The Premium Life

“Darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue!”

As I was crossing over Park Avenue on Friday night I had that god-awful, Green Acres song stuck in my head – as if I’ve ever even seen that show! I was skipping along, super excited to meet my friend at the newly revamped Mark Hotel on 77th Street and Madison Avenue – I did mention this renovation a few months ago – it is finally open!

The Mark Hotel is an original 1927 building, but the old-school-styled set was recently revamped and merged Art Deco glamour with modern furnishings, lots of marble and beautiful artwork. The Mark turned to renowned French designer Jacques Grange, whose clients have included some of the world’s greatest and most exacting style-setters, among them Yves St. Laurent, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld and Caroline, Princess of Monaco.
Grange has unleashed the full range of his talents, creating public spaces that engage and delight, and private rooms and suites that calm and soothe. In addition, he not only oversaw and designed furnishings, he collaborated with the Parisian design gallerist Pierre Passebon to commission a host of objets d’art, furniture and lighting fixtures, specially created by celebrated artists and artisans, including Ron Arad, Vladimir Kagan, Mattia Bonetti, Paul Mathieu, Eric Schmitt, Rachel Howard, Todd Eberle, among others.
The hotel has layered one-of-a-kind offerings, including a full service salon by iconic Frederic Fekkai called CHIC by Frederic, a state-of-the-art gym and a restaurant by the famed Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, called The Mark Restaurant. On your way into The Mark Restaurant, you’ll pass through the modern, swirling “cloud” bar at Mark Bar. This place is already a staple with the hoity-toity Park Avenue crowd – and soon to be with my crew as well… Read more »

Lil Jon at Premium Lifestyle Group Table at Sky Suite at Sundance Film Festival 2010

After a short hiatus and several months of travelling(Mexico, Miami, LA and other fun destinations) we are back with a vengeance and happy to report on our great success at the recent Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  Premium Lifestyle Group was invited to participate as the event concierge and sponsor for the Sky Suite at The Sky Lodge.

The Sky Suite was arguably the best attended, and certainly the coolest gifting lounge at Sundance. The three day event was expertly organized by our good friends at Talent Resources and the result was an overwhelming success for everyone involved. Premium shared the stage with several other fabulous companies and provided fabulous “swag” for all the celebrities who visited the Sky Suite.

We were fortunate enough to have the folks at Corona donate 16 limited edition Corona Burton snow boards that we gifted to some of the top celebrities that visited the Sky Suite. In addition, we decided to contribute to a worthy cause by having all of the celebrities sign one of the snow boards. Celebrities such as Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Khloe Kardashian, Aaron Rodgers, Danny Masterson, Jordy Masterson, Kate Mara, Malin Akerman, Pauly Shore, John Forte, Tom Arnold, Appolonia, Lil Jon, David Wells, John Goessling, Wilmer Valderrama and many others were kind enough to sign the snow board.

We then packaged the autographed snow board with a 3 month complimentary membership to our service and are in the process of auctioning the package at charitybuzz.com. All of the proceeds we receive from the snow board will be donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for Haiti.  You can check out the auction and bid for yourself here.

Once all the gifting was done for the day, we returned to the Sky Suite at night to party at special parties that were sponsored by our  good friend Matt Goldstein at The Eldridge and Gold Bar in NYC. The DJ’s were rocking, the booze was flowing and everybody got down and dirty dancing to the beats.

All in all, Sundance 2010 was a fabulous experience for all and we cant wait to do it again next year! For those who want to see all the photos from the sky suite we invite you to view them here.

Stay tuned for more adventures,reviews and news from The Premium Life!

It’s true, one of my closest girlfriends is a brandy and scotch connoisseur. She’s typically the only girl—and hot one—who bellies up to the bar and orders a scotch, neat. Guys are always impressed and this habit has warranted multiple faux marriage proposals. One blustery, winter afternoon she shot me a text, wondering if I wanted to grab a drink with her. Given the fact that it was below freezing and it was Saturday, she wanted to warm up with lots of scotch.

“Where might we find a place down here that has an amazing selection of scotch?” She asked. Did I mention I’m apparently a walking Zagat Guide?

I began scouring for places in TriBeCa—we lived down there and I figured, with Wall Street so close, surely there must be a place downtown that specializes in such manly boozing. After scanning my Zagat Nightlife Guide, I stumbled upon a place called “Brandy Library” and realized I had hit the jackpot!

“According to the website, they even do single-malt scotch tasting every Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.,” I exclaimed. “Would you be down for that?” Now, mind you, I don’t drink brown liquor. The scent alone activates the vomit reflux, but I decided to man-up. If she can do it, why can’t I? Oh probably because I can’t even swallow Sam Adams without whining about how much of a “boy beer” it is.

I arrived at 25 N. Moore Street, walked up the stairs and opened the heavy door.

“Do you have reservations?” Inquired the very well-spoken maitre d’.

“Nope, I’m meeting a friend here and we’re hoping to join in on today’s scotch tasting!”

He looked at me in disbelief—after all my hair was curled, nails were perfectly manicured, I was rocking a brand new Rachel Roy dress and I had on 4” stilettos—definitely didn’t look like the girl who was going to throw down scotch! I walked over to the bar where I picked up the bible of booze. I scanned the in-depth menu that’s packed with 10 pages of single-malt Scotches, including the very rare 25-year Talisker, but had a hard time finding beer and vodka. I also scanned the food portion of the menu—I might require something to absorb my brown liquor gluttony later on. The Malai Tikka chicken breast morsels in yogurt and spices immediately grabbed my attention, along with Gratin Dauphonios, or potato pancakes. The dessert also looked amazing—might have to save some room for the Valhrona chocolate cake! I bypassed the food and went straight for the booze. I started off very girly—I ordered the Peaches & Cream—which consisted of cognac, cream, crème de peche and port wine reduction. YUM!

Brandy Library’s wood-paneled space and glimmering, tile-topped bar oozes sophistication, wealth, intellect and maturity. It’s designed like a library—the vertical shelves on the walls are meticulously stocked with over 900 bottles of every type of hard-to-find bourbon, scotch, brandy, cognac and whiskey imaginable. The faux fireplace and buttery leather chairs add a cozy and romantic touch—not exactly first date worthy, but if you suggested it to your guy on a third or fourth date, he’d be highly impressed. Read more »

I have a confession to make: I love TAO. Yep, I’m talking about good old TAO on 58th Street between Madison and Park Avenues. You know the one that opened in 2000 and has a fat Buddha statue plopped down in the center of the restaurant? Oh let’s not forget the fact that they knocked it off in Vegas and turned it into a shitty nightclub so a bunch of Oklahoma cowboys can say they’ve partied at TAO while slamming back oh-so-NYC Long Island Iced Teas (do people really drink those disgusting things outside of trailer parks?).

I met a friend after work for a glass of wine to discuss another friend of ours who, despite our warnings, thought it was a good idea to drunk bike through NYC—well, she got hit by a cab and fractured her arm. People never listen to me! Anyway, last week I discovered that an old friend of mine is the General Manager at TAO so of course I suggested we meet there because I’d rather spend my money at Barney’s than on booze.

I’m sure you’ve been to TAO or you at least know all about it due to the media hype. I pretend the one in Vegas is non-existent because I’m allergic—we’re only focusing on New York City, people! Walking into TAO New York is like walking into a private club. Once you get past the heavy front doors (hopefully without breaking a nail) and enter into the dimly lit downstairs bar area and restaurant you instantly feel sexy and celebrity-like. Why? Because the place is loaded with tourists and they swear Paris Hilton is going to stroll through the door and trip over her hair extensions so expect star treatment for 15 seconds. In reality, celebrities do go there—on a Monday night at 10 pm when hungry Park Avenue Investment Bankers who wouldn’t care if Tiger Woods was sitting on their table will swing by for a bite after work.

Fun fact time: TAO was originally built in the 19th century as a stable for the famed Vanderbilt family (would they like to adopt me?) and then became a balconied movie theater before becoming one of the most famous restaurants in the states. Read more »

Mayahuel, located on 6^th street between 1^st ave and 2^nd ave, is a welcome edition to the lower east side.   If you are not aware of the exact location, you might walk right past its entrance with a low slung door  and casual wood facade.  Be warned that Mayahuel only allows customers to sit at tables and not stand.  The space fills up fast with limited tables and does not take reservations.  However, the very friendly doorman will take your name and mobile number….calling you when a table is free.  Owned by mixologist genius Phil Ward, partner in Death & Co., Mayahuel features some of the most innovative tequila and mezcal (a smoky flavored tequila.) inspired cocktails in the world.  Come hungry as Mayahuel serves amazing tapas and Mexican cuisine. Read more »

I usually wait a couple of months before authoring a review of a new restaurant or night club. I feel that this gives the owners and employees enough time get everything right. It also gives me a better opportunity to decide whether a new place is great after some of the hype has died down. It has been a few months since the opening of Griffin, the old PM space in the Meat Packing District. I have been there a few times now and I can say without hesitation, it is by far the coolest club in the area. The managing partners are Rachel Uchitel (Tao Vegas), Josh Kaiser (Pink Elephant), and Cain’s Hector Longoria.

The decor is much fancier and hipper than the old PM. It starts with a humongous chandelier in the middle of the main room which is a nice contrast to the blue velvet banquets that adorn the sides of the dance floow. The ceiling is a magnificent framed mirror and there is a great VIP baclony from which guests can watch all the action while not being disturbed.

The drinks  are designed and served by the experienced team at Milk & Honey . I highly recommend their Manhattan as well as some of their specialty mojitos. The place itself has a much more opulent feel than in the past and the crowd is your typical good looking crowd that tends to frequent the area. We were able to secure a great table in the middle of the main room that came with your standard bottle service requirement. Read more »

New York City offers some of the best restaurants and nightclubs in the world. Noah Tepperberg adds another amazing restaurant/nightclub to the scene.  Noah has coined the term “GastroLounge,” to describe the new venture.  This will be the perfect spot to entertain clients as they will be offering gastropub type food and bottle service. Check out their innovative menu. No other spot in NYC offers great food and nightlife all in one.   After his amazing success at Marquee (Harvard business school even wrote a case study about it), Avenue is sure to be the next Hot Spot.

Avenue was resurrected in the old “Earth” space on the corner of 17^th street and 10^th ave…Around the corner from 1 Oak.  The concept combines a bar/ultra-lounge with moving lights, a lot of seating and eating. There is a DJ booth, but no dance floor, making conversation an integral part of the experience.  After a 2.5 million facelift, Avenue will officially open to the public the end of June.  They have already hosted some unforgettable private parties such as Mandy Moore’s birthday party

According to Mr. Tepperberg-The music and the lighting is very dim, it’s very mellow, and then depending on the crowd, at midnight or later, we can raise the volume and change the lighting. Then there’s a second floor, which is a straight lounge. There’s fifteen tables in one room, and then on the second floor there’s six big tables that overlook it. [The music] is gonna be really lounge-y, eighties, soul, seventies.

As always, if you need help planning your next nightclub expereince please contact us at www.premiumlg.com

My last memories of Disney World a few years back are not fond ones. Standing in line for hours for a 5 minute ride, hot sun beating down on you with no relief in site, terrible food, kids crying, etc…

So it was with trepidation and impending gloom that I wearily accepted my parents invitation to take the whole family to Disney. “There has to be a better way!”, I thought to myself….

Thanks to Disney VIP Tour Services there is. From the moment you arrive, your personal VIP Guide is there to take care of everything – from creating your ideal itinerary to getting you the best seats in the house for live shows, parades and nighttime spectaculars.  The cost is between $175 to $215 per hour for a minimum 6 hour tour. You get your own personal tour guide that helps you get your way around the parks, get you all your fast pass tickets in adavnce and reserves special VIP viewing areas for all Disney shows and parades.  There are eight tours that you can choose: toddlers, big kids, teens, active fun, romance and relaxation, character experiences, what’s new and good for groups. You can also customize your own experience like we did. 

We had a blend of toddlers, big kids and we wanted some active fun.  I spoke to our guide ahead of time, told her about our group, age range, experience, etc… and she created an wonderful experience that was enjoyed by everyone. It included access to the best roller coaster rides, parades, shows, dining reservations, special attractions and much more.

I know the cost of admission if high enough. However, if you truly wan to maximize you time at Disney World Parks for you and your family or group, I highly recommend going the VIP way. As always, if you need help in any of your travel plans or experiences, please contact us at www.premiumlg.com