A wonderful new multi-media feature from Lexus Magazine, inspired by Andrew Harper’s new Paris App. Please click the image above to view the story!
Recent Member Comments: Las Alamandas, Rosewood Mayakoba and More
Las Alamandas
Las Alamandas, Mexico: “Our stay was absolutely wonderful. The property is right there with Il Pellicano, Le Sirenuse, and Inverlochy Castle. We loved it!”
Rosewood Mayakoba, Mexico: “This resort is so special and luxurious that even when something goes wrong, they go to extreme levels to make it right for you. We had a bad experience with room service breakfasts and they took all of them off our bill. This was much more than required.”
The Peninsula Beverly Hills, California: “Peninsula Bevery Hills is possibly the best hotel in terms of service that I have ever stayed at anywhere in the world. Everyone was friendly, efficient and went out of his or her way to make sure even the slightest request was taken care of. Simply outstanding.”
Caneel Bay, St. John: “One of our checked bags did not arrive on the Miami-to-St. Thomas flight with us, and the Caneel Bay staff person was SO helpful. She made a copy of the airline ‘lost luggage’ document, and when the bag did arrive, the staff picked it up and brought it to the resort. It was in our room when we came back from dinner!”
Hotel Le Toiny, St. Barths: “Privacy was amazing. Didn’t see anyone all week.”
The Greenwich Hotel, New York: “The Greenwich Hotel has a remarkable cosy-and-yet-opulent feel. The staff was gracious and helpful. And the view of NYC from our floor-to-ceiling window was amazing.”
Haymarket Hotel, London : “We LOVED the Haymarket – now have stayed there 5 times.”
Huka Lodge, New Zealand: “Huka Lodge continues to be the finest of them all. Although expensive, it is well worth the cost.”
Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Costa Rica: “Seems that they are trying scale back due to cost. To me, that is not Harper!”
May 2012 Hideaway Report: India, Sri Lanka & Maine
The May 2012 Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report profiles a remarkable new palace hotel in India, the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. Mr. Harper also offers his definitive tour of India’s finest palace hotels and highlights from an accompanying sojourn through Sri Lanka. A coastal Maine update features a sparkling new property in Kennebunkport, Hidden Pond, as well as local shopping and dining suggestions.
Stories include: Indian Palatial Splendor; The Taj Mumbai Revisited; My Personal India Palace Tour; Sri Lanka Highlights; Coastal Maine Update; New Maine Restaurant Discoveries; the Farnsworth Art Museum; Three Noteworthy Craft Shops.
Please log in to the member website to view this month’s issue.
Andrew Harper’s Spring Social
April 19, 2012
Commodore Perry Estate
Austin, Texas
Andrew Harper members and travel enthusiasts alike gathered to celebrate the onset of spring, including the launch of Andrew Harper’s Paris app, with a special evening at the Commodore Perry Estate in Austin, Texas. More than 150 guests enjoyed lively conversation with Andrew Harper travel consultants and partners, wine tastings with winemaker Luc Morlet and wine concierge Hal Oates of Porthos, competitive silent auction bidding, and more. Guests sipped signature cocktails courtesy of Paula’s Texas Orange, Dripping Springs Vodka and Treaty Oak Rum, and dined on delicious bites from 34th Street Café. Lexus of Austin proudly displayed its amazing new LFA and GS vehicles for guests to admire as they arrived.
Enjoy a few of the event highlights by exploring the links below:
- Download the free Paris app
- Refer a friend (for members only) to Andrew Harper or become a member today
- Order the wines poured by Luc Morlet and Porthos and review the tasting notes
- Review our travel packages for the Ryder Cup and Andrew Harper’s Sicily Signature Tour
- Visit our amazing travel partners Orient-Express, Silversea Cruises, Abercrombie & Kent, and Crystal Cruises
Amanresorts Announces Amanikan, a New Indonesian Luxury Cruise Vessel
Copyright Amanresorts
Amanresorts has just added a luxurious new vessel to its small Indonesian fleet based on the island of Moyo, a nature reserve east of Bali. Amanikan is a custom-built, 105-foot coastal cruiser that fuses the romance of traditional spice trading vessels with the comfort of modern amenities. Its three expansive, above-deck cabins make it ideal for small groups and families.
Copyright Amanresorts
All three cabins are air-conditioned and offer en suite baths with double vanities, double wardrobes, showers and separate toilets. Furnishings throughout the boat are custom-made of teak, rattan and other locally sourced materials. A soothing color palette of white, honey and beige is accented with antique brass fixtures.
Copyright Amanresorts
Excursions aboard Amanikan include a visit to Komodo Island and trips to the famed Spice Islands, including the Banda Archipelago. A new Raja Ampat expedition to the northeast corner of the Indonesian archipelago, which features some of the finest diving in the world, departs this fall. The cruises generally run from five to seven days, and the ship has an experienced dive instructor and equipment for six guests.
Copyright Amanresorts
The Raja Ampat expedition will embark from Sorong (accessible by air from Bali, Singapore, Jakarta or Makassar) on 14 trips from this November through February 2013. Rates begin at $33,500 for one couple on the five-night expedition.
Copyright Amanresorts
More information about Amanikan can be found here. For assistance with securing reservations, feel free to contact the Travel Office at (800) 375-4685, (630) 734-4610 or reservations@andrewharper.com.
Andrew Harper Website Improvements
We’ve made some changes to our website to help facilitate your travel planning. Thousands of pages of content are now organized under five primary categories:
HOTELS & VILLAS – Search all of our recommended hotels and villas by region and keyword. Enhance your search with filters such as award winners, family-friendly and hotels with exclusive member benefits. Premier members have access to pdf downloads of the Harper Collection.
HIDEAWAY REPORT – Access the latest issue, a 36-month archive and our daily-updated blog. Download full-color digital editions, as well as pdf versions of the print newsletter.
OUR TRAVEL EXPERTS – Contact the experts of our in-house travel consultancy and learn more about our esteemed corporate partners and destination specialists.
EXCLUSIVE OFFERS – Browse the latest offers, auctions and private sales from our recommended hotels, as well as upcoming Signature Tours.
MY MEMBERSHIP – Update your profile, consult the Member Forum or refer a friend for membership.
As always, please continue to send your thoughts, queries and recommendations to membership@andrewharper.com
Notable May Events: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chicago Art Institute and More
Metropolitan Museum of Art
May 1-November 30: Starting in May, Hermanus, South Africa, turns into a fantastic base for whale-watching. Along this stretch of the famous Garden Route, it’s not even necessary to get into a boat to observe the whales passing by.
May 6: The central German town of Wolfenbüttel hosts the 10th annual “Buspulling” tournament, in which teams of five attempt to pull a 16-ton bus across the finish line the fastest. The Buspulling Masters teams take the sport quite seriously, but amateurs can compete in the “Buspulling Fun” race.
May 6-20: During the Grand Sumo Tournament, the world’s top sumo wrestlers clash at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan hall. Held each January, May and September, these tournaments are more than just big guys bashing into each other; sumo wrestling runs deep with ancient traditions and ceremonies. This tournament presents a perfect opportunity to experience sumo wrestling at its best.
May 15-September 3: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (pictured above) exhibits an array of masterpieces from Bergamo, Italy’s Accademia Carrara, which is currently closed for renovations. The “Bellini, Titian and Lotto” exhibition will feature 15 masterpieces from these and other notable northern Italian Renaissance painters.
May 16-September 3: Not to be outdone, Chicago’s Art Institute hosts “Roy Liechtenstein: A Retrospective,” the first major retrospective of this Pop artist’s work since his death in 1997. The exhibition assembles more than 130 paintings and sculptures, including rarely seen pre-Pop expressionist-style works, nudes and Chinese-style landscapes.
May 22-26: The grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea turn into a horticultural paradise during the annual Chelsea Flower Show. The show gardens and flower displays inevitably dazzle, and tickets can be hard to come by — reserve as far in advance as possible.
May 23-27: Florence’s squares are given over to one of Italy’s most irresistible treats during the third annual Gelato Festival. Surely some people attend the gelato-making classes and presentations about the culture of this frozen delight, but most head straight to the “Village of Master Gelato Makers” to indulge in samples of some of the best gelato in the world.
May 25-27: The three-day Prague Food Festival celebrates the rich heritage of Czech cuisine and wine with a full array of classes and tastings. Hungry visitors graze on local specialties sold from tents set up throughout the Prague Castle grounds, and restaurants across the city have festival menus featuring unique Czech recipes.
May 26-27: San Francisco’s Mission District bursts into multicultural color during Carnaval San Francisco. Attendees can enjoy music and dance performances from around the world, as well as Sunday’s Grand Carnaval Parade, a Rio-style parade/street party with wild costumes and lively music.
A Perfect Day in Paris: Inspired by Suggestions From ‘Andrew Harper’s Paris’ App
The garden of the Hôtel de l'Abbaye
Coffee, croissants and the paper in the garden of the Hôtel de l’Abbaye.
A midmorning constitutional in the Luxembourg Gardens, a few blocks away from the hotel. Pay respects to Frederic Bartholdi’s first model of the Statue of Liberty.
Some clothes shopping at A.P.C., just off the park on rue Madame, in an attempt to disguise myself as fashionable local.
A glass of crisp white Saint-Pourçain, a leek salad and the cassoulet maison at the cozy bistro Au Bon Saint Pourçain, just north of the park.
A leisurely stroll east along Boulevard Saint-Germain, stopping to admire the latest photography exhibit at the Magnum Gallery on rue Madame.
Turning right on rue du Bac to stop in at Deyrolle, a cabinet of wonders filled with exotic taxidermy and 19th-century arcana.
Afternoon coffee in the private garden of the Maison de l’Amérique Latine.
Continuing along the boulevard to the Seine, then turning right to admire the spectacular array of antiques in Galerie J. Kugel along the quai Anatole France.
Soak in the exterior of the Musée d’Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station, before leaving it for another day.
After a metro ride back to the Fifth, a pre-dinner cocktail on a cozy leather couch at Le Bar on rue de Conde, in the heart of Odéon.
Dinner at nearby Balzar, near the Sorbonne: escargots in Chablis, duck confit, cheese plate and rum baba.
-A.H.
Download “Andrew Harper’s Paris,” a free app for the iPad (iPhone version coming soon).
Yountville, California, Dining Update
Redd Wood, Yountville, California
- Richard Reddington, of Michelin-starred Redd, has opened Redd Wood, a more casual establishment focusing on pizza, pasta and charcuterie. We recently stopped by for the special pictured above: a house-baked pizza with prosciutto cotto, Brussels sprouts, taleggio and farm egg. Along with a spicy glass of Piedmont Barbera, it was perfection.
- Along with a new name, Lucy Restaurant & Bar, at the Harper-recommended Bardessono Hotel, has unveiled a revamped menu emphasizing local production and sourcing. Guests can now choose among “Garden” (such as green garlic, potato and leek soup), “Ocean” (Maine lobster risotto) and “Range” (Iberico Fresco pork) options. “Moveable Feast” picnic baskets can also be purchased.
- The newly remodeled Ad Hoc has begun its spring and summer “addendum” program, serving boxed lunches to go Thursdays through Saturdays. For $16.50, guests have a choice of the popular favorites buttermilk fried chicken or barbecue (orders can be picked up or placed over the phone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
- Bouchon Bakery has also benefited from some upgrades that include a second door for better-flowing lines, and a new dedicated phone line for sandwich orders (707-754-4272).
- The French Laundry has a new manager, Michael Minnillo, a longtime Keller associate who will be moving to Yountville from New York’s Per Se.
- Watch the video tribute to Thomas Keller (featuring Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert and Tom Colicchio, among many others) from this year’s Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival here.
New York Times: Are Travel Agents Back?
Sunbeams inside St. Peter's Basilica,Vatican, Italy
“An improving economy and the corporate travel that goes with it seem to be converging with a population for whom booking travel online has become increasingly onerous and time-consuming. Just how time-consuming? Steve Peterson, the global travel and transportation leader for the I.B.M. Institute for Business Value, set out to answer that very question. In a survey of more than 2,000 travelers worldwide, 20 percent said it took them more than five hours to search and book travel online. Nearly half said it required more than two hours.”
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“Agents today also know they must set themselves apart from the Web by offering special experiences that consumers can’t easily get on their own, like after-hours tours of the Sistine Chapel, tee times on P.G.A. golf courses normally closed to the public or the ability to pull some strings to get clients into that sold-out hotel or on the next flight out when bad weather strikes.”
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