Welcome to The Beau Yorker!
Sophia Loren's ship christening, The White Lotus finale, RIP Noodle, a good luck NYE recipe, and so much more.
Welcome to The Beau Yorker !
I couldn’t be more excited to have you here. December is a busy month and I wanted to sneak this into your inbox before everyone officially checks out for the rest of the year.
I’ll be heading out soon myself, but not before one last hoorah in New York City for the official christening of the new MSC Seascape this week. The ship’s godmother Sophia Loren will be there and I for one am kvelling!
Like a shiny new hotel, I love all of the traditions that come with a ship naming. The blessing, the breaking of champagne against the bow, and of course all of the subsequent champagne that follows. These events are always a fun place to reconnect with friends and colleagues old and new, and this one is no exception. You can read all about the new ship — complete with a glass skywalk, Robotron rollercoaster, and signature yacht club (for those who want all the perks that come with a mid-size ship but with 24-hour butler service and a little more privacy) — in my upcoming story for Islands soon!
In the meantime, I want to thank you for being here. I’m so genuinely excited to launch this newsletter and I hope you’ll enjoy reading these monthly dispatches just as much as I enjoy writing them. If you missed the whole spiel in my Coming In Haute teaser email last week, you can read more about why I decided to launch this newsletter here. Now onto the good stuff. Here’s a look at what’s on tap this month.
Let The Holiday Travel Craze Commence
It’s the most wonderful time of the year (until your flight gets delayed)
After New York, I’ll get back to Beaufort with less than a 24-hour turnaround time before packing my bags and heading west. And when I say west, I mean we are hitting the road on another epic cross-country road trip. We’ll be making plenty of stops along the way, starting with a few days in New Orleans which has long been one of my favorite U.S. cities for all things food, culture, music, and general joie de vivre. I couldn’t think of a better place to kick off this grand adventure and I’ll also be there reporting a story for Elite Traveler’s Spring Issue, so if you have any intel in the way of can’t miss restaurants, bars, music venues, etc., please send them my way!
From New Orleans, we’ll be making stops in Austin where we’re attending a Great Gatsby-themed holiday party, followed by a quick stop in Marfa and a cool hotel called The Gage just outside of Big Bend National Park in Marathon, TX before we hit the home stretch across the Southwest with a stop in Scottsdale, (possibly Tuscon) and finally San Diego.
Send prayers, and podcast reccos, please!
The last time we drove cross-country was amazing, and if I’m being totally honest completely exhausting. This time, I’m excited to bring my DSLR along for the ride to capture all of the beautiful sights and scenery along the way. I wrote about the first time we drove cross-country for Fodor’s Travel and I’m excited to pen a companion piece after all’s said and done so please stay tuned for that!
2022 In Review
Here’s a look at my top stories this year
Every month, I’ll highlight a few of the top stories I’ve been working on. Since it’s the first (and last) issue of 2022, I’m doing things a little differently by rounding up some of my favorite top-performing stories this year. These stories are a snapshot of what I wrote, and if you’d like to see more, here’s a link to my portfolio and website.
As some of you may know, and for anyone who doesn’t, I’ve been a Forbes Travel contributor since 2019. My Forbes column surpassed 1.1 Million Views last month, which almost seems surreal. This year, I really honed in on my expertise as a breaking hotel and cruise news reporter. Four of my recent stories including A First Look At The Royal Atlantis Dubai, The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Will Set Sail In 2024, Visit 37 Countries In 155 Days Aboard This Luxury Cruise Line and Four Seasons Will Take To The High Seas With The Launch Of Their First Superyacht were all featured on the Forbes homepage and on their social media channels.
For Robb Report, I’ve been assigned a bevy of interesting stories in 2022 starting with this Exclusive: A Beloved Hollywood Wellness Retreat Is Opening an Outpost in Italy as well as a First Look: Greece Is Building a New $8 Billion Mega-City by the Sea. I also did some serious reporting for this piece about The Best Places to Stay Now That Japan’s Reopen To Travelers now that the country is to reopen visa-free travelers and this sustainability-focused story timed to earth day: From Argentina to Zambia: 7 Luxe Hotels Where ‘Going Green’ Enhances the Guest Experience was particularly near and dear to my heart. One of my favorites for this outlet has to be this piece on How Savannah Became One of the South’s Most Exciting Dining Destinations which if you haven’t read and are heading to the Hostess City, I highly encourage you to check out before you go.
Speaking of destination and hotel-focused stories, I penned two hotel guides for Forbes Vetted on The Best Places To Stay On Hilton Head and my forthcoming The Best Places To Stay In Charleston is slated to run in January so stay tuned! In May, I traveled to Puerto Rico and wrote about How To Spend The Ultimate Weekend In San Juan. I also broke into a few new publications including Southern Living and Elite Traveler and my first Hotel Review: Design Forward Luxury In Mexico City ran both in print and online. Stay tuned for my upcoming New Orleans feature for Elite Traveler’s Spring Issue. And for Fodor’s Best Hotels of 2022, I reviewed two gorgeous new properties including Eden Nairobi in Kenya and The Pinch in Charleston.
Over at Thrillist, I covered some of my favorite stories of 2022, starting with Hollywood’s Favorite Mountain Town Isn’t Where You’d Think It Is after an incredible visit to the Sun Valley Film Festival last Spring. I also covered a TON of wellness and sustainability-centric stories this year including this feature Come to the Desert for Hot Springs, Floating Massages, and Sound Baths and this one The Greenest Countries on Earth Are Stunning Destinations, both of which received a ton of praise from my editors (which never hurts) and readers alike!
The real piece de resistance and magnum opus can be found in my deep dive about why All-Inclusive Resorts Are Having a Moment along with a few of the properties that are really shaking things up in that world right now.
Overall, 2022 has been a banner year for travel. People are finally feeling comfortable enough to get back out into the world again and take those long-anticipated trips they’ve been dreaming of and it’s been an absolute honor to continue working and reporting on these stories. Keep dreaming, keep planning, and traveling. I don’t know about you, but as long as there’s travel on the horizon, there’s hope, and who couldn’t use a little hope right now?
Always On
Here’s what’s in the hopper
My inbox is always open, just please be patient and don’t hate me if I don’t respond right away! Between the fact that it’s December and my upcoming travel schedule/road trip it’s a busy time, so please follow up if you don’t hear from me sooner! As a reminder, I’m particularly interested in pitches for hotel + cruise news and I want to add a caveat: Pitches that have a news hook/relevance/timeliness are key. If it’s not new(s), tell me WHY it’s a relevant story to tell right now. Here’s what else I have in the hopper right now:
Feature: Where To Stay, Eat And Play in New Orleans (assigned)
Feature: The Maldives Finest Address Is A Food and Wine Lover’s Paradise (assigned)
Roundup: These Stylish New Hotel Restaurants Are Simply Out Of This World (pitch me!)
Roundup: The Luxury Wellness Retreats For People Who Love Luxury And Hate Wellness Retreats (pitch me!)
Feature: Here’s Why The Athenian Riviera Should Be Your Next European Vacation (in the queue for Spring 2023)
If you have any sources/leads that are a fit for any of the above please email me!
Cultural tidings
The White Lotus Finale, RIP Noodle
It’s been one helluva second season of The White Lotus, if anything for those sweeping travel-porn panoramas over a sun-kissed Sicily. Much like the show’s brooding characters and stormy Mediterranean Sea, it wouldn’t be White Lotus without someone ending up in a body bag (or is it two?) and this whole thing is about to blow like Mount Etna. While it’s really anyone's game right now, my money is on Cameron and Harper who fall victim to bubbly and unassuming Daphne and/or a paranoid and always sulking Ethan. Maybe they’ve been colluding on their respective partners’ demise this whole time? And what’s to be with star-crossed lovers Lucia and Albie, and was that Tanya’s husband in the photo she found at the villa in Palermo, or was that just the cocaine talking? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment below and let’s discuss:
RIP Noodle
It’s a soggy day, no bones about it
In case you haven’t heard the news, Noodle, the 14-year-old pug and Instagram sensation, has died. Known for his daily predictions of whether it’s going to be “Bones or No Bones,” I want to express my condolences to Noodles pug dad Jonathan Graziano on this monumental loss. Noodle was a special boy and I will genuinely miss his squishy face giving me permission to be kind to myself and have a “no bones day” on so many occasions it’s hard to count. RIP Noodle, and please tell Bear if you see him that I miss him so very much.
Southern Spotlight
Recipe of the month: Hoppin’ John
Every Beau Yorker will conclude by spotlighting a Southern person, place, or thing, and I’m excited to share this delightful recipe for Hoppin’ John that I discovered at the local farmers market in Beaufort recently.
Hoppin’ John can be made all year long, but according to locals I talked to, it’s considered good luck to make it on New Year’s Eve. This recipe comes courtesy of Rollen Chalmers, a local South Carolina rice grower born and raised in Hardeeville who I had the good fortune of meeting at the Port Royal Farmer’s Market. If you’re not in South Carolina, you can find Carolina Gold Rice on Amazon or use any high-quality long-grain rice at your local grocery store. Rollen’s recipe also calls for Sea Island Red Peas which can be found on Amazon or Whole Foods, but for my fellow Beaufortonians, please check out Rollen’s Raw Grains at the farmers market, they are so friendly and knowledgeable and also give out great recipes with their goods!
Trust me, this recipe is not only good luck, but it’s also good as Carolina gold rice (and gluten-free too!)
Editors note
A Postscript Parting
Since this is a special issue, I want to end with something I’ve been thinking about lately and it might be a bit sappy so please strap in.
There have been a lot of layoffs in media and otherwise over the last few weeks, and even though there’s never an ideal time to get the boot, there’s something about the timing right before the holidays that makes it feel especially ominous.
When I was laid off from a glossy travel magazine a few years ago, it was a tough blow. I remember confiding in a close friend at the time that the hardest part wasn’t necessarily losing the job per se, but the feeling of complete isolation as a result of it.
Everyone processes and experiences loss differently, whether it’s the loss of a job, a pet, or a loved one. Your experience is yours. While you can’t fix or change the outcome for someone, you can absolutely be a support for them. So I end this inaugural newsletter—which by the way, have I told you how freaking excited I am that you’re reading right now?! — with this one-holiday wish and that is: if you know someone who lost their job, or is struggling in some way, please reach out to them. I know these conversations can be awkward and even intimidating, but I’m telling you, that support whether it’s a text or a phone call can go such a long way for the person who’s going through it. And you never know, that call can make all the difference.
Happy holidays, safe travels and I’ll see ya’ll in the new year!
Cheers!
Michelle
Keep in touch! I’ve started an Instagram for and am also keeping my PinkTravelProject handles in the meantime. You can also get in touch at any of the following:
Follow me on Instagram @PinkTravelProject
Check out my website Pinktravelproject.com
See my portfolio: https://michellegross.contently.com
Or subscribe to The Beau Yorker newsletter here:
Congratulations on launching this very cool substack/newsletter. I'm guessing that if you're from NYC, you probably already know Bryce Gruber. Thought it worth a mention because she's found great success with her substack and newsletter; thought she could serve as an inspiration for you. Finally, would love to hear more about how you landed in Beaufort! I'm from NJ and relo'd to Charlotte, NC almost a decade ago. (WHAT?! Still sounds crazy every time I say it!) Have a safe and exciting trip! Looking forward to future newsletters from you. /gr
Love this! Very jealous of your upcoming assignments, particularly the luxury wellness ex. wellness retreats. And interesting white lotus death theories, I hope Tanya’s husband is one of the bodies, back from Denver 🤞🏻🤞🏻