There were camels in Coconut Grove last night. I pulled up to the valet circle at The Ritz-Carlton with my friend Monica, and there they were. Flanked by two men dressed in rags who reminded me of Bedouins in the Negev Desert, the camels stood with big sad eyes, short, soft peanut-colored fur, and a funny look on their faces. I like the handsome profile the one behind me flashed for this picture. The occasion was a media preview of […]
Posts categorized: Hotels
I had my first celebrity interview over Labor Day Weekend with none other than Pharrell Williams, and later with Robin Thicke. And, yes, I was incredibly nervous–and excited. They were in town to perform a special concert at the Fontainebleau Sunday afternoon. When Pharrell walks into a room, he brings an almost otherworldly quality with him, something greater, and more interesting, than star power. He is a beautiful creature, flawless, perfection. I saw him once before at the convention center during […]
May 11
2013
2013
Hotel Review: Casa Magna Resort, Cancun
Checking into the Casa Magna Resort in Cancun is more like checking into a grand, old world Spanish villa than a resort in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. I stayed here last weekend with four other journalists on a press trip, dubbed “The Return of the Vacation.” We definitely found it in Cancun luxuriating by the pool, feasting on world cuisine, and exploring the Mayan culture. Design With the warm sun blazing across the Caribbean sea and the lagoon surrounding Cancun, Casa Magna […]
May 9
2013
2013
Hotel Review: JW Marriott, Cancun
It was the color of the water in Cancun that left a group of travel writers on a press trip last weekend at a loss for descriptive words. Electric blue, fluorescent, neon, the color of Kool Aid. We checked into the JW Marriott in the heart of the Hotel Zone and marveled at the Caribbean Sea–from our balconies, with our toes dug into the powder soft sand, suspended 300 feet in the air while parasailing–for five days. Design There’s something […]
May 7
2013
2013
Hotel Reviews Are Coming
I’ve been fascinated with the idea of living in a hotel ever since learning that Dylan McKay did on Beverly Hills 90210 back in the early ’90s. I was at an impressionable age and nothing seemed more glamourous than living in a fancy room by yourself that somebody else cleaned for you every day. If you got hungry, you ordered room service. You didn’t even have a kitchen to be troubled with the idea of cooking. Laundry? You sent out […]
After New Years Eve, birthdays are my favorite holidays to celebrate. For mine last weekend, I decided to live out a long held fantasy of residing in a luxe hotel in New York City’s Meatpacking District, more specifically The Standard High Line. I’ve had a fascination with that hotel ever since it was erected straddling the newly minted High Line. Both developments seemed to have breathed new life into the neighborhood that I’d made so many memories in back when I […]
Feb 10
2013
2013
Daily Dose: Mondrian, Miami Beach
As if the Mondrian’s stunning poolside views of Biscayne Bay and Marcel Wanders’ design whimsies inspired by Sleeping Beauty’s castle were not enough, it’s the rooms that will make you never want to leave this hotel. They’re part Art Deco chic–the kitchen walls are tiled in blue and white depicting beach scenes and there’s a white plaster fruit centerpiece on the orange glass top kitchen table. They’re also part playful modern glam with a gold brocade love seat, slate grey floors, […]
Feb 1
2013
2013
Daily Dose: Roommate Mario, Madrid
Location is everything. Getting the right hotel in the right part of the city is critical. Fortunately, in Madrid, the Roommate Hotel group makes it simple. These modern, sleek, and modestly priced hotels are peppered throughout the best neighborhoods. Try Roommate Mario, centrally located in the Palacio Royale and close to the Opera. From the green apple waiting on the nightstand in your bright white room to the friendly concierge, you feel like someone is taking care of you while […]
Jan 7
2013
2013
Daily Dose: Miró Hotel, Bilbao
For the modern traveler on an extended stay abroad, the goal is to strike a balance between comfortable amenities and affordable price points. This often means that hostels and grungy budget pensiones are out, but 5 star luxury is not exactly in, either. Enter Bilbao’s Miró Hotel situated only a few blocks from the mesmerizing Guggenheim. The hotel is the brainchild of Spanish fashion designer Antonio Miró. It’s a sleek boutique hotel that manages to be both modern and comfortable. […]
Dec 27
2012
2012
Daily Dose: Abaco Beach Resort, Bahamas
Located at the mid-point of the 120 mile-long, elbow-shaped Great Abaco Island, where the Bahamas’ Out Islands end and the Atlantic Ocean sprawls endlessly, Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbor Marina is conveniently situated a short five minute transfer from the Marsh Harbor Airport. With an archipelago of 100 smaller islands running parallel to Great Abaco, the placid and pale aquamarine waters are ideal for island hopping. Boat Harbor’s full service marina is one of the largest in the Bahamas […]
