Recommend July 2015 - (Page 12)

hoteldesk A Couple of New Brands Bring Diversity to the Hotel Landscape paloma villaverde de rico Six Senses Douro Valley in Portugal. Right: Royal Palm South Beach is part of Starwood's Tribute Portfolio collection. Below: Great views from Loews Regency San Francisco. star w ood ' s tr i b ute por tf oli o Starwood Hotels & Resorts' 10th brand, Tribute Portfolio, is, says avid Marr, global brand leader, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Tribute Portfolio, built for travelers who seek unique and uncommon hotel experiences in key destinations. t s a brand that aims to provide all of our members, guests and customers with unique experiences in places where they told us they love to go. Tribute Portfolio, Marr continues, is an answer to both our guests and our owners desire to Stay ndependent. ur guests have told us they want access to more great hotels in great places, where they can reap the rewards of our award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest program. The first hotel in the Tribute Portfolio collection, which is comprised of top-notch independent hotels and resorts around the world, is lorida s Royal Palm South Beach. Additionally, there are four soon-to-open properties in Asheville, orth arolina; 10 july 2015 Nashville, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina. It's estimated that they'll be about 100 Tribute Portfolio hotels within the next five years, but they will operate as independent hotels with access to Starwood s powerful distribution, loyalty and sales platform, all while maintaining their independent spirit, Marr says. n fact, Marr notes, with Tribute Portfolio, our teams have to do a great ob to educate travel professionals around the story for each of these independent properties. They travel professionals have helped tell us where they d like to see the brand based on where their customers want to travel to. ur first Tribute Portfolio hotel, oyal Palm South each, allows them to now offer their clients an iconic resort in the heart of South each. ates at the South each property start at 55. starwoodhotels.com/tributeportfolio or spgpro.com loew s r eg enc y Loews Hotels & Resorts' new Loews Regency brand, with, as of press time, two hotels the Loews Regency New York and the Loews Regency San Francisco offers customers, says onathan Tisch, chairman, oews otels esorts, a true luxury experience that is more intimate and approachable. ur loyal egency customers are a different guest, Tisch continues, and they really wanted more hotels with a similar luxury experience as the oews egency ew ork . ur customers were a key driving force in expanding upon the oews egency name. According to Tisch, after the 100 million renovation that took place at oews egency ew ork, we knew we had a special offering, one that was different than the rest of our brand. As we look to expand our brands, we were looking for traditional oews otels and also knew we had to identify the right hotel that is aligned with that of the oews egency ew ork. The former Mandarin San rancisco did ust that. This hotel provided us the opportunity to enter into San rancisco for the first time and also build upon the oews egency brand. ooking to the future, Tisch says that we will carefully look at top 10 evPA markets to build hotels as the strategic opportunity arises and also for us to acquire hotels that currently offer a luxury experience and that align with the attributes of both our hotels in ew ork and San rancisco. or clients heading to the ig Apple, the oews egency ew ork is offering the Park Avenue Pied-a-terre package, inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her experiences in the city. t includes accommodations in the Glamour or Pop Art Signature Suite, a private shopping outing at loomingdales, blow-out at the ulien arel estore Salon Spa, a curated guide to Marilyn Monroe s haunts and landmarks from her films for a self-guided walking tour, and other goodies. ates start at 1,119 per night and are valid through Sept. 7, 2015. loewshotels.com or loewshotels. com/travel-professionals-en.html ● recommend.com http://www.starwoodhotels.com/tributeportfolio http://www.spgpro.com http://www.loewshotels.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend July 2015

Editor’s Notes
Hotel Desk: Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Loews Hotels & Resorts
Tour Talk: Goway’s IslandsEscapes
Adventures in North America
Romania: Superbly Scenic, Marvelously Medieval
Central Europe With Adventures by Disney
Get Off That Beach Chair!
Off-Beat Adventures
INDABA 2015 (With a Taste of Durban)
A Treasured Journey Into the Past
Small Boats & Big Tortoises in the Galapagos
Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze
Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa 2

Recommend July 2015