BARCELONA, SPAIN
Two Hotel Barcelona by Axel
Just opened this past July, Two Hotel by Axel is a new design hotel in the heart of Gayxample, brought to you by the owners of the original Axel, and marketed as a “hetero-friendly” gay hotel. The hotel is conveniently located near Rocafort Station, has smallish rooms with tons of style, limited garage parking, and a cool rooftop terrace. The hotel was the recent host of Circuit Barcelona and has quickly become a must-visit for the LGBT community. KP
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The Virgin Hotel
The Virgin Hotel in Chicago is impossibly chic and among the best new hotels to open this year. Recently opened in The Loop neighborhood of Chicago, this is the very first hotel from the Virgin group, and exemplary in the way it eliminates the things that annoy us about most hotels. For starters, the minibar is priced at street levels, not ridiculous hotel levels. (You can actually eat that bag of Peanut M&Ms for $1, instead of $6.50. We’re looking at you SLS Las Vegas.) The design is modern chic, featuring huge “chamber” rooms in masculine color-schemes,with open layouts, free WiFi, and a wonderful staff. There is a Funny Library full of Second City stars, and a host of other amenities. Rarely is a hotel reason enough to visit a city; this is one of them. KP
DALLAS, TEXAS
Stampede 66
The latest restaurant concept by gay chef Stephen Pyles is Stampede 66 which includes a great mix of traditional Texas barbecue fused with some of the chefs more contemporary creations. The décor is reminiscent of an upscale barn, with screens that display quotes from famous (and infamous) Texans which are self-deprecating enough for both Texans and non-Texans to appreciate. MV
LOS ANGELES, CA
The Broad Museum
The Broad Museum (pronounced Brode) is the new, free contemporary art museum, just opened in this month in the heart of the downtown LA art scene — surrounded by the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Music Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCa.) The collection of Warhols, Koons, Lichtensteins, and Harings numbers into the thousands, with the first floor dedicated to newer artists and video installations. Fans of architecture will be enamored with the building itself, a honeycomb-like shell that is, in itself, a work of art. MV
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Refinery Hotel
The Refinery Hotel is one of the best examples of a new genre of luxury boutique hotels in the part of New York that’s a little hard to identify exactly though it’s super convenient and in the middle of everything. Lower Midtown? North Koreatown? Herald Square? Doesn’t really matter. It’s a work-a-day part of Manhattan with office drones, Asians and tourists zipping or milling around, which creates an undeniable energy. The hotel itself has high ceilings which make the well-appointed and casually elegant rooms seem bigger than they are; free live music nightly in the lobby level bar, Winnie’s Jazz Bar; and a fantastic rooftop restaurant with fabulous views especially at dusk. ES
PARIS, FRANCE
La Galerie Lounge, Four Seasons Paris
La Galerie restaurant at the Four Seasons has a new chef. Handsome youthful and reserved, Chef David Bizet brings with him years of experience. In fact he worked under the executive chefs at the Michelin-starred Le Cinq, also at the Four Seasons. We’d describe his cuisine as farm-fresh and hearty yet refined and heavy on seafood options — all befitting his Normandy roots. Try the lobster dish or anything with truffle oil. The prices here are lofty but not as high as at Le Cinq and the atmosphere is much more casual, making it great for a splurgy date night. You have the option of dining in the Galerie, a lavish space adorned with Flemish tapestries and 19th-century paintings, and on warmer days, a lovely marble courtyard decorated by famed floral-director Jeff Leatham’s displays of purple orchids. The staff is super friendly yet professional and — we don’t know if they deployed their A team just to impress us but — handsome as hell, too. PT
