The actress and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra Jonas has spent the years of the pandemic traveling for work a fair amount, jetting between London, where many of her 2021 projects were based, and her home in Los Angeles. But she’s yearning for a different kind of trip. “I feel like [with] COVID, so many of us are scared to travel for leisure. I want to take a holiday for fun!” says Chopra Jonas, who also welcomed her first child with husband Nick Jonas earlier in 2022. “I would go anywhere, honestly, but Hawaii would be awesome. We were planning on going and then it didn't happen.”
As part of a new campaign with ALL - Accor Live Limitless, the loyalty program for the Accor hospitality group, Chopra Jonas is encouraging travelers—and it turns out, herself—to finally allow themselves to dream a bit bigger when planning vacations. In anticipation, she chatted with Condé Nast Traveler about the Montreal food scene, her perfect day in Paris, and how she handles all those long-haul flights.
Her packing style:
I'm a very efficient packer. I don't know if you can tell, but I love lists. I usually know, when I'm going on a trip, what I'm doing on that trip, and I like to plan for that specifically. My travel tip is: Make sure you take two or three basic things, which you can repeat with multiple outfits. Jeans, shoes, bags add a spark to whatever you're wearing. I go through my days and I know exactly what I need to take. I like to be planned and packed in a way that I wouldn't need to buy anything in the new city that I go to. Then if I want to, that's different.
Her strategy for long-haul flights:
Oh, I have a plan. One of the longer flights that I usually take is Los Angeles to Dubai to go to Mumbai, or L.A. to London to go to Europe. Both of those flights I do very frequently, but I love a long flight, because when you get to the airport, after you’re checked in and everything, I love sitting in the lounge and making sure that I look at all the snacks, have a glass of wine. Then I get onto the flight, and I’ll change into my comfies, wearing anything that is super comfortable during the flight so I’m not staining the clothes that I wore. I moisturize my hands and feet, I put my socks on, and I look at the menu, usually. I love to see what they're serving for food. I'm just curious about food wherever I go. Then I will check out the newest movies. If I'm in the mood for a classic, maybe a classic. I watch a movie, go to sleep, wake up 45 minutes before I land, change back into clothes I'm going to land into, freshen up, have an espresso, and I'm ready for my day.
What’s in her carry-on bag:
My moisturizer, whatever script I'm reading, a book. I will have a comfortable pair of shoes or a fancy pair of shoes, if I'm going somewhere. I usually land and go for a dinner or an event or work, so I'll always have whatever shoe I need for that. Weather practicality—because if I'm leaving from Los Angeles and it's cold in London, then I'll have a jacket.
A destination she thinks is underrated:
You know what? Singapore. I love Singapore, and I absolutely think it's one of the jewels in Asia's travel destinations. I love the hospitality in Singapore, from the airline to the city to the people to the food. I don't think a lot of people plan to go for holidays. People associate Singapore with a lot of business trips, but I went there for a movie once and I was there for 40 days and I really got to know the city and the people, and it's definitely underrated for holidays. The Raffles Singapore is amazing!
The areas of India she thinks more tourists should venture to:
Goa and Mumbai and the state of Kerala. Go up north to the Himalayas—I mean, that's the most incredible part of India. But India is so highly diverse and there are so many kinds of Indian experiences that you can have. It can be really fancy and a culinary experience, or it can be spiritual or it can be humbling. India is many, many things and you can spend a lifetime trying to discover her. Just getting lost in the country is really fun.
The place she could go a million times and never tire of it:
I love Paris and I've been there a million times and can keep going a million times. I usually stay at Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, and I love the balconies and just sitting outside, having my espresso and watching people go by. Then go down to the lobby and have breakfast at that restaurant and then walk in the cobble[stoned] streets of Paris. I could never get sick of that.
The city with a shockingly great food scene:
Montreal. Montreal has incredible food. I don't know why it's surprising because Montreal has such amazing influences from so many different cultures, but it was a really fun culinary experience.
The aspects of a hotel stay she looks forward to:
I love hotel amenities. That's what I like about the hotel experience, and in my job, I live in many, many hotels, and all kinds of hotels. I love to find a chocolate on my bed and I look at what chocolate it is. I love finding the products in the bathrooms, like the Fairmont has Le Labo products, and the fragrances of Le Labo are really nice. It's really a fun thing to—"Oh!"—discover when you go into the bathroom of a hotel. "Oh my gosh, amazing products!”