Suitcase Tuesday: Fasano Hotel, Sao Paulo

The Fasano Hotel and where I saw Kate Hudson in Brazil over at www.lovelyvelo.ca!

Suitcase Tuesday at Lovelyvelo.ca!

For more, come to our new site at www.lovelyvelo.ca!

{suitcase tuesday: la mamounia...}

A trip to Marrakech would not be complete without at least a sneak peek at the legendary La Mamounia. Recently re-opened, this is the place to see and be seen in the Red City. I have to say, for me, it did not live up to the hype. Although the gardens were mystical, I found the interior to be dark and a tad pretentious. I had only a chance for a quick look about, but perhaps next year I'll get to see for myself what has the celebrities buzzing...

{suitcase tuesday: el fenn in marrakech...}

I've been home from Morocco nearly a month already and can't believe I have yet to share with you the property gems of Marrakech!

I have to start with Vanessa Branson's Riad El Fenn because it is such a magical little hideaway in the bustling Medina. I was fortunate to spend one night here and felt perfectly at home. The boho-rustic decor is cozy and inviting, especially in the crisp air of November. Each of the 21 rooms has its own personality (mine had red leather walls!) and there are no keys for the doors.

In the morning, a beautiful tray of mint tea and fruit waits outside each room and can be enjoyed in one of several courtyards or on the breathtaking rooftop. At night, the roof twinkles with hanging lights and candles and offers a stunning view of the Katuba Kasbah.

For a serene and romantic spin on Marrakech, this is absolutely the perfect choice.

{holiday sparkle... engaged!!!}

At the whirlwind of holiday-time, I am back with very exciting news: C and I are getting married!

He proposed in the beautiful lounge of the Soho Hotel before we walked to a delicious and cozy dinner at Marben. I was so suprised and so overwhelmed, it has taken me a week (and a work trip to Vegas!) to recover.

What better way to celebrate the magic and sparkle of Christmas!

* photo via flickr.

{Le Tour!...}

It's official! The 2011 Tour de France course has been released. What better way to celebrate than to imagine ourselves high up in the Alps. From the cozy restored 1771 farmhouse, Mas de Coutettaz, we can get a marvelous panoramic view of the mountains and phenomenal access to the riders!Looks like winter would be pretty wonderful at the farmhouse too! I think I may do better skiing downhill in the Alps than trying to tackle those climbs on my bike, n'est-ce pas?!

{traveling anthropolgie...}

With Fall the perfect time to travel through Canada and the best season for Anthropologie shopping, I'm taking my favourite of the October collection to B.C.'s Hastings House on Salt Spring Island.A little morning pedal past farmland with ocean and mountain views, followed by an afternoon lunch and warm coffee overlooking Ganges Harbour, then cozying up by the fire with fresh bread and cheese before a delicious local lamb dinner prepared by Chef Marcel sums up a perfect day on the island.

*photos via Kiwi Collection and Anthropologie

{suitcase tuesday: a manhattan penthouse...}

I'm headed back to New York tomorrow (via Porter Airlines of course!) and will be staying this time at the Mansfield Hotel at 44th & 5th. Sadly, I won't be crashing in the penthouse. But how amazing is the sunken tub?!

It's just a quick trip with a fundraiser tomorrow night (for the Mario Batali Foundation!) and appointments all day Thursday. What's in my mini suitcase? My Nanette Lepore pants, Banana Republic blouse, J. Crew pencil skirt and a gem of a purchase from Spain, my Bershka black leather jacket.

See you Friday!

{suitcase tuesday: an egyptian oasis...}

A colleague came to me today giddy with the inside scoop on this amazing new property in the Saharan. With just 20 suites, Al Tarfa, a new eco-lodge in Egypt's Dahkla Oasis, pulls off perfection with its rustic, breezy charm. Explore the agriculture fields and sand dunes on horseback, camel or 4x4. Guided walks navigate the desert at sunrise and sunset. Finish the day with a candlelit dinner al fresco. Pure magic.

{mañana in texas...}

Hello lovelies! Thank you so much for still popping over to lovelyvélo even though I've been ignoring her for weeks, gah!

After Vegas, I jumped back out West to work in Vancouver for a few weeks and attend a stunning vintage-styled wedding in Kelowna (pics coming soon!).

In the meantime, get a load of this boho-chic getaway in Texas. Remember PUBLIC bikes? Well, they've teamed up with the H2 Hotel in Healdsburg, California and this quirky spot, the El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas. Each property hosts a fleet of PUBLIC bikes that you can take for a spin anytime. Imagine your vélo parked outside your yurt or teepee?! I'm game to embrace mañana and set up camp! Are you?

*photos via here, here, here, here, and here.

{vegas bound...}

I'm off tonight for a full week travel conference in Vegas, baby! We'll be staying at the Bellagio (how stunning is this photo of umbrellas hanging from the Bellagio lobby ceiling?) and while most of my time will be spent in conference rooms, I hope to have a little fun too ;)

The week ends with a global styles-themed gala. I found hair orchid ornaments at H&M... a perfect match to my yukata!

*photo via flickr.

{suitcase tuesday: T+L's World's Best 2010...}

Travel + Leisure has announced their World's Best Awards and the hotels list is a feast for the eyes... and the suitcase!

It's no surprise that 2 of the top 5 find themselves in India, a rolling trend that celebrates the country's amazing architecture and exquisite service.

Today, I'm packing my suitcase (and C's because I can in the perfect world of my own blog ;) for a jaunt to each of these gorgeous properties. Both of these styles that I discovered on The Sartorialist blend well into all of the hotel backdrops, don't you think? I need to replicate this chica's outfit for my next travels. So well put together and so simple!

Kudos to the Top 5!

1. Oberoi Vanyavilas, India (top right)
2. Triple Creek Ranch, Montana (bottom left)
3. Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Kenya (bottom right)
4. San Ysidro Ranch, A Rosewood Resort, California (top left)
5. Oberoi Amarvilas, India (bottom center)

{air bnb... room for rent!}

Move over Craigslist, there's a new kid on the block! Looking to rent a room in a unique B&B or an unusual alternative to the standard hotel? Airbnb just may be your answer. This new website offers a secure place to rent simply a room in a London flat or an entire beach villa off the east coast of Borneo.

Hosts post their own listings and you can contact them directly for reservations. What to do when you live in a shoe? Why not move to a boot?! Like the one above in the beautiful artisan town of Nelson, New Zealand. Hidden in a grove of hazelnut trees, the hosts welcome couples here for a romantic getaway.

{suitcase tuesday: let sleeping dogs lie...}

I got to sit through an amazing presentation by Virgin Limited this morning and spent all afternoon daydreaming about a stay at The Lodge in Verier, Switzerland.

What was once a 35 room chalet, has now been converted to an exclusive 9 suite getaway nestled in the French Alps. See that little stuffed pup on the bed? When you'd prefer not to be disturbed, just place the pup outside your door and his little collar that says "let sleeping dogs lie" keeps visitors at bay.

After a full day of skiing, a dip in the indoor pool and a visit down to the wine cellar, I'd say a little R&R is well deserved ;)

{suitcase tuesday: sex + the city in... marrakech?}

I confess... I went to see Sex and The City 2 this weekend. Not quite as good as the first one, but still some pretty amazing travel fashion to oggle over. Did you know that the Abu Dhabi trip was actually filmed in Morocco and the exquisite hotel is the Mandarin Oriental?

I loved the flash back to all the girls in the 80's. Can you imagine what Carrie must have had in these suitcases?! My favourite ensemble from her Abu Dhabi (ahem, Marrakech) suitcase has got to be the huge purple skirt and Dior t-shirt. Can't say it's a typical style for bargain hunting in the souks - but I adore the Dior!

*Photos from here, here and here.

{suitcase tuesday: banyan tree seychelles...}

It's a hot and steamy Tuesday in Toronto today, so I'm loading my suitcase with my lovely vintage swimsuits from Anthropologie. Won't they be perfect for a dip in the hillside pool villa at the Banyan Tree Seychelles?
Nestled in the tropical hillside, there's oodles of privacy. On second thought, maybe just my birthday suit is required?!

*swimsuit photo via here.

The Cocker: An Interview with Amanda Gary

Welcome to lovelyvélo's first Suitcase Tuesday! I'm delighted to share with you an interview with Amanda Gary, owner of The Cocker, a four suite home-away-from-home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As you can see from the photos, the design is exquisite and the house is just full of character. I'd love to hear what you'd pack in your suitcase for a stay at The Cocker... don't forget your Tango shoes!

Many thanks to Amanda for the interview (and féliz cumpleaños to her today!)

Tell us about the name!

The name is in honor of Rocco, a bolivian cocker spaniel who was gifted to the previous owners while they were running a local newspaper in La Paz. When they moved to Buenos Aires and decided to open the place, they brought him, and subsequently, it was the only name they could agree upon.

I will say it is a bit difficult at times to say without the occasional sideways glance, especially in the Spanish speaking world which is not so acquainted with the names of dog breeds, but does have a knack for inappropriate vocabulary.



How and when did you stumble upon The Cocker and what inspired you to take it on?

Back when I was a nomadic lassie escaping the rains of the emerald isle, I came down to Buenos Aires in 2006 convinced that I would learn Spanish in six weeks. Failure. I just spoke Italian thinking it was Spanish. And instead of going to the class that I was enrolled in, I started taking tango lessons. Well, that was the big mistake. I decided that I wanted to find a way to stay in Buenos Aires, so the natural next step was to start a business in a country you’ve only been in for forty days, in a language you don’t speak. So, I launched Paragón Tango Departures.

Well, I came back the next year, and the next, and in between guiding bike trips up in the north of Argentina, I was using my time in Buenos Aires to look for small hotels that I could rent out to run my tango trips. So I stayed at the Cocker for a week, and became very good friends with the owner. After my stay, I rented an apartment nearby and would go over there all the time. Come Christmas when I went back to the States, I decided that I wanted to go back to school to get an MFA, and needed a job while I did my applications. The owners of the Cocker wanted to go away for a few months and needed someone to run it for them. So I said, well sure. I went down in January with my bag packed for summer and a plane ticket home in May. But, once there I never left.

The owners wanted to sell it and move on, and I wanted to stay. Plus, I wouldn’t have to rent out any small hotels to run Paragón trips if I had one of my own…So I found some foolish folks that wanted to invest in a bed & breakfast in Buenos aires, and in April of 2008, I took it over.

I love that you refer to the hotel as "the house". What about it makes it most feel like home?

Well, above all, it is in fact a house, because I live there :) And the idea of the place is that people feel at home, literally. In a hotel, I find people often evaluate value by the amenities and “services” provided, whereas the most important thing to me in where someone stays, is that it feels as if they couldn’t have stayed anywhere else. Much of that has to do with atmosphere as opposed to amenities. Also, I think you get so much more sense of a place by interacting with people who live there, and other people who are passing through, so I have tried to foster that in designing the common spaces and the style of the service. The staff I have hired are from all over, and there’s me as well, and everybody’s allowed to say what they think when asked so that you can crawl inside the city more quickly.

Which is your favourite space in the house and why?

There's a little terrace just off the salon with antique floor tiles and columns with inlaid leaf details, that looks out onto the street – it’s no secret, but very few people seem to find their way to it. It feels to me like drinking mint juleps in the South in the summer.



The design of the entire house looks so serene, but I'm especially intrigued by the studio. Tell us a little about the yoga and tango classes.

The studio actually used to be the old owners’ quarters. When I moved in, I built a new room and turned that one into a rentable bedroom. Just after I finished and had it good n’ ready, the Singers Union of Buenos Aires renovated the building next door and put their stage right up against that wall. And away went the bedroom.

Since I am mildly obsessed by the tango, I decided to make the bedroom into a studio and began to offer classes upon request (with other teachers – I’d do no justice trying to teach the dance yet).

Also I think it can be quite intimidating, the first attempts to wrangle the tango, so I wanted to create a comfortable, private space for people to play around.

A few months later, we had to close for the winter to renovate, as it is quite an old building, and the stress of it drove me to look for a good yoga class in the city. After trying out a lot of classes, I found a great pair of American teachers, and decided that when we reopened, I wanted to offer yoga as well. I remember being on the road all the time, and often I looked for yoga classes in various places, but you had to be staying long enough to buy a package deal because they wouldn’t let you just drop in for a single class.

I want people to feel as good as possible while they stay with me, in all aspects of their trip. Some people who come to the class already practice and really like that it offers some consistency in their lives while they’re on vacation. Some people have never done it before, and find it a non-threatening way to start, and then keep going once they return home. And some people come to the class who never seem to have the time at home during their routine, but find that while on vacation, they really can do whatever they want. I’ve included it in the price of the rooms because it’s just as important to me as breakfast -- feeling good while you are on vacation is the point. Especially once you are here for a while and eat your way through the city.

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What does a typical day at The Cocker look like?

Breakfast is offered from 9 – 11 am, either around the table in the “nook”, or upstairs on the terrace, as desired. My little minions come early and get everything ready. People check-in throughout the day, but the house is generally quite midday, thus the cleaning and “behind-the-scenes” administration occurs. In the early evening, we often have a "picada,” a sunset glass of wine and some hors d’oeuvres, and people can share their stories and advice, or just hang out. Twice a week in the mornings, there are yoga classes as well, and people can reserve the studio whenever they’d like outside of that for privates or tango classes. Once a month we are also hosting in-house wine tastings, working with a local sommelier who hand-picks wines from small bodegas throughout Argentina to give people a better idea of what’s out there.

{kiwi collection revamped...}

This week, one of my favourite collection of hotels launched its new website. For years, the Kiwi Collection has helped me to plan trips around the world and their photography leaves me breathless and mesmerized on every page.

I have to say, I am a little disappointed in the new site layout. It's a little cluttered and more difficult to navigate. However, the brilliant insight of Mary Gostelow can still be found in their online magazine, Wow Travel, and the photos will still make me weep with desperation to get to each of these hotels!

*photo above; Cathedral Mountain Lodge in Yoho National Park, B.C.

("gastrotel"...}

While reading the Globe and Mail yesterday over brunch, I stumbled on London's latest trend, the gastrotel. Hoteliers are re-introducing the traditional experience of renting a room above a local tavern; sprucing up the rooms without losing the authenticity of the pub. I am completely charmed by the 12th Century Old Bell Inn.

As someone who works in travel, I hate to confess that my last trip to London was a complete disaster, roaming the streets upon arrival in the pouring rain in search of our (a-hem prepaid) Craigslist flat that didn't exist. I have a feeling that one of these pub stays would be far more successful!

By the way, our brunch at a new spot in the hood was rather disappointing and confirmed we'll be sticking to our local fave, the always delicious Harbord House.

photos from here, here and here.

{devilish design...}

I'm headed back to NYC early next month and this time will be staying at The Hudson. Their own description of "daredevil design" doesn't completely match some of their seemingly serene outdoor spaces, but rumour has it the bar certainly lives up to the hotel's youthful reputation... Looking forward to it!
*photos from here and here.