Its news to no one that the pandemic has put a damper on the holiday season. Festive parties, family gatherings, and long-haul travel are all on pause for 2020. (Its more than a bit of a drag.) If there is a silver lining in this wild rollercoaster of a year, it may be that were getting better at taking care of ourselves and those we care about.Sounds like a good starting point for holiday gifting. Here are 26 thoughtful wellness products t

Having been a beauty editor for more than 30 years, I reckon that Ive probably tried thousands of products. Along the way, there have been some crazy ones, a few minor fails, and the occasional head scratcher, but nothing beats the thrill of discovering something that triggers a raised eyebrow while you hear yourself uttering, Wow... A product that surprises, intrigues and over-delivers never gets old (wish I could say the same about myself

My last trip before the pandemic was to Nashville, where I expected to find memorable food and even more memorable music, all of which easily came my way. But I also discovered local businesses that moved me with their missions of empowering disadvantaged employees or helping others through their sales.Maybe it’s the longtime collaborative vibe that exists between the city’s songwriters and musicians, but whatever it is that’s spawned this

Covid-19 Editors Note: We visited this awesome new hotel in 2019, before it was forced to close for Covid-19. The hotel has since reopened, though, in compliance with California laws, the restaurants are temporarily closed. Mask are required for all guests and staff (hooray!) and here are all their updated health and safety protocols, LOS ANGELES — Santa Monica has always been about a certain type of balance, a mix of laid-b

Covid-19 Editors Note: We took this beautiful train trip before the global pandemic hit. Train travel in Canada is slowly returning to service with a reduced schedule still in affect and new protocols on board. Air travel to Canada remains strict with mandatory 14-day quarantines and negative testing requirements. ALBERTA, Canada — Its 7:22 a.m. on a cold Tuesday morning. The moon is still up, illuminating the snow-capped pi

Acqualina Resort and Residences on the Beach Sunny Isles, FloridaRefined Beachy Fun, $$$If theres one hotel that quickly showed the pandemic whos boss, its Acqualina Resort and Residences on the Beach in Sunny Isles, the beach neighborhood just north of Miami. Weve been impressed with how theyve handled the shifting situation since the spring, quickly developing new safety and cleanliness protocols and leading the industry through their exa

What happens when an ice-climbing newbie attempts to scale a 70-foot frozen waterfall? Great things.Of the many songs about waterfalls — Jimi Hendrixs May This Be Love, Beyoncés Rocket, My Morning Jackets In Its Infancy — none of them suggest you should actually climb said waterfalls.Im barreling toward my first ice-climbing adventure, feeling more than a little nervous. My mind crawls toward more musical references: TLCs clear

Special Covid-19 notes: Some of these spaces are partially or temporarily closed; others are operating fully virtually for the time being. All of them could use your support. Shop their bookstores, museum shops, and souvenir cases. If you can, give directly.History, they say, is never static. The Reconstruction era, Civil Rights movement, the more recent discourse over Civil War-era legacies, and the Black Lives Matter protests underscore t

We all have one: a dusty, scratched, dented suitcase with one wheel falling off that we continue to drag through countless airport terminals because (a) we dont want to pay for a new one, (b) we dont want to add yet another could-be-mended product to landfill, even though (c) its such a hassle to find a suitcase repair, especially considering that (d) the bag will just get thrown onto a conveyer belt by rough baggage handlers anyway, and (e

Millions of people have experienced intense winter storms from Nashville to Oregon this year. But the bottom is falling out in Texas after plummeting temperatures caused a huge power failure within the states independent power grid. This, on top of months of pandemic-related stress and economic woes, has Texans are wondering: Wheres the safety net? Well need to rally to help the most vulnerable with the most basic — but

Geoffrey Weill, the founder of the award-winning travel PR company WEILL, has been obsessed with travel since he was a child growing up in England. That passion led to a lifelong career in the travel industry, a journey he recounts in fantastic detail in his new book, All Abroad: A Memoir of Travel and Obsession. If you read his Travels in Corona Europe diary on Fathom last fall, youll know he has a keen eye for detail and a deep respect fo

ANGUILLA — The last time I was in Anguilla was 2018. I was there with my husband on a post-baby getaway, having left our then three-month-old daughter with my in-laws for four days, and to write a piece for Vogue about the island, which had recently been decimated by Hurricane Irma. Much of the 35-square-mile British territory was closed, including many of the hotels I had heard raves about, like Belmond Cap Juluca, Malliouhana, and T

How has Marrakech changed as a result of the pandemic? Frequent visitor Jillian Dara finds her beloved city changed in ways good and sad.MARRAKECH — Just before Thanksgiving, as the world relapsed into second, third, and fourth waves of COVID-19, I took my first transatlantic trip in nine months.I decided to take this trip for many reasons. Selfishly, I longed to return to one of my favorite countries. (I longed to travel, period.) Jo

With a year of pandemic uncertainty, one thing is for sure: When the world opens up, itll be a time for healing. While in Greece, Fathom contributor Eleni Gage retreats to the cypress-covered mountains of Peloponnesus for Hellenic and Chinese therapies and a healthy dose of Byzantine art. Greece is currently on lockdown. CDC guidelines can be found here. Euphoria Retreat re-opens March 12, 2021.THE PELOPONNESE, Greece — When I travel,

COVID-19 Notes: This is a two-part story about winter travel in Quebec City and nearby Charlevoix county. Contributing editor Linda Cabasin took this trip in February 2020 before the pandemic took hold. As of this writing, the Canadian government is limiting international visitors, restricting them primarily to family members and those traveling for specific reasons. Those who are able to travel should check with hotels because some offerin

COVID-19 Notes: This is a two-part story about winter travel in Quebec City and nearby Charlevoix county. Contributing editor Linda Cabasin took this trip in February 2020 before the pandemic took hold. As of this writing, the Canadian government is limiting international visitors, restricting them primarily to family members and those traveling for specific reasons. Those who are able to travel should check with hotels because some offerin

Produced in partnership with Quintana Roo Tourism Board.If you were to invent a dreamy vacation destination, the recipe might look like this:Start with equal parts lush jungles, soft-sand beaches, meandering lagoons, and clear blue seas. Add a sophisticated ancient culture, rich in ritual and tradition; a tasty local cuisine influenced by locals, explorers, and even pirates; stay-a-while accommodations, from tents under stars to luxury vill

The Peabody MemphisMemphis, TennesseeClassic, $$ ($200)There are many tests in life – thats true for people as well as buildings. The original Peabody Hotel, a Southern icon that has been a backdrop for countless movies, music tours, political affairs, and celebrations, was built a few years after the Civil War and survived the European-American financial crisis referred to as the “Panic of 1873, a couple of yellow fever epidemics, a partia

The RussellEast Nashville, TennesseeBright and Funky, Moderate (from $175And so the word went out around the kingdoms of all the lands, proclaiming 2020 as the year travel became a religion. When casual practitioners became the determined faithful, their measure of devotion underlining what Roman Catholics have known for centuries: There’s no motivation quite as strong as denial. And, lo, a holy trinity emerged in this brave new time &mdash

TODOS SANTOS, Mexico – In early February, I ditched the foot of snow that had just fallen in Seattle and headed south to Baja for some much-needed Mexican sunshine. I have spent a lot of time in this part of Mexico, so I felt safe returning to someplace familiar as the pandemic raged throughout the world. An hour north of Cabo, Todos Santos is a stretch of Baja that’s quiet and sparsely populated — the perfect place to check out for a