luxury hotels - American Meetings, Inc.

A Guide To The Best Hotels In San Francisco

by zwika_hb | Sep 28, 2021 | Podcasts

DE 48 | Best Hotels In San Francisco

We dream of visiting wonderful places throughout our existence, and San Francisco is one of those cities in California that interests us. Aside from merely visiting to witness its beauty, many people travel there for business, meetings, and events. Andy McNeill and Todd Bludworth give a guide to the best hotels in San Francisco. Discover Fairmont Hotel, Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, and the Palace Hotel. Tune in to this episode to know what makes these hotels the best places for meeting destinations!

Andy McNeill and Todd Bludworth are travel and hospitality entrepreneurs and owners of the global meetings organization, American Meetings, Inc. From sourcing hotels to corporate event management around the world, their team selects corporate event venues and meeting planners for a wide array of enterprise business clients, providing ideas for convention themes and strategies for running global meetings and events. Learn more at www.americanmeetings.com.

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A Guide To The Best Hotels In San Francisco

If you have events or meetings in a new city, the first thing you will have to do is a plan for the hotel you’ll be staying in. This episode is the ultimate guide to the most wonderful hotels to stay in San Francisco. Tune in as Andy McNeill and Todd Bludworth describe each top hotel choices in detail.

Fairmont Hotel

The Fairmont Hotel which offers beautiful views of the city and the bay. It is known for its collection of luxurious, one-of-a-kind suites, and as the site of historic firsts and global events.

Hotel Highlights:

Located at the bottom of the Fairmont Hotel, the world-famous Tonga Room is one of the fancier tiki bars within San Francisco that also has a restaurant within it that lets people sit down and eat. Anthony Bourdain called the Tonga Room the greatest place in the history of the world, which is a very big accolade.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Located near Union Square, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco offers many attractions just outside their doors. Their central location is the perfect home base for arts, culture, and sightseeing.

Hotel Highlights:

Indulge in a private wine tasting at The JCB Tasting Lounge located inside the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco that offers tastings of rare and exclusive vintages daily.

St. Regis San Francisco

St. Regis San Francisco is perfect for art enthusiasts. It is housed in the Williams Building, which is home to Museum of the African Diaspora.

Hotel Highlights:

The hotel is greatly known for its outstanding butler service. You could simply request anything you want and their staff is more than happy to serve you.

Four Seasons Hotel

Completed in January 2001, the tower was the first skyscraper of the 21st century to be completed in the city. They offer 44,000 square feet of meeting space and event space across 24 different rooms. If you want to give your guests a great experience, the corner room on the 14^th floor gives you the best view of the city.

Hotel Highlights:

Guests get complimentary access to the Equinox, a gender-diverse health center. It has a basketball court and an indoor pool as well, so you can get your game on.

The Palace Hotel

The Palace Hotel stands on one of the state’s oldest buildings, which opened in 1875 as San Francisco’s first premier luxury hotel. It’s filled with history as it’s welcomed such notable guests like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Bill Clinton. History tours are very great to organize here. Aside from that, they offer 44,000 square feet of meeting space and event space across 24 different rooms, which is a beautiful venue for events.

Hotel Highlights:

A nice blend of historic and modern charm, the Palace Hotel showcases two famous restaurants, with a distinctive setting for any occasion. You can also take a leisurely dip in the heated, indoor pool and enjoy the sky-lit ceiling.

See more of Andy and Todd’s many escapade reviews at www.destination-everywhere.com.

6 Destinations For A Company Incentive Trip

by zwika_hb | Jul 6, 2021 | Podcasts

Choosing destinations for incentive trips are our specialty. From wine tours in Napa Valley, to hiking Machu Picchu, here is our guide to the top incentive travel destinations. Join in as we rave about six wonderful destinations you’d want to consider for your next company incentive trip. The key to having a successful company trip is proper planning to ensure comfortable accommodations for your members. Don’t miss out on these must-visit destinations!

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6 Destinations For A Company Incentive Trip

Planning a company incentive trip brings up a wide array of destination options. You’ll want to ensure your group has an established list of activities and finds comfort in their accommodations. When it comes to coming up with destination options, the sky is literally the limit. Your group could zipline through the Costa Rican rainforest, sip Hardy Cabernet in California’s wine country, or do anything in between.

We’ve put together a list of destinations that will inspire all types of travelers. Here are top six destinations for a company incentive trip you can try out.

1. Aspen, Colorado

Aspen is located in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. It’s best known as a year-round ski resort destination for outdoor recreation. If your team loves outdoor recreational sports, you should definitely check out Aspen!

Places You Can Visit

Maroon Bells
Snowmass
Glenwood Springs
Silver Queen of Gondola

Things You Can Do

Skiing
Hiking
Ski tube snowmobile during winter
Zip Line
Rope Courses during summer

2. Napa Sonoma Region In California

Since Napa County is found north of San Francisco, you can easily ride across the Golden Gate Bridge going there. The Napa Valley is known to be the “wine region” because of the hundreds of hillside vineyards you’ll encounter along the way.

Places You Can Visit

Opus One Winery
Viansa Sonoma Winery Tours and Activities
Castello di Amorosa Tours and Activities
Opus One Winery
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Tours and Activities

Things You Can Do

Ride on hot air balloons
Private wine tasting

3. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a breathtaking country of rainforests located in Central America. It contains over 5% of the world’s biodiversity. If you’re into ecotourism, you should definitely check out Costa Rica! Also, did you know that it’s known as one of the happiest countries in the world?

Places You Can Visit

Monteverde and the Cloud Forests
Tortuguero
Arenal Volcano
Manuel Antonio National Park
Mal Pais and Santa Teresa

Things You Can Do

Cabby tours
Rainforest surf lessons on the Pacific or the Atlantic
Yoga Retreat
Waterfall rappelling
Zip line
Rafting tours
Visit a coffee plantation

4. The Bahamas

The Bahamas is a chain of islands within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic. We’ll focus more on the properties around Paradise Island.

Places You Can Visit

Vacation Resort Atlantis Paradise Island.
Cove Luxury Bahamas Resort
Baha Mar Resort Complex
Harbor Island
Abaco Beach Resort
The Capital City Nassau

Things You Can Do

Swim with dolphins in the Cove
Island hopping

5. Ireland

Ireland is a country in Western Europe that holds many unique experiences for you. If you want to be able to take folks to Europe without having to spend a whole lot of time getting there, Ireland is a great choice.

This country is also known as the “Emerald Isle” and “The Land of Saints and Scholars”. It’s famous for being the home to more Nobel Prize winners for literature than any other place in the world.

Places You Can Visit

Dublin (UNESCO City of Literature in 2010)
Shannon
Castles across the country

Things You Can Do

Pub crawls in Dublin
Golf

6. South America

South America is a continent of the superlatives. It houses the longest mountain range in the world (Andes), the greatest biodiversity (Amazon rainforest), driest non-polar desert (Atacama Desert), and more!

Places You Can Visit

Lima
Cuzco
Machu Picchu (with a sanctuary resort at the top)

Things You Can Do

Hiking
See Inca culture
Taste southern American food

That concludes this episode for top incentive destinations. To learn more about Andy McNeill & Todd Bludworth’s travels visit https://www.destination-everywhere.com/ Don’t forget to like and subscribe. Until next time and safe travels!

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New Delhi and Northern India

by zwika_hb | Apr 7, 2021 | Podcasts

Looking forward to New Delhi and Northern India as exciting destinations for future meeting adventures, our guests today will provide the ultimate India travel guide from the “Yoga Capital of the World “to the Taj Mahal. Join us in our discussion with Anupam Dasgupta to highlight the exquisite cuisine and elegant facilities of luxury hotels in New Delhi as the General Manager of The Leela Palace. We also delve into the spirituality of the entire country, with author John Sambalino sharing his own yoga journey across India. In this episode, we’ll enumerate the most interesting destinations in New Delhi that truly encapsulate the historic beauty of the city, as well as its unique character when it comes to food, shopping, and adventure.

Andy McNeill and Todd Bludworth are travel and hospitality entrepreneurs and owners of the global meetings organization, American Meetings, Inc. From sourcing hotels in New Delhi to corporate event management in New Delhi, their team sources corporate event venues and have a team of corporate meeting planners in New Delhi for their clients. They provide ideas for convention themes and how to run global meetings and events in New Delhi and around the world. For more information go to www.americanmeetings.com.

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New Delhi

Local GM Anupam Dasgupta Of The Leela Palace Talks Luxury Hotels In New Delhi, And Author John Sambalino Shares Spiritual Journey In India

At the heart of India lies the historic city of New Delhi. In 10 years, it will celebrate its centennial as the country’s capital, founded as a walled city in 1939. But if there’s one thing to know about India is that the entire nation is divided into various regions or states, making each area completely different from the next. Andy McNeill and Todd Bludworth explore this mesmerizing place deep in Asia, delving into its hospitality, cuisine, and spirituality.

Anupam Dasgupta, General Manager of The Leela Palace

A gem-encrusted at New Delhi, The Leela Palace is a five-star property and voted as the second-best city hotel in entire Asia. It consists of 194 deluxe rooms, 18 luxury suites, 42 royal club rooms with their own butler, and a rooftop infinity pool with rose-scented towels. For its General Manager Anupam Dasgupta, it is a heaven anyone who travels in luxury can ask for.

The Leela Palace’s Three Signature Restaurants

Jamavar Restaurant, which puts together various kinds of cuisines from all over India in one single menu, since their food changes every hundred kilometers.
Megu, the only restaurant in New Delhi that serves authentic Japanese food.
Le Cirque, a 6300 square feet restaurant that offers fantastic Italian food with a French sensibility.

At the hotel’s lounge, they serve drinks India is most famous for: teas and coffees. As a former colony of the British Empire, they have turned these beverages into their very own.

Anupam recommends travelers to plan everything ahead of their trip since tourist destinations can get extremely busy at certain times. Nevertheless, The Leela Palace provides a 25-30 minute drive to the city’s famous locations.

Learn more about The Leela Palace at https://www.theleela.com/.

Andy and Todd’s Bucket List

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh
Chandni Chowk, translated into Moonlight Street, a 300-year old market
Moonlight Tour at the Taj Mahal
Holi, India’s festival of color
Diwali, a five-day festival of lights in October or November
Red Fort, the main residence of moguls and emperors
The Maharajas’ Express, India’s only luxury train that travels across the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur
Bukhara Restaurant
Garden of Five Senses
The Kingdom of Dreams, New Delhi’s most famous Bollywood theater

John Sambalino, Author of Is God in That Bottle Cap?: A Search for Truth

With John Sambalino always having that feeling of being trapped in a body and a system that’s not entirely right, he went on to seek enlightenment in life. He found the answer in yoga, particularly in spirituality within India.

His experience at Rishikesh, the world’s yoga capital, opened his eyes to the truth of mindfulness, mainly through Yoga Ashrams. This personal journey taught him that meditation could eliminate more stress than anything that you could do.

Rapid Fire Questions With John Sambalino

Have you ever completed anything from your personal bucket list? Meditating in a cave in India and hiking in the Himalayas.
If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? I would live in Hawaii because I’m a surfer, and there are waves there and good weather.
When packing for a trip, what is something you’d bring that may surprise others? Tiny rolls of toilet paper. I also take coloring books and crayons that I give away to kids.

Through his book, he provides insights about the power of meditation and learning everything that’s going around you besides what your senses are picking up.

Discover more about John Sambalino and his book at https://www.isgodinthatbottlecap.com/.

About Anupam Dasgupta

DE 30 | New Delhi Anupam Dasgupta has over 25 years of extensive hospitality experience, having worked with leading hotels. He loves to read classical and modern literature and has a passion for music both Jazz and Hindustani classical. He loves to play the guitar.

Anupam also has an interest in analyzing different businesses and learning about various industries. Lastly, talent development and mentoring people is one of his key areas of interest.

About John Sambalino

DE 30 | New Delhi John D. Sambalino is the author of Is God in That Bottle Cap. He received his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida.

Since early childhood, he has had the sense that the world that surrounds us is not as real as it appears and that there must be some unknown, hidden truth underlying all that we perceive. He has dedicated his life to uncovering this hidden reality, and in addition to having read over 300 books on spirituality, religion, and martial arts, he has meditated two to three hours a day, every day, for over forty years, practiced yoga and tai chi for over forty years, and qigong for over twenty years.

Sambalino is a venture capitalist involved in real estate, solar energy, and 3D technology. He has executive produced three movies, including The Four-Faced Liar which won the 2010 HBO Audience Award For Best First Feature Film. Sambalino is an avid stand-up paddleboard surfer and he lives with his wife, Niki, in Southern New Jersey.

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