Starwood’s subpar rankings on Travel + Leisure’s Best Hotels for 2008

Travel + Leisure magazine just released their ranking of the Top 100 hotels in the world. The list was dominated by Four Seasons throughout the world (18 hotels in the top 100). Also commanding high positions on the list were regal resorts across India and game reserves throughout Africa.

Sadly, Starwood’s arsenal of luxury brands could hardly penetrate the Top 100 list. At best, Le Meridien Bristol peaked at spot number 57, followed closely by the St. Regis Shanghai at 60. Le Meridien Cancun, Westin Sydney, and the St. Regis Beijing brought up the rear with rankings of 83, 94, and 100 respectively. 

Le Meridien Bristol, Warsaw (57 out of 100)

Westin Sydney (94 out of 100)

St. Regis Shanghai (60 out of 100)

St. Regis Beijing (100 out of 100)

Keep in mind that these rankings are determined entirely by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, which would explain the large fluctuation in rankings for certain hotels. For example, Le Sirenuse in Italy was ranked 25th in last year’s poll, but dropped significantly down to 91 this year. Similarly, the Fairmont Mara Safari Club in Kenya catapulted from 48 to 3.

If you’re interested in reading about the methodology they used, please click here. In general though, the key evaluation factors were rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, value.

Le Méridien Cancún Resort & Spa (83 out of 100)

 

Source: Travel + Leisure

Earn double Starpoints at recently renovated Starwood properties

Double Starpoints at Renovated Starwoods!

In addition to the recent double point promotion for one-year anniversary Starwoods, this new double point promo is pushing business towards recently renovated properties. I guess they felt left out.

More than 50 hotels and resorts across North America have undergone a makeover and are included in this SPG promotion.

Click here to find a participating property, and make reservations for stays before September 30.  Advance reservations are required and should be made using SET Number 370465 and the qualifying Rate Plan is SETPKGNB.

As always, it’s recommended you read the official terms & conditions for this offer.

W Hotels Store offering 40% off online promotion

Who’s Shopping at the W Hotels Store?

You!  There’s a promotion code circulating around that’s good for 40% off all purchases made at the online W Hotels Store. Use promo code T6F4M to save on some one-of-a-kind purchases made across the site. A big thanks to Bargainist.com for the tip.

The online store classifies its products into three distinct categories: Men, Women, and Home.  Pictured below are the W Hotels towel collection and a large chrome piggy bank, where you can stash away the 40% you saved by using this promotion. Also for your home are some funky decorative objects including a Ladybug iPod speaker dock that unfolds in the shape (and color) of ladybug wings.

This special offer expires on August 31, so get your W gear for him, her, and home before then! 

W Hotels Towel

W Hotels Chrome Piggy Bank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladybug iPod Speaker System

 

Source: Bargainist.com

Hotel lockdown and pepper spray at the Sheraton Denver

Could you imagine being the general manager at the Sheraton Denver?

First the temperamental wooden key cards and then a heated confrontation between a band of anti-war protestors and police. In the streets, police forces used pepper spray to choke up the demonstrators (many of whom were wearing bandannas on their heads). More than 50 arrests were reported, mostly for blocking traffic and other acts of disorderly conduct. 

It looks like the group Unconventional Denver could take credit for this uprising. A website used to organize the demonstration, www.dncdisruption08.org, included this recap of the event, “Protestors from New York to San Francisco are hailing this afternoon’s actions at Funk the War and Reclaim the Streets an inspirational success.” They also reported the police used horses to attack demonstrators.

The Denver police locked down the Sheraton Denver hotel, stranding many convention attendees in the lobby with no clear indication of what was happening. According to eyewitness reports, hotel staff said the police ordered them to secure and lock down the hotel. They shut down the elevators, leaving guests stranded in the hotel lobby without access to their guestrooms. The staff and guests were also unable to evacuate because police had formed a blockade by standing arm to arm.

“They began to push us back with their batons and their riot gear and all of a sudden everyone noticed that they were coughing. You couldn’t smell it, you couldn’t see it, my eyes were running, someone literally had to drag me back to in front of the hotel and then we couldn’t get in,” said one eyewitness.

The latest reports indicate that the protesting crowd has largely dispersed. For videos and additional photos of the drama outside the Sheraton Denver, please click here.

Source: Rocky Mountain News, New York Times, DNC Disruption 08

Wooden key cards at the Democratic National Convention not so sustainable after all

Sheraton Denver Hotel

Thousands of delegates, media personnel, police, protestors and other convention-goers descended on Denver over the weekend for the start of the Democratic National Convention today. Many of these folks picked up credentials at the Sheraton Denver Hotel, and guests picked up their room keys – wooden room keys.

These wooden key cards are made by a Boulder company called Sustainable Cards. Greg Hartmann is the CEO and says each card is made from a sustainable forest grown specifically to be used in wood products.

“We combine different layers of wood together and in the right dynamic it’s able to be both flexible and it’s able to be stiff enough to use as a key card,” said Hartmann. 

“They’re just like the traditional hotel key cards that are made of plastic, but these are made of wood. They work beautifully,” said Michael Ehmann, general manager of the Sheraton Denver Hotel.

Unfortunately, many guests who were issued these wooden keys could not say the cards worked so beautifully. The plan to use the biodegradable wooden key cards was ’sustained’ for only a few short hours and has been put to rest. By Saturday night, the front desk clerks reverted back to plastic cards after enough guests had reported problems getting into their rooms with the wooden ones. The front desk began handing out one of each and suggested that the wooden one could be kept as a souvenir.

However as the weekend progressed, the resilient staff at the Sheraton Denver was able to resolve the key card glitches. “We experienced a few initial issues with the cards, but the problems have all been resolved,” stated Mike Ehmann. “Contrary to a few reports, we continue to use the sustainable cards, and plan to use them throughout the remainder of the Democratic National Convention.”

In preparation for this week’s Democratic National Convention, the “Mile High City” has been staging “greening workshops” for hundreds of hotel managers, caterers and managers. “It’s the new patriotism,” says Mayor John Hickenlooper. Hotels have also been caught up in an effort to put on what the mayor predicts will be “The greenest convention in the history of the planet.”

Too bad there isn’t an Element in Denver.  With all the greening initiativfes, this week’s Democratic National Convention would have been a superb publicity platform for Starwood’s Element brand . . . oh yeah, and Obama too. Starwood has announced all Element hotels will be LEED certified. 

 

 

source: Business Journal, New York Sun, Sustainable Cards, Hotel Interactive

Element goes with LEED green hotels certification – brandwide

In the past year or so, being “green” has been all the rage in the lodging industry. Hotels have become a breeding ground for green soundbytes and marketing ploys – some with merit and most without much to show.

These individual hotels that market self-proclaimed green initatives to the general public are diluting any cohesion in consumer perception (and trust) of what is actually considered green. In an attempt to clean up this haphazardness, a multitude of organizations have made a disconnected effort to define and standardize what is considered green across the industry. The result thus far is the creation of countless independent certification labels and ironically the byproduct creation of only more consumer confusion. However, some have started to emerge from the rest of the pack. Of the hundreds of green hotels certifications, the following are some of the more prominently recognized in the industry:

Energy Star
An EPA program that rates energy efficiency not just in lightbulbs and refrigerators but in hotels as well. More than 150 properties participate, but just being a part of the program doesn’t necessarily indicate much. www.energystar.gov

EU ECO-LABEL
A rigorous new program that certifies hotels and campsites throughout the European Union’s member countries. More than 50 hotels currently participate-with more on the way. www.eco-label-tourism.com

Green Globe
Based on stringent Australian guidelines, it certifies properties primarily in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia but has begun to expand into the Caribbean and elsewhere. www.greenglobe.org

Green Leaf
A Canada-based label, run in association with Audubon International, this program has just begun to expand into the United States. (Thailand’s highly regarded, though unrelated, certification program is also called Green Leaf.) www.greenhotelsonline.com

Green Hotel Certification
Founded in 2006 by Guido Bauer, an entrepreneur and veteran in the hospitality industry, this program uses the baseline criteria of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Networks of the Americas, Agenda 21 and principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 Governments at the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992, the Mohonk Agreement and International Standard Organization (ISO) to develop a green certification that is recognized by the global lodging industry. www.greenhotelcertification.com

LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Created by the U.S. Green Building Council to certify that buildings meet with standards of energy efficiency, conservation, and sensitivity to locale. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. www.usgbc.org

Element Lexington - LEED certification applicant

This past April, Starwood leadership made an executive decision to gain brandwide LEED certification for its new Element hotels. This includes existing Elements under development as well as all properties in the pipeline.  Despite many Element hotels already under construction, Starwood came to agreements with property owners to retrofit existing plans for LEED certification. With over twenty-five Elements to emerge by 2010, all LEED certified, the strength of the LEED stamp of approval will certainly gain ground in the battle for green certification supremacy. 

The first Element in Lexington, MA (opened this past July) is in fact on track for certification. Experts advise it typically takes a full year of operations before the LEED audit can report measurable significance. It looks like Starwood is trying to set an example for the brand with its first Element by attaining Silver LEED certification when the brand standard is only at the basic level. This feat is small in comparison to the example Starwood has set for the U.S. industry as a whole.  With arguably the best known green hotels brand in the U.S. market, Starwood is helping increase the consumer perception of consistency and standardization of green hotels in the currently disconnected niche.

 

Source: Travel + Leisure, USGBC, Travel Weekly, 4hoteliers

Super Vintage Wine Weekend at the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Spain

Hotel Marqués de Riscal - Vineyard

The iconic Hotel Marqués de Riscal, a member of the Luxury Collection, is nestled in the “City of Wine.” Located in the heart of the Rioja wine region, this architectural landmark is hosting a Super Vintage Weekend in celebration of 150 years of Vinos de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal (October 24-26). 

This exceptional event brings together the finest food and wine in the Rioja region beneath the billowing titanium canopies of the Frank Gehry-designed Hotel Marqués de Riscal. The climax of the weekend will be a gala dinner and charity auction of wines conducted by Christie’s including the Riscal Superlot.

The Riscal Superlot consists of 131 Riscal vintages dating back to 1862. This unique lot includes one bottle from each available vintage, released directly from the historic wine library of Marqués de Riscal and believed to be the largest vertical collection of vintages ever released from a producer’s own reserve stocks.

Hotel Marqués de Riscal Winery

In many cases only a very few bottles from these rare and venerable vintages remain in the legendary Riscal cellars. Compliments of Marqués de Riscal, the buyer of the Superlot has the opportunity to receive an exhibitor which is an exact replica of the original, award winning, receptacle which was used in the Exposition in Vienna in 1873 and Brussels in 1910. The buyer will also be invited to spend a weekend at the estate to see the vineyards and visit the winery and its cellars. 

Access to this event plus accommodations is limited and everything but cheap.  Basic packages starts at $2,500 EURO. For reservations please contact Hotel Marqués de Riscal.

 

Source: Starwood

Beach at the W San Diego gets top rooftop bar honors

W San Diego - Beach bar

With San Diego’s new drinking ban in effect on its beaches this summer, oceanside barbecues and sunset picnics are a thing of the past. The summer of 2008 will be remembered as the year beach drinkers migrated inland to more upscale, landlubber watering holes. 

So where could the beach-going drinkers go this summer?  The next closest thing to a sandy shore is the W Hotel’s Beach bar, which Coastal Living magazine recently ranked as America’s best rooftop bar with a view (for a coastal city).

What makes Beach so worthy of high praise?

How about almost a foot of real sand to dig your toes into?  How about being elevated amongst some of San Diego’s most prestigious downtown high-rises?  And what about some of the best drinks and brews in town without having to lug a cooler around?

W San Diego - Beach bar

The writers at Coastal Living rave that San Diego’s first rooftop bar creates a modern and comfortable ambiance, with sleek loungers, hanging chairs, and private cabanas. “At night, this W Hotel bar turns up the heat as locals and guests mingle beside the fire pit and cruise the heated sand floor. In summer, Beach becomes a theater, showcasing flicks under the stars.”

What Coastal Living doesn’t mention is that Beach is one of San Diego’s hotspots for nightlife. Countless fashion and pop lifestyle magazines have used the bar as a backdrop for their runways and photo shoots.  Not only do Southern California’s celebrities frequent Beach to mingle with fellow A-listers, they’re also guest bartenders every now and then. What do you expect from a hotel that has its own Myspace page?

For the most part, Yelpers agree that Beach is an establishment worthy of a visit. One Yelper reviews, “The Beach Bar at the W Hotel, Downtown San Diego, is a really kewl, hip, and happenin’ spot.  I went often  … loved the outdoor venue late night for a nite-cap,  fresh air, roof-top, cabanas, fire-pits, and beautiful people. Then, I had a baby and ‘out went’ late nights frolicking among the beautiful people.” 

Another Yelper shared a less positive review – “so I’m thinking, yay fun we’re going outside! look how pretty! and then i see it: SAND! everywhere! surrounding all of the cabanas taking up the entire roof. SAND! are you kidding me?! every single girl in our party was wearing heels and the cabanas only seat about 12 so you do the math. terrible! add alcohol to the mix and it only gets worse.”

Note to self: Go sans shoes or sans heels.

 

Source: Coastal Living, Starwood, Yelp

Soak up the last summer sun with a W Hotels Labor Day promotion

W Hotels Labor Day Promo

We’re well into August and Labor day is just around the corner to mark the final days of summer. W Hotels wants to help you send off the summer in style with an amenity package consisting of:

• Two cool cocktails
• Complimentary daily parking
• Wonderful room (category)

This offer is good for stays between August 24 and September 7, and it extends to mostly the U.S. W Hotels. The W Montreal and W Istanbul make surprising exceptions as the only non U.S. W Hotels.  Unfortunately, the newly opened W Hong Kong and W Maldives weren’t in a participating mood for this promotion.

To book your last summer getaway, click right here.  Or, call 1-877-WHOTELS and mention promo code LDP.

W Dallas Victory - Wet

Click here for the official terms & conditions.

 

Source: Starwood, maconahey

Bank up to 20,000 Starpoints in Atlanta through September 30th

Starwood Atlanta SPG Promotion

Gas prices are going down, and it’s time to pack your bags for some more summer road trips!  Visit Hotlanta while it’s still hot, and while this Starwood SPG promo is still in effect. This promo even includes the airport properties at ATL in case when you get stranded in stormy summer weather at Hartsfield-Jackson International.

Register now to receive 1,000 bonus Starpoints for 1-night stays, 2,000 bonus Starpoints for 2-night stays and 3,000 bonus Starpoints for 3+ night stays, from now through September 30, 2008. Up to a total of 20,000 Starpoints!

Travel tip: Try to combine this offer with the 500 bonus Starpoints per night offer. For example, a 3-night stay would get you 4,500 bonus Starpoints!

The participating hotels in Atlanta are:

• Sheraton Atlanta Hotel
• Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel
• Sheraton Gateway Hotel Atlanta Airport
• Sheraton Suites Galleria Atlanta
• The Westin Atlanta Airport
• The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North
• The Westin Buckhead Atlanta
• The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta
• W Atlanta – Perimeter
• W Atlanta – Midtown

Just register now and your points will be awarded automatically. Valid for all stays now through September 30, 2008.

As always, the terms & conditions apply for this promotion.