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The Breakers, Palm Beach 



High Tech Hotels: The Wit Doubletree, Chicago

My piece for PCMag.com on theWit hotel in Chicago.The first in a series about hotels across the country that are technologically advanced, and setting a new standard for the hospitality industry. Posted at 09:28 PM in business travel, chicago, design, hotels, technology | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: chicago, high tech hotels, hotels, the wit hotel, travel technology


 




Madrid. And then some. New city guide from Design*Sponge - Madrid.

Which makes me think of my dream portugal-spain roadtrip - If you're lucky enough to go on this driving trip through northern Portugal and northern Spain, AC Hotels is a chain of stylish, modern hotels you should know about. I especially love the Hotel AC Palacio De Santa Ana in Valladolid.

Posted at 01:17 PM in hotels, portugal, roadtrip, spain | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Tags: AC hotels, accommodations, portugal, roadtrips, spain


 When friends visit Manhattan, I wage an internal battle over where to take them. Because I keep a running list of "where to go next", I usually deal with the entertaining dilemma by emailing them excerpts from that list. In other words, "you choose". And truthfully, it's better than letting them pick a place unassisted - the last time I did that, I ended up at Dave & Busters. Last week it was the Bowery Hotel that was taken from my list. We'd dined at Kelly & Ping, had drinks at the Merc Bar until my friends were ready to go back to the hotel (pulling me away from sneaking glances at the very hot guy sitting at the table next to us) for a nightcap.

One of my friends, a Brit, said at dinner that night that he didn't like New York because it's just a 'wannabe London' (glad he cleared that up for us). He also commented on a place we went the last time they were in the city (on my suggestion) - a lowdown rock bar called Motor City. He told me that it was 'fake', not a real dive bar. As if the owners of Motor City were at a Lower East Side business development council meeting and said "Hey, we have a great idea for a theme bar! We'll call it Motor City and plaster band stickers all over the walls, play Motorhead really loud and model our bathroom after the one at CBGB's - you know, with a mirror that's blacked out, unflattering green lighting overhead and no toilet paper. Tourists will love it!"


The Brit loved the Bowery Hotel. It's the opposite of Motor City. Eye candy for the Lower East Side where visitors can feel like they're being edgy and experiencing "New York subculture". But the hotel has nothing to do with the neighborhood other than the address. Well, the old neighborhood at least. In some opinions, that's a good thing. For others, the verdict is still out. That said, it's a sexy place. The lobby and main lounge areas are filled with textural elements like mahogany walls, oriental rugs and tapestries in rich jewel tones and velvet lounge chairs. Lighting is low and warm. If the hotel were a person, it would be Marianne Faithfull; if it were music, it would be a Catherine Wheel song. The guest rooms stray from the feel of the lobby a bit, with hard-edged furniture and stark white walls in both bath and bedroom, giving the room a cold feel on first take. It takes a while (or a few glasses of wine) for the atmosphere to warm. Once you settle in, it's the purposeful details you'll start to notice. And my friend Amee says the minibar rocks. Posted at 11:38 PM in hotels, new york | Permalink | TrackBack (0)



Room 310 TED postscript, the important details of where I stayed: The Spindrift Inn, located right in the heart of Cannery Row. I wasn't sure what to expect, considering Steinbeck's pictorial description ~
Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses.
Of course, that was written in 1945 so things have changed as far as I could tell, save for the quality of light and me feeling like the gathered and scattered...
Each room at the Spindrift has a fireplace and is located either on the street side or on the water. The hotel feels as though you are staying in a warm and comfortable home, and the service was personal and attentive. My rate was $149 per night, the hotel has WiFi at $9.95/day, valet parking, Aveda amenities and spa services are available. TED aside, it was a great place to escape to and I will definitely go back.

Posted at 01:19 AM in california, hotels | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)



Free Your Mind 

Photo found on Flickr PopTech 2006

Tags: Camden, Maine, PopTech




On a recent mission to find reasonably priced hotels in Manhattan, I was pleasantly surprised... When I think about living in Manhattan, my vision does not include a 250-sq ft. 3rd floor walk up for $3k per month in Hell's Kitchen; rather, it is a 2b2ba, hardwood-floored, high-ceiling'd apartment with a view, located in a graceful building on a wide, quiet street. Last week I came close to the dream by staying in a small hotel on W 79th and Columbus called Park 79.

Gazing up at the front portico, the former apartment building is surrounded by grand architecture on tree-lined West 79th street. Fantasies emerged of what might lay inside... my perfect pied-a-terre. In reality, the hotel is not glamorous but the rooms are clean, comfortable and incredibly reasonable at $159+ per night. The bath felt brand new and was stocked with amenities - more than I expected at such a small property. A simple front lobby and incredibly accommodating staff provided a low key vibe that made me feel right at home. Park 79 is a lovely hotel for travelers wanting to experience a calmer, quieter Manhattan yet be close to great restaurants (Jacques Imo, Arte Cafe) and bars (Evelyn Lounge, Prohibition); or for locals who are tired of the downtown Soho House-Gansevoort-Bungalow 8 scene. On a balmy summer night, it is the perfect neighborhood to relax in.

The following night I moved myself to a completely different neighborhood, perhaps in a moment of temporary insanity - Times Square. Think: sweaty, humid, summer heat; a swarming tourist season and loud theater traffic. And it was garbage day.

Times Square is not a neighborhood I frequent. I spent plenty of time there when I was young and underage (fake IDs accepted)... it was dirty & crimeridden then and it is a neon-corporate-branding nightmare now. It is also the neighborhood where Hotel QT is located and I was intrigued. The vision of Andre Balazs (The Mercer, Chateau Marmont, The Standard), how could such a hip place exist in the heart of the city and be affordable?

Set in the middle of W 45th street with a bright orange and white sign, the hotel appears to barely fit on the block, it's so small. The lobby and front desk act as a newsstand so while you're checking in you can pick your poison (Sapphire Gin? Bikini for the pool? Trojans?). Front desk girls are gorgeous, of course, styled to complement the hotel decor and once you've got your room key, you're handed a card that informs you of the evening happenings on property. Most incredible is the pool that sits in the middle of the hotel, propped up in a glass room like a sculpture to be admired from every vantage point; while waiting for the elevator or chilling at the bar, you can watch the beautiful people get wet (theoretically, anyway).

Room 1401 was the size of my bathroom at home, but no matter - the design is so smart and efficient, I immediately understood it. The bed, situated on a platform with storage underneath, took up 50% of the space and overflowed with a huge comforter and pillows. A plasma television sat on the wall at the end of the bed and a small table with chairs occupied the rest of the space in the room. With a mini fridge in the closet, a lovely overhead shower in the bath and a rate of $169 per night, Hotel QT fit just right.

I felt I'd found two perfect city crash pads, each one telling a different New York story... until I left Hotel QT and noticed a curious building across the street... a gothic-looking structure, painted completely black with gaslights burning over the entrance. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I inquired at the QT front desk and was told that it is the Night Hotel. Sounds a bit scary, but I think I'll take the dare on my next overnight. If you must get into trouble...

Posted at 02:00 AM in hotels, new york | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tags: Hotels, New York, NYC






