The eagerly anticipated Out NYC Urban Resort opened its doors to guests on March 1, 2012.

This straight-friendly urban resort is poised to become a travel and entertainment destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike. The complex, situated on 42^nd Street between 10^th and 11^th Avenues,  encompasses a 105-room boutique hotel, the 14,000 square foot XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge by John Blair, Beto Sutter, and FV Events, a late-night restaurant called Kitchin, three courtyards, a business/conference center, function space, and a wellness center.

The first phase of the project was completed on January 26, 2012 with the opening of XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge. XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge is the newest project by noted gay nightlife impresarios John Blair and Beto Sutter, and the wunderkind party promoters Brandon Voss and Tony Fornabaio of FV Events. Blair and Sutter, famous for the legendary Saturday night party at The Roxy, helped create this new venue from the ground up. Open seven nights a week, XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge is the first nightly gay dance club to open in New York City in 15 years. The space features an LED wall, two dance floors, and a full stage.

The boutique hotel features 105 rooms with an upscale, chic décor and a starting rate of approximately $250. The hotel’s restaurant, Kitchin is operated by the team behind the already-successful Hell’s Kitchen favorite, Eatery Restaurant. It offers the same style of upscale comfort food for which Eatery Restaurant is known. THE OUT NYC will host various types of function space to accommodate everything from intimate private dinners to large events and weddings. The building is centered on three courtyards and a 5,000 square foot wellness center, creating an oasis from the city just outside its doors.

“This is an idea whose time has come.  What makes THE OUT NYC a desirable hotel is the comfort level and tailored amenities for both the gay and straight communities,” said Ian Reisner, Managing Partner, Parkview Developers. “THE OUT NYC will become a ‘can’t-miss’ for gay tourists as well as the epicenter of gay life for LGBT New Yorkers. With New York’s recent legislation, we look forward not only to hosting countless gay couples, but marrying them as well.”

Pink Choice would like to congratulate the Out NYC on its recent opening, and looks forward to receiving reviews from its guests.

• 3 nights accommodation at Turtle Cove Beach Resort

* Bottle of champagne on arrival.

• Tropical Continental Breakfast Daily

• Return Coach Transfers from Cairns Airport or City

• 2 Dinners in our Sandbar Restaurant.

• $25.00 drink voucher to use during your stay per room

• Nightly entertainment,

Turtle Cove Beach Resort's Mardi Gras Recovery Party

For more information visit Turtle Cove’s website. If you join the party, be sure to tell Pink Choice about it!

 

This month Further Afield features four new places to stay in France where you can Dine like Marie Antoinette, get to grips with wine or just lounge in luxury by the pool.

Choose from:

Cuq en Terrasses

Midi Pyrenees

This charming homely small hotel will put a big smile on our faces from the moment you arrive…sublime views, fantastic gourmet food, and your hosts with joie de vivre are Philippe and Andonis.

Le Grand and Petit Maison

Loire Valley

There is not much that Sue and Micaela don’t know about wine. They created the original Loire Valley tour package back in 2004. Stay with them at The Grande or Petit Maison and become a wine buff.

Chateau La Thuilière

The Dordogne

The grandeur and stunning décor of this beautiful hotel are the first things to hit you.  Next, the friendly informality kicks in to relax you before you tuck in to the amazing gourmet food.

15 Grand Rue

Languedoc

Ex fashionista Abi has created the most elegant, informal and luxurious B&B suites in the heart of medieval France. Explore and discover stunning mountains and coast, sites of amazing antiquity and markets galore.

Further Afield is the fastest growing collection of quality hand-picked places to stay for gay & lesbian travellers in Europe. All Further Afield places to stay are united by their personality, quality, style and above all else – their genuine welcome of gay and lesbian travellers.

Villa Venice Men’s Resort in Fort Lauderdale wishes all its friends a very Happy New Year! It looks as though everyone enjoyed the party! The resort is one of several in Fort Lauderdale that is highly rated on Pink Choice. Its guest reviews tell the whole story.

Throughout 2011, thousands of accommodation reviews were submitted to Pink Choice by its 10,000 members. As a result, this year sees the largest ever number of award winners, based on guests’ submitted reviews and ratings. Many previous winners have again made the list, and are joined for the first time by the Benchmark Inn in Provincetown, recently under new ownership, Frog Meadow B&B and Massage Oasis for Men in Newfane, Vermont, the Inn at Stone Mills in Little Falls, New York and the Worthington Guesthouse in Fort Lauderdale, whose sister property, the Alcazar Resort, made last year’s award list and which is again a recipient.

In addition to the award winners, Pink Choice now recommends nearly 200 properties in 20 countries worldwide. As in previous years the site grew steadily in 2011, and so, more than ever, Pink Choice truly reflects the opinions of global gay and lesbian travelers. With the site including more than 2,500 properties in 800 destinations spanning 66 countries, gay and lesbian travelers can today enjoy a wealth of accommodation choices.

2011 also demonstrated that while many of the well known LGBT destinations continue to attract large crowds, increasing numbers of gay and lesbian travelers are setting their sites further afield. This is in part due to a greater global acceptance of the gay and lesbian travelers, and the increasing trend of mainstream hotels to compete for their business. We hope that in 2012 our members will not only tell us about their good experiences, but will also let us know when any hotel falls short of its marketing promise. That way we can continue to help our members make the right accommodation choices.

Pink Choice congratulates the 2012 award winners, and all the other recommended properties.

And the winners are:

Aerie House & Beach Club, Provincetown, MA

Alcazar Resort, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Benchmark Inn, Provincetown, MA

Carpe Diem Guesthouse & Spa, Provincetown, MA

Christopher’s by the Bay, Provincetown, MA

Frog Meadow B&B and Massage Oasis for Men, Newfane, VT

Gabriel’s at the Ashbrooke Inn, Provincetown, MA

Grand View Inn, Provincetown, MA

Inn at Cook St, Provincetown, MA

Liberty Suites, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Lighthouse Inn B & B, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Moose Meadow Lodge, Waterbury, VT

Newnham Suncatcher Inn, Saugatuck, MI

Pineapple Point, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Pride Lodge, Blackpool, UK

Revere Guesthouse, Provincetown, MA

Snug Cottage, Provincetown, MA

The Highlands Inn, Bethlehem, NH

The Inn at Stone Mill, Little Falls, NY

The Worthington Guesthouse, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Two Village Square, Ogunquit, ME

White Porch Inn, Provincetown, MA

White Wind Inn, Provincetown, MA

For more information about the Pink Choice Awards and for a complete list of recommended properties visit the awards page on Pink Choice.

The closing date for reviews and ratings to count in this year’s award line up is December 31, so it’s not too late for Pink Choice members to include their own reviews. We’re therefore asking all of you out there to take a few minutes to provide us with any reviews that you have not previously submitted of any hotel stays you have had in 2011. It takes little more than a few minutes to give your opinion, but this will provide other members of the LGBT community with valuable information to help them make their own travel choices.

So, with an open minded philosophy, and with some of the feel of a European city, Buenos Aires can now be added to the list of up and coming gay detinations for LGBT travelers looking to vacation further afield from previously tried and tested gay hotspots.

The city with its broad-minded attitude doesn’t have a gay neighborhood as such. Instead, gays and lesbians socialize in the many cafes and trendy restaurants that populate the city. The districts of Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Palermo and San Telmo have a particularly gay feel, and are some of the safest areas of any major city in South America.

The city offers a wide variety of gay and gay-friendly accommodation ranging from apartments, guesthouses as well as the ‘straight-friendly’ Axel Hotel. If you have visited Buenos Aires recently, please tell us about your own experience.

To further convince you to make that trip to London next year I will be writing a bi –monthly blog on Pink Choice to whet your appetite. And while I’m at it I will be making it clear that it would just be plain rude of you not to visit Scotland, France while you are here.  No point coming all this way without doing Europe properly.

But lets start with London. In Britain all roads still lead to the capital.  I arrived in London as a 23 year old lawyer in 1987 from the northern English city of Manchester.  Bewildered, awestruck and innocent were my key features back then but London soon felt like home. 27 years later, London, is looking a lot better than me. It has come of age while also reinventing itself with amazing new contemporary projects like the Tate Modern and the London Eye. And all the time London’s public buildings like the British Museum, have been rebooting themselves with world class design.

Possibly the aspect of London that I am most proud of is its diversity. There are more languages in London spoken than in any other city in the world and remarkably everyone rubs along very peacefully. There are different quarters and districts which have been flavoured by different ethnic groups but it is all very integrated and open to all.

London’s gay scene is now huge. London has the biggest gay and lesbian community in Europe with an estimated population of 400,000 with numerous gay bars and clubs. London’s gay village – Soho – is still the epi centre of gay life. A strole down Old Compton street is a legal requirement for any self-respecting gay and lesbian visitor but today the gay community, and its influence has stretched into all corners of the city.

I recently asked some American friends who have settled in London why they have made London their home. They say that unlike any city in the world, with the possible exception of New York, that its people don’t judge and passionately celebrate diversity and eccentricity like no where else.  So there you are… come and be as queer as you like and we will love you!

So if you are thinking ‘umm maybe’ then look out for my next blog here on Pink Choice in two month time or my blog or my website for some of the best places gay friendly places to stay in London and Europe.

Simon Forrester -www.furtherafield.com

Community Marketing Inc’s 2010-11 Gay & Lesbian Tourism Report ranks Palm Springs No. 3 behind Las Vegas and San Francisco in marketing the city to gay and lesbian tourists.

There is a huge number of gay and lesbian hotels, guesthouses and resorts to choose from and Pink Choice lists 37 of them. The Hacienda at Warm Sands, Triangle Inn and INNdulge are three of the properties that Pink Choice currently recommends.

Atlantic City, NJ an up and coming gay destination

Watch out  Palm Springs, San Francisco, Provincetown and all those other US destinations that trip off the tongue when one thinks of gay destinations! There are some newer kids on the block that are making inroads into the gay destination market. According to Gay Travel the most attractive newcomers are New Orleans, Atlantic City, Denver, Portland Oregon and Austin. These cities are doing what it takes to attract the LGBT market. With an increasingly greater tolerance to the gay and lesbian lifestyle, perhaps it’s time for some of the standard destinations to be a little concerned.

Let us know what you think about the accommodation options in these cities by posting your reviews on Pink Choice.