concierge

The Plaza in New York Offers iPads in all Guest Rooms and Suites (with Video)

The Plaza is offering iPads in each of its guest rooms and suites. The program, which launched in January, makes the landmark hotel on Central Park South the first hotel in the world to provide guests services and room controls using iPads and Intelity's ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) software to all of its guests.

The Plaza's iPads feature a multimedia video welcome and provide guests easy, touch screen access to control their entire hotel experience. At the touch of a screen, guests are able to order room service, make restaurant reservations, communicate directly with the concierge, request wake-up calls, explore NYC destination guides, and even check airline schedules and print boarding passes (which are promptly delivered to their room). Guests can even use the iPad to control the lights in their room as well as the heat and air conditioning systems.

"Before in the guest rooms, we had another digital panel that controlled the lights, the temperature and some guest services," Shane Krige, general manager of The Plaza explained to Luxist. "But it wasn't sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do. So we teamed up with Intelity to devise the software for the program."

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InterContinental Launches iPad App

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has launched its new free Concierge Insider Guides app designed specifically for the iPad. InterContinental is the first major hotel brand to offer consumers a concierge-centered iPad app. The app allows both current and future guests to tap into the collective knowledge and experiences of InterContinental Concierge Teams in more than 120 destinations.

The app includes concierge videos; interactive maps; recommendations and suggested itineraries for a concierge's perfect day (morning, afternoon and evening) for each location. Once the app is downloaded the guest can view all of the content without a wireless connection (with exception of streaming video). The iPad app also facilitates online booking and offers detailed information and images about individual properties. The InterContinental Concierge app is now available in English on the App Store on iTunes.

Tags: concierge, intercontinental, ipad, ipad app

The Hotel Concierge: How to Get the Best Experience

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

One of the most valuable amenities offered by luxury hotels the world over is also one of the most under-used: the concierge. Sure, lots of people stop at that little desk in the lobby and ask for directions or a restaurant recommendation, but few take advantage of the full spectrum of what a good concierge can offer. Here are a few tips making the most of the experience.

Choose the Right Hotel
No matter how awesome a concierge may be they can still be limited by the name they represent. The better the hotel the more effective your concierge will be at getting you impossible to land show seats or last minute reservations at the new hot spot because being an insider will only get them so far -- when push comes to shove the concierge that works for the more prestigious hotel (and therefore sends the bigger spenders) will always be the vendor's favorite. In a round-about way you get what you pay for.

Call Ahead
Before your trip even starts call ahead and share your itinerary. Concierge's are local so they can give you a heads up on any particulars about the area and help fine tune your plans in ways a regular assistant can't -- like letting you know about opportunities that require advance planning or giving you ideas for filling in free time. Calling ahead can also qualify you for special deals and discounts in some cases, and at the very least it will give the concierge a leg up on securing tough reservations.

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Tags: awards-main, concierge, hotel, luxist-awards, madonna, summer-travel-pedia, winter-travel-pedia

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Mercedes-Benz Launches mbrace Concierge iPhone App

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos

Mercedes-Benz has just launched a significantly enhanced version of its mbrace iPhone application. Mbrace is a package of services similar to General Motors' OnStar that provides automatic 911 calls in the event of an accident, remote unlocking and other services. When it was first introduced last year the mbrace application was the first to actually integrate with the vehicle telematics system to enable many of those same services such as the remote locking/unlocking, plus vehicle and dealer location.

The new version adds instant access to Mercedes-Benz Concierge services. A tap of the screen gives the Mercedes driver instant access to an advisor to help find restaurants or hotels and send directions straight to the phone and car. When calling roadside assistance through the application, the location information is automatically transmitted to the help center. Subscribers to the mbrace service can download the application from the iTunes app store.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Tags: concierge, iphone app, iPhone app store, iPhone Application, iPhone Applications, iPhone Apps, mercedes, Mercedes Benz, mercedes benz mbrace iphone app, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz mbrace, MercedesBenz

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What Does a Hotel Concierge Do?

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

One of the most valuable assets a luxury hotel has, the concierge is there to help make a guest's stay a happy and memorable one. Indeed, concierges are trained professionals who services run the gamut from the mundane (message handling) to the extraordinary (such as getting hard-to-find tickets to the latest Broadway show).

To learn more about the importance of a concierge, we sat down with Spencer H. Wadama, who is the General Manager of The Surrey Hotel, the tony and newly renovated boutique hotel located on Manhattan's upper east side. Spencer previously served as the general manager of the Ritz-Carlton in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt).

According to Wadama, The Surrey Hotel's staff of concierges, for example, regularly make special arrangements for their guests, often before the guest has even arrived at the hotel. "They give you an opportunity to experience a destination in a better, more authentic way," says Wadama. "They are a priceless amenity."

Ever wondered how much to tip a concierge for his or her services? Here what Wadama has to say about this subject in this Luxist Awards video.

Tags: awards-main, concierge, hotel, importance of a concierge, luxist-awards, Spencer Wadama, summer-travel-pedia, surrey hotel, tipping, winter-travel-pedia

Rockland Estate, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Concierge Auctions is back in Maryland for another beautiful old home. The historic Rockland estate in Fairplay, Maryland goes up for sale on June 11.

The 25-plus-acre equestrian estate was originally listed for $2.75 million. The property includes a 8,600-square-foot mansion as well as a turnkey horse farm with fenced pastures. The current owners Michael Moreland and Jason Daisey purchased the property in 2004 and have completed many modern infrastructure improvements to the main mansion, which was originally built in 1803, including installing central air conditioning, remodeling the kitchen, and constructing a 3,000-bottle wine cellar in one of the basement rooms. The stone home was built by Colonel Frisby Tilghman, son of Maryland's first attorney general and the home is listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Sites and is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Victorian enhancements were made to the home in the later part of the 19th century. It has a Federal-style suspended staircase in the south wing leading from the ground floor to the third floor attic and illuminated by an oval skylight.

This home was originally listed for $2.75 million but is selling with a reserve of $1.325 million and a pre-sale estimate of $1.325 million to $1.8 million. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with Gary Gestson, a certified Historic Property Specialist with Long & Foster Real Estate.

Gallery: Rockland Estate

Tags: concierge, estate of the day, historic home, historic homes, luxury real estate auction, maryland real estate

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InterContinental Hotel Concierges Getting iPads

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Travel & Hotels

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is jumping on the iPad bandwagon. The hotels will be the first to equip their concierge teams with Apple iPads. The concierges will get their Apple iPads next week. As part of a global pilot at InterContinental New York Barclay, InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, InterContinental London Park Lane and InterContinental Hong Kong, travelers can get enhanced local destination advice from the iPad-toting concierges. The concierges will use the iPads to show directions and maps, present short videos to guests, and provide instant booking confirmations. InterContinental has been using Facebook and Twitter to stay engaged with guests and has created a serious of destination specific Concierge websites with videos. You can follow along on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WorldConcierge.

Tags: concierge, intercontinental hotels, ipad, world concierge

Should You Tip a Concierge? (with video)

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Part Merlin, part Houdini, how is possible for the concierge at your hotel to get you tickets to a sold-out show or a reservation at a restaurant that would have been utterly impossible for you to do so on your own?

One of the most valuable assets a fine hotel has, the concierge is there to help make a guest's stay a happy and memorable one. But have you ever been baffled by whether or not you are supposed to tip the concierge if he or she has done something special for you?

To find out these answers, we sat down with Spencer H. Wadama, who is the General Manager of The Surrey Hotel, the tony and newly renovated boutique hotel located on Manhattan's upper east side. Spencer previously served as the general manager of the Ritz-Carlton in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt). The Surrey Hotel's staff of concierges, for example, regularly make special arrangements for their guests, often before the guest has even arrived at the hotel.

According to Spencer, "The amount is really to your discretion, and what is the appropriate amount really depends on the service that was provided," he says. "It is very appropriate to tip a concierge if you had a special request that you knew was difficult to get access to."

In America, tipping is a way of saying "thank you", but tipping is not expected in all countries, such as in Japan, where tipping is not part of the culture.

The amount you tip should take into account the city where the hotel is located; for example a tip in New York should be higher than a tip in Cleveland, for example, to compensate for the difference in the cost of living.

When you approach a concierge, take a look at the lapel of his or her uniform. If you notice a pin that resembles a small set of gold keys, he or she is a member of an elite organization called Les Clefs d'Or, a French term that translates into "keys of gold". If that is the case, you can be assured that you are dealing with a seasoned professional. Curious about whether you should tip the housekeeping staff? Find out how to do so here.

Tags: awards-main, concierge, Les Clefs dOr, luxist-awards, main-pedia, Spencer Wadama, summer-travel-pedia, Surrey Hotel, The Surrey Hotel, tipping, tips, TipsForTravel, winter-travel-pedia

Drive Six Supercars in One Day Across the UK

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos

Luxury concierge service Pure Conciergerie is offering a spectacular supercar driving day experience in the UK's picturesque Cotswolds.You don't drive just one but six different supercars during the day-long jaunt through some of the most stunning and famous landscapes in the country - an Aston Martin DBS, Audi R8, Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560, Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari F430 and Porsche 911 Turbo - each with a unique character and distinct driving style. The journey starts with a light breakfast followed by brief training from a driving instructor. Each participant then spends about an hour of wheel time in each of their selected cars (other automotive options are available) for a total driving time of around six hours. The price is $2,500 per person, or $1,500 each if two people elect to share the same cars, not including accommodations.

Gallery: UK Supercar Tour

Tags: Aston Martin, Bentley, car trip, concierge, Cotswolds, driving tour, england, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, supercar, UK

Xperia Pureness Comes with a Man Friday

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

You've made it to your suite in Via Reggio, she'll be here soon, and things are looking good: the champagne from Champagne has been chilled, the chef you flew in from Marbella is warming the first course, the Milanese alto is downstairs right now preparing to serenade, everything's here. Everything except those Australian frangipanis for the bath later on. They haven't arrived, and it's a little late to find flowers in this seaside town.

Unless, that is, you have an Xperia Pureness handset and the Xperia Concierge service it comes with. Probably better thought of as a glass-and-black-plastic design statement than a phone, the Pureness touts itself almost as an anti-phone that focuses on "talk, text, time - a holiday from technology." Still, it's no counterculture brick: the display on that transparent glass screen has controls for web browsing, e-mail, and a media player.

And, yes, a concierge, part of a package of Xperia services. If your phone stops working during one of your frequent jet-sets, they'll send you another one within 48 hours. And your 24-hour-a-day assistant will get you a table, a membership, a seat, or a booth by the dance floor in a host of cities around the world. As long as it is a lifestyle request both "legal and moral" -- that probably includes flowers -- it will be carried out by the Xperia Concierge team. The phone is £530 ($860 U.S.), the concierge service is free for the first 12 months, and those frangipanis your Man Friday was able to arrange, well, you can't put a price on the perfect Tuscan evening...

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Tags: cellphone, concierge, mobile, pureness, sony, sony ericsson, SonyEricsson, xperia, Xperia Pureness, XperiaPureness

Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Introduces El Mayordomo

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Concierge service is rewarding, but common; let's face it, Best Western has concierges. Butler service, on the other hand -- the round-the-clock ask-and-it's-done white-glove kind, that's still something special. The Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Retreat & Spa in Los Cabos, Baja California has just added butlers to its list of amenities, and they're free... well, whenever you book an ocean view suite.

Your attendant clocks in the moment you arrive and tends to the minutiae of any resort stay like dinner reservations, spa appointment, and dry cleaning. Yet the role of steward entails more than that: he will unpack your luggage, run your bubble bath, coordinate in-suite dining, plan an entire day trip and make sure your bed is turned down and your shoes are shined when you return. If there are enough of you for a cocktail party, he can arrange that as well. And anything else in between, so we're told.

Although Pueblo Bonito says "no request is too large or too small," there is one thing you can't ask your butler to do: take care of your children -- the Los Cabos property has been designed exclusively for adults. With your own butler, though, it will give you chance to be kids. Arthur would be proud...

Gallery: Pueblo Bonito Pacifica

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Tags: baja, butler, california, concierge, journeys, mexico, pueblo bonito pacifica, PuebloBonitoPacifica, resort, spa, travel

The Luxury Collection Introduces The Insider's View for Members of A Small World

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Luxury Collection, a clique of hotels within the Starwood Group, is collaborating with private social network A Small World (ASW) to provide The Insider's View. The Collection already offers concierge services to those who have booked stays and offers guests -- even those who haven't arrived yet -- travel perks such as Luggage Liaison and advance planning. The Collection also maintains a "Cultural Calendar" of noteworthy events happening near Collection properties.

For ASW members, though, concierges will write articles around upcoming events -- such as Greece's Night of the Full Moon and London's Cartier International Polo Day -- that provide an insider's guide on how to have the perfect time. ASW members, whether hotel guests or not, can then interact directly with Collection concierges to get even more specific tips on where to go and what to do.

So while you might not know the best place to buy the best seats for the Venice International Film Festival... at least you'll know who to ask.

[Source: The Luxury Collection]

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Tags: a small world, ASmallWorld, concierge, hotel, resort, starwood, the luxury collection, TheLuxuryCollection

Crazy Perks at the Best Hotels

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

A place to sleep is just a place to sleep when it all comes down to it, and since the atmosphere can only be so nice how do luxury hotels set themselves apart from each other? With the perks and services they offer, of course -- and you better believe they go all out and get seriously creative. Here are just a few of the crazier perks you can find at some of the best hotels, courtesy of Forbes Traveler:

Helicopter transfers between the airport, hotel, and shopping (Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi)
A sleep concierge to ensure you get the best night's sleep possible (The Benjamin)
Customized aromas: after finding out what your preferences are the housekeeper stocks your room with preferred scents (Palazzo Magnani Feroni)
Pet perks like special bedding and dishes, pet sitting, walking, and massages (Nine Zero)

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Tags: concierge, hotel, hotels, journeys, luxury, perk, perks, services

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Hotel Offers a Sleep Concierge for a Guaranteed Good Night's Rest

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

Is the worst part of traveling trying to get a good night's sleep? It can be tough to sleep like you do at home in even the nicest of hotels, but The Benjamin in NYC has something most places don't: a sleep concierge.

And the sleep concierge is just the beginning. They offer a menu of 12 different pillows, choices of specialized sleep enhancing snacks, and before-bed massages. In fact, The Benjamin is so sure they can give you a good night's sleep that's as good as what you get at home they'll give you a free night's stay if they fail.

Do you think it's worth it? What would you need to make the hotel feel like home?

Via A Luxury Travel Blog

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Tags: benjamin, concierge, hotel, hotels, journey, journeys, manhattan, nyc, services, sleep, sleep concierge, SleepConcierge, the benjamin, TheBenjamin, travel

How Far Will a 5 Star Hotel Go to Keep a Guest Happy?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

Five star hotels don't get that rating simply by having the highest thread count sheets and gourmet room service meals, they will bend over backwards (literally if need be) to keep their guests happy. So that begs the question: how far will they actually go for a client?

It might surprise you. From sending staff to get iPhone training at a local apple store (so they can help a guest learn to work hers) to last minute damage control and orchestration of a wedding proposal involving a hot air balloon, they really will do it all. Read about more crazy stories here, and if you have any of your own please share!

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Tags: 5 star, 5Star, concierge, concierges, five star, FiveStar, hotel, hotels, service, star, stars