Paris in the springtime gets a lot of press, but Paris at Christmas has its own special magic. Now, the Mandarin Oriental Paris has opened 39 beautiful suites to serve as your home base in time for the holiday season. Of the spacious refurbished rooms, the standouts are quite obviously the seven duplex suites located on the seventh and eighth floors, with spectacular views of the rooftops and monuments of Paris from their private terraces. Designed by French interior designer Sybille de Margerie, she marries Parisian haute-couture details with understated lines and refined materials that echo the hotel’s Oriental influence.

You’re wrapped in a plush terry robe, reposing on thousand-thread-count sheets, listening to a custom-programmed iPod on the dock next to your bed, and feeling as though this is nothing more than the lifestyle you deserve. So who could blame you for wanting to take some of the accoutrements of your newfound bliss home from your luxury hotel? These are top three souvenirs we recommend you swipe.

"It was used as the cellars for the Eiffel Tower"

With the openings of the Le Royal Monceau Raffles, the Shangri-La, and now the Mandarin Oriental in quick succession, Paris' seemingly immovable palace hotel hierarchy has been decisively upended. Indeed, while Le Crillon and Le Meurice still drip with gilt, this rakishly chic new Mandarin Oriental joins the new religion of resolutely modern glamour; there's not a lick of toile de jouy to be found anywhere.

“When I was younger, I used to stay at the Chelsea Hotel,” says Richard Ashcroft, now 39. “You were required to have a wild time or you weren’t allowed to stay there. The corridors felt like you were in Angel Heart and William Burroughs might stumble out of a room at any moment.” Two decades have passed since the former Verve frontman first roamed those hallowed New York halls, and on “Third Eye,” a B-side from his fourth solo album, The United Nations of Sound, Ashcroft sings about a different place entirely.

NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, has partnered up with 16 Signature Collection hotels that really want you to visit the Big Apple in high style. When you book two consecutive nights at one of the partner hotels—which ranks as some of the best in the city—you get a third night free.

At the New York Film Festival premiere of Broken Embraces:

● Mandarin Oasis (Brickell/Downtown) - Friday nights are popular during the winter months; sip $20 cocktails on the bay, then head to Café Sambal or Azul for a bite. Transports you to tropical island getaway minus the travel, but def with the price tag. ● Le Tub (Aventura) - This local watering hole -- sitting in a rickety old spot on the Intercoastal -- may be known for succulent burgers, but it’s also a choice spot for winding down with a cold brew or two. If you opt to cruise in on your Sea Ray, bring a DD -- water taxis don’t frequent these waters. ● Monty’s (South Beach) - Pain Killers and Miami Vices will put you on the ground; the former comes in three mind-numbing doses of the devil’s tonic, and the latter is a delish concoction of pina colada and strawberry daiquiri mix with an equally dangerous shot of 151 floating on top. Help the booze go down with a trip to the raw bar.

Jeffrey Beers, the creative mind behind Bostonian restaurant tour de force Bond, on his many passions, pacing department stores, and the differences between New York and Dubai.

For weeks, the fashion industry has been in a frenzy trying to predict what Michelle Obama will don for her husband’s inauguration on January 20. (The Huffington Post even published a slideshow today of Mrs. Obama’s formal ensembles from events past in fruitless hope of revealing some sort of significant underlying trend.) But the First-Lady Elect isn’t the only figure designers have their eye on. According to the New York Times today, “fashion designers have been approaching the inauguration as if it were an extension of the Hollywood awards season.” Meaning: Dressing a pap-friendly guest is serious business in such a challenging economic climate. Katie Holmes’ rep recently told the Washington Post that this awards season was the first time she’d seen designers themselves solicit A-list stars to wear their designs.