I recently spent a week on the coast of Croatia where all I did was swim in the sea and lounge on the beach with my book. In the past, I would have planned a busy itinerary, hired a car and made a long list of places to visit – but nowadays I prefer to travel at a much slower pace. 

A journey through cheese and an imaginary golden-hour escape.

Dressing a table in a beautiful way can be a way to escape from our day-to-day routines, even traveling without leaving our homes. To keep spirits high and together with Formaje, we welcomed Spring with a beautiful table setting that will take us to aperitivo time under the Mediterranean sun.

A curated list of music, books and films that will transport you all over Italy.

It can sometimes be hard to relax when you are travelling. If you’re constantly making plans for the remainder of your trip or checking your phone for updates from home or work, how can you switch off? One way that we like to unwind and disconnect during a trip is by wild swimming, another is by embracing the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.

There really is nothing better than lowering yourself (or leaping) into a body of water on a hot summer’s day. Not only does the cool water relieve your body from stifling hot temperatures, but wild swimming helps you to relax and feel rejuvenated. Whether you’re diving into a freshwater lake or floating in salty seawater, open water swimming is the perfect way to cool off this summer.

Slow travel is an art, a mindset that we can all tap into whenever we’re craving more meaningful connection and purposeful experiences. As lockdown becomes a thing of the past, we’ll be seeking those small but impactful moments throughout our travels—shifting our focus to getaways that are spent savoring the simple things rather than giving in to the experience everything mentality.

Travel is different this year. As tourism is slowly opening back up, many of us are stepping back and considering how we want to travel going forwards. Now is the perfect time to adopt a slower pace of travel, and to change the way that we see the world. We love staying in beautifully curated boutique hotels but are open to alternative ways of seeing the world.

As lockdowns begin to ease, it’s tempting to book those trips you’ve been daydreaming about over the past few months. However, it’s important to remember that the pandemic is far from over. It would be wise to travel closer to home this summer; to take advantage of open borders between neighbouring countries, to visit places accessible by road or rail, or to explore more of your own country.

Cover photo: Valentina Barabuffi

Cut off from the easy ways of travel (a few taps on your device and you’ve just bought yourself a ticket to that country across the globe) and socially isolated from places we had planned to travel to either this Spring, Summer or even this year, it has never been a more fitting time to return to the original form of slow travel: reading. Long before travel became affordable and accessible, people were reading their way to the rice fields of India, the rainforests of South America, and the tiny archipelago dotting the Mediterranean. It was the way to escape the doldrum of daily life, if you had no disposable income to afford that train or plane ticket.

We’re all in different situations at the moment depending on where we live, but for the majority of us travelling still feels far away. Here at Hôtel Weekend we’re staying safe indoors but missing the joys of taking a holiday. Social distancing may be a far cry from the travels we’re craving, but there are steps you can take to give your lock-down a bit of a vacation vibe.

Interior designer & founder of Unna, Vianca Soleil Roquero calls Puro Island home. She grew up in busy Manila and lived in Dubai, USA and Kenya before settling in last year in this idyllic island in the Philippines, where life feels just so pure, simple & unrushed. This beach project called Unna has been over four years in the making, and is now in the construction phase. We cannot wait to visit Unna but while it’s ready, let’s step into Vianca’s blissful world.

For now, travel is on pause, but we are looking forward to a time in the near future when we can once again pack our suitcases. We’re making lists of the places we want to visit and travelling through our screens and the pages of our books for now. One thing we are conscious of, is that when we do begin to travel again, we look at the way we used to travel and make positive changes, learning lessons from this time of contemplation.

The beginning of the year is the time when we take a step back and look at our lives with a critical eye. Resolutions can be hard to keep if you’re making them for the wrong reasons, but they’re also a useful way to focus your intentions for the year ahead. You don’t have to set resolutions on the first of January; you can assess the ways you wish to change aspects of your life at any point in the year. It’s easy to get stuck into a rut with the way that you see the world, hence our following suggestions for resolutions to set a slower and more sustainable focus on your travels for the year ahead.

The ultra inspiring woman behind organic skincare brand LESSE, Neada Deters, captivated us with her all natural approach to beauty and life. We had a chat with her about her home & daily rituals.

The sun cheekily slips through the curtains gently flapping against the calm, sea breeze. It catches my skin and a warm sensation rushes over me. It really does know all the slick moves to get me out of bed. As does the sea - with its fresh winds and distant sounds. A seasoned team they both are.