CITY GUIDES

The Peninsula Chicago is perfect if you are looking for that cozy home away from home feel yet also to have a luxurious five star experience to. The Peninsula is conveniently located right next to saks fifth avenue and Neiman Marcus so once you are done lounging you can take yourself shopping.

Not only is this hotel incredible from the outside, spiraling an amazing 92 stories above the loop and North Michigan Avenue, it is just as incredible from the inside. The guest suites are elegantly comfortable and beautiful offering spectacular lake and city views from the floor to ceiling windows. Known for impeccable service and luxurious amenities, it is apparent why this hotel is one of the top ten in the world.

This new resort is one of the first Las Vegas hotels and the largest building in the world to achieve LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The exterior of Aria at CityCenter features elegantly sweeping ripples of steel and glass and lavish natural elements indoors including lush foliage, wood and stone. Inside are 4,004 rooms including 568 suites.

At the southernmost edge of The Strip sits the Four Seasons Hotel, adjacent to Mandalay Bay with its rooms taking up the top floors of the southern tower. Zagat and Travel + Leisure magazine consistently find the hotels to be among the best. You can expect impeccable service and appointments at this luxurious spot. Be sure to check out Verandah, the restaurant with one of the best breakfasts and brunches in the city, and Charlie Palmer Steakhouse.

One of the newest hotels in Vegas brings the modern elegance you expect from a Mandarin Oriental property. The resorts sits at the midway point of The Strip standing at 47 stories with 392 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites and 227 residences. You know you’re stepping out in elegant style when one of the Mercedes Benz S series picks you up at McCarran International Airport. The elevator is one of few with a velvet enrobed bench.

John Jacob Astor IV’s Beaux Arts jewel has been an anchor of refinement on 5th Avenue since 1904. The 229 rooms here all serve guests looking to sleep near corporate headquarters, Central Park, Rockefeller Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Make sure to stop by the King Cole Bar and order a Blood Mary—the cocktail was invented here in 1934.

Luxury travelers with more contemporary taste can’t go wrong with the Mandarin Oriental, which since 2003 has towered over Columbus Circle and offered unbeatable panoramic views of Central Park and the city beyond it. The spa is arguably the best in the city, and the Mandarin’s 248 guest rooms and suites sit atop a sterlin collection of New York’s top restaurants—Per Se, Masa, A Voce—in the Time Warner Center.

I.M. Pei designed this 52-story, five-star monument to luxury and limitless hospitality. The Four Seasons is right in the thick of the midtown hustle and bustle yet seems miles removed from it as it soars above 57th Street and offers views of Central Park and the midtown skyline. The panoramas are especially impressive from the 4,300-square-foot Ty Warner Penthouse Suite, which at $42,000 a night is the third most expensive hotel suite in the world.