The Travelist

Inside The Napa Valley Part 1: 5 Cheap Chic Hotels

kristyrk — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:00:42 -0700

Heading up to the Napa Valley? Before you map out which wineries to hit, you should first decide where you're going to sleep at night. Although Napa can be an expensive trip if you aren't watching your budget, you can also have a great time without breaking the bank. The heat of the Summer brings the crowds to both the Napa and Sonoma valleys, but head out a few months later in the Fall, and you not only get the benefit of fewer cars on the road, but you'll get to check out the changing grapevine leaves which make for picture-perfect mementos.

I've got five hotel suggestions that will keep you from going over your vacation budget so you can enjoy the valley, but will still have you wishing that you didn't have to leave your room.

AVIA: A brand new luxury hotel in the middle of downtown Napa, you'll be close to shopping, wineries, and the best restaurants the valley has to offer, all in a chic and modern complex. Room rates start at $180.

Check out four more hotels when you read more.

Embassy Suites: Don't think for a second that because the sign says Embassy Suites on the door that this will be a sub-par stay. The Napa version boasts a garden courtyard, tasty Italian restaurant, and is just minutes away from the Napa Premium Outlets so you can get your shop on. Rates start at $170.
Napa River Inn: It's exactly how you'd imagine it: on the river. The Napa River Inn sits on the bank of the lazy Napa River, and is steps away from great restaurants, bars, and farmers markets. Plus, just downstairs is Sweetie Pies bakery, and the Greenhaus Spa, and it's just a few blocks away from the fabulous Oxbow Public Market. Rates start at $200.

The Meritage Resort: A unique underground spa that's tucked inside an Estate cave is just the beginning - this hotel is situated at the base of a vine-covered hillside, and is just three miles from a three-and-a-half star golf course which offers weekend clinics so you can practice your swing. Rates usually range between $180 and $300.
River Terrace Inn: The River Terrace Inn is in the center of all the best features that Napa has to offer: Copia, the Oxbow Public Market, the downtown dining district, as well as the Napa Valley Wine Train which can take you on a dinner tour up the valley. Rates start at $200.

Stay tuned for part two of the Inside the Napa Valley series where I share my picks on the best wineries to visit during your stay.

The Anti-Airport Hotel Airport Hotel: The Custom

kristyrk — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

When I think airport hotels, noise, scratchy sheets, and paper-thin walls usually come to mind. But thankfully if I'm ever in LA, I know to hit up the Custom Hotel for a swanky alternative. The Custom features a sleek bar, posh pool, and 250 stylish rooms to make you feel like you're chillin' in Vegas, but you're really just a few minutes away from LAX, Marina Del Ray, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach. The best part? Right now they're offering rooms as low as $95 bucks, so you really don't have a reason not to take a weekend getaway.

Check out more photos of the Custom when you read more.

Check In To The Conrad Maldives Rangali Resort

kristyrk — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:15:00 -0800

Checking in? Yes, please! It's always been at the top of my list to visit the Maldives, and it looks like the Conrad Maldives Rangali Resort may be the place for me to check into. Not only for it's spa, 10,000 bottle wine cellar, seclusion, luxury free standing rooms, and inarguable beauty, but for it's awesome undersea restaurant. Yes, I am a sucker for an underwater experience. Sue me.

The resturaunt gives you 180 degrees of underwater viewing, kinda like if you were walking through an underwater aquarium. Actually, that's exactly what it's like, except you're eating. The only question I have is this: does eating fish in the underwater resturaunt in plain sight of live fish make me a bad person?

Contemplate that while you check out other images of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Resort in the slideshow when you read more.

Travel Tip: Reuse Your Hotel's Shampoo Bottles

kristyrk — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:46:05 -0800

Although it's rare that I actually need whats inside, those little hotel shampoo bottles can come in handy for later travels. Since TSA requires that your liquids be under 3oz, these little guys are a perfect fit. Just empty out the stock hotel shampoo, and load them up with your own, or full them with lotion, perfume, sunblock, hair gel, whatever you need while on the road. Plus, you won't have to buy any travel sized bottles before your trip, so it's a great way to save a few bucks.

Source

Pipe Dreams: The Park Hotel

kristyrk — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:20:55 -0800

Who ever thought you'd need to pay to sleep in a sewage pipe? The Park Hotel in Austria has added a trio of (clean) concrete pipes to their roster of rooms for guests to doze in. The pipe rooms contain enough room for two - double bed, storage, bedside lamp, and are key code secure, but these rooms are available only during temperate weather (May through October) since the pipes are void of insulation and heat.

The coolest thing about this hotel experience is that it's run on a "pay as you wish" system, meaning you can pay what you can afford, and your contribution goes to supporting this very unique experimental hotel. I dig the interior design of the pipes, and would totally stay in these rooms. Would you? Check out more photos of the hotel when you read more.

Love Week: Geek Chic Greece

kristyrk — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:09:17 -0800

With Valentine's Day coming up this week, I'll be showing you some of the things I love, some places to go to share yours, and some travel goods that may just steal your heart. First up though, is the Grecian Baby Grand Hotel. Not only is this place hip and with it when it comes to services (wireless Internet, spa, and a restaurant called Meat Me? It's love at first sight), but they have some pretty interesting and totally geeky rooms.

Starting with graffiti adorned rooms designed by famous street artists, and ending others that have you sleeping soundly with Batman and Spiderman watching over you. If you can't tell, my inner geek is showing and I'm not ashamed.

Greece is quickly moving up my list of "Must Visit" places, not only because of it's history, but also because of it's many interesting hotels. Remember the Semiramis? Yeah, I thought you did. Check out more images of the Baby Grand Hotel in the slideshow.

Athens' Semiramis Hotel is The Shizz

kristyrk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:40:27 -0800

Well check me in and call me pokey, this has to be one of the coolest hotels EVER. Located in the hip northern area of Athens, and surrounded by high end boutiques, the Semiramis boasts a fantastic Mediterranean restaurant, heated pool and bathing deck, gym, and art gallery on site. Plus, at rates starting at about $275 a night, you can get 24 hour room service and wireless Internet access in each room. But it's not the amenities that I'm drooling over, it's the design. And what else would you expect from modern-chic designer Karim Rashid? Check out the view for yourself in the slideshow below.