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The Roosevelt New Orleans Will Re-Open at $139 in July

Where: 123 Baronne Street [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70112

| June 22, 2009 at 12:05 PM | 0 Comments


Though most of the renos are done, all we've got are these cartoony renderings of the interior.

Well, as they say in the South: hot damn. (Er, do they say that in the South?) The Roosevelt in New Orleans is openin' its doors once again. And the ultra-posh rooms are goin' for cheap. Well, at first, anyway.

If you'll recall, we got the real, super-detailed scoop on what was happening with this iconic New Orleans property. Cliff's Notes version: after a $145-million restoration and renovation, the 116-year-old hotel is set to be reborn as a Waldorf-Astoria Collection property (it has been closed since Hurricane Katrina). We knew the place was going to be shooting for a quiet-ish opening sometime this summer, but we weren't sure when — and then, last we heard, there was going to be some major celebration surrounding a bigger Grand Opening in the fall.

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Hilton Helps You Escape for Summer (But You Can't Escape Dorky Puns)

| June 10, 2009 at 9:38 AM | 1 Comment

Nobody wants to get stuck for the summer. Duh. You want a vacay — and you want to do it on the cheap. Hilton hears you — and they want you to do your summer jaunts up right in their luxe hotel brands.

Hilton's upscale brands, Conrad Hotels and Waldorf Astoria Collection, have just launched a Summer Escape promo that lets you have a free night with purchase of two to four consecutive nights all summer long — that is, all stays before September 30, 2009 — as well as some bonus incentive packages thrown in to entice you to book, like free resort credits good for golf, spa treatments or dining (these vary depending on the property). Use code PRES1N to book at these locations.

And planning ahead will score you big on this one, too: for advance bookings made by July 15, 2009, you get a free night's stay after two paid nights if you use code EFN when booking three consecutive nights (which means, as we understand it, that the third night's free) — the conditions, of course, vary by property.

But! You may be able to escape your job and stuff, but you can't escape nerdy wordplay this summer, unfortunately: this promo video is full of work-vacay punny sorts of stuff. It's cute. It won't ruin your day.

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Waldorf-Astoria Collection Eats Up the Everything Bagel of Hotels

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 501 E Camino Real [map], Boca Raton, FL, United States, 33432

| May 14, 2009 at 9:11 AM | 0 Comments

Hooray! Now we have somewhere that is certified-Waldorf-posh to stay when we go down to visit our grandparents in Boca — should a fam visit warrant splurging on opulent and certifie-Waldorf-Posh, that is.

The Boca Raton Resort and Club, which the New York Times called "the everything bagel of hotels" last year because it "offers whatever you need, but it has no striking personality" is now part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Fresh off a $200-million renovation and set up sorta like a "waterfront village," the resort offers four different kinds of digs in the main resort area of the hotel.

Additionally, the 212-room Boca Beach Club on the Atlantic across the Intracoastal Waterway offers cabana-style guestrooms — and as the Times found out for us, not all the rooms and views across the 356-acre property are created equal, so do your research. We found rates at the Resort starting at $199 and rates at the Beach Club starting at $149.

This is the 13th hotel to join the Waldorf Collection — was it struggling and in need of a brand behind it, perhaps?

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Hilton To Get Three New Hotels in The Maldives

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Rangali Island, Maldives, 2034

| May 11, 2009 at 5:33 PM | 0 Comments

Last time we checked in with Carsten Schieck, General Manager of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, was in February, when he told us about the resort’s dizzying menu of "barefoot luxury" offerings.

But as it turns out, Hilton's offerings in the Maldives won't be limited to this one resort anymore. Hilton is taking over three new properties in the Maldives and Schieck will be overseeing them all.

The first is the new Hilton Maldives/Iru Fushi Resort & Spa (formerly the Iru Fushi Resort) which is scheduled to open on July 1. The second major project from Hilton is the transformation of the year-old Beach House Resort at the northern tip of the archipelago on Manafaru Island (pictured.) The plans here are to turn this into the first Waldorf Astoria Collection property in the Asian Pacific. The luxury property was already listed on the Condé Nast Traveler Hot List, so presumably Hilton won’t have to make too much of a fuss before the scheduled November 1st changeover.

The final property that Hilton will launch is the new Hilton Doubletree in the Maldivian capital, Malé. That hotel is set to open in 2011. Yes, a Doubletree in the Maldives. They are now, officially, everywhere.

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Philly Probably Won't Be Getting That Waldorf-Astoria After All

| May 11, 2009 at 9:46 AM | 3 Comments

So, remember how we told you that Philly was going to get a Waldorf-Astoria? Yeah, well, maybe not.

The building — which was set to be all done in 2012 — was going to have 136 residences (starting at around $1 million) and 175 guest rooms, plus a 14,000-square-foot spa fitness center with an indoor pool, two cocktail lounges, two restaurants and a seasonal outdoor restaurant and cocktail terrace.

But the $420-million project, unsurprisingly, has been put on hold — with a pretty sad-looking future. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, construction was supposed to start in January but the folks behind the project realized there were "structural problems in the marketplace right now," there was a change in the hotel ownership and, no doubt also due to the dismal state of the luxury hotel market right now, things got put on hold — indefinitely.

Though Hilton says they're still "committed to the project" and the owners remain under a management contract with Hilton to fly the Waldorf-Astoria Collection flag at the hotel, we're not gonna be holding our breath on this one.

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Waldorf Astoria Drops the Equals Sign We'd Barely Noticed

| February 10, 2009 at 9:01 AM | 5 Comments

Some marketing guru probably got paid a packet to make this earth-shattering decision: the Waldorf Astoria Collection have changed their branding. They've taken out the equals sign from Waldorf=Astoria and replaced it with a space.

Now although here at HotelChatter we have, on very rare occasions, used the Waldorf=Astoria branding, we've usually assumed that a simple hyphen will do and stuck to Waldorf-Astoria. Looks nicer, doesn't it? But we can live equally well with a space between the words instead. In fact, we'd go so far as to say it really doesn't make much difference.

As well as changing their punctuation, Waldorf Astoria will soon be launching a new logo which, again according to marketing-speak, will be

indicative of the evolution and globalization of the luxury brands and celebration of their 21st century relevance.

And we can hardly wait for that.

[Photo: katherine of chicago]

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Berlin To Get Its Very Own Waldorf-Astoria

| January 28, 2009 at 4:55 PM | 0 Comments

There's tons of hotel news flying around this week and we don't have time to give each and every story the love and attention it may deserve, so you will have to settle for some news briefs.

· Waldorf Goes to Berlin: The ever-growing Waldorf-Astoria brand is planning to open the first newly-built Waldorf hotel in Europe: The Waldorf-Astoria Berlin. It's going to "build on the success" of the Waldorf in NYC and should be finished in 2011 with 242 rooms. [FTN News]

· Grand Wailea Completes $50 Million Renovation: On other Waldorf-y news, Maui's Grand Wailea Resort, part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection, has just completed a major makeover that included room renos, spa upgrades, and a major overhaul to its pool complex. [Honolulu Advertiser]

· Delta Queen Steamboat Will Be a Floating Hotel: New Orleans' historic Delta Queen steamboat is headed to Chattanooga to become a floating hotel — at least for now. It has been leased to a hotel operator, but the folks running the joint are required to keep everything intact so the riverboat can cruise again one day. [USA Today]

· Expedia and Hotels.com Add Features For Disabled Guests: Expedia, who owns Hotels.com, agreed (in court) to add new content and search features to both sites that will enable people with physical disabilities to reserve hotel rooms that can accommodate them with things like wheelchair access and Braille signage. [Internet Retailer]

· Your Housekeeper Hates You: This lovely 'Confessions of a Hotel Housekeeper' will remind you, hopefully, to tip your housekeeper — and it will let you know that it's A-Okay to use that Do Not Disturb sign liberally. Some housekeepers love 'em. [Budget Travel]

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A Closer Look at Plans For The Roosevelt New Orleans

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 23 Baronne Street [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70112

| January 28, 2009 at 12:44 PM | 0 Comments

We just got some brand new renderings of the plans for the post $135-million-renovation Roosevelt New Orleans, which is slated to make its debut this summer. If you'll recall, we sat down with Tod Chambers, the new GM of the iconic property, earlier this winter to discuss plans for the hotel — which was known as the Grunewald in 1893, The Roosevelt in 1923 and was most recently known flagged as a Fairmont. It's set re-open as a Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotel and is hoping to both reclaim its position as a local hotspot and re-emerge as a NOLA destination.

Some of the hotels biggest bragging points are its public spaces; most notably, the legendary Sazerac Bar, the classic Blue Room supper club, and the massive, ornate lobby. We know the spaces aren't going to be exactly on point with these artistic renderings, but these images, after the jump, should give you a pretty good idea of the old-school luxury vibe of the interiors.

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The Re-Opening of The Roosevelt New Orleans

Where: 23 Baronne Street [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70112

| January 6, 2009 at 2:28 PM | 0 Comments

A HotelChatter Exclusive

In mid-2009, the historic old-school luxury Roosevelt New Orleans — which originally opened as the Grunewald in 1893, was rebranded as The Roosevelt in 1923 and was most recently known flagged as a Fairmont — will reopen as part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection of Hotels, welcoming guests for the first time since its closing in 2005 due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Since the storm, the 505-room hotel has undergone a $135-million renovation that makes the project one of the largest private investments in downtown New Orleans since the storm — mostly restoring the orginal architectural grandeur and classic luxe details of the old hotel while incorporating modern amenities and technology.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Tod Chambers, the new General Manager of the Roosevelt New Orleans, to get a sense of what we might be able to expect from the property — and to give him a chance to tell us why it's so special to the city of New Orleans.

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The Waldorf-Astoria Is Not What You Think It Is

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 301 Park Avenue [map], New York, NY, United States, 10022

| January 5, 2009 at 1:33 PM | 1 Comment

Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. Today's review takes place in the big bad city of New York. Enjoy.

Let's hope that the model that Waldorf-Astoria Collection is using as they go around snapping up properties around the world is not based on the experience at the flagship Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. We received an email last week from a reader while she was staying in the hotel and she was far from pleased. In fact, she even called the storied hotel a "1-star hotel."

A one-star establishment is expected to offer clean, no-frills accommodations with minimal on-site facilities for the budget traveler for whom cost is the primary concern.

Guestrooms generally are small, functionally decorated, and may not have a private bathroom, in-room telephone, or amenities. On-site dining is usually not available. Public access and guest reception may not be available at all hours.

With the exception of the lobby, this is a 1-star-hotel. The sad part is, the room 1215, isn’t even clean, the upper room toilet is leaking on me and my little girl.

The thing is, we can totally vouch for this review because we stayed there last year and we were sort of shocked at the condition of the hotel rooms (however, all of them do have their own baths.) Granted, it's a very old historic hotel but we just though the Waldorf would live up to its (luxury-implied) name.

[Photo: MusicLover-UK]

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Shanghai Packs 'Em In: Waldorf Astoria to Come in 2011

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Shanghai, China

| December 23, 2008 at 11:49 AM | 1 Comment

With their newly-opened Park Hyatt and a Peninsula and W Hotel coming in the next few years, Shanghai is primed to become one of the world's top urban luxury destinations. While most of the new development is occurring in Pudong, across the river from the old city, the new Waldorf Astoria slated for 2011 is set to take full advantage of the classic buildings along Shanghai's high street.

The Bund, as the multi-lane street along the bend in the river is called, features stately architecture hearkening back to the opium-fueled days of Shanghai's colonial past. The new hotel, Waldorf Astoria On the Bund, will sidle up next to popular retail and dining hotspot 3 On the Bund while encompassing two of its own historical structures, including the iconic site of the former gentlemen-only Shanghai Club.

We are irrationally excited for this property, as the 266-room Waldorf means that when we go to Shanghai in 2011 or after, we will have an alternate to M on the Bund restaurant for catching the best views of the river. We're even more psyched to sit back in neoclassical splendor and chuckle at the modern skyscraper city of Pudong across the river, since by then it should be rife with triple the development (and more hotels) than it has now. A serious congratulations to the Waldorf Astoria on scoring their prime Bund space, as it will bring about the restoration of landmark buildings and help smarten-up what is otherwise an unavoidable tourist trap.

[Photo of the Bund: Melissa T. Reeck]

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Trianon Palace Versailles Joins the Waldorf Family

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1 Boulevard De La Reine, Versailles, Paris, France, 78000

| December 11, 2008 at 2:32 PM | 0 Comments

We're just now getting around to telling you what Blair from Gossip Girl has been telling you all along: everyone who's anyone is a Waldorf.

Okay, not really the same Waldorf, but: Hilton has just announced that the Trianon Palace Versailles, the elegant mansion where the Treaty of Versailles was drawn up in 1919, will become part of the Waldorf=Astoria Collection.

The hotel, which is 17 miles outside of Paris and recently underwent a pretty serious renovation, will be the second European hotel to join the Waldorf=Astoria Collection (the Rome Cavalieri was the first).

Also of note: the Trianon Palace serves up Gordon Ramsay food all around: go fancy at Gordon Ramsay au Trianon — his first fine dining concept in France — or a bit more casual at La Veranda, a "relaxed brasserie overlooking the outdoor terrace." Retreat to your room and he'll get you there, too: he's also responsible for room service and provision of all catering services.

The Trianon Palace Versailles will formally become a Waldorf=Astoria Collection in early 2009, Ramsay and all.