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One step off Newbury Street into the reception area of the The Newbury Boston and you’ll notice the stairwell that always took up a good portion of the lobby is no longer there. It’s been replaced by a gem of a small library with books stocked by nearby Trident Booksellers and the Boston Public Library and art selected by Boston public relations executive Lynne Kortenhaus who doubles as a talented curator, as evidenced by the works displayed throughout the property. A six-pack of Yousuf Karsh photographs peer down at you from the left, including portraits of people who had significant impact on the city like architect I.M. Pei, who designed the JFK Library. You’ll also spot Tennessee Williams, who legend has it spent a good deal of time in his room penning a play called “A Streetcar Named Desire” back when the hotel was The Ritz Carlton.
To read my latest story for Everett Potter’s Travel Report on the new Newbury Hotel, please press here.
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One of the first assignments I received after moving to Boston in 1996 was to pen a story for Town & Country magazine on Boston’s grand dame of hospitality, the venerable Ritz-Carlton. Located at the end of Newbury Street, across from the Public Garden, the Ritz occupied one of the most enviable locations in the city and played host to such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, and Rin Tin Tin since its opening in 1927. When it changed ownership to the Taj Boston, I was called back to the property to write a story for Boston Globe Magazine about the new General Manager. Tragically, he had lost his entire family when Pakistani militants stormed the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, where he had worked previously. He now has a beautiful new family and resides in New York.
In other good news, the latest iteration of the Ritz, called The Newbury, will be making its debut next month. Part of the Highgate Hotel Group, which includes both James properties in Manhattan, The Newbury has aligned themselves with master chef Mario Carbone. Carbone runs the Major Food Group, the hospitality company behind such restaurants as Carbone, The Grill and Sadelle’s in New York, Hong Kong and Las Vegas. For the Newbury, he has plans for a fine dining restaurant on the roof and a bar off the lounge called The Street, that will be the perfect place to congregate after shopping Newbury Street or grabbing a Swan Boat ride across the street. With tulips in bloom, the early spring has always been one of my favorite times of year to visit the Public Garden. Now with the opening of The Newbury, I have even more incentive to head downtown.
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