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Inside a Deluxe Room at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 7 Raffles Avenue, Singapore, Singapore
February 10, 2012 at 4:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

Okay, so we've already raved about something as simple as the bedside tables at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, but what of the rest of the room? Well, first let us say that it is completely worth it to opt for the marina-side, because the view is half the luxury.

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia sits closest to the famous curving pedestrian bridge over to the Marina Bay Sands, and its location means crazy awesome vistas of downtown, the marina and more hotels one way, and the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel the other way. As lovely as the rooms are (and they are lovely), you'll likely spend at least half the time entranced by the metropolis, staring out the room's nearly floor-to-ceiling windows.

Speaking of, the windows include a massive octagonal portal found, in most rooms, above the bathtub. There'll be no missing out on the nighttime marina laser show if you'd like to have a soak.

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Two Lobbies Fit for Hotel Geeks at the Shangri-La Singapore

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 22 Orange Grove Road, Singapore, Singapore
February 7, 2012 at 5:18 PM | by | Comments (0)


Reception at the Tower Wing (left) and reception at the Valley Wing (right)

It's really a tale of two lobbies, the Shangri-La Singapore. There's the original, red and gold grand lobby of the Tower Wing, opened in the early 1970s. Then, there's the white marble and gold of the modern Valley Wing next door. While the Valley Wing has its exclusivity and free champagne and fancy breakfast in the Summit Room, the Tower Wing has that classic appeal plus many mega chandeliers and the many decades of afternoon tea enjoyed on the Rose Veranda.

Yes, you already know what major hotel geeks we are—heck, you are reading this on HotelChatter.com, but please let us stress the appeal of the main Shangri-La lobby to those who really appreciate these things. It's a proper grand dame lobby, but with the added intricacies of Asian feng shui and luck-influenced interior design.

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Eating At Belgraves May Plunge You Into A Kafka Novel

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 20 Chesham Place, London, United Kingdom, SW1X 8HQ
February 7, 2012 at 5:07 PM | by | Comments (4)

Yesterday we told you how we ended up slightly underwhelmed by our stay at the Belgraves on opening night; today, it’s time to turn away from the rooms and towards something equally important – the restaurant and bar.

Belgraves has enlisted celeb chef Mark Hix to head up the resto (imaginatively called Hix Belgravia). But could the restaurant pep up the slightly disappointing hotel? Here goes.

We checked in at 8pm, stomach empty, hoping to go straight into dinner. The restaurant seemed buzzing but not full. But when we asked at check in whether we had to reserve a time or could pop down whenever, we got different answer after different answer after different answer.

First, it was fully committed for the evening. Then – after we suggested eating at the bar – a table in the restaurant suddenly opened up at 9.45pm. Within one minute, that offer had been retracted, and the offer had been extended to us to eat the restaurant menu in the bar. Next thing we knew, the guy at check in was insisting on showing us round the bar – despite us saying we’d rather just get to our room and deal with this in five minutes.

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Inside a Deluxe Suite in the Valley Wing of the Shangri-La Singapore

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 22 Orange Grove Road, Singapore, Singapore
February 6, 2012 at 5:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

Did you know...that the Shangri-La Singapore is the original of the Shangri-La chain of properties? Did you also know that it is a hotel with three distinct wings, each with a different feel and luxury level? Serious hotel geeks will have answered yes to both, but it's no matter because right now, we're taking you inside the a Deluxe Suite in the Valley Wing, a one-bedroom abode with butler service, signature Shangri-La orchids all over the place, and—joy of joys—free champagne and decadent nibbles.

You can't get much fancier than this at the Shangri-La Singapore; there's only two room categories higher than the Deluxe (a 2-bedroom and the Shangri-La Suite), and its location in the Valley Wing means a separate, more private entrance and lobby, complimentary breakfast in the formal Summit Room, and round-the-clock extras (like afternoon tea or mini dessert cakes) at a lobby bar. This is where you'll find the complimentary, free-flowing champagne...and wine...and everything else. Pour your own Perrier? Pssh! In the evening, there's a proper attendant—starched shirt and welcoming smile—to do all that bothersome cap-twisting for you.

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Opening Night at The Belgraves Was Not Without (Quite) a Few Teething Problems

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 20 Chesham Place, London, United Kingdom, SW1X 8HQ
February 6, 2012 at 12:57 PM | by | Comments (2)

So Belgraves – Thompson’s first hotel outside of the US – opened Wednesday night, and we were seventh to check in on opening night. What to expect? Well, according to the hotel:

Belgraves interprets the Thompson luxury experience in London, joining an ongoing creative movement in design, dining and art that is currently forging the “new Britannia”

Them’s some big promises. Anyways, we brought you pictures of the rooms and the public areas last week; this week, it’s time to talk our experience. Did it live up to our (high) expectations?

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Inside The Belgraves: Thompson Hotels Cross The Pond

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 20 Chesham Place [map], London, United States, SW1X 8HQ
February 2, 2012 at 4:24 PM | by | Comment (1)

The holy day finally came! Yesterday, Thompson Hotels opened their first property outside the US: the Belgraves, in the heart of London's poshest nabe, Belgravia.

We were first (OK, technically seventh) through the doors last night, and emerged this morning. Details of our sleepover to come (let's just say it was both eventful and emotional), but today, we're letting you make up your own minds about the decor.

First, the public spaces. Belgraves is relatively small, with a lobby and Hix restaurant to seat 80 on the ground floor, and Mark's Bar on the mezzanine overhead. In a weird positioning, through a side door off the bar is the gym.

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Like Staying In A Museum (In A Good Way): Inside the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 240 Morada Lane [map], Taos, NM, United States, 87571
January 31, 2012 at 1:48 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you’re going to northern New Mexico and you have any kind of artistic or cultural sensibilities, you need to stay at the Mabel Dodge Luhan house. As the name would suggest, it’s the former home of Mabel Dodge Luhan – who was not only a writer, but a facilitator and gatherer of art in Taos. This is where pretty much anyone literary or artistic who’s traveled to New Mexico has stayed. DH Lawrence spent loads of time here, and even painted the windows of one of the bathrooms with bright murals (today, some rooms still have access to that bathroom). Georgia O’Keefe, Ansel Adams, Dennis Hopper, Carl Jung – the list of illustrious guests is long and varied. For more details, see the website.

Because it’s more of a museum rather than a swish hotel, we were expecting the worst when it came to rooms. When we had to be towed out of a snowbank, having skidded on ice on the approach, we were even more timorous. But we soldiered on. Here’s what we found.

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Chill Sunsets at the Southernmost Hotel in the USA

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 508 South Street [map], Key West, FL, United States, 33040
January 12, 2012 at 12:23 PM | by | Comments (0)

To describe the Key West hotel scene as an understatement. Key West casual carries over to most of the hotels and bed an breakfast joints on the island, including Southernmost on the Beach. Southernmost is a classic hotel that recently underwent massive renovations, which obviously means it was time for HotelChatter to check it out.

Check in / Check out:
After a four-hour drive from Miami we were hopeful that check in would be a breeze, luckily it was. We were greeted with smiles and quick service. However, when we got to room 520 on the bottom floor of Building B on the West Lawn we had to push past bikini clad dancers and a Jimmy Buffet covermeister to get into our room.

Still in the long drive fog, we didn't think we could take the happy hour party being directly outside our room nightly, so we went back to the front desk and asked to switch to a second floor room. No dice, the hotel was full, but the desk clerk assured us that the Parrothead fiesta would be over by sundown and the west lawn would clear about and be completely quiet at night.

Skeptical? Don't be, they were correct, sundown is a big deal on the west lawn, but once it is over everyone scatters and an hour after sunset you can have a west lawn hammock all to yourselves, even during high season.

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Sadly, La Posada De Santa Fe Doesn't Rock As Hard As Its Soap Does

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 330 East Palace Ave [map], Santa Fe, NM, United States, 87501
January 10, 2012 at 3:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

The kiva fireplace. The best bit of the room

A hotel that has soap in the shape of a rock has to be good, right? That kind of attention to detail is going to make for a spot on stay. Said soap rock was what we found when we checked into our room at La Posada De Santa Fe Resort recently. Did the rest of the experience measure up? Here goes.

Check in:
Our hopes were high on arrival to the hotel. We’d called in advance, asking whether it’d be possible for a parcel to be sent to us care of the hotel, and spoken to a concierge who sounded charming and efficient. Then our taxi driver told us La Posada was one of the best hotels in Santa Fe. It better had, we thought, since we paid $188 on Jetsetter (our room should have set us back around $300 though).

Check in was quick and easy, with a friendly man assigning us our room. There was free spa handcream at the check in desk – a nice touch in snowy Santa Fe. We walked to our room through cozy wood-panelled corridors, past the restaurant, bar, and a couple of sitting rooms strewn with art. Then outside, through the snowy courtyard and gardens. All atmospheric. Then we hit room 107, a Fireplace King.

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Inside the Newest Anantara Hotel: The Anantara Riverside Bangkok

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 257/1-3 Charoennakorn Road, Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand, 10600
December 19, 2011 at 10:31 AM | by | Comments (0)


The hotel's Longtail Bar on its private dock

While Thailand was flooding these past few months, a hotel right on the river in Bangkok was busy renovating and changing brands. Luckily the new Anantara Riverside (formerly the Marriott Riverside) wasn't effected by the high waters and now that the country is drying off, they're ready to welcome the return glut of travelers.

Until the end of April 2012, they're offering rooms from 3,888 THB ($125 USD) per night; it's the Journey Begins package, which includes a room upgrade, breakfast, internet and discounts on the spa and further dining.

During a recent trip to Thailand at the very start of the flooding, we spent two nights at the Anantara Riverside and found that wasn't near sufficient to both explore Bangkok and enjoy the hotel's amenities. This is a place for a long weekend, a return visitor to Bangkok, or really anything more than a quickie of two days.

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Inside a Room at the Swissotel Chicago

December 6, 2011 at 5:47 PM | by | Comments (0)

Going to Chicago and looking for one of those stunning high-rise views over the lake from your hotel room? Sure, many hotels claim to have it, but then you'll check in and head to your room to find that something like a shorter office building or a historical structure is blocking the good stuff. Not at the Swissôtel Chicago, however, which is a triangular building where one side faces onto both the Chicago River and the lake, with Navy Pier clearly visible.

Just request the lake-view side of the hotel, and with a standard room (which begin around $160 for the lake, or $120 if you'd rather look at downtown) and this are the digs you'll get:

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Inside and All Around the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
November 22, 2011 at 5:50 PM | by | Comment (1)

Less than an hour's drive from the little Liberia Airport near Costa Rica's west coast sits the exotic oasis of the Peninsula Papagayo. It is an exclusive area, mostly dedicated to upscale resorts, vacation condos and the pristine beaches they face. Alas, there's also an Arnold Palmer golf course in the middle of the action, owned and operated by the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica.

What this means is the area is extraordinarily lush; just a drive down the hill to the entrance of the resort yielded us surprise spottings of white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, a family of Coatis (omg baby Coatis!), and an iguana here and there. Once you've entered the lobby and checked in, however, the Four Seasons is a definite playground for more than just its natural environment.

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