Marriott’s new AC Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Marriott

A guest room at San Francisco’s Hotel Emblem.

Viceroy Hotels & Resorts

Room with a Central Park view at the Hyatt Parker New York.

Hyatt

Downtown Austin has a new Homewood Suites by Hilton

Homewood Suites by Hilton

Accommodations at the new Element Hotel in  Detroit’s historic Metropolitan Building.

MarriottThe Top 10 most traveled air routes in North AmericaChris McGinnis

#1 Los Angeles LAX-San Francisco SFO

Boarding1Now/Getty Images/iStockphoto#1 San Francisco SFO- Los Angeles LAXJeff Chiu/AP#2 Vancouver YVR-Toronto YYZTOM RYAN/TOURISM BC#2 Toronto YYZ – Vancouver YVRFinn O’Hara/Getty Images

#3 New York JFK – Los Angeles LAX

Neale Clark/Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

#3 Los Angeles LAX – New York JFK (rendering of proposed LAX people mover train).

Los Angeles World Airports#4 New York LaGuardia LGA – Chicago O’Hare ORD
Kathy Willens/AP#4 Chicago O’Hare ORD – New York LaGuardia LGAChris McGinnis#5 New York JFK – London HeathrowEducation Images/Education Images/UIG via Getty

#5 London Heathrow – New York JFK (Terminal 2 at LHR pictured)

Chris McGinnis#6 Los Angeles LAX – Seattle-Tacoma SEANick Ut / Associated Press#6 Seattle-Tacoma SEA – Los Angeles LAXTed S. Warren/Associated Press#7 Los Angeles LAX – Chicago O’Hare ORD

#7 Chicago O’Hare – Los Angeles LAX

Chris McGinnis#8 Las Vegas McCarran LAS – Los Angeles LAXDavid Becker/Associated Press#8 Los Angeles LAX – Las Vegas McCarran LASAllen J. Schaben/TNS#9 Montreal YUL – Toronto YYZ handout

#9 Toronto Pearson YYZ – Montreal YUL

#10 Honolulu HNL – Maui OGG (Pictured: Indoor-outdoor corridors at Honolulu)

Chris McGinnis#10 Maui OGG – Honolulu HNL  / Photo by Jeanne Cooper

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In the latest hotel news, San Francisco’s former Rex Hotel has new management, a new look and a new name; Marriott brings its AC brand to Beverly Hills; the former Parker Meridien in Manhattan is now a Hyatt but will change identities again in two years; Hilton adds a Homewood Suites in downtown Austin; and an historic building in downtown Detroit is now home to an Element hotel.

A block and a half from Union Square at 562 Sutter Street, Joie de Vivre’s former Rex Hotel has been transformed and reborn as the Hotel Emblem, operated now by Viceroy Hotels & Resorts. (Viceroy also runs the Zeta, Zelos and Zeppelin hotels in SF.) With 96 guest rooms, the hotel has taken on a Beat Generation theme, from the artwork on its walls to the “Book Butler” with a selection of volumes from City Lights bookstore to the writer’s alcove in the lobby, complete with an old manual typewriter. The hotel offers nightly live jazz, a weekly poetry slam, and Saturday morning yoga sessions. The lobby has a coffee shop/café called Bluestone Lane, and cocktails are served up at the Obscenity Bar & Lounge (both opening later this winter).  Concierge service and valet parking are available, and the hotel is pet-friendly (for a $35 nightly fee). February rates range from $169 to $475 plus a mandatory $25 nightly “urban amenity fee.”

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Marriott’ fast-growing AC Hotels, its European-inspired “lifestyle brand,” has cut the ribbon on its first Los Angeles-area location. The 11-story, 142-room AC Hotel Beverly Hills is at 6399 Wilshire Boulevard, at South La Jolla Avenue. Guest rooms have hardwood floors, big windows and high ceilings, and the hotel’s 11th floor is a “social rooftop” with a wading pool, terrace and the Terrace Bar. On the lobby level, the AC Lounge is a gathering space and tapas bar; the AC Library is for reading or quiet work, and the AC Kitchen provides daily breakfast. The hotel’s fitness facility and store are both open around the clock. The property also offers an electronic assistant called AC the Robot that delivers needed items to guests’ rooms. Marriott Rewards member rates during February start at $273 (for valet parking, the hotel also charges $44 a day).

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Last year, Marriott/Starwood’s Le Parker Meridien on West 56th Street in midtown Manhattan dropped the Meridien name after a legal dispute with Starwood, and became just The Parker New York, affiliated with Leading Hotels of the World. And now the 729-room property has become part of Hyatt, as the Hyatt Parker New York. But wait, there’s more! Last week the hotel was sold to new owners for $420 million. Hyatt will continue to run the property for the new owners, but they have longer-term plans to spend more than $100 million on a complete overhaul of the hotel starting in 2020 (it will remain open during the renovation) after which it will be rebranded in 2021 as a Thompson Hotel. Advance purchase rates during February for World of Hyatt members start at $216 (plus a mandatory $28 nightly “destination fee”).

Looking north over Central Park from the top floor of the Parker Meridien hotel in midtown

Chris McGinnis

The newest entrant in Austin’s fast-growing lodging scene is the 150-unit Homewood Suites by Hilton Austin Downtown, located at 78 East Avenue, half a mile from the Austin Convention Center and a mile from the 6th Street entertainment district. Accommodations are all studio and one-bedroom suites with separate living/sleeping areas and fully equipped kitchens with refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher. Units have two HDTVs, free Wi-Fi and two phones with voicemail. Guests are provided with a free hot breakfast every day, and the hotel has a business center, fitness room, outdoor rooftop swimming pool, and meeting rooms. It also offers an “evening social” for guests Monday through Thursday nights, and has a grocery shopping service. Honors Advance purchase nightly rates in February start at $193 (and self-parking costs $32 a night, valet parking $39).

The 94-year-old Metropolitan Building, near the Opera House in downtown Detroit, sat empty for 40 years before reopening following a $32 million overhaul. The 14-story neo-gothic building is now home to the Element Detroit at the Metropolitan, the first Michigan location for Marriott/Starwood’s extended-stay Element brand. The hotel has 110 rooms, including standard rooms, studios and one-bedroom suites. All of them have a mini-fridge, microwave and sink, and larger ones have dishwashers and two-burner cooktops. The hotel offers free hot breakfasts at the RISE Breakfast Bar and provides evening receptions for guests Monday through Thursday with free wine and beer. The hotel also has a 24-hour fitness center. It will soon open a rooftop lounge called the Monarch Club with cocktails and small plates. Marriott Rewards advance purchase member rates during February start at $217.

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