boutique in Beverly Hills

double-double room at Viceroy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills

Do you prefer smaller or larger hotels? Most of the Virtuoso hotels in Beverly Hills range from 170 to 395 rooms. Larger hotels can offer such advantages as larger spas, more elaborate exercise facilities, and multiple dining outlets. Your chance of being upgraded can be better when a hotel has more rooms.

But boutique hotels offer a kind of charm that larger hotels cannot, and such properties pride themselves on the high percentage of repeat guests. After a few stays, you'll get to know the staff, and they'll get to know you and your preferences... As an example, I love the experience of going into the breakfast room at The Lowell in New York and having the same waiter.

Viceroy L'Ermitage has tried to create an Upper East Side ambience in their small (only 117 rooms) property in Beverly Hills. Understated yet comfortable, the hotel has recently completed a thorough and successful renovation. Rooms are large — 650 sq. ft. at a minimum — offering a simple elegance without being splashy. But wait until you get into your dressing room. Lots of closet space, makeup mirror with settings for both artificial and natural light, and a trifold runway mirror to help you get everything right for a dressy dinner, Beverly Hills party, or perchance the Academy Awards!

For a real treat, book one of the suites in the hotel's residential wing, but whether you book a room or a suite, Virtuoso guests receive daily full breakfast for two, a $100 hotel credit towards F&B or spa, and complimentary WiFi.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

New York at Thanksgiving

walking south down Fifth Avenue (Central Park to the right)

Thanksgiving in New York has been a tradition for a number of years, as my sister lives there, my daughter goes to school there (Columbia), and my son and daughter-in-law live on the east coast as well. So I'm preparing to go once again to the Big Apple next week.

Where to stay? I've stayed at a number of different places. As my sister lives on the Upper East Side, I've split time between the Plaza Athenee and The Lowell, two very nice boutique hotels in residential neighborhoods. But this year — as my daughter's apartment is on the Upper West Side, I'm spending three nights at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

Mandarin Oriental New York is located on Columbus Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park. It's a great venue for seeing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; you can see it from the hotel's lobby high above the Time Warner Building. I'll post my review right here on Travel Horizons, as well as a review of the new Viceroy New York which I'll be visiting for a site inspection on Thursday morning. The Viceroy is a reasonably priced luxury hotel on W 57th Street at 6th Avenue, so I'm quite interested to see what it's like.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! It's my favorite holiday of the year … still a family holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized.

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Thanksgiving in New York

Fifth Avenue — Upper East Side

I always go to New York City for Thanksgiving, but not for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which I've never watched in person). Though I've lived in California for twenty years, I'm a transplanted east coast native with the rest of my family back east. My mother lives on the Jersey Shore, my sister and daughter live in Manhattan, and my son and his wife live in Washington, DC ... so Thanksgiving in New York has become an annual tradition.

What to do in New York? Well, basically anything and everything you can imagine. Here are some of the things I've done in past years:

1. Shopping — Need I say more? 5th Avenue has all the brand names, Madison Avenue the boutiques, and downtown the cheap electronics stores. And don't forget the Apple Store (open 24/7) and FAO Schwartz.
2. Museums — the Metropolitan Museum, the MoMA (buy tickets online in advance to avoid long lines), and the Museum of the City of New York.
3. Walking — Central Park (see Strawberry Fields), the High Line.
4. Visit the 9/11 Memorial.
5. See Times Square (it's a mob scene after the Parade).
6. See Grand Central Terminal (which has its own Apple Store).
7. Entertainment — see a movie, go to theater, or see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
8. Explore Chinatown or get pizza in Little Italy.
9. Rooftop bars at the Gansevoort and the Peninsula (ideas suggested by Sarah)
10. Hotel Site Inspections — I don't expect this to be high on most readers' lists!

Where to stay? New York is blessed with lots of great luxury hotels. Here are some recommended hotels in which I've personally stayed: 

• The Lowell
• Plaza Athenee
• Four Seasons New York
• Ritz-Carlton Central Park
• Ritz-Carlton Battery Park
• The Plaza 

Book any of these through your Virtuoso travel consultant for the best prices along with free breakfasts and other valuable amenities you can't get online.

Thanksgiving in New York (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.