In Paris, Sexy New Boutique Hotels Sparkle

"Le poireau brûlé" at Monsieur George

By Jeff Gremillion

Originally published July 2024

Paris in springtime is already a thing, of course, but the city is getting more attention than usual these days, as its turn hosting the Olympics approaches. One hotelier is quite ready: The Addresses Hotels group is touting the opening of a new design hotel in the 2nd arrondissement a couple months ago, as a restaurant in its sister hotel celebrates its young chef having just earned a Michelin star.

The newbie — Hotel Hana, on the Rue du Quatre Septembre in what’s sometimes called “Little Tokyo” — is, with just 26 rooms, the boutiquest of boutique hotels. And while the surrounding neighborhood boasts Paris’ oldest Japanese restaurant and no shortage of yakitori, and while the property’s décor is warmly spare per the crisp elegance associated with Land of the Rising Sun, the Hana vibe ultimately is pure Parisian.

It’s hard to avoid the Parisian feels with views in the guestrooms like this! Think blocks-long Haussmann-style sweeps of ivory-colored stone buildings, with wrought iron details and dormer windows on top. Those in corner rooms will feel absorbed on two sides, with five sets of French double windows to open wide.

Hana (which Vogue predicted will be the hit of the next Fashion Week) was prettied up by in-demand designers Oliver Leone and Laura Gonzalez, who broke with their typical boldly vivid work to post a cozy minimalism. There are grasscloth-wallpapered rooms and rich wood tones everywhere, with sweet notes of terracotta, mustard and rust. The lobby doubles as a quaint cocktail bar, ringed with pale plum banquettes. A similarly arranged little restaurant with an open kitchen, bleeding in from the opposite side of the check-in desk, offers a spin on traditional steak au poivre, infused with Japanese sansho pepper. The cheesecake is flavored with sake and sesame.

The hotel’s location is hard to beat. Boisterous brasseries and fab patisseries — one barely bigger than a closet, drawing crowds every time they pull a batch of salted double-chocolate-chip cookies from the oven — abound. The Louvre is close, the Opera House closer. And all of Paris is easily in reach, with a Métro station on the block; one must consider a trek to the artsy hilltop neighborhood of Montmartre, where the creperie near Sacré-Cœur Basilica produces a Comté cheese crepe, folded in half twice, and handed over looking a bit like an ice cream cone.

Meanwhile, at Monsieur George in the 8th, another one of Addresses’ hotels — they have six in Paris, plus two in the South of France — handsome chef Thomas Danigo, 32, is basking in the glow of his first Michelin star. And glow is the right word for Galanga restaurant, secreted away in back of a classic Haussmannian building just off the Champs-Élysées.

As Hana is bright and fresh, George and Galanga are dark and sexy. At night the antique mirrors in the restaurant reflect the twinkle lights strewn through the climbing ivy in the courtyard outside. It’s tasting-menu only, with exquisite wine pairings; the “burnt leek” course has become famous, the leaves folded tightly and offered with shaved pecorino and lots of soft, savory sabayon.

Bienvenue à Paris. Let the games begin.

Checking in at Hotel Hana

Flank steak au poivre at Hotel Hana’s Hananbi

Night falls at Galanga

Dare to Deco: Stylish Hotels in London’s East End Tout Twists on the ’20s

The Bloomsbury’s Coral Room

By Jeff Gremillion

Originally published July 2024

In an old city, a visitor finds himself torn between the present — what’s the hottest show, the trendiest chef — and the history of the place. In two Central London hotels, you get both: The Beaumont and The Bloomsbury are 1920s buildings with updates that make them au courant.

The structure in the upscale Mayfair district that now houses The Beaumont was, for 90 years, a carpark for the Selfrige’s department store down the street. Although it only opened as a hotel 12 years ago, it’s just gone through a renovation. Gliding past the uniformed doorman into the lobby, over gleaming checkerboard floors and a half-dozen regal oil paintings of stately ladies, you get a vibe of understated Gatsby-era glam, American-edged Art Deco mixed with bold British accents.

It follows in the Colony restaurant, ringed in red leather banquettes, lit by lamps with red shades, with the likes of Count Basie providing background tunes. How could you not have a Manhattan? The menu leans to steak, but buttery Dover sole deboned tableside works well, too. Off the lobby is similarly wood-paneled and crimson-hued Le Magritte bar. Here, the décor’s American fascination leans Old Hollywood, with black-and-whites of the Rat Pack and a young Shirley MacLaine. The Prohibition-era “Attempting the Impossible” cocktail has gin, vodka, tea and lemon; Cuban cigars are on offer.

Guest rooms are quiet, comfy and refined, with unfussy neutral color schemes, lots of dark wood touches, and beautiful books and splashy fashion mags as knickknacks. (Plot twist: You can also book the bare-bones room inside the large-scale sculpture out front that looks a bit like a cartoon robot.)

All the must-hit touristy things — Buckingham Palace, et al — are close. Closer still, just behind the hotel, is charming North Audley Street. There’s a food hall in an old church building. And spiffy locals queue for the fish, chips and mushy peas at the Mayfair Chippy, set in the ground floor of an elaborate brownstone.

Elsewhere in the East End, near the British Museum, there’s a former YWCA behind an old theater — the Bloomsbury. The women’s club where Queen Elizabeth is said to have taken swimming lessons as a girl became a hotel in the 1990s and was recently renovated.

Vintage-y-cool “Studio Suite” guest rooms are carefully quirky and bit daring, with walls of gunmetal blue, red headboards and a hanging lampshade rimmed in long fringe. Bonus spaces throughout the property include a chapel, a fireside sitting room off the check-in, and, in the basement, a dim and cozy jazz club, but the most special is the soaring Coral Room bar.

The former grand lobby of the building has been lacquered to high heaven in peachy-pink. The drinks menu looks like an old children’s book, highlighting sips such as the “Finnegan” with Irish whiskey, Guinness, Cadello and licorice. It’s not unusual to see a frisky couple canoodling for hours in the corner, as international business travelers, on-trend locals and assorted half-casual sophisticates come and go.

A dinner of “Sunday roast” on the adjoining Dalloway Terrace is lovely, its name inspired by Virginia Woolf’s high-society party hostess in yet another literary nod. In warm weather, the terrace is alfresco; when it’s cooler, it’s enclosed and festooned artfully with flowering vines making a canopy overhead.

The bustling, fun neighborhoods of Covent Garden, Chinatown and Soho are an easy walk, as is tons of classic East End theater. Stroll to Cabaret or Phantom, or maybe live a little and do Magic Mike Live instead (there will be lap dances). A bit more afield, but worth it, is afternoon tea at The Bloomsbury’s sister hotel, the stylishly traditional Kensington, carved from what once were a collection of sunny, neighboring 19th-century townhomes in South Kensington. The ritual here is enchanting, with all the little sandwiches and scones with clotted cream presented with a glass of bubbles and a vibrant, almost whimsical air.

And why not have Champagne, enjoying an old city with so much new to toast.

Cocktails and cool at The Beaumont’s Le Magritte bar

The gate of Buckingham Palace

Tea at The Kensington

Jungle Belles: In Riviera Maya, Three Resorts Meet Among Lush Mangroves

The pool at Zen

By Jeff Gremillion

The manager of Grand Velas Riviera Maya says a funny thing as she tours a writer around the 206-acre all-inclusive between Cancun and Tulum. “I still get lost sometimes. If I forget what I’m doing and stop looking at the signs, I wind up in the parking lot.”

Thank goodness for the signs, and the shuttle between the three distinct but interlocking resorts that comprise Grand Velas. One resort is adults-only and quiet, the other very family-friendly, and the third — the Zen Grand, immersed in tropical foliage — is so sexy the Love Is Blind reality show filmed here.

There’s so much to do, with the Caribbean waters to the east — Cozumel isle’s out in the sea — and the mangroves of the Yucatan to your back. Iguanas, racoons and coatis (sleeker racoons) wander in from the jungle, leaving behind spider monkeys, capybaras and jaguars, which keep their distance.

Consider an eco tour. Glimpses of wildlife are assured, and the reports of the resort’s sustainability initiatives — artificial reefs, tree-transplanting efforts — are fascinating. So are the grounds’ cenotes, the deep freshwater pits formed by geothermal activity after that dinosaur-ending asteroid hit here 66 million years ago.

The tour ends with a honey tasting, pairing cheeses with honey from the property’s bees. The sweet stuff also turns up in Se Spa. As part of one treatment, it’s smeared all over you before you soak in a tub then get a massage. The spa, where treatments begin with a multi-stage “water ceremony” in which you rotate through hot and cold sauna-like stations, is among the largest on the continent, featuring immense pools and cavernous relaxation spaces.

If honey isn’t enough, try one of eight restaurants. Cocine de Autor, where the tasting menu amazes with polished little plates of bone marrow with caviar and cabbage with pistachios, has a Michelin star. But if you eat there every night, you’ll miss the grilled “drunken” octopus at Mexican Frida — and the blue cheese croissants at Vegas-y/Parisian-y Piaf, whose chandeliers drip red crystals and whose beautiful violinist plays classicalized pop songs like something out of Bridgerton.

The best meals may be in the vast daily lunch buffet — roasted duck and lamb, many varieties of ceviche and sushi, lobster tail and giant cracked crab legs. It’s daunting and easy to get turned around. But getting lost has rarely been so delicious.

Mexican morsels at Frida

The cavernous pool and relaxation space at Se Spa

In Remote Costa Rica, Beautiful Boutique Property Touts Pristine Nature

The infinity pool at Hotel Three Sixty

By Evan W. Black

A PARADISE FOR nature lovers, surfers and adventure seekers, Costa Rica often sees repeat visitors. The seven provinces, though different in the way of microclimates and the presence of volcanoes, cloud forests or beaches, are all predictably friendly, green and breathtakingly beautiful. Travelers come to anticipate and appreciate the “pura vida” lifestyle, i.e. an appreciation for the here-and-now beauty and wonder that the country offers so abundantly.

In the somewhat remote, southern-Pacific region of Puntarenas, humpback whales spout hello during their annual migration, and a lush coastline looks out at inlets and islands home to hundreds of species of fish and mollusks and coral. It is here, on a 58-acre rainforest reserve, that Hotel Three Sixty is perched, dangling nearly 1,000 feet in the air and boasting unobstructed views — hence the name. 

With 12 two-person villas (and more on the way) and a wraparound infinity pool overlooking the beach, the adults-only Hotel Three Sixty offers something that few properties in Costa Rica can: permission to simply relax. Yes, ziplining adventures and hiking excursions are recommended; the nearby Nauyaca Waterfall is a fun one, whether you want to bring a book and post up on a riverside boulder for a few hours or scale rocky cliffs (rope and spotters provided) to make an impressive jump from the top. Or take a boat tour of the mangroves, where boa constrictors, bull sharks, crocodiles and gallymoons await, and adorable monkeys will performatively eat monkfruit.

But much of Costa Rica’s beauty can be soaked in from the property’s open-air restaurant and lounge — ask for binoculars to catch a glimpse of monkeys and more than 100 species of birds — or the jungle-immersed yoga deck, which is near the spa and gym at the bottom of a long, steep driveway. (Cute drivers offer lifts in golf carts to and from this part of the hotel.)

Further down the hill is the town of Ojochal, where a popular local restaurant called Citrus is located next-door to a gourmet gift shop called L’Epiciere — local honey, coffee and chocolate, along with housemade French-style pastries, beckon. Other festive places to experience regional craft beer include the treehouse-style Fuego restaurant and brewery; for Costa Rica’s laidback answer to fine-dining, try Heliconia.

But there’s nothing wrong with spending a majority of time kicking back at the hotel. Turn the edge of the infinity pool into a makeshift table for a truly fine cocktail and ceviche, and admire the canopy of trees below, some dusted with gold flowers, others covered by puffs of white clouds. You likely won’t even mind when the bugs glitter and flutter in front of your face, or drop into your fresh fruit bowl — you gently lift them out and send them on their way. The understanding of the special, delicate ecosystem conveniently comes by osmosis.

Staycation Idea: Newly Renovated Moran a Chic Homebase for CityCentre Adventure

The Moran in CityCentre

By Jeff Gremillion

THINKING OF INTERESTING ideas for a staycation this spring? Consider the newly renovated Moran boutique hotel in CityCentre.

If you haven’t spent much time in CityCentre lately, it’s definitely worth an immersive experience. And The Moran CityCentre, recently named a top-three Houston hotel by Travel + Leisure, is a bright, lovely homebase. Thanks to the Midway company’s multi-million-dollar reno, the property now touts a new front desk, lobby bar and terrace space, a prominent new ground level entrance, along with recently completed refreshed rooms and expanded meeting spaces.

The lobby bar is terrific. It’s called The Allegory Bar, and it overlooks CityCentre’s central plaza — a green space surrounded by killer shopping, cute patio restaurants, and an ice cream shop that stays busy. From Allegory, which mixes a sleek, marble bar with a cozier dining space that resembles a chic, urbane library, you can see all the action. And on breezy summer nights, there’s always a lot of action. (A stroll through the CityCentre plaza on a bustling evening should be on anyone’s up-to-date Houston bucket list, to be honest.) 

At Allegory, beautiful Texas-y cocktails like the smoked Lonesome Dove (small-batch bourbon, pecan syrup and bitters) wash down apps like brisket-stuffed jalapenos and entrees such as redfish with wild rice and lemon cream. There’s also a smart new breakfast spot, Café Moran, just off the sexy pool deck, awash in natural light and billowing treetop views. Very pleasant.

The hip bar and accomplished new restaurant is only part of the redo. “All 244 guestrooms have been refreshed with stylish new furnishings, premium bedding, modern lighting, and technology upgrades,” notes a Midway rep. “Thoughtfully curated amenities, including chic bar carts stocked with Texas-based liquors, a selection of snacks and Illy coffee service, custom bath products, plush robes, and handheld steamers, further enhance the guest experience, reflecting the property’s dedication to comfort and luxury.”

Other perks include discounted day passes to the sprawling, upscale Life Time mega-gym across the way. This alone may be worth making a weekend of it, as Life Time is notoriously hard to access without member credentials. 

And now seems like a great time to pull the trigger on a quick trip. The Stay & Savor package is available through April 4; it’s available Fridays and Saturdays, offering a $199 classic king room with $100 F&B credit.

In Santa Barbara, Billionaire’s Resort Draws Rich and Famous with Classic Luxury and Deluxe Dining

A pool at Rosewood Miramar Beach

By Jeff Gremillion

LATELY, WHEN YOU see Montecito, Calif., in the news, it’s often breathless dispatches about something its most famous residents — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — have gotten themselves into. It’s enough to make you yearn for simpler days, when the dispatches from the lush and mountainous coastal community just south of Santa Barbara highlighted the comings and goings of more down-to-earth folks. You know, like Oprah, Ellen, Gwyneth, the occasional Baldwin and various and assorted pop stars.

Come to think of it, Montecito, which is only an hour and a half from Hollywood, has long been associated with the rich and famous. It’s known as the American Riviera, after all. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons billionaire developer-politician Rick Caruso — he nearly became the mayor of L.A. last year — partnered with Rosewood to create a posh resort here. It’s the kind of place to spot celebrities and then pretend to be way too cool to care.

Caruso’s five-star Rosewood Miramar Beach, situated between the verdant Santa Ynez Mountains and a fabled stretch of the Pacific coast, is a bit of a throwback to old California stateliness, paired with flourishes of breezy, sustainable luxury at every turn. Imagine a gleaming white mansion, complete with a grand foyer with a spiral staircase, a crystal chandelier, a black-and-white checkerboard floor, and original works of art by the likes of Norman Rockwell — and, a room or two over, upscale shopping in crisp little boutiques a la The Webster, Gwyneth’s Goop, and Brunello Cucinelli, whose chic neutrals seem tailormade for the situation.

Some of the guestrooms are in the main building, while others are bungalows set near one or the other of the palm-bedecked swimming pools. To reach the hotel’s other accommodations — the Beach House suites and studios, with their terraces ogling the sea and the sleek surfers who frequently appear there, and in the far distance, the Channel Islands — you must traverse a great lawn ringed in white roses and, at night, lanterns aglow. And you must also cross train tracks, as Amtrak’s silver Surfliner charges through several times a day.

Strolling the kid- and pet-friendly grounds here is an amenity unto itself, as rosemary bushes appear here and there, and red honeysuckle bushes crest over the fences lining the perimeter. And, of course, luxuriating on the sand here, on one of California’s most exclusive beaches, is, literally, an experience fit for movie stars and royalty. The Sense spa is, of course, top notch.

Wining and dining options abound. Breakfast in the brightly elegant Revere Room may include an impossibly high stack of fluffy pancakes. Perhaps a cocktail hour at seaside Mirarmar Beach Bar, where clever libations include the Rough Sea with Bulleit bourbon, pinot noir, maple syrup and orange bitters. A splendid dinner can be had at AMA Sushi, touting such memorable morsels as Japanese salmon with a garnish of salt-cured cherry blossoms; sake pairings available.

Caruso’s, however, is the star — the Michelin star, actually.

The indoor-outdoor dining room has spectacular ocean views; the interior, with its lamplit lacquered walls of midnight blue, and accents of polished mahogany, are meant to recall a mega-yacht. The food celebrates coastal Cali fare with nods to Exec Chef Massimo Falsini’s Italian heritage. One intense pasta dish has gnocchetti, confit tomatoes, caviar, bits of edible gold and, laid on top, a decadent slab of Stephanie’s sea urchin, named for the fisherwoman who famously gathers the uni from local waters.

Off the resort grounds, there’s much more to take in. Locals — including Ellen, it’s said — love Bettina, a bright pizza joint with pink tables on the patio, and a wow of a salad of shredded snap peas with pancetta and shaved pecorino. Another can’t-miss is the French-country-style wonder of Stella Mare’s, where you nibble a juicy burger of ground duck with dark cherries and Dijonnaise in a rustic atrium.

Sightseeing is easy. Wander down from the hilltop Old Mission Santa Barbara, through the vividly flowering residential streets of the town to the Courthouse’s observation tower with 360-degree views of the mountains and the sea. Then amble over to the hip little Longoria Wines tasting room on State Street for a sample of the region’s famous vines; on Tuesdays there’s a farmers market out front.

Another way to take in the whole scene is to book a ride with Spencer and Courtney MacRae, the cute couple that operates Sailing Yacht Kelpie. They’ve been known to invite local musicians on board to serenade you as they point out sea lions and sometimes a whale. Perhaps the best part of the tour, is when they show you where the celebrities live. “See that big house with the chimneys, just up the mountainside from your hotel?” asks Captain Spencer. “That’s where Oprah lives.”

And, again, you pretend to be cool. 

Charleston Is Hip, Historic and Holiday-Happy — And Don’t Miss the Pimento Cheese

The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, next door to the USS Yorktown

By Jeff Gremillion

THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL about an old-school Southern city, with its subtropical landscaping, old bricks, older trees and rib-sticking food everywhere, especially at the holidays. But, then again, a waterfront resort with a huge pool and potent cocktails served under cabanas is hard to beat. Can’t decide? May we suggest The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina? Located across the harbor from downtown Charleston, it offers both.

It’s serious about its coastal Southerness, from the Colonial-era baby blue paint and chunky millwork that pervades the gracious and sprawling space — the whole thing feels a bit like an excellent country club at which you sip sweet tea with purpose and feel important — to the seersucker robes in the guestrooms. There’s maritime-inspired art by local artists in every vividly colorful room, and balconies overlooking the large pool. And, beyond that, the marina and a network of piers and boardwalks, and grassy, bird-beloved marshland that meets Charleston Harbor like a scene from a nature painting.

The grilled salmon at the hotel’s Fish House comes with ratatouille and watercress puree, and the suggested pairing for the Lowcountry classic Shrimp and Grits, which here adds in andouille and sweet peppers, is an Argentine Malbec. Golden sunlight bounces off the harbor and floods in at the magic hour. Above the restaurant is the open-air Bridge Bar with expansive views.

The hotel also offers sailing lessons, taught by faculty from the champion College of Charleston sailing team. Unique holiday-time happenings include Oysters on the Point, at which buckets of steamed oysters go for $13 on some Saturdays and come with a side of live music. The resort also sets up a large ice-skating rink, open till February.

Of course, there’s tons to do off property in the hip and historic Charleston area, including the USS Yorktown, a huge WWII aircraft carrier docked right next door to the hotel and open for tours — and Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began, on a tiny island you can see from The Beach Club. And then there’s simply tooling around Charleston, which is easy to get to by water taxi. The ride alone is an adventure: You’ve never seen so many dolphins putting on a show.

A stroll through the city is enchanting, with its leafy cobblestone streets lined with palmettos — not palms,thankyouverymuch— and French colonial-era homes with longpiazzaporches on the side. It feels like the best of NOLA’s French Quarter and antebellum Natchez combined, with a fresh coat of paint, lots of shade from Live Oaks and curiously not infrequent sightings of hunky hipsters with tat sleeves and man buns. If you’re hungry after a morning walkabout, Miller’s All Day has biscuit sandwiches with fried chicken, pepper jam and the city’s favorite spread, pimento cheese; at most restaurants, the stuff seems to show up on pretty much everything except the peanut butter pie.

And we’re definitely not complaining.