Daily Pampering: Get a Running Concierge

by Annie Scott on

It can be hard to keep up with your workout regimen when you’re out of town. The Westin Jersey City Newport has an extra special service to help you stay on your game — one which is likely to be copied all over the world: The Running Concierge.

The Running Concierge is a free service for anyone who wants to go for a run during their stay. Yes, there are treadmills in the fitness center at the hotel, but who wants to be cooped up indoors when they’re in a location like Jersey City or Newport; safe, friendly cities with stunning views of Manhattan?

The Running Concierge meets you in the lobby and takes you outside to start stretching. During your stretches, you can talk about how hard you’d like to push, how far you’d like to go and if there are any special places you’d like to see. Need to know where the nearest grocery store is? That can be included in your run. Two birds, one stone.

The current Running Concierge at The Westin Jersey City Newport is Dawn Waters, a friendly guy who can take you all around the boardwalks and show you the glittering New York City morning skyline. Whether you want to go one mile, three miles, eight miles or take breaks every couple of minutes, he’s happy to help make your run a good one. Waters is passionate about running and does this job in addition to his duties as Business Travel Sales Manager — in fact, it was his idea.

Knowing that you have an appointment with the Running Concierge makes you at least twice as likely to actually go out and run. It’s not often that you can get a luxury service like this for free.

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

I visited The Westin Jersey City Newport as their guest, but the opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.

Westin and Amazon team up for co-branded storefront and bonus gift cards

by Scott Carmichael on

Westin Hotels & Resorts have teamed up with Amazon to deliver the first hotel branded storefront for the popular online retailer.

Westin started selling its own merchandise ten years ago, and since then they have sold nearly 40,000 Heavenly beds, 100,000 pillows and more than 10,000 of their Heavenly spa amenities.

That kind of retail success is very impressive, and it makes sense for them to turn to Amazon to continue the trend.

Starting March 1st, fans of Westin products can head to Amazon.com/Westin for an assortment of brands such as Gaiam, Kate’s Paperie, Tea Forté and Riedel. Of course, the Amazon Westin store will also be home to the Heavenly bed and other Westin signature retail products.

To celebrate the launch, Westin guests with two mid-week stays between February 22nd and May 13th 2010, will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. To be eligible, you will need to register for the promotion at westin.com/balance before booking the stays.

As someone who is a huge fan of the Heavenly bed, I’ll certainly be checking it out as soon as the Amazon store opens on March 1st.

Preposterous PR Releases — The humorous side of Frommers

by Grant Martin on

Here at the Gadling we get tons of press releases every day — specials at all-inclusive resorts, sales on airfare, updates to the crummy menus at some crummy hotel in the middle of nowhere.

Some we tune into, seeing the value or angle pitched by a team of savvy marketing gurus. And some, well, are just weird. It’s easy to reach over and click the Delete button on gmail when you receive your third pitch for Dubai beach resort investments, but at Frommer’s Behind the Guides Blog, they’ve turned the tables.

Our old friend Stephen Bassman provides the commentary in a series called Preposterous PR, in which he dissects a variety of outlandish articles and asks what we all want to say: “What the heck were you thinking?”

This week’s post is on Westin Aruba’s “Conception Credit,” where if couples can prove (how?) that they conceived a child at the Westin this season they’ll get $300 in resort credit. Give it a read, it’s hilarious.

Incidentally, if you happen to like Mr. Bassman’s style of writing you’ll be happy to know that he’ll be contributing to Gadling starting this month. Stay tuned for his contributions starting this week.

Aruba’s Westin Resort offers $300 for your baby

by Katie Hammel on

I can understand the idea of a babymoon, a vacation taken right before a new baby is born. Enjoying one last (for a while anyway) trip before your life becomes a crazy blur of diapers and late-night feedings almost seems medically necessary. But taking a vacation with the sole purpose of getting knocked up – a procreation vacation – well, that sounds a little too “desperate marketing ploy” to me. Can’t people just have sex at home? Or just go on a trip and say “We’re gonna go on vacation, have a lot of sex, and see what happens” without making pregnancy the objective? Apparently, the Westin hopes not.

The Westin Resort on Aruba wants couples looking to take their own procreation vacation to book a stay this fall. The Resort is offering a $300 credit, to be used on on a future visit, to any couple that conceives while staying at the resort between September 1 and December 19. During that time, the Resort’s “Classic Package” is $399 per night for two and includes all meals and drinks, including alcohol. Guests who book by September 30 will also receive a $100 Resort Credit.

It’s an attention-getting promotion, but I doubt many couples will be able to collect. Getting pregnant seems like a crap shoot that requires the perfect storm of several factors. No matter how much sex a couple has over the course of their stay, the odds that the woman will happen to be ovulating and get pregnant within that time frame are slim. But if it does happen, the couple just needs to provide a doctor’s note confirming that conception was on or around the dates of their stay, and they’ll receive the $300 credit. For those who do receive a visit from the stork, I suppose it’s a nice incentive to return to the Westin for the first post-baby vacation.

[via USA Today]

Inside Westin’s new green hotels: element

by Grant Martin on

In today’s hotel landscape, there are two types of green hotels: those that incorporate a few eco-nuggets to act green, and those that are truly, organically green. Westin’s element hotels are the latter.

Designed as a chic, modern competitor to Marriott Residence Inns, element hotels are longer-term properties that boast all of the amenities of an apartment while retaining the comfort and ease of a Westin hotel. Most significatly, the chain is the world’s first to be LEED certified, underscoring Westin’s commitment to energy conservation and environmental impact.

Step into one of the new hotel rooms and the difference is apparent. Every effort is made to recycle materials and minimize waste, from the repurposed wall art to water filters in the kitchen faucets to bulk shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom shower. Recycle bins take precedence over the rubbish and like many chains these days, sheets are only changed when necessary.

Outside of the rooms, the hotels make the extra effort to integrate with the local community and highlight green initiatives. The Hanover, MD element, will soon host a farmer’s market, culling from the regional economy and encouraging residents to buy and cook their own food. In Lexington, MA, cooking classes are hosted in-house by Whole Foods.

The comfort in an element goes far beyond the self satisfaction of helping the environment, however. Perhaps it’s the new, clean furnishings or the lush Heavenly mattresses — but spending time in one of these rooms feels less like a cold, empty hotel and rather like, well, home. Give one a try and you’ll see.

Currently there are five Elements hotels in operation, spread across the country from Lexington, MA to Hanover (Baltimore,) MD to Houston and Irving TX to Las Vegas, Nevada. Eighteen more are scheduled to open up across the country over the next few years, so keep your eyes peeled for one breaking ground near you. You can also check the Starwood site for any location updates.

Room rates vary but are typically around $100 per night.