Luxe Worldwide Hotels Blog

As legend has it, February 14, which we now call Valentine’s Day, marks the day that birds begin to mate and is marked, since the 14^th century, by a feeling that love is in the air!  The traditions of the day, filled with grand gestures of courtship and romance expressed through love notes and sappy cards, red roses, romantic dinners, chocolates, jewelry, and the like, have been consistent across five centuries – on this specific day.

Even for those Valentine “Scrooges” who see Valentine’s Day as the ultimate commercialized holiday, it’s difficult to ignore the day.  For there, across their day’s paths, they will surely encounter an enchanted fairytale-like story that renews romance and gets their hardened hearts a-flutter again.

Justin and Jolene have such a story. Their paths crossed, on one summer night, during a music concert on the rooftop of the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel, and that chance encounter will bring lasting happiness to the couple in a fairytale happy ending that will resonate with wedding bells on April 28 this year!

Here is Jolene’s endearing recollection of the night she met Justin:

“Timing is everything.  The night I met Justin I was actually on a double date with a gentleman I had met only 3 days prior.  I brought my friend Lila along with me, as I was not interested in my date (AT ALL) rather just excited to go out, be social…and listening to live music atop the Luxe hotel sounded fun! I don’t remember much about that night before I first saw Justin..our “dates” were enjoying cigars and Lila and I were enjoying the music and ignoring them.  Justin was sitting with his family in front of us.  When he stood up and turned towards us to walk to the bar, that was the moment time stopped.  I can close my eyes (still today, almost six years later) and visualize the first time I saw his amazing smile and the light in his eyes.  I was magnetically drawn to him and we hadn’t yet spoken a word to each other!  I knew instantly that I wanted to interact with him somehow.  I handed him my camera and asked him to take a photo of Lila and me, and instantly the flirting commenced.”

Stories like Justin and Jolene’s make us smile and warm our hearts because they come along every so often to tug at our hearts.  And then we remember that in celebrating love on Valentine’s Day, we celebrate a chance to renew that magical sense of hope for reaching that pinnacle of true love.

If you’re still looking for a way to show your “honey” how you feel this Valentine’s Day, consider booking the Love Me, Lavish Me package at the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel and enjoy a split of champagne as you arrive, deluxe accommodations with a complimentary in-room movie, a turndown truffles and a chance to luxuriate in bed with a continental breakfast the next morning – all starting at only $289 per night.

Or, if an unparalleled romantic dinner is what you’re looking for, celebrate L’Amour at OnSunset Restaurant this Valentine’s Day and savor a romantic delectable five-course menu, with your love of course, created by celebrated Chef Olivier Rousselle http://www.luxesunset.com/cms/pressroom/valentinecheckstuffer_jan12_web.pdf

Have you ever experienced the wait for a taxi at the Los Angeles Airport (LAX)?  How about those car rental lines? So picture yourself arriving at LAX, harried and hassled — and there, what seems like a mirage, is a real live person, holding up a sign with your name, waiting to drive you to your destination.  How great is that?

Well, it’s all very real now — with the new 360° Luxe Hotels Signature Package.  No mirage here. It is all about comfort and pampering.

When you book a 360° package at one of three Luxe Hotels in California (Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel, Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, or the Luxe City Center Hotel) you actually get 360° degrees of service, meaning, they’ve got you covered from head to toe.  You get picked up at the airport in a town car (no need to worry about dragging bags to the taxi line), driven to your choice of one of the three hotels, depending on the location that is convenient to you and, when you arrive, you get whisked to an upgraded room, where you will find all the little luxurious amenities that a tired traveler cherishes.

It makes all the difference in the world…

It’s astounding how certain luxuries have the ability to generate so much pleasure… such as being personally greeted at the airport, finding a complimentary bottle of Shiraz wine in your hotel room, waking up to a fresh cooked breakfast, use of an iPad2 during your stay and complimentary Wi-Fi.

And no worries…when you are ready to go home, a Luxe Hotels town car will be waiting to escort you back to the airport — in time for your flight.  All this for only $360 per night!

But — should you like it so much that you want to extend your stay, your nightly rate gets discounted to $265. How great is that?  They say that personal attention is worth “its weight in gold.” Well, there you have it.

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, the 360° Luxe Hotels Signature Package makes travel more of an art form and less of a chore.

You would not have believed the large crowd of Barbie fans that came out in droves on the rooftop of the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel for the Barbie™ Rocks Holiday Party on Sunday! It was an event that featured the unveiling of a never before seen diamond-encrusted Barbie® doll.

The dazzling creation valued at $150,000 is the first diamond Barbie® doll created for the Barbie™ Rocks jewelry line. It took more than 100 hours to perfect the diamond settings on the iconic original Barbie® doll bathing suit. Made of 18Kt white gold, the bathing suit sparkles with more than 2000 black and white diamonds. The doll’s famous look is completed with diamond high-heeled sandals, a diamond bracelet and diamond earrings.

In celebration of the jeweled Barbie® doll, celebrity mothers and daughters attended the exclusive, invite-only Barbie™ Rocks Holiday Party, which featured a specially designed Barbie Rocks Mercedes Benz convertible, live performances and sweet treats. It also included manicures, colored hair extensions, and make up for little Barbie fans and great jewelry shopping presented by Beverly Hills jewelers Alan and Layna Friedman accompanied with delicious pomegranate martinis for the adult Barbie fans in attendance.

The attending celebrity stars at the party shined as bright as the sun bouncing off the hotel’s rooftop and the diamond-encrusted Barbie® doll. The event featured celebrity Barbie fans such as Shannen Doherty, Eva LaRue (CSI Miami), and Madison De La Garza (Desperate Housewives), among others.

If you still haven’t seen the breathtaking one-of-a-kind diamond-encrusted Barbie® doll, you still have time to catch her. She will be on display in the lobby of the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel until January 2, 2012. So head over to Rodeo Drive, take in some shopping, then stop by the hotel for a pink cocktail and a glimpse of the dazzling Barbie doll before she heads off to her next destination.

Word has it that Ken is getting lonely…

It’s a night not to be missed on famed Rodeo Drive. Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) tonight, from 6 to 10 PM, is a night where you can ‘shop till you drop’, literally.

Rodeo Drive, the well-recognized fashion mecca, will also be transformed into an entertainment ‘mecca’ for that night.  For example, as a break from shopping or when looking for a place to sit, you can get on a ferris wheel and “fly” 60 feet up in the air, and get a breathtaking view of the street.  Or you can sample from the more than 15 food trucks and participate in 95 in-store events, or as many events as your feet will hold out.

With too much to do, you might get confused as to where to go first, so we suggest that you head over to Chanel to get your hands on three new nail shades, created exclusively for Fashion’s Night Out by Peter Philips, Creative Director of Chanel Makeup. Or get over to Fendi, to take a look at the ‘Atelier Fendi’ exhibition of images from the FW11 ad campaign, shot by Karl Lagerfeld.  You can also head to Lanvin, where you are invited to the store’s “Roaring 20’s Cocktail Party.”  But you kinda need to dress for the occasion, so think about it in advance – or just buy an outfit.  What the heck, it is Fashion Night’s Out, after all.

Don’t forget about Bally or Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. And don’t worry about taking your time, for stores will be open until 10 PM.

There’s another fun thing to do.  Try the Cirque de Soleil’s Flipbook Experience, which will allow visitors to magically insert themselves into the new IRIS flipbook from the highly acclaimed Cirque de Soleil show, now playing at the Kodak Theatre.

And of course, the media is readying to be out in droves.  Bloggers, reporters and broadcast anchors are itching to get “the best view in town.” Their hub will be at the highly coveted Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel rooftop, which will offer the media a perfect view of the action on the famed Rodeo Drive and unreal photo opportunities.  They can point their camera and shoot in between sipping special FNO cocktails and munching on delectable appetizers.

Also, a word of advice… Since there is so much to do, get to the FNO early and start at the Luxe Rodeo Hotel’s Café Rodeo and whisper “It’s the New Black” to choose one of the signature cocktails for only $6 during happy hour at the Hotel’s Bar 360, between 4 PM to 7 PM.  And later, when energy starts petering out, don’t end the night early. Just head back to Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel’s lemonade stand – conveniently situated on Rodeo Drive and cool off.  And if you just are really too exhausted to make it home, the hotel is also offering a special FNO rate of $265 per night (plus taxes) complete with a welcome glass of wine, new Popperazzi appetizer from Chef James Jung and chocolate truffles at turn down.  You may want to plan this ahead of the night, just in case…

And who knows whom you will meet at FNO… A few celebrities have been known to drop by FNO in years past including Christina Hendricks, Lauren Conrad, Lisa Love, and Will.i.am.   Maybe they will be sipping wine at the next table at the Hotel.

FNO is a global initiative originally created in 2009 to celebrate fashion and restore consumer confidence.  Thanks go to The Rodeo Drive Committee who, in association with the City of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Convention and Visitors Bureau, organized the one-night-only of fashion fun.

It’s sure to be a night to be remembered.