90035 Travel Guide
Leading Hotels of the World / Celebrity Scoop / Hotel News / Conde Nast Traveler / Naomi Watts / Eva Longoria / Josh Flagg / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Leading Ladies Celebrate Leading Hotels of the World's 85th Anniversary
It was a starry night atop the Mr. C Hotel In Los Angeles on Wednesday night as celebs, travel folk and the usual LA party eye candy feted the Leading Hotels of the World's 85th anniversary. Yup, LHW is the same age as the Oscars.
And what better way to celebrate the joint birthday than by spotlighting movies shot in hotels? Leading Hotels of the World, of course.
Playing on loop on several flat-screen TVs throughout the party was a video montage of 85 Leading Hotels that have been featured in movies around the world over the past several decades. LHW has even created a new microsite, In the Movies, to show off all their fancy movie set hotels.
Party guests also got into the cinematic spirit by posing for photobooth snaps, sipping on wine cocktails made with Drew Barrymore's Barrymore wine label, taking candy from a movie concession stand and chomping on freshly made popcorn. Naomi Watts, Eva Longoria, Minnie Driver, Michelle Monaghan, Giada deLaurentis and even our own celebrity reviewer Josh Flagg made appearances. Head on over to Conde Nast Traveler, which co-hosted the event, to see more of the party snapshots.
Concierge Interviews / Concierges / Mr C Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
The Concierge at Mr. C Does More Than Just Texting, Way More
Last week, we featured the concierge from the Mr. C Hotel in Los Angeles because we loved how he was texting with hotel guests. Venicio "Choy" Flores tells us that being available by text is just one of the many ways he's able to serve guests, even when he's technically off the clock:
They can call me anytime they need anything. I have gotten calls at 2am after work or on my day off and I and my colleagues have taken care of their questions or requests. So we at Mr C are truly 24 hours. We don't stop just because our shift ends.
And should you ever want a plane to Las Vegas at the last-minute, Choy could probably make that happen because he's done it before. Here he tells us the story of his craziest request and what he charged for it. (Hint: You can afford it!)
Concierges / Hotel Technology / Texting / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
The Concierge Will Text You Now at the Mr. C Hotel
Texting is so mainstream that even your parents (and maybe even your grandparents) are doing it. But have you ever texted with a hotel concierge before?
We haven't and we didn't even think that was an option until we met Venicio "Choy" Flores, the head concierge at the Mr. C Hotel in Los Angeles. During our interview with Choy (which we'll show next week), he let us know that he is available by text for guests anytime they need him. He even showed us a little correspondence with one guest (below) who was beyond pleased with Choy's honeymoon surprise for the guest and his wife.
Now, we're not saying you should eliminate human interaction entirely when dealing with concierges but the option of texting is a lot easier than having to keep stopping by the desk. Are we right? Let us know if you've texted a concierge before in comments below!!
Stay tuned next week for when Choy tells us what is the craziest request he's ever fielded!
Hotel Fun / Hotel Pool Tables / Mr. C Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
There's a New Glass Pool in Town at Mr. C Beverly Hills (Pool Table, That Is)
The rico suave hotel that is Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills has just taken delivery of what might be one of the slickest examples of hotel fun ever--a glass billiards table.
The one of a kind G1 glass pool table by Nottage Design sits in the lobby just to the left of the entrance but still very close to the long bar and is available for guests to play at their leisure. There's even a swank way to keep score over the near the cue rack.
But best of all you can order specialty cocktails and appetizers off the Mr. C restaurant menu while playing pool. Although, we'd abstain from balancing a Sweet Maggie cocktail and a plate of prosciutto while getting behind the cue ball. We're pretty sure the pool table won't shatter but you don't want to be the person who accidentally cracked it now, do you?
More pics of the pool table below!
Sweet Suites / Mr. C Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Which Room to Book at Mr. C Hotel? Well, It Depends on Which Color You Prefer
When, the first ever Mr. C Hotel opened in Los Angeles at the start of the summer, we were able to get a tour of the spot just before it opened and we were really impressed by what we saw. Everything was "bright, white and happy." But what we didn't get to tell you is that not all the rooms are decked out in white .
Rooms at Mr. C actually feature three different color schemes--or rather three different colors of leather furniture. Those are white, caramel and burgundy. The white and caramel colors can be found in the premium guest rooms while the luscious red leather is found in the hotel's studios rooms and suites.
There's no way of specifying your color preference when you reserve online (unless you book a studio or a suite) so once you've made your reservation, you might wanna call the hotel and put in your request.
Hotel Openings / Guess The Hotel / Los Angeles Hotels / Mr C Hotels / Sneak Peeks / → All Tags
Mr. C Beverly Hills is Now Ready to Mingle
Congrats to our guessers on last week's Guess The Hotel--you were all correct!
We popped into the Mr. C Hotel at Beverly Hills last week to see how things were progressing as the big opening day drew near. The place was still putting on the finishing touches--the porte cochere, the lobby and the Mr. C restaurant were all being worked on when we stopped in--so we weren't allowed to use the photos that we snapped. And which is why we had to make do with the Mr. C man on the slipcovers in the makeshift lobby for our Guess The Hotel post.
However, we did get to tour the place from top to bottom and we're rather excited. The guestrooms are all finished (actually have been for a few months now) and they look astonishingly similar to the official hotel room photo above. Except, you know, the view is never that clear in Los Angeles. But we love that the cute Mr. C logo can be found on everything from the towels to table tops to the Gilchrist and Soames toiletries.
Photo Gallery / Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Construction / Beverly Hills Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel Openings / Mr. C Hotels / → All Tags
The Mr. C Hotel at Beverly Hills is Offering Preview Rates on April 6 at $250 a Night
Last month we heard that the Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills would be taking reservations in April and since the opening date is fast approaching, we thought it was high time for a drive-by. The exterior has been given an extremely fresh coat of white paint and the balconies have been given an upgrade. We tried to zoom lens into one of the rooms and while we couldn't see much, we did see an all-white room and some lamps.
But what really caught our eye was the black glass elevator on the side of the building. Could we be living it up while we're going down? God, we hope so. This actually has us more excited than the Mr. C restaurant, the walk-in rain showers and the Gilchrist and Soames toiletries.
However, it looked like there was still a lot of work to be done on the hotel and we're not just talking about adding finishing touches.
Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Los Angeles Hotels / Cipriani Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Beverly Hills' Mr. C Hotel Is Still Getting a Makeover and Won't Be Ready Till Spring
We wanted to check up on the oddly named Mr. C Hotel at Beverly Hotels, which is poised to take over the Tower Beverly Hills Hotel. Looks like the renovations are still going on and the new Mr. C won't debut until spring.
There's no specific date mentioned, but the Tower Beverly Hills Hotel website is only taking reservations through April. Post-renovations, Mr. C's 138 rooms will have an old-world look, with hardwood floors, a burgundy-and-gray color scheme, vintage black-and-white photography and private balconies. Bathrooms will come with teak flooring and marble accents.
Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Los Angeles Hotels / Cipriani Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Cipriani Hotel Will Open in Beverly Hills, Er, Los Angeles in April
Update: The hotel is officially to be called Mr. C Hotel at Beverly Hills.
Cipriani Miami is a lost cause for 2011 (and maybe even 2012) but the Cipriani Hotels brand (which is in no way shape or form related to the Hotel Cipriani in Venice) is still intent on expanding and they will do it sooner than we all thought.
Mr. C Hotel at Beverly Hills is set to take over the Tower Beverly Hills Hotel (formerly a Loews Hotel) on the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles in April sometime this Spring.
The hotel's website alternates between calling it Cipriani Los Angeles and Mr. C Beverly Hills (complete with that tired Rodeo Drive sign) but do note: the hotel is a bit south of all the glitzy, glammy action in BevHills. That's not to say a "Real Housewife" or two won't venture down below Olympic Boulevard but it's not a skip, hop and a Louboutin-wedge jump from the shops of Rodeo either.
The Glam Nest blog has the scoop on what the rooms will look like:
Hotel Renovations / Hotel Furniture / Hotel Sale / → All Tags
The Tower Hotel Closing Down for Renovations; Furniture Sale Up in the Air
The Tower Hotel in Beverly Hills (formerly a Loews property) has closed down yesterday for a massive renovations job. And what better way to get rid of old furniture then to have a massive liquidation sale?
The LA Times reported that all of the hotel furnishings are up for grabs:
Hair dryers will go for $5; leather sofas and chairs will top out at $250. A complete room package including Tempur-Pedic mattress, headboard, desk, armoire, two chairs, 27-inch TV, lamps and artwork will be priced at $1,000.
That is some cheap stuff especially since Tempur-Pedic mattresses are well over $1,000. Of course, if you don't mind the fact that strangers slept on it before you did.
However, something has come up. The sale was supposed to start Wednesday and continue through October 21st. But on the Fort Pitt Hotel Furniture Liquidators site, the sale has been postponed due to circumstances with the transfer of ownership of the hotel. Maybe the new owner doesn't want to part with the furniture?
Anyways, if you're still antsy to get your hands on discounted hotel furniture, the site offers plenty of other sales.
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