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HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – JANUARY, 2014

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Elevate your palate in Elevage, the fine dining restaurant in the new Epicurean Hotel in Tampa, FL. Amy Pezzicara, Pezz Photo/Epicurean

Elevate your palate in Elevage, the fine dining restaurant in the new Epicurean Hotel in Tampa, FL. Amy Pezzicara, Pezz Photo/Epicurean

The weather may be putting much of North America in a deep freeze, but across the globe, hotels opening or in transition are heating up the environment. There are so many hotels changing owners or under construction that it’s difficult for me to keep track of property names, but as folks often check out my blog before doing site visits, booking groups, or even booking their own vacations, here are some of the latest of my discoveries.

HOTELS ARE DEFINITELY HAPPENING!  

Finally, the long-awaited Epicurean Hotel opened in Tampa in December. The 137-room boutique hotel, with a focus on fine foods and fine arts, is located across from the renowned Bern’s Steakhouse. The new hotel’s 80-seat restaurant, Elevage, is joined by Chocolate Pi (a patisserie, or for those who don’t speak French… a bakery), a Bern’s Fine Wines & Spirits shop on the first floor, and the Epicurean Theatre, a culinary classroom I hope to find myself dicing and splicing in very soon in the future. The Grand Awakening Weekend is coming up January 17-19 and stars the hotel’s Chef, Chad Johnson, and celebrity chefs such as Norman Van Aken. Developed by Mainsail Lodging & Development in collaboration with the legendary Bern’s Steak House, Epicurean Hotel is the first newly-constructed property in the United States to join the prestigious Autograph Collection® of Marriott International, Inc.www.EpicureanHotel.com; (855) 829-

Two new Tampa hotels are slated to open this year. What do you call a former Mercantile Bank building when it’s been converted into a 130-room boutique hotel situated along Tampa’s famed Riverwalk? You get Aloft Tampa Downtown. It’ll feature a terrace pool deck overlooking the Hillsborough River, the picturesque University of Tampa minarets, and downtown Tampa. Aloft won’t be the only boutique hotel to emerge from an historic property. Once a 108-year-old Federal Courthouse building,  Le Meridien Hotel gains new life as a 130-room hotel with 4,800 sf of meeting space, including a 2,200-sf ballroom set in the old courtroom with 18-foot ceilings, two breakout rooms, and a board room that seats 12.

There’s a “No Strings Attached” policy being offered by The Langham Huntington Pasadena, located nine miles north of Los Angeles for groups who book before March 31 and arrive through December 31 of 2015. The historic property can accommodate up to 350-person conferences. Lots of indoor and outdoor space, a resort style setting, no resort fees, no attrition and no F&B minimums. Industry specific offers are available for Pharmaceutical, Financial, Insurance, and Associations. www.alhi.com/LanghamHuntington

Omni Hotels & Resorts just bought its 6th property from KSL Capital Partners, LLC, a leading private equity firm. The reflagging of the Montelucia Resort & Spa as theOmni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia extends the Omni’s Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – OCTOBER, 2012

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Whimsey meshes with preserved history at QT Sidney in Australia

            If you had an unlimited budget, an adventurous spirit, and the time needed to just explore different parts of the world, would you pick somewhere you’ve never travelled to, or somewhere more comforting in its familiarity? If the former, have I got some thrilling news to share with you.Mention Australia and automatically you might mentally think “Outback.” True enough, but Australia is also rich in culture, history, arts, and fashion. The 200-room QT Sidney capitalizes on history, the arts and cultural by preserving two of Sidney’s most iconic buildings set in the heart of the central business district and then doing a head-to-toe makeover to attract jetsetters. Set within the historic Gowings department store and heritage-listed State Theatre, the QT Sidney honors its past by carefully restoring the original stone cladding, gargoyles, façade detail, and original timber floors on its lower levels. The hotel is in close proximity to Darling Harbour, a tourist and nightlife area, The Rocks, Australia’s finest restored historical district, Circular Quay as well as Chinatown.

Tired of crowds and want something more from your vacation than shopping trips and fighting through mobs of tourists? Then Fabriken Furillen, a lime factory and eco-friendly design masterpiece created by photographer Johan Hellström, may be the destination to remember. Set into the northeastern corner of the Swedish island of Gotland, Furillen was a military area until the early 1990s. Tourists aren’t commonly drawn to its craggy limestone formations, deserted beaches, or sea birds nesting among the ruins of an old gravel quarry. A high-speed ferry or plane from the Swedish mainland drops you off in the medieval city of Visby, Read more

St. Kitts: a Caribbean treasure ripe for discovery

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 I’ve never been to Aruba, St. Martins, St. Thomas or Nevis (St. Kitts’ smaller, sister island), which are some of the area’s better-known vacation draws, so can’t tell you how St. Kitts compares. What I do know is that if you’re a history buff or botanist, a connoisseur of unusual foods (provided your point of reference are U.S. supermarkets and farmers markets), love sailing on a brisk catamaran at sunset under usually-clear skies, browsing among affordable quaint shops with batik attire and colorful coconut shell jewelry, dancing to calypso music at late night local clubs, or Read more