Luxury Travel Review
Couples hotel in Cancun was right for us
Article by Andrea de Gosztonyi and Douglas McRae and photos by Andrea de Gosztonyi
The beach at the Sun Palace
Our view on the beach
Winter in Quebec, Canada can be quite harsh and so, to get away from the cold and snow, we decided to spend a week at the all inclusive Sun Palace hotel, Cancun in Mexico. This is the only couples only resort we found in the Cancun area. We were treated like special guests at the hotel, a member of the five star Palace Resort Hotel chain. The service and the food were five star all the way!
Upon our arrival we were offered cool towels and a glass of champagne. This set the tone for our week. From the moment we walked into the resort the hotel staff were friendly, polite, and accommodating all the while respectful of our privacy. The food was excellent. The breakfast buffet selection was vast and plentiful. Local in season fruit were in abundance. All our dinners were a la carte. We had the choice of dining in the Grill, the Italian, the Thai or the Mexican restaurants.
Our room at the Sun Palace
Our room, overlooking the ocean, was large and bright. A bottle of wine and a bowl of fruit were waiting for us on our desk. All room service was also included in our package. The beach was soft and white and the ocean was a stunning turquoise blue. The Sun Palace Couples Only Resort was the perfect location to warm our winter weary bones!
Romantik Hotel Relais de la Poste, small historic property, gourmet restaurant in Alsace
By Elena del Valle
Photos by Gary Cox
The Romantik Hotel Relais de la Poste in Alsace
We arrived in La Wanzenau, a small town just north of Strasbourg, one of France’s easternmost cities, on a cold and rainy day. Soon after we arrived we took shelter from the weather at the Romantik Hotel Relais de la Poste, a family owned hotel in a historic building with a gourmet restaurant on the ground floor.
It took us slightly longer than we expected to reach the village due to the slow traffic caused by heavy rain and we missed lunch by five minutes. Since most of the town was closed down for the afternoon the hotel staff was kind enough to offer us a snack. A few minutes later, they served us a shared deli platter of yummy cold cuts, cheeses and green salad in the ground floor lounge (the restaurant had closed).
We reached our second floor room via a small elevator or a narrow staircase which led to a quiet circular foyer with doors all around. Beyond our door, Room 18, the 250 square feet of private space where we spent the night, had putty color carpeting and eggshell color textured walls.
Room 18 at Romantik Hotel Relais de la Poste
The bathroom in our top floor room
I imagine the room had been updated from the original many times since the construction of the building in 1789. The modern looking room had two single beds set together and against a colorful velour and satin covered headboard. Small white wood night tables framed the beds. In front of the beds, three comfortable armchairs, a wood armoire, mini refrigerator, and built in wood table with a flat screen Loewe television made up the living section of the room. There was also a balcony facing the main part of the building and adjacent street. We enjoyed stepping out to see the area although because of the chill air we returned quickly to the warmth of the interior area.
Dinner was an elaborate affair in the hotel’s gourmet restaurant where we had a three-course menu. We sat in a handsome glass enclosed terrace and were looked after by a young and pleasant waiter. Following the amouse bouche, we had home made goose liver foie gras au torchon, a goose liver dish, served with warm brioche bread and local sweet wine. The main course was a stout codfish prepared with chorizo, white beans and a delicious savory seafood broth. Three wonderful cheeses, a blue, Munster and Swiss Gruyere aged two years, followed.
Our cheese course at the Relais de la Poste restaurant
Our main course at the Relais de la Poste restaurant
Dessert at Relais de la poste
Dessert consisted of a variety of flavors in a sampler platter including banana ice cream with a cookie spoon, a creme brulee mini tarte, and a small tarte tatin. We completed the meal with the obligatory cappuccino and herbal tea and walked out pleasantly satisfied.
The Romantik Hotel Relais de la Poste (21, rue du Gal de Gaulle 67610, La Wantzenau, France, Tel +33 (0)3/88 59 24 80, www.romantikhotels.com/La-Wantzenau or relais-poste@romantikhotels.com) is one of 200 independently owned and managed Romantik hotels and restaurants in 11 European countries.
Pierre Herme Paris bakery for glorious macaron pastries
By Elena del Valle
Photos by Gary Cox
Signature pastry at Pierre Herme
On a small street in the bustling Quartier Latin of Paris, France lies my favorite bakery, okay one of my favorite bakeries. While finding an outstanding bakery in Paris may not be a noteworthy feat, this particular bakery and the reason I like, no strike that, the reason I love it, is a bit special for me.
A few years ago, a close friend and macaron lover introduced several people, including me, to Pierre Hermé during a champagne reception at her home. Although my husband has never met a macaron he didn’t like, at least a little, generally speaking I’m not fond of the fluffy almond pastries that are ubiquitous in France. And so it was that I paid little attention to the Pierre Hermé goodies, at first. At my friend’s insistence I tried one. It was delicate in texture and flavor and like no other macaron I had had before.
That evening I sampled all the flavors of macarons she had. Later my husband and I visited one of the Pierre Hermé shops to purchase macarons of our own and sampled additional flavors. Ever since that fateful day I have developed a passion for Pierre Hermé macarons. As soon as I arrive in Paris I make a beeline for the small and often crowded Latin Quarter shop.
The shop counter at Pierre Herme
While I have favorite flavors every Pierre Hermé macaron I have had tasted has been superb. I have also sampled macarons at other locales, including at some very well known bakeries and restaurants, but none have even come close to matching the delicate and extraordinary flavors and texture of Pierre Hermé macarons.
In addition to the macarons Pierre Hermé shops sell chocolates, tea, and other baked goods. One particular pastry stands out as a queen among her subjects, Ispahan. It is made with macaron, litchi and rose cream and raspberry.
Wonderful macaron pastries
Macaron flavors vary during the year and for the end of the year holidays there are usually seasonal specialties which we always long to sample. Favorites we have tried include Truffe Blanche et Noisette (white truffel and hazelnut), Caramel a la Fleur de Sel (caramel and salt), Huile d’Olive et Vanille (olive oil and vanilla), Rose, and Chocolate and Foie Gras. Pierre Hermé, 72, rue Bonaparte, Paris 75006, France, +33 01 43 54 47 77, www.pierreherme.com
Restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee for a superlative dining experience
A table setting at Restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee
When it comes to over the top, superlative dining experiences Alain Ducasse and his team delivered at the eponymous restaurant at the Plaza Athenee Hotel in Paris, France. There our team rediscovered the allure of this well known restaurant.
While noteworthy meals are one of the attractions of Europe’s favorite tourist city, it was the combination of exquisite dishes served with care by attentive and friendly staff in an attractive dining room in one of the city’s better hotels that once again made the Alain Ducasse restaurant a favorite. Click here for more about what Elena and Gary liked about Restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee
Favored chef breathes new excitement into Le Cinq restaurant
Article by Elena del Valle and photos by Gary Cox
The dining room at Le Cinq
Dishes at Le Cinq were pretty to look at and eat
Ever since he arrived at Les Elysees du Vernet in Paris, France we became fans. There was passion and culinary ambition in the way he cooked and served his tasty delights at the understated restaurant steps away from the famed Champs Elysees. Every meal we had at the restaurant while he was there was a treasure so we felt a loss when he left. At the same time, we were thrilled that he was migrating to one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Le Cinq.
After lunch we enjoy hot beverages just outside the Le Cinq dining room
A few months after he arrived at the larger than life restaurant of the Paris George V Four Seasons Hotel we eagerly visited Le Cinq. As soon as the first bites arrived at our table we recognized his touch. We immediately forgot the rainy weather outside and focused on the joys of the meal. We were delighted. Every dish was pleasing. Once again Chef Eric Briffard has met and surpassed our expectations. We look forward to new dishes and repeat meals at his new venue. Click here to read more about our dining experience at Le Cinq.
Hovercraft 25 the convenience of a hard-sided suitcase, the weight of a duffel
Article and photo by Josette King
Hovercraft 25 inch Duffel from Eagle Creek
When it comes to packing, decades of traveling solo to have made me a minimalist: I learned early on the wisdom of lugging only what I can comfortably handle on my own. However, in recent years, my propensity for lengthy, complex itineraries coupled with the airlines’ increasingly restrictive luggage allowances have presented me with ever more difficult choices. My sturdy, tidily organized hard-sided suitcases of early times, or a light-weight, roomy but hard to pack and handle duffel bag?
The Eagle Creek Hovercraft 25 solved my dilemma. With firm, heavy gauge Cordura nylon shell, super-stable wheel base and multiple grab handles, its especially roomy interior and multiple, easily accessible compartments inside and out, it delivered the most desirable features of both hard and soft-sided luggage.
Other Eagle Creek luggage our teams have tested and liked include ORV Trunk 30, Eagle Creek ORV Gear Bag, and Eagle Creek Tarmac 22. Click here for detailed information on the many outstanding features that have made the Eagle Creek Hovercraft 25 one of my favorite long trip companions.
