While rich in its own regal history, London's hodge podge of ethnic cultures makes it one of the most colorful all-in-one European escapes. This couldn't be more true as the city approaches summer and explodes with exciting excuses to be outside. From phenominal fresh food markets, to outdoor theatre productions and flower shows, we've joined forces with JG Black Book partner, London's Eccleston Square Hotel, to round up the city's top summer attractions (aside from Princess Kate's baby bump, that is!): 

Ottolenghi.

Continue reading "Top 10 Sights & Sounds of Summer in London with Eccleston Square Hotel" »

At JG Black Book, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer. Daffodils, outdoor patio seating, and Memorial Day plans in-the-making mean that warmer weather is finally here to stay!  We are especially looking forward to this summer as it brings the opening of Topping Rose House.

While the restaurant has been open since September, Topping Rose House welcomes its first hotel guests this week!  Although the beauty of Topping Rose House can’t be properly captured in text, we can tell you that like the restaurant, accommodations in the House, Studio and Cottages are elegant and luxurious, with impeccable attention to detail.  Just two hours from our home in NYC, we’ve spend enough time on the beaches of the East End to know that Topping Rose House is sure to become an instant Hamptons classic.

Continue reading "Topping Rose House is Open!" »

What we at JG Black Book love most about Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, New York, is how perfectly it captures the essence of home. Each component of a guest's stay is carefully tailored to create a luxurious home-away-from-home experience.

Although run by celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, highly-esteemed kitchen veteran, chef de cuisine and Hamptons local Ty Kotz artfully prepares dynamic dishes that highlight the colors, smells, and tastes of a home garden. Fully embracing the Farm-to-Table movement, Kotz offers the freshly picked, juicy cherry on top of the Topping Rose House experience.

Continue reading "Foodie Friday: From Garden to Table at Topping Rose House" »

An awesome travel blog can yield some of the most inspiring content online. If you're like us at JG Black Book, you want in on the action. What's the funkiest undiscovered South East Asian city, the most unusual European dining experience, or the ultimate South American beach getaway? For those of us non-nomads, the following bloggers provide a beautiful glimpse into the world of expert adventure, motivating us to gear up for our next vibrant voyage. Check out five of our favorite travel blogs here and follow them for your daily around-the-world digest:

Continue reading "Travel Necessities: Top Travel Blogs Roundup" »

Besides her pixie haircut and slim cropped pants, what we at JG Black Book respect most about Audrey Hepburn is her taste in travel. It was this hollywood legend, afterall, that first uttered the words now tweeted, posted, and pinned all over the web: 'Paris is always a good idea.' Amen!

Paris in the spring

Continue reading "Ultimate Visitor's Guide: Paris' 8th Arrondissement in the Springtime" »

Earlier this week at JG Black Book, we featured Eccleston Square Hotel as London's hi-tech haven of the future. Today, we're traversing the equator to a resort whose modern, ahead-of-its-time practices shine brightest amongst its kitchen's pots, pans, and plates. At Ponta dos Ganchos, an exclusive resort in southern Brazil, chef Luis Salvajoli uses ingredients from the property's own organic garden to spoils guests with a tantalizing menu that changes daily. Whether on the beach, in your bungalow, or at the restaurant, here's a sneak peek at what you might enjoy from the contemporary kitchen at Ponta dos Ganchos:

Continue reading "Foodie Friday: Ponta dos Ganchos' Fresh, Always-Changing Menu" »

At JG Black Book, when it comes to Italian adventures, we are Firenze's #1 fans! Lucky for us, our partner Relais Santa Croce, a restored 18th century palazzo in the heart of Florence, strikes the perfect balance between Tuscan luxury and modern comfort. Nestled between the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Duomo, this Baglioni hotel is the ideal private Italian hideaway. Continue reading to see why Relais Santa Croce is the perfect place from which to explore fabulous Florence!

Continue reading "Ultimate Visitor's Guide: Florence with Relais Santa Croce" »

A few weeks ago, JG Black Book was invited to indulge in a succulent scallop recipe from Michelin star Chef Michel Luows of Huka Lodge, sister property to Grande Provence. This week, we turned to Darren Badenhorst, Executive Chef at Grande Provence, with hopes of paralleling the culinary magic we experienced from his Franschhoek restaurant's New Zealand counterpart. What we've recieved proves a set standard of creative brilliance between the chefs, and a uniform desire to completely captivate the senses of guests with a fabulous fusion of flavor. In other words: Oh. My. Yum-ness.

Continue reading "Grande Provence Week: Foodie Friday: Culinary Couture at Grande Provence" »

In addition to ushering in 2013 with positive energy and an appetite for fresh discovery, our annual tradition at JG Black Book is to commemorate all that we and our partners have experienced in the past year.

Celebrate with us each day this week as we pause and rewind to some of our favorite, most popular Black Blog of Travel entries from 2012.

Thanks for the memories!

Cheers to 2013,

-the JG Black Book team

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Welcome to Singita Week on the Black Blog of Travel! This week, every post on the Black Blog of Travel comes from our partner, Singita, boasting Travel + Leisure's 2012 #1, #7 and #10 Best Hotels in the World!

Singita Explore

Continue reading "Travel Recap 2012: Singita Week: Explore - Cuisine at the Mobile Tented Camp" »

To best understand the standard of hospitality maintained at Huka Lodge, we at JG Black Book suggest that you take a spoonful from one of executive chef Michel Louws' euphoria-provoking dishes (and that you leave some for us, please)! Richly innovative, sophisticated, gorgeous, comforting, and an experience you'll pray to the New Zealand gods will never ever end- the cuisine at Huka Lodge is perfectly analogous to the hotel as a whole. It just doesn't get any better than Huka Lodge.

In addition to the kitchen staff and restaurant's seamless service, much of the cuisine's wow-factor is owed to the talent of chef Michel Louws. No one has to announce that chef Louws has worked for four prestigious Michelin star restaurants for one to deduce his impressive track record. You can taste Louws' gift, his genius, in every fresh bite of Huka Lodge's enticing menu. And it tastes crazy good!

Lucky for those leagues away from the relaxing riverside lodge tucked away in Taupo, New Zealand, chef Michel Louws has agreed to allow us to somewhat simulate and fully salivate over Huka Lodge's melt-in-your-mouth cuisine on our own stove tops. From his spatula to G-d's ears!

Chef Michel Louws

Continue reading "Foodie Friday: Culinary Luxury at Huka Lodge" »