Tag: loews hotels
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Lotsa New Looks and a Not-Yet Open Hotel For LA
Once again, here's your semi-regular update on the Los Angeles hotel scene....
The Loews Santa Monica: We've been chronicling the exterior update to the Loews Santa Monica since the beginning of the year. The other day we drove by at sundown and noticed special light projections on the exterior as well as a living wall. Pretty! But it turns out changes were happening on the inside as well. Guestrooms have new glass balconies that enable better enjoyment of the Pacific Ocean views. Later this year the pool will get premium poolside cabana rooms and beach-level rooms that will have residential-style patios, complete with fire pits. Rates at the hotel start at $498 a night for a weekend in mid-May. Ocean view rooms are more at $588.
The Moment: Last we checked in on The Moment, the new boutiquey hotel in Hollywood (above), the place had missed its planned February opening. Looking on the hotel website today, we still can't book a room for tonight or later this weekend or the first of May. We were, however, able to find a room in mid-May for $235 a night for a queen bed. That includes free WIFi and complimentary bikes. While the website may not have room rezzies open for tonight at this time, it does sport some cool new photos of the rooms. If you can splurge, the king suite patio at 600-sq.ft. looks the coolest with two flat-screen TVs and even a Keurig machine.
OpenThread / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Woes / Loews Hotels / Hotel Crime / → All Tags
Have You Ever Slept In the Hotel Lobby?
We came across an article published earlier last week on the Santa Monica Mirror that described a woman who showed up at the Loews Santa Monica at 1am, asking for a room. The hotel had availability, so they asked for a credit card, and the woman handed over (what she claims was) her credit card. Which was declined.
That's when things got strange. Apparently, instead of just walking away, the woman demanded a free room, and when that request wasn't granted, she simply went to sleep on one of the couches in the lobby.
Now, we've been through plenty of hotels where the lobby was big enough to house our apartment several times over. And we often thought, 'What if we just dozed off for a couple hours in the lobby a couple of hours, then set off on our way?' We'd certainly be saving ourselves lots o' cash, and the hotel would be none the wiser!
We're not saying what this (probably deranged) woman did was right—in fact, the hotel ended up calling the police and she was arrested and taken to jail. But we are wondering: have you ever slept in some part of the hotel that wasn't your room? Was it on purpose? Did you get caught?
We're open to hearing all your crazy stories: just drop a comment below, or, in the interest of anonymity, send us an email!
Hotel Design / Hotel Renovations / Loews Hotels / Orlando Hotels / → All Tags
Loews Portofino Bay Shows Off Their Rooms Renovation with New Time-Lapse Video
The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando Studios has just finished a major renovation of its guest rooms so it's only natural that they show off the results. But The Loews isn't passing around some fancy, carefully staged, photoshopped photos. No, they've gone above and beyond the call of PR duty to create a time-lapse video that features the transformation of one guest room from start to finish.
The video is just over a minute long and it's actually super cool, especially if you're a renovation nerd like us. It's like we're watching HGTV but for a hotel room!
You see everything that went into the renovation from removal of the old outdated furniture, ripping up the dank rugs, putting new paint on the walls, laying down a new carpet, tons of electrical work and the assembling of the new furniture. (Our heart skipped a beat when we saw brand-new mattresses being unwrapped from the plastic. For real.)
Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Loews Hotels / Hotel Beauty Salons / → All Tags
Get Lovely Locks at NYC's Loews Regency's New Julien Farel Salon
The Loews Regency Hotel NYC closed on January 1st for a $70-million overhaul, and when it opens this fall, it will have more glam than we originally expected: It will have Julien Farel.
Not quite sure who Julien Farel is? Just ask Ivanka Trump, Richard Gere, Carl Bernstein, Salma Hayek, Kate Moss, Kate Beckinsale and Rafael Nadal (see photo below), who all pay upwards of $1,000 for him to go to town on their hair. And, no, we're not kidding, you can see for yourself on his website. “It’s $650 (for a cut)," he told Departures. "If they hand me the blow-dryer, it’s another $250."
Apparently he's that good, and no, you won't be getting an appointment with him. But his staff will do you up nice for much cheaper, probably in the $95 to $120 range judging by the prices at his two other hotel salons, the Setai Fifth Avenue and the Capella Pedregal in Cabo.
Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel Pools / Loews Hotels / Crescent Hotels / Montage Hotels / → All Tags
The Sunset Marquis Opens Its Rock Star Pools to Non-Guests
Earlier this week, we talked about all the good things coming (fingers crossed!) to downtown Los Angeles. Today we've got a round-up of some cool new things happening in Los Angeles proper, starting off with this West Hollywood hideout.
SUNSET MARQUIS: The rock star haven that is the Sunset Marquis (the hotel hosted 43 Grammy nominees this year) has begun offering a pool membership for non-guests that will allow use of the hotel's main pool and villa pools along with some other perks like a complimentary one-night stay, a Sunday brunch, drinks at the restaurant or 1200 bar, discounted cabana rentals and discounted spa treatments. The cost for a one-year member ship is $2,000 while a six-month membership can be had for $1,500. Membership is based on availability and the hotel only gives out 20 at a time. If you're not interested in joining, you can pay around $250 a night as a hotel guest and use the pool for free.
Hotel Deals / Hotel Promo Codes / Kimpton Hotels / Boston Hotels / St. Patrick's Day Hotels / Spring Training Hotels / W Hotels / Scottsdale Hotels / Loews Hotels / Hyatt Hotels / Palm Springs Hotels / → All Tags
From St. Patty's Day to Spring Training, We've Got Hotel Deals for You
Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)
DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*
· Spend St. Paddy's Day in Boston at Kimpton: Kimpton Hotel's Boston properties--Nine Zero, Hotel Marlowe and the Onyx Hotel are all offering the same St. Paddy's day package which includes car service to the parade in South Boston on Sunday, 3/17, in-room greasy breakfast on Monday morning, hangover survival kit and a Pot of Goldthat includes two tickets to Dropkick Murphy's on 3/15 and two tickets to the Celtics game on 3/16. Oh, and a late check-out of course. Nightly package rates start at $749 but regular rooms at the hotel can be had for around $188 a night. Book online here or call 800-Kimpton and mention hotel promo code LUCKY.
· Spring Training at the W Scottsdale: The San Francisco Giants, aka the 2012 World Series Champions, are currently in training at the Scottsdale Stadium which just happens to be a five-minute drive from the W Scottsdale. So naturally the hotel has put together a Spring Training package. Available from now through March 30, the deal includes a wonderful room for two, vouches for two cocktails per person per night, a baseball for autographs, a baseball cap, cracker jacks and peanuts in your room upon arrival and complimentary transportation to the stadium. The deal starts at $345 a night. Go here to book or call (877) 782-0104 and mention code CACTUS1-7.
· Springtime in Palms Springs, Just Because: The Hyatt Palm Springs has a springtime deal we just can't resist.The Mountain-view Pool Cabana Package includes overnight accommodations in a two-room suite, one of two oversize mountain-view pool cabanas during your stay, a personal cabana attendant, chilled towels, bottled water, deluxe fruit platter and a pitcher of signature cocktails. This represents a savings of 33 percent and is just $150 more than the best available room rate. We found the suite available for $349 a night in two weeks. Go here to book with code CABPKG or call (760) 322-9000.
Spa Hotels / Loews Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / California Hotels / → All Tags
Exhale Spa Now Open at Loews Hollywood
Attention "Mind Body Spa" junkies! Exhale Spa is now officially open at Loews Hollywood (formerly the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel), so Core Fusion fans no longer have to trek to Santa Monica for barre squats. We do love the beach but you can bet we're signing up in Hollywood STAT.
Exhale had a grand opening party on February 13 and we are officially regular customers. The 7,000-square-foot spa has men and women's changing rooms equipped with glass-wall steam rooms, a relaxation lounge with clove-spiced, hot-neck pillows and another lounge with all sorts of munchies and beverages. There are seven therapy rooms (two that have showers), including a couple's room with jacuzzi tub. Clean up them nails in the mani/pedi station and, should you need to cool off, the outdoor swimming pool with cabanas is plunge-worthy.
Exhale means serious business here. As in, they knocked down three hotel rooms to accommodate for their cultish classes (ahem, Core Fusion), so expect that to roll out this summer. In the meantime, get a massage, facial, acupuncture, whatever you need to restore Zen. If you require some inspiration, there's a Buddha statue in the hallway. Namaste!
Rates from $249 a night.
[Photo: Exhale Spa]
Hotel Renovations / Santa Monica Hotels / Loews Hotels / → All Tags
Loews Santa Monica Still Working On Their New Look
The Loews Santa Monica about a month ago.
As the chilly 65-degree weather sets in here in Santa Monica, forcing Angelenos to wear a scarf with their uniform of jeans and flip-flops, one hotel along the beach has been making good use of the off-season by doing some upgrades.
The Loews Santa Monica has been steadily working on their facade since at least November. The hotel told us today that the renovations are expected to last until February. While there is no work going on inside the hotel or the guestrooms, guests are being diverted to the left of the entrance until the work is finished.
Not that you would know that if you visited the hotel's website which makes no mention of renovations, not even during the booking process. Annoying. Room rates are also not affected too much. The hotel is currently asking $318 a night next week. Just in case you're curious, the weather should be around mid-60s. Not quite beach weather but it does beat snow.
Hurricane Sandy / Hotel Emergencies / Manhattan Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Loews Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Twitter / → All Tags
Folks On Twitter Remind Us That Hurricane Hotel Stays Can Be Fun Too
With over 7,000 flights to and from the Northeast canceled last night, plenty of folks are suddenly facing the reality of being stuck in a hotel until the storm passes. Hotels, of course, aren't complaining because, hey, business is business. And just like we saw last year, many hotels are going out of their way to offer special discounts to stranded travelers.
So far, it seems Kimpton, Loews and Ritz-Carlton have been the most vocal about reaching out to guests.
But what about the travelers themselves? We did a quick little scan of hotel guest reactions on Twitter, and, for the most part, it looks like people are making the most of the situation, just relaxing in their hotel rooms, while everyone else scrambles to prepare for the 'worst storm of the century.'
· For comedian Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) and a few others, the first order of business was scoping out the minibar for emergency food rations: "Sure hope the mini-bar in my hotel has enough food for the apocalypse. Day 1: peanut M & Ms. Day 2: nut assortment, or maybe Coke." Nothing says a complete meal like candy and soda!
Hotel News / Hotel Breakfasts / Manhattan Hotels / Al Sharpton / Loews Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags
Al Sharpton's 'Power Breakfast' Is No More At The Loews Regency
Remember when we said the Loews Regency was prepping for a $70 million renovation? Well, the hotel is now scheduled to close on Jan 1 when the work begins. No big deal. The city has about a million other hotels to choose from.
However, the news has proved slightly traumatic for a particularly attached group of executives, investment bankers and media personalities, all accustomed to having their "power breakfasts" inside the hotel. To accommodate them, the hotel has signed a contract with a nearby Park Avenue restaurant to recreate the scene between 7am and 10am each morning, ensuring Larry King gets his usual Cheerios with blueberries, and Rev. Al Sharpton's whole wheat toast is browned just the way he likes it.
Loews Chariman Jonathan Tisch told the Post: "When we announced the closing, people stopped me on the verge of tears." Yikes.
Celebrity Scoop / Nashville Hotels / Celebrities Behaving Badly / Loews Hotels / → All Tags
Shaun White Arrested For Trashing Tennessee Hotel Room
While most of us equate Nashville with Justin Timberlake (what, you don’t?) and a ridiculous rib scene, after today, it’s now going to be associated as the city where Olympic gold medalist (and hey, budding actor!) Shaun White showed his behind.
According to a TMZ report, the athlete got drunk Sunday in a hotel, which has now been identified in the Tennessean as the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel and "trashed" it. However, reports are conflicting. The newspaper only says White broke a phone. Nonetheless, upon hearing the ruckus the ginger-haired snowboarder was causing, hotel staff confronted him. He then allegedly pulled fire alarms,tried to kick someone, and then split his head on a fence while trying to run away from the scene. Soooo, no one can confuse him with Usain Bolt, that's for sure.
White has been arrested for public intoxication and vandalism of $500 or less. He has received treatment in a Nashville hospital where he was just released. He's reportedly refused to sign a misdemeanor citation.
Of course, we'll be following this news, if only to find out the well-being of one fine hotel!
[Photo:GrindTV/Loews Hotels]
Celebrity Scoop / Alec Baldwin / Loews Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Towels / → All Tags
Alec Baldwin Gets Creative With His Use Of Hotel Towels
Hopefully for Alec, that towel didn't have linen tracking chips embedded inside it.
Yesterday, Alec Baldwin was strolling around lower Manhattan, high on life, fresh out of the NYC Marriage Bureau, where he retrieved a marriage license for his upcoming wedding to fiancee Hilaria Thomas. Sounds like a nice day to us. Until he got into an altercation with two Daily News photographers right outside the bureau, and ended up punching one smack in the chin.
Enter The Regency Hotel, which came to Alec's rescue later in the day, as he was making his way to yet another hotel to speak at an American Heart Association event—hopefully counseling them to act as he says, not as he does.
