Celebrity Travel News 11.1.07

Love must be in the air, because the biggest news in celebrity travel this week involves two new rumored Hollywood couples. Of course, they might not be couples anymore by the time you finish reading this, but we won’t worry about that.

Hot and Heavy in Hollywood

First, the semi-palatable coupling: The New York Daily News reports that Jessica Simpson and Owen Wilson were spotted dining at the Huntley Hotel Santa Monica on Sunday evening. Perhaps they were chatting about their common origins – both blondes hail from Texas. After the pair dined at Penthouse, the hotel’s slick restaurant from Executive Chef Michael Reidt, they didn’t stay to check out the hotel’s luxurious suites designed by Thomas Schoos, but instead retired to Wilson’s Malibu home.

Grossed Out at the Gramercy

In EW GROSS news, gajillionaire Ashley Olsen reportedly engaged in a snog-fest of Tour de France proportions with Lance Armstrong Monday night at the Gramercy Park Hotel’s Rose Bar. Hmm, rob the cradle much? Of course, considering Olsen’s pasts with actor Jared Leto and club owner Scott Sartiano, we know she’s had her fair share of experience with older men. But still, who makes out in the middle of a nice hotel bar? Something about this Hollywood coupling made us throw up in our mouths a little bit.

Even More Celebrity Makeout News

Because we can’t get enough sordid stories about celebrities making out with people who not their spouses in upscale hotels, we’d like you to know that, according to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, singer Pink made out with a female friend at the Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel last week.

Britney’s Topless Spa Day

Perez Hilton also reports that Britney Spears was spotted wandering around the locker room of the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills wearing only her bikini bottoms. But when someone asked her where the hotel’s pool happened to be, she had no idea whether there was even a pool on the premises (there is; it’s on the rooftop terrace).

Saving the Sahara

Good news for Vegas fans. Philippe Starck has reportedly been tapped by SBE Entertainment Group (the folks behind star-studded L.A. nightclubs Hyde and Area, among other hotspots) to turn the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas into a hip, happening place instead of a destination for $1 blackjack tables.

Drop-Kicking the Met

If you’re heading to London and want to be star struck, then you’d do well to pass on a room at the Metropolitan London, reports Saska Graville in the Sydney Morning Herald. You might spot stars like Daniel Craig or Elle Mcpherson at the hotel restaurant Nobu – where both were seen recently – but, despite the hotel’s longstanding reputation as a favorite among celebrities, reporter Graville complains that her accommodations fell short of the rock star experience she expected and, instead, looked more like a room display from IKEA.

Instead of the Metropolitan London, Graville suggests the Haymarket Hotel and Ian Schrager’s St. Martin’ Lane Hotel (and its members-only nightclub Bungalow 8) as the best places to both see the starts and get treated like them (as long as you’re on the list, of course).

Elsewhere

Angelina Jolie was snapped at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday during the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 18th Annual Courage in Journalism Awards.

Kate Moss was taped leaving John F. Kennedy International airport on Monday. You can watch the riveting footage via this Splash News video.

Matt Damon needed a little extra help getting through security at Los Angeles International Airport this week. Hey, we know it can be confusing:

Perez Hilton offered up his travel tips to MSNBC in this interview. Spoiler: they aren’t that good. For example, he recommends signing up for a mileage program. Thanks. Got it.

Paris Hilton reportedly had to stay in – gasp – a Hyatt during a recent visit to Moscow, as there were no Hilton properties in the area. In town for a fashion show, Hilton – we assume since there’s only one Hyatt in the city – laid her bleached blond, newly reformed and compassionate head upon the pillows at the Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow.

Last and pretty much least, we hear that the boys of CW show Gossip Girls hit the Hotel Gansevoort, though apparently they did more yoga than partying.

And there you have it, folks. More crucial information from the wide world of celebrity travel.

Et Voila! Celeb News For 10.11.07

Branson Swan Dives

On Wednesday evening, Sir Richard Branson celebrated Virgin America’s inaugural flights to Las Vegas by free-falling 40 stories – harnessed to a safety wire of course. But during the fall, a gust of wind slapped the daredevil billionaire into the side of the Palms Casino Resort. Branson emerged alive, but not without some scrapes and bruises.

Gee, I can’t imagine any better way to promote your new airline than crashing into solid objects at breakneck speeds.

On the upside, Branson did apparently scatter free Virgin America tickets as he fell, though none have been claimed. So be on the lookout in you’re in Vegas this weekend.

As part of the ongoing Virgin America festivities this week, Branson threw quite a shindig at the Wynn Las Vegas nightclub TRYST, where celebs like newlyweds (ew!) Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon (double ew!), Carmen Elektra and The Hills star Lauren Conrad showed up to take part.

Lion Sighting

Earlier this week, news broke that hot-ay environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio (could he be contributing to global warming with his hotness? I think the answer is yes) is planning a eco-friendly Caribbean hotel in conjunction with Four Seasons Resorts.

In Deep Scheetz

All we know is, the news surrounding the death of a 24-year-old Colorado resident in the Las Vegas condo of none other than former Morgans Hotel Group CEO Ed Scheetz is ultra, ultra shady and sad. Autopsy reports showed that Michelle Hatchel died on Aug. 30th from an overdose of cocaine and oxycontin, and the death was initially pegged as a suicide. Last month, Scheetz resigned from his post as CEO “for personal reasons.” Strangely, no police report was ever filed after the death, nor any official police investigation launched into the matter. And now Hatchel’s family is crying foul over the incident and demanding answers about the last hours of Hatchel’s life. Family members claim the young woman called a friend in the middle of the night preceding her death and told them she was afraid and that Scheetz was “being mean.”

And now that Hatchel’s missing cell phone has been “recovered,” text messages she sent the night before she died are adding fuel to the fire. As the New York Post reports, Hatchel wrote, “I can’t believe how much coke he does, all the time, all day long. He keeps leaving me to talk to a girl he dated.”

First reported by ABC News (Suicide? Murder? Murky Death in Vegas) Scheetz’s call to the Las Vegas police has also been circulating around the Internet. You can find a link to it in the ABC article. Trust us, it doesn’t make the guy sound like someone you’d want your daughter dating.

Charlotte’s Web

Nicole Richie and fetus daddy Joel Madden were snapped arriving at Los Angeles International Airport and then on Thursday near the Sydney Intercontinental, where they are reportedly staying during Good Charlotte’s concerts there this weekend. While other bloggers were buzzing about Richie’s tan line, we’re more interested in the hotel.

Daddy Dearest?

Angelina Jolie and estranged, scary-looking father also known as actor Jon Voight were placed at the same hotel earlier this week, which we recently discovered is the Waldorf Astoria, according to bloggers. But while the paps are dying for the father and daughter to make amends, the incident appears to be mere coincidence and not evidence of an impending reconciliation between the two.

Minor Leagues

At this point, we delve into the tedium of celebrity sightings free of freak accidents, cocaine overdoses, family feuds, fashion faux pas and major business transactions.

We read that a pregnant Christina Aguilera exited the Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills with Jordan Bratman this week. Later, she reportedly went shopping for a stroller.

A bunch of people - including Bill Pullman and Ed Koch - were at Manhattan’s Bowery Hotel earlier this week for a Cinema Society premiere party. And apparently, they all think Eva Mendes is hot.

And Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were spotted having a drink together at the Beverly Hills Hotel Bar Nineteen 12. They talked to David Beckham. They looked happy. Fascinating.

And with that, we bid you adieu….

Book a hotel stay of three or more nights through Travelocity this fall, enter the promo code HOTELSALE at checkout, pay with your Mastercard and you’ll save $50 on the total cost of your stay. The offers is good for more than 1,000 hotels, including trusty favorites like the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and Joie de Vivre’s Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles.

Travelocity $50 Off with Mastercard Promo

Crushed Hooters

It seems staying in a Hooters-themed inn isn’t for everyone. Or really, for much of anyone at all. After pouring $1 million into its Lakeland, FL inn back in 2002, the owl-loving restaurant chain demolished the Hooters Inn Motel over the weekend. But fear not, ye traveling fans of buffalo wings and hot pants, the adjacent Hooters Restaurant along Interstate 4-U.S. 98 remains. Phew.

Emeril Does Vegas… Again

Come January 2008, celeb chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse will open a Table 10 restaurant at The Palazzo, which is currently being built by the Las Vegas Sands Corp next to the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino. The new dining destination will be Lagasse’s third in Sin City.

Up, Up in the Air

Last week, Frontier Airlines began the first non-stop service between Denver and Sioux City today, something we are sure plenty of traveling Iowans will consider a pretty Sioux-weet development.

Southwest Plays Fashion Police Again

This time, the airline objected not to a woman’s skimpy outfit, but to a fishing enthusiast’s t-shirt emblazoned with the phrase, “Master Baiter.” The passenger changed his t-shirt, but not before protesting that the airline’s request infringed upon his First Amendment right to free speech. Of course, then he sat down and shut up so he could make it home on time. In other news, Southwest officially has the sense of humor of a British governess. From the 1800’s.

Sustainable Tourism Made Simple

Travelers these days are always looking for ways to “do good,” whether it be buying carbon offsets or heading on volunteer vacations. But there’s a much simpler and more concrete way to do good the next time you head to the airport: actually tip your skycap. Most baggage handlers who perform curbside check-in make the majority of their money in tips. Fork over a buck or two per bag. Consider it good travel karma.

In the Pink

As the Informed Traveler blog notes, the Kor Hotels group, which operates posh spots like the Viceroy Santa Monica, is offering special Think Pink rates, special pink cocktails and pinked-themed gifts at its hotels this month in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At the aforementioned Viceroy Santa Monica, the Think Pink package for a Saturday night in October starts at $379/night and includes overnight accommodations, pink velvet martinis for two and a fleece picnic throw (also known as a tiny blanket). Ten percent of the proceeds from your stay will benefit the UCLA Breast Cancer Center.

The latest exploits of Britney Spears kind of remind me of Thelma & Louise, only with one woman and better hotels. This week alone, the tabloid trainwreck has been spotted checking into the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel and the Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel, where she reportedly bunked in for the evening only to venture out around 2am with an unidentified man driving a white Lamborghini. All this for a girl who lives in the Hollywood Hills. Gossip-mongers at TMZ.com have posted plenty of comments pegging Brit’s hotel hopping as an ongoing, highly contrived photo op, but I’m betting she’s just in it for the room service.

In Vegas tonight? Page Six reports that Nicky Hilton will be celebrating her first quarter century tonight at the Luxor Hotel and Casino’s over-the-top club LAX. Oh, what a world it would be if we could all get paid megabucks to show up for our own birthday parties.

In other celebrity travel news this week, the lovely Kate Beckinsale got snapped leaving the Ritz-Carlton New York only to get frisked at the airport later. Singer Faith Hill checked out of a Ritz Carlton somewhere, Cameron Diaz and Bradley Cooper reportedly dined at Morgans Hotel and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson reportedly plans to open a hotel and restaurant named Rick’s in the raging metropolis of Rockford, Illinois. Blond bombshell Gwen Stefani smiled for the lenses when she left the 5-star Claridge’s Hotel in London last week with son Kingston in tow.

Rapper 50 Cent, whose head seems to be growing ever-bigger by the second, has wowed the staff at Croatia’s Antunovic Hotel with requests for Skippy peanut butter (which I am sure is readily available in Croatia), Norwegian salmon, six flavors of soy milk, exotic scents for his jacuzzi and unlimited quantities of Hennessy and Dom Perignon for his room. As an aside, we have to wonder how celebrities can drink so darned much Champagne. Don’t they also get headaches from the French bubbly? Or is that something that only happens to those of us drinking $15 Korbel? But before you wrinkle your nose at 50’s bevy of requirements, you should know that he also requested that everything brought into his room come from 100 percent recyclable materials. He even bans paper products from backstage catering at his concerts, reports new site Javno. Aww, we love an environmental gangsta.

Looking ahead, in just two weeks the Hotel Palomar Dallas will welcome a star-studded list of guests for Dallas International Fashion Week 2007. Be prepared to spot celebrity designers like Alvin Valley, Nicole Miller and Jamie Pressly (yes, she still has a clothing line) who’ll be in town for the four-day event.

While the rest of the world (okay, just a large portion of it) is waiting to see whether OJ Simpson will be formally charged for armed robbery today, we’re thinking about the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, the off-Strip Las Vegas hotel where the whole commando episode took place last Thursday. The burning question on everyone’s minds should not be, is OJ guilty (’cause you should probably know the answer to that one already), but did the former football star confront his memorabilia-selling adversaries in a newly renovated Tower Hotel Room in the property’s 21-story tower or in one of the 430 Value Courtyard Rooms in the hotel’s budget-minded garden courtyard wing? In both rooms, you’ll find basic amenities (hairdryer, coffeemaker, etc), as well as both wired and wireless high-speed Internet access. But what usually puts a twinkle in guests’ eyes are the low rates, which start as low as $39/night.

Fly Frontier? Then you may want to snag some cheap tickets before Thursday through the airline’s current nationwide sale. Here are a few of the routes and fares offered (all are one-way):

Baton Rouge - San Francisco $149

New York - Portland $149

Denver - Vancouver $129

Las Vegas - Memphis $99

Sale ends Sept. 14th. A 10-day advance purchase is required. Search for off-peak days (Tue, Wed, Sat) to get these fares.

For an up close and personal look at the Palms Casino Resort’s most lavish suites, DVR the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 9 at 9pm ET. Considering the $25,000-a-night price tag on the Hardwood Suite, this may be the only chance you have to see the fabled Las Vegas fantasy suite in party mode. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland will perform from the suite during the show. Or you can just look at the pictures in the story linked below.

Vegas, George Clooney-Style: Inside The Palms’ Fantasy Suites

American Airlines fans who live in New York have reason to be pleased today. The airline has officially launched a JFK to Las Vegas route (which it celebrated by giving out steak sandwiches to passengers, go figure). There’s only one daily flight (depart JFK 4:30pm, arrive Las Vegas 7:05pm; depart Las Vegas 7:35am, arrive JFK 3:25pm). The aircraft flying the route is a Boeing 757.

Virgin America is once again trying to woo new customers (not that it needs much help) with new low fares for travel through Dec. 13, 2007 (blackout dates apply). Book by Sept. 6 for $44 San Francisco to Las Vegas fares, $119 San Francisco or Los Angeles to Washington DC fares and $129 fares from Los Angeles or San Francisco and JFK International.