Hemispheres Magazine

Image – Courtesy of the Drake Hotel

Chicago’s grand dame, The Drake Hotel, turned 90 on Thanksgiving (shown here during its first summer, 1921)—and celebrated with a makeover. Room renovations have been ongoing, but this year, the lobby and Palm Court lounge got face-lifts that preserve the hotel’s historic feel. And there’s no shortage of history at The Drake: If you’d like to learn more about Princess Diana’s stay, the filming of Risky Business or what a painter was paid in 1955, there’s a collectors hardbound book for sale in the gift shop. www.thedrakehotel.com

WELL SEASONED

On the shores of Lady Bird Lake in downtown, Four Seasons Hotel Austin makes it as easy to hike and bike by the water as to dine at a hotspot. You don’t have to go far to find a trendy eatery—TRIO Restaurant has some of the most sought-after tables in town. www.fourseasons.com

WHY NOT TAKE OLIVE ME?

This is no weekendlong food fest, no three-day excursion into tomato or mushroom. This is three months of intense olive-love. Sonoma Valley’s Season of the Olive kicks off December 4 and lasts through the harvest season. There are culinary and agricultural events and, naturally, Martini Madness. Shaken or stirred, this one’s all about the garnish. www.olivefestival.com

GRANT YOUR WISH

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and built by Ulysses S. Grant Jr. (the president’s son), San Diego’s U.S. Grant Hotel can now add turning 100 to its litany of historic benchmarks. To celebrate, it’s offering a number of special packages until the end of this month. Here’s to the next 100 years. www.usgrant.net

BEACHY KEEN

Only a year after opening, Rancho Pescadero in Baja California Sur, Mexico, is adding 15 beachfront suites—more than doubling in size—along with a yoga and Pilates pavilion and a restaurant headed by French Laundry–trained Carolen Barnett. www.ranchopescadero.com

PIPES OF PAN

The best part of the Greg Norman golf course at the new Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort isn’t the golf—though that’s pretty sweet. It’s the island offshore, Tanah Lot, and the Hindu temple on it from which incense wafts up onto the green. Finally, you can be the ball. www.thetribute.com

KEEPING UP WITH THE SMITHS

Figuring out which boutique hotel to stay in while touring France is a nice dilemma to have—one that can easily be solved by reading Mr. & Mrs. Smith Hotel Collection: France. Design and food experts visited hotels around the country and reported on the 32 best, including Bastide Saint Mathieu, above, on the Côte d’Azur. We think you can take it from there. www.ipgbook.com

DINNER AT THE PARK

London’s Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park will become one of the city’s hottest culinary destinations this month when Dinner by Heston Blumenthal opens. The renowned Fat Duck chef will bring his molecular-gastronomy take on classic British cuisine— think scallops with cucumber ketchup and bergamot-cured mackerel salad. You might have to skip the fish ‘n’ chips. www.mandarinoriental.com

CALENDAR

DECEMBER

10-12 MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

Mosey on over to the Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival if you’re in the market for handcrafted leather or want to learn about vaqueros. www.montereycowboy.org

24-27 HONG KONG

Give your thumbs a good stretch and head to the Asia Game Show, where you can play with new videogames and equipment. www.asiagameshow.com

30-JANUARY 2 EDINBURGH

Give 2010 a proper send-off with 80,000 of your closest friends at this four-day street fair. www.edinburghshogmanay.com

13-16 LOS ANGELES

Build up your art collection at Photo L.A., the biggest photography exhibition in the country. www.photola.com

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