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 [...]

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. [...]

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 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.

Rachel Sloat
When I think about the Flamingo Hotel my mind jumps to the scene from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” where Hunter S. Thompson wakes in his Flamingo hotel suite from a crazed psychedelic experience to find a severely trashed room strewn about so bad that it looks like the aftermath of a chaotic carnival [...]

Everywhere you look when walking anywhere in the vicinity of the Beverly Hills hotel you will find a naturally colorful oasis filled with trees, plants, flowers and vegetation.  The skies are literally a bluer hue over the famed Pink Palace.  You can actually put this to the test.  Take a walk centrally around the gardens [...]

The Surrey Hotel is fresh from a costly refurbishment, and the smooth floors, trendy furniture and smart dressed staff are still gleaming. Completed in November 2009, the refurbishment saw the décor leap a few decades from pre-war elegance to glossy contemporary. The lobby is an attractive study in Art Deco, with sleek marble in silver, [...]

Photos & Review by Face Hunter
Have you ever slept inside an artwork? Check in to the Hotel Unique and you’ll understand. Brazilian architect Ruy Ohtake is the genius behind the semicircular 6-floor building. So many design hotels are cool once you’re inside but from outside they often look like nothing special. Unique Hotel is a complete experience that starts even before you get inside. The lobby is a huge as the nave of a cathedral.