On Tuesday night, we checked out the Preview Party at the Beatrice Inn for The Chelsea Atlantic City which is still on schedule for a mid-July opening.
Our favorite Philadelphia Restaurateur (and soon to be Hotelier) Stephen Starr was there along with Curtis Bashaw and his sister Colleen Bashaw who designed the interior of the Chelsea, as well as a number of Curtis' other hotel projects in Cape May.
While we were a little disappointed that there were no pictures of the interior, or a presentation about the hotel, drinks were free, hors d'Oeuvres were excellent and the opportunity to actually get into the Beatrice Inn without having to pay off a bouncer made up for it.
And yes, we sat on the couch where Lindsey Lohan probably made out with 684,384 guys (in one night) last week and felt a little bit of the celeb vibe.
The hotel's website is taking reservations for travel starting on July 1st. However, the hotel will actually open in June so if you can't wait until July, you can all the hotel's reservation line at 1-800-800-8817 to try and snag yourself a room.
Be prepared to cough up some cash. The first day open in June 15th at $239 a night. Weekend rates bump up to $539. Yikes! And forget about the Fourth of July.
So what do you get for all this dough? Oceanfront views, flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, Rain Dome bath showerheads and 400-thread count sheets are some of the amenities. Which should help you forget you're in New Jersey (Hey, it's our home state so we're allowed to say that!)
While Wall Street tanks, Atlantic City is soaring to new heights with The Tower at Trump Taj Majal, a brand new pinnacle of success for the boardwalk hotel and casino. There's nothing The Donald can't fix with a $255 million fix, right?
This week the new construction's final beam was hoisted in Trump-ette fashion with beam signing and the raising high of evergreen tree and American flag, true hallmarks of a spectacular topping out.
What's in The Tower you ask? Well, when completed in December 2008, there'll be a total of 782 large guest rooms, including 74 suites, four of which will offer the same luxe surrounds as The Penthouse suites at the hotel.
We opened our inbox Friday morning to a nice little surprise containing some great looking renderings (after the jump) of the The Chelsea, Atlantic City. After no major delays, no financing issues, and no crane collapses - The Chelsea, Atlantic City is officially scheduled to open mid-July 2008.
The Chelsea is the first non-gaming boutique hotel to open since the 1960's (read: First nice hotel without a casino) in the former Holiday Inn Atlantic City Boardwalk which closed down for this conversion last year.
After looking at these pictures, it looks like the Chelsea is going to be a destination onto itself - no casino action required here to keep guests mingling around all day long. With two Stephen Starr restaurants, named Chelsea Prime and Teplitsky's, a nightlife destination called "The 5th Floor" (located on...well...I think you can figure that out), a spa, a banquet facility catered by...(this is a hard one) Stephen Starr, and an indoor salt water pool as well as an outdoor, rooftop pool surrounded by a huge pool deck. Whew!
Of course, you can't forget the rooms - 331 rooms, divided into two classes "Chelsea Luxe" and "Chelsea Lite". All rooms do include flat screen LCD TVs, twice daily maid service and room service furnished by Stephen Starr.
Rates for this amenity galore hotel? $225-$450 during the high season, $95-$275 during the low season, so even though you can't get any comped rooms by dropping a grand on the casino downstairs, it's still surprisingly reasonable.
It's about time someone decided there is more to Atlantic City than gambling!
Usually we're the ones bringing you the hotel video tours. But the smoking hot, as-yet-unopened Water Club in Atlantic City has an animated video sneak peak up on its website. And, yes, it's complete with airy, downtempo lounge music.
The fly-through takes you through the garden-filled lobby, by the outdoor pools and their cabanas, through a model room overlooking the water and back to the 32nd floor spa and indoor pool.
While The Water Club won't have a casino, it will bring a big-name chef to the premises. Geoffrey Zakarian of New York's Country and Town restaurants will oversee the food service operations at the hotel. He'll be just down the street from the name brand restaurants of Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay and Michael Mina at the Borgata.
Valentine's Day is now commonly accepted to be pretty much a marketing gimmick devised by greeting card companies, chocolate manufacturers and flower shops to generate major sales. You may say we've lost the romance but do any of you know who Saint Valentine was? Yeah, didn't think so.
Aside from making couples feel pressured to show their love to each other on February 14th, Valentine's Day can also wreak havoc on the minds and hearts of singletons who stress out about not having a lover.
If you fall into the latter group and just happen to be living in the Tri-State area then take your gorgeous, single (aka "free to make-out with strangers") butt to the Spa Toccare at the Borgata in Atlantic City for the "Amour For You" Package.
Agreed, it's a ho-hum, generic Valentine's Day package name--we would probably call it the "Remember: You're Free to Make-Out With Strangers" but that's just because we're married.
Still the spa package has some beautifying treatments for both men and women that will have you looking your finest as you prowl the wilds of Southern Jersey. Gals will get a Café Latte Body Scrub, a Luxe Manicure and gift from Epicuren. Men will get the body scrub along with a hot towel treatment and "sports manicure" with gift from Epicurean. Both genders will get some cocktails at the Borgata's Gypsy Bar including the signature "Amour-ita" cocktail.(Note: The $225 price tag doesn't include a room.)
And who knows? Maybe your single days will end there. In five years, people will ask how you met and you'll say..."I was admiring his/her manicure at the bar."
Finally there is some good news for the Borgata Hotel & Casino which is still reeling from an llegal betting scheme, not to mention a fire a few months back to the Water Club construction. The fifth-annual Babes of Borgata 16-month calendar will go on sale this Friday.
The 2008 calendar features beautiful and stylish Borgata associates in 17 captivating photographs. The monthly vignettes were shot throughout Borgata in backdrops designed by renowned artists and designers.....
The 2008 "Babes of Borgata" were selected following an audition of nearly 130 Borgata associates. "It was such an amazing experience to be a part of this calendar," said Stefania DiNicola, a dancer in mur.mur nightclub. "The competition was tough during the audition process, but the results look absolutely incredible. Everyone did a great job."
Even the photography was done by a babe, former Playboy model Lisa Boyle. The calendars cost $18.50 and are available in Borgata's retail stores. It will soon be online at ShopBorgata.com, so you can add it to your online holiday shopping list.
If you still want more of the babes, the Borgata will hold an official launch party on December 10 inside the mur.mur club with CariDee English, America's Next Top Model winner, as the host. And of course, the babes of Borgata will be there.
While we never encountered anything but good food, a relaxing spa treatment and a lucky pull at the slots during our stay, there were much more sinister things going on under the surface at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
Law enforcement agencies arrested 23 managers, bankers, casino employees and agents yesterday for participating in an elaborate illegal betting scheme.
The Borgata security and surveillance departments helped investigators watch six casino employees, reputed mob associates and others in off-the-books exchanges of cash and casino chips during illegal betting in the poker room.
Gamblers learned of the illegal gaming - which authorities claimed siphoned $22 million from legitimate casino games - by word-of-mouth.
Losing gamblers were forced to borrow money at 50 percent annual interest to cover their debts.
Leading this scheme were four mobsters (they still exist!) from a Philadelphia-South Jersey crime family. The four men were also arrested yesterday.
Authorities reported that the sting didn't affect anything on the casino floor yesterday. It was gambling as usual but we bet those eyes in the skies are keeping a very careful watch.
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by explorer5
Valentine's Day is now commonly accepted to be pretty much a marketing gimmick devised by greeting card companies, chocolate manufacturers and flower shops to generate major sales. You may say we've lost the romance but do any of you know who Saint Valentine was? Yeah, didn't think so.
