Showing posts with label Hualalai. Show all posts

4.26.2021

vaccination — your ticket to ride

E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer .

It's been way too long. I was last in Europe in the autumn of 2019 when we took a Baltic cruise on Windstar, a luxury small ship cruise line that can get into smaller ports that cannot accommodate the large ships. We loved the cruise and enjoyed out-of-the-way destinations as well as highlights like Gdansk, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm. We finished up our tour by flying to Paris (my favorite city in the world) for a few days before flying home.

A lot has happened since 2019. Covid-19 struck with a vengeance in March 2020, forcing me to cancel a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii to see the brand new Mauna Lani as well as inspect the new room product at Four Seasons Hualalai. I held out hope that things would settle down by April, letting us visit Amsterdam during tulip season, then board our Tauck River Cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland ... but little did any of us know 13 months ago. Covid sadly necessitated the cancellation of that trip.

But Europe promises to be back this summer for vaccinated U.S. tourists. Anticipating its reopening, I was able to rebook my Tauck River Cruise three months ago and was able to score a pair of business class "Saver" award tickets on United. I received my second Pfizer vaccine on Feb. 19th, and Claire got hers on April 5th, so we're all set to go.

Getting vaccinated is your ticket to ride. I can't offer medical advice because I'm not a M.D., but if you're feeling a strong desire to travel the world again, vaccines offer the path forward to satisfy your wanderlust. If you're curious about the remarkable scientific advances that enabled the development of RNA-based vaccines, I highly recommend Walter Isaacson's recent book, The Code Breaker. A well-told story and a good read, the book provides an accessible introduction to the technology that led to the creation of the highly effective Pfizer and Modern vaccines.

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12.31.2019

clients choice awards — top five

Travel magazines such as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure post annual Readers Choice rankings of the best hotels in the world. I don't know the magazines' methodology, but their results are sometimes laughable ... such as the time a "nice enough" luxury hotel just off Times Square won the designation of Best Hotel in the World.

I'll be totally transparent about my methodology. Though I'm semi-retired, I do continue to work with a select group of Ourisman Travel clients. These are their top five choices ranked in order of the volume of sales to these hotels and resorts.

#1 — Four Seasons Hualalai. My personal favorite resort in Hawaii, Hualalai is the top resort in the world of all Ourisman Travel clients. Hualalai is the antithesis of the "big concrete box by the beach" that so many beach resorts tend to be. Luxurious and newly renovated guest rooms are located in detached two-story buildings arrayed along four beachfront crescents and around the green of the 18th hole of the golf course. I love Hualalai for its casual luxury. Guests enjoy great food while dining right by the beach where flip-flops are perfectly fine for that "sand between your toes" experience even at dinner. Click here for my slide show explaining the crescents of Hualalai.

#2 — Dorado Beach, Ritz-Carlton Reserve. My personal favorite resort in the Caribbean, I actually vacationed here as a teenager back in the 1960's when Dorado Beach was a part of Rockresorts. Like Hualalai, Dorado Beach is not a "big concrete box by the beach." Guest rooms are found in detached two story buildings, each with a direct ocean view and some with private plunge pools. West Beach rooms step out right onto the beach while East Beach rooms feature the sound of the waves crashing up against the beach rocks... what a restful sound when going to sleep. The beach is great ... soft, white sand and swimmable ocean water.

#3 — Four Seasons Maui. If you catch the trend, beach resorts are tops on our list ... and Hawaii is our clients' favorite destination. Maui was Four Seasons' first resort — set on a wide, sandy, swimmable beach with snorkeling — and it continues to be a popular draw attracting a trendy, cosmopolitan set of guests. High end shopping is available nearby at The Shops at Wailea. The biggest difference: while guests dine by the beach at Hualalai wearing flip-flops, many guests at Maui arrive for dinner with the ladies fashionably dressed and sporting high heels.

#4 — Le Meurice, Paris. The trend continues — I sell what I love — and Le Meurice is my favorite hotel in my favorite city in world. Paris has the world's greatest collection of "over-the-top" luxury hotels, but Le Meurice is not about being "over the top." The smallest palace hotel in Paris, Le Meurice exudes a warm, personable, and comfortable luxury while offering the best possible location in Paris, especially for first-time visitors. Step out the front door, cross rue de Rivoli, and you're in the Jardin des Tuilleries, the beautiful formal gardens in the very heart of Paris. Walk across the gardens, and you'll be at the Musée d'Orsay in 10 minutes. Or turn to the left, and you're just 10 minutes from the Louvre. Le Meurice, ideal for first-time visitors, its guests keep coming back, y compris moi.

#5 — Peninsula Tokyo. Japan has become the hot travel destination for 2019 and 2020. The 2020 Olympic Games have shined the world's focus on Japan, and I recommend booking a customized land tour or a cruise that circumnavigates this island nation. You'll want to begin or end your trip in Tokyo, and of all the great luxury hotels in Tokyo, my clients have most often booked The Peninsula. Why? Perhaps it's due to the hotel's location next to the Imperial Gardens, or because of its thoughtfully designed guest rooms (with such features as nail polish dryers in the bathroom), or even because my PEN Club clients benefit from totally flexible check-in and check-out times.

I can offer the following amenities at all of the above hotels through Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, STARS, Diamond Club, and PEN Club. While the details differ slightly by property, you'll receive at least the following at each of these top five hotels:

daily breakfast for two
$100 hotel credit towards incidental expenses
room upgrade if available
early check-in and late check-out if available
complimentary internet

In some cases, the credit is more, the room upgrade is confirmed at booking, and the early check-in is guaranteed. Get in touch for the full details!

My next column will take a look at #6-#10 on my list.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

10.25.2018

hotel ratings | on whom do you rely?

Conde Nast, a respected travel journal to which I subscribe, publishes an annual list of "the best" hotels, resorts, cruise lines, airlines, and destinations in the world. Their methodology relies on a survey of hundreds of thousands of respondents. Their list of "the best," always interesting at best but laughable at worst, raises a significant question. On whom do you rely when choosing a hotel for your stay in a destination?

The limitation of their methodology is, of course, the subjective judgement of Conde Nast's respondents. I make the following assumptions:

1. Readers can only validly rate hotels at which they have actually stayed.
2. Travelers tend to validate their own decisions, giving good grades to hotels at which they've chosen to stay.
3. Hotel guests virtually never conduct site inspections at other hotels in the destination, so they have a limited body of impressions on which to make comparative judgments.

Here are some of the stranger results of the 2018 Readers Choice Awards.

New York City. The Chatwal is rated the #1 hotel in New York City. While The Chatwal may be a good choice if you want to stay right on Times Square, I wouldn't call it the best. Viceroy Central Park, rated the #6 hotel in New York City, might be a good choice if you're looking for "affordable 4-star comfort," but its room are quite compact. Inexplicably, these hotels are rated above some of the very best luxury choices in the world (much less NYC): the two Four Seasons hotels, Ritz-Carlton Central Park, Mandarin Oriental, and the Park Hyatt.

Los Angeles. I have no argument with the Readers Choice here, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, a gorgeous new hotel that has won a lot of praise. What's inexplicable is the lowly rating of the two Dorchester Collection properties in LA — Hotel Bel-Air at #20 and Beverly Hills Hotel at #28. So many lesser properties are ranked higher than these absolute jewels.

Northern California. Some good choices at the top of the charts (Auberge du Soleil at #3), but how is it possible that there are twenty-three (23) hotels ranked superior to Post Ranch Inn, a romantic, picturesque resort high above the Pacific Ocean.

Southern California. Kimpton hotels (not known as a luxury brand) get #1, #2, and #3 on the list. At the same time, Santa Barbara's absolutely idyllic Belmond El Encanto, slips to #30.

London. While the top hotels on CN's list do have their fans, it's inexplicable that the JW Marriott Grosvenor House (at #8) can outrank top hotels like The Goring (#36) and The Dorchester (#39), two of my favorite hotels in the world.

Rome. Hotel Eden is arguably the best property in Rome, but it doesn't even make it into the list of top hotels in Rome.

Florence. The WOW hotel in Florence, the Four Seasons Firenze, is ranked #9 in the city.

Budapest. There are seven (7) hotels listed in Budapest (among the Central Europe Top 15). The majestic Four Seasons Gresham Palace, whose Danube View rooms are coveted for their views of the Chain Bridge, is ranked 6th of those 7. Nonsense!

Hawaii - resorts. FS Maui (#2) and FS Hualalai (#4) make sense (although I'd personally flip those rankings). But how can FS Lana'i at Manele Bay, on a gorgeous beach with perhaps the most luxurious Four Seasons rooms in the world, be ranked #24? And even more puzzling ... how can Four Seasons at Koele be ranked at #13. While I love the Lodge, it has been undergoing renovations and isn't even open. Sheer craziness!

The value of a luxury travel advisor is clarified by all of this. Like many of my professional colleagues, I have done site inspections at hundreds of hotels and have made side-by-side comparisons of the best luxury hotels in the world, those that have been vetted by Virtuoso and accepted for membership. There is no one "best" hotel for each traveler, but the job of your travel advisor is to help you determine your best choice, given your preferences and your budget.

copyright (c) 2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

5.24.2018

Thursday's postcard from Four Seasons Hawaii

Four Seasons Hawaii resorts are quite guest friendly. Unlike some resorts that charge resort fees, you'll never feel nickeled-and-dimed to death at Four Seasons. I've posted this picture of a small but significant amenity at every Four Seasons in Hawaii — complimentary organic sunscreen!

Anyone who's traveled to the tropics and forgotten to pack sunscreen has learned about island price gouging. Because you can't pack enough sunscreen in your hand luggage due to TSA regulations on transporting liquids, this perk is quite valuable ... and just the beginning of the great values you can expect at the Four Seasons in Maui, Hualalai, Lanai, and Oahu (and many other destinations worldwide): complimentary sunscreen, complimentary Kids for All Seasons, and Preferred Partner amenities that offer hundreds of dollars of additional value throughout your stay.

copyright (c) 2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit our website.

5.21.2018

Monday's postcard from Hualalai

It happens every sunset. A native Hawaiian member of the staff at Four Seasons Hualalai runs through the resort at sunset. He lights torches throughout the resort and blows a conch shell (the Pu) — an ancient Hawaiian ceremonial practice to say goodbye and Mahalo for the day just ended.

A modern-day Pied Piper, a group of children ran with him as he lit the torches. This endearing scene unfolded right by our seaside table as we were seated for dinner at Ulu Ocean Grill.

2.10.2011

two couples save 25% in Hawaii

When two couples vacation together, it's possible to enjoy significant savings while experiencing the ultimate in luxury. Each of the Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii is currently offering a program that includes 50% off the second room. You can luxuriate at the best resorts in Hawaii ... and this promotion will stretch your dollars.

And to make the deal even better, you'll receive the following complimentary amenities for each room — even the half-price room! — by making your booking through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner:

Daily full American breakfast for two through in-Room Dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)
Lunch for two once during stay (up to $85, excluding gratuity and alcohol)
Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites and villas)
Complimentary high-speed internet for all suite bookings

Which Hawaiian island beckons you? On the Big Island, you'll witness an other-worldly lava rock landscape on your way to the idyllic beach resort at Four Seasons Hualalai and perhaps visit Hawaii's only active volcano with a lava flow into the sea. Maui offers beautiful beaches and great shopping, while laid-back Lana'i (an island without a single traffic light) offers visitors a taste of Hawaii before it was discovered by the developers.

Four Seasons Preferred Partner (search here on Google)

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