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Delta One is leveling up its premium cabin, and I got a sneak peek at what’s coming at an event in New York this week. There is a lot to cover, but the big headline is a massive shift toward thoughtful, hospitality-first touches. Here are a few highlights that stood out:

• A completely revamped food & drink menu: We’re talking Wagyu burgers, Champagne sorbet floats, and a fresh wine list curated by a Master Sommelier. I tried ALL of it and can confidently confirm: extremely good.

• Upgraded brand partnerships: Blanton’s bourbon is joining the bar, Bombas socks are making a comeback, and the new Missoni amenity kits now come in a chic new shape and pattern with wrist strips!

• “Sip and Settle”: A new pre-departure service designed to help you relax the second you find your seat.

I also got to step inside the next-generation Delta One suite coming to their new A350-1000s and was pretty wowed: massive 24-inch 4K screens (some of the biggest you’ll see on a U.S. carrier), lie-flat beds that stretch almost seven feet, full privacy doors, and smart little details like dedicated hooks for your glasses and handbag. You’ll see the service & food upgrades start rolling out this fall on international flights departing LAX before expanding globally in early 2027.

On the subject of upgrades: Singapore Airlines is rolling out some new perks this November. For the first time ever, Business Class passengers will receive complimentary PJs (a relaxed poly-cotton blend) plus luxury Byredo amenity kits. …And that’s my cue to book another Singapore flight.

I have to confess, I might have a liiiiitle bit of a problem when it comes to pouches. I can’t get enough of them. But I also hate having things rolling around in a giant tote, so at this point I’ve amassed quite a collection of little zippered bags to bring with me when I travel.

Since travel pouches are also one of the things I get asked about most often, I’ve rounded up an edit that includes everything from favorites that come on every trip to the ones currently tempting me from my cart. You can shop the full edit here.

The Inn at Langley — Langley, Washington

You’ll find this quaint, quintessentially PNW retreat right on the waterfront of Whidbey Island, which is about an hour north of Seattle plus a short ferry ride. Despite only having 28 rooms, there’s plenty to enjoy, from floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Saratoga Passage to private balconies, fireplaces, and soaking tubs. There’s also a restaurant showcasing seasonal, regionally-sourced ingredients, and of course the charming seaside village of Langley just steps away for you to explore. All in all, it makes a very compelling case for escaping the city.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you).

Window Seat covers the business, culture, and experience of traveling well, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

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Ed. note: Select experiences featured in this article were hosted. As always, I only recommend experiences I genuinely enjoyed, and all opinions are entirely my own.

Some places get you worked up well before you’ve ever set foot in them. Places like Mallorca or Tokyo are so buzzy that their reputations have become larger than life; if you mention you’re visiting soon, there’s a good chance many of the people you talk to will react knowingly, positively, maybe even enviously. Other places, like Amsterdam, are a bit more understated. Before visiting for the first time, I had zero expectations. No pressurized excitement threatening to boil over. Which was just as well, because it gave this Dutch city the chance to surprise me, and in a shocking twist, become a new favorite.

The first time around, I was not familiar with Amsterdam’s game. The tree-lined canals, with their sparkling waters framed by cobblestone streets, absolutely charmed me. I loved the city’s sheer density; as a New Yorker, I appreciate volume, but Amsterdam somehow felt quaint in spite of it. Seeing more bicycles than cars was a novelty, and at the risk of sounding naive, everything felt like the most idealized version of itself. After that first sun-soaked day, I simply could not get enough.

We all have places we long to return to, and Amsterdam was one of those for me. But the world is vast, and the list of places still to see is long, so return visits can be tough. These days, my job often determines where I’ll go, and as fate would have it, a recent press trip brought me back to this magical city I was so desperate to get to know even better.

Read on for:

• An interactive map of all 82 places I’ve saved in Amsterdam, including personal favorites and spots on my radar for next time

• An inside look at one of Amsterdam’s most coveted luxury hotels (a new addition to my hotel hall of fame)

• Why upgrading one specific must-do activity I’ve done before is worth every penny

• My favorite vintage store, an only-in-Amsterdam experience, and more must-see/try/do favorites

A grand hotel in the museum quarter. During my first visit, I stayed on the outskirts of town, so this time, I was thrilled to be more in the heart of it. The Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium is on many must-stay lists, and for good reason. To start: it’s located in the Museum Quarter, just steps from the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, with Vondelpark just around the corner. A tram stop is literally right outside the front door, so getting around couldn’t be easier. But what I loved most was how certain rooms retain the character of traditional Dutch architecture.

I love walking into a hotel room and immediately feeling like I’m staying somewhere unique, and my Grand Junior Suite delivered. Exposed dark wood beams ran along the ceiling, while small, arched windows with shutters evoked the charm of an Amsterdam cottage attic. At 600 square feet it was generously sized, although the sloped ceilings ate into some of that spaciousness for someone who is practically six feet tall. But the bathroom more than made up for it: massive and completely swathed in stone, from floor to ceiling, with a deep soaking tub—your own in-room spa!

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The biggest Centurion Lounge yet is coming to Newark. American Express announced four new Centurion Lounge projects this week—two new lounges and two lounge expansions—with the most exciting addition being a massive two-story, 30,000-square-foot lounge coming to Newark’s Terminal A next year. Amex is also adding a second Heathrow lounge in Terminal 5, doubling the size of its outpost in Philadelphia, and nearly tripling Houston’s. And once Newark opens, Amex will be the first card issuer with lounges at all three New York area airports.

@toriambersAmex just announced its BIGGEST Centurion Lounge expansion yet - and Newark is getting the largest Centurion Lounge in the entire network. ✈️ Here’s what’s coming: 📍 Newark (EWR): A massive 30,000+ sq. ft. lounge in Terminal A, complete with three bars, a coffee and wellness bar, and menus from award-winning chefs. Opening in 2027. 📍 London Heathrow (LHR): A second Centurion Lounge, this time in Terminal 5. Opening in 2028. 📍 Philadelphia (PHL): The existing lounge is doubling in size to 12,000+ sq. ft., with renovations expected to wrap up in 2027. 📍 Houston (IAH): The existing lounge is nearly tripling in size to 23,000+ sq. ft., with completion expected in 2028. Once Newark opens, Amex will be the first credit card issuer with proprietary lounges at all three major NYC-area airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. As a travel writer who spends a LOT of time in airports, I’m particularly interested in what this means for lounge overcrowding. More space is great, but will it actually mean a better experience for travelers? @American Express Platinum cardholders: which airport needs a Centurion Lounge next? #CenturionLounge #AmericanExpress #AmexPlatinum #AirportLounges #TravelNews

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I wouldn’t wait much longer to book your holiday flights if I were you. Google analyzed five years of Google Flights data to find out the best time to book, and the short answer is: right now.

e.l.f. wants to bottle your vacation. A new category for the company, e.l.f. is turning destinations into fragrances with e.l.f. POP, a new body care and scent line inspired by places around the world. First stop: Tromsø, Norway, interpreted through a limited-edition fragrance scented with notes of spice cake, orange zest, cardamom, buttercream, cedarwood, and musk. And it comes in a travel size, of course.

I have a rare stretch of time at home for a few weeks, so I’ve been dedicating more time to social content. One of my goals is to grow my platforms; I just hit 10k on Instagram—finally!🎉 and my TikTok has been doing pretty well this week too. I just started a new series called Hand Carry where I show a bag I’m using as my personal item and walk through everything I packed for that particular flight. My travel bags and their contents vary so wildly based on different variables like the length of the flight, whether it’s domestic or international and/or a redeye, whether I’m checking a bag or not, the list goes on. If you’ve been reading for a while, make sure you’re following me on my other platforms, too!

Neptune — Providence, Rhode Island

To be very honest, Providence is not a place I ever imagined myself wanting to go. It seems more like one of those places you just end up in one day and realize is actually quite nice. At least that’s the way I imagine it in my head. But this new opening from ASH Hotels is making a very convincing case for a weekend trip. It’s a 52-room boutique hotel that has enough of an interesting blend of old-world interiors and atmospheric irreverence to intrigue me. Plus, there’s Mémère’s, a French-accented restaurant, and The Boombox, a private karaoke lounge inspired by Tokyo and Seoul (that detail alone more than sells me). It has an air of eccentricity I simply have to experience for myself.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you).

Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

Iceland is a place that’s quite hard to describe if you’ve never experienced it yourself. I’ve tried, and the best I can come up with is to simply say: it’s awe-inspiring. Everywhere you look, you'll see landscapes you've likely never encountered before. For me, being there made me feel—in the best way possible—like I’d landed on some distant planet. I felt small and insignificant, which is something I think we all could benefit from feeling a bit more from time to time.

For as magical as Iceland’s landscapes are, they are also unforgiving. Wind whips, rain comes down in sheets, the terrain is unpredictable, you can cycle through multiple climates in a single afternoon, and the midnight sun presents a unique obstacle for sleep. Which means when it came time to put together my packing list for my trip, I faced one of my biggest challenges yet.

Read on for:

• The exact layering system I used to stay warm and dry through Iceland’s wind, rain, waterfalls, and wild weather

• 5 outfits for actual Iceland itinerary moments, from hiking and sightseeing to dinner in Reykjavik

• The less-obvious Iceland essentials I’m very glad I packed (and the things you really don’t want to skimp on)

• Shoppable links for everything in my suitcase, from technical gear to the pieces that made it all feel a little less “gorpcore”

Flying to Iceland is a pretty quick trip from New York, but it’s still an overnight flight, which means every hour of sleep counts. If you’re like me and flying economy, this is the only travel pillow that lets me sleep without killing my neck. I’ve been singing its praises for years! (My mom actually just got one for our upcoming trip abroad, which I feel is the highest trust…) Outfit-wise, I’m sticking to my usual formula: relaxed trousers, comfortable layers, and sneakers that can go straight into rotation once we land.

Before even thinking about leaving for the airport, though, I’m gonna have you do two things: weigh your luggage with a scale to make sure it’s under the limit and then—my #1 non-negotiable—put an AirTag in every! single! thing! coming with you on your trip. You think you don’t need them until you very much do. Trust me on that—don’t wait for trauma to teach you. You can hang them on keyrings from the zipper or just toss them in one of the compartments inside.

Iceland taught me there are few better ways to recover from a long, overnight flight cramped in an economy seat than immediately submerging yourself in very hot water. As such, my jetlag hack here is to head straight from the airport to Sky Lagoon. I highly recommend doing what I did and booking a private changing room so you can have ample room to shower, change, and make yourself feel human again post-flight/pre-spa. Otherwise, keep your swimsuit, flip-flops, skincare, dry pouch, and anything else you’ll need easily accessible (that way you’re not trying to find space to unpack your entire suitcase in the locker room).

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Alaska Air Group hosted a joint investor/media day this week at its Global Training Center in Seattle, and I flew in for a first look at all of the improvements coming to Alaska and Hawaiian. The big takeaway? A huge bet on premium. Here are the headlines:

• Lie-flat business class seats are coming to Alaska’s narrowbodies. You’ll find them on select transcon routes flown by the 737 MAX 10. It seems that they sacrificed a tiny bit of space (and privacy doors) to have the seats face the window instead of awkwardly facing the aisle, which I’m all for.

• Alaska is launching its first true premium economy cabin. It’s called Premium Reserve, and it’ll be debuting on Alaska’s 787-9s and Hawaiian’s A330s in 2028, creating an entirely new product between business and economy. It’s incredibly comfortable AND—finally—has a 16” entertainment screen.

• Atmos Rewards members can now choose how they want to earn points and status points when flying: either by distance traveled, dollars spent, or flight segments flown. It’s a very welcome, traveler-first approach in an industry that has largely moved toward spend-based loyalty, and especially useful because a frequent short-hop flyer and someone regularly flying long hauls don’t necessarily benefit from the same formula.

• Two new, end-to-end experiences are coming for the airline’s most premium passengers: Aurora for Alaska and Leihōkū for Hawaiian. You can expect dedicated check-in desks and exclusive lounge access at Seattle and Honolulu, plus upgraded dining, service, and upgraded business class suites onboard.

“Checklist tourism” may finally be on its way out. That’s my favorite finding from Hilton’s recently released 2027 Trends Report: more than half of travelers say they feel pressure for their trips to look good on paper rather than simply feel good. Now, Hilton sees travelers increasingly embracing what it calls “ish” travel, aka itineraries based on what people actually want to do, not what they think they have to do. I’m guilty of trying to maximize every moment of a trip myself, but I'm also ready to let vibes take the wheel a bit more.

Remember when Nathan Fielder hyperfixated on “fixing” aviation? Congress was apparently paying attention. Last week, the Senate unanimously passed two bipartisan bills aimed at addressing one of the issues explored in season two of HBO’s The Rehearsal: discouraging pilots and air traffic controllers from seeking mental health treatment for fear of jeopardizing their medical certification and careers. It still has a ways to go before it becomes codified into law, but everybody say thank you Nathan for his (unrivaled) commitment to the bit.

A product category I take very seriously, tangentially related to travel, is sleep. It’s something we do every night—so, worth investing in—but it becomes even more important on the road when you need to keep your body on a familiar schedule that feels good. In my typical sleep arsenal, you’ll find an eye mask, earplugs, and a sleep aid. Nothing crazy. And although the products rarely change, I’ve been testing out a few new additions that have since earned permanent spots in my kit.

• Eye mask: my usual is a silk eye mask with a moldable nose bridge that you can form perfectly to your face to make sure absolutely zero light gets in. But after trying this version that has individual “cups” for your eyes, I think I might be sold. Especially good if you have a lash lift or extensions and can’t have anything touching your face but still want the benefits of a sleep mask.

• Sleep aid: I’ve long been a proponent of taking my melatonin in gummy form, but I’m converted to a form factor that couldn’t be any easier: fast-dissolving oral strips. They taste good and they work, plus the packs are completely flat so they literally could not be any easier to bring with you on a trip. (Use my code zombietori for 10% of!)

Hôtel Massé — Paris, France

My personal list of must-try Paris hotels is already long, so any new additions have to reeeeeally inspire me. This one fits the bill. It’s a 40-room hotel in Pigalle, set in a classic Haussmannian building that feels distinctly Parisian without beating you over the head with it. I think it’s the specific mix of warm wood paneling, vintage furniture from the 70’s, contemporary art, and the occasional balcony or bathtub tucked beneath the eaves that sucked me in. Plus, how could you not love all the hyperlocal details? There are pastries from neighborhood bakery Le Pain Retrouve, Typology bath products, and chocolates from Parisian maker Plaq. It gives intimate, unfussy, and very effortlessly cool.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you).

Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

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Today’s newsletter is in partnership with Adobe.

This year, I’ve spent more time than ever away from home. 40 flights, 13 trips, and four new countries mean I’ve been treated to all kinds of amazing places all around the world. Meanwhile, I’ve lived in New York City for nearly a decade and remain embarrassingly bad at keeping up with what’s going on in my own neighborhood.

It’s particularly egregious considering it’s one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations, somewhere millions of people travel from around the globe to experience. And I get it. New York really does feel like the center of the world; every week, another crop of “must-try” restaurants, cafes, shops, hotels, and exhibitions opens. At some point, trying to keep up started to feel impossible, so I stopped trying. I settled into my familiar routines and let the city continue changing around me.

The irony is that I would never, ever travel this way. Tell me I’m going somewhere new and I’ll have a list of places I want to see before my ticket is even booked and a location-optimized itinerary before the plane touches down. Which got me thinking: could I trick myself into experiencing New York like somewhere I’d never been before?

I decided to turn it into an experiment. For 48 hours, I’d treat New York like a proper vacation: book a hotel, build an itinerary almost entirely around places I’d never been, and approach my own city with the same relentless curiosity I bring everywhere else.

Planning the trip

Every trip I plan starts with a hotel, so this was no different. Ultimately, I wanted to feel transported, and for that I kept coming back to The Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca. Between its Euro-style courtyard and Japanese-inspired spa, it doesn’t evoke one specific place, but it’s hugely atmospheric.

In terms of the itinerary, luckily I didn’t have to start completely from scratch, as I have a backlog of local places on my Maybe Someday I’ll Get to These list saved across Instagram, TikTok, Substack, various articles, and the like. Now I just had to A) consolidate them, B) figure out what was worth doing, and C) group them into a workable itinerary.

For this, I opened up ChatGPT for a massive brain dump. I fed it all of my saved places, the hotel, and a few parameters: avoid wasting half the day zig-zagging across Manhattan, include a booking at the hotel spa, and leave enough breathing room for spontaneity. I also wanted a visual reference I could save to my phone to be able to check while on the go.

So, within the same ChatGPT conversation, I used the Adobe plug in for ChatGPT to turn the final itinerary into a visual guide. I knew what I wanted the finished product to look like, but I didn’t want to bother with figuring out the best Adobe tool to make it, so I simply asked it to make me an itinerary that’s very easy to follow. The plugin can pull from more than 70 Adobe creative and productivity tools inside ChatGPT, so I could describe the end result and let it figure out how to get me there.

I still had one problem: everything that went into making the itinerary was scattered everywhere. So I brought the finished guide, hotel and restaurant confirmations, menus, and my mess of saved recommendations into an Acrobat PDF Space. Think of it as one home base for the weekend: instead of remembering which email or document contained what, I could ask the Space directly. What time is my spa appointment again? Wait, what’s the address for dinner tonight again? The answer was right there.

Time to check in

Normally, my life happens in a two-bedroom apartment in Downtown Brooklyn. You can usually find me on my living room loveseat, legs outstretched on the ottoman, laptop where its name suggests, iced coffee sweating on a small tray on the armrest. More often than not, there’s broken-down cardboard and some boxed-up returns waiting by the front door beside me. Somehow the Brita filter always needs more water; the vacuum could always use more charge. These are the fixtures of my regular life.

At The Greenwich, there’s none of that—none of that anywhere I travel, really (save for the coffee, of course). Just a bed that magically gets made and a wardrobe with only clothes I want to wear. For the next two days, this was home.

Day one:

Coffee is a non-negotiable for me, so I went for a banana latte at Meadow Lane around the corner from the hotel before heading over to the day’s first activity: procuring a new read at The Mysterious Bookshop on Warren Street. Staying in theme, I went in blind and asked the staff to choose something for me, which I’d never done before. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous fall day outside—the reeeeally good kind where you can wear shorts and a sweater—so I decided to abandon part of my itinerary in favor of being outside. I went back into ChatGPT with a new request: make me a plan that includes sitting near the water for a few hours with my book. The new plan: spend the afternoon reading my new book by the Hudson at Pier 26. For how much I love being by water and reading outside, I can’t believe how much of my New York life I’ve wasted by not doing this exact thing more.

Now, I do need a little classic New York in this trip, and I don’t think there’s a better way to do that than through food—specifically, dinner at one of the city’s most beloved downtown institutions, The Odeon. I love an early dinner, especially this time of year when a 6 PM reservation means emerging just in time for sunset. And as a newly minted Martini Person, there are few places I'd rather order one (plus, the steak frites, which were impossibly good).

Day two:

The next morning, I cheated a little and went to one place I’d already been. Frenchette is right around the corner from the hotel, and they serve the best pancake I’ve ever had. I simply had to have it, and I say that as someone who never has a hankering to order one anywhere else.

After that treat, I doubled back to the hotel to disappear underground for a bit. The hotel’s subterranean Shibui Spa centers around a lantern-lit pool beneath the roof of a 250-year-old Japanese farmhouse, and this is the closest I came all weekend to really forgetting I was in New York. I opted for a Drunken Lotus massage, then spent an hour swimming by the glow of the lantern light. The best part was locking away my phone and indulging in the increasingly rare luxury of being completely, blissfully unreachable.

Eventually, I resurfaced and headed east to spend the rest of the afternoon doing one of my favorite vacation activities: wandering into shops that catch my eye. My favorites were Beverly’s 1975 for beautiful objects for the home, followed by Tumbao, a shop featuring Latin American designers, and Colbo Next Door, a very cool mishmash of fashion, music, and design that also happens to have a wine bar that I loved so much I scrapped my original plan to grab a glass at Casetta (which remains on my “to try” list).

Pics or it didn’t happen, right?

Of course, no Tori vacation, real or manufactured, would be complete without coming home with an unhinged number of photos. I love shooting New York on everything from my phone to my film camera (a bodega just hits different on Portra 400), but even the best framing can’t always save you from rogue construction, clutter, or any number of New York eyesores.

So I went back into the same ChatGPT conversation one last time and used the Adobe plug in to clean up some photos, asking it to remove specific obstructions without making the photos look overly edited. Again, I didn't need to figure out which tool I needed, I just had to tell it what I wanted changed.

The verdict

New York feels most like home when I’m in my Brooklyn bubble. But when I’m soaking at an underground spa in Tribeca or enjoying rare fall sunshine by the riverside with my nose buried in a mystery novel, it was easy for New York to feel more unfamiliar to me. To feel worthy of my curiosity and attention in a way I hadn’t given it in a long time.

And I think that’s what I was actually trying to manufacture with this experiment. Instead of trying to convince myself New York was some grand new place, I just needed to break enough of my routine to stop moving through the city on autopilot.

Forty flights into the year and what do you know? One of my favorite trips required exactly zero.

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Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

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American Airlines turned 100 this year and is celebrating with limited-edition luggage made in collaboration with Australian brand July. The collection embodies American’s 1960s Astrojet era, borrowing archival logos and signature red and blue for a range of bags. It’s a fun bit of airline nostalgia timed to a very big birthday, and personally I’m very here for airlines mining their archives in this way.

AI is coming to air traffic control. What could go wrong! This week, the FAA started using a new AI-powered system called SMART at three major Washington, D.C. area airports with the goal of expanding it nationwide. The system analyzes things like airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, and airspace conditions and centralizes it into one platform. Decision-makers stress that it’s meant to support the humans controlling the airspace, not replace them, but many still have concerns like, where will the data come from? Will the tool hallucinate? And if so, will humans still have the final say or the ability to override it?

Air France is calling dibs on the biggest lounge in JFK’s new Terminal One. As part of JFK’s massive ongoing redevelopment, the existing Terminal 1 is being replaced with a completely new terminal, and when Air France moves in, it’s bringing a two-story, 29,000-square-foot lounge with it—which is also the largest planned for the terminal and the biggest Air France lounge outside of Paris. There will be room for more than 400 passengers, plus French dining, a wine and Champagne bar, beauty treatments, and a dedicated area reserved for Flying Blue Ultimate members. Between this and the long list of genuinely great lounges that have opened at JFK lately, the pre-flight experience in New York is getting increasingly competitive…

@toriambersWhat I pack In my carry-on travel bag for an international redeye flight ✈️ @BÉIS @KLM Royal Dutch Airlines @Manta Eyewear @onequince @lickies @TUMI #whatsinmytravelbag #travelbag #carryonbag #whattopack #travelvlogs

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I love testing out different personal items for different kinds of flights. I recently got this canvas-and-leather tote, which I took on my last international flight, and somehow it swallowed everything I could possibly keep on my person without turning into one of those enormous, unwieldy bags I wish I hadn’t brought. It’s huge, but still sits nicely on my shoulder and, crucially, has both a trolley pass-through and a key leash so 1) I can slide it over my carry-on instead of lugging it through the airport, and 2) I’m not awkwardly digging through my bag for my keys when I finally get home. The one design flaw: it magnetizes shut instead of zipping (my preference and I’m sure a lot of yours), but it’s tall enough that I never worried about my things spilling out.

Sunyata Ren’ai Hall Hotel — Chongqing, China

Chongqing has been on my travel wishlist for a minute now, but this intimate hotel in the city’s historic Yuzhong district is making me want to book a flight ASAP. The hotel used to be a church and a hospital, originally built in 1900 by the French. Now, it’s a 25-room hotel that boasts two restaurants, a riverside bar, and rooms that look out over the Yangtze River and Chongqing’s almost surreal skyline. The design is a main attraction here: you can see the layered warm woods, stone, plentiful paper shade lighting, and timber beams, which are original from the hotel’s storied past.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you).

Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

Ed. Note: Flights, accommodations, and experiences were provided by American Express. All opinions and recommendations are my own.

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Be wary of bringing up credit cards around me. It probably won’t be long before I’m on a soapbox about points valuations, transfer partners, award charts, and redemption strategies. I’ve played this game for a long time, and for years, my brain was focused on one single metric: getting the most financial value out of every point.

But a recent trip to Amsterdam completely changed how I look at my wallet. For all the energy I’d put into pointsmaxing, I’d been looking at my credit card perks like they were random coupons instead of thinking how they could work together. Even more embarrassingly, I already had a card in my wallet that covered nearly every stage of a trip. I’d just never thought about using it that way.

Basically, I’d gotten very good at maximizing my points without necessarily maximizing my card. Because there’s another kind of return I’d barely been accounting for: how much time, money, and general travel misery can it save me? So, I came home with a few new rules. Steal them as you wish.

Rule #1: Start calculating the value of your time, too

The points community is obsessed with spending hours calculating whether a redemption equates to a “good” value. But like anything in life, if you focus too much on a single metric, something else suffers. You might snag a coveted business class seat, but at what cost? A 12-hour layover? A convoluted three-transfer routing? Just to get a fraction of a cent more in theoretical value?

Your time and stress levels are worth factoring into the calculation, too. A card perk that saves you time waiting in line or gives you a comfy place to chill before a long flight is, in my opinion, massively worth it.

Premium lounge access is a perfect example. On my way to Amsterdam, I stopped at the Delta One Lounge at JFK for a full sit-down meal and a shower; on the way home, I stopped into the brand-new Centurion Lounge at Schiphol for coffee and a quiet place to work before boarding. I can’t neatly assign a dollar value to either, but having somewhere to eat, work, shower, or simply reset makes the hours I spend at the airport significantly less painful.

Rule #2: Audit your travel day mishaps

An easy way to figure out what’s missing from your wallet? Think about where your last few travel days went wrong.

• Did you take an expensive ride because you don’t have any rideshare credits or transit perks?

• Were you stuck in a never-ending security line because none of the cards in your wallet reimburse CLEAR Plus or TSA PreCheck?

• Did you end up sitting at a crowded gate because your card network doesn’t have a lounge (or partner lounge) in that terminal?

• Were you forced to deliriously wander around after a morning flight because your hotel couldn’t offer early check-in?

That last one is a particular nightmare of mine, and one I managed to avoid in Amsterdam. I landed early in the morning and could check into the Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium immediately, thanks to the Fine Hotels + Resorts early check-in benefit. And the value of those extra hours compounds: yes, you get into your room early, but you also get to reset after an overnight flight so you don’t spend the first day or two of your trip recovering from getting there.

If any of these mishaps sound familiar, first, I’m so sorry. Second, check whether a card you already have solves the problem, and whether you actually activated the benefit. If not, you’ve just found a pretty compelling gap in your wallet.

Rule #3: Don’t forget about experience benefits

Confession: I’ve always scrolled right past the ‘experiences’ section of credit card travel portals because I wrongly assumed they’d be gimmicky. Then in Amsterdam, both a canal cruise and Delft tile-painting workshop (two genuine must-dos!) were booked through GetYourGuide, which I didn’t realize was an Amex partner. I’d even booked a canal cruise on a previous trip (like I said, a must-do) without knowing I could’ve gotten a discount through my card. Multiply that across years of booking activities, and I’ve left a lot of value on the table. And that hurts.

So now, before booking something I’m already planning to do, I’ll be checking my card offers and travel partners first. The key phrase here is already planning to do. Which brings me to the final rule…

Rule #4: A benefit is only valuable if you’d actually use it

Let’s say the quiet part out loud: all of this becomes much more consequential when the cards in question have annual fees pushing nearly $1,000.

I’ve fallen into the trap of making a spreadsheet of every available credit, adding up the ones I’ve used, and finally feeling justified in having the card once that sum surpasses the fee. But a $100 benefit isn’t worth $100 to me if it requires spending money I otherwise wouldn’t have spent. The only math that matters is what a card does for the travel you’re already doing.

Putting my own wallet to the test

After doing this little audit on my own wallet, I realized the card that checks the most boxes for the way I travel is one I’ve carried for years: the Amex Platinum.

Before you say it: yes, it does have one of the steepest annual fees on the market at a whopping $895/year, so it’s completely fair to hesitate and ask if it’s actually worth it. And I’ll be honest with you: if you’re only traveling a few times a year? No, it’s not. But if you’re trying to make travel a major part of your personality, then this is the card I’ll always, always recommend.

1. It makes the airport substantially less annoying. I already take Ubers to the airport, use CLEAR Plus, and have Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, so these are credits offsetting things I already use vs forcing new spending habits.

2. The lounge access alone gets a workout in my wallet. The Global Lounge Collection, to me, makes the biggest difference between being able to actually enjoy my time at the airport or not.

3. FHR is where the math gets a little fuzzier, but arguably more valuable. Sure, I’ll happily take the $100 property credit and free breakfast. But landing in Europe after an overnight flight and getting into my room at noon instead of 3 PM? That’s three hours of my trip I get back. Same goes for guaranteed 4 PM checkout when my flight home isn’t until that night.

You know I live and die by my spreadsheets, but the Amex Platinum isn’t worth $895 to me because I’ve managed to add up enough credits to make the math check out. It’s worth it because the benefits make the travel I’m already doing better. Turns out that’s something worth optimizing for, too.

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Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.

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Ed. note: Flights were provided by United Airlines, and select accommodations and experiences were hosted, as noted below where appropriate. All opinions and recommendations are my own.

Earlier this year, someone asked me, “Where have you not yet been that I’d be surprised to learn?” I realized immediately what my most egregious answer was: a city that feels almost impossible not to pass through at some point in your life, yet one I’d somehow managed to miss out on for all 34 years of mine. London—can you believe it? Luckily, soon after realizing how ridiculous that was, I finally got my chance to go.

Over the course of my weeklong stay, I checked into four hotels, ate everywhere from Michelin-starred restaurants to centuries-old sandwich counters, bounced between more neighborhoods than I could count, and discovered that one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon costs little more than the price of a scone.

London is obviously not a city you can completely master in just a week. But I covered enough ground to know two things for sure: I should have gone much sooner, and I’ll definitely be going back.

Below, you’ll find my heavily curated, first-timer’s guide to everything that made the wait so worth it.

Read on for:

• My honest breakdown of four distinct stays, including the five-star spot to skip, and the Mayfair suite that ruined all other hotel rooms for me

• The £5 afternoon that became one of my favorite London memories

• How one of my best meals of the year happened at 35,000 feet

• Where to find archival designer vintage, the London brand obsessed with the perfect button-down, a wild women-only swimming pond, and a salon that will save your hair from British humidity

So…I owe United a retraction. Earlier this year, I wrote that the food in Polaris was inedible. Today, I’m happy to report that things have massively turned around because on my flight to London, I found myself doing something I’ve never done before: scraping my plate clean at 35,000 feet.

I flew United Polaris between Newark and London, an ideal route for experiencing the airline’s recently launched Chefs Table collaboration. The program taps renowned chefs from around the world to create destination-specific Polaris menus inspired by United hub cities, and I got to try two: New York-based Chef Fariyal Abdullahi’s menu from Newark to London, and London-based Chef Tomos Parry’s on the way home.

Both meals were incredible, but Abdullahi’s was the standout: chilled tomato soup with jumbo lump crab; a baby gem and endive salad with berbere-spiced pepitas, dried cranberries, Pecorino Romano and creamy anchovy vinaigrette; and Ethiopian-coffee glazed short ribs with purple mashed potatoes, Thumbelina carrots and charred scallions. Reheated mid-Atlantic beef is usually a recipe for rubber disaster, but these short ribs were shockingly tender and juicy.

Considering how brutal airplane food constraints usually are (dulled taste buds, strict allergen rules, mass galley reheating, just to name a few), pulling this off borders on a miracle. When I later told Abdullahi how much I loved her meal, we joked that developing recipes for an airplane must feel like cooking with one hand tied behind your back. Luckily, you'd never know it from the plate.

Where I stayed

Nobu Hotel London Portman Square: I booked this stay through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts so I could use one of my twice-yearly $300 hotel statement credits. I appreciated the Marylebone location and I found the bed incredibly comfortable, but unfortunately that’s where my praise ends. My Cosy King room felt almost capsule-like (a bit suffocating at this price point), and overall, the experience didn’t quite earn its five stars for me. Soundproofing was poor; the doors slammed shut despite their soft-close mechanisms (which, coupled with the lack of soundproofing meant near-incessant noise); one of two elevators was out of service; and the worst offense, in my book: I struggled out the door with two suitcases while several attendants stood nearby without offering to help. One thing worth knowing: Nobu adds a discretionary 5% accommodation service charge to your folio; I asked to have mine removed, saving roughly £50.

One Aldwych (hosted): Staying here, you’re within walking distance of the West End, Soho, the Thames and more restaurants, shops and things to do than you could possibly fit into one trip, making it a great home base for first-timers exploring the city. I stayed in the 764-square-foot Somerset Suite, one of the hotel’s four Signature Suites, which boasts a gorgeous circular sitting room, a massive dressing room, and plenty of space to actually settle in. The little luxuries were particularly well considered: automatic shades, great accent lighting, a heated towel rack in the bathroom, and excellent water pressure. Of the four hotels I tried, this is probably where I’d send a friend planning their first trip to London.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane (hosted): When I was shown to my newly renovated Deluxe Suite (all astounding 1,200 square feet of it!) I decided there was only one appropriate way to spend my one-night stay in the largest hotel room I’ve ever had: a staycation. Yeah, maybe it’s a bit unorthodox for a tourist, but after a whirlwind four days in London, I was more than happy to relax in a suite that legitimately felt more like having an apartment in Mayfair. I spent a long afternoon at the spa before eventually making my way downstairs for dinner at Bar Antoine. This is a spot worth the splurge with a partner, a friend, or even just to treat yourself.

The Hari (hosted): The Hari, located in Belgravia, is tucked inside a much quieter, more residential pocket of London where you can walk out the door and spend the day bouncing between little cafés and shops such that, eventually, you’ll get that little voice inside your head that asks in a whisper, “should I move here?” By the end of my trip, I’d deemed it my favorite London neighborhood. My King Deluxe room was definitely on the smaller side (the category ranges from 250 to 290 square feet), but it was comfortable enough for the time I spent in the hotel. What stood out most, though, was how personal the stay felt: my welcome amenity included cookies printed with my actual face and newsletter logo, which is THE most delightful welcome amenity I’ve ever received. Stay here less for a sprawling room and more because you want a stylish boutique hotel that gives you an excuse to live out a Londoner fantasy in Belgravia for a few days.

On my list to stay next time

• St. Clement: I got a taste of this newly opened hotel when I toured it during my trip, but it was enough to put an overnight stay at the very top of my list. It’s situated right along the Thames next to creative hub 180 The Strand, with warm, residential interiors and, coming soon: a 25-meter pool overlooking the river.

• At Sloane: A 30-room Chelsea hotel with gorgeous interiors, Parisian sensibility, and food and beverage from Jean-Louis Costes. What more could I ask for?

• Six Senses London: Six Senses’ first UK hotel is essentially an urban wellness retreat near Notting Hill, complete with a 20-meter pool, cold plunges and an enormous spa.

• Park Hyatt London River Thames: The location was a little removed for me for my first visit, but its huge windows, contemporary art collection, and dedicated wellness floor make me curious enough to venture south of the Thames for next time.

• The Connaught: If I’m going to stay at one of London’s most famous hotels, I want it to be this one, thanks to the mix of old-school British grandeur and genuinely cool additions like the Connaught Bar, Red Room, and Aman Spa.

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If last year was defined by change, this year has been all about rapid expansion. The past eight months have flown by in a whirlwind of last-minute departures and long-haul turn…

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Ed. note: Flights and accommodations for this trip were provided by Alaska Airlines. As always, I only share experiences that I genuinely love, and all opinions and recommendations are entirely my own.

The feeling of standing atop a sprawling glacier streaked with black volcanic ash, floating through pure glacial water between two tectonic plates, the distinct profundity of witnessing the sky turn black and then bright again, as if someone simply flipped a switch—there is really only one way I can describe the experiences I had in Iceland, and that is pure and utter awe.

Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of human emotion, defines awe as the sensation of encountering something so vast that it transcends your understanding of the world. Neurologically, it actually silences our ego and overthinking, replacing it with the “small self” effect: self-importance diminishes, your day-to-day worries disappear, and you feel profoundly connected to the world around you—suddenly aware of how truly small you are within it.

Before this trip, I was aware of the concept of awe; loosely knew its definition as a word. But I don’t think I had ever really experienced it so viscerally. What started as a quick long-weekend getaway quickly turned into a masterclass in letting go of control and learning an essential, grounding truth: being small in a vast world isn't terrifying. It's absolute freedom.

Read on for:

• The non-negotiable layering system you need for Iceland's summer weather

• The ultimate arrival ritual to reset your circadian clock before your trip even begins

• How to cover the South Coast’s most dramatic landscapes in a single day—without renting a car

• What it feels like to snorkel in 35°F glacial meltwater

The reason I went to Iceland was to experience Alaska Airlines’ seasonal route connecting Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) directly to Reykjavík’s Keflavík International Airport (KEF), perfectly timed for the solar eclipse, as Reykjavík was in the path of totality.

The most interesting thing about this specific route is that it represents the longest nonstop flight operated by a US carrier on a 737. If you’re like, wait: isn’t that a single-aisle plane that you’re flying for seven-ish hours in? The answer is yes. And I understand the impulse to find that concerning; from a passenger perspective, it does sound counterintuitive using a smaller plane for a longer international route. But just know that what you lose in space you make up for in more efficient boarding and de-planing processes.

Another interesting aspect of the Alaska in-flight experience: you won’t find any seatback screens. This was actually more surprising to me than using a narrowbody for a transatlantic long-haul route, and I’ll admit: at first I found it confusing. But after some research, I began to understand the decision. Seatback screens are costly to install; they add weight to an aircraft, and if they don’t work, you’ll have some really angry customers. That’s a lot of variability for entertainment when 99% of today’s passengers travel with at least one source of entertainment themselves, usually right in their own pocket. To compensate, Alaska does its part to help you out: there are built-in seatback clips to hold your phone or tablet at eye level, and every seat has fast-charging USB-C ports to keep your tech juiced up. Add Starlink Wi-Fi to the mix, and a robust library of over 1,000 free movies and TV shows streamed right to your browser, and I bet you’ll forget anything was ever missing.

As for what the cabin experiences were like, I got a complete sampling over the course of the four individual legs of my journey:

• Domestic First (SEA<>EWR): Spacious recliner seats with cozy Filson blankets, a generous 41” seat pitch, and a footrest (Alaska’s newest 737 MAX 8s and retrofitted 738s also have a calf rest). With this ticket, you can also access the gorgeous flagship Alaska Lounge in Terminal N, which is well worth the quick train ride even if your flight departs from another concourse.

• Premium Class (SEA>KEF): Premium Class (rows 6–10) gets you the exact same seat as Main Cabin, but bumps the pitch up 4-5 inches, which, on a 7-hour flight, is make-or-break for your ability to work comfortably on a laptop or sleep without your knees jamming into the seat in front of you. Extra perks here: complimentary alcoholic beverages and priority boarding.

• Main Cabin (KEF>SEA): My favorite feature here: unlike older airplanes where USB ports barely charge a phone, Alaska’s MAX 8 Main Cabin features fast-charging USB-C ports alongside 110V AC outlets.

  

Iceland is NOT one of those trips where you just throw a bunch of clothes into a suitcase. It is a place that demands a specific, intentional packing list. Even if you don’t partake in any adventurous hiking or excursions (in which case, I ask: why are you even going??), the weather is its own kind of unpredictable beast that you need to be prepared for or you’re gonna have a Bad Time.

The weather was the thing I couldn’t quite wrap my head around until I got there. My trip was in early August, and the forecast was calling for rain and temps in the mid-50s and 60s. It was the height of summer, yet I found myself packing winter gloves, hats, thermal underwear, and fleece layers for the brutal wind I’d heard so much about in my pre-trip research. I kept thinking I would be so hot—no way would I need all those layers with the sun so high in the sky and the activity level I’d have, right? Dear reader, heed my warning: pack the layers.

Here’s my complete packing list:

Technical clothing

• You need a waterproof jacket, no exceptions. Not water-resistant. This is your single most important piece of gear. Mine was an absolute lifesaver against the whipping wind and waterfall spray. This is a piece worth investing in! To that end, waterproof pants are just as essential as the jacket. Otherwise, you WILL be walking around soaking wet. Finally, sturdy hiking boots are a nice-to-have, not an essential, as you can rent boots at a lot of the activities that require this footwear. Otherwise, bring a hiking shoe (preferably Gore-Tex).

• I’d also recommend getting a comfortable 20L–30L backpack. I’m recommending something at least this big because you’ll need space to carry any extra layers you want to bring or shed. Plus snacks for long outings, your camera gear, portable charger, etc.

How to layer appropriately

• Dressing in layers is the key to surviving and thriving during your trip here. You need three layers: a base layer, a mid layer, and your shell (the waterproof jacket we covered above). The base layer is the most important part of this equation, as it sits closest to your skin. It needs to be moisture-wicking, so the material is extremely important: make sure yours is merino wool or a synthetic material. I packed this lightweight long sleeve. The next layer is your mid layer, which can be some kind of sweater or fleece—something that insulates. For mine, I packed a quarter-zip fleece.

Additional clothing

• Regardless of the time of year or the weather, pack a swimsuit and some flip-flops so you can enjoy one of Iceland’s many geothermal lagoons. It’s a must-do.

Tech & accessories

• If ever you’re going to invest in a camera that isn’t your phone, this is the time. I had my film camera and my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 with me on every outing. I’d also get a waterproof phone pouch so you can bring it into the lagoons without worrying.

• I’m a water snob, so you can take it from me: Iceland has the purest, crispest drinking water on Earth. Pack a reusable water bottle so you can bring some home. It’s that good.

• The sun doesn’t set until reeeeeally late in Iceland (midnight sun is a thing here, too, during the summer), so you need an eye mask for sleeping whether you normally wear one or not. To that end, bring sunglasses. I’d recommend getting a pair specifically for hiking that's a bit more protective and supportive.

• Iceland uses European-standard plugs, so bring a plug adapter.

The ultimate jetlag cure

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