Classics, With a Twist: 2 Hot New Happenings on the Hotel Front

By Olia Golovkina

The hotel scene is ever-evolving and always changing—what remains constant is the level of quality you can expect from certain travel favorites. It's seems the great ones, though, are getting even better, and travelers have a lot to look forward to.

Here's a look at what's new and exciting at two of our favorites.

Shaken, Not Stirred: Fairmont's Redesigned Cocktail Menu

"This is much bigger than a menu," said Jane Mackie, Vice President of the Fairmont Brand, regarding Classics. Perfected., the curated cocktail menu that was rolled out globally over the holiday season. And it really is.

This is the first time that Fairmont has brought its top bartenders from around the world together to create cocktails, redesigning both ingredients and execution. The Fairmont Tastemakers include Grant Sceney from Fairmont Pacific Rim, Nader Chabaane from Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, Erik Lorincz from the Savoy, a Fairmont Managed Hotel, and Tom Hogan from Fairmont Singapore. The menu offers three sections: classics for those who favor tested combinations, revived classics for the more adventurous, and "neats" for those more spirits-inclined. Cocktails will be served in Schott Zweisel crystal glassware, and spirits involved in the program include Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac, Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label, The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Casamigos Tequila, Louis XIII, and more.

The new menu is an exciting leap into a new standard of excellence. More importantly, however, it gives people at Fairmont hotels a chance to congregate, to discuss groundbreaking ideas, and to arrive at historic resolutions. As Mackie went on to say, "It is about shaping and sharing Fairmont cocktail culture with our neighbors and visiting guests in over 20 countries." Classics. Perfected. may be simple in name but it certainly isn't simple in vision.
fairmont.com

The Knickerbocker Hotel Suites, Where New York Glamour Comes Alive

Today, a visit to the Knickerbocker Hotel—the only five-star hotel on the edge of Times Square—is a jump through time, to the era of billionaire John D. Rockefeller, innovation, luxury, and, of course, glamour. That's because the hotel has opened doors to four unique new suites—four tributes to the legends of the hotel's past—and it invites guests to stay for drinks.

The Caruso Suite overlooks Times Square from its top-floor level and replicates the spacious stage of world-famous tenor Enrico Caruso, who called the Knickerbocker home. Guests staying here can enjoy a welcome martini when they arrive, daily breakfast for two, plus a complimentary pressing of two garments. The Martini Suite is a nod to the 1912 Knickerbocker bartender Martini di Arma who, serving frequent guest John D. Rockefeller, is rumored to have invented the cocktail. It's finished in cosmopolitan style, with leather-clad walls and lacquered minibar. And walk down to the hotel's signature restaurant for two complimentary martinis prepared by a pro, per tradition.
The Cohan Suite is named after "the man who owned Broadway," theater celebrity and Knickerbocker resident George M. Cohan, whose personality shines through the bright and embellished décor of the room. Lastly, the Parrish Suite captures the vision of artist Maxfield Parrish, who painted a specially-commissioned mural for the Knickerbocker, and who has been honored with his own commissioned mural.

As Jeff David, managing director at the Knickerbocker rightly said, "The fusion of Manhattan's glamorous past and future is what the new Knickerbocker is all about." The sophisticated new suites, designed by renowned firm Gabellini Sheppard, certainly exemplify that. theknickerbocker.com