[UPDATE: Good news! The credits go towards your current stay. It is not a "bounceback" offer. We apologize for the error.]
Two luxury hotels in the Windy City are teaming up to lure you in. Called "Experience More," the Four Seasons Chicago and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago are offering "money back in your pocket." but really you'll be getting credit toward another stay.
At Ritz-Carlton, you will get room credits for $150 or $325 for your one or two night stay, respectively, and even more credit if you book an Executive Suite or larger. Then the credits are $200 and $425 for one or two nights.
The Four Seasons offers the exact same idea, but different amounts of room credits -- $125 credit for a one night stay, and $200 if you stay in an Executive Suite or larger, plus they'll kick in a $50 spa credit on the condition that you reserve a spa treatment of 55 minutes or longer in advance.
As an enticement for every kind of traveler, the Four Seasons San Francisco just announced three specials available now through December 31.
First, there's the shopping deal. For the rate of $470 a night, you get a $100 Bloomingdale's gift card, a Bloomie's gift and 15% off additional store purchases, package wrapping and delivery (this would come in handy around the holidays), overnight valet parking, and a makeover at the Chanel counter.
Second, is the get-in-shape deal. A nightly room rate of $595 comes with an hour-long private trainer session, a 50-minute massage (per room, per night, in your room or in the spa), and a daily fruit plate and smoothie.
Lastly is the I-don't-have-to-check-out-yet special. Two nightly room rates of $510 pre-paid gets you the third night for free, with a free hotel breakfast for two thrown on the tab.
In our opinion, the hotel will get the biggest bang on the Bloomie's deal. For Europeans and their powerhouse Euro-dollar exchange rate, a 15% discount will go a long way. Heck, they can buy the Chanel counter.
In the history of specialty tidbits offered up by hotels, there are a few standout items for which we've happily said "charge it to the room:" first there was the premium espresso at the Fairmont Chicago, then came the Gansvoort's sex kit, and now we're all too enticed by the fancy French macaron set at the Four Seasons Hong Kong.
A "macaron," in contrast to the coconut macaroon, is actually a delicate little thing made of egg whites, almond powder and sugar, which resembles a mini pastel hamburger. Of course, Four Seasons will offer nothing but the best macarons, sourcing a selection from Ladurée, the Parisian patisserie which originally begot the handmade cakes back in the 1930s.
Primly packaged sets of 6 macarons are available at the Four Seasons Hong Kong in your choice of caramel, strawberry, pear, or the current currant favorite.
Let's hope this begins a trend; we can imagine at least some Ferrero Rocher at Courtyard by Marriott.
On a day when every hotel you're looking at booking starts to sound the same, a bit of out-there technology can help you make your mind up. Travel + Leisure Australia recently put together a list of their favorite hotel gadgets and gizmos, and there are a few hotels on their list that we would book just to check out their new technology.
They've got the Peninsula Tokyo on their list, not just for the nail dryer and ultra-portable phone but also for the three mood lighting settings; speaking of lighting, the Tarraleah Lodge in Tasmania has "chromatherapy" lighting in the bathtub so the water will glow the color of your mood.
There's more than just cool lighting to be had, though: the T+L story mentions Tokyo's Four Seasons at Marunouchi because of its hi-tech warm toilet seats with multiple spraying functions to take the place of toilet paper, for example. There's also the Park Hyatt Seoul in South Korea which has gadgety non-fog mirrors inside their rain showers. Yes, we admit it: we're hotel geeks who would choose a hotel just for the non-fog mirror. Sorry.
A relatively recent opening in the Maldives, the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has quickly become a very popular destination over its first couple of years. In a UK Independent report last week it got an extremely positive write-up:
Food and cabins - there are some 50 "beach pavilions" and 38 "water bungalows" - are, needless to say, so faultless you'll want to cry when it's time to leave.
When we see this photo of the pool out the back of a water villa, we can understand never wanting to say goodbye. And each room and villa come with such a long list of life's daily needs that we could probably stay and work from there anyhow: they have CD and DVD players, multi-line telephones with voicemail and wired and wireless internet access. Plus the housekeeping service drops by not once, but twice a day.
However, our dream of living at the Landaa Giraavaru forever has already been quickly shattered because we checked the prices. The cheapest nightly rate (and that's not for a water villa with this pool, obviously) comes in at US$700 a night using a stay four, pay for three package; if you want a Bed and Breakfast deal it comes in at $960 per night. Might have to be satisfied with a short vacation there instead.
Well it musta been a hit with rich tree huggers and romantics alike because the hotel is continuing the special menu and candlelight setting throughout the summer.
In honor of Earth Week, Chef de Cuisine Brian Moyers at The Blvd in the Beverly Wilshire, has prepared a three-course menu that is exclusively comprised of items from local and sustainable farmers. The special menu will debut on Friday, April 25, 2008 and continue to be offered every Friday through the end of summer.
The special menu offers five small courses at $85 and $135 with wine pairings. The BLVD restaurant is also offering wine and cheese pairings every Wednesday through the end of summer.
Of course, if you're interested in dining at CUT, the scene of so many celebrity power gatherings, make your reservation far in advance. Or else show up like we did at 6pm on a Friday and promise to be done in an hour and half. You'll surely get a table that way. Worse comes to worst, you can hit Sidebar.
The Four Seasons Nevis has never really wowed us when we're considering Caribbean destinations, and guest reviews are really split too, between super luxury resort and expensive, poor service. So we're still not sure what to think, but something new might tip us into positive territory.
Four Seasons Nevis now has "ultra-exclusive" beach cabanas to rent during the day. There are four of them, each 200 square foot in area, and they're located on the beach next to the Garden Pool (pictured). They're suitable for couples or a family of up to five people, and you can rent them from sunrise to sunset if you're planning a hang-out day near the water.
Check their package deals to find one to suit--they look like they're always better value, as standard rates start at US$490 per night and packages with all kinds of extra start from $540. Let us know if you try out the cabanas and we'll know whether to get excited or not.
Some Frenchman who fashion himself a real-life Spiderman climbed the 45-storey Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. Alain Roberts eluded city police to finish the climb, one of some 80 climbs that he's done around the world to raise awareness for global warming. We bet he had a killer view from that hotel.
We're not sure why he picked the Four Seasons but there are plenty of other super-tall hotels in Hong Kong he could have attempted to scale. Like:
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by annie0007
