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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.)
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Tune Hotels Co-Founder Tony Fernandes Says They're Coming To America
On Sunday, we were lucky enough to get mogul Tony Fernandes on the phone to discuss a few things surrounding the arrival of his Air Asia X airline on US soil. He also happens to be the man behind the Kuala Lumpur-based chain of budget Tune Hotels.
While we were discussing the likelihood of the US seeing cheap flights to Southeast Asia on Air Asia X, we didn't forget to slip in a few questions regarding if Tune Hotels would come along for the ride.
And here's what Tony said...
Tags: Pitch Your Hotel / Hoteliers That Matter / Hot Hotelier News / Interviews / Denihan Hospitality / 10 Hot NYC Hotel Openings / → All Tags
The Surrey Hotel Promises 'Considered Moments' For Its Guests
Welcome to our regular Monday feature, Pitch Your Hotel, where we let hoteliers, general managers and other hotel execs tell us on-camera what makes their hotels so different from all the rest. And believe us, the competition is fierce these days. So sit back, relax and listen to them explain why their hotels are worthy of your hard-earned dollars or rewards points.
Last week, we attended an event for the soon-to-open Surrey Hotel on New York's Upper East Side. But this was a little different than most "Getting to Know You" parties.
For starters, the event was held in Beverly Hills so that West Coast folk could get a more intimate look at the hotel without having to fly to NYC. The party was also held at the Cartier store on Rodeo Drive which might seem a little presumptuous but if you recall, the hotel plans on having a Cartier Closet in its lobby.
This exclusive retail space will offer guests the chance to buy smaller luxury items that they may have forgotten to bring with them such as cufflinks and sunglasses. (Yes, regular Cartier prices will be charged here.)
Tags: Interviews / Gregory Peck / Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Bookshelves / San Francisco Hotels / → All Tags
The Crescent Hotel San Francisco Will Open October 21
Here at HotelChatter, we're so jaded about new hotel projects and predicted opening dates which never come to fruition, that we actually forgot about the plans for a Crescent Hotel San Francisco from hotelier Gregory Peck, the man behind Crescent Beverly Hills and the infamous Cooper Square Hotel. But we're very happy to report that the hotel will be opening on October 21 and rooms for that night are open for a very affordable rate of $105 a night.
Located a block north of Union Square, on Stockton and Stutter, this used to be the Allison Hotel, a long-term, SRO hotel that Peck and his partner, Mark Henderson, completely gutted and renovated from top to bottom. But he says that they "consciously maintained" the original architecture of the building which is 100-years-old.
It's a typical look for San Francisco but we've given it a modern twist.
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Checking In On The Four Points by Sheraton's Chief Beer Officer
Forget Fashion Week, this week New York is celebrating Beer Week! As regular HotelChatter readers know, we have a bit of a soft spot for Four Points Chief Beer Officer Scott Kerkmans. So we were thrilled to drop into the Four Points Chelsea last week to celebrate the launch of the 2nd annual NY Craft Beer Week.
Sampling a variety of the microbrews on hand was a nice way to end a day, but even better was the chance to steal a few moments of the CBO’s time. Despite the other beer experts in the room, Kerkmans was by far the most popular dude at the party.
Tags: Interviews / Hoteliers That Matter / Pitch Your Hotel / Chicago Hotels / Scott Greenberg / Doubletree Hotels / → All Tags
Pitch Your Hotel: Scott Greenberg of theWit Hotel Chicago
Welcome to our regular Monday feature, Pitch Your Hotel, where we let hoteliers, general managers and other hotel execs tell us on-camera what makes their hotels so different from all the rest. And believe us, the competition is fierce these days. So sit back, relax and listen to them explain why their hotels are worthy of your hard-earned dollars or rewards points.
We'll go ahead and admit that we love Chicago, and sometimes the poor city gets the short end of the cool hotel stick owing to its Midwestern location, but happily theWit Hotel is out to change that. When last we zipped through the Windy City, we made it a point to sit for a second inside of theWit and grab dinner and drinks at one of its restaurants and the rooftop bar, since the place had barely opened its doors. And not only were we impressed with what they've managed to do, but we were surprised that is a Doubletree property.
But since we got the developer of theWit, Scott Greenberg, to sit down with us and explain exactly what the place has going for it, we'll turn it over to him in the video above.
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Seek Out the California 'Sun' at These Four NorCal Hotels
The Bardessono in Yountville, Calif.
As part of our Summer Reading List for Hotel Geeks, once a week, we will review a book about hotels — whether it be fiction, non-fiction, historical, auto-biographical or even just a cool coffee table book with incredible photos. These could be the perfect books to kick back with while laying poolside, or while working the late-night shift at the front desk or while entertaining friends with your high-falutin' aspiring hotelier schemes. Our latest read is of the travel guide variety but we loved these California hotel picks.
As a former long-time California resident, we were excited to learn about fellow travel writer Lena Katz’ new Travel Temptations series of books, SNOW, SIP and SUN – especially SUN: California: Delicious Destinations, Secret Hideaways, Expert Sources , since this HotelChatter contributor moved to the land of Vitamin D deficiencies, a.k.a. Seattle.
We asked Katz to dish on her fave summer vacay destinations in the Golden State. She shared with us four Northern California picks, all known for their emphasis on nature – not artificial materials.
Tags: Interviews / Jane Green / Luxury Hotels / Summer Reading / → All Tags
Author Jane Green Dishes On Her 'Hotel Musts'
Depending where your publisher puts you up, a book tour can be a disaster or a delight. Just ask author Jane Green, who has been tweeting about the book tour for her latest beach read, Dune Road. We noticed that a few of her tweets dealt with her hotel accommodations and since we've gone a bit book-mad this summer, we though we would ask the Connecticut-based author for her book-tour survival tips.
HotelChatter:
What essentials do you look for in a hotel?
Jane Green:
A warm welcome with a smile, luxurious bathrooms, and comfortable beds.
HC:
Which extras are particularly attractive to the traveling author?
JG:
Plenty of easily accessed outlets for Kindles, iPods, BlackBerry. etc.
Keep on reading for more of our interview with Jane Green.
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Cooper Square Guests Like Their Books 'Arty' (And a Little Sexy, Too)
Hotels have gone gaga for books — but have the guests? We checked in with the Cooper Square Hotel’s librarian (aka head of sales, marketing and special events), Sandra Ardito, to find out.
“It’s been incredible,” Ardito tells us. “We've had some guests that have purchased up to $1,000 worth of books in the library.”
Obviously, there are cheaper places to buy books (without the $245 a night cover charge), but the Coop is doing it all for a good cause. The books are sourced from NYC charity Housing Works (which does work to combat AIDS and homelessness), and proceeds go back to the organization.
For cheapskates, there’s a loaner system: the books are branded with an old-fashioned library stamp, and guests can take books from the library back to their rooms—where there are even more books.
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Ritz-Carlton's Corporate Chef Discusses Their New 'Bar Experience'
Today, Ritz-Carlton hotels across the country are launching their totally re-vamped "Bar Experience." That is, every bar and lounge in every Ritz-Carlton across the naysh will now feature new bar food and cocktail menus that are conducive to hangin' with friends, offering up cooler, more modern cocktails and a brand new selection of gourmet small bites meant to be shared.
Among the 30 fresher, cooler bar snacks available starting today (each property features a selection of these 30 in addition to some local specialties): brie and parsley risotto balls, smoked salmon and arugula egg rolls, chilly water lobster flat bread and calamari in remoulade sauce.
Earlier this week (before the official launch party for the new menu last night at D.C.'s Degrees Bar), Ritz-Carlton's Corporate Chef George McNeill, who headed up the project, took some time out to chat with HotelChatter.
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Sean Paul Tells Us His Own Hotel Room Confessions
HotelChatter contributor Shira Levine got the chance to interview Jamaican singing sensation Sean Paul while on assignment for HEEB magazine. But when Sean Paul revealed he had a past in hotel employment, she knew it was too good to pass up for HotelChatter. Here's what she learned.
Last week, Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer Sean Paul flew into New York for a few live shows in Manhattan and Queens. Come this summer, his fourth album will hit the streets, so we took the opportunity to chat up the "Gimme the Light" and "Like Glue" singer in his suite at The London NYC.
Sean Paul chooses typically to roll up in that spot because he digs the suite life. “It’s all suites in here," he said of the hotel's accommodations.
Speaking of sweet, random details, it turns out that long before he was a multi-award winning superstar, Sean Paul was on the academic track to a career working in hotel management. That's right, Sean Paul could have been a hot hotelier! Below, he dishes on what that was like.
Tags: Pitch Your Hotel / Interviews / Conrad Hotels / Maldives Hotels / Carsten Schieck / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Traveling 10,000 Miles for Barefoot Luxury: The Conrad Maldives
Carsten Schieck, the tall, tan, genial General Manager of The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort, breezed into Los Angeles last week on a tour of the U.S., and sat down to tell us why a visit to his resort is worth flying 10,000 miles (plus an extra island hop of 50 miles.) Turns out that even if you hate traveling long distances, once you get to the Maldives, the Conrad will do everything in their power to make you forget just how long and tiring that trip was.
But first, we had to ask--what is Conrad. This is actually one of Hilton’s ultra luxe-brands ("but still hip," says Carsten) with just a handful of properties around the world. This location was actually once the former Hilton Maldives but underwent a recent $35 million refurbishment to emerge as a brand-new, shiny and sparkling Conrad Hotel.
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