Tag: Autograph Collection Hotels
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Denver's Brown Palace Hotel Will Find New Life As An Autograph Collection Hotel
120 years after it initially opened (that's 1892, for any of you who haven't had your coffee yet), the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver has been scooped up by Marriott's Autograph Collection, which includes The Cosmopolitan in Vegas, The Algonquin in New York, and 30 others.
According to Denver Business Journal, Brown Palace is the city's second-oldest hotel (after The Oxford), and over the years has hosted presidents (Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Clinton) as well as big name guests like the Beatles, Oprah, Jimmy Stewart, and even Queen Marie of Romania.
If any of those fine people once counted themselves as Marriott Rewards members, we bet they're kicking themselves now!
Hotel Renovations / Manhattan Hotels / Historic Hotels / Hotel Design / Autograph Collection Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
A Sneak Peek at the New Rooms of The Algonquin Hotel
The iconic Algonquin Hotel closed earlier this year for renovations and while the reconstruction continues this month, we've finally got a sneak peek (in the form of a rendering) as to what the new rooms will look like.
We're impressed! Interior design firm, Intra-Spec, Inc have made the rooms look sophisticated, elegant and timeless, which is really what the Algonquin's all about. The hotel, which is also part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, is aiming for an end of May/early June reopening. We'll keep you posted as to when you can make your reservations.
In other news, the man responsible for relaunching the Algonquin's Oak Room as a nightclub back in 1982, Donald Smith, passed away the other day. The hotel does not plan to reopen the Oak Room when renovations are finished. Matilda, however, will still be around. Just on a leash.
For kicks, see what an old room at the Algonquin looked like after the jump!
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The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Splashed on Italian Wallpaper For Their Guest Rooms
Hotel wallpaper: underused but always appreciated when it does make an appearance. As long as it’s funky wallpaper, not gross stuff like you’d find in your nan’s back room.
One of our lasting memories of the rooms at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas is opening the cupboards and seeing the weird faces staring out at us. So we had a blast from the past when we were in Italy the other week, opened up a copy of Grazia and came face to face with the faces again.
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No Longer The Wrong Amount Of Wrong: The Cosmo Revokes Stephanie's Lifetime Ban
Yesterday morning, we published a story about our friend Stephanie, who came to Vegas a couple weeks ago for a conference, hit up one of the bars at the Cosmopolitan for a nightcap, and was ejected from the hotel and banned for life after she used the women’s restroom.
Stephanie is transgender. People reading about her situation were outraged. The Cosmopolitan was bombarded with criticism, and last night, it apologized.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is committed to maintaining a community that recognizes and values the inherent dignity of every person, by fostering sensitivity, understanding and mutual respect of our guests and employees. We sincerely regret any misunderstanding or inappropriate actions that any member of our staff may have taken. And to ensure increased sensitivity within this area, the organization will focus on continued training and on-going awareness initiatives. In addition, we apologize to the individual guest and welcome her back to the resort anytime.
Again, we would like to apologize to the LGBT community and anyone concerned and hope to demonstrate our firm dedication to fair and unbiased treatment of all.
What do we think about the third statement they released? Well, the open apology to the LGBT community is awesome. We’re jazzed they value the inherent dignity of every person. It’s great that they “sincerely regret any misunderstanding or inappropriate actions that any member of our staff may have taken”. And we’re delighted that they plan to “ensure increased sensitivity in this area.”
But actions speak louder than words, so what we want to know is: how are they going to do that? We've asked what specific changes they're making, and are waiting to hear back from the Cosmopolitan.
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The Wrong Amount Of Wrong: Barred For Life From The Cosmopolitan For Being Transgender
Update: 4.27.11, 8:30PM EST The Cosmopolitan has released a lengthier statement on the incident which we've posted at the bottom of the story. Good news--Stephanie is allowed back into the casino.
Sin City: a town where, supposedly, everything goes. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas: the newest, coolest hotel on the block which has advertised itself as having “just the right amount of wrong.”
Ever since it unveiled its tagline before it opened, last December, people were speculating on what, exactly, is the right amount of wrong for a town that prides itself on its loucheness. And now, it appears, we have an answer. Or at least, we know what’s the wrong amount of wrong.
The wrong amount of wrong is being transgender and using the women’s restroom.
We have a friend called Stephanie, who is pre-op trans. Stephanie lives in New York. Back home, Stephanie is accustomed to using the ladies when she needs the loo. Apparently, in New York, there’s a law saying that individuals can use the bathroom for whichever sex they self-define as. So when she hits up the bar at The Plaza, for instance (one of her regular hangouts), she goes to the ladies.
Cut to Vegas, two weeks ago. Stephanie is in town for a conference and wants to have a boozy night out. This member of HotelChatter has dinner with her, and we suggest that, although we’re tired and want to go home, she should check out the Cosmopolitan’s bar scene. It is, we say, our favorite place to sit and drink in Vegas, and it’ll be great for a drinker on their lonesome. Then we go home to sleep, dreaming of the Cosmo’s delicious cocktails, and wake up to find a distraught email from Stephanie saying that she has been banned for life from the hotel.
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The Cosmopolitan's Booking Policy For Its Killer Suites Is Not Very Cosmopolitan
Balcony + prettiness = possibly the definition of a killer view
The ultimate room with a view, anyone? Much has been made of the balconies and awesome views on display from the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas since it opened in December (we declared the Terrace Studio we stayed in in January “jaw-dropping”, after all). But much as our collective jaws have dropped every time we’ve set foot in a Cosmo room, or one of the restaurants, or even the pool deck, with its cabanas dangling over the Strip, it wasn’t until we stayed in a Wraparound Terrace Suite that we realized just how, well, sweet the views are.
Whereas the normal rooms have 110 sq ft balconies (and very nice they are too, to be fair), the Wraparounds come with a 480 sq ft terrace wrapping its way (see what they did there?) around the suite. Two sides, one corner. So if, as we did, you nab one looking north, over the Bellagio fountains, this - is what you get.
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Vending Machines For the Curious Crowd at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
We've seen hotel vending machines here and there, but the U*Tique Shop at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is probably top of the heap, challenging the similar retail robots making inroads at Morgans Hotels in London and New York.
What's on offer in Vegas? A collection of sundries both high- and low-ticket, with Vosges chocolates, Flip cams, Beats by Dre headphones, TUMI totes, Chuck Klosterman books, all manner of make-up both classy and trashy and, obviously, fashion tape.
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The Cosmopolitan is Now Both a Ritz-Carlton and an Autograph Collection Hotel
As our sibling, VegasChatter told you last week, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas is now open and it is rather awesome.
But things have gotten a little confusing as far as that Marriott partnership is concerned. The hotel is now both a Ritz-Carlton *partner* hotel and an Autograph Collection Hotel. So which rewards program is best for you to use? As it turns out, you can still use either Ritz-Carlton Rewards or the Marriott Rewards program.
Here's what the folks at Marriott told us:
