Kimpton Hotels Sunday Sleep In Program

I've stayed at all seven Kimpton Hotels in the D.C. area and many more across the country.  Usually my stays are over the weekend as a landing spot after a fun night out.I always call down for a late check out; but now Kimpton is making that part easier.  They're offering the Sunday Sleep In Program for Saturday night stays where check out isn't until 2:00 p.m. Now we can add a good night's sleep to the other qualities we value at Kimpton: style, friendly service, good value, and evening wine hour.  Details at KimptonHotels.com.

Fairmont is Expanding Its Bicycle Program

Good news: Fairmont Hotels are now offering free use of BMW Cruise bicycles in their hotels in the U.S., in addition to Canada. Locks and helmets are also available. We suggest touring wine country from the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, seeing Chicago from the back of a bicycle as Hope recently did or cycling around Washington D.C.'s historic C and O Canal.

Hotel Club: A Burgeoning Trend

New York Magazine addressed the trend of NYC hotels that have seen-and-be-seen clubs, a la The Standard, the Gansevoort and more. We've long been a fan of these types one-stop hotels for girls' trips. Yes, it can seem unadventurous to eat, party and sleep all in the same building, but it makes life so much easier when you're with a group, though you certainly have to be in the right hotel.

On our last trip to Miami, we stayed at the W South Beach. We hit Wall at the hotel two of the nights we were there. Not only was it the place to be back in March, it also made it easy when two of us wanted to go to bed earlier than the other two. There was no expensive cab ride, no worrying if our friends were going to be able to find their way home. It was the perfect mix of safe fun.

On Our Radar: Beach Shack Cape May, New Jersey

The new, younger hipper sister to Congress Hall, the Beach Shack in Cape May, New Jersey, doesn't put on any airs. It's a revamped motel and -- as the name suggests -- the rooms aren't luxurious, but they are comfortable, serviceable and clean according to reviewers on TripAdvisor.com.

Stay at this new 65 room property for its oceanfront views, firepit and almost nightly bands (lots of reggae) at the on-site bar and restaurant, the Rusty Nail. Need another reason to go? The Rusty Nail is where all the lifeguards and surfers hang out in Cape May. Ca-ching!

Hotel Thrillist Fontainebleau Miami

When we first received the invite to the Hotel Thrillist weekend at the Fontainebleau in Miami, we had no idea what Thrillist was or why we were invited. However, we're not the type to turn up our noses at a free weekend stay--especially at a hotel we have been wanting to check out--including parties, food and all the Bacardi Torched Cherry cocktails we could drink. The weekend was sponsored by Bacardi, Corona, Klondike and Nerf among others.

Upon arrival at the Fontainebleau, we quickly learned that Thrillist is like a unisex Daily Candy for the cool people. You can sign up for a daily email in 17 cities, including NYC, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and more. Everyday the site features a hip new bar, restaurant, clothing line, event, gadget or the like that is just ever so slightly under the radar and definitely up and coming.

The site also offers deals like discounts on hotel stays (currently 20% off at NYC's Gild Hall) and throws parties and events, like the Hotel Thrillist weekend, that you may get invited to or win a chance to join in. On our weekend, every third person we met was a contest winner, so it really can happen.

The Hotel Thrillist weekend was packed with fun surprises like a buffet dinner featuring all the hotel's amazing restaurants, J. Cole performance at the Fontainebleau's Liv Nightclub and poolside concert by Kat DeLuna.

But hands down, our favorite part about the Hotel Thrillist weekend: The people. Not that we don't love our usual crew of beauty and fashion blogging cohorts, but it was really refreshing to meet a new mix of people including TV producers, advertising girls from Portland, Nerf PR folks, and a whole group of people who have no idea who Bethenney Frankel is -- and don't care. Figuring that the Hotel Thrillist crowd is indicative of who reads Thrillist, well, that's who we want to hang with regularly!

So sign up for Thrillist today and enter every contest you can. Who knows, we may just be seeing you at the next Hotel Thrillist weekend.

Room With a View

Looking for the perfect hostess gift or perhaps a birthday gift for your favorite JSG? Check out Conde Nast Traveler's Room with a View. It's a compilation of TDF hotel rooms like the Sun Suite at Jade Mountain in St. Lucia

and the El Venado Suite at Hotelito Desconocido in Mexico

The book could double as your bucket list!

Last Minute Dad's Day Gift

Forgot to get dad a gift this year? Make it up to him with this last-minute ultimate guys getaway: Steer, Scotch, Sticks and Stogies and the Southampton Inn in Long Island, NY.

The event is June 24-25. Dad will be treated to a happy hour cocktail party, a five-course steak-scotch and local wine-pairing dinner, followed by cigars and a sampling of The 50 Scotch. Friday morning, he's off to golf at the Robert Trent Jones’ Long Island National Golf Club.

The overnight is $499. Dinner only is $155.

Contact the Southampton Inn to book. 

Fontainebleau Review

After hearing about how amazing the Fontainebleau is for over a year, we finally made it to the resort to check it out for ourselves. We were there for the Hotel Thrillist weekend (more on that later). We heard more than once during our stay that the Fontainebleau is like Vegas in Miami. We pretty much agree with that--the hotel is one stop shopping for pooltime fun, spas, dining, nightlife and, of course, shopping.


Our double room was white with aqua accents, the comfiest bed ever and a view of the ocean. The bathroom was small, as they often are in older properties that have been remodeled. We loved the Apple desktops in the room that provided info on the hotel and free internet access.

We stopped by the Lapis Spa to use the water facilities, which include a co-ed rain shower and mineral pool steam rooms, hot tubs and these heated Hammam benches.

Iced cucumbers are placed throughout the spa for instant eye cooling. The idea is so simple and so genius, we're not sure why every spa in the world doesn't do this!

The Bowtie pool was a daytime party.

We got to sample the food from the Fontainebleau's restaurants on Friday night. The duck ravioli from Scarpetta's and the spicy creamed corn from Gotham Steak were the hands down faves.

As for the nightlife--we finally got to experience Liv and DJ Ruckus. The bi-level club is swank and the door is a madhouse. We have to admit, we were a bit disappointed by DJ Ruckus. Oh well, at least now we know!

Liv is bachelorette party central. We saw at least four groups of women in tiaras, sashes, etc. All looked to be having a good time!

Girls' Trip to Monterey

Monterey is one of our favorite towns in Northern California. We love the aquarium, the small shops and the cute but stinky sea lions.  The Monterey Bay Inn is the perfect place to enjoy a stay, now that we don't live close by.  Its "You Go Girls!" package includes beachfront accommodations, discounted stand-up paddle board rentals and lessons, a complimentary Burt’s Bees skincare kit, and daily in-room breakfast.  Last time we were there, we rented kayaks and paddled around the sea lions; but this is our chance to try out paddle boarding.

The Monterey Bay Inn is offering the "You Go Girls!" package through September 2, 2010. The two-for-one stand-up paddle board rentals, lessons and tours are provided by Adventures by the Sea.

On Our Radar: Chicago

We're off to Chicago for a last minute trip.  While searching for a reasonable plane fare has been painful, choosing which hotel has been a lot more fun.  Chicago has choices ranging from luxury, like the Peninsula, to bargain; but we usually go for something in between.  So far here's what we've found:

We featured the Hotel Sax (above) on our Memorial Day countdown because of its summer baseball package for only $169. It's bound to have character as it's part of the Thompson Hotel Group and next to the Marina City playground with the House of Blues, Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse, 10Pin Bowling Lounge, and Bin 36 restaurant.

Our twitter friend @iheartheels recommended the Whitehall Hotel because it's right off the Magnificient Mile and has super comfy beds (the beds are high on our priority list!). 

Kimpton's newest Chicago outpost is the Hotel Palomar, we'll definitely swing by for a tour, whether or not we're guests.  Our friend, Sarah, told us the Sable Restaurant and Bar makes amazing hand crafted cocktails, so put that on our to-do list too!

Are we missing your favorite Chicago hotel?  Please share!

Thompson LES Above Allen Opens Up June 9th

The Thompson Lower East Side Hotel's popular night spot, Above Allen, begins its summer hours on June 9th:  Wednesdays to Saturdays 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.  Above Allen will retract is glass roof, making it a truly open-air experience and a fab place to meet friends for happy hour while celebrating the view of the NYC skyline. 


Hotel guests and Above Allen members can access the terrace bar, and non-members can make reservations by emailing AboveAllenReservations@thompsonhotels.com.  You can also show up without reservations; but be prepared to flatter the doorman if you want to get in.  A sexy outfit and great shoes won't hurt either.

Gansevoort Miami Beach

We had a chance to tour the Gansevoort Miami Beach while we were in town last weekend.  Its location on Collins Avenue next to the new W Hotel and close to the Setai, the Shore Club and the Delano makes it easy walking distance to a number of great restaurants and lounges.  The facility itself is bigger than we expected though a friend who stayed there wasn't overwhelmed with the size. 

This may be in part to the beautiful and cozy rooftop pool.  By day the  circular lounge chairs give you great views of the ocean:

At night the adjacent bar and lounge, Plunge, opens up:

Here's the ground level pool which is more family friendly, larger and has access to the beach.  It is also the most popular place in the hotel for wedding receptions.

The rooms are contemporary and spacious.  We saw a one bedroom suite that had an ample sized bedroom, living room with kitchenette, and bathroom:

The David Barton Gym was reason enough for our friend, Shiela, to book a room with the Gansevoort.  It's huge (45,000 square feet!), dark and overall the most unique workout space we've seen, especially at a hotel.  The dedicated yoga, pilates, and spin rooms got high marks; but the sound and strange layout were disconcerting for us.

We also went to the Gansevoort's club, Louis, one evening.  It wasn't the liveliest of the clubs we went to; but the little people standing on the bar blowing fire extinguishers and throwing napkins at us made a lastly impression.

W South Beach

We're just back from our latest girls' trip at the W South Beach. Our verdict on the hotel: We loved it! The location was great, nestled in by the Gansevoort and the Shore Club on Collins, the lobby is simply stunning and our room (an Oasis Suite) was a nice size with an  ocean view.

Even though Miami was on the chilly side this weekend, we spent plenty of time by the pool (sometimes wrapped in towels). Given the weather, we didn't actually make it into that infinity edge pool, but we did enjoy many a Greek salad, French fry and glass of Sauvignon Blanc on our lounge chairs. The service was attentive and friendly. The pool made for great people watching, too: In addition to the Euro men in their bikini briefs, we spotted a few celebs, including Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Bruckheimer and Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy.

Since it was too cold to spend the night's outdoors, we headed to the W's Wall Club--an intimate space with a rocking DJ. It was definitely a fave. We also enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails in the lobby bar.

We do have a few minor complaints about the hotel:
1. There were no Q-tips in the bathroom.We can't remember the last time we stayed at a swank hotel that didn't proved them for you. Our friend Heidi resorted to cleaning her ears with twisted up toilet paper.
2. There aren't enough lounge chairs at the pool. Even though we were in a two bedroom suite, we were told we were only allotted three chairs.
3. Mr. Chow does not live up to the hype. Not only was it expensive, but the food was bad to unmemorable. We sent back an order of chicken satay--seriously, how do you screw up peanut sauce?

On Our Radar: W Miami

Seeing as we're in the middle of snow-icane 2010, all we can think about is our trip to Miami next week, when we'll be staying at the new W South Beach. Believe us when we say that with all the new hotels in Miami, making our decision of where to stay was harder than ever!

We most recently spoke about the W back in January during our Beach Week. What attracted us to the hotel, which opened back in July, is its prime beachfront location on Collins Ave., the sexy infinity edge pool and that it's home to Mr. Chow's restaurant--always a party scene in NYC--and our favorite Bliss Spa. And the fact that it has 6 different bars sure didn't hurt either!

It was not a unanimous decision, however.  Our one friend ruled out the W at the get-go because she feared the rooms would be small (as they admittedly are at some branches);  but even the smallest rooms at the W in Miami ring at 500+ square feet. Then we had drinks in L.A. with our favorite travel agent who told us that her clients have been raving about the property, especially the phenom service.

Once we were finally able to pull some strings and get ourselves a deal on an Oasis Suite, we were sold! Now the only questions left: Where to go for dinner? What clubs to go to? And most important of all, what to pack?

Check back next week to follow us on our trip! We leave Thursday!

Beaver Creek: The Westin Riverfront

We spent three nights at the Westin Riverfront Resort, in Avon, Colorado at the end of January.  This beautiful new property lies at the base of the Beaver Creek ski area and has its own gondola to shuttle you up the mountain, which was one of the best features of our stay.  The ski valet located at the base of the elevators and just steps from the gondola made getting on and off the mountain that much easier.

Our spacious suite had floor to ceiling windows,

a wrap around deck, and sweeping views of the mountain range.  We had a full sized and fully stocked kitchen.  The bathrooms have the Heavenly dual shower head with the option to use only one of the heads to save water.  The Westin's commitment to the environment went further:  there are recycle bins, energy saving appliances and lighting, an opt out for new sheets and towels, and a $5 resort credit each day you choose to not use housekeeping.

The uber-comfy beds have Heavenly sheets, down comforters and pillows and iPod docking stations.   The only thing that interrupted our sleep was the heat in the room which crept up during the night, prompting us to crack the patio door.

There were three outdoor infinity hot tubs looking over the mountains and a lap pool.  There's also a huge gym with yoga and spin studios.  The staff at the gym specialize in triathlon training, not that we had any energy after a long day on the mountain.  The fabulous Spa Anjali is adjacent to the pool.    Here's the unforgettable view from our room:

 

We ski Vail and Beaver Creek each year; but normally stay with friends.  This was one of the best trips we've had and one that we'd readily recommend to all of our friends.  The Westin is currently offering a "buy three nights/get the fourth night free" package as well as a winter ski getaway package that includes lift tickets, breakfast for two and valet parking.

The Jet Set Girls were given a special rate during our stay.

Andaz West Hollywood

On our recent trip to L.A., we had the chance to tour the Andaz West Hollywood. It was formerly the Hyatt, aka the Riot House which many legendary rockers called home for a night or two. Among the many classic tales of rockers misbehaving: Keith Richards hurled a large TV from his tenth-floor room; Jim Morrison dangled from a window by his fingertips and Axl Rose tossed seared steaks to his many fans below. The hotel even made its way into film--scenes from Almost Famous and This Is Spinal Tap were filmed on property.
 
Today, it's a chic, modern, affordable hotel, but the rock n' roll vibe lives on. That's the stunning view from pool deck, above. (It's the highest hotel pool deck in all of L.A.) The rooms are sparsely decorated, but not lacking in amenities. Non-alcoholic items from the minibar are free, including cult favorite Pop Chips.

 

We had to take a photo of the stenciled globe. It fits right in with our map fetish.

 

Every rooms gets an orange, stuffed pooch.

The RH restaurant was named after the Riot House nickname. It's manned by chef Sebastien Archambault who has worked with Alain Ducasse.

 

We loved the pool deck so much, we're throwing in another photo of it at night.

A few other things we found charming about the Andaz West Hollywood: The staff gets to pick their own "uniforms" off the rack from local brands like Velvet and Vince and the price--rooms start at under $200!

On Our Radar: Grand Opening of the Distrikt Hotel NYC

We're excited to check out the Distrikt Hotel which recently opened and honors New York City.  Each of the Distrikt Hotel's floors pays homage to a different neighborhood in Manhattan such as: Chelsea, Soho, the Lower East Side, and Tribeca.  The neighborhoods encompass three floors each starting downtown with the Financial District and ending in Harlam on the top floors.  They are represented by backlit collages from artist Chris Rubino on each floor.  You can even request a neighborhood where you would like to stay.

The hotel's great location Midtown on West 40th between 8th and 9th Avenues is easy walking to shows, shopping and good eats.

 

Chris Rubino's Midtown West

Special guest accomodations include extra thick window glass to keep out the sounds from Broadway below, Frette linens and robes, free WIFI, iPod/iPhone docking stations, a 37" LG flatscreen tv, and free overnight shoeshines.

 

Chris Rubino's Lower East Side