My family and I recently returned from Africa. The three of us visited South Africa, Zambia and Botswana and I’ll be sharing some of my stories and photographs from the road with Vagablond readers. It was an amazing adventure! CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — This is a beautiful and dynamic city, with more mountains than…
Meet Ian Schrager. He’s the trendsetting designer generally credited for pioneering minamalism in hotels from the Royalton in New York to the Delano in Miami Beach. Now, his latest hit is a $200 million upgrade of the 82-year-old Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City. Without even seeing it, the press is buzzing that it’s…
The Hotel Monaco Denver is my first visit to a Kimpton Hotel, part of the one-of-a-kind San Francisco-based chain of terrific boutique hotels that channels the distinctive energy, personality and pulse of each individual hotel. The colors are bright and cheerful. The staff is energetic and knowledgeable. And it’s a true treat to stay here….
According to the folks at WhizbangBlog.com, Nicky Hilton may soon be launching her own chain of boutique hotels. The site says, “The hotel heiress huddled at Social Miami in South Beach with promoter Ingrid Casares and interior decorator Faye Resnick. Hilton’s manager, Paul Fisher, confirmed that Nicky and her partners were looking at locations in…
Stockholm is one hip city. and The Hotel Rival is one of the hippest, coolest and most colorful boutique hotels anywhere in the world. In fact, it’s so cool that Paris Hilton stays here instead of the Stockholm Hilton next door! The Hotel features all the amenities you’d expect and a few you don’t: •…
Art hotels are muy popular these days. In Cape Town, there’s one that only has 13 rooms, but it’s set up like an interactive art exhibit. Like others, each room of the Daddly Long Legs Art Hotel is custom-designed by a local artist. But here, designers, musicians, poets and photographers are also involved so the…
In one of the world’s most spectacular cities for architecture, you can spoil yourself big time with a stay at the Emiliano Hotel, one of three international, hip and equally luxurious boutiques. (The other two are the Fasano and the Unique. Featuring a glass enclosed, roof-top spa, pampering you with fluffy white bathrobes and white…
Make no mistake; the tourism makeup of Luang Prabang is changing. From its new modernalized airport, to five-star hotels that rival rooms in London, New York, Paris, and luxurious restaurants serving international cuisines, the dubbed jewel of Southeast Asia –– once a haven of $3 guesthouses, rough surface transit, and street food vendors –– has…
Hip hotels may come and go. But any of the Kimptom Hotels just seem, well, hipper. Case in point: The Hotel Monaco Seattle and it’s “Room with a Vroom” promotion offers: • A Vespa scooter for a day; • Complimentary wine and beer in the lobby during its happy “Hour of Indulgence; and • Room…
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts builds high-end properties around the world, from Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico to the Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo. But their new property that opens in March between the fashionable South Beach and Bal Harbour areas is being promoted as an ultra luxury, family-friendly boutique resort that’s an…
Kimpton Hotels does hip right. The Hotel George is another of this boutique group’s neo-stylish, ultra-modern hotels — and this one’s at the corner of Stylish and Culture in the heart of downtown at Capitol Hill. It’s even pet-friendly, so you have to love that! And check their Hot Dates, Great Rates page for $149…
Those smart, savvy folks at the Kimpton Group have a terrific formula for creating hip hotels that are utterly unique. The Hotel Triton has been called “exceedingly groovy and best hotel in SF” by Harper’s Bazaar. This whimsical, happening place is cleverly disguised as a hotel. Moreso, it enables you to “see” the art or…