Tuesday, Aug 16
Partly Cloudy
Currently: 75˚F
Feels Like: 77˚ F
Hi: N/A˚, Lo: 56˚
Wind: 6, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: N (360) 
Tonight: 56˚
Sunset: 8:29 PM
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Wednesday, Aug 17
Hi: 80˚, Lo: 60˚
Wind: 5, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: NW (307) 
Thursday, Aug 18
Hi: 86˚, Lo: 66˚
Wind: 15, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: S (180) 
Friday, Aug 19
Hi: 77˚, Lo: 60˚
Wind: 10, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: NNE (23)
Saturday, Aug 20
Hi: 79˚, Lo: 59˚
Wind: 9, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: NE (54)
weather feed courtesy of weather.com - thanks!
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Travel Guide: Check in, then check out these helpful hotel tips
Sacramento Bee 1. Everyone has learned their fair share about germs, bedbugs and all things creepy and gross in hotel rooms. But there's something you can do besides cringe. The moment you enter your hotel room, put down your stuff and pick up the … |
Good morning: Breakfast at the Best Western Plus Pepper Tree Inn, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
By Mark Chesnut
Free breakfast is pretty much the norm at mid-priced hotel chains in the United States and Canada. And it can be a nice extra for both business travel and family vacations. But not every morning meal is the same; while orange juice, muffins and other continental-style offerings are fairly universal, other options vary based on the hotel brand and location. To help you tailor your hotel choice to your palate, here is a sample of what to expect with some major hoteliers.
Best Western
Most of this company’s hotels in North America serve free breakfast and Best Western encourages its individual properties to offer options with “local flair.” All hotels with free breakfast have a hot item such as waffles or pancakes. Some also offer eggs, a breakfast meat and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Embassy Suites
This chain, part of the Hilton family, offers a free, cooked-to-order breakfast that includes eggs, breakfast-style potatoes, pancakes and French toast.
Holiday Inn Express
The Express Start Breakfast Bar at Holiday Inn Express includes buffet-style hot breakfast items such as scrambled eggs or omelets, bacon or sausage and biscuits; selections rotate daily. Travelers looking to satisfy their sweet tooth can reach for the hot cinnamon rolls.
Home2 Suites
This new extended-stay Hilton brand features what it calls an “Inspired Table Breakfast,” with continental-style offerings as well as open-faced hot breakfast sandwiches heated with a conveyor oven.
Wyndham Hotel Group
Several of the company’s brands — including Wingate by Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Baymont Inn & Suites and Howard Johnson — serve free breakfast. Beginning this past spring, Wingate by Wyndham and Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham began offering healthier food items as well as consistently branded coffee, juice and food items including pastries, muffins, bagels and eggs. Individual properties are now also allowed, with company approval, to provide regional specialties in addition to system-wide breakfast items.
Related resources
Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.
Fast forward: Check-in kiosks at the Yotel in New York City.
By Mark Chesnut
Whether you’re heading out on business or enjoying a Europe vacation or New York vacation, you’re more likely than ever to find technology playing a role in making your hotel stay go smoothly. But looking to the airline industry may provide the clearest vision of how hotels will operate in the future.
As with seemingly every aspect of modern life, smartphones are an increasingly helpful resource during hotel stays. Ritz-Carlton, for example, now offers its World Concierge service on Foursquare, the location-based mobile program. Using a smartphone, travelers can now check into locations and landmarks in 25 countries for tips provided by Ritz-Carlton concierge staff from all 75 Ritz-Carlton properties.
In May, Starwood Preferred Guest unveiled the latest version of its free app, which allows members to keep track of their SPG account. The company’s free app for W Hotels Worldwide app, meanwhile, allows users to tap into some of that brand’s characteristic cool, by streaming custom music mixes from DJs around the world.
When it’s time to leave the hotel, many travelers now use the televisions in their room to review the bill and check out. At the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation before opening in October, TV functions — provided by a company called Roomlinx — will offer even more, with access to Internet apps including Netflix, Youtube and Facebook, as well as unrestricted Internet and e-mail.
For a glimpse of the future, take a look at how you check in and board planes at the airport. Or pay a visit to the Comfort Xpress in Oslo, Norway, which opened earlier this year and claims to have the first 100 percent automated check-in and check-out system at a major hotel. Guests here can check in with a link received via e-mail or text, which also allows them to indicate their check-in time and room preference. Upon arrival, guests receive another message via cell phone with their room number, and may proceed directly to the room, using the phone instead of a key card, much the same way airline passengers use electronic boarding passes on their phones.
Travelers in the United States can also experience futuristic innovations at YOTEL New York, which opened in June. Guests arriving at the 669-room New York hotel check in at self-service kiosks similar to those found at an airport, and only need to speak with a human staff member if they have a question or problem. If a traveler needs to leave luggage either before or after their stay, they stop at the Yobot, a robotic arm that checks and stores guest luggage.
Related resources
Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.
The Hilton McLean shows off Hilton's new lobby concept.
By Mark Chesnut
Hilton is in growth mode. And that means new hotel options for travelers around the world, with new properties debuting in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States.
Among the latest openings are the Hilton Bodrum Resort & Spa in Turkey, the Hilton Windhoek Hotel in Namibia and the Hilton Queenstown Hotel in New Zealand. Also new is the Hilton New York Fashion District, which opened in February as Hilton’s fifth New York City hotel, as a rebranding of the former Fashion 26 hotel.
Still to open before the end of the year are the Hilton Marsa Alam, in Egypt, the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, in the United Kingdom, and the Hilton Bogota, in Colombia.
In addition, Hilton Hotels and Resorts has introduced a new lobby design concept, with elements including more accessible technology and contemporary food and beverage options. The Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, in McLean, Virginia, is one of the first hotels to feature the new look, with a Technology Lounge equipped with Mac and PC workstations and a new restaurant, Härth, that serves cuisine made in a wood-burning stove.
In addition to Hilton Hotels and Resorts, the parent company, Hilton Worldwide, is also growing the other brands in its portfolio, which includes Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Waldorf Astoria. The newest brand on the scene is Home2 Suites by Hilton, an extended-stay chain that debuted this year in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City, with more locations scheduled to open in the coming months.
Overall, Hilton Worlwide has more than 15,000 new hotel rooms planned for more than 90 properties in Europe, as well as more than 10 hotels under development in Central and South America, more than 70 properties slated to open in China, six new hotels in Saudi Arabia and 12 openings scheduled in Turkey, which will double its presence in that country this year.
Related resources
Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.
Park place: The Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC has a stylish rooftop venue.
By Mark Chesnut
With summer heating up and business travel continuing to fill up hotels, the time is right to head to the roof for the best views and the freshest breezes. Here are five scenic options to enjoy a meal or drink.
1. The sleek Gansevoort Park NYC has become a hot spot for style-conscious travelers. Penthouse 2, which is also the pool level, is open from noon through the evening hours, welcoming a business-oriented crowd for drinks and light meals in both indoor and outdoor settings. After 9pm, you can head to Penthouse 1, which becomes a hub for well-dressed night owls.
2. The Panorama Restaurant & Sky Lounge, on the eighth floor of the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel Coconut Grove, serves up creative Peruvian cuisine as well as excellent views of Miami’s Key Biscayne and Peacock Park. You can enjoy the view whether you sit indoors or on the outdoor terrace; lunch and dinner options include South American favorites like ceviche as well as classic U.S. dishes including burgers and salads.
3. The Melia Atlanta has opened a new rooftop pool bar and dining area called Sol Deck, which hosts live entertainment twice a week. The Sunday brunch special lasts from 11am until 3 p.m., with a DJ spinning music through the evening. Business or leisure travelers with some free time might want to partake in the Tuesday evening movie night, during which the Sol Deck screens an international array of films, accompanied by cocktails.
4. The Park Hyatt Chicago reopened its seventh-floor facilities in June following a four-month renovation, with four separate concepts: NoMI Kitchen, NoMI Lounge, NoMI Garden and NoMI Spa. The Kitchen features open and private dining spaces with Dale Chihuly hand-blown glass sculptures. The open-air Garden has a new, 30-foot teak bar with a black granite countertop, and plenty of seating with views of Chicago’s impressive skyline.
5. Across the pond, the Fairmont Monte Carlo is home to the new L’Horizon Deck, Restaurant and Champagne Bar, a seventh-floor terrace that overlooks the Opera and the Mediterranean Sea, with views of the Prince’s Palace and legendary casino. A live DJ or saxophone player is often present to add to the evening ambiance, providing the perfect backdrop for sipping Champagne and sampling tapas.
Related resources
Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.
New heights: The Trump Ocean Club in Panama City.
By Mark Chesnut
His name has already saturated the media quite a bit this year, but the debut of the Donald Trump-branded Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower, Panama is still big news. Considering that it marks The Donald’s first foray south of Mexico — and considering that its architecture is among the most attention-getting in the city — it is perhaps the most visual symbol of how fast Panama City hotels are growing in this Central American hotspot.
The Trump hotel, which is to open later this year, is far from the only new name in town. Panama City has, in fact, been enjoying a hotel boom that has led some observers to compare Panama’s capital to Dubai. Among the newest luxury hotels are the Le Meridien Panama, which sits on the prestigious waterfront Balboa Avenue, and Esplendor Panama, an apartment-like complex owned by Argentina-based Fen Hoteles.
Soon to open are the Westin Playa Bonita, a luxury resort debuting in October just outside the city, and a new tower at the Bristol Panama, a 56-room luxury hotel that is a member of Leading Hotels of the World.
Additional brands slated to appear on the scene include Aloft, Hilton, Hyatt Place, Jumeirah, NH, Renaissance and The Panamera, which will be the only Waldorf-Astoria in all of Latin America. And in December, the 1,499-room Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis is to open, with 24,250 square feet of flexible meeting space; it will be Hard Rock’s first hotel in Central America.
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Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.
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