While rumors are whirling that Cape Town hotels are booked solid for the World Cup, we’ve received word that Cape Town’s Radisson Blu Waterfront, a chic Beach Road resort with award-winning seaside bar, has available rooms in June and July – that’s prime game time.

The World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event after the Olympic Games takes place this June 11 through July 11 (91 days away and counting); it’s also the first time an African country will host the soccer tournament. The Radisson Blu Waterfront is situated only about a mile from Greenpoint Stadium, one of two semi-final venues. All rooms have a nautical theme and sea or Table Mountain views. There’s a small infinity-edge, ocean-side pool, and Tobago’s, the hotel’s restaurant and bar, has a great, big terrace which has made it a hotspot for locals and tourists alike.

Granted, rates during this period have gone through the roof. Nightly rates at the Radisson Blu go for, ahem, $835/night (up from the usual $350/night) but inflated prices span across South Africa. At least here you get stunning views and free Wi-Fi and Nespresso machines . . . if that helps you rationalize it. South African Airways also still has availability on its direct flights from New York and Washington D.C.

For more info, see our Cape Town travel guide.

Rooms are already scarce in the bona fide “winter wonderland” of Whistler – and come February, when athletes and spectators pile onto the slopes for the 2010 Winter Olympics, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a place to stay that’s worth the inflated peak-season price. Well, some good news here: The upscale Fairmont Chateau Whistler has a block of rooms available for prime Olympic and Paralympic dates (February 11–28), and while rates start from a whopping $899 CAD ($865 USD) per room per night (note that rates will drop about 40 percent post games), you’ll be bedding down in luxury and witnessing sports history in the making. The ski-in/ski-out Fairmont Chateau Whistler is located at the base of Blackcomb Mountain and features 550 rooms with spectacular mountain views or village views, a spa, arcade, and heated pools. Available accommodations include Fairmont, Deluxe and Deluxe Slopeside rooms, Suites and Fairmont Gold rooms. A 3-night minimum stay is required. Call 800-606-8244 or visit fairmont.com/whistler to book.

Read more on Whistler and the upcomong Olympics in our Top 10 Ski Resorts for Nonskiers.

Hey movie buffs! We’ve got the scoop, hot from across the pond, that London’s celeb-favorite hotel The May Fair is launching an exciting new EatFilm club for guests early next year. Featuring “brunch and a movie,” “dinner and a movie” –type events, the club will showcase flicks from the British Film Institute’s exclusive archives (the largest in the world) in the hotel’s own high-tech private theater (built as part of the historic property’s $140 million revamp in 2006). Host of the London Film Festival and numerous press-only movie premieres (The Queen held its world premiere there in 2006, and rapper 50 Cent’s new movie Dead Man Running made its debut at the hotel last October), the posh screening room boasts 201 seats decked out in Ferrari-leather and is the only private theater in Europe with 3-D capability. The club will also employ nifty audience-interactive remote controls members of the press use to review movies at premieres, and The May Fair is in talks with the BFI to provide exclusive discussion forums with notable members of the Institute after screenings. Read the rest of this post »

Midtown New Yorkers looking for a big-screen TV to catch Sunday or Monday night football games can head to the Madison Club Lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel.The lobby level bar is offering up gameday discounts for football fans (guests and locals alike), including half-price Coors Light and $10 apps like buffalo wings, potato skins, and sliders. The Roosevelt’s clutch location on Madison and 45th sets up a nice stopping off point for businesspeople looking to catch a quarter before catching the train home from Grand Central. And, Madison Club isn’t your average sports bar – the lounge provides a sophisticated (but unstuffy) atmosphere with plenty of mahogany, leather loungers, and stained-glass windows. So even if game day serves up yet another upset (yes, we’re referring to both NY teams. Sigh.) you’ll still be served cold beer and sliders in style.

The Marcel at Gramercy, a chic boutique nestled amidst NYC’s stylish (but relatively straight-laced) Gramercy and Murray Hill hoods (and extensively redesigned last year) today announced it will play host to the world’s first ever “tattoo artist in residence.” On November 15-24, LA-based Mister Cartoon (famous for inking celebs like Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, and Ryan Phillippe) will kick off stint #1 of a temporary two-part stay at The Marcel, offering his body art expertise exclusively to hotel guests, who are granted an automatic line jump in the in-demand inker’s year-long wait list (though not exempt from his normal rates, which start at $3,000 a tat). Read the rest of this post »

We just caught wind of an exclusive party package offered at the W Times Square that will get you into one of the year’s hottest parties. Hosted by Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, The Fray, Gavin DeGraw, Chris Webber, and more, with a special performance by OneRepublic, Esquire Magazine’s Seventh Annual Space Cocktail Party in support of VH1’s Save The Music Foundation will take place in a 9,200-square-foot SoHo penthouse next Thursday, November 5. Tickets are hard to come by but the W Times Square is rolling out the red carpet for 14 lucky guests (there are only 14 event tickets available) if you book their special Rock Star package. The package includes two tickets to Esquire Magazine’s Seventh Annual “Signature Space” Cocktail Party, two cocktails in The Living Room bar to kick off the party, and a tricked-out suite. The going price is $799 (10 percent of the proceeds will benefit VH1’s Save The Music Foundation). What would you pay to party with the music industry’s elite? For more information or to book, call Maya Stanic at 917-543-5902.

Channel your inner Federer and get your tennis game on at New York’s 70 Park Avenue. In honor of this year’s US Open (August 31–September 13), the four-star boutique hotel is inviting guests and locals to participate in some competitive Wii Tennis. Championship match-ups – with the hotel’s own staff – take place nightly from 5.30 to 7pm at the hotel’s Silverleaf Tavern. Game day starts this August 17 and continues through September 12 (every Monday–Saturday). Winners take home prizes like complimentary meals, upgrades, and even free overnight stays. So start practicing your serve and wrangle a win for free stuff. Game, set, match!

Come summer, most New Yorkers are on the prowl for the best rooftop bar, outdoor space, or long-lost friend who miraculously landed an apartment in a building with a pool. This season’s search just got a bit easier, thanks to the W’s latest event series: Summer Sundays. Starting this Sunday, June 7, the W New York (its rooms just underwent a $40 million renovation) will be opening up the terraces of their presidential suites for cocktail parties alfresco.

Here’s the scoop:
Where: W New York; 541 Lexington Avenue at 49th Street.
When: Sundays beginning June 7 (6pm-10pm).
Who: To get invited, just email wny.summersundays@whotels.com and you’ll receive an invite each week which you’ll then RSVP to if you plan on attending. One guest is permitted per person.
The Setting: Wraparound terraces, 17 stories high, feature teak flooring, oversized daybeds, cedar cocoon chairs, chaise lounges, and pool tables.
The Booze: A cash bar is available as well as bottle service.

For other summer in the city ideas, check out our Top 10 Urban Hotel Pools.

Go on, go over to the dark side. Everyone’s doing it this Saturday, March 28, by turning off their lights for one hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, to support the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour. Hotels are joining the pro-earth gang too. Participants include London’s 12 Radisson Edwardian Hotels, hundreds of Starwood hotels spanning all of the chain’s brands (St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, and Element), and scores of casino-hotels in Las Vegas, namely Harrah’s properties like Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, and Rio, among others. They’re also shutting off the Bellagio fountains, the volcano at the Mirage, and the Luxor beam. Last year, some 50 million switched off their lights for Earth Hour, as well as global landmarks like Rome’s coliseum and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The target this year: 1 billion votes. Lights off equals a vote for earth, lights on, a vote for global warming. Which side are you on? We encourage all to spend an hour in the dark this Saturday to help combat climate change.