Tag: Free WiFi
View All TagsHotel Openings / Hotel Rebrandings / New Orleans Hotels / Four Points by Sheraton Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Four Points by Sheraton is Now Open in the French Quarter
Although we are a little tardy for the party, we had to let you all know that the Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter opened its doors in June on the very party-friendly Bourbon Street.
The space formerly called the Inn on Bourbon was previously owned by Ramada. Now rebranded as The Four Points, the hotel has 186 rooms, a swimming pool, a 24-hour fitness center, copy/fax center, and free WiFi. Of course, location means everything in New Orleans, and the hotel is in the middle of the action. It’s walking distance to several of the French Quarter’s hot spots, or should we say cool spots, like the House of Blues, the Saenger Theater, Armstrong Park and the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts. Harrah’s Casino is only a mile away.
Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Showers / Sofitel Hotels / Luxembourg Hotels / Photo Gallery / HotelChatter Reviews / Free WiFi / Hermes Toiletries / → All Tags
Shower In Full View at Sofitel Le Grand Ducal Luxembourg
Our travels recently took us to the tiny country of Luxembourg, the only remaining sovereign grand duchy today. Landlocked between Belgium, Germany, and France, and with Grand Duke Henri as its current head of state, Luxembourg has one of the highest Gross Domestic Products (GDP) per capita at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), making it one of the richest countries in the world.
Having recently done our share of cubicle-dreaming over the possibility to win a round-the-world trip with Sofitel Hotels & Resorts and researching our accommodation options, we ended up at the Sofitel Le Grand Ducal, overlooking the old town of Luxembourg and the Pétrusse valley.
Be aware that there are two Sofitels in Luxembourg City; Le Grand Ducal and Europe. The Sofitel Europe is on the Kirchberg Plateau, a business area with lots of offices and European Institutions about 2km from the city centre. If you don't have a reason to be in the area, we'd probably pick the Sofitel Le Grand Ducal for location and ease of access to the old town.
Hotel News / Buenos Aires Hotels / Argentina Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Buenos Aires Grand Hotel Opens in September for $189 a Night
The travel-savvy and sun worshippers will chase the good weather and head to the southern hemisphere next month. It'll be springtime in Buenos Aires come September with temps topping out in the low 70's--the right time to take in fashion shows and wine festivals and to check out the new Buenos Aires Grand Hotel opening in the stylish Recoleta nabe.
The 90-room hotel will provide all the comforts travelers crave—free WiFi, 40" plasma TVs, and Nespresso coffeemakers. Plus, they can boast as being one of the rare B.A. hotels to have a rooftop pool (with an artificial current), so we’re anticipating quite the scene of designer-swimsuit wearing patrons come summer evenings starting in December (yep, remember it's opposite season).
Hotel WiFi / Free WiFi / Four Seasons Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Free WiFi at a Four Seasons Hotel is Possible in Los Angeles
We've long bemoaned the practice of luxury properties like the Four Seasons Hotels charging not just top-dollar room rates but also a king's ransom for WiFi. Yet at the Four Seasons, in the heart of Fantasy Land aka Los Angeles, hotel guests get a little bit of a break.
Basic internet--like web browsing, checking your email and updating your social networking status--is totally free. And on multiple devices too. Of course, the downside of getting it for free is that it's not always fast. While our go-to websites all loaded properly, it wasn't a high-speed connection by any means. However, it did beat out some connections we've had at Starbucks. (Alas, you do have to be a hotel guest to access even the basic internet.)
Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Free WiFi / Design Hotels / → All Tags
London's South Place Hotel Will See You in September
You'd think that with all the hotel activity we've been covering in London, things would be slowing down a little at some point. But no, just last Friday, we closed with "Another Week, Another New Hotel Opening in London", having covered the arrival of citizenM Bankside, and today we have another one to add for early September: The South Place Hotel.
The 80-room hotel first had a "summer" opening on our 2012 Master List openings, which we thought meant "in time for the Olympics", but it looks like that won't be the case. The pictures we took this past weekend make September seem more likely, with the exterior looking close to finished.
Located in the City, not far from Liverpool Street, South Place is the first hotel venture of D&D London, the restaurant group behind such places such as Floridita in Soho, Skylon at Royal Festival Hall, Alcazar in Paris, and Guastavino's in New York. So what can we expect when September 3rd comes around?
Free WiFi / Chinese Hotels / Hantings Inns / Hotel WiFi / Hotel News / → All Tags
Fast-Growing Chinese Hotel Brand Makes Free WiFi a Priority
Where: China
CNN has a story out today about the budget Hanting Inn brand in China that is expanding so fast, it's opening a new hotel every two days. Man, we knew there was room for growth in China but we had no idea it was this much.
Hanting Inns are pretty much no-frills budget spots that are just a step above hostels, capsule hotels and shared digs. Rooms are teeny tiny and they start as low as $15 a night. They also seem to be the knock-off Holiday Inn with similar logo colors except the rooms are way more modern and stylish.
However, billionaire founder Ji Qi made these three things a priority in his offerings to hotel guests: "a soft bed, free internet access and a good hot shower after a long, tiring day."
Hotel Openings / Puerto Rico Hotels / Free WiFi / Hotel News / → All Tags
Puerto Rico Says 'Hola' to The Olive Hotel
We mentioned the other week that Puerto Rico was finally opening the five-star Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Dorado this December, and the images blew our socks off (as did the rates which start at $1,200 a night.)
So, we seriously muttered, "ay dios mio", in earnest when we heard about the new Olive Boutique Hotel, which recently opened in San Juan's cool Condado section, an area known for its serious 5th Avenue-like shopping scene.
One of just two properties in Puerto Rico that's a Small Luxury Hotels of the World member, Olive opened in May 2012 with just 15 rooms. They're divided into four sections--Morocco, Spain, Italy and France and all pay homage to the owners’ Mediterranean travels.
Hotel Technology / Jumeirah Hotels / Frankfurt Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Is Big Brother Watching at the Jumeirah Frankfurt or Just Making You Comfy?
We love technology. Especially in the context of making our stays more comfortable. At the 218-room Jumeirah Frankfurt, for business and pleasure travelers, technology plays an important role in the guest experience.
While you are checking-in, your room is being acclimated to your preferences so that upon arriving at your door the in-room climate will be set at what Jumeirah refers to as "optimal heating or cooling." Before you get in the elevator, you must use the key touch pad to press in your room floor. The system will then direct you to a particular elevator to catch based on the "matched grouping" of other guests desiring the same floor or nearby floors.
Jumeirah says the elevator also limits the number of guests so the number of "stop-overs" is reduced. We didn't try it, but what about that kid who presses the buttons for all of the floors? If you try it, let us know how this works.
SLS Hotels / Free WiFi / Hotel WiFi / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
It's a Start: The SLS at Beverly Hills is Now Offering Free WiFi in the Lobby
When our own MsRebecca checked into the SLS South Beach last week she was overjoyed by the free WiFi in the rooms, even if the access was a bit spotty.
Yet while free WiFi is yet to become an SLS brand standard, the original SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills is now offering free WiFi in the lobby areas of the hotel. Up in the guestrooms, there's still a fee of $14.95 but that now includes up to three devices which should cover your laptop, phone and tablet easily.
While we would like free WiFi all over the property, especially up in the guestrooms, this is an improvement. And now it will allow people to have actual working lunches and other types of meetings in the restaurants at SLS, including the Bazaar by Jose Andres.
Plus, if you're a guest you can always avoid the $14.95 fee by working from the guest-only Tres restaurant which has comfy seating if you need to settle in for a while.
[Photo: Yosoynuts/Flickr]
Hotel Renovations / Vancouver Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / Rosewood Resorts / British Columbia Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Vancouver's Hotel Georgia is a Real Peach After Rosewood Takeover
Last summer, Vancouver’s historic gem of a hotel – the venerable Hotel Georgia – became part of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts following a major top to bottom reno of the 155-room hotel. It is now one of only two Canadian hotels listed on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2012 Hot List.
Hotel News / Malaysia Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Langkawi Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Luxe in Langkawi: Malaysia's New Seri Chenang Resort
Malaysia is heavily courting tourists with the opening of several new resorts. One of them is the Seri Chenang Resort & Spa Langkawi, opening June 30th. The property, located on Langkawi Island on the Malaysian Peninsula, promises to be quite luxe, though determined to add a heady mix of Malay culture to the guest experience. In other words—don’t expect a holiday where your only foreign interaction is with the staff and a plate of noodles.
Summer Road Trip Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / Nashville Hotels / Free WiFi / Starwood Preferred Guest / → All Tags
The Great American Road Trip Hotels Stop #3: Sheraton Downtown Nashville
Ahhh...we all remember what it's like to be young and in love on a cross-country road-trip staying in a different hotel each night. Or maybe not. For those of you who never got the chance to drive across America after college, we've got a special Summer Road Trip series from Teddy Worcester, a recent Wheaton College grad who's making his way out to San Fran for a job in tech. Along the way, he's hitting up about six hotels and reporting back to us on each one. So grab your iced beverage of choice, settle into your lawn chair and let the sprinkler run.
After another 10 hours on the road filled with torrential downpours and hundreds of miles of Virginia and Tennessee farmland, we pulled into Nashville. We went directly to the Sheraton Downtown Hotel where we stayed for the night.
I had reserved the hotel weeks ago through my Starwood Preferred Guest account with the cash and points option, which set me back $45 and 2,800 Starwood points. The room regularly books for $179 ($208.80 total with tax).
