The boutique Hotel Ella opens in the oldest neighborhood in Austin, Texas, on October 5.
Why to Go: The young and the young at heart will appreciate Hotel Ella’s location adjacent to West Campus, the most student-dense neighborhood of the college town of Austin. A few blocks from the University of Texas, the hotel is housed in the former home of one of the university’s founders.
What to Expect: The historic home was built in 1900 and was renovated a decade later to house 10 of the hotel’s 48 rooms and suites…

The American whiskey boom of recent years has prompted a good deal of experimentation. Lincoln Henderson, who spent 40 years as Brown-Forman’s master distiller, placed himself at the forefront of this movement with the 2011 introduction of his Angel’s Envy label, whose inaugural release was a bourbon finished in port barrels. With Angel’s Envy Rye, Henderson has again ventured into new territory. Distilled from 95 percent rye grain, the whiskey ages for at least six years in new, charred American oak barrels b…

A block from Santa Monica State Beach and just south of the city’s 104-year-old pier, a new $350 million residential complex, Ocean Avenue South, will offer units for sale beginning in November. The development, the first large residential project built on Ocean Avenue in more than 20 years, is further enhanced by its location adjacent to the city’s new 6-acre Tongva Park. The 158 condominiums (including 11 penthouses) will be contained in two separate buildings—the Waverly and the Seychelle—that also will hol…

Eden Rock, St. Barts’ first resort, has been an elite tropical getaway since the 1950s, having lured Greta Garbo, Howard Hughes, the Rockefellers, and, on New Year’s Eve, yachting enthusiasts. The Peak, one of Eden Rock’s top villa accommodations, is currently available for reservations and is a most suitable base from which to experience the December 31 festivities, which include the annual New Year’s Eve Regatta, fireworks over white sand beaches, and shipboard parties. (Eden Rock’s 24-hour concierge can hel…

While Bugatti is cagey about a successor to the two-seat Veyron—rumors have the company thinking about another sports car instead of the Galibier sedan concept first shown in 2010—it continues to roll out a series of limited-edition models to close out production of its quad-turbo 16-cylinder supercar.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Bugatti showed the Jean Bugatti, the second in a series of six models that pay tribute to significant figures in the company’s history. The first was presented at Pebble Beach and n…

Nandana Villa has just made it easier to access the exclusive gated beach community on Grand Bahama where it is located with a new private air transfer for its guests. For $1,500 one way, a 10-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan seaplane will fly within a mile of the secluded West End resort to meet Nandana’s 20-foot tender, which will bring guests the rest of the way. The seaplane service is operated by Tropic Ocean Airways and is available to guests coming from various points in south Florida and the Bahamas. (87…

After a roughly $16 million renovation, a 17th-century farmhouse in the Cotswolds reopened in August as the Dormy House hotel. The 40-room property is situated on the historic 400-acre Farncombe Estate, overlooking the Vale of Evesham, a renowned gardening region. London-based design firm Todhunter Earle worked with Cotswold architect Tony D’Alton to renovate the 400-year-old interiors, adding contemporary furniture covered in velvet, suede, and felt to a backdrop of the original oak beams, flagstone flooring,…

Cannes, France, home to the famous international film festival, is also the host city for the first major boat show of the European season. At this year’s Festival de la Plaisance de Cannes (www.salonnautiquecannes.com), 580 yachts, tenders, and sailboats of all types and sizes were on display. Some 150 of these vessels made their Mediterranean debuts at the show. And as usual, the yachts looked as elegant, dramatic, and classy on the water as actors do on the red carpet. Here are some of the new vessels that …

It is well known that Kentucky’s master distillers are fiercely independent, each claiming that his bourbon is the best. But when hardship strikes one of their own, they band together like long-lost brothers and rise to the occasion to achieve the greater good.
This was the case with the sad news that Parker Beam, master distiller emeritus for Heaven Hill, had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. In response, Kentucky’s major bourbon distilleries—Heaven Hill, Buffa…

Driven to replicate the vibrant paint colors she remembered from her childhood home in Puerto Rico, artist Gretchen Schauffler founded Devine Color 15 years ago from her working studio in Portland. The creamy paint is formulated with light-enhancing pigments and zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Last spring, the brand launched a new e-commerce website that offers an innovative method for consumers to purchase the paint from home. Schauffler’s Discovery Cards ($4.95 each, applied toward a paint purchase),…