An Independent HelmsBriscoe Associate | 636-678-7661 | jstone@helmsbriscoe.com

Jill Stone

Your Meeting Matchmaker Fairy Godmother

Meeting Planner “Easter Egg” Hunt

in: Travel and Hospitality

Unique Hotels

In a few days we will celebrate Easter with family and friends. If you have kids in the family, an Easter Egg Hunt will surely be added to the mix. It’s so fun to watch the kids find their eggs and then later discover candy, goodies and maybe even some cash inside. You may not be invited to hunt Easter Eggs, but I would like to invite you on a hunt of sorts.

Ready your baskets, we’re going to find some interesting items at these unique hotels!

  • The Suitcase House Hotel, located near China’s Great Wall, literally has hidden rooms. This innovative hotel allows for one space to become a different space, simply by moving elements about. The hotel was designed by Architect Gary Chung, who was inspired after converting his own tiny Hong Kong apartment into a 20-room masterpiece, see how he does it!
  • At the Wynn Las Vegas you’ll find a bit of Paris. Installed at the Terrace Point Café entrance is a 1918 wood-and-glass chandelier, designed by none other than Gustav Eiffel, also known for designing a little piece of architecture known as the Eiffel Tower.
  • Not to be outdone by the Wynn, the Bellagio has a blown-glass “Fiori di Como” chandelier in its lobby. The fixture is comprised of 2,000 glass flowers and weighs a mere 40,000 pounds. The chandelier was designed by famed glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.
  • You can tantalize your taste buds with a find from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Each season more than 50,000 Grand Pecan Balls are served. This popular dessert is a pecan-crusted vanilla ice cream floating in hot fudge. Luckily, you just need to go to the restaurant to hunt one of these down.
  • The Waldorf-Astoria in New York has a secret train platform known as Track 61. It’s hidden beneath the hotel and even has a train car, albeit a bit rusty, sitting upon it. The train was used in the 1940s to privately deliver President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the hotel.
  • It may sound fishy, but the Fontainebleau in Miami has eight 200-gallon tanks. No, it’s not on display as an aquarium for the guests to enjoy visually, instead is for the guests to enjoy tastefully in the restaurant, which serves fresh fish, crabs, oysters and lobster.
  • You can catch a movie on the television system of Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. But you will not be able to do so in their now hidden balcony complete with antique movie projectors. This space has been concealed behind the ballroom ceiling, which was lowered in the mid-20th
  • If you are ever at the Palazzo in Vegas and cannot seem to hunt down a drink, just hit the slots. You can order a drink through the Drink2U service directly through the machine.

Have a Happy Easter Meeting Planners! Also, if you need some help hunting down one of many great properties or unique hotels for your next meeting, do think of me. Thank you!

More from Jill: