Aug 22
Prague is a city so steeped in history that even the brand-new high-design boutique hotels have stories that reach back centuries. This one is no different — it started its life as a monasterial brewery some time in the 14th century, lived through several reconstructions (in Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles), some expansions into neighboring buildings, a stint as the Wallenstein restaurant, and now, finally, begins a new life as the twenty-room Hotel at the Three Storks. Inside, now, it’s as new as tomorrow, re-designed with the help of the Czech-born and London-based architect Eva Jiřičná.
Rooms come with parquet floors, platform beds, curvy modern furnishings, and all the technological bells and whistles — LCD televisions with DVD players, wi-fi internet, even high-tech indirect lighting. Eighteen doubles of varying sizes are joined by two of that rare beast, the single room, perfect for the business traveler who’d rather not be reminded that he can’t fill a king bed on his own. Still there, albeit in a new incarnation, is the Wallenstein restaurant, serving a traditional Czech cuisine with a pronounced French influence — and just outside, as ever, is the old city, the ancient streets of the Lesser Town, in the shadow of Prague Castle.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com
Aug 22
Recycling is great for household goods but as it turns out it’s even better for hotels. Formerly the Best Western Miyako Inn, the Tomo is part of America’s great surplus of cheap-but-uninspired mid-century budget hotels, re-designed and re-purposed into a boutique hotel that takes its style cues from contemporary Japanese pop culture.
That “Best Western” isn’t still in the name as some kind of ironic joke — the Tomo, oddly, is a partnership between the venerable cheap-motel chain and Joie de Vivre, the hip and homegrown San Francisco boutique hotel group. And if the words Best Western still put you in mind of floral bedspreads and Gideon bibles, you’ll be quickly disabused by one look inside this place.
It’s not just the crisp lines and bright futuristic furnishings; it’s the murals on the walls, the video installations in the lobby, the iPod docks and LCD televisions in the rooms, and in the “gaming suites,” the PlayStation 3s and Nintendo Wiis. There’s a vending machine in the lobby selling t-shirts and toys from Giant Robot, and the shop itself is just blocks away — you’re in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown. What there isn’t is anything that could rightly be described as luxury; this is still a Best Western, after all, but pretty much anything you’d need is close at hand, from a wealth of restaurants (Japanese and otherwise) to the Kabuki Springs & Spa.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com
Aug 22
When it’s summertime and Spain is calling there’s no end of options. More than a few of us prefer to leave the Costa del Sol to the tourists and Ibiza to the clubbers, and set out for Mallorca — either Palma, the capital city, or something a bit on the quiet side, like the pastoral Finca Son Gener.
It’s only an hour from Palma airport, but that’s more or less all the way across the island — and you couldn’t ask for a more tranquil setting than an 18th-century farmhouse, one whose natural stone walls are set against rustic wood accents and minimal white furnishings. As you’d expect from an architect-owned hotel, the interiors are immaculate, the ten rooms spare and simple, all opening onto private terraces with sweeping views of the Mallorcan countryside.
Life here is simple, and nothing if not pleasant. The pool with its lounge chairs is a natural choice, and the dining room is open to hotel guests only. Even the bathrooms are indulgent, with plush top-quality towels and toiletries. And most unexpected for a place of this small size is the spa, offering professional treatments alongside the sauna, hammam, and even a yoga room.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com
Aug 22
It’s that time of year again; time to begin planning for your upcoming 2009 business plan.
The Internet continues to grow share as a critical distribution channel and should be planned for accordingly. It can prove to be the tool that will give you a competitive edge and help you achieve an…
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
It’s that time of year again; time to begin planning for your upcoming 2009 business plan.
The Internet continues to grow share as a critical distribution channel and should be planned for accordingly. It can prove to be the tool that will give you a competitive edge and help you achieve an…
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Most people think of the Puccini Group as a design firm, but we are actually hired to consult on operations almost equally as often, especially outside of the United StateS. Internationally, it is interesting to see how many countries that have a long history of foodservice, but have a disconnected …
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Most people think of the Puccini Group as a design firm, but we are actually hired to consult on operations almost equally as often, especially outside of the United StateS. Internationally, it is interesting to see how many countries that have a long history of foodservice, but have a disconnected …
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
On behalf of the HOTELS magazine staff, I would like to extend condolences to the family and friends of Stevan Porter.
I know he was loved by so many at IHG and in my meetings with Steve I found him to be a gentle and respectful man. The hotel industy has lost a leader way too…
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
On behalf of the HOTELS magazine staff, I would like to extend condolences to the family and friends of Stevan Porter.
I know he was loved by so many at IHG and in my meetings with Steve I found him to be a gentle and respectful man. The hotel industy has lost a leader way too…
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Hotels across the UK could be eligiable to reclaim thousands of pounds in VAT dating back as far as 1973, according to tax experts at KPMG.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Hotels across the UK could be eligiable to reclaim thousands of pounds in VAT dating back as far as 1973, according to tax experts at KPMG.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
GE Real Estate has provided a $45 million, three-year, fixed-rate on-book loan to the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group for the refinancing of its flagship Hotel Monaco San Francisco.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
GE Real Estate has provided a $45 million, three-year, fixed-rate on-book loan to the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group for the refinancing of its flagship Hotel Monaco San Francisco.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Despite a 78% drop in hotel transactions in the United States since last year, PKF Capital Executive Managing Director Bob Eaton says there are some silver linings in the dark clouds and calls on the hotel finance industry to “reinvent the wheel.”
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Despite a 78% drop in hotel transactions in the United States since last year, PKF Capital Executive Managing Director Bob Eaton says there are some silver linings in the dark clouds and calls on the hotel finance industry to “reinvent the wheel.”
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has announced the sale of the fee simple interest in the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport on behalf of its owners, Kor Hotel Group and its partners.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has announced the sale of the fee simple interest in the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport on behalf of its owners, Kor Hotel Group and its partners.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announces the launch of Starwood Expo in Singapore this week.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Club Med and Crayola recently added an artistic edge to family vacations with the new Club Med Crayola Creativity program.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com
Aug 22
Club Med and Crayola recently added an artistic edge to family vacations with the new Club Med Crayola Creativity program.
author Gareth Powell, source www.hotelsmag.com