Hotels ready to pamper – for a price

ROMANCE TO ORDER: Tricia Carter, marketing manager at Hotel Providence, describes the location as “intimate and luxurious,” as well as “naturally very romantic.” The hotel’s Valentine’s Day promotion hopes to capitalize on that aesthetic. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
ROMANCE TO ORDER: Tricia Carter, marketing manager at Hotel Providence, describes the location as “intimate and luxurious,” as well as “naturally very romantic.” The hotel’s Valentine’s Day promotion hopes to capitalize on that aesthetic. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

If you want to pamper someone special this Valentine’s Day season, you might consider a weekend in Newport, where one hotel has turned the evening bath into something straight out of a romance novel.
At The Chanler at Cliff Walk, the staff will fill your Jacuzzi, put a bottle of wine and glasses near the tub, light candles and sprinkle rose petals throughout the room. “We call it bath butler service,” said Christine Sullivan, general manager of the boutique hotel. “It’s part of our two-night romance getaway package that’s available all month. The price is $345 to $895, depending on the room, and that also includes a special dinner in our restaurant, breakfast both mornings and a visit to one of Newport’s spectacular mansions.”
The Chanler is just one of the many Rhode Island hotels that expect to see an upward business spike this month by offering special deals designed to deliver romance. A typical package will include dinner at a top restaurant (either in the hotel or nearby), champagne and gourmet chocolate treats in the room, luxury bath products and a late check-out time. The strategy is working, as many hotels began to see reservations jump a month ago, especially for the weekend that follows Feb. 14.
“We’re offering the package both weekends, before Valentine’s and after, and we’re very close to selling out both,” said Elaine Murphy, director of sales at The Hampton Inn and Suites Providence Downtown. “It’s easy to see why. Providence is a great city. You can take in a show or just explore the streets. There are many night spots and restaurants around the hotel. Everything is very close.”
The big attraction around Valentine’s Day is indulgence, pampering, and a chance to focus your attention on your companion – and that’s what every hotel getaway aims to provide.
Hotel Providence, for example, offers a package it’s calling “The Hopeless Romantic.” It includes champagne and oysters (or fruit and cheese if you choose) served in the room, breakfast for two, dinner for two, valet parking, and something the hotel calls “a rose-petal turndown,” which means the staff prepares the room with soft music, soft lighting and petals spread from the door to the bed. In the hotel restaurant, guests will have some special choices – pomegranate salad, pork osso bucco, salmon roulade and espresso crème brulee, to list a few. “Our hotel is naturally very romantic,” said Tricia Carter, the Hotel Providence’s marketing manager. “We’re very intimate and luxurious, which is why we have a lot of marriage proposals here.”
Near Valentine’s Day season, few guests are looking for outside attractions, and that allows hotels to target customers from Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut. “This time of year, we have a drive market,” said Cassandra Earle, regional marketing manager at the Hyatt Regency Newport, where almost every room offers a romantic view of the sea. “It gives us a chance to showcase our hotel, so it’s a great way to attract repeat customers.”
Valentine’s season is a time when hotels cater to repeat customers, because people want to return to places that have provided them with happy memories. First-timers who leave with fond recollections will likely be back, too. “Many brides and grooms have been married here,” said Pamela Baldwin, director of sales and marketing at the Providence Biltmore. “They like to come back to celebrate special events.”
The same is true at the Castle Hill Inn, a historic Newport mansion turned hotel. “At the risk of sounding hackneyed, there’s love in the air here,” said Brian Young, general manager. “There’s probably not a day goes by when I’m not writing notes to some of our guests, saying congratulations on your anniversary or your proposal.”
For that reason, marketing efforts are generally low budget and low key, with advertising largely confined to the Internet. “We do mostly online promotion,” explained Jose Estrompa, general manager at the Radisson Providence Airport Hotel in Warwick. “We advertise on our website, and we use Constant Contact, a marketing company, to do some e-blasting to our guests.”
Getaway packages range from affordable to extravagant. For those on a budget, the Radisson in Warwick’s Valentine’s package includes one night in a suite equipped with a whirlpool bath, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries in the room, late checkout, and a $50 gift certificate for the dining room. The price: $150.
“It’s a way to build loyalty,” Estrompa said. “When the price is affordable, and people see all that you offer – the room and the restaurant are excellent – they’re hooked.”
For those ready to spend for a special indulgence, there’s the Ocean House, a remodeled, turn-of-the-century hotel in the Westerly village of Watch Hill. Its package – available the weekend before Valentine’s Day – includes two nights deluxe accommodations, a bottle of champagne on arrival, a Sunday jazz brunch and a special Valentine’s dinner, with singers and musicians performing love songs. Prices start at $1,150, depending on accommodations. A sister hotel, The Weekapaug Inn, also in Westerly, offers a similar package starting at a lower price, approximately $600. The inn is a historic property that recently reopened after a $20 million renovation.
Castle Hill Inn also targets those seeking extra luxuries. The price: from $984 to $1,617 for the largest and most luxurious suites, tax and gratuities included.
“Our Valentine’s package is for two nights, available from [Feb. 13-17],” said Young. “It includes champagne, fresh flowers every day, a daily gourmet breakfast – in the restaurant or in your room – afternoon tea, and for one evening, a five-course dinner for two. We work very closely with Farmaesthetics in Portsmouth, a provider of organic skin and hair care products. They provide all the amenities in our rooms. … The Valentine’s package includes one of their special products, a body scrub they call Hot Toddy for the Body.”
Those too busy to get away on the weekends closest to Valentine’s Day should know that most hotels offer romance packages year-round, and seasonal packages as well. At the Biltmore in Providence, for example, many couples take advantage of another weekend special, the “Skate and Stay Getaway.” The $179 package includes a night’s stay, admission to the skating rink at nearby Kennedy Plaza, skate rental, and a $20 gift certificate for the hotel’s Starbucks café, where you can warm up with hot chocolate in front of a crackling fireplace.
Some in the hospitality business are predicting the bump could be bigger this year, because Feb. 18 is Presidents Day, a Monday holiday. People will be tempted to skip work Friday for an extra-long weekend.
And Newport will likely be especially busy in mid-February, as Feb. 15 is the kickoff to the city’s 10-day Winter Festival. “Friday night there will be fireworks over the harbor, and you’ll be able to watch them from our hotel,” said Debbie Cardi-Neves, director of sales and marketing at The Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina. •

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