by Editor | Apr 1, 2014 | North America, Simon and Baker Travel Review, United States, Virginia
The Old Mill Room was the historical heart of the Boar’s Head. Built from the timber of an abandoned 1834 gristmill originally located along the banks of the Hardware River, it was moved piece by piece to be integrated in the construction of the inn’s main building in the early 1960’s in an effort to preserve and repurpose a valued piece of local history. The gristmill was famous for having survived the ravages of the Civil War and gone on to operate a whole six decades after it.
by Editor | Dec 1, 2013 | Simon and Baker Travel Review
As we approached the Eiffel Tower we realized we were in for a treat. The days long pattern of gray cloudy weather had broken. In its place, puffy clouds contrasted against a cerulean Parisian sky. Two uniformed staff members greeted us at the restaurant’s dedicated ground floor entrance past its understated brown awning. Once they confirmed our reservation for that day, we had to pass through a metal detector while one of the staff searched our personal belongings. The restaurant’s heated elevator, manned by another uniformed staff member, led us directly to a reception area where additional personnel greeted us, whisked away our winter coats and led us to a window side table with a metal bar in the middle and a striking view to the northeast.
by Editor | Dec 1, 2013 | Europe, France, Paris, Simon and Baker Travel Review
For years I have liked the elegant dining room of Restaurant le Meurice in the eponymous hotel facing one of the city’s best known tourist streets. In 2013, famed chef Alain Ducasse was invited to oversee the food service at the hotel and restaurant. On our most recent trip to Paris, we had lunch there and were left with the impression that the restaurant has much promise.
Since our last visit we noticed subtle changes. For example, access to the restaurant was via the entrance foyer of the hotel rather than from the lobby lounge where it had been before. A new embroidered panel graced a section near the restaurant door, and Baccarat crystal art was in evidence in the dining room.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2013 | Africa, Kruger, Simon and Baker Travel Review, South Africa
Shumbalala is within the Thornybush Game Reserve, a private fenced game reserve near the southwestern boundary of South Africa’s legendary Kruger National Park. The Big Five (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino), along with close to 150 species of mammals large and small, roam the reserve’s 14,000 hectares of bush. Although Shumbalala game viewing vehicles shared space with game viewing vehicles of 11 other properties on the reserve we seldom crossed paths with vehicles from other lodges. From the instant I passed through the gate of the Thornybush Game Reserve, the game viewing was indeed exceptional. No more than a 15 minute drive into it, the Shumbalala ranger who had welcomed me at the gate (no private vehicles were allowed in Thornybush) stopped within feet of a scene that made my eyes pop: white rhinos, a half dozen of them, snoozing in an untidy heap in the shade of a roadside tree.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2013 | Simon and Baker Travel Review
Flying over Moosehead Lake and Lobster Lake in the Maine Highlands in a rare seven-seat 1954 de Havilland Beaver seaplane in early autumn was a memorable experience. The transition from the calm lake water to the sky on the hydroplane as we departed was seamless. One moment we were gliding away from the dock and the next we were airborne. It was equally difficult to distinguish the moment we left the air in exchange for the water in our smooth afternoon landing.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2013 | Europe, France, Paris, Simon and Baker Travel Review
In a city that is home to 50 Five Star hotels, many of them so firmly entrenched in their luxury status that they have long become legends, the relatively new Le Burgundy (opened in 2010) stood out for its privileged location first of all, on a relatively quiet street just a few steps away from Place Vendome, Rue Royale and Rue Saint-Honore, in the enclave of prestigious Right Bank addresses that are the pulse of Paris fashion. Then there was its already established reputation for personalized service, the kind only an intimate boutique hotel can provide. This was confirmed the instant I reached the property, by the doorman’s attentive welcome and the instantaneous check in process. I barely had time for a passing glance at the glassed in winter garden that is the heart of the public spaces or the art gallery like reception area with its bright mural sculpture behind a long white leather and marble reception desk before I was graciously escorted to my suite.
