Tag: Thompson hotels
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Eating At Belgraves May Plunge You Into A Kafka Novel
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 Within one minute, that offer had been retracted, and the offer had been extended to us to eat the restaurant menu in the bar.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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Opening Night at The Belgraves Was Not Without (Quite) a Few Teething Problems
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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Thompson Hotels Now Managing Sutton Place in Chicago
Perhaps we spent too much time obsessing over The Belgraves in London, that we didn't realize that Thompson Hotels added another hotel to their growing collection--The Sutton Place Hotel in Chicago.
According to Thompson's website, the lifestyle boutique hotel brand is simply managing the Sutton Place hotel, very much like how their managership of the Hotel Victor in Miami Beach began. Except four months on, it looks like now Hotel Victor has become fully assimilated into the Thompson fold. The only thing left to do is officially change the hotel name to Thompson Ocean Drive.
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Inside The Belgraves: Thompson Hotels Cross The Pond
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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What Will It Cost to Sleep in This Week's Newest Hotels?
The Belgraves as seen last week.
Today is a huge day today for several hotels as it's their first (or second) day in business. Here's a quick round-up of the hotels that have just opened and what their room rates are for tonight:
· Trump Toronto: Trump took Toronto yesterday when they opened their seventh eponymous hotel. Last we checked opening rates were nearly $600 but we were relieved to see that rates tonight are down to $474 a night and that includes a deluxe king room starting at a whopping 550-sq.ft., breakfast for two, internet, local calls and a suite upgrade for an extra $50. The offer is good through February 29.
· The Belgraves: The very first Thompson Hotel has opened in London today. Last we checked room rates were a $381 night but yesterday, Jetsetter.com began offering rooms for just $275 a night. If you're thinking of staying there, you better get on it before rooms go above the 400 pound mark. Or you could wait to see what we think of the place. Wink, wink.
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The Belgraves: Less Than a Week From Opening
With just six days to go till Thompson crosses the pond and Belgraves opens (finally), we popped round this morning to see how things looked. Would they be on track?
Well, from the face of it, yes. The entrance, lobby and restaurant looked finished, down to artwork on the walls and tables laid for dinner. The hotel sign was affixed to the wall. The imposing doorway was in place. It all looked pretty much ready to go on the ground floor.
Then we looked up and saw what looked like unfinished rooms through the windows – some appeared to have curtains, some not. Will they open with all their rooms on Wednesday? We hope so, but it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker if they didn’t.
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Make New Friends At These 7 Gay-Friendly US Hotels
Maybe we got hit with the Valentine's Day bug a little early, but we're feeling extra-romantic this week. So we're channeling that energy into this list (as promised), of some of the country's gay-friendliest hotels and resorts. But don't worry—it's not all rose petals and glasses of champagne. Whether you want a DJ, a mountain view, or vintage patio furniture, we're pretty sure you'll find what you're looking for here.
Hilton Sedona, a 219-room resort located in northern Arizona's Red Rock country, was recently TAG-approved for its commitment to LGBT travelers. What's more, last September, it hosted the Sedona Pride on the Rocks Festival, which drew all sorts of fun-seeking folks from the entire Verde Valley region. And if the 2012 bash is anything like last year's, guests at the hotel can expect a private pool party, a drag show "Gay-La," and of course, the main festival itself, which takes place among the resort's three heated pools, two restaurants and 20,500 square feet of event space.
Rates start at $179
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As The Belgraves Inches Closer to Opening Date, Room Rates Are Dipping Slightly
The eagerly-anticipated Belgraves Hotel is just a few week away from opening and while we're anxiously awaiting reports of the hotel's interiors (so far we've only got this Last week, we saw rates on February 1 go from £255 to £217 before settling at around £236 a night for a king superior room. But today, the rates went even lower to £206 a night. That's for an advance purchase rate with no cancellations allowed and it still works out to be about $381USD a night but it's more doable than the initial £336 room rate we first heard about. We also suspect that in just a few short weeks, the Belgraves, due to popularity, will probably jump back up to the £336 room rate. So get it now while you can.
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JT Hospitality Has a Website (So We're Guessing The Name Sticks)
UPDATE, 1.5.12: We just heard that the JT Hospitality name is still a "provisional" name. Yippee! The official name is going to be revealed sometime in Q1. We'll let you know as soon as we hear!
We were utterly surprised by the out-of-left-field merger back in October between sleek boutique brand, Thompson Hotels and the fun, Golden State-loving hotels of Joie de Vivre.
It seemed like such an odd-pairing but when you broke down the dynamics (Thompson has the style; JDV has the money), it made sense.
Yet while we were hoping for a sophisticated name change, we stumbled across the website for JTHospitality.com, leading us to believe that the JT Hospitality name is sticking around.
There's not much to the website--just a few shots of glam hotel rooftop spaces, info about the merger and who to contact for development opportunities (that would be Mr. Brandman.)
We also found a Facebook page for JT Hospitality although there's not much there. Ditto for the Twitter feed. But we are loving that earthy profile pic on Facebook.
We're guessing more information will be forthcoming when the hotels do their official rebranding/merger announcement, which should be any day now.
Know of any cool things happening with JT Hospitality? Send it to us!
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Hotels to Follow Right Now on Instagram
Know what's crazy boring and frustrating? Trying to decide whether or not to stay at a hotel by looking at their tiny, staged room photos on a website. This is why we do our best to get in and give you some massive photo galleries to flip through, but now hotels are taking it upon themselves to get creative by using the iPhone photo sharing app Instagram.
To put it plainly, Instagram allows its users to post their own shots (most taken on the fly, via iPhone) applied (or not) with filters to jazz it up the visual oomph. The community is crawling with design, travel, architecture, photography and foodie geeks, which makes it a perfect place to show off your property if you're a hotel.
We've recently joined Instagram ourselves (search hotelchatter & jaunted in the app to find our photostreams) and we're sharing original snaps from our own hotel stays. Still, we searched to find the hotel accounts on Instagram to follow right now:
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Thompson's Belgraves Hotel Will Open on February 1 at £215 a Night
Just the other week we had speculated that The Belgraves, Thompson Hotels very first London hotel, would open sometime around January 16 but now we've got word that bookings are actually open from February 1.
But there's some even better news here--prices start at £215 a night for a king deluxe room with lounge area. That's an advance purchase rate, meaning no refunds or cancellations, but it's a huge improvement from the previous opening rate we first heard of £336 a night.
So what do you get for £215 a night? For starters, a king bed with Sferra linens, a white and grey marble bathrooms with marble floors, a walk-in shower, toiletries from Penhaligon's and an LCD flat-screen TV. The hotel will also have an 80-cover restaurant from Chef Marc Hix as well as a library bar, a fitness center and a lobby scene that aims to be "a second home for both hotel guests and London’s glitterati alike."
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Thompson's Belgraves Hotel Now Opening January 16
When we last checked in on The Belgraves, the upcoming London hotel from Thompson Hotels, we read that they were still holding firm on a December opening but we just found a report from last month which said the hotel will be open for booking from January 16. Brilliant! (Btw, the report also has some new info on Andre Balazs' upcoming London hotel)
Of course, pictures sometimes tell a different story. These recent construction snaps have us wondering if January 16 (or even December) could really happen.
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