11.20.09
Ben Franklin once said that “visits should be short, like a winter’s
day.” A few blocks from his birthplace, Boston’s new Ames hotel is
doing its best to prove him wrong.
Occupying the Romanesque former headquarters of the Ames farm-tool
company, the 113-room downtown property (which officially opened last
night) is the very chic result of a collaboration between David
Rockwell and the Morgans Hotel Group—the New York-based founding
fathers, so to speak, of the boutique hotel.
It’s not as haute-design as the Mondrian that Morgans opened in South
Beach last fall, but the Ames has its fair share of high-fashion
elements, from alpaca throws to a white-on-white theme that’s offset
by black-tile bathrooms and accents of cinnabar orange.
Rockwell is known as an ultra-modern designer, but he’s had some fun
with history here: the bedside lighting riffs on whale-oil lamps of
yore, and mirrors facing the elevators make use of an old theater
trick to conjure the spooky illusion of a chandelier. (I wasn’t as big
a fan of the hotel’s other “chandelier,” a hanging constellation of
mirror discs that partially obscures the lobby’s beautiful
barrel-vaulted mosaic ceiling.)
Mistral’s Seth Greenberg and Mark Goldberg are behind The Woodward,
which serves up small plates—like cheesy mushroom toast and short-rib
pot roast with parsnip and carrot—that you can really sink your teeth
into. It’s a modern-tavern concept, with Victorian curios lining the
walls and Chef Goldberg making innovative use of pickled fruits and
vegetables. The house ale, created by New Hampshire’s Smuttynose
brewery, is available by the growler. One or two of those and your
stay at the Ames may (sorry, Ben Franklin) be as long as a winter’s
night.
Ames is offering introductory rates of $165 through April 5.
11.20.09
Who doesn’t know Cynthia Rowley?! If you don’t have one of her flirty dresses, then you many have sunglasses that bear her name or you may be eating out of one of her dinner plates. And don’t forget her fragrance and recent collaboration with Avon to create a line of cosmetics.
Coming in 2011 Cynthia will add another notch in her brand’s belt by designing uniforms for United Airlines. Everyone from, pilots, flight attendants, customer service representatives, to ramp service and maintenance employees. “ We have chosen Cynthia for her keen sense of style and her commitment to involve employees throughout the design process,” says United.
Right now she is talking with employees in every sector of the company before she embarks on creating a functional and fashionable set of uniforms. “ I feel very fortunate to be the one United has chosen for a project of this magnitude, “says Rowley.
Mimi Lombardo is the fashion director at Travel + Leisure.
Photo courtesy of United Airlines
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11.20.09
Cancel any upcoming flight you have. Renege on that pending cruise you booked. Thinking about taking a scenic train ride? Well stop. Why? Because I have found a new mode of transportation that is sure to blow you out of the water and change the face of travel as the world knows it. What is it you ask? Cupcakes.
Yes, you read that right. Cupcakes.
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11.19.09
Flights in several major hubs across the nation were heavily delayed
early this morning by a glitch in an Federal Aviation Administration computer system that helps
manage air traffic. The snafu resulted in no accidents, but it raises an obvious question: could future such problems put passengers in danger?
The short answer, according to FAA spokesman Hank Price, is no.
“Radar coverage and communication with aircraft were never affected,”
he told me. “So it’s not a safety problem at all.”
What happened was that the system that automatically generates
flight plans crashed, forcing FAA personnel to input the data manually,
and thereby slowing down the whole system. Flight plans are electronic
documents that tell air traffic controllers where each aircraft is
going, when, and by what route, and are required for all commercial
flights. If an airliner’s crew can’t be issued a flight plan, it simply
has to sit on the ground.
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11.19.09
I recently became engaged and while doing some non-work-related research on the matter, I stumbled upon something unusual/sweet/kind of cringe-worthy: Disney Wedding Rings.
Couture designer Kirstie Kelly unveiled her “Kirstie Kelly for Disney by Mouawad” collection of engagement rings for the 2009 Bridal Week in New York City. The six rings are inspired by six Disney princesses from a princess-cut Sleeping Beauty ($5,460) to the three-stone Belle design ($4,650).
But wait! There’s more!
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11.18.09
Earlier this year, a friend stumbled upon a set of photos of the derelict Overlook Mountain House outside of Woodstock in New York's Catskill Mountains. When TravelandLeisure.com published the World's Eeriest Abandoned Places last month, I was reminded of my desire to explore these ruins. So on a recent weekend getaway to the nearby town of Saugerties, a short two-hour drive north of New York City, I insisted we find the abandoned hotel, which in its prime hosted such esteemed guests as President Ulysses S. Grant, as described in a New York Times article from 1873.
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11.17.09
Though down almost a million visitors from last year, Las Vegas is gearing up for next month’s debut of MGM Mirage’s CityCenter, an $11 billion, 68-acre megaplex that seals the city’s reputation for over-the-top innovation. T+L checks in with Vegas expert Howard Lefkowitz, CEO of booking site Vegas.com, on America’s top vacation destination.
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11.17.09
Every Thanksgiving I pile my dog Max into my Toyota Land Cruiser and head south to visit my family. The truth is I would never go without him—he’s my child, of course—and since my parents are crazy pet people too, they welcome both of us with open arms.
Having traveled so much with Max over the years, I’ve learned that there are some very important ‘rules of the road’ that everyone should be aware of when traveling with your dog. While taking your furry friend along for the ride can be tons of fun, it can also present some real dangers—to both of you.
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11.16.09
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York and the country’s most significant cultural complex is getting a makeover. In February, the center unveiled the thoroughly renovated Alice Tully Hall, one of the city’s premier spaces for chamber music. Next month's opening of the Atrium at Lincoln Center offers a first: a visitor center with a box office at which it will be possible to purchase same-day tickets, some at 50 percent discount, to performances presented by Lincoln Center and its resident companies (think TKTS for Lincoln Center, but better—the attractive indoor space has a ‘wichcraft café, free Wi-Fi, and an info desk, among other amenities).
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11.16.09
With its red-and-gold Vegas-goes-regal ambience, Carnival's newest ship, "Dream," debuted last week. While Carnival ships are getting more refined in design, it's clear the Carnival crowd still likes to party. (On the inaugural two-night outing from New York, a group of young guys danced through several bars in their bathrobes, and late-night revelers paraded outside my cabin door at 4 a.m.) When Carnival says “Fun Ship,” they mean it.
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