Earlier this week The Joule, part of the Starwood Luxury Collection opened up in the historic 1920's Dallas National Bank Building in Dallas Texas, after undergoing a massive renovation.
Originally expected to be called "Hotel Elan", the name Joule was picked as a tribute to the unit of measurement that is used to calculate energy, the Joule (1J = 1N * m for those who need a refresher - our apologies to those who just experienced high school science class flashbacks.)
After undergoing a $36 million dollar renovation, the Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas has re-opened with a new look and a new 5,200 square foot spa.
The Spa at Stoneleigh features six rooms to perform some of the spa's signature treatments. Among them:
Le Grand Cru Meritage Facial, combining a unique blend of grapes, an anti-aging complex of raspberries, black currant, rosemary and olive leaf extracts through a double fermentation process; The Stoneleigh Indulgence Head-to-Toe Body Facial, a comprehensive multi-step treatment which incorporates all the revitalizing elements of a facial but for the whole body; the Maple Avenue Body Butter Wrap, celebrating the hotel's address utilizing a signature Bio-Maple compound.
And here's a special treat for women with buns in the oven: unique to the Spa at Stoneleigh is the "Pregnancy Keepsake Sculpture" service, where they will cast your preggy belly in blue, pink or yellow plaster, presumably to bust out for embarrassment or creep-out purposes on your child's first date or wedding day.
This may also be the only place in the area to encourage overindulgence in wine for the preggers and non-preggers alike: Stoneleigh is the only spa in Dallas to carry Davi Skincare, the "vinotherapy" product line developed by Carlo Mondavi, Jr. (yes, that Mondavi family).
It seems as if Jessica Simpson isn't the only Texan experiencing some heartbreak. The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its 2008 list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places," and on it? The 1,001-room Dallas Grand Hotel--formerly the Statler Hilton--earmarked as an example of fading midcentury-modern architecture.
The hotel opened to much fanfare in 1956, heralded for its introduction of many of today's standards, such as elevator music, conference facilities and the true highlight: custom 21"-inch TVs in each room--how quaint! Since closing in 2001, plans to re-establish the hotel to its former glory--likely with bigger TVs--have been halted by structural problems and inadequate parking, according to The Dallas Morning News.
And while you might think being labeled as an endangered species might help move preservation efforts along, the paper reports that the designation could hurt more than it helps. "Anytime something like this happens, it puts more restrictions on the ability of the owners to sell it," Tom Keen, an attorney for the current owners, mysteriously tells the paper, noting that the building is under contract with a prospective buyer.
As hotel geeks, we need to mobilize. What do you suggest? A rally? Endowment fund? Letter writing campaign to Conrad Hilton?
With exclusive boutique hotels becoming all the rage, some hotels are getting smart and creating a boutique hotel within their large hotel--putting aside a couple of floors to make a semi-separate hotel with separate check-in and services, but with the advantage of guests being able to access all the restaurants, gyms and pools of the larger hotel if they want.
The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort was one such example, and now the latest to follow this trend is the Fairmont Gold in Dallas. They've turned the top three floors of the Fairmont Hotel into a boutique hotel space for "gold guests". There are 47 rooms in the Fairmont Gold, include six deluxe rooms and six suites, and the area includes two lounges with drinks and snacks in the evening and a continental breakfast in the morning.
The Fairmont Gold must have hit the mark, because it's already getting some celebrity visitors--they say that John McCain stayed in the presidential suite of the Gold recently. With rates ranging from $250 to $1,000, it's not at all out of the question that you could be a gold guest too.
A half a year back we got a bit excited about the Stoneleigh Hotel because, as well as going through a massive renovation, it was also keeping a blog about it, and you know that we love a good hotel blog.
You can see from the blog that the makeover has made real progress, including a sneak peek of the renovated rooms and an entry about the day the grand new signage was put into place.
The word is that the Stoneleigh will now have its grand reopening in March 2008. The completely renovated hotel (exterior too) will now also include a full-service spa and restaurant, and adjacent is a new 21-floor building housing one to three bedroom suites and penthouses.
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same region and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quoted here were captured on September 12, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
When the Holiday Inn on Main Street in Dallas converted to the reasonably priced Hotel Indigo brand, it generally got good reviews from guests. Of course most of those guest were paying between $90 and $130, not the $240 the hotel is charging during the Texas State Fair.
Like the price of umbrellas on a rainy day, these hotel rates have shot up substantially during the fair, putting the Indigo on par with hotels that have much larger rooms and more amenities. When we checked dates after the fair, rates had dropped down to $120 for a weekend standard, exactly half the price. Let's see, that's about, ummmm...48 corn dogs!
The Ritz-Carlton Dallas had its official opening yesterday and out of curiosity we decided to check what the going rates were for tonight.
We found a standard Ritz room going for $329 which is standard Ritz rate. But what totally surprised us was the room description which we have posted above.
"Wireless internet"? We're impressed. It looks like Ritz-Carltons are finally getting the idea that people don't want to be tied to their desks. Of course, we bet that's going to cost ya at least $10 a day. We've put in a call to the hotel and we'll keep you posted on the exact cost.
Today we have a triple-whammy--we are pointed to a new hotel in Dallas, thanks to an excellent tipster Ztraveler, plus we learn the place is undergoing renovations AND has a blog about the construction. So that's a hotel renovation, a hotel blog and a hotel review all in one.
The Stoneleigh is set to reopen sometime this fall after getting an entire top-to-bottom makeover. The hotel, originally built in the early 1923, will soon have an all-new tower of residences, along with fully upgraded rooms (pictured above), a luxurious Penthouse suite, a restaurant, swank lounge, full-service spa, an outdoor courtyard and an outdoor pool (set for 2008.)
The blog has posted some of the renderings for the rooms as well as some updates about themed suites--Judy Garland and Margo Jones rooms are expected as a way to honor the hotel's historic celebrity guests. There's also a few more posts on the expected plans as well as the billboards advertising the Tower Residences. Additionally, the hotel's revamped website is chock full of information.
So anything you could ever want to know about this hotel--past and present--can be found on these websites. And you know what? We really like that.
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by AndrewC
