hotels

By Shari Hartford When I visit a resort – island, mountain or seaside – I look forward to a large luxurious room with every accoutrement, lots of relaxing space and, best of all, a sumptuous bathroom. However, when I’m in a city, my needs change greatly. I want convenience and

By Ann Abel While Lisbon has lately captured the world’s attention (or at least mine), Portugal’s second city has been stepping out of the shadows. Lately, it has grown into a place where there is far more to do than taste fortified wine and embark on Douro River cruises. Truth

High Style in the Ski resorts of Flims & Verbier By Everett Potter Every winter, avid European snowboarders head to the linked Swiss ski areas of Flims, Laax and Falera for some of Europe’s best terrain parks and an Olympic caliber half pipe, a south-facing sunny location and some 220

By Ruth J. Katz Legends take time to accumulate the burnished patina that renders them mythic. The glorious Fontenay Hotel is scarcely a year old, yet this shrine to the ultimate in lodging was the talk of le tout Hamburg before the front door was even unlocked. Touted to be

By Shari Hartford Sometimes you encounter a perfect fit…it can be a store you visit time and time again, the perfect pair of shoes and then, sometimes, it’s a great hotel. Not one on a spectacular list, not one on the lips of the hip, but one that just gets

By Larry Olmsted When the Palms opened in 2001 it was a game changer for the Vegas resort landscape, off the Strip but still packed with A-list Hollywood, pro athlete and celebrity appeal. The casino hotel was invention of the Maloof family, who have owned two NBA teams, the Houston

By Shari Hartford Just when you think a hotel is a hotel is a hotel, comes the new kid on the block…a micro hotel. While part of the lexicon in Europe and Asia, micros are relatively new to the U.S. market. Some are really glorified youth hostels and some are

By Ann Abel “What guests really need is love,” says accidental hotelier Berny Serrão. “All of the details show how much love we put into it.” Perhaps that’s why her small hotel, Paraíso Escondido in Portugal’s southern Alentejo region, feels so much like a home. It began, as so many

By Shari Hartford Quirky. Fun. Innovative. Sexy.  An all-inclusive resort on a sunny Caribbean island? No, a new hotel in the heart of Times Square. If you find cookie cutter rooms, bland décor and predicable amenities suitable for your visit to New York City, then read no further and carry

By Everett Potter Hotels myths are legion and legendary. Here are four that never seem to go away. 1. Hotels always have an extra room or two available, they’re never truly sold-out. This is rarely the case. Every hotel is looking for 100% occupancy, every night, with no guest needing