Tag: Hotel Openings
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Finding Peace In Hyatt Union Square's Sanctuary Suite
Ever since our sneak peek last year, we knew that the guest rooms at Hyatt Union Square were going to be a little more, uh…special than your standard Hyatt four-walls-and-a-bed blueprint.
And sure enough, a tour last week through the brand spankin' new hotel's "Sanctuary Suite" confirmed all that.
Located on the second floor, it is one of two major suites in the whole 167-room hotel, and it benefits from having a wraparound terrace, complete with white deck lounge furniture and oversized, Delano-esque lamps. The terrace absolutely makes the suite, as far as we're concerned, since it a) is massive and b) looks down on Fourth Avenue, so you can see crowds coming and going from nearby Union Square.
And now, for the rest of the suite…
Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Nadler Hotels / base2stay Hotels / → All Tags
Selene, Goddess Of Moon & Magic, Resides At The Nadler Soho
Among the many new London hotels we looked at last week, The Nadler Soho is one of the first to start welcoming guests, opening its doors officially this coming Saturday, June 1. We stopped by last week to have a look as the finishing touches were being done to prep the 78-room hotel for the big day.
Surprisingly for a hotel steps away from Soho Square, it’s in a building that is brand new and purpose-built, replacing a rather frumpy office block. This gives all sorts of benefits, not the least of which is proper soundproofing, hardly an extravagance in the middle of one of the nightlife hotspots of London.
It also allowed for the commissioning of the statue of Selene, Greek goddess of moon and magic, which watches over anyone entering the hotel. Created by artist Hew Locke, it’s inspired by Art Nouveau designs of dreamy women, the Victorian genre of Fairy Painting, and a group of glamorous drag queens Hew saw in Soho the day he received the commission – a pretty apropos combination for the neighborhood if you ask us. But what’s it like once you step inside?
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The Ultimate Hotel Desk Amenity: Antique Custom Embossers
Here's something you're not likely to find at too many other hotels in New York City (or anywhere, for that matter): an old-fashioned embosser, bolted to a desk at the brand new High Line Hotel.
We think the embosser perfectly sums up the historic, literary vibe of the guest rooms, which all have custom-built furniture, classic novels, and hand-picked antique rugs. As writers, we could happily see ourselves holing up in here, typing away at our antique wooden desk as the light streams in from the east-facing window.
Despite the plethora of old-school amenities here, the embosser is hands-down our favorite feature of the hotel, and one can be found in every single guest room.
If you're wondering just what you'll be embossing, each device contains a brass plate imprinted with one of the hotel's five logos. Yes, that's right—five logos. Overkill? Maybe. But then again, when you can boast about having a custom desk embosser in every room, why not five? Heck, why not twenty?
Edition Hotels / Hotel Social Media / Hotel Hype / Ben Pundole / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
More Than a Few Good Reasons To Follow Edition Hotels on Social Media
The much-hyped Edition Hotels has only just one hotel open right now--in Istanbul--but in checking out their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, you'd think they were open all over.
The pages, which have been seriously ramped up this month, highlight not just what Edition is about, but what Edition is into and that's mostly art, design, architecture, photography and other high-brow activities. Very rarely do they mention something from their hotel(s) but with London, New York and Miami on the very near horizon, we bet that will change.
In the meantime, here are more than a few good reasons to follow Edition Hotels on social media:
1. They tease their new properties. (Btw, the London Edition is opening in September.)
London-bound this fall? We know where you should be staying... #comingsoon
— EDITIONHotels (@EDITIONHotels) May 20, 2013
2. They read good books.
Our next read: David Sedaris' newest book ow.ly/l22nh #wellread
— EDITIONHotels (@EDITIONHotels) May 14, 2013
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How We Found a Brand New Hotel Room In Manhattan for Under $200 a Night
Read all about our stay right here
If you're looking to visit to Manhattan this summer, you're probably in disbelief over the room rates. We mentioned the truly outrageous ones last week ($700+ for a Sheraton) but we're also seeing some non-spectacular, chain hotels going for at least $300 a night. If you want to stay two or more nights, that's going to be at least $600, not including taxes or WiFi charges. And thanks to a recent court ruling, you can't even use AirBnB.com anymore to try and score a cheap room in the Big Apple.
While our 5 fave hotel booking sites can help us get the best deal, they can't lower the rates to the price point we like/need--which is about $200 a night, before taxes. But after some digging and throwing some caution to the wind, we found a room for just under $200 a night in mid-June at the just-opened Holiday Inn Express, Manhattan West Side.
Located at 48th and 10th Avenue, the hotel is firmly in the old Hell's Kitchen nabe but it's ideal for folks who have business or leisure plans in and around Times Square which is about four big blocks away. We've stayed in the area before, at Ink48 (which is sold out the nights we are visiting), and it's not the most exciting neighborhood in Manhattan but we're hardly going to be in our room at all. And besides, we didn't pick the hotel because of the neighborhood.
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The New Andaz Maui Will Make You Go Wowie
A traditional Hawaiian blessing ceremony was all it took to ensure that the much-anticipated Andaz Maui at Wailea actually opened on time, unlike so many of its peers.
The 297-room paradisiacal hotel, which will debut in late Summer, is well on its way to becoming our most anticipated hotel opening of the year (literally), for its private beach, free WiFi, and signature restaurant, Morimoto Maui. Sure, that's a big statement. But we dare you to disagree after taking a look at these images, straight from the offices of the property's designer, David Rockwell:
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Saving Rupees is Now a Reality with Tune Ahmedabad
Let's all say "namaste" to Tune Ahmedabad, the first-ever Tune Hotel for India. Located in the "Science City", the hotel officially welcomed its first guests but not before hosting a colorful ceremony blessing the new building with flowers and other offerings.
Keeping with the Tune model of pay-for-what-you-use, a Comfort Package is available now for about an extra $9, which gives a full 24-hours of wifi, TV, and air conditioning access. If you're looking to dive into some vindaloo to start your day, for just over $3 you can tuck into breakfast in the lobby's XO Cafe.
The hotel is perfect for travelers looking to save a few rupees and still get a full Indian experience with some shopping and sport. Along with being annexed to the city's newly developed 4D Square Shopping Mall, Tune is also a short walk to the local cricket stadium, after all this is 'cricket country'. (the sport, not the insect)
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The Redbury South Beach is For Real and It's Opening This Fall Too
We had the news yesterday that the SBE company would be spinning off their Redbury Hotel in Miami but today, we've got the full lowdown from SBE themselves. And it's good, like really good.
First off, The Redbury South Beach will open this fall. Wham, bam, thank you mam! As you can see from the Twitpic from @DeeTCL, work is already underway. (The hotel is opening out of the old Fairfax Hotel.)
Word is the design will be inspired by its Hollywood roots but will also weave in the art deco vibe of South Beach. All in all, the hotel will have 69 rooms and suites.
Restauranteurs Larry Levy and Bob Heyat are responsible for bringing in the hip food & beverage offerings including the lobby restaurant, Lorenzo, which will be helmed by James Beard Award-winning Chef Tony Mantuano who has four great restaurants in Chicago, include Spiagia and Terzo Piano at the Art Institute. As you can guess, the restaurantwill serve up authentic Italian cuisine.
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London Keeps on Keeping On With All These New Hotels
Will this be the Hudson London?
If you thought London would be taking a break when it comes to hotel openings after a rather frenetic Olympic year, think again: the next few years look to be filled with all sorts of exciting stuff to keep us happy. We’re listing the hotels we have our eyes on for you below, and stay tuned as we will be taking you inside when we can.
- A rebirth rather than a brand new hotel, the former St. John Hotel became One Leicester Street on May 1, including a refurbished restaurant and outdoor terrace
- Over in King’s Cross, the Great Northern Hotel also got a new a lease on life as part of the revitalization of the entire station, with sleeper compartment-inspired rooms called Couchettes
- South Kensington got a new boutique hotel contender this month in the form of the 99-room Xenia Hotel on Cromwell Road, not far from the Ampersand we showed you last year
- Affordable-chic brand base2stay is re-branding itself as Nadler Hotels, and its flagship The Nadler Soho will open on June 1, a stone’s throw from the likes of Dean Street Townhouse and Firmdale’s the Soho Hotel
- This isn't really a new hotel but it is newsworthy--The Waldorf-Astoria Syon Park has now been downgraded to just the Hilton London Syon Park. A Hilton Worldwide spokesperson told Business Insider that, "Having operated the property since March 2011, we've mutually agreed with our owner that the new positioning will be the best fit for the local market."
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Now, Here are Three Hotels in LA You Can Actually Book
This morning, we rounded up some of the planned luxury hotels coming to this world and while we're excited to stay in those future hotels, that's, like, years away at this point. We need something to satiate our new hotel fix now. Luckily, we don't have to fly around the world--just to Los Angeles. Here are three hotels that are now taking reservations:
· The Line Hotel, Los Angeles: The first Korean-American-inspired hotel in Los Angeles will open now on September 16. Rates on the website are going for about $349 a night, $319 if you use your AAA card. Inside the hotel will be a bar from the Houston Brothers, food options by Chef Roy Choi of the famous Kogi Korean BBQ food trucks and a "carefully curated" art boutique concept store. Los Angeles based designer Sean Knibb did the interiors.
· The Moment, Hollywood: This hotel was supposed to have its big moment in February but now it's happening on June 1. An introductory offer, called "Start Your Moment", has rates at $239 a night and includes two drinks on the Moment Roofdeck, breakfast for two and the staff's Hot Hollywood picks on sights, bites and activities.
· Palihouse Santa Monica: We got the scoop in March on the third hotel from the Paligroup set in a residential nabe of Santa Monica. Now it's your turn to peep the goods, starting on June 1. Rates are going for $299 a night and yes, that includes free WiFi.
[Photo courtesy of Paligroup]
Hotel Openings / NYLO Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Design / Stonehill and Taylor / Michael Suomi / → All Tags
NYLO's First NYC Hotel is Ready to "Meet Its Maker"
Back in March we got a preview of the upcoming NYLO Hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side which will open inside the existing On the Ave Hotel. Today, we learn the hotel is nearly finished with a June/July opening on the horizon but there's also a way to stay in one of the NYLO rooms as early as tomorrow night.
We chatted up Michael Suomi of Stonehill + Taylor, the architecture and interior design firm responsible for the NYLO Hotel (and the man behind the awesome Hyatt House chair) to get more detes on just what to expect from NYLO's first-ever New York City hotel.
Suomi and his team at S+T were responsible for doing not just the guestrooms at the hotel but also the public spaces including the new LOCL lobby bar which we've already shown you here. But doing the first NYC hotel for a brand whose name actually means "New York Loft", yet who have only opened hotels in suburban Texas and Rhode Island, meant the design had to be something the brand has never done before. "It's sort of like meeting your maker," Suomi said.
Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Four Seasons Hotels / Orient-Express Hotels / Park Hyatt Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / → All Tags
Could There BE Any More Luxury Hotels Opening In The Near Future?
The Westcliff Johannesburg
You guys, the hotel news keeps rolling in so fast we can barely keep up with it. In order to get us all up to speed, we’ll give you a brief rundown of some of the latest news & rumors for Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, Rosewood and SBE that have us mighty intrigued.
FOUR SEASONS
Starting in South Africa, Business Traveller reported last week the venerable Westcliff Johannesburg will move from Orient-Express to Four Seasons, and based on our own investigation, that does look to be happening. If you’ve had Sunday brunch at the glorious La Belle Terrasse, spent time at the pool, and wandered its cobblestone streets and lush gardens, you know this place is easy to fall in love with. If indeed ‘substantial’ renovations will be part of the transition, things will only get that much better.
Surprising as it might be, late next year will be the first time Four Seasons will get in on the luxury hotel action in Dubai, with a 237-room resort at the northern end of Jumeirah Beach. More in the Middle East should follow in Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain, Doha, Jeddah, and Kuwait. Like Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons is also planning on Kyoto and Casablanca, and if that wasn’t enough, we’re hearing about South America (with a number of hotels in Brazil) and various rumors elsewhere as well.
