Forbes Travel Guide Stories

Hotels

Tea Time: Ring In The Holidays With Christmas Teas

High tea in an elegant hotel is a posh tradition that feels even swankier during the holidays. Here are some of the best teas that celebrate the season in festive style:

Peninsula Chicago

The Peninsula Chicago

The Peninsula Chicago. The hotel’s light-drenched lobby — thanks to 20-foot windows — is made even more graceful with a huge Christmas tree and lit garlands. Afternoon tea is served daily, but style-setters should book one of the afternoon fashion teas when boutiques stage informal fashion shows while guests nibble on black currant scones. Tory Burch designs will be on full display during the December 9th tea, and the latest from Luca Luca will be featured on the December 16th. Tea is served daily at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 4 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The Plaza Hotel. This historic New York hotel’s Palm Court offers a holiday menu along with its kid-focused Eloise tea, which channels the storybook mischief-maker with dishes such as grilled cheese, pink lemonade and organic peanut butter and jelly. The gingerbread men, pumpkin tartlets and foie gras terrine will put adults in a merry mood, too. (You also won’t be able to miss the pink Eloise tree by designer Betsey Johnson while you’re at the hotel.) Tea is served daily from 2 to 5 p.m.

The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. The Four-Star hotel’s annual Teddy Bear Tea is designed for small revelers, with “Stretchy the Elf,” Santa and a giant teddy bear on hand for squeal-inducing entertainment. Tea sandwiches and cookies come with sing-a-longs, storytelling and a take-home bear. The tea is served at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekends until December 11, and daily from December 14 through Christmas Eve.

Bonus tip: Make a note to book early for next year’s Teddy Bear Tea at Four Seasons Hotel Boston. The sold-out extravaganza often features celebrity guests (model Gisele Bündchen read kids a story last year). No ticket? Kids will still love dropping by the Christmas tree in the lobby — every inch of it is covered with teddy bears.

Photos courtesy of iStock and The Peninsula Chicago

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Spas

Five Best Treatments At The Spa At Stein Eriksen Lodge

One of our favorite winter getaways is The Spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. This newly minted Five-Star spa offers treatments that can be tailored to your specific needs, with many aimed at helping you adjust to the resort’s high altitude and dry climate. Plus, skiers will find a plethora of treatments to soothe sore muscles after a long day on the slopes. The luxe spa also capitalizes on its alpine location by using natural ingredients from the mountain area. If you’re making the trip to the Lodge this winter, we suggest booking an appointment to indulge in one of our five favorite treatments:

1. Great Salt Stone Therapy. Named for the nearby lake, the 80-minute Great Salt Stone Therapy is performed with warmed hand-carved and polished stones made of pure, fine salt. The stones are said to release negative ions, purifying the air and healing your body simultaneously.

2. Stein Signature massage. For a unique experience designed just for you, opt for the Stein Signature massage. Ranging from 25 to 110 minutes, this treatment is customized by you and your therapist. It incorporates the techniques that work best for your aches and pains, resulting in maximum relaxation.

3. Soothing Stones therapy. You can’t go wrong with a good hot stone massage. During the 80-minute Soothing Stones therapy, the therapist uses smooth, heated river rocks and classic Swedish massage techniques to melt away your tensions.

4. High Altitude Relief Package. Being 8,500 feet above sea level can wreak havoc on your skin and make you feel out of sorts, which is why we’re grateful for the three-hour High Altitude Relief Package. You’ll be treated to a massage with aromatherapy, a facial and a body polish to lock in moisture. At the end, the spa will provide you with an herbal elixir to help oxygenate your body. We can’t think of a better way to acclimate to the climate.

5. Vichy treatment. The Nordic Princess Vichy treatment for women and the Norseman Vichy for men use microdermabrasion scrubs to exfoliate your body before a soothing rain shower rinses you off and prepares you for a hydrating lotion. It will leave your skin as smooth as the driven snow.

Photo courtesy of Stein Eriksen Lodge

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Hotels

Battle Of The Beds

 

After a long day of traveling, there’s nothing better than slipping under the silky sheets in a comfortable bed. We’ve narrowed down the most inviting beds we could find — here are a few specifics: Option A’s mattress has 12 layers of foam and is topped with 300-thread-count sheets and four fluffy pillows. Option B’s four-poster canopy bed has a down mattress topper and Frette linens. And Option C’s pillow-top mattress dons Fili d’Oro linens and Sferra Egyptian cotton linens. So which one do you want to jump in?

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Photos Courtesy of Forbes Travel Guide

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Restaurants

Top Tihany-Designed Properties

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Born in Transylvania, raised in Jerusalem and educated in Milan, Adam Tihany has designed many of the world’s finest hotels, restaurants and spas. Tihany and world-class cuisine go hand-in-hand — the designer’s clients include famed chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. Though each Tihany-designed property is unique and incorporates the proprietor’s philosophy, they all share Tihany’s elegant and sleek style. Here are a few of his top designs:

Daniel in New York City. Chef Daniel Boulud’s eponymous Five-Star restaurant underwent a design overhaul in 2008, and Tihany brought a renewed sense of modernity to the famed Manhattan eatery. Leaving the building in tact, Tihany introduced soft, curved banquette seats, glass light boxes and branch-like protrusions to give Daniel a subtle yet refined feel that matches the exquisite French cuisine.

per se in New York City. When Thomas Keller opened per se in 2004, he did more than just recreate his Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry — the chef teamed up with Tihany to bring diners a whole new experience. per se has the feel of an upscale living room, complete with a fireplace and grand views of Central Park. However, the Five-Star restaurant pays homage to The French Laundry with a direct allusion via the famous blue front door.

Twist by Pierre Gagnaire in Las Vegas. The first foray into the United States by acclaimed chef Pierre Gagnaire, Twist joined the ranks of Five-Stars in 2011. The dining space offers views of the famous Las Vegas Strip through its floor-to-ceiling windows, but the cracked-egg motif (seen in the wall mural and decorative plates) and the 300 effervescent orbs above will be sure to catch your eye as well — that is, when you’re not busy with the haute cuisine.

Jean Georges, New York City. During the day, natural light pours into chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Five-Star New York restaurant. And as night falls, the glittering chandelier designed by L’Observatoire International softly refracts light off the vaulted silver-leaf ceiling. The room itself observes restraint, though you’ll have a hard time doing the same when your meal begins.

Aureole Las Vegas, Las Vegas. Few sites in Las Vegas are as at once visually striking and inherently functional as the 42-foot-tall wine tower inside Aureole Las Vegas. The perfectly cooled tower houses up to 10,000 bottles of wine and catsuit-clad “wine angels” float vertically to retrieve your vintage of choice. Though chef Charlie Palmer and Tihany worked together on the restaurant of the same name in New York, the wine tower is unique to the Four-Star restaurant inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.

Photos courtesy of DanielNYC, PerSe, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Aureole Las Vegas.

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Hotels

Live Like This: Encore Las Vegas

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At the Four-Star Encore Las Vegas, colorful and whimsical décor in the public spaces — the casino, lobby and to-die-for shopping esplanade — is a foil for the neutral and refined look in the guestrooms and suites. Designed by Roger Thomas, the same designer who worked his magic at Wynn Las Vegas, Encore makes it easy to bring its lavish vibe into your home with its Homestore in the Esplanade. There, you can purchase its room amenities — from the soap dish to the towels — as well as one-of-a-kind items that fit in with the hotel’s luxe design personality. Here are five finds for channeling Encore Las Vegas in your home:

Houndstooth. A focus of Encore’s suites is the houndstooth accent wall, which the Homestore staff tells us is owner and casino magnate Steve Wynn’s favorite pattern. To add a touch of the masculine and classic motif to your home, pick from the store’s collection of accessories like toothbrush holders and trays. The tray that holds the ice bucket and glasses in the suites is for sale for $130.

Murano glass chandelier. Homestore sells a scaled-down version of the showstopping chandeliers that hang throughout Encore. The smaller version is no less dramatic, though, and would add a colorful and extravagant touch to your dining room. It can be custom-ordered for a cool $88,000.

Cushy Wynn Dream bed. Recreate Encore’s beds at home with the Sealy pillow-topped and memory foam mattress and the striped 310-thread-count sheets. Finish off the look with the hotel’s blonde wood nightstands and white ceramic lamps. A queen mattress will run you $2,195.

Geodes. These crystals are placed throughout the property, especially in the conference wing, and give a natural touch to the hotel’s glitzy aesthetic. Add in the votives ($55 and $165) for a sparkling accent.

Capiz shell chandeliers.Versions of these drum shades with cascading Capiz shells make an appearance everywhere from Encore’s spa to the luxurious suites. The store sells a striking brown version with Swarovski crystals inside for $599. Homestore doesn’t have online shopping; call 702-770-5477 to arrange an order.

Photos courtesy Encore Las Vegas and Erik Kvalsvik.

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Hotels

Dorchester Collection’s 45 Park Lane Opens In London

45 Park Lane lobby entrance

45 Park Lane, a new hotel from the Dorchester Collection, opened in September in London.  Located at—you guessed it—45 Park Lane in Mayfair, the hotel overlooks famous Hyde Park. Although it has a quaint 45 guestrooms, this boutique hotel goes big with its amenities and artwork.

Damien Hirst’s Psalms series at Cut – 45 Park Lane

You’ll find 16 of Damien Hirst’s limited edition Psalms series (displayed for the first time) on the walls of chef Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant Cut, his first outpost in Europe.  You’ll have plenty to feast your eyes on in this American steak restaurant. Post-meal, belly up to the bar at the hotel’s Bar 45 and enjoy a signature cocktail–we love The Duke of Earl with Earl Grey Tea infused Tanqueray gin, lemon and cane sugar syrup.

45 Park Lane guestroom

The art continues in the guestrooms with original art by ten of Britain’s top artists. Designer Thierry Despont created the rooms to be more like private residences, which translate to sleek modern furnishings, neutral hues, king-sized beds with custom-made linens, Bang & Olufsen TVs and marble bathrooms.

Even though 45 Park Lane doesn’t have its own spa, you can book in-room massages as well as a prepared bath, which includes six aromatic varieties. While you soak, sip on herbal tea and watch the gentle flicker of a candle, all provided in the prepared bath package.

If you crave cardio, the fitness studio on the first floor will satiate your needs, or if you’d rather get an in-room workout, grab the yoga mat next to your TV, and pop on a few yoga sessions. We also recommend walking or jogging the nearby Hyde Park paths. This is one of the largest parks in London, so to get from one end to another you may want to bike–luckily, the hotel loans them out.

Photos Courtesy of Dorchester Collection

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