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Tags: In-Room Coffee Makers / Viceroy Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Holiday Hotels / → All Tags
The Viceroy Miami's Illy Espresso Machine Will Make You Happy Morning and Night
We are continuing to geek out over in-room coffee makers. Yesterday, we showed you how the folks Down Under do it and today we're including an in-room coffee maker that we forgot to include in our original round-up--The Illy Espresso machine at Viceroy Miami.
The Francis Francis X8 espresso machines from Illy are found in all rooms at the hotel and there is no grinding of beans or scooping of ground espresso to deal with here. Just plop in a pod into "Frank" (we can call it that, right?) and steaming hot espresso is yours in a matter of seconds. There is milk and as you can see, oranges to accompany your drink as well.
We actually used Frank in the evening when we arrived at the hotel to give us a quick jolt so that we could stay awake to do some work. And when we awoke in the morning, Frank was ready and waiting to serve us again.
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Hotel Hell / Viceroy Hotels / Santa Monica Hotels / → All Tags
Viceroy Santa Monica Will Be Getting a Renovation
The other day we took a look at What's on The Block at the Viceroy Santa Monica, a happening hotel near the beach that is always giving us good enough excuses to get drunk on a random weekday.
But could it be that the guests are also partying too hard? A commenter on our story pointed us to his TripAdvisor review which showed an Empire Suite (about $640 a night) in seriously worn down condition. Cigarette burns in the carpet, wrecked furniture and low shower head pressure were some of the complaints.
Needless to say our commenter was pretty unhappy about having paid so much for just a so-so room. We were sort of shocked ourselves since we've stayed in a regular room not too long ago and the room, while definitely not brand, spanking new, it was in good condition.
We asked the hotel's rep if they could comment on the situation for us and they told us they would answer the TripAdvisor review instead. Here's what Caroline Dyal, Director of Hotel Operations, wrote:
Tags: Hotel News / Hotel Rebranding / Viceroy Hotels / Kor Hotels / Viceroy Hotel Group / → All Tags
Kor Hotel Group Wants To Be Known as Viceroy Hotel Group
The Viceroy symbol as seen in the elevator at Viceroy Miami.
More Hotel Rebranding news! The Kor Hotel Group has announced this morning that they have officially changed their name to The Viceroy Hotel Group. The change follows the 2008 partnership that Kor Hotels entered with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company, who is now funding the Viceroy Hotels expansions.
But while the name changes, the game remains the same. From the press release:
Viceroy Hotel Group will continue to seek premier hotel and resort opportunities around the world, based upon uncompromising standards for location and guest appeal. Viceroy Hotel Group will function as an umbrella company for the sister hotel brands that formerly fell under Kor, Viceroy Hotels & Resorts, The Tides and Urban Retreats.
Some of those Urban Retreats include The Chamberlain and The Avalon Hotel in Los Angeles but surprisingly not The Loden Hotel in Vancouver. Looks like Viceroy must have shed this hotel somewhere along the way. You will also want to change up your bookmarks as www.korhotelgroup.com does not work. Instead, go to www.ViceroyHotelGroup.com.
Now, maybe with the introduction of these new name, the Viceroy collection will institute some sort of loyalty program for guests.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Viceroy Hotels / Ski Hotels / Snowmass Hotels / → All Tags
The Viceroy Snowmass Will Open in November at $150 a Night (With 50% Off Additional Nights)
While the spoiled ski bunnies will have to wait another year for the Montage Deer Valley to open, in the meantime, they can have their personal assistants switch their itineraries to The Viceroy Snowmass in Colorado which still expects to open on November 25.
Also still in effect through December 23rd, is a special deal that gets guests who book one night there, any additional nights at 50 percent off. But wait, it gets even better still.
The opening rate on November 25 is only $150 a night for a studio residence with mountain views which includes a king-size bed, fireplace, a small kitchen, 42-inch flat screens and WiFi. The room sizes start at 375-square-feet which is a little on the small side for a "studio" room category but hey, the price is right. Just don't expect any fresh powder at your feet.
Tags: Hotel Pools / Miami Hotel Mambo / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
What It's Like Swimming in the Longest Infinity-Edge Pool in Florida
As we’ve noted before, the Viceroy Miami is pretty damn good looking. So we were psyched about our recent visit, and were especially looking forward to swimming in the hotel’s (and Icon Brickell’s) much-hyped pools. True, they are spectacular. But also? Deserted. As in, cue the spooky music quiet.
We arrived around 6.30 p.m. on a Friday evening, so perhaps all the hotel guests were taking disco naps before a night on the town, because they were nowhere to be seen. There were two or three Icon residents lounging in the thermal hot tub (which is actually the size of many South Beach hotel pools) but otherwise, the 15th-floor pool terrace was all ours.
Swimming the length of the Olympic-sized lap pool with the Viceroy and Icon towers hovering above us was refreshing but incredibly disconcerting. It was like a Miami-pool version of that scene in Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise is running through an empty Times Square. Where were all the people?
Tags: Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Openings / Viceroy Hotels / Kor Hotels / Ski Hotels / Aspen Hotels / → All Tags
Viceroy Snowmass is Now Accepting Rezzies; Will Open By Ski Season
It's official: The dreamy Viceroy designs will be a-comin' round (to) the mountain. The Viceroy Snowmass has promised that it will be up and running by this coming ski season located in the new Base Village area, just a few minutes from Aspen.
The new Viceroy has 173 guest rooms and residences; some have mountain views, and all (duh) get to take advantage of the kickass ski-in, ski-out location. Also, the building is designed to meet LEED Silver standards, with a fine-dining restaurant (with a display kitchen and an 87-foot glass bar and lounge that spills into the lobby), an après-ski bar and lounge, a full-service spa, a fitness center, and a swimming pool and pool café.
The hotel is now accepting reservations for the new season beginning November 25, and rates are starting from $370 a night (for a valley-view studio). And from the opening day until December 23, 2009, reserving one night will get you any additional nights at 50 percent off — which is a seriously good deal. Hit the website to reserve.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Santa Monica Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Lionel Richie and Bai Ling Debut Romance at Viceroy Santa Monica
Today in celebrity 'WTF' news: Lionel Richie and Bai Ling went on a date on Thursday night. Yes, that would be he of The Commodores and she of the perpetually-over-exposing dresses. This "date" of theirs is not only of interest to us because it is one of the most bizarre-o celebrity pairings ever, but because it took place at the Viceroy Santa Monica's signature restaurant, Whist.
According to X17, this "date" involved the two of them arriving and leaving from the hotel/restaurant in separate cars — but their "eyewitness account" maintains that he was rubbing her back during the dinner, and they were sitting mighty close to one another. Of course, this could all be an overhyped celeb spotting with out-of-thin-air rumors of a romance (along the lines of that disconcerting Natalie Portman/Sean Penn thing earlier this year), but we have reason to believe (mainly faith in the weirdness of both of these people) that this could be for realsies.
Man, why are we never at these places at the right time? All we've gotten in a hotel restaurant was a Hanson sighting.
Tags: Weekend Hotel Happening / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Bars / Santa Monica Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
Do Summer Santa Monica-Style On The Cheap at Viceroy's Whist
Whist, the restaurant at the swank Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel, is bringing back its poolside summer specials, including “Summer Fridays” (a nice alternative for those of us who don't get 'em at work) and “Taste of Tuesdays.”
Since Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer, Summer Fridays begin today with a 4-hour happy hour from 2-6pm. For the 2 o’clock hour, drinks are just $2; at 3:00, they cost $3, and so on. There is also a new bar food menu including fried chicken and biscuit sliders for $2, and oysters on the half shell for $3. Summer Fridays will run through August 28.
Tags: NYT Reviews / Miami Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
NYT Wants to Hoist the Viceroy Miami Onto the Beach
“The Viceroy has what should be a magic Miami combination,” writes the NYT in this week’s “Check In, Check Out” review — save, mind you, the location. (“The complex is in downtown Miami, which probably seemed like a good idea a few years ago when everyone was throwing up splashy buildings in the area,” the NYT grouses.)
We’d have to agree. Though our own extensive coverage of the Viceroy Miami has doted on what the NYT calls “designer cachet” as well as the friendly service, we’ve also maintained that the spot is better suited for folks who don’t mind ditching the South Beach scene.
Tags: Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Kor Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / Ski Hotels / → All Tags
Snowmass Viceroy Set to Open by Christmas
Since first hearing about plans for the Viceroy Snowmass a couple of years ago, we’ll admit the hotel has been somewhat off our radar. But our apathy is over now that we have an update on when the hotel will open. So mark your calendars! Come December 2009, Viceroy is scheduled to glide into Snowmass (you know, that Colorado ski bunny town that's sort of like Aspen’s little sister who’s, like, suddenly hot).
And really, December’s not that far off, so we’ll commence hotel hype...now. Here’s what we know: The 268-room* ski-in/ski-out condo/hotel hybrid will anchor the new $1-billion Snowmass Base Village. It will be the first mountain resort for Kor Hotels, but it will still be designed “in the inimitable Viceroy style.”
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Viceroy Hotels / Kor Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Michael Psilakis / Ian Schrager / → All Tags
Viceroy Miami's 'Signature' Restaurant To Get a Michelin-Starred Chef
Page Six is reporting that the Viceroy Miami unnamed "Signature Restaurant" atop the 15th floor will actually get a chef very soon. And a very celebrated chef at that.
MICHELIN-starred chef Michael Psilakis and partner Donatella Arpaia, who own Anthos and two other hot Manhattan eateries, are branching out. The pair just inked a deal with Kor Hotel Management to launch a restaurant at the Viceroy Miami in developer George Perez's IconBrickell complex in the city's downtown. The as yet-unnamed 15th-floor dining spot will open next month and focus on seafood.
The duo apparently went to the Viceroy to seal the deal a few nights ago and celebrated with Kor Hotel Group founder Brad Korzen, his wife and the hotel's decorator Kelly Wearstler, Sharon Stone, Selma Blair, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, decorator Colin Cowie, and even Ian Schrager himself.
That seems random, doesn't it? We wonder if Ian plans to use Michael Psilakis for his new Edition Hotels? Oh right, those hotels won't be open for a while.
[UPDATE: A Viceroy rep just told us that Ian Schrager was not at the celebration as per Page Six's report. Let's hope he was off somewhere working on Edition.]
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Bars / Miami Hotel Mambo / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
Your Nightlife and Dining Options at the Viceroy Miami
Now that you've seen the rooms, the pool and the spa inside the Viceroy Miami we'd like to tell you a little bit more about the nightlife and dining scene. For starters, guests and non-guests alike can use the restaurant on the 15th floor which is just called the Signature Restaurant.
We dined here for lunch and aside from being another pretty Kelly Wearstler space (with outdoor seating overlooking the pool area and Key Biscayne), the fare was delicious. Think refined hotel comfort food. For example we had the Viceroy's version of a turkey sandwich with gruyere cheese and pomme frites.
There are plans for an "acclaimed chef" to join the restaurant at which point we think a real name might be established. Until then, the place is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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