Current Best New Hotels
Are you a couple that thrives on staying in the best hotels when you travel? In that case, you're in luck. The 2004 top crop of new hotels has opened in some of the best places for romance -- from the tip of Mexico to the coast of Florida, from the mountains of Wyoming to the blue waters of the Bahamas. Before you check in to your next hotel, check out these hotels first.
In late 2003 the cognoscenti were already catching rays at the Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay -- the company's first property in the Bahamas. For everyone else, the hotel is accepting reservations for January 2004 and beyond. Surrounded by Exuma's crystal-clear waters, you can play "castaway for a day" thanks to the resort's honeymoon package. You'll be transported to a secluded beach with a beach umbrella, lounge chairs, picnic lunch and a cellphone to call for your return.
Will Miami's hot-hot-hot South Beach area ever cool down? Apparently not. Ritz-Carlton's ninth Florida property has just opened, and it's committed to becoming this area's first five-star-caliber hotel. It joins Miami's already terrific restored Art Deco and trendy boutique hotels. Glamorous adventures await romantics and honeymooners. Options include couples massages at the spa, a tour of exclusive Star Island aboard a luxury yacht, or simply lounging side by side in beachside cabanas.
Only Mandarin Oriental could bring Zenlike bliss to New York City. In this extravagant new hotel housed within the new AOL Time Warner headquarters, every guest room boasts spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, the Hudson River, or the skyline. If you can tear yourself away from that view, enjoy the one on the LCD flat-panel TV in your oversized marble bath. Rates are astronomical, but promotional specials bring the cost of a standard room a bit closer to earth.
Four Seasons' well-deserved reputation for opening hotels in fabulous settings and providing extraordinary service and spacious, elegant rooms makes expectations for the group's first ski-area property high. Set at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, the hotel is close to both Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Each guest room has a private balcony or terrace. There's ski-in/ski-out access to lifts and a fully heated outdoor pool with whirlpools to make unwinding so much sultrier.
In Spanish, "Esperanza" means "hope" -- and a couple couldn't hope for a more glorious south-of-the-border hideaway than this new hotel. Located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Esperanza Resort's 56 luxurious rooms overlook secluded coves in the deep-blue Sea of Cortez. An elegant interpretation of a classic Mexican village, the new hotel features winding stone pathways for lovers to stroll and panoramic views of sea and sky. Butler service and private swimming pools are available.
Inspired by the Art-Deco period, the new Hilton Arc De Triomphe (opening date March 29, 2004) is a short walk from from the Champs Elysées and Arc De Triomphe. In its furnishings and decor, the hotel pays homage to the decorative arts and the luxurious transatlantic liners that defined high style in the 1920s and 1930s. This new Paris Hilton contains an Andalusian garden patio, traditional French Brasserie, a 1930’s style bar, and a health spa.
One of the newest hotels on this list is actually looking forward to her 80th birthday. Constructed in 1924, The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle as long been one of the city's most distinguished landmarks. Formerly a Four Seasons property, the hotel was reflagged a Fairmont in 2003. Modern conveniences within the elegant setting keep guests loyal. The celebration package, available year-round, includes chocolate-covered strawberries, Champagne, and breakfast for two the morning after.
