Find out if Charlie Trotter plays favorites with his ingredients. Plus, what would he want his final meal to be? Watch his surprising answer.
Charlie Trotter: Do You Have A Favorite Ingredient?
Where To Stay During The Sundance Film Festival
Each January, film directors, screenwriters, actors and producers flock to Park City, Utah, for the annual Sundance Film Festival. This year, the festival takes place from January 19th to the 29th. If you’re lucky enough to get passes to a screening here, you’re in for treat—Sundance is known as the breakout place for many independent films, actors and directors. But keep in mind, if you want to take part in the festivities, the time to plan is now. Here’s a list of our top five hotels in Park City:
Stein Eriksen Lodge. This Five-Star hotel is nestled in the Wasatch Mountains, offering a warm and cozy retreat for film buffs (not to mention ski-in/ski-out access for those who want to hit the slopes in between screenings). Guestrooms feature oversized jetted bathtubs, and most come with fireplaces so you can cozy up after a long day in the cold. Dine at Four-Star Glitretind Restaurant, and then be sure to book a spa treatment at the newly awarded Five-Star Spa at Stein Eriksen.
The St. Regis Deer Valley. If you’re looking for luxury during your festival stay, this Four-Star resort is the spot for you. Book a suite and you’ll receive the St. Regis’ famous butler service—the personal attendants will provide you with just about everything you could possibly need, and they’ll even pack and unpack your luggage. After a day of film screenings, stop in at the Four-Star Remède Spa for some relaxation (ask for the Sundance special—a 60-minute treatment, plus a Intraceuticals oxygen inhalation and goody bag of products), and then head to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s J&G Grill for a bite to eat.
Montage Deer Valley. Having just opened in December 2010, Montage Deer Valley is a beautiful spot in the mountains, and it’s just five miles from Main Street in Park City. There’s a long list of perks that come along with staying here, including ski-in/ski-out access, a bowling alley in Daly’s Pub & Rec gastropub, farm-to-table cuisine in Apex restaurant and luxe spa treatments at Spa Montage. All guestrooms have gas fireplaces and a private balcony or a patio.
Waldorf Astoria Park City. Walk into the Waldorf Astoria and you’ll be wowed by its glam lobby. Since it’s just a few years old (it opened in 2009), you’ll have all the perks of a new property. Ski-in/ski-out access here means that a gondola is located just outside the main entrance. If you would rather relax than exert energy, head to the Golden Door Spa for a massage. Here, you can stay in a standard guestroom or in one of the one- to four-bedroom residences. You’ll have your own full kitchen, dining area, living room and sleeper sofa. It’s the perfect spot for families.
Sundance Resort. If you want an authentic Sundance experience, stay at the festival’s namesake resort. Founded by Robert Redford in 1969, the Three-Star resort in Sundance, Utah, is a bit farther from Park City—45 minutes to be exact. But you won’t have to worry about transportation, since the resort runs a shuttle to and from the festivities. Catch a festival film in the resort’s screening room, ski along the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, dine at The Tree Room restaurant (take a peek at Redford’s own western memorabilia while you’re there) and get Native American-influenced treatments at the spa. The resort offers two packages just for the festival, which include tickets to film screenings.
Photos Courtesy of Stein Eriksen Lodge, St. Regis Deer Valley, Montage Deer Valley, Waldorf Astoria Park City, Sundance Resort, Jill Orschel.
Best Multitasking Gadgets For Travel Video
When it comes to multitasking devices, smartphones have the market cornered. But just because they can do it all doesn’t mean they should—particularly if you’re shooting travel video. Sure, smartphones are accessible and easy to operate, but you also have to stop whatever you’re doing to hold one up for a shoot. Well, we say performance is what really matters, so we found three gadgets that do double (or triple) duty while taking HD video. These gizmos will allow you to capture trip highlights without dropping everything to get the shot.
Want to catch the action at a sporting event as if you’re sitting courtside? Sony’s high-performance DEV-5 video binoculars ($1,999.99) combines the magnification capabilities of high-performance binoculars with a camcorder’s ability to record HD video and audio. Bonus: The autofocus function will keep your subject sharp while zooming, unlike conventional binoculars.
For both serious scuba divers and seriously serene snorkelers, Liquid Image’s scuba series HD 720p mask ($249.99) will take underwater video with a small built-in camera. It functions 130 feet below the surface, shoots up to eight hours of video and has integrated crosshairs that help you line up your shots. Did we mention it also shoots five mega-pixel photos?
We imagine the spy watch from Brickhouse Security (now $99.95, originally $150) is ideal for foodies wanting to capture a master chef’s dishes without drawing attention to himself (is there anything worse than someone whipping out a flash camera in a Five-Star restaurant?).
The watch is covert and the lens is tiny, but it takes full color HD video, photos and audio recordings good enough to show off to friends back home.
NYC Art Museums With Kid-Friendly Exhibits
If you’re a parent traveling to New York, you’ll want to soak in the city’s vibrant art scene without boring your kids. Fortunately, we’ve found some exhibits that will appeal to both you and your little ones. They’re engaging, colorful and perfect for when the kids can’t take any more Monet.
Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum of Contemporary Art. The Belgian artist has created a veritable funhouse for adults, but it’s even more enchanting for children. Kids will love marveling at the life-size sculptures of brightly colored animals (the neon green hippo and yellow walrus are especially cute). They can also try on the upside down goggles and stick their heads into Holler’s Aquarium, where they can watch fish swim above them. Kids at least 48 inches tall can line up for a ride on the high-speed 102-foot slide—and parents, you won’t want to skip your turn either. Catch the exhibit before it ends January 15, 2012.
Jim Hodges, Gladstone Gallery. This hip gallery in Chelsea displays daring contemporary art. At the 24th Street location (there’s another on 21st Street) you can catch an exhibit by installation artist Jim Hodges. Kids will be entranced by Untitled, a white space where paint drips from holes in the ceiling at different intervals. In another room, you’ll watch a giant disco ball slowly descend into a pit of water as the space fills with swirling lights. The exhibit ends December 23, 2011.
Pop Objects and Icons from the Guggenheim Collection, Guggenheim. The eye-popping colors and shapes in this compilation, which includes works from Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, goes over well with kids (as does the museum’s famous curving ramp). The retrospective of provocative Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan hanging in the atrium gives tykes plenty to look at too, but you might not want to linger long—death is a theme in some of the sculptures.
Photo courtesy Benoit Pailley/New Museum
Flying High: The Five Best Plane Suites In The World
[slideshow id=20]
As a luxury travel company, we are constantly jetsetting around the world; and of course, we prefer to fly in style. With the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 out on the market, airlines are putting the class in First Class Suites. Check out the slideshow of our favorite plane suites and vote on yours.
Photos courtesy of Oneworld, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific
Suite Life: Mandarin Suite At Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
The Mandarin suite at the Five-Star Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is backed by nearly 50 years of storied sophistication, and you can feel the history from the moment you step inside the 3,143-square-foot space. Because the suite is sprawled across the top floor of the hotel in Hong Kong’s Central District, taking in views of the city and Victoria Harbour is easy — just peer out the double-height floor-to-ceiling windows, or take a step onto the private balcony that extends the entire length of the suite on two sides.
Since the Mad Men era (it opened in 1963), the hotel has maintained its sterling reputation, and the suite features restored furniture from the original Mandarin suite, mixed with high-tech gadgets and modern decor. The dining room melds a sleek feel with retro touches — a long glass-topped table is flanked by 12 chairs and highlighted by a trio of crystal chandeliers. Murals by artist Gerard D’A Henderson hang on the airy living room’s wood-paneled walls, and have hung there since the hotel opened. The Asian-inspired artwork melds with intricately carved Chinese furniture — two chairs by the windows have been there since the beginning — and more modern seating. Step into the marble bathroom and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a spa. Here, you can detoxify in the steam room and soak in the jetted tub that sits next to windows looking out at the city. In the mood for an actual spa treatment? The Mandarin suite connects to an entire couple’s spa suite, so you’ll barely have to budge to get the best of the hotel’s Five-Star Mandarin Spa.
Once inside the moody bedroom, your eyes will be drawn to the silk runner on the king-sized bed and the matching silk-upholstered wall. An entertainment room and kitchenette finish the elegant suite. A floor butler is on call during your stay in the hotel’s trademark service-focused style. Needless to say, the crème de la crème of Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong comes with a rich price — a night costs around HK$62,000 or US$7,968.
Photos courtesy Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 889
- 890
- 891
- 892
- 893
- …
- 896
- Next Page »