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12.31.2008 | Sign up for Tablet Hotels' weekly newsletter, and get a chance to win five nights in one of their hotels. The hotel changes every month. This month, which, uh, if you haven't noticed, ends today, it's the Hotel Brandenburger Hof Berlin. Tomorrow?
Once you sign up, you are still eligible to enter the monthly sweeps. All you have to do is resubmit your information.
For the uninitiated--and if you’re not, you should be--Tablet Hotels is a curated selection of some of the world's most compelling hotels. The site contains clever parsing of the hotel universe, including top 10 lists (top 10 rated, top 10 emailed) and, great fun this, favorite hotels of the stars. (Sir Ben Kingsley and Christian Liaigre both like the Chateau Marmont.)
My one quibble with Tablet Hotels is that, unless I missed something, their listings don’t link to the hotel’s website. I suppose this has something to do with retaining the transaction fee, but even Luxury Link links to a property's website. Nonetheless, TabletHotels' listings are thorough, and include photographs and reviews. Here’s the one for the Hotel Brandenburger Hof Berlin. All told, Tablet Hotels is one of my absolute favorite hotel websites.
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12.31.2008 | News broke this evening that the Obamas will be moving into a Washington hotel later this week. They're coming to town so the girls can start their new school after holiday break. They'll stay in the hotel, in a suite per news reports, through January 15, when they move into the Blair House, the official While House guest house.
Aides would not reveal which hotel. I give the secret 24 hours. I'm tempted to start guessing which hotel it might be. The Hay-Adams makes sense. It's right across the park from the White House.
UPDATE: 11 AM EST Wednesday, December 31, 2008
AOL's Political Machine is playing the guessing game, too: Dylan and Ethan Ris bet it's either the Watergate and the Mayflower. Sorry, fellows, but the Watergate is currently closed for renovations. And the Howard Johnson on Florida Avenue surely doesn't have suites that would meet the President Elect's standards - if it has suites at all.
It's anyone's guess where the Obamas will check in. We hear very nice things about the Watergate Hotel, and we think their might be some sort of historic thing that happened there. Oh, there's also the Mayflower hotel - that one's really popular with elected officials from out of town, like Governor Eliot Spitzer. Sometimes they even hold very special meetings there!
But clearly times are tight, and the Obamas might not be able to spring for a luxury hotel. Well, there's always the HoJo over on Florida Avenue!
On a philosophical note, I appreciate the Obama's needs for privacy, especially considering his daughters, but it is just plain unrealistic for him and his staff to expect this one to remain secret for long. And I'm guessing his aides have told reporters, who are keeping it mum for now.
UPDATE: 12:30 EST Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Bingo, on two counts. It's the Hay-Adams, per multiple mainstream news sources (MSNBC, The Washington Post). And the secret didn't last more than 24 hours. The family could not have picked a more ideal location for their segue into the White House. Many rooms have views of the White House. For the Obama girls, this is pretty magical, being able to look across Lafayette Park at their soon-to-be home.
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12.30.2008 | Isaac is spending three days and two nights at Colonial Williamsburg with his father. They're staying in the Richard Crump House, one of the Colonial Houses in the historic village. They're in the second floor room, which has twin beds and a bathroom.
Isaac reports that the beds are comfortable and that there's a TV. I didn't ask if it was high definition; me thinks not. He notes that the ceiling is slanted, because the roof's not flat. He adds he was scared going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, because the guides have been telling guests ghosts stories. This was after he told me last evening that he did not believe in spirits. Boo! He also said the economy was affecting Colonial Williamsburg, and that they were closing down some of the shops. He mentioned the cooper. Could this be so?
Here's more from my exclusive interview.
BB: Is the room comfortable?
IG: It’s pretty comfortable. I learned some new words. 'Punky' means hot and sunny. It's a punky day. They called shoes 'pits.' I like your pits.
BB: Would you stay there again?
IG: Yes. I would rather stay at the Williamsburg Inn but it’s so fancy. We ate dinner there. I overheard a woman ordering caviar.
You can tell from the above exchange that the experience is meeting my educational expectations. Reviews on TripAdvisor are mixed, in part because of elevated expectations. The Colonial Williamsburg website doesn't have photos of each house. The accompanying photo is The Moody Kitchen Bedroom. You can download an online brochure, a PDF file, HERE.
Isaac's father and I stayed at The Williamsburg Inn once upon a time. I'd been covering a conference of CEO's. Two amusing moments: 1.) Overhearing Jack Welch, then head of GE, complaining that the limousines he'd taken from the airport looked like "pimp mobiles." 2.) Meeting the ambassador from Malta, who was there with his paramour. Years later, this gentleman moved into my building. We are still neighbors. At our Christmas party this year, he told Isaac, who's studying Latin, what they used to say about studying Latin in college: "Latin is a language as dead as dead can be; first it killed the Romans, now it's killing me."
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12.30.2008 | Hotels sure look mighty attractive at dusk. That's the Beverly Wilshire to the right. Vogue Magazine is sponsoring a sweeps package with a three-night stay there. The prize includes airfare, spa treatments and a serious makeover (think Jimmy Choo [shoes], Serge Normant [salon], Irene Neuwrith [jewelry]). To enter, click HERE. This is a one-time-entry affair. It closes January 19. (Note: Third night free offers are all the rage at luxury hotels. The Beverly Wilshire is currently offering one.)
On the other side of the pond, I've been entering this daily sweeps since I discovered it last month. It's a trip to London that includes a four-night stay at The Andaz on Liverpool. Andaz is Hyatt's new line, with properties planned for New York and L.A. and beyond. To enter, click HERE. This sweeps, a daily entry as noted above, closes January 30.
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12.29.2008 | Many of the online travel sweeps I enter do not specify the hotel. It's a kind of gamble on top of a gamble. Here's one that does; it ends at midnight this evening. Make that 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The prize: a trip for two to a Fairmont property in one of the following locations: Scottsdale; Cairo; Monte Carlo; Vancouver or Beijing. The prize includes round-trip airfare, spa treatments, and $3,500 USD in American Express® Travelers Cheques.
To enter, click HERE. For more sweeps, visit TRAVEL SWEEPS.
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12.29.2008 | Several weeks ago I booked New Year's Eve and the following night at The Chelsea in Atlantic City. I'd bought tickets to see Craig Ferguson, who's appearing at The Borgata on New Year's Eve, but The Borgata was booked, so I thought The Chelsea, Atlantic City's first non-casino hotel since Atlantic City went casino, was the next obvious choice. The woman who took my reservation explained there was a 48-hour cancellation policy. She sent an email confirming my room (Luxe King), rates ($391.20 for New Year's Eve, $175.20 for the next evening, plus $81.30 in taxes, for a total of $674.70).
The email also detailed the hotel's policies as follows:
Hotel Policies
- Our check-in time is 4pm and check-out is 12pm.
- The Chelsea is a smoke free environment. A penalty will be applied to the guest's folio if this policy is violated.
- We gladly accommodate service animals, however we do not allow pets.
- Valet Parking fees: $15.00 Friday & Saturday, $10.00 Sunday through Thursday.
Cancellation Policy
We understand that plans change and you may need to cancel or modify your reservation, so please review the following policies.
All deposits are fully refundable and transferable 48 hours prior to arrival.
I called the hotel at about 2:45 P.M. to cancel. I thought I was within the 48-hour cancellation policy with a 4 o'clock check-in. It took me 29 minutes and 3 seconds to get the hotel to see things my way, even with my confirmation email. And thank goodness for my confirmation email. As it turned out, the reservationist should have applied a seven-day cancellation policy to my reservation, and a group with a seven-day cancellation policy was trying to cancel, and they thought I was part of that group. I'm happy with the outcome but think this should have been resolved without the folderol.
This is my cancellation number: 9008845. I note it here just in case. In any event, I'll get to Atlantic City one of these days. And I might just stay at The Chelsea.
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