On a recent editorial trip to a small American city, I noted with pleasure (and relief) that at every single restaurant we patronized, the waitstaff handed us menus. Long after the pandemic’s waning, QR codes have stubbornly persisted in lieu of paper. I sigh every time I see one in anticipation of the minor aggravation of awkwardly toggling among food, cocktail and wine lists. More important, I prefer to put my phone away at the dining table. 

Physical publications have become something of a luxury nowadays, and since they’re a luxury, we embrace them. Print members should have by now received the latest iteration of the Andrew Harper Collection, a striking boxed set of (real) books that we think are the best guides to high-end travel around the world. And of course, we continue to publish the Hideaway Report each month. The newsletter has changed in the last 45 years — we have expanded it from eight pages to 16 and include more coverage of restaurants and sightseeing, among other improvements. But its core philosophy of providing unbiased reviews remains the same. Now in 2024, we also hope that the Hideaway Report offers readers a few moments of escape from flashing screens, political screeds and exhibitionistic “influencers.”