Bric-a-Brac 64
Why we’re planning a trip to José Ignacio next winter, a new Rome hotel worth splurging on; blazers that go with everything you pack; and beach resorts in Mexico that are cool and family-friendly.
JUST BACK FROM…José Ignacio, Uruguay
We always get questioning looks when we tell people we go to José Ignacio, in Uruguay, for the temporada (late December to late January). It all started about 14 years ago, when we read a Condé Nast Traveler story about José Ignacio and it looked so appealing we booked a trip immediately. Think long, wide long beaches with barefoot restaurants, lazy countryside living, long late lunches and even longer dinners prepared in typical asado style. When we checked out that first year, we booked again for the following year. We just returned for the eighth time, and it definitely won’t be our last.
It’s hard to describe why we love it so much. José Ignacio is an old fishing village with a very laid-back vibe; everything is within a 15-minute bike ride. The local community is strong and very protective about its aesthetics and architecture, so you won’t see any gigantic buildings or chains—everything is very authentic. While it’s still quite hush-hush and the main events happen in private houses, over the last few years, Ignacio has been developing and you’ll now find new small hotels and restaurants popping up. Also the crowd is great—loads of Argentines, Brazilians, Chileans, few North Americans or Europeans; I guess you could call it eclectic and very international. We have met people over the years that we see again in random places all over the world.
In a typical day, we have a late breakfast, go for a swim, walk on the beach or in the village (or a neighboring one) before getting ready for lunch—which, this being South America, is around 2pm. Our favorite is La Huella (one of the best restaurants on the continent, truly). We call it “the clubhouse”—you meet the whole community here, and can come for an early drink, late lunch, more drinks and then a late dinner with fantastic fish and meat prepared with the freshest produce on the grill. After lunch—and rounds of cocktails and bottles of wine—it’s time for reading and a siesta; preferably at the beach or pool. The sunset is late this time of year, and be ready for a mind-blowing one with the sky on fire. We have a pre-dinner apero before heading to one of our favorite restaurants in the village or a short drive away. We normally meet friends around 10pm, either in town or a few minutes away in the neighborhood of La Juanita. And we finish after midnight, of course. There is so much to do and see and eat, and places to bump into old friends. Here are our favorites!
Where to eat
La Huella - Owners Martin, Gustavo, Guzman and their whole team will take great care of you; you’ll want to return again and again.
Mostrador Santa Teresita - Owned by the La Huella family and the chef Fernando Trocca of Sucre in London; he also has a spot in New York.
Mostrador Bodega - Newly opened this season by the same owner as La Huella and chef Fernando Trocca out in the vineyards, just a quick drive from the village.
Cruz de Sur - Fresh farm-to-table fare, right downtown and just perfect.
Marismo - A must for dinner in a lovely garden with an open fire; the cocktails are great as well.
La Susana - For parties and fun lunches and dinner; also great for a sunset drink.
Juana - Another staple with grilled fish and meat in a cozy environment.
Tres - A new opening serving Italian food and sister restaurant to Juana.
Solera - A pretty wine and tapas bar full of locals.
Lo Olada - A classic rustic place famous for its exquisite lamb.
Garzon - By the celebrated chef Francis Mallmann in a transformed former abandoned train station village (45 minutes’ drive). Go early so you can catch the sunset over the countryside while driving.
Chiringuito Mallmann - At the beach—rumor has it Francis was inspired by Death in Venice when dreaming up this setting.
Where to stay
Posada del Faro - This is our place. Carla and Jose create an environment that is, truly, a home away from home. Breakfast is 24 hrs, with lovely service and an honesty bar that is always stocked.
Posada Ayana - The newest on the block by lovely Austrian hosts Edda and Robert; think ‘70s Brazilian design mixed with art.
Any of the three Vik properties - Playa Vik, Estancia Vik, Bahia Vik. You can never go wrong staying here, with their eclectic design featuring local artists. Carrie and Alex are one of a kind; you’ll meet them late on the dance floor at the party. Also check out their amazing Vik wine from Chile.
Fasano - The Brazilian restaurant/hotel group opened in a beautiful setting close to José Ignacio a few years ago.
Some things to do
Wineries - Check out the local wineries and go for a tasting. Uruguayan wine is quite something—the heavy Tannants are fantastic. We would recommend the wineries Garzon and Oceanica José Igancio.
Art - There is quite a vibrant art scene here; check out the James Turrell Skyspace, Ta Khut, on the property of the Posada Ayana. Also there is Campo Garzon, an arts festival created by Heidi Lender. It’s also worth seeing the famous Uruguayan sculptor and his foundation, Pablo Atchugarry.
Film - Film is big and the annual José Ignacio International Film Festival has become very popular and influential. Fiona Pittaluga and team have done an amazing job here; they caused a stir at the recent Cannes Film Festival when they hired a yacht and had the chefs from La Huella and a local Uruguayan DJ flown to France.
Horseback riding - Of course, in a land of gauchos you should try to go horseback riding in the campo or at the beach, or maybe try some polo.
Surfing - The water is great and there are various surfing schools dotted along the beach, especially kite-surfers enjoy their time here.
Explore – The neighboring village of Maldonada is a few minutes’ drive. Make sure to check out La Linda, an amazing bakery, and the beautiful curated store Mutate. There are some nice galleries and design stores to explore as well. If you want to go further, Punta del Este is not far, though we have never been.
Shopping - Make sure you check out Paula Martin’s store with amazing knitwear andpick up one of her fabulous ponchos, which comes in handy in José Igancio.
Frank Herrmann is a Zurich- and Paris-based strategy consultant and the other half of #f2ontour, who always has a little calendar with him outlining a three-month rolling itinerary with a focus on architecture, art, history, and food.
GUEST BOOK: Bulgari Hotel Roma
By Yolanda Edwards
Best for… The Bulgari is the city’s most exciting new property, completely decadent and over-the-top. It’s a very special place to stay, or to have lunch or drinks in their very welcoming caffé.
The look and feel… While the luxury jewelry house was founded here in 1884, and they opened their first hotel in 2004 in Milan (and seven more since then), they were patiently waiting to find the perfect location in their hometown. They finally found it in a palazzo on Piazza Augusto Imperatore (facing the Mausoleum of Augustus), which was built in the Fascist era of the ‘30s and has been a government building until now. The Italian design team Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel (who do all the Bulgari hotels) did an incredibly clever job at weaving modern design into the existing historical elements within the context of the ancient city. The location is very central, but not on a tourist path—a 5-minute walk from Piazza del Popolo and a 10 minute walk to Piazza Navona.
The rooms… So well appointed—nice marble touches and a tile mosaic treatment above the tub. Love that they had a roller in the room and a great yoga mat from Workshop, who they also do a collab with in their gyms. A Bruno Munari hand-gesture book as a bedside read. Beautiful vintage Bulgari ads as art—also in the hallways, which were drawings/sketches. Our room had a coffee closet right next to our headboard, which was genius placement—literally you could lean out of bed and turn on the espresso machine. And a very nice touch was the ginger tea in a thermos they put bedside at turndown.
The wellness… I had an incredible massage with the therapist Xenia—she was at the Bulgari Dubai for years before coming to Rome. It was super deep and intense—at points I wondered if it was too much—but the next day I could feel the results of it, which were so good. They use Augustinus Bader products for skin treatments and their facials are excellent; our daughter was given one as a Christmas present from a friend, and she loved her therapist who gave her all sorts of tips for her skin. (Refreshingly, none of them involved a hard sell on using the Bader products!) There’s a steam room and sauna, and then an epic pool. I think it’s the best I’ve seen—beautiful marble columns and the sound of splashing fountains makes it an incredible Roman bath fantasy.
The food & drink… Il Caffè, their street-level cafe, is obviously for guests, but they really prioritized making this a place that would attract locals. I’d heard Roman friends talk about how good (and reasonable) the cafe is, which is so rare in a luxury hotel. (A cappuccino is 4 euros and waiters don’t hustle you to order anything else.) We had lunch there and were very impressed; the rigatoni Amatriciana was perfectly done, the suppli excellent, and the culatello was served on warm bread so it melted the fat to perfection. The Campari spritzes were served with Bulgari-branded orange peel, which maybe was a bit much, but also cute. The fave, with cicoria and crusco peppers crunched on top, was a star. The staff is so warm—unscripted and genuine. Niko Romito is the star chef at his namesake restaurant upstairs, but it was New Year’s Eve when we were there, so I didn’t get a read on what it would be like on a regular night. The bartenders at the Bulgari Bar (also upstairs) made excellent martinis and the bar scene was cool, with great music, the most scene-y place I’ve been for drinks in Rome. I’ll definitely go back for cocktails! Room service was great—an excellent club sandwich with a perfectly cooked egg on it.
Date of Stay… Dec 31-Jan 1, 2024.
TRAVEL UNIFORM: A blazer that goes with everything
Recently I was invited to attend ILTM, a big travel conference that takes place every December in Cannes, where I knew I was going to go from all-day meetings straight to cocktail parties and long dinners. I also needed to account for weather variations (it was cold and rainy!), which called for a smart-looking dark blazer that I could wear as a layering piece with a thin sweater underneath, almost like a cardigan. Short on time, I wound up borrowing a charcoal gray one from Yolanda, which worked great. But since this is a travel staple I definitely need in my closet, and figured many of you do, too, I asked our style editor Sarah Meikle to help pull in a nice range of blazers. You might think these all look the same (we are team navy, black and gray over here!), but there are differences in shape and weight. All of them have plenty of room to move (stiff silhouettes didn’t make the cut) and they will go with practically everything in your suitcase. As of now, these were all in stock! —Alex Postman
1. Jenni Kayne Brentwood Blazer
2. Apiece Apart Elsa double-breasted crepe blazer
5. Giuliva Heritage Cornelia Blazer in Wool Pinstripe
6. Massimo Dutti Straight Open Blazer
7. Another Tomorrow Single Button Jacket
8. Aspesi Giacca Monopetto in Flanella
9. Weekend Max Mara Funghi jacket
10. Everlane Italian Wool Oversized Blazer
YOU ASKED FOR IT: “Can you recommend a family-friendly resort in Mexico that isn’t wildly expensive nor a huge, cheesy all-inclusive? We’ll be 7 people traveling together. Requirement is that there’s a long beach to walk on.” —Andy B.
To answer this question, we passed the mic to Pavia Rosati of the travel site, Fathom. Pavia and her co-founder, Jeralyn Gerba, are super well-traveled—we always check out their roundups of the best new hotels before planning trips. Also, they just launched a new Substack, Way to Go, that will keep you in the loop on a lot of this information! Over to Pavia…
“You start with the right criteria, because if there’s one thing you’ll find all along the beaches in Mexico, especially on the Caribbean coast, it’s huge, cheesy all-inclusives and wildly expensive hotels. I just returned from one such expensive hotel, Belmond’s recently renovated Maroma on the Riviera Maya, and if there’s one place worth breaking the bank, wow, this would be it. I also stayed at Auberge Resort’s Etéreo nearby, and give that high marks too, especially for families.
But let’s bring the budgets back down to earth. Sticking to the stretch south of Cancun is The Riviera Maya Edition at Kanai. Opened in January, two resorts down from Etéro, it’s a striking complex—designed to evoke a cenote, with an installation of plants tumbling down from the ceiling in the sky-high lobby. Because it’s new, the hotel is offering introductory rates that will no doubt jump by next season. Bonus: You can leverage your Bonvoy points, if that’s important to you.
I’m not going to recommend anything in Tulum. Because I like you, that’s why. I want you to have a nice vacation—one that doesn’t involve competing with hungover ravers for a dinner reservation and fighting traffic on an overdeveloped and clogged two-way beach road.
North of Cancun is Isla Holbox, reachable via car (two hours from the airport) and ferry—a golf cart taxi will whisk you to your hotel once you arrive—or a short puddle jumper. The cute hotels here include Las Nubes, Hotel Casa Palapas del Sol, and Punta Caliza. (You didn’t say how old the kids are, but Punta Caliza isn’t right for very young kids.) And check the more upscale Ser Casandra in case it fits your budget. Holbox has an easygoing, eco-friendly, Euro vibe. With no cars on the island, you get around by foot or by bike to the casual restaurants, yoga studios (everyone’s doing yoga around here), and shops. You can walk for miles along the beach or in the ocean—the water won’t get past your knees anytime soon. It’s pretty magical.
Let’s head over to the Pacific, where the seas are rougher and the beautiful beaches aren’t always swimmable. Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca has a great beach for epic walks, but be careful where you go in. Strong swimmers and surfers can get into the water at Punta Zicatela and check into Casa Kuaa, a cool, boho-chic boutique hotel right on the beach within walking distance of restaurants and town. You won’t get the same service you’ll get at a luxury resort, but we’re not talking about that kind of hotel experience. (I'm giving you small, boutique-y options.)
And then there’s Baja California. Turn away from the all-inclusives in Cabo and set your sights north to Todos Santos, another area that’s still charming and not overrun with tourists. The beaches here are expansive and protected from development (read: no beachfront hotel rooms for you or anyone else). La Bohemia Hotel Pequeno is a jewel: a beautiful, nine-room inn run by an American couple who treat guests like friends. While it’s in town (Todos Santos is a pueblo magico!) and walkable to restaurants and boutiques, you will have a beach experience. You’ll spend your days (with complimentary access) at El Faro Beach Club—in the pool, at the restaurant, on the sun beds, and, yes, as requested, strolling that super picturesque three-mile beach.”
Going to Jose Ignacio on Monday! Great timing!
Cannot wait to visit!