By Travel Savvy Editors
Millions come to Philadelphia to immerse themselves in history and culture. But if you still have energy after all that touring, check out the city’s many places to kick back and enjoy your libation of choice.
32 Degrees Luxe Lounge
16 S. 2nd St. Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: 215-627-3132
Ready for some stargazing? This exclusive nightspot is the place to catch glimpses of local pro athletes and celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Mark Wahlberg while sipping its many signature cocktails. VIP guests enjoy European bottle service, where they can order entire bottles and mix their own drinks. While club music dominates the night, the adjoining Cuba Libra space dances to a different beat – salsa!
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Park Hyatt Hotel at the Bellevue, 19th fl
Corner of Broad St. and Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19102
Tel: 215-790-1919
Ride to the top floor of this supposedly haunted hotel and you’ll find a sultry lounge reminiscent of a Roman bathhouse. Step outside for a peek of the city skyline or get comfy in one of the many alcoves. Specialty drinks like homemade champagne sangria and the raspberry/pepper martini are fabulous.
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Provident Bank Building 111 S. 17th St. Philadelphia, Pa 19103
Tel: 215-564-1515
Do you see yourself in lights? Then head over to this lounge where the sleek, white interior is infused with color thanks to the largest LED wall in the U.S. After 10 p.m., the lounge, chock full of private rooms, transforms into a discotheque. If you’re lucky, a member of the ultra private Mogul room will give you a tour of the one-time bank vault.
Vango Lounge & Sky Bar
116 S. 18th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tel: 215-568-1020
Two years in the making, this nearly 8,000-square-foot restaurant and lounge boasts one of the best rooftop decks in Philly. You’ll catch views of Liberty Towers and the stunning I.M. Pei-designed Pyramid Club. Dine on food by a Nobu alum, executive chef Michael Fee, while a rotating roster of house DJs cranks out tunes for dancing under the stars.
Rouge
205 S. 18th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215-732-6622
The open-air lounge, with its casual bistro décor, has become an endearing landmark on chic Rittenhouse Square. It’s where the local beautiful people have been hanging out for years. Tuck into one of the best burgers in the city ($15) while people-watching. With only a few coveted sidewalk tables available, expect a long wait.
By Joan Silverstein
Center City Concierge, LLC
Center City Concierge founder, Joan Silverstein, is a long time resident of Center City Philadelphia. She formed Center City Concierge, LLC, a concierge/ personal assistant service helping individuals and businesses reclaim a precious commodity…Time. Joan’s team can run your errands, can research travel hot spots, locate that special gift for a hard to please relative, friend or boss, plan a special surprise, or find a personal trainer, decorator, pet sitter, house cleaner or plumber. Joan is naturally who we turned to when researching the best hotels in the City of Brotherly Love. Here’s what she had to say
Four Seasons at One Logan Square
1 Logan Square Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 963-1500
www.fourseasons.com/philadelphia
For the truly “wow” experience, check in at the Four Seasons. This hotel has fantastic room service as well as a great restaurant, the Fountain. Fountain’s considered one of the best dining spots in the city. Overall, a well-rounded luxurious hotel.
Rittenhouse Hotel
210 W. Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-9000
Rittenhouse is located right in the heart of downtown, and is 8 miles from the airport, so the location is great. The hotel has also consistently earned a Five-Diamond rating since 1991. Their restaurant Lacroix is fantastic! It has received a slew of awards and distinctions since opening. Plus, their private outdoor tea garden is so peaceful. Full disclosure, I was married in this hotel.
Hotel Palomar
117 S. 17th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 563-5006
www.hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com/
This is part of the Kimpton chain, and is housed in an old art deco building. Serene rooms, eclectic yet relaxing decor. This hotel is pet friendly as well as an eco-friendly hotel—in fact, Palomar earned the distinction of becoming a LEED-registered hotel (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Totally hip and amazing.
Sofitel
120 S. 17th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 569-8300
www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-2741-sofitel-philadelphia/index.shtml
Yes, it’s part of a major chain, but this Sofitel in Philly is entirely charming, with just the right balance of European sensibilities and boutique-y intimacy mixed with American style. Very close to the convention center as well as the downtown area.
(Some rights reserved by Werner Kunz)
Created By : Las Vegas Convention and Visitors AuthorityUnited States, NevadaOver 35 million visitors travel to Las Vegas annually, and usually stay in any of the close to 125,000 hotel rooms available across the city. Vegas draws folks for the obvious reasons—like casinos, shows, and bachelor parties, but many visitors are drawn to seasonal events that give Las Vegas a Fall flare. In fact, Fall is the season of the truck in Vegas, when events like the annual World Long Drive Championships, sponsored by RE/MAX as well as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race, are held. Read on for details.
The man at a check-in counter at London’s Heathrow Airport lost it.
He had just made a frantic sprint to catch his flight to Tokyo, Japan, only to be told he was too late to board. So he banged his fists on the counter and let out a primal scream so loud that he could be heard at the other end of the terminal.
Alain de Botton was watching it all unfold — one of the many human dramas he observed as Heathrow’s first “writer-in-residence.” The job required him to do what many travelers would dread: Spend a week at the airport.
Last year, at the invitation of the company that owns Heathrow, de Botton set up a desk in the departures hall of Terminal 5 (perhaps best known to many travelers for its massive baggage handling problems when it opened in 2008) and took in the sights of what he calls “the imaginative center of contemporary culture.”
He also visited the factory where workers assemble thousands of airline meals every day, watched air traffic controllers follow the path of planes on a giant map “like parents worrying about their children” and contemplated the poetry of a room-service menu at his airport hotel, where the roar of a plane taking off once prompted a waiter to shout, “God help us!”
De Botton, a Swiss-born writer who lives in London, chronicles his experiences in “A Week at the Airport,” an elegantly slim and funny book recently released in the United States.
He shared more observations with CNN.com in an e-mail interview.
Created By : Elizabeth Leister
United States, California
Yet another East Coast transplant in Los Angeles, Liz takes pride in her culinary quests on the streets of LA.
Armed with a finely tuned palate and earnest for discovery, she gratefully took on the Savvy task to find the Best Food Tucks in the City of Angels. We tapped Liz for this extra important assignment because if there’s one thing Liz loves, it’s food cooked in a vehicle with a stove inside. Behold her Top 5 list…
Created By : Ann Antoshak United States, New York Ann is a graduate of The Cooper Union School of Art, where she studied painting, print making, and graphic design. She has been the art director at The New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and currently—New York University. Married to her college sweetheart, they are raising their young son in Jersey City, where they have lived for over 13 years.
Her current project is opening the Jersey City Children’s Theater, a space devoted entirely to performance by children. The theater will launch in an old church in March 2011. Visit the website at www.jcchildrenstheater.com, and follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/JCTheater
Created By : Tatiana Smith
United States, New York
Submitted by Tatiana Smith, Founder of Lavish Magazine
Tatiana Smith is a mother, writer, dancer, world traveler, and all-around adventurer from Long Island, NY. When she’s not hopping on a plane, you can find her in an African dance class, at a local Greenmarket, or writing for her online magazine, Lavish (www.lavishmag.blogspot.com)
Created By : Liza UnsonUnited States, New York
Liza Unson is a web designer (www.lizaunson.com) who works at a job she loves in midtown Manhattan. Other than work, her loves include pilates, eating at her favorite NYC restaurants, photography (www.flickr.com/photos/lizaunson), and of course, travel. Liza’s been to places far and near, from Boston to Barbados to Barcelona. In fact, check out her flickr for gorgeous shots of where she’s been. She lives in Queens and is debating over whether to get a cat or dog.
As a world traveler, We asked her what she brings on every trip, and here’s what she said.
Created By : Najwa Kronfel
United States, New York
Submitted by Najwa Kronfel
http://deliciousshots.blogspot.com/
Honduran-born food photographer and stylist Najwa Kronfel loves delicious, authentic cuisine from just about anywhere. Now living in New York, she loves the diversity of food and cultures on every street corner of the Big Apple. “You can simply pick a country and dine there whenever you want!” Also an adventurous chef, Najwa’s blog Deliciousshots features her food photographs of the dishes she creates almost daily. She currently lives in Queens with her graphic designer husband, Kiko, and her adorable infant son Lucas.
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