Besides a major re-do to its rooms, the venerable Hotel Plaza Athenee has added a lovely new spa to its ground floor facilities. The hotel, on New York’s Upper East Side near Central Park, now offers a great amenity to visitors who want to spend a bit more time at this luxury property. Here are a few photos…the vibe when I visited was very restful, almost Zen. Expert spa goers will love it.
Walked by here this morning, it’s as glorious as ever…
I find I’m more aware of the sunlight in the winter, simply because there is less of it. Days are shorter and here in the New York City region, we tend to get a heavy dose of overcast weather from November through February. So, when we get a blast of sunshine, or simply non-overcast light, we notice. We celebrate, if only within our souls for the few minutes it lasts!
I saw this pile of poor Christmas trees on the way to work today. Apparently, this apartment building has an official day for getting rid of shrubbery, as well as all of the other Christmas/holiday garbage that accumulates during the season.
I took the train from Grand Central Station in Manhattan to Brewster, New York, yesterday. This might not seem like a big deal but it has probably been, oh, about 12 years since I’ve done that, maybe more. I am from Brewster, but I’ve moved away. So has my entire extended family that lived up there. So, my regular jaunts up north are no longer necessary.
Brewster reservoir
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see snow this morning when I woke up, but there it is. They may have mentioned it on the news last night but I don’t really pay attention to all of that chatter. Though I must admit, they seem to have been right on the past few snowstorms they’ve predicted.
Being that it’s December 31, I can’t help but think of all those people lining up in Times Square, in the snow. I believe they need to be there right around now (2pm or so) and that they won’t be able to move out of the area, even to go to the bathroom, until after the ball drops.
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By Ruthanne Terrero
Vdara was the first hotel to open at CityCenter. I was fortunate to be one of the first members of the media in to tour the hotel when it debuted on December 1. This hotel is quieter than Aria, the larger, more splashy and opulent gaming sister hotel to Vdara, which has no casino and a no-smoking policy. All of Vdara’s rooms are suites; I was quite taken with the spa, which seemed to be extremely tranquil.
If you start to feeling the hotel is too quiet you can always use the walkway to get to the Bellagio, and Aria, of course, is right next door. Just a little further away is the Mandarin Oriental, which opened at CityCenter, just days after Vdara (I was there, here’s my post).
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These photos were taken from the Crystal Serenity when the ship was docked in Key West on November 28, 2009. I thought they’d be a nice complement to my grayer, more wintery New York photos.
At Christmas time I tend to forget how hot the stores get while you’re rushing around, trying to find some great gifts at great prices. Last Wednesday was no exception. We’d had quite a snowstorm over the previous weekend, some even called it a blizzard, so I was bundling up every day in Ugg boots and a down jacket to go to work, even though that is not my usual look. I’m at the point now where I just don’t want to be cold in the winter time (who does, really?), so I tend to forgo my typical Manhattan look for a mismatched snow bunny if I suspect at all that I’m going to be stranded in the cold, or at the very least, rudely accosted by the elements.
Which made my foray into Syms, The Gap, Banana Republic and Bloomingdales so unbearable. I had not only the boots and the jacket, but a wool hat, scarf and gloves, plus a purse that didn’t have a shoulder strap. That meant I had to hold it on my arm as I piled the clothing I was selecting for presents. My purse weighs about 20 pounds and no, I don’t know what’s in it but I need it all.
You may remember that I wrote recently about the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas, which was about to open. Well, it turns out, on a recent trip to Las Vegas, I actually visited the hotel, three nights before it opened. How did I do this, you ask? I was the guest of Virtuoso, a consortia of some of the most powerful luxury-selling travel agents in the world.
The hotel executives were happy to have these travel agents over to the hotel, even while they were busy preparing to open it because it’s a well-known fact that if you speak to one excellent travel agent, it has the same value of speaking to at least 10 potential clients. At least. For some agents, you can multiply that by 10 or 20. Travel agents are multipliers. They can send a high volume of excellent business to a hotel. If they don’t like a hotel, however, they won’t send anyone. They’ll recommend a competitor that they prefer. In the case of Virtuoso’s agents, they are dealing with some of the most affluent travelers in the world. It doesn’t make sense to send their clients to a bad hotel, they’ll lose their business. Got all that? There will be a test at the end.
The Mandarin Bar, great view, no?
It is rare that Crystal’s two ships are in the same port; years can go by before these two worldly vessels meet up. We were fortunate enough to be on Crystal Serenity in November 2009 when the two ships were ported in the same destination, Grand Turks.
Here we are on the Serenity, saying farewell to the Symphony. It was a most exciting moment in luxury cruising history. Listen to how the two ships exchange friendly conversation.
I was walking across town today and realized things looked a lot like Christmas. The shop windows, the streets, and then low and behold, I stumbled across the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Here’s what my morning walk looked like:
J Crew window
You may have noticed I’ve been quiet lately. Well, I’ve been traveling a bit and my most recent trip was to Las Vegas, where I decided to stop in at Caesars, where I hadn’t been for years. Wouldn’t you know it, they have been updating and expanding their luxury offerings…just one of the new swanky additions is the Marcus Aurelius villa, which overlooks the resort’s new pool area, which opens this spring.
Pictures say it all, so here are some photos I took, just for you.
Terrace of the Marcus Aurelius Villa overlooks the new five-acre pool area (above)
Las Vegas is about to see the opening of three new luxury hotels in December when the massive CityCenter debuts. Aria, which opens December 16, is the largest and most avant-garde. It will be the only three with a casino. Vdara, opening December 1, is the simplest. Built as a condo hotel, it will be a quiet, luxurious option for those who want a kitchen setup, close to all the excitement of the Las Vegas Strip. Mandarin Oriental will be the smallest of the three. Opening December 4, it marks the posh brand’s debut in Las Vegas.
ExpertFlyer.com, an online information service for frequent flyers, has created this list of tips to help you save money when flying.
#1 Change the Time You Travel
Don’t be rigid on the time of day you want to travel. Going between New York and Los Angeles, for example, may have one airline offering as many as seven or eight flights on a particular day. If you want to leave in the morning, investigate the three or four departures offered during that time period. Moving your departure time by just one hour, on your departure or return, may save you a significant portion of the ticket price.
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Tim Burton's Romeo and Juliet
By Ruthanne Terrero
One trap I’ve noticed that people in the travel industry fall into with Twitter is instead of trying to position themselves as a brand to the general populace, they quickly form a community of other like-minded travel folks and start chatting with them. As a result, Twitter soon becomes a personal social network and not a professional venue through which you can demonstrate your travel expertise.
Compare the situation to the physical workplace. Have you ever had co-workers or employees who have seen the office as their own personal sorority? They’re constantly instant-messaging jokes to other staffers and planning the daily happy hour get together. Sometimes they forget that the workplace isn’t their personal playground.
Now, Twitter has no rules, so I’m not saying that anyone online there is doing anything wrong. I am saying, however, that if you consider yourself adept at Twitter—to be a social media expert, in fact—simply because you can write messages using 140 characters or less, you should also take a look at what it is you’re writing. Is every tweet aimed at bolstering your public image? Are your more casual comments designed to engage potential customers or are they meant simply to garner a response from other travel agents or travel bloggers because you’re feeling mildly bored with your day? Are you using Twitter as a marketing tool or is this a playground that’s an extension of your personal Facebook account? Are your 100 new connections on Twitter potential customers who can bring you new business or are they new people that you can now complain about your day to?
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You may have seen the recent Rachel Zoe Project episode where Rachel goes to Paris for Fashion Week with her husband and with Brad, one of her dedicated assistants. I thought the show was actually pretty exciting; after all, there was just tons of footage of the city and even more of the fashion shows that she attended. Her visit to Coco Chanel’s apartment was also a real insider’s look at one of Paris’ most influential fashion designers.
Geroge V
Of course, Rachel’s real life did creep into the episode, this is reality TV after all, when one of her clients back in Los Angeles had a crisis of some sort that involved what clothing they would wear to a VIP event. Rachel and Brad had to pretty much stop what they were doing to tend to the problem.
Rachel is already being criticized on websites for her meltdown during this particular event; naysayers are mumbling that she’s in a $1,500 a night suite at the George V in a cushy bathrobe, surrounded by assistants, claiming she can’t breathe because she’s so stressed. Well, we thought it was a stressful problem she was enduring and we were feeling pretty bad for her at that moment and so we thought how cool it would have been if she had actually wandered down the Spa at the George V; we’ve found that always helps us in a crisis.
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In season three of Mad Men, Duck and Peggy end up in a suite at The Pierre in New York. Now, the luxury hotel, which recently reopened following a massive $100 million renovation, has launched “A Mad Affair at The Pierre” package.
Duck from Mad Men
Peggy from Mad Men
Included are:
* One night in a suite accommodations, one of 49 that the hotel offers that are fresh from a $100 million renovations program
* A bottle of Champagne upon arrival
* Choice of light plates to share and cocktails for two in Two E, the hotel’s glamorous new destination lounge and bar, or an intimate in-room evening featuring drinks and comfort food from 24-hour in-room dining
* A boxed set of Mad Men DVDs from seasons one and two to enjoy on your suite’s Bose Home Theatre System and again at home
* Priced beginning at $1,150, inclusive of dining credit of $150 for Two E or In-Room Dining; subject to availability through December 31, 2009
A suite at The Pierre
The Hotel Palais Stephanie re-opened this spring just in time for the start of the Cannes Film Festival. The hotel’s grand reopening was a big deal for the city as it added on a number of posh oceanfront suites.
Guestroom at Hotel Palais Stephanie
The hotel is located on the famous La Croisette, on the site of the original Palais des Congrès where the first Film Festivals were held. Just 50 meters from the beach, its location affords fabulous views of the Bay of Cannes and the Lerins Islands. Luxury amenities include rooftop swimming pool, Jacuzzis and terraces offering panoramic views of the marina and sea, an in-house casino and restaurants also facing the Mediterranean.
Hotel Palais Stephanie beachfront
Nestled in the hills above Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the elegant country estate Le Mas de Pierre was recently awarded a fifth star, making it the first 5-star Relais & Chateaux property in France.
Hotel Le Mas de Pierre
If you know Saint-Paul-de-Vence, you know it’s a charming village where real life is experienced in a medieval village with shops and homes built of stone. At every turn, window sills display geraniums bursting from flower pots and cats sunning themselves in the morning light. We say a stay at Le Mas de Pierre is worth its weight in gold if it provides access for you to spend a few days exploring this village in southern France.
The de Young Museum Exhibition Schedule 2009–2011
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco announce a diverse roster of exhibitions in 2009–2011 at the de Young Museum.
Major Exhibitions
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
Through–March 28, 2010
For the first time in 30 years, the artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun return to the de Young Museum on June 27, 2009. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs presents over 130 important objects including 50 from the tomb of King Tut. The exhibition places Tutankhamun in a larger context through an additional 80 objects from the tombs of his ancestors, which provide insight into the daily life and royal burial practices of the 18th Dynasty, Egypt’s Golden Age. Four additional objects from Tut’s tomb add luster and intrigue to the de Young’s presentation. The exhibition runs through March 28, 2010.
Whistler's Mother
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