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More Hotels to Explore in Whistler
Please don't think that the only hotels to stay in when you visit Whistler are the ones we talked about in our Whistler Hotel Guide. In fact, we found it hard to keep track of all the lodgings right in Whistler Village and we didn't even get around to all the lodgings outside the Village. Oh and don't forget apartment rentals too.
As always, where you want to stay depends on the budget you have, the scene you are looking for and if being close to the slopes is really important to you. We tried to address a little bit of everything in some of our hotel picks, listed after the jump.
Tags: Room Rate Drop Watch / Hotel Woes / Seattle Hotels / → All Tags
The Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle Downgrades Everything
The Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle opened it doors over the summer but already the hotel has run into some major problems. Citing the crappy economy, the hotel has downgraded its luxury rating from four diamonds to three. And it's looking for some help from a big franchiser. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports:
The newly opened 120-room hotel at 700 Third Ave. in downtown Seattle will soon announce a partnership with a national franchise brand, hotel officials said.
“Recent economic factors are driving the Arctic Club Hotel ownership to make a decision that will rebrand its services to that of a three-diamond hotel,” said Stan Kott, hotel general manager, in a statement. The fine-dining establishment will also be downgraded to a more urban, casual restaurant. Room rates seem to have come down as well. The hotel is offering a special 10 percent off rates. We found king rooms open for next weekend at $166.50 a night. That's down quite a bit from the opening rate of $275 a night. It seems that things haven't been going well at the hotel for a while. A few months ago, the NYT reviewed the place and was dismayed at the lack of in-room amenities and even, service.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / The City / Whitney Port / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags
Whitney Port's "The City" Co-Star Gyps Riviera South Beach
What's one thing that can make a reality TV star who happens famous for absolutely no reason whatsoever even less likable than he already is? A bloated sense of entitlement.
We were somewhat disheartened to hear that Nevan Donohue, whose face you may recognize from The City, the new The Hills spinoff starring Whitney Port, ran off without paying his hotel bill recently.
Faux-cialite Nevan Donohue...stiffed the new Riviera South Beach hotel in Miami last week. Donohue, who co-stars on the lame MTV reality show "The City" with his cousin Olivia Palermo, vamoosed, leaving behind a $1,450 bill - "and one night was complimentary," a Riviera rep said.
Also, we sort of love the fact that this particular gentleman was also "busted trying to hire a hooker in exchange for Oxycontin back in 2007."
We hope not all of Port's cohort acts this way when they're hitting up hotels — especially when the staff humors them with VIP treatment and free stuff. As of this morning when the Post item ran, the hotel was still chasing Donohue down to collect payment.
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Hard Rock Las Vegas Still Going Ahead with Expansion Plans
While much of Las Vegas is shutting down any expansion efforts, The Hard Rock Hotel is still going forward with their $750 million expansion plan. In fact, this Spring, two new guest towers totaling 860 new rooms will open as will 75,000-sq.ft. of meetings and convention space.
This is a snapshot rendering of a king suite in the all-suite, 15-story HRH Tower. Look at all that couch space. Perfect for entertaining party people...er...colleagues. A neighboring 17-story Paradise Tower will also open at the same time and will be directly connected to the new meeting space. All rooms in both towers will be tricked out with the latest in amenities and technology like fast wireless internet and flat-screen TVs.
Obviously, with all that new meeting space, the hotel is targeting the Vegas business traveler who likes to have fun while he/she works. Upon opening, the hotel will offer the "Rider" package which allows business travelers to choose their favorite amenities. Unfortunately, the amenity called "A Day Off" is not included. We don't have the scoop on the room rates just yet but we are guessing they are going to be more than $55 a night.
Tags: Armani Hotels / Dubai Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
When and Where Will the World Gets Its First Armani Hotel?
It's been more than three years since Giorgio Armani announced his plans to open ten eponymous hotels and resorts, and yet the first one in Dubai hasn't even secured an opening date. That's what they get for starting with the world's tallest structure, the notorious Burj Dubai, whose final height won't even be released until the tower reaches completion in September of this year (it's around 2,050 feet now).
Future Armani Hotel guests need not worry about vertigo, however, as the 160-room hotel will be situated in the first 37 stories, along with the Armani residences. Expected to open sometime in this first quarter of 2009, it will precede the other Armani Hotel under construction in Milan, to then be followed by London, New York, and the first resort in the collection.
Tags: Marriott Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Fairfield Inn / → All Tags
Fairfield Inn's Makeover: Now In Living Color
We brought you news of Marriott's Fairfield Inn & Suites brand getting a stylin' new look this week, and now we've got the results of the makeover live and in living color.
Check out this video, with more than a few shots of the room and the revamped lobby at the official unveiling of the brand's new look and kicked-up amenity offerings. Watch as wide-eyed guests get excited over the vibrant colors and iHomes!
Bonus: David Marriott weighs in on the "fresh, hip feel" of the new Fairfield.
As for when you can expect to check it all out for yourself: we're told there are 50 properties sporting the style now, and as hotels open and renovate in 2009, the number will grow. They've got about 180 new hotels in the pipeline for the upcoming years, and those properties will all have the new décor package when they open their doors.
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Smyth Tribeca Looks Good, But Won't Open Until February
After a bit of a disastrous run with booking rooms for the beginning of the month at the yet-to-open, twice-delayed Smyth Tribeca, the kind folks that run the hotel invited us over to get a sneak peek and a personal tour of the property before doors opened to the public.
Yes, people: yesterday, we were able to debunk the great Myth of Smyth as we strolled through the fabled hallways of the building on the corner of Broadway and Chambers Street. The hotel is real, and it is going to open. Soon. Sometime. Most likely at the beginning of February.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to take any of our own photographs (trust us, we tried), so the best we can give you is a look at these professional shots and the scoop on some of the cool stuff we saw inside.
Tags: Hotel Spas / New York Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / → All Tags
"Cocoon" in Luxury's Lap at the Carlyle's Sense Spa
Cached in The Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side, the Sense spa is making headlines for its unabashedly luxurious bent. Both Vanity Fair and the New York Times’ T Magazine recently reviewed the place, and the consensus was clear: This is the place to evoke Great Depression-era excess in the name of the new Depression.
Designed by interior designer Mark Zeff, Sense is about as exclusive as spas go in New York, with just five intimate, super-private treatment rooms, a relaxation room, duet suite, and steam rooms. To get to them, you walk through a barrel-vaulted staircase blanketed with ultra-spendy mosaic platinum squares. VF says it’s like being “cocooned in luxury.”
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Shangri-La's Blu Horizon Bar Rocks The Rocks
We might have thought that the Shangri-La Hotel in The Rocks part of Sydney was a touch too pricey for New Year's Eve but with the fireworks over, we're keen to head to the Blu Horizon Bar on Level 36 of the Shangri-La.
Back in 2007 this bar won the Australian Hotel Association's big award as the "Best Hotel Bar of the Year" and there's no reason to think the standard has slipped since then. The view alone is probably enough to win over most customers, with panoramic windows looking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
Some reviews say that you can have long waits for a table or that the drinks are too expensive, but since this is one of the most scenic bar locations in the whole world, we don't think there's much reason to complain. However, from Monday to Thursday crowds are much smaller, so grab your drink then and you'll have less people between you and the view.
[Photo: Amit (Sydney)]
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Manhattan Hotels / AB Hotels / → All Tags
Gearing Up for NY Restaurant Week With The Mercer Kitchen
If there is one place that can get away with sitting you underneath an active sidewalk with the possibility of plaster falling into your food, then it is Mercer Kitchen at The Mercer Hotel. A magnet for hungry hipsters in Soho, Mercer Kitchen owes its fame to the fashion set who regularly make The Mercer their hideout of choice. With Restaurant Week quickly creeping up on New York, we decided to do a little sniffing around the scene by hitting up a Sunday brunch.
Since The Mercer is something of a legend among New York hotels, you can imagine that the room rates are sky-high; think $495 a night for a courtyard-facing room during low season, and an extra $200 if you stay during any of the high fashion holidays (if you can get a room). Luckily the Mercer Kitchen accommodates a more casual and less indulgent crowd. Typical brunch meals, like our goat cheese omelet and roasted potatoes, cost between $10 and $15, or opt for a 3-course prix fixe meal available year-round, at $24 for lunch or $35 for dinner.
For once, the place wasn't packed to the gills for brunch--probably because everyone has reservations for next week--and we were able to scope out a mixture of downtown kids and older tourists. The food didn't blow us away, but at least it's an economical way to bask in the glow of The Mercer and fill up our bellies at the same time.
[Photo: jeffsb*]
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Crowne Plaza Hotel Helps Out With Flight 1549
Surely you've heard by now: a US Airways flight 1549, which took off from New York's LaGuardia airport bound for Charlotte, made a miraculous crash landing in the Hudson river just minutes after departure yesterday afternoon. Everyone on board — 150 passengers and five crew (two pilots and three flight attendants) — got off the plane safely.
According to the NY Times' City Room blog, authorities have concluded that a bird (or several birds) struck the engine or engines.
Luckily, the plane was landed safely in the water and many passengers didn't even get wet in the frigid water:
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said most of the passengers did not even touch the frigid Hudson. “There were a few that I talked to that went into the water,” he said. “Most I gather either stepped directly form the plane onto a boat, or onto the wings and then onto a boat, so most were not soaking wet.”
As of yesterday evening, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had set up a family center at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near LaGuardia Airport for the flight's passengers and their families.
[Photo: Chris Gay via NYTimes]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Ace Hotels / Palm Springs Hotels / → All Tags
Ace Hotel Palm Springs To Open on February 12th
Looks like there will be two Ace Hotels opening next month. It's not just the Ace Hotel New York that's opening soon. The Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs is all set to open on February 12th. And the hotel has just begun taking reservations online. From the press release:
Embracing the laid-back feel of Palm Springs, L.A.-based design team Commune worked with Ace to create interiors that evoke an indulgent camping experience. Walls are covered with tent-like drapes and include slats that encourage guests to personalize rooms with photos or artwork. Vintage furnishings make each room feel hand-crafted and utterly unique. Rich natural materials used in the rooms include bleached canvas, wormy butternut wood, denim, and hemp—all in line with Ace’s hybrid goal of comfort and sustainability.
Bohemian, authentic details like an old ranch hand bar (The Amigo Room) and individual outdoor patios complete with outdoor fireplaces embody Ace Hotels' philosophy: thoughtful design, cultural authenticity, and rich experience.
Read more on the Ace Hotel Palm Springs after the jump.
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