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Aman New York to Open in 2020

Fans of the ultra-sybaritic Aman brand will be happy to know about its latest undertaking, the refurbishment of the iconic Crown Building overlooking Central Park in Manhattan. Set to debut in 2020, the property will feature 83 guest rooms and 20 residences in the circa-1921 Beaux-Arts building, once the original home of the Museum of Modern Art. This will be Aman’s third hotel in the US and only the second in a major city, after Tokyo. Located on 5th Avenue and 57th Street, Aman New York will feature an Aman Spa that will span 22,000 square feet on the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors and include an 80-foot indoor swimming pool surrounded by daybeds. The wraparound Garden Terrace, located on the 10th floor, will offer guests a panoramic view of Central Park, a restaurant, and a cigar bar. The hotel also plans to open a piano bar in the Sky Lobby, Wine Library for tastings and events, and a subterranean Jazz Club. 

 

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Micato Elite Running Safari in Kenya

Named the World’s Best Safari Outfitter by readers of Travel & Leisure, Micato always seems to come up with something original each year. In 2012, the Kenyan-based owners are teaming with some of the country’s best-known athletes to create an elite running vacation. Your host is Kip Keino, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, who will introduce you to his Olympic training center and hometown of Kapsabet. Expect to run with some of the finest runners in the country today, including the former world record holder for the New York Marathon, Paul Tergat. This being Micato, you can be assured that you’ll be resting your weary body at some of the finest resorts in Africa, no doubt surrounded by the wildlife of the Great Rift Valley. 

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Bike the Big Island with Backroads

Home to two of the most active volcanoes in the world, one would expect Hawaii’s southernmost island to be an angry land of deadened rock and rivers of red. But this ever-expanding island has a myriad of moods—the gentle rolling hills of Waimea; the inviting sand of the Kohala Coast; the almost impenetrable jungle-like interior of the Hamakua Coast; the enormity of two mountains that are nearly 14,000 feet; even a rain forest on the backside of a volcano. Indeed, Hawaii is more like a miniature continent than an island in the Pacific.
 
Cars whisk around the island, not experiencing that shift of terrain until they’re smack dab in the middle of it. Bikers have the privilege of slowing down to watch the sea wash against a narrow fringe of palms or to stop and smell the pink-and-purple bougainvillea (sorry, no roses here). After a week of circumnavigating this 225-mile island on two wheels like I was fortunate to do one November week, biking over squished guavas and mangoes and through fields of macadamia nuts, you not only feel incredible about your accomplishment, but you bring home a firmer body and a sense that the island has seeped into every sweaty pore.
 
Backroads features an inn-to-inn bicycling tour of the Big Island that costs $2898 and includes all meals and lodging. You average some 50 miles a day, overcoming such obstacles as sweltering heat, long up-and-down climbs, strong headwinds, congestion on the main road, even biking in rainfall, so best be in good shape. For something less strenuous, consider the outfitter’s six-day family multisport trip around the island. Along with easy walks in Volcano National Park and kayaking in secluded coves, the biking is downhill only. Cost of that trip is $2998 for adults, 10% less for kids ages 11-17. 
 
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What’s New In the World of Travel in 2016

We receive, on average, 500-plus press releases a day telling us about all the new hotel openings, adventures, tours, cruise ships, art exhibitions, and much, much more in the world of travel. That’s in addition to all the travel publications that arrive via snail mail. Believe it or not, we actually skim every one of those emails and magazines to see if anything excites us. If it meets our discerning eye, we pass it on to you. Every January, we highlight what’s new in the world of the travel in our newsletter. Obviously, this is the tip of the iceberg. Simply tell us where you’re headed and we’ll give you the scoop on what’s new. One slight addendum. We received word that the Ritz Paris had a fire in the building this week. This will no doubt push the reopening back once again. 

 
I’m off to Ithaca, New York, back on Monday. Have a great weekend and keep active!
 
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New in New York

I had lunch with Alyssa Schmid and Rachel Peace from NYC and Company last Thursday, and, not surprisingly, there’s a lot happening in New York City this summer. WorldPride will make its debut in the City June 26-30 to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Numerous cultural organizations have arranged exhibitions highlighting the Year of Pride, like the Mapplethorpe show now at the Guggenheim. I’ve already discussed the debut of The Vessel and The Shed at Hudson Yards on this page. The first-ever Equinox Hotel (to open in July) and the tallest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere, the Edge (2020), will soon be joining them. MoMA will close in late June and reopen October 21st after its latest expansion. The TWA Hotel, residing in the former TWA Hotel Center from the 1960s, debuts on May 15th, bringing glamour back to JFK Airport. Ian Schrager’s Times Square EDITION just opened above Times Square to rave reviews. Aman and Six Senses properties will soon be unveiled. They’ll need all these hotel rooms for the record number of visitors arriving each year, a whopping 65 million visitors in 2018. 

 
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Free National Park App

This one comes from my wife, Lisa Leavitt, from her Tuesday Travel Tidbits column. If you’re not receiving the Tuesday Travel Tidbits or our monthly newsletters, send us your email and we’ll put you on the list. Until May 12, Chimani, a Yarmouth, Maine based company, will be offering free apps for Apple and Android users, who want guidance in the National Parks. Usually $4.99 to $9.99, the apps provide trail maps, ranger-led events, biking guides, and even the ever-important directions to find the restrooms in the parks! We have been very busy booking many of our clients on trips to the National Parks this summer, so this will come in handy. Some of the parks that Chimani covers are: Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion National Parks. 

 
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JetBlue’s Premium Service, Mint, to Debut in Boston

JetBlue’s version of Business Class, Mint, already popular in New York, will make its debut at Logan Airport at the end of this month. Starting on March 24th, the airline will introduce Mint service to San Francisco and two days later will offer Mint flights to Barbados. In October, Jet Blue will be adding Mint service to LA flights. Mint offers 16 lie-flat seats in the front of the cabin, four of which are suites with the option to close your door for more privacy. Lie-flat seats include a massage feature and a button that can adjust cushion firmness. You can access more than 100 channels through DirecTV and SiriusXM, and the plane’s FlyFi broadband connection promises a fast Internet. Meals were created by the New York City restaurant Saxon + Parole and include dishes like herb-roasted monkfish, poached lobster with corn custard, and bison meatloaf. A signature Mint cocktail is made with Grey Goose, and the wine selection includes roses and California varietals. Each Mint passenger will also receive a complimentary Birchbox, an amenity kit filled with moisturizer, soap, and other goodies. Seats on the San Fran flight start at $599 one-way. Logan passengers should also be on the lookout for new JetBlue flights to Nashville and Salt Lake City starting in May. 
 

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