Australian Gourmet Traveller - (08)August 2020 (1)

everyyearfromSãoPaulofor

Carnival.TheCopacabanaPalace

doesn’tcarewhoyouare;she cares

howmuchfunyou are.

belmond.com

ThePlaza,NewYork

Whenthis20-storeyBeaux-Arts

landmarkopeneditsdoorsin1907,

theUpperEastSideimmediately

becameManhattan’smostsought-

afteraddress,andtheplacetobe

duringtheheadydaysoftheJazz

Age.In1964,TheBeatleswere

denieda reservationbythehotel’s

manager,AlphonseSalomone,who

feltit wouldbedisruptivetoother

guests.Salomoneonlychangedhis

mindwhenhis12-year-olddaughter

threwa tantrum.TheBeatles’New

Yorkarrivalbecamea momentin

rockhistory,andalthoughthe

thousandsofscreamingfanswere

a headache,theFabFourthemselves

behavedlikeabsolutegents.

Eventoday,it’soneofthosegrande

damehotelsthatmakesguestsfeel

likethey’vesteppedontoa movie

set the moment they enter the lobby,

bedeckedwithgildedchandeliers,

gleamingmarbleandelaboratefloral

arrangements.Thissurrealcinematic

sensationis onlyreinforcedbythe

factthatvirtuallyeveryangle

glimpsedinthehotelhas been

renderedonscreen.

CaryGrantsippeda Martiniin

theOakBarinNorthByNorthwest,

AlfredHitchcock’s 1959 hit,andyou

canexpectflashbacksofeverything

fromCrocodileDundeetoBride

WarstoTheGreatGatsby, atevery

turn.ModernManhattanis not

shortofgleaminglandmarkhotels

clamouringforthetitleof“icon”

butnoneofthemcansnatchthe

crownoffthisQueen Bee’s head.

theplazany.com

Raffles,Singapore

Therearea fewworthySoutheast

Asiancontenders,perhapsmost

notablyBangkok’sMandarinOriental

orThePeninsulain HongKong.But

nootherhotelin theregioninspires

quiteasmuchloyaltyasRaffles,one

ofAsia’soldesthotels,andonethat

has charmed the socks off guests

sinceit openeditsdoorsin 1887,

originallyasa 10-roombungalow.

NamedafterBritishstatesmanSir

ThomasStamfordRaffles,thefounder

ofcolonial-eraSingapore,it has

textbookarchitecturalflourishesto

match,andhasevolvedsteadilyover

theyearstoitspresentincarnation

asa 115-roomluxuryhotel.

QueenElizabethII, Charlie

ChaplinandMichaelJacksonare

amongthemostnotableguests,

butRaffleshasanimpressive

literaryhistory.ThewriterSomerset

Maughamwasa regularinLong

Bar(wherethenationalcocktail,

theSingaporeSling,wascreated

bybartenderNgiamTongBoonin

1915),whileJosephConradwasone

ofthehotel’sfirstguests.In1889,

RudyardKiplingwroteaboutthe

hotelinFromSeaToSea. Butit

wasMaughamwhogaveRafflesits

mostfamousepitaphandsecured

itsplaceintheimaginationsand

heartsoftravellersandlocalsalike:

“Rafflesstandsforallthe fables

oftheexoticEast.”

rafflessingapore.com●

GOURMET TRAVELLER 113

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE PLAZA NEW YORK & BELMOND COPACABANA PALACE.