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Luxury Hotels 豪华饭店

 

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When You Have Cash to Spare, Check into One of These Places  如果有闲钱，可以到这些地方住宿喔

 

The most beautiful places to stay attempt a rebound  最优美的住宿地点景气复苏

 

The U.S. hotel industry’s luxury segment is rebounding faster than the overall hotel market as business travelers return to the road, executives of three luxury hotel companies say and new data confirm.

三家豪华饭店的高层表示，随着商务旅客逐渐回笼，美国饭店业的奢华区块已出现反弹，而且比整体饭店市场的复苏速度还要快，而最新资料也证实了他们这项说法。

 

The United States’ luxury hotels sold almost 17 percent more rooms during the January-March period than a year ago, according to data from industry tracker Smith Travel Research. In contrast, the average hotel in the U.S. sold 5 percent more rooms during that time.

根据饭店业市调业者史密斯旅游调查公司的资料，美国的豪华饭店在一到三月期间的订房率比去年同期增加了近百分之十七。相较之下，美国饭店业在这段期间的平均订房率只比去年同期高出百分之五。

 

Simon Cooper, Ritz-Carlton’s top executive, says he saw leisure travelers start coming back about the middle of last year when Ritz-Carlton aggressively marketed packages that included such amenities as breakfast or $100 resort credits to guests.

丽池卡尔登饭店总裁赛门．库柏指出，他在去年中就已发现度假游客的人数开始恢复旧有水平。当时丽池卡尔登饭店推出强力促销住宿套餐，提供住宿客免费早餐或是价值一百美元的度假区折价券等好康。

 

The recent return of the business traveler marks “the second phase” of the rebound, he says. Ritz-Carlton hotel occupancy levels are running in the low 70 percent range on average vs. the low 60 percent range a year ago, he says.

商务旅客近来的回笼是反弹趋势的「第二个阶段」，他说。丽池卡尔登饭店的住房率在去年只有百分之六十出头，今年已达到百分之七十出头，库柏表示。

 

Cooper and other executives say the rebound proves that people’s taste for luxury isn’t dead – something that analysts speculated about last year, when corporations canceled lavish gatherings after the financial collapse and governmentbailout of some companies. Companies feared a backlash if they sent people to or met at luxury hotels or resorts.

库柏及其他主管一致指出，反弹的现象证明了大众对于奢华的喜好并未消失。去年历经金融海啸，（美国）政府对部分公司纾困后，企业纷纷取消奢华浪费的聚会，分析家于是猜测奢华的时代已经过去。当时许多公司都认为，如果让员工入住豪华饭店或度假村，或是在这些地方举办聚会，恐怕会引起舆论的强烈谴责。

 

Luxury makes a comeback  奢华卷土重来

 

“When you see luxury coming back with occupancies up 20 percent across 120 hotels that include St. Regis, it says that people have a great appetite for luxury,” says Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood, which runs the St. Regis, W and Luxury Collection brands.

「看到包括圣瑞吉斯在内的一百二十家（豪华）饭店生意复苏，住房率扬升百分之二十，就表示大众对于奢华享受其实胃口很大，」喜达屋集团执行长范．帕森表示。喜达屋集团旗下拥有圣瑞吉斯、W与豪华精选等品牌。

 

Yet, even as demand “roars back with a vengeance,” hotel rates are down, says Jan Freitag, a vice president of Smith Travel Research.

然而，史密斯旅游调查公司副总裁詹．弗利塔格指出，尽管住宿需求「强烈反弹」，饭店住宿价格却反而下跌。

 

Luxury hotel guests paid 7 percent less in the first quarter (an average of $247 a night) compared with last year’s $267 a night. If demand keeps growing this briskly, however, Freitag says that rates could rise this year.

豪华饭店的旅客在第一季支付的住宿费用（平均一晚两百四十七美元）比去年的一晚两百六十五美元下跌了百分之七。不过，只要需求持续如目前迅速成长，弗利塔格说住宿费用也可能在今年上涨。

 

 

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tracker [ˋtrækɚ] n.【无】跟踪雷达；追踪系统(引申為調查公司) someone that observes and follows the progress of something

amenity [əˋminətɪ] n.（常用复）便利设施，文化设施，福利设施 something intended to make life more pleasant or comfortable for people

credit [ˋkrɛdɪt] n. (给某人的)一笔钱

occupancy [ˋɑkjəpənsɪ] n.【正式】〔对房产﹑土地等的〕占有; 占用; 居住

low [lo] adj.（在量，度，价值等方面）少的，小的，低的

speculate [ˋspɛkjə͵let] v. 思索；沉思；推测

lavish [ˋlævɪʃ] adj. 非常慷慨的；浪费的，滥花的

gathering [ˋgæðərɪŋ] n. 集会，聚集

bailout [ˋbel͵aʊt] n. 紧急（财政）援助 when someone helps a person or organization that is in difficulty, usually by giving or lending them money

roar back 恢复生机 to have great success after a period of lackluster performance; make a dramatic recovery

with a vengeance【口】(比正常的、预期的或想要的)程度更深(或更甚)

vengeance [ˋvɛndʒəns] n. 报复；报仇，复仇

 

 

 

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So what’s contributing to the uptick?  这样的小幅成长究竟是什么因素造成的？

 

Attractive offers. Bargain-happy travelers are snapping up packages and cheap rates. “We just paid $149 per night for the W hotel in New Orleans, which made me feel pretty good,” says Joseph Frohling of New Jersey. He’s paid as much as $300 a night for a W room during the city’s jazz festival, he says.

吸引人的优惠：热爱捡便宜的旅客大量抢购优惠住宿套餐与低价折扣。「我们到纽奥良的W饭店住宿，每晚才一百四十九美元，让我觉得很开心，」来自纽泽西的约瑟夫．弗洛林格说。他表示，在纽奥良爵士音乐节期间，曾以一晚三百美元的价格住过W饭店。

 

Fewer perception worries. “A year ago, as we were in the depths of this crisis, there was a high level of paranoia about luxury travel,” van Paasschen says. “That’s clearly gone away.”

忧虑情绪消退：「一年前，我们深陷于危机里，当时大家对豪华旅游都有着高度的恐慌，」范．帕森说：「这种心态明显已经消失了。」

 

More Wall Street deals. Financial services firms are back on the road doing deals, says Michael Steiner of Ovation Travel, which handles travel for some of Wall Street’s top firms. Ovation’s Wall Street clients spent 31 percent more on hotels in the first quarter than a year earlier, Steiner says.

华尔街人士入住率上升：金融服务公司已开始重新上路谈生意，欢呼旅游公司的麦可．史坦纳表示。该公司是华尔街若干顶尖公司的特约旅行社，其客户在今年第一季花费的饭店住宿支出比去年同期增加了百分之三十一。

 

More business activity. The Ritz-Carlton in Westchester, New York, which is near the headquarters of giants such as PepsiCo and IBM, has been packed with international business travelers lately, Cooper says. At the area’s only five-star hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, revenue per available room leaps 33 percent this year vs. a year ago, he says.

更多商业活动：纽约威彻斯特的丽池卡尔登饭店距离百事可乐与IBM等大企业的总部都相当近。库柏说，这家饭店近来住满了国际商务旅客。身为当地唯一的五星级饭店，这家丽池卡尔登今年每个房间的营收平均比去年同期跃升了百分之三十三，他如此表示。

 

No-frills stays  单纯住宿

 

Although demand for luxury hotels is coming back, Cooper says that customers are paying for fewer frills than they did before the recession hit in 2008.

豪华饭店的需求虽然回升，但库柏指出，比起二００八年发生经济衰退之前，现在顾客已不再会为不必要的额外享受花费太多。

 

“The [former offers of] ‘Have a couple of spa treatments’ and the big fruit basket in the room for every day are probably something of the past,” he says. “The excesses of two, three years ago are less prevalent today.”

「从前提供的水疗按摩以及每天附赠大水果篮大概都已经是过去式了，」他说：「两、三年前的浮滥享受到如今已经不再那么普及了。」

 

 

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uptick [ˋʌptɪk] n. 小幅增加; 生意兴旺 a slight improvement in business activity

snap up 抢购 to acquire quickly

frill [frɪl] n. Informal 无用的装饰; 虚饰 something that is desirable but not a necessity; a luxury

recession [rɪˋsɛʃən] n.（经济的）衰退；衰退期

prevalent [ˋprɛvələnt] adj. 流行的，盛行的；普遍的

 

 

 

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Dubai’s Burj Al-Arab  杜拜的帆船饭店（译注：Burj Al Arab原意是阿拉伯塔）

 

“Not the elevator,” my friend said in the lobby of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel, “We will ride the submarine to the restaurant.”

「不搭电梯，」我的朋友在杜拜帆船饭店的大厅里说：「我们要搭潜艇到餐厅。」

 

After entering a small capsule and fastening our seat belts, lights flickered, sirens screamed and dials trembled as we banked on the ocean floor past coral, tropical fish, the occasional shark. Three minutes later, we glided into port, the whole thing having been a ride straight from Disney.

我们坐进一个小潜水舱，系上安全带。灯光闪烁不停，警报声尖鸣不休，刻度盘震动不已，接着我们就斜驶过海底，看着珊瑚、热带鱼以及偶尔游来的鲨鱼从旁边经过。三分钟后，我们滑进港口，整个过程简直就和玩迪斯尼的游乐设施一样。

 

The comparison continues when you learn about all the “cities,” in Dubai. Like Disney’s “world,” Dubai has “cities”: Internet City, Media City, Academic City. And when I asked where all the thousands of fresh roses for the hotels are grown, I was told: Rose City, of course.

一旦听到杜拜的各座「城市」，更会觉得这里就像迪斯尼乐园一样。一如迪斯尼有许有「世界」，杜拜也有许多「城市」：包括网络市、媒体市、学术市。我问他们饭店里数以千计的新鲜玫瑰都是哪里种的，他们的回答是：当然是玫瑰市啊。

 

A trip to Fantasyland  奇幻国度一游

 

Now for the pure fantasy part. Mere mortals don’t usually get to stay in a $1,900 a night place like the Burj, but through incredible fortune, we were its guests for a night.

接下就是真正奇幻的部分了。平凡人通常不会有机会住在帆船饭店这种一晚一千九百美元的地方，但我们因为难以置信的机遇，却得以在这里住宿一夜。

 

Our trip to Fantasyland started with the dancing fountains and floor-to-ceiling aquariums in the lobby. My room came with my own personal butler who showed me the astounding computer technology that runs the room, controlling the TV, stereo, lights and drapes. Date sweets sat waiting for me, along with chocolate-dipped strawberries.

我们到奇幻国度的旅程，始于舞动的喷泉与大厅里从地板延伸到天花板的巨大水族箱。我的房间还随附一名个人管家，他为我说明了房间里令人惊异的计算机科技：电视、音响、灯光与窗帘都由计算机统一控制。耶枣甜点摆在桌上等着我，还有沾了巧克力酱的草莓。

 

I thought about ordering a special pillow from the pillow menu. The hotel offers a dozen or so of all kinds of fill and shape including one that absorbs odors and another that cools you.

我想着是否该从枕头目录上选用一颗特殊枕头。这家饭店提供十几种不同填充内容与形状的枕头，其中有一种能够吸收异味，另一种则能够让人降温。

 

I asked my butler to do me one more special favor: draw one of the hotel’s famous aroma baths. He disappeared upstairs with a box of vials holding a dozen choices of fragrant oil. I sank into the fragrant bubbles of my whirlpool tub and closed my eyes in ecstasy.

我请管家再帮我一个特别的忙：为我准备这家饭店著名的香氛浴。他带着一只盒子到了楼上去，盒子里摆着十几支装了不同香精油的小玻璃瓶。我把身体浸到按摩浴缸里的芳香泡泡当中，心满意足地闭上了眼。

 

The next morning when, sadly, I had to leave, I patted the doorframe lovingly and actually kissed my room goodbye.

可惜的是，第二天早晨我就得离开了。在离开之前，我依依不舍地拍了拍门框，甚至还和房间吻别。

 

−by Barbara Delollis

 

 

单词发音

 

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capsule [ˋkæps!] n. 太空舱；（飞机的）可弹射座舱 a small, sealed vehicle in which people can travel

flicker [ˋflɪkɚ] v. 闪烁；摇曳；忽隐忽现

dial [ˋdaɪəl] n.（机器的）调节控制器

fantasy [ˋfæntəsɪ] n. 空想；幻想；梦想

fortune [ˋfɔrtʃən] n. 好运，幸运 luck

butler [ˋbʌtlɚ] n. 男管家；司膳总管

drape [drep] n. 帘（尤指窗帘），幔

date [det] n. 海枣（果）

vial [ˋvaɪəl] n. 小玻璃瓶 a small bottle used to hold a liquid

ecstasy [ˋɛkstəsɪ] n. 狂喜；出神；入迷

pat [pæt] n. 轻拍

lovingly [ˋlʌvɪŋlɪ] adv. 钟爱地；深情地

 

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

rebound [rɪˋbaʊnd] v. 重新振作；回升 a return to an earlier and better condition; an improvement

segment [ˋsɛgmənt] n. 部分 any of the parts into which something can be divided

lavish [ˋlævɪʃ] adj. 非常慷慨的；浪费的，滥花的 referring to the act of spending, giving or using more than is necessary or reasonable

backlash [ˋbæk͵læʃ] n.〔对重大事件的〕强烈反应﹐反冲 a strong, negative reaction to something

briskly [ˋbrɪsklɪ] adv. 迅速地 in a quick and energetic manner

paranoia [͵pærəˋnɔɪə] n. 多疑; 瞎猜疑 extreme and unreasonable false beliefs

bank [bæŋk] v.（飞机，汽车等）带坡度转弯 to tilt a vehicle, making one side higher than the other, especially while turning

mortal [ˋmɔrt!] n. 人，凡人 an ordinary person, rather than a special, important or powerful person

absorb [əbˋsɔrb] v. 吸收（液体，气体，光，声等）to take something in, especially gradually

draw (a) bath 放一盆洗澡水 to fill a bathtub with water

fragrant [ˋfregrənt] adj. 香的，芳香的 a sweet or pleasant smell

 

 

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