Luxury Getaways – November 2008

Viceroy Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California

Location The hotel is on Ocean Drive, one block from Santa Monica State Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Highlight The lobby wows, with apple-green walls hung with 250 china plates and a double-sided Joshua Elias painting strung from the ceiling. Thing to do Run the miles of paved pathways right on the beach. Room to book We love room 604’s stone-floored foyer, Mascioni linens and Aromatherapy Associates toiletries – and, of course, the ocean view. Insider tip Hang around poolside – the city’s top must-be-seen venue. Rooms 162. GM David Currell.
310-260-7500, viceroysantamonica.com 

The Lanesborough
London, United Kingdom

Location The hotel is on the southwest side of Hyde Park Corner, in the heart of the city. Highlight The uniformed cavalry ride near the hotel on the way to the 11:30 a.m. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Cuisine Newly designed by Adam Tihany, Apsleys offers the freshest products with an Italian touch, like Sardinian broth with red pesto and beefsteak Florentine-style with bone-marrow sauce. Room to book Suite 116 has an antique-filled parlour overlooking Hyde Park Corner’s famous Wellington Arch, topped by Adrian Jones’ 1912 Quadriga statue, with four life-size bronze horses. Insider tip The hotel has a sunken outdoor bar and a bijou garden where cigars are a specialty. Rooms 95. GM Geoffrey Gelardi.
44-20-7259-5599, lanesborough.com

The Peninsula Beijing
Beijing, China

Location Only a 10-minute walk from the Forbidden City, the hotel is on Goldfish Lane, between Dongdan and Wangfujing shopping streets. Highlight Book ahead for one of the hotel’s Peninsula Academy tours to learn about local antiques, medicine or the history of Chinese tea. Spa Enjoy a Chinese Meridian yin-yang massage at The Peninsula Spa by ESPA. Room to book End suite 700, which faces north toward the Forbidden City, also overlooks a local school where, at about eight each morning, several hundred children stand in formation to do their daily exercises. Insider tip Borrow yellow and black Giant bikes to cycle round the outside of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Rooms 530. GM Donald Harrington.
86-10-8516-2888, beijing.peninsula.com

Editors’ Choice
What made enRoute’s stay.

1 Sinking our teeth into the crispy half chicken at the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at the recently opened 6 Columbus in New York City.
877-6COLUMBUS, sixcolumbuscircle.com

2 Indulging in chef Sue Schickler’s goat cheese-stuffed gnocchi before going upstairs to our fishing-themed Trout room at the Pitcher Inn in Vermont.
802-496-6350, pitcherinn.com

3 Digging into a wake-up hamper filled with a thermos of coffee and muffins, outside our suite at Hastings House Country House Hotel on Salt Spring Island.
800-661-9255, hastingshouse.com

4 Tasting the perfectly poached white-asparagus heads with a buttery allemande sauce at the buffet of the Maritim Hôtel Düsseldorf.
800-843-3311, maritim.de

5 Taking our pick from the vegetarian buffet (which includes smoked-eggplant salad and homemade cheese) at the Hotel Mizpe HaYamim in eastern Galilee.
972-4699-4555, mizpe-hayamim.com