How hotels overseas are handling reopening amid the pandemic

May 27, 2020


Hotels abroad remaining open are the D’Angleterre in Copenhagen, Adlon in Berlin, Baur au Lac in Zürich, Milestone Residences in London.

Front desks instituted glass or Lucite partition. Guests sign nothing. Credit cardholders and room keys sanitized after each use. Lobby lounges rearranged to keep groups 6 feet apart. “Reserved” signs on alternate tables.

Porters sanitize baggage handles. With room service, the staff opens windows and sanitizes each surface. If selecting Privacy, no staffer enters. Housekeeping in mask and gloves leaves sheets and towels outside the door. Room service also. Minibars, empty. If requesting it be stocked the hotel sanitizes bottles after checkout. Each room’s unoccupied 24 hours then sanitized.

Buffets are over except in Israel where breakfast treats are iconic. At Jerusalem’s King David and the Dan in Tel Aviv, food is behind glass. Guests point. A bemasked, begloved waiter fills the plate. Restaurants are closed. Some with Michelin stars allow take-out.
Spas and gyms? At the Orania in Berlin, they’re locked and opened one guest at a time. Bavaria’s Schloss Elmau has six spas. A guest can reserve the whole space for an hour. Pools are limited to being separated by 6 square meters.

Courts still in session

Today everyone’s trying to help. With the Knicks’ and Nets’ seasons on hold, Hoop Group — who’ve worked with NBA’s Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant and Command Education’s Christopher Rim — are now assisting kids. Their Beyond Hoops Academy clinics are teaching basketball hopefuls to become court ready.

A brawn new direction

I once reported Steve Stanulis directed Me-Me-Meghan Markle’s brother in a beer commercial. What happened to the brother or the beer, who knows. I only know Stanulis then worked as a bodyguard to Kanye West who ordered he stay 10 steps behind.
Stanulis now produced-directed-stars in a film titled “5th Borough.” Figures. He’s originally from Staten Island.

His co-star’s Tara Reid who was in “American Pie.” Remember her? Remember “American Pie”? This Tara Reid’s NOT the one with the nearly alike spelling who accused Joe Biden. This one’s the actress in a drama about a guy into crime to pay for his kid’s medical stuff.
But, about pretty blonde Tara Reid. Their love scene? Racy. Like mainstream racy. Like even the crew was embarrassed. Like the action turned so active that it got axed from the movie.

Called a wild party girl, Tara at one point has accidentally exposed her breasts, done rehab, danced on tables, and given what’s been called “incoherent interviews” on her film “Sharknado.” In this film, she’s perfectly cast. She plays a cop.

This new thing’s out June 3.

Easterly dreams

Allow a moment to wrench my heart, mind and prayers away from our land’s own anguish.

Pre-New York Post, I lived for years in Hong Kong. Peninsula Hotel on Kowloon side and in the Central District’s mainland side. I was writing the as-told-to-me autobio of Indonesia’s then-President Sukarno, and we joked that for a decent drink of water, you had to leave Jakarta. At the same time, I was designing gold jewelry for NYC’s Cartier. One ring and some of those bracelets I still have.

Hong Kong in those days was an Eastern-style New York vibe: Crowded, noisy, busy, congested, shopping, restaurants. Everyone loved this kept woman of Asia.

Let nobody stop the prayers for our country — but if you can remember … now suffering China’s death rattle, please, please, send up a thought for Hong Kong.


Airlines have had such terrible problems and missing so much income that they’re no longer losing your luggage — they’re selling it.

Only muttered in New York, kids, only in New York.

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