Setai Fifth Avenue opens in Midtown Manhattan

by Melanie Nayer on

Add another luxury hotel to the New York scene. In addition to everything that Fifth Avenue has to offer, The Setai Fifth Avenue, managed by Capella Hotels and Resorts, finally opened its doors this week.

Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan at 400 Fifth Avenue, between 36th and 37th Streets, The Setai Fifth Avenue features 157 guest rooms, 57 suites and three penthouse suites. The building also includes a collection of condominium residences on the tower’s top floors.

The new hotel claims to have some of the most spacious rooms in Manhattan (the majority at 700 square feet or larger), in addition to a new restaurant from acclaimed chef Michael White, Ai Fiori; a Julien Farel Salon; an Auriga spa; and a new fixture at street level, the Bar on Fifth. A state-of-the-art fitness center, endless meeting space and around-the-clock services are available to guests.

While we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the rooms first hand, we know they are decorated with Duxiana beds, Pratesi linens, and custom-built desks. Baths are clad in stone and walnut veneer, with deep-soaking tubs by Zuma, rain showers, and televisions inset into the bathroom mirrors.

The ‘to-die-for’ element? The Auriga spa, which takes over the entire fourth floor and spans more than 11,500 square feet. The spa features eleven private treatment rooms, wet rooms, experiential showers, a vitality pool, sauna, steam room, and hammam.

The price for decadence? We did a quick check of room rates for this coming weekend and found a “Superior Room” for $595 a night; a “Premier Room” for $895 a night; and “Studio Suites” starting at $995 a night.

Daily Pampering: Stylecations at the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles

by Annie Scott on

The Ritz-Carlton has enlisted StyleChic‘s Aly Scott (pictured) to bring you a truly “Hollywood” getaway experience complete with a personal style consultation, exclusive shopping privileges and plenty of champagne.

According to a rep from the hotel, “Where do I shop?” is one of the most commonly asked questions at the front desk. Aly can certainly help with that, and help you hone your own style — whether you’re preparing for a special event or just looking for a great girlfriends or mother-daughter getwaway.

The custom packages from the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles are the “Red Carpet Getaway” and the “Stylecation”:

Red Carpet Getaway (from $3,000 double occupancy or $2,500 single occupancy)

  • Guaranteed early check-in and late check-out
  • Two nights deluxe overnight accommodations at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles
  • Club Lounge access; enjoy complimentary beverages and continuous culinary offerings throughout your stay
  • Dinner for two at chef Wolfgang Puck’s award-winning WP24 Restaurant & Lounge
  • Pre-arrival consultation with Aly Scott, founder of StyleChic
  • Six hour customized StyleChic experience with Aly Scott
  • Choice of $100 Spa Credit or 60 minute personal training session
  • Personalized welcome amenity hand-selected by StyleChic

Stylecation (from $1,800 double occupancy or $1,200 single occupancy)

  • Guaranteed early check-in and late check-out
  • Overnight deluxe overnight accommodations at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles
  • Dinner for two at chef Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 Restaurant & Lounge
  • Three hour personalized StyleChic experience with Aly Scott
  • Choice of $100 Spa Credit or 60 minute personal training session
  • Personalized welcome amenity hand-selected by StyleChic

Both packages include a custom StyleChic itinerary tailored to you. Need some ideas? How about a champagne welcome in the newly opened VIP terrace lounge at Tods on Rodeo Drive? A private, white glove atelier service appointment with a high fashion fine jeweler known for his work with Beyonce, Rihanna and Zoe Saldana? You can also visit a custom couture atelier, have lunch at The Ivy, meet up and coming designers, hit the back room of an appointment-only vintage boutique and more, all chauffeured around in a private town car, of course.

We love these packages because they are designed to make you feel like a star — after all, who would want to fly to LA for a quick night or two to shop? Celebrities. They’re just like us.

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

Kensington Tours announces dream trips for sports fans

by Kraig Becker on

Kensington Tours, a travel company that specializes in private-guided adventure travel, has announced a series of tours that are guaranteed to be a hit with sports fans. These trips include VIP treatment for travelers, offering up luxury accommodations, access to glamorous events, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and of course, excellent seats at some of the most well known and legendary events in all of sports.

This Championship Series of tours includes options to attend events on three different continents, including jaunts to Europe for Wimbledon, the Ryder Cup, and the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco. In North America the events include a chance to attend the Masters golf or the U.S. Open tennis tournaments, as well as the Kentucky Derby, or the Super Bowl, while travelers to South America can opt to experience the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix in Rio.

Attending these amazing sporting events is just the beginning however, as Kensington has taken great strides to offer travel packages that ensure an unforgettable experience. For instance, some of the luxuries include helicopter transfers, police escorts, and guided tours of the host cities, as well as a chance to play a round of golf on some of the top courses in the world and get the opportunity to take a drive in a Ferrari. Upgrade options include private luxury boxes, limos, a private jet, and VIP access to behind the scenes activities as well.

While most of these sporting events are still months off, the Championship Series tours are already filling up fast. There is a reason why these events are so exclusive, and if you’re looking for the ultimate way to experience any of them, Kensington is here to provide that experience. For sports fans, these tours really are a dream come true.

Explore Lake Powell by houseboat this fall

by Kraig Becker on

When the Glen Canyon Dam was built back in 1966, it created Lake Powell, the second largest man-made lake in the United States behind Lake Mead. Covering more than 250 square miles in area, Lake Powell falls along the border of Utah and Arizona, a spectacularly beautiful region of the country that offers picturesque sandstone cliffs, winding canyons, and sun drenched vistas. It is truly an amazing natural setting that is best explored by boat, or better yet, by houseboat.

With the fall travel season just around the corner, Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas is giving travelers a chance to experience an interesting combination of luxury and adventure by discovering everything that the lake has to offer via a houseboat. Heading into their peak season, the resort is offering an unprecedented 40 percent off boat rentals when booked before Sept. 15th, which makes this trip as affordable as it has ever been.

Lake Powell has a lot to offer visitors, including hidden beaches, great fishing, kayaking and even hiking trails that will take you into the Pueblo cliff dwellings. You can be as active or lazy as you choose, while discovering everything that his aquatic playground has to offer. Best of all, the fall weather is generally very good, making this a great warm weather escape when the cooler temps set in.

The luxury houseboats have all the amenities you would expect, and more. For instance, they come with fully equipped kitchens, comfortably sleep 12, are fully stocked with plenty of towels and linens, and include deck chairs, and water slides. The top of the line models even have state rooms with queen sized beds, hot tubs, wide screen HDTV’s with satellite television, outdoor gas grills, and wine coolers as well. All the comforts of home, and then some.

To book one of these houseboats, and take advantage of these great discounts, click here. Then start planning your fall escape to an unexpectedly beautiful and comfortable destination.

Take a luxury expedition vacation to Antarctica

by Kraig Becker on

For many adventure travelers (myself included!), Antarctica is the ultimate destination. it is one of the most remote, and untouched, places on the planet, and about as far as you can get from a well trammeled tourist path. Most journeys to the frozen continent come via a cruise ship that skirts the Antarctic coastline, allowing visitors to go ashore in just a few, very select, places. But for those of us who dream of walking in the footsteps of Robert Falcon Scott or his rival Roald Amundsen, there are few opportunities available to visit the actual frozen interior of the continent. A place that is as wild, and remote, as any on Earth.

That will change later this year when Kensington Tours, one of the best adventure travel companies on the planet, launches several amazing new luxury options that will take travelers to the very heart of Antarctica. These tours are only made possible thanks to Kensington’s own private camp, which sits perched atop a 200 foot icefall. This one-of-a-kind place will allow travelers to experience the Antarctic like never before, serving as a base of operations that features six sleeping tents, as well two large dome tents that play home to the kitchen, dining facilities, a library, and more. The heated sleeping tents are shared by just two occupants, ensuring that this is an intimate and unique experience for everyone who makes the journey.

The camp, which is only accessible via a private jet from Cape Town, South Africa, offers up some amazing adventure opportunities for travelers. While staying there, visitors will have the chance to kite ski, go rock and ice climbing, as well as abseil into a crevasse. They’ll also be able to hop into a 4×4 and drive to the coastal ice barrier or visit a nearby research station. Other highlights include a flight to the South Pole and a visit to a colony of Emperor Penguins that number 12,000 strong.

Kengsington has several pre-arranged tours available ranging from a one day trip that departs on November 29, and runs $9635, to a full 11-day expedition with departures on the 19th and 29th of November, that will set you back $48,075. The expert adventure travel consultants at Kensington can also arrange custom made Antarctic itineraries for you as well, merging in the best elements of this remote frontier and giving you an unbelievable trip of a lifetime.

For more details on these itineraries, and more, click here.

[Photo credit: Kensington Tours]