Lauren Keeton

Miami is a location that can balance all the things a good girls trip is looking for; beach, spa, outdoor dining, nightlife, shopping and the arts. It's warm when girlfriends in the colder locations want to escape the winter and an easy flight from most airports.

In September of 2021, my husband and I finally felt like we had earned our trip to Amagiri. We've been wanting to go for years and after covid and a shaky month of back-to-school craziness, we decided it was time. Amangiri is other-worldly and is one of the most incredible destinations I've ever had the luxury of visiting. It is truly a one-of-a-kind and potentially a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

As a social club member of The Global Ambassador — also called GA or The Global — I am in and out of the hotel doors almost daily. The hotel has views of the iconic Camelback Mountain while also feeling like it was dropped in straight out of a European city. I don't know how it manages to balance both, but it does. Founded by restaurateur Sam Fox this is first foray into the hotel space, and wow, what an entrance. Every restaurant is unique in its menu and experience, the spa has to now be the best in the Valley and the staff is off the charts.

I've stayed at The Shade Hotel, Manhattan Beach over twenty times. It's literally the only option if you want a luxury boutique hotel that is close to the magic of downtown Manhattan Beach. It's small enough that the staff feels like they know you, there's beach cruisers you can snag if you wanna go far, but it's walking distance to anywhere you'll want to go.

If you've visited Maui before and feel like it's home, Napili Kai could be the right place for you. While not a luxury or boutique hotel, it feels true to what the Hawaii experience should feel like and it's situated on my what I think is one of the best beaches on any Hawaiian island, Napili Bay. I visited Napili Kai over 16 years ago and have been back many times since.

My husband and I took our first trip together to Costa Rica, so it has a nostalgic, romantic feel to me as we fell in love with the land, the people and the “Pura Vida” way of life. We decided to take our kids back to our special place, but since we’re 15 years older and are now traveling with kids (and not backpacking on busses) our trip was quite a bit different. Wanting to give the kids a full Costa Rican experience, we split our time between the lush rainforest full of monkeys and sloths and the beach where we were able to crush some waves on our boards. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about this vacation.

This particular trip originated with a son’s Spanish book report on Chile. An incredibly thoughtful mom reached out to me to plan this trip for her and her son to bring his book report to life as a reward for all his hard schoolwork and as a very intentional trip for just the two of them. Dad stayed home with the littles! Chile is mystical, spiritual and magical and this particular trip is definitely for the adventurous. Nature is at the heart of everything and Rapa Nui is considered the most remote, inhabited island on the planet. The planet!

Never did I ever have Peru or Machu Picchu on my bucket list, but wow, I should have. When my husband told me he wanted to do Peru for his 40th birthday, I went to the drawing board. We could mix in the bustling city life of Lima, the picturesque landscape of a Belmond train ride and the mystical and magicalness of Machu Picchu.

Charleston was the perfect destination for a 3-night girls trip. It reminded me of a tropical New Orleans, steeped in history with palm trees, cheddar biscuits, chic shopping and rooftop bars. We ate and drank our way through the city and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Santa Fe pops up on every “Girls Trip” list you’ll find — so our girls trip finally tried it. An art-vibrant, gallery-filled small New Mexico town, we found that a couple of nights would be enough and that (surprising for this group) our favorite places were outside the city center. We were by far the youngest group in town, except for the two bachelorette parties we ran into — most visitors were smaller groups of sweet older ladies. If you’re looking for quality time with friends to reconnect, Santa Fe’s pace will give you just that.

No matter what time of year and often a few times a year, Hawai'i calls to me. There’s nowhere *just* like it. The islands all have their own siren-song, if you will. My husband and I long to get away from the kids and get on island time, if even for a few nights. Our new thing is getting the kids back in school for the year. Once they are up and running with the new school year’s schedule, we skip away for a 3-day weekend. Last year, we went to Maui and this year we decided we wanted to go to a Hawaiian island we hadn’t been to yet. After finding the Four Seasons Kona, our destination was set. The island was formed by volcanic rock and looks other-worldly on the drive from the airport to the hotel. The black rock provides a beautiful contrast to the white sand and blue water and you’ll immediately feel ready to relax.

My husband and I got engaged in Maui on the Kapalua side and have gone back many times with our families. There is something so special about the island, and it calls to us in our busiest of times when we're craving a mai tai for Aloha Hour and a little bit of that 'Island Time' lifestyle. When Back to School season comes around and summer starts to feel like it never happened, my husband and I really get the itch to get over there, even if for only a few nights. We (ok, just me) really wanted to check out the hotel that White Lotus was filmed at, because… do I really need to answer that?! Chill was the mode we were seeking, and we didn't want to have to leave the Four Seasons if we didn't want to (hint: we really didn't want to).

If you think a weekend to Zurich is too much travel for too little time, you’re wrong. My husband and I spent 48 hours in Zurich, and it was the most magical of vacations. We went for live music, which seems very definitely to be a thing in Zurich. It’s a bustling city with art and film festivals, live music, ladies-only baths, cold clear water running down from the Alps into fountains and beer and spritz a- plenty. We stayed at the incredible Dolder Grand overlooking the city, a resort and spa that is so top-notch that I almost felt like never even going into Zurich.

As a former New Yorker, it was hard to rally to bring the family to NYC at Christmas, but the kids had been asking for years. While it’s overrun with tourists getting their holiday on during the Christmas season, it truly is the most wonderful time of year there; store windows are dressed for the holidays, every park is transformed into magical wonderlands, trees are all Christmas trees and the joy and spirit of the season is alive on every street. We did all the tourist-y things I didn’t ever do when I lived there and we loved every single minute of our trip. I think we’ll be back next year. ;)