After crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, I glimpsed a momentous structure on a peak overlooking the city. The Ritz-Carlton, resting at the end of a cobblestone driveway, was quietly nestled at the top of historic Nob Hill. The nine-story hotel was breath-taking with its enormous white stone columns, which resembled such architecture as [...]

Understated elegance is what you will find at the Mercer Hotel located on, appropriately enough, Mercer Street in SoHo.. The entrance is hidden so well that it almost seems like you have to be an insider to find it. Look for the large clock jutting out of the wall. The nondescript door underneath leads into [...]

Tucked away on a quiet street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan you will find the charming boutique hotel, The Lowell. You know exactly what to expect from the outside with the friendly doormen and classic Art Deco designed exterior but then when you enter the lobby you instantly know you’ve stumbled upon a [...]

When I heard my wife had booked a room at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Central Park, it didn’t take much arm-twisting for her to get me to tag along on her business trip. NYC is one of my favorite cities and the opportunity to stay at this super-lux hotel was too much to pass up. [...]

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” The White Queen- Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There If Alice fell down the rabbit hole and landed in a luxury hotel, she’d end up at the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo (SOuth of HOuston St.). An eclectic mix of [...]

Flying Virgin America affirms just how low your standards get driven down with the other American carriers. Don’t take my bashing of the status quo as radical ranting, Virgin America is the real revolutionary here. The lighting in the cabin is calming, the leather seats are spacious in the Main Cabin and better in the [...]

Look closely for the entrance to this gastropub – of course, the ivy crawling up the walls outside and faux English countryside façade with baskets of heather might be a giveaway. Walking inside you feel as though you have escaped New York, fallen down the rabbit hole and ended up in an English country cottage. [...]

Four Seasons is probably the most magnificent hotel you can find in the most beautiful city in South America: Buenos Aires. Difficult to compete with the prestige of an early 20th-century, French-style mansion located in La Recoleta district, basically one the best areas in town. You can walk around safely and enjoy the magic light, [...]

Review & Photos by the Cobrasnake

As I walked into the lobby, one thought kept repeating in my head, “please don’t recognize me, please don’t recognize me, please don’t recognize me”. I just wanted to check into my room and keep a low profile. A few steps from the door and I can tell the [...]

Tucked away in the heart of TriBeca (the “TRIangle BElow CAnal”), is an inauspicious luxury hotel.  The entrance is not gaudy or overblown, but subtle, almost hidden, with a simple plaque noting “Smyth” (pronounced “Smith”).   Walk through the door and you step into a world of hipsters.  I could easily imagine Twiggy hanging out at [...]

Clifford Unsworth

The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo is completely as you would expect, it isn’t cheap but you don’t stay in the Ritz if you’re watching your pennies. The staff are super polite and make you feel nothing but welcome and it has all the amenities one would expect – bar, restaurant, pool, gym, there is even a Rolls Royce to pick you up from the airport if you’re feeling like treating yourself. [...]

Bob Schriner
After the stressful week that I was having, an escape to relaxing retreat not far from the beach was just what I needed. Just driving there I could feel the layers of tension unravel. By the time I arrived I felt like I was about to attend a party. Now that’s a disposition that Shade is in good standing to accommodate.

Review & Photos by Face Hunter
Hotel Hellsten is not a regular hotel. It is literally the museum of its founder: Per Hellsten, who became an hotelier purely by accident. He is an anthropologist who spent 10 years traveling and researching in Africa and Asia, so most objects exhibited in the hotel are from there, [...]

Review & Photos by FaceHunter

The original interior design was signed Otto Wagner the Younger who gave Warsaw a splendid example of Viennese Art Nouveau at the turn of the 19th to 20th Century. The ceiling of the hall is already by itself a pure visual delight. Naively painted blue and red balloons with golden and black details seem to try to fly away from the hall [...]

Review & Photos by Clifford Unsworth
The Hard Days Night Hotel is located slap bang in Liverpool’s City Centre, just around the corner from The Cavern Club and the eye of the storm as far as Beatles tourism is concerned. The Hotel is a renovated grade II listed building, built as merchants offices in 1884 and as grand as the Port of Liverpool was in the 19th century.