Got an AmEx Gold Card? Then you've also got a free dinner at any of four brands under the Starwood umbrella now.
Yesterday, Amex and Starwood announced a new program that gives a yummy perk to all Gold Card members: a $75 food and beverage credit. Score!
The conditions: you have to be (obviously) a Gold Card member, and you have to book a stay of two or more consecutive nights at one of the 500+ participating W Hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.
The new delish benefit is offered through the Gold Card Destinations program, which already boasts a pretty long list of travel amenities with AmEx Gold Card travel partners - cool stuff like lift tickets at Ski.com destinations and access to tickets for Gold Card events.
So does this mean we have an excuse to demand that we get our drinks covered by the AmEx-toting dude we meet in the W bar next weekend? We haven't caught anything about alcohol being excluded from the deal, so we think yes.
More info on the AmEx/Starwood partnership can be found here.
This Wednesday at the W New Orleans, Andy Warhol-inspired cocktails will make their debut. Heh. Leave it to W to host a Warhol event on Wednesday.
From 4.30pm until around seven, W is holding the "Shake It Up With Martini and Rossi" event: Andy Warhol prints combined with six cocktails using Martini and Rossi Vermouth and inspired by Warhol images.
They don't give too much more away except that there'll be "Velvet Edie" and "Factory Martini" cocktails among the six, and they'll all be shaken and stirred "Warhol-style". Which we think is pretty stylish.
It's a first come, first served night so don't be late, and if you do get to try a Warhol cocktail let us know how it tastes.
Last week during a random jaunt into New York City we stopped by the construction site of the W NYC Downtown. This was one of the hotels caught up in that whole "cranes falling from the sky" fiasco which shut down the crane at this site and other sites throughout NYC.
Then to make matters worse - the cement truckers union in NYC is currently on strike - further delaying progress of the site.
Well with all that, we're happy to report that construction is still proceeding - we witnessed plenty of workers around the site doing whatever it is that they do.
And that concrete truck shortage? They got that covered too - we saw an entire tractor trailer unloading hundreds of bags of cement mix. Ain't no stinkin unions gonna stop the W!
While most of you are suntanning at your beach houses, lake houses and boat houses, we're still here at our desks. No, we're not bitter. Here are your news briefs. Hope your hot dog doesn't burn!
· W Bangkok Is Happening: W Hotels broke ground on their Bangkok location today. The 400-room hotel will open in 2010. [Business 24-7]
· Comedian and Designer Brave The Surf Lodge: Jerry Seinfeld and Ralph Lauren (random!) brave the Sam Talbot restaurant at the Surf Lodge which has received some poor reviews. We can imagine Jerry saying, "So what's the deal with the celebrity chef restaurant these days?" [Page Six]
· Chocoholics Head to Grand Hyatt: Travel Chocolate, a 100-gram chocolate bar made up of fair trade certified 70% dark chocolate, is now on sale at the Grand Hyatt on East 42nd Street in Manhattan. [PRweb]
· Blogger Discovers TuneHotels: TuneHotels is cheap we know but blogger Dan'Lion discovered that booking two single rooms for two people is actually cheaper than booking a double room. Nice work. [Danlion]
· Paul Pierce's Four-Hour Massage: Celtics star and MVP Paul Pierce certainly deserves a massage but a four-hour one and by the pool at the Hard Rock? Ew....[TMZ]
Man, we are total suckers for a hotel promo with a cute name.
Perhaps not such suckers that we would sit around stuffing our faces whilst clad in a bikini, but we are happy to watch other people do so at the W New Orleans - French Quarter's weekly Bikini Brunch this summer.
On Saturdays during the month of July, throw on your swimsuit (or your jeans) and head down to the W pool for:
a $15 brunch provided by Bacco including Fruit Salad, Gourmet Pasta Salad and Chilled Shrimp Cocktail. Bottle service will also be available in the courtyard complete with your favorite mixers.
Non-guests can totally enjoy the offer too; in fact, Bikini Brunchers (guests or not) get special access to the W Hotel pool all day.
Rates start around $179 per night -- courage to wear a bikini and eat food at the same time sold separately.
The D.O.B. issued a stop-work order on the project because of a questionable crane in use for the construction.
The crane was manufactured by Kodiak and owned by New York crane -- just like the two cranes that collapsed this year -- and was to be taken out of service until a thorough inspection was completed.
But things didn't quite go as planned: The Real Deal (via the NYDN) reports that cracks were found "in the turning mechanism of a tower crane," which means the green light likely won't be coming any time soon.
In which, HotelChatter readers are treated to exclusive hotel deals dug up by us.
All deals have a limited amount of rooms attached to them and may sell out quickly.
Forecasted Temp Is Your Room Rate $103 a night Whatever the forecasted temperature for Las Vegas is (on Weather.com) that will be your room rate at The Venetian. You must book by June 27 and it's only good for select dates from now through September.
A Hot List Hotel at a Hot Price $295 a night The Oceana Santa Monica, a recent Conde Nast Hot List Hotel is offering Deluxe Bedrooms at $295 a night. The hotel faces the ocean and we can personally vouch for the huge rooms. Use code LUXL2 to book.
Another NYC Waterfalls Package $389 a night The NYC Waterfalls will be up and running next week and the The W Hotels in New York are offering 2 vouchers for the NY Water Taxi (so the waterfalls can be viewed up close), bliss® sunscreen, two cocktails in the W Living Room, and a Wonderful Room. The package is good from June 26 to October 13.
Have a hotel deal you think we should consider? Or have a destination and date where you want us to check for hotel rooms and rates for you? No guarantees on either, but you can try your luck by hitting us here: tips@hotelchatter.com. Please include "For Reader Deals" in the subject heading.
We've come across some computer-generated pics of what the coming W Shanghai - Pudong is meant to look like, and they've really got some hotel of the future theme happening here. In fact it's scheduled to open up in 2010, but we're thinking this futuristic thing needs a bit more time.
Details on the W Shanghai are sketchy at the moment but there are a bunch of different renderings doing the rounds--some that make the two towers totally look like light sabers, and this one that combines the light saber look with some futuristic hope that we'll all be arriving by helicopter.
What we do actually know is that there'll be 400 suites and guest rooms, five restaurants and a huge spa. It's being built in the Lujiazui financial district which we guess is why the W website makes unfunny jokes like this::
We have everything you need to stay on top of the game in Shanghai's booming scene, abacus not included.
And this:
Artisan calligraphy and Blackberrys. Taichi lessons and access to the hottest clubs
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by Jenna
Last week during a random jaunt into New York City we stopped by the construction site of the W NYC Downtown. This was one of the hotels 
