7 hot new London hotels
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 05 17th, 2013But how the times changed. As London prepared for two back-to-back mega events last year, the Queen’s Jubilee and the Summer Olympics, its hotel sector began to make some notable strides, the likes of which are still dazzling visitors. The new generation of hotels, all of which opened between 2011 and 2013, includes the work of starchitect David Chipperfield (Café Royal) and big-name designers like Kit Kemp, Tara Bernerd, Anouska Hempel and David Collins also got in on the action.
Departures: Best restaurants in London
Here are our favorites.
London’s French-expat scene congregates in Frog Alley, otherwise known as South Kensington, which is home to the Ampersand, a hotel opened in August 2012. All 110 of its rooms feature one of five central Victorian themes: botany, music, geometry, ornithology and astronomy. (Each takes inspiration from the nearby Natural History and Victoria & Albert museums.) Its new patisserie area, an underground cocktail bar, a library, a game room (featuring table tennis) and a high-tech, 24-hour gym bring things up to date. Rooms, from $225; 10 Harrington Rd.; 44-20/7589-5895.
Departures: Festive London teas
Thompson Hotels transplanted New York cool to London when it launched the modern, 85-room Belgraves in February 2012 in London’s ritzy Belgravia neighborhood near Sloane Square. Though the hotel’s designer, Tara Bernerd, is British — and contemporary pieces from local artists Miranda Donovan and Mat Collishaw hang in the halls — a combination of new leather, a spacious fitness center and a retro restaurant serving upgraded burgers, shrimp cocktails and pumpkin pie are pure Americana. Rooms, from $350; 20 Chesham Pl.; 44-20/7858-0100.
The pre-Olympics boom of luxury hotels includes this Knightsbridge property, which opened in May 2012 and eschews British florals and Empire-era chintz for a modernized 1920s look. Highlights include a handmade steel balustrade backed by a metallic wall adorned with sketches of Bulgari’s early-20th-century jewelry collections, glossy sapele-mahogany woodwork, silver chandeliers and an overall subdued design paying homage to the label’s early Italian silvercraft. Surrounded by columns and small cabanas, the 75-foot pool anchors the spa, which is composed of onyx, oak, Vicenza stone and Italian glass mosaics that lead to a vertical fireplace. Rooms, from $770; 171 Knightsbridge; 44-20/7151-1010.
Departures: Opulent hotel lobbies
The opulent Louis XVI decor and detailing of Café Royal, which opened in December 2012 and is nestled between Soho and Mayfair, is the work of British architect David Chipperfield. The grandiose property features a Champagne and caviar lounge with live entertainment, a spa and marble hammam and restored ballrooms once frequented by Elizabeth Taylor, the Beatles and Oscar Wilde. Rooms, from $530; 68 Regent St.; 44-20/7406-3333.
This opulent 294-room hotel — once home to the Ministry of Defense — reopened in the spring of 2011. Baccarat crystal, colorful flower arrangements and swirls of Calacatta Oro marble punctuate this Beaux-Arts gem, the product of a $488 million renovation. But the spa — London’s largest — is the real game changer. The four-story, 35,000-square-foot Espa Life at Corinthia spa and wellness center offers 15 treatment rooms, a monochromatic white spa lounge, a sauna encased in glass and a pool lined with steel. Guests can hit the on-site Harrods for a shopping spree and sip cocktails in the David Collins-designed Bassoon Bar before retiring to one of the seven plush suites with literary, drama or world-exploration themes. Rooms, from $500; Whitehall Pl.; 44-20/7930-8181.
Departures: Tucked-away city hotels
Kit Kemp, founder and chief designer of Firmdale Hotels, brought her signature British style to New York in 2009 with her Crosby Street property. But she got her start here at this tidy 38-room Regency townhouse overlooking a former cricket grounds in Marylebone. Though it was Firmdale’s first property in 1985, the dwelling was eventually de-flagged. It returned to the Firmdale family (and to the Design Hotels portfolio) in May 2012 after being gutted and “Kitted” out with chic, slightly eccentric touches like handwoven Argentinean rugs, bespoke wallpaper mocking vintage botanical prints and cricket-ball doorknobs. Two additional Firmdale properties are expected to open in the coming year, another in London and one in New York. Rooms, from $200; 39-40 Dorset Sq.; 44-20/7723-7874.
Another Design Hotels member opened in August 2012 in the understated La Suite West in the underrated Bayswater neighborhood, a quiet, leafy residential area adjacent to Hyde Park that is home to some of London’s best Asian food. The discreet 19th-century Victorian townhouse lurks behind hedges that make it easy to miss. But once inside guests enjoy an elegant lobby with a minimalist fireplace, relaxing rooms with handsome gray marble tubs, black lacquer shutters and fabrics in deep violet and brown hues, all thanks to British designer Anouska Hempel. Rooms, from $250; 41-51 Inverness Ter.; 44-20/7313-8484.
Departures: See more new London hotels
© 2010 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
read comments (0)10 classic American experiences
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 05 16th, 2013They weren’t necessarily the most patriotic, obvious or agreeable choices. NASCAR, bourbon, state fairs, Vegas, what’s not to love? Apparently, plenty.
There was scandal. There was outrage. There was name calling.
Because we’re gluttons for punishment — or maybe just because we think we actually can please all of the people all of the time — we’re back for round two.
Here’s our Volume II of the most authentically American experiences this country has to offer.
1. Seaside boardwalks
Boardwalks have been enhancing beachside amusement since long before the Drifters’ released their classic “Under the Boardwalk” in 1964.
The first boardwalk was built in Atlantic City in 1870, when a railroad conductor was asked to find a way to prevent sand from filling shorefront hotel entryways.
The innovation remains America’s favorite wooden path, showing up everywhere from Monopoly, which was inspired by “America’s Favorite Playground,” to the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” which takes place in Prohibition-era Atlantic City.
Of course, you don’t have to travel to Jersey to experience the joy of a lumber-pathed stroll; there are more than 60 boardwalks split between America’s coasts.
Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, includes roller coasters, carnival attractions, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and other slices of Americana. Out West, the Venice Boardwalk in California offers bodybuilders, artists, trinket sellers, magicians and boutique shops a place to be seen.
2. Pueblos and powwows
One of the most inspiring American experiences is witnessing the culture of the first Americans come alive in a spectacle of swirling, pulsing color.
Every April, approximately 3,000 Native American dancers and singers from roughly 700 tribes come together in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to compete and celebrate their heritage. The teams blend traditional style with modern, innovative techniques, so the result is more than just living history, it’s the evolution of a culture that most Americans think has all but died away.
In the same area are many pueblo sites that provide tours of cave dwellings and indigenous architecture.
Perhaps the most memorable is Taos Pueblo, 2½ hours northwest of Albuquerque. This village of adobe buildings has been continually occupied by Native Americans for more than a thousand years.
Taos Pueblo, 120 Veterans Highway, Taos, New Mexico; open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; closed for about 10 weeks in late winter and early spring; $10 for adults; 575-758-1028
Gathering of Nations, University of New Mexico Arena, Avenida Cesar Chavez, Albuquerque, New Mexico; 505-836-2810
3. Wrigley Field, Chicago
Forget national pastime — to some Americans, baseball is a national religion. Wrigley Field in Chicago, regardless of denomination, is their Vatican.
Boston’s Fenway Park has two years on Wrigley (the former was built in 1912), but Fenway has had more significant updates. Like a giant video display installed in 2000, and extra seats and luxury boxes that have been added time and time again.
By contrast, Wrigley has remained fairly true to its roots. It’s a classic jewel box design — green seats, open roof, exposed steel, brick, stone — with ball-swallowing ivy-covered walls.
There’s truly no better place to watch a game if you want a direct link to nearly a century of baseball history. If you’re in Chicago during the off-season, no worries. The park provides 90-minute tours year-round.
Wrigley Field, 1060 W. Addison St., Chicago; tours $24 for individuals; 773-388-8270
4. College football, anywhere (though Alabama ain’t bad)
Let’s not kid ourselves. Football is the true national sport of the 21st century.
While it doesn’t get much more American than the Super Bowl, we’d argue that the most enjoyable, purest way to experience the unique American-branded mixture of militant strategics, refined athleticism, brute force and exploitation of young labor is at a college football game.
Best to get there early enough to tailgate. Bonding with strangers, drinking and grilling beforehand is 72.4% of the experience.
Pretty much any stadium will do, but a game experience doesn’t get much better than at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the reigning national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. (Yes, we know, the barbecue is spicier and the cheerleaders are hotter at your team’s stadium, but we had to draw the line somewhere and “national champs” earns you the top spot on lists like this.)
Bryant-Denny Stadium, 920 Paul W. Bryant Dr., Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
5. Kentucky Derby
There’s one more sporting event we have to include on the list.
Sure, other countries have their horse races. But those competitions weren’t founded by the grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Also, those races don’t have a traditional drink made of bourbon (mint julep), nor do they encourage everyone to dress like a flamboyant Southern aristocrat. We’re talking bow ties, seersucker, bold pastels and spectacular hats that put British royal wedding attendees to shame.
Churchill Downs, 700 Central Ave., Louisville, Kentucky.; May 3-4, 2013; single day general admission $25-40; 502-636-4400
6. Burning Man
The first Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969 was one of the most pivotal moments in American cultural history. Five-hundred-thousand people came together to celebrate drugs, weirdness, creativity, individualism, beauty and sticking it to the Man.
What’s the direct descendant of Woodstock? Before you say Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza or any other trendy music festival — each of which is run by the Man — let us stop you.
The world’s largest festival of artistic expression is Burning Man.
The weeklong event held every year in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada is difficult to describe. As the website puts it, describing Burning Man is “like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind.”
Essentially 50,000 creative spirits gather in one of the most desolate areas in the continental United States to wear bizarre clothes, make art, do drugs, experience a new form of communal living, have a hell of a lot of fun and let their freak flags fly.
Burning Man; August 26-September 2, 2013; 415-863-5263
7. Soul food
It’s difficult to pin down the most American of foods. Almost every candidate has roots in other countries, but, of course, that’s what makes them American.
Soul food makes the top of the list because it’s delicious, unapologetically artery-clogging and it brings us face to face with our turbulent past.
African-American slaves on Southern plantations were often given scraps and leftovers to eat, and had to make do with whatever vegetables they could grow nearby and with little care, as so much time was spent working. From these restrictions arose some of the finest recipes in American cuisine.
There are thousands of spectacular soul food restaurants — many of the best are in the South — but Sylvia’s in New York is maybe the most well known.
Sylvia’s, 328 Lenox Ave., New York; 212-996-0660
8. Juke joints
While we’re in the region, one of America’s great art forms, Blues music, grew up in the juke joints of the South. Jukes arose after emancipation, taking the form of shacks and private houses where African-Americans gathered to listen to and play music, gamble and dance.
A few classic juke joints still remain, some along Highway 61, aka the Blues Highway, which stretches from New Orleans to the town of Wyoming, Minnesota, an American experience in and of itself. Po’ Monkey’s, opened in 1963 outside Merigold, Mississippi, is considered one of the last remaining original jukes. It’s only open Thursdays, and it’s not easy to get to, but the music and crowd make it worth the trip.
Po’ Monkey’s; Po Monkey Road, Merigold, Mississippi; 662-843-2712
9. Outdoor Christmas light displays
Sure, other countries have Christmas lights (or fairy lights, in the UK), but no one else takes it quite as seriously as Americans.
The lighting of the approximately 80-foot tall Norwood spruce at Rockefeller Center in New York is practically a national event. But the greatest displays of holiday spirit can be seen in more rural areas. Take Magical Night of Lights in Lake Lanier, Georgia, which consists of seven miles and millions of lights, or the six-mile long Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Magical Night of Lights, 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, Georgia; 770-945-8787
Winter Festival of Lights, 465 Lodge Dr., Wheeling, West Virginia; November 8, 2013-January 5, 2014; Sunday through Thursday until 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.; 800-624-6988
10. Megachurches
Americans know how to make praising Jesus memorable. Just look at Gospel music and tent revivals.
In modern times you needn’t look much further than Gospel brunches (wash away your sins from the night before with spiritual songs and mimosas) and megachurches.
Those giant boxes of worship are where thousands of Christians gather not simply to pray and praise, but in many cases to eat, shop and work out.
The United States has more than 1,300 of them, and more than 50 draw a weekly attendance between 10,000 and 45,000.
The mega-ist of American megachurches is Lakewood Church in Houston, led by senior pastor Joel Osteen. Every week his message is broadcast to 7 million viewers in more than 100 countries.
Lakewood Church; 3700 Southwest Freeway, Houston; 713-635-4151
7 hot new London hotels
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 05 10th, 2013But how the times changed. As London prepared for two back-to-back mega events last year, the Queen’s Jubilee and the Summer Olympics, its hotel sector began to make some notable strides, the likes of which are still dazzling visitors. The new generation of hotels, all of which opened between 2011 and 2013, includes the work of starchitect David Chipperfield (Café Royal) and big-name designers like Kit Kemp, Tara Bernerd, Anouska Hempel and David Collins also got in on the action.
Departures: Best restaurants in London
Here are our favorites.
London’s French-expat scene congregates in Frog Alley, otherwise known as South Kensington, which is home to the Ampersand, a hotel opened in August 2012. All 110 of its rooms feature one of five central Victorian themes: botany, music, geometry, ornithology and astronomy. (Each takes inspiration from the nearby Natural History and Victoria & Albert museums.) Its new patisserie area, an underground cocktail bar, a library, a game room (featuring table tennis) and a high-tech, 24-hour gym bring things up to date. Rooms, from $225; 10 Harrington Rd.; 44-20/7589-5895.
Departures: Festive London teas
Thompson Hotels transplanted New York cool to London when it launched the modern, 85-room Belgraves in February 2012 in London’s ritzy Belgravia neighborhood near Sloane Square. Though the hotel’s designer, Tara Bernerd, is British — and contemporary pieces from local artists Miranda Donovan and Mat Collishaw hang in the halls — a combination of new leather, a spacious fitness center and a retro restaurant serving upgraded burgers, shrimp cocktails and pumpkin pie are pure Americana. Rooms, from $350; 20 Chesham Pl.; 44-20/7858-0100.
The pre-Olympics boom of luxury hotels includes this Knightsbridge property, which opened in May 2012 and eschews British florals and Empire-era chintz for a modernized 1920s look. Highlights include a handmade steel balustrade backed by a metallic wall adorned with sketches of Bulgari’s early-20th-century jewelry collections, glossy sapele-mahogany woodwork, silver chandeliers and an overall subdued design paying homage to the label’s early Italian silvercraft. Surrounded by columns and small cabanas, the 75-foot pool anchors the spa, which is composed of onyx, oak, Vicenza stone and Italian glass mosaics that lead to a vertical fireplace. Rooms, from $770; 171 Knightsbridge; 44-20/7151-1010.
Departures: Opulent hotel lobbies
The opulent Louis XVI decor and detailing of Café Royal, which opened in December 2012 and is nestled between Soho and Mayfair, is the work of British architect David Chipperfield. The grandiose property features a Champagne and caviar lounge with live entertainment, a spa and marble hammam and restored ballrooms once frequented by Elizabeth Taylor, the Beatles and Oscar Wilde. Rooms, from $530; 68 Regent St.; 44-20/7406-3333.
This opulent 294-room hotel — once home to the Ministry of Defense — reopened in the spring of 2011. Baccarat crystal, colorful flower arrangements and swirls of Calacatta Oro marble punctuate this Beaux-Arts gem, the product of a $488 million renovation. But the spa — London’s largest — is the real game changer. The four-story, 35,000-square-foot Espa Life at Corinthia spa and wellness center offers 15 treatment rooms, a monochromatic white spa lounge, a sauna encased in glass and a pool lined with steel. Guests can hit the on-site Harrods for a shopping spree and sip cocktails in the David Collins-designed Bassoon Bar before retiring to one of the seven plush suites with literary, drama or world-exploration themes. Rooms, from $500; Whitehall Pl.; 44-20/7930-8181.
Departures: Tucked-away city hotels
Kit Kemp, founder and chief designer of Firmdale Hotels, brought her signature British style to New York in 2009 with her Crosby Street property. But she got her start here at this tidy 38-room Regency townhouse overlooking a former cricket grounds in Marylebone. Though it was Firmdale’s first property in 1985, the dwelling was eventually de-flagged. It returned to the Firmdale family (and to the Design Hotels portfolio) in May 2012 after being gutted and “Kitted” out with chic, slightly eccentric touches like handwoven Argentinean rugs, bespoke wallpaper mocking vintage botanical prints and cricket-ball doorknobs. Two additional Firmdale properties are expected to open in the coming year, another in London and one in New York. Rooms, from $200; 39-40 Dorset Sq.; 44-20/7723-7874.
Another Design Hotels member opened in August 2012 in the understated La Suite West in the underrated Bayswater neighborhood, a quiet, leafy residential area adjacent to Hyde Park that is home to some of London’s best Asian food. The discreet 19th-century Victorian townhouse lurks behind hedges that make it easy to miss. But once inside guests enjoy an elegant lobby with a minimalist fireplace, relaxing rooms with handsome gray marble tubs, black lacquer shutters and fabrics in deep violet and brown hues, all thanks to British designer Anouska Hempel. Rooms, from $250; 41-51 Inverness Ter.; 44-20/7313-8484.
Departures: See more new London hotels
© 2010 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
Finding God on your travels
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 04 20th, 2013
“But I’m not into organized religion,” you might say. You don’t have to be religious to appreciate a visit to a place others consider sacred. Even if you’re not specifically seeking the religious aspect of worship, there’s something special about thoughtfully witnessing and observing someone else’s faith in action. So why not get a spiritual boost by checking out houses of worship when you’re on the road?
“A lot of the richness in life comes from getting outside your own skin and experiencing the world beyond what you know and understand. If you open yourself up, you can have such experiences,” says Stuart M. Matlins, co-editor with Arthur J. Magida of “How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook.” The book shares easy-to-understand background on faith traditions ranging from Baptist to Buddhist, Jewish to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists to Sikhs.
“Typically, the way you are received depends on the way you behave,” says Matlins, who also is the founder of Jewish Lights Publishing and SkyLight Paths Publishing. He and wife, Antoinette, co-founded a Reform synagogue in Woodstock, Vermont, where Matlins served as lay spiritual leader for 19 years.
“I’ve never found a place where I was not welcome. The larger the place, the more likely they are to be welcoming of strangers, whether it’s a mosque, a synagogue or a church. That’s why I did this book — if you know the basics of what’s going to happen during the worship or the ritual, you’re less fearful of embarrassing yourself and intruding in the space of others.”
When I’m traveling abroad — but also when I’m visiting American cities — I often get up on Sunday mornings and attend some Christian service. I enjoy the religious aspect of worship, but it’s also about savoring local culture in one of its most authentic forms. And when you’re on the road alone, as I often am, these communal experiences offer the solo traveler a sense of belonging for an hour or two.
When previous reporting jobs took me to Manhattan, I’d go uptown to Harlem to visit Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the nation’s oldest African-American Baptist congregations. And I was hardly alone. Every week, groups of tourists from around the world do the same — but in such huge numbers that the church specifically addresses first-time visitors by making clear its worship “is not a gospel performance or entertainment of any kind.”
Abyssinian now has a tourist entry point where folks must queue for first-come, first-served seats at its 11 a.m. service only. And tourist or not, tank tops, flip-flops and shorts are not allowed.
What’s most important to remember, says Matlins, is that even though you’re a tourist, visiting a functioning house of worship is not just like walking through a museum.
Regardless of the place’s faith tradition, he says, “You’re sharing a very special moment with people, and be aware of that. The key thing is to open yourself to the experience so you are not just an observer, even though you are not a participant. You enter a space where you’re not participant or tourist, but as one might say, you’re in the moment.”
But how do you know if worshippers at, say, a Muslim mosque or a Buddhist or Hindu temple will welcome you?
Francis X. Clooney, the director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard, has found Hindu temples to be fluid places where “smaller and larger rites” take place during the day, not always according to a fixed schedule. But if one is welcomed in, usually one is welcomed for the worship that is in progress.”
When in doubt, he suggests “checking in advance, or at least at the door before entering.”
Adds Matlins: “If you know people who live in that place, ask them if they can take you to their house of worship, or where they know you would be welcome. I did that in Lahore, Pakistan. I had the same concerns, but we were meeting with someone who was a very religiously involved Muslim.
“I told him of my interest in attending service at a mosque. He said he would be happy to take me.” But Matlins has also wandered alone into a Hindu temple in Singapore and Buddhist temples in Japan, which many tourists do.
Of course, it never hurts to do some research before you go, checking out books and websites that offer insight into the cultures and faith traditions you hope to see up close.
For folks seeking out Christian experiences close to home or on the other side of the world, the Mystery Worshipper website offers about 2,000 candid, sometimes tongue-in-cheek reviews of church services around the globe. Its volunteer mystery worshippers drop in and serve up details on everything from sermon length to the comfort of the pews to the warmth of members’ welcome.
And it’s the friendliness-factor details that give travelers a measure of comfort and behind-the-scenes intel when visiting these places, from massive St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Fiji.
Curious, open-minded travelers also shouldn’t let their lack of a personal faith stop them from dropping into houses of worship.
“They don’t have to be a gourmet to appreciate a good meal,” Matlins reasons. “And you don’t have to be a person of faith to appreciate the beauty and passion of a religious experience. It is in a way like theater — part of the experience is to suspend disbelief, literally.”
Thinking about stopping into a living, breathing house of worship on your next trip? Matlins and Clooney suggest keeping these things in mind, regardless of the place’s faith tradition:
Be respectful. “You are in a place that is special and holy to other people,” Matlins says. “Dress and behave appropriately so you do not disturb their sense of the specialness and holiness of the place.”
Pay attention. You want to “be sensitive to what is expected of the visitor — either to hold back, or to participate more fully,” says Clooney. “Being too forward or too passive may both be offensive.” Also, “be careful to note where and how far into the space one is welcome. Some areas are more sacred than others.”
Follow along. Observe “the customs of the community — removing shoes, covering heads, the segregation of men and women, talking or not, taking photos or not, in accord with custom,” says Clooney.
Listen with your “third ear.” “You may not understand the language,” says Matlins, “but you can hear the feelings if you open yourself up to them.”
Sit in the back. Not only does it keep you from appearing intrusive, but it can minimize any innocent missteps. Suggests Matlins: “Do what you see other people do, unless it violates the tenets of your own faith.”
Who knows, perhaps through these spiritual experiences you’ll discover what so many travelers find: Despite people’s very real differences across nationalities, cultures and faiths, it’s what they share in common that matters.
Former religion reporter Maureen Jenkins is a freelance travel, food and lifestyles writer who’s visited nearly 35 countries and territories. She lives in Chicago and blogs at UrbanTravelGirl.com.
Don Draper’s New York
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 04 20th, 2013“Mad Men,” the AMC series that Rolling Stone called “the greatest TV drama of all time,” is back for a new season on Sunday. And though it’s filmed primarily in Los Angeles, the show is set in New York, and notable locations across the city turn up in the script as liberally as a heap of pastrami on rye.
In preparation for the season six premiere, we offer you this guide to the NYC haunts of ad exec Draper and his endlessly entertaining cohorts at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
EAT
On an episode titled “Red in the Face,” bosses-on-the-loose Draper and Roger Sterling spend their lunch — and expense accounts — taking full advantage of the eats and drinks at the venerable Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, some of which later embarrassingly ended up on the carpet at the feet of a group of potential clients. Hopefully you’ll have more restraint when you visit this 100-year-old seafood establishment on the lower level of Grand Central Station, where tourists mingle with commuters over martinis and platters of freshly shucked oysters and other fishy delights. 89 E. 42nd St., www.oysterbarny.com
Another celebration featuring our Mad Men stars, this time Draper and the lusty wife of an insult comic, took place at legendary restaurant Sardi’s. Even the framed celebrity caricatures on its walls were re-created for the scene. Located in the heart of the Theater District, Sardi’s has been a favorite with the Broadway crowd for more than 85 years (the Tony Awards were thought up here), and you’ll feel like a star just for having eaten here. 234 W. 44th St., www.sardis.com
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DRINK
The Roosevelt Hotel has been featured in a couple of “Mad Men” scenes, including one in which Draper retreats here after being kicked out of the house by his wife, Betty. A stay at this landmark hotel will have you feeling like a part of the show, especially since its decor gives it the appearance of an elaborate “Mad Men” set piece, but the place to really connect with the show is just past the lobby in the Madison Club Lounge.
On April 7, to coincide with the season premiere, the lounge will host a viewing party with complimentary whiskey tastings and a “Best ‘Mad Men’ Attire” contest. The festivities will continue with themed cocktails and an invitation for patrons to dress in their ’60s best each Sunday the show airs. 45 E. 45th St., www.theroosevelthotel.com
Remember Peggy and her colleagues doing the Twist at a local watering hole after she nailed the Belle Jolie presentation in season one? The site was P.J. Clarke’s, one of the oldest bars in New York. Truly a Big Apple institution and a popular hangout among ad execs in the 1960s, P.J. Clarke’s was once described by one of its beloved barmen as “the Vatican of saloons.” 915 Third Ave., www.pjclarkes.com
Mad men, mad ‘dos: What the late ’60s really looked like
STAY
When Draper and friends started their own agency at the end of season three, they set up shop, at least temporarily, in a suite at the Pierre hotel. The fabled lodging, which overlooks Central Park, was renovated and modernized a few years back, so your room might not ooze nostalgia. But if you close your eyes tight enough, you might just be able to imagine Joan typing away in the corner or Pete squawking on the phone with a client. 2 E. 61st St., www.tajhotels.com/pierre
Given that the Hotel Elysée in Midtown Manhattan is the scene of a lunchtime tryst between copywriter Peggy and a fellow named Duck from a rival agency, it’s only appropriate that the prestigious property is offering a special “Mad Men” package for fans of the show. It includes accommodations in one of its luxurious suites, which will be stocked with a dozen roses, strawberries and a box of chocolates, as well as two free cocktails either at the Monkey Bar or brought to your room. The package starts at $425 for a regular suite and $1,450 for a presidential suite. 60 E. 54th St., www.elyseehotel.com
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SHOP
In season one, Pete Campbell was caught returning a wedding gift at Bloomingdale’s, one of the city’s most legendary department stores, where stylish lads and ladies have been filling the brand’s signature Little Brown Bags with luxury goods since 1886. The doorman there to open the cab door for you only adds to the allure. 1000 Third Ave., www.bloomingdales.com
WORK
The pitchmen of Sterling Cooper officed at an address on Madison Avenue that doesn’t actually exist in real life, but a number of big-time ad agencies can be found along this historic avenue. Take a stroll down its sidewalks, and you’ll rub elbows with the idea men and women who churn out award-winning copy for powerhouse firms like DDB and TBWA and smaller boutique agencies like StrawberryFrog and MacDonald Media. Madison Avenue, primarily between 26th and 52nd Streets
Buzz abounds for the return of ‘Mad Men’
TOUR
If these classic “Mad Men” sights leave you wanting more, consider signing up for “The World of Mad Men: NYC During the Early 1960s” excursion from NYC Discovery Walking Tours. In addition to stops at spots like the ones noted above that have been mentioned on the show, you’ll visit iconic locations representative of the era, including the Pan Am Building and Lever House. Tours are scheduled for April 6 and 7, May 5 and June 22; tickets are $20. For reservations, call 212-465-3331.
Disney World’s New Fantasyland
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 04 18th, 2013“It gives guests another level of immersion,” says Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “We have technology to play with that Walt DIsney didn’t have.”
For instance, part of the expansion includes Beast’s Castle, which sits atop Be Our Guest restaurant. During lunch hours, guests order at touch-screen kiosks and take radio-frequency devices to their tables. Once the pager is placed on the table, servers know exactly where to deliver the food. And voila, meals arrive within minutes via a glass-enclosed cart.
“Everything is fresh, made to order, and for lunch we are hoping for the bustling kind of energy like the movie scene (from ‘Beauty and the Beast’) in the dining room,” says Lenny DeGeorge, Walt Disney World executive chef.
In the evening, the restaurant transforms into fancy table-service dining, inviting guests to feast upon French onion soup, mussels Provençal and charcuterie while sipping on French wines and beers. This is a first, since alcohol has never been served before in the Magic Kingdom.
In true Disney style, the decor inside and out is over the top. From the chandeliers to the walls to the terrazzo floor to the draperies, it’s all true to the movie. Even suits of armor that whisper to passersby line the hallway. Guests then make their way into the grand ballroom, which has an entire wall of arched windows, complete with magical snowflakes falling upon the French countryside.
Faith Lee, from Lake Mary, Florida, appreciates the extreme theming. “I felt like a kid again entering (Be Our Guest restaurant),” she says. “It completely recreates the details of Beast’s Castle to the most minute aspect.”
Other areas of New Fantasyland involve similar attention to detail, completely immersing guests in the beloved Disney stories. The expansion, which has been in the works for more than three years, introduces two new areas —- the Enchanted Forest, which focuses on Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, and Storybook Circus, an area inspired by the Disney animated feature “Dumbo.”
Have you been to New Fantasyland? Share your images
Major focus on character time
Outside, to the far left of Beast’s Castle is Maurice’s Cottage, a provincial abode that houses an enchanted mirror. It spectacularly transforms into a portal whisking guests into the story of Beauty and the Beast. Once in the Beast’s library, Enchanted Tales with Belle goes way beyond a typical meet and greet when Belle and friends invite guests to help act out the “tale as old as time.”
Next door at Prince Eric’s Castle, kids and adults alike will enjoy Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid (almost identical to the Disney California Adventure version). After walking through an interactive queue, guests board giant clamshells as animation and animatronics retell Ariel’s story. Afterward in Ariel’s Grotto, guests score one-on-one time with the redheaded mermaid herself as she poses for photos and signs autographs.
“For us, the Fantasyland expansion was more than we could have imagined,” Lee says. “It was like being immersed in the stories of Belle and Ariel, not just visiting attractions.”
Lee and her family were also impressed with Storybook Circus, which opened over the summer. This portion of the park includes a water play area, tame roller coaster and gift shop. The revamped Dumbo ride, with its new indoor queue lounge, is a crowd pleaser for parents who want to sit down for a bit and children who want to enjoy an elaborate playground. Guests receive a pager that virtually holds their place in line; it lights up when it’s time to board the ride. Another option is to grab a FastPass and wait in a traditional line outdoors.
Overall, the new additions certainly have Disney fans aflutter, but will this translate to an influx of Orlando visitors?
Danielle Courtenay, chief marketing officer for Visit Orlando, thinks so.
“When any major new attraction opens in Orlando, there’s always a positive impact in terms of increased awareness and interest in the destination,” she says. “With New Fantasyland being the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, we are certainly optimistic that it will impact visitation for 2013 and beyond.”
Coming soon
Princess Fairytale Hall is scheduled to open in 2013 in the former home of Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Located in the Castle Courtyard in the center of Fantasyland, it will be a place for guests to meet Disney princess characters.
Come early 2014, the finishing touch will be a roller coaster, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, in the heart of it all. This family thrill ride will be an experience somewhere in between the tame Barnstormer, a re-themed “beginner’s coaster,” and the classic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. With its patented train of vehicles that swing back and forth, the attraction will be the first of its kind.
Have you visited Disney World recently? Please share your experiences and tips in the comments section below.
Seattle’s budding economy: Pot tourism
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 04 8th, 2013On a recent chilly evening, an unmistakable smell has drifted across the street from an industrial space in the SODO neighborhood. Inside, a DJ spins an eclectic mix of rock while a man in a tie-dyed hoodie distributes cannabis-infused buttered rum and root beer-flavored hard candy to a diverse crowd of revelers. Another volunteer passes around a 12-foot-long “vape bag” filled with marijuana vapor — one way to get around the city’s indoor smoking ban.
Four glassblowers demonstrate the art of making bongs while attendees sip beer, munch on Greek meatballs, and dip an assortment of fruit, marshmallows and gummy worms in chocolate fountains.
If only the party wasn’t running low on grilled cheese sandwiches.
This “Member’s Frolic,” hosted by the organizers of a huge “protestival” called Hempfest, is but a fraction of the size of the annual pro-pot rally that drew an estimated 250,000 people to the Seattle waterfront last August.
But with last year’s legalization of recreational marijuana use for adults in both Colorado and Washington State, the gathering offers a telling preview of how a creative counterculture may be poised to go mainstream and reap the rewards of a new “green economy” based on pot tourism.
Just imagine how much the food truck vendors are salivating.
Despite a host of unanswered questions — not the least of which is whether federal authorities may harsh the mellow by filing a lawsuit that voids all recreational use — many so-called “ganjapreneurs” are treating the potential for marijuana tourism as a serious business. Recent calculations by a state-hired consultant projected that Washington State might earn up to $180 million in yearly tax revenue from marijuana sales (yes, retail pot shops), not to mention the revenue from a quickly growing list of related cottage industries.
On his blog, travel guru Arthur Frommer wrote that observers should expect a “torrent of new tourism to Seattle and Denver” due to marijuana legalization, and added both cities to his shortlist of hot destinations for 2013. Officials in New Zealand, British Columbia, and multiple U.S. states have openly wondered whether pot tourism might help fill their own coffers.
Sorting out new laws
In Washington State, residents over the age of 21 can now possess up to an ounce of cannabis, one pound of “a solid marijuana-infused product” like peanut butter fudge brownies, or 72 ounces of an infused liquid like a green tea smoothie. But as the Seattle Police Department helpfully notes in “Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle,” public puffing is still illegal, just as the state’s open container law prohibits public consumption of alcohol.
Pot smokers enter legal limbo in Washington, Colorado
Buying or selling marijuana won’t be legal until December, after Washington’s Liquor Control Board has ironed out all the necessary licensing and enforcement regulations. Police will be able to arrest drivers above the legal limit of 5 nanograms of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot, per milliliter of blood (officers already use roadside sobriety tests to issue DUI tickets, but the new law establishes a defined impairment level). And the police department dutifully notes that because it’s still illegal to grow, sell or possess any amount of marijuana under federal law, “you probably shouldn’t bring pot with you to the federal courthouse (or any other federal property).”
Naysayers have warned that an open embrace of pot tourism and ads that position Seattle or Denver as the Amsterdam of America could tarnish the cities’ reputations and invite illegal activity. Then again, both destinations already allow medical marijuana and have had a long history of tolerating the occasional toke.
In Seattle, Hempfest is a major tourist draw as one of the largest annual events in the Pacific Northwest, and minor pot possession has been the lowest enforcement priority of the police department for nearly a decade. Hempfest executive director Vivian McPeak has held brainstorming sessions on marijuana tourism with some city boosters — he calls it “vision-questing.” Publicly, however, government and tourism officials have taken a conspicuously low profile — a defensive posture that advocates say is likely due to fear of federal intervention.
Optimists assert that the Obama administration is unlikely to take a hard line against the end of pot prohibition here, and have been buoyed by a new Pew Research Center poll that is the first to show majority support among Americans for legalizing the drug. Pessimists, however, point out that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has regularly exercised its authority to shut down medical marijuana growers and dispensaries around the country. The clear contradiction between state and federal laws has left nearly everyone guessing whether parts or all of the new pro-dope reality may be, well, nipped in the bud.
Entrepreneurs making business plans
Even so, the opportunities are proving hard to resist. Hilary Bricken, lead attorney for the Canna Law Group, a practice area of Seattle-based law firm Harris & Moure, has fielded dozens of pitches from enthusiastic entrepreneurs seeking help in developing business models and navigating the legal issues. One company in the adult entertainment industry even sought her advice on branching out into hemp-based adult products.
“I’ve heard everything pitched to me from gaming lounges, where there would be a series of recliners and you can get stoned and play Xbox all day, to cannabis cafes where there’s a full menu that really adheres to the cannabinoids (the chemicals in cannabis) and how they affect your taste buds and your interaction with food,” Bricken says. Some entrepreneurs have talked up the idea of “evaluation bars,” where people could bring their own marijuana and experts would educate them on each strain’s composition and its potential effects, and Bricken says the sophistication level could eventually rival that of high-end wine purveyors.
Washington’s wine industry, in fact, is often cited among cannabis enthusiasts who envision similar tours through bucolic, organic pot farms. Bricken says she has already spoken with winemakers and commercial farmers in eastern Washington who are considering whether a certain new crop might help them tap into a big curiosity factor and generate new revenue. Cannabis farmers markets — currently limited to medical marijuana patients — also are popping up around the region and poised to expand their customer base.
Following the lead of several establishments in Colorado, at least two bars in the Seattle region have opened BYOP (bring your own pot) private clubs, while party promoters are gearing up for this month’s big “Studio 4/20″ bash, complete with acrobats, food trucks, a beer garden and a latex fashion show. Toking while drinking at local watering holes may be a fleeting attraction, however: the Washington State Liquor Control Board has begun a rulemaking process aimed specifically at banning marijuana consumption in bars that serve alcohol.
Christopher Russek, who runs a cannabis bakery called Zzyzyx out of his home in suburban Issaquah, is betting on marijuana edibles instead. Russek, who has a medical marijuana license due to a heart condition, provides fully-loaded confections like Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Brownies and Tie Dyed Rasta Cookies to other patients. He has fielded multiple inquiries from people who have come to Seattle on business or vacation, however, and views Washington’s new law as an “incredible” opportunity to add tourists to his business model. Does he see a baked goods storefront in his future if the law remains intact? “You can bet on it,” he says.
Seattle’s takes on pot tourism
Most tourists will need a guidebook, of course, and Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Seattle-based startup Leafly, is positioning his company to become the Fodor’s, ZAGAT and Yelp of cannabis. The company’s Leafly iPhone and Android apps, among the most popular of a burgeoning class of electronic ganja guides, help medical marijuana users chose among more than 500 strains (with names like Wonka’s Bubbilicious and Blue Dream), find nearby dispensaries, and then post their reviews.
Kennedy says the app already has the necessary code to add on retail locations in Colorado and Washington once they come online. In the meantime, he and two partners are using their Privateer Holdings equity firm and its $5 million-plus in capital from private investors to scout out other promising cannabis startups. In essence, Privateer is helping to fill the void left by skittish banks that have all but refused to grant loans to pot-friendly businesses until they discern which way the legal winds are blowing.
Despite the uncertainty, Bricken says companies are still rushing to join what she calls the “secondary risk market,” the modern-day equivalent of Seattle’s early entrepreneurs selling pickaxes, supplies, and services to prospectors seeking their fortune during the Yukon Gold Rush of the 1890s. Instead of directly providing marijuana — a model that may prove too risky for many — businesses are positioning themselves as experts in enhancing the experience.
“They’re coming up with things like ‘Cannabis Crawls,’ going from dispensary to dispensary and showing you how to get there and providing you with food and transportation along the way,” Bricken says. Others are creating art and merchandise ranging from coffee mugs to hand towels that depict some of the most popular marijuana strains.
Whatever tourism model emerges here, many observers say it’s likely to be uniquely Seattle. With the region’s long tradition of art glass, glassblowers are already setting their sights on the high-end cannabis crowd. One recent ad touting a $175 “Create Your Own Bong” class fizzled when only one person inquired. But other glass studios in the area say it’s no longer taboo for people inquiring about one or two-hour lessons to specifically ask whether they can make a bong or pipe instead of a “modified vase.”
At the recent Hempfest party, one of the four artisan glassblowers holds his partially molten creation aloft at the end of a blowpipe and parades it through the crowd as the bidding begins. It’s a detailed, richly colored and surprisingly large bong in the shape of a monkey wearing a yellow top hat and suit coat, and it fetches a winning bid of $350.
Behind a nearby table laden with smaller, handmade pipes fashioned from art glass and recycled guitar wood, a volunteer points out the grand prize for a raffle at Hempfest’s own upcoming “420 Fest”: a colorful hand-stitched quilt with a stylized marijuana leaf in its center panel. On the reverse side, a dark green camouflage motif features a grinning Scooby Doo in various poses.
Aspiring comic book artist Joshua Boulet has set up shop at a smaller table, with a duffel bag full of several issues of his tongue-in-cheek comic, “The Green Reefer,” which follows the antics of a pot-smoking anti-hero and his beer-drinking sidekick, Six-Pack. In many ways, Boulet is the embodiment of Seattle’s new entrepreneurial optimism. After attending Hempfest as a tourist last August, he fell in love with the city and moved from Dallas two months later. Boulet says he is now hoping to sell his comic books in Seattle’s thriving head shops — for $4.20, of course.
Grand Central fetes 100 years
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 03 28th, 2013Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, which turns 100 this month, is a glorious exception.
But it’s not just its iconic opal-faced clock (a century old and valued at more than $10 million), flawless marble staircases (modeled on those in the Paris Opera House) and gleaming chandeliers (fitted with 35,000 custom-designed, low-energy light bulbs) that lend Grand Central a sense of golden age grandeur.
The terminal — not station, never station — also has a fascinating history, with stories to rival Manhattan’s better known, pointier landmarks.
Listen: Grand Central’s 100th birthday
1913: Grand opening
While trains had been running in and out of Manhattan since 1871, it wasn’t until the completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 that New York had itself a world renowned transportation icon.
The Vanderbilt family constructed the 48-acre site (the little polished brass acorns adorning every clock and light fixture reflect the family symbol), inadvertently triggering a 20-year Midtown construction boom that added the likes of the Helmsley and Chrysler Buildings to the city’s skyline.
If it weren’t for Grand Central, all those 1990s disaster movies would have looked very different.
1942: A president rolls in
At 200 feet, Grand Central boasts the deepest basement in New York City. This is where some of the terminal’s shadiest secrets are concealed.
Among them is a hidden platform connecting a presidential getaway train to an area beneath the Waldorf Astoria hotel. The secret platform was constructed for Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.
The polio-suffering president’s armored carriage was specifically designed to limit lateral movement, allowing him to travel while keeping his disability secret from the American public.
So why is it still a rusty relic beneath Grand Central, rather than a museum showpiece? Simple: It weighs 142 metric tons — you try moving it.
1944: Winning the war
Another of the terminal’s great subterranean secrets is M42 — a hidden basement and the deepest accessible underground point in Manhattan.
Not that you’ll ever go there — the existence of the area was officially denied by the building’s owners until the late 1980s and it doesn’t even appear on the original blueprints.
So what’s the big secret?
The room — named after Grand Central’s 42nd Street location — houses a series of rotary converters, which, back in the 1930s, provided the power that electrified the terminal’s 63 tracks.
During World War II, these tracks linked thousands of shaven grunts and other instruments of war to the ports that would ship them out to the front lines.
Despite Grand Central’s strategic significance, however, a bucket of sand tipped into one of these converters would have been enough to bring the terminal — and 80% of the country’s eastbound military movement — to a standstill.
This vulnerability was nearly exploited by a pair of Nazi saboteurs in November 1944, but their plot was scuppered by an FBI manhunt.
Commuters join celebrities for Grand Central’s 100th birthday
1957: To infinity (but not much further)
A small hole in the ceiling of the main concourse, just near the constellation of Pisces, is an unlikely legacy of the space race. The hole was left behind after a Redstone rocket was hoisted up inside the terminal in an attempt to get the U.S. public excited about space exploration.
So eager was the government to counteract anxiety around the Russian Sputnik launch, that it forgot to check whether the rocket would fit in the building.
1968: Demolition looms
By the late 1960s, the growing popularity of interstate highways and air travel had taken a toll on the country’s railroads, leaving Grand Central a stinking, hobo-infested eyesore.
It was condemned to be demolished until the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission stepped in to declare the building a historic landmark. Grand Central was saved, but there was still the problem of what to do with the guys and gals using the Beaux Arts masterpiece as their own personal living quarters and latrine.
Rather than force out the homeless, city officials addressed each and every member of Grand Central’s homeless community on a case-by-case basis. The vast majority ended up in permanent housing.
1990: A green role model
While these days you’ll do well to walk more than half a Manhattan block without tripping over some sort of green waste initiative, back in the early 1990s, Manhattan was chugging out as much CO2 as everyone else.
Setting an example for contemporary recycling programs, Grand Central overnight became the biggest recycling plant in the United States when it introduced newspaper bins in 1990, collecting five tons of waste in its first day.
However, not everyone loved the scheme.
When The New York Times noticed the introduction of the bins coincided with a hefty dent in sales (thanks to commuters salvaging dumped papers rather than buying their own), they reacted swiftly.
Since 2001, they’ve been paying a significant fee each year to maintain craftily designed bins that prevent people from removing discarded papers.
1998: A lick of paint
Grand Central’s mid-1990s makeover took 12 years to complete. During this time everything from light bulbs to the gigantic ceiling skyscape were painstakingly scraped, scrubbed and polished back to their prewar glory.
But what do you do when the quarries from which you procured your original marble have closed?
Order them to be reopened, of course, and, while you’re at it, pull masonry technicians out of retirement to make sure everything is properly prepared and fitted.
This goes some way to explaining why the whole restoration project cost more than $160 million.
2000s: Top of the shops
Of the 700,000 people who pass through Grand Central every day, an estimated 10,000 don’t have a ticket.
They’re not fare dodgers, they’re shoppers, who together shell out $150 million every year on lattes, oyster dinners, MacBooks and more. The terminal houses 50 shops, 20 casual eateries and five restaurants and cocktail lounges.
In terms of spend per square foot, that makes the terminal the most commercially successful shopping center in the United States.
2008: A viral hit
Grand Central has been immortalized in scores of Hollywood movies — credits include “North By Northwest,” “Serpico,” “The Untouchables” and, um, “Little Nicky” — but by far its most memorable theatrical moment came when drama collective ImprovEverywhere scared rush hour commuters with this incredible stunt.
More than 200 of the group’s “agents” froze perfectly still, in unison, for five minutes, giving everyone else the impression that they’d just stumbled upon some cataclysmic rift in the space-time continuum.
The result? More YouTube views than Keyboard Cat.
2012: Storm savior
While its 100-year history has seen it take on the role of everything from government propaganda auditorium to glitzy shopping mall, Grand Central remains a transportation hub, and an efficient one.
Just as it did on 9/11 — when, despite all other transport networks shutting down, it had the city evacuated by 2 p.m. — Grand Central played a key role in getting New Yorkers to safety ahead of October’s superstorm Sandy.
Very rarely has the terminal’s marble concourse looked as cavernous as it did when the last Metro-North Railroad train fled to higher ground — probably not since the Vanderbilts declared Grand Central open almost 100 years previously, in fact.
iReport: Photos from the centennial celebration
2013: 100 up
On February 1, 2013, this grand dame of the railway world celebrates its 100th birthday.
A brass band will play on the main concourse, actors, poets and celebrities will swan around and shops and restaurants will adopt a 1913 pricing strategy — including 6 cents for a loaf of rye bread from Zaro’s Bakery and $2 for silk scarves from Toto.
Grand Central Terminal, 87 E. 42nd St., New York; open daily from 5:30 a.m.-2 a.m.; www.grandcentralterminal.com
Details about centennial celebrations can be found online.
Anatomy of a romantic hotel room
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 03 20th, 2013Infinity pools and swanky lobbies are nice, but the room matters when it’s a trip for two. In honor of all the romantic getaways coming up for Valentine’s Day weekend, we asked some relationship gurus for their romantic room essentials and added a few or our own.
A tub for two. The ideal hotel would have a bathtub and a cozy arm chair, each large enough for two, says Nancy Dreyfus, a couples therapist and author of “Talk to Me Like I’m Someone You Love: Relationship Repair in a Flash.”
“While the centrality of a bed during a romantic weekend is obviously not up for debate, additional opportunities for snuggling on land and on sea only serve to enhance my experience, expand the sensuality of it all, and keep my partner and me from just ‘heading for bed’ because it happens to be a romantic weekend.”
Travel Snapshots: City of Light — and love
A fireplace and a view. Your room should go above and beyond the standard-issue kind bed with a puffy duvet and that decorative scarf laid across the foot. In addition to crisp linens, perhaps you’d like a fireplace and a lovely view of the water or the forest or a nearby mountain that also promises privacy?
“Extra credit for a balcony that I can step out onto when wearing a robe or less,” says Ian Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, who writes about sex and relationships for CNN Health.
Luxury counts. Feeling pampered is important, says Dreyfus.
“Luxury can definitely make an evening feel particularly special and the participants feel taken care of, and feeling well taken care of can be heart-deepening, making you feel even more giving towards each other,” she says. “Being in luxurious surroundings with designer soap, linens, lighting and chocolate always makes me feel thankful to the universe — but it’s my partner who’ll be the recipient of my gratitude.”
Thick walls. “You want to be uninhibited, and you don’t want to hear anyone else’s efforts,” says sociologist Pepper Schwartz, co-author of “Getaway Guide to the Great Sex Weekend” with Janet Lever.
Enough said.
Romantic dining. If you want to leave your room to drink or dine, there’s nothing worse than the glare and noise of a hotel restaurant that’s not sensitive to your love. Yes, you can always make reservations at that lovely four-star restaurant down the block or check into a hotel where gourmet dining has replaced the lonely-business-traveler bar and grill.
But if you don’t want to leave your room, prompt, delicious room service is key. When you need that well-iced champagne, a 45-minute wait is unacceptable. You might fall asleep! And it would be a shame to mar an otherwise lovely occasion with a soggy club sandwich.
Bon appetit! Amazing hotel room service
A massage for two. There’s nothing more relaxing than a tension-reducing massage, and many higher-end hotels and resorts offer it for two if booked in advance. Some properties will bring this service to you in your room.
Suzanne Braun Levine took it a step further on a trip to a spa in Karala, India, booking an ayurvedic hot oil massage for two.
“You lie in a sort of canoe and gallons of warm oil are poured over you as two masseuses work simultaneously, one on each side,” says Levine, author of “How We Love Now: Women Talk About Intimacy After 50.” “I had this with my husband in the next canoe. Bliss.”
The lost art of offline dating
What about the kids? Before you scoff, many parents travel with their children most of the time (and actually enjoy it). Should you give up on intimacy because you’re traveling with them?
No, says CNN.com columnist Kerner. He often travels with his wife and kids, and he seems unwilling to give up the romance because he has children.
A second room, preferably with a door, is key, he says. Also, a good kids program in the hotel can help get the kids out of the room for a time. Who says romance only happens at night?
Disney World’s New Fantasyland
Posted by SamVerl in Travel on 03 15th, 2013“It gives guests another level of immersion,” says Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “We have technology to play with that Walt DIsney didn’t have.”
For instance, part of the expansion includes Beast’s Castle, which sits atop Be Our Guest restaurant. During lunch hours, guests order at touch-screen kiosks and take radio-frequency devices to their tables. Once the pager is placed on the table, servers know exactly where to deliver the food. And voila, meals arrive within minutes via a glass-enclosed cart.
“Everything is fresh, made to order, and for lunch we are hoping for the bustling kind of energy like the movie scene (from ‘Beauty and the Beast’) in the dining room,” says Lenny DeGeorge, Walt Disney World executive chef.
In the evening, the restaurant transforms into fancy table-service dining, inviting guests to feast upon French onion soup, mussels Provençal and charcuterie while sipping on French wines and beers. This is a first, since alcohol has never been served before in the Magic Kingdom.
In true Disney style, the decor inside and out is over the top. From the chandeliers to the walls to the terrazzo floor to the draperies, it’s all true to the movie. Even suits of armor that whisper to passersby line the hallway. Guests then make their way into the grand ballroom, which has an entire wall of arched windows, complete with magical snowflakes falling upon the French countryside.
Faith Lee, from Lake Mary, Florida, appreciates the extreme theming. “I felt like a kid again entering (Be Our Guest restaurant),” she says. “It completely recreates the details of Beast’s Castle to the most minute aspect.”
Other areas of New Fantasyland involve similar attention to detail, completely immersing guests in the beloved Disney stories. The expansion, which has been in the works for more than three years, introduces two new areas —- the Enchanted Forest, which focuses on Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, and Storybook Circus, an area inspired by the Disney animated feature “Dumbo.”
Have you been to New Fantasyland? Share your images
Major focus on character time
Outside, to the far left of Beast’s Castle is Maurice’s Cottage, a provincial abode that houses an enchanted mirror. It spectacularly transforms into a portal whisking guests into the story of Beauty and the Beast. Once in the Beast’s library, Enchanted Tales with Belle goes way beyond a typical meet and greet when Belle and friends invite guests to help act out the “tale as old as time.”
Next door at Prince Eric’s Castle, kids and adults alike will enjoy Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid (almost identical to the Disney California Adventure version). After walking through an interactive queue, guests board giant clamshells as animation and animatronics retell Ariel’s story. Afterward in Ariel’s Grotto, guests score one-on-one time with the redheaded mermaid herself as she poses for photos and signs autographs.
“For us, the Fantasyland expansion was more than we could have imagined,” Lee says. “It was like being immersed in the stories of Belle and Ariel, not just visiting attractions.”
Lee and her family were also impressed with Storybook Circus, which opened over the summer. This portion of the park includes a water play area, tame roller coaster and gift shop. The revamped Dumbo ride, with its new indoor queue lounge, is a crowd pleaser for parents who want to sit down for a bit and children who want to enjoy an elaborate playground. Guests receive a pager that virtually holds their place in line; it lights up when it’s time to board the ride. Another option is to grab a FastPass and wait in a traditional line outdoors.
Overall, the new additions certainly have Disney fans aflutter, but will this translate to an influx of Orlando visitors?
Danielle Courtenay, chief marketing officer for Visit Orlando, thinks so.
“When any major new attraction opens in Orlando, there’s always a positive impact in terms of increased awareness and interest in the destination,” she says. “With New Fantasyland being the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, we are certainly optimistic that it will impact visitation for 2013 and beyond.”
Coming soon
Princess Fairytale Hall is scheduled to open in 2013 in the former home of Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Located in the Castle Courtyard in the center of Fantasyland, it will be a place for guests to meet Disney princess characters.
Come early 2014, the finishing touch will be a roller coaster, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, in the heart of it all. This family thrill ride will be an experience somewhere in between the tame Barnstormer, a re-themed “beginner’s coaster,” and the classic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. With its patented train of vehicles that swing back and forth, the attraction will be the first of its kind.
Have you visited Disney World recently? Please share your experiences and tips in the comments section below.
