In a few days I will be heading out West, WAYYYYY out West to Los Angeles and the booked  hotel  has me giddy with excitement! I had to pull some virtual strings to acquire said accommodation at The Standard Downtown LA (full report to follow post-trip) to the slight horror of my Travel-Work Buddy, but ohhhh it will be worth it. The poolside view alone is worth some slight shame of ditching the “Congress Hotel”  and those who have a somewhat lower appreciation for all things modern and trendy.

But seeing as how this blog is currently in a  retrospective mode, I thought I would look in the opposite direction, East to Asia, a (dynamic and expansive) place that I find fabulous and a half (FAAH) every time I visit.

My first foray to the East was over 6 years ago for a meeting in Singapore. At the time SARS was in full force and travel to the area was far from encouraged. As recently graduated students we rode the SARS wave to land in far classier accommodation than we had hoped for, although on a recent trip back I realised that the awe of the Furama City Centre circa 2003 must have in some way been an illusion of youth.

Funny enough five years later found me back at the Furama, this time Riverfront with some work colleagues (one of whom is the afore-mentioned Travel-Work Buddy to LA) and the boss.  I don’t have much to elaborate on when it comes to the accommodation there…they were…fine. The most interesting aspect was the massive hotel lobby complete with singing go-go girls in white pleather and over-the-knee patent boots who toyed with the fragile (and hungry) emotions of KLM pilots on stopovers.

Where NOT to miss in Singapore, however, are the Swisshotel, and more namely the New Asia Bar that sits atop this Swisstastic Singaporean venue. I NEVER NOT (that is to say ALWAYS) make a trip to the NAB if anything to stare out the floor to ceiling windows at the best view in the city. I love Singapore and I love this bar and have been there with some of my favourite people, making it even more fabulous. And a half. Drinks and food are top notch too! Of course this is one of countless luxury spots in the S’pore (the courtyard bar at the Fullerton should not be missed either, although no view, and while there it’s sacrilegious not to visit the classically colonial Raffles for an original Singapore Sling) and I challenge the masses to try them all – and report back!

I really can’t rave about Singapore enough and can’t wait to go back, yet I am thankful to have many other Asian experience – and hotels! – to report on. Nest post – Bali and Tokyo, and stay tuned for China, where everything  from a post-communist prison to the Grandest of Hyatt’s were up for sampling.

All very FAAH indeed.

The second (and final) selection of matchboxes.  Mostly of hotels, and roughly grouped into continents.  Some of the matches missed out in the first post (EAT) were added here and there… 

The Bellagio (Las Vegas-USA), Sacred Sea Room (Las Vegas-USA), Aladdin (Las Vegas-USA), Luxor (Las Vegas-USA), MGM Grand (Las Vegas-USA), Stratosphere Tower (Las Vegas-USA), Best Western (New York-USA), The Doral (Miami-USA), Pacific Time (Miami-USA) & again Luxor (Las Vegas-USA).

The Leela (Mumbai-India), Sheraton (Karachi-Pakistan), Taj Mahal Hotel (Mumbai-India), Hilton (Colombo-Sri Lanka), Sheraton (Dhaka-Bangladesh) & Shangri La (Beijing-China).

Scandic Hotel (Odense-Denmark), Castle Hotel (Windsor-UK), Swisshotel (don’t know – but not Switzerland. I haven’t been there), Foxhills (Woking-UK), Hostellerie Des Clos (Chblis-France), Sheraton (Stockholm-Sweden), Hilton (Budapest-Hungary), Radisson Edwardian (London-UK), The Berkshire (London-UK), The Landmark (London-UK), Sofitel (Paris-France), The Fitzwilliam (Dublin-Ireland), The Kempinski (Amsterdam-Holland), Grand Hotel (Stockholm-Sweden), Icelandair Hotel Loftleidir (Reykjavik-Iceland), Radisson SAS (Nice-France), Imperial Hotel (Copenhagen-Denmark), Inter-Continental (London-UK), Churchill Inter-Continental (London), Thistle Hotel (London-UK), Hilton (Brussels-Belgium), First Hotel (Copenhagen-Denmark), Four Pillars (Oxford-UK), Mercure (Paris-France) & Jolly Hotel (I remember laughing at the name but I don’t know where I stayed in one).

East Burnham Conference Centre (Farnham-UK).  This is where it all began!  My first matchbox from my job interview in August 1996!

Prince (Danish brand includinfg the original), Think Daily (Houston-USA) & Scotts (London-UK).

Flamingo (Las Vegas-USA), The Stonemasons Arms (London-UK), Prince (Danish Brand), Don’t know (Taxi in Antwerp), Q8 Denmark & The Championship at Wimbledon (UK).

The strange thing is, I don’t know where these are from…

Brenan’s (Houston-USA), Biella (Salmiya-Kuwait) & Cafe Mondo (Beirut-Lebanon) 

… More random boxes.  I found the BAT boxes at a building we hired for a training programme.  I found out later they owned it.

Jumeirah Hotel (Jumeirah-UAE), The Inn on the Green (Dublin-Ireland), Rantasipi Bokabong (Pillannesberg-South Africa)

Abu Nawas (Tunis-Tunisia), Safir Heliopolitan (Beirut-Lebanon), Crowne Plaza (Jeddah-Saudi Arabia), Sheraton (Kuwait City-Kuwait), The Ritz Carlton (Manama-Bahrain), Safir International (Kuwait City-Kuwait), Majestic (Dubai-UAE), Hilton (Jeddah-Saudi Arabia), Phoenicia Intercontinental (Beirut-Lebnon), Al Manshar Rotana (Fahaheel-Kuwait) & Millennium (Dubai-UAE).

Movenpick (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia), Le Meridien (Manama-Bahrain), Le Gulf Meridien (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia, Jumeirah Hotel (Jumairah-UAE), Four Points Sheraton (Kuwaiti City-Kuwait), Sheraton (Damascus-Syria), Ramada Plaza (Doha-Qatar), Al Shourfah (Medina-Saudi Arabia), Sheraton (Cairo-Egypt), Legacy (Johannesburg-South africa), Golden Tulip (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia) & Sheraton (Muscat-Oman).

Holiday Inn (Cape Town-South Africa), Abu Nawas II (Tunis-Tunisia), Intercontinental (Doha-Qatar), Sheraton Gazeera (Cairo-Egypt), Huma (Tehran-Iran), Don’t Know, Hilton (Mecca-Saudi Arabia), Le Meridien (Phuket-Thailand), Le Bristol (Beirut-Lebanon) & Sheraton (Abu Dhabi-UAE).

 Stavolta siamo proprio fortunati: l’hotel scelto dall’amico Bulent per l’evento ad Ankara è spettacolare. E’ il nuovo Swisshotel, aperto da pochi mesi, la camera è ampia, curatissima, design moderno, molto piacevole. Ma la cosa migliore sono i 3.000mq di area Wellness, Spa e Fitness, è la più grande struttura di Ankara mi dicono orgogliosi alla reception. E quindi stamattina sveglia prestissimo e mi fiondo giu’.  Praticamente eravamo io ed un mio collega israeliano a dividerci tutta l’area …. servizio eccellente ed attrezzature nuovissime: il fitness center si affaccia sulla piscina (da 25mt). Ci sgranchiamo le gambe sui rulli e poi un tuffo in piscina. Ma il bello deve ancora venire: l’area Spa è formidabile, uno dei livelli più alti che ho finora incontrato: c’e’ un hammam che è più grande del mio appartamento di Milano … ed una zona relax dove su ogni sdraio c’e’ un cestino di fragole … eh va beh. Peccato non sia riuscito a godermela per piu’ tempo, ma intanto voi vedetevi le foto qui sotto. Assolutamente consigliato a chi passa da Ankara !