Location Bathed in the cool coastal breezes of the Santa Monica, Calif. shoreline, Shutters on the Beach provides ocean views and beach cottage ambience. The Getty Center's masterful art collections are located six miles away, and 3rd Street Promenade's shops, restaurants and street performances are within one mile. Surfing and shopping in Malibu is within four miles. Fashionable Rodeo Drive is nine miles from the property.
Hotel Features Modern American cuisine is highlighted at One Pico, with items including Harvest Salad with Fuyu Persimmons and Bluenose Seabass with Chanterelles. Pedals Cafe presents Mediterranean-influenced offerings including Tapenade Crusted Alaskan Halibut and Cider Brined Pork Chop with Rainbow Swiss Chard. ONE the Spa offers custom services with Ole Henriksen products, including the "Sea You Soon Massage" and the "Pore Baby]" facial treatment. A health and fitness room at this smoke-free hotel contains free weights, cardiovascular and weight training equipment, saunas and steam rooms. Sunlight filters through the lobby's floor-to-ceiling windows. An outdoor pool with ocean views and a spa tub beckon sun seekers, and the lower Pacific Deck hosts two fireplaces and catering.
Guestrooms Accentuated with beach cottage-style décor and boasting city or partial ocean views, the 198 Michael Smith-designed guestrooms contain louvered shutters, crown molding and décor in white, tan and slate blue. Bathrooms feature separate bathtubs and showers, bathrobes and complimentary toiletries. Most rooms provide patios or balconies. Each room includes cable television and complimentary wireless Internet access. Pets are not permitted.
Expert Tip. Original works from artists David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, William Wegman and Claes Oldenburg adorn the walls of this property. Brochures are available in the lobby for self-guided tours.
What's Great Travel + Leisure says...
"Nantucket-style shingled property, centrally located along Santa Monica Beach, that offers the perks of a luxury hotel along with a laid-back beach-house vibe.
Rooms to Book: Ocean View rooms are worth the $105 upgrade for their idyllic views and proximity to the surf (you'll wake up to it every morning). The Presidential Suites have two balconies apiece—and with this location, they’re actually worth the hefty $3,500 price tag per night.
Insider Tip: Order one of the organic tequilas, vodkas, or beers at Coast, the beachside cafe.
This sprawling beach-house-style inn looks like it was airlifted from Nantucket and dropped on the Santa Monica shore. Inside, the common areas (like the fireside lounge with chairs and sofas upholstered in seashell colors) and the 198 rooms (all whitewashed wood and blue-and-white patterned upholstery, with wicker-furnished balconies) reinforce the laid-back, summer-house vibe. But there’s real luxury here too: The on-site ONE spa offers decadent massages, facials, and body scrubs using Ole Henriksen products, and at the nautically-themed One Pico restaurant, chef Michael Reardon serves elegant seafood dishes like Petrale sole grilled whole with salt and bay leaves."
-From www.travelandleisure.com
112 North Market Street Charleston,
South Carolina, US
From $185 per night
Built three centuries ago, the city of Charleston is one of the best-preserved architectural treasures in the United States. The colonial houses lining its narrow streets are an eloquent reminder of its joyous and tormented story, like a condensed history of America. The birthplace of swing and the Charleston dance - made famous by Josephine Baker - the city still has all the charm that it owes to its multi-ethnic origins. Entering the Planters Inn, overlooking the Old City Market and the many art galleries, is like stepping back in time. On the patios full of tropical flowers and fountains, you will relax to a serenade of jazz. As well as sipping delicious cocktails and tasting the generous American cuisine, you can discover the nearby sites of Cypress Gardens, Middleton Place and other famous old cotton and tobacco plantations.
What's Great Travel + Leisure says...
"Georgian building from the 19th century alongside a newer addition, on the edge of the City Market in the historic district, that is a charming, intimate retreat right in the center of town.
Rooms to Book: Plantation King rooms with gas fireplaces, four poster beds, full living rooms, and 10 foot high ceilings.
Insider Tip: For some of South Carolina's best people-watching, kick back with a glass of sweet tea in the cozy parlor while gazing out the giant windows onto busy Market Street."
-From www.travelandleisure.com
National Geographic Traveler says...
"An urbane synthesis of history and Southern lifestyle in a former 1844 dry goods emporium. Museum-quality repro furnishings in white-shuttered, high-ceilinged rooms. High-end cooking employs Low Country ingredients: grits, black-eyed peas. Palmetto courtyard. Explore boutiques and bistros around the corner; King Street antiques shops, a block away. 64 rooms."
-2009 Stay List, www.traveler.nationalgeographic.com
Location The Radisson SAS Strand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden features a waterfront location just 500 meters from Gamla Stan, Stockholm's Old Town. The Museum of Modern Art is one kilometer from the hotel and Skansen, an open air animal park is less than two kilometers away. Stockholm Arlanda Airport is approximately 41 kilometers from the hotel.
Hotel Features Opened for the Stockholm Olympic Games of 1912, the Radisson SAS Strand Hotel combines old-world charm with modern amenities. The hotel lobby features white walls accented with caramel-colored floors and bright white upholstered furniture. The multilingual staff provides amenities that include express checkout. The Strand Restaurant and Lounge serves French, Italian and Swedish dishes and features a healthy menu inspired by Swedish cuisine. Waterfront views from the lounge compliment the eclectic menu of beverages and snacks. The sauna, on the top floor, offers spectacular view of the city. A business center has services that include photocopying and message services. Wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel. The hotel also has meeting rooms available for banquets and meetings.
Guestrooms The 152 guestrooms at the Radisson SAS Strand hotel are painted in neutral colors accented with brightly colored fabrics in the drapes, bedspreads and upholstery. Amenities in the guestrooms include minibars, in-room safes and tea/coffeemakers. The private bathrooms are starkly modern in design with black and white granite. Bathrobes and slippers are provided. High speed Internet access is available.
Expert Tip. The hotel offers discount entrance fees to one of Stockholm's most exclusive health and fitness centers. Sturebadet offers beauty treatments, massages, gym, sauna and swimming pool, aerobics and yoga classes.
The Observatory Hotel - an Orient-Express Hotel is located in the historical "Rocks" district of the city, and close to the vibrant new entertainment and dining areas of Cockle Bay and King St Wharf. The deluxe multi- award winning Observatory Hotel has built its outstanding reputation on a combination of personalized service, exceptional facilities and faultless professionalism. The hotel is reminiscent of a grand 19th Century Australian home, luxuriously furnished with antiques, original oil paintings and fine tapestries. Each room has a CD player, individual video, and luxurious bathrooms, while either colonial style sash windows or period balconies circulate fresh air and command charming views of Observatory Hill or historic Walsh Bay in Sydney Harbour. The Observatory has a Day Spa and Health Club located in the quietest part of the hotel. It provides a sanctuary from the busy pressures of the day. The hotel's fine dining restaurant Galileo is a leader in Sydney. And, accommodation rooms all individually decorated combine the finest in decor and comfort with all the amenities that travelers expect today. Particularly for the business traveler is the new Broadband Internet and wireless access. This is not only available in guestroom, but it is available in the Globe Bar, Galileo Restaurant and conference rooms. You're never far from your family, or office, and can even surf the net whilst having lunch. The Observatory Hotel is located approximately 12 kilometers drive from the Sydney Airport.
Hotel Rating This property does not have an official STAR Rating from AAA Tourism Pty Ltd. For the benefit of our customers, we have provided a rating based on our rating system.
What's Great Travel + Leisure says...
"Number One Hotel in Australia. Discreet property with grand 19th-century style, in the Rocks district.
Competitive Edge: The intimate ambience and personalized service of a small hotel, with great amenities.
Rooms to Book: A spacious Junior Suite with wood-paneled walls etched with native birds and flowers."
-From www.travelandleisure.com
Amenities
24 Hour Security
Boutique Hotels
Car Rental
Fitness Center
Restaurant On Property
Sauna
Travel and Leisure 2009 World Top 500 (Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific)
Condé Nast Traveler has called the exclusive Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, "One of the Hippest New Hotels" and "One of the 50 Hottest Hotels in the World. Just two blocks from the beach and famed Santa Monica Pier, the bold and dramatic Viceroy appeals to cosmopolitan guests in the recording, entertainment and fashion industries - and tourists who want to drink in the funkiness of the surrounding area.
The lobby and gathering places feature eclectic dramatic décor, over-sized white chaise lounges, high-back chairs, deep sofas and glass cocktail tables. In addition to offering 24-hour room service, the Viceroy is home to French-California cuisine of the Whist, christened by Food & Wine magazine recently as one of the top 50 hotel restaurants. What's more, the boldly designed Cameo Bar entertains guests with private outdoor dining cabanas surrounding two outdoor pools - a prime location for celebrity watching.
When not watching for stars, guests can work out in the hotel's fitness center, which is stocked with the latest cardio and weight-training equipment. They also can receive massage and in-room beauty and spa services.
The Viceroy's 162 guestrooms feature flat-screen TVs, CD and DVD players, Italian designer linens and bathrobes, down comforters and pillows, fully-stocked minibars, high-speed Internet access and ocean or pool views. Marble bathrooms come complete with separate vanities, pedestal sinks and upscale English toiletries. Berber carpets, yellow vinyl benches and green silk chairs make the Viceroy's rooms more than just the typical beach hotel rooms.
When coming to the Los Angeles area, visitors looking for that distinctively upscale accommodations within easy walks of the beach can look no farther than the cool and chic Viceroy, whose motto is "an urban retreat at the shore.
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at either check-in or check-out.
Valet parking: US$29 per night
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
What's Great Travel + Leisure says... "Oceanside boutique hotel near the historic Santa Monica Pier with a quirky take on British Regency style (oversize cameo portraits, velvet wallpaper, asymmetrical bookcases); it has some of the area's most unique interiors. The most fun of the four California hotels designed by Kor Hotel Group collaborator Kelly Wearstler, the 162-room Viceroy seems like an extension of the nearby amusement park on Santa Monica Pier. Though the exterior—a white boxy slab—doesn’t invite a second glance, the interiors here marry retro-chic with pure whimsy. In both the rooms and the common areas, the striking monochrome (black, white, and gray) color scheme is spiked with accents of parrot green and sunshine yellow (chairs in the lobby; throw pillows and upholstered benches in the rooms; curtains in the Library lounge). There’s also a whole lotta reflection going on, with silver-foil wallpaper, mirrored glass, and high-shine white Formica in almost every space. The slick Cameo Bar and Whist, the restaurant helmed by Warren Schwartz, are hubs for the young and gorgeous (who love to catch sight of themselves in all those mirrors)."
