For once, I don’t have any insider tips to share, or advance word as to which cool new hotel is opening its doors. I just spent 10 days in Myanmar, my first time in a country that is beginning to open up to tourism for a number of reasons that range from political to infrastructural. Unlike...
published: Feb 8 2013 - 12:00am
Hotel Wars
Grand Hyatt, Erawan Bangkok
Pullman Bangkok Hotel G
The Location
Right on the Sukhumvit BTS line (SO convenient), the hotel is surrounded by high-end shopping malls and named for the active little shrine nearby.
Newly opened last fall, this hotel is in the thick of the...
published: Feb 1 2013 - 12:00am
Going Green in Singapore
Opening this month in the Lion City is a hotel that makes the awesome “vertical garden” in our own Hotel Icon look like a potted plant. The Park Royal on Pickering was designed to appear as if it were plopped down right in the middle of a lush garden. The 367-...
published: Jan 18 2013 - 12:00am
New Year, New Hotel, New You
That adage might be trite, but it’s true that at the start of every annum folks get more serious about taking care of themselves. A brand-spankin’-new hotel in Koh Samui, one of Starwood’s high-end Luxury Collection properties called Vana Belle, is...
published: Jan 11 2013 - 12:00am
The Buzz in Bangkok
Bangkok's another popular choice for Christmas or New Year's getaways, so if you're looking for a place to while away the holiday hours with a cocktail (or six), then check out one of these three rooftop bars that have opened in the last year. The Speakeasy (www....
published: Dec 21 2012 - 12:00am
Advice From a Travel Guru
A few weeks ago, I got to sit down with Tony Wheeler, who founded the ubiquitous, quasi-biblical Lonely Planet series of guidebooks. He never expected the franchise (which BBC bought out last year) to be the juggernaut that it is today—it started when he and his wife...
published: Dec 19 2012 - 2:28pm
Go Party in Penang
It seems virtually everyone I know has taken a long weekend trip to Penang in recent months. Besides the obvious reason to go—the food, duh—there’s also a desirable crop of quirky-cool, stylish boutique hotels in George Town, mostly located in refurbished...
published: Dec 14 2012 - 12:00am
Backwater Banyan
I've been to beautiful Kerala, a region in India’s southwest known for its harmonious religious diversity as well as its idyllic backwaters. It’s also the place that Banyan Tree picked for its first Indian resort, set to open in early 2013. Located on a private...
published: Dec 4 2012 - 12:00am
Some More Samui
Flying to Koh Samui, every Hongkonger’s favorite beachy, pool-y and Full Moon party-y getaway, just got a little easier. Starting December 1, Bangkok Airways is upping service between Hong Kong and the Thai island, offering two flights every day of the week. As the only...
published: Nov 23 2012 - 12:00am
Glamping In StyleTired of traditional luxury? Try heading to the new Jeeva Beloam in Lombok, a new coastal camping hotel that’s offering a soft opening package through December 15 for HK$1,400 per night, including all meals and airport transfers. There are only five “tents” (...
published: Nov 16 2012 - 3:27pm
