The red room at the Panetone hotel.
THE GETAWAY PALETTE
Feeling blue in Brussels? The Pantone Hotel has just the room for you. Designed in shades taken from Pantone's signature paint-chip palette, rooms are assigned according to guests' moods at check-in. This clever colour-matching concept spills over to the hotel's amenities as well. Daredevils can hop on a fiery red bicycle and pedal around town, while sybarites can quaff Pink Champagne PANTONE 12-1107 on the rooftop terrace. Pantone experts are also on hand (by appointment) to provide colour consultations and to lead seminars on colour psychology. www.pantonehotel.com
POP-UP BOUTIQUE
Los Angeles-based Ever - a boutique specializing in durable T-shirts, jeans and hoodies that are fit for hip nomads - has temporarily set up camp in downtown Venice, Calif. The pop-up outlet uses a backdrop of old wooden pallets, taped-up cardboard boxes and vintage suitcases to display a collection inspired by the travels of founder Jason Bleick. If you can only buy one thing, make it a pair of multicoloured board shorts. Venice Beach is but a few blocks away. Open Monday to Sunday until July 6. 1511 Abbot Kinney Blvd. www.ever-us.com
HAPPY HOUR ON HARVARD SQUARE
The Simple Truth Lounge is ritzier than a college pub with its tempting grazing menu that's heavy on New England-made artisanal brews and cheeses. It's the type of place for Ivy League parents and professors to sip cocktails by a roaring fire. Try the Old Fashioned, concocted with whisky from Berkshire Mountain Distillers, the Berkshire's first legal distillery since Prohibition. The Simple Truth Lounge is in the newly opened Hotel Veritas. www.thehotelveritas.com
URBAN GENTRY
An exclusive London hangout with an insiders-only admittance policy - the Ninetyeight Bar and Lounge -is accepting new members. But your pleas for entry to the trendy Shoreditch club may go unanswered. Instead of waiting for secret knock instructions, consult savvy Londoner Kevin Caruth, founder of tailor-made travel company Urban Gentry. Caruth has the inside scoop on what's hot (and what's not) in East London and can design everything from contemporary art walks for serious collectors to visits of obscure vintage boutiques near Brick Lane. And yes, this man about town will point you to the restaurants and lounges that are cool enough to let you in without a pricey membership card. www.urbangentry.com