Rock Legend Chooses Montreal’s L’Hotel Le St James

When I saw the penthouse suite encompassing the top floor of L'Hotel Le St James in Montreal, I quietly asked the manager who could possibly afford to stay here. He looked at me with knowing eyes and whispered into my ear. He said, in French, “Only the wealthiest and most famous, to be fair. Several big names that you would know for sure, and one very famous rock star recently.” I wanted to know who and probed further, but he politely informed that he could not divulge the name. His clients, from the wealthiest (rock star) to the least affluent (me), come here to relax and enjoy a stay in Montreal’s finest hotel. They didn’t want to be troubled by paparazzi, and certainly didn’t want to be followed around on previous or forthcoming visits.

So I did some research of my own, on the internet, on the phone, and in some of the clubs and restaurants around L’Hotel, which, being the finest in the city, would surely have been visited by the certain persona non grata. And indeed, wow! When playing Montreal if REDACTED chooses the St. James, then I had come to the right place. REDACTED is known for choosing elegance, and the sultry sounds of REDACTED would be at home only in the finest of hotels. Color me impressed!

But L’Hotel Le St James was equally amazing for a meager guest like me. I merely had a normal room, if you can call it that, as it had the largest tub I’d ever had the pleasure to soak in, and the most comfortable bed my ailing back had ever rested on. Not to mention the views of the Old City, just outside the frost covered window. In fact, gazing out through the light snow, I could gaze out over the spires of the Notre Dame Basilica as well as the ice-strewn Saint Lawrence River, coursing through the old port. Beautiful!

One final note: Since my visit fell over the holidays, I was excited to celebrate in style. I inquired with the concierge about getting reservations for Christmas brunch at the downstairs eatery, XO Le Restaurant, recently awarded 4 stars, and was pleased to find a spot available. The decadent food was only matched by the marvelous service and décor. The staff presented me with a glass of excellent champagne flown in from France, and I raised a glass, “Joyeux Noel!” Merry Christmas, indeed.

Editor's Note: A picture of the author enjoying his stay:

Form-Friendly Feasts at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles

We all like to please our palette, while still keeping our tummies tucked. Fortunately Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles' Executive Chef Ashley James is serving up a menu of palatable pleasures that will still keep that New Year's resolution intact.

His Healthy World menu at Windows Lounge includes:

Baja Tuna Whole Wheat Sliders with sesame seared Ahi, roasted tomatillo salsa, avocado, jicama, cilantro and lime slaw

Chef's Mix with mushrooms, roasted eggplant, currants, pine nuts, basil, tomato ragout, and little gem lettuce cups

Jicama-wrapped Achiote grilled chicken "tacos" with cucumbers, bell peppers, celery, fennel, carrots and avocado salsa.

Pair this menu with the existing "Antioxidant" and "Energy Booster" menu categories at the hotel's Cabana Restaurant.

Windows Lounge has received a makeover of its own, sporting plush sofas, armchairs and an extended outdoor patio. Need a little sultry on the weekend? Guests can enjoy live music Thursday through Sunday.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons

Vamping in Vegas: Rumor’s New Mega-Suites Now Taking Reservations

People head to Vegas to recoup with revelry, dividing their time between nightclubs, restaurants and casinos, steeping in neon lights, sequins and the tinny cascade of slot-machine coins—it can be exhausting. Lucky for revelers everywhere, Rumor, the boutique resort, has just opened four mega-suites, each boasting a different (yet equally over-the-top) personality.

Formally the rather dilapidated St. Tropez Hotel, The Siegel Group spent $4 million converting the property into a 150 all-suite resort, which opened this past July. Designed by a collaboration with Mark Tracy of Chemical Spaces, the suites are well worth the wait, offering four chromatic visions for the wearied carouser.

Each suite boasts 1,000-square feet of sexy eccentricity, facing into Rumor’s signature courtyard, dotted with swaying palms and pools. The first floor suites open up onto the patio, mere steps from the pool, while the second floor suites feature French doors leading onto an oversized balcony.

The swinger mega-suite celebrates a sensual yet masculine palette of grays, blacks and pewters with mirrored stripes darting across the walls and ceiling like silver lightening. Adding a sliver of scandal is a California-king bed on a small stage with footlights and two provocative murals—one in the bedroom featuring a woman unlacing a white corset and one in the bathroom with a woman in her slender skivvies.

Furthering the masculine vibe is the camouflage mega-suite which features floor-to-ceiling blue camouflage layered with barren black trees branching into slender twigs. Another female mural, this time with haunting blue eyes and hair is the featured image, serving as an ideal foil for the powder-blue sofas and the grey-tiled floors.

The Diva mega-suite is a feminine and flirty fantasy, striped with pink mirrors, pink walls and a reclining pink woman mural, coquettishly demure. Two sets of purple and (you guessed it) pink lips also lock on the bathroom wall for a sexy pre and post-shower visual.

A darker incarnation of the playfully pink Diva suite, the Gossip mega-suite features blood-red walls with black floral graphics and the mural shows a ruby-lipped woman offering the guest a rose blossom. Only in this suite will guests find two queen beds, offsetting the merlot-colored walls with bright white sheets and black and silver throw pillows.

Guests won’t have to keep the partying in the bedroom either — they can invite it right into the bath. Every suite features an “ultra-lounge/party bathroom” boasting a 10-person open shower with two rain showerheads and a lush u-shaped couch so revelers can relax or get rowdy with a crew of cronies.

While it may be tempting to tuck oneself away in the one of the four sultry suites, guests should be sure to at least head downstairs to check out Addiction, Rumor’s neo-American restaurant boasting equally provocative and modern décor, decorated in contrasting shades of charcoal, purple and gray with touches of industrial chic like chain-mail curtains. Helmed by tattooed chef Vic Vegas, Addiction also features a private dining room for 14, offering a high communal table and long, dripping chandeliers.

Over-the-Top Valentine’s Day: $80,000 Package at The Pierre, New York

Forget cupids, chocolate, and candy hearts. The Pierre-- the flagship of Taj Hotels on New York's Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park-- is going all out with a $80,000 package that will knock his/her socks off. (After a $100 million renovation, the hotel reopened in 2009 to much fanfare, and is now home to London's famous brasserie, Le Caprice.) News of this exclusive package for Valentine's Day 2011 has been making the rounds on the Internet, and we must admit- it's one of the most indulgent we've seen. One spendthrift lucky couple will get spoiled rotten while bedding down for two nights in the Tata Suite, the lavish Presidential Suite named for the founder of Taj Hotels. Luxist has the skinny on what the package includes:

...cocktails in Two E Bar/Lounge with your choice of festive Champagne or a signature cocktail; dining at Le Caprice; a pre-celebration makeover for him and her at Madison Avenue's Julien Farel Salon and a romantic evening just for two in the Pierre ballroom on Monday, February 14. On that night you will dine on a chef's inspired five-course menu that reflects your personal tastes, paired with the finest Champagne, wine and spirits; dance the night away accompanied by a mood-inspiring dance band; admire your favorite flowers in an arrangement designed by L'Olivier; devour sweetheart cake created just for you by Sylvia Weinstock and receive a diamond gift from Cartier's Love Collection. The idyll ends with breakfast for two in your suite on February 15.

Bite into a Boston Cream Pie at Omni Parker House for National Pie Day

Forget cupcakes. Pies are "the new cupcakes," to quote the Los Angeles Times. And a recent New York Times article ponders the question, "Is the cupcake bubble still inflating?" Across the country, it appears that pies are supplanting red velvet as the latest sugar-crazed trend. How appropriate that National Pie Day falls this weekend. Boston's historic Omni Parker House Hotel is rolling out the Boston Cream Pies on January 23 for the occasion. Figures- the hotel invented both the Boston Cream Pie* and Parker House rolls! You're invited to stop by the hotel lobby today (January 21) at 4 pm for a free slice of pie. What's more- the venerable hotel will donate a portion of all Boston Cream Pie sales from Friday-Sunday to the Charlestown Club, part of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, which was featured in the movie "The Town."

*Curious about the history of the Boston Cream Pie? Read away:

Harvey Parker opened the ornate, five-story Parker’s Hotel and Restaurant in 1855. During this time, chocolate was primarily consumed as a beverage or in puddings. When Harvey Parker hired creative French Chef Sanzian to create and serve a versatile menu in his restaurant, his bake staff decided to drizzle chocolate icing onto a sponge cake filled with vanilla custard. Instantly, the Boston Cream Pie was born and became an immediate and perennial hit. The original Parker House recipe for the pie was so popular, that in 1958 it became a Betty Crocker boxed mix. On Dec. 12, 1996, the Boston Cream Pie was proclaimed the official Massachusetts State Dessert. The bill was signed into law in the Omni Parker House’s historic Press Room. To help celebrate the hotel’s 150th anniversary, in September of 2005, the World’s Largest Boston Cream Pie was displayed at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The pie was sixteen feet in diameter and topped with another Boston Cream Pie resembling the Parker House structure from 1855. The monstrous dessert included 1,300 pounds of cake, 800 pounds of filling and 500 pounds of chocolate frosting.

Lip-Locked at the Liberty: Boston Hotel Offers Unique Valentine’s Surprises

Do time at the Liberty Hotel*, the former jail turned luxury hotel, and get all kinds of fun stuff during the month of February. We're not talking solitary confinement. The Liberty is welcoming lovers with the "Lip Locked Valentines Package"-- including overnight accommodations, welcome Champagne upon check-in, an intimacy kit, Molton Brown lip gloss, and valet parking. All for just $280 per night. (Based on double occupancy, subject to availability.) While you're checking out Boston's "liberated landmark," toast to a month of romance with cocktails at Alibi, the hotel's cool bar set in the old “drunk tank” of what was the Charles Street Jail.

*News: The Liberty Hotel just joined Starwood's Luxury Collection! Read: Guests who are members of Starwood’s loyalty rewards program will earn points when they stay.

Movies on the Beach & Nobu Sushi Classes with One Bal Harbour, Miami

Sun, sand, and surf aren't the only reasons to jet down to South Beach this winter. (Though they sure are good ones!) The Miami International Film Festival will be heating things up in early March, and One Bal Harbour is offering movie previews to get you in the mood. Head to the ultra-luxury beachfront hotel, celebrated for its first-class amenities, for a complimentary screening al fresco at 8 pm on January 29, 2011. Enjoy fresh popcorn and refreshments while perched at the water's edge on pillow-topped linen couches. After the film, stop by ONE Kitchen for an exclusive chat with the director of the award-winning film. Also on the agenda this month: Cooking classes with one of Nobu's chefs as they demonstrate the art of sushi-making. (The class takes place on January 22, 2011 at 1 pm.) Book a stay at One Bal Harbour with a special package like the "Sun, Stay, and Shop" offer, and you'll get complimentary perks thrown in. Like luxe transportation to The Bal Harbour Shops.

Washington D.C.’s Mayflower Renaissance Hotel Preps for Big Makeover

The historic hotel near Dupont Circle is getting ready for a multi-million dollar overhaul this month. When it opened in 1925, The Mayflower was labeled Washington, D.C.'s "Second Best Address" by President Harry Truman. Today the four-diamond hotel-- located just four blocks from the White House-- gets props for its events space and famous bar. The Washington Post reports on The Mayflower's makeover, which will be finished in midsummer:

The area now occupied by a Thomas Pink store will become a new restaurant and bar. The current Town & Country Lounge will be converted into a new Thomas Pink with a look more similar to that of its prototype in London. The Cafe Promenade will reopen as a 3,000-square-foot gala event space.

Celebrate William & Kate’s Marriage with the Trump Royal Wedding Experience in New York

Folks on both sides of the pond are in a tizzy about the upcoming royal wedding. London hotels are filling up fast, as curious travelers plan to flock to the English capital when Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot. Even hotels in the U.S. are offering lavish celebration packages. Case in point: The Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York has announced the "Trump Royal Wedding Experience" where guests will watch the televised version of the Royal Wedding during an exclusive breakfast at the Michelin three-star restaurant, Jean-Georges, on the morning of Friday, April 29. The package includes an overnight stay the night of April 28. Here's the description from the official press release:

After a night of ultimate comfort in a newly renovated guest room designed by Ivanka Trump, guests will descend to Jean Georges for an exclusive breakfast in the restaurant’s main dining room starting at 5 a.m. A special tasting menu fit for a prince or princess will include selections like scrambled eggs with caviar, mini-French toast, and pains au chocolat. Guests will toast the royal couple with sparkling mimosas as they watch the Royal Wedding on monitors strategically placed around the dining room. The breakfast event will conclude by 9 a.m., at which time guests may choose to hit the town or return to their rooms for a nap. A 4 p.m. late checkout is guaranteed. As a memento of the occasion, each guest will receive a piece of official Royal Wedding china commissioned by The Royal Collection.

The price tag for the Trump Royal Wedding Experience is $1,075 for a City-view suite and $1,425 for an executive Park-view suite, based on double occupancy. It is available the night of Thursday, April 28 only, and is subject to availability.

Book Now: Fairmont Hotels Offer Spectacular Winter Rates

This just in. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has launched a winter sale that translates to 20% off or one free night. Whether you're looking for the thrill of urban nightlife (Chitown's calling your name), a spa sanctuary, the challenge of championship golf in Florida, or a fairytale ski destination, Fairmont's got it covered. Hurry, you must book "Everyone's an Original Winter" rates by 12 pm EST on February 5, 2011.

The fine print: Offers are subject to availability at time of reservation at participating hotels for stays until April 30, 2011. Up to 20% discount applies to sell rate of the day. Free night must be a consecutive night stay at one hotel, minimum night stay required.