Discuss 04 Hotel

When people choose to visit Paris, it is wise to acquire details about this historical French city well in advance. There are a number of websites, travel magazines and subscriptions that provide information regarding travel plans, attractions, landmarks, things to do and accommodation options. Guides provide an outline and may provide wide-ranging information or could be dedicated to a certain aspect of traveling or a certain provider. It is advisable for travelers to be judicious and understand tourism trends and accommodation options in Paris. Most hoteliers and tourism officers make available descriptive brochures that outline city intersections, markets and street maps. This allows tourists to find their lodging locations at ease without being lost in Paris.

When considering a particular Paris accommodation it is advisable for foreign tourists to enquire whether hotel staff is well conversant in English or not. This facilitates a joyful stay at any resort or hotel without facing language barriers. People also need to make enquiries regarding transportation services offered by hotels, resorts and villas. This includes airport shuttles, transportation options to and from the city and sightseeing facilities. When considering a particular Paris accommodation it is important to understand tariffs, taxes, correspondence options, payment plans and accepted currencies.

Paris accommodation documentaries provide visual inputs and discuss a range of accommodation options. This includes hotels, inns, cottages and clubs. Others may choose from apartments, resorts, timeshare accommodations, rentals and family vacation homes. Student hostels, villas and star rated accommodation is also available. Often price ranges mentioned in catalogs and reviews are tentative and there are number of charges and compulsory payments that are to be made over and above printed costs. When choosing a Paris accommodation, families with young children may opt for lodgings that boast of gaming parlors, recreational facilities and baby-sitting services. Others may choose casino hotels that are fitted with multi cuisine restaurants, shopping centers and prompt services.

If you’ve been using a travel guide book, it is going to have hotel recommendations included. Most have reviews, include pricing, or at least pricing categories, for each one. Many will be able to be booked online.

However, some of the smaller, independently owned hotels still do the booking themselves. Most you can correspond with via email, but some are a little more old fashioned, and only take reservations over the phone. If that is the case, don’t let the thought of calling internationally and speaking to someone that English may not be their first tongue, intimidate you. These are business people that make a living providing rooms to tourists that, guess what, probably don’t speak their native language. They all speak enough English to take a reservation!

Take a look at your itinerary, and start booking these hotels for each location. You generally want to book at least 2-3 months prior, just to ensure you are able to get exactly the hotel you want. If you’re traveling during the peak season, you might want to start a little earlier. Most hotels do require a credit card to book the room, but most will allow you to pay in cash upon arrival.

Once these hotels are booked, write down the contact information (hotel name, address, phone number) and save for your records. There is also an awesome website called Tripit, that has an itinerary maker tool that allows you to either enter this information in manually, or it even has a cool feature that you can forward them any confirmation emails (for hotels, and even airline info), and it will actually do it for you.

For my hotel choices, I go middle of the road here. I can’t afford to stay in five star hotels, but I don’t want to be inconvenienced by uncomfortable circumstances like an over crowded Youth Hostel. I prefer to have the best of both worlds: experiencing the country, people, and culture that I’ve immersed myself in, while not staying in “sketchy” accommodations. I lean towards small, independently owned hotels, near the city central, but sheltered from the areas that are choked with tourists.

Plus, most of these independently owned small hotels are run by the owners themselves, who are always MORE than happy to help out their guests. They are one of the best travel advisors you will run into while you’re there. They can tell you where the best local places are to eat, the easiest ways to navigate the city, to even helping you book museum reservations and tours.

Synonymous with wealth, glamour, power and opulence, the name “Waldorf” has figured into tales of Manhattan for generations. In movies it has meant everything from broken hearts to fortunes made. For Americans of all stripes, it has meant spending New Year’s Eve in front of the television watching Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians playing “Auld Lang Syne” from the hotel’s Starlight Roof.

One of the country’s more expensive overnights, the luxury hotel properly called the Waldorf Astoria New York is a superior stay for humble history lovers. Its story goes back to 1893 when the wealthy William Waldorf Astor opened his Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Avenue, attracting a monied clientele. William’s cousin, John Jacob Astor IV, opened a similar hotel right next door in 1897, drawing his well-to-do friends and associates. The two Astors linked their buildings with a corridor and the complex became known as the “Waldorf Astoria.”

In 1929 these successful luxury hotel owners sold their high-priced Manhattan real estate to make way for the Empire State Building. Profits from the deal went into building the present Waldorf Astoria New York. When it opened on October 1, 1931, to President Herbert Hoover’s words of congratulations broadcast on the radio, the 2,200-room New York luxury hotel was the earth’s largest, filling in the block from 49th to 50th Street and stretching 42 floors above the pavement.

Since opening as the world’s first skyscraper hotel in 1931, the Waldorf Astoria New York has played host to movie stars, royalty, business tycoons, and every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover, a permanent resident of the New York luxury hotel’s exclusive Waldorf Towers. In the words of one guidebook author, “There’s a certain electric thrill about being here, even among the well-heeled guests.”

Commonly called the “Waldorf,” this New York luxury hotel wove its way into the social history of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Its staff claims it was the first hotel to introduce room service, to abolish the separate ladies entrance and to encourage frequent guests to make their suites permanent homes; the top 12 floors, called the Waldorf Towers, are made up entirely of residential suites. Some of the Towers’ residents have been President Herbert Hoover and five-star generals Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley.

The initial restoration of this New York luxury hotel’s Art Deco treasures in the 1980s revealed a long-lost cache of exquisite artwork that had been covered up for decades, victims of the “modernization” craze that swept the country in the 1950s and 60s. Underneath a carpet in the Park Avenue lobby, for example, was the magnificent, 148,000-piece “Wheel of Life” mosaic by French artist Louis Rigal, whose 13 allegorical oil murals on the adjacent walls were hidden under heavy draperies. A dropped ceiling covered ornate mouldings and gold leaf decorations. Art Deco medallions, grillwork, and other adornments are found throughout the hotel’s public areas.

With a pair of 42-story towers rising from an 18-story base, the Waldorf Astoria New York commands a prominent perch on majestic Park Avenue. The entrance to the Waldorf Towers is just around the comer on East 50th Street, and there’s another main portal on Lexington Avenue. Just short walks away are midtown landmarks like Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, plus the smart shops of Fifth and Madison avenues.

The Waldorf’s lobby offers comfortable seating ensembles, accented with marble, dark wood, potted palms, and dim lamps, conveying overtones of formal living rooms from a bygone era. The dress code here stipulates “T-shirts, tank tops, faded jeans, cut-offs, and casual hats are not permitted” in the lobbies and lounges.

Dominating the Waldorf Astoria New York’s main lobby front desk area is an ornately carved bronze clock from the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair, which has become a symbol of this luxury hotel and a well-known meeting place. Set on an octagonal marble-and-mahogany base and topped with a shiny bronze Statue of Liberty, the two-ton, nine-foot-tall clock was made by Goldsmith of London. Carved faces on the sides include Queen Victoria, Benjamin Franklin, and Presidents George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Ulysses S. Grant.

For people from all walks of life, staying or dining at the Waldorf Astoria New York is the ultimate Manhattan experience, a magic carpet ride fit for a king or queen. With flair and finesse, this imposing palace on Park Avenue treats every guest like royalty.