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Honor the Brave Ladies Who 'Stormed' The Sazerac at The Roosevelt New Orleans
Taken during the very first "stormin'" in 1949.
Some people go for Civil War re-enactments, some people prefer Jane Austen movies, but when it comes to historical fixes, we prefer the vintage booze that are making a comeback at hipster-frequented speakeasies across the country. That’s why we want to tell you about the upcoming “Stormin’ the Sazerac” event at the landmark Roosevelt New Orleans on Friday, September 25.
Back in the day, women were only admitted to the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt on one day of the year: Mardi Gras (remember, this is New Orleans). Well, 60 years ago, a group of well-to-do New Orleans ladies decided they wanted a drink, and on September 25, 1949, they stormed the bar and demanded to drink. Their gambit paid off, and ever since, women have been admitted on the same basis as men.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / New Orleans Hotels / → All Tags
The Roosevelt New Orleans Open and Swinging
The Big Easy never really lost its swing, but it has had to significantly rebuild both literally and emotionally post-Hurricane Katrina. Nothing brings a commercial boost like an influx of out-of-towners, especially those willing to roll large and invest in a taste of The Waldorf-Astoria's opulence.
The Roosevelt New Orleans—known as The Grunewald and The Fairmont in its earlier incarnations—recently underwent a whopping $145 million restoration, making it central to the city's rebirth. Located in the French Quarter, guests really can't get any closer to the core of life in New Orleans.
Reviews are generally positive across the board, but, honestly, it's hard to imagine such a massive project backed by a name like Waldorf-Astoria falling into the "sub-par" ratings range. Praise for it's "regal" ambiance and a staff that "[epitomizes] the spirit of New Orleans charm" are common on TripAdvisor, though many of the same reviewers agree that there are still a few minor kinks to work out in terms of service, with housekeeping and check-in being noted areas of concern.
Tags: Summer Cocktails / Hotel Cocktails / Tequila / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
The Biltmore's Historical Tequila Sunrise
We've kicked off our Summer Cocktails series where we profile fun new summer drinks that hotels are making. Got one we should know about? Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink. Otherwise, enjoy and @reply us when you're wasted!
The last news we heard from the Arizona Biltmore was about the not-in-a-hurry renovations (dates like "sometime before 2020" were getting tossed around) so we're happy to have something more concrete to report: the Biltmore's got a special summer cocktail, and it's a classic.
Something we didn't know is that the Tequila Sunrise was apparently invented at the Biltmore, back in the 1940s when a frequent guest asked the bartender to make him up a refreshing drink to sip by the pool. So to help celebrate the Biltmore's 80th anniversary this year, they've brought their classic cocktail back to life for the summer. Of course, the price is a little more than that first guest paid back in the 1940s – these days you can get a Biltmore Original Tequila Sunrise for $14.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Pools / Maui Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
Start Your Vacation By Waiting in a Line at the Grand Wailea Resort
Last month, we told you that the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa in Wailea, Maui might have the coolest pool amenities (little grottos, a kiddie pool with a beach, waterslides galore) but that the place was too crowded with children for anyone to truly enjoy.
Well, we thought you might like some photographic evidence of just how crowded the pool scene is: here's a snapshot of the line for beach cabanas that we snapped last Friday.
Guests (only hotel guests are allowed access to the resort) must wait in this line before obtaining one of the beach cabanas. As usual with pool chairs and the like, the early bird gets the coveted seat on the beach and by early bird we mean folks who rise before 7:30am.
Also, a quick word about those cabanas--they look ratty and old. We stayed at this resort back in 1996 and we're pretty sure those are the same cabanas in use then. Not surprisingly, the GWR is a part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection, whose resort properties continue to disappoint with their old, run-down facilities.
Tags: Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Openings / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Park City Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags
The Dakota Mountain Lodge Opens at $139 a Night With a Surprisingly Useful Resort Fee
A suite at the Dakota Mountain Lodge.
The Waldorf-Astoria Collection has been snapping up and renovating properties left and right but now the first new hotel has opened, The Dakota Mountain Lodge in super swanky Park City, Utah. Detes on the guestrooms come courtesy of the press release we just got:
Guestrooms are finished with custom designed furniture, natural colors and rich interiors to create a casual yet sophisticated retreat. Available in king or queen rooms, each room is designed with a gas fireplace, 42” HDTV, spacious bath with jetted tubs and/or steam showers, and private patio or balcony. Suites are one-to-four-bedroom, some loft style, and feature large gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances and granite countertop.
We headed over to the hotel website right quick and sadly saw that the website was sort of malfunctioning. (It's now working properly.) Thus we called the reservations line at 1-866-279-0843 and the reservations agent gave us a quote of $139 a night for a king bedroom tonight. There's also a $25 resort fee, but this one actually seems to give you something for your money. It includes in-room internet access, free coffee and tea in-room, access to the Golden Door Spa fitness center and group fitness classes, complimentary parking and complimentary ski and golf valet service.
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Obama's Hotel-Hopping In Manhattan And We Want To Come Along
There'll be no Broadway play and fancy dinner with Michelle for Obama during this stop in New York. After last week's grueling family trip of international stops including Moscow, Rome and Ghana, President Obama made it back to the States just in time to close off streets in Midtown Manhattan during yesterday's evening rush hour. And what did he do while in The Big Apple? Why, it's our favorite pastime: some good old-fashioned hotel-hopping.
After a speech in New Jersey, Obama's big city evening began at the Hilton New York on Sixth Avenue, where he spoke at the NAACP's 100th Anniversary Convention. This hotel is truly the epitome of conference hotels in the city; we can personally vouch for its massive size, awesome location, and ability to deal with a thousand nametag-sporting business travelers, so we're not surprised it was on Obama's itinerary.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Palm Springs Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Checking In On / → All Tags
The La Quinta Resort is Making Some Much-Needed Improvements
While we managed to score an excellent rate at the La Quinta Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif., by calling the hotel's reservations line instead of booking online, we actually ended up having to cancel. The reason? Our friends offered to house us for the holiday weekend and our little dog too. We just couldn't pass that offer up.
But we did stop in to visit other friends who were spending the weekend at the Waldorf-Astoria Collection property and we kicked it poolside with them for a while. The best part about La Quinta is that there are tons of small pools throughout the property, so you don't have to fight for pool chairs at the main pool. You can easily find a pool (or two) near your casita or spa villa and park yourself there.
However, if you do want drinks you will have to hit up the bar at the main pool. Prepare for some interactions with children if you do. Or a sighting of "Dr. 90210" Dr. Robert Rey, like we had.
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags
The Arizona Biltmore is Getting a $600 Million Facelift
Those $100-or-Less rooms at the Arizona Biltmore are going to be a thing of the past, we assume, since the very-much-in-need-of-renovation property has just gotten the go-ahead for a major makeover — to the tune of $600 million.
According to a press release:
The renovation calls for a new world-class spa with corresponding amenities, a fine-dining restaurant, neighborhood-friendly upgrades to trails, traffic enhancements, pool and landscaping redevelopment, a promenade along the Arizona Canal, a new resort entrance design and 300 new rooms. The renovation will take place in two phases with the first beginning immediately and the second starting sometime before 2030 and will be dependent on demand and market conditions.
But don't expect this stuff for a while. The first phase of the project will be a $120 million spa redesign, the planning of which will be starting right away — but groundbreaking probably won't happen until late 2010..."assuming economic conditions improve."
Seems like a whole lot of these Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotels have been getting quite a bit of work put into them lately; The Boca Raton Resort and Club just got a makeover, The Roosevelt New Orleans got a total restoration and renovation, and even the original Old Lady Waldorf herself is getting some work done.
Tags: Hotel Opening Rates / New Orleans Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
The Roosevelt New Orleans Will Re-Open at $139 in July
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)
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.
Tags: Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Hilton Hotels / Hotel News / Beach Hotels / Boca Raton Hotels / → All Tags
Waldorf-Astoria Collection Eats Up the Everything Bagel of Hotels
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
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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