The Enlightened Traveler: This Nifty Ice Cream Paradise Happens To Be In London

The Luxurist likes many things: good whiskey, stimulating conversation, toasty cashmere socks, to name three.

(It goes without saying that the lovely Luxurista, also ranks high atop his list of favorites. But I digress.)

You can't get this at your corner Dairy Queen

And that brings us to London's Fortnum & Mason swanky department store. To call it a mere store would be imprecise. It does indeed stock a first-class selection of goods.

It also serves as a welcomed island of calm amid the unrelenting insanity of Piccadilly Circus.

The emporium principally is a posh paradise for food lovers. It offers all manner of deluxe edibles from every part of the globe. What don't they have?

(The Luxurist once found taco shells there for a homesick American friend living in the dreary  north of England. But, again, I digress.)

Fortnum's salted caramel chocolate cake

Fortunam's has a swell cafe on the ground floor where you can relax with afternoon tea or a cocktail, take a light meal that is quite reasonably priced, or – and this is the main attraction as far as The Luxurist is concerned – go to town on some truly fabulous ice cream sundaes.

You will find that Fortnum's creations are a few grades above your average soda fountain.

The Original Dusty Road sundae, for example, comes with coffee and chocolate ice cream, butterscotch sauce, whipped cream, chocolate flakes, and a coffee macaroon. How does that sound to you?

The Chocolossus sundae consists of banana and chocolossus ice cream, walnut sauce, whipped cream, banana crisps, and coffee beans.

London's historic Fortnum & Mason has been around since 1707

Maybe you just want a scoop of ice cream in a cone, which the English call a cornet. How cute!

You can choose from about a dozen flavors, such as honeycomb, salted caramel, blackcurrant ripple, rose & violet, pistachio or amaretti.

Or you might want to sample one of their lighter sorbets, such as lemon, mango, passion fruit or gin & tonic. (Yes, you read that last correctly.)

It used to be quite difficult to find premium ice cream in London. While that has changed, Fortnum & Mason has not. It's still a wonderful spot to unwind after a hard day in the city or before heading off to a nearby play or concert.

And did we tell you about the ice cream?

The Annals of Luxury: The Big Money Never Sleeps in Las Vegas

The race to develop show stopping hotels in Las Vegas is about to shift into high gear yet again – to what result no one knows.

The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.

The dreams of low-rollers and billionaire developers converge in Las Vegas

It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?

Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.

Odds getting longer for SLS Hotel Las Vegas

Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened,  a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.

A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.

Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.

The Enlightened Traveler: Beware of Changes to Your Airline's Frequent Flier Program

Hate the way airlines treat you? Here's another complaint to add to the list: recent and forthcoming changes to frequent flyer programs will make it even harder to earn and collect awards tickets.

Hoping to upgrade to this? Dream on!

Jet Blue and Virgin America are now basing the amount of points you can earn not on miles flown but on the amount of money you spend on a ticket. Delta and United have announced that they will do the same starting next year.

With the U.S. Airways management team firmly in charge, there is little doubt that the lone holdout, American Airlines, eventually will adopt similar regressive reforms.

Also read: Some Tourists Avoiding Manhattan in Favor of Brooklyn

The reason for all of this is simple. Airlines want to retain the loyalty of their most lucrative customers, the ones who buy full-fare business and first class tickets with regularity. Consider yourself lucky if you are in this group.

The rest of us should prepare for further indignities from the airlines. Consider using your miles sooner rather than later. Their value likely will only decrease in future years.

Look here for more on this subject.

The Enlightened Traveler: Bargains Abound As Russia's Economy Falters

Your dream vacation to Moscow awaits. Or at least it's a lot more affordable now.

The U.S. dollar, Euro, and British pound buy as much as 50% more in Russia than they did a year ago. The New York Post reports that rooms at the Four Season St. Petersburg are as low as a bargain $185 per night.

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

Similarly cheaper rates can also be found on flights from the U.S. and Europe on Aeroflot, the national airline. Note that it may be harder to book desirable dates and times because Delta, Lufthansa, Etihad and other major carriers are reducing or eliminating flights to Russia due to declining demand.

Catherine Palace, St. Petersburg

Foreign tourists and business people are staying away, and locals don't have the money to travel abroad. The reason for Russia's economic woes? Plunging oil prices and international sanctions are taking a heavy toll.

Also read St. Peterburg's New Faberge Museum

Now is the time to see Red Square, the Pushkin Museum, Moscow Zoo, attend a performance at the Bolshoi,  or stroll through the city's pristine historic quarters. And there's the Hermitage Museum, Mariinsky Theatre, and the multiple cultural delights of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.

Red ink means golden opportunities for savvy travelers.

Click here for tips on other top destinations that recently have become affordable.

The Annals of Luxury: Some Tourists Avoiding Manhattan in Favor of Brooklyn

Which statement is true?

(1) Derek Jeter has changed his mind; he's not retiring after all.
(2) Compassionate conservatism really does exist.
(3) Hotels in Brooklyn are doing better business than their Manhattan counterparts.

Ready in 2015: Renovations are underway at Brooklyn's Italian Renaissance Bossert
Hotel, where the Dodgers celebrated their 1955 World Series win over the Yankees

It's (3), of course, according to Hotel Management magazine. The publication cites a study, originally reported in Real Estate Weekly, showing that Brooklyn hotel occupancy levels are well above the national (and New York City) average.

Also read: Beyond Manhattan and Into the Void

The article goes on to say that, surprisingly,  some visitors are avoiding Manhattan hotels altogether. They prefer to stay in Brooklyn, where they get more bang for their buck, along with the right to brag about being cooler than their hipster friends back home.

Some 27 new hotels are planned for Brooklyn. These include a top-to-bottom restoration of the 1909 Hotel Bossert in Brooklyn Heights and the Pod Hotel in Williamsburg.

Can SLS, Ace, and Morgans be far behind?

Trend Watch: In Las Vegas, Smaller May Be Better

The opening last year of the 181-room Nobu Hotel within Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas appears to have ushered in a new Sin City lodging concept: the boutique resort. Two other new small luxury properties are about to open in the coming months.

Asian-inspired luxury at The Nobu, Las Vegas

While it occupies one of six existing Caesar's towers, the Nobu is a serene, completely contained unit with its own dedicated staff, room service, bell service, lobby, security elevators, and more.

The tower was gutted to make way for contemporary Asian-inspired rooms (think sleek black lacquered furniture, Japanese woodblock prints, teak stools in the over-sized showers) that are larger than usual.

With a bathroom this big, you don't need a room

The mini-bars are stocked with sakes, Japanese beers, and exotic juices. Guests receive preferred seating at Nobu's highly rated restaurant. And that's not all. Caesar's luxurious QUA spa has developed special treatments just for the Nobu.

Walk out of the peaceful lobby and you are steps away from the action and gourmet dining you also came to Vegas for: Cleopatra’s Barge bar, Restaurant Guy Savoy, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, the new Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, Payard Patisserie, the Forum Shops, showrooms, casinos, and race and sports book.

The new Cromwell, opening soon on the former site of Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon

Next month Caesar's opens a second boutique hotel next to The Flamingo Hotel. The 181-room Cromwell boasts Parisian-inspired decor, a restaurant by celebrity chef Giada DeLaurentiis, a 65,000 square foot roof-top beach club operated by Victor Drai, and a chic basement-level after-hours bar, also run by Drai, that promises to be a Vegas hotspot for the young and good-looking or the old and ridiculously wealthy.

(Incidentally and seemingly without reason, Caesar's claims that The Cromwell is the Strip's first luxury boutique hotel. So what does that make its own Nobu Hotel, a gussied-up Travel Lodge? But I digress.)

The Delano: Miami Beach meets Las Vegas

Finally, later this year Miami's trendy Delano hotel launches a 190-room sister property in the part of the Mandalay Bay tower that used house The Hotel (an earlier attempt to bring the small luxury concept to Vegas). The hotel's press agents have been hard at work, promising that the "Delano Las Vegas will bring the effortless style and unparalleled service of the original Delano South Beach to the energy and buzz of the Las Vegas Strip."

(Effortless? In excessive, over-the-top Las Vegas? That we hope we live long enough to see. But, again, I digress.)

As for other Las Vegas trends, the leisure industry publication Travel Pulse reports that the Palm Hotel is following The Peninsula Beverly Hills in making its rooms available on a 24-hour basis. That is, you can check in at any time you prefer and check out at the same time 24 hours later.

Now there's a privilege that all travelers would like to see implemented around the globe.

Make It A Double: An Appealing Wine At A Good Price. And You've Probably Never Heard Of It.

If you ever see a bottle of Chinon on a wine list when you are dining out, do yourself a favor and  order it. You are likely to be pleasantly surprised.

The Luxurist has been taking his own advice for many years because he knows what many wine mavens have learned: this medium-to-full bodied red wine from the inviting Loire region in France pairs nicely with food and, because it is so little known, ordering a bottle won't break the bank.

In fact, the prices are so reasonable that a high quality Chinon usually turns out be a terrific value.

Made primarily from the cabernet franc grape, Chinons tend to show more herbal and mineral qualities than Burgundy. They might show some nice fruit. But you will not find any floral notes in them.

Some have called these wines "austere" or "reserved" Of course, that is precisely why they are wonderful wines to drink with a meal.

While the quality can be quite good across the board, the style of the wines will vary, not simply because of the skill of the winemaker, but also because the soils in the Loire Valley are not uniform.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the Chinon appellation comprises "a mix of terroirs, including alluvial soils that tend to produce lighter, easier drinking wines; limestone, chalk and clay slopes, where the most complex, structured and age-worthy wines are grown; and soils dominated by clay, which can produce wines that reflect both styles."

Perhaps this is more than you need to know about Chinon. Suffice it to say that if you spend a few minutes with a thoughtfully assembled wine list, you may well find a Chinon worth drinking.

If you want to try a Chinon: Charles Joguet is one of the oldest and most reliable Chinon producers. Others include Bernard Baudry, Couly-Dutheil, Domaine des Roches Neuves, Phillipe Alliet. Wines from several of these producers were highly rated last week in a New York Times tasting of Loire reds. The Marc Bredif 2011 received 2 1/2 stars and is widely available in the U.S. You an get it here.

The Artful Traveler: St. Petersberg's New Faberge Museum

Faberge eggs are having a moment just now.

This might not have come as a surprise to Tsar Alexander III who in 1885 commissioned the first ornately bejeweled egg as an Easter present for his wife. It became an annual tradition over the next 30 years, with prized specimens going not only to the tsaritza, but also to other matriarchs in Alexander's family.

(Yes, the wife of the Tsar is properly called tsaritza, not tsarina, which, though commonly used in some places is woefully incorrect. Trust me on this. But I digress.)

Forty-two eggs still exist. If you can get your hands on one – good luck! – it will set you back $8 - $10 million, perhaps more. 

Even if you cannot buy one to put on the mantle next to your Oscar, it is possible to see a good many of them this season.

Four will be on display at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum from February 18 to May 18.

You must travel to Russia to view two larger collections.

Moscow's Kremlin Armoury museum has ten eggs on display. Nine are to be found, along with another 1,000 pieces of jewelry and objects crafted by the Faberge workshops, in the much anticipated Faberge Museum set to open in St. Petersburg this winter.

The museum is owned by Viktor Vekselberg, purported to be the fourth richest man in Russia, and housed in the elaborately renovated Shuvalovsky Palace, described by The Telegraph as "a fabulous riot of 18th-century rococo."



As this is a privately owned institution,  admission is limited to just 15 people per hour, and then on only certain days of the week – after the museum finally opens, that is. While the museum held a gala society and press  event in November, it has yet to announce the date the public will be welcome.

Reports in the Financial Times, The Telegraph and other British papers indicate that it could be quite difficult to get in. (Would you expect anything less from Russia's fourth richest oligarch?)

Advance planning will be necessary, and it might be best to leave the arrangements to the several Russia travel specialists based in London who can guarantee admission to this and other coveted sites, whisk you through customs on our arrival, and arrange luxury accommodations for your trip.

The Artful Traveler: Unexpected Pleasures In Unlikely Places

Art actually is all around us.

 

It's in museums, of course, in plazas in front of rude public buildings and soul-crushing skyscrapers, and in the homes of well-heeled friends or business associates.

Occasionally it turns up in the least likely of places.

The Dutch chain Spar recently opened a supermarket in Budapest designed around a series of curvaceous wooden ribs that extend, not uniformly, from the ceiling to the floor so as to divide the  large space into a series of inviting, humanly scaled pods.

Curved counters are clad with similar wooden ribs for displaying wine and baked goods. Produce is displayed on curving white islands, and the forms of the checkout counters echo the same pleasing shapes.

Undulating white beams in the ceiling contrast with the warm wood and guide shoppers on one of several routes through the store – short for daily shoppers, long for those on a weekly shopping expedition.

The market opened in September in a mall in a wealthy suburb of Budapest and is the work of the local LAB5 architectural firm.

Let us hope that the Spar store is so successful that it spurs less progressive chains to think along the same lines.

The Enlightened Traveler: The Dorchester On My Mind

After having been stranded, treated no better than rubbish, then left to fend for himself for two nights in London in May by British Airways on an impossibly overcrowded holiday weekend – trust me, this was not a pleasure trip – The Luxurist longs to return to the land of Tennyson and Tesco for a more gratifying visit.

This was not a planned stopover. The Luxurist and his lovely Luxurista were simply transferring  through Heathrow en route from the Cannes film festival to Hollywood, where, like British Airways,  they do not bother even to try to fake sincerity.

British Airways wants you to think you'll enjoy flying with them. Don't you believe it!

Of course, even Hollywood has its virtues. Heads roll when executives fail to perform.

Not so at British Airways. On a day when Heathrow's runways were closed for four hours and some 225,000 passengers were flying in, out or through the airport, the world's largest airline managed to bring unimagined grief to many of them.

Passenger service failures were massive.

Flights were not automatically rebooked. Why, The Luxurist wonders, do they ask for your mobile phone number and e-mail address if they are not going to use them to notify you of your new flight information?

Instead, customers were made to wait in lines of up to nine hours, were given phone numbers for rebooking only to find that the airline hung up on them repeatedly ("Too many calls now. Goodbye!") and then closed the switchboard entirely at 8 PM.

Nine hour lines at Heathrow, courtesy of British Airways

Presumably this was done so that BA's employees could enjoy the start of their holiday weekend.

Never mind those pesky 225,000 paying passengers, who not only had no flights but no place to stay either. British Airways handed everyone a hastily reproduced piece of paper stating, bluntly, that they were not going to find hotels for anyone.

Apparently you have a better chance of being treated with care if you work for British Airways than if you buy a ticket from the company.

And they say that there is no justice in Hollywood!

But I digress. British Airways was guilty of many more depredations on this dreadful weekend. There will be much more to read on why The Luxurist will never, ever fly British Airways again in a future post.

Watch for it if you want to spare yourself unfathomable misery in the future.

Also read: Bellagio's New Caviar Buffet – A Good Value Or A Waste of Money?

Back to the topic at hand: London's fabulous Dorchester hotel.

The one and only Dorchester hotel

The Luxurist was amused to read in hotelchatter.com and elsewhere on the web that The Dorchester  is offering a side-by-side tasting of all four Remy Martin Louis XIII cognacs – Louis XIII, Louis XIII Black Pearl, Louis XIII Rare Cask 43,8 – for a mere $3,200 per person.

This is what you call a stiff drink, indeed.

It's not the cost that concerns The Luxurist. The cognacs are très rare. By all accounts they may well be worth every penny. And, after all, if you have it, what's money for?

The Luxurist simply wants to know why a great hotel like The Dorchester must resort to publicity gimmicks to promote itself.
 
Publicity is not necessarily a bad thing – unless, as Jane Russell opined, you don't have any.

That is not to say, as many do, that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Contrarian that he is, The Luxurist does not subscribe to this tired adage.

Same price. Which would you choose?

He also does not believe in pointless publicity.

Gimmicks, even high class ones, will not compel customers to stay at any hotel, or to return if they have found their stay lacking.

Enlightened travelers do not want stunts. They require friendly, unobtrusive, exceptional service, posh yet comfortable accommodations, good food, a bit of exclusivity, and, in general the feeling that they are being cared for at all times.*

This is exactly what The Dorchester has offered The Luxurist on his several stays there.

Let's do the math. Would you rather treat yourself to a round of costly cognac, or, for the same money enjoy a memorable five-night stay at one of the world's top hotels?

The choice is yours.

*None of these superlatives applies to British Airways. But, again, I digress. Watch this space.

The Enlightened Traveler: Bellagio's New Caviar Buffet – A Good Value Or A Waste of Money?

How much is too much?

The Luxurist has been pondering this age-old brainteaser ever since he learned that the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is trumpeting an all-you-can eat caviar buffet. It introduced this schnor-fest a few months back and just announced that it will be a permanent feature, owing to – what else? – popular demand.

(Or as one of the hotel's chefs told the Las Vegas Sun, "If we wouldn't have it here this weekend, people would complain." And we wouldn't want that, would we?)

As if there already is not enough fabulousness in the Macao of the Desert, the price of gorging on  endless blinis and fish eggs (along with a small selection of sushi) is a mere $38.

Now, for a hair less than two twenties, you will not be served any Beluga or Sevruga from the Caspian Sea, or anywhere near. The Bellagio is offering American Sevruga, salmon roe of unspecified origin, and tobiko roe from Japan.

There are excellent North American caviars, as well as a good many that are inferior. Let us hope that the Bellagio knows the difference, even if not all of its customers will.

The Luxurist and his Lovely Luxurista are particularly fond of the silky, delicate taste of good American salmon roe. Its flavor is not as complex as sturgeon roe, but can be sublime when fresh, having been carefully handled during packing and transit.

Both American Sevruga and salmon roe are best enjoyed on a slightly warm blini with a dolop of room temperature creme fraiche.

Skip the usual accompaniments of chives and chopped onions or eggs. They only detract from the  clean, faintly salty taste of good caviar and cannot mask the bad – unless you prefer onions and chives to caviar, in which case why shell out $38 when you can buy an onion and a bunch of chives at the supermarket for $1.50?

But I digress.

The Luxurist is of the opinion that Ang Lee's great "Life of Pi" should have won the best picture Oscar this year.
That the movie contains a memorable scene in which hordes of flying fish descend on the adrift Pi
and the Bengal tiger Richard Parker is the reason, however nominal, that we show this photo here.

Tobiko (or flying fish) eggs are small, crunchy, without a distinctive taste, and typically are used as colorful toppings on certain kinds of sushi. As The Luxurist has never seen these tiny red nuggets served on a blini, he wonders exactly what the folks at The Bellagio are thinking?

Do they believe that visitors will find this unusual presentation appealing, or that they will not know better?

Guess on which side The Luxurist is taking bets?

To be fair, The Luxurist has not yet sampled the pleasures of The Bellagio's endless caviar buffet. When he does, he hopes that he will be pleasantly surprised.*

Until that moment, The Luxurist can only wonder if enabling people to pig out is what businesses should be doing.

No one wants to end up at the craps table shouting, "Daddy needs a new pair of pants with a larger waistline."

As in all things, caviar should be enjoyed in moderation and savored.

If it's quality stuff, you, Dear Reader, will appreciate the experience all the more.  If it's not, you will spare yourself unwanted calories, as well as the uncomfortable feeling that comes with overeating.

Either way, both your waistline and those who love you will be grateful.

* The Bellagio also houses a Petrossian Restaurant, not to be confused with the hotel's caviar buffet. Petrossian's menu does indeed include costly imported caviars plus pricey foie gras,  fine champagnes and wines. No bargains here!

The Artful Traveler: Matisse's Inspired Chapel

Though produced by a very old man who was mortally ill,
they seem to come from the springtime of the world.
        – John Russell, on Matisse's paper cut outs 

In 1947, around the time he published Jazz, his famous book of paper cutouts,  Henri Matisse began work on what was to become his other great late-in-life masterpiece, the Chapelle du Sainte Marie du Rosaire in Vence, in the south of France.

Matisse lived in Vence from 1943-1949 and designed the chapel, along with all of its decor, liturgical objects, and priestly vestments, at the request of Sister Jacques-Marie, who had been his nurse when he was ill in 1943 and later became a Dominican nun.

The chapel opened in 1951 to not uniformly approving reviews.

Matisse laid out the space as a simple rectangle. Though he was a master colorist, the artist specified white walls for both the exterior and interior.

Inside, the only color comes from the chapel's signature feature, a series of 15 arched floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows in hues of blue, yellow, and green. They line two walls and fill the simple, sacred space with glorious yet soothing light.

The effect creates a sense of serenity, clarity, and peace of mind. If this doesn't calm you down instantly, then nothing will.

Matisse said that he chose yellow a as symbol of the sun and heavenly light; green of plant life and the earth; and blue of the sky, the sea and the Madonna – perhaps the very same expression of springtime as the one Russell observed.

A vivid blue tile roof provides the sole splash of color outside. Look for it if you are driving to the chapel.

Try to time your visit for late afternoon, when the tourist coaches have departed and the chapel is blissfully devoid of the hordes of gawkers that can turn even the most sacred site into a sideshow of shorts, sandals and snotty striplings.

If you have ever been to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, you will know what The Luxurist means.

But I digress.

Vence's historic center

The Rosaire Chapel is perched on a hillside a few minutes from the center of Vence, a small, unremarkable village inland from the sea and situated about midway between Cannes and Nice.

There's not much else to do in Vence.  If you have the time, you can spend a pleasant hour strolling through the town's medieval center. The main reason to visit is to see the Rosaire Chapel.

If you go, The Luxurist advises you, beloved Artful Traveler, not to confuse Vence with the more famous, nearby St. Paul de Vence, a charming medieval hilltop fortress village with a great deal more to recommend it.

And that is the topic of a forthcoming article.

The Enlightened Traveler: Affordable Luxury In Morocco

The Saudi royal family notwithstanding, most of us want a first-class travel experience and wouldn't mind saving a few $$, to boot.

The spectacular Palais Namaskar, run by the same folks who own the Hotel du Cap

London's great Financial Times – a must read for savvy travelers and shoppers – reports that there are high-end bargains to be had in exotic Marrakesh, the result of a surprising luxury hotel building boom.

Five new hotels open this year, with more to come.

"Whether there will be sufficient guests to fill them, however, remains to be seen," the FT hypothesizes.

That is because tourism is already down in Morocco, a drop of about 20% in the last two years. Half of the country's visitors come from France. The Eurozone financial crisis isn't going away anytime soon.

Small is also beautiful. The 28-room Mosaic Palais Aziza.

The country's top five-star hotels – the fabled La Mamounia included – are already discounting, even before the addition of the new luxury properties.

Here's a quick rundown, according to the FT, on what's just opened or coming shortly:

The Palais Namaskar is noteworthy because (1) a third of the 12-acre grounds is under water, thanks to the 28 swimming pools, multiple ponds and the great reflective sheet of cooling water that bisects the property, and (2) it is run by the Oetker Collection, owner of the super deluxe Hotel Du Cap in Antibes and Le Bristol in Paris.

The Taj Palace, from India's Taj hotel group, opens in the Fall with Indian chefs in its restaurant and Indian ayurvedic doctors in its spa.

The 28-room Mosaic Palais Aziza stands opposite the ritzy palace of its owner, Saudi Prince Bandar.

La Mamounia: Grande Dame of Marrakesh hotels since 1922 and still fabulous

The FT describes The Selman as having"the most opulent, most technologically advanced spa in the city, an 80m swimming pool, a water garden redolent of the Generalife in Granada, as well as a stable of Arabian thoroughbreds." The traditional (but plush) Moroccan interiors are the work of Jacques Garcia, the architect behind the extensive renovations at La Mamounia a few years ago.

Garcia is also designing The Delano, the first Moroccan property from New York's Morgans Group. It opens in September.

At least six more deluxe properties are planned through 2014, including a Mandarin Oriental, a hotel from Monaco's casino operator, Societe des Bains des Mer, and a second inn from Morgans.

Competition is already fierce – all the better for you, dear Enlightened Traveler. Now's the time to do your  research and snap up a dream Maghreb vacation at a favorable price.

The full FT post, with links to the hotels mentioned, is right here.

The Enlightened Traveler: When In Tel Aviv, Do as The Tel Avivim Do

The dynamic residents of Israel's bustling second largest city know how to live.

Modern Tel Aviv has stunning beaches and charming neighborhoods, if you know where to look

On every block, in every Tel Aviv neighborhood you'll find a cozy cafe, chic wine bar, funky coffee joint, tantalizing ethnic eatery, or world-class restaurant. Enthusiastic diners spill out onto sidewalks where they perch at tables and carry on until two or three in the morning, even on weekdays.

It's hard not to fall in love with a city whose population derives so much pleasure from good food and lively conversation.

("Lively" is an understatement. The Tel Avivim don't converse, they debate – about everything from politics to who makes the best pizza. Or as the old joke goes, "Four Israelis, five opinions!")

Tourists congregate mostly at the large, graceless chain hotels that hug the city's shimmering Mediterranean shoreline; along Dizengoff Street, its hit-or-miss main shopping boulevard; or at the bars and restaurants of the renovated, crowded Old Port.

While its  beaches are fabulous, Tel Aviv isn't really a resort destination. Nor do you go there to shop.

Much has been written in the last few years about Neve Tzedek, one of the earliest Jewish neighborhoods dating from the last quarter of the 19th Century. It was neglected until the 1980s when gentrification and preservation efforts brought boutiques, wine bars, and restaurants.

Today it is one of the city's most fashionable and expensive districts, frequented late into the night by tourists and locals alike. Particularly notable: The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance, home to two of the country's leading troupes, Inbal and Batsheva.

While Neve Tzedek remains a popular entertainment quarter, savvy locals often head in the other direction at night toward the less well known Ibn Gvirol Street, home to some of the city's hottest and most interesting eateries.

Elba: new addition to Ibn Gvirol's many restaurants

The municipal government upgraded and refreshed this modern, wide boulevard a few years ago. Its arcaded buildings provide shelter for a stroll on a rainy or stifling day. Tel Avivim flock here because they know that there's something for everyone to enjoy on Ibn Gvirol.

Elba (at No. 36) is a sophisticated, pricey wine bar that opened to great anticipation a few months ago. It's minimalist interior would look right at home in New York or London.

Chef Yair Yosefi was born in Tel Aviv, cooked in Paris (at Le Grand Vefour and Lasserre) for ten years, and returned to start Elba. Yosefi is offering new interpretations of Israeli, French, and Mediterranean dishes, including a signature slow roasted chicken that undergoes a 48-hour preparation and cooking process.

Ha Miznon: modern twist on a pita joint

At the opposite end of the scale sits Ha Miznon, a tiny street food joint serving up fluffy, warm pitas filled with a remarkably delicious assortment of unlikely ingredients: short ribs, chicken livers, and shrimp plus house-made tahini sauce, pickles, peppers, and other condiments.

Another specialty is a whole cauliflower, unhurriedly roasted to delicious, tender perfection.

Eyal Shani, who previously ran several noteworthy high-end restaurants, is the talented chef behind this very affordable, locally popular establishment.

The scene is so casual and the food so original and tasty that you will want to come back again before you leave Tel Aviv.

Ha Miznon is at No. 23 Ibn Gvirol. The sign is in Hebrew only, so ask to make sure you're at the right place.

We'll have more on the many pleasures to be found on trendy Ibn Gvirol plus hotel recommendations and additional Tel Aviv travel tips in a subsequent post.

Letter from Buenos Aires: The Cost of Visiting Argentina Is On The Rise, Sort Of. Plus Where To Eat Now in BA.

Regular readers of But I Digress know that THE LUXURIST loves pretty much everything about Argentina.

It used to be a great bargain, but is it still a good value for budget-conscious visitors?

The answer is yes – and no – according to our friend and correspondent Alexandra Lazar, author of the terrific, informative blog on food and restaurants in Buenos Aires, Pick Up The Fork.

Pick Up The Fork recommends this hot new eatery in the oh-so-hip Palermo Hollywood quarter of BA

Allie writes:

Argentina isn't as great of a deal as it used to be. Inflation is a killer, and prices are constantly rising. 

Those who have already traveled to Argentina within the last few years will notice that it is much more expensive now. That being said, for first time visitors Argentina would be quite the bargain. 

They can find great deals staying in very nice apartments (instead of hotels) and eating out at wonderful restaurants, spending a fraction of the price that they would in the U.S. Shopping (leather and wine, for example) is more affordable. Public transportation and taxis are relatively cheap, too. 

Superclassico: River Plate vs. Boca Juniors. Not to be missed!

The type of things that are more expensive, or the same as the U.S., are small items like a good cup of coffee (which costs around US$ 3-5). Ethnic food is expensive compared to the U.S. (although tourists probably won't be eating much of this). So are toiletries and, of course, anything imported.

Even though it's about 4.39 pesos to the dollar, and local prices are pretty inflated, it's still a good time to travel to Argentina. 

Allie adds that Spring or Fall are the best times to be in Argentina.

She also makes this recommendation:

Those who want to experience Buenos Aires to the fullest should contact Madi Lang, who runs BA Cultural Concierge. She'll organize a customized itinerary for your visit, book you into a smart boutique hotel or charming apartment (at a fair price), arrange a guide, driver, or cell phone, and generally ensure that your entire visit will go smoothly and be memorable.

That's good enough for us, and it should be for you, too.  Contact Madi at www.baculturalconcierge.com.

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Alexandra Lazar's lively blog, Pick Up The Fork, is our go to source for anything and everything to do with food in Buenos Aires. We especially recommend her recent post Eat As The Porteños Do – Lazar's take on the best places to eat the most typical local breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  

Residents call themselves Porteños because BA is a port city situated on the Rio de la Plata, or River Plate, after which the beloved Argentine soccer club is named. 

Be sure, too, to catch an Argentine soccer match. It's an experience. Because the fans are usually more excitable than the players, don't go on your own unless you speak Spanish well and feel very comfortable in a dark alley around 3AM. Your hotel, or Madi Lang, will make arrangements for a group visit with an escort.

The Artful Traveler: Budapest's Spectacular Summer

The Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti once remarked, "If you come from Paris to Budapest you think you are in Moscow. But if you go from Moscow to Budapest you think you are in Paris."

While that may have been true a few generations ago, Budapest today is a major destination for savvy  travelers.

We haven't visited in some time. We are itching to return after reading a dispatch in The Economist on the grand Hungarian capital's summer arts and festival scene.

"This central European nation’s dazzling cultural and musical heritage is now enjoying a renaissance," gushed A.L.B. in The Economist.

The Danube divides the two halves of Budapest, gloriously illuminated at night

While the Budapest Spring Festival just ended in March – a show starring John Malkovich and based on the autobiography of Jack Unterweger, an Austrian serial killer, apparently was one of the highlights – April brings both the Titanic International Film Festival, a mammoth celebration of Hungarian cinema,  and Budapest 100, paying homage to the city's arresting architecture with tours of  the city's historic buildings and lesser known treasures.

Many other festivals and cultural events abound throughout the Summer.

"Evita" at the Budapest Summer Festival in 2009

From June 8 to September 8 the Budapest Summer Festival offers scores of open-air concerts, dramas, operas, and musicals on Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube. This year there's a musical based on Count of Monte Cristo, Moliere's The Misanthrope in Hungarian, and Puccini's Turandot, presumably not in a Magyar translation.

On June 23 the city's varied fine arts, history, science, and specialty museums remain open until 2:30am for the popular annual Night of the Museums. One ticket affords admission to all of them, as well as free transit on the municipal bus system until 5:00am, with special bus routes between collections to speed you safely on your nocturnal itinerary.

And then there's Sziget, one of the largest indie and alternative music festivals anywhere. Some 400,000 high-spirited spectators are expected this year between August 6-13.

With seven venues, including a pop-rock mainstage, a Europe stage, World Music stage, a Rock and Metal stage, and a party arena, there will be something for nearly everyone.

Enthusiastic fans at the Sziget Festival

On the program are international stars, such as the Chemical Brothers, Judas Priest, Kaiser Chiefs, Good Charlotte, and The Gotan Project plus less well known acts with intriguing names like Manic Street Preachers, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, La Shica, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, and The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77.

And those are just the ones we can pronounce. Coachella is bound to be pretty tame by comparison.

Certain to prove less intense is the Festival of Folk Arts, taking place from August 18-21. The event brings the finest Hungarian craftsmen and their work to Buda Castle from across the country. A variety of different folk crafts ranging from woodcarving to egg painting will be on display, and visitors can partake in many of the activities, as well as enjoy live folk music and dance performances.

When you've had your fill of music, drama, arts and egg painting, Budapest's summer food festivals are just the ticket.

Budapest's famous Széchenyi Bath. Not too shabby!

Restore yourself at the Foie Gras Festival (May 18-20), Budai Gourmet (June 7-20), Czech Beer Festival (June 6-12), or the Palinka Festival (May 10-13). Palinka is a type of potent Hungarian brandy. Three hundred different varieties will be offered, assuring both a good time and a splitting headache the next morning.

That's when you should take the day off and head to one of the numerous spas and thermal baths for which Budapest is famous.

Two of the most famous are the spa at the Hotel Gellért and Széchenyi Thermal Bath, a sprawling Baroque complex built in 1913. This palatial bath "includes a whirling corridor, underwater effervescence production, neck shower, water beam back massage installed in the sitting banks and many other services," according to budapest.com.

The translation may be a bit shaky, but you get the idea.

After a heady week or two of concerts, plays, brandy, quaint crafts, and raucous partying at Sziget, what could be a better way to bring your Hungarian idyll to a satisfying close?
 

The Enlightened Traveler: What's Going On In Paris And London

If you think you are a savvy traveler, then you'll want to always know what's going on in Paris and London.

Here are two web resources we rely on to keep au courant:

There's so much to do in Paris, one of the great destinations for art, food, strolling, and... shopping! That is why we frequently check Chic Shopping Paris for the latest boutique openings and sales. Lots of terrific shopping tips, too.

We also are dutiful readers of the weekly arts and culture e-mail published by London's Telegraph. In it you'll find useful, up-to-the-minute information about theatre, art exhibits, music and more. Sign up for the paper's Arts Agenda here.
 

The Enlightened Traveler: Brazil, Mexico City - What Are You Waiting For?

If you believe the Wall St. Journal – and you should, so long as you avoid the editorial pages at all cost – two of the top tourist destinations right now are Mexico and Brazil.

Then, again, we've been saying that for years now.

Despite drug wars and scare inducing headlines, Mexico ranks 10th globally in tourism. Americans still make up the largest group of visitors. Tourism overall has picked up in Mexico and is expected to reach record levels in 2012.

Most of the drug-related violence has been concentrated in the North.

Not to be missed in Mexico City: murals by Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros

Mexico City remains one of the safer parts of the country. That's a good thing, as the seat of government is home to the kind of world-class cultural institutions, restaurants, and shopping that artful travelers appreciate.

Another plus: it's one of the less expensive major capitals and can be reached by plane from the U.S. in just a few hours.

Read our post from 2009 on what to do in fabulous Mexico City.

Brazil, too, has experienced an uptick in violence, although we've never felt unsafe in the parts of Rio de Janeiro that tourists prefer.

Rio's Santa Teresa hotel, its highly rated restaurant, and arty
surrounding neighborhood are hot, hot hot right now

If anything, Brazil is more secure and more enjoyable today than ever, thanks to a booming economy, rising standard of living, and government preparations for the Olympics in 2016 and World Cup in 2014.

Don't wait for those events to visit. Brazil is ready right now for its close-up.

There's so much to do in the planet's third largest democracy. The Wall St. Journal has just devoted its entire weekend edition to amazing Brazil. It's full of great, up-to-the-minute restaurant and shopping tips. Make sure to devour it before you plan your trip.

Read The Luxurist's Rio de Janeiro suggestions right here.
 

The Artful Traveler: Musée d'Orsay – Renewed, Refreshed, Remarkable

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris, home to a spectacular collection of Impressionist masterpieces and other late 19th and early 20th Century artworks, has reopened all of its galleries to the public after two years of extensive renovation and a dramatic rethinking and rearrangement of its holdings.
Housed in a 1900 Beaux-Arts railway station and boldly transformed into a museum in 1986, the d’Orsay has become one of the most popular attractions in the City of Lights. More than 60 million have visited over the past two and one-half decades.

New Musee d'Orsay galleries

What has changed?

For one, the ubiquitous white walls are a thing of the past. In their place are deep purple, midnight blue, red and lavendar-grey ones that critics feel are more hospitable to the vivid colors of the Impressionist works on display.

Lighting has been redesigned throughout. There is more natural light in some galleries, while the sometimes harsh natural light in other rooms has been replaced with a carefully designed artificial scheme that shows off the paintings to better effect.

Unchanged, Gae Aulenti's 1986 main hall

Some of the ceilings have been removed to reveal structural beams in a nod to the building’s original industrial purpose.

Exhibition space has been expanded considerably, allowing more of the world's largest collection of Impressionist works to be shown.

What has not changed is the museum's impressive, massive arched main hall, designed by the Italian architect Gae Aulenti.

The renovations are the work of four architectural firms.

Noteworthy is the stylish Café de l’Horloge, also known as the Cafe Campana and described as an aquatic Jules Verne-inspired fantasy. It's housed in a former clock tower. Brazil’s Campana design duo is responsible for the transformation.

What's for lunch? Who cares!

Still, the main draw at the d’Orsay are its art treasures from the likes of Manet, Rodin, Courbet, Van Gogh, and Gaugin – paintings and sculptures that reside not merely in a former railway station but live on in our collective cultural memory and continue to enthrall and inspire, even as we hurtle into the vast unknown of this 21st century.

For more on the Musee d”orsay click here.
To see our other posts on Paris, click here.

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Closer to home: Two singular exhibitions featuring Impressionist masterpieces have just opened in the U.S.

Atlanta’s High Museum is offering more than 100 works of art borrowed from the Museum of Modern Art in a show they are calling “Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters.” On view until April 29, it aims to reveal the connections and deep influences between modern masters of the past century.

Tip: Don't miss the Maple Bacon Brittle ice cream at Morelli's on Moreland Ave.. For more on what to do in Atlanta, read this.At the Milwaukee Art Museum, “Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper” includes more than 100 pastels watercolors, and drawings by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. The comprehensive overview is said to be the first of its kind in the U.S. It runs through Jan. 8.

While in Milwaukee, be sure to sample the dense, sticky, chewy Morning Buns, hard to find outside of this part of the country. And, as you may well fly through Chicago, you’ll want to stop at the extraordinary Art Institute for Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” This large, absorbing masterwork enchants and mesmerizes – no matter how many times you have seen it.