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 Continental's Angle

          Gets Its Wings

The flat-bed seat, looking something like a futuristic La-Z Boy, reclines 180 degrees.  It is 6’ 6” and 27” wide on the Boeing 777; and 6’ 4’ x 25‘ on the Boeing 757-200.  On-demand movies and games viewed on a 15.4-inch video monitor are available. Laptop sockets, headset and USB plugs are just above the passenger’s shoulder. iPod connectivity lets you immerse yourself in your personal videos or audios.

 Single Parents and Kids Vacation Idea

St. Simons Island, Georgia No, It’s not a couples getaway or a girlfriends getaway. It’s a “Single Parents Family Getaway,” and it’s taking place at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort. The idea is to create a package (and a destination) for single parents who want to take summer trips with their kids The package includes  a “Sand Pail” of  filled with information about such things to see and do as St. Simons Ghost Walk, Sea Turtle Center, Golden Isles Speedway, Helicopter Ride above the Golden Isles, St. Simons Historic Trolley Ride and Eco Tour and Kayaking; free breakfast buffet for each parent; and Family Snack delivered to your room. The “Single Parents Family Getaway,” is available for the following dates: 9-11 July, 20-22 August and 27-29.August. King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort also is offering its “Beach, Bed & Breakfast Package.” In addition to the room, starting at $215 per night, the package includes ·a  Full “Southern Breakfast Buffet” for Two each morning. the package is in effect through 14 August.

For more information, call 800.342.0212  or click here.

New Andaz Hotel on Wall Street

 New York On 2 February 2010, Hyatt opened its third Andaz brand hotel. An Aquarius, then – cool, friendly, modern, liberating, and thrillingly odd. It is sited at Wall and Water Streets in the heart of New York City's Financial district. (The other two are in London and West Hollywood.) The Andaz Wall Street is a short sprint away from South Street Seaport and a shake of a lamb’s tail from Trinity Church. In a few more blocks you’re at St. Paul's Chapel and that holiest of tourist holies, Century 21 department store. Andaz Wall Street is in the heart of a NYC beehive; and when you step inside, you’re at rest. At ease, soldier.

Traveler had to investigate.

When concocting this new brand, Hyatt may have also launched a new hotel category — defined  not so much by price point (although  it gives plenty of bang for the buck), as by the indie spirit. Pampering but not luxe; cost-saving but not shabby.  It’s kind of just right. Goldilocks would love it.

New York State of Mind

Each Andaz hotel is designed to be awash in local vibe. This new location, designed by David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, conveys New York City’s 24/7 activity and yet offers comfort and ease to its guests. All  the bustle  and none of the hustle.

A smiling “host," carrying an ultra small laptop greets you. Don't worry. The host won't ask you to sign a petition. Instead he or she will take you to comfortable chairs in the airy, cheery Lounge (a/k/a/ lobby) and offer you wine, soda, juice or coffee, and then gently check you in. Hosts also carry your bags, give information and act as concierges.

The Lounge  has an intimate feel. guests can gather here for a welcome (and complementary) croissant, coffee, little snacks, juice and wine (depending on time of day). Wait a minute! Something is missing. The stylings are contemporary. Art is all over the place: but... but where’s the 'tude?  Allow yourself the faintest of smiles. The guest — that's you — is the one who’s cool here.

Hip and modern the  Andaz Wall Street hotel may be, but its corridors manage to have pinstripe grey walls without being gloomy. In fact, they are futuristic. Lighted room numbers are beamed onto the doors. Welcome to room 1012.

 The Rooms

While the hotel leans toward the minimalist, it never takes you into frost territory. With white walls and black tiles, plenty of whites. blacks and greys meet the eye. They are tempered by textures or patterns or both.

The space ordinarily would be a suite divided into separate rooms. Instead it suggests New York style loft-living. Discreet areas have clearly defined functions. Pale ash furniture both pleases the eye and is utilitarian. A long blonde table, bridging  office and sleeping areas, serves several roles. A 42” flat screen TV rests on the section facing the bed. Beneath the TV are the fridge and safe. (By the way, minibar snacks and nonalcoholic drinks are free as are wireless internet access and local phone calls.) The other side of the table serves as desk and vanity table. The telephone and so-easy-to-access electrical outlet on the work surface make it fun to play office. Under the adjoining table section is a bench facing a mirror. Actually the vanity mirror is mounted on (are you ready for this?) the back of the TV screen.

The –ahem- facilities are separated from the rest of the room by a glass door. Like Gaul, the WC is divided into three parts. In the center is the sink and all that serve it. Turn left and go through the glass door for the shower and its rainfall showerhead.  There’s another glass door to the sink’s right and that leads to the commode. What solitary bliss! It is as black and tall and shiny in there as a monolith from 2001; A Space Odyssey. Toilet amenities are lovely Bigelow lavender/peppermint goos and gels. There’s no shower cap, but they cheerfully beam you one up,  with toothpaste and extra pillows on request. (Traveler not only has an airport hotel fetish but a pillow fetish.) The Andaz pillows are made by San Francisco-based Down Etc. Enough of sleep. Traveler must work.

 The Restaurant

Opposite a Bolton’s, Duane Reade drug store and a Verizon shop is a hidden haven, the hotel’s restaurant, Wall & Water. It offers seasonal dishes, crafted from regionally sourced ingredients. Traveler chowed down in the final days of the restaurant’s winter menu. Again the word  intimate arises. With its roomy, open, stainless steel kitchen, the dining area is divided into three sections: the 12-seat chef’s table by the kitchen, the main dining room, and a lovely, private dining  room.  The main dining room has olive-toned banquettes. Live wood tables are made of Guanacaste. Tilted mirrors way up high reflect the street views revealed by large windows - Oh, look! There goes another taxi! -.and give a subtle sense of constant activity.

Traveler did not have to search for vegetarian dishes. They had a menu category all their own, with a selction of three (two more than you often find in other places).

Try to resist an excellent crusty farmhouse bread, served with well salted butter? Not possible. Then, starters – an endive salad  (endive, candied brazil nuts, blue cheese), pumpkin  soup (poured from a pitcher into tea cups, containing a soft dot of goat cheese, fresh ginger strips and baby carrot strips), and mushroom salad with oysters, criminis and chanterelles. Entrees were vegetarian pie (with carrots, onions, and chickpeas in a lovely flaky crust) and  a. winter greens plate (with ricotta cheese baked until it looks like a flat matzo and tender Swiss chard, sprinkled with raisins).  Dessert was berry crumble with crème anglaise and prune with Armagnac ice cream. Both the vegetable pie and the crumble were served in black iron ramekins

For the winter menu, the chef chose a lot of humbler vegetables and did  them nicely. Although not a fan of root vegetables, Traveler appreciated the preparation. Gabi, our server was top class; her menu suggestions were pitch-perfect.

Breakfast also is served at Wall & Water.  Eggs can be Florentine with Hollandaise or Béchamel sauce. Traveler opted for both. Traveler loved the spherical poached eggs —so very outer space — and the accompanying cippolini onions and grilled cherry tomatoes. Do not miss the generous side of woodsy mushrooms, so delicious they might as well have been psychedelic. The personable Kevin McQueen, breakfast server, would do a billionaire power breakfast proud, and does.  Masters of the Universe expect nothing less.

Naughty or Nice

Las Vegas Who makes your travel arrangements? Your id or your superego? Either way the Signature at MGM Grand has a package for you. You can do it Nice or you can do it Naughty. (God, where is Tina Turner when we need her)

The Naughty package gives you  minimum two-night stay in a junior suite;  40% discount at MGM Grand’s Crazy Horse Paris;  admission for two to Studio 54 or Tabú Ultra Lounge; vodka shot station in-suite welcome amenity; $75 beverage credit (to be used at Signature or MGM Grand Pools, WET REPUBLIC, Studio 54 or Tabú Ultra Lounge); and turndown service with surprise romance gift.

Those who want it Nice also get minimum two-night stay in a junior suite. Additional perks include 40% discount at Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ; Breakfast in bed; $25 spa credit; Champagne and strawberries in-suite welcome amenity; and  turndown service with surprise romance gift. 

Room rates for each package begin at $129 per night. And you can start booking now for book now for occupancy between 1 November and 28 December. To book, call (877) 727-000,  and use the code  “PKG021” for Naughty or PKG022 for Nice.

New York If you’re hankering for something a  bit more exotic than, say, international travel and you’re in New York, you might want to stop by the American Museum of Natural History. Its Rose Center for Earth and Space (a/k/a/ the Hayden Planetarium) is now showing one of its inimitable space shows, Journey to the Stars. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and using incredible images from space plus some beautiful simulations, the show depicts the life  cycle of stars. You’ll see supernovas, the birth of Earth’s sun, galaxies, clusters and other assorted space wonders. It’s  not the most informative show ever seen in the museum; but it’s still an extravaganza and it’s still space. For more information, click here.

Gettysburg, What was life like for civilians during the Battle of Gettysburg?

Since 1996, the answer has been provided by the Shriver House Museum, a restored building whose Civil War era occupants were stuck in the middle of the great conflict.