On the Road

Whether my travels take me to London, Paris, Copenhagen, South Beach, Miami or right around the corner to New York City, I'm always on the hunt for first-rate hotel accommodations, restaurants and spas. I was particularly intrigued with the top 100 hotels' list in the May issue of Conde Nast Traveler, which mentioned several hotels in some of my favorite sites throughout the world. As April showers are hopefully ending and May flowers approaching, the season for travel to Europe is in its prime; the French Riviera is one spot that comes to mind. The Hi Hotel and Palais de la Meditaerranee are two top spots mentioned. The Hi Hotel has a South Beach style that attracts the young city slickers. While it does signal the generational changing of the guard, its location in the quiet Quartier des Princes Russes is a reminder of the days when czars came to Nice on holiday. The Hi is a 1930's apartment building converted to a 38-room hostelry with bright colors and very comfortable air-conditioned double rooms with the modern flat-screen TVs. It has the unique feature of a vending machine that dispenses chilled champagne and a self-service restaurant with dishes like foie gras terrine.If Art Deco style is more your speed, then the spectacular Palais de la Mediteranee, originally a casino belonging to friends of F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been completely rebuilt just retaining the elegant facade from the original. The reception area is filled with Wedgwood period pieces and lots of cocoa-brown marble. The 188 rooms have a fun-in-the-sun color scheme that is actually very cozy especially if you're fortunate enough to snag one of the 70 seaside accommodations. The renovated casino and superb restaurant, Padouk, have become the hottest spots on the Riviera. Of course, in my mind a visit to France is not complete without a stop in Paris. The Hotel Le A and the Plaza Paris Vendome are excellent choices in the best locations in the city. Hotel Le A is in the midst of the super chic party zone between the Champs-Elysees and the Rue faubourg-St.-Honore, making the hot party spots especially convenient. Plaza Paris Vendome is the more elegant choice, situated steps from my favorite, the Louvre and the Tuileries. This edifice, dating back to 1835, has been converted into a 90-room hotel. Furnished by decorator Pierre-Yves Rochon, the lobby and rooms are done in a chic mix of 30s and 50s dcor. Rooms come with many modern conveniences of TV and built-in DVD players, Internet access and the pluses of Bulgari toiletries and turndown treatment with dark chocolate lollipops by master chocolatier Jean-Paul Hevin. While the hotel houses the elegant late-night dining spot, Pinxo, it's also not far from our old favorite Le Souffle, where you can dine on a souffl of any possible combination and wonderful French wine. I always like to catch up on my theatre in London, so a hop on the train across the chunnel gives you the opportunity to do so and Traveler offers several interesting choices of accommodations in and around the city. There's the trendy but very comfortable boutique hotel, Number Sixteen. Number Sixteen is in South Kensington within walking distance of the Victoria and Albert Museum and Harrods. It's also a short cab ride to Hyde Park and the theatre district. If you prefer to get out of the city for a weekend as Queen Victoria did, then you'd like to visit the Grove at Chandler's Cross. The Grove now contains 211 rooms, a glitzy restaurant but does have remnants of the grand mansion that Queen Victoria stayed in. The original stables has a stunning pool and stubterrean spa and pro-shop for the 18-hole golf course.Since this is the summer of the Olympics, you might still want to try arranging a quick trip to Athens. The Starwood Hotel has just beautifully renovated the Hotel Grande Bretagne in as central a location in Athens as you can get and the entire seventh floor gives you birds-eye views of the Acropolis. So you can relax after your climb up to the Acropolis and in between Olympic games, there's a glamorous spa and outdoor pool on the seventh floor so you can catch any view of the Acropolis that you might have missed on your climb.To arrange your visit to some of these new hot spots, contact your travel professional or cntraveler.com.Copyright © Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com