The Hazelton in Toronto is part of a new trend in the area towards ultraluxury travel accommodations. Boasting 62 rooms and 15 suites the Hazelton is 7200 sq feet of pure decadence and glamor, complete with a dash of 1940s Hollywood glitz tossed into the decor. Room features include 300 thread count Italian sheets on the beds, granite slab walls and heated floors in the bathrooms, motorized drapes (that can be controlled from the bed), and 50 sq ft private foyers. The best room in the house, the Presidential Suite, also features a terrace overlooking Yorkville, a wine cellar, 11 flat screen TVs, and a grand piano. The price? $7,500 a night.
Finding an inexpensive place to stay in New York City is no easy feat, but if all you are really looking for is a bed and a (very small) place to crash, The Jane might be your spot. The hotel, located on Jane St. in Manhattan's Far West Village is a 200-room micro hotel for young travelers with "more dash than cash." The Jane will open up a a select block of preview rooms in July and then gradually open more in stages throughout the fall. The hotel will eventually offer 150 rooms measuring about 50 sq. ft., with rates starting at $99. The rooms will offer a twin bed with built-in drawers and storage pace, rails with coat hooks, free high-speed internet access and 23" flat-screen LCD televisions. The bathrooms are located down the hall. For a bit more money you can opt for one of the other 50 rooms which measure a comparatively spacious 250 sq. ft. and have private bathroom. The lobby will also host a complimentary continental breakfast every morning. The hotel will also have a basement swimming pool, sauna and bathrooms.
These days when a famous hotel needs a redesign, they often make a cottage industry of selling off the old design. The Royal Monceau in Paris is selling off furniture, mirrors, minibars, curtains, bar stools, dishes and more in a multi-day auction that ends today. The grand hotel has played host to many famous faces since its opening in 1928 including everyone from Ernest Hemingway to Britney Spears. The sale is expected to bring in around one million euros with some of the top pieces for sale including an 18th century commode and a Louis XIV-style marble table. Next week, on June 26th, VIPs are invited to a "demolition party" to help smash whatever is left over.
The four-star hotel will reopen in Fall 2009 after a thorough redesign by Philippe Starck that will give the hotel a style referred to as "Art Deco revisited which is expected to give the hotel more oomph to attract a younger crowd.
Go to Germany to learn French? That's the offer from the Hôtel Concorde Berlin which is offering guests a brief French immersion with their "Luxury French Lesson" package. The five-star hotel is a a member of Paris-based Concorde Hotels & Resorts and is located on the Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard/. The package starts at $371 and includes two overnight stay in an Executive room with a buffet breakfast in the St. Germain restaurant, a two-hour French language class at Berlitz Language School, a guided city tour focusing on French history in Berlin, and a tree-course dinner at the French brasserie le Faubourg. Plus the hotel staff speaks French and will help you practice. The package is available through August 24, 2008.
The Grand Mauritian, a Luxury Collection resort and spa from Starwood Hotels & Resorts, "invites you to experience the magic of Mauritian hospitality in a truly luxurious setting." (I accept!) Located on the northwest coast of the island of Mauritius on Turtle Bay, on the Indian Ocean, the resort is set to open on July 1 and is the the Luxury Collection's first foray into the Indian Ocean and Africa.
The resort will offer 193 guest rooms and suites, all of which offer ocean views (some have private terraces and tropical outdoor showers); a kids' club; a 1,500 sqm Mandara spa with 11 treatment rooms; and a selection of upscale restaurants and bars. Spread over 10 hectares, the resort is bordered by the reef and ocean nature park on the coast with sugar cane fields behind. You'll find water sports and diving in the two swimming pools and on the natural sandy beach.
For business travelers, the resort has plug-and-play high-speed Internet access in the guest rooms; wireless high-speed Internet access in public areas; a business center; and venues for conferences, meetings and social events.
Lebanese designer Elie Saab, known for his red-carpet gowns, will become the next designer to have a luxury hotel. Saab will be creating a boutique style hotel at the Tiger Woods Dubai resort, which is expected to open in September 2009. The complex will include 14 bungalows, 89 suites and easy access to a golf course designed by Tiger Woods himself. The Tiger Woods Dubai is a golf community located in the massive Dubailand project that also includes a golf academy, a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse, a retail area and villas and mansions for sale.
There are a wide variety of designers from the fashion and jewelry worlds who have lent their name to hotel designs and brands, below are just a few.
In the hot summer months, hotels with rooftop pools have a special allure. One of the most striking is located at the top of The Joule in Dallas. The Joule is part of the Luxury Collection and is located near attractions such as Victory Park, the Dallas Museum of Art and the original flagship Neiman Marcus. The building's 1920s Neo-Gothic façade has been restored and added to with a new 10-story tower which is topped by the cantilevered rooftop pool and bar area. The pool actually juts out over the edge off the building with just a heavy layer of glass separating water and the swimmers from the city below (check out an amazing shot by The Urban Fabric on Flickr here). Simply amazing.
The hotel also includes Charlie Palmer's new signature restaurant - Charlie Palmer at The Joule and Next Vintage, a retail wine store. Palmer's restaurant will also offer light-fare menu at the rooftop pool bar. Rates for the hotel start around $250 per night.
With the Democratic National Convention set to hit Denver in late August, this town which usually isn't a summer destination might just be the hottest spot around. Local hotels are getting ready for the onslaught. One of the most unique is The Curtis, a hotel that blends the traditional comforts of a hotel stay with a side order of goofiness. The Curtis is a 336-room property that offers non-standard features such as in-room board game menus, interactive video art by Denver artist Gary Emrich and a 5 & Dime Store selling Orange Crush, Etch-A-Sketch and Lemonheads. The hotel has a contemporary style and each floor has a theme including the Big Hair Floor (on 9), the TV Mania Floor (14) and Dun Dun Dunnnnn! (the ominous 13th floor), where images of Jack Nicholson in The Shining and a vintage vacancy notice from the Bates Motel cast a chilling scene. The usual amenities are here too including flat-screen TVs, wireless internet access and iPod and MP3 speaker systems in the rooms. The hotel has a business center, fitness center, and the hotel's signature restaurant, The Corner Office, offers "global comfort food" in a funky retro setting. It looks like they are already booked for the convention but otherwise rates start around $160 per night.
A new green luxury hotel has opened in Cody, Wyoming. The Cody is located on the west side of town near the Cody Rodeo Grounds, site of the Cody Nite Rodeo and the Cody Stampede. The hotel has 78 rooms with amenities such as feather pillows and comforters, terrycloth robes, oversized towels, coffee makers, microwaves, refrigerators, flat-screen televisions, irons and ironing boards, hairdryers, free wireless and DSL access and voicemail. The hotel also provides complimentary coffee and continental breakfast with a selection of organic items and each evening the hotel staff serves complimentary refreshments and coffee to guests in the lobby. The Cody also features queen and king suites with whirlpool baths and patios and some suites also have fireplaces and adjoining suites. Other hotel amenities include a a fitness center, indoor pool and sauna, hot tub spa, newspapers, a gift shop, concierge, business center, library and laundry facilities.
Green features are in evidence here, not grand sweeping changes but small incremental ones. The hotel offers a GMC hybrid vehicle used for complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport, downtown and popular attractions such as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The lobby and corridors feature reclaimed planking and wood trim from buildings in Yellowstone National Park. Sustainable features include low-VOC paint, mattresses made of latex fill and natural bamboo fiber covers, fluorescent energy-saving light bulbs, and organic amenities in the bathroom. Rooms start around $200 per night.
Usually a convent isn't on the hot list of places to stay but the La Locanda Delle Donne Monache hotel may change my mind on that. The hotel is located in the medieval town of Maratea, part of the Basilicata region that forms the "instep" of Italy's boot. The hotel was was originally built as a convent in 1735 and is perched above Maratea's port. There are 27 rooms and suites, with courtyard dining surrounded by orange and lemon trees around the garden. The backdrop to the swimming pool is the picture postcard church of the former convent where views are framed by the roofs of the village. Rates start as low as € 120 per room per night.
Given Elvis Presley's long association with Las Vegas it seems strange that it has taken until now for an Elvis-themed casino to hit the Strip but Elvis is finally getting his own Vegas hotel. The plans call for a $3.1 billion development with an "Elvis-inspired" luxury hotel and casino, convention space, retail space, restaurants, showroom and a separate hotel-condominium building that will be operated by a joint-venture partner. There will also be complete wedding services for those with a hankering for an Elvis-themed wedding. Construction is set to begin at the start of 2009 with completion planned for the end of 2012.
New York-based FX Real Estate and Entertainment is a newly formed company that owns nearly 18 acres of land located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in Las Vegas known as the Park Central Property. Their plan is to turn that area into a a hotel, casino, entertainment, retail, commercial and residential development project. They have entered into license agreements with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., and Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC, that allows them to use the intellectual property associated with these two icons in the development of real estate and entertainment attraction projects. The company plans to also pursue the development of, one or more hotels as part of the master plan of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. to redevelop the Graceland property and surrounding areas in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland is re-opening after a four-year $400 million renovation. The hotel has been transformed into a five-star resort with 173 new guest rooms, a new spa, dining options and a geothermal energy concept. The new Dolder Grand was designed by London architects Foster and Partners.
The Dolder Grand has a long history. It was a health spa when it opened in 1899 and was a grand hotel for many years. The new design included restoring the hotel's main building and added two new wings, a spa and golf wing. There are also four unique suites inspired by cultural icons of the 20th century who were former Dolder Hotel: the Rolling Stones, Giulietta Masina (wife of Italian director Federico Fellini), "Maestro" Herbert von Karajan (conductor) and Alberto Giacometti (Swiss sculptor).
The spa is 43,000 square feet and has separate areas for ladies and gentlemen, an Aqua Zone with a Bisazza mosaic pool, a Snow Paradise room, workout, movement and mind-body studios, and 19 treatment rooms as well as two exclusive, over-the-top spa suites. The hotel has two new restaurants and terraces throughout The Dolder Grand offer fantastic views.
Before the construction began geothermal probes were buried under the foundation of the hotel and they draw around one million kilowatt hours of energy per year from the natural heat-storage system in the earth, reducing the energy and heating costs and consumption of the hotel. Rates start at 850 CHF per night/ double occupancy.
It's true! Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, previously home to famous names like Normal Mailer, Edie Sedgewick, and the guy who shot John Lennon (Mark David Chapman), is getting a remodel and soon will be a luxury hotel. Built in 1931 it's pretty perfect for the remake, with its location in Manhattan along the East River, its Italian Renaissance style, and even its "H" layout with hotel-sized rooms on long corridors.
Bellevue hasn't treated psych patients since 1984 when it was transformed into a homeless shelter, and now the plans for yet another renovation are well underway. No word yet on when they hope to have the hotel finished, but hopefully there's a developer locked in by the end of the year so renovations can get started by the middle of 2009.
Knowing all the history (and insanity) that happened in those walls, will you stay there?
In beautiful Tuscany sits Villa Mangiacane, a hotel that in addition to beautiful scenery and luxury sleep accommodations offers its own wine, olive oil, and now cooking classes.
As part of the "Flavours of Chianti" package you're treated the first night to a 4 course candlelit dinner prepared by Mangiacane's acclaimed Chef Massimo Bocus, which prepares you for the following day's cooking lesson with the Chef and a Villa Mangiacane wine and olive oil tasting. Among other treats (like cooking aprons, daily spa access, and fresh fruit in your room) you'll also get a Tuscan Cookbook and a bottle of Villa Mangiacane Chianti. €1270-€2450
Taking a vacation can be about so much more than just treating yourself -- what about getting away from it all in a way that's not only fun for you but also helps others? Marriott is offering a "Big Easy Spirit to Serve Getaway" package that offers luxurious amenities combined with charitable donations and volunteerism. The package includes a room at a Marriott hotel with breakfast for two in the morning, a "Care Concierge" who will help hook you up with volunteer organizations in the area and help you find a way to help that is meaningful to you, and then $50 of every night's room rate will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. All for rates of $159-$259/night.
