Articles
The Best Hotel Restaurants for Business Travelers
by Judy Colbert
You're stuck out of town and can't leave the hotel. Check out these places for what's new in hotel restaurants.
Atlanta:
Executive chef Hans Sebelin adds a foreign flavor to dining at the upscale Fandangles restaurant at the new Sheraton Hotel. The varied menu features appetizer-sized tastes of cuisines from three continents, from tapas to dim sum.
Bali, Indonesia:
At the Padi restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, guests see how such traditional dishes as Babi Guling (suckling pig) are prepared in an interactive culinary program. Yes, you eat what you helped to prepare.
Coral Gables, Florida:
La Palme d'Or French restaurant in the Biltmore invites a different Michelin-rated French chef every month for a week's worth of regional French cooking and an interactive luncheon.
Dallas:
Menus change quarterly at the Omni Mandalay, and feature a different cuisine each quarter — Brazilian for three months, followed by Pacific Rim; who knows what's next?
Los Cabos, Mexico:
For a Mexican twist on "wine tasting," Rosewood's Las Ventanas al Paraiso offers tequila lessons ($25) at its Tequila and Ceviche Bar. They have the widest selection of tequilas in Los Cabos, approximately 50 different varieties, all 100% Agave Tequilas (certified by the Mexican government to exacting standards).
New York:
The New Yorker Hotel's stainless-steel-clad Tick-Tock diner offers customers the full range of American classics — from burgers and fries to a bacon and egg breakfast — at any time, 24/7.
Ojai Valley, California:
You and up to five of your associates can imagine you're in the Pacific at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, where there are nine Balinese-style tea houses. Measuring 10 feet-by-10 feet, each house has seating around a raised table. The open sides and roof are draped in a filmy gauze fabric providing protection from insects, soft shade and a definite feeling of romance.
Seattle:
At the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, up to six diners can watch executive chef Gavin Stephenson prepare a special menu of their favorites (guests are called for preferences). The chef discusses the menu and wines he's paired with each course. The experience, considered an art form, costs $125 per person. Free valet service is included.