HotHot this month AndyAndy Warhol,Warhol, blanket fforts,orts, HonolHonoluluullu stsstreettreet art, mmysteryystery mansmansionsions FEBRUARYFEBRB UARYR 2018 CARTAGENA’S NEXT BIG THING LEARNING GOLF FROM A ROBOT GHOSTED: EERIE GOLD RUSH TOWNS A BLIND MAN’S BAJA ODYSSEY MAKING HIS MARK ChadwickChadwick Boseman shredsshreds barriersbarriers in BlackBlack PanthPantherer “I MADE IT BACK IN ONE PIECE!” OLYMPIAN SHANI DAVIS ON HIS SWEDISH ADVENTURES 001_Cover.indd 1 09/01/2018 08:42 FROM THE EDITORS WHAT THE TEAM KNOWS Our editors share their insights from this month’s stories The Power of Story Senior Editor rowing up, my favorite comic hero was Batman—fi ghting Derrik J. Lang the good fi ght, he was a mysterious outsider with a cave, a I never realized how much fantastic car and a soft spot for Catwoman. As a kid, it’s a went into the L.A. hotel rush to have a hero, but also a comfort—I felt connected to room vanities where stars will be glamming it up for GBatman’s success. That resonated when I read our story on cover star next month’s Oscars until Chadwick Boseman, who portrays Black Panther, Marvel Comics’ fi rst the designers explained black superhero. Sure, Black Panther is a thrill ride, but it’s more than the importance of every that. During our interview, Chadwick shouldered the cultural meaning detail—from closet space with aplomb, and even showed us that superheroes have a groove, break- to the best light bulbs. Page 22 ing out his best James Brown dance moves. This year marks the 170th anniversary of the Gold Rush. Those were exciting times—boom towns, saloons, new money, big dreams. Today, some of those former main streets are ghost towns with an eerie beauty and a palpable sense of stories past. We sent writer Toby Skinner out West to give us a rundown of which ones to visit and why—be it for their haunting histo- ries or fun Americana kitsch. Another favorite this month is our feature “Follow My Voice.” What Managing Editor if you had the chance to go sea kay- Fred Gonzalez aking and camping along the Baja My kids often turn our living room into a fun zone, Peninsula? Sounds great, but what complete with blanket forts if you had lost your sight? We join and pillow towers, but, oh, a group of disabled adventurers as how I wish we had blueprints. they take on this challenge—both Kudos to Wyndham hotels frustrating and exhilarating—and for offering in-room come back with stories only they blanket fort plans using what’s already there. could achieve. Page 30 Every neighborhood has tales to tell, and Cartagena’s Getsemaní, one of the most dynamic areas in Colombia, has more than its share. Associate editor Jess Swanson got to know the new hotspots, the people behind them and the colorful roots of the district. In a neighborhood so vibrant, you might even come back with a story or two of your own. Associate Editor Jess Swanson Enjoy the issue. Take your shoes off in Miami before the night’s over and you’ll be dubbed a pata sucia (dirty foot Boseman in Spanish). But at Bill Kearney, relaxes on Cartagena’s Café Havana, Editor-in-Chief the Kimpton no one bats an eye if you Everly Hotel toss your heels and rooftop in salsa into the wee hours. Los Angeles Page 71 6 – AMERICAN WAY 006_EdLetter.rev.1.10.indd 6 11/01/2018 08:39 NEED TO KNOW STARRY NIGHTS 5 Novel drinks are flowing A Hemingway-themed bar opens off the beaten path in Hong Kong Near the site of the Hong Kong hotel that hosted newlyweds Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn in 1941, The Old Man, a speakeasy-style bar dedicated to the author, is earning raves. A staircase off Aberdeen Street leads to the 25-seat den where the menu offers nine cocktails, including the Papa Doble (pineapple sous vide rum, pink grapefruit) and The Sun Also Rises (copra fat-washed applejack, curry leaf- 4 infused gin, sweet vermouth sous vide The Oscars pandan leaves). The bar’s Jessica tropical décor is inspired really start here Chastain glams it up at by Hemingway’s life in the Viceroy Cuba, while co-owner Celebs seek out these L.A. hotels when L’Ermitage they primp for award shows Beverly Hills Agung Prabowo’s mosaic portrait serves as a tribute. VICEROY L’ERMITAGE SUNSET MARQUIS WALDORF ASTORIA Prabowo says, “He was BEVERLY HILLS Academy Award winners BEVERLY HILLS a big part of the drinking No worries if you can’t swing such as George Clooney, French interior designer the presidential suite like Matthew McConaughey and Pierre-Yves Rochon loves culture, and probably Jessica Chastain did before Julia Roberts have each spent a well-placed sconce. “I the best bar last year’s Golden Globes. time in this West Hollywood attached them directly to patron in the world.” GETTY IMAGES INSET: BOTTOM MIKE ROSENTHAL; INSET: SHELLIE FRAI; TOP DRINKS WORDS: NOVEL DARRAH; PAIGE WORDS: VANITY The Viceroy L’Ermitage hotel’s Presidential Villa, the mirrors,” he says of the Beverly Hills’ 115 other suites which was renovated by set dressing rooms in California’s have glamorous dressing areas, designer-turned-interior first Waldorf Astoria, which too. “The hotel used to be a designer Oliva Villaluz. “It’s lit opened in June. “That’s how big celebrity hotspot, but it up like a stage,” says Villaluz it was in actors’ dressing hadn’t been renovated in of the villa’s opulent dressing rooms during the ’30s. forever and didn’t have the room. “We used special The light always came from right vibe for getting dressed, tungsten light bulbs for the the mirror, so as not to throw so we really focused on makeup mirrors.” There a shadow when applying bringing that back,” says are $1,500 swivel stools makeup.” The suites feature interior designer Kara Smith, positioned against the high-gloss cherrywood who led L’Ermitage’s 2016 six-foot-wide vanity counter, with leather accents and makeover. Camoufl age-print but the villa’s wildest touch is illuminated shelving. “Like a rugs lead like runways to a huge painting of a skull chic Hermès closet,” Rochon illuminated three-way mirrors, hanging in the bathroom. says. “Actors often bring lots with ample space for fi ttings. “It sounds so dark, but our of options for each party, “We put seating everywhere, rock star guests like Steven so we thought a lot about so people could hang out.” Tyler just love skulls.” the presentation of clothing.” viceroyhotelsandresorts.com sunsetmarquis.com waldorfastoriabeverlyhills.com 22 – AMERICAN WAY 022_NTK-AwardsHotels.indd 22 10/01/2018 10:18.