Working in the field of public relations, we constantly strive to engage our clients’ audiences in new and unique ways. Social media is more important now than ever before, and a prominent way for companies to achieve engagement. These online communities weren’t always available, so what did companies do prior to the digital age? How did old-school communities evolve?

First, how is a community formed? I mulled this over recently, as I watched VH1’s Rock Doc: The TRL Decade. I grew up watching Total Request Live (TRL), a show of the top ten music videos, voted by fans for the fans. Everyday, I rushed home from school to die-hard fans (i.e. girls sobbing over N’Sync or Jay-Z) shutting downTimes Square just to watch their favorite musician on TRL.

Carson Daly, TRL’s first host, summed up the show perfectly when he said, “I will miss the community that was TRL.” This community filled up the streets ofTimes Square, traveled cross-country, spent 30 minutes calling into the show to talk to celebrity crushes, and most importantly, voted time and time again to see their favorite music videos. Talk about a die-hard community.

As a loyal member of this community, I never thought about the cultural influence of the show. What started in 1998 with just one host and a TV monitor, eventually exploded in the 2000s into a phenomenon, defining a generation; one that Daly feels “will never happen again.”

Before the time of Twitter, TRL fans interacted with their favorite celebrities by calling in, sending comments, videos, etc. Some lucky audience members even filmed 15-second shout-outs that played during the videos. Today, YouTube replaces this outlet, allowing users to upload videos and share commentary. Instead of ranting over the phone to a friend about how poorly an artist lip-synced on the show, for example, I would now post my frustration on Facebook with a status update.

TRL was the pre-cursor for what social media has become to Gen-Y. Fans began to explore the possibilities to connect within a digital community, whether they voted for their favorite videos online or posted in the Britney Spears message board on the TRL webpage.

Ironically, TRL VJ alumni believe social media is the reason the show ended. Fans no longer needed to watch the show to participate in the pop-culture community. Do I think digital evolution is negative? No. The TRL era is something I will always appreciate. The creators of the show were able to organically produce a community fan base without Facebook updates, tweets, and blog posts, which I believe will never happen again.

Washington, D.C. (January 31, 2012) –The 3,000 cherry trees Tokyo, Japan presented to Washington, D.C. in 1912 blossomed into an iconic splash of color on the landscape of our nation’s capital. To celebrate the 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival, the 100th anniversary of the gift and the enduring friendship between the United States and Japan, The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel is offering a Cherry Blossom Getaway. Starting at $199* per night, for travel March 22 – April 22, 2012, the package includes:

• Accommodations in a newly renovated guestroom customized by you via MyAffinia
• Commemorative cherry tree branch (helping guests avoid a slap on the wrist from the highly protective National Park Service)
• Scrumptious seasonal picnic goodies from Art and Soul
• Cherry blossom-inspired chocolates from Artisan Confections
• Two Metro passes** (valued at $10 each)

The hotel is conveniently located on Capitol Hill, within walking distance to many of the festivities including the opening ceremony at the Washington Convention Center on March 25, the Blossom Kite Festival on March 31 and the “official” National Cherry Blossom Festival on April 14. The festival runs March 20 – April 27.

For more information and to book this offer visit www.affinia.com/cherry or call 1-866-246-2203 and mention promotional code CHER12.

The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel encourages guests to share their experiences at the festival and at the hotel on Facebook (www.facebook.com/liaisoncapitolhill) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/LiaisonCapHill).

About The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel
The closest hotel to the U.S. Capitol, The Liaison Capitol Hill is just steps away from Union Station and the National Mall’s world-famous monuments and museums. The modern yet comfortable design allows guests to make connections and stay connected. The iconic art program reflects the hotel’s power-spot location and strong political point of view including: six by six feet dramatic oil portraits of political leaders that greet guests in the lobby and an edgy, gallery-like photographic series that traces “a day in the life” of a fictional D.C. mover and shaker amid many of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. “Destination Relaxation,” the exclusive seasonal rooftop pool and terrace is a resort-like experience in the heart of the city featuring lounge style day beds and lushly cushioned seating areas. The restaurant, Art and Soul, is envisioned by James Beard Award-winning celebrity Chef Art Smith, offering modern, regional cuisine with southern accents.

* This offer is based on availability and must be booked by April 21, 2012. Rates are based on double occupancy and exclude applicable taxes. Single/Triple/Quad Rates also available.
**Metro passes are per person, and additional Metro passes may be added on at an additional cost.

by McLean Robbins

We know you want to show your love for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day – but is your love worth a $30,000 hotel package? Perhaps it is. If so, The Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California is offering an over-the-top romance package sure to tickle even the most jaded traveler’s fancy. The overnight package really isn’t as bad as it could be, given that it includes a custom-designed piece of diamond jewelry from Single Stone of Mission Street valued at $20,000. Can we say “wedding proposal”? The package also includes:

• Limousine transfer to and from the hotel, as well as an on-call limousine for use during your stay
• Champagne, five dozen roses, chocolate covered strawberries
• Overnight accommodations in the Tournament of Roses suite, offering 360-degree views of the San Gabriel Mountains and valleys, with early arrival and late checkout as needed.
• A custom-created diamond jewelry piece from Single Stone on Mission Street (valued at $20,000)
• 80-minute Chuan Balancing Couple’s Massage at The Huntington Spa
• Private dinner for two in the Tournament of Roses Suite featuring a five course menu with wine pairings from The Royce
• Rose petal turndown and breakfast in bed

You know what they say – money can’t buy you love, but it’s as easy to love a rich man as a poor one. We’re pretty sure we could get used to what money could buy us with this package.

If you’ve ever had the rare pleasure of sampling Ice Wine, then you know that without the help of Mother Nature’s freezing temperatures this bottle of pure heaven would not be possible. The usual grape harvest in New York begins in September, and by the end of October most vineyards and wineries have harvested all of their grapes. However, for some wineries this is not the case. These vineyards leave a select portion of grapes to hang on the vine to continue to mature into the fall and winter months, raising the sugar content in each individual berry. Vines are netted in late October to protect the grapes from hungry prey such as deer and birds. Grapes picked during the traditional harvest contain around 19-23 brix (brix measure the amount of sugar in the grapes) while Ice Wine grapes, when picked will yield juice in the 36-40 brix range.

Although the practice of crafting Ice Wine is closely associated with the European countries where it originated, such as Germany and Austria, the special wine is deeply rooted in the Finger Lake region because it provides the perfect climate. The summers reach warm temperatures that ripen the grapes, while during the winter months the temperature drops well below freezing. This weather, along with the rich soil, helps the grapes reach equilibrium between the concentration of sugar and high level of acidity. This small amount of highly condensed sugar juice, which yields only one drop per grape, eventually becomes Ice Wine.

For Ice Wine to truly be Ice Wine, it must be frozen directly on the vine, and not after being harvested. Because of this, if temperatures do not get cold enough or if they get too cold, the entire harvest is ruined, making Ice Wine the riskiest type of winemaking. This uncertainty is what makes a successful harvest of Ice Wine so special and worthwhile.

In order to maximize the harvest, the grapes are picked as early as 3 am to keep the sun from affecting the picking for the day. The grapes are then carted into an open press house, which is kept at similar temperatures to the picking environment to prevent changes to the delicate and crucial natural freezing process.

Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport, NY was among the first wineries to craft the sweet specialty wine in America, having produced their first, experimental batch in 1980. It wasn’t until the fall of 1987, however, when Hunt Country had their first wide scale Ice Wine harvest. In 1988, Hunt Country released the 1987 vintage of Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, the first genuine Ice Wine produced in the United States and available to the general public. Gold ratings were awarded to their 1988 Vintage from the 1990 International Eastern Wine Competition and the 1990 Intervin International Wine Competition. Over the years, Hunt Country has gained a great deal of fame for their award winning Ice Wine, and year after year, continues to produce consistent quality wines. Today, 2007 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, which won a Gold from the 2011 Big E Northeast Gold Wine Competition and a Great from the Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition, is “rare and lusciously sweet, with rich honey, apricot and exotic fruit flavors”

Located in Fairport, New York, Casa Larga Vineyards is the most awarded Ice Wine producer in the Finger Lakes and the United States. For decades, Casa Larga has led the small number of New York wineries specializing in traditional Ice Wines. Casa Larga is also the host of the annual New York Ice Wine Festival, a popular (and delicious!) gathering featuring extensive samplings of the best of New York’s Ice Wines from a wide range of wineries located in several regions across the state. The frosty magic that Mother Nature bestows on the grapes when the days are the shortest at Casa Larga produces the celebrated Fiori Vidal Ice Wine, an exquisite Ice Wine that has received more awards than any other in the United States, including the Governor’s Cup for “Best Wine in New York State” and “Best Dessert Wine” at the 2008 International Wine & Spirits Competition in London. Starting with its “honey and peach aromas” through its divine flavors of “pineapple, apricot and butterscotch”, this wine is made with the Vidal grape, a popular choice for makers of fine Ice Wines. The Riesling grape is also an excellent choice for making Ice Wine, with Casa Larga’s Fiori Riesling Ice Wine delivering a medium bodied taste treat of “sweet apricot and grapefruit” and the aromas of “honey and sweet grape”. A third Ice Wine grape, the Cabernet Franc, produces a wine with a “brilliant ruby red hue”, the intense aroma of “freshly picked strawberries” and the well balanced sweetness characteristic of fine Ice Wine. Casa Larga is also offering a brand new Ice Wine Cuvee, a sparkling wine dosage with their Vidal Ice Wine.

The newest and most unique producer of award winning Ice Wine in the Finger Lakes is Inspire Moore Winery, located in Naples, New York. Headed up by winemaker Tim Moore, they harvested their first batch in 2008, and are the only winery to produce Ice Wine from Traminette grapes. Traminette grapes are similar to Vidal, as both have the thick skins that allow them to survive until they are harvested. This Ice Wine undergoes a long fermentation, followed by barrel aging for one year before it is finally bottled. Their current vintage of Ice Wine won a Double Gold at the 2012 Florida International Wine Competition.

Joining Casa Larga in Finger Lakes at the New York State Ice Wine Festival, and representing the best in the region include Fulkerson Winery, Knapp Winery and Sheldrake Point Vineyards. Each represents the best of the best of the region’s premier Ice Wine producers.

Wine enthusiasts from across the globe gather each year in February to sample the bounty of the winter Ice Wine harvest in a festive atmosphere of music, seminars, tasty treats, winery tours, and of course the delicious fruits of their labor—New York State Ice Wine! At the NY State Ice Wine Festival every one of the participating wineries must feature Ice Wines made from grapes that have naturally grown and frozen on the vine in New York State. The turnout is always impressive, with wineries from across the region bringing the best of the best in Ice Wine varietals for both wine connoisseurs and new fans alike to sample award winning vintages.

The 4th Annual NY Ice Wine Festival will be held Saturday, February 18th, 2012 at Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport, NY from 12–6 pm. In addition, the Finger Lakes region continues its celebration of all things deliciously winter (and Ice Wine!) with the nICE festival— A Celebration of Ice & Dessert Wines and Food on February 25th at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY. The town of Elmira, NY also joins the Ice Wine festivities with Wine on Ice in late January.

It may be a wintry wonderland outside, but Finger Lakes New York celebrates the snow and ice—and Ice Wine!

By Michelle Deal-Zimmerman

Hotels offer Valentine’s Day escapes

The Sky-High Valentine's Romance Package at Swissotel The Stamford offers dinner for two on a helipad with views of the Singapore skyline. (Swissotel The Stamford, Baltimore Sun / January 27, 2012)

Want to escape with your sweetie for Valentine’s Day? Packages abound, both near and far, for married soul mates or those who are single and want to mingle. (Taxes and gratuities are not included unless noted.) Here are just a few.

Romantic inns

Glen Cove Mansion, Long Island, N.Y. The 55-acre estate, the setting for the Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy “Sabrina,” offers the “Love is in the Air” package, including accommodations, chocolate-covered strawberries, champagne, $50 gift hotel dining certificate and breakfast. Rates start at $199 per couple per night. Go to glencovemansioncom.

Lyme Inn, Lyme, N.H. Two-night package in a renovated country inn includes a tray of sweets and a bottle of champagne upon arrival. Guests will be treated to a three-course meal served fireside as well as a cooked-to-order breakfast each morning. Starts at $459.95 and is good through March 31. Go to thelymeinn.com.

Milliken Creek Inn & Spa, Napa, Calif. The intimate hotel (only 12 rooms) offers couples a chance to swoon over the delights of the Napa Valley — or each other. The “Heart of Napa Authentic Trio” package includes a five-hour private tour of three wine estates, with stops for tastings and a boxed picnic lunch. Guests also receive a 90-minute Chocolate Decadence spa experience with salt scrub and warm chocolate mud treatment, turndown service with rose petals and chocolate-covered strawberries. Available Feb. 1 to July 31. Rates start at $640 per night, based on double occupancy. Go to millikencreekinn.com.

Williamsburg Lodge, Colonial Williamsburg, Va. The “Chocolate Lovers” package includes two-night stay, breakfast, admission to the historic area, art museum admission and 25 percent discount on evening programs, carriage rides and more. Available Feb. 10-12 and Feb.17-19. Package starts at $94 per person, per night.

Casino couples

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, N.J. Celebrate the freedom of being unattached with the “Single & Fabulous” package, which starts at $139 per night and includes one-night stay in a Classic Room, buffet breakfast for two, drink coupons and 15 percent discount coupon at selected stores in the Shoppes at The Water Club. Couples can experience the “Sweet Romance” package, starting at $789 per night. The package includes one night in a suite, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, $50 credit for breakfast in bed, in-suite couples massage and a 15 percent discount shopping coupon. Packages are good for an overnight stay on Feb. 14. Go to theborgata.com.

The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Take a chance on love at this historic hotel, which now also offers a Casino Club. The “Romance and Roses” package includes overnight stay, $100 resort credit, 15 percent discount on spa treatment, 25 percent discount on jewelry store purchases, a 5-by-7-inch couples portrait, champagne, roses and chocolate. Available Feb.10-14. One-night package rates start at $509.50; two-night rates start at $805. Go to greenbrier.com.

Inn at Harbor Hill Marina, Niantic, Conn. Stay two nights at this quaint waterfront inn within a short drive to Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mohegan Sun Casino or MGM Grand Casino. The two-night package includes candlelit breakfast, $70 dinner certificate to a local restaurant, bottle of champagne, chocolates and a CD of the inn’s favorite love songs. Guests also receive a choice of two one-hour Swedish massages or a private one-horse carriage or sleigh ride (weather permitting.) Package ranges from $550 to $805, depending on days and room selection. Lodging tax is included.

City lovers

Affinia Hotels The boutique hotel brand offers the “Kiss & Tell” package in three locations: New York City, Chicago and Washington. The package includes accommodations, a list of romantic places to share a kiss, “Kiss Me” mints and turndown service with Hershey’s Kisses and a split of champagne. Couples are encouraged to “kiss and tell” by sharing pictures of their kissable moments on Affinia Hotels’ Facebook page, facebook.com/affiniahotels. Package rates start at $139 per night in New York City and Washington, and $149 in Chicago. Use promo code KISS. Go to affinia.com/KISS.

Gansevoort Park Avenue, New York This one is for all the single ladies — and gents. The hotel’s “Single + Mingle” package includes a one-night stay, breakfast for two, two cocktails at the rooftop Plunge Bar, deep-tissue massage and more. Available Feb. 1-29. Rates start at $585 for a deluxe room, based on double occupancy, so bring a friend. Go to gansevoorthotelgroup.com.

Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore This one is for the couple in the clouds. The hotel is offering an evening of romance for couples with a 12-course candlelit dinner served on the hotel’s helipad platform, about 750 feet above the ground, with the city’s skyline as a backdrop. The package also includes an overnight stay in an Executive Club Room, limousine service to and from the hotel, couple’s spa treatment, two bottles of Dom Perignon champagne, a bouquet of 99 roses and a diamond jewelry set with necklace, bracelet and earrings. The Valentine’s package starts at around $7,900. For information, email reservations@equinoxcomplex.com

The Fairmont, Washington The “Bee My Honey” package, including one-night stay in a suite, two “BeeTini” cocktails (made with honey from the hotel’s rooftop hives), a three-course honey-inspired dinner for two at Juniper Restaurant and a welcome basket of honey amenities. Available Feb. 1-29. Rates start at $549 per night, based on double occupancy. Go to fairmont.com/washington.

The Setai Fifth Avenue, New York The “Weekend to Remember” package includes tickets for a twilight trip to the top of the Empire State Building (just steps away from the hotel), in-room champagne, chocolates and breakfast for two. The hotel’s Auriga spa is also offering a chocolate wrap and chocolate facial, with chocolate by Richart. The package is available weekends throughout February. Rates start at $640. Go to setaififthavenue.com.

Wolcott Hotel, New York The “TLC: Travel, Love, Chocolate” package includes accommodations and a 10 percent discount at Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar. Available Feb. 10-19. Rates start at $140 per night. Go to wolcott.com/TLC.

By JIM RENDON

Top pairing, classic brownstones on West 95th Street on the Upper West Side, left, and on Carlton Avenue in Prospect Heights. Bottom pairing, new high-rises along West 37th in Hell's Kitchen, left, and at 4705 Center Boulevard in Long Island City.

It’s easy to fall in love with a neighborhood in New York. And given the high cost of housing, it’s common to realize that you can’t afford the home you want in the neighborhood you love.

So, what to do? Your first instinct may be to look a few stops away on the same subway line, trading Williamsburg for Bushwick, for instance. Or you might choose a neighboring area, moving to Yorkville, say, instead of the Upper East Side.

Sometimes that works, but other times it only lands you in an inconvenient neighborhood with little resemblance to the area you had in mind. It can help to allow your imagination to range farther afield, maybe even across a river. Instead of proximity to your heart’s desire, consider places with similarities, like housing stock, nightlife and dining, the typical resident and the overall feel.

Following are five pairs of neighborhoods: a popular, expensive area, and a cheaper option, perhaps less well known. Of course there will be tradeoffs. But you might enjoy the alternative even more than the original.

UPPER WEST SIDE/PROSPECT HEIGHTS

THE charms of the Upper West Side are so well known they scarcely bear repeating. Ornate prewar co-op buildings and brownstone row houses line the neighborhood’s tree-canopied streets. Two of Manhattan’s great parks, Riverside and Central, delineate its boundaries. The schools are among the best in the city. It is home to the American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center and other world-class cultural institutions. But to live among all of that is quite expensive. The few brownstones that come on the market can top $10 million. Two-bedroom co-ops regularly sell for more than $1 million.

At 136 West 75th Street, a two-bedroom two-bath co-op is listed for sale for $1.195 million by Halstead Property. The median price per square foot in 2011 was $896, said Jonathan J. Miller of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

Park Slope, Brooklyn, has often been an option for those priced out of the Upper West Side, but with prices rising there, prospective buyers might consider its neighbor on the other side of Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Heights. There, the median per-square-foot price, $446, is half that of the Upper West Side, Mr. Miller said.

The neighborhood borders its own great green space, Prospect Park, as well as the broad Eastern Parkway and Grand Army Plaza. The Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are just across the parkway.

“The late-19th-century apartment buildings on Eastern Parkway and the row houses on the mid blocks — it’s the same style of architecture you find on the Upper West Side,” said Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, a citywide preservation group. Much of the southern end of the neighborhood is under landmark protection, including stretches of St. Mark’s Avenue, Prospect Place and Park Place. To the north are smaller brick row houses and the construction site of the arena for the vast Atlantic Yards development.

A wave of new residents arrived in the early 1990s, said Gib Veconi, the treasurer of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council.

“People would buy a house with their last dollar,” Mr. Veconi said, “start remodeling the ground floor and rent it out to get some income, and slowly renovate over time, mostly with their own labor.”

Now, he said, more affluent residents buy houses and commission half-million-dollar gut renovations in under a year.

David Rogers, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, said brownstones in the neighborhood sold for roughly $1.4 million to $1.8 million, depending on condition and location.

At 416 Park Place, a two-family town house with a three-bedroom owner’s duplex is listed at $1.55 million by Brown Harris Stevens.

New bars, restaurants and coffee shops have recently opened on Vanderbilt Avenue, the neighborhood’s commercial spine. Saul Bolton, who earned a Michelin star for his restaurant in Boerum Hill, opened a restaurant here called the Vanderbilt. The ice cream shop Ample Hills Creamery draws crowds of children on summer afternoons.

The large houses of Prospect Heights have drawn families to the area. Joyce Szuflita, the founder of NYC School Help, which helps families find schools in Brooklyn, said parents had put a lot of energy into improving Public School 9.

Mr. Veconi of the development council said Prospect Heights’ new appeal was not surprising. “The allure here was that this was an undervalued neighborhood,” he said. “I felt like people were going to get this sooner or later.”

LOWER EAST SIDE/GREENPOINT

Over the last two decades the Lower East Side has become a microcosm of everything New York is known for. Its short, intimate blocks harbor innovative restaurants, boutiques, galleries and clubs. Its history as an immigrant enclave is celebrated at the Tenement Museum, and its Jewish past persists at the venerable Eldridge Street Synagogue and the lox purveyors Russ & Daughters on East Houston Street.

And as the neighborhood changed, the price of housing soared. New condos sell for a median of $1,020 per square foot, according to Mr. Miller, who said asking prices over $1 million were not uncommon. In the new building at 60 Orchard Street, Stribling & Associates is listing a two-bedroom two-bath condo for $1.35 million.

But prospective buyers would do well to look across the East River at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which has a vibrant ethnic history as well as lively shopping and dining — and much lower housing prices. The median condo price per square foot in Greenpoint is $563, Mr. Miller said. At 149 Huron Street, two blocks from the subway, Apartments and Lofts has an accepted offer on a two-bedroom condo listed for $513,000.

Greenpoint is not as convenient as its better-known neighbor to the south, Williamsburg, because it is on the G subway line and Manhattan is not a straight shot. The housing is a mix of new condos, small apartment buildings, brownstones, brick town houses, conversions, a few loft spaces and wooden row houses, many covered in vinyl siding. For many decades Greenpoint was a Polish enclave, and Manhattan Avenue is crowded with bakeries, butcher shops displaying kielbasa, and inexpensive Polish restaurants.

But now, wedged in among Polish businesses, the avenue also has an artisanal ice cream parlor that serves Earl Grey cones, an infants’ clothing and toy store, and coffee shops. The area around Franklin Street, once a desolate strip, has restaurants, bars, shops and condos, and is part of a small historic district.

Families have been attracted to the neighborhood because they can get more space without sacrificing the quality of their schools. P. S. 31, for example, gets high scores: 90 percent of students meet state standards for reading and 97 percent for math.

“Greenpoint is a great Brooklyn neighborhood,” said David Maundrell, the founder of Apartments and Lofts, which markets many condos in the area. “There are different ethnic backgrounds, the Polish and Irish and the new people moving in over the last 10 years. You have amazing retail and services. It is a well-rounded neighborhood.”

CARROLL GARDENS/CROWN HEIGHTS NORTH

Inside Vinny’s of Carroll Gardens on Smith Street, firefighters sit alongside locals in their 70s out for a meal with their grandchildren. Waitresses sit down at your table to take your order. The food is old-school Italian — red sauce and eggplant-parm heroes. Next door to Vinny’s is Persons of Interest, a new old-school barbershop where the “combo platter” — a shave and a haircut — costs $75.

It is that congenial mix of the traditional and the retro-modern that has drawn well-heeled newcomers, many with families, to the deep-yarded brownstones that are Carroll Gardens’ signature. Asking prices for these houses, many built in around the time of the Civil War, can easily top $2 million; the median price was $602 per square foot last year, according to Mr. Miller.

At 230 Union Street, Prudential Douglas Elliman is listing a town house for $2.295 million.

About three miles east lies Crown Heights North, a neighborhood with a trove of brownstones and row houses, in a variety of styles, that can be had for a fraction of those in Carroll Gardens. The median price for all of Crown Heights last year was $384 per square foot, Mr. Miller said. The houses are of newer vintage, built from about 1870 to 1920, but many bear the elaborate details of the Gilded Age.

Once among Brooklyn’s wealthiest neighborhoods, Crown Heights is filled with mansions and town houses. Many were built by well-known architects, including Montrose Morris, Axel Hedman and C. P. H Gilbert.

“This was the luxury housing of its day,” said Simeon Bankoff, the director of the Historic Districts Council. “There are some drop-dead gorgeous buildings there.”

Today Crown Heights North has a large historic district. St. Marks Avenue, Dean Street and multiple blocks of Prospect Place have some very ornate houses. These sell for over $1 million when they become available, said Barbara Brown-Allen, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Other houses, depending on the work required to bring them up to snuff, go for $700,000 to $900,000. Many are quite large, often 20 feet wide by 50 feet deep and four stories tall. At 1174 Dean Street, Prudential Douglas Elliman is listing a town house for $1.195 million.

The 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains run through the neighborhood, and the A and C are not far away, in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Franklin Avenue, the main commercial strip, is about a mile from Prospect Park.

A number of the stores cater to West Indian and Panamanian residents. Nick Juravich, who blogs about the neighborhood at I Love Franklin Avenue, said that since he moved here in 2008, more than 30 businesses had opened, including Mexican, Indian and Thai restaurants. “We have a sleek new wine bar that would fit right in on Smith Street,” he said, meaning the main drag in Carroll Gardens.

HELL’S KITCHEN/LONG ISLAND CITY

Hell’s Kitchen, as is obvious from its name, wasn’t always the most desirable place to live. But that has changed, at first slowly and then more quickly. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other businesses have settled in along Ninth Avenue, and a few are opening farther west on 10th Avenue.

Much of Hell’s Kitchen has been protected from high-rise development, so that on the cross streets, low-rise town houses, brownstones and historic churches remain. In the northern part of the neighborhood, Prudential Douglas Elliman is listing a two-bedroom two-bath condo at 426 West 58th Street for $1.749 million.

Development has been pushed to the neighborhood’s edges, toward the Hudson River and along 42nd Street, where high-rises, mostly rentals, have sprouted in the last few years. Two-bedrooms at the new MiMA tower on 42nd Street rent for about $6,500 a month; the most expensive three-bedroom there is $16,250 a month.

Mr. Miller said the median price per square foot in Hell’s Kitchen in 2011 was $854 — a bargain compared with costs in some other Manhattan neighborhoods.

But that figure is still 35 percent more expensive than the median of $555 in Long Island City, Queens, which is growing its own forest of handsomely appointed residential towers. Large condo projects are rising throughout the neighborhood, overshadowing brick town houses, as well as garages and other businesses.

It’s easy to see why developers are drawn to its East River shoreline. High-rise towers are under construction alongside a riverfront park with views to the west of the United Nations and Midtown — just a few minutes away on half a dozen subway lines. Restaurants, supermarkets, preschools and dog day care centers are popping up. The neighborhood has a mix of old and new on Vernon Avenue, the commercial strip closest to the water. There’s a strong arts community and even some remaining manufacturing.

Long Island City is home to MoMA PS1, a center for modern art and performance events. Galleries and lofts are taking over industrial buildings.

“You have a sense of a real community here,” said Bob Singleton, the director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. “You have all the benefits of a small town with all of the advantages of a big city right next to you in Midtown Manhattan.”

Eric Benaim began selling units in Long Island City in 2006 through his firm Modern Spaces, which lists a two-bedroom two-bath condo at L Haus on 49th Avenue for $870,000.

“It has all started happening over here in the last year and a half or so,” Mr. Benaim said. And, he added, “It’s only about eight minutes on the subway to Hell’s Kitchen.”

SOHO/LADIES’ MILE

When artists began moving into lofts in manufacturing buildings with cast-iron fronts in SoHo in the 1960s and 1970s, they were looking for cheap space to live and work. But they wound up changing the way people think about cities, said Andrew Berman, the director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

“We take for granted the notion that it is cool to live in a converted loft building in an old industrial section of a city,” Mr. Berman said. “But that is a relatively new concept, an outgrowth of artists’ taking over disused industrial spaces in SoHo.”

Today, few artists could afford to buy a loft in SoHo. The neighborhood is packed with boutiques, brand-name stores, upscale restaurants and hotels. Lofts that decades ago housed painters sell for millions of dollars, like one listed by Prudential Douglas Elliman for $3.25 million at 475 Broadway, now in contract. The median price per square foot is $1,122, according to Mr. Miller.

Just 20 blocks uptown, another neighborhood is going through a similar revival: the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. Roughly framed by the Avenue of the Americas and Broadway from 17th to 24th Street, the area also has historic loft buildings with large windows and cast-iron facades. But the median per-square-foot price is $987, about 20 percent less than in SoHo, Mr. Miller said.

And it has a different history. The Ladies’ Mile was home to some of the city’s largest department stores, including Macy’s and Lord & Taylor.

Unlike the industrial buildings of SoHo, the stores along the Ladies’ Mile were ornate, many built in the Beaux-Arts style. Some have mansard roofs. The former Hugh O’Neill store has large gold domes.

As in SoHo, artists found their way to the upper floors of these large buildings. So many photographers worked here that it was called the photo district, said Jack Taylor, the president of the Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District. However, it differed from SoHo in that galleries, restaurants and retail were slow to follow.

The historic district was approved in 1989. About a decade ago, big-box stores moved in. Today the area has a TJ Maxx, a Best Buy, a Home Depot and a Trader Joe’s. There are new restaurants; on a recent Sunday, the line at the brunch spot tbsp on 20th Street was nearly out the door.

Some of the old department stores are being converted into condos, including the O’Neill Building and the Cammeyer, a former shoe emporium at 650 Sixth Avenue, where CORE is marketing a unit for $2.85 million. The units are not the same raw and massive spaces one finds in SoHo.

“It feels more like a residential neighborhood,” Mr. Taylor said. “Ladies’ Mile used to be like Siberia, but now it can be pretty hard to bear in terms of noise and crowds. There is no denying it is populated.”

By Barbara Peterson

New rules on airline booking “transparency” went into effect today, and surprise, the world didn’t change overnight. Booking air travel can still be an incredibly frustrating and aggravating process—but some things should improve.

The biggest change is that the DOT imposed a new truth-in-advertising rule that should eliminate most of those shameless $99 fares to London scams that, when you scrolled through to the purchase screen, mysteriously ballooned to $900. Prices mentioned anywhere, in any context, must now include all required taxes and fees (but not, of course, discretionary ones, like bag check charges.) The other notable change is that any one-way fare “based on roundtrip purchase” must clearly show the total tab. The biggest impact will be evident on international itineraries where the various fees can really pile up, often exceeding the base fare. Domestic fliers won’t get as much sticker shock under the new regime.

Other changes:

• Airlines must give you a full refund if you cancel your paid reservation within 24 hours; for unpaid reservations, they must hold them at the promised fare for 24 hours.
• Consumers will now have to opt-in to buy additional products and services during the booking process, such as preferred seats or insurance; some airlines were adding those to the tab, forcing buyers to deselect an item to avoid payment.
• Prices can’t increase after a purchase has been made; the only exception is if a government-imposed tax or fee has increased.
• Baggage fees must be clearly mentioned upfront, and e-ticket receipts must clearly outline the specific charges and requirements for bags. Airlines can’t just list a range, as some were before.
• Airlines must notify passengers of any delay of more than 30 minutes.

“It’s basically leveling the playing field,” by giving consumers the full story early in the booking process, said Warren Chang, vice president of fly.com, which is part of Travelzoo and one of the industry organizations in favor of the change.

For the past three days I’ve been checking airline websites and independent online travel-booking sites, and, frankly, I’m not seeing all that much difference. First, the airlines had already braced for the change, and were already adjusting their displays (and not always without comment—Spirit Airlines has been trying to convince customers that change is actually bad for them). Secondly, policies such as the one that gives fliers a day to reconsider, were already in effect at many airlines, although consumers didn’t always know to ask—which is part of the reason why DOT felt the need to hold airlines accountable. But yes, I did get the total fare up on the screen right away—and while the higher price did make me hesitate for a second, the knowledge I could back out in a day was some comfort.

1) How PR ties her two passions together: business and art.

2) Quinn & Co.’s dream room and purple couch, where we brainstorm our award-winning creative ideas.

3) How to define your brand’s positioning. Make it authentic and let it happen organically.

4) The key to being creative: look outside of your client’s industry.

Share your thoughts/comments below!

New York (Jan. 24, 2012) – For two consecutive quarters, Affinia Hotels, a boutique hotel company with seven properties in midtown Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, D.C., scored highest in customer satisfaction among upper upscale hotels in Q2 and Q3. The brand beat out top competitors (scoring a 93.8 in the third quarter), including Ritz-Carlton, Sofitel, Omni Hotels and W Hotels. This was revealed in the Market Metrix 2011 Third Quarter Hospitality Index, the largest and most in-depth measure of hotel and casino performance available, based on 35,000 independent customer reviews.

Affinia Hotels’ upped the ante on the hotel experience in 2011 with the launch of Tender Loving Comfort℠ (TLC), a new movement rooted in exceptional customer service, reading guests’ body language and delivering what makes each guest’s stay most enjoyable and comfortable.

“Our mission is to make guests smile, so we are honored to be recognized as a leader in customer satisfaction,” said John Moser, chief brand and marketing officer for Denihan Hospitality Group, Affinia Hotels’ parent company. “We trained our entire staff, from bellmen to guest service agents, on understanding and interpreting guests’ body language to launch TLC. They’ve really applied that training to their work, and it shows.”

Affinia Hotels is dedicated to providing guests with ‘comfort by design’, and that promise is reflected in the services and amenities featured on Affinia’s website (My Affinia, Hotel Special Offers) and onsite at each hotel (Comfort Hour, signature drink at check-in and unique city-centric partnerships). Guests traveling for business or pleasure, family travel or romance, adventure or relaxation, have different needs, and Affinia Hotels offers something for all types of travelers: a guitar and golf putter for down time, a yoga mat for training time, Wi-Fi for crunch time and more.

For additional information, visit www.affinia.com or call 866-246-2203. Connect with Affinia Hotels on Facebook (www.facebook.com/affiniahotels) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/affiniahotels).

About Affinia Hotels
Affinia Hotels, with boutique hotels in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., provides business and leisure guests with Tender Loving Comfort℠ (TLC). All five Affinia Hotels properties in New York City (Affinia Shelburne, Affinia Manhattan, Affinia 50, Affinia Gardens and Affinia Dumont) and Affinia Chicago are members of Stash Hotel Rewards, a loyalty program for over 150 independent hotels. Travelers can start earning points today by signing up for a free account at www.stashrewards.com. Affinia Hotels is operated by Denihan Hospitality Group, a privately-held hotel management company with more than 50 years of hospitality management expertise.

About MMHI
Based on 35,000 customer interviews conducted each quarter, the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) is the largest and most in-depth measure of hospitality company performance available today. Our annual MMHI Awards are coveted by lodging and travel enterprises around the world. These benchmarks, delivered through our flagship product Customer Metrix™, enable Market Metrix clients to compare their results to competitors by STAR segment, AAA classification, Brand, SMSA, industry averages, performers in the top 10 percent and other classifications. The MMHI is also available by subscription.

About Market Metrix
Market Metrix provides the leading guest and employee feedback systems to the worldwide hospitality industry. With award-winning research and powerful technology, Market Metrix helps clients make the right business decisions. Our Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products are used by more hospitality companies than any other, supporting thousands of businesses in 70+ countries. Market Metrix has been helping hospitality companies turn feedback into performance since 1996. For more information, visit www.marketmetrix.com.

By Kathy M. Newbern & J.S. Fletcher

You’ve read several stories here about our stay and tours in Boston before our fab first cruise with Ponant, aboard the luxury mega-yacht Le Boreal up the St. Lawrence River.

We’ve reported on our Boston Tour, the Duck Tour and even a standout hotel and restaurant, the BOND at the luxurious Langham Boston. It was at that same property that we had our first experience with a Chuan Spa, actually the Chuan Body + Soul Spa. We can assure you, it won’t be our last. In a word: superb.
Advertisement

First, you need to know “Chuan” is Chinese for “flowing water,” and spa literature notes that water is a foundation of life.

We adore this spa’s wholistic approach that incorporates the ancient principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in its signature treatments, ambience and decor. While small, the spa is very well designed, elegant and comfortable. The colors are muted with touches of red, which of course reflects a Chinese influence, plus there are mounted inscriptions in Chinese as part of that decor.

We were greeted by Spa Manager Marie, along with a glass of champagne at the reception area, which includes raised stools and a small bar. Here, we completed our spa forms while sipping our bubbly — a refreshing start. (Though we know some spas frown on alcohol along with massage, we’ve never objected to the practice in the least.)

We were each scheduled for a Harmony Massage, one after the other though the nice, large treatment room we were in did have matching massage beds perfect for couples’ massages. Silk coverings featured more Chinese lettering. One corner of the room held a large jetted tub for two and a shower room (see the slideshow).

This massage is a combination of pressure point and Swedish, and we agreed it certainly held properties of being a spa ritual as much as a massage. We love the warm towels on the feet, and wish every massage at every spa would include this simple, but so relaxing, touch.

The Chuan Spa focuses on making sure body and soul are in harmony while playing attention to personal happiness and fulfillment. TCM uses the principle of the balance of the five natural elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, as well as the body’s yin and yang, its opposing but mutually dependent halves.

Therapists like Judith, our masseuse, therefore incorporate these guiding principles, using energy flows, basic elemental forces and the influence of hot and cold to create individual treatment plans.

There’s a lovely surprise for spa guests like us as well as hotel guests: the pool pavilion featuring a heated pool with lap lanes, a huge skylight overhead and lots of windows so plenty of light flows in even in the heart of the city (which you can see if the photo), plus comfortable loungers resembling traditional cruise deck chairs.

The well-equipped ladies’ changing room also featured a dry sauna, showers, lockers and small makeup area with hair dryer plus Molton Brown products in the showers.

Post-spa, there’s a nice selection of Chinese teas to choose from.

A spa visit would include use of the fitness center featuring Technogym cardio equipment, individual 15-inch LCD TV screens with iPod technology, Smith machines, a Technogym cable station, and training equipming like eclipse-style dumbbells, medicine-, physio- and BOSU-balls, resistance bands and foam rollers

Post-workout a whirlpool and sauna await.

We especially treasure our parting gifts: A book on Chinese Medicine plus an essential oil burner with oils. Now, whenever we have our Raleigh masseuse Belen Perez come over, we always light the burner, and the relaxing fragrance it emits immediately transports us back to Boston – not to the bustling Boston, but to the relaxing Boston of our Chuan Spa memories. Ahhh.

This just in: The new Chuan Yu Facial is now available at the Boston Chuan Body + Soul, as well as the OPI “Langham Pink” nail lacquer. Here are the details on both:

Chuan Yu Facial: This facial combines the benefits of the spas’ Thalgo products with the application of Jade and Gua Sha techniques applied to specific meridian acupressure points. The Chuan Yu facial has been developed in conjunction with Langham’s LHI Traditional Chinese Medicine consultant Dr. Gladys Leung to ensure its integrity as a service that embodies the essence of TCM. After a restorative breathing ritual, your aesthetician cleanses and exfoliates with soothing seawater-based products.

Then an extended Gua Sha face-and-shoulder acupressure rubdown is performed with a piece of polished jade (said to be anti-aging while restoring the body’s yin/yang balance). After two hydrating masks and one blissful arm-and-leg massage, the session ends with the application of metal beads on your ears’ acupressure points.

This Chinese medicine practice, dating to 500 BC, lowers stress levels so your luminosity stays put for an extended period of time. ($165 USD) In addition to The Langham Boston, the treatment is also available at these other Langham hotels: Pasadena, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Auckland, Melbourne, and an upcoming opening in Chicago in 2013.

OPI “Langham Pink” – Langham Hospitality Group partnered with renowned cosmetic brand O.P.I. to create an exclusive limited edition branded nail lacquer, infamously named “Langham Pink” after the hospitality brand’s signature color dating back to 1865 and to commemorate the fifth anniversary of its bold corporate pink identity. The Langham Pink, known in printer’s terminology as pantone 707C (at 70& tint), was matched closely by O.P.I. to adorn elegant hands of Langham fans. The limited run of 10,000 is available for sale at $12.50 per bottle through The Langham’s Flavours of Langham store or Langham Place’s Life! Shop. Chuan Spa manicurists will also offer Langham Pink as an optional color in its palette of polishes for guests.

If You’re Going: The Chuan Spa is located in The Langham, a sophisticated AAA Four-Diamond Boston hotel at 250 Franklin Street, Boston; call (617) 451-1900 to find out more or visit http://boston.langhamhotels.com. To contact the spa directly, call (617) 422-5108 or visit http://www.chuanbodyandsoul.com/en/Boston.

About Langham Hospitality Group

Currently 26 member hotels are open or in the pipeline across four continents.

Langham Hospitality Group encompasses a family of distinctive hospitality brands, which include hotels, resorts, residential serviced apartments, restaurants and spas. It takes its name from the legendary Langham in London which was opened in 1865 as Europe’s first Grand Hotel. For almost 150 years, this flagship hotel has represented sophisticated and gracious hospitality, a philosophy that reflects elegance in design, innovation in hospitality, genuine service and captivation of the senses across all properties.

The brands include the luxurious Langham and international five-star Langham Place, the upscale Eaton Luxe, midscale Eaton Smart and the award-winning Chuan Spa.