F & B : GREAT HOTEL RESTAURANTS
HEADLINE
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
FERTILE GROUND
Epicure at Le Bristol Paris features a terrace overlooking a French-style garden .
This year ’ s Great Hotel Restaurants have grown out of the powerful movement to refresh hotel dining and tie it increasingly to the local area .
by ANN BAGEL STORCK , MANAGING EDITOR , AND MARY GOSTELOW , CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Slowly but surely , hotel dining is shedding its image as stuffy and outdated in exchange for a look that is fresh and contemporary and that reflects the local surroundings . Take this year ’ s Great Hotel Restaurants — the oldest has still been open less than 20 years , while three honorees date back to just last year . Their menus focus on modern buzzwords such as local and seasonal , while their design makes the most of the hotel ’ s setting , be it a big-city high rise or a charming country garden .
The key to their success , according to Frank Ansel , a Mendoza , Argentina-based winemaker who served as a judge , is a philosophy that stays close to home . “ Engaging talented operations and design teams that cater to the local community in addition to hotel guests is a key element ,” Ansel says . “ If you carved the restaurant out of the hotel , it should succeed easily as a free-standing restaurant in the local marketplace .”
“ Truly great hotel restaurants feel like their own destination ,” agrees Elizabeth Blau of Las Vegas-based Blau & Associates and another of this year ’ s judges . “ I love the experience of being overtaken by the grandeur and beauty of a hotel only to again be overtaken by the beauty and ambience of a restaurant .”
However , it is also important to note that restaurant “ greatness ,” while difficult to achieve , often boils down to the basics . “ A great restaurant is not necessarily the most expensive or the most extravagant ,” says judge Tiffany Dowd , founder and president of Luxe Social Media , Boston . “ It ’ s consistent service that makes a hotel restaurant exceptional in addition to great food and fitting ambience .”
HOTELS and sponsor Villeroy & Boch are proud to continue an annual tradition of honoring these Great Hotel Restaurants , all of which will receive a porcelain brule parfum in tribute .
www . hotelsmag . com September 2013 HOTELS 37