IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is celebrating more than 100 Hotel Indigo properties around the world with the launch of their “shoppable hotel room.” The room, in Hotel Indigo Lower East Side, displays local art from Hotel Indigo locations around the globe, part of their initiative to create “cultural sustainability” in the communities they share. The art, which ranges from blankets to plates to vintage-style Bluetooth radios, is available on the Hotel Indigo website.
This move is very much in character for the Hotel Indigo brand. Each of their hotels seeks to draw inspiration from surrounding communities, in design, theme, and even scent. Hotel Indigo Lower East Side is inspired by the neighborhood’s history of street art, while the Bangkok location revels in a time when radio first blossomed in the city.
The “shoppable” penthouse in the Lower East Side towers above the landscape, providing a breathtaking view of the neighborhood from which Hotel Indigo Lower East Side draws its inspiration, but inside is a taste of global neighborhoods. Hats reminiscent of Los Angeles’ Fiesta de la Flores sit by Ottoman Empire wall plates from the Hotel Indigo Venice. For the reception, local artist Brooke Pelczynski created live art which guests could take home.
IHG’s shop comes in the midst of an expansion, which includes their new Williamsburg, Brooklyn location which is inspired by the coffee and sugar manufacture which first built the neighborhood. While nothing is certain, I have heard that designers are considering infusing the lobby with a light scent of coffee. I can’t imagine any better way to start my day.
This fall, Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is looking to change the shape of their franchise–and the size of their Rock ‘n Roll–with what CEO Jim Allen calls “the world’s biggest guitar.” This 400 ft tall guitar-shaped hotel is part of an expansion to Hard Rock’s Hollywood, FL hotel and casino, part of a $2.2 billion dollar expansion encompassing the Hollywood and Tampa facilities.
The expansion comes after record growth around the world, especially in their home state of Florida. According to Allen, these facilities have been operating at 98% occupancy since their opening, limiting their ability to expand and advertise. The move would add more than 2000 new rooms, as well as introducing some new features to the Hollywood location befitting a facility made, in part, into a giant guitar.
At “The Guitar-Shaped Hotel”, the pool is less of a place you go than a place you’re already at. The “Bora Bora Experience” is a tropical waterscape out of a Bond movie, stretching out from the hotel like a beachfront. If you don’t like walking, the “lakeside” Oasis Tower features swim suites: rooms with a porch that backs up to an exclusive pool for easy swimming. If that’s too far from the water, guests can rent full-service tipis built into the waterscape.
Photos courtesy of Hard Rock Cafe, Inc.
Of course, the heart of The Guitar-Shaped Hotel’s rock n roll spirit is the new, state-of-the-art Hard Rock Live, a 6500-seat entertainment venue capable of hosting A-list performing artists, major award shows, and anything in between. Designed to keep thousands of attendees as close as possible to the action, its farthest seat is only 165 ft away from the stage.
The Tampa and Hollywood facilities are both scheduled to open in October of 2019, only a few weeks apart. Booking for Tampa’s new facility, which opens on the 3rd, will start accepting bookings on June 5th. Hollywood’s Guitar-Shaped Hotel opens the 24th and will start accepting bookings on July 24th.
1919 Restaurant in the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. All photos: Condado Vanderbilt.
Puerto Rican Chef Juan Jose Cuevas has had an extraordinary career since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. From three-star Michelin restaurant Akelarre in San Sebastian, Spain, to working at The Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, El Raco in Barcelona, and Essex House in New York City, Cuevas’ storied career is beyond impressive. He’s worked with renowned chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Christian Delouvrier and earned Michelin stars at various restaurants including at the Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster, New Jersey. Today, in his most important role as the Executive Chef of 1919, Cuevas is steering the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel’s flagship restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico to inimitable status. Cuevas’ triumphant return to Puerto Rico comes at an opportune moment for the island. With his dedication to using only locally-sourced products, the chef is not only producing mouthwatering dishes but helping to provide a sustainable environment for the local farms while promoting the farm-to-table movement in Puerto Rico.
Executive Chef Juan Jose Cuevas; 1919 Restaurant in the Condado Vanderbilt.
Downtown: What is the first memory you have of wanting to be a chef?
Chef Juan Jose Cuevas: My first memory was working in restaurant when I was 16 years old. I was fascinated by the drive and energy in the kitchen. Then, when I was 17, I went to a fine dining restaurant and fell in love with how things were done.
Downtown: What are the colors, smells, and environment that most take you back to that first moment of realization of how food can bring people together?
JJC: That moment occurred later on in my life when I moved to San Francisco. There, I saw, smelled, and touched everything at the farmers market. I saw how they set the stage at Chez Pannisse and saw how people in and out of the kitchen at restaurants live every moment caring for the others, how food brings people to share at a table, and into a conversation.
Passion Fruit, Coconut, and Pineapple dish.
Downtown: What are some of the experiences that have most shaped you as a chef?
JJC: I have had several great opportunities that have helped shape me as a chef. Each of them contributed in different ways.
Sylvain Portay: He had an amazing way of working with his hands, and his taste buds were very delicate but flavorful. Most of the reasons why I became a chef can be attributed to him. He opened many doors for me.
Alain Ducasse: He taught me a respect for the ingredients, as well as technique, precision, and leadership. He taught me there is only one way to do it…the right way. Everything with him was about the details and perfection.
Santi Santamaria: Ingredients! His knowledge of the history behind food and how much it relates to whom we are was very important. He was a very humble and caring Chef
Organic, Local Beet Salad.
I also read Lulu’s Provencal Tableearly on in my career. It opened my mind to a world unknown to me. It cemented in me a passion for cooking, including the smells, sounds, and the beauty of the rustic environment and food.
Downtown: You commenced your career in a three-star Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain. Besides the location, which is a culinary haven, that is a mind-boggling beginning. How did that come about and what was the experience like for you?
JJC: It was a phenomenal first job! It was my first time in a kitchen of such a high level. There were so many cooks, and so much respect for everything, with an almost military type of precision and organization. It all began because I was lucky enough to meet Pedro Subijana, the chef/owner, in New York one day. I helped him as a translator, and after that, he asked me if I wanted to work with him in San Sebastian.
Local Chayote Salad.
Downtown: In all the places you have worked, the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, the El Raco in Barcelona, and Essex House in New York City to name a few, has there been a unifying experience for you? How were they similar and how were they different?
JJC: They were all similar in the following: a respect for the ingredients and technique. There was PASSION. There was not that much difference between them besides the obvious – different types of cuisines, etc. But the love and passion in each kitchen was the same. The Ritz was a smaller team so we became a family. Essex House was a big team, each person was chock-full of experience and it was a melting pot (there were Parisian, Monacoian, Canadian, American, African, and Corsican cooks, as well as myself, from Puerto Rico). El Raco was very personal, we all lived there and we shared so many hours together. Santi was a gourmand and he transmitted his love of food to us.
1919 Restaurant in the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Downtown: You have worked with incredible chefs throughout your career, Alain Ducasse and Christian Delouvrier among them. What is a trait you have most learned to admire in the kitchen?
JJC: A respect for ingredients. To use all your senses: smell, touch, sight, sound, and taste. To let the ingredients dictate their course.
Downtown: What is one of your biggest accomplishments as a chef?
JJC: I am very happy with my career. Here are a few moments I am proud of:
I received three stars
from the New York Times for a
restaurant that lead the pack when I took over.
I am the first
Puerto Rican to win a Michelin Star.
My biggest
accomplishment to date though is to see how the people who have worked under me
follow and regard me as a leader and as a mentor.
To see the light in my daughter’s eyes when we share a conversation about food, wine, and restaurants makes me feel accomplished. I see she shares the passion and love I have for cooking and all that comes with it, and that means a lot to me.
Downtown: What drew you back to working in Puerto Rico?
Downtown: What do you most love about your role as the Executive Chef of 1919?
Prime Boneless Eye of Rib with Truffle Mac & Cheese.
JJC: In the six years since I have moved back, it is gratifying to see how much impact I have been able to have on the local farming, agriculture, and economics. To know that I can and have helped in the development of culinary ideas on the island is supremely important.
Downtown: How often do you create a new menu at 1919, and what is your approach to creating the regular menus and the tasting menus?
JJC: We change the menu four to five times a year. My approach is simple: let the ingredient speak for themselves. We are always in continuous conversation with our local farmers to develop our menus. As for the tasting menu, we always begin light and simple and slowly gear up to more complex combinations: from barely touched to substantially enhanced in flavor.
Cochinillo Ravioli.
Downtown: Can you give us an example of some of the unique dishes you currently have on your tasting menu?
JJC:
Tuna-King Fish Crudo, Uni, Osetra Caviar, Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette
JJC: A light fricassee of vegetable that we call Pistou. It is a complete vegetarian fricassee made with different vegetable juices, oils, and a pesto created from different herbs and vegetables.
Pumpkin Cake.
Downtown: Tell us about the farm-to-table movement in Puerto Rico! How has that affected what you place on your menus?
JJC: The farm-to-table movement is growing fast; it is how I created my menus before I moved to PR, and once I moved back, it is what commanded the development of our menus.
Downtown: What would you like people to know about 1919?
JJC: I am in love with 1919! In the preparation of the ingredients used for each dish, the intention is to bring the flavors forward without distraction. Our aim is to obtain clarity in taste and presentation so that the guests can fully realize the essence of the products used. In addition, we choose ingredients that will provide maximum nutritional sustenance.
Crudo Trio.
Our emphasis is on freshness and purity of ingredients. To capture the highest level of flavor, the ingredients are used in season, in relation to the time of harvest. Our methods highlight the importance of knowing our suppliers, from farmers to fishermen. My signature cuisine abandons the traditional use of meats and creams and instead presents the intense flavors and textures of vegetable juices, fruit essences, light bouillons, and herbal vinaigrettes.
It is a restaurant characterized by a contemporary kitchen with a traditional base that caters to seasonal products. We embellish dishes with flavor through the points of cooking, the textures and raw materials are of great quality. Our tasting menus stand out, especially where technique and classic recipes are married in each dish.
Chef Juan Jose Cuevas in front of 1919 Restaurant’s incredible wine room.
Downtown: Tell us about 1919’s wines. What your process in choosing the wines and vintages for your pairings?
JJC: Our wine list is very diverse with a big influence from Spain and California. Our wine pairings follow the same process as our food – they go from light/simple to more complex/robust wines. During the day, we taste different wines to decide which one will go better with that day’s menu.
Downtown: What are a couple of your favorite pairings?
JJC: Champagne to begin: My favorite is Bollinger or Bonnaire. White: El Tamboril 2015 with the slow-cooked Salmon and Pistou. Red: Rey Moro 2015 or Miura Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard 2010 with our local Cartucho (fish), organic Quinoa, “Pastel al Caldero”, and Red Wine Mole Jus.
Downtown: You have a superb team! Tell us a bit about them!
JJC: Carol Reyes is our chef de cuisine at 1919. She has been with me since we opened. She is super demanding, organized, has great knife skills, and is incredibly committed.
JJC: Condado Vanderbilt brings prestige, elegance, and finesse to 1919. The Condado area is busy, lively and close to everything. It is the best location to stay if you are in San Juan, PR.
Table for two at 1919 Restaurant.
Downtown: 1919, the Condado Vanderbilt, and the culinary movement in Puerto Rico are incredibly impressive. What would you like tourists to understand about your island and what it has to offer?
JJC My island is gorgeous, it has great beaches, an amazingly lush Rainforest (El Yunque), a great night life, and a historic city. Our food is bold, flavorful, and diverse.
Downtown: What can we expect from you and 1919 in the next couple of years?
JJC: We will continue growing to offer more culinary experiences. We are putting together a guest chef series where we invite and bring Chefs from outside of PR to cook with us. We will continue working with local farmers in addition to introducing them to more hotels and restaurant. My vision of my work in Puerto Rico is to help create a direct connection between farms, farming, and restaurants. We will continue to be advocates for agricultural resilience and advocates for soil health and organic farming.
Hollywood Beach in South Florida has always been a sweet spot close to South Beach Miami yet off the radar, meaning no paparazzi. It’s a great place for ecotourism and to connect with nature. Hollywood Beach has the most open space and nature preserves and even keeps the city lights very low so turtles can come nest under the stars on a two-mile swath of North Beach.
With a large eco-park and two eco-golf courses nearby, Hollywood Beach is the place to rent an electric canoe and explore the dense mangroves of West Lake Park or walk the boardwalks and get away from it all and just embrace the natural side of South Florida. There is a two and a half mile long auto-free “Broadwalk” that has a quirky collection of restaurants, shops, and fabulous people watching.
The only problem with Hollywood Beach was the lack of high end hotel options. There was only the Tommy Bahama Marriott or Parrot Head Margaritaville, neither of which offers the luxury experience savvy travelers seek. Until now. The new minimalist modern Costa Hollywood Beach is in soft openings and Hollywood Beach will never be the same.
The 27,000 square foot rooftop terrace features a heated infinity pool and the hotel’s first restaurant Cielo, which offers a simple menu full of variety, perfect for snacking, lunch, or dinner overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway to the West and the crashing waves of the Atlantic to the East.
Cielo is just the start of the food offerings; an Argentinean Steak House is set to open off the lobby in the near future. The lobby is also home to a chic coffee bar to get your day going and an on-duty concierge that can set up private boat charter to pick you up across the street on the Intercostal. If you prefer, grab a prepared picnic lunch and couple of beach chairs to go up to the darkest part of North Beach and watch the Turtles mate under the stars.
There are multiple types of rooms available, and all three hundred of them are extremely well appointed and very chic. Simple, high-end finishes and fixtures and mini kitchens give the Costa a homey vibe. Rooms have western Intercostal views or East facing oceanfront skylines, and most have private terraces from which to enjoy the fresh sea air. There is well appointed gym complete with a roped off boxing area and daily rooftop yoga offerings to help you reach new fitness peaks while enjoying your beach time.
The Costa is offering special soft opening discounted rates this Winter and Spring, giving you the perfect reason to come down and check out Hollywood Beach, the cool new alternative to South Beach.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in style with a variety of special offers from Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. Designed to suit those with the most discerning taste, a mid-week staycation will have couples falling in love all over again with Lower Manhattan as the backdrop.
Take the Elevator Home
Looking for the perfect mid-week getaway on Valentine’s Day? Look no further than a delectable five course prix-fixe dinner at CUT by Wolfgang Puck, an overnight stay at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, and a Soak Service for two.
CUT offers a stunning five-course prix-fixe menu with choices that range from a Japanese hamachi cone to grilled prime dry aged New York sirloin. Also available are various options for two including pan roasted Maine lobster, USDA prime porterhouse and Creekstone Farms tomahawk chop. After dinner, take the elevator home to a personal oasis upstairs.
Before or after the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner, indulge in a Soak Service – the latest offering from The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. Curated by Spa Director Tara Cruz, the Soak Service Menu features a variety of offerings that have all been designed to restore, soothe or detox depending on the need. Every single guest can indulge in a Soak Service throughout their stay as every single room and suite in the Hotel features a deep soaking tub. The Valentine’s Day Package includes a Rose Revival for Two, which features pure Himalayan salts to naturally lift spirits while tuberose and lemongrass ignite the feeling of positivity and love. Seasonal citrus and floral notes are elegantly paired with sparkling rose and decadent homemade treats to satisfy even the most elevated palate.
Following dinner and the Soak Service, settle in for the perfect night’s sleep in the most luxurious Four Seasons beds with views over Manhattan, perfect for the mid-week city staycation and even if you have to get back to the office in the morning.
Rates start from $599, including an overnight stay in a Superior King Room, dinner for two in CUT by Wolfgang Puck, and the Rose Revival for Two Soak Service. To book this special package, call 646 880 1924 and quote “V-Day Package.” Package is only available on Thursday, February 14, 2019.
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
This Valentine’s Day, treat a loved one to an unforgettable experience at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. Book any of these treatments in The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown during the month of February and receive a complimentary glass of champagne at CUT to complete the experience. For reservations, contact The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown on 646 880 2990.
Choose from the following offerings available for the entire month of February:
Love Adorned – A Couples Massage
A warm rose quartz massage and custom essential oils are perfectly paired to ignite the feeling of positivity and love. Choose from a 50 or 80 minute treatment.
Royal Ritual
Fit for any king and queen, the five and a half hour treatment includes the following:
50 minute re-mineralising crystalising detox body treatment
80 minute four-handed serenity massage with warm rose quartz
80 minute green caviar facial
Wanderlust manicure and pedicure
Nurvaana Couples Reading
A duo session provides insight on how to build an even stronger future together. Each customized session includes side-by-side acupuncture, chakra cleansing using essential oils, and an open discussion and clairvoyant reading. The experience will elevate communication techniques and appreciation for each other.
Chakra Crystal Clearing for Two
Experience an energy balancing Chakra Crystal energy clearing session to harmonise the body and mind and create a deeper connectivity between partners.
THE CRISTALLINE Crystal for Kids Workshop
A Valentine’s Day themed Crystal Class for Kids is where little ones can learn about the energetic power of crystals and the perfect stones to radiate love and abundance year round. The workshop will take place on Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 10:00 to 10:45 am. Email spa.nydowntown@fourseasons.com for reservations.
We are all about a good hotel lobby, and the amazing Illustrator Kirsten Ulve has just made the lobby at INNSIDE by Meliá New York Hotel in NoMad one of our favorites! Marking her first hotel partnership, Kirsten Ulve’s Lobby Art Installation at INNSIDE by Meliá New York features five of her original illustrations that are on permanent display for guests to enjoy, including NYC, Catwalker, Flatiron, Liberty, and Bad Larry. Each piece is crisp, graphic, and inspired by Kirsten’s love for New York City, which she made her home in 1996. The artwork compliments INNSIDE by Meliá New York’s stylish and contemporary interiors designed for the modern city visitor. Some of Kirsten’s previous work has been feature in The New Yorker, Vouge Japan, adidas and Target. Check out the art and what Kirsten has to say about it below, and be sure to stop by INNSIDE to get a peek for yourself!
NYC
This is a very condensed take on the heart of New York City: Times Square flanked by the iconic Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. These two always felt like brother and sister to me, being roughly the same vintage. There are more sets of opposites too: day and night skies, a peaceful protest with flashing police car, a limo and a hot dog cart, a gathering rainstorm, and a glowing New Year’s ball about to drop. And the teensy people are dwarfed by the towering height of the city. I wanted to show all of this contrasting energy with “at-a-glance” simplicity to reflect the City That Never Sleeps vibe.
Cat Walker
I love bringing an element of fantasy into fashion illustration. And NYC is teeming with beautiful inspiring people everywhere! Everyone has a unique story. Once I saw a woman walking her cats in Madison Square park under cover of darkness, and the cats were so happy to walk in the evening grass with the smell of flowers and the sound of insects in the moonlight. Magic moments like that make me so happy to live here.
Flatiron
I see this beautiful building in my neighborhood every day, and I love when it’s dramatically lit by sun and shadow. If you’ve ever walked past it you also know how windy it can be there, where the breeze sweeping down Broadway and 5th avenues is suddenly cleaved by it’s skinny wedge. I also saw the total eclipse of the sun (while wearing “eclipse googles”) last summer standing in front of it, looking up. It’s like a vortex in the city, and it’s my favorite.
Liberty
She represents the best sentiment of New York City and, once upon a time, of our country. Compassion. Love. I wanted to re-emphasize this message with a modern Liberty. The real Liberty may be holding a book of ancient wisdom, but the core of that message is love. We need it now more than ever.
Bad Larry
I see street hustlers every day selling whatever they’ve got – old records, counterfeit designer purses, marijuana – to get by. I like to think Bad Larry has just rescued this kitten. He might be trying to make a sale, or just show you how cute it is.
