The Luxurious Journey

A luxury vacation is a treat. We expend time, money, and resources to make it special. It’s important that we don’t sabotage these efforts with avoidable mistakes. What is the best way to maximize a luxury vacation? I offer you some of my tried and true dos and don’ts.

Don’t Skimp on the Room

When you travel and book a very expensive hotel, you might be tempted to book the least expensive room. You might say to yourself, “This vacation is already so expensive! How much time do you even spend in your room?” The answer is, enough for it to make a difference.  Don’t fall prey to this line of thinking. If you book an amazing room and enjoy it, chances are you won’t remember exactly what it cost. But if you book the least expensive (but still expensive) room and it has issues, you will always remember what it cost and it will gnaw at you. 

Do Use a Travel Advisor

We are all so internet savvy now, many don’t consider the value of using a travel advisor. When I first began planning luxury trips, I used Amex Platinum agents to get the Fine Hotels and Resorts benefits. But Amex didn’t offer me the personal relationship I was looking for. When I was planning a trip to London several ago, I was introduced to Virtuoso Travel. I found a Virtuoso agency affiliated with a certain hotel brand I wanted for this trip. After perusing the agents’ backgrounds I found my travel advisor, Joanne Socha, who not only was a former attorney (kindred spirits!), but was also a London expert (amongst other locales). She turned out to be amazing and I have been using her services ever since.

Every luxury travel advisor is different. Some charge a flat fee for a trip that requires considerable planning. When you become a good and loyal client, some waive that fee. But for the most part, travel advisors get compensated by the hotel/tour company/vendor and it doesn’t cost you anything extra. In fact, besides taking care of you, they often actually provide you with great perks, like free breakfasts, welcome gifts, and occasional room upgrades. The hotels usually treat you better when you book through a respected travel advisor than, say, a third party travel site (like Expedia). And if anything goes wrong, your travel advisor is ON IT! 

Personally I’m a bit of a control freak, but it’s nice to have someone who has my back when I don’t want to deal with an issue myself. Travel advisors also have inside, vetted information on great tours, restaurant recommendations, and general location information. Whether you do your own research and use theirs as a supplement as I do, or whether you want someone else to do all the legwork, using a travel advisor is invaluable. 

Do Establish a Connection With the Hotel Prior to Your Arrival

When I travel to a new area, I usually email the concierge with questions. Best nearby hair salon? Best beach club for our family’s needs? I make it clear to them in my emails that I look forward to thanking them in person, so they know I plan to tip them for this assistance. 

One summer we travelled to Ibiza and I had a million questions for the concierge at the hotel at which we stayed. He couldn’t have been nicer and we ended up developing a nice rapport through email. Now this could be a coincidence, but when we arrived, we were greeted in grand style by the manager and escorted to the penthouse duplex suite, a massive upgrade we had not paid for nor expected. Coincidence? Maybe. But I can’t help but think that the concierge had something to do with it. 

Do Tip Well

I cannot stress this enough. Aside from the fact that everyone at the resorts or hotels is working really hard and deserves a good tip, it will come back to you tenfold. If you tip the beach attendant well as he’s setting up your chairs on Monday you can almost guarantee you will get great beach chairs and great service on Tuesday. A good tipper is remembered.

If you travel to the same place every year, tipping well will ensure that you will be remembered the next time you arrive and you can expect to get great service. And if you travel during a busy season (President’s weekend or Christmas) it can mean the difference between a great vacation and a terrible one.

Don’t Be Rude

Despite our desire to make luxury vacations relaxing and rejuvenating, they can, at times, be the opposite! We plan and research and want everything to be just so, and when they aren’t, we can get frustrated. But that’s no excuse to be unkind and rude. No one wants to see themselves in Shane from The White Lotus! It’s human nature for people to want to help people who are kind. Honey does catch more flies than vinegar!