New Wyndham hotel opens in Miami’s South Beach

by Melanie Nayer on

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is continuing its Florida hotel expansion with the opening of a new 133-room-and-suite Wyndham Garden Hotel Miami South Beach. The new hotel, located at 1050 Washington Avenue in South Beach’s entertainment district, sits two blocks from the beach and is a short drive from Miami’s International Airport and the Port of Miami.

The hotel sits on the site of the historic 1922 Coral House, which was preserved by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board and recently underwent a $5.5 million renovation before joining the Wyndham family. On the grounds is Catch 10 Seafood Bistro, which offers outdoor seating, room service and poolside dining, as well as Starbucks coffee and the hotel’s signature mint lemonade.

The Wyndham Garden Hotel Miami South Beach offers the typical Wyndham amenities: BeWell bedding, room service, concierge services, valet parking and free high-speed wireless Internet access. In addition, each guest room and suite offers large work desks and ergonomic chairs, as well as marble counter-tops, white lacquered vanities with vessel sinks and spa teak benches in all showers. The Wyndham South Beach property has lush gardens surrounding an outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness facility.

The hotel is across the street from the Wolfsonian Museum, a short walk to the Lincoln Road Mall and the Versace Mansion (now the Villa by Barton G) on Ocean Drive.

Staybridge Suites Times Square giving one guest a spot on Broadway

by Melanie Nayer on

Admit it, you’ve always wanted to see your name in lights. Well, you just might get the chance to live out your Broadway dreams, thanks to Staybridge Suites.

Staybridge Suites Times Square, New York City, is hosting a “Big Broadway Break” contest that invites wanna-be stars to express their talent for a chance at getting their name in lights.

Aspiring Broadway stars simply need to submit a video of themselves performing one of two classic Broadway songs, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” to the Staybridge Suites Times Square Facebook page. The entries will be narrowed down to 10 finalists by public vote, and the winner will be selected by a panel of Broadway industry judges including Seth Rudetsky from Sirius/XM Broadway radio; Adam Feldman, the associate theater and cabaret editor from Time Out New York and award winning Broadway casting director, Stephanie Klapper.

The winner will receive:

  • A six-month hotel stay at Staybridge Suites NYC
  • A series of personalized Broadway Classroom workshops from Broadway.com
  • A session with noted Broadway casting director, Stephanie Klapper
  • An interview with Time Out New York theater and cabaret editor Adam Feldman
  • An interview on the weekly show, Seth’s Broadway Chatterbox on broadwayworld.com
  • $5,000 for living expenses and Staybridge Suites’ signature complimentary services and amenities throughout the length of their stay.

Videos can be entered on Staybridge Suites Times Square’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/staybridgesuitestimessquare) from May 10 – June 18, 2010. From June 19 – 25, a public vote will determine the final 10 contestants. The winner will be announced on July 1.

Flexjet members get extra bump on Korean Air

by Tom Johansmeyer on

This is a first: a fractional jet provider and an international airline are partnering up. Flexjet’s fractional owners can now access premium services when they fly overseas on Korean Air. Under this new arrangement, the Flexjet Connect program, members will receive incentives to buy first class tickets on , not to mention elite status for a full year, dedicated check-in and luxury concierge services in select airports. And, Korean Air passengers can reach more than 5,000 U.S. airports with as little as 24 hours’ notice on high-performance Bombardier business jets.

According to Fed Reid, President of Flexjet, “This first-of-its-kind collaboration with Korean Air adds value to our program offerings, while further expanding our global reach.” He adds, “For our discerning fractional customers, this strategic partnership between two industry leaders obsessed with excellence ensures they will experience the same level of comfort and high-quality travel they have come to expect from Flexjet.”

Walter Cho, Senior Vice President, Passenger Business Division, Korean Air, says, “Now our customers can fly privately from a local airport to catch their Korean Air flight, or get closer to their meetings by flying to regional airports, knowing that our partners at Flexjet and Jet Solutions will provide a seamless and convenient travel experience with impeccable service.”

Disney announces closing date for Star Wars rides at Disneyland, Disney World

by Leigh Caldwell on

Disney Parks is overhauling the Star Wars-themed Star Tours rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World later this year, and now Star Wars fans know when they can get that last ride on the original.

Star Tours will close at Disneyland on July 27 and at Walt Disney World on Sept. 8.

The original Star Tours ride puts riders in the passenger seat of a StarSpeeder 3000 spacecraft, under the pilot of a droid named Rex. The ship is supposed to be headed to the Moon of Endor, but a few wrong turns lead it into the middle of a battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Death Star.

It’s a motion simulator ride that was on the cutting edge when it launched about 20 years ago. But now, it’s a 20-year-old ride in need of an overhaul — that’s a “re-imagining” in Disney-speak.

The “new” Star Tours will be a 3-D affair, with riders joining in a high-speed pod race on Tatooine. It is expected to re-open at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in May 2011.

Walt Disney World and the fan convention Star Wars Celebration V are holding a “Last Tour to Endor” party on Aug. 14 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A special event ticket is required; a regular park ticket won’t get you in. The party will include Star Wars shows, a “Death Star Disco” and Star Wars-themed fireworks.

Tickets are on sale now for $75.

Space tourism already getting cheaper!

by Kraig Becker on

Space tourism may still be a few years from taking off (pun fully intended!) but competition is already bringing the price down dramatically. According to this story from MSNBC, a company known as Space Adventures has partnered with Armadillo Aerospace to make space tourism relatively affordable. In this case, “affordable” means $102,000, which is almost half the cost of rival Virgin Galactic’s proposed flights on SpaceShipTwo.

Unlike Virgin Galactic’s two-stage space plane design, Armadillo is developing a more traditional vertical launch system. Tourists will sit inside a capsule that will be propelled by a rocket 62 miles into the sky, taking them to the very edge of space. Once they reach that altitude, they’ll be treated to five minutes of weightlessness and a 360º view of the Earth below. The entire flight time will be less than an hour in length, but the price tag does include several days of training as well.

Space Adventures already has a track record for sending tourists into space. The company has partnered with the Russian Space Agency to send clients to the International Space Station, with several very rich travelers spending upwards of $35 million to take the journey. In those cases however, the space tourist actually spends several days living aboard the ISS.

Both Virgin Galactic and Armadillo are currently conducting tests on their flight systems, and while neither company knows when they’ll begin sending regular flights into space, most believe it won’t happen until 2012 or later. Who knows, by then there may be a third privately owned space tourism company that will be driving prices down even further.

So, what do you think? Would you pay $100,000 for a chance to go into orbit?