As California rolls out the red carpet treatment for the royal visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, luxury hotels in California are getting in on the act. Several hotels are offering special royal packages to celebrate William and Kate’s visit to California in July.
Mission Inn and Spa
This leading Fairmont hotel in Sonoma has put together a Royal Wedding Celebration Package for under $1500. It includes a night for two in the Presidential Suite, a romantic dinner served in the suite, bathrobes, champagne and caviar and a couple’s massage. Guests also get a souvenir coffee table book of the Royal Wedding to take away.
Maison 140
Want to share a celebration with family and friends? Maison 140 is offering the entire hotel for up to 50 guests for those wanting to truly live it up like royalty. The splendid overnight package includes a champagne welcome, high tea, a cocktail reception and dinner at the Petrossian Restaurant. The package includes a special pillow gift, a night cap and breakfast the following morning before returning to normality.
Paso Robles Inn
If you want your Royal Package to include a castle, best book the California Royalty Hearst Castle package. It includes a day tour of the magnificent Hearst Castle, a picnic lunch, overnight accommodation, wine tasting in Cambria and a visit to the Elephant Seals at Pedras Blancas.
Sonoma Safari West
If you want to copy William and Katherine’s engagement safari trip, the Sonoma Hotel offers a Safari Nights experience in conjunction with the nearby Safari West Preserve in Santa Rosa. It includes a Serengeti Sundowner with rhinos and cheetahs and a Behind the Scenes VIP tour of Safari West. Dinner is followed by drinks around the fire pit and a night under canvas listening to the cries of African wildlife, all for the royal price of $2000.
by Gillian
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
Not received your invitation to the royal wedding yet? Just in case it has been lost in the post (and you can’t gatecrash without one!) better move to Plan B and book your table at the Trump International New York’s private royal wedding event.
Heralded as the next best thing to a seat in Westminster Abbey, and probably a lot more comfortable, the Trump International Hotel and Tower is offering a private showing of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as it unfolds. The event will be shown on oversized monitors as guests enjoy a sumptuous wedding breakfast.
The limited seat event (the Trump breakfast, that is!) will take place at Jean Georges restaurant which is known for its astonishing culinary creations. No doubt Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten will be planning to surpass his usual incredible standards with a menu of signature dishes fit for a prince. Expect scrambled eggs with caviar, mini-French toast and pains au chocolate washed down with generous sparkling mimosas.
The date for your diary is Friday April 29th, 2011 and the event kicks off at 10am BST, which is 5am on America’s East Coast. The package thoughtfully includes an overnight stay the night before in one of the newly renovated executive Park View suites designed by Ivanka Trump.
The breakfast will all be over by 9am with plenty of time to hit the shops around this Upper West Side New York luxury hotel before the late checkout of 4pm. As a thoughtful memento of the historic royal day, guests at the Trump will receive a piece of official Royal Wedding China commissioned by the Royal Collection.
At a cost of $1,425 per couple, the package is infinitely cheaper than buying a wedding gift for the royal couple.
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
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.
Amid all the excitement in the UK about next year’s royal wedding, there’s already speculation about where Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton, will spend their honeymoon.
Traditionally, newlyweds from the House of Windsor take off to a Scottish location and stay in a royal residence, but this trendy couple are likely to break with the custom.
Where, then? William proposed marriage while on safari in East Africa, so a return there is certainly on the cards – indeed, Kenya is the bookmakers’ favourite at 3-1, with Tanzania at 4-1.
New Zealand is also holding out strong hopes, particularly as the rugby World Cup is being held there in September. Prince William is a keen rugby fan and has cheered on England at the last two World Cups. “It would be fantastic if Prince William and his bride came,” said Rugby NZ 2011 Chief Executive, Martin Snedden.
Among the other front-runners in the betting stakes are the Caribbean (5-1), Australia and South Africa (both 10-1).
by Andy Moreton
Tourist chiefs in the UK have been rubbing their hands with glee at the announcement of a royal wedding next year.
VisitEngland Chief Executive, James Berresford, said that with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics following in 2012, the tourism industry had a tremendous opportunity to attract many extra overseas tourists.
“I’m absolutely thrilled for [Prince] William and Kate [Middleton, his fiancée], and thrilled for tourism as well,” he said. “The wedding next year will mean that once again the eyes of the world will be turned to our nation. We will have a wonderful opportunity to showcase all that is best about the country.”
Last week, the Office for National Statistics announced that the number of visits made to the UK by overseas residents in the first nine months of this year totalled 22.48 million – a 2% dip on the 2009 total.
by Andy Moreton
Whatever the occasion, whatever the weather, London remains a must-see city. Take a look at Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in London.
