Elite Insider - October 28, 2014
|
|
|
|
Cozy Up to Great Fall and Winter Getaways
|
|
It is with great pleasure that we welcome the long-awaited Beaumont, the first hotel by legendary London restaurateurs Corbin & King, to the Elite portfolio. In addition, we are pleased to announce the move of general manager Joanne Selby from the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Zambia to the Palace of the Lost City in Sun City, South Africa. Selby took the helm of the Palace -- the flagship hotel of the world-famous Sun City resort -- on October 1.
Warmest regards,
The Schwabs
|
Pristine Pistes Mark the Start of Ski Season
Ski season is just around the corner, and the family-run Thurnhers Alpenhof in Zurs, Austria, will open its doors this December with New Snow Week, a package that includes a two-, four-, or six-day ski pass in the legendary Arlberg ski area accompanied by the hotel's own ski instructor. Also included are daily tours through the winter landscape of Zurs, daily ski gymnastics and stretching, one spa treatment of the guest's choice, daily meals, and more. Valid Dec. 12-19, 2014. Check out more ski packages here.
|
Romance in the City of Romeo and Juliet
What could be more romantic than slipping away to the Italian city immortalized in Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers? The Due Torri Hotel's two-night Romantic Getaway provides all the ingredients for successful wooing, from a bouquet of flowers, bottle of Prosecco, and chocolates awaiting the couple's arrival to a three-course candlelit dinner, room service breakfast, and a horse drawn carriage ride through Verona's charming narrow streets. A one-day complimentary Verona Card covers entrance fees to the city's most compelling attractions. This perfect escape for two is available through Dec. 2014.
|
A City Break in the Swiss Capital
An iPod guide lets guests of the Bellevue Palace tour the Swiss capital at their own pace. Those who book the three-night City Break in Bern package can also enjoy admission to the museum of their choice, including entree to special exhibitions. Rounding out the experience are champagne on arrival, daily breakfast, and a three-course dinner at La Terrasse. The package is valid Dec. 12, 2015 through Jan. 4, 2015, making it an ideal choice for holiday shoppers to pick up a gift or two at one of the Old Town's Christmas markets.
|
The Beaumont, London
With the late September opening of The Beaumont in exclusive Mayfair, famed London restaurateurs Corbin & King have taken a hotelier turn. Intimate and personal, with only 50 rooms and 23 suites, The Beaumont evokes 1920s American expat culture in its sophisticated Art Deco design. Gaining early buzz are the hotel's "atmospheric restaurant" serving American grill classics (HotelChatter.com), "classy interiors" and "gorgeous spa" with hammam (The Telegraph). And then there's ROOM -- a three-story-high sculpture by Antony Gormley that dominates the hotel's facade and contains a singular one-bedroom suite clad in fumed oak. For more details and images of the new Beaumont, click here.
|
 This collection of cocktails at the Hotel Metropol's Shalyapin Bar is too pretty not to share. It's the perfect sip after a night at the Bolshoi (box seats, anyone?) and a fitting tribute to the bar's namesake, Russian opera singer Fyodor Shalyapin, for whom the Metropol was a favorite post-performance dining spot.
No stranger to the celebrity world, Grand Hotel Majestic gia Baglioni's new chef, Giuliano Tassinari, has taken a star turn himself with a profile in Vanity Fair Italy's "Food Star." Before taking the helm of I Carracci at the historic Bolognese hotel, Tassinari served as Ralph Lauren's chef during a Mediterranean tour aboard the luxury mega yacht Savarona, where he cooked for Jack Nicholson, Andie MacDowell and Naomi Campbell, among others. In his interview, Tassinari recounts trips to the fish market with Kevin Costner and requests for strozzapreti with sausage ragu in the Emilia-Romagna tradition. The chef's return to Bologna brings him back to his own culinary roots, and his menus for I Carracci include many specialties of the Emilia-Romagna region. Those of you who parlano italiano can read the original interview here.
|
 |
|
|
|
Hot Spots
What to do and see in Elite destinations this season:
Il Nuovo Antico
(music concert series) Oratorio San Filippo Neri Bologna, Italy Sept. 16 - Nov. 19, 2-14 Lincoln Center Presents White Light FestivalVarious venues New York, NY Oct. 7 - Nov. 11, 2014 Rendez-vous Bundesplatz (light show) Parliament Building Berne, Switzerland Oct. 17 - Nov. 30, 2014 Viennale (film festival) Various venues Vienna, Austria Oct. 23 - Nov. 6, 2014 Florence Art and Restoration FairFortezza da Basso Florence, Italy Nov. 13-15, 2014 Lucerne Festival at the PianoKKL Luzern and other venues Lucerne, Switzerland Nov. 22-30, 2014 Huguenot MonumentFranschhoek, S.A. Nov. 29-30, 2014 Opening Night: Beethoven's FidelioTeatro alla Scala Milan, Italy Dec. 7, 2014 Great Composers at The BolshoiBolshoi Theatre Moscow, Russia Dec. 14, 2014 Russian Winter FestivalVarious venues Moscow, Russia mid-Dec. 2014 - early Jan. 2015
|
 Just ahead of the 150th anniversary of the first Matterhorn ascent in 2015, a team of Zermatt climbers has retraced Edward Whymper's steps, illuminating his route to the peak in spectacular red lights. Watch it all unfold on this Youtube video by Swiss mountaineering specialist Mammut, then join the celebration with a stay at one of the Seiler Hotels Zermatt. Shhh! Time Out New York has revealed the best of the Big Apple's covert parties and under-the-radar attractions, complete with tips on getting in the know and gaining entrance. Plan your next Lombardy stay around one of these insider-only events. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
After networking at ITLM Americas (top), Greg and Sandy visited agencies on both coasts, with sales directors from several Elite hotels. In San Francisco, the Schwabs were joined by Kate Dixon of The Beaumont and Christian Stein Kalesky of Palace Luzern (middle); last week, they introduced Sophie von Deskow of Vienna's Grand Hotel Wien and Ring Hotel to the Washington, D.C. market.
