http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-08T13:46:50Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/24/205743/142 <![CDATA[<p><img align="right" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/madonna_cardiff.gif" class="imgborder"><p><blockquote><p> "You must cook for Madonna as if she is the real Queen."</blockquote></p><p>That is what one of <b>Madonna's</b> people supposedly told the kitchen staff at <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+St+David%27S+Hotel+%26+Spa/ian/186000"><b>St. David's Spa and Hotel</b></a> in Cardiff where Madge was staying during the first night of her Sticky and Sweet Concert Tour.<p> Despite the hotel's over-the-top efforts to please her with a total remodel of her top-floor suite including new furniture, curtains, rugs, TV, and on and on, she still managed to throw a fit about some chips.<p>According to the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/08/24/her-madgesty-had-her-chips-in-hotel-91466-21593816/">Wales Online site</a>, the oil they were cooked in was "too old." The St. David's chef says the oil was only two days old, but it was--of course--changed to please abigailmschilling 2008-08-26T09:30:17-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/2/25/23358/0070 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/jolyon.png" class="imgborder"><p>We're always a bit dubious about hotels that advertise themselves blatantly as a 'Boutique Hotel', as the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Jolyon%27s+Boutique+Hotel/local/1125"><b>Jolyon's Boutique Hotel</b></a> does. We were a bit dubious about this one as we approached and saw the also-advertised 'beer garden', which was a small backyard area with a saggy sofa in one corner looking out onto a building site.<p> <p>But we take it back - the tiny 6-room Jolyon's makes the grade in the fledgling Cardiff hotel scene, partly for its ever-present smiley owner, partly for its cute downstairs bar, and partly for its top location by Cardiff Bay.<p> It's a bit of a stretch to call Jolyon's a 'Boutique Hotel', but we'll let it off. In Cardiff, at femmefatale 2008-02-26T09:46:41-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/2/25/2289/51996 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/stdavidcardiff2.png" class="imgborder"><p>Forget London - the latest British capital city to visit is Cardiff. After decades of drudgery brought on be incessant rain and regular invasions of sheep, the Welsh capital is now hotting up faster than the US election race. <p>A spectacular opera house, a shiny new Parliament building, and the super <a href="http://www.millenniumstadium.com">Millennium rugby stadium</a> are the city's most showy accessories. Depending on your attitude towards cruel sports, Cardiff is either a superb or a revolting place to visit on rugby match weekends, as we did.<p> The hotel scene is hotting up as well, in expectation of the <a href="http://www.rydercupwales2010.com">Ryder Cup 2010</a>, to be held at the <a href="http://www.celtic-manor.com">Celtic Manor Resort</a> near Newport and Cardiff. In the capital, femmefatale 2008-02-25T11:57:17-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/11/3/122859/047 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/ipod_kids.jpg"><p><a href="http://www.thestdavidshotel.com"><b>St. David's Hotel &amp; Spa</b></a> in Cardiff, Wales has apparently realized that someone has invented this thing called an iPod and that you can store all your music on it and play it whenever you want.<p>Now, with hotel guests able to hear their personal playlists wherever they go, they aren't going to put up with crap music in hotel lobbies or dining rooms.<br> <blockquote><p> St David's has responded to customer taste by installing technology which will give guests in each of its eight conference and private dining rooms access to a 20,000-strong music library.<p> Conversations never need be pursued against a background of anaemic renditions of Greensleeves. Instead, customers can choose music as upbeat or languorous as their juliana 2006-11-03T12:28:59-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/7/14/14340/1027 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/stdavids_cardiff.jpg"><p>Cardiff, Wales may not be one of the world's top destinations, but it is home to one of the world's top hotels. <a href="http://www.thestdavidshotel.com/"><b>St. David's Hotel and Spa</b></a> is on a roll, last year it won <a href="http://www.condenast.com">Conde Nast</a>'s top 20 Destinations in the world and their 7th best business hotel award. This seems however, only to be the start. The <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk">IC Wales Network</a> just reported that St. David's broke their income record and pulled in more than 8.1 million pounds. <p> But they are not stopping there, after all, who likes being 7th best, Jason Harding, the general manager elaborates:<p> <blockquote><p>Mr Harding said, `While we are one of the leading venues for medium-sized conferences in Wales, I Courtney 2006-07-14T09:20:01-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/