Luxury Travel: London’s most expensive suite to open at Lanesborough Hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

Have a few extra Euros to spend? The Lanesborough Hotel in London can help put those extra pence to good use. In May, London’s luxe hotel will open its 4,000-square-foot Lanesborough Suite for a cool £14,000 (approximately $20,000 USD) a night (plus VAT).

The signature suite makes use of Lanesborough’s Michelin-starred restaurant, personal butler service, and offers some of the best views of Hyde Park, but is it worth $20k? You decide.

The suite has four bedrooms, two living rooms, five bathrooms, a kitchen and a dining room. The decor aims to “blend 19th century elegance and 21st century opulence,” according to ehotelier.com, who received artist renderings of the London hotel suite. In an interesting twist of typical hotel layout plans, the suite will be located on the hotel’s first floor and have floor to ceiling windows. (We like the concept of feeling like you’re walking into your own home with a suite on the first floor, but we’re a little weary about the lack of privacy this might invite.) Guests will have access to 24-hour butler service, a chauffeur-driver Rolls Royce and its own personal bar.

The Lanesborough Suite is scheduled to open at the beginning of May, so if you aren’t U.K.-bound for the Royal Wedding, or have a few extra to spare after buying the new couple’s wedding gift, we suggest you head over to the Lanesborough and live it up luxe-style for the night.

[For artist rendering photos of the massive suite, click here]

Tracking devices in hotel linens thwart thievery

by Laurel Miller on

In case you wondered, Big Brother is watching. In your hotel room. A Miami-based company, Linen Tracker, has patented a radio-frequency identification chip that keeps real-time inventory of frequently misplaced or stolen items such as hotel linens. Like, you know, that plushy robe you planned to take as a souvenir, or that Egyptian cotton pillowcase that sent you into such blissful slumber. The chips are also designed to help hotel managers and maids stock rooms and order supplies.

CNN reports that three hotels, in New York, Miami and Honolulu, are using Linen Trackers, and the company’s executive vice president, William Serbin, sees a bright future for the devices. “Any given month, [hotels] can lose five to 20 percent of towels, sheets and robes. That gets expensive with the rising cost of cotton.”

Serbin was inspired by the sensors used on toll roads that he drove on in Florida. “We tweaked the technology, went through trial and error with different types of chips and put them in the correct place,” he explains. “Now, chip life exceeds 300 wash cycles.”

So far, the chips appear to be working: a handful of linen thieves have been apprehended, and asked to return the pilfered items to the hotel. Shame, it seems, is also an effective deterrent.

[Photo credit: Flicrk user C Ray Dancer]

London calling: DUKES LONDON concierge offers top 10 tips for visiting London

by Melanie Nayer on

So, you weren’t invited to the Royal Wedding. While you won’t get to sit next to the Beckhams or drink tea with the Windsors for the big event, you can still experience the best of London (without worrying about your face appearing in Page Six’s ‘what were they thinking?’ layout of wedding fashion gone wrong).

Ian Steiger, Head Concierge of the historic DUKES LONDON in St. James’s and the Concierge of the Year 2010, is offering tips for London travelers who want to see the best of the city, without all the chaos but with a little royal flair. Here’s what he suggests:

1. Buckingham Palace isn’t the only Royal residence in town. Visit Clarence House, the official residence of Princes Charles, William and Harry, which offers public and private tours from August 6th through September 4th.

2. The best place to catch a glimpse of William departing Clarence House for the Royal Wedding will be the steps of the Duke of York “Son of George III” statue on Carlton House Terrace. Show up early, says Steiger: “Royal watchers will begin queuing two or three days ahead.”

3. While St. James’s Palace isn’t open to the public, it’s a great spot to see the comings and goings of Royal Family members. The palace was the Royals’ official residence from 1699 until 1837.4. Even the Royal Family goes out on the town. Among great dining spots they’ve been known to frequent: Annabel’s, a private club that is a favorite of the Prince of Wales; Wiltons, a famous fish restaurant founded in St. James in 1742; and Le Gavroche, Michel Roux Jr.’s Michelin Two-Star French restaurant in Mayfair.

5. For those without an invite to the Royal Wedding, DUKES LONDON will host a special Royal Wedding Champagne Afternoon Tea on April 29. The wedding will be shown on the big screen in the Regal Marlborough Suite, while Champagne, tea, finger sandwiches and assorted cakes and pastries will be served (price is approximately $55).

6. Glimpse Prince William’s maternal side at Spencer House, the ancestral home of the family of Diana, Princess of Wales.

7. Spring and summer bloom with possibilities in London. Prime among annual events that the Royal Family never misses is the Royal Ascot Races from June 14-18 and the Chelsea Flower Show, May 24-28.

8. Art lovers will be enthralled by the Royal Academy’s annual Summer Exhibition of contemporary works, scheduled this year from June 7-August 15. Meanwhile, the lesser-known Courtauld Gallery is among the finest small museums in the world, with a collection stretching from the Renaissance to the 20th century.

9. Visit historic buildings, including Marlborough House, built with red bricks from Holland in 1711; Burlington House, begun in 1660 and remodeled twice since; and St. James’s Church, which was fashioned by Christopher Wren for his friend Henry Jermyn from 1674-86 and restored with a garden of remembrance following bombing damage from the London Blitz.

10. Can’t get enough of the Royals? Tour Buckingham Palace, one of the few working royal palaces in the world, from July 23-October 3; or head for Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world with 900 years of British history to go around. It’s open daily from 9:45am-4:15pm.

Jetsetter launches iPad app

by McLean Robbins on

The media darling of the travel flash sale industry, Jetsetter, has jumped on the iPad bandwagon and announced the launch of their new free App, available today in the App Store. We’ve long loved this site for its stunning visual array of images and editorial-like features about each sale destination, and are sure that the brand’s debut in the iPad world will be a hit.

{See other great Travel Tech information here.}

Jetsetter’s engineering team custom-designed a camera to shoot dozens of high resolution photos which are stitched together to form immersive 360-degree images.

Like a futuristic magazine cover, the app’s title screen features 360-degree panoramic images that responds to a tap The homepage prominently features a rotating slide show of hotels on sale as well as vacation “collections” that span themes like Vacation Like Royalty, Top New York Hotels, Caribbean Sunsets, and Weekend Getaways.

A news ticker at the bottom of the homepage that displays what other Jetsetter members are purchasing. The app also uses iPad 2’s gyroscope to map the orientation of the iPad to Jetsetter’s 360 degree photos. For instance, when the user moves iPad to the left, it senses the change of direction and the photo pans left.

Pretty cool! We’re all for websites creating added-value apps for their current array of offerings. Plus, anything that makes us feel like we’re actually at the property will likely aid in booking.

Not yet a member? Join Jetsetter via this link.

Florida finds another reason to draw GLBT travelers: gay wedding specialists

by McLean Robbins on


Gay travelers have yet another reason to consider visiting Florida on their next vacation. Although Florida as a state has not legalized civil unions or gay marriage, The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has become the first hotel in both the brand and the state to hire a certified gay wedding specialist.

Nancy Salatto-Deighan completed a program led by the 14 Stories Gay Wedding Institute to help same sex couples plan a special and meaningful celebration of their big day.

“The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach can further provide exemplary options and service to our guests and it is with great pride that The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach build a community for same-sex couples to celebrate their love and lives together,” said Michael King, the hotel’s general manager.

The hotel’s wedding specialist will offer services for very similar to that of a heterosexual wedding planner, seeking out unique venues, customized options and personalized services to help the bride and bride or groom and groom enjoy a memorable wedding day.

The service is definitely interesting, and we’re happy to see a brand encouraging same sex unions. But we can’t help but wonder – what makes the fundamentals of planning a same sex wedding that much different than those of a heterosexual union? Furthermore, why elect to begin this program in a state that doesn’t yet recognize gay marriage?

What do you think? Would you utilize a gay wedding planning specific service when planning your celebration? Is this a wise move by Ritz-Carlton or a PR blitz?