Forget the beachfront, skyscraper hotels overlooking Tel Aviv's historic Jaffa. To see what really makes the White City tick, book a boutique hotel in a Bauhaus neighborhood and absorb the design and architecture of some of the spots that have been blooming in this Middle Eastern metropolis that sometimes feels like Miami-on-the-Mediterranean.
Alma Hotel, the newest of the bunch, opened in November 2012. It was founded by siblings, Adi and Irit Strauss, who also run three of Tel Aviv’s most popular restaurants. They have woven together a patchwork of bohemian luxury in 15 studios and suites with elegant, zany decor that mirrors the eclectic architecture of its newly renovated 1925 building.
Each luminous room, some with balconies, meshes traditional décor with the contemporary, blending Eastern and Western cultures that recalls the intimate sexiness of hotels in Paris’s Le Marais district. A rooftop terrace, sandwiched between synagogues and skyscrapers, provides an urban oasis for sipping any of the Israeli boutique wines available in each room's mini-bar.
Alma also lures wealthy foodies, ranging from Israeli socialites to Russian businessmen, to its ground floor bar and restaurant. Its celebrity chef Yonatan Roshfeld (also a judge on Master Chef Israel) serves Mediterranean tapas in microscopic yet succulent portions.
Book now on Vacationist, and you can stay in some of your favorite hotels and resorts for up to 40% off.
Sale ends in 3 days!
Ventana Inn - up to 41% off Big Sur, California This beloved, adults-only hideaway in Big Sur, California is home to 55 rooms and three cozy cedar villas, all surrounded by 243 acres that front the rugged coast.
Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa - up to 29% off Lake Placid, New York The historic, 131-room Lake Placid resort has views of the Adirondack Mountains and offers easy access to the area's winter- and summertime pursuits (skiing, canoeing, and hiking).
Sale ends in 6 days!
Windsor Court Hotel - up to 30% off New Orleans, Louisiana Within walking distance of the French Quarter and the Garden District, the centrally located Windsor Court Hotel is a NOLA institution that combines traditional luxury with impeccable (yet low-key) service.
Farecompare founder Rick Seaney has great advice for people traveling in a group (including families): save money by searching for airfare one person at a time. We’d explain here, but best to just go straight to his brilliant USA Today column. (AF)
Oh, the people you'll meet. Novelist Nathaniel Rich finds himself sharing intimacies, aspirations, and a little bit of heartbreak with his fellow passengers on a two-day journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited train in this weekend's New York Times Magazine. (AF)
What's more lonely than being in a strange hotel in a strange city all by yourself? Being without your beloved $8 M&Ms. In an essay in The Atlantic, journalist David Samuels laments the demise of the hotel mini bar. (AF)
The jet-setting hotel designer is never ruffled on the road.
“I am the most compact packer,” says Grace Leo, founder and CEO of GLA Hotels. Leo is ever on the move, overseeing projects in such far-flung destinations as Caracas, Venezuela, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Her travel style is globally sourced (case in point: the monogrammed Lorenza Bellora canvas tote she purchased in a shop at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome). She recently relocated to Manhattan to supervise the $30 million renovation of Millennium Hotels & Resorts’ One UN New York(1 United Nations Plaza;$$$), but Paris is her true home. “I search for antiques at the Marché Paul Bert on Sundays. One good piece can inspire an entire project.”
Jean Nouvel. Christian Lacroix. Kenzo Takada. And now, Karl Lagerfeld. Over the last half-decade, a star-studded cast of designers and architects has helped transform the half-century-old French Sofitel brand from a random collection of dusty hotels—some elegant, some forgettable—into a serious player among international luxury hotels.
This is all thanks to a new direction from CEO Robert Gaymer-Jones, who over the last six years whittled down 81 sub-par properties from a group of more than 200 into a collection of 120 hotels that have been upgraded and reflagged into distinct brands. They include the Sofitel flagship (the Nouvel-designed Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, for one), Sofitel Legend for historic properties (the Sofitel Metropole in Hanoi and the soon-to-open Sofitel Montevideo among others), and So, a line of new style-conscious boutiques. (Recent openings include So Bangkok, where Lacroix did the lobby and staff uniforms, and So Mauritius, where Takada designed eight light-filled villas.)
Last month I reported on great après-ski traditions at resorts out West. Don't worry, East Coasters, here are four top-notch resorts closer to home, each with an après-ski scene to rival anything in the Rockies.
In the Adirondack region of New York, Whiteface Lodge's signature après-ski drink is the Campfire, a soothing blend of bourbon, local apple cider, scotch, and sage. Where better to enjoy a liquid Campfire than by an actual campfire? The Lodge agrees, and has built two large lean-tos around a fire pit. Cushy seating, blankets, and mountain views allow guests to relax under the stars while still enjoying the comforts of resort life. And a direct phone line to the hotel concierge means that a Campfire by the campfire need never be far away.
Book now on Vacationist, and you can stay in some of your favorite hotels and resorts for up to 50% off.
Sale ends in 3 days!
Hotel Breakwater South Beach - up to 29% Miami Beach, Florida A Miami Beach icon since 1936, the Hotel Breakwater South Beach, on Ocean Drive, mixes Art Deco pedigree with newly revitalized interiors.
La Valencia - up to 41% off La Jolla, California With its blend of Hollywood history and jaw-dropping views, La Valencia embodies the old-school elegance of La Jolla, San Diego's tony enclave tucked against a cove.
St. James's Club Resort & Villas - up to 41% off St John's, Antigua and Barbuda Its endless activities menu, all-day kid's club, and close proximity to Antigua's airport make St. James's Club an ideal family-friendly Caribbean resort.
At the Hotel Bel-Air in Beverly Hills, head bartender Allen Allam will teach you secrets of the Japanese hard-shake method for mixing bespoke cocktails. During an hour-long class in the lustrous bar lounge, learn the recipe for such signature drinks as Dragon's Fire and Monroe's Passion, a potent fusion of ginger juice, fresh passion fruit puree, Thai chili syrup and Barcardi 151 rum. (Actress Marilyn Monroe was a regular at the Bel-Air.) Other tricks of the bar trade are also revealed. Allam demonstrates techniques for stirring and garnish cutting, as well as how to employ essential barware like slow-frozen Clinebell ice, stainless steel muddlers and gold-plated strainers. Beverage director Rob Harpest provides colorful cocktail history commentary as Allam pours. Afterwards, slip into one of the lounge's banquettes under larger-than-life celebrity portraits to further your liquid research. From $100 per person, minimum six per class, 14-day advance reservation required.
Heed the warnings. If the hotel informed you of resort fees and the like, you share some of the blame.
Play up your loyalty. Point out that you are a member of the hotel’s program, or a repeat customer.
Don’t...
Accept responsibility for fees buried in fine print. They should be clearly presented to guests.
Be afraid to stand your ground. If the front desk can’t help, ask for the general manager or guest services director.
Have a travel dilemma? Need some tips and remedies? Send your questions to news editor Amy Farley at tripdoctor@aexp.com. Follow @tltripdoctor on Twitter.
Have a travel dilemma? Need some tips and remedies? Send your questions to news editor Amy Farley at 
