago | elitetraveler.com | Becca Hensley

“I’ll try the peacock,” says my friend as we study the menu at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni’s much lauded gastronomic restaurant Mistral, which overlooks the glimmering waters of Lake Como. It seems an apt choice. After all, this gasp-worthy hotel, the only five star property in tony Bellagio turns heads as surely as a glorious peacock fluttering its iridescent tail feathers. Like the peacock, a favorite dish prepared for nobility in the Renaissance, 152 year old Villa Serbelloni has history.

2 weeks ago | travelcurator.com | Becca Hensley

Appealing though it may be to mill about with royalty at Gstaad Palace, the tony Swiss ski hamlet’s most romantic hotel, I find that hobnobbing with fur-clad jetsetters, movie stars, and the fascinating children of retired world leaders takes a toll on my conversational gymnastics after a few very social days. Don’t get me wrong: every single fellow guest embodies the essence of  glamorousness and affability at this sublime hotel. And, I’ve made scads of new friends.

2 weeks ago | travelcurator.com | Becca Hensley

Utterly naked in the quaint Bavarian spa town of Bad Reichenhall, I leave the Finnish sauna at RupertusTherme to discover that my bikini is gone. With only the spa’s diminutive regulation towel at hand, I can shield just a tiny part of my body — either the top half, or the bottom, at a time. I stand in frozen horror (it’s winter after all), goosebumps swiftly mottling my skin. I try very hard to decide what to do.

2 weeks ago | hautelivingsf.com | Becca Hensley

News flash: you don't have to choose between being a cruise person or a hotel buff after all. With the advent of hotel brands launching their own ships, you can enjoy five star hotels atop the waves. From Ritz-Carlton to Four Seasons to Africa's sustainably-committed andBeyond, hotel-infused and hotel-branded cruise options up the ante for swanky forays across the deep blue sea.