It’s snowing in New York today. You know what that means

by Iva Skoch on

No, I don’t actually mean flight delays although those are inevitable this weekend. Better avoid any place east of the Mississippi.

What gets me is the news coverage. Gothamist is right. The minute it starts snowing in the city, all news channels have a tendency to report the same old cliches over and over. You know some poor struggling journalist is waiting for his big on-screen break so he/she is more than happy to report (ski cap and gloves on, of course) from the side of the Long Island Expressway, calling the “events” all kinds of ridiculous names and showing fancy alert graphics. And, there is always that footage of some dude skiing through Central Park or kids building snowmen in Greenwich Village. Oh, please, no!

While the snow is nice, white and fluffy right now, I am pretty sure it will turn into nasty slush by the end of the day. If you have a choice, don’t come close to the city this weekend. If you want to be a part of it, watch the breathless coverage of the “worst storm this season” online.

100 years ago today: The Great Race

by Jerry Guo on

One hundred years ago on this date, a half dozen or so teams set out from New York on the longest automobile race in history. Six months later, the first team pulled into Paris.

Here’s a colorful account of their epic journey. If you’re thinking, “Boy I wish I could do something that awesome,” well, you can!

This May 30th, 40 teams will retrace the Great Race, except this time they’ll only take 2 months. I just checked on the logistics and details–you travel through a dozen or so countries from New York to Paris, having what I’m sure will be the trip of your lifetime. The only downside?

The entry fee is something like $100,000.

Lack of space in New York? Fuggettaboutit!

by Iva Skoch on

There are a lot of places in the world where renting a apartment for $3000/month gets you a tiny studio–Tokyo, Moscow or London come to mind–but there is probably only one such place in the US. That’s why a lot of people call New York an “island off the coast of the US.” The lack of space makes it seem distinctly un-American.

Just last week, I went to my friend’s place in Chelsea for a “New York-style dinner party”, which comprises of ordering take out food, sitting on the floor while eating it, and, of course, drinking. For illustration, I took this picture, so you can see that we actually had to lay the “buffet table” out in the sink, because there is exactly 6 inches of counter space in an average Manhattan apartment.

I love how the lack of space makes people adjust their needs and be creative about hosting parties or storing stuff. I know people who turn off their fridges and turn it into bookcases, because they have no space to put their books. Others store trash and recycling in their fridges (that way, mice and cockroaches don’t get in.) Oh, the sexy life in New York!

British Airways announces London – New York business class-only service

by Grant Martin on

After Maxjet folded last year you would think that the corporate world would have learned, but according to British Airways their business class market is surging and this service fits their model. So they’re moving ahead with the unrolling of their London to New York (JFK) all-business class service.

Slated to begin in 2009, two Airbus A318‘s have been purchased to make the luxury voyage between the world’s two financial epicenters. And those willing to spring for the extra buck will be able to depart from London City (LCY), which is significantly closer to the city than Heathrow or Gatwick.

The jury is still out on the exact routing; for the seven airline nerds out there who read this blog, you know that the A318 can’t make it all the way between New York and London on one tank of petrol. Speculation is that the jet has to stop in Shannon partway through the journey to pick up some more fuel (any idea, Kent?). Sounds like an invitation for more traffic and airport problems to me.

Oh well, if the market calls for it I suppose there’s a place for another all-business class service. Maybe I’ll be able to test this one out before it folds.

5-Star hotels: This year’s Mobil Travel Guide List

by Jamie Rhein on

A few weeks back we gave you the TripAdvisor’s list of the dirtiest hotels in the U.S. On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Mobil Travel Guide has recently unveiled its lists of Five-Star and Four-Star hotels. These are the cream of the finest of the fine–the places to drool over.

In all, there are 14 Five-Star hotels in the United States. California has over half of them. There are nine in all in The Golden State. Three are in Beverly Hills, one is in Los Angeles and three are in San Francisco. Another is in Oakhurst and one is in Dana Point.

New York State, with four hotels in Manhattan and one in Saranac Lake, has the next largest number of 5-Stars. The rest are scattered among Colorado (2), District of Columbia (1), Florida (3), Georgia (2), Hawaii (1), Illinois (3), Massachusetts (3), Nevada (1), North Carolina (1), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (1), Texas(1), Utah (1), Vermont (1), Virginia (2), and Wyoming (1).

This is the first time Utah and Wyoming have made the cut. Of course, I was interested to see how Ohio fared. Not one hotel made it on the Five-Star list, but two are Four Star–one in Cincinnati, Cincinnatian Hotel and one in Cleveland, The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland. To see how your state fares in the hotel luxury department, keep reading.

Five-Star Hotels:
California – Beverly Hills:
Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills
The Beverly Hills Hotel
The Peninsula Beverly Hills
California – Dana Point:
St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach
California – Los Angeles:
Hotel Bel-Air
California – Oakhurst:
Chateau du Sureau
California – San Francisco:
Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco
St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
Colorado – Aspen:
The Little Nell
Colorado – Colorado Springs:
The Broadmoor
Connecticut – Washington:
Mayflower Inn & Spa
District of Columbia – Washington:
Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C.
Florida – Manalapan:
The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach
Florida – Naples:
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples
Florida – Palm Beach:
Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach
Georgia – Atlanta:
Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta
Georgia – St. Simons Island:
The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club
Hawaii – Wailea:
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
Illinois – Chicago:
Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
The Peninsula Chicago
The Ritz-Carlton, A Four Seasons Hotel
Massachusetts – Boston:
Boston Harbor Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel Boston
Massachusetts – Lenox:
Blantyre
Nevada – Las Vegas:
The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas
New York – New York:
Four Seasons Hotel New York
Mandarin Oriental, New York
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
The St. Regis
New York – Saranac Lake:
The Point
North Carolina – Pittsboro:
The Fearrington House Country Inn
South Carolina – Kiawah Island:
The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island
South Carolina – Summerville:
Woodlands Resort & Inn
Tennessee – Nashville:
The Hermitage Hotel
Texas – Dallas:
The Mansion on Turtle Creek
Utah – Park City:
Stein Eriksen Lodge
Vermont – Barnard:
Twin Farms
Virginia – Richmond:
The Jefferson Hotel
Virginia – Washington:
The Inn at Little Washington
Wyoming – Jackson:
Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole
Four Star Hotels
Arizona – Carefree:
The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa
Arizona – Phoenix:
The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix
Arizona – Scottsdale:
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
The Phoenician
British Columbia – Malahat:
The Aerie Resort
British Columbia – Salt Spring Island:
Hastings House
British Columbia – Tofino:
Wickaninnish Inn
British Columbia – Vancouver:
Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver
The Sutton Place Hotel – Vancouver
British Columbia – Whistler:
Four Seasons Resort Whistler
California – Avalon (Catalina Island):
The Inn on Mt Ada
California – Beverly Hills:
Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
The Beverly Hilton
California – Big Sur:
Post Ranch Inn
California – Calistoga:
Calistoga Ranch
California – Carlsbad:
Four Seasons Resort Aviara, North San Diego
California – Carmel Valley:
Bernardus Lodge
California – Dana Point:
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
California – Half Moon Bay:
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
California – La Jolla:
Lodge At Torrey Pines
California – Laguna Beach:
Montage Resort & Spa
California – Newport Beach:
The Island Hotel, Newport Beach
California – Palo Alto:
Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto
California – Pebble Beach:
Casa Palmero At Pebble Beach
Inn At Spanish Bay
Lodge At Pebble Beach
California – Rancho Santa Fe:
Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa
California – San Diego:
US Grant Hotel
California – San Francisco:
Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco
California – San Martin:
The Lodge At CordeValle
California – Santa Barbara:
Bacara Resort & Spa
Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara
San Ysidro Ranch
California – St. Helena:
Meadowood Napa Valley
California – Westlake Village:
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, CA
Colorado – Aspen:
The St. Regis Aspen
Colorado – Avon:
The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
Colorado – Denver:
The Brown Palace Hotel
District of Columbia – Washington:
Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC
The Hay-Adams
The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown
The Ritz-Carlton, Washington DC
Florida – Amelia Island:
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
Florida – Aventura:
The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club
Florida – Fort Lauderdale:
St. Regis Resort, Fort Lauderdale
Florida – Key Biscayne:
The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne
Florida – Miami:
Four Seasons Hotel Miami
Mandarin Oriental, Miami
The Ritz-Carlton, Coconut Grove
Florida – Miami Beach:
Loews Miami Beach Hotel South Beach
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach
The Setai
Florida – Naples:
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples
Florida – Orlando:
The Peabody Orlando
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Florida – Palm Beach:
The Breakers, Palm Beach
Florida – Sarasota:
The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
Florida – Sunny Isles Beach:
Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort
Georgia – Atlanta:
InterContinental Buckhead
The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
Georgia – Greensboro:
The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation
Georgia – Sea Island:
The Cloister
Hawaii – Kailua-Kona and the Kona Coast:
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka’upulehu
Hawaii – Lana’i City:
Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay
Hawaii – Lanai (Island):
Four Seasons Resort The Lodge At Koele
Hawaii – Maui (Island):
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
Hawaii – Oahu (Island):
Halekulani
Kahala Hotel and Resort
Louisiana – New Orleans:
Windsor Court Hotel
Maine – Kennebunkport:
The White Barn Inn
Massachusetts – Boston:
Taj Boston
The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common
XV Beacon
Massachusetts – Edgartown:
Charlotte Inn
Massachusetts – Nantucket:
The Wauwinet
Michigan – Birmingham:
The Townsend Hotel
Missouri – Clayton:
The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis
Nevada – Henderson:
The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas
Nevada – Las Vegas:
Bellagio
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino
Wynn Las Vegas
New Brunswick – St. Andrews:
Kingsbrae Arms
New Mexico – Santa Fe:
Inn Of The Anasazi
New York – New York:
The Carlyle
The Lowell
The New York Palace
The Peninsula New York
The Pierre New York, a TAJ Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park
Trump International Hotel & Tower
New York – Skaneateles:
Mirbeau Inn & Spa
North Carolina – Asheville:
Inn on Biltmore Estate
Richmond Hill Inn
North Carolina – Cary:
The Umstead Hotel and Spa
North Carolina – Charlotte:
The Ballantyne Resort and Spa
North Carolina – Pinehurst:
The Carolina Hotel
Ohio – Cincinnati:
Cincinnatian Hotel
Ohio – Cleveland:
The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland
Ontario – Toronto:
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Park Hyatt Toronto
Pennsylvania – Farmington:
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa
Pennsylvania – Hershey:
The Hotel Hershey
Pennsylvania – Philadelphia:
Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia
Quebec – Montreal:
Hotel Le St. James
South Carolina – Bluffton:
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff
South Carolina – Charleston:
Charleston Place
Tennessee – Memphis:
Peabody Memphis
Tennessee – Walland:
Blackberry Farm
Texas – Austin:
Four Seasons Hotel Austin
Texas – Houston:
Four Seasons Hotel Houston
Hotel Granduca
St. Regis Hotel, Houston
Texas – Irving:
Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas
Texas – San Antonio:
The Watermark Hotel & Spa
Utah – Salt Lake City:
The Grand America Hotel
Virginia – Arlington:
The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City
Virginia – McLean:
The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner
Virginia – Williamsburg:
Williamsburg Inn
Washington – Seattle:
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
West Virginia – White Sulphur Springs:
The Greenbrier
Wisconsin – Kohler:
The American Club
Wisconsin – Rice Lake:
Canoe Bay
Wyoming – Jackson Hole:
Amangani