Tag: hotel openings
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Everything Takes a Bit Longer in Miami, Including the Opening of Element

If there's one thing that Miami and hotel openings have in common it's that they both make you wait longer than you'd like. Especially when you need to get permits from City officials to open your doors.
Which is all to say: we're not surprised that Element Miami is still a few weeks away and not already open as we thought it might be by now.
The hotel's website is saying Opening February 16--but taking reservations from March 1. A rep for Element tells us it's safe to say it will be open in 'late February.' And the earliest night we could find a room is March 11, for $159 a night.
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Revel in Atlantic City Will Open Hotel Reservations on March 5

Gamblers and Jersey Shore lovers alike rejoice! Revel, the crazysexycool-looking casino-hotel complex on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, has just announced today that it will open up reservations for its 1,800 hotel rooms and suites starting March 5. The hotel will then soft-open on April 2 with the hotel fully functional and seven restaurants open.
But come May 25 and Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer for the Jersey Shore, all of Revel's restaurants, performance spaces, gaming, spa, nightlife and daylife will be open. And they sound freaking amazing, especially Revelry, located 61-feet above sea level and which will house restaurants, shops, nightclubs and a performance space for 700. Revel will also open The Mezz, a theater with a capacity for 5,500 people and we're betting the InOut Pool which begins inside near the lobby and flows outside, will be a big hit.
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In True Airport Fashion, Hilton JFK Makes Us Wait A Little Longer

Though we thought we had the opening date of Hilton's new JFK hotel pegged, it looks like we'll be waiting a little bit longer. The airport hotel's opening has now shifted back a month and a half from Feb 15 to March 30.
Though tired and worn-out passengers still have their pick of beds (Best Western, DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn and Courtyard by Marriott, among others), we were excited for the opening of Hilton's glistening white block of 256 rooms, outfitted with a lounge and sports bar, 24-hour shuttle service, and pool.
Not that we'll be waiting around, twiddling our thumbs until April. Unlike an airport, which pretty much holds you hostage until your flight is deemed ready, we'll simply take our hotel-hopping selves into the city, where certain other properties still have openings planned for March 1.
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Trump DC Will Open Across The Street From The White House
It was announced this morning that, after much consideration, Trump will be the one to revive DC's floundering architectural relic, the Old Post Office, by turning it into a 250-room hotel. According to the Washington Post, quite a few investors and developers (including Hilton) had their eye on the building, which dates back to the 1890s.
Though Trump and his daughter Ivanka have plans to do it up Trump-style (think wall mosaics, temperature-controlled chocolate labs, Louis Vuitton-inspired wine bars), the plan—for now, at least—is actually to preserve the hotel's heritage.
"I think the historic facade of the building will be the greatest signage of all," Ivanka told journalists yesterday. Because, as we all know, it's what's inside that counts.
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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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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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Hotel Indigo Will Open on State Street in Santa Barbara on March 1

Well, this is surprising. When we were compiling our Master List of 2012 Openings, we totally did not see that Hotel Indigo would be opening in Santa Barbara. But lo and behold, an is announcement out today says that our favorite boutique brand is opening in March in the former Hotel State Street.
Opening after a multi-million dollar renovation, Hotel Indigo Santa Barbara combines the historic Santa Barbara splendor with the architectural sophistication of modern design.The forty-one room boutique hotel has thirteen guest rooms featuring private outdoor gardens and fourteen guest rooms with views of the Riviera and mountains or urban scenes dotted by palm trees.
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Wyndham Trades In A Garden For A Tryp

The new lobby at DoubleTree Times Square South
We told you last month that DoubleTree was planning on taking over the Wyndham Garden Times Square South—which, we can safely report, officially transpired. However, the rooms remain intact, as well as the ground-floor cafe, Greenhouse 36, so not much has really changed except for the name. And the added bonus of a welcome cookie.
But this neighborhood hasn't seen the last of Wyndham! Oh, no. Just one block south, this month the brand is launching Tryp by Wyndham Times Square South. So we thought we'd do a little compare/contrast to see which of these two (verrry similar) hotels is worthy of your dollar.
For starters? The price. For a random date (we picked a one-night stay on Feb 22nd), Tryp's lowest starting rate is $179, which offers a queen bed, iPod dock, and free WiFi. Meanwhile, DoubleTree will do you one better with starting rates of $152, and pretty much all the same amenities.
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Showering at SLS South Beach Will Make You Pretty in Pink

With the opening of The SLS Hotel at South Beach coming up in April, we're officially in stalking mode.
Don't worry, we're not creeping around the construction site, a bunch of roses and unrequited love notes in hand. But we are checking out the hotel's website and Facebook page religiously, anxiously awaiting any new crumb of a detail or sneak peek of what's to come in one of the most anticipated hotels of the year.
This week, our devotion was rewarded: look at the pretty-in-pink renderings of the guest bathrooms that were just posted!
Design Thursdays / Hotel Design / Sheraton Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Hotel Openings / 2012 Hotel Openings List / Trump Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Hyatt Hotels / Park Hyatt / → All Tags
A Quick Look at Some Cool Hotel Designs Coming in 2012

Remember the guys who brought you the sperm-shaped urinals at Trump Panama? Well, in the spirit of our recently-launched (and super hot topic-y) 2012 Master List of Hotel Openings, we were a little curious to see what else the design wizards at HBA had cooking on the stove.
Though their total project list spans 21 properties, a few in particular stand out: Four Seasons Guangzhou, Park Hyatt Hyderabad, Sheraton Fuzhou, and Waldorf-Astoria Ras Al Khaimah are all places we'll be keeping a close eye on as they gear up for their respective 2012 grand openings. We love nothing more than unique, well-executed, culturally-relevant design, and these places have it all.
Though we can't quite make out the white sculpture at the far end of Park Hyatt Hyderabad's atrium (above)—some sort of cat? or god?—we love the scale of those high black marble columns and curvy chandelier over the low rounded bench below. Proving, once and for all, you don't need urinals with tails to really make a lobby pop.
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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.


