Please Note: We Tapped Rich People Shit To Bring You The First White Luggage Travel Guide
Peptide Stacks, Private Equity, White Luggage—Rich People Shit
The idea to collaborate with Carson Griffith, author of RPS, began as many good ones do — in the Chat. Cassandra floated it casually, wondering whether our readers would jointly want a White Luggage travel guide for spring. Think lifestyles of the chic and famous. You know. Rich people shit.
The timing for this guide felt right. Winter, at least on the East Coast, has dragged on, and the broader mood hasn’t exactly helped. The news cycle is relentless, the world feels a little unhinged, and suddenly the idea of staying put feels less virtuous than it does foolish. For some, the arrival of spring is dictated by school calendars. For others, it’s the moment when leaving stops feeling indulgent and starts feeling necessary—light the skinny cigarette, book the suite, get out while you still can.
White luggage, in this context, is both literal and coded. Think a white Rimowa, or something similarly pristine and conspicuous. It implies a certain kind of trip: somewhere private, somewhere intentional, and somewhere worth flying to in a way that does not involve a boarding group. This is luggage that does not survive being tossed onto a conveyor belt or dragged across an airport parking lot. It dents. It scuffs. It gives everything away. White luggage assumes you are not checking bags. It assumes white-glove handling in the old sense of the phrase: nothing rushed, nothing slammed, nothing treated as expendable. It suggests discretion, care, and most of all, a destination chosen with purpose.
Then reality checked us, gently. Cassandra shared a message from a friend: you must be kidding. I have no children and I haven’t had spring break in thirty years. Glamorous people don’t go on spring break. They don’t even talk about it.
We cringed. But we also laughed. And we took the note. “Spring break,” after all, is a phrase with baggage. It conjures college beaches and wristbands and a version of tequila best left in the past. It is not how most people over a certain age and possessing a certain taste level would ever describe what they’re doing.
Call it what you want. Spring holiday. March escape. Early-season reset. A ski trip timed just before the snow softens. A warm-weather interlude when the rest of the country is still in coats. Whatever the name, the impulse is the same. When winter stretches on long enough, even the most disciplined people we know leave town. Most of them just do it quietly and not on a cruise ship.
So we asked them. We asked friends with good taste and better timing. We asked people who travel constantly and people who disappear precisely to avoid it. We asked where they go when they want sun without spectacle, privacy without isolation, indulgence without chaos. The answers were specific, consistent, and sometimes surprising. This guide is the result. It also reflects our work.
Cassandra is the founder of Violet Grey and Madame Grey, and has built a business around the art of curation. Her work is guided by taste, and by the belief that selection itself is a form of authorship. Carson is an award-winning journalist and author, whose work regularly appears in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other places where culture and influence quietly intersect.
The collaboration itself felt inevitable. Cassandra joined Substack in September, but the real beginning happened earlier, on the white couches in her living room—once owned by Joan Didion—where we sat and plotted, edited, and talked through what Please Note by Cassandra Grey could be. Posts were massaged and ideas sharpened. Carson had been sitting on the Rich People Shit domain for more than a year, encouraging everyone else to launch while finding reasons not to. Imposter syndrome is patient. It waits. Less than a month in, Carson has joined Cassandra as being fully obsessed.
That’s part of the appeal. At its best, Substack is collaborative. It rewards curiosity and generosity. It’s an all-ships-rise place, and the culture skews generous. The people who don’t understand that—who treat it as competitive or zero-sum—tend to stand out quickly. They are the outliers. For everyone else, the sense that the platform works better when people work together is part of what makes it addictive.
So with that, today, we’re launching the first White Luggage Travel Guide. The rest is between you and your calendar.
Where To Go:
Saint Barth
No surprise, a meaningful portion of the chic migrate to Saint Barth over spring break, including one of Cassandra’s closest friends, Elizabeth Sulcer, and longtime collaborator Violette. Cassandra has her eye on Cheval Blanc, a discreet, tightly run hotel where everything feels anticipated rather than explained; other reliable options include Eden Rock (rooms with hot tubs), Fouquet’s Saint-Barth, and Hotel Christopher. March 12–15 coincides with the Bucket Regatta, which Carson, an amateur sailor, considers one of the island’s most underrated moments: insider without being exclusionary, social without being chaotic, and unusually good for all ages. The ferry from Saint Martin is known as “Saint Barf,” and not affectionately, which is precisely why the short flight over is worth it. And unless you already know the island, or the maître d’s personally, hotels remain the real gatekeepers to the best restaurant reservations, which is why Airbnbs so often turn out to be a false economy. Dr. Barbara Sturm swears by the hike to Colombier Beach. As for why St. Barth continues to exert such gravitational pull, the signal is visible from the harbor: during the 2025–26 season, Gustavia hosted a record 226 superyachts with combined vessel values in the billions, a quiet reminder that for a few weeks each year, this small island becomes one of the densest concentrations of private wealth anywhere in the world.
Big Sky, MT
In case you missed the recent Wall Street Journal coverage (we didn’t), Big Sky has quietly become home to the most expensive real estate in Montana, even as it works very hard not to look like it. Yellowstone Club sits about thirty minutes outside town, access still very much contingent on knowing someone, but in Big Sky proper the pleasures skew intentionally old-school. Lone Mountain Ranch does a horse-drawn sleigh ride to a candlelit cabin where cowboys sing at dinner, Everett’s 8800 is the top-of-the-mountain lunch stop, and nights are for M by The Alinea Group, a limited-run residency by Chef Grant Achatz that’s in town through March and is, quietly, the hardest reservation to land. One&Only Moonlight Basin is the best place to stay if you aren’t renting a house, though both One&Only and Montage now offer ski butlers, a detail that feels almost surreal given how understated everything else remains. Rhode and Net-a-Porter each did their own pop-ups in town this season, both notably low-key despite the money swirling around them. “It is absolutely the place where all the glam snow people are,” laughs Sam Achatz. After a roughly $150 million, decade-long investment in lifts and infrastructure, Big Sky now has some of the most advanced skiing in the country, yet dressing up still means jeans, cowboy boots, and maybe a hat. It’s the anti-Aspen, even if at this point the money is the same.
Upstate New York
If what you need is a country reset, may we suggest Upstate New York. The Hudson Valley does the trick. Cassandra’s country house certainly does (it was featured in Vogue, if you’re curious), but you don’t need a deed to pull this off. A well-chosen Airbnb works just as well, especially if you invite another family and let the weekend organize itself (we would book this or this). Hudson is where most people base if they want an actual town: restaurants, bars, a reason to put on real clothes. Consider The Maker — a hushed, adults-only design-forward manor where handcrafted furniture and in-house apothecary scents make you feel curated rather than curated-for — and Wildflower Farms, Auberge Collection in Gardiner, which is a light-filled lodge set on 140 acres with bespoke cabins and farm-to-table dining. From there, Windham Mountain Club, a members-club disguised as a ski destination, is an easy add-on—about an hour’s drive north, depending on weather and weekend traffic. The skiing is still reliable, the days have built-in structure, and the nights take care of themselves with things like Cin Cin! après and the occasional dinner party.
Palm Beach, FL
Palm Beach has been managing the late-winter, early-spring migration for decades, and it shows. The Residences at The Colony Hotel have been the go-to for the past few years, including the goop Villa and Villa Jasmine by friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Aerin Lauder, which leave very little to improve upon whether you’re talking space, design, or location. The Polo Room Palm Beach, which opened in December and should not be confused with its New York counterpart, is the reservation right now, drawing a crowd that feels both international and deeply local. The restaurant is co-owned by world-famous polo player Nacho Figueras, and the menu nods to his Argentinian roots without overplaying them. An amateur polo player herself, Carson suggests tacking a match onto the itinerary in nearby Wellington, where the season runs January through April at the National Polo Center. Sundays are the move, with matches unfolding alongside brunch tables set directly at the field. For tennis, the best lessons are at The Breakers with Ken Thompson. He has held the role for more than forty years and has taught everyone from Andre Agassi to Fortune 500 CEOs. You do need to be a guest to book time with him, which only adds to the appeal.
Kyoto, Japan
Everyone defaults to Tokyo. In the spring, Kyoto is the better move. Kyoto is at its best as cherry blossom season begins, usually late March into early April, with peak bloom landing in the first week of April if the weather behaves. This is the narrow window before the city turns into a procession. Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto makes the timing workable, especially with kids, and quietly absorbs the logistics so days can revolve around temple visits, kimono fittings, rickshaw rides, and an afternoon with teamLab without needing to rush. The way to do Kyoto now is midweek and off the main circuit. Skip the temples everyone posts from and spend time at places like Imakumano Kannon-ji or Unryū-in, where you are not being moved along or timed. Rokakudō Temple is worth prioritizing for its weeping cherries, which tend to bloom about a week earlier and let you arrive slightly ahead of everyone else. Timing here is everything. Start watching the Japan Weather Association in mid-February and be prepared to adjust. Kyoto in spring is precise. You either get it right, or you miss it.
Mustique Island
Steeped in history and a little mythmaking, Mustique sits in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, roughly a hundred miles west of Barbados. Over the years it has drawn Mick Jagger (who owns a villa), David Bowie, Kate Moss, Hugh Grant, and members of the British royal family, including King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Cassandra was there last year with Jules, his best friend, and one very game mom, and can confirm it still holds. They highly recommend. (Carson celebrated her 30th birthday an undisclosed amount of years ago in Les Jolies Eaux, which was the Villa that formerly belonged to Princess Margaret and retained much of her same staff.) If a villa is too much space for you, we suggest The Cotton House, “the only hotel on the island of Mustique.” But wherever you choose to stay, make sure you visit Basil’s Bar, which is an open-air beachside landmark where the whole island tends to congregate. And a final note on privacy: depending on who is visiting, a no-fly zone is put in place over the island itself when royalty or VIPs are in residence—no helicopters, planes, or drones—ensuring the utmost discretion.
Marrakech, Morocco
When we asked Miranda Brooks if we could share her travel habits with the Substack community, she agreed immediately, with the caveat that she tends to stay wherever she’s currently working on a garden. That, she said, is where she feels most at home. Her children, she added, have been “occasionally willing helpers,” which in practice means they travel alongside active projects rather than vacations as such. February holidays, she noted, have meant Antigua for the past eight years, paired with a garden she’s been developing there. Easter, meanwhile, reliably points to Morocco and another garden, with the observation that families with children tend to favor Beldi Country Club for its space, informality, and lack of spectacle. The Beldi Hotel, part of the larger country club outside Marrakech, it is. Our mutual friend Carole Radziwill, by contrast, prefers La Mamounia, a choice that has been quietly reinforced over the years and later immortalized in pop culture via the Anna Delvey saga.
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Demi Moore shared that “the island has no cars, just golf carts, so it is super kid friendly.” That alone explains much of the appeal of Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos. Reached by boat, the private island has long drawn people who want separation without friction, with wide beaches, shallow water, and a pace that never asks you to do more than you feel like doing. The island is anchored by COMO Parrot Cay, which keeps things pared back and wellness-focused without turning it into a program. Days tend to revolve around the beach, bikes, long lunches, and disappearing for hours without explanation, which is exactly why families return year after year. Cassandra also endorses Amanyara, which offers a different version of the same idea: more architectural, more expansive, and just as insulated. Parrot Cay works because nothing competes for your attention. Once you arrive, there is very little reason to leave.
“We don’t have a spring break in the UK.”
—Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice
Aspen, Colo.
Hope Smith does spring break in Aspen “with kids,” which she is quick to frame as a practical decision rather than a stylistic one. “I don’t think it’s chic,” she says. “It’s necessity, because skiing in Europe and my kids’ circadian clocks don’t work.” Before children, she admits, it was Megève one hundred percent, the French Alps version of winter that assumes no one has to be awake early. When it comes to where to stay, Hope doesn’t hedge. “I like my house best,” she says, “but Hotel Jerome, Auberge Collection is my next favorite hotel to stay.” Jerome still feels like the most natural hotel in town, social without being noisy, and the easiest default if a house rental or a friend’s place is not an option. (A 2025 analysis of ultra-wealthy homeowners found that Aspen has the highest concentration of people with more than $30 million in residential real estate in the United States, and the second-highest in the world, behind only Monaco.) The Little Nell is the other obvious choice, and a beautiful one, especially if you want to feel embedded in the mountain itself. Ski-in, ski-out, discreetly polished, and quietly social. For lunch, we would skip Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro and getting sprayed with champagne and aim instead for the Aspen Mountain Club, assuming you can tag along with a member.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Palm Springs is best before anyone starts talking about Coachella, and Kim Kardashian agrees. She told us her spring break default with the kids is her place in Palm Springs, which makes this a phone-a-friend, or friends-with-houses destination. If you don’t have a friend in the 92262 zip code, Sensei Porcupine Creek, the Larry Ellison–owned, adults-only retreat in Rancho Mirage, is the place to go: an ultra-private 230-acre setting with impeccable golf and tennis, quietly rigorous science-backed wellness programming, and a level of calm precision that borders on monastic luxury — and Cassandra once said the salmon burger there is so good it could be her last meal. The desert has a habit of being bright and dry when the rest of Southern California is gray, and Palm Springs still gets sun most days of the year, roughly 350 by most counts, which is why people who know plan around it. Modernism Week runs February 12–22, 2026, quietly taking over the city with house tours, talks, and a design-heavy crowd. Timing matters. You want to be gone well before Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which runs April 10–12 and April 17–19. This year’s lineup includes Justin Bieber, one of Cassandra’s favorites, but unless you’re there for the festival itself (and are in Bieber’s entourage), Palm Springs is better before the desert shifts gears.
What To Pack:
Put It in the Bag: In Flight Essentials
Start with a train case, the only functional yet chic carrying case for all your travel essentials. Our favorites are this one in white (available on TRR), and the matching passport case, this, and this + matching passport case. We also always pack this chic cosmetics case from Zitomer’s. Jewelry travels first class in this, this, or this.
These are dressed in these chic cases and live in every piece of luggage that comes with me. It’s a fruit salad! This pop of red is chic against white luggage, too. We also pack the best global travel adapter + monogrammed leather case, and the only headphones for travel—noise cancellation is key. Our daily supplements travel with us in silver, gold, or black lacquer. The Aries candle always accompanies us as well, we burn it immediately upon arrival to clear the energy and ground.
Proper foot comfort is vital. We slip into a pair of slides—these are our favorites (leather, a new leather style, suede, suede in chocolate, the French classic, and the Italian alpaca slippers). If you’re flying to a winter destination, these are the cutest.
We always travel in cashmere, head to toe. On our bodies, we’ll wear a set like these pants + a matching tee, or this Carlyle collab (pants + top), and top it off with a light trench to enrobe us. A chic shawl that doubles as a travel blanket is a must. This cashmere set is easy to pack and comes with all the soft knit essentials in one. Silk for sleeping. Sunnies when you wake up.
Please Note: Our travel credit card of choice is the Amex Platinum, but we may consider switching to Chase Sapphire, contingent on the surprise and delight perks.
These changed our lives: revolutionary skincare wipes that cleanse, hydrate, and feel so good. We carry them on us at all times while traveling and open one as soon as we’re situated. Spritz throughout the flight. Apply face and eye masks. Laser and depuff when inevitably bored. Moisturize often; very often. This serum always travels with us, as does this SPF and these portable night mask packs.
To maintain your blowout or perfect waves in flight: this petite brush is perfect for always but especially perfect for travel. Protect your blowout with silk. Twist sections and clip back to maintain your style. Then rest your eyes in Hermès (opt for a silk cloud or a leather butterfly).
Upon landing, we open our chic little makeup bags to freshen up with this, this, and a rinse of this. And obviously the travel size of the fragrance we don’t leave home without it. Touch up with a few strokes of this, a dab of this, and a tap of this, and swipe of this, and you’ve just done the impossible—stepped off a plane looking more fresh than when you boarded. Thankfully it all fits in the train case.
To ensure your shower maintains its standard of excellence, bring this bar in the new greens scent. Grounding yet fresh. Even the fluffiest hotel towel doesn’t hold a candle to this towel for your hair, it must come with us.
Please Note: While traveling, our Tiffany’s stationery is embossed with traveling. We recommend you make an appointment to order your own.
Comment where you’re going, we want to know!
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