Hotels help guests get in shape for summer

by Melanie Nayer on

No one knows the perils of summer better than a woman trying on a swimsuit for the first time after winter. Thanks to a few months of cozying up with comfort foods and flannel pajamas on your sofa, the bikini-body you rocked last summer has gone a little soft.

Since you can’t hide behind your favorite baggy sweater forever, one New York hotel is announcing a promotion that helps you get in shape for summer. The Kimberly Hotel‘s “Budget-Friendly/Body-Healthy” package is tailored to the traveler who needs to get away, and get in shape.

You’ll get a weekend stay that includes the selection of two services from The Kimberly’s New York Health & Racquet Club, located on East 45th Street between Lexington and Third. A personal trainer will also provide nutritional guidance and/or a complimentary massage. Your stay includes breakfast and dinner for two via room service, and a late check-out. The get-in-shape package starts at $850 (actual retail price: $1,280), double occupancy, for the two-night weekend stay and is valid through Aug. 31, 2010. (Price does not include taxes, surcharges, etc).

The Renaissance ClubSport in Orange County, California, is offering local residents the chance to join its fitness club. The Jr. Olympic size pool, weight and cardio equipment, and personal trainers are now available to residents and hotel guests. Memberships to the hotel fitness center include: Use of all fitness amenities, online nutrition tracking, preferred member room rates and one free guest pass per month ($25 value). In addition, you’ll get 10% off dining and spa services.

For those who want to do good while doing their body good, the Four Seasons Hotel Boston is hosting their annual Run for Hope on Sat., June 12, 2010. The Run for Hope is an annual 5k run and 2k walk to raise funds for pediatric cancer care and research. This year the hotel hopes to raise more than $80,000 for the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

In addition to hosting packages and events around fitness, many hotels offer in-room exercise guides and videos to help you stay in shape while you travel. Affinia Hotels and Omni Hotels offer “get fit” kits that include yoga mats, dumbbells, exercise bands, and DVD tutorials so you can work out in the comfort of your room.

Before you order your room service and snag a free cupcake from the hotel lounge, consider these stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • Two-thirds of American adults weigh too much.
  • More than 27% of Americans are obese.
  • Obesity accounts for nearly 10% of all medical costs – this amounts to $147 billion annually.
  • Healthcare costs are 42% higher for someone who is obese – that’s over $1,400 each.

Just how about it, travelers… up for a run or a quick in-room workout?

Starwood ordered to pay $3m for spying on employee

by Melanie Nayer on

File this under: What were they thinking?!?

Starwood Hotels and Resorts was found guilty of spying on a New York employee and has been ordered to pay $3 million in damages.

Apparently, the hotel set up a hidden camera to watch 46-year-old Moises Mendez, a baker at the Westin Hotel at Times Square, following repeated complaints from Mendez that he was being discriminated by the hotel.

Seems the only way the hotel’s HR department could be certain the claims were legitimate was to install a hidden camera near Mendez’s workstation in the kitchen and watch him. When Mendez found out what was going on, the situation took a turn for the worse.

After a month-long process, a jury found Starwood guilty of unlawful retaliation and ordered the hotel to pay Mendez $1 million for his emotional distress, pain and suffering, and $2 million in punitive damages. After all that, Mendez said in a statement: “I look forward to going back to work today.”%Gallery-67351%

Be sure to check out Episode 5 of Travel Talk TV, which features a Santa Cruz beach adventure; explains why Scottish money is no good; shows how to cook brats the German way; and offers international dating tips!

Aloft Hotels expands global presence in 2010

by Melanie Nayer on


Aloft Hotels, the newest brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, announced it would expand its overseas presence in 2010. The hotel plans to open 10 new properties in 2010, half of them internationally.

Aloft is planning to open three new hotels in India and one in Brussels, in addition to adding hotels throughout the U.S., including two New York City properties – one in Brooklyn and the other in the heart of Harlem.

Aloft was created to offer a low-cost, high-style option for travelers. The Aloft brand has been testing out new technology that aims to ease the hotel check-in process, including introducing wireless check-in service at its Lexington, Massachusetts hotel.

Since launching in June 2008, the Starwood brand has opened 40 hotels worldwide, including China’s Aloft Beijing Haidian and Aloft Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Ground Zero hotel’s ‘selling point’ creates controversy

by Melanie Nayer on

A new Manhattan hotel is marketing its proximity to Ground Zero as a selling point, and creating a stir among those trying to preserve the memory of friends and family lost during the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The World Center Hotel, opened by Club Quarters Inc., is currently accepting reservations for its rooms that boast “floor-to-ceiling ‘window walls'” offering “unfettered views of the rising Freedom Tower and National 9/11 Memorial & Museum,” according to the hotel’s Web site.

In response to the controversy, the hotel issued this statement to Fox News:

“We at the World Center Hotel reference our location on our website and in our marketing because our location is an important part of our hotel’s identity. The World Center Hotel, being across from both the World Financial Center and the rising World Trade Center, was designed primarily for business travelers, but leisure travelers also appreciate our downtown location.

“Some guests may feel emotional about the proximity to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, however, and choose not to stay at our hotel. Others are encouraged that, after so many years, the site is finally being transformed into a fitting Memorial, and they want to see the progress being made there.

“Either reaction is entirely legitimate. We feel strongly that business and economic growth is good for our city, and that the rebirth of downtown New York City does not in any way diminish the remembrance of the tragic events of nearly nine years ago. We are very respectful of the emotions involved, and we share them. But, we are also proud to be a part of the long-term revitalization of Lower Manhattan.”

While Manhattanites continue to protest the PR campaign put forth by the hotel, the 169-room hotel continues to market to the 7.1 million people that are estimated to visit the 9/11 Memorial Preview site when it officially opens.

New York’s Fashion 26 is dressed to impress for April 15 debut

by Melanie Nayer on

All hail the hotel fashionista! Fashion 26, the New York hotel that’s putting a new face on fashion has finally confirmed its opening date: April 15. we just got word the opening has been moved up one week to April 5.

Fashion 26, Wyndham hotel’s latest Chelsea, New York offering is located at West 26th and steps from the Fashion Institute of Technology. The hotel will open its doors on April 15, but rumor has it a few guests are already booked for the soft launch the weekend prior.

I caught up with Deirdre Yack, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fashion 26, and got the inside scoop on a few fashion-forward trends hotel customers will find when they check-in:

Is there one room in particular you’re very fond of in the hotel? Our rooms are all very consistent in decor and size. The top two floors of the hotel are Club Floors, filled with extra features like Frette Slippers, glass digital scales, fashion magazines, larger and additional bath amenities, plus incredible views. Uptown view is of the Empire State Building, while the downtown views show off a really unique view of residential buildings, rooftop gardens, water towers – really fun and not often seen NYC views. I would say my #1 favorite room is 2208 – a Club King – you feel like you can reach out and touch the Empire State Building. Plus, Club Floors offer complimentary breakfast in Rare offering a great value to guests.

I’d expect a fashion-focused hotel to have some trendy apparel. What is the staff dress code like and who designed it? Wow – our uniform program is unlike any I have seen in my 13 years in hotels. Think traditional, classic American-style. Our General Manager, the owner and our designer Glen Coben all literally went shopping for ideas one day. They scoured their favorite upscale retailers and came back with a really fresh, high-end concept for our uniforms. A company called Top Hat custom made the uniforms for each department, using these samples. Let’s just say, I wish sales could wear the concierge uniform (a really cute grey jumper with skinny belt over a white man-tailored shirt). The doormen have Kangol hats for cool weather days, and housekeeping attendants have a simple pinstriped black dress with a charming kick pleat. The quality for everything is incredible – a soft, light merino wool.

How will Fashion 26 pave the way for “designer” hotels in the future? Our design and unique concept are born from our location in the garment district. Our fashion concept, commitment to detail, interest in the arts, all come straight from ownership to management – direct to our guests. That said, we are more concerned with our service and delivering the best possible experience to each guest than we are to being a “design” hotel or starting a new trend. We simply aspire to create an experience that brings fashion, art, hospitality and impeccable service together in a way that will impress and delight each guest. In fact, we have quite a few guests arriving as early as March 31 for our soft opening.

The hotel is currently accepting reservations on its Web site and don’t worry — you don’t need to don a pair of Jimmy Choo’s or know how to keep a shirt ruffle from feathering in order to check into these rooms.