Nov 20, 2009 by Jennifer Bernstein - comment
We scope out the wine baths, pet psychics, caviar facials, gourmet cooking classes, revolving rooms, and other extravagant extras that will push your vacation over the top.
Getting something permanently drawn onto your body should not be a decision made quickly. So maybe a long weekend getaway with friends isn’t the best time to sit down under the needle. That giant sun wrapped in barbwire to commemorate your trip to Florida might not seem so awesome once back home in Wisconsin.
Then again, vacations are known to motivate, and friends can be pretty convincing. And what more inspirational setting then ink-clad, super-hip Venice Beach, California? And what better excuse then a hotel offering a “Ink and Stay” hotel package?
Hotel Saint Cecilia (named after the patron saint of music and poetry) is a great boutique hotel that opened last year in Austin’s South Congress District. Among its offerings are mini bars that Cecilia herself would see fit to rename with a decidedly more grandiose adjective. If Warhol, poetry, and legendary furniture design features give you a craving for elegant eats, head back to your suite, bungelow, or studio and, with mother-of-pearl or olive wood utensils in hand, dine in-room on global gourmet treats. Tucked inside the minibar are handmade chocolates, shortbread cookies, olive oil crackers, and, on the more opulent end, red lumpfish caviar, a variety of cheeses, duck rillette, salami, and bison jerky. Wash it down with a fine Pinot Grigio or Rioja, and nurse that possible hangover later with kombucha, or a Victorian lemonade.
On a recent trip to Argentina, I stayed a night at the lovely Sofitel Buenos Aires. It’s on a quiet, leafy street that’s lined with galleries and antique shops. It provides all the comforts (and great food) that one expects of this luxury French brand but with a distinct sense of place (the landmarked building was the city’s first skyscraper when it was built in 1929 and the handsome rooms are trimmed in biker bar-levels of Argentine leather). The elegant cafe–Cafe Arroyo–off the lobby was modeled after Buenos Aires’ distinguished jockey clubs of the early 1900s. Here, guests can find a singular amenity.
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