A $4000 Eye Mask? Only On Virgin Atlantic

by McLean Robbins on

Virgin Atlantic has done it again – this time teaming with Swarovski crystals to create the most over-the-top flight accessory we’ve seen in some time, a $4,000 sleep mask decorated with crystals depicting sunglasses ranging from the classic Wayfarer to the shutter shade made famous by Kanye West.

The cheeky masks, which, sans crystals, are now part of the Economy Class amenities kit, will be hidden in five flights from New York and LAX and hopefully discovered by newly styling passengers.

The bespoke eyeshades feature thousands of tiny red, white and blue crystals, all applied by hand by artist Saima Anwar (who also creates crystal eyelashes for celebrities such as Katy Perry). It took ten hours to make each mask, and over 3,000 Swarovski crystals.

Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class cabin has featured Swarovski crystals on the cabin walls since the launch of the Upper Class Suite in 2003, and most recently unveiled a bespoke crystal curtains onboard, adorned with over 1000 Swarovski crystals each in the revamped suite aboard A330 aircraft.

Starting this month passengers traveling in Economy will receive a new amenity kit containing eyeshades featuring one of six fabulous sunglass designs, including a pair of heart shaped sunnies, John Lennon-esque circular specs and some 80s retro shades.

Passengers in Premium Economy will receive kits in stylish charcoal gray pouches, made from recycled plastic bottles with silk linings. In Upper Class, Virgin Atlantic travelers will be presented with amenity kits made from the same recycled material, but in pouches sized perfectly to hold tablet devices and e-readers (a fabulous idea, if you ask us).

Sadly, Virgin isn’t the first airline to take a stab at producing blinged-out amenities kits. Back in 2011, Etihad launched Swarovski studded kits for their first class passengers. The rapidly expanding airline will soon fly from even more US destinations, including a direct from DC flight starting September 12.
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Hotel News We Noted: August 31, 2012

by McLean Robbins on

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! We hope you’re off to enjoy one last summer fling – did you like our roundups of hotel deals (some are still going on) and great hotel pools for one last dip?

Kids are back in school and it seems like the hotel world has woken from its summer slumber too – we’ve got lots on tap for you, below.

As always, if you have news or notes, please send us an email.

Still Haven’t Booked For Labor Day? Last Minute Hotel Apps
If you still haven’t booked your hotel for a weekend getaway, check out our last-minute hotel specials and these great road trip tips. You could also try an app like Hotel Tonight or Booking.com.

Sweet Treat: A Beer Float at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
We’ve heard of floats and we’ve heard of craft beer, but what about a craft beer float? That’s exactly what you’ll get at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, which is pairing craft beers with seasonal ice cream and sorbet combos. Sample New Belgium 1554 Black Ale 13 with Rocky Mountain Road Ice Cream and Raspberry-Champagne Sorbet, or Sam Adams American Kriek 24 with Black Cherry-Nutella Swirl, Dark Chocolate, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Yum.

Hotel Opening: The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna
The Ritz-Carlton opened its first hotel in Austria to much fanfare earlier this week (seen in the image, at right). The 80th hotel in the brand’s portfolio is composed of four 19th century palaces in the city’s downtown. You’ll find a rooftop bar, a restaurant serving authentic Austrian cuisine and a soon-to-open boutique spa by luxury skincare brand Guerlain.

Celebrity Not Welcome: Chateau Marmont
We’re not sure if Lindsay Lohan or Chateau Marmont looks worse in this situation. Word broke this week that LiLo is no longer welcome at the posh L.A. area hotel after refusing to pay a $46,000 bill that she claims should have been taken care of by producers of her upcoming “Liz and Dick” film. It’s not really a shock to us that Lohan is a bit of a train wreck – we’ve seen this for some time now. But it also appears a mark against the hotel itself – hotels of a certain caliber are supposed to have some level of discretion, particularly those that cater to the celeb set. What do you think? Who comes out looking worse here? Hotel staff or LiLo?

Hotel Opening: Refugia Lodge, Chile
It’s a week of far-flung hotel openings. This week, remote Chiloé Island in southern Chile, gets a touch of the luxe in a region known for its rusticity. The 12-room Refugia Lodge sits perched atop a rolling hill with beautiful views of the Reloncaví Sound and the snow capped peaks of the Andes in the distance, just 20 minutes from the capital city Castro. The all-inclusive lodge would be a great place to visit – a place the New York Times named one of the “45 Places to Go in 2012.” The Chiloé Archipelago is culturally and ethnically distinct from mainland Chile due to hundreds of years of relative isolation. Sounds like a real treat from $530 USD per night.

Disney To Add New Features At Aulani Resort

by Chris Owen on

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the opening of Aulani, the Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii. Never standing still for long, Disney announced details about enhancements coming to Aulani, including new water features and two new quick-service restaurants.

New water features will include a themed family pool, extending to the edge of the resort property, highlighted by a misty grotto from which swimmers may view the sunset. After dark, a magical starscape of glimmering lights will appear on the grotto ceiling and the floor of the pool.

Near the new family pool will be a kids splash zone, resembling tidal pools with rainbow water jets, images of tidal pool creatures on the pool floors, and hidden Menehune, the legendary little people of the islands, who may be spotted through chinks in the rocks.Also coming to Aulani will be two new food service locations, one adjacent to the new water play area, and another located beachside, offering grab-and-go snacks and easy access for beachgoers.

Work on these enhancements will begin this month and conclude in mid-2013, coinciding with the final build-out of the resort. Along with the water play and dining additions, the expansion will provide a new, larger lawn location for events, weddings and the guest-favorite nighttime Starlit Hui show shown here.


[Photo by Disney]

Highway Hypnosis And How To Avoid It

by Laurel Miller on

I’ve logged about 4,000 road miles (all solo) in the last few weeks, most of it in stunningly monotonous landscape. Fortunately, I’ve never fallen asleep at the wheel, but I’ve definitely had to pull over for a power nap on a number of occasions in the past.

What I tend to get is “highway hypnosis,” also known as driving without attention mode (DWAM), or “white line fever (I always thought that was a reference to a different kind of white line, but what do I know?).”

Highway hypnosis is a trance-like mental state brought on by the monotony of the road. In other words, you’re zoning out, and while one part of your brain is still able to operate your car, the other half is in la la land. If you’ve ever driven a stretch of highway and have no memory of it, you’ve had white line fever, baby. The important thing to take away from this is that it’s nearly as dangerous as nodding off at the wheel.

A 2009 survey conducted by the CDC cited that nearly five percent of adults had fallen asleep while driving in the past 30 days. Those are some scary statistics, as are those from a 2007 National Sleep Foundation poll that stated more than one-half of American drivers (at the time, over 100 million people) had driven while drowsy.

Thousands of people die every year due to drowsy-driving and highway hypnosis-related crashes. Some experts claim falling asleep at the wheel is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated, because you have zero reaction time. With highway hypnosis, your reaction time is so compromised, you may as well be asleep.

With Labor Day weekend looming, I thought I’d provide some tips on how to avoid highway hypnosis, and what to do if you need to pull over for some zzz’s, after the jump.Preventing highway hypnosis

  • Listen to music. When I’m getting tired, it has to be loud, fast, and I have specific songs to get me going.
  • Avoid driving at times you’d normally be asleep.
  • Avoid driving on a full stomach. I will attest to the dangers of this. Before driving back from Santa Fe a week ago, I devoured a final carne adovada plate – with posole and a sopapilla – to tide me over until my next New Mexican food fix. I regretted it the second I got behind the wheel, and no amount of caffeine could help.
  • Caffeine, caffeine, and more caffeine, but if it makes you want to jump out of your skin, know when to cut yourself off. An edgy, irritable driver is a danger as well.
  • Roll down the windows for some fresh air.
  • If you have a headset or Bluetooth, call someone to help keep you alert.
  • I play mental games, like testing my memory or recalling conversations.
  • Take regular breaks to stretch your legs.
  • Shift around while driving. I use cruise control so I can bend my right leg, and I also do one-armed stretches and neck stretches.
  • Keep your eyes moving to avoid zoning out. I also keep eye drops on my console because mine get dry on long drives.


Time out

  • If you need to pull over for a power nap at dusk or after dark, don’t choose a rest area (great for pit stops, not exactly known for savory characters, even during daylight hours). Find a well-lighted, busy location, like a gas station, fast food restaurant, or large hotel parking lot if you can swing it. Personally, I avoid stopping at deserted rest areas all together.
  • Keep your cellphone charged and at the ready in case of emergency.
  • Lock all of your doors.
  • Crack a couple of windows, but no more than a few inches.
  • If you’re in the middle of nowhere and just can’t stay awake, you may have no other option than to stop at a pull-out or side road. Just try to avoid this if at all possible and drive to the next exit.
  • Be honest with yourself: if you know a nap isn’t going to cut it, suck it up and get a motel room, campsite, or sleep in your car. Being behind schedule sucks, but being dead: much worse.

[Photo credits: hypnotism, Flickr user elleinad; road, Flickr user Corey Leopold; rockstar, Flickr user wstryder]

Watch this video to learn how peppermint oil and a really bad hairstyle can help keep you alert!

Gastronomy And Great Spas: Four Hotel And Resort Spas With Luxurious Culinary Tie-Ins

by McLean Robbins on

Spas have long been mixing natural and food-quality ingredients into their treatment offerings, but spa cuisine menus have often been relegated to the true destination spa resorts – the Miravals and Canyon Ranches of the travel world. While these spots are lovely, travelers often don’t have time to get away for a week of relaxation. Today, however, more and more hotels are offering healthy cuisine options to tie in with their spa menus, allowing travelers seeking relaxation for an hour or an afternoon to enjoy high-quality yet healthy options. Here are a few of our favorite easy escapes, below:

The Cornelia Spa at The Surrey
The Cornelia Spa, the newest addition to The Surrey in NYC is now offering guests small bites at The Botanical Bar, an experience integrated into the spa’s “Relaxation Library” to create a destination within the spa for lingering, lounging and experiencing tasty bites and beautiful books. Guests are served a sweet and savory refreshment that are flavorful, healthful and inspired by the botanical ingredients in the Cornelia products including herbs, flowers, fruits and spices. Post treatment, enjoy a sweet treat – The Surrey’s Signature Botanical Cookie with a lavender drizzle. The savory tasting will rotate to include amuse bouche delicacies such as orange-spiced salted almonds and a selection of orange-minted olives.

The Spa at The Mandarin Oriental, Boston Located just off prime shopping on Newbury Street, The Mandarin Oriental Boston is a top pick for leisure and business travelers alike. Those looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of city living can enjoy pampering treatments at the 16,000-square-foot spa, and head to the spa cafe for post treatment lunches or snacks.
Lake Austin Spa at Lake Austin Spa Resort
This well-known spa offers a number of culinary inspired treatments, including a number of body treatments that use local and food-based ingredients. Test the “Best of the Southwest” scrub using local mesquite, jojoba oil and pure sugar, plus a ginger tea tree mango butter foot cream or a pear and fig body polish with turmeric root. Don’t worry if you’re hungry post treatment – the resort is also well known for their superb spa cuisine, much of which is made using Texas-based ingredients or sourced from the resort’s own gardens onsite.

Fairmont’s Willow Stream Spa Brand
The energizing Willow Stream Spas, the signature spa brand of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, offer spa goers a range of signature and local spa treatments but also places a strong emphasis on food. All spa destinations offer Spa Bento Box spa cuisine as part of Fairmont’s Lifestyle Cuisine, prepared with non-processed food, as healthy, locally grown and organic as possible. They also offer Lifestyle Cuisine Plus, a new menu available upon request catering to spa guests with specific diet-dependent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and gluten free needs, as well as unique dietary preferences including macrobiotic, raw and vegan diets.