The Haute Chocolate Package at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead

Valentine’s Day is coming up in less than a month – have you made your plans yet?  One option is to experience one or more of the fabulous Haute Chocolate Experiences at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, GA.  From February 1, 2012 through Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2012, there’s a different chocolate event going on that would be a great experience for any Valentine’s Day celebration.

Some standouts on the schedule include the “Haute Couples, Haute Chocolate” Candy-Making Class on Saturday, February 11, 2012.  Make it a weekend getaway, and also attend the Haute Chocolate Sundae Brunch on Sunday, February 12, 2012.  If you are planning to stay through Valentine’s Day (this year on a Tuesday), the whole fourteen day celebration ends with a special dessert – the Two Hearts are One” Dessert in The Café.

The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead offers 510 elegant, luxurious hotel rooms including 56 suites.  The hotel is located in the popular, trendy, Buckhead area of Atlanta, and in close proximity to the MARTA mass transit.  Amenities include a fitness center, indoor pool, business center, valet park, 24-hour in-room dining, wireless internet access, and flat-screen televisions.

The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead
3434 Peachtree Road, N.E.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: (404) 237-2700

Photo credit: The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead

Beverly Hills Inn in Atlanta, Georgia's Buckhead neighborhood

Boo! Yes, it’s that time of year again, when some of us love to try and scare ourselves. If you’re in the mood to be a little spooked, check in to Atlanta, Georgia’s reportedly haunted Beverly Hills Inn in Buckhead. The hotel has been a bed and breakfast since 1982, but the property’s been in existence since 1929. That’s 82 years of history – plenty of time for some poor departed souls to figure out they’d rather stick around and have some with current guests.

If you go, call ahead and ask for “the haunted room” on the third floor. The front desk will know precisely which room you mean. If you can’t score this room, though, not to worry; there is reportedly a lot of paranormal activity in the hallways and in some other rooms, as well.

If you’re looking for a modern, fancy place, this bed and breakfast may not be for you. If, however, you’d like an older, more charming hotel with lots of character (and a dash of spookiness added in), you’ve found your spot to explore Atlanta from. You’ll be located about a 20 minute drive from down Atlanta and the hotel is close to many Atlanta-area attractions including The Swan House, the Atlanta History Center and the posh Lenox Square Mall.

Do yourself a favor this Halloween season and check in to this cute hotel. Just don’t complain if an extra guest ends up checking in to your own room. Don’t be scared, now…

Photo: Mirror Images by Rina

Marriott Courtyard is Coming to Downtown Decatur, GA!

Downtown Decatur, GA has come a long way in the past ten years. What used to be a town with an odd, funky collection of mismatched shops and restaurants has matured into an adorable, walkable, fun and still funky village of boutique stores, fabulous restaurants and outstanding brewpubs. Earlier this year, Decatur was  named Georgia’s Most Walkable City, by Walkscore.com, and the award brought even more well-deserved attention to our fine little town.

All this attention means that more companies will want to entertain their clients in Decatur, and until now, there really hasn’t been any stellar hotel options near downtown Decatur. Which is a shame, because the MARTA (Atlanta’s public transportation system – our subway) has a stop smack in the middle of downtown Decatur, meaning that business clients can easily access Decatur for the day from the Airport — but where would they stay overnight? There’s a Super 8 about a 5-10 minute walk from central downtown Decatur, but it’s a very basic hotel with few amenities. The only other option used to be a Holiday Inn, but that was converted into the Decatur Inn and Conference Center, and while an OK hotel, it’s really nothing to write home about. It’s clean and comfortable, but nothing snazzy.

I actually visited the Decatur Inn and Conference Center to check it out in anticipation of my family’s visit this September, and I learned that the hotel is getting a facelift and will become a Marriott Courtyard between October and March. Hurray! This is a development the City of Decatur needs to heavily market in order to entice more visitors to stay there. Most visitors to Atlanta stay in downtown or Midtown Atlanta hotels, as that’s where most of them are. But, there’s enough to see and do in downtown Decatur  to warrant the addition of a good, high-quality hotel chain.

One of the places I think will benefit most from this addition will be Avondale Estates’ Community Center. It’s situated directly on a lake and is surrounded by beautiful grounds. So, it’s a very popular choice for weddings. Their business should pick up even more once the Marriott Courtyard has been opened – it will be a lovely place for wedding guests to spend the night, and the hotel will only be a 5-10 minute drive from the Community Center.

Photo: MarriottSanDestin

There’s a spanking new business-friendly airport hotel in Atlanta that actually works as a gateway between Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Georgia International Convention Center.

Atlanta Marriott Airport Gateway

The 403-room Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway which opened last week is the first stop on the free ATL SkyTrain, a bare 2 minutes from the airport. And it is connected to the convention center by a covered walkway.

Conventioneers flying into Atlanta can literally get from the airport to the hotel, check-in and be at the convention center in a matter of minutes and without paying a single cent for transport.

The entire hotel is not only minty-fresh new, it’s also kitted out with the latest in cutting-edge green and telecommunication technology. 

The hotel is on track to be LEED certified for using recycled materials and an eco-friendly design that reduces consumption, with a white roof and ‘green power’ provided by the city of College Park.

They also have a GoThere Virtual Meetings studio, which makes the Atlanta Marriott Airport Gateway the only hotel in Atlanta to offer telepresence video conferencing.

The 24-hour business center complements the 20 meeting rooms at the hotel that add up to 21,000 sq ft of meeting space. This includes a 1000 sq ft boardroom and the 12,000 square ft Gateway Ballroom - the largest hotel ballroom in the Airport area.

The lobby has free wi-fi with space and individual seating arrangements for meeting clients and group gatherings. The day-to-night bar morphs from coffee and pastries in the morning to cocktails and appetizers in the evening.

Lobby - Atlanta Marriott Airport Gateway

Even the menu is business-friendly, allowing guests to order food based on how quickly they need it – in 5, 10 or 20 minutes.

Each of the 403 guestrooms (including 18 suites) are sound-proof, equipped with LCD televisions, high-speed wired and wireless internet, swivel desks, refrigerators, laptop safes, and headboard lights for easy reading.  Read More »