The best neighbourhoods to explore while on vacation
Hotel owner John Grossman tells why he always searches for the best coffee spots before he flies to a new destination, and why your next surf trip should be to Alaska
John Grossman, 44, is the CEO of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Marc & Rose Hospitality, whose portfolio of 14 properties includes the Arizona Grand Hotel and Resort in Phoenix and La Playa Hotel, a newly revamped boutique hotel in Carmel-By-the-Sea, California. Before starting his career as a hospitality executive, Grossman travelled the world as a competitive kayaker and surfer. He won the Rabioux River Rodeo on the Durance River in Southeastern France and the Surf Kayak World Championship in County Sligo, Ireland.
As he mostly travels weekly around the US West, visiting his properties and looking for additions, Grossman still makes time for surf trips; he has just returned from his ninth visit to New Zealand. He inherited a love for travel from his parents; his mother was a model and crowned Miss California in 1956. While starring in a cigarette commercial on a Hawaiian beach, she met his father when she picked him out of the crowd to be her tandem surf partner in the ad.
“The story goes that after they got married, my parents spent every dollar she made modelling on an around-the-world trip, which was pretty brave of them in the 1950s,” says Grossman. After their big journey, his parents founded their first hotel project in the 1960s.
Grossman lives in Sun Valley, Idaho. Here are his best travel tips.
Search for a great coffee shop before you fly to your next destination.
You can find a great neighbourhood to hang out in by first finding a great coffee shop. I search for one on travel blogs and sites like Eater before I fly. This serves two important functions: First, I love coffee, and coffee helps with resetting jet lag; and second, good-quality coffee shops are often located in interesting neighbourhoods. With my coffee in hand, a stroll around the area is a great way to calibrate to an unfamiliar town. It also helps determine where to grab dinner or drinks at a bar later.
I’m a bit shy, but I push myself to try talking to people in coffee shops. If you catch someone’s eye and give them a smile, they’ll be happy to talk about their town and what they like doing. They’ll want to help you enjoy their city.
Get a massage after a long flight.
My guilty travel pleasure is 60-to-90-minute massages on arrival after I get off a flight. I think something happens after a massage that helps reset your body to your new time and place better than any other way that I know of, and it does help make jet lag easier. On my last trip to New Zealand, I stayed at the Hotel Britomart in Auckland, and they didn’t have a fancy spa. It was more utilitarian, but I got a massage there upon arrival, and it did the trick.
Private terminals are worth it.
We recently did the PS at LAX, and it was one of the most remarkable experiences we ever had. Of course, it is very expensive, but what was interesting was the access involved — like being driven down the tarmac adjacent to the runway and then right to the terminal, where we just went in an elevator and then straight into the jetway. That was incredible.
Take the flag carrier on your next trip to New Zealand
I’ve been to New Zealand nine times, and I think the LA-to-New Zealand direct flight via Air New Zealand is the best option for a trip to the country from the US. It is generally a small airline that doesn’t offer a lot of routes compared to some bigger carriers but they take a lot of pride in their service, and that comes through.
And don’t forget to explore the country’s North Island.
When people think of New Zealand, they usually think of the South Island, Queenstown, and the fjords — all the things that are very notable for tourism to the country. But I spend most of my time on the North Island, and that is because surfing is more accessible there. You have to drive around quite a bit, but you can get easily from one side of the island to the next to chase the swell and the conditions. I was drinking in a local pub and chatting with a farmer on my last trip. I told him I was on a surf trip, and he invited us to access his private land to surf. That’s an experience I couldn’t have bought.
Coldwater surf trips are unfairly off the radar for most travellers
While wetsuit technology (I use the front-hooded full-zip suit from Patagonia) and social media are now opening people’s eyes to the possibilities of cold-water surf adventure, the relative hardship still keeps most folks on the sideline. I’ve surfed in cold water from Oregon to Ireland and South Australia to Chile but Alaska is the most memorable place I’ve ever surfed — and I’ve now made two trips.
The options for surfing there are nearly endless, but one of the most accessible options is a flight to the small commercial fishing village of Yakutat. There are several great waves in the area, and — while you’ll be competing with grizzly bears for the salmon (the fishing is excellent on down days) — you’ll often be surfing alone or with a couple of friendly locals.
Think of surfing the way people think about fishing.
You would say you went fishing if you didn’t catch a fish. And I can say I surfed even if I didn’t catch a wave. And what I mean by that is that I travel to an interesting place and surfing can be the bonus. If you’re on a surf trip and have a very rigid schedule, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get the best conditions possible. You have to have time and flexibility to get those conditions, and I just don’t have that anymore.
So, if I only have a week or two to go on a surf trip to an exotic place, I want to go to a place with many other things to do besides surfing. For example, I went to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, one of the best surf destinations in the world, but there isn’t much to do otherwise. I like Portugal for surf trips because there’s so much to do there besides the water. Ericeira is very well known now, but I still make my base camp when I go. I’ve been to Portugal seven times, and the incredible culture and shoreline keep me returning.
My number one travel tip is to accept things going a little bit wrong
Being alright with something that does not meet your expectations is a beautiful way to travel the world. Nothing will ever be perfect, especially if you build it up in your head. Things can and will go wrong; be okay with that.