81620 Travel Guide
Hotels for Teens / Teen Lounges / Family Friendly Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Westin Hotels / → All Tags
It's Official: Teens Have Cooler Hotel Lounges Than Grown-Ups
NOMG. Teens totally have it way better than adults at hotels these days. The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas kicked off the teen lounge trend with their teens-only nightclub, Crush, followed by the JW Starr Pass in Tucson with their teen lounge, Blur. Now, teens vacationing in Colorado have their own place to chill away from the lame adults.
Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain will launch 7430, a new program for teenagers ages 12 to 16 on July 1.
The program offers teens a parent- and little-kid-free zone where they can hang out. The centerpiece of it is the Whitewater Lounge, where for $20-a-day cover charge they can play video games on the Xbox Kinect system, watch a movie or go online on one of the computers.
Hotel Jobs / Hotel Pets / Pet Concierges / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
More Cool Hotel Jobs: Man’s Best Friend at Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be telling us about some of the coolest hotel jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from wrangling elephants (and guests!) to designing the latest high-tech gadgetry for your next guest room. So check back every day to see who he’s talking to next.
Today’s cool hotel job is special. Not just in the way that the others we’ve told you about so far this week have been special, but in that the character who occupies this post isn’t even human! No, we’re not talking about a super-intelligent android, or a beneficent extraterrestrial. Rather, we’re talking about man’s best friend: a dog. Namely, a yellow Labrador retriever called Bachelor, the mascot and all-round activity buddy at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch.
Summer Cocktails / Hotel Cocktails / Park Hyatt Hotels / Colorado Hotels / → All Tags
A Colorado Wildflower Grows at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek (And You Can Drink It)
Who's thirsty? It's time for another installment of our Summer Cocktails series. All summer long we'll profile fun new summer drinks served at hotels around the world. Got one we should know about? Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink. Otherwise, enjoy and @reply us when you're wasted!
Do you like flowers? We think they're pretty and all, but they're not at the top of our list of things to notice. We're not even sure that we need flowers in our cocktails, as is the current mixology trend. But the Colorado Wildflower Cocktail, served at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek looks just lovely so we put our petal bias aside for a moment to find out what's in it.
Family Friendly Hotels / Colorado Hotels / Westin Hotels / Westin Kids Clubs / → All Tags
The Westin Riverfront Has a Kids Club That Even We Want to Join
Westin Kids Club
It's hard for parents to keep the kids occupied during the winter, when they're cooped up inside. But kiddies can enjoy the great, cold outdoors with the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa's Mini Mountaineer package.
Don't worry, there's no actual mountaineering going on. The hotel's playing off of its location at the base of the Beaver Creek Mountain. Your 6-year-old won't get a harness and helmet and get sent down a mountain for some rappelling. Instead, the fam will get a two-bedroom condominium and a s'mores kit delivered to the room upon arrival.
LEED Hotels / Hotel Packages / Hotel Deals / Eco-Friendly Hotels / Colorado Hotels / → All Tags
Hotels Keep Gettting Greener: The Westin Riverfront Takes the LEED
Green hotel news has been taking the LEED (sorry, we couldn't resist the pun) on HotelChatter lately, but don't tab this eco-friendly movement as a passing trend. Most hotels are jumping on the bandwagon by, at the very least, introducing organic linens and natural bathroom amenities into suites. But more ambitious, environmentally-aware hoteliers and conglomerates are enacting full-scale green overhauls. From stem to stern, or penthouse to lobby, rather, we're seeing more hotels take the necessary steps toward meeting critical green standards.
Colorado's Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, a hotel nestled among nature's mountains and trees, recently announced that they've earned Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, making them one of only nine hotels in the country to carry the title.
Westin Hotels / Hotel Retail / Hotel Beds / Westin Heavenly Bed / → All Tags
Stay Three Nights at the Westin Riverfront, Get a 'Free' Heavenly Bed
You know how sometimes a milestone birthday can turn into a birthday week, or even a whole month of birthday revelry? You know the drill: There’s the coworker lunch, and the happy hour with friends, and the special dinner date, and then the blowout party, and, well, any excuse to party, right?
Westin’s Heavenly Bed turned 10 this year, and we’d have to say it’s celebrating in style. There was the Greatest Birthday Cake Ever, and the stay-10-nights-in-Beijing-get-a-“free”-bed promo. And now, Beaver Creek’s new Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa is offering a similar, slightly cheaper deal.
Hotel Deals / Colorado Hotels / Ski Resorts / → All Tags
Naughty or Nice, It's Christmas in July in Vail Valley
We’ll admit we’ve never totally gotten behind the whole “Christmas in July” concept, but we may have to change our tune. Our newfound festive spirit comes courtesy of Vail Valley’s new Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, whose Christmas in July promo offers half-price rates for November and December stays that are booked this month.
Perched at the base of Beaver Creek, the typically-pricey Westin Riverfront’s half-off prices are pretty good for ski season, starting at $149 for studio suites, $219 for one-bedroom condos, $329 for two-bedroom condos, and $549 for three-bedroom condos. All options feature fireplaces, living areas, and fully stocked kitchens. Rates must be booked by the end of July and are available for visits between Nov. 20 and Dec. 25, 2009.
Hotel Closings / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Ski Hotels / Hotel News / Vail Hotel Scene / → All Tags
Vail's Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Will Close for Spring
Wow. This is not a good sign: for the first time ever, the slow season in Vail is so slow that the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Vail Valley (closer to Beaver Creek) will close entirely for a month. Though there are other upscale hotels in ski areas that traditionally close for a few weeks during the off-season — The Little Nell in Aspen and the Four Seasons Jackson Hole, for instance — this is the first time the Ritz has shut its doors during the spring since it opened years ago.
According to the Denver Post, the luxe resort won't be taking reservations from April 14 through May 20. This means that around 350 of the hotel's employees (the "ladies and gentlemen") won't have a job during that period, but they'll get their jobs back when the hotel opens up again.
From the article:
"We're using the softer demand period to temporarily cease hotel operations," said [PR Director Parool] Shah. "These are considered job-attached layoffs; our intent is to welcome back every lady and gentlemen."
John Garth, the hotel's general manager, said the spring is often the slowest time of the year, and closing for a month after the ski season has been discussed before. But this year was a little different, he said.
Uh, yeah. Times, they are a-tough. And when a PR person says to a newspaper that the reason for the shut-down is "this year we have softer demand and it helps ensure our success for 2009," it means "OMG nobody came during ski season and they're really not coming in the off-season." Yikes.
Vail Hotel Scene / Hotel Construction / Hotel Openings / Ski Hotels / → All Tags
The Inn at Beaver Creek Reopens as The Osprey on December 20th
The Inn at Beaver Creek (Beaver Creek, CO — just next to Vail) has been closed for renovations and will reopen on December 20th as The Osprey at Beaver Creek, a chic 45-room boutique property whose claim to fame is (still) its location: it's the closest ski-in/ski-out hotel to any chairlift in North America.
While most hotels in the area have the whole ski lodge vibe goin' on (chandeliers made of antlers and whatnot), the Osprey is on the trendier side with an "urban/mountain design that encompasses edgy glamour" — and, to be edgy, they're offering some kickass tech amenities:
Providing a see-and-be-seen setting, an atmosphere of "play" and excitement will be noticeable throughout The Osprey where guests can cozy up in front of a fireplace in the giant social room and watch a James Dean classic on a flat-screen TV, drum up a board game challenge with new friends or face off in a Wii system competition while enjoying a fine wine. Guests can also plug in and share the day's adventure on the slopes as filmed from their personal helmet cams, a rental amenity provided by the hotel's personal concierges.
Rooms at the Osprey start at $245 per night this ski season (reservations can be made here). And, um, let's all agree to check those helmet cams in the lobby and not wear 'em up to our rooms, shall we? We don't need to see any of that footage rolling on those public flat screens, thanks.
Hotel Deals / Ski Hotels / Vail Hotels / → All Tags
Third Night Free at Beaver Creek Resort
Calling all snow bunnies: Check out the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa’s package called “Three for Free,” a buy-two-nights-get-one-night-free deal complete with full daily breakfast and a room upgrade. Located in the heart of Colorado ski country, the resort's room rates start at $249 per night. Per our advanced mathematical skills, that averages out to about $167 a night over three nights. Not bad!
In fact, the package sorta has us wishing we didn’t have two left feet when it comes to the slopes. But not too much--after all, klutzes can still enjoy hydrotherapy in the Allegria spa plus hiking and biking in the pretty Colorado mountains. Oh, and toasty s’mores and hot cocoa by a bonfire sounds alright too.
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa’s “Three for Free” offer runs through Dec. 19.
[Image: Park Hyatt Beaver Creek]
Westin Hotels / Reader Reviews / Vail Hotel Scene / Vail Hotels / Ski Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
Reader Review :: First Look Inside the Westin Riverfront Resort in Vail Valley
Every so often, we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. Now, we present you with reader (and part-time Vail Valley local) Mark's review of the brand new Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain in the Vail Valley, which just opened up last week. Enjoy.
We had lunch and went on a tour of the newly-opened Westin Riverfront. Apparently, there was a big opening party on Friday, Oct 26 that almost everyone in the area was invited to, but I guess our invitations got lost in the mail.
The hotel is beautiful. Very zen-like, not what you would expect in the mountains, but still very, very nice without the pretentiousness of the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch.
Westin Hotels / Vail Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
Westin Riverfront in Vail is Open Officially
ZOMG! The Westin Riverfront is finally open. At least that's what they tell us. We've also heard rumors that there's an opening gala tonight, but we weren't invited. Sad face.
We can't wait to check out this new place for ourselves, especially with it's fancy "green" features: recycling stations on every floor, preferred parking for hybrid cars (not sure exactly what this means, since everything is valet anyway), and an on-site organic garden (nice touch, Westin).
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