Things are looking up at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, following a face-lift this summer of the grande dame on Florida’s Vanderbilt Beach.
Jennifer Ashton Ryan
Why Go: Firmly established as the social center of Naples, Fla., the 450-room hotel has stood its ground on Vanderbilt Beach since 1985. The property embarked on its largest renovation ever, closing for two months and reemerging on October 1 with new rooms, suites, and restaurants, and back-of-house improvements throughout.
What to Expect: The Ritz-Carlt…

Evan Yurman, the trailblazing chief design director for David Yurman, has created a collectible bottle stopper for Patrón Añejo tequila that reflects his edgy design aesthetic, which often pairs metals of different colors and textures with unexpected minerals and gems. Similar in style to his men’s jewelry, Yurman has forged a two-tone cast-metal sword bottle stopper that is plated in contrasting deep-gray gunmetal and 24-karat gold. It is carved with patterns inspired by 18th-century Japanese samurai swords. …

A rare Archibald Quincy Jones estate in Trousdale—an exclusive enclave of Beverly Hills—is now on the market. The modernist architect and University of Southern California professor, better known as Quincy, designed more than 5,000 commercial and residential projects in his 42-year career, including numerous single-family residences in Los Angeles that were built during the heyday of Hollywood glamour. Like most of the midcentury estates in the area, many of Jones’s projects have been significantly altered or …

Top European stemware manufacturers celebrate their notable collections with these exquisite new goblets, flutes, and crystal accessories.  
Lalique
Wingen-sur-Moder, France
Last fall, crystal manufacturer Lalique and wine critic James Suckling released a universal wineglass to such acclaim that the team has created eight additional pieces. The full 100 Points collection, which debuted in October, features Bordeaux, Burgundy, and water glasses in addition to a Champagne flute, two different-sized tumb…

The usually tranquil country roads of California’s premier wine region once again resound with the revving of supercharged engines and flash with glints of polished chrome as a select cadre of Robb Report readers gather at the Meadowood resort in Napa Valley to determine which of the new 2014 sports and luxury models will be selected as our next Car of the Year. Over the course of the next week, these dedicated drivers will test the mettle of the marques represented in this year’s roundup—including being among…

Chefs Todd English, Michael Chiarello, Christopher Kostow, and Masaharu Morimoto are headlining this year’s Flavor! Napa Valley Wine and Food Festival, from November 20 to 24. The five-day event, which features Napa Valley wineries and chefs along with graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, presents workshops, tastings, and demonstrations led by chefs, 25 local winemakers, the wine expert Jon Bonné (author of The Wine Bible), and the master sommeliers Andrea Robinson and Larry Stone.
Hardcore oenophi…

Ahead of its official launch in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Porsche Macan SUV has been spotted during testing in Southern California. Details of this addition to the German automaker’s lineup are unofficially emerging.
Though the compact-sized Macan employs the same 110.5-inch wheelbase and architecture as the Audi Q5, it is slightly longer, lower, and wider. The Macan shares its looks with the larger Cayenne—a large grille opening flanked by additional vents, triangular light clusters, and a r…

After being out of print for almost four decades, the Zervos Picasso Catalogue—the authoritative reference on Pablo Picasso’s life work—will be available exclusively through Sotheby’s starting in December. Known as the Zervos, the 33 volumes contain more than 16,000 paintings and drawings and are the product of a lifelong collaboration between Picasso and Christian Zervos, the founder of Cahiers d’Art, the French publishing house that printed the first volume of the series in 1932. For the new release, Cahiers…

This fall, silversmith and tableware company Christofle has added a Beverly Hills showroom to its list of over 70 store locations around the globe. Though the French brand is steeped in nearly two centuries of tradition (it has crafted numerous collections for French royalty over the years including about 4,000 pieces for Napoleon III), the new 1,000-square-foot showroom boasts a contemporary exterior composed of perforated metal panels, while a mirrored ceiling inside calls to mind a scene from the 2010 film …

Over the last century, Poltrona Frau has become known worldwide not only for its au courant furniture but also for the leather it supplies to top automobile marques such as Ferrari, Maserati, and Rolls-Royce. With the new Poltrona Frau Icons collection, the Italian furniture manufacturer is looking back to re-create some of the best pieces from influential designers. The first installment, which launched in October, includes three timeless pieces from the 1950s by the Italian designer Gastone Rinaldi. Using ex…