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Samantha Shankman

@samtravels

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Journalist who traded NYC for Spanish countryside.
🤠Curator of farm hotels & shops @farmhospitality
👇🏾Newsletter or [email protected]

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Farm hotels are small universes where agriculture shapes how we eat, rest, & spend our time.

But what looks like a hotel is something else entirely! The sum of its ingredients are greater than its parts!
 A farm. A restaurant. A workshop. A gathering place. A slower, more grounded way of living… if only for a few days.

I’ve started calling this category @farmhospitality .

What elements of farm hospitality are missing here? And, what properties belong on this list?

#farmhospitality #agritourism #regenerativeag #hospitalitydesign #farmtotable taken in Babylonstoren by @samtravels

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This is the article I’ve wanted for write for more than 5 years. There was a moment some time between growing biodynamic vegetables on the Catalan coast and reporting out travel trends in South Africa and exploring the American West where I saw something emerging that didn’t quite have a name; a special kind place that merged land and beauty and history and taste in one. I sensed the forming of this concept, and then began to seek out its expression, one by one, across the globe.

The more I spoke with the founders of these properties and walked their grounds in awe, a swelling in my chest, the clearer the pattern became: You can achieve everything society defines as success — the job, the status, the lifestyle, the look, the number in the bank account — and still find yourself longing for something far more instinctual.

A quiet place to eat real food with people you love. A fire, a field, a sky full of stars. A sense of continuity between what once was and what will be. Beauty, made by both man and God. That’s what these spaces offer.

This idea of farm hospitality is a modern evolution of agritourism that blends agriculture, hospitality, design, stewardship, and creative entrepreneurship in one. Each property’s approach to regenerative agriculture varies, from the cosmic intelligence imbued in biodynamics to the innate trust that infiltrates agroforestry, but the vibration of what’s being meticulously built season after season is as steadfast and true as anything I’ve discovered as a journalist.

#agritourism #farmhospitality #farmtour #hospitality #traveltrends by @samtravels

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The magical part of farm hospitality is that there is no competition. We can share learnings & insights because your farm in the forests of Washington can do just as much good as mine in the dry plains of Spain. So bringing together six owners, farmers, & leaders working on these projects in different corners of the globe is the ultimate mastermind.

Thank you @regenerativetravel for curating this group & your diligence @amandahonyc in supporting these special places.

Should we make a farm hospitality mastermind a more regular thing?

#farmhospitality #agritourism #regenerativefarming #regenerativetravel #permaculture by @samtravels

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Register at the link 🔗 in our bio for our upcoming panel at #GatheringGrounds on — Farm Hospitality and the Future of Regenerative Land⁠
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Across the world, some of the most compelling stays now begin in the soil. Hotels and lodges are restoring degraded land, reviving heritage crops, rewilding farmland and building food systems that feed guests, staff and surrounding communities. This panel explores how farm hospitality can become a genuine engine for regenerative agriculture, and what it takes to make that model work on the ground. Speakers share how they balance guest experience with the slow, unglamorous work of rebuilding soil health, water cycles and biodiversity.⁠
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Moderator⁠
Samantha Shankman, Founder, Farm Hospitality⁠ (@samtravels)
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Speakers⁠
Amanda Harris — Head of Permaculture, Playa Viva⁠ (@playaviva)
Fleur Huijskens — Owner, Sterrekopje Farm⁠ (@sterrekopjefarm)
Jannicke Haug Doksæter — Owner, Skåbu Fjellhotell⁠ (@skabufjellhotell)
Barbara van Teeffelen — Owner, Keythorpe Hall⁠ (@keythorpe_hall)
Luís Teixeira — Owner, Herdade da Cortesia⁠ (@herdadedacortesiahotel)
Remi Giromella — Director of Quality Control, The Datai Langkawi⁠ (@thedatailangkawi)
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Last chance to join us tomorrow at the link in our bio!⁠
#regenerativetravel #farmhospitality by @samtravels

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Glorious autumn, or as they say in Catalan, “tardor.” All of these are taken within 10 minutes of the farm.

One thing I love about this countryside is how integrated the seasons are into every day life. Hazelnuts, grapes, pomegranates, almonds, olives — all celebrated for coming to season in markets & school & culture.

I couldn’t stop myself from whipping out my phone to snap a photo of the blue skies. Maybe it was the week of rain I missed so I came home to every shade green or fresh cool air after months of heat, but I am relishing in this otoño before it turns to ski season.

#spain #cataluna #otono #autumn harvest taken in Spain by @samtravels

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There’s this Bible verse that says childbirth sanctifies a woman, and I can only speak from my lived experience, but every pregnancy and birth has brought me one leap closer to feeling like I’m in Mario Kart, passing through that Super Star of energy that makes you somewhat invincible. ⭐️

It’s also a christening into a new stage of life, and each time, it’s taken me a while to reconfigure myself internally to prepare for the next level up. The summer heat & her arrival made for a heady start of the season and I’m grateful to have found my footing for a new way of life by autumn.

Ultimately, we pray for a healthy, happy baby girl and a family built on peace and joy. 🤍 Lucky, grateful me. by @samtravels

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I flew back to Europe & started a new season.🍁

All backed by the agricultural principles behind biodynamics that can apply to every day life too. In the biodynamic calendar, there are root, flower, leaf, and fruit days. Root days - like October 6 - are associated with tending what’s beneath the surface. On root days, you prune what’s extra so what’s essential can grow back stronger.

So if Samuel is right and our power is held in our hair, here’s my commitment to a stronger season ahead.

Swipe to the end to see the hair that fell to my hips on Sunday in NYC & excuse the eye bags bc I landed 24 hours behind this ✈️

Chopped at my favorite salon in Barcelona @alegrabcn @by_alexcortes by @samtravels

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48 hours in Manhattan starting with the sweetest stop just north to see my aunt & brother & family before celebrating my dear friend’s wedding in the classiest way possible. A random collection of moments from the farmer’s market to the city’s most cherished cathedral. I love you all, and I’ll always really be a New Yorker at heart. 🤍 taken in New York, New York by @samtravels

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The deeper I dug into each of their stories, the more I started to unspool the golden thread of what I would come to call ~ legacy-led farm hospitality ~.

We can get everything we’ve ever dreamed of when it comes to financial and professional success, and eventually most people want something pretty similar:

A peaceful, beautiful corner of the world to eat real food with the people they love.

And if you’re a smaller farm owner thinking, I could never develop my land at this level, that’s the whole point. Many people want what you already have: the land, the time, their hands doing something real.

I wrote about the people, properties, and ideas behind legacy-led farm hospitality, and why I think these projects matter and are worth celebrating.

Comment LEGACY and I’ll send you the full piece.

#farmhospitality #farmhotels #agritourism #regenerativeagriculture #conservation by @samtravels

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2 months ago

The opening of English farm hotel @heckfield_place in 2018 marked the beginning of an evolution in rural tourism in the UK and beyond, per @travelandleisure in its September 2026 issue.

Journalist Michelle Tchea asked me to break down the rise of farm hospitality and the farms opening their gates to visitors; like @sibbjans in Sweden, @chateauderaymontpierre in Switzerland, @borgosantopietro in Italy, and @azumefar.koiwai in Japan — among other exciting openings like @theselvedgeinn from @singlethreadfarms and @worldofquercus and @___omos .

Swipe through for some insights from the piece or pick up the September print issue of Travel + Leisure to see that nice @farmhospitality mention in ink. I’ll be grabbing my copy in New York in September!

Thank you @my_little_soho_life for your great reporting.

#farmhospitality #agritourism #farmhotels #travelandleisuremagazine #traveltrends by @samtravels

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I adore you! Thanks for being the crunchy mom making quinoa in 2004 & teaching us it’s always OK to go our own way. by @samtravels

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