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 As executive editor of the Night+Day series, and as someone who has spent a lifetime in travel, I certainly influence our selections and recommendations. But our guidebooks reflect a collaborative effort involving local writers and experienced editors. So I welcome this opportunity to share my very personal views and experiences. I sincerely hope you find them somewhere between interesting and extremely helpful (life-altering is probably too much to ask). As always, I very much welcome your comments. Click here to send me an email.  |
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HOME » WORLD TRAVELER » ALAN'S VIEW
June 2008
ASD Picks: 3 Essential Web Sites I travel so often (140 days per year) and my schedule and needs change so frequently that using a travel agent has become financially impossible – for the travel agent. Thank God (or Al Gore) for the internet! My three favorite, most-used web sites are not earth-shattering discoveries, just essentials for nailing a trip.
On the Road: NY, L.A. and St. Martin New York Check into a minimalist cool room at the Hotel on Rivington and you feel like you walked onto the set of West Side Story, thanks to the tenement scene outside your window. I love this LES (lower east side) hotel–it feels good, the bar is buzzing, Thor, the restaurant, has held up well, and the neighborhood is safe, lively and fascinating. But then again, I had the chance to attend a great party in the Penthouse, a 3-story (including the roof deck cum hot-tub) suite that accommodated 60 people for cocktails and buffet dinner. The wrap-around views could easily be among the best anywhere in the city–on a par with the Rainbow Room and Empire State Building. By the way, going to a party there is a lot cheaper than the $4000 per night if you want to rent the Penthouse for yourself. Uptown we stayed at 6 Columbus, right off Columbus Circle on West 58th Street. The hotel has great public space(s) and stellar service. However, although they made a valiant effort, they couldn’t cover over the old-building-touched-up remodel feel that makes you think you might want to try someplace else next time. The uptown Blue Ribbon Sushi, located off the lobby, is a quieter version of its Soho sister, but you should go if for no other reason than to try the fried chicken (yep, that’s right). L.A. The Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire hotel is approaching perfection. With the help of a major overhaul and installation of Wolfgang Puck’s CUT steak house, the hotel now combines a sophisticated buzz with its top class service (throughout every inch of the place, including the spa and salon), amenities, and great Beverly Hills location. Unless you are springing for a suite, absolutely ask for 812 and 814, Premier Studio (600 sq. ft.) rooms looking out onto Rodeo Drive. The new BLVD restaurant in the front lobby overlooking Wilshire Blvd. could be a destination in its own right–creative continental cuisine served impeccably in a handsome room. Happy hour in Cut’s sister bar, sidebar, can easily turn what started out as a solo act into a date night. Two managers, Andrey and Andrew, somehow insure that the restaurant and bar don’t miss a beat. You might ask them for restaurant table #63– even in the open room the raised location of the table seems slightly less open yet provides perfect viewing of the see-and-be-seen crowd. St. Martin Can't not mention a short holiday we had on the French side of Dutch Sint Maarten, if for no other reason than that we got to stay at Villa Le Reve—one of the most beautiful and perfectly decorated homes we've ever seen. You, too, can enjoy the 5-bedroom beachside, tennis courted and staffed enclave for a mere $60,000 per week (Christmas is more). But no matter where you stay on the island, check out the locals' favorite band, Youth Waves (recently opened a concert for Shaggy). Their reggae, R&B and soca sounds should be on CD soon.
Speaking of toasts, I celebrated my sixtieth birthday last month. It was a cause for reflection on how– despite my belief that it is the psychographic, not demographic that matters—my travel life may be slowly changing. Whereas until recently I had a rule (or at least a habit) of not staying in the same bed for more than three nights in a row, I increasingly find myself staying over a fourth night rather than moving onto the next stop or hotel. The most notable change, though, is that I’m finding it more difficult to just hang out in nightclubs because of that out-of-place feeling. Especially so when I see very young guys sitting at a VIP reserved table drinking $500 cheap vodka and text messaging their neighbors (faster than I can talk) each other because the music is too loud to hear one another. I may love listening to music and dancing but, with too few demographic peers joining me these days, it brings on feelings that sixty may be the new seventy. (For what it’s worth, I was told that death is the new eighty.) On the other hand, we took a Mediterranean cruise on the Crystal Serenity last fall. The ship was nearly perfect in all respects, and we met some wonderful people who have since become friends. But on the whole there were very few young people on board, little evident sexual energy, and a sense that we were all sailing off into our Golden Years. This may seem counterintuitive, but I think the secret to feeling and staying young is to be around (not too) young people on a frequent basis. My wife and I take every opportunity to get together with our children and their friends, all 20- and 30-somethings. It is a totally invigorating experience. Likewise, when I’m not “working” (checking out new venues for our guides) we frequent restaurants that typically show up in Night+Day under “Hot & Cool” because the buzz and the palpable sexual energy is intoxicating. It can help convince you that sixty is the new forty.
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