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Trump Hotels / Preferred Hotels / iPrefer / Killer Views / Hotel Bathtubs / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags

How We Got This Killer View from The Bathtub at Trump Soho

Where: 246 Spring Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10013

As you know from our post yesterday on these nightstand lamps, we spent a night at the Trump Soho. But what we didn't tell you is how we came to spend a night in a suite with this killer view from the bathtub. Allow us to do so now.

We did our usual compare and contrast of the hotel's website and other booking sites and found that a king deluxe room was going for the rate of $419 everywhere. Not content with just booking a room without any perks, we thought maybe we could do a Josh Flagg except that Trump Hotels are not part of American Express' Fine Hotels and Resorts. However, they are a part of Preferred Hotels and Resorts, of which we happen to be a member.

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Celebrity Scoop / Presidential Hotels / Barack Obama / Vail Hotels / Preferred Hotels / Timbers Resorts / Hotel Rebranding / → All Tags

Get Rebranded, Get a First Family Visit, If You're the Sebastian Vail

Where: 16 Vail Road [map], Vail, CO, United States, 81657

The brand new Library, before its Obama baptism

How’s that for a ringing endorsement of your new name? Just over a month after the Vail Plaza Hotel & Club was reinvented as The Sebastian, it swung itself a presidential visit this week. Or, rather, a presidential family visit – while Obama stayed in DC this weekend, Mrs O took the kids on a jaunt to the hotel.

According to the Mail Online, there’s a spot of controversy over the First Family’s trip to Vail following Obama’s advice on saving money – that one might like to cut back on one’s vacations. But hey, it was Presidents' Weekend after all.

Michelle Obama would almost certainly approve of Block 16, the hotel’s brand new restaurant that serves local, organic, seasonal food, as well as the newly dedicated Library (it’s just 10 days old, according to Facebook) – a room stuffed full of books, games and art which the hotel website reckons is perfect for “lively debate”. There’s also a new spa (which offers pop-up services around the hotel) and live music at the new bar, Frost, but we reckon Mrs O is too clever to risk coming over all Marie Antoinette by getting her nails done or throwing back a scotch.

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Hotel Rebranding / Vail Hotels / Preferred Hotels / Timbers Resorts / → All Tags

The Vail Plaza Has Tranformed into The Sebastian Vail

Where: 16 Vail Road [map], Vail, CO, United States, 81657

If this cold weather has you craving a trip to Vail to hit the slopes, you won't be able to shack up at the Vail Plaza Hotel & Club. The hotel has been converted into the Sebastian Vail.

But the boutique hotel is still open for business, and it offers some new features, including a new signature restaurant, bar and spa. That is, just in case you want some post-ski noshing or pampering.

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Hotel Magazines / Preferred Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags

Deciding What 'Preferred Lifestyle' to Choose from Preferred Hotels

iPads, be damned, we're loving our stroll through print land and our ongoing look at a dying hotel amenity--The Hotel Magazine. Sure, most hotels stock their guestrooms with the trendy magazines of the day or at least place some localized publication on the desks but there are actually a few hotels out there that still publish their own magazine. We've got our hands on a few copies of these rare breeds and we'll be documenting our finds for you here. Know of a hotel magazine we should see before it goes out of print? Send it to us!

The other week when we took a look at the Preferred Hotels and Resorts , we found out that not only do they get the pre-opening skinny on new hotels along with great rates for existing hotels, they also put out a magazine called Preferred Lifestyles.

We got our hands on the newest issue from this year and spent some quality time perusing the different "lifestyles" to lead.

Having such a wide range of hotels to write about, the magazine can touch on pretty much every destination in the world. And that's what's great about the mag's in-depth articles. They aren't built around a hotel but rather a destination, like South Africa (just before the 2010 FIFA World Cup), Utah, Boston and Rome. Suggested places to stay (of course, all Preferred Hotels) are then listed at the end of the articles.

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Hotel Collections / Preferred Hotels / iPrefer / Hotel Loyalty Programs / → All Tags

What's There to Prefer About Preferred Hotels & Resorts?

The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts

We've been not-so-casually looking at the different hotel collections out there these days as an alternative for booking hotels. Often times, these collections have their own loyalty programs for guests as well as guaranteed perks just for booking through their sites.* These perks range from room upgrades to free breakfast and free WiFi, at no extra cost.

Recently, we've checked out Kiwi Hotels, Leading Hotels of the World and Epoque Hotels. And today, we're exploring the Preferred Hotels & Resorts collection, who we fell in like with last week after getting a sneak peek from them about the upcoming Redbury Hotel in Hollywood.

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