Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

Green is apparently “in” in top hotels worldwide. Luxury hotels in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles are recognizing the importance of offering guests some tranquil garden space, even if they are situated in the middle of a busy city.

During the summer guests prefer an outside space to sit and enjoy in drink amidst flowering shrubs and shady trees. For hotels where outdoor space is limited, innovative designers have created full-scale rooftop gardens with waterfalls and cool reflection pools. Some hotels have totally embraced the idea and are growing their own herbs, fruit and vegetables in the gardens and some even have bee-hives!
The Kyoto Grand Hotel in Los Angeles is one to look out for. This Asian inspired hotel has meandering footpaths and calming water features in its gorgeous Japanese gardens which offer great views of Downtown from its rooftop position.

The Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City has a chic garden on the roof with a retractable glass roof for showery days. The herbs and garnishes used in cocktails and cuisine are grown onsite.

A colorful array of summer flowers can be enjoyed in the English gardens at the Surrey, also in New York City. Sip Muddled Lemonade surrounded by the scent of lavender in this serene space.

Those staying at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY can take exercise classes on the roof in the shady green terrace gardens where plants attract butterflies and birds. Horticulturists will enjoy staying at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. They can potter around the basil and pepper plants in the herb garden and admire the dwarf cherry, pear and plum trees which fruit in season. There is also a bee hive and the honey is used in the kitchen of the signature restaurant.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

Rome in high summer can be uncomfortably hot, but the Eternal City can offer a delightful long weekend break in the shorter and cooler days of autumn and winter.

OK, the current economic situation means a lot of belt-tightening for many travellers, but the trip need not cause you to stretch too far.

Flying to Rome has never been easier or cheaper. Like every other commodity, airline ticket prices have started to fall, giving the savvy tourist the option of flying from New York to Rome for about $800 (£440 or 570 €), while the low cost carriers such as RyanAir are practically giving away seats from London Stansted at £50, ($90 or 64 €) round trip.

Nearly all the luxury hotels in Rome offer special packages and, as I last week in relation to Paris, don’t hesitate to negotiate. Free upgrades, free spa use, free meals – these are all possibilities when hotels are feeling the pinch as much as the rest of us.

The Eden, for example, a chic hotel situated close to Rome’s Spanish Steps, has a winter offer that includes an upgrade depending on availability, a welcome gift and free admission to the Picasso exhibition until January 31st 2009.

The Westin Excelsior, another luxury Rome hotel, is offering what it calls its ‘Fall For Rome’ package, with a deluxe double room, American breakfast, free extra bed or cot for a child up to 12 and free access to the pool and Jacuzzi. This is available until the end of the year.

If you’re looking for a stay with something extra, consider Casa Howard, a designer B&B in two locations with individually decorated rooms. It feels less like a hotel, more like the pied-a-terre of a rich friend with a keen eye for style.

Rome is beautiful and historic, but has just earned an unwelcome label – the most dangerous city in Europe for traffic accidents. The London Daily Telegraph’s correspondent, Nick Squires, reports that more than 230 people died in accidents in 2006 in the Italian capital, ‘where motorists thunder down narrow cobbled alleyways, swerve around pedestrians on zebra crossings and disregard road signs.’

Renowned travel writer, Bill Bryson, had much to say on the subject, such as: “You turn any street corner in Rome and it looks like you just missed a parking competition for blind people.” And: “Romans park their cars the way I would park it if I’d just spilled a beaker of hydrochloric acid in my lap.”

So, take extra care on that special winter weekend, but relax and enjoy.

by Andy Moreton

Missoni is the latest designer name to go into the hotel business.

The Italian fashion house signed a deal a couple of years ago with the big hospitality group, Rezidor, which already has around 330 hotels in 51 countries, including the brands Park Inn, Regent and Radisson SAS.

The first two hotels from Rezidor’s partnership with Missoni will open next year – in Kuwait City and Edinburgh. “We believe that hotels are a natural extension for our core brand and that they will work with, and complement, our fashion business,” said Director, Vittorio Missoni.

Since 2000, more than a dozen designers have either set up a partnership with a hospitality company to co-brand a new property or signed on to redesign the interiors of an existing hotel. They include Armani, Versace and Lagerfeld.

Lucian James, founder of the Paris-based brand consultancy, Agenda, said: “In the past five or ten years, fashion designers have begun to understand that the best way they can increase business is by recreating themselves as lifestyle brands. They have to find other ways to build revenue in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.”

Designs for the Kuwait and Edinburgh hotels are being kept secret, but the Missoni team will be heavily involved in creating the look, so expect the signature zig-zag print on curtains and cushions. And the branding is likely to extend to other areas such as tableware and furniture.

by Andy Moreton