Keswick Hall: Activities

Keswick Hall located in the gorgeous countryside of Charlottesville Virginia has a slew of activities to keep one busy during one's stay...

A Golf Butler...yes, you heard me, a golf butler is available should you desire one...of course, it's going to cost you. Whoever said the best things in life can't be bought? They were lying...

This could be you...casually observing the grounds...

Fly Fishing

Hot Air Ballooning

Clay Shooting in the surrounding Virginia countryside...for all you Downton Abbey fans this is the activity to try!

Explore the local vineyards

UVA is a short drive away

As is Monticello...a very special place indeed! I particularly liked the grounds, the gardens are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen...

The Keswick Hall grounds. Keswick does the Orient Express brand a service in its impeccable decor and quality of service. If you ever find yourself in Charlottesville then Keswick Hall is the place to stay!

http://www.keswickhall.com/

Keswick Hall, Charlottesville Virginia

Keswick Hall is an Orient Express hotel in Charlottesville Virginia. It's absolutely perfect in every way...really. If you want Colonial American opulence, then this is IT!!! The surrounding countryside is superb and the decor immaculate.

This was my room...I LOVED the four poster bed, the huge balcony...I felt like a colonial aristocrat, so to speak...Thomas Jefferson eat your heart out!

http://www.keswickhall.com/

Sea Island Revisited

I loved Sea Island, off the coast of Georgia, so much I decided I needed to revisit it with you all! Check out my earlier blog "Sea Island AKA The Garden of Eden". I know I only blog about the most absolutely perfect hotel experiences and at times it's so hard to say which was better than the other, but Sea Island is the name that keeps popping up whenever I try to make those comparisons...

The Cloister

An Aerial View

The Georgian Room...one of the best meals EVER!!!

The suites really DO look like this!

If you haven't taken a look at their website yet you need to

http://www.seaisland.com/

The ARIA Las Vegas

The ARIA Las Vegas is one of my favorite hotels. There is an undeniable feeling of excitement, of all things "cool" and modern. The floor to ceiling wall windows display the Las Vegas view like nothing else and a remote control by the bed allows you to open the curtains, play music and a slew of other commands.

The rooms are sleek, the bed linens extraordinary. I have read reviews about this hotel saying the beds were the most comfortable in the world: at first I thought it must be an exaggeration but after having slept in them...well, they just might be!

http://www.arialasvegas.com/

Spa at Aria Las Vegas

The Spa at Aria Las Vegas. I loved it. Incredible. I'm not your usual "I love the spa" type of girl...the spa really has to be incredible for me to enjoy it. I arrived in Las Vegas at 3am...yes, 3am, I have a gift for arriving at a destination at the most inconvenient time. I dawdled around the hotel for 2 hours until the spa opened. 5am at the spa. I'm sure the receptionist thought it was a little early to start pampering oneself but then again it was Las Vegas and she has undoubtedly seen crazier things than that.

I LOVED this Spa. Maybe because I was exhausted and needed to freshen up? Maybe but I think I would have really, really liked it regardless. It was sleek, sexy, cool...I knew I had arrived in Las Vegas.

This outdoor co-ed pool was my favorite. The picture doesn't show off the view...the mountains in the distance and a constant flux of airplanes and helicopters flying past. The pool chairs were amazing with this fantastic canape like shade cover. At night the pool was illuminated. This picture doesn't do it justice. I'm not easy to please, and I was very pleased by this Spa.

The salt room. It sounds very spa-ish but between you and me I didn't really see the point. I'm quite certain the salt on the walls did nothing for my skin and since I don't have respitory problems I guess I'll never find out if it helps with those as it is reported to have medicinal qualities. You wear headphones as you lie on these sofas (very comfortable) and the music is supposed to vibrate through your body. If you put your ipod on really loud the music will vibrate through your body in the same way. So, no...I wasn't wildly impressed with the salt room. It was however very chic, sexy and a great place to take a rejuvenating nap!

I LOVED these pools!!! They vary in temperature from warm, very warm to freezing and if you soak in them (in that temperature order) I promise you will come out feeling like a new person. I came out feeling as though I had been injected with vitamins!

I did not get a massgae here so I cannot comment.

The Spa at the ARIA Las Vegas has amazing lounge areas, ladies you have stations with mirrors, hair utensils, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, deodorant, snacks, chips, drinks...I am not a Spa girl and I stayed at this one all day, that's how relaxing it was not to mentioned seriously modern and luxurious. After this experience you'll be ready for a night on the town in Las Vegas!

http://www.arialasvegas.com/

Julian Serrano Vegas

I cannot recommend Julian Serrano enough. There's Tapas restaurants and then there's Tapas restaurants...this was one of the best I've ever tried, no it was THE best. Many of the ingredients are imported from Spain and what a difference that makes! It changes everything! The recipes are traditionally Spanish with a modern flair...words really cannot do it justice, it was that good! 

The service, rather than opting for a lot of pomp and circumstance, was fast, efficient, polished and I never needed to ask for anything without it already being there. Only in Las Vegas... 

You see, the thing is: Julian Serrano understands how foodies want to eat in 2012. We want a little less pageantry and a lot more flavor, an abundance of choice and more accesible portions. From pata negra, croquetas to patatas bravas everything was genuinely delicious and by that I mean it was as good as any restaurant in Barcelona.

The decor is modern, trendy and comfortable...there's no 5 hour dinner standing on ceremony here and yet the food is not compromised...au contraire, the food might actually rival more than one of its French Michelin counterparts. But enough rambling about how good it was, here are some images to give you a real taste of Julian Serrano...

This Tuna Tartare was SO fantastic!!! One of the best I've had, if not THE best!

Pata Negra imported from Spain. This Spanish delicacy is simply divine. It was my first time trying it and it was sensational. Seriously, this is out of this world. One of the best things I have ever tasted in my life!!!

Fresh fuit with a delicious tasting foam

Pork Chop- I didn't eat this but apprently it was incredible

Croquetas...not my dish either

Seafood Ceviche...also the best ceviche I've ever tasted!

Bacalao- DAMN this is so good!

Coffee

Beignets...simply divine. These weren't just any beignets...they were classically Spanish, like nothing I've ever tasted in the US before...AMAZING

I am starting to sound repetitive but this almond cake with almond ice-cream was OUTSTANDING!!! A real traditionally Spanish recipe with a modern flair.

Chef Julian Serrano (who also runs restaurant Picasso at the Bellagio) had a dream of creating a traditionally Spanish Tapas place where people could eat, have fun conversations, stay out late and get true enjoyment from their food much like they do in cities like Madrid or Barcelona. Aria is not a restaurant where you sit in museum-like silence enjoying your dinner in hushed reverence...no, no it's a vibrant ambience where flavor is the guest of honor...

I cannot recommend Julian Serrano enough. If you want the finest food, the speediest service, the best quality and a chic, urban decor: this is the place to eat in Vegas!

http://www.arialasvegas.com/dining/julian-serrano.aspx

The Beverly Hills Crescent

The Beverly Hills Crescent is a sleek, sexy hotel just minutes away from Rodeo Drive. Check out these pictures...

If you want to live like the rich and famous for a few days in Beverly Hills the Crescent provides an accesible and ideally located sleek boutique hideout to do just that

For more info log onto http://www.crescentbh.com/