Elite Traveler - Castello di Casole

nov/dec
2012
the ultimate
holiday
Gift Guide
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TIMELY UPDATES FOR THE PRIVATE JET LIFESTYLE
NEWS+PREVIEWS
GLITTERATI ON THE GO
BY KELLY CARTER
TOWER WITH A VIEW Jennifer Lopez used a private
side entrance when she checked into the new SLS
Hotel South Beach, which has quickly turned into the
place to go on Collins Avenue. The paparazzi practically
fell over one another trying to get shots of JLo lounging poolside at Hyde Beach, located on property just
beyond the hotel’s guests-only pool, and frolicking in
the pool with her twins Max and Emme and boyfriend
Casper Smart. But what the pesky photographers
AERIAL VIEW / HOTEL CASTELLO DI CASOLE
couldn’t do was snap JLo in the Tower Penthouse,
where she spent four nights. From her perch on the
TUSCAN ROMANCE
hotel’s top floor, she was able to enjoy broad views of
Inimitably authentic, yet deeply luxurious, Hotel Castello di Casole opened July 1 just 20
Miami Beach and the interior design skills of singer/
minutes west of Siena, enveloping guests in the ultimate Tuscan experience. The meticulously
songwriter Lenny Kravitz. The multifaceted Kravitz
restored tenth-century Italian castle reigns over 4,200 acres of bucolic countryside; touting
created the look for both of SLS’s penthouses (Philippe
vineyards, olive groves, cypress trees and an award-winning game reserve, it begs to be ex-
Starck designed the rest of the hotel). Warm, worldly
plored. Once the party home of legendary Italian film director Luchino Visconti, the property
and eclectic, the Tower Penthouse pays homage to
is no stranger to playing host, graciously welcoming visitors with 41 thoughtfully appointed
the Art Deco architecture of yesteryear while the Villa
suites, the latest in-room technology and a bevy of activities, from horseback riding and
Penthouse exudes a modern flair.
truffle hunting to art and yoga classes. Stay in the 3,350-square-foot Bargagli Penthouse,
where country antiques soften classic Italian formality for a rustic-chic farmhouse vibe
PUTTING ON THE RITZ Emmy award-winning actress
(from about $4,725 a night—or snag one of three remaining time-share memberships for
Christine Baranski “loves, loves, loves” to travel. She’s
just under $1 million). Views from this two-story, three-bedroom haven are enchanting, and
partial to Europe, the Caribbean and, she added, “I
evenings on its terrace magical. You’ll find pizza perfected at
love the natural world so I love Africa.” On hiatus from
Pazzia and godly Italian fare—simple but masterful pasta,
fish and meat plates—at Ristorante Tosca. Essere Spa (due
BARGAGLI PENTHOUSE /
HOTEL CASTELLO DI CASOLE
shooting CBS legal drama The Good Wife, she jetted to
Vienna, Prague, Turks & Caicos and Vieques. She de-
to open in early 2013) occupies the erstwhile wine cellar,
scribes Vieques as being “kind of like Cuba. It’s not a
where regional rosemary and olive oil enhance treatments.
tourist place. It’s very interesting.” She opted to stay in
Contact: General Manager Bart Spoorenberg,
a private home on Vieques but usually prefers boutique
39-0577-967560; [email protected];
hotels like the Hôtel Duc de Saint-Simone in the chic
www.castellodicasole.com
St. Germain district. “It’s the best little boutique hotel
in Paris on the Left Bank. I don’t like generic luxury
hotels. But I wouldn’t mind staying at a grand hotel in
SOUTH FLORIDA STUNNER
a great city like the Ritz in Paris or the Hotel Imperial
The low-key luxury location of Sunny Isles Beach is fast becoming an in-the-know
in Vienna just to have the experience for a few nights.”
alternative to the area’s more frenetic resort towns. While the Trump International Beach
The legendary Ritz Paris, which opened in 1898 and
Resort firmly established the town’s luxury chops in 2003, the nearby Mediterranean-inspired
was once home to Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway,
Acqualina Resort & Spa recently upped the ante with a second Deluxe Three Bedroom
closed on August 1 for a major two-year overhaul. “I
Oceanfront Suite. Offering up a private terrace with stunning views from the resort’s 35th
hope they don’t make it too modern,” Baranski said of
floor, this 2,375-square-foot accommodation ($3,250 a night) features
the renovation. “People wanted to go to the Ritz to try
an oversize living room with cutting-edge entertainment electronics,
and relive the old experience. I hope they don’t turn it
a reading area with custom-built sofas and a wine bar station.
into another generic, modern hotel.”
DELUXE THREE BEDROOM
OCEANFRONT SUITE /
ACQUALINA RESORT & SPA
Expect a pro-quality gourmet kitchen and an opulent marble master
50
bath with a whirlpool tub and glass-enclosed shower. It might take
NO REPEATS Actress Kerry Washington, who stars in
the excellent spa (by ESPA) and the resort’s superb Il Mulino
the ABC hit show Scandal , isn’t big on repeating her
outpost to draw you out to play, if the nearby Bal Harbour shopping
vacation spots. “I feel like the world is too big of a place
mecca or Miami Beach nightlife fail to do the same.
to keep going back to the same place again and again,”
Contact: General Manager Sase Gjorsovski, (305) 918-8000;
she says. Where she goes depends on her mood.
[email protected]; www.acqualinaresort.com
What’s her dream trip? “The Galapagos Islands.”