Hotels

Four Seasons Bora Bora

In my next life, I want to come back as a rich teenager. They get awesome cars for their 16th birthdays, star in hit reality TV shows, and get to indulge in special beauty pampering treatments, designed just for them at luxurious spas like the these Four Seasons properties around the world.

I have to say, even though I’m a bit past my teen years, I would love to try out some of these hip and cool treatments (plus visit some of these Four Seasons properties!) like:

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Hotel Room View from One King West Hotel, Toronto, Canada

One King West Hotel & Residence in Toronto, Canada is a beautiful, centrally located hotel with gorgeous views of Lake Ontario. This hotel’s history is really interesting – it had been a bank from 1889 until the 1990s, and then it was converted into a hotel and condo residence in 1999. “The Sliver,” a narrow addition to the building added 49 stories of hotel rooms and condo residences. The view from the top is spectacular.

My room was amazing. Check it out in the pic below – it was on the bigger side, and it had a fridge, stove, microwave oven and a dishwasher! The bathroom was spacious and the shower was large. I was only on the 19th floor, but the view of Lake Ontario was beautiful.

One King West Hotel in Toronto, Canada

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Forbes Travel Guide, formerly known as the Mobil Travel Guide, has announced its 2010 Five and Four Star Award Winners. In the 5 star list, six are from New York City, and four from Beverly Hills. The 4 star list is dominated by Las Vegas which scored eight properties on the list, followed by Washington D.C. with five hotels.

Mandarin Oriental New York

The New York hotels awarded the 5 star are:-
Mandarin Oriental, New York
Four Seasons Hotel New York
The Peninsula New York
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
The St. Regis Hotel, New York
Trump International Hotel and Tower New York

The Beverly Hills hotels awarded the 5 star are:-
The Beverly Hills Hotel
Montage Beverly Hills
The Penninsula Beverly Hills
Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills

You can see the full list of Forbes Travel Guide’s 2010 Star Award winners here – www.forbestravelguide.com/.

In October 2009, Mobil Travel Guide announced a strategic partnership with Forbes Media LLC, and the prestigious Mobil Star ratings and certifications are from now on being awarded under the name of Forbes Travel Guide.

Photo by George Apostolidis, courtesy Mandarin Oriental

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On December 10, 2009, President Barack Obama is scheduled to be in Oslo, Norway, to recieve the Nobel Peace Prize. You can score a peek at the President and First Lady at one of the hotels mentioned below. 

Grand Hotel, Oslo, Norway

Historically speaking, Nobel laureates have always stayed at the Grand Hotel, located on Karl Johans Gate right across the street from the Parliament Building. Svein Petter Haslerud, the Grand Hotel’s General Manager, confirms that they’re in touch with the American Embassy in Oslo, and suggests that President Obama might stay at the hotel’s Millenium Suite.

The Grand, which opened in 1874, is also the venue for the official Nobel Peace Prize banquet every year. They even have special Nobel tableware and Nobel menus for dinners. If you’re a fan of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner aka former VP Al Gore, you can order the Global warming cake – white chocolate filled with raspberries and yuzu lemon.

But the lodging requirements of the American President are vastly different than your ordinary peaceful Nobel laureate, or even other visiting Heads of State. Security needs dictate a complete lockdown of the entire hotel where the President stays. This might not be possible at the Grand, which has 52 suites packed to the rafters with dignitaries, Nobel laureates and celebrities during Nobel Week.

In that case, we have a few more options.  Read More »

The exterior of XV Beacon

Boston hasn’t always been known for its luxury boutique hotels, with a few exceptions – one of them being the XV Beacon Hotel on historic Beacon Hill.  XV Beacon, one of Travel + Leisure’s top small city hotels is offering a fabulous vacation special to celebrate it’s 10th anniversary.

The  10th Anniversary package includes overnight accommodations, an automatic upgrade, and a special anniversary remembrance gift.  In addition, 10th Anniversary guests are able to choose an add-on to their package, including:

·         Full American Breakfast
·         Ramos Pinto, a 10-year Tawny
·         A bottle of Champagne
·         A Boston Beer Tasting
·         In-room movie and munchies
·         A bottle of red wine; a bottle of white wine
·         Bottled water and seasonal whole fruit
·         Parking
·         or a return ride to Logan Airport in XV Beacon Read More »

Eloise just got herself some shining new diamonds – an early Christmas present from the AAA, which just announced the 2010 AAA Five Diamond Award winners, with 113 hotels on the list – including The Plaza Hotel and The Pierre New York-A Taj Hotel.

Eloise at the Plaza

The Plaza re-opened last year after a massive three year renovation. The Pierre, likewise, re-opened earlier this year after a $100 million renovation. In a funny co-incidence, both iconic New York hotels first opened their doors on Oct 1. The Plaza opened on Oct 1, 1907 and The Pierre on Oct 1 , 1930.

Here’s the AAA’s full list of 2010 Five Diamond Lodgings. The list now also features the Mandarin Oriental in Boston; Encantado - An Auberge Resort in Sante Fe, N.M.; and The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Florida and Nevada each scored 3 more properties on the list.

Speaking of Eloise, she now has a second home in the Big Apple – the New York Public Libary. The Library  ‘acquired’ a colored-pencil sketch of the Eloise painting that hangs in The Plaza. They got the sketch as part of a donation which included the personal papers of  novelist E. Annie Proulx and Hilary Knight, who drew Eloise for the Kay Thompson books.

No word yet on whether Eloise will be joined at the Public Library by her nanny, her pug Weenie, and Skipperdee – her turtle.

Photo of Eloise at the Plaza painting by susansimon.

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Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures – generals, soldiers, archers, charioteers, acrobats – were buried in massive underground pits outside the city of Xi’an, to accompany China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, in the afterlife. Fifteen of these Terra Cotta Warriors, considered one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century, as well as stone armor, weapons, coins, bronze vessels, and other treasures from the emperor’s tomb, will be on display from November 19, 2009 through March 31, 2010 during the National Geographic Museum’s “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor” exhibition.

Loews Madison Hotel Lobby

Loews Madison Hotel, the official hotel partner for the National Geographic Museum, is offering guests an inside look at this ancient culture with their “National Geographic Museum Terra Cotta Warriors” package. The package includes: Read More »

Ashford Castle

When you think about the movie Back To The Future, you probably don’t think of Ireland.  If you’re a movie buff, you probably think of Hill Valley, California.

But two hotels in Ireland are hoping to change all that with the launch of their Back To The Future promotion.  Despite the location not having any ties to the movie, Ashford Castle and The g Hotel in Galway, Ireland are giving guests a chance to experience two distinct eras of the country’s past.

Ashford Castle is an actual castle.  The castle itself dates back to 1228 and was once the estate of the Guinness family.  It officially became a hotel in 1939 and is set on 350 acres in County Mayo, on the shores of Lough Corrib and the River Cong.  The setting is beyond gorgeous.  Ashford Castle officially represents the past or “Back” portion of the promotion.

The g Hotel Galway

The g Hotel Galway is as modern as Ashford Castle is historical. Located in the heart of Galway in western Ireland, it’s one of Ireland’s top five-star city hotels.  The interiors are splashed with bright colors like fuchsia and royal blue.  Amenities include the contemporary ESPA and MATZ at the g restaurant, three individually-styled lounges and a cocktail bar.  Everything about The g Hotel screams Hip Big City Life.  Welcome to “the Future”.

As part of the Back To The Future vacation package, guests receive two nights at each hotel and a full Irish breakfast each morning.  You can take your nights in any order.

The package is priced at $888, a nod to the 88 miles per hour required for the DeLorean to drive through time.

Sure, hotels pamper you with chocolates and champagne and stuff, they take care of your pets and the kids and grandma and even your car. But your wrist? The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is offering a package deal which includes hand and wrist  massages to relieve the stress on your wrist from cyber shopping on Black Friday, post-Thanksgiving.

Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte

The L³ package (Laptops, Lounging and Libations) includes an extended one-night stay  at the hotel on Nov 27, 2009. You get to spend Friday tucked away inside the hotel’s spectacular L³ online shopping lounge in the private 15th-floor Living Room.

The lounge offers great views of Charlotte, plus complimentary holiday beverages including cocktails and champagne, light dining fare, high-speed Internet access and complimentary hand and wrist massages beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Nov 27 and continuing until 7 p.m. that same evening.

Guests booking the package can actually check into their rooms as early as 11:59 p.m. on Nov 26, Thursday night, and check out as late as noon on Saturday, Nov 28, allowing for a one-night hotel package stay (Friday) that in fact extends nearly two nights in duration.

Bring your own laptop.

The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is the first luxury 5-star hotel in Charlotte. It is also the first LEED certified green hotel in Charlotte and also the first Ritz to be certified LEED Gold. The 146-room, 18 story hotel has been newly built in Charlotte’s Uptown, and opened last month on Oct 1, 2009.

Info: 201 East Trade Street Charlotte NC 28202; (704) 547-2244; website

Photo courtesy Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts

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Guests are greeted at the Phulay Bay Hotel Pavilion

What could be a more perfect combination than the luxurious attention of the Ritz Carlton, combined with the remote beauty and tranquility of Southern Thailand?

For some of us, absolutely nothing, which is why we’re so excited by the news that the Phulay Bay Ritz-Carlton Reserve is opening in Krabi, Southern Thailand on December 22, 2009. Read More »