g8

Thompson Hotels Go Global in Toronto

Globalization is the topic du jour in Toronto, with the G8/G20 conferences that are happening in and around the city over the coming days. As if on cue, the US-based Thompson Hotels has just opened its first international property in Toronto.

From the outside it's sort of hard to tell what exactly Thompson Toronto it is -- there's a lot of reflective glass on the exterior. On the inside, there are 102 guest rooms, 18 suites, a 24-hour diner called The Counter and yet another location of Scott Conant's Scarpetta.

The location couldn't be better -- it's blocks away from the still just scruffy Ossington neighborhood where you can still smell pot wafting from creative people's windows, and right in the center of King West Villages, where the creatives have likely moved up to more expensive intoxicants.

Thompson plans to open a property in London in 2011.

Tags: g8, ScottConant, Thompson, ThompsonHotels, toronto

Where They Stay At G8

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

This week at the G8 summit, world leaders and other luminaries will be convening at a former communist resort, the Kempinksi Grand Hotel at Heiligendamm, a German resort on the Baltic Sea. Forbes reports that the resort was founded in 1793 as a retreat for Duke Friedrich Franz I of what today is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It remained a popular destination through the years and others including Romanoffs, Hitler, Mussolini and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke all reputedly stayed there. The town, known as the White City by the Sea, for its white building, laster became a sanitorium for Eastern bloc workers. A German real estate investment firm called Fundus Group has been restoring it since the mid-1990s. The main hotel includes a grand white marble library with a fountain and crystal chandeliers. Attendees at the G8 summit can relax in the Nelson bar. There are six buildings total including the Kurhaus which holds the ballroom and the restaurant and the Severin Palais that is home to the resort's spa. Germany has made elaborate preparations for the safety of the participants of G8, including the construction of a massive barb wire fence. After G8 is over, you can experience the resort with a summer recreation package that includes seven nights in a deluxe room, breakfast buffet and access to the spa starting at 2,220 euros per room.

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Tags: baltic sea, g8, germany, Heiligendamm, hotel

Gleneagles Hotel Plans a Massive Expansion

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Gleneagles hotel in Scotland which played host to this year’s G8 world summit is planning an new destination resort. The plans include one of the world’s best spas as well as holiday homes. The land is owned by the Al Tajir family,Saudi oil tycoons and construction is planned to start next year. The new project which will be called Gleneagles West will include new golf courses, a hotel and time-share and rental options. The project will be built in phases and should be finished by 2014 when Gleneagles hosts the Ryder Cup.

Tags: g8, gleneagles, ryder cup, scotland, scottish tourism, spa