CHIC HOTEL DESIGN-THE HANOVER INN

Don't you just love a good road trip?

This past weekend we drove up to New Hampshire to visit our son at school. I was looking forward to seeing him and staying at the newly refurbished Hanover Inn in Hanover, NH. The hotel recently underwent an extensive renovation-the tired faux Early American decor has been replaced with an assortment of classically elegant, yet comfortable seating. Deep green velvet sofas and buttery leather chairs play beautifully against the Dartmouth green bead board walls. The statement piece of the new lobby is a majestic stone table fashioned from New Hampshire granite. The thick slab is perched on blocks of natural wood-it's a beautiful, nature inspired piece that showcases the state's famous stone. To lighten the look, a collection of local designer, Simon Pearce's table lamps give a soft, luminous aura to the tablescape. The new lobby is fresh and modern, incorporating New Hamphire's best natural resources with great design.

 Sophisticated rustic charm

 Collection of Simon Pearce table lamps

Leather wing chairs and soft velvet sofas create an inviting space to read

Fresh snow on Dartmouth campus

SNOWS FALLING, BUT ONLY AT THE HUDSON HOTEL

A fine mist of snow gently showered me and a friend during a recent night out.  We weren't stranded on the curb waiting to get into the Hudson Hotel--rather, I was tucked into a sheepskin blanket, sitting on the rooftop bar in a winter wonderland of sorts. You see snow falls every night at the Hudson Lodge, an urban ski-resort themed bar deep in the heart of Manhattan. The tented space is decorated ski-lodge chic with rustic wood tables, fur pillows and blankets and a smattering of taxidermy for effect. We grabbed a sofa (not an easy thing to do) and ordered a round of drinks: a cold snowcone cocktail for me (childhood harkened and I couldn't resist) and a hot Chocolate Bon Bon cocktail for my friend. To eat, no run of the mill bar food here-we tucked into a green chili fondue and a S'more grilled cheese sandwich; so glad we didn't have to make a run down the slopes to get home!  

Drink your dessert- The Chocolate Bon Bon is a decadent mix of Grand Marnier, Tequila, Hot Chocolate and Cream

Not your momma's grilled cheese-Nutella, ricotta, guyere and cheddar cheese with a drizzle of maple syrup

Hudson Lodge, 356 West 58th Street, NY
212.554.6217

Happy Friday!

DESTINATION-THE NoMad HOTEL

I'm an Upper East Side girl--I've got my favorite place for cappucino, great shops for killer shoes and a list of go-to restaurants for fun night out, but that doesn't mean I don't like to hit a downtown hot spot now and then. I recently met friends for drinks in NoMad (short for North of Madison Square Park) a little slice of recently revitalized real estate between the Flatiron District and Times Square at the stylish NoMad Hotel. 

Occupying a 1903 Beaux-Arts building, the NoMad's romantic, luxurious interiors were the work on French architect Jacques Garcia. Garcia, architect of the chic Hotel Costes in Paris, created the hotel's bohemian, old-world vibe with an impressive selection of antiques from his native France and rich, opulent fabrics and furnishings. 

Drinks at the hotel's stylish Library Bar was our destination. It's an imposing space housing a fully curated, two-story library designed to resemble the dark-paneled reading room of a well-read, well-heeled gentleman. The spiral staircase imported from the South of France is a stunning addition to the space. 

Drinks are served at a grand 24-foot polished mahogany counter flanked by two gilded elephant statues; very old-world, very posh. The bar scene is lively and can get very crowded so we got there on the early side and at the suggestion of our knowledgeable bartender, tried the Satan's Circus, a drink named with a nod to local lore;  religious reformists gave the area the name Satan's Circus in the late 19th century. A fiery cocktail made with rye whiskey, chili-infused aperol, Cheery Heering and lemon, it was sophisticated, delicious and slightly addictive, just like the NoMad Hotel.

The NoMad Hotel, 1170 Broadway (28th Street); (347) 472-5660; thenomadhotel.com.