Three Questions from the deck boys: Best hotel/Resort, best bar and best restaurant that you have enjoyed in your global travels?

[yadegari6]

Hotel - Four seasons Tokyo Otemachi

Restaurant - Central in Lima Peru, the attention to every detail was next level

Bar- Any Pintxo bar in San Sebastian

[chasy]

Wait… is Ken tall? I’m also tall and suffer from low shower heads, door frames, etc. Was beginning we had nothing in common…

[Dr Process]

Great thread.  Will def come back to this when/if I travel to any of these locales. 

Hotel - Ritz in Philadelphia on Broad street.  Architecture is beautiful.  Bar is “swanky”.  Many of the staff will finish interactions by saying, “Enjoy life!”  I love it every time.  

Bar - Ok.  This one is kind of a personal tradition, but I love it.  My family and I are big Disney fans. At the top of the Contemporary Resort is a restaurant, The California Grille.  After the kids and spouse have drifted to sleep, I’ll try to sneak up to the bar. Great view of Magic Kingdom. It’s overpriced and likely watered down - it’s Disney after all. But I don’t care. It’s a few quiet moments to reflect on the day. Usually I’ll try to light a short smoke (Partagas sd no 6) and smuggle a drink back to the room for my wife. It’s the tradition. I act as if this is an impossible feat of espionage or something. In reality, I’m sure no one really cares. It’s all part of the fun.  

[HDGSN]

Hotel - Hotel Imperial in Vienna

Resort - JW Marriott Desert Ridge

Bar - Half Barrel in undergrad in Knoxville or Comptoir des Arts in Bruges, dead empty, with a Westmalle Tripel and Otis on the speakers

Restaurant - Husk Nashville. Maybe not the restaurant but definitely the most memorable meal. Sean Brock made a special family style vegetarian menu for our group.

[BG318]

On 4/10/2024 at 8:37 AM, Puros Y Vino said:

Hotel: Excellence Mayan Riviera (AI). Runner up.  The Phoenician Scottsdale AZ.

Bar: Been to many. Can't say I remembered much about them besides being competent, had a good atmosphere and did not drain my wallet too fast. I'll go with something personal. The little bar in my father's hometown in Italy. It was there before he was born and in 2019 I visited and my uncle and aunt sat in that very bar with me. They reminisced on how my father, would take them to watch the only TV in town while he enjoyed some wine and cigarettes at age that would have raised a few eyebrows.

Restaurant: Can't remember the exact name but it was in Rome in the Travestere region. We were on a tour and the outdoor setting by the river was picturesque. The food and ambiance was just like the family get togethers I remember as a kid.

Runner Up: Au Pied de Cochon (Montreal). Been there several times. Excellent place for French Canadian cuisine. Pork, duck, foie gras, maple syrup, maple beer and a great wine list.  

I have really been enjoying Au Pied de Cochon lately. The sommelier does a great job pairing wines with all the maple offerings going on.

[Capn_Jackson]

Best hotel/resort: Usually stay on the cheaper side when traveling internationally. However, one year for our anniversary and a friend’s birthday, we all stayed at a Sandals in St Lucia, Regency La Toc. The restaurants were better than you’d expect from Sandals, the around-the-island excursion was fantastic, and the spa services were excellent.

Best bar: Had an absolute blast at the Oliver Plunkett in Cork, Ireland. We became friendly with the band that was playing and drank the night away, mostly thanks to generous and enthusiastic “new friends.” That is one night we’ll never forget!

Best restaurant: Two of my most memorable dining experiences were actually here in the states. The Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Vegas, on my 30th birthday, was exquisite. For our recent anniversary, we escaped for a night in Dallas and had a curated dining experience at Uchi Japanese Restaurant. One of the highlights there was the foie gras sashimi! Internationally, though, one of the best to my memory has to be Rocpool in Inverness, Scotland. We split three things between us, as I recall: Venison, duck, and scallops. Remarkable place!

[joeypots]

Hotel: Banff Springs Hotel

Skiing with a group, of course. 

I had dinner in Venice, Italy. Best food ever, not the best experience. Recommended by the front desk in our hotel I can’t remember the name. When we called for a reservation they said we could come at like 5:30 and we had to leave in one hour. Despite the limited time we had there the food was sublime.

[CigarAsh]

Best hotel:  Rambagh Palace in Jaipur India. Former hunting and polo lodge of the Maharajah of Jaipur. Absolutely stunning in every way. While there last year we witnessed a “crazy rich Asians” wedding of some Bollywood family member. Was amazing to see.

Best Bar: that’s a tough one but I’ll go with a recent visit in San Diego, the Whiskey House. Has over 4000 unique bottles of whiskey from which to choose. Can order whiskey flights and taste a little of everything. 

Best Restaurant: another tough one. Someone already mentioned KC Joes BBQ a where I had lunch today. But I’ll go with another local favorite. Ixtapa Mexican. Run by an owner from Guadalajara that serves only traditional dishes from his home. No Tex Mex or yellow cheese. Real amazing comfort food. Owner has also taught me to appreciate good sipping tequilas.  

[MrBirdman]

Best hotel for me is the Mandarin Oriental in Munich. My only “gripe” is that staff is so attentive that it can almost be overbearing if you’re some like me who doesn’t like being fussed over. 

A great place to be jet lagged since all the rooms have sealed, 100% blackout blinds (the kind on tracks). In fact they may have been my favorite part of the room since I stayed there during Oktoberfest and found the need to “nap” at various points of the day 🥴. Just be sure to book ahead for the festival since they sell out well in advance. 

[chasy]

1 hour ago, MrBirdman said:

Best hotel for me is the Mandarin Oriental in Munich. My only “gripe” is that staff is so attentive that it can almost be overbearing if you’re some like me who doesn’t like being fussed over. 

A great place to be jet lagged since all the rooms have sealed, 100% blackout blinds (the kind on tracks). In fact they may have been my favorite part of the room since I stayed there during Oktoberfest and found the need to “nap” at various points of the day 🥴. Just be sure to book ahead for the festival since they sell out well in advance. 

Munich is a city I really want to get back to. I went once for Oktoberfest and it's all a blur... I think it was 2 nights. Total jet lag and way too much beer...

[El Hoze]

4 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

Best hotel for me is the Mandarin Oriental in Munich. My only “gripe” is that staff is so attentive that it can almost be overbearing if you’re some like me who doesn’t like being fussed over. 

A great place to be jet lagged since all the rooms have sealed, 100% blackout blinds (the kind on tracks). In fact they may have been my favorite part of the room since I stayed there during Oktoberfest and found the need to “nap” at various points of the day 🥴. Just be sure to book ahead for the festival since they sell out well in advance. 

I was almost going to say MO in Munich, especially for a non-resort hotel. Having that Japanese restaurant Matsuhisa in there is also like an oasis whenever I am traveling in Germany. And being next to the Hofbrauhaus is nice. 

[Lamboinee]

Hotel: My childhood memories of hotels are more notable as they are tied up with so many nostalgic events that made impressions on my young mind. 1) The first time I saw the inside pages of a Playboy was in the gift shop at the Fairmont in San Francisco while I was peering over the shoulder of a gentlemanish scholar interested in pursuing the comics.  I think the Fairmont SF is a homeless sheter with a Tesla charger now.  2) There was mid/low budget hotel near Disneyland that had an outside fascia that resembled a castle, I thought we were BAD ASS! They had a "continental breakfast" on the second floor that you could only access with a key card.  I remember pondering whether Continental referred to a Lincoln or to a landmass.  3) I had my first chocolate mousse at the Ritz in LA, it was also the first time I had room service.  4) I contracted a horrible case of chicken pox while staying at the Teneya Lodge near Yosemite. I had a chicken pox so large on my chest that my mom thought I had contracted lyme disease.  They also had stuffed "Jack-a-Lopes" all throughout the Lobby.  It's a pity we couldn't save those creatures before the went extinct. 5) Just up the road from the Teneya, I stood up-right inside the fireplace at the Wowona Lodge....it wasn't even that impressive, but at that time I was blown-away standing up in a fireplace.  6) And the crowning glory of all the hotels that I experienced as a child had to be the Holiday Inn somewhere in the Central Valley of CA.  I went to a wedding there with my parents and somehow convinced them to stay the night because it had an indoor pool, an indoor hot tub, and three (count them, THREE) indoor put-put mini golf holes.  ON ASTROTURF! A few months later a child was disemboweled in the hot tub at that Holiday Inn when he got stuck on the filter return at the bottom of the hot tub.

As an adult I find that there is a certain floor that a good/great hotel must meet.....after that, its all about LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.  For that reason I will vote for the Viceroy Sugar Beach in St. Lucia....woke up every morning between the Breasts of St. Lucia on a beautiful beach. I will also note that their A/C was rockin'!!!!!

Restaurant - Spago? French Laundry? IDK, once again I find that there is a certain threshold that great restaurants must meet and then the most important part is the location and who you are with. For that reason, I will vote for the restaurant that was at the Epcot Center Aquarium in approx. 1990. I went to FL for the first time with my aunt and uncle when I was in the 4th grade (for the 1st time). I have always loved marine life and Epcot had an aquarium then. There was a restaurant right next to one of the largest tanks. I had Lobster Bisque for the first time and some amazing BBQ prawns. My uncle was impressed with my dinner order...that was the only thing that I did to impress him the whole trip because I was a "snot-nosed brat" and he did not have nor want young children. But he was a cool uncle. I have not yet had a comparable opportunity to dine with the fishes. Also, I was amazed at the existence of Cheese Lobster Soup....why aren't we serving this to all children?!

Bar- dam, these are tough questions. I love old world style bars inside big ass hotel lobbies with marble or granite floors and bellhops and high ceilings and all-that-jazz. I like my drinks simple and my people-watching complex, high-falootin', and capable of surprising me. So, I will vote for the Peabody in Memphis. It usually has a great piano player. The ceiling is high and full of nice accents and wood work. There's a good mix of fancy people, muggles, and white trash to keep the people watching interesting. The chairs are good. AND THEY WALK DUCKS DOWN AN ELEVATOR INTO A FOUNTAIN and sometimes they shit on the floor! C'mon man!

[MrBirdman]

8 hours ago, chasy said:

Munich is a city I really want to get back to. I went once for Oktoberfest and it's all a blur... I think it was 2 nights. Total jet lag and way too much beer...

Pretty much my last experience there. Great time, but I would’ve loved to explore more and maybe visit BMW.

[chasy]

16 minutes ago, MrBirdman said:

Pretty much my last experience there. Great time, but I would’ve loved to explore more and maybe visit BMW.

I stayed at Le Meridian right by the train station. It was a bachelor party, so we weren’t really taking in the culture. We did do one dinner in a different part of time, a beautiful street with columns that were illuminated with colorful up lighting. It was the drag with all the high end shops. Made me realize there was more to the city than 30oz steins and sausages…. 

[SigmundChurchill]

My favorite hotel/resort has always been The Eden Rock resort on St. Barts.

But honorable mention goes to The Jumeirah Hotel in Mallorca.  We stayed there a couple of years ago and the service was above and beyond 5 star service.

Bar?  That's a hard one.  I guess the bar at the Versace Mansion was pretty memorable.  The bar in Sketch in London is really cool.  Going back, I would say maybe Limelight or CBGB.

Daniel in NYC has always been my favorite restaurant.