the insider newsletter: march 2024
Abbay (King) Lovell
Travel Advisor | Entrepreneur | CPA | Helping professionals and busy families plan seamless travel
Buongiorno! Chris and I are both recently back from Italy - full of pasta, prosecco, and travel tips.
Americans (including myself) have always had a love affair with Italy, and my recent trip only helped solidify this relationship. It's no surprise that Italy continues to be a top destination for our clients despite increasing hotel rates and often tricky availability.
Chris and I were on separate trips, each traveling with a different group of fellow travel advisors. I spent six nights across Milan and Lake Como, while Chris spent six nights across Milan, the Dolomites, and Tuscany. We learned and took plenty of notes, so we can keep making your Italy trips better and better!
In this month's newsletter, you'll find:
an update from abbay's desk
Italy
This section is dedicated to Milan, where my recent trip began and where my Italian travel partner, Perfetto Traveler, helped curate the perfect itinerary for us.
Milan is the perfect gateway to/from the Italian Lakes, Italian Riviera, and even Venice. As such, clients often ask me if they should include nights here in their itinerary...
The answer is yes!
Recently, my travel partner Ty Horn from Celebrated Experiences put it really well. He wrote:
"Milan is an evolving city with such lovely neighborhoods to stroll and explore. With its energy, spirit and creativity, unlike other European cities, experiencing Milan is not about a list of "must-see" tourist sites; rather, it is for hyper-sophisticated travelers that crave an accessible cultural scene. This lifestyle destination is loved by the same type of travelers who believe that the magic of New York lies in its streets, shops, restaurants, galleries, and cutting design."
Of course, I still recommend visiting the awe-inspiring Duomo and Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, but otherwise, it's not a place to rush around and fit in a ton of activities. This makes it the perfect place to settle into an Italy trip while you acclimate to the time zone and Italian way of life.
Here is what I loved about Milan:
So many great luxury hotels. While there, I stayed at Bvlgari Hotel Milano, Portrait Milano. I also visited Armani Hotel Milano and Mandarin Oriental Milan. And there are many more great options!
It’s perfect for art and design lovers. From the shops to the museums, design is everywhere. Don’t miss da Vinci’s Last Supper - we can help with tickets.
The people-watching is top-notch. From fashionistas to extremely well-dressed locals, Milano might be the most fashionable city in the world.
Best of all, it didn’t feel touristy. I felt like I was surrounded by Italians doing their day-to-day, versus other busy touristy spots where you can feel hard-pressed to find an Italian.
From Milan, my next destination was Lake Como where I spent four glorious nights across two of Como's best hotel properties, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, and Passalacqua - more to come in a blog post on part ii of my trip!
If Italy is on your mind for 2024, yesterday is the time to plan, so please get in touch as soon as possible. We'll help curate the best itinerary for you!
insider tips
New Opening in South Carolina's Sea Islands
We are very excited about The Dunlin, an Auberge Collection property, open for guests in August 2024. The Dunlin is a new destination retreat overlooking the Kiawah River, just 20 minutes from Charleston and 45 minutes from Charleston airport.
As a top partner of Auberge, our clients will receive a 3rd night free plus our Abbay's Escapes amenities including a $100 resort credit and daily breakfast - applicable to 2024 bookings. Rates start at $500 per night, and children under 10 eat free for bookings this summer.
At the Dunlin, cool breezes blow through cottage-inspired guest rooms and river-view cabanas overlooking South Carolina marshland. Large furnished porches offer an oasis to hear the birdsong as you read through a good book. The main lodge is the heart of the resort where you can rock in wicker chairs on the wraparound wooden porch or enjoy cocktails from a riverside pool cabana as the sun sets.
If you're interested in securing a coveted booking here, please hit reply, and we'd be happy to help.
Paris Beyond the Olympics
A dreamy destination in the warmer months, Paris, as the saying goes, is always a good idea, whatever time of the year you’re planning to visit. With a world-class cultural scene and an annual jam-packed calendar of events, there’s always something worth visiting in the City of Light.
With help from one of my fabulous travel partners (Sarah Falconer) with a beautiful collection in Paris, I'm thrilled to share more about what's going on in Paris beyond the Olympics. Keep reading...
Recommended by LinkedIn
To stay? When staying at Hotel Des Grand Boulevards, you’re right in the beating heart of central Paris, meaning a full range of museums, famous sites, and iconic restaurants are all accessible by foot.
However, if you fancy staying put, we highly recommend the hotel’s atmospheric open-plan restaurant for brunch or a visit to its buzzing cocktail bar, The Shell. You may also want to try the incredible value Bouillon Chartier restaurant just around the corner; but be warned, there will be a queue down the street for this iconic eatery.
To inspire you to get out and explore, we’re sharing a list of events taking place throughout the year that are within easy reach of this wonderful boutique base.
Set to be the blockbuster exhibition of the year, ‘Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism’ opens at the Musée d’Orsay on March 26th. From April 4th-7th ‘Art Paris,’ the country’s leading contemporary and modern art fair takes place. A roaring success since the day it opened in October 2023, the Rothko exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton has been extended until April 2nd.
On May 13th, take advantage of free entry to museums that stay open until the early hours for the annual ‘La Nuit des Musees.’ On May 20th, another major sporting event, The French Open (Roland Garros), kicks off. Taking place on June 21st, ‘La Fete de la Musique’ is a wonderful time to be in the capital - make the most of free concerts and live performances across every arrondissement… and party til dawn as Parisians take to the streets to celebrate. Lastly, running from June 8th until September 21st, the nightly Fountains Show at Versailles is well worth a reason for crossing the pond.
latest travel news
blog posts you'll love
Swooning Over São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal
Last year, I had the opportunity to stay in the Alentejo region of Portugal, home to the estate of São Lourenço Barrocal, my new favorite spot in Portugal.
Click here to keep reading.
The hotel insider: Esprit Saint-Germain
Have you ever wished you had a friend with an amazing private residence in an ultrachic part of the world? Yet, also a place where you can cozy up by the fire with a great glass of wine and feel right at home So I don't actually have this friend and you may not either, but I have the next best thing...
Click here to keep reading.
upcoming client trips
Looking for inspiration? Check out some of the places where our clients (and us) are traveling this month:
Like February, March has been a busy month for planning. The time to plan for 2024 is now.
Inspired? Want to learn more? Send me a DM.
client love
Best Travel Agent "Abbay was so easy to work with. She listened for exactly what we wanted to come out of our trip, and she made it happen. 10/10 would recommend her to ANYONE!!!!" A. Smith, 2023
Check out our Reviews and Recommendations page to read more about what our clients are saying.
That's all for this month. I hope you've enjoyed it!
Environmental Consultant at Kimley-Horn
8moWinfield Cowden