SanDiego

Former Baseball Player To Sell Off Failed Restaurant

Filed under: Dining, Sports, Celebrity Design

Many sports figures tend to get into the restaurant business. For some this can be a great investment but it doesn't always have a happy ending. Baseball player Steve Finley has filed bankruptcy on behalf of BRG Restaurant Group, the company that owned his upscale, San Diego area Flight Restaurant. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that last year, Finley ran into trouble, handing out paychecks that bounced. Finley has said he still wants to pay his former employees but that the business ran out of money because of the economy and management problems which left him as the restaurant manager at one point.

In January, Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation papers were filed but this week Finley canceled the bankruptcy because he is close to a deal to have someone else take over the restaurant and pay back wages. Finley is a World Series champion and five-time Gold Glove Award winner who opened the restaurant with a team of investors. It overlooks the polo fields at El Camino Real and Via de la Valle in Del Mar. The restaurant served pricey Italian fare but also had a bar with a nightclub atmosphere. It once featured dancing girls dressed as angels, a nod to one of Finley's former teams (he played a brief season for the Angels in 2005).

UPDATE: A picture of Chuck Finley was mistakenly used in an earlier version of this story, we regret the error.

Gallery: Celebrity Restaurants

Tags: del mar, DelMar, restaurants, san diego, SanDiego, steve finley, SteveFinley

It's a Gossip Finale for W Hotels' Wonderlust series

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

From Peter, Bjorn and John to Pete Yorn, W Hotels have presented themselves as the premier rock curator this year, with a series of events throughout their nationwide hotels. It's been an amazing year for rock fans to get up close and personal with some of today's hottest acts in intimate W Hotel settings. And if it's not enough to be within arms reach of your favorite acts sipping signature W cocktails, each show is photographed by legendary music photographer Mick Rock. They're ending the year with a bang with an amazing live performance from the Gossip at the W San Diego. Music for Men is one of our favorite albums of the year, and we're insanely jealous of anyone who gets to see this sure-to-be unforgettable show.

While access to the show is strictly limited to VIP invites, you can be one of those guests with an All Access Package starting at $229, which includes a Fabulous Room, two tickets to the show, a meet and greet with Gossip, an exclusive Wonderlust giftbag, and a late checkout 3PM checkout (you're gonna need it!). Upgrade to a mere $299 for a Cool Corner suite. This is a once-in-a-lifetime rock-and-roll opportunity that is sure to sell out quickly.

Head to the W Website for more information on this killer package.

Friday, December 11, 2009
8 PM
W San Diego
421 West B Street
San Diego, CA

Tags: hotel deals, HotelDeals, music performances, MusicPerformances, san diego, SanDiego, the gossip, TheGossip, w hotel, WHotel

Loews' Voga Voyage Combines a Slice of Venice and a Slice of Heaven

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

For the rates Venetian gondoliers charge you might expect a massage and a 3-course meal during your cruise of the canals. With the introduction of the Voga Voyage at Loews Coronado Bay Resort Gondola Company, you can at least check the massage off the list.

Your vessel for the journey among the Coronado Cays will be a softly wrapped, sun-warmed massage table. In turn, that table will ride upon an authentic 33-foot gondola that launches from the resort's private marina and then embarks on an hour-long cruise of Mediterranean-like waterways. Forty minutes of that will be occupied by masseurs tending to your physical needs, which includes the laying on of sunscreen before the more serious application of massaging hands. The last ten minutes of the trip will be given to sight-seeing, if you're in any mood for that, while you and your chère company feast on the gondola's supply of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Booking the $499 Voga Voyage also gets you a free night at the resort and its amenities, spread out on a secluded, 15-acre peninsula. And having saved on airfare to the Italian province, you just might have enough left over for the 3-course meal. It's certainly not what Iago meant when he mentioned "creating the beast with two backs," but this ride has a far less drama and a much happier ending...

Gallery: Loews Coronado Voga Voyage

Source

Tags: california, coronado, false, gondola, hotel, journey, loews, loews coronado bay resort, loews corp, loews hotels, LoewsCoronadoBayResort, LoewsCorp, LoewsHotels, resort, san diego, SanDiego, spa, venice, venice italy, VeniceItaly, voga voyage, VogaVoyage

San Diego Hotel Offers Cheap Rooms, Bed Not Included

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

For $219 you can enjoy a beautiful room at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, taking advantage of the hotel's three pools, spa, golf course and luxury amenities including breakfast for two. But for the cash poor or adventurous the hotel has come out with the Survivor package. Your rate goes down depending on what you are willing to give up. Forgo breakfast and you are down to $199, give up the honor bar--$179 and so on, all the way down to $19 providing you are willing to go without lights, air conditioning, a bed and all the other niceties of a hotel stay. The package is available from August 16 to 31.

[via Mercury News]

Source

Tags: hotel, hotel package, HotelPackage, rancho bernardo inn, RanchoBernardoInn, san diego, SanDiego

Buy This House And Get The Bentley Too

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Cars & Autos

Yet another fancy home for sale is throwing in a luxury car to sweeten the deal. The owner of a four-bedroom home in the San Diego area town of Cardiff is including his 2007 Bentley convertible with fewer than 15,000 miles on it with the home. He was asking more than $2 million for the home but now the price is $1.799 million. But wait, there's more, act now and they'll throw in all staged furniture, too. The contemporary home has ocean views and an open floor plan. The listing is here.

[via San Diego 6]

Gallery: Buy This House Get A Bentley

Source

Tags: bentley, cardiff, real estate, RealEstate, san diego, SanDiego

W San Diego Hotel To Be Returned To Lenders

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Another W Hotel is in trouble. We've heard of troubles facing the W in Phoenix but now the W San Diego has a battle of its own ahead. Yesterday Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. announced that will default on the June mortgage payment for the property. The real estate investment trust cited the travel downturn as well as the opening of other luxury hotels in the area as a reason for being unable to make the payments. Sunstone had sought lower interest rates and made the decision that, like many people in the U.S., it was underwater in its mortgage. So the investors are doing the corporate version of jingle mail and returning it to the lenders. The company says that the property which it purchased for $96 million in 2006 is worth less now. Right now the hotel has a $65 million, fixed-rate commercial mortgage-backed securities loan with a 6.14 percent interest rate due at the start of the year in 2018. This works out to more than $250,000 in debt per room.

A statement from the company says that it ""maintains more than adequate liquidity to support or repay this mortgage" but believes that turning it over to the lenders is in the best interests of stockholders. Sunstone Hotel has said that it may make the same move with selected other mortgaged hotels in its portfolios. It also owns properties under the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Fairmont brands. The W San Diego remains open.

Source

Tags: foreclosure, san diego, SanDiego, sunstone hotel, SunstoneHotel, w hotel, WHotel

Fifth Avenue Landing: San Diego's New Home For Megayachts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

San Diego is hoping that when you dock on the West Coast you'll want to pull your yacht into Fifth Avenue Landing. The 12-slip facility welcomes yachts between 65 and 300 feet. It is located near the San Diego Convention Center and offers concierge service, wireless internet connection, parking and controlled access. The marina is part of San Diego's bid to become the boating capital of the West. There are several other marinas in the area including Kona Kai Marina and Shelter Island Marina. The San Diego Superyacht Association was formed in 2008 to bring together the city's leading marine businesses and cater to the megayacht market. The 225 ft Feadship megayacht Attessa already spent several weeks at the facility this year.

[via SYNFO]

Source

Tags: fifth avenue landing, FifthAvenueLanding, marina, megayacht, san diego, SanDiego

The Fall of 'New Money' Country Clubs

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

It has certainly happened before and as much as it stinks to draw another comparison to the Great Depression it seems country clubs made of 'new money' may follow the same path as one-third of the clubs did back then. Across the U.S. clubs are shutting their gates and greens one after another from the Gold Creek Golf Club in Dawsonville, Georgia to Golf Club of California in San Diego. Even Sea Island in coastal Georgia, which once ranked near the top in golf courses of the nation, recently laid off 400 employees.

As quickly as individuals came into fresh cash it disappeared on Wall Street and the like. $85,000 entrance fees once meant to keep the unworthy out have been reduced to free! I guess the 'old' clubs will continue to hang on -- that's how they earned the term 'old'.

Source

Tags: country club, CountryClub, dawsonville georgia, DawsonvilleGeorgia, gold creek golf club, GoldCreekGolfClub, golf club of california, GolfClubOfCalifornia, san diego, SanDiego, sea island, SeaIsland

San Diego Auto Museum's $75 Million Ferrari Exhibit

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

To celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall, the San Diego Automotive Museum (SDAM) is staging a a $75 million Ferrari exhibition. Ferrari: Cavallino Rampante will run from October 1st through the end of the year. Over 30 classic Ferraris will be on display, some for the very first time, during the exhibit which is being mounted in partnership with the Ferrari Owners Club of America.

SDAM will host a variety of events during the three-month show, including a two day Autostrada dei Deserto (From Shore to Sands) rally on Oct. 10-11 complete with a lavish party at the chic W Hotel San Diego. The first half of the exhibit will feature historic racing Ferraris, and the second half will focus on classic touring vehicles including a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L "Lusso", valued at over $2.5 million, and the beautiful 1965 275 GTB pictured above. See the gallery for more.

Gallery: San Diego Ferrari Show

Tags: Classic cars, ClassicCars, Ferrari, Ferrari Owners Club of America, FerrariOwnersClubOfAmerica, San Diego, San Diego Automotive Museum, SanDiego, SanDiegoAutomotiveMuseum, W Hotels, W San Diego, WHotels, WSanDiego

The Ivy Hotel Gets Sexy In San Diego

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Sex sells, and in the land of upscale hotels designers are taking advantage of that in a bolder way than ever before. Although photos of women in fishnet stockings, scantily-clad workers, and red patent leather furniture isn't a new idea in hotels and restaurants, it hasn't been something commonly seen in the luxury market. But the Ivy Hotel in San Diego isn't letting that discourage its new style: sexy sexy sexy. Michael Kelly, one of the Ivy's co-owners, was quoted as saying "We were looking for something a little voyeuristic, a little seductive."

See-through shower overlooking the bed: voyeuristic? Check. Plunging v-necks on the hostesses and black lace on the waitresses: seductive? Check.

Not my thing, but seems like they got what they were aiming for! Rooms start at $450/night.

Source

Tags: hotel, ivy, ivy hotel, IvyHotel, san diego, SanDiego, seduction, seductive, sex, sexy, travel, voyeurism, voyeuristic

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