Seamless and streamlined travel
By Tyler Brûlé
Published: November 20 2009 17:22 | Last updated: November 20 2009 17:22
I’ve found a hotel in New York that’s set to become my new “regular”. While I’ve yet to sample some of the more important elements that can make or break a place (the quality of the club sandwich, the gym, the laundry service and the efficiency of the concierge), I’m already a convert to the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo.
For the past two decades I’ve been staying in hotels in Midtown or the Upper East Side but, after two nights and an overall positive experience, I reckon it’s time to bid farewell to my old digs on East 57th Street and make Crosby Street my new base in Manhattan. There’s a good chance I wouldn’t have budged from Midtown had my colleague Andrew not been so impressed by Crosby Street on a recent trip that he put it forward for an annual travel award in our Monocle Travel Top 50.
While the ranking runs to a full 50, I thought I’d offer a little taster of some of the services, aircraft, hotel rooms and amenities that make for a more seamless and streamlined travel experience.
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Best flight attendant: Frau Wakamoto on Lufthansa
It’s not very often you meet a flight attendant that not only makes you that little bit more loyal to a particular carrier but also leaves you hoping you’ll have the good luck to fly with her next time you travel between Germany and Japan.
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Best low key hideaway: Villa Rosmarino, Liguria
Nestled less than 30 minutes away from Genoa airport and just over the hill from Portofino, Villa Rosmarino is a perfectly formed bolthole that most of us dream of opening some day later in life.
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Best Alpine spa: Hotel Kronenhof in PontresinaIf you haven’t quite figured out your plans for Christmas, you could happily lose a few weeks just swimming laps and watching the snow from the spa at the Kronenhof in the Engadine.
Best cab: a Toyota Prius operated by Nihon Kotsu
The classic London cab might still be a favourite but now they’ve allowed those too-big Mercedes mini-vans to operate on the streets of London we’d prefer to zip around in a silent and peppy Prius – complete with the lace-covered seats and white gloves that come pretty much as standard.
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Best airline lounge: Lufthansa’s HON Circle lounge at Munich Airport
Cathay’s set-up at Hong Kong has long been a favourite but for intimacy and quality of service it’s hard to top Lufthansa’s design efforts in their super-premium lounge at Munich – dedicated immigration and baggage screening is an added bonus.
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Most admirable initiative: RENFE
The ambitions of Spain’s national high-speed plan is something to behold, particularly if you’re used to chugging down to Cornwall or up to Ottawa on tired rolling stock. Spain is proud that it will be number two (after China) when it comes to the scale of its high-speed train links.
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Best new European hotel: Louis, Munich
The Bavarian capital is doing many things right in the travel business and the recently opened Louis on Viktualianmarkt is exactly what modern travellers want from an independent property – sense of place. There’s no mistaking you’re in the heart of Europe thanks to the property’s cosy palette and bespoke furniture, all made locally.
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Best inflight takeaway: Icelandair’s playing cards
Bravo for tiny Icelandair for bringing back collectable playing cards that not only reflect the provenance of the brand (there’s a strong Viking theme running through the deck) but also promote one of the country’s leading graphic design talents.
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Best life improvement: Washlets on ANA
When the Boeing 787 Dreamliner finally takes flight and ANA takes delivery of its first aircraft, passengers will be that little bit fresher thanks to the first Toto Washlets, or “bidet toilets”, in the sky.
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Best ease-of-use airport: Changi Singapore
It’ll never win any awards for its colour scheme or choice of carpets but for the silence and ease of navigation, Singapore’s Changi is still the hub to top.
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Best hands for a massage: Nadia in St Moritz and Como
You know you’re going to get a good kneading when your massage therapist is so in demand that she spends her summers at the Villa d’Este and winters at Badrutt’s Palace in St Moritz. Nadia’s the best pair of hands in the business.
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Tyler Brûlé is editor-in-chief of Monocle
tyler.brule@ft.com
More columns at www.ft.com/brule
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