[PUEBLO GARZÓN, URUGUAY] — About 14 miles or so miles inland from the surf of Jose Ignacio Uruguay — the world’s best beach town IMO — is a sleepy little town called Garzón. There, in the middle of rolling green hills of gaucho country, Francis Mallmann (my favorite restaurateur in the world) has created a true destination place, El Garzón. In fact, he bought up a whole town around it. I’ve been to Garzón to eat or stay over four different trips to Uruguay. Maybe even another one, too. This is a consolidated post from past visits so everything is one place. Here we go. Where My Love of Francis Began — Los Negros in Jose Ignacio I first discovered Francis’s magic way back in
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(West Hollywood) — On a quick business trip to Los Angeles, booked a cool hotel I’d always read about and featured often in Vanity Fair: the Sunset Tower hotel. Always loved this building for years, but have never stayed here. Luckily, I booked it on my favorite go-to hotel booking site, TabletHotels.com which isn’t your typical booking site, each hotel is vetted by the company and its users. Always dependable for the coolest hotels. When I checked in, the delightful front desk attendant casually mentioned a free glass of champagne, free breakfast and a very subtle “and we upgraded you to a penthouse room.” “Thank you very much” I said, not realizing what that really meant. I wheeled my stuff out of the elevator, opened
(Sao Paulo) — Catching all the buzz in design circles, my excellent SP guide John took me by to see the boat/watermelon-shaped Hotel Unique. It really is a stunning place, designed by Ruy Ohtake, the lobby bar being my favorite, with a towering, cantilevered bottle display that rises several stories. There’s a rooftop bar and restaurant where you can look out over Sao Paulo’s 20 million residents. Stop by for drink. I didn’t stay here, but Trip Advisor reviews are near perfect at 4 ½ stars. Here’s a great article in Conde Nast Traveler. Here’s a great video on Design Hotels
(Sao Paulo) — There’s nothing over-the-top at the Fasano. Just classic, full-on attention to every simple detail — like a classic little black dress. It’s all the intense focus on details that rank it on nearly everyone’s Best Of hotels, not just in Brasil, but all of South America. It’s not opulent, it’s just right. The sleek rooms are roomy and fitted-out like the inside of a BMW. Taught. Necessary. Functional. Good to the touch. At first, not fancy, but once you’re in there a bit, you realize every thing you see or touch has been well thought-out — from the incredible linens, to the floors, to the incredibly practical and spacious desks, to the feel to your toes of the Carrera marble showers. The
(Trancoso, Brazil) — This really is a great hotel, but also one of the most expensive. You can get a bungalow by the beach (but not really on the beach) or they have nice rooms set farther back in the property. (check out the aerial view below). For about half the money, I’d recommend the regular rooms, each part of a four suite out buildings. Rooms are spotless, well designed and comfortable. All are open shuttered, so a mosquito net is a must, lest you get eaten alive. I had an unusual swarm of junebugs hit a couple of nights, sounds like pounding hail on the bathroom windows, with thousands trying crawl through the cracks. Turn the light off, the faucet roar stops, turn it
(Stockholm) — The Berns was a grand lady hotel, but several years ago it undertook a modern day reboot, boldly revamped into a hipster hangout. I’ve never stayed here, but highly recommend at least stopping in for a drink in the soaring two-story lobby, complete with boom-she-boom soundtrack and great people watching. Make sure you check out the concerts in the immense, totally gorgeous music hall, presenting some of the hottest bands going. We saw the then just-breaking punk-gypsy band Gogol Bordello, a raucous good time of spinning, laughing and dancing. Last visited: November 2009
[ POSITANO, ITALY] — This is my second favorite place in Positano. Hotel Miramare, one of the best boutique hotels in Positano. It’s a great hotel with super sweet family that runs it and that combination is why even all the barking dogs on TripAdvisor rank this puppy 5 out of 5 stars. You know you’re doing something right when you have a four star hotel pulling down five stars. The hotel started out as rented houses in the 1930s, before Positano was an international tourist destination. Then the family turned it into a hotel that became a favorite of military coming up from Naples for some R&R during World War II. That’s what started Positano off, as returning sailors talked all about this amazing setting,
(Buenos Aires) — When I first went to Buenos Aires in 2005, the Puerto Madero waterfront redevelopment has only been completed for a short time. When I first saw pictures of the soaring lobby of the Faena Hotel & Universe in a travel magazine, I just knew I had to go there. Universe? C’mon. But when I read about how it was built inside a restored Victorian era warehouse/factory and saw pictures of all the details, I just had to check it out. At the time, boutique hotels were still something new, but I knew something cool was going on when I walked in and there was no reception desk and you checked in with an Experience Manager. I thought it was a gimmick, but
[ROMA] — There are fancier places to stay in Rome, but one of my favorites is the Albergo del Senato, directly across from my favorite building in the world, The Pantheon. It is small, Old School, but delightful. You can’t beat the location, smack in the heart of everything good. And right around the corner from the best gelato in Rome, Giolitti. If you can’t get a guarantee from the hotel for a Pantheon view or don’t want to by extra, then there are other hotels I’d choose. (I once had a broom closet of a room once that wasn’t and it looked out onto a blind alley.) But if you can secure a room that overlooks the Pantheon, there is no place better to stay