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Tags: POTUS Hotels / Barack Obama / Miami Hotel Mambo / Fontainebleau Hotels / → All Tags
POTUS Hotel Hopping Hits the Fontainebleau in Miami
Miami’s Fontainebleau Resort is no stranger to celebs, from Frank Sinatra to Dennis Rodman. But last night the revamped resort got a return visit from the most famous person on the planet: POTUS.
President Obama has been on a bit of a hotel tour lately, doing his Democratic Party fund-raising at a series of fancy dinners across the country. Last night, his arrival at one of these events was marked with protests as about 200 people carrying placards lined Collins Avenue across from the Fontainebleau.
Inside, around 450 people paid between $500 and $15,000 a head to hear POTUS talk, raising an estimated $1.5 million all up. (We’re guessing that’s just a little over what LIV or Hakkasan rakes in on an average Monday night.)
Tags: Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
POTUS Dresses Down Wall Street at Mandarin Oriental
The Mandarin Oriental in New York is popular with celebrities: in the past, we've seen Bruce Willis and Natalie Portman there. But approaching the hotel close to 5 p.m. yesterday, we encountered way too much security for there to just be someone from Hollywood in the building. The street itself was blocked off and a mix of NYPD officers, generic security dudes, serious-looking men in suits—aha! Secret Service!—and excited New Yorkers waiting by the barricades gave it all away: President Barack Obama was in town. And about to arrive any second.
We got a bit of a thrill to learn this, too, along with a hint of dread that we may not get into the hotel for our business meeting after all. We did not have photo ID on us, and there was no official invite for our small meeting meant to take place at the MO Bar. We watched as one security guy turned away a woman who lived on the same block ("go around the other way,"), and refused to let an Equinox instructor into the building unless he had a gym membership card. Hotel guests were asked to present their room keys.
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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.
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Mexico City Hotel Honors Obama With a $20 a Night Room Rate
With President Barack Obama prioritizing issues like the the drug war, trade and immigration with Mexico, he is spreading some good karmic vibration to the hotel industry. In honor of President Obama's stay in Mexico's capital city, a stylish 1931 Art Deco designed boutique hotel called the Hippodrome in the hipster neighborhood of Condesa is offering $20 a night rate in Room 104 of the 15-room hotel. And the price includes taxes and fees.
The recession-friendly rate lasts through the end of the year and is only for Room 103. Get it? The deal applies for a two-day maximum stay. Right now, it's booked solid through the summer but the other 14 rooms start at $150 a night.
We say what a great way to enjoy part of our stimulus checks. Just don't blow the rest by continuing to support drug trade relations between the U.S. and Mexico!
Tags: Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean Hotels / Hyatt Regency Hotels / → All Tags
Obama Kicks It With World Leaders at Hyatt Regency Trinidad
This weekend, President Obama headed to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad & Tobago with a US delegation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, and, as we know, he and his ginormous posse shacked up at the Hilton Trinidad, renting out the whole place for the weekend.
But the three-day summit itself was held over at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, which HC commenter thirteenright, who has stayed at both the TT Hilton and the TT Hyatt, mentioned was "a much nicer hotel more suitable for this kind of thing" (we assume "this kind of thing" means hosting bigtime world leaders). The conference was a place for the western hemisphere's leaders to get together to discuss "the theme of securing our citizens' future by promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability."
Rates in this posh 428-room property start at $159, and the place features a rooftop infinity pool, a 24-hour fitness center, a restaurant with gulf views, and a lobby lounge where someone important surely toasted to making progress in the world this weekend.
Tags: Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean Hotels / → All Tags
This Weekend, Obama Will Be Swimming at the Hilton Trinidad
Another day, another hotel fitness room in which President Obama can go work out. This weekend, while he's heading down to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad & Tobago with a 1,000-strong US delegation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the Prez will be shacking up at the Hilton Trinidad, all of whose 380 rooms have been reserved for him and his massive posse.
Hopefully, during the three-day summit which convenes the 34 "democratically elected leaders of the Western Hemisphere," Barack will have some precious alone time for paddling in their pool shaped like the island of Trinidad and hitting their squash and tennis courts. The Hilton itself is no stranger to hosting high-security guests, and in the past have made people like former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Britain's Prince of Wales and former South African President Nelson Mandela feel right at home. Here's hoping that the secret service has already scoped out the hotel's jogging track and fitness center; we wouldn't want Obama to have to spend an entire long island weekend cooped up in office chairs just because the rowing machine is broken.
Once the US delegation departs at the end of the summit on Sunday night, the Hilton will return to its normal, non-commander in chief duties, which focuses on offering regular vacationers like us the very same rooms starting at $169 a night.
[Photo: Concierge.com]
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G20 Taking Care of Business at London's Mandarin Oriental
April's Fools Day may be long over, but memories of the dinner that "Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver cooked for the G20 leaders in London that night will remain forever...or at least until it's all digested. After a filling meal that focused on fresh and "British" ingredients, Nicholas Sarkozy and posse headed back to his hotel, the Mandarin Oriental, for a little after dinner mint and negotiations regarding that lovely little tax haven of Macau.
When not holed up in meetings with other G20 leaders, what do you suppose Sarkozy did with his time spent in the grand environs of the Mandarin? We like to think that he balanced all the wine-drinking and rich meals out by hitting the gym a couple times, but how could a stressed world leader resist the charms of the hotel's "Zen Color Therapy Relaxation" room or its "Amethyst Crystal Steam Room?" If we had to sit in tense meetings all day, with the fate of parts of the world on our shoulders, then you can be sure we'd spring for a "Ama Releasing Abhyanga" treatment to balance our chakras.
Want to play president and treat yourself to a night where Sarkozy slept and dreamt of gambling in Macau? Be prepared to fork over more than 3,990 GBP ($5,891) for a Deluxe Suite this month, or 255 GBP ($376.50) for a regular room—perfect for any Nicholas and Carla Bruni fantasies you have going.
[Mandarin Hotel photo via Mandarin Hotels; G20 Summit photo via The Guardian]
Tags: Political Hotels / Trinidad Hotels / Hyatt Hotels / Barack Obama / Hotel News / → All Tags
Barack Obama Will Join Political VIPs at The Hyatt Trinidad
The Hyatt Regency Trinidad has been open not much more than a year, but it's already being trusted to host Barack Obama and a bunch of his friends when the Summit of the Americas heads to Trinidad in April.
This is the fifth time that leaders of the 34 member nations will meet up, and this time round they'll be discussing important stuff like human prosperity, energy, security and environmental sustainability--all on the ocean-front location in Port of Spain.
The hotel is actually (but not surprisingly) completely sold-out during the summit, which runs from April 17 to 19. Now we just wonder how the hotel's general manager decides who gets the Diplomat Suite and who gets the Presidential Suite. The good news is that even the politicians at the bottom of the pecking order will be able to run their countries from their room because there's WiFi throughout.
Tags: Political Hotels / Phoenix Hotels / John McCain / Barack Obama / → All Tags
Why Is Obama Snubbing the Arizona Biltmore?
The new InterContinental Montelucia
Fun fact: Every president since Herbert Hoover has stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix. It's also where former presidential hopeful John McCain married Cindy in 1980, and, of course, where the McCain/Palin camp watched Obama secure the presidency on election night back in November.
It's not really any surprise that John McCain chose to avoid the Biltmore when selecting an Arizona venue to hold a fundraiser to launch his campaign for a fifth Senate term (maybe some bad memories there?), but hearing the news that President Obama is skipping out on the Biltmore on his next trip to AZ is raising eyebrows 'round here.
In fact, John McCain chose the new Intercontinental Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley to kick off his senatorial campaign instead — and, interestingly enough, The Arizona Republic is reporting that this is also where Obama is going to be staying when he hits up Arizona. And their visits might coincide. Whoops.
We get why McCain's avoiding the Biltmore, but why would Obama choose the three-month-old Montelucia? Was it the dirty glasses at the Biltmore? Or was he just doin' like he do and breaking out of the traditional presidential mold?
Tags: Barack Obama / Sweet Suites / Chicago Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
Fairmont Chicago Officially Debuts Obamafied Presidential Suite
In conjunction with Barack Obama officially taking the reins as our 44th president today, the Fairmont Chicago has revealed images of their new Barack Obama Presidential Suite that came about as part of the hotel's $50 million makeover.
We'd heard about the suite already, but we hadn't seen images of the interior to get a sense of exactly how Obama-fied the room really was — luckily, Adam Kirby of Hotels Mag of Twittered that the photos had been released for our viewing pleasure.
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Where Are the Hotel Inauguration Parties At?
It's time, people: the frenzy of parties, celebrations and drink specials surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration have kicked off, and D.C. — though a bit congested at the moment — has turned into patriotic party central over the weekend.
Naturally, hotels in the area are doing more than just playing host to the hundreds of thousands of psyched Americans overnight: they are, of course, hosting some of the most anticipated official and unofficial soirees too. According to the AP's uber-helpful comprehensive schedule of events going down for inaugurapalooza, here's what's happened and what's planned at which hotels and where.
· On Saturday, the People's Inaugural Gala Celebration went down all day long at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Festivities kicked off with a breakfast and continued with a Women's Leadership Luncheon (Gloria Steinem was there!) Sunday, attendees took in a gospel concert and a jazz concert, and the gala's grand finale will be the black-tie People's Inaugural Ball on Tuesday evening.
· And yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton, the California State Society held the Presidential Inaugural Luncheon & Fashion Show.
· Tonight at the Gaylord is the Texas State Society's famed Black Tie and Boots Ball — which, according to the online invitation, looks like it honors the Texas-born outgoing president a 'lil more than the incoming one. But: black tie and boots! And country music, too!
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Change We Can Believe In: $44 Off Chicago Kimpton Hotels
Barack Obama hasn't taken office just yet, but we can already thank him for some changes that we hotel geeks can believe in: killer deals at Kimpton properties in Chicago in honor of the native-Chicagoian soon-to-be leader of our great nation.
If you're not going to go all out and totally splurge on an Obama-themed indulgence package at the Hard Rock Chicago or the Four Seasons Chicago, check out this slightly more economical option.
During Obama's first 90 days in office (which includes Presidents' Day! Celebrate it!), Chicago Kimpton properties — Hotel Allegro, Hotel Burnham and Hotel Monaco Chicago — are offering a Presidential Preference Rate. In honor of the 44th president, you can take $44 off until April 20th, 2009. Use code "P44" to redeem.
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