Tag: Luxury Hotels
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Mercy! We Look Inside the Swank Mandarin Oriental Paris
It’s clear that dogs may be living large at Mandarin Oriental Paris, but what can a guest of the non-canine variety expect? How does the Asian luxury brand translate in this most French of settings, a block or so away from the Tuileries and the Louvre museum?
We’ll start by taking you inside a Deluxe Room, which is the step-up category from an entry-level Superior, and after which there is a range of options among the 99 rooms and 39 suites until you get to the Royale Mandarin Suite. The latter, a sprawling 2,700 sq ft, two-story affair, we saw in the midst of some pretty serious construction to insert, of all things, an elevator. Because really, when staying in the most expensive suite in the hotel, who wants to take the stairs?
Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / London Hotels / UK Hotels / Fairmont Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Kaspar Tells No Seafood Secrets From The Savoy London. Get It?
The Savoy in London, managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, is launching its new Art Deco restaurant concept on Thursday, May 2: Kaspar's Seafood Bar & Grill. By naming it Kaspar’s the hotel is keeping alive one of its most celebrated (and superstitious) guests.
Here’s the story: In 1898, South African diamond magnate Woolf Joel held a dinner at The Savoy for fourteen guests and one cancelled at the last minute. The dinner continued, but one superstitious guest announced that death would come to the first person to leave the unlucky table of thirteen. Joel took that gamble and a few weeks later he was shot dead in Johannesburg.
To avoid a repeat performance and damage to its reputation, The Savoy offered a member of the staff to sit amongst tables of thirteen thereafter. However, unable to discuss private matters or tell ribald jokes, this proved to be unpopular with guests and thus, in a stroke of genius, Kaspar the cat was born.
This three-foot sculpture of a cat was made in 1926. For 90 years , The Savoy has been happy to oblige parties of thirteen with Kaspar's company, where he wears a jaunty napkin around his neck and is given his own place setting to enjoy every course.
Hotel Openings / Aman Resorts / China Hotels / Vietnam Hotels / Jordan Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
China, Vietnam, and Jordan: Three New Aman Resorts This Year
Lijiang, China
When we mentioned at the beginning of the year that Aman Resorts would be opening a third property in China, very few details were available other than its location in the city of Lijiang, in the western province of Yunnan, towards the border with Myanmar (Burma).
We’ve since talked about the June opening of Aman Canal Grande in Venice, and now we have a few more details on what will be called AmanDayan, as well as word on two additional properties in Vietnam and Jordan.
Hotel Openings / Paris Hotels / Luxury Collection Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Starwood Hotels / → All Tags
Starwood Goes Art Deco With Parisian Palace Prince de Galles
As we recently mentioned, we had the opportunity to step inside the Prince de Galles hotel during our time in Paris and see what Starwood has been cooking up over the course of two long years of renovation and restoration.
Pierre-Yves Rochon oversaw the redesign of the hotel’s lobby and guest rooms & suites, while Bruno Borrione created the restaurant and the bar. Both were on hand to walk us through the various spaces and explain the thinking behind their work. Here are some of the impressions we walked away with.
Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Hotel Closings / Paris Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Réhabilitation Of The Ritz Paris Is Underway
We’ve previously talked about the intense competition in the Parisian palace (and palace-adjacent; not every luxury hotel gets to use the term) hotel market. Despite eye-wateringly expensive rates, appetite for these hotels knows no bounds it seems. Let’s recap for a minute what’s been happening shall we?
Prince de Galles is due to reopen right next door to Four Seasons George V (which is renovating floor by floor and added a penthouse), Le Bristol added a whole wing, and so will Plaza Athenée, Raffles let Philippe Starck loose on the Royal Monceau, Le Meurice spruced up its five Presidential Suites, Hotel de Crillon should become a Rosewood after a two-year closure, and then there is the small matter of the three Asian heavyweights Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental, and soon, Peninsula (more on that later) muscling their way into the market as well.
No wonder then that last August, perhaps the most famous of them all - The Ritz Paris - also closed its doors for the first time since opening in 1898 and began a two year soup-to-nuts restoration program.
Fantasy Friday / Around the World Travel / Four Seasons Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Private Jets / → All Tags
Fantasy Friday: Four Seasons Adds Americas To 2014 Private-Jet Trips
Yep, it's Friday and time for a little fantasy travel...this one's so very, very exceptional...
Remember when we dreamt about that little Four Seasons private jet trip last year? The September 2013 journey might already be sold out, but two new itineraries have just been announced for next year. In addition to a slightly different selection of destinations for the round-the-world version, Four Seasons is adding a “Rediscover the Americas” option for spring.
The basics remain the same: private jet travel, dedicated staff along the way, and of course Four Seasons hotels in every location. The size of the group has decreased to 56 passengers however, and while inflight you’ll be able to Instagram and Vine away, courtesy of on-board internet.
Hotel Amenities / Hotel Packages / Luxury Hotels / Shangri-La Hotels / Beach Hotels / Maldives Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort Opens Own Airport Terminal
We’ve seen some pretty nice amenities offered by hotels -- luxury car service, designer robes, a concierge for everything –- but this one from Shangri-La's Villingili Resort and Spa in the Maldives may be the most OTT one yet.
It’s a Thursday afternoon and you’re thinking to yourself, “What should I do this weekend?” Maybe you should think about fueling up that jet of yours and taking off to the Shangri-La in the Maldives. With the resort’s new private air terminal located just five minutes by speedboat from the resort, AKA "paradise," your beach weekend starts NOW.
Bathroom Tuesdays / Hotel Bathrooms / Paris Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Sweet Suites / → All Tags
The Ultimate Bathroom Resides at The Four Seasons George V Paris
You know how acting legend Spencer Tracy is quoted as saying that when he died, he didn’t want to go to heaven, but to Claridge’s instead? Well, we might just have found our hotel equivalent of heaven: the Penthouse at the Four Seasons George V in Paris.
Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon as a Parisian apartment, it’s one of the most memorable suites we have seen in a very long time. The space itself, the furniture, the materials, the artwork, the winter garden, the views, the terraces, we’re not ashamed to say we had a total hotel geek moment here.
Plus, for some reason, despite it being SPRING (hear that Mother Nature?) a good many of us are still shivering in our friggin timbers and would love a hot bath. So here's where to get it.
Pet-Friendly Hotels / Hotel Trends / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Paris Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Posh Dogs Dine on $51 Meals at Mandarin Oriental Paris
You know we are a pretty opinionated bunch here at HC when it comes to hotels, and one topic that got some serious debate recently is hotels and dogs, or, as one of us put it: what’s up with all this dog sh*t?
Leafing through the room service menu at Mandarin Oriental Paris last week, we came across the above page between the human-focused evening menu and late-night snacks: the posh dog’s choices! We were so not expecting to see this that we actually asked room service whether it was for real, and it sure was. A veterinarian consulted on the ingredients and making sure it’s being cooked to a canine’s liking.
Hotel Openings / Paris Hotels / Luxury Collection Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Starwood Hotels / → All Tags
Paris. Pierre-Yves Rochon. Prince de Galles. Pre-Opening. Preview.
Thankfully after the Biebs (and his Beliebers) had moved on to wreak havoc elsewhere, did we arrive in Paris earlier this week, where we had a chance to preview the soon-to-open Prince de Galles hotel.
Starwood’s entry into the highly competitive Parisian palace hotel market, the Prince de Galles is part of its Luxury Collection, and one of a number of their historic European hotels that's been on the receiving end of many a million for restoration and renovation the last few years.
Hotel Reviews / London Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Ritz London Is A British Best, Especially With Free WiFi
Having shown you the hotel’s top-end Prince of Wales Suite, we’re following up today with the details on our stay at The Ritz London, including, lo and behold: free WiFi. At the Ritz. Who would have thought that?
Check In & Room Reaction
We walked the few steps from Green Park tube station to the Ritz and were checked in and personally shown to our room within minutes. We’ve seen almost the entire spectrum of room categories at the Ritz, from cozy entry-level Superior Queens to the top-end suites. Layouts vary, as do color schemes (pink, yellow, peach, and blue). Bathrooms are where you're most likely to see evidence of the hotel being constructed over a century ago, when having a private bath was a novelty, so you may want to inquire, depending on your preferences, for a bathtub or a separate shower.
Hotel Bathrooms / Bathroom Tuesdays / London Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Watch London’s Horse Guards From the Tub at InterContinental Park Lane
We love a good hotel bathtub, especially when it has a view. During a recent visit to the London’s InterContinental Park Lane, we spotted a worthy entry for our Bathroom Tuesdays in the hotel’s lofty London Suite.
With its soaring two-story windows, this suite – and its bathroom – takes full advantage of the hotel’s vantage point on Hamilton Place, overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the gardens behind Buckingham Palace. Time it right, and you can watch the mounted Horse Guards pass underneath Wellington Arch right from the tub. More of a shower person? Not to worry, you’re covered too.
