Avia Hotel

Last week I checked into the Avia Hotel in Long Beach, California, a new addition to the City as it is only one year old.  I absolutely fell in love with the modern design of this boutique hotel. If you are looking for a simple, yet stylish boutique hotel then the Avia is the perfect alternative to the corporate hotels in the City's downtown.  With respect to amenities, the hotel is simple: no valet parking, no room service and no luggage assistance. I am assuming that they can keep their room rates competitive by not providing these services.

There is a beautiful restaurant and bar on-site.  The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner and there are literally dozens of restaurant choices within a 5 minute walk of the hotel.  You won't go hungry here!  The roof-top pool is an amazing feature of the eight story hotel available only to hotel guests (key card access) or non-guests for a fee.  It boasts amazing views of the Long Beach Harbor including the Queen Mary.  Another plus is that it is conveniently located to the convention center if that's the reason you are in town. 

As much as I loved my stay at the Avia, and as much as it pains me to put this in writing, there was one downside to my stay and it has to do with providing a consistent level of quality service.  Several staff were outstanding and went above and beyond while others provided me with wrong or inadequate information that left me feeling a little frustrated.  But overall, I had a wonderful stay in a comfortable suite and would not hesitate to stay here again.

All photos are original by Mrs. B

Scenic Dining in Rome: Aroma at the Palazzo Manfredi

Italy is always on my mind. Always. There is no place I would rather be. Really. It has been a few years since I have have been to Rome but next time I am there I definitely want to check out the roof top restaurant, Aroma, at the 16 room Palazzo Manfredi Roma hotel. The Aroma restaurant has the most stunning view in Rome over looking the Colosseum. Doesn't it look like the perfect place to have a meal? I am sure I can linger here for hours. With a backdrop as stunning as the Colosseum, why would anyone ever want to leave?!

The hotel is owned by Counts Gofredo and Leonardo Manfredi and has recently undergone a renovation. The colors and design of the new hotel and restaurant respect the history of such a historic area while providing new life to the hotel.

 

Interiors.

   

   

Entertaining.

Cuisine.

Photos via Palazzo Manfredi.

Interview with Andrew Morrow

In yesterday's post I mentioned how much I enjoy frequenting the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.  A huge part of my fascination with the hotel has always been the artwork.  The focal point of the lobby lounge are two large scale paintings by Canadian artist Andrew Morrow.  The paintings, entitled "Love" and "War", each measure 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide and are always a topic of conversation between Mr. B and myself.  For example, (and I'm embarrassed to say) I thought there was a headless horseman in the "War" painting only to realize a few months ago that the rider is not headless but is instead looking down. It's funny how each time I look at the paintings I see something new. 

Andrew Morrow was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his artwork and I am thrilled to share the interview with you.  You can also check out his website here.



Andrew Morrow in his Ottawa, Canada studio. 

 What inspires you as an artist?

Most of my inspiration comes from the art world or contemporary image culture. Painters are always in dialogue with their medium, but as a representational artist (someone who paints things that look like things), I'm also very interested in the images of our time. At the moment, I'm spending a lot time looking at pastoral ideals and sexually charged imagery. There is also a completely unforeseeable component to inspiration, this is the cliché of the lightning bolt striking from any place, at any time. This is a very real thing.

What was your inspiration for the “Love” and “War” paintings displayed in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco?

At the time, I'd been working on what I had called "War Paintings". These were large-scale, apocalyptic battle scenes. I knew that James Robertson, the art consultant in charge of the hotel's collection, wanted my work, but with a little less confrontation. James had decided the scale, 8'x16', and the number of paintings, 2, but mostly, the rest was up to me. I came up with the idea of two paintings that could work in opposition with another, and thus "Love" and "War". However, I'm not generally comfortable with binarisms as my universe is filled with grays, so conceptually, the paintings parallel, and overlap one another. "War", presents one side of a battle, but with humour and beauty. "Love" depicts a swirling, Baroque, bacchanal, with small moments of conflict emerging from time to time. The paintings, exhibited across from one another, present compositional mirror images of one another. Because of the scale and prominence of the works and the targeted audience of the hotel, there was an exhaustive editorial process, leading to the paintings as they are today. I remember sending an initial sketch in, and getting notes back saying that there shouldn't be any "rats", or "dogs" in the work. The rat was actually a mongoose. The dog, was, well, a dog.

"Love" by Andrew Morrow in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco. A detailed view is below.

"Love"

"War"

What can we expect next from Andrew Morrow? Can you talk about any upcoming projects?

I'm currently working on a massive painting to be exhibited in a museum show here in my hometown of Ottawa. I'm also creating works for the upcoming Art Fair in Toronto. After this, I travel to Europe for 5 weeks on a research scholarship. Following that, I'm back home, working on a video project which will be screened in March of 2010. I've got more demand for my work that I can possibly keep up with these days. It would be nice to have a clone or two in the studio. Or at least an army of talented monkeys.

What are 5 things you couldn’t live without?

What can't I live without? The logistician in me would say air, water, food, etc., but this doesn't really say much does it? Family for sure, I'd be lost without my family. I also really like my bike. And art. I need my time alone too, this makes life bearable. Let's lump in all those life-sustaining elements, like food and air in the fifth spot. I need these too.

Lobby lounge photo by Mrs. B.  All other images courtesy of Andrew Morrow.

St. Regis Hotel (San Francisco)

The exterior of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco is rather unassuming and discreet.  In fact, unless you are actually looking for the hotel you can easily walk right past it.  However, if you are lucky enough to step foot inside you will find that there is a whole other world waiting for you.  The public areas on the ground floor are very sophisticated and chic without being pretentious.  Think lots of zebrawood paneling, herringbone wood floor and lots of reflective surfaces like glass and mirror.  Oh yeah, and who can forget the amazing glass chandelier above the bar. It's gorgeous.  Overall the hotel is very comfortable and the bar service in the lobby is always impeccable.  Mr. B and I try to jet set up to San Francisco at least once per month.  We joke that it is our home away from home.  The bar at the St. Regis is always on our list of places to stop by.  It's an oasis in the middle of the city.

More on the St. Regis tomorrow. Stay tuned for something really special.

My drink of choice at the St. Regis: the "Ginger Pom Cosmo" made with ginger beer and pomegranate juice. It's no longer on their drink menu but just ask for it and they will be happy to make it for you.

Don't feel like you have to come to the bar just for cocktails because the food is pretty amazing.  The sweet corn chowder had me wanting more. 

The pork bun trio satisfied my craving for dim sum.  These are fairly new to the menu and are incredibly delicious.

Remembering Venice

A few months back I took a trip to Venice, Italy.  I stayed in a great central location at the Starhotels Splendid Venice which is just a 5 minute walk from St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge.  I had a beautiful room overlooking the intersection of 2 small canals.   The location could not be beat.  I have stayed with this chain before so I knew I would not be disappointed with their Venice location.  And even though it is a chain hotel the design of each is unique to their location.

It is not unlike me to take pictures of the hotels I have stayed in.  I take pictures of everything.  I managed to take a few not so good pictures of my room and the view but forgot the public areas of the building.  As I sit here dreaming of Italy, I cannot forget the wonderful place I called home for 6 days.

Photos via Starhotels Splendid Venice.

The main dining room is a focal point of the hotel.  The glass ceiling lets in wonderful light during the day.

There is a small bar and  lounge off the entrance. I love the juxtaposition of the wicker chairs in a contemporary  setting.  It provides the space with a more relaxed feel.

A secondary dining room with views of a small canal.

The main lounge is a comfortable spot to mingle with friends and have a drink. I adore the colors of the room.

Sit back and relax....stay a while.

Raya Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Hotel

I am sure you figured it out by now...that my first post was a teaser. That dessert you all were drooling over while waiting for me to start contributing to my new blog was some fabulous creation at Raya in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel, CA.

The Ritz Carlton in Laguna is one of my favorite places to "decompress".  And on one particular day last week I suggested that Mr. B and I head there for a nice lunch.  The agenda also included taking a nap on the Adirondack chairs that the Ritz has strategically located on the property, which is perched on a bluff 150 feet above the  Pacific Ocean. You see, for me this visit to the Ritz was so much more than just needing to fill my belly. I needed a mini vacation. Coming here for an afternoon always recharges my batteries.

On a sunny day an ice tea was the perfect refreshment.  And I always get a thrill out of gnawing on the the sugarcane stick in public!

Sweet Corn Soup

Creamy base with truffled masa dumplings and simple modern garnish. Oh, so heavenly.

Lobster Salad

A perfect portion of baby spinach garnished with a generous helping of fresh Maine lobster on top of a sweet potato puree and chili ancho-port reduction sauce. 

Chocolate Tart

The Chocolate Tart was an architectural work of art.  The tart features Mexican chocolate,  almond crust and garnished with a ball of sour cream sorbet, espresso anglaise and caramelized orange.

The views of the California coastline from the unobstructed dining room windows are phenomenal. 

Fresh roses are abundant and line the public areas on the main floor of the hotel.

The hotel is modern yet sophisticated. The muted colors of greys and beige with pops of deep purple are very soothing...everything you would expect of a luxury hotel.

Before taking my nap I managed to snap some pictures of the landscaping surrounding the property.  By the way, does anyone know what this plant is?