Spring, chocolate chip cookies, Fouquet’s New York, and why travel advisors always seem to be having so much fun…
Jaume Plensa’s Silent Music II at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville, TN. Photographed by Alice Meacham in March 2022.
Welcome to the Weekly Wonderlist! Your home for finding beauty, joy, connection, and awe around the corner and around the world.
Hellllloooooo Spring! This is my favorite season. Despite the fact that my eyes stay itchy and my head stuffy, the abundance of flowers, longer days, arrival of warm breezes, and opportunity to dump my snow boots and puffy coat back in the closet for another year is just too good to not fall in love. Spring is a little slower to peek out in the Hudson Valley but I have spent five days shuttling back and forth from NYC in the past week, and spring is FULLY in bloom there!
Why have I been back and forth so much? Well, for meetings with hoteliers, site visits, and a gals’ getaway with my mama. Definitely added a few items to my Wonderlist, so let’s get to it!
This chocolate chip cookie is from HÅKAN Chocolatier in Beacon, NY. It is every bit as good as it looks. Maybe even better.
Yes, cookies do belong on your wonderlist
You know how I said that Wonderlists can include things either big or small? Welcome to the small. This is not controversial, but I am calling it: we are living in the Golden Age of the Chocolate Chip Cookie. Unlike the cupcake and fro-yo crazes that took over in the early aughts, this chocolate chip cookie renaissance is a little more low-key. Crumbl aside, you aren’t seeing many new cookie chains flooding the market. (And I am going to be real here, I think Crumbl cookies are gross. And I love those nasty, ultra-sugary grocery store sugar cookies with the icing, so it isn’t like my bar is that high.)
When I say the Golden Age of the Chocolate Chip Cookie (CCC from here on out) is low-key, I mean that despite their starting to show up a lot more often in a lot more places, CCCs are remain pretty humble, seem not to be adopting too many wacky variations, and a lot of the best ones you can find are not at stores that are TikTok famous with hourlong lines outside the door, but are instead in local coffee shops, boutique dessert shops, or on restaurant dessert menus.
I would like to highlight 3 cookies that are so good they made my Wonderlist and I think should have a place on yours. They share a few similar qualities (as I mentioned, CCC stay close to their roots), but also set themselves apart from the rest of pack in their simplicity and consistently excellent quality. They are all on the larger size, but aren’t massive. They fit comfortably on a dessert plate, but would look weird served solo on a dinner plate. They are all soft in the middle. Not under-baked, but definitely not crunchy. And finally they have a perfect mix of sweet, toasty, caramelized and salty. So, for your enjoyment :
The Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie at Cold Spring Coffee House in Cold Spring, NY sets itself apart with its tiny in size, but massive in numbers, chocolate chips and the gentle nutty earthiness the tahini adds. The housemade pastries in general at this chill coffeeshop on the main street of charming Cold Spring are unexpectedly creative and high-quality, but don’t sleep on these cookies. Do yourself a favor, stop by as soon as you get off the Metro North, before your hiking and shopping. This isn’t massive operation, so they sell out of a lot of their baked goods on busy days.
Tucked away in a small storefront at the bustling Stanley Marketplace, a converted former aviation manufacturing facility about 20 minutes from downtown Denver, Colorado, is Miette et Chocolat, a chocolaterie and pâtisserie. Their chocolates and pastries will naturally catch your eye first. They should as they are beautiful and delicious. And you know what? Get some of them. But also, get one of the chocolate chip cookies. They may not have the glamor of the gateau or the macaron, but you just might have your own Ratatouille-style visions of childhood nostalgia when you bite into one.
That perfect looking cookie in the photo above? It is from HÅKAN Chocolatier in Beacon, NY (the next stop on the Metro North after Cold Spring, actually.) Håkan Mårtensson, who hails from Sweden, where he received his early culinary training and went on to win gold medals at the Culinary Olympics and World Cup as part of the Swedish National Culinary Team. After moving to the US, he became the Master Chocolatier at the trendsetting FIKA in NYC. And now the Hudson Valley is lucky enough to be the home of his chocolate shop. Obviously, everything is technically perfect at HÅKAN, from the truffles to the bars to the hot chocolate, but you would be remiss to skip his chocolate chip cookies. I might have driven about 45 minutes out of my way just to pick a couple up last week. And you know what? No regrets.
The expansive Spa Diane Barrière at Fouquet’s New York
Welcome to your Own little corner of France, right in NYC!
Bienvenue à Fouquet’s New York! Last week I did a site visit at Fouquet’s, which I have long found intriguing and left completely in love. I do not play favorites, because I truly believe there is a lid for every pot (ie, different hotels are perfect for different people.) But if I had to pick one of the top 3 hotels where I personally would most want to stay in the city, Fouquet’s would 100% be in there. What can I say? I love color, detail-oriented design, and it has that certain je ne sais quoi. It doesn’t hurt that I am also an unabashed Francophile.
The hotel, managed by the French Groupe Barrière, has all the charm and glamor of Paris, nestled right between the trendy SoHo and Tribeca neighborhoods in Manhattan. While the property is on the petite side, with just under 100 rooms and suites, even the entry level rooms and large and it has every luxury amenity one could want, including: excellent bars and restaurants, a private cinema, and an expansive wellness space comprised of the dreamy Spa Diane Barrière and a Dogpound Gym. (Dogpound sound familiar? Maybe this super-exclusive gym is where celebs such as Kaia Gerber and Taylor Swift go to get ripped.) I am very particular about spas and Spa Diane Barrière definitely impressed!
For me, the decor, though, truly sets this property apart and ahead of so many others in a city that features a wealth of incredible hotels. My favorite hotel designer, the now legendary Martin Brudnizki, headed up this project which effortlessly joins his eye for luxe textures, patterns, colors and fabrics, with a chic and elegant French finish. I was particularly wow-ed by the unique pistachio and lavender color palette in the guest rooms; the residential level finishes; the nautical, Deauville-inspired stripes in the hallways; and the remarkable penthouse, which has to be seen to be believed. It is STUNNING>
Who is this property best for? Travelers who want the feel of the most chic NYC luxury properties but prefer not to stay on the Upper East Side. Girls’ weekends. Adults who value quality, design, and refinement, without the stuffiness.
The Wonderlist Company is a Virtuoso affiliate, therefore guests reserving this hotel through us receive added benefits such as:
Daily breakfast
Hotel credits
Room upgrades, and early check-in/late check-out (subject to availability)
Plus a few surprises!
My colleague, Lauren, and I on a Fam trip in London. During this two night, one full day Fam we did site visits at both of the Mandarin Oriental hotels in London, had a behind-the-scenes tour at jeweler Jessica McCormack’s studio, and went on a cheeky and unique tour of the city with smallcarBIGCITY in their retro Mini Coopers.
Photo by Jennifer Domenick of Love Life Images
Why Do Travel Advisors always seem to be having so much fun?
I think a common misconception about working as a luxury travel advisor is that we just spend all our time flitting around the world enjoying luxury hotels and experiences. I mean, okay, we definitely flit around the world a fair amount! And we also enjoy the luxury hotels and experiences. But in actually, these site visits, lunches, and familiarization trips are:
1) a lot of work (we will break this down another time)
2) essential to help make sure we are able to personally vette properties and experiences in order to curate perfect travel experiences for our clients
3) how we build the relationships that improve our clients’ travels in way both tangible and emotional
You know how I mentioned that I have been to NYC (which takes me an hour and a half to get to) a lot over the last few weeks? During this time I have:
Done site visits (full tours) of 3 luxury hotels: The Mandarin Oriental, New York; Fouquet’s New York; and the St. Regis New York. All three of these hotels are incredible, but they are all for different clients. And now I have a better idea of which hotel is the best fit for which client.
Met in-person with literally dozens of sales directors and hoteliers from around the world including those from: Mandarin Oriental Hotels, Auberge Resort Collection, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, The Plaza, Orient-Express (which now includes trains, hotels and soon, sailing yachts), OneFineStay luxury villas, tourism boards, private jet companies, luxury tour operators and more. Making these connections, face-to-face, not only allows me to learn more about their various properties and products, but almost more importantly, means that when I have a client staying with them, I have a personal relationship to ensure that everything runs smoothly, or if it something does go awry, I can get it dealt with extremely efficiently. It is what Embark Beyond, the company I am affiliated with, refers to as the “Power of Partnerships.” This also helps our clients access VIP service and experiences. If there is one upgrade available, and it comes down to a hotel guest who booked their stay via the online Amex booking tool or a hotel guest who booked with an advisor who recently spent time over lunch with the hotel’s Director of Sales sharing stories and learning about each other's families, who do you think will be getting that upgrade?
