HotelChatter - CALIFORNIA

Kimpton Launches New Aqua Yoga Program with Lululemon

justluxe — 2013-04-23T12:16:43-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/117511/Hotel_Wilshire_Los_Angeles_CA_Pool.jpg" class="top"> Here's the latest happening in the luxury hotel world as told by <a href="http://www.justluxe.com">JustLuxe.com.</a> Got a question about luxury hotels, the travel biz, and where to stay? <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">Send it in</a> and we'll have JustLuxe answer it. Hot yoga is so last-season not only because of the weather, but especially since the founder of the trendy hot yoga program Bikram is <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/hot-yoga-founder-bikram-choudhury-accused-sexual-harrassment-18788846">being accused of sexual harassment</a>. Still, though, weve gotta keep those chakras flowing even while were on the road, so were loving Kimpton Hotels more low-key, individualized yoga program, soft-launching in April across the brand. According to our source, each Kimpton property is encouraged to do things a little bit differently, but all properties

Hotels Crave Cruise Ships, But Are They Good for the City?

wakeandwander — 2013-03-08T12:33:15-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/113893/cruiseship.jpg" class="top"> Next week we'll be debuting our HotelChatter 2013 Cruise Guide. It might seem like a funny time to release this as, to put it lightly, the cruise ship industry has been in the spotlight over the past year. And few flowers have been thrown on stage. There have been some dramas. Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy. The disabled Carnival Triumph had its feces run down the walls. Food-related illness continues to be a problem. And now cities are starting to debate whether or not they should welcome ships, whether they do more harm than good. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/us/battle-in-genteel-charleston-over-cruise-ships.html?_r=0">Charleston is having an internal debate</a> about it currently, and it isn't pretty. One resident

Will the Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage Ever Recover From the '08 Crisis?

JasonD — 2013-02-27T09:48:45-05:00

This year will be the five-year anniversary of the big crash of 2008, a financial crisis that hit the hotel industry – like so many others – hard. All the hotel openings these days notwithstanding, many a project was scrapped as a result, long before they started breaking ground.

Yet, some others got caught in the middle, stuck in a weird kind of hotel-limbo: well on their way to completion, but without any sight of the moment when the finishing line, and paying guests just beyond, will be reached. Case in point: The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.

California's Sierra Neveda Lodge Is All Fired Up

wakeandwander — 2013-02-20T11:49:11-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/113893/chaletsierranevada.jpg" class="top"> The main complaint we've heard/read about the <a href=""><a href="http://sierranevadalodge.com">Sierra Nevada Lodge</a> at Mammoth Lakes is that it's a little outdated in its decor, that the rooms are a bit old. Well, they certainly addressed that comment card with a three-year multi-million dollar renovation, including the new construction of <a href="http://sierranevadalodge.com/lodging/chalets/">six chalets</a> and <a href="http://sierranevadalodge.com/lodging/fireplace-suites/">15 fireplace suites</a>. The resort officially "re-opened" on February 1, although it never really closed, and now has a total of 149 rooms. The chalets (pictured above) are located next door to the lodge and have full kitchens with butcher-block countertops and wood burning fireplaces. We dig the old-school snowshoe lights on the wall -- that's the good kind of "outdated"

Korean Air Hotel Will Be The Tallest Building in LA

wakeandwander — 2013-02-19T13:34:25-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/113893/koreanair_LAhotel2.jpg" class="top"> Last time we checked in on the now named "Wilshire Grand Project" back in May, Korean Air had already ditched its two-tower plan (a 60-story office tower and a 40-story hotel to be completed in 2014) in favor of a 73-story skyscraper. <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2012/5/20/213353/540/hotels/Korean_Air_is_Not_Playing_Around_When_It_Comes_to_Their_New_Downtown_LA_Hotel">We dished</a> that the billion-dollar building would be just a tick shorter than the existing U.S. Bank Tower, but <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-07/korean-air-s-office-hotel-building-to-be-tallest-in-l-a-.html">according to new reports</a>, it will include a spire at the top that puts the total height at 1,100 feet, making it the tallest in the city, about 80 feet above the U.S. Bank Tower. While a management brand still has yet to be announced, we now know that the L.A.-based architecture