Hey people,
I came across this ongoing list of hotels offering iPads to their guests on Hotel Chatter. These hotels are probably much less expensive than the Berkeley Hotel in London that was first mentioned in the post from May 4 (updated May 8). Check back often to see if iPads are coming to a hotel in a destination you're heading.
.sb06
Showing posts with label luxury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luxury. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
T + L: It List -- Best New Luxury Hotels for 2010
Travel and Leisure (T + L) has released its It List for 2010, which profiles 45 of the best new luxury hotels across the world. This is a great list because it provides awareness about fresh, new, and exciting places versus the well-established places that we hear about all of the time. There are still some familiar names (e.g. W, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, Willard, Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-la, Waldorf Astoria), but they have set up shop in new locations. I have highlighted a few of the hotels for you below, based on the images that stood out to me the most from the list or if I have come across the hotel in other searches. This is somewhat arbitrary, but it represents a pretty good mix of the new flavor out there in the world of luxury hotels.
Upper House, Hong Kong - Awesome website!
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
Argos in Cappadocia, Uchisar, Turkey
Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Lithgow, Australia
Andaz Wall Street, New York, NY
Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa, Boracay, Philippines
Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, Spain
Las Alcobas, Mexico City, Mexico
Enjoy browsing! I have also added the T+L Carry-On blog, tagged just to hotels, to the Blog List and the featured hotels onto the gallery links page. You may want to check out today's Carry-On article on a new hotel under construction in Singapore.
Upper House, Hong Kong - Awesome website!
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
Argos in Cappadocia, Uchisar, Turkey
Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Lithgow, Australia
Andaz Wall Street, New York, NY
Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa, Boracay, Philippines
Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, Spain
Las Alcobas, Mexico City, Mexico
Enjoy browsing! I have also added the T+L Carry-On blog, tagged just to hotels, to the Blog List and the featured hotels onto the gallery links page. You may want to check out today's Carry-On article on a new hotel under construction in Singapore.
.sb06
Friday, May 7, 2010
New Luxury Hotel Resources!
Hey everyone,
As I continue to find interesting stories and hotels, I come across a lot of sites that are useful in searching for a luxury hotel for your vacation. I don't want to overwhelm you with too many sites, so as Hotel Hopper evolves, I will try to to keep the resources listed at the bottom of the page to an optimal set of sites that you can explore for your personal needs. I may add sites on occasion and take some away on others. Here are the best new resources that I have found and have decided to add to the resource list:
Splendia: This site is my favorite of the new sites and maybe one of the best I have seen so far. Not only does it feature a large selection of 4500 luxury hotels all over the world, but it offers a pretty extensive set of options for exploring the collection. These options include, but are not limited to, searching by location and theme, whether it be general luxury, spa, boutique, or design. In addition, once you have started a search, you can refine the search in many ways, such as by the type of experience you are looking for in your vacation, hotel facilities and amenities, style, and location. One of my favorite features is that Splendia also lists starting rates for rooms at the hotels, so you can have an idea of the price point without putting in arbitrary dates for reservations. You can also view all of the listed hotels in your search on a map so that you can make a more informed decision on the exact location you want to stay at your destination. Splendia also has a members benefit club where returning customers can gain access to special rates and rewards. Overall, a great site with useful tools for finding your hotel destination.
Tablet Hotels: This is also another great site that doesn't feature as large of a selection (which is sometimes a good thing), but it has a lot of content related to luxury hotels and travel. Tablet features over 1800 selected hotels and, much like Splendia, has a lot of ways to hunt down your desired hotel. There are two recently released features on the site, which include member access to exclusive and last minute hotel deals, and a nice integrated Google Maps search interface that allows users to search for hotels by location and theme. The Tablet site also provides reference guides for selected destinations and maintains a travel blog, but the best content-related feature on the site is the Tablet 10. This page features all sorts of Top 10 lists for hotels in different categories. I will probably explore this more in a future post so be on the look out.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts: Preferred Boutique was already listed in the resources, but I wanted to add this site as well. Obviously, they are part of the same group, but focus on different categories of luxury hotels. This site is more formal in that it is basically just a search site to find luxury hotels. There isn't much in terms of content, but you are gaining access to a highly rated selection of hotels. There isn't as much 'guidance' as there is on the site as far as refining your search, but there is a nice interactive map so that you can search by location. There is also the I Prefer member rewards program that provides benefits to customers that use the services of the Preferred Hotel Group and its alliance partners.
Hotique: Hotique is another nice site I found that again provides some pretty good assistance for narrowing your search to a single selection. There are lots of options at the bottom of the home page for searching by category and destination. Once you select one of these options, there are suggestions and featured hotels that serve as a good starting point. Of course, you can always just search if you are looking for something specific. There is also a Travel Center page that offers suggestions on other travel related issues such as destination guides, airlines, and other important details.
Luxique: As far as I can tell, Luxique is not related to Hotique, so I guess making your site sound like boutique is just a popular theme these days. Luxique features a collection of over 2000 hotels that are not limited to just the boutique category. The Destination Guides are a nice feature that provides suggestions for the best luxury hotels by destination and some recommendations on what to do there. There is also an interesting blog that I have refined to hotel articles and added to the Blog List.
As I am beginning to learn and as you are surely seeing by the growing list of resources on Hotel Hopper, there are tons of sites out there for finding a luxury hotel for you travels. For now, I am trying to stick to sites with more of a global capacity, but there are advantages to sites with a more localized focus. It can be overwhelming, but the best sites out there will offer some tools that will help you narrow down that search into something more manageable. Reward programs are also nice once you decide to use one or more of the sites on a consistent basis. Finally, there is something a little more authentic about a visually appealing site. Some of the sites I did not include were certainly lacking in that category, regardless of the other benefits. Try out a few of the sites I have suggested to see what you like. Let me know what you think!
.sb06
As I continue to find interesting stories and hotels, I come across a lot of sites that are useful in searching for a luxury hotel for your vacation. I don't want to overwhelm you with too many sites, so as Hotel Hopper evolves, I will try to to keep the resources listed at the bottom of the page to an optimal set of sites that you can explore for your personal needs. I may add sites on occasion and take some away on others. Here are the best new resources that I have found and have decided to add to the resource list:
Splendia: This site is my favorite of the new sites and maybe one of the best I have seen so far. Not only does it feature a large selection of 4500 luxury hotels all over the world, but it offers a pretty extensive set of options for exploring the collection. These options include, but are not limited to, searching by location and theme, whether it be general luxury, spa, boutique, or design. In addition, once you have started a search, you can refine the search in many ways, such as by the type of experience you are looking for in your vacation, hotel facilities and amenities, style, and location. One of my favorite features is that Splendia also lists starting rates for rooms at the hotels, so you can have an idea of the price point without putting in arbitrary dates for reservations. You can also view all of the listed hotels in your search on a map so that you can make a more informed decision on the exact location you want to stay at your destination. Splendia also has a members benefit club where returning customers can gain access to special rates and rewards. Overall, a great site with useful tools for finding your hotel destination.
Tablet Hotels: This is also another great site that doesn't feature as large of a selection (which is sometimes a good thing), but it has a lot of content related to luxury hotels and travel. Tablet features over 1800 selected hotels and, much like Splendia, has a lot of ways to hunt down your desired hotel. There are two recently released features on the site, which include member access to exclusive and last minute hotel deals, and a nice integrated Google Maps search interface that allows users to search for hotels by location and theme. The Tablet site also provides reference guides for selected destinations and maintains a travel blog, but the best content-related feature on the site is the Tablet 10. This page features all sorts of Top 10 lists for hotels in different categories. I will probably explore this more in a future post so be on the look out.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts: Preferred Boutique was already listed in the resources, but I wanted to add this site as well. Obviously, they are part of the same group, but focus on different categories of luxury hotels. This site is more formal in that it is basically just a search site to find luxury hotels. There isn't much in terms of content, but you are gaining access to a highly rated selection of hotels. There isn't as much 'guidance' as there is on the site as far as refining your search, but there is a nice interactive map so that you can search by location. There is also the I Prefer member rewards program that provides benefits to customers that use the services of the Preferred Hotel Group and its alliance partners.
Hotique: Hotique is another nice site I found that again provides some pretty good assistance for narrowing your search to a single selection. There are lots of options at the bottom of the home page for searching by category and destination. Once you select one of these options, there are suggestions and featured hotels that serve as a good starting point. Of course, you can always just search if you are looking for something specific. There is also a Travel Center page that offers suggestions on other travel related issues such as destination guides, airlines, and other important details.
Luxique: As far as I can tell, Luxique is not related to Hotique, so I guess making your site sound like boutique is just a popular theme these days. Luxique features a collection of over 2000 hotels that are not limited to just the boutique category. The Destination Guides are a nice feature that provides suggestions for the best luxury hotels by destination and some recommendations on what to do there. There is also an interesting blog that I have refined to hotel articles and added to the Blog List.
As I am beginning to learn and as you are surely seeing by the growing list of resources on Hotel Hopper, there are tons of sites out there for finding a luxury hotel for you travels. For now, I am trying to stick to sites with more of a global capacity, but there are advantages to sites with a more localized focus. It can be overwhelming, but the best sites out there will offer some tools that will help you narrow down that search into something more manageable. Reward programs are also nice once you decide to use one or more of the sites on a consistent basis. Finally, there is something a little more authentic about a visually appealing site. Some of the sites I did not include were certainly lacking in that category, regardless of the other benefits. Try out a few of the sites I have suggested to see what you like. Let me know what you think!
.sb06
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Luxury London Hotel Offers iPad for Guests
-- Updated May 8, 2010 --
Just saw this article on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) that shares the story of The Berkeley Hotel in London, which will soon offer the use of an iPad to guests staying in qualifying suites (Berkeley, Conservatory, and Chelsea) priced at an estimated $2000/night and higher. I'm a big fan of the iPad (don't have one yet but I will someday), but I think if I had the money to stay there, I could probably purchase one myself. Either way, it's a pretty cool offer and it comes pre-loaded with plenty of content.
The Berkeley looks to be a pretty amazing hotel, and it should be given the price point of a night's stay. Not only does it offer four basic options for traditional rooms, but there are twelve options for suites! The ultimate selection appears to be the Pavilion Conservatory Suite, which is a 1,582 square foot space with a private 205 square foot conservatory, access to a 646 square foot roof terrace, and a ridiculous list of added luxuries. For the non-millionaires out there, the traditional rooms can be had for rates starting at around $450/night if you want to set up camp in the Knightsbridge part of town.
I'll keep my eye out for other exceptional perks at luxury hotels in the future.
.sb06
Just saw this article on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) that shares the story of The Berkeley Hotel in London, which will soon offer the use of an iPad to guests staying in qualifying suites (Berkeley, Conservatory, and Chelsea) priced at an estimated $2000/night and higher. I'm a big fan of the iPad (don't have one yet but I will someday), but I think if I had the money to stay there, I could probably purchase one myself. Either way, it's a pretty cool offer and it comes pre-loaded with plenty of content.
The Berkeley looks to be a pretty amazing hotel, and it should be given the price point of a night's stay. Not only does it offer four basic options for traditional rooms, but there are twelve options for suites! The ultimate selection appears to be the Pavilion Conservatory Suite, which is a 1,582 square foot space with a private 205 square foot conservatory, access to a 646 square foot roof terrace, and a ridiculous list of added luxuries. For the non-millionaires out there, the traditional rooms can be had for rates starting at around $450/night if you want to set up camp in the Knightsbridge part of town.
I'll keep my eye out for other exceptional perks at luxury hotels in the future.
.sb06
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Oyster's Best Luxury Hotels of 2010
Oyster recently posted its 2010 list for the Best Luxury Hotels in the selected locations of Boston, Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Jamaica, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The feature ranks 90 of the best hotels in terms of their rooms, service, food, and many other features. The list is a bit Four Seasons heavy, but hey, they are great hotels no matter where they are. Here's the listing of the top rated hotels in each of the destinations:
Boston: Four Seasons Boston
Dominican Republic: Sivory Punta Cana
Hawaii: Four Seasons Maui
Jamaica: The Caves
Las Vegas: The Bellagio
Los Angeles: Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons
Miami: The Setai
New York: The New York Palace
Orlando: Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes
San Francisco: The St. Regis San Francisco
Washington D.C.: The Jefferson
It would be great to see this list expanded when Oyster begins to feature more cities. This is a great resource for finding luxury hotels in the featured locations and is a bit more manageable than some of the other resources that feature hundreds and thousands of hotels to browse. There are also lists featuring the best boutique hotels, business hotels, spa hotels, and other categories if you're interested in browsing other themes. More on The Setai in the future. For more information on Oyster, see post from March 8.
.sb06
Boston: Four Seasons Boston
Dominican Republic: Sivory Punta Cana
Hawaii: Four Seasons Maui
Jamaica: The Caves
Las Vegas: The Bellagio
Los Angeles: Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons
Miami: The Setai
New York: The New York Palace
Orlando: Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes
San Francisco: The St. Regis San Francisco
Washington D.C.: The Jefferson
It would be great to see this list expanded when Oyster begins to feature more cities. This is a great resource for finding luxury hotels in the featured locations and is a bit more manageable than some of the other resources that feature hundreds and thousands of hotels to browse. There are also lists featuring the best boutique hotels, business hotels, spa hotels, and other categories if you're interested in browsing other themes. More on The Setai in the future. For more information on Oyster, see post from March 8.
.sb06
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Featured Article - Best Business Hotels in NYC, Boston, and D.C.
From time to time, I will feature articles from other sites and blogs as I come across interesting ones. For the most part, I will try to share articles that feature a particular category of luxury hotels or an in-depth look at a particularly interesting hotel. This week, I'd like to share with you an article from the The Suite Life Blog, which features some suggestions for nice business hotels in three often frequented cities in the Northeast: New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C. You can check out the article here. In addition, I have added the Perfect Escapes site to the resources listed at the bottom of the page.
The article offers options in each city at what it calls moderate and luxury levels and also lists links to other favorite business hotels in Chicago, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. For Boston, the article suggests The Charles Hotel at the moderate level and the XV Beacon at the luxury level. For NYC, the Affinia Shelburne and The Benjamin Hotel are the locations of choice. Finally, the article serves up The Churchill Hotel at the moderate level and Kimpton's Hotel Palomar for D.C., which ironically was also featured recently on the TripKick blog and has a great restaurant called Urbana I check out during restaurant week. I think of the three cities, I love what the Boston selections have to offer the most, and they both have great individual websites so be sure to check them out!
More on The Suite Life Blog and Kimpton Hotels in the future!
.sb06
The article offers options in each city at what it calls moderate and luxury levels and also lists links to other favorite business hotels in Chicago, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. For Boston, the article suggests The Charles Hotel at the moderate level and the XV Beacon at the luxury level. For NYC, the Affinia Shelburne and The Benjamin Hotel are the locations of choice. Finally, the article serves up The Churchill Hotel at the moderate level and Kimpton's Hotel Palomar for D.C., which ironically was also featured recently on the TripKick blog and has a great restaurant called Urbana I check out during restaurant week. I think of the three cities, I love what the Boston selections have to offer the most, and they both have great individual websites so be sure to check them out!
More on The Suite Life Blog and Kimpton Hotels in the future!
.sb06
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
A Luxury Hotel Search Story -- Casa Velas, Puerto Vallarta Mexico
Google has just released a new capability on YouTube to create Search Stories. It's basically an easy tool that allows you to make short videos about a series of Google searches, which include the web, maps, images, news, blogs, product search, and books. You can add one of the categorized soundtracks to your video and...there it is! You now have your own personal search story video that you can upload to YouTube and share with your friends and family.
So I got the idea to do my own search story with a luxury hotel theme to it. The story basically shows what I might search for in planning my own trip to a luxury hotel destination. I don't want to spoil the story so check out my Luxury Hotel Search Story video! What would your luxury hotel search story look like? Please post your videos!
.sb06
So I got the idea to do my own search story with a luxury hotel theme to it. The story basically shows what I might search for in planning my own trip to a luxury hotel destination. I don't want to spoil the story so check out my Luxury Hotel Search Story video! What would your luxury hotel search story look like? Please post your videos!
.sb06
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A Tour of Washington's Best
Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been a while, life has been hectic! But anyway, I have a great experience to share with you so hopefully the wait has been worth it. Last Sunday, my fiance and I attended the first annual Engaged! in Washington event. This event featured tours of 5 of the best grand luxury hotels in D.C. as they were set up for an actual wedding. The 5 hotels we visited were the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Willard Intercontinental, Hay Adams, and St. Regis, all of which are located in the downtown D.C. area. It was AWESOME!!! Here's the scoop on each the hotels:
The Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton, by far, had the best set-up and experience. We started here, and it was a great start to the evening. We were welcomed by the staff, picked up our registration materials and free gift bags and made our way down the candle lined stairs as a group of violinists played. At the bottom of the stairs, a group of models were showing off their wedding gowns. We proceeded through an arched walkway, talked to some vendors, and entered the large banquet hall where the action really was. The hall was separated by curtains to segment the different phases of a wedding. First, the ceremony area featured a modern set-up, with benches for seating as opposed to chairs.
The next section was the reception area, which featured food stations, dessert tables, an open bar, and more vendors. There was also splits of Moet champagne everywhere, to which the bartender thankfully suggested adding Grand Marnier. For those new to the idea of champagne cocktails, be sure to check it out the next time you have the chance. They also had some delicious white chocolate covered brownies..mm mm! Anyway, the final area featured a set of banquet tables, each of which was decorated in a different style and color theme and we were asked to vote on which one we liked best. Overall, it was an incredible display and again, we salute the Ritz-Carlton for doing big things!
Four Seasons
The Four Seasons, located in Georgetown, probably had one of the lesser impressive displays, but it was still very nice and the hotel lobby and restaurant looked great on the way down to the event space. There were three rooms on display. The first was a basic, traditional banquet style room with round tables. The middle room was a nicely designed reception/lounge area where we got to enjoy some great food. There was a Korean BBQ inspired soft taco station, another open bar featuring Moet-Hennessy sponsored liquors and champagne cocktails, another station featuring scallops and beef tenderloin, and a lady inside some kind of awkward, moving table that was serving coconut ice cream and brownies. Finally, there was the main reception room that again featured four table designs and the best band we heard all night. So overall, pretty good, but not in the same league as the Ritz-Carlton.
Willard Intercontinental
The Willard Intercontinental had most of the action down the main hallway leading from the hotel lobby, which is where many of the vendors and reception items were located.
No amazing treats to report here, but we did miss out on the cider champagne cocktail. There were two decorated rooms. The first was an extremely elaborate ceremonial room that featured a harpist.
The other room was the reception room, which featured a band on stage on each side that alternated playing sets of songs, which was a pretty interesting idea. There was also a large bar in the room and tables around the room decorated in different styles and colors.
Overall, we had a nice time at the Intercontinental and they did a great job with the rooms.
Hay Adams
The Hay Adams is a grand hotel that speaks historical Washington D.C. culture. This hotel was lacking in the display performance compared to the other hotels, only featuring an area of the lobby with vendors and a champagne bar and a single reception room on the main floor, but honestly it didn't matter. There is a terrace on the 8th floor that is available for hosting events and it happens to have what is probably the most amazing view in the city. The view overlooks the rear of the White House and Lafayette Park, and is also high enough to see the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and over into Virginia. We were fortunate enough to have our picture taken by a photographer with the background you see in the picture below. We were really lucky to see this space and the view because it's not somewhere you can visit casually. You must attend as part of a planned event for security purposes.
St. Regis
Our last stop was the St. Regis, which is a block down from the Hay Adams. Of course, we found this out after we got on the shuttle and rode in a circle just to end up almost where we started. The St. Regis is another historical Washington-styled hotel, but it combines a nice mix of modern design. After seeing 4 hotels, we weren't expecting to see much else, but we were pleasantly surprised. The lobby featured a very nice, modern design that complimented the older features in the hotel. We went through an area that featured banquet-style tables and then moved into the reception area, which was really nice. Our camera battery died at this point, so unfortunately you have to enjoy fuzzy pictures from my Blackberry.
Overall, the St. Regis did a really good job, especially with the reception room and it was a nice end to the night. We actually headed back to the Ritz-Carlton to enjoy the rest of the night there since we had so much fun. This was a great event and for anyone who has the opportunity to attend this or anything like, don't miss out on a chance to see some really great luxury hotels! I guess I should give a recommendation on which I would stay at first. Based on the feeling I got from the lobby, event spaces, and website, I think my personal style would lead me to......the Four Seasons!
More to come soon so check back!
.sb06
Sorry it's been a while, life has been hectic! But anyway, I have a great experience to share with you so hopefully the wait has been worth it. Last Sunday, my fiance and I attended the first annual Engaged! in Washington event. This event featured tours of 5 of the best grand luxury hotels in D.C. as they were set up for an actual wedding. The 5 hotels we visited were the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Willard Intercontinental, Hay Adams, and St. Regis, all of which are located in the downtown D.C. area. It was AWESOME!!! Here's the scoop on each the hotels:
The Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton, by far, had the best set-up and experience. We started here, and it was a great start to the evening. We were welcomed by the staff, picked up our registration materials and free gift bags and made our way down the candle lined stairs as a group of violinists played. At the bottom of the stairs, a group of models were showing off their wedding gowns. We proceeded through an arched walkway, talked to some vendors, and entered the large banquet hall where the action really was. The hall was separated by curtains to segment the different phases of a wedding. First, the ceremony area featured a modern set-up, with benches for seating as opposed to chairs.
The next section was the reception area, which featured food stations, dessert tables, an open bar, and more vendors. There was also splits of Moet champagne everywhere, to which the bartender thankfully suggested adding Grand Marnier. For those new to the idea of champagne cocktails, be sure to check it out the next time you have the chance. They also had some delicious white chocolate covered brownies..mm mm! Anyway, the final area featured a set of banquet tables, each of which was decorated in a different style and color theme and we were asked to vote on which one we liked best. Overall, it was an incredible display and again, we salute the Ritz-Carlton for doing big things!
Four Seasons
The Four Seasons, located in Georgetown, probably had one of the lesser impressive displays, but it was still very nice and the hotel lobby and restaurant looked great on the way down to the event space. There were three rooms on display. The first was a basic, traditional banquet style room with round tables. The middle room was a nicely designed reception/lounge area where we got to enjoy some great food. There was a Korean BBQ inspired soft taco station, another open bar featuring Moet-Hennessy sponsored liquors and champagne cocktails, another station featuring scallops and beef tenderloin, and a lady inside some kind of awkward, moving table that was serving coconut ice cream and brownies. Finally, there was the main reception room that again featured four table designs and the best band we heard all night. So overall, pretty good, but not in the same league as the Ritz-Carlton.
Willard Intercontinental
The Willard Intercontinental had most of the action down the main hallway leading from the hotel lobby, which is where many of the vendors and reception items were located.
No amazing treats to report here, but we did miss out on the cider champagne cocktail. There were two decorated rooms. The first was an extremely elaborate ceremonial room that featured a harpist.
The other room was the reception room, which featured a band on stage on each side that alternated playing sets of songs, which was a pretty interesting idea. There was also a large bar in the room and tables around the room decorated in different styles and colors.
Overall, we had a nice time at the Intercontinental and they did a great job with the rooms.
Hay Adams
The Hay Adams is a grand hotel that speaks historical Washington D.C. culture. This hotel was lacking in the display performance compared to the other hotels, only featuring an area of the lobby with vendors and a champagne bar and a single reception room on the main floor, but honestly it didn't matter. There is a terrace on the 8th floor that is available for hosting events and it happens to have what is probably the most amazing view in the city. The view overlooks the rear of the White House and Lafayette Park, and is also high enough to see the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and over into Virginia. We were fortunate enough to have our picture taken by a photographer with the background you see in the picture below. We were really lucky to see this space and the view because it's not somewhere you can visit casually. You must attend as part of a planned event for security purposes.
St. Regis
Our last stop was the St. Regis, which is a block down from the Hay Adams. Of course, we found this out after we got on the shuttle and rode in a circle just to end up almost where we started. The St. Regis is another historical Washington-styled hotel, but it combines a nice mix of modern design. After seeing 4 hotels, we weren't expecting to see much else, but we were pleasantly surprised. The lobby featured a very nice, modern design that complimented the older features in the hotel. We went through an area that featured banquet-style tables and then moved into the reception area, which was really nice. Our camera battery died at this point, so unfortunately you have to enjoy fuzzy pictures from my Blackberry.
Overall, the St. Regis did a really good job, especially with the reception room and it was a nice end to the night. We actually headed back to the Ritz-Carlton to enjoy the rest of the night there since we had so much fun. This was a great event and for anyone who has the opportunity to attend this or anything like, don't miss out on a chance to see some really great luxury hotels! I guess I should give a recommendation on which I would stay at first. Based on the feeling I got from the lobby, event spaces, and website, I think my personal style would lead me to......the Four Seasons!
More to come soon so check back!
.sb06
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Plan a Trip to a Luxury Hotel of Your Choice -- Luxury Link
Looking to visit a luxury hotel in the near future? If you have flexible travel dates or if you are willing to take a trip on somewhat short notice, check out Luxury Link. The site offers various packages at luxury hotels around the world in two different ways. First, you can participate in an auction for an extra discounted package or you can choose the 'Buy Now' option at a higher price if you're not up for the suspense of waiting to find out if you won the auction. Honestly, the latter option does not appear to cost too much more, so if that's what you feel comfortable with, you're talking a difference of a few hundred dollars, but still at a discounted rate from what you are likely to see on the actual hotel website.
You can search on Luxury Link in a variety of ways, including destination, interests (e.g. beach, golf, spa, etc.), or property type, but I think the best ways to search are the auctions that are closing soon and the best deals categories. Auctions that are closing soon allow you to jump in late in the game and have a better idea of whether or not you might get the reservation. You also don't have to wait for days and possibly weeks to finalize your vacation. Obviously the best deals section is something you want to check out because you could find a real steal, but these are likely to be pretty popular for auctions. The Buy Now option could be a pretty good choice for these items, but you can always play the auction and see if you can get under the Buy Now price. If you're flexible, then you won't ruin your plans by taking a chance with the auction.
Finally, if you like a little suspense and you're more of the free spirit type, there are also mystery auctions where you can bid for a stay at a luxury hotel at a given destination. These auctions have a lot of potential because the bids appear to be pretty low, and they do post clues as to where the destination is as the auction proceeds so it's not a total risk. If anyone out there has won a mystery option on Luxury Link, please share!
If you're skeptical and are wondering how they can offer these deals, there are constraints on the dates of travel, which are probably limited to off-peak times. However, if you're really interested in the hotel like I am and all it has to offer, this seems like a better time to go anyway. Also, there is a $40 handling fee that I guess is the price you pay for the site managing the auction. In the end, you should probably still come out way on top compared to the retail prices, but you should definitely do your pricing research before you throw out a bid. This site was rated one of the best travel websites by Travel and Leisure, so it's probably been vetted pretty thoroughly if you're wondering about being scammed. I plan on using Luxury Link for one of my next trips so I'll let you all know how it goes. Also, for those more family oriented travelers out there, Luxury Link has a partner site called Family Getaway that offers the same opportunities for more family friendly places.
More tips, resources, and hotels coming soon as well as my first Hotel Hopper review. Check back soon.
.sb06
You can search on Luxury Link in a variety of ways, including destination, interests (e.g. beach, golf, spa, etc.), or property type, but I think the best ways to search are the auctions that are closing soon and the best deals categories. Auctions that are closing soon allow you to jump in late in the game and have a better idea of whether or not you might get the reservation. You also don't have to wait for days and possibly weeks to finalize your vacation. Obviously the best deals section is something you want to check out because you could find a real steal, but these are likely to be pretty popular for auctions. The Buy Now option could be a pretty good choice for these items, but you can always play the auction and see if you can get under the Buy Now price. If you're flexible, then you won't ruin your plans by taking a chance with the auction.
Finally, if you like a little suspense and you're more of the free spirit type, there are also mystery auctions where you can bid for a stay at a luxury hotel at a given destination. These auctions have a lot of potential because the bids appear to be pretty low, and they do post clues as to where the destination is as the auction proceeds so it's not a total risk. If anyone out there has won a mystery option on Luxury Link, please share!
If you're skeptical and are wondering how they can offer these deals, there are constraints on the dates of travel, which are probably limited to off-peak times. However, if you're really interested in the hotel like I am and all it has to offer, this seems like a better time to go anyway. Also, there is a $40 handling fee that I guess is the price you pay for the site managing the auction. In the end, you should probably still come out way on top compared to the retail prices, but you should definitely do your pricing research before you throw out a bid. This site was rated one of the best travel websites by Travel and Leisure, so it's probably been vetted pretty thoroughly if you're wondering about being scammed. I plan on using Luxury Link for one of my next trips so I'll let you all know how it goes. Also, for those more family oriented travelers out there, Luxury Link has a partner site called Family Getaway that offers the same opportunities for more family friendly places.
More tips, resources, and hotels coming soon as well as my first Hotel Hopper review. Check back soon.
.sb06
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
My Inspiration....Hotel de la Paix
You may be wondering what made a regular person like me (I am a regular person, I promise) become so interested in luxury hotels. I think I always knew there were really nice places out there, from TV and movies and whatever else, but of course, regular people financial constraints has always prevented me from being able to go all out and splurge. As a result, I never paid too much attention to the world "on the other side" until....I was reading a magazine (can't quite remember...maybe Men's Health or some other random magazine like that) and happened to see an ad or article that featured Hotel de la Paix and I remember thinking "I have to go there!". Well, I haven't gone yet because it's in Cambodia, but maybe I'll make it happen someday.
Hotel de la Paix is located in Siem Reap, which is the capital city of the Siem Reap Province in central/western Cambodia. The hotel is designed using a fusion of modern and Asian design, which is quite possibly my favorite design because I am definitely a minimalist. Hotel de la Paix also houses a very stylish lounge, pool, restaurant, fitness center, and the Indochine Spa, which offers a pretty full menu of services. Unfortunately, the gallery on the hotel site seems to be down (maybe it's just me and my elderly laptop), but you should be able to check out the rooms on the Facilities tab. Hotel de la Paix is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Club (link is listed in the resources at the bottom of the page) and was selected by Travel + Leisure readers in January as the #1 hotel in Cambodia and #33 in all of Asia, which makes me wonder about the top 32. SLH also features a gallery of photos of Hotel de la Paix that does work, so take a look. And if you're wondering if Cambodia has a lot of nice hotels, there are actually six hotels in Cambodia that are members of the Kiwi Collection, which is a pretty exclusive club. For more info on the T + L Top 500 hotels, click here. More on this list later.
So anyway, there is my inspiration for my interests and part of the reason I wanted to start a blog and research more luxurious destinations. We'll see how my newest discoveries compare.
.sb06
Hotel de la Paix is located in Siem Reap, which is the capital city of the Siem Reap Province in central/western Cambodia. The hotel is designed using a fusion of modern and Asian design, which is quite possibly my favorite design because I am definitely a minimalist. Hotel de la Paix also houses a very stylish lounge, pool, restaurant, fitness center, and the Indochine Spa, which offers a pretty full menu of services. Unfortunately, the gallery on the hotel site seems to be down (maybe it's just me and my elderly laptop), but you should be able to check out the rooms on the Facilities tab. Hotel de la Paix is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Club (link is listed in the resources at the bottom of the page) and was selected by Travel + Leisure readers in January as the #1 hotel in Cambodia and #33 in all of Asia, which makes me wonder about the top 32. SLH also features a gallery of photos of Hotel de la Paix that does work, so take a look. And if you're wondering if Cambodia has a lot of nice hotels, there are actually six hotels in Cambodia that are members of the Kiwi Collection, which is a pretty exclusive club. For more info on the T + L Top 500 hotels, click here. More on this list later.
So anyway, there is my inspiration for my interests and part of the reason I wanted to start a blog and research more luxurious destinations. We'll see how my newest discoveries compare.
.sb06
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Great Sites for Luxury Hotel Browsing
Hey everyone,
While I continue to get the site up and going with content, layout changes, and so on, I want to let you know that I've found some really great sites out there for exploring various types of luxury hotels around the world. I've posted a growing list of these sites at the bottom of the page, so check them out. I haven't had a chance yet to take a thorough look through each and every site, but all of them appear to be excellent from what I've seen. Once I can get through all of them, and maybe find some others, I'll post about which ones are my favorites and why.
There are also a few feeds listed at the bottom of the page, including the newest one that I added today from Trendhunter.com, which features articles and image galleries of the trendiest hotels and themes. I also have some interesting blogs that I've found in my searches that I think have a lot of interesting content and focus mostly on hotels. Enjoy the sites and check back for my next post!
.sb06
While I continue to get the site up and going with content, layout changes, and so on, I want to let you know that I've found some really great sites out there for exploring various types of luxury hotels around the world. I've posted a growing list of these sites at the bottom of the page, so check them out. I haven't had a chance yet to take a thorough look through each and every site, but all of them appear to be excellent from what I've seen. Once I can get through all of them, and maybe find some others, I'll post about which ones are my favorites and why.
There are also a few feeds listed at the bottom of the page, including the newest one that I added today from Trendhunter.com, which features articles and image galleries of the trendiest hotels and themes. I also have some interesting blogs that I've found in my searches that I think have a lot of interesting content and focus mostly on hotels. Enjoy the sites and check back for my next post!
.sb06
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
New Luxury Hotel Openings for 2010
Another interesting article I just happened to come across....lots of new places to check out!
.sb06
.sb06
Purchase a Piece of Luxury from Your Favorite Hotels
An interesting article a friend of mine sent me (thanks K!), check it out and let me know what you think! Personally, I wouldn't want to mix and match from everywhere, but hey, to each his own :p
.sb06
.sb06
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Welcome to Hotel Hopper!
Hey everyone, welcome to my new Hotel Hopper blog! I encourage you to browse through all of the content on the different pages. I am NOT a professional in the hotel industry, but just a consumer who appreciates quality products and wants to create a personal and realistic online community about exceptional hotels. The site will feature all types of hotels, ranging from luxury hotels, boutiques, spa hotels, and resorts. The home page will feature most of the site content, which is likely to feature articles, reviews, polls, surveys, feeds, and other relevant material. I will create posts about new or interesting hotels to visit someday that I have discovered through the internet, magazines, other types of media, or by word of mouth. The Your Hotel Hops page allows you to create posts on the exceptional places you have stayed during your travels. These posts will be reviewed so that the common theme of the site is preserved, but I will try to be as liberal as possible so you can share your experiences with others. The Luxury Hotel Rating Criteria presents the methodology I plan on using to review luxury hotels that I visit. This page can also serve as a template should you want to share your experiences on the Your Hotel Hops page. The Gallery page will features interesting pics of hotels that I find during my searches that may not be featured in a post. Finally, feel free to leave comments on the Feedback page. I hope you enjoy and check back often for new content!
.sb06
.sb06
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