Calling all horse lovers: the Mount Juliet Conrad Hotel in Ireland is doing everything right for you. Not too many hotels have an equestrian center on site, but Mount Juliet does, complete with new stables, two arenas and both of those fence-jumping trails (show jumping and cross country fences, for those in the know).
The new equestrian center has just been officially opened and added to the list of reasons to book in to Mount Juliet. Those lucky enough to get to the opening saw all kinds of horsey stuff, including Ukrainian Cossack riding and, as they describe it, some "stylish side-saddle" demonstrations. We're sorry we missed it.
Mount Juliet is a pretty huge estate about two hours from Dublin, in County Kilkenny, and it's got a golf course, spa and a variety of kinds of accommodation. They offer equestrian packages that include bed and breakfast, lunch, a one-hour trail ride and a one-hour riding lesson--with riding hats and boots provided, so novices like us are welcome--starting at €245 (US$380) a night.
Non-horse-lovers are also welcome as they have a stack of other packages that might match your preference.
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Jennifer Merritt heads to the Maldives...in her head. Enjoy.
Ever since a PR person's pitch for the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island arrived in my inbox, I cannot stop thinking about this place--and that was a year and a half ago.
Set on two private islands accessible only by seaplane, the hotel is surrounded by coral reef and a lagoon. It features an all-glass, undersea restaurant, two spas and various levels of luxury water villas scattered throughout miles and miles of white sandy beaches.
Love your cocktails? Have your own particular preference on how they should be made? Then you will love the new Conradtini menu in Conrad Hotels the world over.
The Conradtini concept means that instead of choosing from a list of cocktails, guests are given a "mixology menu" listing all the ingredients available, and can order exactly the combination they want. That means that guests can:
mix their cocktails exactly as they wish, without ... sacrificing their interest in a peach martini because of their aversion to lime juice.
· Hotel Animals: We know that the Hilton Waikoloa has a yet-to-be-named baby dolphin in its care but let's not forget the little Sgt. Pepper, born in July, in the Mirage'sdolphin habitat.
· Jock Jam Hotels: A shooting goes down outside the Conrad Hotel in Indianapolis. Word is Pacers b-baller Jamaal Tinsley and his crew were the targets.
·Hotel Blacklists: Jane Fonda is not welcome at The Breakers Hotel, so says Page Six. But it's not the hotel that won't have her. Its the American Legion members who say she isn't welcome.
· Hotel Filfth: You may not want to step into any of Vancouver's hotel pools. Apparently, they are all filthy.
· Hotel Retreats: The layoffs at Time Inc. can't be that bad as Gawker reports that the entire LA staff of "Entertainment Weekly" was flown to NYC and put up in the Le Parker Meridien Hotel just so they could attend company Christmas party.
· Hotel Billboard-itis: Lastly, Curbed says the folks at Manhattan Mini Storage might be trying to offend the Trump SoHo people with their bootylicious billboard ad.
If you're unlucky (or depending on your perspective, lucky) enough to be traveling for work during the coming holiday season, then the Conrad Hotels and Resorts chain have come up with their special Conrad Connections extras to help ease the strain.
The complimentary extras in the Connections deal are threefold, but the name probably comes from the first part: all guests get a free five-minute phone call to anywhere in the world. The Conrad gang decided to offer this after reading studies that showed one of the most popular activities for business travelers in their hotels was phoning home.
The other two facets of the Connections deal are quite seasonal. First, guests are offered a free gift-wrapping service for their Christmas shopping (pity they don't choose the presents for you, too). And on top of that, Conrad Hotels are offering a selection of special drinks and delicacies unique to each region. For example, you'll score some Turkish Delight at the Conrad Istanbul, or traditional Egyptian pastries at the Conrad Sharm El Sheikh.
Just to help you add to that whole Christmas season weight-gain thing. But at least you can tell the folks at home about that for free. The Conrad Connections freebies will run from December 21 to January 4 next year.
Early this year, the Conrad Bangkok was looking to lure lonely travelers with Mercedes limos and chauffeur service. Now the luxury of riding in a bespoke Benz is open to all with a new fleet of tricked out S-Class limos for hire at 1,500 Baht ($47) an hour.
From the back seat of these babies, you'll get to avoid the notorious Bangkok traffic. Seat-back TVs also pipe in movies and Bloomberg news, and you can plug your iPod into the 12 speaker sound system.
If this type of style is a bit too much--or a bit too pricey--the Conrad also has two "Easy Rider" scooters. We're not sure what they have to do with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, but they can easily snake through gridlocked traffic. Even better: Rides on the back of the Benz scooters start at just $1.
This just in: Women have left the home and entered the workplace. Even more, they're traveling to meetings and conferences alongside their male colleagues.
According to a recent study conducted by the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University, women account for nearly half of all business travelers in the U.S. and that number is on the rise. The study also reports 65 percent of female business travelers like to incorporate relaxation and leisure time into their business trips.
In response to the seemingly obvious findings, Conrad Hotels & Resorts is re-branding its luxury treatments to cater to the female business traveler. At Conrad Chicago, lady execs can treat themselves to room-service mani/pedis. Treatments include $55 manicures, $70 pedicures, and $130 facials.
Expecting working moms saving up vacation time into late-term can take advantage of the "Indulging Mothers-to-be" service at Conrad Indianapolis.
The turndown service includes a prenatal listening system to monitor the baby's heartbeat and movement, along with internet access so mom can e-mail the sounds home.
The service also includes extra pillows for elevating legs and releasing pressure from the lower back and unlimited bottled water. There's no mention of late-night pickle and ice cream service, but they'd probably accommodate.
The Conrad Chicago recently added a new room service item to its menu: manicures. Awesome.
From 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., you can order up a 30-minute mani ($55), a 45-minute pedi ($70) or a 50-minute facial ($130) straight to your room.
No more ruining your freshly-painted nails digging for your room keys! Also, we're hoping more men will start to take care of their nasty feet and indulge in a mannycure or pedicure now that they can do so in the privacy of their own rooms. How 'bout it, guys?
