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Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Al Gore / Green Hotels / Seattle Hotels / Political Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Al Gore Keeps It Local at Hotel Vintage Park
If you watched "30 Rock" last night then you may have seen former Vice President Al Gore make a confusing cameo as an eco-concerned janitor for Rockefeller Center (above.) But if you were dining at Tulio Ristorante inside the Hotel Vintage Park in Seattle the other night, then you would have seen Al Gore live, in person.
The veep was in town for a town hall meeting to promote his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. He stopped in at Tulio which serves authentic Italian cuisine, for some halibut washed down with cabernet. According to the hotel peeps, he was very gracious to the staff and shook everyone's hand who came by to said hi. Some girls also said he was quite handsome. Hmm, he did look slimmer on "30 Rock" last night.
Tags: Hotel Amenities / Hotel Restaurants / Lists / Hotel Macarons / → All Tags
The Top Five Hotels For Eating Macarons
Usually trotted out into the lobbies of all the top Parisian hotels during fashion week, the colorful little Macaron treats are now showing up more and more often both outside the City of Lights and during all seasons. It's almost a full-blown hotel trend, these little tasty tidbits, and we've found five properties that'll happily place one into your palm.
But first, you must know the difference between a macaron, of which we speak, and the macaroon. A macaron is a delicate little thing made of egg whites, almond powder and sugar, which resembles a mini pastel hamburger. A macaroon is a coconut lump which is really yummy, it's true, but not what we're discussing here. Now onto the Top Five Hotel For Macarons.
Tags: OpenThread / Room Service / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
What Do You Always Order from Room Service?
Last week while staying at the W Boston, we did a little informal test of the hotel's room service by ordering our standard go-to room service food--a cheeseburger.
The W Boston's Market restaurant Market passed our burger test, sort of. The burger was excellent and cooked to perfection. However, we ordered mushrooms as our side and were served fries. Fortunately, those fries ended up being pretty tasty so no loss there.
However, we could have easily gone with a standard turkey club sandwich or a pasta dish. Or we could have really gone wild and tried a fancy entree like wild salmon or steak frites. We could have even tested the "service" part of room service by ordering something off-menu. But we stuck with our cheeseburger dish. That's just how we roll. (Unlike the rapper Pitbull, who's more into ordering the spicy stuff.)
Still, we bet a lot of hotel guests out there have a go-to room service order.
Tags: Thanksgiving Hotels / Thanksgiving Dinners / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Hotels Want To Spend Thanksgiving Dinner with You
Who's cooking the Turkey? Well, if you're staying at a hotel this Thanksgiving then you should have the hotel do it for you. Here's a round-up of some hotels that are offering Turkey Day dinners and of course, rooms for you to stay in as well.
The Otesaga: Head to upstate New York to Cooperstown (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame) and book the "Thanksgiving Family Weekend" package. You will get two nights in a traditional guest room, two holiday dinners and two breakfasts for each guest in the hotel's main dining room.
You'll also be invited to a cocktail reception on Wednesday evening hosted by the hotel manager, plus a ton of family oriented holiday activities will be at your fingertips from cookie decorating to family hay rides to holiday movies to watch. Plus, kids will get an early visit from Santa at the Saturday Breakfast visit with Santa.
The package starts at $430 for single occupancy and $575 for double. Go to Otesaga.com to book.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Chefs / → All Tags
Ma Peche Restaurant Opens At NY's Chambers Hotel, And We're So There
We've made no secret of the fact that one of our favorite Digital Nomad Lobbies is the mezzanine at NYC's Chambers Hotel, and three days ago while working in our usual nook, we noticed a suspicious lunch menu sitting on the sidetable. But how could we order this lunch when there was no wait staff? Ah ha—we should have known that they were being trained at that very moment for the opening of the hotel's new restaurant, Ma Peche.
Ma Peche is the latest spot from David Chang of the foodie favorite Momofuku megaforce that counts three restaurants in the Lower East Side. This being his first highly anticipated restaurant in Midtown, and hello—it's in a hotel, so it's screaming our name—we said scram to our hot pockets and headed in for the first lunch ever.
The details, after the jump.
Tags: Ski Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Services / French Alps Hotels / → All Tags
Champagne in the Hot Tub and Gourmet Meals in Val d'Isere
If there’s one thing you want when you’re skiing – apart from snow, obviously – it’s decent food. Not only because all that physical exertion of swishing around builds up an appetite, but also because it’s a trial to find anything in the Alps that isn’t extortionately priced and comprised of at least 90% cheese.
This is why we’re quite excited by news from Le Chardon Mountain Lodges (a cluster of luxe chalets in Val d’Isere). They’ve just recruited a semi-celeb chef to head up their kitchens for the season: Oliver James, who was trained by Gordon Ramsay and has worked with Gary Rhodes (who was on British TVs, what, about 10 years ago).
On the menu: roast sea bass with celeriac truffle and suckling pig with smoked garlic mash, pea mousse and tarragon jelly. He’ll be running cookery classes as well, taking you through cupcakes and soups to proper full on meals. So you’ll come back with a skill you can actually use at home.
All this expertise comes at a price, of course – a week’s stay in one of the chalets costs from £995 per person. But it does include a personal chef, chalet manager, daily champagne receptions (possibly in the hot tub, by the looks of the picture), five course dinners and an open bar. So you really can get your money’s worth.
Oliver James will be based in Chardon, the biggest lodge, which sleeps 20. But if you don’t have sufficient friends, don’t fret: not only is he creating the menus for all the chalets, but he’s also available to cook in person on request for any of the smaller places. That way, there won’t be a fondu in sight.
Tags: Hotel Desserts / Hotel Food / Hotel Restaurants / Chicago Hotels / → All Tags
Did You Know The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago Invented The Brownie?
Chicago's Palmer House Hilton has some serious bragging rights when it comes to dessert. The hotel invented the brownie. According the Palmer House, socialite and owner Bertha Palmer asked the hotel chefs to create a sweet for the Women's Pavilion at the the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and they came up with the all-magnificent brownie.
We headed to the Palmer House to see if the first brownie house served up a killer dose of chocolatey goodness after 116 years. The newest brownie incarnation in the hotel restaurant, Lockwood, is different from the original treat, which supposedly had an apricot glaze and nuts. Our version, our waiter told us, is only the base of Bertha's original brownie.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / London Hotels / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Daniel Boulud / Celebrity Chefs / → All Tags
The Next Gordon Ramsay? Daniel Boulud Is Coming to London
Hey Daniel Boulud, have you never heard of Gordon Ramsay? Or of over-reaching yourself? Not content with dominating most of North America, he’s going to be crossing over the pond and gracing London with his presence in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
Bar Boulud London will basically be a rip-off take on his New York Bar Boulud, and promises to “bring into play French techniques applied to the finest ingredients.” So pâtés, terrines, cheese and charcuterie with lots of wine. Yum.
The decor sounds interesting – there’s a wine theme, so vaulted ceilings and lots of wood and cork – and Boulud promises to combine ”New York’s energy and spirit, French soul and tradition, and a touch of London style.” Just a touch? Whatever.
BBL will open Spring 2010 and will seat 165. See you at the bar.
[Photo: NY Mag]
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Brunch / Ace Hotels / → All Tags
We Do Brunch at The Breslin and the Verdict Is: It's Ace
At last! The Breslin restaurant inside the Ace Hotel New York is open, and HotelChatter was there on Saturday to sample the goodness. Either the hotel was well-booked this weekend or just as many New Yorkers have been salivating over this opening as much as we have, because the Breslin was jumpin’. We started at the bar, which is always a nice way to pass the time while waiting for a table, but in this case it was not the best introduction to a delicious meal served with just the right amount of attention.
The first sign that the staff are still finding their groove was the wait itself. We needed a table for two—and could see a smattering of them in the dining room—but we were still told the wait would be about 10 minutes. (The Breslin doesn’t take reservations so that was not a factor.)
Settling in at a rickety bar table, we decided to order a Bloody Mary (yes, they are serving booze, despite complaints from the mosque across the street), but just getting the bartender’s attention took 10 minutes itself. Even though there were two other people behind the bar with him, busying themselves with unknown tasks.
Waiting in this brand new but decked out to look old space is not a chore, at least this early in the game, but we hope the staff get into the swing of things soon.
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Madeira Hotels / Portugal Hotels / Orient-Express Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Relaxing at Reid’s Palace in Madeira
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, Hotel Maven Eric Rosen visits Madeira...in his mind. Enjoy.
I’ve always been intrigued by the emerald isle of Madeira, a strange whalers’ haven that also produces such fine fortified wines, and one day, as I happened upon the web site of Reid’s Palace, a sprawling 19th century hotel that perches on a cliff 150 feet above the azure Atlantic in the island’s capital city of Funchal, that first opened in 1891. The resort is equal parts Riviera redoubt, tropical forest lodge, and seaside getaway. With 128 rooms and 35 suites, surely there was an accommodation for me there.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Celebrity Hotels / Taj Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Anna, Martha and J.Lo Have Eaten at Le Caprice in The Pierre. Have You?
The official opening of Le Caprice in the Pierre Hotel was on Monday, but well before then a string of celebrities had already graced the deco-styled restaurant. As an outpost of the London Le Caprice, in the same stable as fellow London hotspots The Ivy and Annabel’s, the celeb contingent makes sense. Stars love nothing more than being first to try something, even if it does involve putting deliciously rich food in their mouths.
Anna Wintour threw a Vogue book party there, while J.Lo, Marc Anthony and Naomi Campbell dined with shoe god Christian Louboutin at the opening celebration. So far only renderings have been available of the black-and-white dining room, lined with David Bailey photographs—however we do note a heavy use of mirrored panels, which the A-list is sure to adore.
Tags: Hotel Reopenings / Caribbean Resorts / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Domain de Lonvilliers to Reopen December 1
The Domaine de Lonvilliers is getting a flash re-opening with a seriously flash restaurant. This 145-room resort is on the French side of St Martin and boasts of having both European stylishness and a laidback Caribbean nature – we're not sure if it's possible, but it sure sounds like a beautiful combination.
The new Domaine de Lonvilliers will include a restaurant from chef Christophe Leroy, who has already set up his famed "La Table du Marche" restaurants in other resorts in the Caribbean and beyond. That means the food should be pretty darn good.
The reopening is scheduled for December 1 and they've got some special rates from then until March 31, 2010, starting from $250 per night and $300 a night over the Christmas and New Year season. One gripe we have: French readers will be able to get a lot more restaurant and hotel info out of Christophe Leroy's website, but the rest of us will be scrounging around the site trying to find a button to turn it into English.
[Photo: Santino Corleone]
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