When you're busy sipping your frothy drink along the Riviera Maya, isn't your first thought always -- I wonder how Fido is digging his thalasso-therapy?
The Paraiso de la Bonita just rolled their "Haute Dog Package," a Leona Helmsley-esque treatment just for your four-legged friend.
In the event you brought your doggie with you to the sprawling Mexican shore, be rest assured -- Chicken liver puree, dog walks and massage, as well as thalasso-therapy and "daily afternoon tea in the Bird's Lounge" are but a few of the pooch perks here.
We know it's childish but every time housekeeping knocks on our hotel room door, we can't help but think of that scene is Tommy Boy where Chris Farley keeps incessantly knocking on the door pretending to be housekeeping while David Spade is trying to sleep.
Granted most housekeepers don't have such dirty suggestions as Chris Farley did but the knock of housekeeping is always inherently annoying. It always happens either when you're still sleeping, or when you're walking around with no pants on (tip: keep the robe handy!) or worse, when you're in the bathroom.
Then there's the whole exchange of what time housekeeping can come back later and clean and if you want new towels in the meantime or not.
We've just accepted this annoyance as part of our life, work and travels. However, thanks to budget squeezes housekeeping woes could get worse.
Say "Bonaire," that laid back little spit of land in the Caribbean, and people will respond, "diving paradise."
For decades, the island has been a world-class diving destination with a gorgeous reef. Go to Flickr and you'll get just a small taste of astonishing shots of the island from the underside.
But you're thinking there's no WAY you can take pictures like that, right? This can be remedied.
Divi Flamingo Beach Resort just announced its onsite camera shop, Capture Photo, is offering a class for all levels of swimmers and shutterbugs to perfect their sub-aquatic shots.
We were pretty excited about the Kimpton Hotels range of robes--remember the giraffe? Neat ideas haven't stopped there, and it seems like Kimpton throws a lot of money and time into coming up with creative ideas that actually sound worthwhile for travelers. Of course, it might be that there's so much emphasis on doing even better than a giraffe robe that they forget to clean the rooms--no, we have no evidence of that, we're just wondering.
Anyhow, the latest swathe of new ideas all fit into Kimpton's Women InTouch plan, a bunch of ways in which the chain is "committed to women travelers".
Looks like the Loews Hotel group was beat to the punch with the checked baggage fees promotion which they announced yesterday.
The consistent do-gooder of the hotel world, Kimpton Hotels started offering guests cash back for their checked baggage fees on May 22 in a new service called the "We Got Your Bag" program.
Beginning May 22 through Sept. 9, guests need simply to show proof of an additional airline baggage charge upon check in at any one of Kimpton's 43 hotels in the U.S. and Canada, and a room credit will be issued in that amount, up to $25, offsetting the pass-along cost to air travelers. Some restrictions apply.
Interestingly, the hotel group made the announcement on April 23, a full month before American Airlines decided to stick passengers with a $15 for the first checked bag ($25 for the second.) This is because they were trying to relieve customers who had to check a second bag and were dinged with the fees. Now it applies to all of us who check a bag.
Know of another hotel offering cash back for checked airline baggage? Let us know.
Where the airlines have failed travelers--American Airlines is now charging $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second--hotels have come to the rescue. At least the Loews Hotels brand has.
Arriving guests need only present any airline bag fee receipt at the front desk to receive the rebate, which will be issued in the form of a credit to their bill at check-out.
The Baggage Buy Back rebate is available at Loews' 18 properties in the U.S. and Canada, beginning June 15 through Labor Day, September 1, 2008.
Loews Hotels will offer credit for up to two bags for a maximum of $30 per occupied room per stay.
This is not the only time hotels have picked up after the airlines. Some hotels like Omni Hotels, were quick to offer guests toiletries back in 2006 when liquids were suddenly restricted on airlines.
Now let's hope more and more hotels follow Loews footsteps.
For so many years, we have heard about this mythical recording studio that musician Lenny Kravitz would be building inside the tony Miami Beach hotel, The Setai.
But we never really believed this studio would come to fruition, especially not after Lenny made the rounds as a hotel lounge designer.
Yet we were wrong to have doubted Kravitz. The digital and analog recording studio created by Kravitz Design, inc. has opened. It's official name is the Setai Recording Studio and it's located in a two-floor penthouse suite in hotel, complete with ocean views and private outdoor patio.
The offerings of food and wine packages in the hospitality industry often follows a strict caste system.
Luxury hotels offer their high-paying guests a chef's table dining option or culinary lessons from the hotel's executive chef. Boutique hotels offer wine tastings or sommelier classes. Chain hotels typically offer packages with dining credits at the hotel's mid-level restaurants thrown in as a bonus. And those budget and extended stay/select service hotels offer you an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet of cereal, bagels, fruit and coffee.
But Hyatt's Summerfield Suites is doing something different. The extended-stay brand has just announced its 2nd annual Summer Grilling Social program.
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