While some might head straight to New York City, there’s nothing quite like fall in Upstate New York, LA or Charleston …
Adirondack Mountains, Upstate New York
For mega-city action, run to the rooftop runway pool with a Manhattan before shooting into town for a few nights in the Casa Cipriani, or for the opposite vibe take a road trip out to the Catskills. First Chatwal Lodge then up through the Hudson Valley, pit-stopping at Mohonk Mountain House before heading through all those fall colours to the Point Resort in the Adirondacks for a deep breath of that fresh autumn air ahead of whatever winter is going to throw at us.
Hotel Figueroa, Los Angeles
LA is vast. Not so much sprawling as densely populated with distinct districts, but getting to know the endless boulevards and avenues that mesh them doesn’t take long. First-timers should just pick one or two areas to explore, but base yourself in Downtown regardless. DTLA is becoming the heart of city life for the first time in a long time. The Figueroa is my new LA home. Built for ladies in the 1930s, the biggest project of its kind to be financed, owned and operated by women, it’s a Spanish Colonial stunner and one classy dame. Rent a car for the day – never from LAX – if you’re going to make a run out to El Matador, Surfrider or Zuma in Malibu. Go early via the Getty and swim after. Or don’t bother driving at all and get the train then bike along Venice Beach, stitching in and out of the shops on Abbot Kinney. Lyft and Uber will be your two constant guardians in the City of Angels, so hand the keys back and travel by app.
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The Dewberry, Charleston, South Carolina
Summer towns are all very well unless that means supercharged humidity hair and holiday hordes. I love Charleston before Christmas. You can breathe during the mild winter and get a clear-eyed look past the horse and carriages to see the complex history of this town. Before you dive into days of chocolate box antebellum houses and boat tours, spend some time getting your moral coordinates in the Old Slave Mart Museum. Charleston’s exteriors might be perfectly preserved, but the city has been transformed by a restaurant revolution kicked off by chefs like Sean Brock. His focus on Southern foodways and heritage ingredients mean that new takes by young chefs sit beside soul food kitchen institutions like Bertha’s or Hannibal’s. In America’s newest food town, in with the old and the new should be the city slogan, and drinks in the Tattooed Moose or at the white-jacketed southern belle of the ball, The Dewberry, will give you a feel for today’s Charleston.
