33131 Travel Guide
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: Miami Hotel Mambo / Gansevoort Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / → All Tags
STK at Gansevoort South Is Nowhere Near Finished
UPDATE: Someone tells us December 1 is the newest opening date for STK. We hope so!
A while back we once wondered who would ever win the restaurant race of the summer in Miami--Mr. Chow at the W South Beach or STK at Gansevoort South. Well, Mr. Chow was clearly the winner but we thought that STK would have its stuff together "this fall".
Turns out we thought wrong.
A tipster snapped these shots of the STK space at the hotel and from the looks of it, we don't think it's going to be opening before 2009 is out. We're not sure what's taking so long with this space as we've been waiting for STK since the hotel opened. But they might want to keep their doors locked until they have something better to show off.
Got the scoop on STK at Gansevoort South? Let us know.
Tags: Hotel Music Videos / Miami Hotel Mambo / Celebrity Scoop / Robin Thicke / Rick Ross / → All Tags
Yet Another Bad Music Video Filmed at a Miami Hotel
What is up with Miami and bad rap videos? First, there was Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" at the EPIC Hotel. Then John Legend, Kanye and Consequence filmed an unexciting video at The Fontainebleau. And now we have Rick Ross and Robin Thicke b-boying it all over the Viceroy Miami and the Icon Brickell complex with their new video, "Lay Back."
Everywhere they go in the video, there are skimpy girls in bikinis and high heels--chilling at the Viceroy's super long pool, doing a sexy strut in the spa, getting cozy in a (faux) guestroom and making out in the screening room.
The song is alright but even though we love Robin Thicke, he looks like Justin Timberlake's "D-ck in a Box" and "Mother Lover" character, just without the goatee and the 90s clothing. Seriously, what is he doing in this video? Cheese alert. However, we will admit that the video shows off the Viceroy Miami's best features--the jaw-dropping views of The Biscayne Bay.
Since Lionel Richie's video still seems to be the defacto measurement device for bad music videos, we have to say that Robin Thicke and Rick Ross' terrible video is better that Lionel's. But not by much.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Events / Hotel Bookshelves / → All Tags
Miami's Epic Encourages Guests to Read With Wine
Plenty of hotels are pushing books onto guests these days, adding in-room libraries, Kindles or Sony eReaders to their list of amenities. We’re quite fond of reading by the fire or the pool at hotels but book club events, which are also on the rise, sound a little, well, earnest. Unless, of course, wine is involved.
Perhaps that’s why Miami’s Epic Hotel was smart enough to combine their ongoing literary series with their daily guest wine-hour program—and special room rates that make hitting the books totally worth it.
Tags: Hotel Promotions / Miami Hotel Mambo / Thanksgiving Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Escape The Family Thanksgiving With A Free Night At The Four Seasons
In most parts of the country, all the signs of fall are here: cooler temps, turning leaves, football on TV all weekend, and skimpy Halloween costumes on display at the mall. But not in Miami! (Skimpy costumes are the uniform year-round in South Beach.) The 80-degree days down in South Florida make it hard to remember that we’re meant to be focusing on our Thanksgiving travel plans.
And in fact, if you’d rather spend Thanksgiving in a bikini than in a holiday sweater, the Four Seasons Miami is happy to tempt you away from your familial duties. The fancy hotel in downtown Miami (ie: not at the beach) is offering a "Stay Longer" package this fall, giving guests a complimentary third night with every two consecutive paid nights.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Toiletries / Hotel Services / Miami Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Need Fashion Tape or Tweezers? Consult The EPIC Hotel's 'Forgot It? We've Got It' List
As more and more airlines start charging more and more money to check passenger bags, the chances that you forgot to pack some very-necessary toiletries into that quart-sized plastic bag to stuff into your carry-on suitcase, so you can avoid the ridiculous $20 fees, are probably going to increase as well.
That's why we're loving the EPIC Hotel's "Forgot It? We Got It!" list of complimentary and for sale toiletry items. What's free? Toothbrush, toothpaste, fashion tape, straightening irons, humidifiers, some other female products and a new quart-sized plastic bag for the flight home.
What's for sale? $2 tweezers, $2 nail polish remover wipes, $4 contact lens solution and $3 deodorant. For anyone who's ever been late to a meeting and forgot to pack deodorant and a hairbrush (that's what we forget the most!) $5 seems to be a reasonable charge to pay for a quick fix, especially if that straightening iron is free. All you have to do is dial-up the front desk.
Now if only there were a Pitbull stain eraser for sale at the hotel.
[Photo: HotelChatter's MsRebecca.]
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Super Bowl Hotels / Miami Hotels / Mandarin Oriental / → All Tags
NFL Drops Mandarin Oriental for Super Bowl
Football season hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but already NFL execs are scaling back the Super Bowl splurge. The Miami Herald reports that the league recently dropped 17 hotels in Miami and Miami Beach for the February 7 event. The Mandarin Oriental on Brickell is the only property being sacked actually named in the article, while the Doubletree Grand downtown was named as one of the hotels whose reservation numbers were cut significantly.
Tags: Hotel Music Videos / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Room Service / Pitbull / → All Tags
Pitbull Films 'Hotel Room Service' Video at Miami's EPIC Hotel
Oh lordy. If you've been shopping in Forever21 lately, then you've probably heard the annoying new song from the rapper Pitbull called "Hotel Room Service." The song is just about doing it in a hotel room. Seriously. And Pitbull will get his girl whatever he wants--sort of redefining the definition of hotel room service. (But does he tip his room service waiters?)
Anyways, the video was filmed in Miami at The EPIC Hotel, of all places.
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: Miami Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Inside the EPIC Hotel (Home of that Rooftop Pool)
Yes, indeedy, those pools from yesterday’s Guess The Hotel game are on the 16th-floor terrace of the EPIC Hotel in downtown Miami.
Last week, we had the chance to see if all those good reviews for the EPIC were warranted and we have to say, the EPIC hotel does indeed have a lot of amenities that will make hotel guests very happy.
Tags: Hotel Spas / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Pretty Yourself at Viceroy Miami, in the Name of Medicine
Yesterday we spread the word that Miami Spa Month is extending through August, but we thought you might be interested in more details on Viceroy Miami’s offerings.
Turns out the “Quenched Facial” isn’t the only temptation awaiting us at the hotel’s Spa at Icon Brickell. You might also be intrigued by their brand-new Medi-Rejuvenation treatments — the sorts of splurges that seem custom-made for Miami, don't you think?
Tags: Hotel Deals / Miami Hotel Mambo / Conrad Hotels / → All Tags
Linger On at the Conrad Miami
Hilton’s high-end chain is offering a passel of packages to entice travelers for steamy summer savings on stays at the view-rific Conrad Miami.
The hotel’s "Linger On" weekend package gives guests a complimentary third night on any stay that includes a Friday or Saturday night, with rates starting at $119. You can “linger on” even longer and get a complimentary 4th night on any stay of three consecutive nights, plus a $100 food and beverage credit to use at Level 25, the hotel’s 25th-floor restaurant and lounge.
Are you pinching pennies but still want to live it up luxe? Try the “Luxe Weekend” package where you’ll get a room upgrade upon availability, two complimentary cocktails at Level 25’s Friday happy hour, a complimentary in-room movie, and 4pm late check out. Guess their definition of “luxe” differs from ours, but at least rates start at a mere $179 per night.
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