Tag Archives: Hotels

Memories & History, Pleasures, Times They Are A-Changing, Travel

11 Beautiful Train Station Hotels Around the World | Condé Nast Traveler

These railway stations-turned-hotels capture the glamour of train travel.

By Chadner Navarro and Jennifer M. Wood, November 25, 2020

Helen H. Richardson/Getty

The romance of train travel—meandering through stunning landscapes in the comfort of an elegant sleeper car—was always about prioritizing the journey rather than the destination. And while all that glamour has almost entirely given way to the convenience and speed of flying, the opportunity to take on one of travel’s greatest experiences remain; you simply have to book a train trip. And to extend and elevate that Old World fantasy, consider combining a journey by rail with an overnight (or two) in a historic train station hotel. The ease of being deposited by train at the doorsteps of your accommodations can’t be beat, and the best of these of properties layer on modern amenities atop centuries-old architectural majesty to make for a truly singular stay. Here are 11 train station hotels worth checking into.

All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This gallery was originally published in May 2013. It has been updated with new information. 

Crawford Hotel, Denver – image above

The original Denver Union Station dates back to 1881. When it reopened in July 2014 following a $54 million renovation, it also welcomed the Crawford Hotel, a 112-room property spanning both wings of the building. Many of these hotel rooms were repurposed from existing structures and feature historic design elements. For instance, the third-floor rooms were previously offices; old safes are built into many of these walls. Rooms on the fourth floor, on the other hand, occupy attic spaces so they come with exposed bricks and massive wood beams. The station’s Great Hall is quite stunning, too, and acts as the public lobby of the hotel. Look for the 2,300 plaster columbines (Colorado’s state flower) and 1,200-pound chandeliers—recreations of the originals from over 100 years ago.

Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/train-station-hotels

Food & Drink, Memories & History, Pleasures, Travel

PRIOR – Our Favorite Luxury Hotels in Paris

From the sparkling palaces to the broodingly sensual these opulent hotels always deliver decadence.

By PRIOR Team, January 27, 2022

Room interior courtesy of Le Bristol

More than in any other city in the world, opulent hotels in Paris are part of the culture and indeed identity of the place.

They are the distillation of a singular type of decadence and glamor that gives the city that gilded quality of extravagance.

However with the sheer number of options, changing ownerships and openings (and closings) hotels in Paris can be hard to navigate. When they are superb, then the prices they command is money well spent but when they lack that particular Parisian lustre, then the experience of the city becomes a fantasy unfulfilled.

From polish to a patina, sensual to sparkling, here are glamorous addresses that are always a pure indulgence whether it is your first or fifteenth time visiting the City of Lights.

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…

Source: PRIOR – Our Favorite Luxury Hotels in Paris

Food & Drink, Las Vegas, Nevada, Pleasures

Las Vegas Buffets Are Back and Better Than Ever | Food & Wine

The reopening of The Buffet at Bellagio is a bellwether of better times ahead for Sin City.

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers, July 27, 2021

Credit: Courtesy of MGM Resorts International

Many cities are identified with an iconic food.

Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, New York has pizza, New Orleans has po-boys, Baltimore has crab cakes.

Las Vegas has all of them, because Vegas means a buffet. “I think it’s about having a sense of indulgence and having everything. All of the choices are there for you but you don’t really have to make a decision,” says Wes Holton, executive chef at Bellagio Las Vegas, “I think that kind of sums up Vegas and what people expect when they come to Vegas.”

Source: Las Vegas Buffets Are Back and Better Than Ever | Food & Wine

Books & Reading, Memories & History, Travel

The Doomed, Would-Be Celebrity Paradise That Still Haunts Myrtle Beach | Vanity Fair

Now known for T-shirt shops and mini golf, the South Carolina beach town was once imagined as a star-studded stopover between New York and Miami. Its failure set a precedent.

By Nicole Jones, April 16, 2021

Michael Snell / Alamy Stock Photo

It glittered like a cursed diamond sculpted and set in a gold band of pristine beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A vision of one man’s utopia. A marker to guide planes and ships from miles away. A hurricane shelter during a once-in-a generation storm. A movie star hangout. A gambling den (allegedly). A military lookout during World War II when rumors of German U-boats cruising off the coast surfaced more than the enemy did. It was the Ocean Forest Hotel, a spare-no-expenses resort built halfway between New York City and Miami Beach to bring in the rich and famous and anyone who wanted to hobnob with them. In the tradition of ideas destined to become a marvelous success, it was a heartbreaking failure—transformed finally into a fading memory by a few sticks of dynamite.

The Ocean Forest Hotel was many things to many people over the span of its short life, but before it was anything—before it got blown up—it was the dream of one John T. Woodside. Imagine it is 1926, and a linen-suited, cigar-smoking, youngish millionaire aspires Gatsby-esque to the Champagne high life that may have eluded him and his wealth in the rural South. Imagine him a textile magnate turned banker turned hotelier turned real estate mogul turned full-time dreamer of big-time dreams.

Buy Low Country on Amazon or Bookshop.

Buy Low Country on Amazon or Bookshop.

–Article author’s book

When it wasn’t called the million-dollar hotel, it was called the “wedding cake hotel.”

Editor’s Note: The article references and links to another good article, from 2019, about the hotel.. see screenshot below…
Screenshot of another article about the hotel…

Source: The Doomed, Would-Be Celebrity Paradise That Still Haunts Myrtle Beach | Vanity Fair

Food & Drink, Pleasures, Travel

5 Best Hotels in Maui

From resorts to inns, we’ve got all the spots you’ll want to try.

Travis Rowan/Courtesy Paia Inn

By Juliana Shallcross, March 2, 2021

If resorts aren’t your thing, Maui excels at small inns where you can hide away and go about relaxing at your own pace. We found several of these gems on the island’s North Shore.

And you can always mix and match your lodging options, staying for a few days in a big resort and then doing your own thing at a smaller spot.

Or vice versa. Wondering where to start? We’ve all of collected our favorite spots here, so read on for our list of Maui’s best hotels.

Click the link to read our complete Maui guide.

Source: 5 Best Hotels in Maui

Current Affairs, Food & Drink, Las Vegas, Nevada, Pleasures, Science & Health, Travel

(135) The future of Las Vegas’ famed buffets – YouTube

A video from local CBS station Channel 8 about the future of our famous buffets…

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lagndy6TJyk