STAY
Moscow, Russia
Swissotel joins increasing number of hotels
being built to meet growing business demands
A hop-skip away from the Kremlin on the Kosmodamianskaya Embankment (the new business district of Moscow) and looking a little like a giant fluorescent light bulb, the new Swissotel Krasnye Holmy Moscow is the tallest hotel in the city, and offers some great views, at that. With 235 rooms, each containing a flat-screen TV and an espresso machine, the hotel also sports a bar on top with a 360-degree sightline, an Italian restaurant and multiple meeting rooms with floor-to-ceiling windowsA full spa and fitness club are on-premise as well. Rates: 425-540 euros ($515-$655). Swissotel Krasnye Holmy Moscow, Kosmodamianskaya Nab., 52, Building 6, 00800 637 94771, moscow.swissotel.com
DINE
Las Vegas, Nevada
Joel Robuchon opens first American outpost of Paris and Tokyo restaurant L’Atelier
Further blurring the lines in Vegas between what is real and what is show, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in the MGM Grand features a U-shaped, red-and-black dining area that faces the kitchen, making the chefs center stage and the meal all about presentation from the get-go. The food is surprisingly affordable, but instead of elaborate, multilayered dishes, this food focuses on the simpler yet still sophisticated creations the French master is known for. Try truffle mashed potatoes, chilled gazpacho, orange quail stuffed with foie gras or seared tuna belly on their own or as part of an $85, 10-course tasting menu. Entree prices $26-$54. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 877-880-0880
SEE
Houston, Texas
Museum of Natural Science unwraps secrets of “Mummy” technology in U.S. premiere
Heralded as a groundbreaking collaboration between the British Museum and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, “Mummy: the inside story,” which opens Sept. 30, reveals the inner workings of Nesperennub, a 2,800-year-
old Egyptian priest. Using computerized tomography, which digitally sliced the mummy into 1,500 slivers and then reassembled him in cyberspace, this new exhibit shows all facets of the sarcophagus without having disturbed the tomb, which has remained sealed since embalmment on the West Bank in Thebes about 800 B.C. Cost of admission is $15 for adults ($12 for children) and includes the rest of the museum. Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive, 713-639-4629
PLAY
Zion National Park, Utah
Field Institute workshops offer opportunity to experience Zion up close while volunteering
In its second season, the nonprofit Zion Canyon Field Institute has expanded its seasonal offerings in the national park to include such workshops as a three-day fall foliage photography session ($250) and a two-day Grand Staircase geology tour ($100) from Zion to Snow Canyon State Park. Courses are taught by visiting experts in their fields, dates and times vary, and you should expect some moderate to strenuous hiking on all of them. Lodging is not included. Zion National Park, 800-635-3959, zionpark.org
– Denver Post staff and wire reports
