You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.
There are only 19 rooms at the Hotel Durant in Aspen, Colorado. And one of them, at least, has this horrid view. That means the odds of getting stuck with this anti-view are pretty good so make sure you ask before you spend your days staring up out of jail.
Apart from the view from some bottom floor rooms, Hotel Durant doesn't seem such a bad option. It's very central, and has average rates of around $130 which isn't too bad for Aspen. The main thing that bothers us (other than this view) is their website slogan: "The Aspen hotel to stay in!" We're just not sure that's actually a sentence.
It's hot. The beach at Coney Island is crowded and Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs just aren't doin' it for you anymore. You're sitting inside watching Top Chef, your tummy is rumbling, the chefs turn you on and you're wondering which contestant is going to land that coveted ticket to the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen.
And then it dawns on you: Colorado is not as hot as wherever you are, and the Aspen Food and Wine Classic is this weekend (June 13-15). The place will be crawling with hot chefs. You should go.
Well, here's the catch: tickets to the Classic have been sold out for a good long while now, but rumor has it that celebrity chefs and culinary giants head over to the ultra-swanky Sky Hotel for some partytime during the weekend.
And they choose Sky for a pretty good reason, too.
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Contributing Editor NatalieWW hits the slopes...in her mind. Enjoy.
With much of the Western U.S experiencing dramatic snowfall, I just couldn't help myself. I took a sick day (shh! don't tell the boss) and headed three hours up into the mountains (yes, Arizona has mountains) for some skiing. But one day just wasn't enough. Having returned to my cubicle and the relentless sunshine of Phoenix, I am dreaming today of downy powder and rolling, wide-open groomers -- but this time, with better digs.
I'm thinking somewhere like the L'Auberge d'Aspen at Aspen/Snowmass. Each "fabulously styled" cabin has a real wood-burning fireplace, down comforters, hand-crafted furniture, kitchenette and individually-themed décor. Oh -- and everybody's favorite accessory -- antler chandeliers. Most rooms have what I consider a necessity for a ski cabin, your own private Jacuzzi.
I believe I would go for Club Cottage #22, The Bells. The theme is Ralph Lauren-meets-Robert Redford, with dark woods, high beamed ceilings, overstuffed leather sofa, and romantic iron headboard. I think I'm feeling another sore throat coming on....
Of course, Lloyd Christmas described this city best when he decided to follow his lady love across the country in Dumb And Dumber:
A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aspen.
In the film, Lauren Holly, as the endearingly indifferent object of Lloyd's affection, embodies the WASP persona. When visiting Aspen, her character, Mary Swanson, could very well have stayed at The Little Nell. For the past three years, The Little Nell has made Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List. It's self-described "understated elegance" sounds like the kind of quiet haughtiness exclusive to Old Money folks.
And starting at $470 a night, you'll need to have kept your cash in Escro for quite some time to afford to stay. The simply-named The Bar is known for its martinis, naturally.
0 Comments - Add Yours
by amandak
