The Suite Life

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that hotels in the Windy City are stepping up their high-tech amenities in an effort to make guests feel more at home. While the general consensus is that nothing is as important as impeccable service when it comes to a hotel experience, it can’t hurt to lavish guests with high-tech amenities to accompany the custom pillows and service. In a world where people are plugged in to some sort of device almost constantly, hotels are reaching out to high-tech lifestyles who live in a luxuriously gadgety world.

The Hard Rock Hotel Chicago is installing HDTV’s into every guest room, while The Peninsula is upgraded cell-phone coverage and many area hotels are succumbing to the almost now standard amenity of free wireless internet.

Many Chicago hotels are also offering video game consoles, more accessible outlets, and in-room laptop storage safes in addition to the giant plasma TV’s and entertainment systems.

When you mix luxury with high-tech you can lay in your turned-down, fluffy bed, watching your HDTV, while your ipod charges in the alarm dock next to you, all while a concierge happily arranges for the phone charge your forgot to be replaced and dropped at your hotel room door. It’s virtual hotel bliss.

Find luxury hotels in Chicago on Perfect Escapes

Since our launch of the user reviews application, Perfect Escapes has been overwhelmed with responses from people around the world sharing their unique hotel experiences. In this special blog segment, we take the chance to share some of the particularly thoughtful reviews with you with the hope that it will aid you in deciding where to stay on your next trip, and spur you to share your memorable experiences with us as well.

This week’s User Reviews special blog segment finds us in Chicago, where there is a wide variety of luxury hotels to choose from. Among this oasis of city hotels, Hotel Sax stands out as the place to stay for the ultimate hip luxury experience.

See what guests had to say on the Perfect Escapes site about their stay at Hotel Sax Chicago…

“The hotel is in a perfect location, was very nice inside, and their concierge was fantastic.” – Michell Hasse, Schaumburg, USA

AND…

“This is THE hotel to stay at if you are attending a House of Blues Concert in Chicago. We enjoyed a concert at HOB (Buy an Opera Box at HOB to really enjoy the show). Then afterwards we walked over to Rock-it bar, then Howl at the Moon, then walked back to the hotel. Enjoyed a great night and didn’t have to pay for a single cab ride. _Very_ cool. Next day we walked to Michigan Ave. for shopping and ate at Giordano’s Pizza on Rush (best pizza in Chicago). You cannot beat the location - everything is right there!” – Joshua Craven, Chatham, USA

To read more user reviews on your favorite luxury hotels, visit Perfect Escapes. Search by destination or for the specific hotel of your choice and then click on the “user reviews” tab on the hotel’s page.

Remember, user reviews are open to anyone who has stayed at a Perfect Escapes-listed hotel or resort, no matter where you booked your trip.

See all of the user reviews for Hotel Sax Chicago from Perfect Escapes.

Find luxury hotels in Chicago on Perfect Escapes.

By Sarah Ziering for Perfect Escapes

As we ‘round the bend from the holiday season and gear up for 2008, many people are wondering what’s in store for luxury travel in the upcoming year. While there have been many predictions for which trends hotels will embrace, one major trend for the new year is the personalized hotel experience.

From technology to amenities, hoteliers are realizing that the best way to please their seasoned luxury traveler clientel is to personalize their hotel stay as much as possible. Smaller luxury hotels are popping up all over the place, and the fierce competition creates ideal conditions for hotel guests whom are being pampered with anything their hearts desire.

Wyndham Hotels are the biggest chain that has now introduced Pure Rooms, so that allergy free guests will not experience any discomfort during their stay. Their air-filtered rooms still offer luxurious linens and atmosphere without the fear of a dreaded allergy attack. Kimpton Hotels are going very green with policies and amenities that ease the minds of eco-conscious travelers.

The Hard Rock Hotels offer guests access to special music events, lounge spaces to sip a drink and relish one’s coolness, and the latest in hip hotel trends, the rooftop pool and bar.

In addition to amenities and ultra-chic design, hotels are quickly wiring up. More luxury travelers have come to expect complimentary wireless internet as a standard in hotels and hoteliers are beginning to respond. Offering wireless, better equipped business centers and high-tech work stations in a comfortable lobby or café setting, hotels are realizing that being online keeps guests checking in.

But guests aren’t just bringing their laptops when they travel, they are bringing their pets too. Luxury hotels are seeing more guests seeking out special services for their pampered pooches who are accustomed to luxurious accommodations just as much as their owners (or should I say companions). Hotels now offer doggy day-care, spa treatments, dog-walking and more to make sure all their guests are happy, whether they have four legs or not.

And dogs are not the only ones being given more attention since children are more savvy and more well-traveled than ever, hotels are setting up kid’s suites with everything a posh under-agers could desire from dress up clothes and cupcakes to bunk-beds, all in their own adjoining suite. The Four Seasons has long catered to the smallest luxury travelers with child-size bathrobes, cookies and milk, and movies complete with popcorn and melted butter.

So whether you are traveling on business, pleasure, with a pet or with the kids, look for luxury hotels in 2008 to create personalized experiences that make every guest feel at home, only better.

Find Luxury Hotel Deals in your destination at Perfect Escapes.

The Morgans Hotel Group has taken another step toward its $600-million redesign and expansion of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, hiring Mark Zeff as the lead designer for the massive project. The New York-based company acquired the off-Strip resort and an adjacent 23 acres earlier this year for $770 million. Mark Zeff says his vision is for “a hedonistic, goth, inspired rock and roll manor house, with an elegant, youthful vibe.” The plan, first detailed in March, calls for a redesign of the existing 550-room north tower and creating the interiors for the new 400-room south tower. The project will include a private pool and full-service spa that Zeff will design in partnership with Amy Sacco. Zeff also is working with motocross racer Carey Hart on a new tattoo inspired lounge called Wasted Space. Finally, the property’s main concert venue, the Joint, will be redesigned by Zeff and expanded to accommodate 5,000 people.

Zeff, owner of Zeff Design, is considered one of the top designers in the US. He has done hotel design work for hospitality industry giants, worked with famous chefs on their restaurants and completed interior redesigns for Hollywood stars. His current commissions include the interior redesign of the Lowell Hotel in New York and a new spa at the Carlyle, also in New York.

The expansion will add 950 rooms, 60,000 sf of meeting space, 35,000 sf of retail, the new spa and nightclub. The new hotel rooms will come in two new 15-story towers, one on the existing casino-hotel property that will have 500 rooms and another, slightly smaller all-suite tower on one-third of the adjacent acreage. The project also will include the expansion of the Hard Rock’s casino and pool. Project completion is slated for mid-2009.

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