Encore Boston Harbor Makes an Impressive Debut
I’m not a fan of casinos and especially Steve Wynn, so I begrudgingly went to the press preview in Everett on Friday, expecting the property to be a Vegas-sized behemoth plopped down on the industrial shores of the Mystic River. And yes, from the exterior, the Encore Boston Harbor hotel looks like it belongs on the Vegas strip. Then you enter this $2.6 billion resort and you’re immediately transported to Monte Carlo and a world of opulence. The design is over-the-top and I loved it, from the red Murano glass used to create their signature chandeliers to the white marble in the 671 rooms and suites, to Jeff Koons’ stainless steel sculpture, Popeye (which Wynn paid the handsome figure of $28 million at Sotheby’s to purchase in 2014), to a carousel of horses and unicorns created from 83,000 flowers. The rooms and suites are incredibly spacious, and all offer fantastic vistas of the Zakim Bridge and Boston skyline. You can also reach the resort via their snazzy 35 passenger customized boats designed by Boston BoatWorks, from either the Seaport or Long Wharf, much better than dealing with car traffic.
In 1990, I left my job as an insurance broker in Manhattan, booked an open-ended ticket to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia, and wrote my first travel story, “Dining with the Descendants of Cannibals on a Fijian Island” for the Miami Herald. It would prove to be start of a career where I would write more than 1500 stories (over 300 articles for the Boston Globe alone) and visit over 90 countries. Then the recession hit. I lost more than half my editors in 2008-2009 as magazines folded and newspapers either eliminated or greatly reduced their travel sections. Wanting to utilize my travel expertise, I convinced Lisa to join me in a business venture and become an accredited travel agent. 
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Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches