Posts Tagged ‘sales meetings’

Can Hotel Websites Be Deceiving?

Monday, February 28th, 2011

The answer to that question is a big YES!!  Although I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional.

However – this is definitely NOT the case with the recently opened Mondrian Soho in NYC.  It’s the newest boutique property to arrive at one of the hippest areas of the Big Apple.

I love looking at hotels…ever since I was a little girl walking around hotels with a hard hat (my father owned a mechanical engineering company in Hawaii and his company worked on the majority of the hotels on the islands and my mother was an events planner…I think it’s in the blood) – so I guess you could say that I’m in the right profession.  I always ask my friends “what hotel are you staying at?”  I think they probably thought I was weird before they realized why I was asking…now they just say..”staying at this property or that property.”  I love it!

Well – sorry to digress – back to the Mondrian Soho.  HotelChatter (which I’m an avid follower of) went and stayed at the hotel on opening day.  They took pictures of the property and I was just swooning over their photos.  I went to the website to see how they compared and I’m happy to report, they were so similar.

Here are a couple of shots I got off the hotel’s website.  Here is the link from HotelChatter’s website with all the “real” pictures that they took so you can compare.

Standard 190 square foot room

Bathroom (love the mirror!)

All the white does make a room feel so much bigger.  If you need meeting space.  They have a room that can hold 84 Theater or 40 Classroom and there is an adjacent terrace for meals.  This would be a great venue for executive meetings, small incentive (that wants the city vs. beach) or small sales and product meetings that don’t require breakouts.

You might ask…so what do I get with a standard king room at the Mondrian Soho…
~ 190 square feet of luxury
~ Floor to Ceiling Windows
~ Marble Spa Bathroom
~ Luxurious King Bed
~ LCD HDTV
~ iPod Docking Station
~ Wireless Internet (at an additional charge)
~ Down Bedding
* the HotelChatter pictures show an iPad in the room, but it’s not listed under the amenities, so not quite sure how that plays into the sleeping rooms.  Pretty cool if the rooms have that though.

Here are the details of the hotel:

Hotel Designed By: Benjamin Noriega Ortiz (inspired by the Jean Cocteau Film ~ La Belle et la bete
Sleeping Rooms: 270
Meeting Space: Gallery Room – 1100 square feet (84 classroom, 40 Theater), Gallery Terrace – 1400 square feet (outdoor for up to 125 for reception)
Restaurant: Imperial No. Nine – 150 seats, sustainable seafood concept. Chef: Sam Talbot (opening March 1)
Bar: Indoor/Outdoor experience
Other: Fitness Center, In Room Spa Services & Room Service

I can’t wait to see this hotel for myself.  I might need to plan a little trip to NYC to check out all the recently opened SOHO properties (The Crosby, Trump SOHO and now the Mondrian SOHO).

Enjoy!!

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Property Site Visits are the KEY to a Successful Event {part 1 – The Meritage}

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Trying to squeeze in property site visits can be difficult – but it is so important.  The only time I wouldn’t do a site visit is if it’s virtually impossible or if budgets don’t permit.  I don’t like going to properties and being surprised by the venue.  I like to know what I’m getting myself or the client into.

The weather has been crazy here in the Bay Area and this past Wednesday, I met our client and we headed to Napa and Sausalito in search for the perfect venue for their upcoming Executive Retreat.

First stop – The Meritage Resort.

This is the one of the closest properties to all the major Bay Area airports (Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose) with a ton of meeting space (22,000 square feet to be exact).  If you are looking for a lot of meeting space – this property is actually the largest in the valley.  Unveiling in 2012 will be an additional ballroom and Cafe.  They also have an estate cave that boasts a tasting room, spa and function space.  There is a great outdoor patio area that is heated for winter functions and the views are lovely looking directly at vineyards.

Entrance to the Estate Cave

Function Space - Estate Cave

Terrace

There are two buildings (a third is completed, but not yet furnished) that house sleeping rooms.  However, only the rooms in the main Meritage building are owned by the Meritage.  Meritage has 158 guest rooms.  The other building is part of a time share with 116 rooms.  The Meritage has access to those sleeping rooms though.  So if you have a group that is bringing families – these rooms would be ideal.

Timeshare Room Living Room

Timeshare King Bedded Room

Timeshare Kitchen

The decor in the timeshare rooms and the Meritage rooms are similar.  One of the big differences between the 2 room types are the view.  All of the Meritage rooms face the vineyard and the timeshare rooms face the vineyard or the office park.

King Bedded Meritage Room

Kitchen in a Meritage Suite (3 suites have Kitchens)

View of Vineyard from Meritage Sleeping Room

Currently the meeting space a grand ballroom that divides into 10 rooms, 3 smaller boardrooms, the Vineyard Terrace and the Estate Wine Cave.

Section of Grand Salon

There is one restaurant currently at the property ~ The Siena.  We had lunch here and I was a bit surprised by the menu.  I was expecting the menu to have a bit more variety.  When I think of Napa, I think wine (of course) and culinary excellence.  The food was good ~ I was just expecting more.

Ideal Client: Because of all the meeting space, this property is great for associations or even corporate clients that are wanting to have Napa but are space intensive.

Rates: Spring – $149-$169

Drawbacks: The hotel is situated in an office park.  So if you are trying to get that Napa feel ~ you really won’t get it with the drive up.  I would actually love for them to build a wall around the property so you don’t see the office park.  The biggest issue that people have with this property is where it’s located.  You can either get past it or you don’t.

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