Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – A Thompson Hotel, Los Angeles, CA

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – A Thompson Hotel

Jr. Suite

7000 Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, CA 90028 US

By: Dave Grossman, HotelMagician.com

October 2008

If you are looking to stay in the heart of Hollywood, California – and by “in the heart” I mean across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and steps from The Guinness World of Records Museum and the Hollywood Wax Museum, The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is one of your two best bets (you would be just as well situated in the Renaissance Marriot Hollywood, located inside the Grumann’s complex).

If you are looking to add to that a huge “hip” factor and stay where Marilyn Monroe used to stay, that will narrow your selection down to the Hollywood Roosevelt which despite its age, underwent a $15 Million renovation after being bought by the Thompson Hotel Group (also known for hotels like 60 Thompson and 6 Columbus in New York City and the Thompson Beverly Hills).

The Pool

If you want to stay there when it is really “sceney” you will want to do a weekend in the summertime. But even at the “off season”, you will find a very hip hotel, nicely decorated, with a pool (complete with pool bar and food/beverage service poolside), a nice area to relax in the pool area, a cute little “Library Bar” that provides that small, quieter, more historic feel, and two dining options: 25 Degrees (a boutique-diner style restaurant specializing in various combinations of burgers) and Dakota’s (a steakhouse).

On the advice of staff, asking which to try if I was to try only one, I

Great burgers

dined at 25 Degrees. It lived up to expectations and then some. Both my dining companion and myself were more than satisfied with the burgers which were both tasty and juicy and served in a variety of styles. As well, the sides of fries and onion rings were both well above average.  The prices were reasonable and I would definitely recommend 25 Degrees whether or not you are staying at the hotel.

Modern bathroom

The room itself was very nice – upgraded to a type of Jr Suite, I had an extra sitting area, nightly turndown including complimentary Voss water, and upgraded Kiel’s bath amenities.  Despite feeling that the rooms were extremely tastefully done, I was told they will soon be renovating them all again.  Note that you have a choice of a Tower Room or a Cabana room when booking. I might go for the cabana room if it’s mid-summer and I want to live in the party but otherwise, the Tower has the more modern and elegant feeling rooms.

The service was overall very friendly, from the front desk, to the concierge and into the bars and restaurant. Nice to see a “hip” hotel that isn’t too hip to be polite.

I did have two negative experiences. One was that I requested wake up calls on both nights of my stay and did not receive them either morning. I was told there must have been something wrong with the phone yet when the front desk called me, it was working – so I don’t know what the deal was on that. The other was more of a pet peeve of mine – Valet Only parking. I like to be able to lock up my car and not worry about leaving something hidden inside and I also don’t like having to wait on it being brought around (although I’ll admit during my stay the valet was very quick – but it was also far from busy). And as of Oct. 2008, this added $28 to the nightly tab.  There was a parking garage across the street but without an agreement with the hotel, you would only want to consider that if you won’t be taking your car out at all – as you lose in/out privileges.

A couple of nice touches: Free WiFi throughout the hotel and little “pill bottles” filled with M&M’s left in each room.

All in all, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is an excellent choice for those looking to stay in the core Hollywood Blvd area.

-DG

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Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa – Carlsbad, CA

The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort
5480 Grand Pacific Drive 
Carlsbad, CA 92008 US 

By: Dave Grossman, HotelMagician.com
September 2008

The Sheraton Carlsbad resort is a new ( 2008 ) Sheraton that is very comfortable, very friendly, and, realistically, more of a convention hotel with a big pool, a spa, and a (single) tennis court than it is a “resort”.

I should clarify.  My overall impression of this hotel was a good one.
Really exceptional service was the norm and, being new, was of course in good condition.  But I didn’t feel like I was really at a “resort” like I typically would imagine the term “resort” to mean. And this hotel does charge a “resort fee” of $10 a night which, in my opinion, is just an extra room rate fee since they aren’t covering what you often see covered in a resort fee – such as beach access.

Still, in fairness, people aren’t likely to head to the Sheraton Carlsbad for a week long vacation. It serves two groups for the most part: business travelers – specifically those attending conventions there – and families in town for Legoland where they are staying 1-2 nights. The park has a direct entrance to Legoland so if that is your destination, it’s not a bad choice.

The club lounge (if you pay for the club floor or get upgraded via your Starwood status) is very nice with friendly attendants, though while it does offer food, the selection is limited. The only hot item at breakfast is eggs (no bacon or sausage, etc. – just two warmers with the same scrambled eggs.
There is also a variety of ceral and pastries with coffee, milk, and juice.

At night, they have complimentary wine and beer along with one appetizer (again, two warming stations, but just one “choice” of items. A second warm option would improve this lounge a lot, in my opinion.

There is a full service restaurant on the property but we did not have a chance to try it on this occasion.

In short, if you are in the area, you can hardly go wrong with the Sheraton.
While the architecture is nothing to write home about, it is a perfectly nice hotel if the Carlsbad, California surrounding area is your destination.
-DG

W San Diego Hotel – San Diego, CA

W San Diego
421 West B Street
San Diego, CA 92101 US 

With just one night to spend in San Diego, the W San Diego was the perfect choice. I’d heard good things about it from follow travelers and it didn’t disappoint.

From check-in to check-out, it was a very nice experience.  I was given a Spectacular room (a small upgrade from the booked Wonderful room) and it was nicely decked out in that W-style that you either love or don’t love. I’m on the “love” side of things. 

The staff at this W were all delightful – and I dare say that is a departure from the standard W experience that is helpful yet a bit “you’re lucky to be here”.  Here, I felt welcomed and got every bit of advice I needed for a proper night including hotel amenities and where I could actually find food past 9:30 (hint: it’s not the hotel, it’s the nearby Greyhound station).  

The rooftop bar has a beach which it both kitschy and delightful. The sand is heated and the seating, firepits, and cabanas make it a real loungey experience. It’s only really “hopping” on the weekends if you’re looking to make new friends, but it’s open all week and serves food during the day (it’d be really nice if it served food late at night, but alas the whole hotel does not, save for room service). There is also a small pool on the level leading to the beach bar. 

The Living Room (the W version of a lobby) was very nice with a small bar and free WiFi access. The WiFi kept trying to charge me but a front desk manager was able to sort it eventually.

Parking is valet only – a pet peeve of mine – at $30 a night as of Sept. 08. That, and the lack of any food besides room service past 9:30 aside, the W San Diego is a top notch hotel.

 DG

 

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Palms Place Hotel and Casino – Las Vegas, NV

Palms Hotel and Palms Place Condo Hotel
(adjacent to the Palms Hotel and Casino)

4381 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89104 US 

September 2008

Recently built and about a 7 minute walk from the Palms via a “skytube”, the Palms Place is an excellent way to experience the Palms and all its nightlife – as another option to staying in the Palms own hotel.

The room we had at in the Palms Place condo hotel portion (rooms here are rented through Palms reservations and acts just like a hotel even though you may be renting someone’s condo unit) was modern, clean, large, and very comfortable. Probably the best part of the room was the shower/bath combo. The shower had a big rain showerhead on top plus a wall mounted additional showerhead that was also removable.  The bath was a nice big rectangular whirlpool. For a couple, this would be a nice romantic bath area.

Definitely for the younger crowd (20’s/30’s) the Palm’s offers a sizeable pool (with a special party every Friday called “Ditch Friday’s” complete with DJ and the crowd that goes with that) and 3 clubs: Rain, Ghostbar, and Moon – inside the Playboy Club.

We did not visit Rain or Moon – there were lines about an hour long for each so we can only assume these are your typical Las Vegas clubs – various types of music, young crowds crammed in close together in a chic vibe with pricey drinks.

We were advised to check out the new Playboy Club / Moon club combination club on the top floor. At $40 entry, we were expecting the Playboy Club to be really special but in reality it was a bar with a great view and a few (high minimum bet) table games staffed by Playboy bunnies. Neat, yes; spectacular, no.
Moon, connected to the Playboy Club by escalator was a pretty nice club. It had a main room with a sizeable dance floor, a small main bar by the elevators, and a side bar that was a bit more chill. All in all, a good combo, albeit with a stuff price of entry. AT the time of this review, you could enter before 10pm for $20 and come back later with your stamp rather than pay the later $40 cover charge.

We are at N9NE steakhouse and were not at all disappointed by the quality. Make sure you have some heart pills before the bill comes, though, as prices blow away that of even prime New York City eateries.

The casino itself at the Palms Casino is a bit small. You won’t necessarily find all your favorite table games or slots, so that may be a consideration if you want a huge gaming area. The crowd does skew a bit towards the younger side.

As far as location goes, keep in mind that this is way off-strip so you will be taking cabs everywhere you go.

DG

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OPENSKIES HELPS TACKLE TOUGH ECONOMY WITH BARGAIN FARES FOR 2,000 LUCKY PASSENGERS

NEW YORK – October 6, 2008 – Reminding customers that transatlantic travel in today’s tight economy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing comfort for cost, OpenSkies today announced new low fares in its PREM+ cabin for the first 1,000 customers each on its New York – Paris and New York – Amsterdam routes.

 

Starting today, OpenSkies will offer PREM+ fares for $499* one way between New York and Amsterdam and $599* one way between New York and Paris, with all fares based on round trip purchase.  OpenSkies’ PREM+ cabin is a completely new service category offering comfort, space, service and amenities that rival many competing business class offerings.  With its cost-efficient fares, PREM+ also qualifies for use by business travelers whose corporate travel policies would otherwise restrict business class travel.  OpenSkies’ extraordinary PREM+ sale will continue until the 1,000th ticket is booked on each route.

 

“As frequent travelers ourselves, we can appreciate how important a comfortable seat with a generous recline, more legroom, and attentive cabin service can be on a long flight, and we believe a challenging economy doesn’t have to put those things out of reach,” said Dale Moss, managing director of OpenSkies. “With a maximum of just 40 guests in our PREM+ cabin, we offer a business class experience without the business class price tag. In many ways, the PREM+ cabin is tailor made for today’s economic environment. 

 

“We believe PREM+ is a compelling choice for business travelers who need to be more price-conscious than ever before, as well as for leisure travelers on the lookout for value, comfort and a premium travel experience from start to finish,” Moss added.    

 

OpenSkies PREM+ is a unique class of service providing features such as:

• Leather seats with a 140 degree recline.
• 52 inches of legroom.
• Bottle-poured wines.
• Fresh, healthy meal service.
• Personal entertainment systems with more than 50 hours of programming.
• Electric outlets at every seat.

In addition to its high-quality in-flight experience, OpenSkies offers professional concierge services that provide passengers with a premium travel experience from the moment they book their flight through the end of their trip.  Multilingual concierge agents are available to assist OpenSkies guests with requests including hotel reservations, sightseeing tours, quick translations and other services.  OpenSkies guests can also benefit from participation in British Airways’ Executive Club frequent flyer program. 

 

Tickets are available for purchase through the OpenSkies Web site (www.flyopenskies.com), the OpenSkies Concierge Desk at 1-866-581-3596 in the U.S., travel agents and all British Airways channels including the BA.com Web site.