There are more than 40 luxury hotels in London and many of them are involved in multi-million dollar refurbishments with no sign of concession to the current economic downturn. Marriott is opening two new brands in London – a Bvulgari in Knightsbridge and an Edition hotel on the site of the former Berners Hotel. Shangri-La is also opening a new luxury hotel at London Bridge.
The classic Four Seasons luxury hotel on Park Lane is reaping the benefits of a £125 million refurb that gave the rooms and restaurants a totally new look. Most daring of all, a whole new floor was added to accommodate the fabulous spa.
The glitzy modern W hotel in Leicester Square, the heart of London’s theaterland, has recently had a 192 room extension. It is making the most of its stunning new features, such as the huge glitterball in the bar, to host BAFTA awards parties making it the central hub for events in the heart of London.
The newly opened Corinthia Hotel in a former government building cost £300 million to develop. It blends high-class English traditions with some contemporary touches – such as the innovative décor in the Bassoon Bar.
Last but not least, the former railway hotel, now the Renaissance St Pancras, reopened after 76 years at a cost of £200 million. Its Gothic architecture, talked-about restaurants and convenient location to the Eurostar at the adjoining St Pancras Station make this a certain success.
by Gillian
Those planning to attend the London 2012 Olympics would be well advised to book early if they want to stay in a luxury hotel in London. Currently the city only has 120,000 hotel rooms, according to Gadling, and is expecting around 5.5 million visitors. To meet the deficit, the London Olympics organizers are planning to dock cruise ships on the River Thames to act as temporary hotels.
There are suitable docks at Stratford, just three miles from the Olympic Park. Further floating rooms are also planned to cope with the high demand for hotel rooms by leasing berths to private luxury yacht owners. So far there are no estimates on the “floatel” cabin prices, but they are likely to be steep. They city of London is quoting prices of around £150,000 (US$243,000) to lease the docking berths for the three-week period.
London hotels are not cheap at any time, but the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper estimates that hotel room prices may be hiked tenfold during the Olympics. Pity the poor business traveler or regular visitor wanting to see London’s sights during that period.
by Gillian
Luxury Hotel group Hilton has been using the latest 21st century phenomena, flash mobs, to attract publicity as part of its Hilton HHonors Great Getaway. The hotel chain recently orchestrated an entertaining flash-mob beach party on the sizzling streets of New York City as it experiences a summer heat wave.
The 40-or-so members of the group discarded their business attire to reveal bikinis and swimwear, to the amusement of commuters making their way more slowly than usual through Penn Station.
The group moved on to Times Square, Grand Central Station, the Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park tossing beach balls, dancing and generally having a good time. Hilton also orchestrated a similar event in London recently which attracted city workers along with Ben Cohen, a former rugby international player. However, I doubt that the weather was quite warm enough in London for beachwear.
The message however was clear. If you want to be part of what’s happening at Hilton hotels, best sign up for Hilton Honors to be included in the next fun event.
by Gillian
MasterCard makes it part of their business to forecast trends in visitor growth and spending by studying predicted international arrivals. These figures apparently are the clearest indicators of globalization, gleaned by studying airline schedules and UN expenditure figures.
The MasterCard figures predict that New York will be the only US city in the Top 20 most visited cities this year, with most international travelers heading east – Far East to be exact. Cities in Asia-Pacific account for eight of the top 20 global destinations. Visitor growth in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, is predicted to be 21.8 percent this year with Istanbul up 20.4 percent. These places will also see the fastest growth in the amount we spend, something no doubt closer to MasterCard’s heart. It expects expenditure in Istanbul to be up by 30.1 percent in 2011 and up 24 percent in Dubai.
No doubt luxury hotels in Europe and the Far East will be hoping MasterCard’s predictions prove correct, bringing them a bumper year for tourism. The list of 20 most visited cities this year is topped by London, but they did cheat by hosting a Royal Wedding. The interesting Top 20 list is shown below. How many will you tick off by the end of the year?
2011’s most popular cities (international arrivals)
1 London (20.1m)
2 Paris (18.1m)
3 Bangkok (11.5m)
4 Singapore (11.4m)
5 Hong Kong (10.9m)
6 Madrid (10.1m)
7 Istanbul (9.4m)
8 Frankfurt (8.4m)
9 Dubai (7.9m)
10 Rome (7.9m)
11 Seoul (7.9m)
12 New York (7.6m)
13 Amsterdam (7.4m)
14 Kuala Lumpur (6.9m)
15 Milan (6.7m)
16 Barcelona (6.7m)
17 Vienna (6.2m)
18 Shanghai (5.5m)
19 Taipei (5.4m)
20 Tokyo (5.0m)
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
If the Royal Wedding created an interest in Europe’s architectural treasures, there are a host of affordable cities that offer incredible sights and history to match that of the 1000-year-old Westminster Abbey. Consider spending a few days in a luxury hotel in London to recreate your own royal London experience before flying on to a second city of culture.
London’s prime sights are of course Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (which are not as old as you might think!), the Tower of London with the crown jewels and the famous Westminster Abbey.
From there, Barcelona is just a short hop away. Luxury hotels in Barcelona can be found right on the famous Las Ramblas where street performers entertain visitors as they browse the flower stalls or sit at an outdoor café. If the street is a little noisy, there are plenty of other luxury hotels to choose from near the Passeig de Gracia shopping mecca, overlooking the port and beach or in the Old Cathedral district. Antoni Gaudi’s unique architecture can be seen all over the city from the UNESCO listed Park Guell, which is filled with his sculptures, to the iconic spires of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
Other options include the French Riviera, a hotspot with celebrities and the place to spend the summer if you have a private yacht. Those preferring to stay on dry land will find Nice has a delightful old town filled with squares lined with historic architecture.
If you want to combine blue seas and sunny skies with 2000-years of history then choose one of the 6000 Greek Islands. Luxique has an excellent choice of luxury hotels in Crete, which make a great base for discovering the many churches, monasteries, castles and forts that the island is known for.
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
In the final countdown to the wedding of the year, many luxury hotels in London report they still have plenty of space for last-minute visitors. Prince William, second in line to the throne, will be marrying his student sweetheart Kate Middleton on Friday April 29th , but unless you’re a hermit I guess I’m not telling you anything new. What is a surprise is that luxury hotels in London are not fully booked for the event.
As always for travelers, this is good news as the hotels are now throwing in all manner of extras to fill their rooms. Many London hotels have resisted the urge to hike the prices, although London is never a cheap place to stay. What guests will find is that staying two nights or more will net them all sorts of goodies.
Champagne is a popular freebie, but a Champagne Flight on the London Eye looking out over the rooftops of the city is even better. Those staying in the Cadogan Hotel junior suite get afternoon tea and a Royal Wedding dinner thrown in. One Aldwych, a cool boutique hotel in London, still has rooms available along with the classy Bermondsey Square Hotel and the Lancaster London. The May Fair is reportedly dishing out souvenir crystal champagne flutes to its guests. Even the well-located Athenaeum which is just a stroll across St James Park from Buckingham Palace still has availability, as do various Hilton hotels.
The spokesperson for the British Hospitality Association put out an upbeat message saying that London hotels still expect many visitors to arrive at the last minute to celebrate. He explained away the disappointing bookings as being because people are taking long Easter breaks which means they may find themselves at other destinations rather than London for the celebrations.
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
London’s River Thames is lined with some grand old buildings, including the grand Ministry of Defense building which was once the hub of espionage during World War II. Built in 1885 at the height of Queen Victoria’s empire, this landmark edifice has fly-on-the-wall views of Britain’s ever-changing capital city. Now defunct, their cover blown, the undercover agents have moved on, giving Corinthia Hotels the opportunity to create a new flagship luxury hotel in London’s epicenter. Situated on Whitehall Place, SW1 it is within strolling distance of most London attractions including Trafalgar Square and the London Eye.
The Spirit of Corinthia Hotels has gradually crept across the former enemy territory opening luxury hotels in St Petersburg, Tripoli, Khartoum and other colorful cities of culture, finally reaching London, which will be its flagship luxury hotel.
Corinthia Hotels work hard to bring an atmosphere of boutique to their opulent hotels, and their aim is to become the world’s premier luxury hotel group. Think gold-standard luxury and Mediterranean hospitality in exquisite, individually designed hotels. Due to open in April, the first guests to this grand hotel will be part of history-in-the-making, although it’s soft opening to host a pre- BAFTA awards breakfast allowed Colin Firth (Academy award winner for the King’s Speech) to be among the first to approve the historic venue.
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
Wax figures of Lady Gaga have been unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London – and at seven others worldwide.
As befitting the pop diva’s style, the wax figures feature her in eight different outrageous outfits. The London one has her in a Philip Treacy-designed telephone hat with ‘a Giorgio Armani Privé midnight blue outfit with pagoda-style shoulders and vertiginous heels’ (my fashion adviser tells me).
The other figures are in New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Amsterdam, Berlin, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In Amsterdam, the wax Gaga sports a conical towering pink and white hairdo, teamed with a white boxy jacket, a nude bodysuit and huge platforms. In Shanghai, she is wearing thigh-high patent boots and a Bowie-esque black lightning stripe over one eye.
The Gaga-fest was kept strictly secret and kept under wraps until the moment all could be revealed. The General Manager of Madame Tussauds in London, Edward Fuller, said: “The demand to include Lady Gaga has been overwhelming and we are more than happy to oblige.”
by Andy Moreton
If you’re going Gaga, Luxique offers a selection of luxury hotels in each of the eight cities.
The French have had to concede that London offers a better experience for tourists than Paris.
The Paris-Il-de-France Regional Tourism Committee commissioned a survey to explore ways to boost international visitors. To the surprise of many, London was placed ahead of five other European cities, including Paris, Rome and Berlin.
The report found that tourists liked London better than other cities for its taxis, restaurants and landmarks, including Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye.
The city was given an impressive score of 82 out of 100 for the welcome it offered visitors from abroad. Paris – officially the world’s most popular tourist destination in terms of number of visitors – tied in second place on 79 with Amsterdam.
So what’s so wrong with Paris? Well, public transport is considered poor, with tickets difficult to buy and the Metro looking increasingly old and dirty.
Paris hotels – which have shot up in price in the decade or so since the introduction of the euro – were also found wanting, with a total mark of 74 per cent, compared with 89 per cent for London.
One fault that was found with Londoners was that so few were able to speak a foreign language.
by Andy Moreton
Paris or London? Do both! Luxique can direct you to the best luxury hotels in Paris and London – and at the best available rates.
Hotels in London have begun cashing in on next year’s royal wedding by raising their prices for a room on April 29th.
Demand for accommodation has surged since the date was announced – there’s said to have been a trebling of hotel bookings. Some hotels in the capital are down to their last few rooms on the big day.
One industry source said: “Demand is extremely high, and where demand catches up with supply, prices go up. There are still some very good deals available, though people who want to be part of the celebrations need to book as soon as possible or risk missing out.”
The wedding is expected to help provide Britain with a two-year tourism boost, with
some experts believing the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be more popular than the Olympic Games in 2012.
by Andy Moreton
Book now to avoid disappointment! Luxique offers a regal selection of luxury hotels in London.
