Hotel Veritas celebrates 2nd anniversary with 2nd TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence!

Today is the second anniversary of the opening of Hotel Veritas and we just received word that we were awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the second year in a row!  We’re thrilled that our guests have shared their comments so often on TripAdvisor and that we are ranked the number one hotel in Cambridge.

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today announced that it is awarding highly rated accommodations, restaurants and attractions with the 2012 Certificate of Excellence Award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of accommodations listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travelers on the site,” said Christine Petersen, President, TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence Award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable restaurants in Boston, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience.”

A beehive in Harvard Square – and perhaps one for your home?

Just across the street from Hotel Veritas is a thriving, happy beehive – which happens to be in the most incredible little shop called Follow The Honey.  Actually, they call themselves a “story” rather than a “shop.”

“Follow The Honey is not just a store, it’s a honeybee-centric STORY [an adventure!] illuminating the landscape, wildlife and humanity from whence its nectar flow originates. To this noble mission, Follow The Honey travels the world bringing the finest of “transparency of source” honeys and bee-inspired offerings to you and your sweet ones. In addition to raw untreated honeys, we offer solar power created aromatherapy beeswax candles, mead kits, honey filled truffles from local chocolatiers, holiday cards, silk hexy-sexy scarves, Apis melliferous bling, books of Melissae both scholarly & esoteric,  propolis tinctures, pure pollen, with honey infused lotions, soaps, scrubs & salves. We even carry Iggy’s bread on weekends to slather your honey on with an organic local cheese to pair ~ we are your all purpose sweet gifting honeypot in Harvard Square!”

Helping tell the story of Follow The Honey and bees is Noah Wilson-Rich, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Best Bees Company. Based in Boston, MA, they specialize in installing honey bee hives in densely populated, urban areas – offering their services to the Greater Boston area and Cape Cod.  Noah was recently interviewed by CNN for a segment on The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Bees and wrote a very interesting article for cnn.com.  He writes, “Honey bees are dying. This is a global phenomenon and a worldwide problem affecting food availability. Like climate change, the decline of honey bees is not unprecedented. There were great die offs of honey bees reported as early as the year 950 A.D. in Ireland, called the “Great Mortality of Bees”. This repeated in Ireland is 992 and 1443. The great die-off crossed the pond in 1903 when 2,000 colonies died in Cache Valley, Utah. Three years later, 100% of hives died on the Isle of Wight, UK. And then, in 1996 and again in 2006, Pennsylvania beekeepers reported alarming numbers of honey bee die offs. These die-offs are continuing today, but under the auspice of a new name, Colony Collapse Disorder.”

We’re fascinated by the story of Follow The Honey – and of the disappearing bees.  And now we’re ready to enjoy some honey.

Follow The Honey, 1132 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138

 

 

Imagine Helen Keller with an iPhone!

Helen Keller.  Anne Sullivan.  Braille classes.   Before today, that’s pretty much all that I knew about the Perkins School for the Blind.

Over a delicious lunch at Upstairs on the Square (thanks to Susan Regis and Mary-Catherine Deibel!), I joined several people for a discussion with Steven Rothstein, the president of the school.  Based in Watertown, MA just three miles from Hotel Veritas, the Perkins School educates hundreds of students on their historic 38-acre campus overlooking the Charles River.  Although the organization is 183 years old, Steven said they are “just getting started.”  The incredible advances in technology have changed everything for people who are blind or deafblind.  Perkins offers a Braille & Talking Book Library, which provides free services to Massachusetts residents of any age who are unable to read traditional print materials due to a visual or physical disability.

Global Impact

By working with parents, government officials, and educators, Perkins is able to provide training and assistance in more than 60 countries.

Some of their successes:

• 20,000 children who are deafblind or blind with additional disabilities receive educational services
• 52,000 family members receive support
• 13,400 teachers and administrators are professionally prepared
• 100 parent groups and advocacy coalitions collaborate to improve educational services
• Successful university teacher training programs are established in 17 locations
• 200 international leaders trained in the Educational Leadership Program at Perkins now serve as regional resource persons
• More than 190 leaders from Africa and the Caribbean trained through the Institutional Development Program—these leaders manage organizations serving nearly 17,000 people who are blind
• Over 300,000 Perkins Braillers® benefit people who are blind in 170 countries
• Professional literature and education publications have been produced in 21 languages
• In 27 countries, government polices or practices changed in relation to the education of children with multiple disabilities
• Over 200,000 children, family members, teachers, and professionals have directly benefited from program activities
• The teachers and professionals trained in the program are projected to serve 1.8 million people over the next 20 years

Community Programs

Perkins offers many services for people of all ages who are visually impaired as well as for vision professionals, classroom teachers, care providers for individuals 55 and older, medical professionals and family members.

• Special classes and programs offered on and off our campus
• Services provided by our Braille & Talking Book Library and Low Vision Clinic
• In-home outreach efforts for infants
• Outreach to students and teachers in public and private schools

Needless to say, the lunch “opened my eyes” to the incredible work of the Perkins School for the Blind and I look forward to finding new ways to support them.  (Steven used the “opened my eyes” line, so I’m using it, too.)

Posted by Benson Willis, General Manager of Hotel Veritas

A Night at Pigalle

My friend and I had been talking about a weekend in Montreal for ages, we were hoping it would happen this spring, it didn’t. So in lieu of a trip to a francophone land, we decided to have an exquisite French meal. During our tenure in Boston we had both heard amazing things about Pigalle, a small French restaurant nestled in Boston’s Theater district. The chef, James Beard nominee Marc Orfaly, is constantly lauded for his culinary creations.  I am happy to perpetuate the ‘word-of-mouth,’ for Pigalle, that “You must go there!”

The restaurant is small and intimate. The decor really suits the restaurant. Whomever did the decorating knew the integrity of the restaurant, it feels perfect.

The people at Pigalle are warm, they really took care of us. I felt like a guest as opposed to a patron, a feeling that makes the restaurant experience very memorable.

At the bar was Jack and the Friday night “pop-up oyster bar.” Pop-up Oyster Bars are a new summer trend that Pigalle hosts on Friday nights. You can sit at the bar and enjoy Jack’s oyster knowledge while he shucks some of the best bivalves.

The food is remarkable, really, I know because I have been constantly talking about it. Can I recommend an entire menu? I really wanted to peak in the kitchen and see how it was orchestrated. I consider myself a great cook, but I could not recreate any of our courses at home.

Pigalle is a gem, a setting to have memorable moments, food that you’ll dream about, and meet people that will charm you. If you’re looking for a quicker trip, they offer a generous theater and bar menu.  No matter the occasion, I recommend Pigalle.

A votre sante,

Laurie

Posted by Laurie, Concierge at Hotel Veritas

2012 James Beard Award Winners near Hotel Veritas

On your next visit to Hotel Veritas, you can experience two of the latest recipients of the James Beard Award.

Best Chef, Northeast:  Tim Cushman, O Ya
Outstanding Wine Program: No. 9 Park

We’re getting hungry and thirsty just typing this.

 

“RAISE THE ROOF” Benefit Exhibition Returns May 5 – 28, 2012

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education presents RAISE THE ROOF, a show of art works by CCAE students and teachers – past and present – which will run from May 5 – 28, 2012.

“This is one of the most exciting art shows the Cambridge Center for Adult Education has ever done,” says executive director Susan Hartnett. “We expect to exhibit more than 400 works of art by artists at all stages in their careers – from the most accomplished to the very beginner.”

All work on display will be offered for sale to the public — most of it in the very affordable $100 – 300 range.

“The proceeds will be split 50/50 between the artist and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education,” says Hartnett. “CCAE will use its share to fund improvements to our class rooms, including but not limited to new lighting, new storage units and new sinks.”

RAISE THE ROOF first transpired in the spring of 2010, when a group of students and teachers joined with Hartnett to raise money to fix two leaky roofs over CCAE’s art and dance studios.

This year RAISE THE ROOF is being organized by Julia Csekö, an artist and independent curator who has worked with both emerging and established professionals through a series of exhibitions at GroupPy. She is also a second-year graduate student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

“Julia has recently discovered and fallen in love with CCAE – our teachers, our students and our staff,” says Hartnett. “She now teaches here and has been visiting all of our art classes to reach out to everyone.

The first RAISE THE ROOF featured drawings, paintings and photographs.

“This year we are expanding to include sculpture, too,” says Csekö, “And Harvard University has donated the use of a great exhibit space at 92 Mount Auburn Street (formerly the Globe Corner Bookstore) which has track lighting, huge windows, and tremendous visibility. The exhibit will be staffed from 12 noon to 9:00 pm daily, but because of the fantastic location, most  of the show will be on view 24 hours a day.”

So far RAISE THE ROOF has been a lot of fun.

“The students and teachers are very devoted to the Center,” says Csekö. “There has been very strong interest in participating and contributing art work. Not only current but former students are eager to be involved, too.”

RAISE THE ROOF is part of CCAE’s ongoing revitalization of their Brattle Street campus.

“We have been raising money so that we can address historic preservation, energy efficiency, and classroom upgrades in our beloved buildings,” says Hartnett, “so that the Cambridge Center can flourish in the 21st century.”

“We hope everyone who visits Harvard Square during the month of May will drop by RAISE THE ROOF. Even if they are not able to buy a work of art,” adds Hartnett, “they will be inspired by the range and quality of work on display.”

There is an opening reception party on Thursday, May 10 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm,  which everyone is welcome to attend.

Who:    CCAE students, instructors, and alumni

What:   Benefit exhibition of 400 art works to raise money for CCAE

When:   Saturday, May 5 – Monday, May 28, 2012

Where:  92 Mount Auburn Street in the heart of Harvard Square

Hours:  12 noon – 9:00 pm daily

Party:  Opening Reception on Thursday, May 10 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Cost:   Opening reception is FREE (original works of art will be for sale at a range of affordable prices)

Phone:  617-547-6789 x1

Web:    http://www.ccae.org/raisetheroof

Take a Walk in the Cemetery, It’s Beautiful

Mount Auburn Cemetery is located on the outskirts of Cambridge, near the Watertown and Belmont boarders. It’s one of my favorite places to take a stroll, and no, I am not being morbid. The Mount Auburn Cemetery is a sprawling garden that pays tribute to all who are burried there. It has been lauded for it’s landscape architecture. It is a sanctuary just outside of the city, where people can enjoy nature. I like to sit at the banks of the ponds and enjoy the world around me. For a peaceful retreat head to Mount Auburn Cemetery.

To refuel after the walk and reflection, treat yourself to an earthquake cookie at Sofra Bakery and Cafe!

Cheers,

Laurie

Directions to Mt. Auburn Cemetery from Hotel Veritas (1.7 miles)
Directions to Sofra Bakery and Cafe from Hotel Veritas (1.9 miles)

Posted by Laurie, Concierge at Hotel Veritas

In Cambridge for a day? Get an education!

There is a wealth of high quality education here in Cambridge, and travelers to our fair city have access to that education, if only for one day. The Cambridge Center for Adult Education offers a generous list of one-time Saturday or Sunday workshops that will introduce  students to a new topic, and provide a fun, rounded experience! Looking at the course list for late Spring, early Summer, there are plenty of ideas for travelers (and locals!).

Traveling to Boston and not quite sure how to work your new SLR camera? You can take a day long workshop and pick up techniques, then, you can spend the rest of your stay capturing the sites around town. Don’t have a SLR camera, but want one? The savvy staff at Hunt’s Photo and Video will help you choose the one that suites your needs!

Do you always stop at Julia Child‘s favorite butcher, Savenor’s Market, when in Cambridge? Well, if exploring the art of carving is an interest of yours, why not attend “Butchery 101″ and learn through lecture  how master butchers make the cut.

Or, how about an introductory course on Glassblowing Flowers? Coupled with a visit to the Glass Flower Collection at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, you would have a beautiful weekend.

For an extremely unique New England experience, try A Taste of Blacksmithing! What a story?! You could say you visited the home of Boston’s (most historical) silversmith Paul Revere on Saturday and then took a blacksmithing lesson on Sunday!

The suggestions could go on (for a full list, see the Cambridge Center for Adult Education website).

Artist: Valerie Isaacs

But before I stop, I must provide one more idea: Painting Sundays on The Charles. The city closes Memorial Drive on Sundays, so the typically congested river-side scene becomes friendly and relaxing. If you don’t have your art supplies with you, no need to worry! Stop at Utrecht Art to arm yourself with watercolors!

We are happy to have such a spectacular center for adult education enriching our community. We hope you take advantage of a class, if time allows!

Cheers,

Laurie

Posted by Laurie, Concierge at Hotel Veritas

Hotel Veritas – a 2012 “Best of New England” by Yankee Magazine!

Hotel Veritas has been recognized as a 2012 “Editors’ Choice” winner in Yankee Magazine‘s Travel Guide to New England!

“Best Posh Retreat For Scholars”
“If you had a decadently wealthy but utterly refined Italian uncle who also taught at Harvard for his own amusement, his house might look something like this 31-room hotel, shoehorned into a tiny lot at the edge of Harvard Square. Rooms are compact but brilliantly designed: intimate rather than cramped.”

This designation is awarded by Yankee‘s editors and contributors, who name select restaurants, lodgings, and attractions in New England to the exclusive list. For 36 years, Yankee Magazine‘s Travel Guide to New England has been the most widely distributed and best-selling guide to the six-state region, providing readers with a comprehensive vacation-planning tool and daily reference.

“This special travel issue highlights ‘The Best of New England’: more sights to see, things to do, places to eat or spend an overnight than most of us could possibly fit into even the most jam-packed vacation,” says Yankee‘s editor Mel Allen.  “Wherever you may travel this season in New England, there’s certain to be a Yankee ‘Best’ nearby.”

Yankee Magazine’s May/June 2012 Travel Guide, on newsstands April 24, feature 287 “Best of New England – Editor’s Choice” selections, which include the region’s best dining and lodging venues, attractions, adventures, local secrets, and bargains. This special issue also names 120 top events around New England and shares 15 walks – from strolls on Martha’s Vineyard, an inn-to-inn trek in Vermont, and a cliff walk in Maine.  Treat yourself and celebrate with fresh recipes for summer’s first fruit – strawberries.  Plus, feast in the best 12 lobster shacks in our six-state region.

Earn free nights at Hotel Veritas!

We are very excited to announce that we are now a partner hotel with Stash Hotel Rewards, a hotel rewards program for authentic, independently-run hotels. Members earn and redeem points for free nights at one-of-a-kind hotels across the U.S., including some of the best spas in Napa, upscale resorts in the Rockies and Florida, and boutique gems in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C, and now Hotel Veritas!

Start earning points on your next stay by joining Stash Rewards now!