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Manchester’s Majesty – Lowry Hotel 50 Dearmans Place Manchester M3 5LH, England, Tel: +44 161 827 4000
Manchester, the emerging metropolis of northern England, is quickly becoming the destination of choice for Londoners seeking an escape as well as other savvy travelers from around the world. Today Manchester is celebrating a revival in development with modern buildings, luxury lofts, and designer boutiques springing up next to the dilapidated warehouses and factories that are reminiscent of Manchester’s industrial heritage. This juxtaposition of old and new is nowhere more apparent than at the Lowry Hotel along the River Irwell in the heart of the Chapel Wharf district.
As you cross the Trinity footbridge to reach the hotel, the striking glass façade stands out as the architectural focal point of the hotel. Inside, a gallery-like feel permeates the lobby of the hotel creating a sense of spaciousness; however, bright vermillion walls, vibrant furniture and contemporary artwork inject life into the otherwise minimal large white space.
On the mezzanine level soft, earthy colors create an inviting environment for a late-night drink at the River Bar where you can sip on special concoctions or traditional spirits. The neighboring River Restaurant is the ideal location for an early morning brunch on the terrace as you sip champagne and watch the rowers glide by along the river.
Rooms at the Lowry are all about comfort and relaxation. Taking advantage of the floor-to-ceiling windows, the large rooms and suites are bathed in natural light and enable views over the river. A neutral yet contemporary palette is characteristically reflected in taupe upholstery, grey bedding, and dark ash furniture. Deep red leather chaise loungers and bright orange suede throw pillows add a bold splashes of color.
If the hotel’s plush two-square meter beds draped with high count Egyptian cotton are not enough to lull you to sleep, the hotel’s Sleep Doctor is available to assist. Stocked with an array of sleep promoting amenities such as eye masks, mood enhancing CD’s, soothing spa treatments for in-room relaxation along with a special light food menu, even travelers from halfway across the globe will adjust to UK time overnight.
Or call upon the Bath Butler to help put you both in that calm state of mind. He will draw you a luxurious bath using exclusive Molton Brown products as well as adorn the bath with the extra touches -- candles, champagne served with chocolate covered strawberries or even rock oysters to arouse your senses. If even that isn’t enough, all you have to do head down to the Lowry Health Spa where world class Asian and Parisian inspired treatments await the weary traveler.
-Shayan Rayani
RANCHO VALENCIA Paradise Found 5921 Valencia Circle, Rancho Santa Fe, Ca (800) 548-3664 www.ranchovalencia.com
The accolades showered on this resort are impossible to summarize. Amongst them are the prestigious Relais & Chateaux accreditation and several top recognitions including ‘Number Two of the Top 75 North American Resorts’ by Conde Nast Traveler and ‘One of the Top Ten Tennis Resorts in the US’ by Tennis Magazine. This year-round haven sprawled out on 40 acres of lush gardens and rolling hills, just 25 miles north of downtown San Diego, offers 49 luxurious suites, a stellar restaurant, spa services and a renowned tennis program amongst its amenities.
Fashioned on early California haciendas, the artfully decorated suites feature cathedral ceilings, hand painted tiles, plantation shuttered windows overlooking private patios replete with occasional hummingbirds and fragrant flowers, and a fireplace for the romantic interlude. For the more discriminating patron, the resort offers the Grove Suites with private Jacuzzis on the patios, steam showers in the generously accommodating bathrooms and another 400 square feet to drag the plush robe around from room to room. And just when you thought the height of luxury had been reached, they present The Hacienda – the ultimate in accommodation; a 5,000 square-foot adobe home of 3 bedrooms and a private swimming pool and spa. No wonder the likes of Bill Gates, Rene Russo, Michael Jordan and Regis Philbin can’t stay away.
Since its opening in 1989, Rancho Valencia has attracted a loyal, devoted patronage and it comes as no surprise that some want to call the place home literally. The Villas at Rancho Valencia is a new private residence club offering all the benefits of second homeownership coupled with all the luxurious resort amenities it has been celebrated for. Each owner receives a fee simple undivided 1/8th deeded interest in a Club Villa and an ownership can be mortgaged, resold or willed to family members just like any other vacation home.
No getaway at Rancho Valencia is complete without experiencing their romantic restaurant sitting just off a mission-style courtyard. It offers Mediterranean-French cuisine and impeccable wine pairings in either the elegant dinning room or al fresco setting. Chef Colin MacLaggan is a San Diego native who studied and graduated from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London and apprenticed at Le Pont de la Tour and Cantina del Pont. Using the bounty of fresh, locally grown ingredients, MacLaggan now delivers world-class cuisine for the palates of illustrious patrons like President Clinton and lucky readers like you.
-- GD
Ledger Ascends Brokeback Mountain
As of the writing of this article, L.A.’s exclusive engagement of the groundbreaking love story by Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Sense & Sensibility), is sold-out. It’s fair to say that what’s still being called the ‘gay cowboy movie’ has become, since its award-winning turn at festivals, the one movie that not only loyal gays, straight women and critics are tossing their hats off for, but also the reluctant straight man lassoed in by his date. We catch up with heartthrob Heath Ledger to discover the artistic and emotional leaps required to play a role that just might land Oscar in his laps.
Ledger, born and raised in Perth, Australia enrolled in the local theater company when he was just 10. While he has worked in epics like of Mel Gibson’s The Patriot and Shekhar Kapur’s The Four Feathers, for many it is his brief, riveting role in Marc Forster’s Academy Award-winning Monster’s Ball that still haunts. Annie Proulx’s powerful story about two young men who meet in the summer of 1963 and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection against the vistas of Wyoming and Texas provided Ledger with the chance to portray yet another unforgettable character.
“I trusted the story in Ang’s hands,” says Ledger. “I loved the script because it was mature and strong, and such a pure and beautiful love story. I hadn’t done a proper love story (prior), and I find there’s not a lot of mystery left in stories between guys and girls; it’s all been done or seen before…Brokeback Mountain is a story for this generation.”
Veteran director Ang Lee feels equally fortunate to have worked with Ledger. “He’s a natural. He has great coordination, he’s very dedicated, and he does his preparation. He meticulously aims towards a certain target and firmly believes in what he’s doing…He and I talked about how Ennis doesn’t speak much. Deep inside, he has a big fear from a childhood traumatic experience, and from his awakening to his own sexuality, which is not allowed to be expressed in the West. Ennis has to cover that up with his attitude and, sometimes, violence…Heath not only had to carry his own character and the whole character of the West, but carry the movie – and he underplayed powerfully.”
“I think Ennis punishes himself over and uncontrollable need – love,” Ledger says. “Fear was installed in him at an early age, and so the way he loved disgusted him. He’s a walking contradiction.”
In an industry where ‘gay’ typecasting can mean the kiss-of-death, one in which many actors who have played such parts have fallen short of their craft by refusing to portray on-screen intimacy out of sheer cowardice (think Six Degrees of Separation), Ledger has thrown caution to the wind. “I had fear going into it, but that was all the more reason to do it; it was exhilarating when I committed to the movie,” says Ledger. In Hollywood, the script was known as one of the great unproduced screenplays and screenwriter Diana Ossana admits, “I never really lost faith, but I didn’t think it would take seven years.”
Brokeback Mountain (Focus Features) Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams.
Photos: Kimberly French
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