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Tags: Interviews / Raul Leal / Desires Hotels / Concierges / Hotel Services / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
How Desires Hotels Are Making Sure Your Desires Are Met
Raul Leal, President of Desires Hotels
With a name like Desires Hotels, this small collection of boutique properties has a lot to live up to. After all, don't all guests want their every desire fulfilled whenever they check into a hotel? And look no further than the recent introductions of specialized services in hotels like pillow menus, bath butlers, shopping concierges and even iPhone applications to understand that today's hotel guest is becoming increasingly needy.
But in speaking with Raul Leal, the president of Desires Hotels, we learned that his hotels have a few subtle ways to make sure that your need are taken care of when staying overnight.
For starters, the concierges at Desires Hotels (which include The Ironhorse Hotel in Milwaukee, The MAve in New York and The Besty Hotel in Miami) are called, Managers of Desires. Their sole purpose is to spoil you whether it be by accommodating special room requests, securing restaurant reservations and planning a day (or night out) on the town. Have a desire and want it fulfilled? This is a good place to start. But remember, these managers are not genies. Keep your requests reasonable (and clean.)
Tags: Holiday Hotels / Hotel Ice Rinks / Winter Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Perfect Your Iron Lotus at These Hotels' Ice Rinks
The Pond at Bryant Park.
In anticipation of winter, we told you about five hotels where you can sleep and ice skate earlier this week. For those of you who are jonesing for some cold-weather fun, here are other hotels that have rinks nearby so you can lace up and hit the ice.
Find out three more skating-hotel picks after the jump.
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The Top Five Hotels For Eating Macarons
Usually trotted out into the lobbies of all the top Parisian hotels during fashion week, the colorful little Macaron treats are now showing up more and more often both outside the City of Lights and during all seasons. It's almost a full-blown hotel trend, these little tasty tidbits, and we've found five properties that'll happily place one into your palm.
But first, you must know the difference between a macaron, of which we speak, and the macaroon. A macaron is a delicate little thing made of egg whites, almond powder and sugar, which resembles a mini pastel hamburger. A macaroon is a coconut lump which is really yummy, it's true, but not what we're discussing here. Now onto the Top Five Hotel For Macarons.
Tags: In-Room Coffee Makers / Viceroy Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Holiday Hotels / → All Tags
The Viceroy Miami's Illy Espresso Machine Will Make You Happy Morning and Night
We are continuing to geek out over in-room coffee makers. Yesterday, we showed you how the folks Down Under do it and today we're including an in-room coffee maker that we forgot to include in our original round-up--The Illy Espresso machine at Viceroy Miami.
The Francis Francis X8 espresso machines from Illy are found in all rooms at the hotel and there is no grinding of beans or scooping of ground espresso to deal with here. Just plop in a pod into "Frank" (we can call it that, right?) and steaming hot espresso is yours in a matter of seconds. There is milk and as you can see, oranges to accompany your drink as well.
We actually used Frank in the evening when we arrived at the hotel to give us a quick jolt so that we could stay awake to do some work. And when we awoke in the morning, Frank was ready and waiting to serve us again.
Tags: Holiday Hotels / Hotel Ice Rinks / Winter Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Five Hotels Where You Can Sleep and Ice Skate
The Hotel Del Coronado.
Forget free wifi or yoga classes, it looks like the hot hotel amenity for winter is a private ice rink. Hotels all over are going all Ice Capades and putting up rinks—even if they are in a warm-weather locales. So you Michelle Kwans and Brian Boitanos can lace up your skates and practice your double axel—or if you're like us, teeter and fall on your booties—even when you're traveling.
Find out where you can sleep and skate this holiday after the jump.
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Beat This Attention to Detail: The Silent Drawers of the Langham London
We thought we’d seen most things in the way of top notch/frivolous amenities until we looked round the Langham London post refurb. In particular, the suites.
Obviously they have the frilly stuff, like a selection of books for your perusal and cut glass goblets in each of them. But here's the best bit: the Langham is so dedicated to you having a peaceful stay that they’ve recessed the doors (which cocoons you from outside sounds, apparently) and soundproofed the chests of drawers.
Yes, the drawers. Just in case your lady or gentleman friend is inconsiderate enough to hurl the drawer shut, they’ve installed little springs in the backs of them, so however enthusiastic you are in your, erm, slamming, it’ll make a genteel bounce back and close in (almost) total silence.
Anal? Of course, but it’s the kind of attention to detail that makes our heads spin. If they’ve given that much thought to the drawers, the rest of the room must be in solid working order. Now all we have to do is find the requisite £549 to get us in. And some sunglasses for the less-than-attractive carpet.
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What It's Like Riding Around in The W Hotel's Free Car Service
When you stay at one of the W Hotels, take advantage of its Acura Experience, a complimentary car service. Of course, there are limitations; the car will only bring you within a five-mile radius of the hotel. That may not seem like a lot, but if you are directionally challenged, it's helpful to have someone drive you to a destination. And if you're arranging for a rehearsal dinner, you can save money on renting a trolley and instead transport your wedding party in the free seven-seat vehicles instead.
We tried out the car service for ourselves at the W Chicago - City Center at an opportune time, when it was raining. Our ride was silver with a black interior and it wasn't too flashy with its Acura-W signage, which was nice, since you don't necessarily want to announce to the city that you're a tourist. The car had some techie details like a built-in GPS with on-demand Zagat reviews. As far as amenities, our driver offered us free water and towels. Although the car can hold seven, it would be a tight squeeze. But if you're traveling less than five miles, the ride should be bearable.
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'Pay Attention If You're Winning': The Silent Slot Machines at The Ritz London
The Ritz Club inside The Ritz London in Piccadilly Circus is a members-only club that features a swank old-school bar, an award-winning restaurant and get this, a casino that's open daily from 2pm to 6am. 6am!
There's an annual membership fee but if you're a guest of the hotel and you're over the age of 18, you can pop into the Ritz Club to hang out, completely gratis.You can even bring along up to six guests, which is an excellent perk for business travelers. (We're not so sure six of your rowdy 18-year-old friends would be very welcome.)
The dress code is simply "smartly dressed", no topcoat and tails needed but gentlemen guests are asked to wear jackets while dining.
Yet there is nothing casual about the Ritz Club. It is a lavish, gilded space that evokes the grand Edwardian casinos of Europe. Think chandeliers, heavy drapes, elaborate rug patterns, uniformed staffers, more chandeliers and more heavy drapes.
Tags: Hotel Amenities / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Fitness / → All Tags
Hooping It Up In Your Hotel Room Encouraged at The Muse Hotel
When we first saw the words "Hoop There It Is," we thought we were in an early ’90s time warp and wondered if Miami bass was back on the charts. But no, it’s just another wacky hotel amenity promotion—this time, courtesy of Kimpton’s The Muse Hotel in New York City.
Riding the tails of yet another resurgence of hula-hoop fitness (doesn’t it seem that this comes around every three years or so?), The Muse is offering a “Hoop There It Is” amenity basket, with all the goodies you need to get hula-ing: a hoop, a hula-hoop workout video (we think they probably mean DVD) and a small towel. Because, after all, hula-hooping burns between 150-200 calories in half an hour. Totally sweat-inducing.
Sure, it’s gimmicky, but we actually like the idea of hula-hooping it up in our hotel room. Doing all of those “take it on the road” workout routines seem so boring in comparison. The Kimpton folks reminded us that even Michelle Obama has taken to hula-hooping recently, racking up 142 swivels during a kids’ fitness event on the South Lawn of the White House a couple of weeks ago.
But more importantly: how many swivels can Muse Director of Pet Relations Ginger do? We’ll make that our goal before we reward ourselves with a cocktail at the bar.
The “Hoop There It Is” basket is available free-of-charge upon request. A room at the Muse this Friday night starts at $329.
Tags: Hotel Bookshelves / Hotel Amenities / Rosewood Hotels / Mexico Hotels - / → All Tags
Read Next Year's Hot Books Today at Las Ventanas in Mexico
We’ve been following the Hotel Bookshelves craze for awhile now, and for good reason. We’re fans of anything that lightens our carry-on load, so books in our room or lobby are welcome. We like to leaf through those big, sexy art books that hotels like the Cooper Square and the Greenwich Hotel in New York stock bedside, and occasionally we might reacquaint ourselves with a classic while we wait for room service.
But the best thing about the books available for guests at Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Los Cabos, Mexico is the fact that you can read them before anyone back home. As we mentioned when the resort first introduced its Hot Type Menu, an arrangement with top publishing houses means that the Las Ventanas library features books six weeks to six months before their official publication date.
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Inside The Plush Screening Room At theWit Chicago
What are the hot hotel amenities right now? Forget heated towel racks and pet concierges, the screening rooms are it. In New York, the newest private screening room can be found in the Crosby Street Hotel, but the 40-guest "Screen" venue in theWit Hotel in Chicago has it beat by a clear mile; it's no wonder the NYT loved their stay here so much.
Now we've been in the Sony screening rooms and other private movie niches in New York, and our peek at theWit's Screen had us craving popcorn and a good drama far more than any other. For one, the seats fully recline with footrests, cupholders and swing-out trays for your nachos. In the last few rows, the chair are replaced by full-fledged couches with throw pillows and sidetables. If we could come to Screen whenever we wanted, we'd never watch a movie in our living room again.
Tags: Hotel Amenities / Taj Hotels / Boston Hotels / Butlers / → All Tags
Fireside Butlers at the Taj Boston Are Getting Ready to Light Your Fire
With the days starting to get cooler, the Taj Boston is ready to start its Fireside Season on October 15. We've always been tickled by hotel rooms with fireplaces, even if we never actually need to light the fire. But the Taj has gone above and beyond by employing Fireside Butlers. Yes, butlers whose sole job is to make sure your fire is burning bright.
And not only that, but they've got some fireside specials going, starting next week and going right through to April 1 next year.
The Fireside Tailgate deal is for sports lovers – rather than brave the cold to watch a game in the flesh, the Taj Boston suggests you "tailgate" it next to the fireplace in your hotel room, where you can watch it on the 42-inch flatscreen and enjoy an in-room "picnic" with choices like chicken pot pie, clam chowder or a Kobe beef burger, along with drinks of your choice.
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