A Quick Stay in the East 20s at Fifth Avenue, Manhattan The problem with living near New York City is the same as the problem with living in New York City: One tends to limit oneself to a particular neighborhood, whether it’s the one in which you reside (I used to joke when living on…
Category: Hotels
Stepping Out from the Sanctuary of the French Quarter
A Quick Foray to Tremé Lightens our Souls Stumbling upon Our Lady of Guadalupe after a loop around St. Louis Cemetery #1, a scary trip even on a sunny day, we are grateful for the sanctuary this space is about to offer us. This brightly colored church will be no less strange than the rest…
Rooftop Bonus, Manhattan
The Bashful Adventurer needs a hotel to stay in near Madison Square Garden. Will Homewood Suites satisfy her and her family?
Convenience in Cusco
Our stay in room 114 at the San Agustin International is short and functional. In Peru to see Machu Picchu, we stay in Cusco a couple of nights after our great adventure on the mountain. After a couple of pisco sours at the El Arcangel restaurant—and a mysterious, yet tasty, green purée for dinner, when I’d…
Key Biscayne Unbudgeted: A Stay at the Ritz-Carlton
When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be High-End I will forever regret missing out on what would have been my first trip to Venice, Italy. A friend and I were alternating hotel qualities: one day slumming it, the next day staying in a nicer place. The day we were supposed to head to Venezia was…
Searching for Gable and Lombard at the Park Central
The Bashful Adventurer finds old Miami on a visit to the Park Central Hotel before its renovation
Steak and a Sleepover, Rochester
Chalk up on my list of belated discoveries the Inn on Broadway and its accompanying restaurant, Tournedos. The inn, the former home of the University Club of Rochester, was built in 1929 and is now a boutique-style hotel. A short walk from the hotel we are staying in, the Inn looks deliciously romantic. Tournedos, despite…
Niagara Falls from Above
Seeing Niagara Falls from All Sides I both love and loathe Niagara Falls. The roar of the falls almost compensates for the schlock that humanity has allowed to surround it. On my most recent visit, I can’t help but wonder how much better this place might be if it were in the center of a…
Extended Stay Okay
To the extent that I actually contemplate extended stay hotels, I think of the higher-end ones as refuges for corporate sorts on months-long assignments. This may be a branding problem, or it may just be me, but when I think of low-budget extended stays, I think “welfare motel.” Sometimes when traveling, though, I really need…
Enjoy the Present while Glimpsing the Past at the Talbott Hotel
Why I just love the Talbott Hotel in Chicago: It mixes business and romance successfully. There are old-fashioned telephones in the lobby and in the corridors. There are doorbells in the room. Double sinks in the bathroom are always appreciated. Courteous service and an easy-to-relax-in lobby. Free apples There’s a Starbucks on the corner. A…