LESTER HOLT, co-host:
We're back at 8:43. This morning on
TODAY'S TRAVEL
, the best hotels for
2011
.
Travel Leisure
magazine is out with its annual list of the world's top-ranked hotels. Here with some of the
best of the best
, associate editor
Sarah Spagnolo
.
Sarah
, good morning and happy new year to you.
Ms. SARAH SPAGNOLO (Travel Leisure Magazine):
Good morning. Same to you.
HOLT:
Thanks for coming on. You guys cover the gamut here, all kinds of destinations, city, country, desert, beach.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yes. Every year we ask our readers to rate their favorite hotels around the world, and this year we're, you know, so excited to launch the
T+L
500 in our January issue. Two-hundred-twenty-nine of them, interestingly enough, are in the US and
Canada
, which shows that, you know, US hotels are really stepping it up, offering added value amenities, all sorts of extra services.
HOLT:
Because very often it'd be European hotels and those abroad that which kind of -- would often outrank the US ones.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yes, but our readers are loving, you know, our domestic properties. And 62 hotels on the 500 list are also affordable. So we're going to be talking about six of those today.
HOLT:
Well, let's talk about some of them. And
Portland
,
Oregon
, I took some vacation time in it this summer.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yeah.
HOLT:
What a great town. Great walking town. And you like the
Nines
hotel
. The readers like the
Nines
.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yeah.
The Nines
hotel
, it overlooks
Pioneer Square
. It's actually set in a former
department store
, the
Meier and Frank
department store
. And so everything in the
hotel
is sort of fashion oriented. The rooms are done in
Tiffany blue
. There are
Ralph Pucci
-designed mannequins in the lobby. So it has a sort of fashion feel, which is kind of fun and offers something different.
The Nines:
Portland,
OR From
$199 per
Night
HOLT:
Yeah,
New York Times
described it as a chic haven.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yep. And it's also green. So it's eco-friendly for an
environment
that -- for a city that, you know, takes a lot of pride in their
environment
.
HOLT:
OK.
Let's go
over to the
Boulders Resort
and
Golden Door Spa
in
Scottsdale
,
Arizona
. If you like a picturesque desert
environment
, I understand
this is the place
to go.
Boulders Resort Golden Door Spa:
Scottsdale,
AZ From
$199 per
Night
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yes. If you're looking for a desert
environment
, the
Sonoran Desert
, it's actually set in a 21-million-year-old rock outcropping. You can see it there. It's absolutely beautiful; 221 casitas.
A 33,000
-square-
foot spa
, which actually includes a labyrinth. So if you're looking to relax in a different sort of setting, you know, consider walking around a maze. They have all sorts of extra services that we were talking about earlier for your guests. They do guided nightly hikes to look up at the stars. You...
HOLT:
That's the moonlit hike they do.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Exactly. You can see
Jupiter
. You can see
Venus
actually right now in the sky above the
hotel
. They also do a desert photography tour. You know, you're seeing a lot of their wellness options there; $199 a
night
, so that really can't be beat.
HOLT:
Tell me about the
Palazzo
in
Las Vegas
. This is an all-
suite
high rise
hotel
that ranked very high.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yeah, an all-
suite
hotel
, 3066 rooms. It was actually ranks by our readers as the number one
hotel
in
Las Vegas
.
Affordable
for their
Palazzo Suite Life
package, $179, you stay in one of their suites with these sunk-in living rooms -- you can see it there -- multiple TVs. They also throw in breakfast for two and a $30 in-
suite
credit. So you can...
HOLT:
Hm.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
...enjoy, you know, all sorts of their amenities for significantly less.
The Palazzo:
Las Vegas
,
NV From
$199 per
Night
HOLT:
They've got the pool club. What is that?
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
They have a brand-new pool club. That's like the it thing to have now in
Las Vegas
...
HOLT:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
...where you can relax by the pool. You can have
Champagne
, frozen grapes. They also have a
Barneys
if you're not interested in being by the pool in the wintertime, a
Barneys
, a
Canyon Ranch
spa. So, you know, all sorts of options there in
Las Vegas
.
HOLT:
Let's come east now, the
Greenbrier Hotel
in
White Sulphur Springs
,
West Virginia
. It also made the list. This is a recently renovated property, if I understand?
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Yes, exactly. The interiors were actually done by
Dorothy Draper
, you know, the innovative interior designer.
HOLT:
Hm.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Her protege
Carlton Varney
is behind the restaurant and casino complex that just opened. Interestingly enough, there's also a bunker that was built by the
US government
during the
Cold War
. You can tour it. That's not it. There's also -- there's other options. You can ice skate. You can -- you can play croquet. You can bowl. So no matter what you're looking for, this is a great family choice.
The Greenbrier:
White Sulphur Springs
,
WV From
$199 per
Night
HOLT:
But this isn't -- not just rooms there. They've got like giant suites, I mean...
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
It...
HOLT:
...almost homes, right?
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
It's a huge complex. It's in
White Sulphur Springs
in the
Allegheny Mountains
. Everything you want, basically,
this is the place
. Another great deal, $199 a
night
.
HOLT:
And let's go to
Mexico
now. Cancun,
Mexico
, popular destination, always has been. The Casamagna -- is that how I pronounce it -- Casamagna Marriott?
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
The
Casamagna Marriott Resort
, 412 rooms, right on the
Caribbean Sea
. They have a beautiful...
HOLT:
I love their pool.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
...outdoor pool.
HOLT:
Yeah.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Perfect place to bring the family. Nine restaurants, including a Thai restaurant where you can have a mango mojito. You can also have Thai lobster dumplings.
Tepanyaki
, if you want a Japanese chef to cook right in front of you. Everything there, a great place for the kids, $179 per
night
.
HOLT:
Before we run out of time, you got a little -- a little
hotel
in
Italy
I wanted to point out, the
Hotel
-- or
Villa Cipriani
, dates back to
1889
.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
1890
.
HOLT:
Where is it?
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
It's just north of -- it's just north of
Venice
. You can see it there.
HOLT:
OK.
Hotel Villa Cipriani:
Asolo,
Italy From
$245 per
Night
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
It's a 31-room estate originally owned by the
English poet
Robert Browning
, who gave it to the
Irish Guinness
family, who turned it over again to
Giuseppe Cipriani
of, of course,
Cipriani
in
Venice
,
Italy
.
HOLT:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. SPAGNOLO:
Thirty-one
rooms, exposed beams, terra cotta floors,
VitrA
tile bathrooms. Everything you might want for an Italian escape, $245 a
night
.
HOLT:
Oh, wow. Looks great. Looks great.
“ ”