Our latest crush: Palihouse has great food for locals and guests
(Credit: Grey Crawford)
Hotel dining, of course, is nothing new. Back in the days of the Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel (may it rest in peace), out-of-towners and locals alike mixed and mingled in glamorous halls. Granted, it was less about food than putting on the airs of the rich and famous. Even today, hotel restaurants are pinnacles of pampering. The valet, the concierge, the bell boy, the maitre d’hotel—anyone bearing a uniform can potentially serve you. And it’s common knowledge that whatever happens at hotels, stays at hotels.
Boutique lodgings dominate the current trend. Small and impossibly stylish, they offer restaurants of character that function more like neighborhood bistros. Meanwhile, other hotels with grander notions are going for star power, featuring celebrity names that will draw destination diners. Whatever the scale, once-stodgy dining rooms are making some outstanding food-worthy noise—you’ll find more than outdated entrees of steak, chicken, or surf and turf. Whether you’re looking for boho chic or the Four Seasons, an updated coffee shop or an opulent private cabana, we’ve gathered all the newcomers as well as the noteworthy precursors to the lodging-dining trend. And if it’s late enough, you may even be inspired to book a room.
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