phoenix Travel Guide
Tags: Summer Cocktails / Hotel Cocktails / Tequila / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
The Biltmore's Historical Tequila Sunrise
We've kicked off our Summer Cocktails series where we profile fun new summer drinks that hotels are making. Got one we should know about? Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink. Otherwise, enjoy and @reply us when you're wasted!
The last news we heard from the Arizona Biltmore was about the not-in-a-hurry renovations (dates like "sometime before 2020" were getting tossed around) so we're happy to have something more concrete to report: the Biltmore's got a special summer cocktail, and it's a classic.
Something we didn't know is that the Tequila Sunrise was apparently invented at the Biltmore, back in the 1940s when a frequent guest asked the bartender to make him up a refreshing drink to sip by the pool. So to help celebrate the Biltmore's 80th anniversary this year, they've brought their classic cocktail back to life for the summer. Of course, the price is a little more than that first guest paid back in the 1940s – these days you can get a Biltmore Original Tequila Sunrise for $14.
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags
The Arizona Biltmore is Getting a $600 Million Facelift
Those $100-or-Less rooms at the Arizona Biltmore are going to be a thing of the past, we assume, since the very-much-in-need-of-renovation property has just gotten the go-ahead for a major makeover — to the tune of $600 million.
According to a press release:
The renovation calls for a new world-class spa with corresponding amenities, a fine-dining restaurant, neighborhood-friendly upgrades to trails, traffic enhancements, pool and landscaping redevelopment, a promenade along the Arizona Canal, a new resort entrance design and 300 new rooms. The renovation will take place in two phases with the first beginning immediately and the second starting sometime before 2030 and will be dependent on demand and market conditions.
But don't expect this stuff for a while. The first phase of the project will be a $120 million spa redesign, the planning of which will be starting right away — but groundbreaking probably won't happen until late 2010..."assuming economic conditions improve."
Seems like a whole lot of these Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotels have been getting quite a bit of work put into them lately; The Boca Raton Resort and Club just got a makeover, The Roosevelt New Orleans got a total restoration and renovation, and even the original Old Lady Waldorf herself is getting some work done.
Tags: 100 or Less / Waldorf-Astoria Collections / Mother's Day Hotels / → All Tags
Hotels for $100 or Less: The Arizona Biltmore
Every now and then, we'll be profiling hotels for $100 or less. Yay! Know of any other bargains? Send 'em to us.
If you didn't know, The Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix is part of the Hilton family of Waldorf-Astoria Collection Hotels, so for this luxury property (and host to every president except Obama), to have rooms going for $80 a night is kind of insane. But it's for real.
As part of a Mother's Day celebration and the Biltmore's 80th anniversary, the hotel is offering rooms for $80 for 80 hours. The special rate is only bookable for 80 hours starting yesterday and ending Friday, May 1, 2009. The rate is also only available for the dates of Friday, May 8 to Monday, May 11, 2009.
When we plugged in the Mother's Day weekend rates we actually found rooms for the rate of $69. Crazy! However, the resort does charge a $28 resort fee, bringing your nightly total to $97 a night. That fee includes include high-speed Internet, access to the fitness center, local, 800 and credit card calls, and a newspaper. To book, go to the Biltmore's special offers page and enter code MOM in Group/Convention code field.
Tags: Spring Break Hotels / Family-Friendly Hotels / → All Tags
Kids Get Slimed at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort
Sometimes we forget that Spring Break means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It’s true, some Spring Breaks don’t involve girls with low self-esteem or the slimy guys who prey on them.
At the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, for instance, spring break is all about a different, infinitely more wholesome, slime. As in Nickelodeon’s “Slime Time” and “Slimo Bingo.” That’s right — through April 28, kids aged 4 to 12 can live out their spring break fantasies at the resort’s Nickelodeon Activity Zone with full and half-day sessions, which include an appearance by none other than SpongeBob SquarePants. Plus: arts and crafts (pottery painting, jewelry-making), stargazing, a Sonoran desert walk, and a “Nick After Dark” program with games, a Nickelodeon movie, and dinner (5 to 9 p.m.).
The older-than-12 crowd can live out their own fantasies (sans kiddies). The resort offers golf at the Wildfire Golf Club (with two championship courses by Nick Faldo and Arnold Palmer), the two-story Revive Spa, eight tennis courts, a Lazy River (pictured), and the Wii-equipped Vista Lounge.
The Nickelodeon NAZ Club Extravaganza Package starts at $189 per night and includes a deluxe room, daily breakfast with SpongeBob SquarePants, free meals for kids under 12 at Blue Sage Restaurant, and more Nickelodeon goodness.
Tags: Room Rate Drop Watch / Phoenix Hotels / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
It's Summer Right Now in Phoenix, Price-Wise
Turns out the W Scottsdale is not the only hotel in the Phoenix-area going through some rough times. The Arizona Republic reports that luxury hotels are offering their rooms at summer rates during the peak season--about 15 to 20 percent off their normal rates.
Hotels and resorts that routinely command $300 to $500 a night during the winter are on sale for 15 percent to 20 percent off, with some dangling rates of $199 a night and less on select dates, as well as previously unheard-of last-minute deals.
The fading Arizona Biltmore (recently snubbed by Prez Obama) has rooms open for $179 a night on Expedia. The new InterContinental Montelucia Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley (where Prez Obama stayed instead) has rates for $195 on Travelocity.
Tags: Political Hotels / Phoenix Hotels / John McCain / Barack Obama / → All Tags
Why Is Obama Snubbing the Arizona Biltmore?
The new InterContinental Montelucia
Fun fact: Every president since Herbert Hoover has stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix. It's also where former presidential hopeful John McCain married Cindy in 1980, and, of course, where the McCain/Palin camp watched Obama secure the presidency on election night back in November.
It's not really any surprise that John McCain chose to avoid the Biltmore when selecting an Arizona venue to hold a fundraiser to launch his campaign for a fifth Senate term (maybe some bad memories there?), but hearing the news that President Obama is skipping out on the Biltmore on his next trip to AZ is raising eyebrows 'round here.
In fact, John McCain chose the new Intercontinental Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley to kick off his senatorial campaign instead — and, interestingly enough, The Arizona Republic is reporting that this is also where Obama is going to be staying when he hits up Arizona. And their visits might coincide. Whoops.
We get why McCain's avoiding the Biltmore, but why would Obama choose the three-month-old Montelucia? Was it the dirty glasses at the Biltmore? Or was he just doin' like he do and breaking out of the traditional presidential mold?
Tags: Hotel News / AIG / Recession Be Damned Hotels / → All Tags
AIG Execs Think Nobody Will Find Them at Posh Resorts in the Desert
Remember those AIG execs throwing around the dolla dolla bills (y'all) at the St. Regis like nobody's business? Well, apparently understanding that they can no longer take excessively lavish, ridiculous vacays on the company dime because of the economy and, uh, cause everyone is watching them now, they seem to fancy themselves quite the tricksters and have somehow found a way to go on another one of their "retreats" with very little media attention.
Down in Phoenix, AIG folks hit up Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix for something called an Asset Management Conference. Shady, though: according to info WalletPop got from an ABC News report, hotel staffers were ordered to not mention AIG either verbally or on signage.
Tags: Election 2008 Hotels / John McCain / Political Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
John McCain Concedes Presidency at The Biltmore
John McCain is probably never going to go back to the Arizona Biltmore again. Bad memories, we think.
Last night as the polls on the West Coast began to close, the presidential candidate conceded defeat in a poignant speech to supporters on the lawn of the sprawling Phoenix resort just after 10 p.m. CST.
According to Salon, as the rest of the country saw election returns that showed Barack Obama emerging as the clear winner, the McCain supporters gathered on the Biltmore lawn didn't really realize it was over since there were no TV's outside.
But at least they were comfortable! Per Salon:
Most of the people at the Biltmore were wealthy Republican donors, not furious grassroots conservatives, and they seemed to know what the night's outcome would likely be before they arrived. The spread was lavish enough to keep them comfortable; even the Port-a-Potties set up on the lawn seemed extravagantly luxurious, with wood paneling on the walls.
Meanwhile, McCain sat back and watched election returns throughout the evening in the Biltmore's Goldwater Presidential Suite (uh, by the way: wouldn't superstition have stepped in here at some point considering the outcome of the 1964 Goldwater campaign?) before heading out to the lawn to concede the presidency.
Yeah. Surely he won't be hittin' up the Biltmore again anytime soon.
Tags: Hotel News / Political Hotels / John McCain / → All Tags
McCain to Shake Up Election Night Party at the Biltmore
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain will be holding the usual election night party at The Biltmore in Phoenix, with press and supporters joining him in his finger-crossing on his big night.
While normally the protocol is for him to stand up in the hotel's ballroom and give a big ol' speech to everyone in attendance at some point during the evening, he has decided to go all out and crazy and shake things up a bit by offering his election night remarks to a small group gathered on the hotel's lawn. Pause for gasps.
Tags: HotelChatter Reader Deals / Hotel Deals / Sheraton Hotels / Phoenix Hotels / Hotel Opening Rates / Convention Center Hotels / → All Tags
HotelChatter Reader Deals :: The New Sheraton Phoenix Will Have Cheaper Rates in a Month
A New Hotel Gets Cheaper With Age
$171 a night
Regular readers of HotelChatter know how much we obsess over hotel openings and their introductory hotel opening rates. And today is no different.
The Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel will open on September 30th adjacent to the Phoenix Convention Center and it's going to be huge. Like a thousand rooms huge.
You would think with so many rooms they would probably be a little competitive on their pricing right? Not quite. Opening rates are set at $249 a night and that's the pre-paid internet rate.
However, if you can sit tight until the end of October that rate will drop to about $171 a night. We still think it's pricey for a Sheraton near a convention center but maybe we can find it for less on a blind booking site like Hotwire or Priceline. We'll let you know if we do.
Subscribe to HotelChatter Reader Deals
Have a hotel deal you think we should consider? Or have a destination and date where you want us to check for hotel rooms and rates for you? No guarantees on either, but you can try your luck by hitting us here: tips@hotelchatter.com. Please include "For Reader Deals" in the subject heading.
Tags: Rooftop Pools / Rooftop Bars / Hotel Pools / Phoenix Hotels / → All Tags
The Clarendon Hotel Opens Its Rooftop Bar as Phoenix Cools Down...Somewhat
When you live in Arizona in the summertime, the nighttime becomes your best friend. That's because the sun goes to sleep and you get a bit of relief from the 100+ degree heat. But not much. People would probably still prefer to kick it somewhere with AC than outside during the summer nights.
Yet, there's a sign that cooler weather is on the way.
We've written about the amazing pool area, called the Oasis, at the Clarendon Hotel before (and it's bikini check-in) and now the hotel has opened it's Rooftop Lounge in anticipation for cooler nights in Phoenix.
The lounge will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, with additional hours added as temperatures drop. The rooftop features a full bar and seating with views across the midtown landscape.
Stop. You had us at full bar. We just hope you have a lot of ice.
Aside from the full bar we are kinda giddy about the $149 Sweet Suite Summer Special which includes a $75 dining credit. While it probably sucks to live in Phoenix in the summer, it's a cheap getaway for us hotel guests.
Tags: Phoenix Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Service / Free Stuff / → All Tags
Free Stuff For Guests Who Check-In Wearing a Bikini at The Clarendon Hotel
We don't know about you, but the only time you'll catch us in a bathing suit is when there is a large body of water around. Otherwise, it's cover-up city. Matthew McConaughey we are not.
Evilly, the Clarendon Hotel and Suites Phoenix seems to be playing on this weakness with another of our weaknesses: free stuff. Through the end of the summer, the hotel is offering Bikini Check-In, where guests who check in wearing a bikini, swim trunks or a Speedo receive a $20 credit for poolside service, room service or use at the hotel's Mexican restaurant.
One look at The Oasis, the Clarendon's swimming pool with underwater speakers, massaging water jets, 50-person Jacuzzi, sun beds and free poolside Wi-Fi and suddenly we don't feel so shy. Excuse us while we slip into something a little more revealing, head to the pool and finish the workday with our laptop and a mai tai by our side.
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
