lily's lodges
a travel agency and library of luxury properties that fall in the gray area between hotel, resort, and b&b, and offer much more than a place to sleep. these indulgent ecolodges immerse you in nature while allowing you to experience local culture and cuisines via curated guides, gourmet dining, and wellness experiences, all while enveloped in comfort among a limited number of fellow guests
what I look for in a lodge:
cultural connection
Whether it's on or off the property, these lodges teach you about the surrounding locale and it’s residents. Every detail down to the building's design reflects the destination you are there to experience.
I prefer lodges that employ guides to show you the best of the surrounding area. At Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, we attended the Thimphu Tshechu festival, and sat next to our driver's family. Another day, we made an impromptu visit to our guide's temple and enjoyed a translated conversation with her monk who shared his rice cereal with us.
At Bethlen Estates in Transylvania, we spent hours with Gladys, learning the complicated history of how her half Austrian half Romanian family had to flee the country during the communist years, and what a labor of love it's been for her to return to their home and turn it into a beautiful lodge.
comfort
From the feel of your bed sheets, to a welcoming greeting at the front door, to designated spaces to unwind and relax. "Comfort" can be achieved in many different ways.
Luxury. Many of these properties are the pinnacle of five star. High end furnishings, expansive suites, private plunge pools, indulgent spa treatments, twice daily housekeeping, and an outnumbered staff to guest ratio.
Feeling at home. While most lodges I feature are high end, I decided not to make that a prerequisite. I've felt an incredible sense of presence and security at more casual, cheaper establishments.
Relaxation. It's easy to feel you need a vacation from your vacation. The best lodges find a way to make you refreshed and revitalized throughout your days, without having to step away from culture and experiences to do so.
camaraderie
An intangible offering for a hotel to curate: do your guests get along? If so, have you set up an environment that's conducive to connections? One piece is the activities offered, and the other is the physical spaces that allow guests to gather after excursions are over.
One of my favorites is Titilaka in Peru. We had many lovely fireside chats because the living room is positioned next to the dining room, so it's easy to grab a drink and linger before or after meals.
Serra Cafema curated excellent mixed group excursions and sundowners. pictured above is our picnic table and bar setup on the Namibian Angolan border, after a sunset boat cruise.
This camaraderie can certainly be with the hosts too: I'll never forget nightly backgammon with Mohammed while floating down the Nile, or cooking with Than and Papa Papaya during Tao Philippines.
cuisine
As a restaurant fanatic, it takes a lot for me to sequester myself to one kitchen for an entire stay. "All-inclusive" used to conjure up nightmares of Cancun buffet lines, but it now means ten course dinners with wine pairings, à la carte breakfasts, and picnic lunch setups with silverware and china.
Meals and their ingredients are native, from nearby farms and on-site gardens. Not only are the dishes delicious and healthy, they tell you something about where you are.
At Estancia Bonanza in Patagonia, gnocchi is served on the 29th, a frugal tradition for Argentinians waiting for their monthly paycheck.
At Hanafubuki Ryokan, you don kimonos before heading to a kaiseki meal where you're offered your choice between century old sake glasses, many of which have been mended via the Japanese art of Kintsugi.
travel agency:
This website is both a home for my travel writing as well as a launch page for my travel agency. If the reviews below convince you to give me a try, everything you need to know about working with me is here.
Lily's Lodges client Swati, about her trip to Thailand and Vietnam
"Lily is PHENOMENAL. She took care of all of our hotels, transport to and/from the airport, and a few tours. Lily gave incredible suggestions for our travel route, things to do in certain places, things to be mindful of (a reminder to apply for our Visas, making sure we got a highly coveted restaurant reservation we were looking forward to, etc.)
Not only was everything impeccably smooth, every single thing she recommended was simply the best, whether it be the hotels or the tours. There isn't a single thing we worked on with Lily that we think could have been better - we genuinely feel like we had the best trip of our lives thanks to Lily's suggestions! Lily also kindly checked up on us while we were gone, tracking our flight delays, making adjustments where needed, communicating with hotels so we would get early check-ins, etc.
Simply put - Lily is the BEST, everyone should work with her, and we're already looking forward to reaching out to Lily for our next trip."
Lily's Lodges client Megan, about her trip to Egypt
"5+ stars, highly recommend Lily to anyone & everyone! I am an avid traveler that typically likes to do all the planning & booking myself, so to be honest I was a little leery of booking through an agent. My family decided to take my 85-year-old grandfather to his dream destination (Egypt), and I just didn’t have the time to sit down and plan like I usually do. I have been following Lily on Instagram for years and always enjoyed what she shared about her adventures, so I turned to her for help. Lily went above and beyond to make sure this trip of a lifetime became a reality!
My biggest concern was having a ‘cookie cutter’ trip where we were carted on and off big buses, or an agent that only read about my travel destination. Instead, we had private guides that Lily personally toured with, stayed at an incredible mix of hotels and received top-quality service from everyone we worked with. Lily was professional, responsive and gave us lots of tips & feedback both during booking and before we departed. Obviously, we are all completely satisfied and so grateful for her help! We will hold onto the memories of this trip with my grandfather forever! Thank you Lily".
Lily's Lodges client Taylor, about her trip to Singapore and Cambodia
"I can't say enough about how amazing Lily is and how grateful my husband and I are that we had her help as we planned our honeymoon. We reached out to Lily at the last second, with only about 7-10 days until we left for our 3-week honeymoon (time got away from us...), but Lily was unphased. She was quick to provide us with hotel recs (all of which were phenomenal), helped us prioritize what needed to get done, and was incredibly responsive to our questions and feedback. She structured everything so it was easy to follow, made sure we had all the documents we needed (visas, etc.) and checked in with us periodically throughout our trip to make sure things were going well and adjustments weren't needed.
Planning this long of a trip would've been a feat for anyone, let alone with the little/no notice we gave ahead of time; Lily is truly amazing and is the reason our SE Asia honeymoon was the once in a lifetime trip we always dreamed of. Even before we took our trip, my husband and I decided we absolutely had to have Lily help us plan in the future, which was only confirmed by the amazing experience we had! If you are considering planning a trip, I cannot recommend Lily enough!"
Lily's Lodges client Alexandra, about her trip to Oman
"Lily was absolutely wonderful to work with - we highly recommend her for all your travel planning needs. My husband and I got married last year and, amid the wedding chaos, wanted to plan a honeymoon in Oman. We heard about Lily through a mutual friend who mentioned she had visited, so we reached out - and we’re so glad we did. She was an absolute joy to work with and incredibly knowledgeable. Oman turned out to be one of the most beautiful and epic countries we’ve ever visited from the people and culture to the hotels and activities, every detail was flawless.
Lily provided a thorough, beautifully organized itinerary covering every aspect of our eight-day trip, and she was always quick to respond whenever we had questions, offering multiple thoughtful options along the way. While traveling, we decided to extend our stay and make a few changes, Lily handled everything seamlessly on our behalf, making the transition effortless. If you’re planning a trip to the Middle East, she is absolutely your girl!"
Lily's Lodges client Zak, about his trip to New Zealand
"It is difficult to find the right words to say how much we value Lily's expertise, and her willingness to help us through our travel planning process.
Thanks to Lily, a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders going into our massive multi-week adventure. Her guidance on where to stay, and cool things to see, was huge in us enjoying the time on the south island. Some of the highlights included Hulbert House, the onsen at night - thanks to a last minute cancellation - where we got to relax and enjoy the clearest stargazing we have ever experienced! The Doubtful Sound cruise was magical, and we experienced a torrential downpour, allowing us to wake up to waterfalls and peaceful fog throughout. Cabot Lodge was a slice of luxury, and even though we were only there for a night, we made the most of it! The chef even took the time to teach me how to poach an egg properly and then had me make one for him!
Lily was the mastermind behind us having the best honeymoon we could have asked for, and we will make sure to share her contact with anyone planning a trip in the future!"
about lily
After a hectic four years of my first foray into travel, via blogging and sharing my writing daily on Instagram, I decided to set it aside during the pandemic. My husband and I took advantage of our newfound work flexibility via extended trips where we'd explore by day and work remotely by night. When normal life resumed, the next couple of years were spent growing and raising my two children. While I was glad to be done with researching hashtags and chasing social media clout, I realized I missed the writing, and having an outlet to talk travel.
During the pandemic our travel style changed: previously, accommodation was a vehicle to explore a city. I would create exhausting itineraries: five destinations in a ten day trip, multiple times a year. I am not a beach person and never found a way to relax on vacation, but liked it that way. Once we had the privilege of traveling for longer periods of time, we found it less sustainable to constantly be on the go. My discovery of a luxury all-inclusive came at the perfect time.. A way to relax and turn my brain off from planning and efficiency seeking, while still experiencing a destination and culture. The more outstanding experiences we had, the lodge began to be what I sought out more than the location itself.
I have never found a website that features this category of property, so I’m here to create it! I hope you enjoy reading, and if you have a lodge you think I’d enjoy, please send the recommendation my way on the contact page, or reach out to have me book it or plan a trip around it. I love to share my knowledge of the 70 countries I've visited, and help matchmake you to the right lodge or hotel for your journey, while adding ease, perks, and preferential treatment from the property.