Travel Diary May 2021

Tulum, Mexico 5/5/2021
Tulum16 presents a bit like the famous Rubin’s vase optical illusion: some might see a home fringed with jungle flora, others might see a smattering of monstera and palms, ensconcing a home. Luckily, there are more than two ways to see it. This villa is chiefly an ideal Yucatan retreat that’s large enough for family and friends to share, with eight independent suites contained by 13,000 square feet of verdant oasis. It has five swimming pools. And the spaces to gather are aplenty, including this dreamy tableau of peacock back chairs and a deck that’s so perfect for sun salutations, the sun might actually salute you. (Naturally, we see it both ways.)

Pelion, Greece, May 7, 2021

And the best parking space award goes to… Villa Polyxena. Set on terraced land that cascades down to the sea, this Grecian paradise invites you to arrive like a Gatsby, by pulling up in your boat of course. Once moored, have a glass of Thessalian wine on your own sandy beach, or climb up to your spacious hideaway on the base of Mount Pelion. Embrace a more Fitzgeraldian approach and ask, who needs paved roads when you can cruise the sparkling Aegean instead?

Puglia, Italy, May 14, 2021

The higher the rooftop, the closer to the stars. Befittingly, we've saved you a pouf in the sky at Palais Gentile, an 18th-century palazzo turned luxury hotel in the Apulian town of Matino, with a Moroccan riad-style open-air lounge. Here, not only will you get amazing views of the sky as it changes from powder blue to pink to indigo ink, you’ll be soaring above the spectacular maze of narrow medieval streets below. Bring a glass of Salice Salentino and enjoy the show, because the best seat in the house is always the one on top of it.

Corfu, Greece, May 19, 2021

Cloud-light dazzles with cliffs of peace, the tranced Homeric afternoons," the South African poet William Plomer once wrote about Corfu. Here in the north of the Ionian Sea, we imagine ourselves inspired by the same enchanted sky and light. The perfect perch to do so is on the island's west side, at Mimi and Coco Villas. A compound of three clean-lined structures crafted sustainably with eco-friendly materials, views drift across the Mediterranean. It's the kind of place where you won't want to close your eyes until well after "the moon above Albania burns," as Plomer so lyrically penned upon viewing the night sky.

Syros, Greece, May 24, 2021

And the award for best natural amphitheater goes to… Finikas Villa. A dramatic, stepped property that levitates over Plagia Bay and the Aegean Sea, here, every seat in the house showcases the spectacular performances and sonic grace that is Syros, Greece. With shows playing all day and night – boats gliding, the pool glittering like and clouds swirling like tulle skirts - it’s a theatre where the curtain only falls when your eyes finally flutter close.

Crete, Greece, May 26, 2021

Henri Matisse once said, “A line cannot exist alone; it always brings a companion along.” Consider then the convivial zigs and zags of Native Beach Villa; thick, thin, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal variances, leading the eye along the natural stone and wood construction, then winding around the pool of this striking home in Crete, Greece. Echoing the maze-like meanderings of conversation itself, we would certainly like to visit with our favorite companions in tow.

Puglia, Italy, May 28, 2021

True to its name, Trullo Santa Pazienza invites visitors to hone a stillness of mind, love of family, and a connection to the land and its rhythms; all virtues linked to having patience. Here on a limestone plateau, situated between the Ionian and Adriatic coasts, rises this compound of two conical trullos, along with a swimming pool and an ancient network of olive trees, sipping in the iron-rich terra rossa. It’s a wonderful place to slow down, bask in how far you've come, and experience every single moment as the gift that it is.

Comporta, Portugal, May 31, 2021

"I traced a circle on the ground, it was a mystic figure strange," wrote the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, considering the cabalistic meaning of life in the round. Over at Casa da Oliviera, in Comporta – oft dubbed "The Hamptons of Portugal" with its pines, cork oaks and white sand dunes – we look upon its constellation of arcs with a shared splendor. Composed of three villas just outside the village of Brejos de Carrequera, high design meets rusticity for remarkable gatherings. Perhaps Pessoa said it even better: “The value of things is not in duration, but in the intensity where they arrive. That’s why there are unforgettable moments, inexplicable things and incomparable people.”