Journal
ZOMA Blog
Notes from our advisors, hotels we love, destinations we believe in, and the experiences worth crossing the world for.
Featured · Hotels
Danieli, Venezia: Venice's Most Famous Hotel Reopens as a Four Seasons
Three palaces on the water, one of them from 1471, restored room by room and reopened on 30 July. What Four Seasons actually changed, why Terrazza Danieli is already the hardest table in Venice, and how we get you in with perks the hotel never advertises.
August 2026 · 9 min read
Hotels · August 2026
Luura Cliff, Paros: The Cycladic Debut Worth Being Early For
Thirty-nine suites on a cliff above the Aegean, nineteen with their own pool, adults only, and a Japanese restaurant making its Greek debut. Paros just got its most talked-about hotel in years, and being among the first guests is its own kind of luxury.
Hotels · August 2026
1 Hotel Austin: Nature-Led Luxury in the Tallest Tower in Texas
252 rooms inside a 74-storey tower where Waller Creek meets Lady Bird Lake, a rooftop restaurant sixteen floors up, a Bamford spa, and a chef with a Michelin star behind him. Austin finally has a luxury hotel that feels like Austin, and we get you in with the perks attached.
Hotels · July 2026
The World's Best Hotels 2026: The Top 10 in the US, How Many Have You Collected?
The awards landed in July and everyone argued for a week. We read them differently. Which American hotels are actually improving, what each one does well, and the question we ask clients: how many have you stayed in?
Experiences · July 2026
Private Jet & Helicopter Transfers: How Charter Actually Works in 2026
The aircraft is the easy part. The difference is who chooses the right one, vets the operator, and makes your transfers disappear, from the car on the tarmac to customs cleared before you land. How ZOMA manages private aviation, and the partner network behind it, now including JETTSET Global.
Hotels · July 2026
The Five Best Hotels in Ibiza for 2026
Ibiza has two reputations and only one of them is still true. Cliff hotels in the north, farmhouses inland, the old beachfront names, and the fortnight each year when the island goes quiet again.
Hotels · July 2026
The New Luxury Hotel Openings in Europe for 2026
Some first seasons are worth being early for. Most are not. How we tell the difference, what happens when a construction schedule slips in June, and the openings we are already holding rooms at.
Insights · July 2026
Shoulder Season Europe: Why September and October Beat August
Same room, better weather, a third less money, and the owner is in the restaurant rather than on holiday. The exact weeks we book in Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Turkey, and what to do if August is your only option.
Insights · August 2026
Christmas and New Year 2026: What's Actually Still Bookable
The festive week is not a budget problem. It is an inventory problem. What has already gone, what genuinely remains, how the cancellation waves work, and the gala dinners nobody puts in the budget.
Experiences · August 2026
Booking a Ski Chalet for 2027: The Timeline That Actually Works
The good chalets are gone before the snow melts. Here is the release calendar month by month, the questions that actually decide your week, and why mid-January quietly beats half-term.
Destinations · August 2026
When to Go on Safari: A Month-by-Month Guide for 2026-27
Same camp, same guide, same money, completely different trip. It comes down to water. A month-by-month read on Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia and Rwanda, including the calving season people book far too late.
Insights · August 2026
How Far Ahead Should You Book Luxury Travel?
At this end of the market you are not racing the price, you are racing the inventory. When to commit by trip type, the rare cases where waiting pays, and the 90-day review behind a third of our clients' upgrades.
Experiences · August 2026
Astrotourism: The Dark-Sky Trips Worth Planning in 2026
Most of the world has lost sight of the Milky Way, so people are now flying to find it. Atacama, Lapland, NamibRand, Aoraki, and why the moon fixes your dates before the hotel does.
Hotels · July 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in New York City for 2026
Manhattan gives away almost nothing, which is what makes the upgrades interesting. The Mark, Aman, The Carlyle, The Peninsula and the two openings quietly changing the order, with notes on which suits which trip.
Hotels · July 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in the Swiss Alps for Summer 2026
Nobody thinks of the Alps in July, which is precisely the point. Gstaad Palace, The Chedi Andermatt, Bürgenstock and the grand old hotels where hiking, cold lakes and three-hour lunches beat any beach.
Insights · July 2026
The Greek Islands Honeymoon Guide: Where to Actually Go in 2026
You do not have to go to Santorini. An honest map of the Cyclades, Dodecanese and Ionian for honeymooners, including the ferry timings that ruin itineraries and the weeks when the light is best.
Destinations · July 2026
Seychelles Honeymoon: The Nine Resorts Worth the Flight in 2026
Two islands beat one here, and the order matters. North Island, Frégate, Six Senses Zil Pasyon and Four Seasons Desroches, plus the hopping logic that makes a fortnight feel longer.
Hotels · July 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in Costa Rica for 2026
Costa Rica has grown up fast. Nayara Tented Camp, Nekupe, Kasiiya Papagayo and the Papagayo resorts, and the jungle-then-coast pairing we build more than any other.
Hotels · June 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in Tokyo for 2026
Tokyo hotels are separated by small things: the lift ride, the breakfast, the view at 6am. Aman, Bulgari, Janu, Hoshinoya, EDITION Toranomon and Four Seasons Otemachi, ranked by neighbourhood and by who you are travelling with.
Hotels · June 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in London for 2026
Written by an advisor who lives here and has slept in all of them. Claridge's, The Connaught, The Berkeley, The Peninsula, Raffles at The OWO and Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, with the suites worth paying up for and the ones that are not.
Insights · June 2026
How to Plan a Maldives Honeymoon in 2026
Overwater or beach, seaplane or speedboat, which atoll, and when to commit. The Maldives honeymoon playbook we use with clients, including the perks resorts never advertise.
Destinations · June 2026
Bali Honeymoon: The Twelve Luxury Resorts Worth Booking in 2026
One island is rarely enough. Como Uma Ubud, Amandari, Four Seasons Sayan and Jimbaran, Bulgari Uluwatu and Nihi Sumba, arranged into the route we have refined over a decade of sending couples there.
Hotels · June 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in Dubai for 2026
Dubai rewards splitting your stay. Bulgari, Atlantis The Royal, One&Only, Four Seasons Jumeirah and Jumeirah Al Naseem, and the two-hotel combination that beats picking one.
Hotels · May 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in Italy for 2026
Region by region, the Italian hotels we book on repeat: Passalacqua, Il San Pietro, Le Sirenuse, Aman Venice, Hotel de Russie and Splendido Portofino, with honest notes on who each one is for.
Hotels · May 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in Paris for 2026
Six palaces, one advisor who has stayed in all of them, and no marketing language. The Ritz, Le Bristol, Cheval Blanc, Crillon, Plaza Athénée and George V compared room by room.
Insights · May 2026
How to Plan a Luxury Honeymoon in Italy in 2026
Amalfi, Como, Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany. The four honeymoon routes we build most often, with the hotel pairings, the driver logistics that keep them calm, and the things you cannot book online.
Destinations · May 2026
The Best Honeymoon Resorts in Bora Bora for 2026
Not every overwater bungalow is worth the money, and the lagoon view changes everything. The Brando, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Conrad, Le Bora Bora and the Thalasso, plus how to use Tahiti properly.
Insights · May 2026
Santorini vs Mykonos: Where to Actually Stay in 2026
Two islands, two very different holidays, and a third option almost nobody considers. Caldera hotels, beach resorts, the crowd question, and an honest answer about which suits you.
Newsletter · May 2026
The May Edition: Greece, Bhutan & Lake Como
Mykonos gets its first Four Seasons. A Himalayan circuit through five Bhutanese valleys. And the Lake Como EDITION, described by a guest rather than by us. Volume V of the ZOMA newsletter.
Hotels · June 2026
The Best Luxury Hotels in the Maldives for 2026
Twelve resorts we send clients back to, from Soneva Jani to Cheval Blanc Randheli and the new Capella, with the transfer timings, seasonal quirks and perks the booking sites never mention.
Insights · June 2026
How to Plan a Luxury Honeymoon: The 2026 Insider's Guide
Island or safari, when to book, what to say when the hotel asks if you are celebrating. A step-by-step honeymoon plan from our advisors, and the timeline that gets you the suite.
Insights · June 2026
Four Seasons vs Aman: Which Luxury Hotel Brand Is Right for You
Two philosophies of service that suit very different people. Design, food, wellness, children. When we book one, when we book the other, and the four trips where we use both.
Experiences · June 2026
How Much Does a Luxury African Safari Cost in 2026?
What you actually pay per person per night, all in, across Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda. What drives the number, how much it swings by season, and where the conservation money goes.
Insights · June 2026
The Luxury Travel Trends Defining 2026
Slower trips, longevity clinics, expedition ships, staffed villas again, and the places our clients are suddenly flying to. What is shifting this year, and what to book before it gets expensive.
Insights · May 2026
What Does a Luxury Travel Advisor Actually Do?
Most of the job happens before you arrive and after something goes wrong. Why the perks cost you nothing, what we actually do all day, and how to tell a real advisor from a booking agent.
Hotels · April 2026
The New Wave of Mediterranean Boutique Hotels
Small hotels, owners on site, thirty rooms at most. Tramuntana fincas, Aegean cliff houses and Puglian masserias, and how to book them with the same perks as the big names.
Destinations · March 2026
A ZOMA Guide to Quiet Caribbean Escapes
For when the islands get loud. Mustique, Petit St Vincent, Eleuthera, Dominica and four more places we send couples and families who want nobody to find them.
Insights · March 2026
Why We Still Recommend Private Aviation in 2026
Charter is a tool, not a trophy. When the math works, what it really costs in 2026, and the questions to ask a broker before any money moves.
Experiences · February 2026
Inside the World's Most Personal Safari
Twelve lodges, three countries, thirty years of getting it right. Which Singita camp suits which traveller, when to go, and what we add to every booking.
Destinations · February 2026
Off-Season Japan: Cherry Blossoms Without the Crowds
Plum blossoms, the week after the crowds, and a ryokan strategy that works. Kyoto, Tokyo and Hakone at their most beautiful and their emptiest.
Hotels · January 2026
The Five Hotels Worth Booking Before They Open
Getting in first is a relationship, not a booking. Soft-opening rates, what can go wrong, and how our clients reach Aman Niseko, Rosewood Amalfi Coast and Six Senses Telluride early.
Destinations · January 2026
Alpine Winter, Redefined
Verbier and Courchevel are not the only answer. Lech, Andermatt, Megève and the next wave of catered chalets, where the snow is better and the lift queues are shorter.
Experiences · December 2025
The Insider's Guide to Yacht Charter in the Mediterranean
The captain matters more than the boat, and nobody tells you that. Routes worth booking in 2026 and what a week really costs once APA, VAT and gratuities are in.
Wellness · December 2025
Wellness Retreats in Asia That Actually Deliver
Six places in Asia where the programme is as serious as the architecture, from COMO Shambhala in Bali to Amankora and Ananda in the Himalayas.
Insights · November 2025
The Art of the Upgrade
Upgrades are not luck. How VIP recognition really works at Four Seasons, Rosewood and Belmond, and the four weeks of quiet work before you check in.