Istanbul to get “seven-star” Shangri-La hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

What makes a seven-star hotel? Travelers to Turkey will soon find out.

Local media reports in Turkey claim a new seven-star Shangri-La hotel will open in Istanbul in 2012. The super-luxury 200-room hotel will feature seven storeys, both above and below sea level, and will cost an estimated $250 million to construct.

Turkish newspaper Zaman reports that the hotel will be located on the banks on the shore of Bosphorus Sea, at the site of an old tobacco factory.

Currently, the Shangri-La hotel group owns 66 hotels around the world, the majority of them with five-star rankings. However, seven-stars are unique in their own right. The hotel must be exceptional in design, decor, luxury and amenities.

Only three hotels in the world have managed to claim the seven-star status: the Town House Galleria in Milan, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

[via The Independent]

Man uses snake as weapon in South Carolina motel dispute

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Travelers face all kinds of nuisances at motels. Loud televisions, unsanitary room conditions and unexpected room charges all rank as typical inconveniences. But getting threatened with a four-foot long python typically isn’t a problem for guests – at least until now.

According to a BBC news report, a South Carolina man was threatened with a snake by another motel guest after a heated argument. Jeffrey Culp, the alleged victim, complained to his motel neighbor Tony Smith about loud music coming from his room. In retaliation Smith tracked down Culp, tapped him on the shoulder and thrust a four-foot long pet snake in his face, apparently leaving small scratches across the man’s lip. Mr. Culp, who told Smith he was deathly afraid of snakes earlier in the evening, was shaken up by the incident.

Mr. Smith, the snake aggressor, was arrested by police and charged with assault and battery. Future snake trouble-makers should take note: there’s a lesson to be learned. The next time you’re at a motel and wave your snake in someone’s face, don’t expect to get away with it.

Count the doors between your room and the exit – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

After checking into your hotel room, go back out and count the doors from your room to the nearest stairway.

In case of fire, the stairway may be the only way out. If you had to crawl under a blanket of thick smoke, you could just feel the doors and count down until you know you have reached the safety of the stairway.

Don’t forget to pack your trusty flashlight, in case you need to exit during a blackout.

Renaissance Hotels let the kids pamper mom with a pancake playdate

by Scott Carmichael on

Renaissance Hotels wins my prize for the most creative Mothers Day promotion this year (and yes – we get emailed a lot of them!). On Sunday May 9th, participating Renaissance properties will open up their kitchens just for kids – and the hotel chef will guide your little ones through the art of making the perfect pancake.

Prices for this pancake brunch start at just $25, and kids can make mom the perfect pancake using their imagination or one of the specialty pancakes on offer around the chain.

In Boston, the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel bakes seasoned bacon fat into the batter to complement the Lobster Benedict.

In Washington D.C. kids can cook up a batch of organic buckwheat short stacks – with local Tuscarora Farm apple compote and McCutcheon’s wildflower honey.

By far the best sounding creation will be served at the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach with Tres Leche pancakes, featuring caramelized bananas.

Of course, the best way to pamper mom is with a stay at a Renaissance, so head on over to their reservation site. Just be sure to check with the property of your choice whether they will be offering the pancake playdate.

Check out our other Mothers Day coverage here.

New York City on a budget – is it worth staying in New Jersey?

by Annie Scott on


This past weekend, I embarked on a journey I have often avoided taking: I went across the Hudson River and spent two nights in New Jersey. My goal was to determine whether or not staying in New Jersey is actually a smart, cheaper, just-as-good way to visit New York City.

My snobbish aversion to New Jersey is partially born of fear. I don’t know how to “do” New Jersey, and everyone I know who lives there pays less rent for an apartment twice as big as mine. All this makes me very uncomfortable. That, and the fact that I love living in Manhattan.

Still, Manhattan is expensive — and that goes for hotels, too. Everyone in New York knows full well that it only takes about 15 minutes to get to New Jersey, and yet many of us view it as a whole other country. The fact is, for the frugal traveler, you can get a hotel in New Jersey for a lot less than you can in NYC. The Westin Jersey City Newport, where I stayed this weekend, typically costs 30 percent less than the Westin in Times Square, and you’ll see that kind of price variance and greater across the board. And, as I said, it’s only 15 minutes away. But is it really worth it to stay in New Jersey when visiting New York City?It turns out that some people, particularly Europeans, like to stay in New Jersey. The energy of New York is admittedly hectic, and can be stressful for some. “People like to be able to walk in and walk out,” said Bob McIntosh, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Westin Jersey City Newport.

That makes sense to me. The difference you feel when you exit the Newport/Pavonia PATH station (just one stop from Manhattan’s Christopher Street stop in the trendy West Village) is palpable. There are fewer people, everything’s clean, the views of NYC are stunning and nobody asks you for spare change. Staying the night at the Westin in the spacious, airy room with a view of Manhattan was comfortable and unbelievably quiet — I was impressed. And when you think about it, why pay money to sleep in noise?

The answer came to me the next day when I looked out the window at what seemed like a different country, as I mentioned before in reverse. When you look across the river, the effort to get to Manhattan feels monumental. I had hoped to take a ferry ride across the Hudson and catch some sun along the way, but unfortunately, it was a Saturday. I learned that ferries and water taxis don’t run on the weekends, and the PATH trains don’t run as often as they do Monday through Friday.

Still, I timed my trip from the white tea-scented lobby of The Westin to the World Trade Center via PATH train with one transfer — 22 minutes, and I had just missed a train when I got there. That’s not bad; as a matter of fact, it takes longer to get there from my Manhattan apartment. The PATH train is just $1.75 and runs 24 hours (albeit slower nights and weekends).

During the week, according to the concierge, you can get a ferry for $12.75 or a private water taxi (NY Waterway) for just $7.25. The earliest ferry is at 6:58 AM on weekdays, and the latest return is at 7:39 PM. Alternatively, you can get a car service any day of the week for about $45 plus an $8 toll.

So, is it worth it to stay in New Jersey? Financially, yes — you can often find cheaper flights into Newark, and you might be able to afford a luxury hotel like The Westin in New Jersey even if it’s out of range in NYC. The obstacle is making yourself commit to trekking under or over the Hudson River every single day of your trip, because if you go for a wander outside a hotel in New Jersey, it’s really, really not the same; not the style, not the food, not the people — but after a frenzied day in New York City, that change to a safer, calmer place may be just what you want.

My stay at The Westin Jersey City Newport was free, but the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are only biased by my personal snobbery, not the hotel.