Salt of the earth: Hawaii’s Grand Wailea resort is a great place for pampering and holiday gift ideas.
By Mark Chesnut
Time is running out to plan the perfect holiday gifts for friends, families and business contacts. So what’s a harried business traveler to do? Happily, hotels have made it increasingly easy to find great gifts without leaving the lobby.
From New York hotels to Los Angeles hotels and Florida vacation hotspots, you’ll find stylishly memorable gift ideas. At the quirky-cool Standard, which operates hotels in Miami, Hollywood, New York City and downtown Los Angeles, choose from an array of art books as well as trendy tech items such as milky-white, retro-chic WeSC headphones custom created for the hotel.
At Kimpton Hotels in cities including San Francisco, New York City and Washington, D.C., pick up handsome passport wallets, zebra-striped bathrobes and even a comfy Good Life Pet Bed, which is take-home proof of the chain’s pet-friendly attitude.
Bath and body products can make good gifts for spouses and other loved ones. The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort in Hawaii, offers the Hawaiian SeaSalt Bath Collection, created by Ala Lani Bath & Body. Or consider an indulgent product from Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which has introduced a new product line, ener.g, made by Kerstin Florian International.
International travel can yield a wealth of interesting destination-specific gifts, such as spa items and clothing from the Spa Izumi and Onsen Hakone at the Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort and Spa, or designer alpaca clothing from Giuliana Testino (sister of famed photographer Mario Testino), sold in the boutique at the The Westin Lima Hotel & Convention Center.
If you hate shopping, consider hotel gift certificates. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, for example, has introduced a new E-Gift Card, available in denominations ranging from $50 to $5,000, that can be sent via e-mail and used for hotel stays, spa treatments and other amenities.
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Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He would gladly accept a gift card from any hotel.
