For travelers the deals aren’t that plentiful this spring season when booking hotel rooms in California. With a fantastic winter snow season and plenty of sunshine at the beach, plus a low valued dollar on the world market, locals are having to compete for rooms with travelers from other nations. Add to that the rising price of gas that Californians aren’t accustomed to which makes the drive market even closer to home for millions living near the largest inventory of hotel rooms, and you have a situation in which low to mid-range hotels are commanding decent prices–and are selling out on weekends.
For travel writers, the deals aren’t as plentiful either. Destination management organizations that once sought writers to tell their story are now having a tougher time getting rooms for the writers, who are competing in the 2.0 web environment in which everyone’s a photographer, a writer and reviewer with a story to tell.
And finally,hotels in the mid-range ot luxury have increasingly marketed their products to the world business market. On a recent stay at Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, for instance, we saw the place filled with a business meeting of Tyco employees from around the globe. When filling out a survey that asked about any problems, I told them I was unable to access the swimming pool during its open hours because of a corporate event that took up the venue. Of course I never heard back from “the manager” who supposedly sent out the survey. It probably got thrown into the email trash folder.
So all in all, if you are looking to save this year on travel and hotels, the best advice is to book early (like a week or two ahead, minimum) for weekend getaways.
More advice and information about California hotels and resorts is on its way soon. There’s still more to tell about the hotel situation along the coast as summer approaches.
With California hotel rates steadily increasing by 6-10% for the last few years according to the D.K. Shifflet & Associates, recent analysis shows that travelers are now reacting by trading down and trading out. Data shows that, while the number of high-income U.S. households earning over $100,000 annually has been growing, and they pay the highest rates in each hotel segment, even these well-heeled travelers are trading down from high-end to mid-level hotels. In fact they are fundamentally responsible for the 2005 to 2006 share growth in the domestic mid-level hotel segment, putting downward pressure on high-end hotel rates. Mid-level hotels have an opportunity to increase rates and have done so in 2007. The findings are significant since high income travelers account for 1/3 of all domestic hotel room nights. Trends show travelers are taking shorter trips and have increased their “trade-out” to hotel alternatives, such as cruising, vacation rentals, B&Bs, and fractional ownership properties.
| Here’s an easy-booking service that offers hotel rooms, car rentals, theme park tickets and package savings on many destinations. When you’re ready for your California weekend, vacation getaway, or overnight stay, take a peak at the prices and availability to see if it’s even in the cards. Summers are quite busy and weekends are the worst for getting beach front rooms. Believe it or not, although some say the economy is not strong and cost of living has gone down, hotels are garnering strong pricing and occupancy is running high. |
Hyatt Regency does it again. We veered outside of California to explore the Cleveland rock scene last week. I couldn’t have been happier than the value I received in booking a room at the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade. The bed was so amazing, the air conditioning worked well, and the location offered everything one could want. Starbucks Coffee Kiosk in the shopping mall withing the Arcade was open in the mornings, but just a block away was a full service Starbucks. House of Blues, a comedy club, easy walk to Jacobs Field ball park for the Cleveland Indians game and public transportation to get around were just a few advantages to staying at the Hyatt. Was it worth the 4.5 hour flight from L.A.? Definitely! If you’ve not checked out Cleveland recently, definitely go. You won’t be sorry, folks!
My new-found friend, Terry, is a hoot. I say that tongue-in-cheek, because she’s from Pendleton, Oregon, and writes books on cowboys and rodeos. At a writers conference in Arkansas where we met not long ago, we needed to drive from one side of the state to the other and found time passed quickly as we talked about our worst hotel stories. I said that a place can charge $350/night, and I’ll be sitting in my room and will get a flea bite. “Is this a pet hotel,” I suddenly think to ask…and sure enough, it usually is. Terry smiled, discovering how easy it was going to be to beat me in this contest. She stayed in a name hotel in Albuquerque and found a few things less than satisfactory, but she’d get by, she told me. As people do so many times, she reached under the bed to feel for her shoes, and touched something furry. Pulling back quickly, she flipped open the bed skirt to see a dead rat in a trap. She’d slept all night with that under her bed, but touching it was worse. The hotel never acknowledged her complaint. She’s so freaked out now, she looks under the bed at every hotel she stays at.
I just returned from a visit with my parents in Santa Maria, California where I slept on a foam cushion on the floor for three days. It was a bit hard, but better than the soft, soft bed they offered me. I could have gone to a hotel, but the truth is, I’ve found only a few hotels that consistently offer firm beds. A chain that has never let me down to date is Hyatt Regency hotels, but I can’t think of any Hyatt’s in the area where they live. One place not far from Santa Maria has fantastic beds…but the rates are a bit high for a 3 night stay. Dolphin Bay Resort suites are luxury condos with granite countertops, living rooms, nice bath, full kitchen, ocean views, beach access, great restaurant on site, etc. Last year I looked at a suite there and couldn’t resist. I pulled out my checkbook and decided to give it a try, if only for a night. The bed was perfect, as was my stay. I really didn’t want to go home. It’s kind of hard to tell my parents I’m staying up the road in Pismo Beach at a luxury resort, paying anywhere from $299 upwards per night. So I toughed it out at their house and survived. Dolphin Bay is one of those places that you don’t forget. I’d go back in a heartbeat and may do so after the summer is over.
Not only does California have a city named Cool, there’s a new Snoopy exhibit this summer about Joe Cool. In the summer of cool, we looked up the water temperatures to chart out our destinations based on warmth of the ocean. California is definitely cool when it comes to the Pacific Ocean temps. The warmest spot right now is San Diego, where the ocean is a balmy 65 degrees. But did you know Cali also has one of the hottest places on earth in Death Valley? The average summer temperature reaches over 110! California is not only cool, it’s also hot.
Perhaps you’ve driven by the famous pink hotel & resort in San Luis Obispo, visible from Interstate Highway 101. This well-traveled road formerly known as El Camino Real (The King’s Road), was built by the Catholic padres or fathers who established mission homes, each a day’s travel from the next, during the modern-day settlement of California beginning in the late 1700’s through the early 1800’s. Today the road built by missionaries aptly sports a hotel named “Madonna Inn”.
Although it’s history has been very modern, somewhat irreverent and even kitsch, travelers have flocked to the unique hotel by the thousands. And while it still retains its original funky appeal (opened in 1958), Madonna Inn has gone upscale with a 90-foot long European-style pool designed in a configuration that allows for 50-foot lap swimming, and includes a 30-foot beach-style entry. Spa treatment for couples, Pilates an Energy Room…. > more
Way down in San Diego, just north of the Mexico border in America’s favorite vacation spot, sits a beachfront hotel named Catamaran Resort & Spa. While guests are treated well, the birds think Catamaran is really swell! They have their own executive suite, a ground floor home where they get to sleep, are fed healthy meals and are taken outside each day for sunshine and luxury, resort surroundings on the Catamaran hotel property. Exotic birds of many colors perch in their own play gyms amongst the trees, overlooking Mission Bay.
Read more about the Catamaran Resort Birds.
I’m not a neat-freak by any means. I like a clean towel when I shower daily and figure washing the sheets weekly should do just fine. But when I go into a hotel room, I expect the sheets to be laundered and the beds made fresh for me and me alone. Several times that hasn’t been the case, however. On a recent trip, in fact, the bed was way too soft so I did what I normally do, which is look for the mattress in the extra sofa first. You can imagine my surprise when I opened the sofa cushion to pull out the mattress and stared down on two naked ladies on the cover of a magazine, staring back at me with smiles. Now I could tell this was going to be a rough night since there was no way I would explore the surprise…used and wrinkled sheets pushing out from the mattress that was unprofessionally crammed into the rollaway sofa sleeper. Oh great! It’s after midnight, I’m in my PJ’s, and I only have five hours till it’s time to get up. What should I do?
What a fantastic trip I remember, as I sit in the Las Vegas airport on a Friday afternoon listening to a slot machine sing its tune over and over and over again! Rounding out a week of Southern hospital, I remember the many fantastic accommodations in Arkansas as I gaze out to the complex of Las Vegas hotels ranging from the popular Venetian to Paris. I wouldn’t mind lingering on in some of the nation’s finest hotels, enjoying the sizzle that only this desert city can provide in the dry, hot (99 degree) afternoon glow. The folks are friendly in Sin City, but there’s nothing quite like Southern hospitality. If you get a chance to go to Arkansas, you’ll discover major corporations, beautiful scenery, the Clinton Presidential Library and most of all, simply nice people who will make you feel at home.
Temecula Creek Inn, a favorite of the wine tasting crowd, offers a country club setting with sweeping golf course fairways visible from most rooms and suites, set to the backdrop of the dramatic San Jacinto mountain range. As the sun goes down, the mountains acquire a warm, reddish glow that’s simply magical. It feels upscale & exclusive, yet maintains casual elegance that its surroundings command, smack dab in the heart of Temecula wine country trail.
With a multi-million dollar renovation under its belt (leather easy chairs, wet bars with granite countertops, 42” plasma TVs and iPod-ready stereos) Temecula Creek Inn has stepped up its amenities and decor a notch. Nearby casino resorts offer a darkened, indoor gaming experience while Temecula Creek Inn celebrates nature with room balconies overlooking pristine settings. To further accent the views and retreat surroundings, Native American art, pottery, antique tribal weavings and limited edition sculptures decorate the resort’s dining areas and lobbbies.
Popular for its lush landscape that’s perfect for weddings, plus incredilble weather (semi-desert) that puts more sunshine in your court for special events planning, romantic travelers and girl or boyfriend getaways are becoming the craze at the Temecula Creek Inn, as well.
At the huge tourism trade event, Pow Wow, I recently met a dapper gent who manages a handful of hotel properties such as The Mayfair Hotel, an historic downtown Los Angeles presence. While my search of this hotel’s offerings and amenities will require further investigation, what caught my interest was his mention of a project he is involved in near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Attracting the elite tycoons and entrepreneurs from around the globe, the destination lacks ample runway facilities for a high demand crowd of jetsetters who love Cabo. Be on the look out for a hotel with 5 to 6 diamond offerings, private chef preparing meal requests individually (upon demand) and of course, the landing strip right on premise. If you want to travel in style, this luxury resort is expected to come online in the 2008 - 2009 range.
Have a cocktail and hotel. Loews hotel destinations invite you to stay and taste your way through the hotel chain’s popular flavors. When in Santa Monica, a Raspberry Mojito will whet your whistle. This signature Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel designer drink blends the beach atmosphere with some tasty ingredients to cool your hot summer nights. Ingredients include: 10 Cane Rum, Lime Juice, Brown Sugar, Topped with Sprite and a Float of Chambord Liqueur Royal. Add mint leave and some ice for a colorful, designer cocktail that’s Oh, So Santa Monica! 16 Loews hotels from South Miami Beach to Coronado, CA, offer their own tasteful twists to destination drinking.
It doesn’t take long for the word to get out about the new kid on the block. So when the Holiday Inn transformed itself into something called Hotel Ménage (translated as people living together as a unit in a hotel), we began noticing people booking rooms from our website. It must be worth a closer look, we thought, so we sent one of the reporters on assignment to investigate. They never came back! Maybe it’s because there’s an acre of space to host a nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights. Or maybe someone is eating on the job at the award-winning k’ya restaurant. It cost $20 million to renovate the Holiday Inn into this sweet boutique hotel and resort. There’s a candle-lit lobby bar and lounge; mist pool bar; Red Room, a business center with a twist; and 4,700 square feet of conference and special event space. Whatever is going on must be pretty special. We’ll get back to you after we find out what. If you need to see a couple small pictures of the place and check out prices, take a look here.
We recently wrote about a trend in California hotel and destination thinking. What if you could teach tourists something and help the environment, to boot? With the recent publicity about global warming, ecology has never been a hotter topic and one that you’ll be reminded of as you stay in hotels that ask if you really want to waste water by getting a new set of sheets for your bed each day during a stay. We’ve actually had to go looking for maid service at some hotels to get a clean towel. We’re reading up on opportunities to lessen our “footprint” as we wear those eco-shoes in places such as San Francisco and Santa Barbara, a Central Coast beach destination, where a new website and program introduces vacationers to some tools for enhanced travel.
Mammoth Lakes gets luxury digs! Mammoth Lakes has long been known for its action sports and a rugged crowd ready for some action on those mountain slopes, be it biking, hiking, climbing or skiing. With a new Westin Monache Mammoth resort set to open in the Fall 2007 at Mammoth Lakes, the rugged, mountain community will open its doors to an upscale clientele. A 230-unit condominium with full service resort amenities will offer ski valet, panoramic views from suites, 24 hour service at guests’ beckoning, underground parking, meeting facilities and a location next to the 15 passenger express gondola. Talk about nice! Developed by Westin Hotels and Intrawest, this hotel property will be the shining star and flagship hotel for the region.
Monterey, Calif. — Hyatt Regency Monterey is getting a new full service spa, signature restaurant, room and suite furnishings and many upgrades. Spending over $40 million on this fantastic hotel property not far from the bay, the resort has always enjoyed amenities such as many hotel rooms overlooking the golf course. The public course, DelMonte Golf Course, is one of dozens of world class public golf experiences in the Monterey Bay region. The hotel itself is surrounded by stunning Monterey pine trees and enjoys meetings facilities and a convenient layout for easy access to meeting space. Renovation began recently and should be completed in 2008. We’ve always loved this hotel and will love it even more as it continues to improve with age. While this is a hotel that accepts pets, (which often means fleas in rooms), I have never had an issue with fleas here, unlike Le Merigot in Santa Monica where I got bit. In fact, though hotels say they keep the rooms clean, hotels that accept pets have a difficult time with fleas.
Hotels, resorts and other lodging accommodations are stepping up to the challenge of providing guests with the amenities they seek most such as gyms. When Lieberman Research Worldwide interviewed businesses travelers, they discovered that hotel fitness rooms disappoint guests approx. 64% percent of the time. Inconsistency in quality of workout equipment and rooms, lack of appropriate ventilation and gym machines in various states of disrepair are some of the complaints expressed in a questionnaire. With well over 50% of travelers stating they seek gym facilities and would select a hotel based on such amenities as a good workout room, hotels are taking note. In fact, places such as JW Marriott’s Le Merigot in Santa Monica have programs allowing local residents to become members of the in-house gym facilities available to resort guests.