Luxury gone wild: Top treehouse hotels around the world

by Melanie Nayer on

Who said luxury was limited only inside four walls? In the backyard of hotels and resorts we frequent around the world are miles of lush landscapes just waiting to be explored and slept in. Look up the next time you’re walking through the woods and imagine a space in that tall tree, complete with all the amenities you would find at home.

Treehouses are treasures that embrace our childhood and indulge our adventurous side, and they have a lot more to offer than a bird’s nest and an old carpet from your Mom’s garage. Below are some of the most unique treehouse hotels around the world worth exploring… are you game?

Parrot Nest Lodge, Belize: Spend the night under a 100-foot guanacste tree in a thatched treehouse in Parrot Nest Lodge. Surrounded on three sides by the Mopan River, you’ll watch fireflies swarm at eye level and make friends with a few parrots from your hammock on the porch of the tree. Make sure you have plenty of battery life in your camera – the Parrot Nest Lodge is one of the best places to play with the wildlife that inhabits the exotic gardens on the grounds. The best part? It’s only $40 a night for double occupancy and children under 12 stay free. www.parrot-nest.com

Tree Houses of Hana, Maui: These tree-top rooms are pretty basic, but if you’re looking for rustic romance they’re worth the climb. The rooms in these trees lack electricity (read: candles set the mood) and when the sun goes down, tiki torches and candles light the way through the wooded path to your secluded treehouse. Treetops, House of the August Moon and Pavillion all provide guests with ocean views and camp-style in-tree kitchens. This cost of this adventure will cost you $120 per night. hanalani.maui.netThe Aviary, Lenox, Massachusetts: Not your typical treehouse, The Aviary is a two-level suite with a private covered terrace located on 22 acres of parkland in the Berkshire Mountains. The “treehouse” comes complete with a living rooms, antique soaking tub, and a full entertainment system. The circular stairs lead you to the second floor sleeping room ‘in the trees’. The lap of luxury in the woods will cost you $2100 a night, but it’s sure to be the best time you’ve ever had in a treehouse. www.wheatleigh.com

Tranquil Resort, Wayanad, Kerala, India: Imagine waking up to the smells of vanilla wafting through the air and coffee beans roasting in the sun. The 500-square-foot treehouse at Tranquil Resort is set on a private 400-acre estate complete with a working coffee and vanilla plantation, meant to relax and rejuvenate. The treehouse is set 35-feet off the ground and come with king-sized beds, full baths, and a veranda. Insect screens protect you from the outside elements and if you get bored of the panoramic view of the estate, you can turn on the TV or pop in a DVD, conveniently wired in the tree. Nightly rates were unavailable on the website, but you can email the resort directly for information. www.tranquilresort.com/treehouse.html

Tree House Lodge, Limón, Costa Rica: Located on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica lies a small eco-lodge with four treehouses on pristine ocean-front property. A true mesh of nature and harmony, the treehouses are located in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge and feature solar heating, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a shower. To add to the ambiance of these wooden digs, you access your treehome via a hanging steel bridge. Access to the bridge. Rates start at $300 a night. www.costaricatreehouse.com

Daily Pampering: India’s new ultra-luxury Maharaja train service

by Melanie Nayer on

Travel through India just got a little more glamorous.

Earlier this week, India officially launched its most luxurious and expensive train service. The cost: a minimum $800 a night (the presidential suite will run you $2,500 a night, but for that price you get your carriage and private bathtub).

The new Maharaja train accommodates only 84 passengers, who each get their own suite complete with private bathrooms and plasma televisions. There are two restaurants serving Indian and Western food, a bar, card tables and an observation lounge on the train.

The new train service is part of a luxurious family including the Deccan Odyssey in western Maharashtra, the Palace on Wheels in Rajasthan and the Golden Chariot in southern Karnataka.

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

JW Marriott plans 40 hotels in India by 2013

by Melanie Nayer on

Executives at the JW Marriott offices are busy planning the future. First came the announcement that JW Marriott plans to double its hotel presence in Europe by 2015, and now the hotel group plans to add another 40 hotels in India by 2013.

So, just where does the luxury hotel brand plan to put all of these hotels?

“We will be opening five JW Marriott hotels in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune (two) and Chandigarh by this year-end,” JW Marriott Group’s Area Vice-President for India, Malaysia and Pakistan, Rajeev Menon told the Press Trust of India. Additionally, Menon said Marriott plans to open two Marriott Courtyard hotels in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

With new hotels means new jobs, and according to Menon, the JW Marriott will be helping to boost the employment market by hiring an additional 3,000 workers to service the additional 10,000-plus rooms the Marriott company plans to open in the next few years.

The JW Marriott India properties will feature all the luxury amenities customers are used to including spas, fitness centers, on-site restaurants and bars, swimming pools and in some cases, private night clubs.

Is a zero-rupee note the key to stopping bribery in India?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

If you’ve ever traveled to Southeast Asia or the Middle East, you’re probably accustomed to having to “grease the wheels” a little bit if you expect help from local officials. Known as “baksheesh” in the Middle East, these small tips (okay, bribes) are common throughout much of the world for anyone looking to park a car, avoid a traffic ticket, move to the head of a line, or awaken a sleeping bureaucrat.

Although for many travelers baksheesh is more a novelty than a nuisance– probably because of their limited exposure to it– for many locals baksheesh is a frustrating and costly part of daily life. So how to stop the bribery and corruption? An Indian physics professor thinks he has the answer: Shame.

Professor Satindar Mohan Bhagat, now a professor of physics at the University of Maryland, came up with the idea of a “zero-rupee note” after growing tired of the endless demands for bribes on trips back to his native India.

According to one article, “The notes, printed and distributed by a good-government organization called 5th Pillar, include the phrase that the bearer ‘promises to neither accept nor give a bribe.'” Citizens who are solicited for a “tip” are supposed to give the zero-rupee notes to bribe-seeking officials in the hope of shaming them into withdrawing their request.

Perhaps surprisingly, this technique has been already successful in hundreds of cases:

In one instance, a corrupt bureaucrat apologized and returned money he had previously extorted from a village to connect it to the electrical grid. In another, an official who had just asked for “tea money” from an elderly woman stood up, offered his seat to her, brought her a real cup of tea, and then approved the loan she needed for her granddaughter to go to college.

Whole thing here.

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.