Daily Pampering: The most expensive suite in Latin America

by Melanie Nayer on

What does $9,500 a night buy you? The F Suite at Faena Hotel + Universe – the most expensive suite in Latin America.

This Buenos Aires suite reflects the interior design of a collaboration between Philippe Starck and Alan Faena, and incorporates Imperial-style furniture, red velvet curtains, lapacho wood and arabasceto marble. Traditional Argentine themes and patterns can be found throughout the space and are woven into rugs. A large red Murano glass chandelier hangs in the center of the living room and oil portraits of General and Eva Peron adorn the wall.

In addition to all the luxury in the F Suite, the hotel a stunning pool, a rejuvenating spa and Turkish bath, two top notch restaurants and two intimate theaters that sell out live shows.

Pamper yourself in these luxury digs and you’ll get private access via a residential entrance, an outdoor terrace with spectacular views of the city and round-the-clock personal service by a dedicated Experience Manager.
What else are you going to do with $9,500 a night?

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

What do business travelers want? Not just clean rooms!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

With business travel on the rise, hotels are probably thinking about how to make these lucrative customers as happy as possible. After all, a frequent business traveler can be on the road 40 weeks a year or more (been there, I assure you), and they don’t always have the same flexibility as leisure travelers. There’s a big opportunity here, especially with business travel set to increase next year.

“Consumers are more value-conscious than ever and have been conditioned to expect more for their money after a steady diet of recession-era deals. The tipping point for hotels to differentiate their brand offering and strengthen loyalty among the post-recessionary business traveler will be providing additional complementary services and amenities tailored to their guests’ specific needs,” said Adam Weissenberg, vice chairman and tourism, hospitality and leisure sector leader, Deloitte LLP. “Beyond traditional incentives, hotels are realizing the importance of developing their online presence, particularly with mobile platforms, to capitalize on a crucial touch point for brand communication.”

For both sectors, however, now would be a pretty smart time to listen to a group of customers that is about to start spending more money. Global professional services firm Deloitte recently surveyed 1,001 business travelers and has revealed the information that the travel industry can use to connect with its best target market more effectively.

Here’s what business travelers want:1. Work-friendly room: 68 percent of business travelers often work in their rooms, Deloitte said in a statement following the survey. And for a long time, I was one of them. If a room is not designed for me to get stuff done – from a desk to wifi access – the room doesn’t work. The amenities, artwork and staff responsiveness don’t matter if a business traveler can’t work comfortably.

2. Better than clean and comfy: are you satisfied with a clean room and a comfortable bed? Well, you’re probably alone. Deloitte found that 65 percent of business travelers “expect a lot more from a hotel” than that.

3. Business on internet time: it’s hardly responding that 79 percent of the respondents felt that high-speed web access was an important amenity. Seventy-seven percent cited free parking, as well.

4. Rewards for loyalty: 30 percent of business travelers, according to the Deloitte survey, “felt their favorite hotel brand was so important to them that they would stay at that hotel brand even if it were not in the most convenient location.” Interestingly, this level of loyalty was highest among respondents earning at least $150,000 a year.

There’s more than brand familiarity going on here, I suspect (again, my suspicion, not Deloitte’s). Rewards for loyalty sure help, and I remember it influencing a lot of business travel behavior when I was living the road warrior life.

5. Device love: almost half of survey respondents said they have a web-enabled smartphone. Meanwhile, this is true of 84 percent of the 18-to-29 business traveler crowd and 63 percent of business travelers earning more than $150,000 a year. Twenty-six percent of respondents have downloaded a hotel app to a device, with 54 percent of them using it “primarily to book a room.”

Top ten hotel rooms with a view

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Hotels aren’t the sum of travel, but the right hotel can bring magic to a journey. Friendly employees, amazing furnishings, and great locations can all make a good holiday great. And an exceptional view, above and beyond the rest, can stick in one’s memory forever. Here are ten hotels strewn around the world, each with ridiculously stunning views.

1. Shearwater Resort, Saba. Shearwater’s Cottage Rooms, which overlook the resort’s cliffside pool from an altitude of 2000 feet and sport views of the ocean and several neighboring islands (St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and Nevis) are in a league of their own. See above for evidence. Shearwater’s owners also recommend the views from their Ocean View Suite. Cottage Rooms from $175; Ocean View Suite from $250.

2. Longitude 131, Ayers Rock Resort, Australia. The tents at Longitude 131 at Ayers Rock feature heart-stopping panoramic views of this most iconic of Australian sights. This is real fantasy territory, with rates well beyond feasibility for most. From A$4080 for two for two nights ($4095).

3. Hotel on Rivington, New York, New York. The corner king rooms at this Lower East Side outpost of extravagance have floor-to-ceiling glass walls affording astounding views of the city. Aim for a room on a higher floor. From $379.

4. Hotel de Crillon, Paris, France. Terribly exorbitant, yes–not sure that a room at this price point should ever be recommended–but the views are exquisite here. Do you best to nab a room with a view over the Place de la Concorde to the Eiffel Tower. From €630 ($875).

5. Sheraton Iguazú Resort and Spa, Iguazú Falls, Argentina. The only hotel inside the Iguazú National Park offers awe-inspiring views of the falls themselves. The Falls View rooms, all with balconies, are perfect for the view-minded. From $255.

6. Campi ya Kanzi, Mtito Andei, Kenya. Campi ya Kanzi lies in a 400 square-mile are of Maasai-run land in southern Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro is 35 miles away from the camp site, which consists of six tented cottages and two suites. Suites run $1600 for two; single occupancy $900.

7. The Intercontinental, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Stunning Hong Kong Harbor provides the world one of its most exciting skylines, and a harbourview room at the Intercontinental is one of the best places to glimpse it. From around HK$2600 ($335).

8. The Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, Alberta, Canada. The most iconic of Canada’s mountain lodges, the Fairmont Banff Springs is in a league of its own as far as picturesque placement is concerned. Many rooms offer extraordinary views as well. Book a valley view room (not a mountain view room) to take full advantage of the Rockies’ scenic majesty. From around C$439 ($437).

9. Explora, Torres del Paine, Chile. Gorgeous if minimalist modernism features here in the wilds of Chilean Patagonia, courtesy of famed Chilean architect Germán del Sol. Views of Macizo del Paine are drop-dead extraordinary. They’re also most definitely not cheap. Four nights will run $5840 for two.

10. La Haut Plantation, St. Lucia. The least expensive of the options here is this reasonable stunner, which has great views of St. Lucia’s famous Pitons. Even the least expensive Standard Garden rooms here boast incredible views of the Pitons. From $120 in low season.

A list like this one is of course necessarily quite subjective, and my evaluation here is designed to suggest and expose more than it is intended to lay down the law. Have a hotel view in mind that you think belongs on this list? Add it in the comments below!

(Images provided by hotels, except for the view from the Sheraton Iguazú Resort and Spa [Flickr / Tran’s World Productions] and view from the Fairmont Banff Springs [Flickr / dbaron]

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JW Marriott opens in Chicago

by Melanie Nayer on

Marriott certainly is making the rounds. The first ever JW Marriott Marquis opened in Miami last week and coming Thursday, Nov. 11, the JW Marriott Chicago will open its doors.

Situated in the historic Continental & Commercial National Bank Building in Chicago’s financial district, the JW Marriott Chicago will be the first of its brand in the windy city. Occupying the first 12 floors of the building at 151 W. Adams St., the hotel will have 610 guestrooms, including 29 corner suites and more than 44,000-square-feet of meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot world class spa and fitness center, and two different dining options – an Italian Steakhouse and a lounge serving more casual plates and sushi.

Each guestroom will offer complimentary in-room coffee/tea service and nightly turndown service. All rooms have 10-foot ceilings with handcrafted crown molding and spacious bathrooms clad in Italian marble, featuring stand alone tubs and separate marble showers. Forty-two inch flat-panel high-definition televisions grace each room with hookups for A/V stations and Wi-Fi capabilities.

The spa, VALEO, is a 20,000-square-foot space of ultimate serenity combining fitness facilities, traditional and non-traditional spa services and myriad salon services. The fitness center will feature cardio and circuit training equipment, a large pool for laps as well as a therapeutic whirlpool.

The hotel’s restaurants, The Florentine and the lobby lounge, give travelers and hotel guests the option of fine dining or casual take-out. The Florentine, a concept from the BLT Restaurant Group, offers Italian-American fare from Corporate Executive Chef Rodelio Aglibot and Executive Chef Todd Stein, of Sunda and mk fame respectively. For a more casual experience, the JW Marriott Chicago’s lobby lounge will serve light fare like appetizers and sushi.

To celebrate the opening of the hotel, individual room reservations will be available beginning November 11, 2010 with introductory rates from $179 – $329.

Porn mogul to offer free hotel rooms for guests who perform

by Meg Nesterov on

How far would you go for a free hotel room? Swedish pornographer Berth Milton Jr. hopes you’d go all the way; he’s proposing a new chain of “sex-themed, five-star hotels” and would offer free stays for guests who have sex on webcams. Barbara DeLollis reports in USA Today that Milton believes subscriptions could bring in nearly $44 million a year from viewers who will pay to watch amateurs having sex.

Milton made his fortune making adult DVD versons of popular films like “Gladiator” but has since been fighting a legal battle over $10 million he allegedly borrowed (and didn’t repay) from his company Private Media as well as a creditor that could take his shares in the company’s board. The porn hotels idea is just one venture he hopes will restore his empire.

Milton did some field research at swingers clubs in Spain and concluded the hotels would have to appeal to guests other than aspiring porn stars. “It has to be a hotel for non-swingers as well — not super-explicit where everybody’s running around naked,” Milton told the New York Post. “That takes the style and class out of it.” Of course not, couldn’t have a porn hotel without style or class. Citing Charlie Sheen’s recent Plaza Hotel romp, he believes there is room for porn in mainstream. “If you take a show like ‘Two-and-a-Half Men,’ it’s all about an adult lifestyle,” Milton said.

Would you stay in a porn hotel, as a performer or otherwise? We’re still skeptical, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

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[Photo by Flick user Laram 777]