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THE GOSTELOW REPORT:
HOTELS AND WHAT TO DO WORLDWIDE

Text: MARY GOSTELOW, Editor-in-Chief of WOWtraveler.net

SEP '04

THE LIST: FIVE BEST MUSIC-INSPIRED HOTELS

1 The Peninsula Hong Kong Live music is played in the gallery overlooking the main lobby, by the Lobby Strings (daily except Monday) and the Peninsula Jazz Band (nightly except Sunday).

2 Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento This is where Caruso wrote "Ti voglio bene assai" ("How I love you") in 1921; the Enrico Caruso Suite, number 448, still has some of his furniture.

3 Hotel Kämp, Helsinki A small cocktail reception room is named after Finnish composer and national hero Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). He loved this beautiful hotel, which is now part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection.

4 Aria Hotel, Prague The hotel’s floors are named Classical, Contemporary, Jazz and Opera; and there is a music library with an on-site music concierge.

5 The Marlin, Miami Beach Music guru Chris Blackwell started his Island Outpost empire of boutique hotels here. The hotel’s South Beach Studios are still hugely popular with such groups as Aerosmith.

DUBLIN
Don’t be surprised to find U2 leads Bono and the Edge in the bar of The Clarence, a Leading Small Hotel of the World; they own it. Stay in corner suite 508, with a big roof terrace overlooking the neighbouring River Liffey. Or enjoy the exclusivity of the two-floor penthouse (preferred by some musicians), which has a long attic room with grand piano and an outdoor terrace with hot tub. GM is Robert van Eerde.

NEW YORK
The striking steel exterior of the Hotel Gansevoort, newly opened in the Lower West Side meat-packing district, has ground-level panels whose changing lights move through the colours of the rainbow. On the 13th floor roof is a 14-metre heated pool with underwater music and lights. Scarlett Johanssen stayed in duplex suite 1208, with views across the Hudson. GM is Elon Kenchington.

MONTREAL
Room 1742 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth is where John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, held their much-publicized seven-day "Give Peace a Chance" bed-in in 1969. (Lennon’s five-year-old stepdaughter brought along her teddy bear.) The Fairmont Gold Lounge is on the 19th floor, and hotel GM is Richard Payette.

ROME
Bryan Ferry, Céline Dion and Lorin Maazel are among the many musicians who stay at the Cavalieri Hilton, on a hilltop overlooking the historic city. There are spacious gardens, with indoor and outdoor pools, and a 2,400-square-metre La Prairie spa. Ask managing director Paolo Biscioni for a Vatican-facing club-floor room.

VIENNA
The Bristol, a Westin hotel, overlooks the city’s famous opera house. Many of the stars stay here and, after performances, dine at the hotel’s restaurant, Korso bei der Opera. You get a marvellous view from room 371 or from the Caruso suite (265–266). Alternatively, try the Prince of Wales suite, number 174, which comes with an all-wood dressing room and a private gym with sauna. Hotel manager is Thomas Schön. [ ]

Contact the editor-in-chief of Gostelow Reports, WOW: The Intimate Newsletter for Elite Travelers and www.WOWtraveler.net at MGostelow@enroutemag.net.

SEP '04