From the category archives:
Turtle Bay's weekly luau features some impressive fire dancing.
For visitors to Hawaii, the luau is an experience that can’t be missed, with traditional cuisine and breathtaking fire and hula dancing. Below are a few of our favorite photos from the luaus we attended while covering Hawaii hotels. Click here to see our full slideshow of Hawaiian luaus.
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Believe it or not, we took this shot from inside a guest room at the Jade Mountain Resort in Saint Lucia. (Most rooms have a private infinity pool.)
On March 1, the series finale of ABC’s The Bachelor will take place on the Celestial Terrace of the iconic Jade Mountain Resort on the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Over the past few weeks, fans of the show — as well as anyone who’s watched anything on ABC without the help of Tivo — will have heard “St. Lucia really is the most romantic place on earth” or “There is no better place to fall in love than St. Lucia” about as many times as they’ve heard the expression “Take home the gold.”
Which begs the question: What’s so great about St. Lucia? A remote, lush, mountainous beachfront terrain is stunning, no doubt, but this can be found elsewhere in the Caribbean — Frenchman’s Cove in Port Antonio, Jamaica is just one example — as well as around the globe in places like the north shore of Kauai in Hawaii or Ko Chang in Thailand. So what about this particular locale makes all the staged romance feel so spectacular? The answer is simple: Jade Mountain.
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The Obamas had a view of the White House when they stayed at The Hay-Adams in the weeks leading up to the President's inauguration
We know that Presidents Day honors Washington and Lincoln, but we thought our current president deserves some face time today, too. And because Barack Obama is not only the leader of the free world but also quite the trendsetter, we thought you may be curious to know where he’s been sleeping lately. After all, he’s pretty much the biggest celeb since Lindsay Lohan — and hotels are, of course, our expertise. If you know of any we’ve left out, please chime in by leaving a comment!
Here’s our timeline:
JULY 2008
Hotel Adlon
Berlin, Germany
While still on the campaign trail, Obama swung through Germany and announced that “America has no better partner than Europe.” And apparently Berlin has no better hotel than the grand, old-world Hotel Adlon Kempinski, because that’s where the future POTUS chose to stay. Everyone from Albert Einstein to Queen Elizabeth II has slept here (and it’s where Michael Jackson famously dangled his baby over a balcony).
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The Sofitel New York has one Les Clefs d'Or concierge.
In an episode of NBC’s The Office, Steve Carell’s Michael goes on a business trip to Winnipeg along with his colleagues Andy and Oscar. The crew checks into a hotel and soon Michael starts crushing hard on Marie, the attractive concierge, a.k.a. “Concierge Marie.”
Later that night, over drinks, Michael attempts to stump Marie with a service question. “It’s midnight on Christmas Eve and you need to get dry-cleaning done. What do you do?” He later makes out with her.
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The Luxor Hotel & Casino, one of many Vegas hotels running promotions right now
As hotel mavens, we’re constantly reading about travel deals, be it on Twitter, on blogs, or right in our email in-boxes. Lately we’ve noticed that one city keeps popping up over and over again. That city?
With rock-bottom prices on flights and hotel rooms (plus plenty of buffets to boot), Sin City is our pick for where to have a cheap (and warm!) getaway right now. Shop wisely and we’ll bet you can plan a long weekend for just a few hundred dollars (okay, so that doesn’t include all the money you’re going to blow at the craps tables).
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The lobby at Andaz Wall Street, which opens its doors to guests on January 18
Last night we attended the opening of Andaz Wall Street, part of Hyatt’s new line of boutique-y feeling hotels designed to challenge Starwood’s very popular (and ever growing) W properties. Only about 50 of the hotel’s 253 rooms are set to open on January 18, but the handsome Andaz (meaning “personal style” in Hindi) is gearing up to compete with the Financial District’s top hotels. While the hotel’s smooth lines and dim lighting are a draw in their own right, it is the freebies that will surely win over guests — free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, free non-alcoholic mini-bar items, free gourmet lobby snacks (think charcuterie), and a barista in the lobby throughout the day.
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Lobby at Fontainebleau Resort Miami Beach, one of the hotels hosting events for Food Network's South Beach Wine & Food Festival
Foodies and oenophiles alike will descend upon Miami in late February for Food Network’s annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival (February 25 through 28), a delicious weekend full of tastings, demos, and Rachael Ray.
Many of Miami’s choicest hotels are playing host to the weekend’s events, so where better to stay while in town for the Festival? Below is a list of the hotels that are hosting events, and our thumbnail review of each. They’re all among our favorites in Miami, so you can’t go wrong.
Tickets for these events are selling out quickly and hotel rooms are bound to fill up, so for the love of Emeril — get to it!
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The Studio Suite, the standard room type, at the Setai in South Beach, Miami
At just under $800 for the average night, a guest room at the Setai is about the most expensive hotel room in South Beach. What do you get for this extraordinary splurge? Mood-lit style; an extraordinary restaurant; a beachfront location; large suites — all this you can find elsewhere, and for a lot less cash. Largely, you’re paying for a slight but not impossible chance of spotting Giselle lounging by the pool. For most people — anyone without an uncommonly thriving multinational corporation, a blockbuster film, or a royal family — spending this kind of cash for a hotel room is out of the question.
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Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles
Last week we showed you Christmas decorations at hotels around New York, but Oyster’s reporters have been on the road and have found holiday cheer at hotels all over the place. Here’s a glimpse at the decorations they’ve seen in cities around the country. Happy holidays!
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Santa Claus must have gone easy on the boys and girls on his “naughty” list this year, beacause the holidays have arrived in Sin City. The Christmas decorations in the Bellagio garden are, in true Las Vegas fashion, some of the most elaborate we’ve seen anywhere. More photos after the jump.
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