Inspiring Travel Writing from Ken Scrudato
New York based writer Ken Scrudato travels often, in part, because the city in which he resides has begun to bore him to his last nerve. Considering himself more a gadfly than a journalist, his musings on nightlife, music, travel and epicurean concerns have appeared in Black Book, Flaunt, surface, SOMA, Nylon and France Today. He is part of Amnesty International's Freedom Writers network, and is the founder of the theoretical but not entirely facetious Champagne Socialist Party. He doesn't get much sleep.
Articles by Ken Scrudato
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The Most Stylish Boutique Hotels in Eastern Europe
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Ken Scrudato
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Czech Republic
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Prague Region
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Prague
Before a recent visit to Berlin, an American ex-pat friend living there, upon discovering our choice of hotel, implored us not to stay in the West; as if such an action would strike a harsh blow to the bohemian solidarity that has been so carefully...
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Hotel des Grands Hommes
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Ken Scrudato
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France
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Ile-de-France
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Paris
Paris is crawling with literary pedigree. But the recently renovated Hotel Des Grands Hommes--literally, Hotel Of The Great Men--lays a particular claim: Philippe Soupault and Andre Breton founded "automatic writing" here, thus giving birth to...
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The Imperial
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Ken Scrudato
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Austria
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Vienna
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Vienna
Upon entering the Hotel Imperial, you instantly get the impression that your stay might find you passing Mick Jagger, Kofi Annan, or various members of faded aristocratic clans in the hallways. Like the city it calls home, this hotel is impossibly,...
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De Witte Lelie
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Ken Scrudato
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Belgium
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Flanders
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Antwerp
Tales circulate of couples changing their wedding dates in order to include the De Witte Lelie in their honeymoon plans. And while there is no hipper city than Antwerp, there is also no more passionately realized hotel in the world than this...
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Copernicus
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Ken Scrudato
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Poland
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Krakow Region
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Krakow
Those who are aware of such things, know that Krakow is the new Florence; it’s got all the ancient beauty, without the maddening tourist hordes. And the 29-room Hotel Copernicus (yes, the eminent philosopher was a guest here) is where the...
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The Lennox
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Ken Scrudato
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United Kingdom
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Greater London
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London
London is so deep into its style wars, it's a wonder the monarchy hasn't evaporated in the face of all that shiny modernism. The Lennox, however, is an astounding pairing of the classic and the contemporary. A converted Victorian townhouse, it's at...
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Hotel Gault
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Ken Scrudato
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Canada
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Quebec
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Montreal
You can’t swing a baguette in Montreal without hitting a boutique hotel, but The Gault is easily the most daring and fascinating of them all. Despite being set in a spectacular 19th Century building, this futuristic homage to concrete and steel...
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Hotel Celio
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Ken Scrudato
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Italy
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Lazio
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Rome
Housed a mansion that dates to 1870, Hotel Celio is Roma's secret jewel, tucked away in a residential area, behind the Colosseum---just far enough from the frightening Papal-tour group throngs. The 20 purely divine rooms, each named for a famous...
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Palazzo Niccolini Al Duomo
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Ken Scrudato
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Italy
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Tuscany
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Florence
If Hotel Burchianti is somewhat difficult to find, Palazzo Niccolini verges on the impossible. My experience was that my taxi driver had no idea of its existence, and its neighbors on the Via Dei Servi knew precious little more. This is a good thing...
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La Colombe d'Or
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Ken Scrudato
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United States
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Texas
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Houston
Inspired years ago by the namesake hotel in Provence, Stephen Zimmerman set about recreating the artist-haunt vibe of the original--ostensibly a rather difficult task in American oil baron territory. Once within this 1920's former mansion, if one...