April 2017: Travel

Top destinations This Month.

–All spring and summer, the 200^th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen will be marked across England, with exhibitions, talks, tours and other events, especially in the southern Hampshire region that she called home.

–Visit Morocco, with little to no worries about spring showers; you can tan and windsurf in Essaouira, or ride a camel on the golden sand dunes of Erg Chebbi.

–Brussels is another destination where the grass gets greener and the rain is at a minimum right now; enjoy sightseeing and antique shopping in the Sablon district, or tour top chocolate shops, making a stop to see Belgium’s oldest chocolaterie, Neuhaus.

–Kyoto, Japan celebrates the very brief cherry blossom season in April; visit the Heian Shrine to take in the vibrant red, pink and white gardens mid-month.

–For beautiful rolling landscape scenery, head to the Netherlands, where tulips are at their peak. Amsterdam is wonderful, but lesser-known towns like Delft, Leiden, Utrecht and Groot-Zundert (the birthplace of Van Gogh) are completely charming and will enrich your luxury experience with the Dutch.

–Savannah, Georgia, nicknamed the “hostess city of the South,” is an ideal destination this month (full disclosure: my mother was born and raised there). Head over to Augusta National to follow the golf and enjoy the scenery – and the scene – at the Masters.

–Paris in the springtime. Enough said. Just go.

–Visit the largely uninhabited country of Namibia – head to the Skeleton Coast or to the Namib Desert, where the red sand dunes provide incredible views and dramatic lighting at dawn and dusk.

Notable Luxury Resort and Hotel Openings This Month.

–Small-ship luxury line Silversea will add the 596-passenger Silver Muse to its fleet in the Mediterranean; it will have eight restaurants, including one where diners can cook for themselves on heated lava stones.

–The Oetker Collection opens its first property in South America: the Palacio Tangara in the center of Burle Marx Park in Sao Paulo, with 141 rooms, including 59 suites, all with beautiful views overlooking the park; Jean-Georges Vongerichten will oversee the food and drink.

–The 120-room Il Castelfalfi hotel will join sister property Toscana Resort Castelfalfi; guests will have access to a spa, golf course, cooking school and winery on the property.

–The Oberoi opens the luxury property Al Zorah just 25 minutes from the Dubai International Airport, featuring 247 acres of protected forests, a private natural beach front, a championship golf course and kayaking – April 2

–After two years of renovations, the Dorchester Collection (whose other properties include the Plaza Athenee in Paris and the Bel-Air in Los Angeles) is reopening the Hotel Eden in Rome; the property will contain 98 rooms in a three-story mansion house that dates back to 1889 in Rome’s Ludovisi district.

–Miavana Island Sanctuary, Madagascar’s first ultra five-star lodge will open this year—but it will only be accessible via private helicopter. The lodge’s 14 villas will all have direct beach and ocean access, offering visitors up-close interactions with the threatened animals who live on the property’s wildlife sanctuary.

–The Freehand franchise expands from its flagship in Chicago to downtown LA with a new property in the historic Commercial Exchange Building – April 15

–Just in time for spring family vacations, the luxurious 62-room Williamsburg Inn in Colonial Williamsburg will reopen after an extensive makeover (insider’s breakfast tip: order the sugar-dusted made-to-order doughnut holes) – April 23

See other April 2017 events: 
Food & Drink
Planes, Yachts & Autos
Fitness & Sports
Fashion & Design
Entertainment
The Arts

Forward This Article