Latest articles on Travel by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.net Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:34:35 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.thecoolhunter.net Latest articles on Travel by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1199&Itemid=4 When you tire of the endless sandy beaches and azure waters of warm climes, but you are not quite ready for space travel, head to Lapland for a dramatic, mystical getaway. The snow igloos that pop up each winter to complement the 20 spectacular glass igloos and 31 luxury log cabins at Kakslauttanen (http://www.kakslauttanen.fi/) resort in Saariselkä, Finland, are definitely cool in all meanings of the word. You can lie in your bed under the glass ceiling of your glass igloo, cozily covered by thick down duvets, and watch the snow fall gently in the light-blue air of the endless night. It is surreal and magical. You actually do forget that it is cold and, in fact, you are not cold. The duvets and clothing provided ensure that you are really feeling cozy. There is also a snow chapel, the world’s largest snow restaurant for 150 people, a Finnish traditional smoke sauna, an eight-meter-tall glass tepee (designed to resemble the typical Lapp tepee called kota) for cocktail parties under the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights, revontulet in Finnish), and a honeymoon suite or two. You guessed, it, this place is hugely popular for fairytale winter weddings. Snowmobile safaris, ice swimming and other frisky activities will keep you and your guests entertained for days! You can start your Finnish lessons with Hyvää päivää, which means hello, or literally, “have a good day.” By Tuija Seipell Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:32:31 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1189&Itemid=4 Since 1991, San Francisco-native Jeanie Fuji has acted as the traditional Japanese okami (land lady or female inn keeper) of the Fujiya Ryokan (traditional wooden inn) in the Ginzan Onsen (hot springs) area.That year, she married Fuji Atsushi, the son and heir of the 350-year-old inn and started her rigorous training under her mother-in-law in the art of serving customers, true Japanese style. This included preparing all meals, washing the dishes and cleaning all rooms. The goal was to make sure every need of every customer was anticipated and met following the age-old inn tradition of providing the right amount of service at the right time.Fuji describes the types of things she had to learn. “Sliding a fusuma door open and shut, greeting guests, bringing them meals on small o-zen tables... everything has to be done a certain way, following the old traditions. And I had to learn how to talk with the guests using polite, formal Japanese. I often wanted to give up and go home to the United States. But now I love my work here,” she says in a Japanese publication.By the time she had a good decade of experience behind her, Fuji had gained a celebrity okami status that she modestly and reluctantly dismisses. By 2004, she and her husband hired Tokyo-based celebrity architect Kengo Kuma to raise the personal service of the inn to even higher level. Kuma overtook a complete remodelling of the inn that reopened in July 2006. Kuma is behind many well-known buildings, including the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey headquarters in Tokyo.The capacity of the thoroughly wooden, three-story Fujiya Inn (http://www.fujiya-ginzan.com) was reduced to only eight rooms with full capacity at 16 persons. Considering the location of the inn, right in the middle of a relatively remote rural area known for its hot springs and natural beauty, the level of luxury in the inn is astonishing. Kuma has been able to combine traditional Japanese simplicity with international tastes and needs, yet avoided the dumbed-down, westernized version of Japanese style. In fact, Fuji has written an autobiography on this subject Nipponjin ni wa, Nihon ga Tarinai (Japanese people are not Japanese enough), in which she emphasizes that it is important for modern Japanese to recognize and re-claim the value of their own millennia-old customs and history.At Fujiya Inn, you feel that you are part of an ancient, authentic and almost organic history that seems to be seeping through every seam and screen here. Many aspects contribute to this effect. One is Kuma’s brilliant use of layers, screens as thin as veils, to both hide and reveal space. The omnipresent samushiko bamboo screens by craft master Hideo Nakata (no, he’s not the horror-movie director) and his son required 1.2 million four-millimetre-wide strips of bamboo. Green stained-glass panes by Masato Shida and the prolific use of the hand made, richly textured Echizen Japanese paper add to the feeling of lightness and transparency. The organic, natural quotient of the inn is also boosted by the baths and the hand-prepared, fresh food. The inn has five beautiful private hot springs baths including an open-air bath on the top floor. The food is based on a regular washoku (Japanese cuisine) menu and features many edible plants and other local ingredients. Fuji’s favourites include the sansai, mountain vegetables,... Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:42:00 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1173&Itemid=4 China’s first carbon-neutral hotel, the hip 26-room URBN Hotel Shanghai (http://www.urbnhotels.com), will officially open this spring. Conceived by owners Scott Barrack and Jules Kwan, URBN promises to be the start of a new boutique hotel empire. No strangers to luxury developments or to China where they have lived for 10 years, the two plan to open another 20 URBN hotels in China in the next three years, starting with Beijing, Hangzhou, Dalian and Suzhou. The hoteliers will go as green as possible by rehabilitating existing structures, using recycled materials, maximizing green space and introducing eco-friendly solutions. Beyond co-founding boutique real estate investment and development company Space Development (http://www.space-development.com/) with Kwan, the California native Barrack has established several property companies in China, including Space International (http://www.space.sh.cn/%3E) specializing in luxury French Concession district properties, and Inn Shangha (http://www.innshanghai.com/%3E), the city’s first serviced boutique apartment complex. Sydney, Australia-born and raised Kwan is an alternative media and property development expert. The partners have a unique, personal perspective on what works and what doesn’t for a luxury traveler in China. To give visitors a true Shanghainese urban experience — something they felt was missing — they invited international Shanghai-based collaborators with similar sensibilities to convert a 1970s post office building to the stylish URBN Hotel Shanghai. The result is an impressive fusion of contemporary and Chinese design. URBN’s spatial concept, interior and facade design are by A00 Architectur (http://www.azerozero.com)e (http://www.azerozero.com), a partnership of three Canadian architects, best known for conversions of Shanghai’s historic houses into unique residences. The hotel’s interior designer is Brazil native architect, Tais Cabral, known for her commercial, cultural, residential and retail work in Paris, as well as her furniture design. By Tuija Seipell Random Archive Emma Hope (fashion) (fashion) Pac Man Bike Glow (gadgets/PAC-MAN-BIKE-SPOKES/) (gadgets/PAC-MAN-BIKE-SPOKES/) Kids Wall Stickers (kids)T-O 12 Nightcub (bars) Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:59:04 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1191&Itemid=4 Opened just a few days ago by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the new VIP center at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport could potentially resurrect your impressions of airline travel as something to look forward to. However, the center - also called the Royal Center - is only open to Royalty, Ministers and state secretaries, diplomats, trade delegations and top directors in international business. So, unless you qualify, you'll need to just suffer the regular airport torture. The new space has already become the pride and joy of Dutch design. Overall design of the space is by Amsterdam-based concrete architectural associates (http://www.concreteamsterdam.nl) bv, known for a huge number cool retail, hospitality, entertainment and exhibition environments around the world. Schiphol's new VIP-center replaces an old, much smaller VIP area. The new center contains a separate Royal Lounge for members of the Royal Family, a press center, a Company Lounge, plus various reception and meeting rooms. The Royal Lounge is an enormous living room with lounge sofas, and Royal Family pictures on the bookshelves. The wall paper in the room is created from 5,500 mini reproductions of the national coat of arms. By Tuija Seipell Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:48:49 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1120&Itemid=4 We really do take swimming pools for granted. Lounging poolside at the hotel, swimming a few laps at the health club, or dipping into the Jacuzzi at the spa — we are used to pools but we want them fabulous. Scary-blue tubs with tepid, chlorinated water just don’t do it. Right now, we are hunting for the best and most amazing hotel swimming pools in the world and we’d like you to help us. Please let us know where your favorite, cool pool is. (tips@thecoolhunter.net (tips@thecoolhunter.net) ) While you are at it, you might be interested in some history of the pool. Bathing pools, of course, predate swimming pools, and we have all heard of the lavish and sophisticated ancient baths. But the swimming pool has a long history, too, dating back to ancient times. Already in 2500 B.C., Egyptians knew swimming as an organized activity and depictions of swimming from India are equally old. Ancient Romans constructed artificial pools for athletic training, nautical games and military exercises. Swimming was also part of boys’ education. Extravagant swimming pools with live fish entertained Roman emperors, and gave the pool its Latin name piscina. Ancient Greeks did not include swimming in their early Olympic games but they did practice the sport and built swimming pools as part of their baths. The first heated swimming pool was built in Rome in the first century BC. England’s first indoor swimming pool, the 40-foot-long Bagnio in Lemon Street, Goodman's Fields in London, opened in 1742. King Ludwig II of Bavaria built the first-ever wave pool with electrically heated water and light, in his Linderhof castle in 1879. In the U.S. the earliest public swimming pools were small indoor pools built with the intention of encouraging better hygiene among the poor. By the 1920s, the American public pool had become a large public place of amusement and recreation for thousands at a time. Home swimming pools became popular in the U.S. after WWII and Hollywood films made the backyard pool an important status symbol. All of this historical stuff is really rather exhausting when all we really want is serious pleasure – superior amenities, spectacular views, impeccable details, breath-taking eye candy. Let us know where such pools are, so that we can let the rest of the world know, too. By Tuija Seipell Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:23:18 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=4 Berlin is one of UNESCO Creative Cities (http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26386 URL_DO=DO_TOPIC URL_SECTION=201.html) of design and it has a distinctive and strong creative subculture (http://www.create-berlin.de/Profil_en.html). But it takes a while for the cool aspects to become apparent because Berlin is not a city with instant sex appeal like Paris or Rome. And don’t try to do anything before 11 am -- the place is dead till then.Luckily, we knew where the action is. In Berlin, it is in Mitte district (German for middle or center), a historic district formerly part of East Berlin. Now, it is somewhat edgier than SOHO but also similar with its refurbished buildings, one-of-a-kind designer fashion shops, cafes, bakeries, restaurants, bars, art galleries, studios and an overall creative vibe that attracts the city’s designers, architects, photographers and artists. Mitte is also the historical heart of Berlin with most of the main sights and many media companies within its borders.In Mitte, we stayed at Lux 11 (http://www.lux11.com). Lux 11’s name gives a nod to Rosa Luxemburg, the German champion of socialist causes, after whom the street is also named. The hotel name also refers to luxury and light (lux is light in Latin).Lux 11 is a chic 72-room apartment hotel opened in 2005 in a renovated building that started as stately residences in the late 19th century. It was later converted to an office building from which the KGB was apparently in direct contact with Moscow during the Cold War. We don’t know if this is true but we like the story.The hotel concept and interior are by London-based architects Giuliana Salmaso and Claudio Silvestrin (http://www.salmasosilvestrin.com/pc/index1.htm). They‘ve managed to create an environment that combines a clean, minimalist and practical style with an abundance of tactile and sensual details, white walls, natural wood, concrete in China green, curtains in leather, upholstery in rough canvas.We liked the simplicity – no frilly things to annoy you, no boring sets of matching bedding and window treatments. We also liked the little kitchen (the hotel buffet breakfast did not appeal) which we stocked at Bio Organic Supermarket a block away on Dircksenstrasse. We found the best coffee at Buscaglione on Rochstrasse (1 Block away) and the best soup at Kultur (http://www.soupkultu.de) (opposite hotel). What You'll Love: Location, location, location. Mitte is where its all at.What You Won't: No air conditioning, lifeless pillows. Expensive internet access (12 Euro for 5 hrs)Alternative Hotel - Hotel De Rome (http://www.hotelderome.com/) Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:41:45 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1070&Itemid=4 The most fabulous example of a hotel combining drama, surprise, luxury and comfort is hiding in the heart of the historical, artistic and night-club haven of Montmartre in Paris. Opened in June 2007, the restored aristocratic mansion The Hotel Particulier de Montmartre (http://hotel-particulier-montmartre.com/)has definitely decided to grow up. The two masterminds behind the project are Morgane Rousseau and Frédéric Comtet who with the help of Mathieu Paillard have managed to mix art and comfort brilliantly in their unusual hotel.The owners commissioned well known artists, designers, sculptors and architects to create an intimate five-room enclave of exceptional atmosphere and charm.One of the distinctive rooms is the “vegetable room” designed by New York-born, Paris-based contemporary artist Martine Aballéa. With her interpretation, she wishes to evoke hanging gardens, trees and the play of sunlight and shadow. The other artists involved in creating one of the compact private suites are photo artist Natacha Lesueur (room theme: Curtain of hair), painter Philippe Mayaux (Window), fashion and textile curator Olivier Saillard (Poems and hats) and illustrator and creative director Pierre Fichefeux (Tree with ears).Finland-born Mats Haglund of Chanel, Colette and Paul Joe boutique fame, created the private living room. He used the personality of the proprietors as his starting point and furnished the salon with originals of classics by Arne Jacobsen, Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto.From every window, residents can view the luscious and intimate garden created by Louis Bénech, one of the landscape designers responsible for revitalizing the world-renown Tuileries Gardens.With that much artistic and design cache, The Hotel Particulier de Montmartre will not have difficulty attracting a clientele. But to get there, you must leave the nightclubs of Montmartre, start thinking like former Montmartre residents Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, and locate the secret alleyway between l’avenue Junot and la rue Lepic. Continue to the Sorcerer’s Stone and pray that the iron gates will open for you. By Tuija Seipell Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:23:02 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1064&Itemid=4 Unlike the tourist-tainted landscapes of neighboring Greek Islands; Santorini, Greece provides a seemingly untouched backdrop of white hills, red beaches and blue seas.A gem of Santorini, the Ikies Traditional Houses (http://www.ikies.com/), sits high atop the archipelago of islands in the village of Oia (pronounced E-ah). Ikies houses are divided into studios (one bedroom), maisonettes (loft bedroom), and suites. Each lodging has its own intriguing name – presumably derived from local occupations – such as artisan, boatman, collector and antiquarian.The eleven luxury dwellings are carved out of pumice and designed to blend in with the surrounding architecture – hence “traditional houses”. Highlighting the theme of bright white, the blue windows, roofs and shutters create a mesmerizing effect when paired with the Aegean’s cerulean waters and red clay cliffs.Ikies makes brilliant use of their surroundings by perching their apartments on these cliffs, and expanding the space even further with private patios, Jacuzzis and pools, all of which are carefully crafted for viewing of Oia’s famous sunsets.Beyond the intricately detailed infrastructure, Ikies has become renowned for its obsession with service. One satisfied review read, “Their staff lives for nothing more than to refill your cocktail.” Continental breakfast, light fare and cocktails are all served to your room (or terrace or pool area). For the romantically-inclined, Ikies also offers a full service honeymoon package, with champagne breakfasts, flowers, satin sheets and the works.With its full-service amentities and uncomparable landscape, Ikies is a prime example of what this region has to offer. Stay tuned to Coolhunter to learn the ins and outs of the best places to vacation in Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens as we will be reporting live in September. By L. Harper Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:28:20 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1062&Itemid=4 Do Co Hotel (http://www.doco.com) is located in Vienna’s District 1, on the pedestrian-only Stephansplatz, right in the middle of the most historic part of this mindbogglingly historic city. The hotel of 41 luxurious rooms and two suites opened in May on the sixth floor of the famous, glass-walled Haas Haus building, but it is the view that really takes your breath away. What you see from the Haus is a straight-on, full-size, real-life panorama of St. Stephen's Cathedral – Stephansdom -- that has defined Vienna since 1147 AD. It is the sound of this Cathedral’s massive Pummerin (big bell) that announces the official arrival of the New Year in Austria. The original Haas Haus building was a furniture and interior decor store, Philipp Haas Sons. Several reconstructions later, the grand-daddy of modern Austrian architecture, Pritzker prize winner Hans Hollein (http://www.hollein.com), designed the current glass-steel-concrete structure. It opened in 1990 with notable disapproval by traditionalists. Hollein was also behind the latest upgrade that included the Do Co hotel. Do Co, the hotel’s holding company, is known worldwide for its first-class airline and event catering business and its Do Co Restaurants and Cafes. In the Haas Haus, it operates also Vienna’s hot spot, the ONYX Bar (pictured above) on the 6th floor, and Do Co Restaurant (7th floor), plus luxurious event space on the 8th and 9th floors with amazing views over Vienna. The heritage of the company’s Istanbul–born founder and majority shareholder, Attila Dogudan, is reflected in the colorful touches interspersed in the Do Co hotel interior by Amsterdam-based FG Stijl (http://www.fgstijl.nl). The firm’s partners, British Colin Finnegan and Dutch Gerard Glintmeijer, have managed to unite Dogudan’s Turkish heritage and Vienna’s prissy past with understated modern luxury. Your room will come equipped with Kilim bedspreads, chocolates from Viennese confectionary institution Demel (also owned by Do Co), and a Bang Olufsen flat screen TV. By Tuija Seipell. Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:25:29 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1053&Itemid=4 You have to really want to get to the Isle of Jura in the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland. Even the ever-optimistic PR people admit that “there is no quick way to get there.” The fastest way from London takes up a day and involves two planes and a ferry. George Orwell, who wrote 1984 here, described Jura fittingly as "an extremely un-getable place." Those who show up have always had a reason. Mostly it has been the lack of people (180 in total), the abundance of deer (3,000 or 5,000 depending on whose numbers you believe) or the quality of whisky. Jura’s single malts have been famous from 1810 on and whisky aficionados know all about its 10-year-old, 16-year-old and 21-year-old single malts, and JURA Superstition. While all are perfectly good reasons, we are drawn to Jura by the Jura Lodge, opened in late 2006 in the old head distiller’s house next to the award-winning whisky distillery. Step into this magical lodge of five bedrooms and you are not quite sure if you should dress up as Marie Antoinette for the bath, as your Swedish uncle Sven-Olof for the sitting area, or for an upper-crust summering Hamptonian for the sleeping area. Whomever you decide to reside as, you will love the eclectic interiors of the Paris-based American multi-tasker Bambi Sloan. She has managed to capture both the corniness and magnificence of the entire Isle with its Viking heritage, ever-present sea, the silence and the deer. The overall feel is a strangely harmonious and comfortable mix of Nordic folklore and somewhat threadbare luxury. The rooms are large, like enormous, leisurely bathrooms with a bed and a sitting area. The details are exquisite, appropriate and often humorous. A chair made entirely of deer antlers. A typewriter (do you know what that is?) that uses real physical strength, not electrical power. White, lacy, crochet-edged drapery. The public areas include a music room for playing cards and taking a nap and a huge kitchen to share meals, cook together and swap stories. Sloan says that she is horrified of “anonymous luxury hotels’ and instead defines luxury as a return to the simple pleasures in life, bathing while viewing the sea, eating locally caught seafood, hiking the moors. We must agree. The lodge is for rent only as a whole from £1500 a week and £1000 for a long weekend (Fri – Mon). These fees mean that you either cook yourself or bring your own chef, but for a fee Jura can arrange for a chef, too. By Tuija Seipell. Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:04:52 +0100