Blog — Trip Styler

Roam+Board :: The Pearl Hotel

pearl hotel san diego[trip style = budget conscious + sun]

What The Pearl Hotel is a compact throwback recalling its groovy 1959 beginnings. Fashioned around a vintage, oyster-shaped pool, the 23-room hotel is misted in mid-century, whimsy and San Diego's quintessential beach life. It's a place where shag carpets hobnob with driftwood and in-room 'pet' Siamese fighting fish.

I shacked up at The Pearl for a few nights in June, and wish I could have stayed longer. By morn, Mr. Trip Styler and I would take out the complimentary cruiser bikes for a spin around nearby Shelter Island; by aft, we'd lounge at the pool sipping lemon water under a living wall of succulents; by eve, we'd explore our sand and city surroundings. We were in our element.

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Rooms are efficiently designed with all the amenities you'd expect from a swell stay---wifi, cushy bed, flat-screen TV, etc... The decor is the modern side of mid-century mod, mingling clean lines, whitewashed tile bathrooms and a beach-hued color wheel. I viewed the room as a place to sleep, the rest of the hotel's splashy scene was that inviting.

Sadly, our pearly pause in Ron Burgundy's stomping grounds did not coincide with a Wednesday, the night when summer dive-in movies play. Next time I visit I will coordinate my overnight with a movie night, so I can watch Top Gun or Point Break poolside.

Trip Styler approved.

Where Parked between marinas and a residential neighborhood along a busy street in the Point Loma neighborhood near San Diego Bay, The Pearl is two blocks from the ocean, and an 8-minute drive from the San Diego Airport {SAN}.

When San Diego's surf and sun abounds year-round. Winter temperatures hover around 18 degrees Celsius with a touch of rain, and summer clocks in at a breezy 26C. May and 'June gloom' can be a little grey when morning clouds linger.

Who/Why Vintage updos are your thing, both the hairstyles and the hotel facelifts. It's no surprise, then, you feel at home while on the road in a 1950s motor hotel that's been retro- and reno-fitted to its original glory---with a few mod amenities for good measure.

Cost Rates start around $100 per night and include WiFi, morning coffee from local roaster Cafe Moto, use of the hotel's cruiser bikes, and a fish in your room. Bring earplugs to this adult-only hotel to guard your beauty sleep from street noise or outside  chatter.

Trip Styler Tip: Parking at the hotel is $10, yet there's plenty of free spots in the residential neighborhood surrounding the hotel.

Photos pearl hotel san diego photos

More Roam+Board The Templar – Toronto Encuentro Guadalupe – Mexico Hotel Havana – San Antonio The Amersand Hotel – London Mount Engadine Lodge – Canadian Rockies Lava Lava Beach Club – Hawaii Island Ace Hotel – Seattle The Wickaninnish Inn – Tofino The Burrard – Vancouver  Hotel de Glace – Quebec Alcazar Palm Springs – California Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – Dubai Makena Resort – Maui Find more R+B hotels featured here, plus our it list of worldwide hotel picks.

[photos taken by @tripstyler]

Travel Tech :: Bird's Eye View

canary home security + travel[trip style = any]

We interrupt our regular summer trip styling for the next incarnation of the teddy bear cam. Something to protect and monitor your home base while you're flying away. Think of it as a bird's eye view of your abode, aptly called the Canary Home Security Device {$200 usd}, landing May, 2014.

The minute I read about this I had to share it because I'm forever researching simple ways to monitor things {dog, stuff, etc..} back at 'the ranch' when I've 'gone fishing.' A few weeks ago this desire became even more acute when part of my building flooded. While my suite didn't get drenched---thank Goodness---my memories are still a tad damp from another flooding incident I encountered. In that situation, the Canary's ninja intuition would have been helpful.

Capable of sensing it all {and then some} it spies with an HD Camera including---how cool is this---night vision, listens with a microphone, monitors motion, and reads temperature, air quality and humidity. On top of this, there's an app for that: once plugged into your home network, download it to your iPhone or Android to dial into its six senses.

canary home security device

Use it for your home or office, or to monitor your dog {or as a skookum baby cam}. It's for anyone, anywhere with a wifi network and connected smartphone. Mount one, two or three.

[photos via canary home security]

Chic Camping 101

chic camping
chic camping

[trip style = camping & glamping]

Trip styling, in every shape and form {read: from vacationing like Oprah to camping by the sea}, is my obsession. Even when I take to the mild wild. The only requirement: fashion has to rival function.

Recently my husband and I decided to go camping---'tis the summer season---and when I put my campsite = glampsite  blueprint in front of him, he turned a shade of winter. Once I told him I'd do the majority of the 10-minute set-up---oh yes, chic camping is that easy---he literally said "Ok, I'll play ball" as his cheeks rosied at the thought of sipping crisp rose out of a mason jar at our tenting scene-stealer.

There's camping, then there's trip-styled camping. Here are some tried and tested ways to turn your good ole' site into a fetching summer sight:

chic camping 2
chic camping 2

Chic Camping 101 {I made the garland at home with twine and pieces of heavy canvas. The blanket is from Mexico, the pillows are from Ikea, and the throw in the basket is Pendleton. For the record, I fell asleep here one afternoon. PS - if you are camping at a site with a dirt floor, bring a tarp to put under your blanket---the concept still works.}

chic camping 3
chic camping 3

{I turned these utilitarian camping chairs into something a little more sassy with faux-fur throws, $12 from Ikea. Bonus, if your thermarest looses air throughout the night, these do a bang-up job of cushioning your core.}

chic camping 4
chic camping 4

{I elevated the eating surface, aka picnic table, to a woodsy table pour deux with this wipeable table cloth (I think it was $3.00 from the camping store), beach wood, beach rocks and a bunch of wildflowers. I brought the lantern from home.}

chic camping 5
chic camping 5

{While sleeping bags are best for more extreme camping, I opted for a zebra-print throw as my duvet. Life is too short not to.}

chic camping 6
chic camping 6

{Morning coffee.}

chic camping 7
chic camping 7

{When we walked 20 steps to the deserted (yay!) beach, I re-purposed my Mexi blanket and pillows for the afternoon.}

chic camping 8
chic camping 8

{Bird's eye view of the beach, a triple threat mingling driftwood, pebbles and sand.}

chic camping 9
chic camping 9

{Where I sipped wine at sundown.}

Recap --- camping at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island is $26/night {in my humble opinion the best campsites are 11, 12 and 13} --- For Casey is 1.5 hours from Seattle and 2.5 hrs from Vancouver --- chic camping essentials: a heavy blanket to create a petite paradise (and a tarp), outdoor pillows, faux-fur pelts, a lantern and a garland if you're feeling extra crafty --- the menu: - breakfast: eggs in a nest - lunch: veggie salad wraps - appetizer: bocconcini s'mores {you roast cheese over the fire and place it on top of a cracker or slice of baguette with basil and sun-dried tomato tapanade} - dinner: roast chicken with veggie kabobs and salad

[photos by @tripstyler]

Fashion Friday :: Western Spirit

western spirit
western spirit

[trip style = any]

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

Rodeo season is in full swing {check out our recent Calgary Stampede coverage} and whether or not you plan on catching a chuckwagon race this summer, or just embracing the {wild, wild} western spirit, we thought it was high {noon} time to wrangle our favorite country-inspired looks, plus a few rodeo style tips to boot.

Styling Tips -- Rodeo season is hot. To beat the heat and show a little leg, go with a western-inspired bootie instead of a traditional cowboy boot. -- The Canadian tuxedo is encouraged, but mix it up with light and dark washes. -- You're not going to a costume party, so instead of head-to-toe cowboy, add a couple western touches to your everyday style. -- "Top it, belt it, stomp it." Fashion advice from Brenna Hardy, Stampede Stylist at Calgary's CORE Shopping Centre. -- Always store your hat upright; otherwise, the brim will relax. Time to invest in a hat box! -- Add a little fun to your bum and place a bandana in your back jean pocket. -- Accessorize with turquoise, a southwestern staple, or weave a piece of leather into a fishtail braid.

If all of this western style has inspired you to take a rodeo getaway, check out the upcoming Cheyenne Frontier Days (WY), Pendleton Round-Up (OR) and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NV), or gallop to next summer's Calgary Stampede.

Now What To Wear? Women (clockwise from top left)Madewell perfect chambray ex-boyfriend shirt, Free People serra do mar tunic, Frye carson tab mid boot, Velvet farley dress, Vanessa Mooney open road ring, Madewell barnwood boot, Ralph Lauren hand-tooled leather belt, Imogene + Willie elizabeth stretch jean

Men (clockwise from top right) RRL buffalo twill western shirt, To Boot New York hawthorne boot, Imogene + Willie natural plus bandana, Imogene + Willie barton rigid jean

More Fashion FridayThe Summer StapleWhite ChucksCycle Chic

[graphic assembled by @heatherlovesit]