You arrive in New York for your 7pm dinner meeting with only an hour to spare -- problem is your luggage ended up in Seattle -- what is the high-powered business executive to do? Well, if she's smart and happens to be staying at a W Hotel (www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html), the perfect Little Black Dress (LBD) and vixen red lipstick will be waiting for her. As part of its "Whatever Whenever" program, which caters to the guest's every whim, W Hotels will soon be providing emergency fashion and beauty kits for guests who find themselves without the appropriate ensemble. W is joining with style icon Diane von Furstenberg to introduce its 'Emergency Survival Kit' containing a boxed set of mini lip glosses, mascara and perfume, from von Furstenberg's signature cosmetics line. More importantly in a fashion emergency, guests can also rely on a fashion kit featuring Diane's classic black wrap dress with matching thong. The kits will be available in most W hotels from September, and can also be purchased in W's retail boutiques (www.whotelsthestore.com). These new hotel amenities are emerging from the city that never sleeps to the city that makes all the decisions. Sometimes a stay in Washington, D.C. can be too serious and business oriented so the luxurious Hotel Fairmont Washington, D.C. (tel. 800/441-1414; www.fairmont.com) is introducing the lighter side of the nation's capital with its "Capitol Comedy" package. The package includes a Friday or Saturday night stay on Fairmont Gold (the entire ninth floor of the hotel offering "gold-class" amenities such as private check-in, dedicated staff, an elegant private lounge, complimentary breakfast, high tea, afternoon and evening canap¿s, an honor bar, complimentary high-speed internet access, overnight shoeshine service and morning newspaper), a pre-theatre dinner and two tickets to a performance of the Capitol Steps including transportation. Capitol Steps is a bipartisan troupe of current and former congressional staffers who perform political satire. When you get back from the show, indulge in Fairmont's signature chocolate fondue in the Fairmont Gold Lounge. This deal is available from September 1 to December 30, 2005 from $619 per night based on double occupancy.
Score a hole in one with Marriott Golf's (www.marriottgolf.com) new "Rounds and Rooms" reservation system. For the discerning golfing aficionado, this new technology (designed in association with GolfHero and EZLinks) allows guests to simultaneously book tee times and hotel rooms at 19 golf properties featuring 29 leading golf courses worldwide. The new service marks the first time a collection of leading golf resort properties have come together to offer a one-stop booking solution that includes golf and lodging. Marriott Golf currently manages a portfolio of 45 properties, including 60 golf courses, and expects participation in the Rounds and Rooms program to increase substantially by the end of the year. Currently the participating golf resorts include: Camelback Golf Club and Wildfire Golf Club in Arizona; Cattails at MeadowView in Tennessee; Hawk's Landing Golf Club in Orlando; The Rookery at Marco, Doral Golf Resort, Grande Pines Golf Club and The Faldo Golf Institute in Florida; Rancho Las Palmas Golf Club and Desert Springs Golf Resort and Shadow Ridge Golf Club in California; Renaissance PineIsle Golf Resort, The Frog Golf Club and Stone Mountain Golf Club in Georgia; Royal St. Kitts Golf Club on the island of St. Kitts; Seaview Golf Resort in New Jersey; Westfields Golf Club in Virginia; Griffin Gate Golf Resort in Kentucky and Mirage City Golf Club (Cairo, Egypt). Located on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, four miles from Stateline, Nevada, Zephyr Cove Resort and Marina (www.zephyrcove.com) has been a historic recreational destination for over 100 years, and offers everything from camping and lakeside cabins to snowmobiling and boating. Zephyr Cove Resort and Marina is offering a "Fall Getaway" package from September 26 to December 15, 2005. For just $299 per couple, fall visitors receive accommodations for three-night's in a lakeside cabin, an Emerald Bay sightseeing cruise for two aboard Lake Tahoe Cruises' M.S. Dixie II Paddlewheeler, breakfast and lunch for two, as well as 20% off purchases at the Zephyr Cove Gift Shop. Total savings comes to more than $400. Offer available for stays Sunday through Thursday, excluding holidays.
Scottsdale, Arizona is home to world-class golf courses, fine cuisine and a new urban resort fusing modern American comfort, service and style with state-of-the-art technology. The JAMES hotel (tel. 888/500-8080; www.jameshotels.com) is a dynamic 200-room property, which will appeal to both the leisure and business traveler with boutique style amenities and attention to detail.
The JAMES "Summer Sangria Package" is perfect for chilling out in the hot Scottsdale scene and includes one night in a JAMES Custom Room, continental breakfast for two and a pitcher of white or red Summer Sangria delivered to you at the pool, restaurant, bar, or in the privacy of your room. The rate for this package is $119 (or $129 on weekends). Upgrade to a Poolview Room for an additional $19 a night. Package based on double occupancy and is available through summer until the end of August 2005.
JAMES' "Foreplay Summer Golf Special" makes it easy for you and three friends to take a swing in style. This two-night package includes two pool view rooms, four rounds of golf at McCormick Ranch Golf Club, dinner for four at FiAMMA Trattoria, and continental breakfast each morning. The rate for this package is $719 per person based on double occupancy in two rooms. This package is available until September 15, 2005. If you love the JAMES in Scottsdale, you'll be equally happy with the Chicago JAMES, which will be opening its doors in 2006.
In celebration of Labor Day, Bay Point Marriott Resort (tel. 800/644-2650; www.MarriottBayPoint.com) in Florida is offering guests discounted rates on special packages available over the long weekend from September 1 to 5, 2005 Nestled on a 1,100-acre wildlife sanctuary overlooking St. Andrew's Bay, in Panama City, the Resort offers something for everyone, including kids. The "Labor Day Celebration" package includes deluxe accommodations, a barbeque and shrimp boil for two and a breakfast buffet for two at $199 per room, per night. The "Sleeping Room Rate" package offers guests a simple discounted room rate of $149 per room, per night. The resort's spa will also be offering specials, including discounts on facials, manicures, pedicures and chair massages. Children activities scheduled for Labor Day weekend include family Olympics, face painting, fishing, a treasure hunt, crafts, a cake and punch party, and a different kid's movie each night. Bay Point Marriott Resort boasts two championship golf courses and coming next month, the resort will open the only Nicklaus Design golf course in Northwest Florida. It's all happening in Fort Lauderdale, especially for the hotel industry. There are so many new hotels and resorts currently being built that five-star hotels boasting such names as St. Regis, W and Trump will soon become landmarks along Fort Lauderdale Beach, adding a touch of sophistication and elegance to the area. The Wyndham Resort and Golden Door Spa (previously the Bonaventure) will be opening its doors in December 2005 and the St. Regis Resort will be completed in early 2006. The beachfront Q Club Resort & Residences joins the list in summer 2006 and the W Hotel is scheduled to open in December 2006. The Michael Graves designed Trump International Hotel and Tower is sure to make a splash on the Fort Lauderdale beach scene when it opens in February 2007. Recently opened properties include the Hollywood Beach Marriott, The Atlantic, a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection, The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Pelican Beach Resort.
If you're venturing south of the border and fancy a little horse-riding adventure, it's Rancho Las Cascadas' (www.ranchomex.com) first birthday but Frommer's readers are the ones receiving the gifts. Reserve a room anytime in August or September 2005, mention Frommer's and you will receive 20% off. No trail rides here -- instead mount up with authentic Mexican saddles and ride through open fields and across rivers, pass by traditional Mexican villages and pre-Revolution era haciendas.
Regular rates (not including the 20% discount) start at $145 per person per night for accommodations in a standard room (for a minimum of two nights), $165 in a superior room or $185 in a villa. These prices include three meals a day (Mexican and International Cuisine), wine and freshly squeezed fruit drinks with meals, cocktail hour and appetizers, outdoor dining, evening bonfires, 24-hour high speed internet access, Jacuzzi, swimming holes, several horseback rides per day and riding lessons. Excursions to the town of Tula, Bioparque Estrella Animal Safari Park, the Cathedral of Canalejas, the market in Jilotepec, public hot spring pools and local art centers are also part of the package, as is nightly entertainment in the form of Salsa/Cumbia/Merengue lessons, Mexican folk dancing and live guitar music.
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