Emirates Palace
·Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace offers world's most expensive stay [Luxist]
·A Polish health resort returns to its former splendor [CNN]
·Spanish money shows largest traces of cocaine of anywhere in the world [Gadling]
·A human-powered exercise boat may hit the Hudson [PSFK]
·A new GPS camera that lets you log destinations along with images [PopSci]
·Meet the Hotel Whisperer [IT]
·Krispy Kreme Donut branded planes? [Jaunted]
Architecture firm Behnisch Architekten’s redesign of Germany’s Bad Aibling spa is in a word stunning. Located 60km south east of Munich, the Moorish spa includes saunas and baths both public and private, numerous outdoor swimming pools and more than a dozen different services that offer the ultimate in rest and relaxation. [LI]
New York has a relatively small Greek community -- less than 50,000 in a city of 8 million -- but it somehow seems more prominent than its numbers would suggest. Reminders of the Greek empire can be found throughout the city, such as the ubiquitous Greek diner, which has become the very archetype of the New York coffee shop. And while these tasty Greek morsels are all well and good, if you're looking for the full-on Greek experience, you can be surrounded by Hellenic people, art, and food in no time if you know where to go. Astoria, Queens is the historical capital of Greek culture in the city, but the Greek diaspora has since commenced, and plenty of great Greek venues can now be found in Manhattan and other boroughs. Here's a overview of where to find the best of Greece in New York, starting with a few centers of art and culture and ending with plenty of delicious Greek food and wine. Make like Zorba and raise a glass to the culture that gave us democracy, philosophy, law, and those wonderful blue takeout coffee cups.
If there’s one thing London isn’t lacking it is members-only clubs. But soon Brits will be able to add one more the list, when Farhad Farman-Farmaian opens Beauchamp Place. The five-story town house will include the exclusive Beauchamp Club, which Farman-Farmaian hopes will be “an interface of the art, cultural, design and literary worlds—a salon.” Considering the club already counts architect Zaha Hadid and heiress Ginevra Elkann (sis of Lapo) as members, he's well on his way. [Wmagazine]
As more and more airlines allow cell phone use during flights, a new kind of mobile-phone etiquette is evolving. “Passengers try to stay quiet and avoid being seen as intrusive. A pre-flight video is shown on aircrafts that use the technology, urging passengers to keep their phones on silent or vibrate mode.” [via Jaunted]
Amsterdam [NYTimes/Matt Gross]
·Going Dutch in Amsterdam [NYT]
·Strike hits Lufthansa, 360 flights canceled [Spiegel]
·When in D.C., where to find freebies [USAToday]
·Edingburgh welcomes not one but two major festivals this month [Globorati]
·How to leave Paris happy, not broke [CNN]
·A German town that may be, gasp, too green [NYT]
·Hotels that offer Falcon hugging among other things [USAToday]
Piscine Josephine Baker [Flickr/Hippopeter]
·Dubai’s number one boutique [JC Report]
·Paris’ Piscine Josephine Baker is back up-and-running [TPB]
·URBN Hotel brings eco-luxury to China [LI]
·Meanwhile, Pam Anderson is bring eco-friendly hotel to Dubai [Luxist]
·And Victoria Beckham and Eva Longoria are bringing dominoes to Vegas [Jaunted]
·Heathrow to use fingerprint scanning systems [CNN]
Refinery 29 treks to Red Hook to single out the best spots at which to eat, drink and shop. From a Columbia Street collective and a boutique-cum-catering company, to a Spanish-run tapas joint, there are plenty of innovative shops and eateries at which to bide your time while in this burgeoning Brooklyn neighb. [Refinery29]
Every Berliner loves the Weinerei, that kitsch little bar by Weinbergspark, where the so-inclined can drink endless glasses of cheap rosé and then throw €5 in a fishbowl and stagger home. But what about the wine connoisseur more interested in quality than quantity? Germany's vineyards are well known for producing Eiswein, a labor-intensive delicacy made from frozen grapes and Riesling dessert wines with peach, pear, apricot, and apple aromas. But wine bars and cellars in Berlin also stock vast quantities of French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese wines that pair perfectly with even the heaviest entrées. So skip the beer, and save trips to the Weinerei for the end of the month. Many of these locales also offer tasting events, where wine lovers can sip Pétillant and discuss the prädikat. Here's a quick roundup of wine cellars and bars around the Weinerei for all you oenophiles.
There is something to be said for the unfortunate lack of privacy on trains (i.e. being forced to endure the not-so-fresh smell of someone else’s sandwich or an abrasive cell phone conversation for hours). Herein lies the brilliance of Australian designer Hamit Kanuni Kuralkan’s plan for personal-sized, pod-like capsules that offer the ultimate private rail travel experience. [Gadling]
The Olympics are sure to be Beijing’s main attraction this month, but once the sun goes down locals and tourists alike will want to take part in the city’s fledgling club scene. At the Yen White Party, which takes place every Friday night, expect to find synthesized music, lasers, lights, and everyone dressed in white. Looking for a spot to party every other night of the week? There’s always Banana, Mix, Angel Club, Suzie Wong, Club 7 and Orange. [WWD]
·The best places to watch the Olympics in the Big Apple [NYDN]
·The Plaza Hotel Lounge’s doorman on getting in & starring in soft-core porn [NYM]
·Small and medium-sized airports suffer significant airline cutbacks [NPR]
·Black History museum to open in Little Rock [USAToday]
·Beijing greets the Olympic torch in Tiananman Square [IHT]
·Shakespeare’s first playhouse uncovered… literally [Times]
Beijing [Flickr/Grchiu]
·Navigating the world of Beijing street food [SFG]
·Publicity-seeking couple weds atop not one set of plane wings but three [Times]
·Delta to offer wi-fi on domestic flights [AP]
·NYC airports top list of those with worst delays this summer [CNN]
·Las Vegas casinos are hit hard by struggling economy [IHT]
St. Petersburg is getting a new five-star hotel complex late next year, but it won’t exactly be new. The Four Seasons is opening up shop in a nearly two-century-old building downtown that was originally the palace of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky (also known as “The House with the Lions”). The renovated hotel will house 183 guest rooms, a large ballroom, spa, three courtyards and several restaurants. [MT]
Late night food is great, but the last thing I want to do at 3 a.m. is figure out just how late the local "late night" diner is open. Give me 24 hours straight up, so I never need to worry. These diners (and in San Francisco, "diner" doesn't just mean "American") each have a distinctive character. One has drag queen posters. One has free chai. One even has a murder story.
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