Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Annabel escape the bitter chill of London. Enjoy.
As the London days get shorter and the winter chill begins to set in, I can't help but question why I left the shores of sunny Australia. Thankfully I'm headed home for Christmas for a month of beach (ok, bayside) bliss, but I can't help wishing that I could make a detour in the Maldives for a holiday of the more indulgent variety.
Encircled by the clear blue waters of one of the largest lagoons of the Maldives, the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa is just a 15 minute luxury speedboat ride from the Malè International Airport (no taxis here, folks), and each suite features its very own private plunge pool.
Open seven days a week, the adjoining spa offers authentic Indian treatments and includes a Yoga and Meditation Pavilion, a VIP Spa Suite and two over-water luxurious Couple spa suites should you be lucky enough to have an amorous partner in tow.
With rates starting from $330 US per person, per night, however my bed at home is unfortunately looking like the more realistic destination for the time being.
The beautiful Pierre on Fifth Avenue, NYC, is about to get even more beautiful. The NY Times reported that it's about to close for a major renovation, but details on exactly when and for how long are still sketchy.
A hotel spokeswoman wouldn't give any details at all, other than to say a press release would probably come out in the next couple of weeks. If you try the Pierre website now, you can book up until December 30, but from then on all rooms are marked as sold out.
The rumored renovation is supposed to be costing the relatively new owner, Taj, $122 million, and will update the lobby and all 200 guest rooms. In fact in the last couple of years they have already renovated some of the function areas but it seems like more is to come.
There are some permanent residents in the Pierre and apparently they won't be kicked out during the renos, but will only be receiving limited services. Watch this space for more news on the Pierre's big remake.
As the world gets smaller and we start to travel to places we'd never really expected too, the market for big hotel brands like Hilton or InterContinental just gets bigger and bigger. It's a bit like eating at a well-known fast food chain: if you're traveling in a foreign country and see a familiar hotel brand from home, you'll know what to expect when you stay there.
An NY Times article over the weekend put it this way: hotels are global explorers. If they're everywhere, they reason, we'll see them, known them, and check into them. That's why the Hilton chain just announced a plan to open 25 of its Hampton and Garden Inn hotels across Russia and Eastern Europe, and why Holiday Inn has already managed to become the top hotel brand in China, with 44 hotels already there and another 43 in the planning.
And it's not just western brands that are attacking the globe. Indian hotel group Taj Hotel Resorts might have started off in Mumbai but it now boasts hotels in 18 countries, including 3 in the US. Surely it's just a matter of time before some Chinese conglomerate does the same and we'll be able to check into a Great Wall Hotel in our very own neighborhood. (You heard it here first).
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quotes here were captured August 28, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
We've reported before on the hotel room crunch in India, but $440 for the lowest-priced available room in the Taj Residency Bangalore? When we pulled up the dates of September 6 to 9 on their website, 18,000 rupees was the lowest rate listed. At the current exchange rate that's $440 before taxes.
Granted, this is a room on the club level, so you do get breakfast, a cocktail hour, and some swanky amenities: Herman Miller chairs, cordless phone, 42 inch plasma TV, DVD player with surround sound, large wardrobe, and attached luxurious bathroom with steam / shower cubicles."
So, if you're an outsourcing VP for Cisco and have a fat expense account ready to be tapped, live it up at the Taj. If you're a start-up dipping your toe in India's version of Silicon Valley, however, we suggest this week's Good Rate, the Ginger Hotel Bangalore.
On the heels of taking over the Pierre in New York City and the old Ritz-Carlton in Boston, India's luxury Taj group has purchased the Campton Place Hotel in San Francisco. Campton Place is billed as a 110-room boutique hotel in the Union Square area. There were a lot of rupees involved, as in 58 million U.S. dollars that are going to the old owner, the Kor Group. (Hmmm...they probably needed some money for one of their three Tides resorts in Mexico.)
This won't be the last we hear of the Taj group, a company that has some of the top hotels in India but is ambitious about becoming a global brand. Says Raymond Bickson, CEO and managing director of Taj Hotels, "With an acquisition of The Campton Place, we can now offer business and leisure travelers our signature Taj hospitality in the top U.S. gateways of New York, Boston and San Francisco."
We haven't heard much about the Campton Place hotel except for when it made our Worst Wi-Fi Hotels list last year. Hopefully a company from tech-happy India can get with some people from tech-happy Silicon Valley and figure out how to get a good wireless system going. Maybe they'll add a real concierge too; right now the front desk has to field all sightseeing and reservation requests.
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by Annabel
