Tag: Colorado Hotels
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Is the Park Hyatt's "Sleep Ambassador" Job Hokey?
We’ve been pretty vocal about our growing displeasure for packages and offerings designed more to gain publicity than they are to attract and benefit guests. These, for example. And now some say the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek’s new “sleep ambassador” program is right up there with the best of them.
Us? We’re skeptical by nature at this point. But that’s not fair – everyone deserves their day in court. So we tracked down the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek’s Sleep Ambassador herself, Nancy Rothstein, for some pillow talk.
HC: Let’s get right to it. Your campaign with Park Hyatt Beaver Creek claims hotels are in “the business of sleep.” Do you really believe that? As world travelers, we must say, rarely do we choose a hotel based on its sleep-inducing powers. And some destinations just don’t let you sleep. Vegas, for example.
Hotel Trends / Hotel News / Dual-Brand Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Denver Hotels / → All Tags
New Trend? Dual Hotel Brands Under One Roof
Last month, we talked about how Marriott decided to stuff three of its hotel brands into one building in Houston, the most extreme example of a multi-brand property trend that has been gaining steam within the hotel industry. Hilton Worldwide, for example, has 12 dual-branded properties in North America. Most recently, a Hampton Inn & Suites and Homewood Suites combo opened in Denver this week, marking the first dual-branded hotel to operate in the Mile High City.
First off, good for Denver - it really shows how much they've grown as a metropolitan area over the past decade. The property will have 302 rooms combined and will split its lobby between the two brands, but retain separate front desks, lodging and dining areas that each cater to its respective guests.
On a larger note, it's now time to officially acknowledge and analyze this new movement. Parent companies are forcing their children to share a bedroom... what's the deal with that? Apparently, bunking up has its benefits.
Hotel Trends / Hotel Restaurants / Lungarno Collection / Marriott Hotels / Utah Hotels / Italy Hotels / Tuscany Hotels / Florida Hotels / Colorado Hotels / → All Tags
What’s Out, What’s In: Hotel Restaurants Get In the Game
Now that's what we call a hearty piece of meat!
We've started a series of what’s trending in hotels these days: What’s Out, What’s In. Do we like what we see? Think it's a dud? You be the judge!
What's Out: Grass-fed beef and local poultry
What's In: Local wild game dishes
With the meteoric rise of culinary tourism and the fact that pretty much everyone wants a good meal, hotel restaurants have had to increase their game (we’re so funny...) and look for new ways to impress you gourmands out there.
Sorrel River Ranch near Moab, UT, is wedged between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks on the banks of the Colorado River. The ranch has a – get this -- Garden Manager who tends to two acres of organic produce (fantastic!) which finds its way into the hands of the chef, along with local wild game. The chef’s newest creation? Rabbit and Rattlesnake Sausage with Utah Peach Preserves and Baby Greens.
For more gamey goodness, read on!
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Glamp the Night Away with Limelight's Hiking Package in Aspen
Even though the ski regions are still getting last-minute storms as we approach mid-April, we are, for the most part, done with winter. Bittersweet for us skiers, for sure, but we do believe that summer in the mountains is just as good, if not better, thanks to the wide range of activities that come along with it: Hiking, biking, climbing, camping (or glamping), and rafting, among others.
Another good thing: Aspen tends to chill out a bit. Since the masses view winter as the season in Aspen, rates become more affordable in the summer, the crowds are gone, and the service is friendlier as the so-called "pretentious level" drops exponentially (french fries are probably still $17, though).
Last week while in Aspen we stayed at the Limelight Hotel, which unfortunately often gets forgotten amongst well-known names like the luxurious Little Nell, the newly-renovated Jerome (it's beautiful, by the way), and the Snoop Lion endorsed Sky Hotel (Aspen has a great hotel scene for such a small town, don't you think?). We dug the vibe at the Limelight, as well as the included breakfast and free bikes, but it's a unique summer offering that's really got us intrigued.
Colorado Hotels / Estes Park Hotels / The Stanley Hotel / → All Tags
The Lodge at the Stanley is a Kinda Sorta B&B
The Stanley Hotel near Rocky Mountain National Park is known for being spooky, for sure, and it certainly has its place in pop culture for inspiring Stephen King's novel The Shining and making a cameo in every twentysomething male's favorite film, "Dumb and Dumber" (race you to the top!).
But did you know about the sister property right next door called the Lodge at the Stanley? It used to be a "bachelor’s building," created specifically for solo male travelers back in the day (1910), but today the 40-room boutique inn is more like a bed and breakfast than a lodge.
“I call it a luxury inn,” said chef/innkeeper Midge Knerr, who ran a bed and breakfast in Rhode Island for 30 years and was one of New York City’s first female chefs. “It exudes a bit more of mountain feel – cozier than the main building, with an artisan touch.”
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Embassy Suites Founder Launches New Brand
If the past is any indication of what Robert Woolley is capable of, we have no doubt his latest endeavor, Woolley's Classic Suites, will find success as a new brand in the hotel industry.
It just doesn't seem like it will be with the leisure market, unfortunately.
Woolley,who invented the all-suite hotel concept in 1969 and sold what is now the Embassy Suites brand to Holiday Inn in 1984, recently broke ground on a four story, 191-room flagship property just outside of Denver in Aurora, Colorado. Although the website claims the hotel will aim to cater to both the business and leisure markets, all signs point to this property becoming more or less an airport hotel.
Scheduled to open in the spring of 2014, the location of this project has nothing to offer vacationers. The hotel is being built in an office park that houses the likes of Boeing, Best Buy, Nabisco, and Reebok, and while the marketing campaign claims it's "minutes" from downtown Denver, those familiar with Aurora have eyebrows raised. In reality, Aurora is closer to the middle of nowhere than it is to the city. Woolley's Classic Suites will be located at the beginning of Pena Blvd., the nine-mile long "driveway" to Denver International Airport.
So, why here and now?
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What’s Out, What’s In: Liquid Diets
SMAK Bar's Bloody Mary at Hotel Madeline
We've started a series of what’s trending in hotels these days: What’s Out, What’s In. Do we like what we see? Think it's a dud? You be the judge!
What’s Out: Drinks Then Dinner
What’s In: Dinner in Your Drinks
These days hotel bars are getting all fancy with their cocktails. Prize mixologists are like rock stars in the bevvie world. It’s a given now that the best hotel bars make their own syrups and infuse their own spirits, so what’s next? Well, some bartenders are thinking that it may be time to bring back the liquid lunch, although some of these drinks aren’t only liquid...
Lantern’s Keep (love the name!) at the Iroquois Hotel New York is an intimate cocktail salon located inside the historic Theater District hotel. Here's the kicker--you can only enter the dimly-lit watering hole if the lantern outside the bar is glowing. If you’re there at night and have one-too-many of the Stay Up Late cocktails, you might just want to show up the next day for the Golden Breakfast, made up of gin, lime, cucumber slices, Worcester sauce, hot sauce and the final ingredient--an egg yolk.
Hotel Chocolate / Hotel Drinks / Four Seasons Hotels / Vail Hotels / Colorado Hotels / → All Tags
One Very Decadent Cup of Hot Chocolate at The Four Seasons Vail
We're hearing another snow storm's coming in and that's making us want to cuddle up with something hot and body-warming (get your mind out the guttah!). A cup of hot chocolate would hit the spot, but not some old packet of Swiss Miss, which is all we have access to right now. Sigh.
So, we're doing what we always do, daydreaming about something decadent--namely the Haut Chocolat from the Four Seasons Vail where it's 9F. And boy, do they serve it up right! The ingredients arrives in a French ceramic pot and presented on a silver tray at the hotel's Fireside Lounge.
The drink is prepared tableside, and to make it thick and rich, your server muddles Valrhona chocolate with steamed milk, then pours the mixture over two giant hand-made marshmallows and a chocolate lattice that begins to melt from the liquid heat. But that's not all. Then it’s topped with whipped cream and chocolate streusel. Then they go OTT and add chocolate shavings and even more whipped cream. The price for this indulgence? $16.
We're thinking it's snuggle time now, don't you?
[Photo: Four Seasons Vail]
Hotel Technology / Hotel News / Solaris Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Vail Hotels / → All Tags
We Wish Every Ski Town Hotel Had This Technology
Ok, so we know we went on a little rant about the fact that technology might be slowly killing off the traveler in all of us, but this weekend in Vail we stumbled upon a mighty helping hand at the uber-luxurious Solaris (yes, it is still ski season!)
Ski and mountain towns are serene and relaxing, but if you're anything like us, the morning can sometimes be a little manic. You're up early, dressing in layers, trying to get a coffee down and, caffeine aside, a bit anxious. What's the weather like at the top of the mountain? Did the lifts open at 8 or 8:30? Are the slopes already crowded? Did the backside get as much snow as the front? For us, all those questions were answered by the Solaris' in-room Crestron control system.
We liked how we could call for our car and contact the front desk without picking up the phone, but what really impressed us was how it aided in helping us plan our attack for the day. From this little box on the wall, you can access nine mountain cams that shed light on lift lines, snow quality, weather, and crowds. We found it useful to check just before heading out. Lots of skier traffic around Eagle's Nest or long lines at Wildwood? No problem--Blue Sky Basin it is.
Hotel Contests / Hotel Giveaways / Wedding Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Denver Hotels / Embassy Suites / → All Tags
Embassy Denver's Free $30K Wedding Winner Announced
You saw their videos and heard their stories, and now you'll get to pick out the colors (and more) of their wedding. Congratulations to Robin and Jeremiah, who won the Embassy Suites Denver's $30,000 "Win a Wedding" contest.
More than 10,000 people voted in the online contest, which was held on the hotel’s Facebook page. The couple will tie the knot in front of 100 family members and friends on Saturday, May 18, in the hotel's Crestone Ballroom. We're not going to call it a celebrity wedding, but it comes pretty close. To hear more about their story, including jumping out of an airplane on their first date, see our first post profiling the constants.
That's settled, but the fun is far from done: Voting will start next week to select all the wedding details, from the dress to the entertainment. Each week there will be something different to vote on. Invitations are on the ballot now (as of Wednesday), and the wedding dress is next up on February 27th (we imagine that will be one of the bigger debates). You can vote on the hotel's Facebook page.
Killer View / Colorado Hotels / Hotel Snapshots / Boulder Hotels / → All Tags
A Rockin' Killer View From Colorado's St Julien
The St Julien in Boulder is no doubt a luxurious property (it's one of only two hotels in town to offer a spa), but we remember it for its outstanding location and killer views of the iconic Flatirons - one of the most recognizable rock formations on the front range of the Rockies in Colorado.
When gold was discovered in the mountains near Boulder in 1859, the town became a supply center for the new mining communities that began to pop up. A train ran from the center of town up into Boulder Canyon for almost forty years until 1919, and today the St Julien sits on the site of that old rail yard on Walnut Street between 9th and 10th. The Flatirons are located nearby in Chautauqua Park, and yes, you can hike up, in, and around the triangular rock faces.
The hotel is a block south of the restaurants and bars of Pearl Street and a five-minute walk from its four-block pedestrian mall. We found the entire experience to be welcoming on our visit last summer. We liked the accessibility to both the outdoors and the nightlife that came along with the comfortable accommodations. Check out the photo gallery below, and request a room (from $259 per night) on the south side with a balcony to take in the Flatiron views.
Hotel Contests / Hotel Giveaways / Wedding Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Denver Hotels / Embassy Suites / → All Tags
Help Pick Winner Of Embassy Suites $30K Wedding Giveaway !
We told you last week the Embassy Suites in Denver needs your help planning a $30,000 wedding giveaway.
You'll be able to vote on every detail down to the dress, but first you must decide which couple deserves to walk down the aisle in style. The contestants' videos are out, and the voting is in full effect! Now it's time for you to weigh in and decide their fate!
Robin and Jeremiah had a family member sing a song about them which, we must say, is so bad it's... bad (you'll see at the end). Jennifer and Chad literally put all their cards on the (poker) table (above) to convince us to vote for them.
