Halloween Hotels / Hotel Staffers / → All Tags
These Hotels Made the Effort This Halloween
On Friday, we called out for hotels to send us their Halloween Costume Pics and this year we have to give out some pumpkin-scented scratch n' sniff stickers to the fine folks at Denihan Hospitality (The James New York, The Surrey Hotel) for going all out this year at their company costume party.
We're also loving the Addams Family getups sported by the staff at the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee, which is always down for a good time (and by good time we mean a party with lots of booze.) Down in San Diego, staffers at The La Costa Resort & Spa participated in a pumpkin carving contest (housekeeping won the scariest award) while celebs got done up for the massive Halloween party at the Hard Rock San Diego. Back up in Portland the Hotel deLuxe hosted a Trick or Tweet Up where guests showed up in costumes and the hotel handed out the treats (including some prizes.)
Halloween is over for now, we'll still add some of your costume photos throughout the week so send 'em on in!
Thanks so much to all the hotels for sending in their photos. You are awesome!
Deal or No Deal / Los Angeles Hotels / Travelzoo / Thanksgiving Hotels / → All Tags
$89 Over Thanksgiving in LA Sounds Great, But...
Trolling through Travelzoo's deals today, we noticed a ton of great hotel rates over Thanksgiving but one that struck us was this $89 rate for The Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles's Koreatown.
The deal sounds rather amazeballs, if you will. This includes an upgraded room with floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the iconic Hollywood sign, along with two for one breakfast daily, $7 off parking and complimentary WiFi. The only thing is, we've never heard of The Wilshire Hotel before. That's probably because it used to be a Radisson.
Now it looks like the hotel is undergoing some renovations but not all the rooms are done. And according to recent TripAdvisor reviews, the rooms might be the worst part about this hotel. Another bummer for the hotel? It's location in Koreatown which is not quite close to anything--not downtown, not Hollywood and certainly not the beach.
Hotel Business Cards / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Services / → All Tags
Never Say 'Facebook Me' Again, Thanks to These Personalized Hotel Business Cards
For quite some time now, the hotel world has been fiercely competitive (just take a look at all the new hotels opening in NYC) and it seems that every new hotel that opens has to have some sort of "hook" whether it be bold design, an exclusive nightclub, a celeb chef restaurant or a sky-high rooftop pool.
But to us, it's still the little things we find in-room that matter the most. (Ok, and a reasonable price too.) And today, we're loving hotels that offer guests personalized business cards to use during their stay. Aside from feeling as if we're really important, the business cards are so much classier to hand out when you hit the town.
If we had these at every hotel we stayed at, then we'd never say "Facebook me" again. (Not that we say that now but you know what we mean.)
Here are the hotels we know of so far that offer this refined amenity but please add more in comments below!
Pitch Your Hotel / Hyatt Hotels / Tokyo Hotels / Business Hotels / Free WiFi / → All Tags
Grand Hyatt Tokyo's Christophe Lorvo Tells Us Why They're the Center of the City's Universe
Welcome to our regular feature, Pitch Your Hotel, where we let hoteliers, general managers and other hotel execs tell us on-camera what makes their hotels so different from all the rest. And believe us, the competition is fierce these days. So sit back, relax and listen to them explain why their hotels are worthy of your hard-earned dollars or rewards points.
Not everyone can say they had a Friday night date with the General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, but we can! We sat down with Mr. Christopher Lorvo, to talk about how a hotel that's part of an international chain and so focused on business travel can still stand out in Tokyo.
Loyalty Program News / Expedia / Hotel Booking Sites / Hotel News / → All Tags
Expedia to Launch Their Own Loyalty Program in Early 2011
We have a minor obsession over here at HotelChatter with hotel loyalty programs as we're always looking for ways to get the most out of our hotel stays. So we perked up when we got this email from Expedia about their own Expedia-branded loyalty program in early 2011.
Currently, Expedia is linked up with Citigroup's ThankYou network which allows you to earn ThankYou points for your bookings as well as use ThankYou points to make your bookings. (ThankYou points can also be used/earned for other things aside from travel.) But Expedia is terminating that relationship on December 1.
Fortunately, your hard-earned ThankYou points will still be valid after this date but you can only earn ThankYou points on Expedia until December 1st. If you have a Citigroup credit card, you can still use the ThankYou network on Expedia to earn points but instead of three points for every dollar, you will only get two.
Expedia is now promising to roll out their new program in early 2011 which has us excited but also a teensy bit concerned
London Hotels / Hotel Hype / Zetter Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
London's Zetter Hotel to Open a Second Location in May
The London hotel scene continues to be on fire, with new hotels popping up faster than we can keep track. Thankfully, we have a rather strong network of tipsters on the ground who keep us posted on all the new hotels planned for London.
This time, an excellent tipster let us know the next hotel on the block is the The Zetter Townhouse Hotel, sister to our old favourite The Zetter Hotel. The new hotel will be in the same style of The Zetter, well if The Zetter had been built 200 years ago that is. It will be located within a Georgian townhouse and will have the feel of a private residence rather than hotel with just 11 rooms, two suites and a lounge and cocktail bar, all designed by interior designer Russell Sage.
Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Clubs / LeBron James / → All Tags
The Fontainebleau Ditches Blade, Adds New Lounge Called Arkadia
It's only fitting that with LeBron James in town, Miami sets itself the task of polishing up its nightlife. And the King himself was in the house for the grand opening of Arkadia, the new lounge at the Fontainebleau.
The brand new "ultra-lounge and pool experience" (we'll get to the pool in a sec) had a private opening party about a week ago, where A-Rod, Edward Norton & Elle Macpherson all joined James to get the bottle service rollin'. Now, Arkadia has officially opened to the public this past weekend.
Hotel Openings / W Hotels / W Retreats / Hotel News / → All Tags
The W Koh Samui Opens Today, Next Up W Austin and W Bali
W Retreat Koh Samui
Halloween may be over, but here's a nice day-after treat: W Retreat Koh Samui makes its grand debut today on the beautiful Maenam Beach in Thailand. The hotel has an AWAY Spa, which offers Asia's first "Thaimazcal" treatments, Mexican rituals with Thai ingredients. We think we've found our Thanksgiving destination.
And if you are looking for Christmas or Hanukkah vacay spots, two W's are set to open in December. If you are looking to stay stateside, the W Austin will open December 9. The Texas hotel will be the cornerstone of shopping and cultural center complex that includes the new music venue Austin City Limits Live. It'll also have an AWAY spa.
Hotel Bars / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Tipping / Tips / → All Tags
Watch Out For Tips Included When Drinking At New York Hotel Bars
The rooftop bar at Hotel Gansevoort.
UPDATE: In response to this story, the Gansevoort Hotel Group let us know that the Hotel Gansevoort does not include an automatic 20 percent tip on all beer, wine, and cocktails ordered, and has never done so. The Gansevoort Park Ave, however, had included a 20 percent gratuity on all bar tabs since opening in the summer. But, as of today, this automatic gratuity has been eliminated. Yippee! Moving forward, the only automatic gratuity charges at both hotels will for large parties and bottle service.
As you might have guessed from our frequent Hotel Cocktails and Hotel Bars coverage, we're fond of a tipple. But a tip? We prefer when that's left to our discretion. Unfortunately, as reported by the New York Post, we can't always get what we want. Many hotel bars in NYC are now charging mandatory tips on drinks tabs.
Hotels mentioned in the article include top spots in the city for getting sozzled--such as Hotel Gansevoort, The Standard NYC, the Tribeca Grand and the Ace Hotel.
Hotel Bars / Hotel News / Philadelphia Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Sofitel Hotels / → All Tags
Liberté Is Now Open At Sofitel Philadelphia
If all those pumpkins and pesky trick or treaters didn't make you feel like fall is here to stay, try this: a nice cozy spot in front of the fire at Liberté, the chic-looking new bar at the Sofitel Philadelphia.
We first heard about this French-inspired cocktail bar back in September, and now, thanks to the good people at VisitPhilly.com we get wind that Liberté is well and truly here. Hooray!
Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Hotel Reviews / Von Essen Hotels / Heliport Hotels / Airport Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Verta Is Not Just For the Jet Set, Says The Mail
The bar looks fabulous
You don’t have to have a helicopter to stay at Hotel Verta (although it probably helps, or at least adds to the experience). The luxe newbuild from uber-posh Von Essen hotels at London’s heliport is now open – and the first review from the Mail is in.
Some choice quotes from the review:
The doors slide open and we’re standing in the lobby, designed to evoke the glamour of the Thirties, the golden age of travel. On the ground floor is the Patrisey (the Anglo-Saxon name for Battersea), a long, thin restaurant with a central strip where you can eat perched on a stool. Colors are bright, the mood confident. It’s inviting.
Halloween Hotels / Suite-Hostel / Sweet-Hostile / → All Tags
Who's Dressing Up for Halloween This Weekend? We Want Your Photos!
What you're looking at here is one of the most excellent photos we've received in a while--it's the staff at The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee dressed up as The Village People!
These staffers are getting prepped for the big Halloween party going on at the hotel tomorrow night. There will be a custom-made DJ booth inside the hotel--in the shape of a fire escape--, drinks from Rehorst, a Milwaukee-made vodka, lots of tricks and treats and loads of wicked fun.
While the Iron Horse Hotel gets freaky this weekend, we have to wonder what other hotel staffers are dressing up? If you've got the pictures, then send 'em to us and if we've got enough, we'll put them in a fun gallery on Monday morning! As for our costumes, we're thinking of going as Eloise with our date going as coked-out Charlie Sheen. Sound good? It's more original than a Snooki poof.
And now your regularly scheduled Suite-Hostel:
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