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.

(Update: Dec 9, 2009 - President Obama is staying at the Grand Hotel. The best chance to see him in Oslo will probably be at Grand Hotel at 6.55 pm on Dec 10, when he is scheduled to wave to the crowd from his balcony. Here’s his full schedule, courtesy visitoslo.com )

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 »