Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"Distinction Hotels Chef Ken O’Connell Wins Chef "

Source              :  scoop.co.nz
Category        :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By                  :  Distinction Hotels New Zealand
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotels In South Virginia Beach 

Southern Region Group Executive Chef, Ken O’Connell of Distinction Hotels has been awarded the prestigious New Zealand Chef of the Year title at the 2013 Culinary Fare held in Auckland. Chef O’Connell topped a field of 10 elite chefs from around New Zealand, earning the only gold award in the static presentation section of an entrée and main course.Distinction Hotels Chief Executive, Duncan Fletcher said “the entire Distinction Hotels team shares great pride in Ken’s win. We are extremely privileged to have Ken working as our Southern Region Group Executive Chef.” Based in Te Anau for the past year, Chef O’Connell is responsible for overseeing the kitchen teams based at the four southern region Distinction Hotels. His flair for sourcing the freshest ingredients and turning them into imaginative flavour combinations has boosted Distinction Hotels’ restaurants popularity and reputation. Mr Fletcher said “this award speaks volumes for our top class cuisine which both guests and visitors are able to appreciate when dining at our restaurants. We are constantly looking to improve what we are doing as a hotel group and Ken’s recognition certainly reinforces this search for excellence in all that we do.”

The culinary event requires competitors to undergo months of planning and training, something which obviously paid off for Chef O’Connell, as this is his second time winning the title. “It means more to me this time, as it cements my skills, knowledge and ability as a chef. I hope this inspires the young chefs in my kitchens, that anything is possible with hard work, training and pushing yourself to be the best.”100% New Zealand owned and operated the Distinction Hotel Group currently offer six premium hotels in the North and South Island, featuring elegant accommodation, comprehensive conference venue facilities and excellent on-site restaurants. Distinction Hotels pride themselves on providing an international standard of accommodation for the discerning traveller. In 2011 the group launched their 'sister' Discovery brand. Discovery Hotels offer a range of great value accommodation options to suit all travellers, combined with true outstanding 'kiwi' hospitality.

Source:scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1308/S01039/distinction-hotels-chef-ken-oconnell-wins-chef-of-the-year.htm

Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"Orange County Welcomes Tustin's Two Newest Hotels"

Source              :  marketwire.com
Category        :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By                  :  Marketwired
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotels In South Virginia Beach

There are many advantages to being siblings, especially when those siblings are brand-new hotels in Southern California. First and foremost among these is the ability to share. For the Fairfield Inn & Suites Tustin Orange County and the Residence Inn Tustin Orange County, the give-and-take ranges from their address (the two properties, while separate, share a stunning new building just four miles from John Wayne Airport, Orange County) to enviable amenities designed with today's traveler in mind. Best of all, these sister properties are hosting a shared Grand Opening party on September 4, 2013. Tustin, California's two newest hotels opened their doors on August 1, 2013 to reveal clean lines, versatile layouts and plenty of indoor spaces that bask in the California sunshine. Now guests and locals can see for themselves how each Tustin hotel approached the concept of modern hospitality, from the Fairfield Inn's curved and mobile desks in the guestrooms, to the Residence Inn's full-sized appliances and expanded in-room workspaces.

At the Grand Opening party from 6 to 9 p.m. in the lobby, celebrants can tap into the hotels' tech-friendly attitudes (both properties offer complimentary high-speed Internet) by entering a drawing for an iPad and competing in an Instagram contest for the best photos of the evening. After snapping shots, sampling the food stations, sipping a glass of wine and swinging to the live band, guests can embark on site tours to see each hotel firsthand. And there is plenty to see at both Tustin, California hotels. The Fairfield Inn & Suites Tustin Orange County, for example, makes a dramatic impression with its signature tower, curved porte-cochere and organically-inspired interior design. The lobby continues this statement by inviting travelers to relax by the stone hearth, plug in at the Internet stations and mingle on the curvaceous and comfortable sofas and ottomans. The other Tustin, California hotel, Residence Inn Tustin Orange County, encourages extended visits with spacious studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites. The fully-equipped kitchens promise convenience, while the stylish décor, luxurious bathrooms and host of amenities make guests feel right at home.

With ample room, fresh design and practical amenities like free breakfasts, these two new Tustin properties have raised the bar for hospitality in Orange County -- and they are ready to celebrate accordingly.Welcoming guests to sunny Southern California, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Tustin Orange County is as aesthetically pleasing as it is service-oriented. As a result, guests of this new property can drink in a soothing palette of blues, greens and oranges expressed via organically-inspired motifs, all while enjoying 24-hour service, complimentary continental breakfasts and free Internet access. The 145 guestrooms invite restful evenings with plush mattresses and fluffy pillows; yet they also provide the necessary tools for working guests to meet deadlines, via well-lit workspaces and ergonomic chairs. The hotel's two meeting rooms offer 2,300 square feet of space and are ideal for large gatherings, while the fitness center and heated outdoor pool and whirlpool ensure that guests can work and play during their stay.Travelers arriving in the John Wayne Airport, Orange County don't have far to go when they're staying at Residence Inn Tustin Orange County. Just four miles away -- and only minutes from Disneyland, The District, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and South Coast Plaza -- this is one hotel that has convenience at the forefront of every guest experience. Guests will enjoy spacious suites featuring separate living and sleeping areas and well-appointed kitchens supplied by complimentary grocery deliveries. Since the property is designed for stays of five nights or longer, the hotel offers complimentary social hours with hosted fare and drinks during the week to encourage networking and socialization. Plus the hotel's meeting room and ample workspaces in each suite mean that business travelers can meet their deadlines while still having fun.

Source:marketwire.com/press-release/orange-county-welcomes-tustins-two-newest-hotels-1824533.htm

Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"VV Council Denies Hotels' Appeal On Taxes, Rejects Settlement Offer"

Source              :  vvdailypress.com
Category        :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By                  :   Jim E. Winburn
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotels In South Virginia Beach

The city on Tuesday denied an appeal by three hotel operators and ordered them to pay more than $30,000 in past due transient occupancy taxes. Council members voted 5-0 to deny the appeal for Days Inn Victorville for a $7,826.83 assessment, Travel Inn Motel for $9,364.45, and Budget Inn Kentwood for $12,822.96. Before the council’s decision, Frank A. Weiser, an attorney representing the city of Victorville Hotel/Motel Association, told the City Council that hotel operators had decided to offer a settlement just before the council’s public meeting. City Attorney Andre de Bortnowsky told Weiser that the offer, which “cuts the proposed tax amounts in half,” came too late for the council to consider it in closed session.

He also expressed concern with the other four hotel operators included in Weiser’s July 24 appeal in response to the City Council’s June 11 decision. Since the June 11 hearing, Green Spot Motel, Mojave Village Motel, and Budget Inn Victorville have paid the tax due the city. Economy Inn chose to pay its tax prior to the hearing. “My concern with it would be that you have already made decisions that affect other hotels in city of Victorville,” de Bortnowsky said. “They have asked previously for different amounts, and if you accept post settlement you would be treating this group of hotels differently than you have already treated past hotels.” Weiser also argued for the hotels’ refusal to open their books to a city audit based on their Constitutional right to privacy. He said that this does not necessarily give the city the right to simply and arbitrarily estimate the tax due, along with interest, if a hotel operator fails to open its records for whatever reason.

“I think that is the central issue that came out of the motel owners saying, that whether you like it or not ... we still have a Fourth Amendment right,” Weiser said. Councilman Jim Kennedy, himself an accountant with an office in San Bernardino, did not place much merit in Weiser’s claim. “Never once have I tried to make the argument that because my client did not have records or didn’t wanted to show them to the auditor that’s a reason for not assessing a tax,” Kennedy said at Tuesday’s meeting. Mayor Jim Cox told fellow council members that the hotels’ appeal rests on whether evidence has been presented to show that errors have been made with either the city’s audit or appeal process regarding the hotels’ tax assessments.

“It does appear with all the information available that it is simply money owed to the city,” Cox said. “We have all of this data that indicates the money is owed. I don’t see how we can settle for a less amount.” The city conducted a transient occupancy tax audit on 21 hotels for a three-year span from 2010 to 2012, which revealed that seven of the city’s hotels had “substantial errors in the reporting of the taxes for the audit period totaling $520,132.92,” according to a city staff report from June.

Source : vvdailypress.com/articles/offer-41911-rejects-appeal.html

Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"California Hotels Are A Hot Investment Again"

Souce              :   latimes.com
Category        :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By                  :   Roger Vincent
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotels In South Virginia Beach

Nearly 180 California hotels changed hands in the first half of 2013, a 12% increase from the number sold in same period last year, according to a mid-year report by Irvine consulting firm Atlas Hospitality Group. The dollar value of these sales grew even faster. The report said the combined value of the sales jumped 24% to a total of nearly $2.2 billion in the first half of this year as investors gambled that the hospitality business will continue to improve. Among the big inns sold were the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel and the Claremont Hotel Club & Spa in Berkeley. San Diego County was a major hot spot, with total sales up 200% to $744 million. Leading the way was the $365.8-million sale of La Costa Resort to Omni Hotels & Resorts. The Dallas hotelier rebranded the 479-room inn as an Omni resort.

Another high-profile and historic property was sold in Riverside County's Coachella Valley. The 796-room La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, which dates from 1926, was acquired by an investment fund of the government of Singapore.

La Quinta, where movie director Frank Capra wrote the screenplay for "Lost Horizon" poolside in 1937, was one of four hotels in a property portfolio purchased by the Singapore investment fund. Also part of the deal was the rambling Claremont hotel, which opened in 1914 in the Berkeley Hills and formerly had multistory spiral slides intended for use as fire escapes. La Quinta was valued at $109 million, and the Claremont was valued at $511 million in the $1.46-billion transaction that also included the Grand Wailea in Hawaii and the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Atlas said. The $65-million sale of the Sheraton in downtown Los Angeles to local developer Wayne Ratkovich was the largest in Los Angeles County. Hotel sales in the county were down from a year earlier, but only because owners were reluctant to part with them, said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality. "In terms of desirability from buyers, first choice is still West L.A.," Reay said. That market, one of the strongest in the country, also includes Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Second on buyers' shopping lists is the Union Square neighborhood of San Francisco, he said, followed by coastal resorts such as those found in Monterey, Orange County, La Jolla and downtown San Diego. With hotel occupancy and room rates on the upswing, many investors believe hotels will offer better financial returns than apartments and other types of commercial real estate, Reay said. Lenders, who wouldn't support hotel investments just three years ago, are again willing to finance purchases, and interest rates remain low by historic standards. Asian hotel buyers find California particularly attractive, he said. "The Chinese are interested in San Francisco and Los Angeles," he said. "There is a lot of money pouring out of China." The rise in hotel prices will eventually slow as new hotels are built by developers hoping to cash in on the hot market, he said. "A lot more rooms are going to open up," Reay said, "and dampen price appreciation."

Source : latimes.com/business/la-fi-hotel-investment-20130822,0,1091207.story

Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"Luxury Hotels Will Light Up Sydney Skyline"

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Category   :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By             :  sunofbeach
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Hotels In South Virginia Beach

Triggered by $10 billion investment in Darling Harbour and Barangaroo, at least three of the four will boast harbour views and five star ratings, as Sydney heads for hotel bed shortage which would limit it's ability to lure big business conference dollars.The latest - a $300 million "ethereal" design based on a maritime lighthouse will be built at Darling Harbour as part of a 20ha rebuild, which will also bring a new convention centre and exhibition centre.Across the water, a $148 million hotel expansion, adding an extra 231 rooms, is on the way with a 25 storey tower at Four Points by Sheraton.

In the city a $61 million 38 level hotel cantilevered over a heritage-listed Porter House could be set for Bathurst St, along with James Packer's proposal of a $1.5 billion hotel casino at Barangaroo. Planning documents said Sydney's four and five star hotels were filling up and could not meet demand. "At these occupancy levels any new convention business attracted to Sydney will have difficulty finding accommodation," Four Points planning proposal said. NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner said the shortage of hotel beds concerned the government but the Darling Harbour hotel and forecasts of the convention, exhibition and entertainment could generate $200 million annually in economic benefit to the State.

"We were seriously concerned about the forecast shortage of hotel beds, that was in the order of 4000 within the next decade," he said. "We are pressing ahead with our plans to attract more conventions and other events to Darling Harbour. That was going to address the pressing need."

Mr Stoner said the Darling Harbour hotel was a landmark design, and the biggest hotel investment in the city since the Olympics. "It's going to be an internationally recognisable feature in the city of Sydney it's a big bold image," he said. "It adds to Sydney's attraction as a global city, you have to have these up-market and landmark developments, you can't just rely on the Opera House and the Bridge." The hotel and the convention centre at Darling Harbour will be built by 2016.

"We insisted that it had to have an international hotel, aimed at those convention delegates we are going to bring in a large numbers," Mr Stoner said. Sydney architect Richard Francis-Jones said the slender tower replaced the original twin tower proposal as a result of concerns of view loss and to form a gateway. "It frames the entrance into Darling Harbour," he said. Mr Francis-Jones said it was like a lighthouse maritime building "glowing from the top". " When we think of the maritime building of Darling Harbour, it rises up with and is crowned by a glowing top that will form an incredible landmark," he said. "It's a white glass building, crowned by a lantern top. We are going to make this a beautifully detailed building. It has a lacelike quality. It will become a very important landmark site."

Lendlease spokesman Gavin Bile said it was an upscale hotel with beautiful views. High land prices, high construction costs and increases in hotel operating costs, coupled with limited real increases in room rates, had resulted in reduced financial viability for new hotels, planning documents said. Four Points by Sheraton planning documents said $550 million redevelopment of the Sydney Convention Centre would significantly increase convention delegates. "A key factor in ensuring that the planned additional conventions are attracted to Sydney is the provision of adequate high quality accommodation," it said. "Organisers of large conferences, in particular, are likely to view the provision of a 1,000 room Four Points Sheraton pas a major advantage as the majority of the delegates can be accommodated in one location."

Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"Famous Beach Hotels In Virginia Beach"

Souce        :  http://goldwinner.org/
Category   :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By             :  goldwinner
Posted By  :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotels In South Virginia Beach

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Hotels In South Virginia Beach|"Famous Beach Hotels In Virginia Beach"

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Category    :  Hotels In South Virginia Beach
By             :  Aston Waikiki Beach
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Hotels In South Virginia Beach

Overlooking the shores of Pacific Ocean, hotel offers you world-class amenities. During this time the area was a hugely popular destination for fashionable vacation makers and a star-studded playground for the rich and famous. All the guestrooms are non smoking. Those individuals who are thinking of relocating to South Miami could also make use of such rental accommodations to provide themselves time to adjust to the city's eclectic ways. Best Western Oceanfront Virginia Beach The Best Western Oceanfront Virginia Beach is consists of 214 rooms. Enjoy a hospitable and comfortable accommodation with some of their beach hotels.

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And certainly on top of that list is South Miami Beach. Or, one can easily do the estate hunt himself by logging onto the internet and search for the ideal place for him stay; fronting the ocean is available for a more explicit dining experience.Miami is unquestionably one of the most popular cities in the US. Refresh your body after a stressful day at the Jacuzzi or indoor heated pool. It really does not matter whether a person plans of visiting or eventually residing in the metropolitan place of South Miami.Despite the plethora of hotels, beach hostels and wayside inns, rental apartments and villas remain a standard staying choice amongst the tourists luxury hotels in miami beach . Room amenities include coffee maker, cable TV, iron and ironing board and high speed Internet access. The country offers a wide range of choices to its guests.