As a new year begins, so do new travel plans. I crisscrossed the globe in 2010 – from Shanghai to Sydney and Manhattan to Miami – and visited many hotels that left a lasting impression. Now that 2010 is over and 2011 has begun, I’ve put together my list of the must-see luxury hotels to [...]
Luxury Travel
Exclusive Resorts New York: Park Avenue Style
Imagine the ultimate luxury experience in New York. You walk out the front door of your apartment and make an instant decision: turn left and you’re on Park Avenue; turn right and you’re on Madison Avenue. Only a few feet from Hermes, Chloe, Dior and Harry Winston, within an hour you can be styled and accessorized [...]
Hotels
A Waltz Through Time: The Waldorf Astoria’s Starlight Roof
When I stepped into the historic room I was immediately transported to another time and place. The Starlight Roof at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City was an institution; a legend; the site of celebrities and debutantes, where romance oozed from the corners and love at first sight started from the moment the [...]
Lifestyle
Tutto va bene…
Sydney, Australia; Los Angeles, California; New York City; Shanghai, China; Hong Kong; Miami; Santa Monica; Bermuda; New York City (again); Toronto; Vancouver, Canada; Austin, Texas; Newport, Rhode Island; and back home again to Boston, Massachusetts. This year has taken me around the world and back again, and while not without its complications, this year has [...]
Hotels
Eloise Still Runs the Show at the Plaza Hotel
If Eloise were in her 30s and living at New York’s The Plaza hotel, I suspect her life would be something like this: The familiar bellman opens her car door as she pulls into the horseshoe drive on Fifth Avenue at Central Park South. She’s probably on her cell phone or thumbing through her iPhone, [...]
Food & Wine
Long Island Wine Country
New York is known for many things – Times Square, The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Bronx Zoo, “Sex and the City” – but wine? In fact, New York’s Long Island hosts some of the best vineyards on the east coast. Just north of Manhattan is Long Island wine country and home of some [...]
People & Culture
Through the Eyes of Love: Eileen & Rudy in New York
I saw them walking slowly out of the corner of my eye. She moved at a crawling pace, carefully shuffling her feet one in front of the other while still holding on to him. Dressed in casual tan pants, a bright orange sweater and matching cardigan, she was perfectly put together from head to toe [...]
Food & Wine
Beyond the Boudoir: Hotel Rooftop Bars
My new favorite thing about hotels: rooftop bars. On a recent trip to New York City, I happened to stay at two different hotels, each with a rooftop bar. This wasn’t a requirement for my booking, but it was a nice amenity to my stay. Rooftop bars have grown up over the years. Plastic chairs [...]
Travel Journal
Fall Planning: New York, Miami and Mexico
A quick recipe for rejuvenation is a long weekend at a great hotel in a familiar city, add in a spa treatment and an excellent meal at a new restaurant, and you’ll feel revived and ready to go. Sometimes, these escapes are as simple as booking a hotel room in your own city. Other times, [...]
