Product and hotel recommendations from Travel + Leisure are purely editorial and independent.
Our editors occasionally have the opportunity to review a product or a hotel via a media sample or visit, respectively; however, we never agree to positively review something. We want to experience a product or a property the same way that you would so that we can give you our honest, unbiased opinion. We will always tell you what we like and what we don’t like so you can trust our recommendations.
If you choose to click through from our product or hotel recommendations to the retailer site or booking platform, respectively, and make a purchase, we may receive an affiliate commission. That said, we are not loyal to any one specific retailer, brand, or booking site, and we only make recommendations our experts, editors, and writers believe are really worth your money.
Read more below to learn more details about the research and first-hand experience behind all our product and and hotel recommendations.
Our Product Recommendations
Travel & Leisure / Vicky Wasik
We diligently research, test and curate our lists of product recommendations. We are constantly scouring the landscape for the latest product releases, from luggage to noise-cancelling headphones and tents. Once we’ve identified the best products, we’ll test them on our trips around the globe allowing us to give you the unbiased advice you need to decide what to buy.
How We Test Products
When we test, we do the work for you. First, we scour the internet to find the best options available in every product category based on our expertise, customer reviews, and more. We also interview subject matter experts to find out the products they recommend and what consumers should consider when shopping for a particular item. Then, we purchase products for hands-on evaluation conducted by our editors while they’re traveling on work trips and vacations. Every product is tested thoroughly to provide an honest and unbiased review.
For each test, we follow a thorough methodology to make sure every product goes through the same test, allowing us to compare them effectively. As we test, we capture photos, videos, and personal insights to provide our readers with a behind-the-scenes look at our process. Only when we decide we really love a product (and that it offers value for your money) do we recommend it to you.
How We Find Deals
Our news and deals team is constantly searching the internet to stay up to date on the latest product launches, sales, and must have sell-outs. Our writers live and breathe products, working with our product testers to share why they love a particular product, and then help you find the best deal on it. When it comes to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day, rest assured our team is working day and night to make sure you know what’s really a bargain buy.
Safety
All products, including those we review and recommend, may from time to time be subject to recalls or revised use recommendations. We, therefore, urge you to monitor any official announcements from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that may be related to products you purchase and it is always best to register your purchases with the manufacturer so you can get alerted if a recall is issued.
Our Hotel Recommendations
Our hotel recommendations follow a similarly rigorous process. We ensure that any property we recommend to you has been thoroughly vetted by our experts, editors, and writers.
All hotel recommendations that we feature on our hotel roundups must align with T+L’s Hotel Values. When determining whether a hotel is worth your time and money on a vacation, these are the criteria we use. We consider the quality of the property’s rooms and on-site amenities, the level of service and standout experiences available to guests, whether (and how) the property accommodates and welcomes all travelers who may stay there, and more. Find more information here about each of the attributes we prioritize when curating our lists.
We also rely on first-hand experience and knowledge from travelers who have been to these destinations and properties. Our editors and writers are constantly traveling around the world and gaining on-the-ground insights about hotels they stay at along the way; we collect those insights in a robust database to refer back to when making hotel recommendations — if a member of our staff or vast writer network didn’t absolutely love a property when they visited, you won’t find it on any of our lists.
Our annual hotel awards are another way in which we can gain valuable insight about the best hotels around the world. For our World’s Best Awards, readers have the opportunity to vote for their favorite hotels, and those nominations are then vetted by T+L editors (with the help of and external research firm Proof Insights) to curate and finalize the awards that only highlight the best of the best. Our editors also constantly keep track of the best new properties each year. We name the top 100 new and renovated hotels around the world in our It List franchise. Every winner is vetted with an overnight visit by someone on our team, and our hotel recommendation lists site-wide are updated regularly with these additions.
Meet Our Team
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Jamie Hergenrader
Senior Director, Travel Group
Jamie Hergenrader is the senior director at Travel + Leisure where she oversees the content strategy of the site’s product reviews and recommendations. She joined the company in 2018 and has nearly a decade of experience writing and editing for travel and lifestyle publications.
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Susan Brickell
Director, Travel + Leisure
Susan Brickell is a Director at T+L and guides the strategy of the site’s product reviews, shopping sale events, celebrity coverage, destination packing lists, launches, trends, and more. She joined the company in 2019 as a senior editor for Shape and Health, before making the transition to T+L to follow her passion for travel. Susan has more than a decade of experience styling, writing, and editing travel, fashion, beauty, health, and home decor content for print and digital publications. Her byline has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Shape, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Women’s Health, Fitness, Runner’s World, What to Expect, and more. Susan has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Florida State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.Â
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Ivy Jacobson Ford
Director, Travel & Pets Testing
Ivy’s original reporting and interviews as a brand spokesperson have been featured on ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, Bloomberg, AP, The Huffington Post, USA Today, and more.She contributed to The Knot’s Folio Award win for Best Native Consumer App and serves as a Pace University Adjunct Professor.Ivy is also a mentor for Girls Write Now and a member of the Women’s Media Group.
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Morgan Ashley Parker
Associate Editorial Director, Travel + Leisure
Morgan Ashley Parker is an associate editorial director at Travel + Leisure where she works on content strategy and review coverage. She has been writing and editing lifestyle content since 2007, traveling since birth, and shopping since she earned her first allowance.Â
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Emily Belfiore
Senior Editor, Travel + Leisure
Emily Belfiore is a Senior Editor for Travel + Leisure, covering product news and deals. Her work has also appeared in BestProducts.com, The Quality Edit, People, Real Simple, Shape, StyleCaster, and more.
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Jackie Cucco
Senior Testing Editor
Jackie Cucco is a senior testing editor at Travel + Leisure, where she plans product tests and writes/edits travel-related product reviews based on in-depth product testing. She previously worked as a travel agent, has a degree in journalism, and has over eight years of experience covering products and gift guides. She has made over 100 TV appearances discussing consumer products and shopping trends.
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Kayla Kitts
Senior Editor
Kayla Kitts is a senior editor at Travel + Leisure with over a decade of experience writing and editing in the digital space. She has also been a product tester for five years, with reviews spanning multiple categories, including lifestyle, home, travel, pets, fashion, and beauty.
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Merrell Readman
Senior Writer
Merrell Readman is a Senior writer at Travel + Leisure. She has covered health, fitness, and shopping content for mindbodygreen, and graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
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Hillary Maglin
Updates Editor
Hillary Maglin is an editor at Travel + Leisure who’s been covering travel products since 2018. She has written and edited hundreds of shopping articles for T+L as well as other publications including People, InStyle, Real Simple, and Rachael Ray in Season. She previously covered current events, pop culture, fashion, and celebrities. She was an editorial intern at Rachael Ray in Season before becoming an assistant editor, associate editor, and eventually editor at T+L. While at T+L, she has also worked on the brand’s Webby Award-nominated social media team
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Taylor Fox
Travel + Leisure Editor
Taylor Fox is an editor at Travel + Leisure where she tests, researches, and writes about travel products. Taylor holds Master’s in Geography and Creative Non-fiction Writing and has been a writer and editor for over ten years.
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Anna Popp
Associate Editor
Anna Popp is a New York-based associate editor at Travel + Leisure covering all things style. She loves putting together packing lists for trips and finding different outfit combinations.
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Erin Cavoto
Editor
Erin Cavoto is an editor for Travel + Leisure, covering travel product reviews. She has bylines in The Guardian, The Kitchn, Apartment Therapy, and more, and has covered lifestyle, food, and health topics. She is passionate about finding the best deals on products that make traveling easier.
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Amelia McBride
Associate Editor
Amelia McBride is a Cuban-American journalist and an associate editor at Travel+Leisure, where she covers travel gear shopping trends and product launches. Throughout her decade-long career as a writer and editor, Amelia has written content and conducted in-depth product reviews spanning multiple categories, including lifestyle, travel, beauty, and fitness. Previously, she was an associate lifestyle editor, Well+Good and a former content editor for Chicks N’ Kicks Daily. Amelia has a Bachelor of Arts in Print and Digital News, University of North Texas.
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Anne Taylor
Updates Writer
Anne Taylor is an updates writer at Travel + Leisure where she keeps articles fresh and up to date. As an avid traveler who has been to 26 countries, she is always testing new products to make her trips even better. She has a bachelor’s degree in news media and has been a writer and editor for over seven years.
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Rosie Marder
Writer, Travel + Leisure
Rosie Marder, a writer with a passion for travel, fashion, and beauty, draws from her travels to 22 countries and counting. Having lived in Barcelona for 4 months and now in New York City, she understands the challenges of space and offers a distinctive viewpoint in her product reviews. Rosie aims to uncover top-tier travel essentials to provide readers with invaluable insights rooted in firsthand experience.
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Julia Morlino
Julia Morlino is a Commerce Writer at Travel + Leisure, where she researches and writes about the best travel deals and products that help make every trip unforgettable. Her bylines include Food Network and HGTV digital, along with Modern Luxury print and digital. She participated in HGTV’s Clean Home Awards testing in 2024 and 2025. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Multimedia Journalism.
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Jasmine Gomez
Writer
Jasmine has over five years of experience as a writer and editor focusing on products for people on the move. She’s a frequent and seasoned traveler to the Caribbean. She graduated from Syracuse University with an MA in Magazine, News, and Digital Journalism.
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Sophie Dodd
Writer
Sophie has 10 years of experience writing about travel and hotels, covering them through city guides, product reviews, and personal essays.She started her career at People Magazine. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Bon Appétit, Real Simple, and various other publications.As a wine and travel writer, she earned her WSET 2 and has worked on vineyards in Italy, France, and Austria.She lived in Paris and has traveled extensively throughout France; she learned to speak French at 19.She takes over a dozen international flights per year.She graduated from Skidmore College with a BA in Creative Non-fiction Writing and a Minor in French.
Contact Us
If you have questions, comments, or opinions you’d like to share with our team of editors, please feel free to email us at commercefeedback@people.inc.
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