Between The Pages Of The Ritz-Carlton Magazine

July 28, 2010 at 9:16 AM | by MsRebecca | Comments (0)

This week we're taking a look at a dying hotel amenity--The Hotel Magazine. Sure, most hotels stock their guestrooms with the trendy magazines of the day or at least place some localized publication on the desks but there are actually a few hotels out there that still publish their own magazine. We've got our hands on a few copies of these rare breeds and we'll be documenting our finds for you here. Know of a hotel magazine we should see before it goes out of print? Send it to us!

As such a well-established luxury brand, it makes sense that Ritz-Carlton Hotels want their in-room magazine to share a similar pedigree. That's no doubt why on the website for the magazine, they tout its relatively recent redesign "led by James Truman, former editorial director of Cond� Nast." [Just to be clear: Conde Nast does not publish the Ritz-Carlton Magazine. It does publish us. ]

Truman and a solid lineup of contributors bring their years of established print-mag experience to these well-produced pages and altogether it certainly looks and feels as expensive and stylish as the rooms you'd find the publication in.

Ritz-Carlton President Simon F. Cooper sums up its purpose in his welcome letter, calling the July through September issue "your passport to discovery."

Of course, turn the pages and you'll "discover" plenty of Ritz-Carlton properties and amenities. But, to be fair, the branding is far from obnoxious�the L.A. feature, for example, is about the city "beyond the beach", rather than all about The Ritz-Carlton at LA Live. The new hotel does get a mention in a Notes From The Concierge sidebar, but we like this regular feature suggesting nearby activities, restaurants and on-property fun. We get to tap into the concierge's local knowledge without having to tip!

The other main destination feature in this issue is on Shanghai, and it's a great example of the lush travel photography in the magazine. Let's face it, these publications are made for flipping through more than reading, and while The Ritz-Carlton team does a good job with their articles, we're content to peruse the upfront pages of jewelry eye candy, bright designer luggage, and the trend story on the hot new home-design hue: purple. (What do you know? We were ahead of our time on that one...)

While we were not at all shocked to see a street-fashion spread shot by The Sartorialist (wonderful but approaching over-exposure in mags), one pleasant surprise in this bible of all things luxe was a shopping feature ... on Orlando. The story's intro promises the "real Orlando. No thrill rides. No souvenir stands--just tree-shaded, lakeside neighborhoods packed with style." Really? Huh. News to us! (We're even clipping this piece for our next trip south.)

The rest of the issue offers up your standard fare on Spanish wine, Mediterranean food, diving, and lavish spa treatments, but we were much more enamored with what's on the back page: a black and white photo of Salvador Dali sipping his tea at the Hotel Ritz Madrid in 1955.

It's a fitting final note for a magazine that seems made to carry ads for watches, condo developments and jewelry: it's dapper, it's divine and it makes you feel so much more worthy of the room you just dropped a few hundred bucks on. Who said magazines had no role in modern society, hmmm?

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