Material Archive

Loved the Bowery Hotel

Enjoyed a really lovely stay at the Bowery this past weekend. Great location, energy, design and very comfortable. Loved it!

Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli in Rome

(I did a crazy tour of Europe at Christmas – Paris, London, Berlin & Rome and it was wonderful. But as soon as I started back at work, my motivation to post about all the things I did became rather daunting. So, I'm going to post about individual things as they occur to me now versus being chronological. So bare with me if my posts seem to jump around!)

If you want a boutique hotel in Rome with the hot new restaurant and a cool bar scene, this is not your place. If you're looking for something decidedly more calm and peaceful – Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli is worth a look. It was the last hotel I stayed at during my tour and my most favourite. A converted monestary, it's a pretty little gem of a hotel with a beautiful courtyard filled with lemon trees. Located in the Trastevere neighborhood in the west bank of the city – south of Vatican City, it's in an area crammed with character thanks to the narrow cobbled streets lined by medieval buildings that house tiny shops and restaurants.

In terms of location, we basically walked everywhere we needed to go within 20 minutes, so we never needed to take cabs or transit, which was ideal.
 
Overall, a charming hotel that was just the right fit for a quiet little Christmas stay.

Two Weeks In New York @ The Westin & The W Times Square

I don't generally post about things I don't like on this blog. I tend to focus on the positive. But, given that I was in New York for this length of time, I feel compelled to mention where I stayed (client mandated & paid for) and give some brief but hopefully helpful feedback.

Don't stay at a Westin/W Hotel in Times Square. They are expensive and completely unexceptional in every possibile way. The decor is dated and cheap, the service is lacking and bored and the rates are ridiculous for what you actually get. They are simply put, tourist traps for the clueless.

High Tea at the Windsor Arms

Last weekend, a group of friends and I enjoyed High Tea at the Windsor Arms.

The Red Room we started out in was charming as all hell but very hot, so we had to move to a cooler area. Once re-seated, our tea arrived quickly and we were grateful! The rose tea we had was wonderful, as were the scones and Devon clotted cream. The sushi style rolled sandwiches were not remarkable though – a bit dry and flavourless. The petit fours were also not terribly inspired either, although pretty to look at. I would advise skipping those courses and simply focus your attention on what they do best – scones & tea!

Overall, a nice experience, with attentive service.

Next up for High Tea – MoRoCo & The Four Seasons!


P.S. There was a wealth of great art all around too – many great Charlie Pachters throughout the space.

 

The hotel 'Maison Champs-Elysées' by Maison Martin Margiela

In love with the look of this hotel... it has 57 rooms and suites located on the quiet rue Jean Goujon, in the heart of Paris.

My Stay at The Ace Hotel, NYC

 

There is definitely a reason Wallpaper presented The Ace Hotel with a design award – it is very considered. Every detail has been worked over and it shows – it's a singular vision of hipster chic and a welcome change to an expected and pervasive (W/Hudson) hotel aesthetic that has become so ubiquitous, that urban travellers may forget where they are at times.

The darkly lit main foyer (you'd sware it was 11pm at night all the time) and seating area were packed no matter what time of day with a steady stream of intriguing, artisitc types all bathed in the glow of their digi-devices with friendly ACE staff milling about.

I enjoyed several very competant meals at the hotel's restaurant, The Breslin, and happily geeked out at No. 8a, the totally awesome and quirky gift shop – where I bought a bunch of cool Kaweco fountain pens.

The room was fun – it made me feel like a 18 year old boy with it's very heavy handed masculine vibe and hip, street accents crossed with vintage Americana. The massive King bed was very comfy but, again, the lighting was so dark, I could barely find anything in my luggage or see my face while putting on my make-up in the morning. The fully loaded, not to mention full-sized Smeg fridge screamed: "Party!!!" , which obviously reinfored the whole super cool dorm room mood.

Overall, I liked it. I'd recommend trying it for a night or two at least – it has it's charm.

All images courtesy of Wallpaper except for the first Hipstamtic – that one's mine ;)

P.S. Their website doesn't do the rooms or the hotel justice. Google other images to get a real sense of the space.

Taschen's Barcelona

 

Since I've been doing research on Barcelona, I thought I would share the lovely series of books from Taschen that I like to refer to when visiting certain cities. All of the books (Paris, London, Berlin, New York & Barcelona) are so well designed and thought out and have beautifully illustrated covers and maps.

 

Barcelona in 3 weeks and counting...

Hey! I'm going to beautiful Barcelona in 3 weeks! So excited I can barely stand it. Above are snaps from the Hotel Pulitzer we'll be staying at. Pretty cute eh!

When I die, I hope Heaven looks like this...

The Four Seasons in Florence, a former papal residence, is perhaps as close to the divine as a mere mortal can hope to get these days. Boasting a beautiful Renaissance palazzo, 15th century frescos and the largest private garden in Italy – I don't know how you can go home after and not want to set fire to everything you own.