We last heard May 1, 2008 and when we did a drive-by of the place a month ago, there was still a lot of exterior construction going on so we figured, "Late Summer 2008."
However, the hotel will open this Thursday May 8, 2008 and rates are starting at $229 a night. The hotel will be the first Kimpton hotel in Los Angeles and despite its location in Westwood, away from Hollywood proper, the hotel will tell the story of "art in motion pictures."
We've been told that the hotel's construction should be completely finished when it opens on Thursday. This is not really a soft-opening a la Thompson Hotel-style. We're hoping to swing by the place today so we'll give you a full report tomorrow.
Baltimore is going to get a massive convention center hotel this summer that might actually be cool.
The Hilton Baltimore will open in the city's downtown Inner Harbor, directly across from Oriole Park at Camden Yards and connected to the Baltimore Convention Center by one of those cool, enclosed, pedestrian skybridgey things.
For baseball fans the hotel will also have views of Oriole Park so you can watch the Baltimore Oriole baseball games from your rooms. And it gets even better. The hotel will have ten hospitality suites overlooking the ballpark with prime balcony views of the field.
Guests can stay here overnight or they can choose to stay in one of the Double Beds BallPark View guest room, of which there are 448.
According to the designers of the newly-opened Grand Hyatt Guangzhou, the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is the China's equivalent to Los Angeles: a city that's "reaching forward, but one that's still rooted in its cultural legacy." To that end, the new Hyatt does sound like a mix of modern touches and Chinese traditions, although we're really not sure about the Chinese LA idea.
The Grand Hyatt Guangzhou is the fourth Grand Hyatt in China--there are, you won't be surprised to hear, plenty more on the way. This one has 375 rooms and is actually a wing of a larger twin-tower building. You have to start in the sky lobby on the 22nd floor, which isn't such a bad thing because you're guaranteed then to have the chance to see the views over downtown Guangzhou and the Pearl River.
The rooms sound like a fairly standard kind of luxury, but the bathroom island is intriguing, including a rain shower and a free-standing soaking tub. The technology at work includes iPod docking stations and high speed broadband.
To celebrate its opening, Grand Hyatt Guangzhou has an Awaken package for weekends and holidays which includes late checkout and free breakfast. The cost to Awaken yourself starts from RMB1,138 (plus 15% tax) - around US$185. Cheaper than a Hyatt deal in the real Los Angeles.
Last week's opening of the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas was so under the radar compared to most things done in the world of Trump. There was no new Trump product launch to coincide with the opening (like Trump Lambchops or Trump Tequila) nor was there an Apprentice winner set to start working there on Day 1.
Indeed, it was a very quiet opening for Trump. So far. The Donald will be on hand this Friday April 11th for a celebration but even that's kinda tame because it takes place at 11am.
Nevertheless, Trump LV is open and Jen Leo of the LA Times' Daily Travel & Deal blog went inside on the first day (March 31st) to check it out.
It was pretty quiet except for a few photographers. I chatted with June, the Trump concierge, who said that they were expecting 35 to 40 reservations today with more every day going forward. The first restaurant to open is DJT, named after you-know-who. It'll be open for lunch starting at noon with a small-bite menu. There will also be a poolside restaurant opening soon called H2(eau).
Jen also dug that the hotel had four doormen so you don't have to push back those heavy doors yourself. And in true Trump fashion the exterior windows are plated in 24-carat gold.
Prices are a little on the expensive side. We checked for Thursday-Sunday of this week and got room rates at $349 a night for a studio suite with a "city view". Two weeks later on April 18th the price rose to $379. Not sure if Trump can command those prices in this economy but it should give the Wynn a nice run for their money.
[Photo: Jen Leo for The Daily Travel and Deal Blog]
It seems there's another Juliana in the world who obsesses over hotel rates.
Hotel Maven Juliana C. emailed us about the opening rates for the London West Hollywood which should open on April 1st.
Rates are even cheaper... originally 299 for the London Suite, now it's 249! There's also a free continental breakfast until May 31st. Pool and restaurant does not open until June 1st unfortunately. Alternative pool options will be provided upon check-in. This will be interesting when I check in on April 11th.
Alternative pool options? Hmmm...we are wondering what those options could be. Maybe another hotel on the Sunset strip will allow London guests to enjoy heir pool.
Also, we're hearing that the Gordon Ramsay restaurant inside the hotel won't open until sometime in June as well. That's the price you pay for a cheap(ish) opening rate.
We always get excited about hotel opening rates as it's usually means way cheaper rates than what you can expect from an "established" hotel.
And while we are excited that the brand-new Westin in Avon/Beaver Creek, Colo. has opened up the reservations line, the actual opening is still a loooong time away.
The Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa will open in August 2008 but the place has just started taking reservations. Rooms are starting at $119 a night in the summer and $250 a night for early ski season.
Actually, that's something that we would recommend booking now--your ski trip because rooms at ski resorts either sell out fast or hotels charge outrageous prices during peak season.
Robert DeNiro's long-awaited Greenwich Hotel will finally open its doors to guests on April 1.
We've heard some reports on what the rooms will look like but here is the official info:
There are 88 rooms, of which no two are alike. The hotel has thirteen suites - some with saunas, others with working fireplaces. There are two duplex suites: the Greenwich, designed by Grayling and the N. Moore, designed by The Rockwell Group.
Conceived as artist ateliers, both have soaring 30-foot skylights, chef's kitchens, two master bedrooms with 2 ½ bathrooms, stone fireplaces, and offices with separate entrances. Each of these duplex residences can be expanded to accommodate up to 5 bedrooms.
As if that weren't enough the hotel will have a 2,500 sq.ft. penthouse which will operate more like a private residence with 2 master bedrooms, with dressing areas, a full kitchen, a butler's pantry to serve any catering needs, a skylit dining room, and a media complex.
But best of all, it open onto a large duplex roof top garden with a private hot tub and views of the city and Hudson River.
For the rest of the lowly guests who can only afford $725 a night, in-room amenities include in-room check-in, newspapers from their hometowns delivered daily, a refrigerator stocked with specialty items of their choice, along with HDTV, iPod docking stations, free wireless Internet, and specialty toiletries.
Amy over at NewYorkology reports that rooms are open now starting April 1 for $475 a night until June 1. We say get in there now before it jumps up to $725.
Over at Jaunted they've been name-dropping Oman as the next big tourist destination, and now that we've found the Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay there's nothing stopping us hopping on an Oman-bound plane.
Zighy Bay doesn't official open until April, but the UK Times has had a look, and every TripAdvisor review so far has given it five stars. Apart from being a pretty unique resort in an exotic place, and brand new to boot, it also loves infinity pools with a large one and smaller villa infinity plunge pools. The large infinity pool is fed by a waterfall and overlooks the beach, too.
Zighy Bay is in a soft-opening phase already but will be fully completed in the next couple of months. If the infinity pools don't tempt you, perhaps the choice of arrival method will: you can come in by bus (boring), take a scenic 15-minute motorboat ride, or most exciting, paraglide into the resort in tandem with an expert paraglider. We figure they bring your luggage separately.
However, if you want to go we suggest going ASAP. The hotel is still offering promotional rates in April but they aren't cheap at $870 a night for pool villa. Although you do get that killer infinity pool as an amenity.
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by juliana
