Around The World

Serenity in the City

When Marco Polo visited Hangzhou in the 13th century, he described it as next to heaven, a magnificent city with 13,000 stone bridges. Did Polo embellish a bit in his famed diary? We’ll never know for sure because little of that ancient architecture survived. But Hangzhou (115 miles southwest of Shanghai) remains one of China’s most heavenly escapes. Surrounded by verdant mountains and tea plantations, the city sits near the edge of West Lake, a weeping willow lined tarn with flowering lotuses, golden carp, and waterfront pagodas that are lit up at night. You can hike a nine-mile path around the lake, stroll a paved trail into a bamboo grove, or peruse Silk City, an outdoor market where vendors sell fine silks. You can also take advantage of a new bicycle exchange program — pick up a bike at one of more than 100 locations and return it to any station. You’ll pay around $44 for a rental card, and each time you use a bicycle the charge is deducted from your balance (any unused portion is refundable). It’s free for the first hour, and the next three hours together cost a mere 44 cents. By bike, you can cruise to the nearby tea plantations to see how the leaves are cultivated and dried, and make your way to one of the city’s 800-plus teahouses. Many make a show of serving a perfectly poured cup of a local green tea called Longjing from a teapot with a four-foot-long spout.

With a restaurant named Tower Beyond Tower and a local specialty called Treasure from a Man and His Sister-in-Law (a sweet-and-sour dish also known as West Lake vinegar fish), Hangzhou has a way with words. Other poetically named spots include Orioles Singing in the Willows and the Peak That Flew Here — a hill that’s home to a temple built in AD 326 and dozens of 11th-century stone Buddhas. Captivated by Hangzhou, like Marco Polo, you might also pen diary descriptions that are pure poetry.

Getting There: Continental Airlines Vacations will be offering a China package including Shanghai and Hangzhou; or book Continentalís Flight 87 from New York/Newark to Shanghai (daily nonstop service starts March 25) and take a train ride to Hangzhou.

Watch Your Head

If you ever wondered why boomerangs don’t come back when you throw them, the answer is simple — you’re doing it wrong. Now you can learn to throw one correctly as part of the Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience tour at the Rainforestation Nature Park in North Queensland, Australia. Located 31 miles north of Cairns, in the middle of the World Heritage Rainforest, the park provides a glimpse into Aboriginal culture. The tour brings visitors into the rainforest aboard WWII-era amphibious vehicles, with opportunities to view koalas and other wildlife. rainforest.com.au — Dave Baldwin

Down By the River

Crisp alpine air, wind whistling through the aspens, your skis carving through freshly groomed runs, vistas of snowcapped peaks — the Rocky Mountains should be experienced with all the senses. For a taste, try Rick & Kelly’s American Bistro, which opened this past summer in Edwards, Colo., a few miles from Beaver Creek. Building on the success of her eponymous restaurant in Vail, 31-year-old chef Kelly Liken teams up with husband Rick Colomitz to fuse his wine knowledge with her skills in the kitchen. The bistro’s menu allows customers to create their idea of the perfect Colorado night: you can try the best from a local brewery or choose from one of 40 varieties of wine, customize an all-natural Colorado beef burger with toppings and sauces from regional purveyors, and enjoy it all while listening to Vail Valley musicians play to the flow of the Eagle River. rickandkellysbistro.com — Kelly Allen

9021-OH

The tony Beverly Hills zip code just got a bit swankier. The Thompson Beverly Hills hotel — located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and North Crescent Drive, 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles — boasts not only the West Coast’s first BondSt sushi restaurant, but also a new rooftop lounge, just like Thompson Hotels’ New York City flagship, 60 Thompson. Above Beverly Hills, which opened in June, features a heated pool, state-of-the-art gym, and private cabanas with flat-screen televisions and sofa beds. Guests in the lounge can nosh on BondSt favorites like the artichoke, Fuji apple, and mizuna salad, or sea bass skewers with sweet miso, all while sipping on martinis and margaritas and taking in the unparalleled 360-degree view. thompsonhotels.com — Keith Evans

Seek Shelter

Designer Philippe Starck’s new creation, Mama Shelter, might be a bit out of the way — it’s situated on the edge of Paris in the 20th Arrondissement. But the price is right — rooms start at 79 euros a night. Using the structure of an old parking garage, Starck has created a chic but edgy hotel that provides guests with satin sheets, superhero-themed night-lights, and iMacs that serve as in-room television sets. Dine in the hotel’s brasserie and enjoy simple scrumptious cuisine, or linger at the sleek bar, with its graffiti-splashed ceiling. Retire here and soak up the ambience of this peaceful retreat after an evening of music at the Parisian electro rock club La Fleche d’Or, located just across the street. mamashelter.com — Kathleen S. Carr

Bragging Rights

A bonefishing hot spot, and the locale that inspired Hemingway to write Islands in the Stream, Bimini (just a 45-minute flight off the coast of Florida) has something new to brag about: the Bahamas’ first Spa Chakra, inside the Bimini Bay Resort and Marina, is opening this spring. While the spa’s European and Indo-Chinese design influences depart from the resort’s soothing pastel palette and the (literally) on-the-water design of the “tree house” guest cottages, the Guerlain Paris treatments help foster the easy-breezy vibe. Guests can opt for in-room, poolside, or beachside massages, and more than 60 skin and body therapy treatments. biminibayresort.com— K.S.C.

Citizens of the World, Unite

The lobby of the citizenM hotel feels like a living room straight out of The Jetsons, with bellhops and marble fountains replaced by self-check-in kiosks, lounge furniture, and modern art. With computer-equipped workrooms and couch-filled lounges, the hotel’s hip design attracts all types. The canteen is open 24 hours, with baristas on hand in the morning, bartenders at night, and food served around the clock. Each room in the funky Amsterdam hotel is outfitted like a luxury capsule, with king-size bed, fine linens, power rain shower, free movies on an LCD TV, and your own personal Moodpad. The touch-screen device controls everything from the blinds to the color of the lighting. And a personalized ID card that doubles as your room key stores your settings for light, temperature, and wake-up times and instantly sets the room to your preferences the moment you walk through your door. Not even Rosie the Robot Maid was that on top of things. — Cole Rosengren

Chic Airport Sleeps

Forget what you think you know about airport hotels — NYLO has reinvented the airport sleepover. You won’t find cookie-cutter design at its hotels — the Plano, Texas, NYLO, for instance, features cowhide rugs, antler-shaped glass chandeliers, and other cowboy touches. The newest NYLO, in Warwick, R.I. (15 minutes south of Providence), takes its cues from the sea with a sky-blue restaurant and lounge. The hip loft-style rooms, with polished concrete floors, exposed brick walls, and towering ceilings and windows, will make you think of that sweet bohemian pad you never had. NYLO’s hipster hotels are built with recycled materials, run completely on renewable energy, and offer hypoallergenic guestrooms — and its services stretch into more aspects of your life than you might realize. The diverse but always trendy music selection playing throughout NYLO lounges is available for purchase off the chain’s Web site, and coming soon are NYLO fashions that match its unique brand of style. But the big surprise is that rooms start at $89 per night. Next year, look for NYLO in Irving, Texas; Denver/Boulder, Colo.; and Kansas City, Mo. nylohotels.com — G.H.

The Royal Treatment

When you (or, more likely, your child) walk into the elegant Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel holding a doll, you can expect a unique kind of service. The American Girl Experience package includes personalized service — your daughter and her doll will be greeted by name — complete with doll bathrobe and slippers. The hotel, a short walk from Grand Central Station in New York, greets guests with old-world hospitality. The doors are held by impeccably dressed doormen in jaunty hats, and the lobby is reminiscent of a well-appointed library. Stay here and you’ll feel like a guest in someone’s lavish 19th-century (doll) house. fitzpatrickhotels.com — K.S.C..

Getting There: All the destinations covered in “Go Explore” can be reached by flying Continental Airlines. To book your trip, visit covacations.com.