#19: What I'm reading: August edition
Some cool things from around the internet
Dear readers,
Welcome! Many of you are new, so let me re-introduce myself. My name’s Jess. I’ve worked in the cruise industry for the past decade - these days, I develop itineraries at Windstar Cruises.
I write about the business of travel, with some occasional trip planning advice. Please comment, share, or reply to these emails. I love a real, two-way conversation.
Here’s what I’m reading and watching…
📖 Miscellaneous Favorites 📖
The Hottest Restaurant in France Is an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet - a New Yorker article on a suburban buffet restaurant with a months-long waiting list. This article made me want to visit.
Backroads trains new guides in the field for two weeks - a WSJ article about how the high-end tour company teaches guides to run $10,000/person trips.
How Costco Hacked the American Shopping Psyche - a NYTimes article about one of my favorite businesses on earth. An excerpt…
In 2003, Mr. Price described his philosophy to Fortune magazine as “How do we sell stuff at the lowest markup?” The overriding goal, he said, was “to look at everything from the standpoint of, is it really being honest with the customer?”
🏨 Fancy Hotels 🏨
Palazzo Talìa is a Roman luxury hotel designed by director Luca Guadagnino. Marissa Klurstein described it as “A true 10/10 hotel”. Read her review - she goes into great detail on what exactly makes it 10/10. Architectural Digest published some pictures too.
‘Sacrifice Zones’ and Sand Machines: How a Cancún Resort Battles Seaweed - WSJ mini-doc on how a Cancun resort cleans its beaches and processes the huge amounts of seaweed.
Estelle Manor is a trendy private club and hotel in a converted English countryside manor (competing with Soho Farmhouse). William O’Conner did a great review. The most entertaining section:
“Everything is set up to get a bit raunchy, genuinely marketed to members as ‘what happens, happens’,” [a member] marveled while recounting promotions for the party sent to members. “I wasn’t quite sure if I’m going for a drink or a shag.”
For straight couples visiting, there was undoubtedly a swingers vibe in the air.
🚃 Trains 🚃
Russia is financing a new rail connection to Iran, which will significantly cut freight transit time to India and avoid Western ports.
Inside the battle between Amtrak and the freight railroads - an interview with the recently retired chairman of the Surface Transportation Board on regulation of freight railroads.
In Tokyo, These Trains Jingle All the Way - a short documentary on the composer of train jingles in Tokyo, where every station has a distinct 7-second song ⤵️
🎡 Disney 🐁
Cotino, Storyliving by Disney is a master-planned residential community in the California desert. It’s designed in cooperation with Disney Imagineering and staffed by Disney employees. As you might imagine, the LA Times reports that locals are skeptical.
ESPN Experiences is rolling out high-end tours to baseball parks. Skift has a good writeup. Two trends converging here: 1) the growth of sports tourism and 1) Disney increasingly monetizing through “experiences” as film & tv become less profitable.
Aulani resort’s design explained by an Imagineer (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6) - design of Disney’s Hawaiian resort is explained in a six-part Instagram series from Joe Rohde. An example 👇
Disney’s “Experiences” business will be the subject of the next newsletter. But for now, that’s it!