JetSetter

What is Jetsetter?

Jetsetter is a private online community dedicated to providing members with insider access to the places they want to go. As a member of Gilt Groupe, Jetsetter provides invitation-only access to coveted travel destinations and experiences at prices unavailable to the general public.

Each sale lasts two days and features properties around a theme, brand, or destination. Our philosophy is that travel should be fun and easy. That includes the trip planning part.

We aim to simplify things. Great hotels at great prices. No guesswork, no games. That's Jetsetter.

What is Jetsetter's relationship with Gilt?

Jetsetter is Gilt's advance into the travel world. We apply Gilt's flash sale concept to the world of luxury travel. Like our parent company, we offer exclusive, invitation-only sales to our customers.

Correspondents

Samantha Marcus Yanks

Recent hotel stay: Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California. Truly, if you haven't been, do everything in your power to get there.

Favorite travel accessory: Armand Diradourian cashmere travel blanket and a Pineider large zip leather travel passport case are a must.  If my daughter is with me a requirement is the GoGoKidz Travelmate to wheel her around the airport in.

Travel ritual: When I worked for Oprah Winfrey at her magazine years ago she flew the entire staff to Chicago for her birthday and gifted everyone an assortment of her “Favorite Things”.  I fell in love with these Karen Neuberger socks that have stitched on them O's 50th. I won't get on a plane without them.

Dying to go: The Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai, Thailand and the Ritz Carlton, Tokyo in Roppongi, Tokyo.

My background: My passion for the worlds of beauty, business, culture and dining, entertainment, fashion, interior design and real estate led me to become the Editor in Chief of Niche Media’s Gotham and Hamptons magazines. Prior to my position at Niche Media, I was the Senior Accessories Editor at O, The Oprah Magazine where I oversaw the department and assisted Oprah Winfrey in compiling her monthly “O List” and an Accessories Editor at Vogue Magazine.

Adam Graham

Recent hotel stay: Amangalla, Galle, Sri Lanka

Best hotel amenity ever: Shangri La Hong Kong’s Laundry Service—Clothes came back like new: buttons tightened, new stays in collars, cardboard rings in collars and wrapped in tissue and placed in ribbon-sealed leather trunks. It’s like a spa day for your clothes.

Favorite travel accessory: The Economist, Evian spray, and an atlas

My background: Son of a chef, freelance food travel writer, and regular contributor to Travel + Leisure, Esquire, New York magazine, Concierge.com, Town + Country, Tasting Table, etc. I was born in Marblehead, Mass, grew up in Ponce Inlet, Fl and have lived in Vermont, Maine, Ireland, New Zealand, Los Angeles, but recently settled in Brooklyn after 8 years in Manhattan.

 

Sandra Ramani

Recent hotel stay: The Fairmount Nile City in Cairo, Egypt

Best hotel amenity ever: When there's free water, Internet and slippers, I'm good

Travel ritual: Staying up late before a long flight to make sure I'll sleep in the air.

My background: I'm a freelance travel / spa / lifestyle writer based in New York City, and have worked with such publications as Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Modern Bride, New York Magazine and the New York Daily News, for whom I won a Best Newspaper Travel Feature award in 2006. I've also been an editor for NYM.com, Fodor's and Zagat, and am currently a Contributing Editor to Globorati.com and Organic Spa Magazine. My book, “Day Trips from Dallas: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler” comes out in June 2010.

 

Nicole Alper

Recent hotel stay: The newly remodeled Roosevelt New Orleans. Check out the one-of-a-kind Paris Exhibition clock recently purchased for a cool half mil from the now financially strapped Nicholas Cage, showcased in the lobby.

Favorite travel accessory: A spray bottle of Kerstin Florian’s Neroli Water for a quick pick-me-up. I call it Holy Neroli.

Dying to go: Back to Africa.

My background: Travel writer, photographer and bon vivant for 12 years I’ve been published in over 50 national magazines and newspapers. I live in NYC and Philadelphia.

 

Cathay Che

Recent hotel stay: The St Regis Princeville

Best hotel amenity ever: Batik bathrobes at Marigot Bay

Favorite travel accessory: Molton Brown “Air of Sleep” Spray

Travel ritual: Packing up the dog for the dog sitter before heading to the airport

Dying to go: Rayavadee, Krabi, Thailand

My background: Insider Guide for Condé Nast Traveler online.

 

Larry Olmstead

Recent hotel stay: Turnberry Hotel, Scotland

Best hotel amenity ever: Bottomless tequila decanter, Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Mexico

Travel ritual: Research local street food specialty and best place to get it, then go wait on line. If it’s good, there’s a line.

Dying to go: Bhutan.

My background: Travel, sports, and luxury lifestyle journalist and author for 15 years, international bon vivant for 43 years.

 

Laurie Werner

Recent hotel stay: Park Hyatt, Shanghai

Favorite travel accessory: Travel shoulder bag with about 10 different compartments and pockets so I can find things easily; Ipod, lavender filled eye mask for de-stressing

Dying to go: Vietnam, Cuba, Borneo, Petra

My background: I spent eight years as contributing editor for travel for Departures, spending about 80% on my time on the road, moving five years ago to Forbes Life where I’ve done everything from sailing down the Nile and fly-fishing in Tasmania to nearly falling off a mountain digging for dinosaur fossils in China.

 

Andrew Bender

Recent hotel stay: Benesse House, Shikoku Island, Japan.

Best hotel amenity ever: Golf-pencil-sized canisters of shaving cream.

Travel ritual: On long overseas flights, I change into my comfiest sweats as soon as the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign goes off. The familiarity helps me get that all-important sleep.

My background: I’ve always been a traveler at heart, and when I lived in Japan after college I wrote 10-page letters to friends which I copied to create a de facto travelog. I moved to Los Angeles after business school (yes, business school), and the first and only time I lost a “real” job, I resolved to profit from my passions. I’ve been writing about travel and food ever since, for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, the in-flight magazines of United and Singapore Airlines and about two dozen Lonely Planet titles.

 

Mary Winston Nicklin

Recent hotel stay: Rocco Forte’s Verdura Resort in Sicily

Best hotel amenity ever: Slippers decorated with feathers and evil eye pendants at Hotel Les Ottomans in Istanbul

Travel ritual: getting lost in a big city (or the countryside) so that I can chat with locals.

Background: A Harvard graduate, I contribute to various magazines and websites from my base in Paris. Back in early 2004, I quit my publishing job in San Francisco to embark on a solo trip around the world. At the end of that adventure, I met the funny Frenchman who’s now my husband while waiting on a ferry dock in Panama. Before moving to France, I worked on the ground in El Salvador to develop sustainable tourism in a country that’s on the cusp of a tourism boom. (Surf’s up in El Salvador!)

 

Amy Westervelt

Recent hotel stay:  Cameron House, Scotland

Best hotel amenity ever: Outdoor shower

Favorite travel accessory: Neroli water

Travel ritual: No work on the plane - I like to start my vacation in transit.

My background: Former senior editor at Spa, longtime travel writer with stories published in Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Budget Travel, plus travel guides for Fodor's, Great Destination, and Wallpaper. My other beat is environmental issues; I'm currently the managing editor of Earth Island Journal.

 

Celeste Moure

Recent hotel stay: Shangri-La, Vancouver

Best hotel amenity ever: Butler-drawn bubble bath after a morning safari at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania.

Favorite travel accessory: My Nikon SLR. Yeah, it’s a little heavy but the photos are crisp and vibrant.

Travel ritual: Stocking up on travel magazines at the airport before boarding a flight.

Dying to go: Maldives, Bhutan, Morocco, India.

My background: After producing, designing and editing websites for everyone from Fidelity Investments to Sony Pictures and LACMA, I realized that what I really wanted to do was write and travel. And thus a freelance writing career was launched. Sure, I never know when my next paycheck will come, but at least I can worry about that while sipping a Syrah in South Africa or diving in Bora Bora for the sake of researching a possible story.

 

Bonnie Tsui

Recent hotel stay: Ritz-Carlton Highlands Lake Tahoe

Best hotel amenity ever: A 25-meter lap pool

Favorite travel accessory: Eyeshades and earplugs (more necessity than accessory)

Travel ritual: Packing ultra-light

Dying to go: Surfing in Micronesia

My background: I’m a frequent contributor to The New York Times and the author of American Chinatown: A People’s History of Five Neighborhoods, which was selected by The San Francisco Chronicle as one of its Best of 2009: 50 Notable Bay Area Books. A former editor at Travel + Leisure, I’ve written for The Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic Adventure, and Mother Jones; I’m also a recipient of the Radcliffe Traveling Fellowship, the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism and the Jane Rainie Opel Award from the Radcliffe Institute.

 

Sunshine Flint

Recent hotel stay: The Scarlet in Cornwall

Best hotel amenity:  Free bottled water and free Wi-Fi

Favorite travel accessory: Small down pillow with washable pillow cover

Travel ritual: Earplugs, soft goggles and pashmina for take off, and I always buy a map of the city or country where I’m going so I can trace out my route.

Dying to go: The Altiplano of the Atacama Desert in Peru, Cape Town, Valparaiso, Uruguay, Thessaloniki, Sebastopol

My background: I have over a decade of experience writing about travel, and my articles have appeared in many publications in the US and in the UK.

 

Elizabeth Helman Minchilli

Recent hotel stay: Palazzo Terranova, Umbria

Best hotel amenity ever: Preloaded ipod at the Villa Feltrinelli.

Favorite travel accessory: Ipod

Travel ritual: Charge ipod and extra ipod battery.

Dying to go: Jaipur

My background: Art historian turned writer. I cover food, travel, culture and the joys of living in Italy for about forty publications. I just published by sixth book, Italian Rustic (Artisan) and am the co-founder of One Book Press (1bookpress.com) a new way of thinking about publishing.

 

Brooke Siegel

Recent hotel stay: The Sofitel in Hanoi, Vietnam

Favorite travel accessory: My Shih Tzu, Puppy.

Travel ritual: A pre-flight Bloody Mary (make that a double).

My background: Raised in New York, I moved to South Beach to become the editor of DailyCandy Miami and affect the 2008 presidential election. I’m lucky to spend much of my time exploring tropical places – and writing while wearing a bathing suit.

 

Erica Bethe Levin

Best hotel amenity ever:  A television built into the bathroom wall, strategically located for viewing while in the Jacuzzi tub.

Travel ritual:  I always board a plane with my right foot first.

Dying to go:  Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain and Australia.

Background: I have been writing a “Staycation” series for NBC, highlighting Chicago hotels and their amenities. A friend told Jetsetter about my last article on the James Hotel and here I am!

 

Stephanie Cain

Recent hotel stay: One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico

Favorite travel accessory: Hot pink Tumi passport cover.

Dying to go: Hiking to Machu Picchu.

Background: I’ve covered travel for Brides, Elite Traveler and my all-things wine site, chuggingveuve.com. I’ve regularly contributed to PEOPLE, ESPN The Magazine, and LivingSocial.com. I am now an assistant editor at Wine Spectator.

 

Julie Earle-Levine

Recent hotel stay: The Victoriano Hotel, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Best hotel amenity ever: A tiny flashlight at dinner to read the menu - beachfront Esperanza, Cabo san Lucas. Also perfect for finding a keyhole at night in New York!

Favorite travel accessory: Cashmere wrap

Travel ritual: Pack reading material.

Dying to go: Cuba

My background: I've been a staff writer for the Weekend FT and have written for The New York Times travel section and T Style magazine; Departures, Town & Country Travel, New York magazine and UK Vogue.

 

Carole Dixon

Recent hotel stay:  W Santiago, Chile

Best hotel amenity ever:  Wake up call to see elephants drinking from a watering hole on the grounds of Bilila Lodge Kempinski, Tanzania.

Favorite travel accessory: Sonya Dakar Jetset travel kit

Travel ritual: ear plugs and vitamin C before turning on my HP mini notebook

Dying to go: Sixth Senses, Maldives

My background: I started my career in film and television production. After a 5 year stint in London producing lifestyle programs, I returned to LA and became a full time travel, food, design and spa writer.

My writing has appeared in Town & Country, Departures, Wallpaper, Elite Traveler, Business Traveler, Rob Report, In Style Weddings, USA Today and Angeleno.

 

Emily Fiffer

Recent hotel stay: The Ace Hotel, Portland

Best hotel amenity ever: fireplace; Stumptown coffeeshop; towel warmer

Favorite travel accessory: Podcast-loaded Zune; Go Mini Steamer; The New Yorker

Travel ritual: Religiously research restaurants. Unpack upon arrival and chow.

Dying to go: Buenos Aires and beyond.

My background: Editor of DailyCandy Chicago

 

Anja Mutic

Recent hotel stay: Pan Dei Palas, St. Tropez

Best hotel amenity ever: The shower that turns into a steam room at Banyan Tree Mayakoba

Favorite travel accessory: My little light green Moleskine for taking notes

Travel ritual: Unpacking the moment I arrive to a hotel room, even for just a one-night stay. Dying to go: Bhutan

My background: A native of Croatia and an adopted New Yorker, I have lived, worked and traveled on all the continents except Antarctica. I'm a professional nomad who grabs every opportunity to see more of what the world hides, be it the latest five-star resort in Mexico, Montana's top luxury ranch, or the late-night tango salons of Buenos Aires. My writing has appeared in Time Out, Travel + Leisure, Caribbean Travel & Life, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, AOL Travel, and Zink magazine.

 

Nora Zelevansky

Recent hotel stay: Villa Amor, Sayulita, Mexico

Best hotel amenity ever: Hot homemade cinnamon bun breakfast brought to your door at Manka’s Inverness Lodge, Point Reyes, California, AND over water bungalows at Le Meridien Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

Favorite travel accessory: Leigh & Luca oversized cashmere scarf as both an accessory and the world’s prettiest travel blanket.

Travel ritual: Pack bikini and a mystery novel no matter how cold the climate.

Dying to go: Vietnam

My background:  I’m a LA (and sometimes NYC)-based freelance writer for publications like Elle, Town & Country, Martha Stewart, Allure, Salon.com, Daily Candy, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post and a contributing writer for C Magazine.  My personal blog, The Pocket Lint, highlights unexpected gems discovered during travels and in-and-around LA.

 

Francesca Syz

Recent hotel stay: La Reserve Ramatuelle

Best hotel amenity ever: Canon Eos 40D camera at Zarafa in Botswana

Favorite travel accessory: Jo Malone scented candle

Travel ritual: Going to the highest vantage point of wherever I am as soon as I get there to get my bearings.

Dying to go: Yemen

 

Debra Bokur

Recent hotel stay: The Goring Hotel, London

Best hotel amenity ever: Fluffy wool and wood replica sheep located in the Goring’s guest rooms. Honestly. Impossible to make that up.

Favorite travel accessory: A black cashmere sweater, along with a tennis ball in my carry-on for a self-administered shoulder massage upon arrival

Travel ritual: Early morning tea at an area cafe to people-watch and get a sense of place

Dying to go: Crete

My background: I’ve been covering luxury travel and wellness destinations worldwide as an editor, journalist, and filmmaker since 1986, and currently serve as the Travel & Wellness Editor at Healing Lifestyles & Spas (www.healinglifestyles.com), and as a regular contributor to Global Traveler Magazine. A member of the Society of American Travel Writers, I also trained dressage horses professionally for many years. Right now, I’m deep in shooting a travel-based documentary series.

 

Maribeth Mellin

Recent hotel stay: Gran Velas Riviera Maya—a surprise all the way. I never expected to adore an all-inclusive resort. The Southern Ocean Lodge on Australia's Kangaroo Island—eco-luxury beyond belief.

Best hotel amenity ever: There are so many, from in-room jugs of purified water to the secretly scented soap and bath salts at the One&Only Palmilla.

Favorite travel accessory: iPod loaded with audio books, Swiss Army knife with corkscrew

Travel ritual: Frantic pre-flight repacking and laptop backup

Dying to go: Botswana, Easter Island, back to Antarctica and Kangaroo Island

My background: Quit my job as a "gloom and doom" investigative reporter and accepted a paltry sum to co-write early guides to Mexico; got more money and time for a series of gorgeous Traveler's Companion books—roamed all over Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Hawaii, and California for the series.

 

Colleen Smiley

Best hotel amenity ever: Pre-loaded iPod

Travel ritual: Searching for the strangest local food I can find...shrimp cocktail potato chips anyone?

My background:  I am the unofficial VIP hostess when people come to town, advising on where to go, what to eat, what to see. A devotee of Gilt.com (and possibly one of their largest supporters), I jumped at the chance to throw my passport in the ring as a Jetsetter correspondent. I mean, someone’s has to get down and dirty in the trench of luxury travel.

 

Karen Wilson

Recent hotel stay:  Rancho la Puerta; Tecate , Mexico

Best hotel amenity ever:  Leopard print terry robes and pet goldfish upon request, Kimpton Hotels

Favorite travel accessory: Curiosity

Travel rituals: A long walk as soon as I arrive; finding the unsung little places where local people eat.

Dying to go: Croatian coast (on Windstar)

My background: Award-winning,  Seattle-based business and travel writer with a passion for local food, culture and style

 

Meg Nolan

Recent hotel stay:  Beach House, Maldives

Best hotel amenity ever:  Linen sheets

Dying to go: Seychelles

My background: Author, editor, TV producer, longtime wanderlust-victim

 

Steve Larese

Recent hotel stay: Lamanai Outpost Lodge, Belize

Best hotel amenity ever: Local Spanish phrase guide, Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta.

Favorite travel accessory: Leica M6 camera

Travel ritual: Pack what I want, then cut that in half.

Dying to go: Libya, for the architectural sites.

My background: I write and photograph for Fodor's, National Geographic Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, GuestLife New Mexico, New Mexico Journey, Interval World, and other travel publications. I was an editor at New Mexico Magazine for 10 years before becoming a full-time travel writer. My latest book, Durango Perspectives, is available through Schiffer Publishing.

 

Cynthia Blair

Recent hotel stay: Pestana Convento do Carmo in Salvador, Brazil

Travel ritual: Reading everything I can get my hands on in advance

Dying to go: Fiji

My background: I’ve been addicted to travel ever since my father drove our family 1,500 miles to Florida when I was ten months old.  Since then, I’ve traveled all over North America and Europe, seeing much of the U.S. on a four-week Greyhound bus trip with my mother and sister when I was My adventures inspired me to launch a mystery series about a travel writer called the “Murder Packs a Suitcase” Mystery Series.